PWN3D!

(Sorry, just some girl's softball juvenalia from a Nats fan.)

Oh no, not Nelson!!! I know he seemed like Lima/Williams/Lawrence and I'm guessing he smelled like Lima/Williams/Lawrence, but, you know, he just looked different. And he had this uncanny ability to give up fewer hits on balls in play than Lima/Williams/Lawrence... or so I was told around here.

Sosa, eh? Heh. Another cornerstone of the franchise sent the Gotay route...

Don't fark with the Nats!!!!

And Chan Ho Park takes a sharp intake of breath...

When he first got there, he seemed to challenge the hitters, then he got cute. He didn't have the stuff to be cute. Too bad. But we keep Sosa around.

Hilarious.

And Fernando Tatis? Seriously? Peter Bergeron wouldn't return Omar's phone calls?

Fernando Tatis is still around?

For giggles, the Nats should claim Figueroa.

I can't wait for the first Claudio Vargas start. David Wright will fall asleep in the first inning, between Vargas pitches 3 and 4.

No love for Val Pascucci? He's slugging .731 at New Orleans! And he used to play for the Expos too!

Pascucci would've messed up the magic "Latino ratio" on the Mets. Two Latinos out, you needed two Latinos in.
You probably need to wait for a Schoenweiss injury before Pascucci gets considered... unless Bergeron answers the call first.

Fun fact: four of the players named in the excerpt were in the Brewers organization.

There is definitely a Expos/Brewers flavor with these transactions:

Figueroa DFA (ex-Brewer)
Sosa DFA (ex-Brewer - Rule V pick who was traded to TB in middle of ST a few years back)
Vargas (ex-Brewer, ex-'po)
Tatis (ex-'po)
Wise (ex-Brewer)

Raul Casanova (ex-Brewer) was also assigned to AAA in this same set of transactions.

If Omar calls up Junior Spivey, you've got something.

Peter Bergeron was in the Brewers chain in 2004, so he'd work, too.
Or Tomo Ohka.

Here's the full list.

I'm shocked! Shocked! These franchises have had some craptastic players.

I forgot Yost finished up his career with a cameo on the Expos.


The Mets still have a few ex-Brewers and ex-'pos not mentioned stashed away at AAA:
Tony Armas, Jr (ex-'po)
Ruddy Lugo (ex-Brewer farmhand)

Brady Clark and Casanova have already seen time with the Mets in 2008.

Great, Tatis.

At least they didn't send down Joe Smith for Wise. Adam Rubin said yesterday the team had "internally" decided to option Smith because they could keep him. But Sosa sucks, so thankfully, they made the right move.

I was really hoping for the Tony Armas experience this week. Having once had a quarter season ticket plan that could've been been billed as the Armas Plan, I was relishing the opportunity to see what it's like to be the dentist instead of the drilled.

He should come pitch in Korea.

Oh no, not Nelson!!! I know he seemed like Lima/Williams/Lawrence and I'm guessing he smelled like Lima/Williams/Lawrence, but, you know, he just looked different. And he had this uncanny ability to give up fewer hits on balls in play than Lima/Williams/Lawrence... or so I was told around here.

Did anyone actually say this or is this Levksi being Levski? Figgy was a good story but his stuff/control wasn't good enough. Vargas and Pelfrey will know compete for the fifth spot until Pedro comes back.

Sosa was decent last year for the Mets and is durable. There was reason to think he'd be decent this year. The Mets don't have a true longman anymore, something Minaya likes.

Maine has been fantastic in his 5 starts and is looking more like he did in spring training.

31.1 IP, 2.30 era, .96 whip, 28/10 k/bb.

If Figgy was 22, he'd be sent down to get pampered in the minors. I say nice job Nelson-Haha.

NY Times (RR):

The inspirational story of Nelson Figueroa, the Brooklyn boy made good, took a detour toward New Orleans Tuesday when the Mets designated him for assignment. But before he left the clubhouse, Figueroa again expressed his irritation at what he believed was childish and unprofessional behavior by some Washington Nationals during Monday’s game.

“My initial thought was that it was some kids above the dugout, and I looked in and it was them,” Figueroa said. “So be it. Like I said, I wouldn’t take back anything I said. I meant it.”
...
“The game has changed, and all that is foreign to me,” Mets Manager Willie Randolph said. “Play baseball. That’s the way I was brought up. That’s the way it should be.”

The Mets’ being irked by an opponent’s enthusiasm is a turnabout from last season. They bothered their fair share of teams with elaborate celebrations that were sometimes performed in front of the dugout, despite Randolph’s attempts to curb them.
...
General Manager Omar Minaya said the on-field events of Monday’s game influenced his decisions. The Mets had been leaning toward starting Adam Bostick on Wednesday for roster reasons and demoting Joe Smith instead of Sosa because Smith has minor league options. But Smith struck out the side in the eighth, and Sosa gave up four runs in the sixth. Figueroa’s second consecutive poor start persuaded Minaya to make a switch.

The Mets had been leaning toward starting Adam Bostick on Wednesday for roster reasons and demoting Joe Smith instead of Sosa because Smith has minor league options. But Smith struck out the side in the eighth, and Sosa gave up four runs in the sixth.

No sample size issues here of course.

No sample size issues here of course.

None. Joe Smith has been much much better than Sosa. Of course, my grandmother throwing left handed would be more effective than Sosa.

I would have like to see Figgy get a chance to redeem himself in the bullpen. He walked too many to not get burned, hopefully he'll get a shot again somewhere.

"I was really hoping for the Tony Armas experience this week."

You can get a close simulation by punching yourself in the balls, if that helps.

None. Joe Smith has been much much better than Sosa.

Well sure. As a Braves fan I'm well aware of Sosa's "abilities". It also pretty ridiculous to change your plans based on one game.

It also pretty ridiculous to change your plans based on one game.

Not if it was the correct move all along.

The Mets’ being irked by an opponent’s enthusiasm is a turnabout from last season. They bothered their fair share of teams with elaborate celebrations that were sometimes performed in front of the dugout, despite Randolph’s attempts to curb them.

It was dumb when other teams were upset and it's dumb now. Elijah Dukes and some other guys cheering on their teammate by cheering 'Let's go Milly" is against the unwritten rules of baseball? I thought it was awesome. It's not life or death, it's just baseball.

You can get a close simulation by punching yourself in the balls, if that helps.

Hilarious but the guy wanting the Armas experience is a Nationals' fan.

I think baseball players are less entertained by baseball than we are, and maybe that boredom just opens them up to whining about any perceived slight whatsoever.

Did anyone actually say this or is this Levksi being Levski?

Ah, the horror, the horror...

I was thinking of OFF's post in this thread; post #53. Raski's post (#55) is pure "Raski" :)
Btw, kudos to Sam for post #51 in that thread. He nailed it.

Not if it was the correct move all along.

Well technically this shouldn't matter. If you choose a faulty method to come up with an accurate solution, all that means is that the faulty method will come get you later on down the line. If I choose not to hit on 18 because I don't think 18 is a lucky number, I will have made the right decision for the wrong reason. Then when I hit on 19 because it _is_ a lucky number, I will have screwed up.

I believed in Figueroa. I bought into it. I compared him to Paul Byrd.

Btw, kudos to Sam for post #51 in that thread. He nailed it.

Will this, however, buy me any credibility with Levski when -- sometime in the future -- I look at a Mets' player who gets off to a comparably good start for the club and say, "This guy is the real deal"???

Nope. Levski will accuse me of being an incurable, down-the-line, fanboy who gets stars in his eyes every time a journeyman or rookie gets two hits in a row or retires the side in order.

Of course, if the same rookie came up with the Diamondbacks, Levski would be drafting his HOF speech while he was putting up spiked numbers in the PCL . . . But that's fine. Just life at BTF . . . ;-)

Sam, I'm never again questioning anything you write here. You tell me Claudio Vargas will be a 20 game winner with the Mets, I pick up Vargas on my roto team. You tell me to dump Conor Jackson and go with Delgado as my 1bman... you wouldn't tell me that, would you?

I think the Mets should offer the Padres some middling prospects in exchange for Maddux and his salary. Set up a Clemens like shuttle for his use if desires it. He'd win 15 games with the Mets.

Braves faithful on message boards have already started the "Maddux to ATL" movement.

I think it would be cool to see Maddux on the Braves again. Especially if Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine all retired together at the end of the season.

Well, I'd love Maddux to Atlanta (I'm Braves faithful, by the way). But I'm a big Maddux fan, too. And I don't think one solid starter gets the Braves in the playoffs. I think Maddux would be worth the money to either Philly or New York. Whether he'd agree to it or not, i have no idea. As stated in other threads, Cubs make sense, too.

I think it would be cool to see Maddux on the Braves again.

I have to say that the idea of Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine all on the Braves together again fills me with dread. Even though it's a decade later and they're not close to what they once were, I just can't help myself; it's Pavlovian. Too many beat-downs, too many futile attempts to beat the club for which they were the core. In fact, despite the fact that my epileptic seizures are extremly well-controlled, I believe I would have to go see my neurologist about fiddling with my medication if the prospect of that reunion in that uniform ever became a reality. Too much stress.

/end shudder

Thinking about Maddux on the Mets makes me sick.

How do you grade my Figueroa projection? (Post 16) I give it a B.

I have to say that the idea of Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine all on the Braves together again fills me with dread.

HOF quality pitchers BUT in the ERA of Questec and those guys being late in their careers, I say "bring it on".

TG doesn't get the call for the pitch 2' off the plate anymore. Maddux is a good #3, but guile only gets you so far. Smotlz is the best of the bunch, but age and durability finally appear to be getting him.

TG doesn't get the call because he doesn't hit the spot anymore.

Maddux is a good #3...sounds like about 20 teams could use that. Smoltz is a reliever or a spot starter, sadly.

Raski's post (#55) is pure "Raski" :)
Btw, kudos to Sam for post #51 in that thread. He nailed it.

I agree that there is more than a touch of irrationality when it comes to players that I like, whether prospects or forsaken veterans. But what's wrong with irrationality, isn't that what lies at the heart of rooting for ballplayers? I never understood why anyone would choose to pick who to prefer after looking at the projections. So I may have been wrong with Figgy - I still would have liked the Mets to give him several more chances - but that won't discourage me from thinking optimistically on the next veteran who is seeking an opportunity to attach themselves to the majors, especially someone with the apparent character and history of Figueroa.

[I think it would be cool to see Maddux on the Braves again. Especially if Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine all retired together at the end of the season.

Completely agree. Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz should end it together as Braves. That's the way it should be,

None. Joe Smith has been much much better than Sosa. Of course, my grandmother throwing left handed would be more effective than Sosa.

So's your mother.

Oh wait, that works there.