You know, I was actually trying to think about positive things today regarding the Mets. And I thought about Scott Schoeneweis. I thought about how he pitched with a torn tendon all season, how he pitched better baseball than anybody else in the Mets bullpen down the stretch, getting two key (or what should have been key) saves. And I thought about how Ed Coleman said that he was the only Met who acknowledged that this choke job was going to stick with everyone who wore the uniform for a long time.
And I thought "you know what, I'm going to write a post about how much Schoeneweis has grown on me, and how I hope he comes back, and that he's not run out of town, and that I'm sorry that I ever compared him to a pug".
Then this happens:
And I thought "you know what, I'm going to write a post about how much Schoeneweis has grown on me, and how I hope he comes back, and that he's not run out of town, and that I'm sorry that I ever compared him to a pug".
Then this happens:
Scott Schoeneweis, the veteran New York Mets reliever and a survivor of testiticular cancer, received six steroid shipments from Signature Pharmacy while playing for the Chicago White Sox in 2003 and 2004, ESPN has learned.Should I blame a guy for something he did before there was a policy on it? Heck, I'm not even sure guys like Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus are lousy cheats for doing it (allegedly) before the policy was put in place (like Rafael Palmeiro is).
According to a source in Florida close to the ongoing investigation of Signature, Schoeneweis' name appears on packages that were sent to Comiskey Park while the White Sox were battling to win the AL Central title in 2003. Two more shipments arrived at the stadium in 2004, months before Schoeneweis underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow.
But damn, the last thing I needed was more bad news regarding this franchise, which acquires another tatter each day. I mean, what's next? An internet report that Oliver Perez has children locked in his house producing sneakers for 30 cents an hour?
My lord, just let me forget about this franchise for, I don't know, a day and a half?
Say it ain't so, Scho...say it ain't so.
38 comments:
Damus, I'm with ya. Although I still lurk on these blogs, I'm like - can I sleep peacefully just one night. You'd think I was on the team.
Sorry, anybody who accepts a prescription from a doctor named "Ramon Scruggs" must be up to no good.
Anyway,thanks for the very interesting news item. I am depending on you, Metstradamus for all my news of the outside world. Since the Mets loss on Sunday I have self-imposed a complete TV, internet and newspaper blackout possibly for the rest of my life.
I heard that's the primary why Omar signed Scho - so that there was someone in the pen that had something in common with Mota.
Something Omar said yesterday also irked me - namely, part of the reason for the collapse was injuries which hampered them for most of the season. Gee Omar, you can't really say those injuries, especially to the pitching staff, could not have been predicted by you. They were largely the same guys who went down last year . . .
This team has got a lot to prove in the off-season and next year.
well that's just great. i too was thinking, "you know, for as much as i ragged on show early this year, he really stepped it up at the end of the season."
that's just great, scotty.
I actually laughed when I heard this. It's funny to me. The whole 2007 bunch can just go to hell. Wake me up in March of 2008 and I'll sift through the wreckage for pieces I might still like to root for.
Ok boys and girls, let's all take a collective deep breath. What's done is done. I received my degree in History a long time ago, but I always loved this story. After the first day of the Battle of Shiloh and the staggering Union losses suffered, Sherman found Grant calmly smoking a cigar, rain pelting down on him. Expecting to receive orders for the Union to retreat and regroup to fight another day like most Union commanders had done so far in the war, Sherman said "Well Grant, we had the devil's own day today, didn't we?" After nearly a minute of silence, Grant puffed the cigar, clamped it in his teeth and said "Yup, lick 'em tomorrow though". The next morning he turned the tables and defeated the Confederates.
There's work to be done. Let's stop pointing fingers. This is still a very desirous franchise for big leaguers, not like the days of old when a trade to the Mets was like a trip to Devil's Island.
Interesting item in the paper today: Santana informed the Twins that he would waive his no-trade clause.
You're forgetting though that Sherman recruited old soldiers, and Grant could never manage the reserves.
Well, at least Sherman beat the stuffing out of Atlanta.
... and Willie doesn't drink like a fish, as Grant did. Perhaps, as Lincoln said, we should find out Grant's brand of hooch and send Willie a case of it.
While you're at it send me a case of that stuff too.
Unser:
Another historian, I see. Well done.
The immediate postscript to Shiloh was that the Northern newspapers went nuts over the Union losses and blamed Grant, calling for Lincoln to fire him. Lincoln refused, saying "I can't spare this man. He fights". Ok Willie, visualize yourself as Grant instead of sipping champagne. sj
Schoeneweis must of gone to The Gillermo Mota School of Sucking and Steroids... it's so easy, a moron can do it.
Go Rockies?
Why was Delgado holding a Jeter jersey in the locker room??? What the F)(*(#$& is up with these F($$*&$&^T$ guys????
Did anyone see Delgado's comment about the mets losing focus? (Gee, ya think?)
He then went on to say that even thought they did, you don't win any awards for winning by 17 games.
Are you fucking kidding me? Someone needs to tell the man to shut up before he embarrasses himself again.
I wonder if this whole thing with the former Employee of the Mets did not cause something more than we know about, with the team???
I wonder if this did not cause a downward spiral? Maybe there are more pieces to this puzzle that need to come to light??? Just a thought. Craig.
Maybe Shea was built on an ancient native american burial ground? Perhaps the groundbreaking at Citi field has disturbed it and we are dealing with the wrath of the undead.
Just a thought, but it would explain their dismal home record.
Let's hope that the Gods we pissed off by breaking ground at Citi Field consider our debt paid in full - otherwise it's years of misery!
Anyway, as I state this the Phillies have lost, at home with their best pitching. A sweep by the Rockies would put salve on my raw wounds. I did THOUROUGHLY enjoy the quiet frustration of the crowd in Philly, who for the past week have been like the rally-monkey toters of years' past full of blind confidence and certain that all will be well.
Oh and this typical media "kick a team while it's down" routine was done back in '02 while the Mets were cellar dwelling and they published the article on Mets players smoking pot.
I am so happy to hear the Rockies won game 1! I'll only be able to watch post season games once the Phillies are out of it. Go Rockies.
I am trying to avoid all talk of baseball for now. People can be so unkind. My cleaning lady (cardinal's fan) left me a note yesterday saying, "how about those dis-amazing Mets?"
Screw the Rockies and the Phillies. The Rockies are a rightist organization that only wants "players of their persuasion" on the team and hold prayer services for the crowd after the game. IOW, it's Ted Hagggard-ville, the "reformed" homosexual (ha ha) homophobic pro-Bush minister. Money for the Rockies means money for the fascists.
oh god, that's awful... now I don't know who to root against, is there any way they could BOTH lose?
Speaking of Kaz, he drove in 5 runs today for the Rockies, including a grand slam. Geez...
Anyway, go Rockies! (Or anyone but the !@#$%&* Phillies)
Anonymous 8:38am: YOUR BULLSHIT DETECTOR IS OUT OF ORDER. FROM "THE NATION" IN 2006. JUST google "Colorado Rockies Religion"
Southpaw by Dave Zirin
The Rockies Pitch Religion
[posted online on June 2, 2006]
In Colorado, there stands a holy shrine called Coors Field. On this site, named for the holiest of beers, a team plays that has been chosen by Jesus Christ himself to play .500 baseball in the National League West. And if you don't believe me, just ask the manager, the general manager and the team's owner.
In a remarkable article from Wednesday's USA Today, the Colorado Rockies went public with the news that the organization has been explicitly looking for players with "character." And according to the Tribe of Coors, "character" means accepting Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior. "We're nervous, to be honest with you," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "It's the first time we ever talked about these issues publicly. The last thing we want to do is offend anyone because of our beliefs." When people are nervous that they will offend you with their beliefs, it's usually because their beliefs are offensive.
As Rockies chairman and CEO Charlie Monfort said, "We had to go to hell and back to know where the Holy Grail is. We went through a tough time and took a lot of arrows."
Club president Keli McGregor chimed in, "Who knows where we go from here? The ability to handle success will be a big part of the story, too. [Note to McGregor: You're in fourth place.] There will be distractions. There will be things that can change people. But we truly do have something going on here. And [God's] using us in a powerful way."
Well, someone is using somebody, but it ain't God. San Francisco Giants first baseman-outfielder Mark Sweeney, who spent 2003 and 2004 with the Rockies, said, "You wonder if some people are going along with it just to keep their jobs. Look, I pray every day. I have faith. It's always been part of my life. But I don't want something forced on me. Do they really have to check to see whether I have a Playboy in my locker?"
Then there is manager Clint Hurdle and GM O'Dowd. Hurdle, who has guided the team to a Philistine 302-376 record since 2002, as well as fourth or fifth place finishes every year, was rewarded with a 2007 contract extension in the off-season. Hurdle also claims he became a Christian three years ago and says, "We're not going to hide it. We're not going to deny it. This is who we are."
O'Dowd, who also received a contract extension, believes that their 27-26 2006 record has resulted from the active intervention of the Almighty. "You look at things that have happened to us this year. You look at some of the moves we made and didn't make. You look at some of the games we're winning. Those aren't just a coincidence. God has definitely had a hand in this." Or maybe the management that prays together gets paid together.
O'Dowd and company bend over backward in the article to say they are "tolerant" of other views on the club, but that's contradicted by statements like this from CEO Monfort: "I don't want to offend anyone, but I think character-wise we're stronger than anyone in baseball. Christians, and what they've endured, are some of the strongest people in baseball. I believe God sends signs, and we're seeing those." Assumedly, Shawn Green (Jew), Ichiro Suzuki (Shinto) or any of the godless players from Cuba don't have the "character" Monfort is looking for.
Also, there are only two African-American players on the Rockies active roster. Is this because Monfort doesn't think black players have character? Does the organization endorse the statement of its stadium's namesake, William Coors, who told a group of black businessmen in 1984 that Africans "lack the intellectual capacity to succeed, and it's taking them down the tubes"? These are admittedly difficult questions. But these are the questions that need to be posed when the wafting odor of discrimination clouds the air.
Then there are the fans. I spoke with journalist Tom Krattenmaker, who has studied the connection between religion and sports. Krattenmaker said, "I have concerns about what this Christianization of the Rockies means for the community that supports the team in and around Denver--a community in which evangelical Christians are probably a minority, albeit a large and influential one. Taxpayers and ticket-buyers in a religiously diverse community have a right not to see their team--a quasi-public resource--used for the purpose of advancing a specific form of religion. Have the Colorado Rockies become a faith-based organization? This can be particularly problematic when the religion in question is one that makes exclusive claims and sometimes denigrates the validity of other belief systems."
You might think MLB Commissioner Bud Selig would have something stirring to say about this issue. But Selig, who hasn't actually registered a pulse since 1994, only said meekly, "They have to do what they feel is right."
It's not surprising that Selig would play it soft. First and foremost, Bud's First Commandment is "Thou Shalt Not Criticize the Owners. Second, Selig and Major League Baseball this year are experimenting for the first time with Faith Days at the Park. As if last season's Military Appreciation Nights weren't enough, the New York Times reported yesterday that this summer "religious promotions will hit Major League Baseball. The Atlanta Braves are planning three Faith Days this season, the Arizona Diamondbacks one. The Florida Marlins have tentatively scheduled a Faith Night for September." These religious promotions are attractive to owners because they leverage a market of evangelical Christians who are accustomed to mass worship in stadiums at events staged by sports-driven proselytizers like Promise Keepers and Athletes in Action.
As part of the MLB promotion, the Times reports, "local churches will get discounted tickets to family-friendly evenings of music and sports with a Christian theme. And in return, they mobilize their vast infrastructure of e-mail and phone lists, youth programs and chaperones, and of course their bus fleets, to help fill the stands."
At one of the Faith Days in Atlanta, the team will sell special vouchers. After the game, the stands will be cleared and then only those with the specially purchased vouchers will be re-admitted. Those lucky chosen "will be treated to an hour and a half of Christian music and a testimonial from the ace pitcher John Smoltz." Smoltz is the player who in 2004 opined on gay marriage to the Associated Press, saying, "What's next? Marrying an animal?" Good times for the whole family.
The Rockies right now are a noxious reflection of a time in US history when generals speak of crusades and the President recounts his personal conversations with Yahweh. ("You're doing a heckuva job, Goddy!")
If Monfort, O'Dowd and Hurdle want to pray on their own time, more power to them. But the ballpark isn't a church. Smoltz isn't a preacher. And fans aren't a flock. Instead of using their position of commercial power to field a God Squad, the Rockies might want to think about getting some decent players. There was once this guy named Babe Ruth. Not too much for the religion, and his character was less than sterling. But I hear he could play some decent ball.
Anon 11:25
I stand corrected. Until this week I thought "well then God must hate baseball", until Kaz Matsui hit a Grand Slam bestwoed upon him from Jesus himself. There wasn't enough room in the Big Apple for two Matsuis, but I guess behind those pearly gates, everyone bats .500 with power to all fields.
Metstradamus, are you OK?
I know life didn't seem worth living there for a while, but I hope you haven't done anything rash.
Well since I have to root against the Phillies, and now, apparently, the Rockies, too, I'll root for the cubbies I guess. Lou P is so fun to watch. Remember the game in May or June that the Mets won in the 9th inning where Gary wondered out loud if Lou's head was going to explode? That would be something worth living to see, wouldn't it?
Kaz Matsui hit that grand slam yesterday because he has accepted Baby Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
And the only reason that the Rockies have won 16 out of 17 games and miraculously made the playoffs is because of HIM.
Amen.
P.S. Remember that the terrorists hate us for our freedom and tolerance.
I live in the Philly burbs, and as the Rockies were tearing up the Phils in game 2, I was treated to listening to the local sports station (Lots and lots of miserable callers...).
Several callers, as well as the host, noted that Kaz Matsui is a former Met.
I'm glad that it bothers them for some reason.
Perhaps it was Matsui's intense Japanese pride that has him killing the ball right now. Knowing that it irks Met fans, who booed him relentlessly and ran him out of town. I seriously thought that dude would not play baseball ever again after the beating he (deservedly) took here.
Oooohhh, just read that Jim Duquette, just resigned from the Orioles. Can we start a "bring back Duquette" petition drive?
I hope you all know I'm kidding.
What happened to Metstradamus? I'm getting worried.
Never fret.
y'know, how about jose reyes for matsui? or even a rockies totebag? colorado is a great place to ski, and jose likes to ski. jose can even find places to ski in nyc, he likes to ski so much. he skis with such skill he's found fielding, hitting, or even showing up on the field to be burdensome. so he'll be a perfect fit in colorado, where the skiing is plentiful.
Clearly my theory that God was smiling on the Mets because Shawn did not play on Yom Kippur was incorrect.
However, you must admit there are some strange things going on. Granted, the bugs in last night's game were not actually locusts. What could be next? Something will happen to the Phillies' first born sons?
I know what Metstradamus is up to with his silence. He is challenging us to actually get on with our lives, instead of wallowing in our pain on this blog.
Katherine, I wish I deserved that much credit for having a hidden meaning. LOL.
I'll be back.
good. because right now I am really into wallowing in my pain and despair.
Relax, Katherine. The 2007 Mets aren't worth despair. I never saw a team with so much fan support stick their middle fingers out to those that followed them. In Omar I Don't Trust after his Winter 2006 of Discontent, but he may stumble onto an accidental way to improve the team. Willie's abit challenged, but there are few who could've led this selfish charade of a team toward anything. Personally, save for Wright, Beltran, Martinez, Anderson, Castro (if not crippled by arthritis), and Chavez, the rest can take a dive to another team. And the leadoff hitter's decadence and betrayal will never be forgiven.
Am I the only person who doesn't hate the Mets for fucking up? I mean, shit happens. Sometimes shit happens in slow motion over 17 games. Whatever. There's always next year. Although Omar better get some damn pitching for next year...
You left out the yanks and phillies!
Priceless!
Well,
There are only 3 things that will make things better this off season.
1. Phillies out of contention. Ditto.
2. Yankees out of contention.
Waiting..
3. Getting Santana
Waiting..
Let's go Cleveland!
ditto on #2.
Come on Omar!!Let's get Johan!!
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