Ah, you beat me NTN.

Poker games and haircuts in the clubhouse for everyone! I love this. The closer to 1999 this team can get (sans Kenny Rogers), the happier I get.

Woo!

This is seriously awesome.

Me like Rickey. Only person use third person more than Cookie Monster.

By the end of the year, the Mets need Franco to retire and be the hitting coach and Rickey to take his place as a righthanded pinch-hitter who doesn't hit at all but draws the occasional walk.

Seriously though, do you guys think Rickey is going to be a good coach?

I can't wait for Pedro to comeback. That clubhouse would contain my three favorite baseball people of all time.

As a Queens resident, this fills me with joy.

Not really a Mets fan, though, so I'm just looking forward to the quotes.

Seriously though, do you guys think Rickey is going to be a good coach?

No. But he'll whip Jose into shape and he'll command instant respect. He's a good guy to have around.

I didn't realize the Mets had problems hitting...

This is all part of Rickey's plan to get himself onto the 25-man roster. First, a coach, then start showing his ability during batting practice ("Say, Rickey's sure got some game still!" "Yes, Rickey, you sure do."), then as soon as someone steps on a sprinkler before the game, TA-DA! "I'm back!"

Rickey is the greatest of all time.

Anecdotal evidence would say yes to Rickey being a good coach. Padres players had nothing but good things to say about his instructions and it always seems like players get more patient when Rickey is around. Roger Cedeno anyone?

Seriously, how cool would it be if in late August the Mets activated Rickey? Man, that would be cool.

then as soon as someone steps on a sprinkler before the game, TA-DA! <strike>"I'm back!"</strike> "Rickey's back!"

Fixed.

i would love for them to add Rickey to the expanded roster. he's beyond awesomeness.

and i think, given his work as a special instructor, he deserves a shot at coaching.

Seriously, how cool would it be if in late August the Mets activated Rickey? Man, that would be cool.

The White Sox, unexpectantly in the midst of the 1990 pennant race, declined to activate Minnie Minoso for his 6th decade, supposedly due to a player revolt. It's not exactly the same situation, but if the Mets are in a race in September, I could see a player's objection.

I know Rickey still wants to play, but he's nearly in the Hall. A Sep cup of coffee delays that another 5 years. Wouldn't he enjoy being a HOFer more?

I don't know how much of a relationship they have, but this might be great for Milledge.

As a reporter, this fills me with glee.

My girlfriend got me tickets to go see the Mets next Saturday. I fully intend to get an autographed baseball by Rickey.

Wouldn't he enjoy being a HOFer more?

Is there any extra benefit to being offically elected to the HOF? If there isn't, why would that really matter? Everyone already knows Rickey is a HOFer. I agree with your other point though. Rickey shouldn't be activated if the Mets are in the middle of a pennant race.

Rickey already knows Rickey is a HoFer. he doesn't need the validation. he just loves the game, i think, and it's something he's been not just good at but otherworldly good at.

It's not exactly the same situation, but if the Mets are in a race in September, I could see a player's objection.

Given how damn old much of the Mets' roster is, it's NOT the same situation :P

Well, Rickey sure knew how to hit. Whether or not he can teach that will be the question.

He may have an advantage in credibility. Fair or not, I suspect that players listen somewhat more attentively to a hall of famer than to a guy who didn't make it to the big leagues.

Is there any extra benefit to being offically elected to the HOF? If there isn't, why would that really matter? Everyone already knows Rickey is a HOFer.

Is Rickey first unanimous? Me could see that. Of course if Aaron, Mays, Williams not unanimous, that obviously argue against. But what the case, other than ######## Simers argument?

I don't know if Rickey can teach, but Reyes and Cedeno sure are points in his favor.

Yep, maybe he can teach Delgado to start taking pitches again.

Now if they somehow made Turk Wendell bullpen coach...that would get Rickey mad!

Now if only they could bring back John Olerud!

The White Sox, unexpectantly in the midst of the 1990 pennant race, declined to activate Minnie Minoso for his 6th decade, supposedly due to a player revolt.

Naw, Giammatti squashed the attempt to bring him back. Unless it was Fay Vincent. The commish took the bat out of Minoso's hands that year.

It's late, I'm tired, and I like to imagine Rickey speaking like the black Dracula from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. "Rickey a grown man! Do what he wants!"

WTF, Beane?

"Rickey a grown man! Do what he wants!"

Expect hear from Meldrick.

I wonder if Rickey is going to move back into his old Yankee days digs...if he comes up with his back rent, of course.

This is the greatest thing I've ever heard!!

EDIT: Really, the greatest! I don't even care about whether he's a good coach or not... I mean, has anyone ever heard positive stories about Rick Down? I was hoping that he'd be fired weeks ago (because you can't fire the players). Just having Rickey around more makes me really happy.

And plus, as mentioned, Reyes's completely ridiculous turn around in plate discipline after getting mentored by Rickey is all that I need to give him the benefit of the doubt.

This is the best move the Mets could have possibly made right now without making a "real" move.

I'm ready for games now!!!

"Rickey will be a great hitting coach." - Rickey

Man, why did I have to read this just before I was going to go to sleep. I know I'm too excited, but it's RICKEY HENDERSON.

Rickey! Woo!

WFAN is reporting that Rickey may either be the 1B coach or the hitting coach, with Howard Johnson getting the position that he doesn't get.

Well HoJo is the first base coach right now.

Looking for possible evidence in Rickey's favor as to ability to influence hitters.

1. Tony Phillips. Phillips was Rickey's teammate at the beginning of his career and for half a season in 1989. Phillips's offensive performance increased slowly but substantially over the course of his career. He adopted a crouch that in some ways resembled Rickey, and his walk totals and OBP kept increasing and increasing. The problem with assuming that Rickey had anything to do with it is that some of the biggest steps forward that Phillips took occurred around 1985-86 when Rickey was in New York and during 1990-93 when Phillips was in Detroit.

2. Lance Blankenship. Basically, he never could hit - but he used his patience and pitch recognition to somehow be a useful part-time player anyway. Owner of some of the weirdest-looking offensive stats you'll ever see.

Lance Blankenship

He walked a ton in the minors, too, when Henderson was a Yankee.
It's just who he was.

I know I'm too excited, but it's RICKEY HENDERSON.

This is how I feel too. I'm very happy that Rickey is back in OB, even if it's as a coach.

Who's older, Henderson or Franco?

The only word I can use to describe my feelings about Rickey returning to MLB is "giddy".
Even if he just coaches and talks, baseball is a better place with him in it.

Who's older, Henderson or Franco?

It's Franco, by (at least) 4 months (August 1958 vs December 1958).

I can't see him being a good coach/teacher.

Well HoJo is the first base coach right now.

NJ.com

It was unclear, however, whether Henderson will replace Down as the hitting coach or whether those duties will go to another member of Randolph's staff.

First-base coach Howard Johnson, who served as a hitting coach while working in the Mets' minor-league system, could also be a candidate to replace Down.

I thought this was a joke at first. What are the odds he's still their hitting coach on Opening Day, 2008? I'm thinkin' it ain't too likely.

Fun Rickey Henderson fact: He still holds the record for drawing the most Unintentional Bases on Balls, at 2,129 (2,190 minus 67 IBBs).

Babe Ruth has a total of 2,062 walks, but they did not keep records for how many were IBBs.

Barry Bonds currently has a total of 2,517 walks, of which 675 have been IBBs, leaving 1,842 UIBBs.

Ok quick question.
Does this mean that Rickey has to officially retire? I do not think he has yet.
And what does this do to him wanting to sign a one day contract with the A's before retiring. I doubt he can do that now.
Curious if anybody knows.

an appropriate Rickeyism ..

In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team’s hitting coach, had just been fired.
Henderson said, “Who’s he?”

How old is Rickey? Rickey played for the Jersey City A's in 1978, in a city that hasn't had a team for nearly three decades, in a stadium that was torn down 25 years ago.

Seriously, how cool would it be if in late August the Mets activated Rickey? Man, that would be cool.

I bet they won't have to. Rickey will activate Rickey. He'll just grab a bat from the rack, tap the on-deck batter on the shoulder and take his place.

rickey wasn't too keen on signing autographs when he was an active major league player. no idea if that's changed now.

rickey wasn't too keen on signing autographs when he was an active major league player. no idea if that's changed now.

doesn't prove much either way, but I thought this was funny:

Henderson, who caught a foul ball on Monday at AT&T Park, where he was watching the Mets play the Giants, kept the ball instead of handing it to a young fan.

"Everybody was asking me for the ball," Henderson said Tuesday, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark. "I said, 'You're not getting this ball. I always wanted to get a foul ball. This one's going on a shelf at home."

The young fan didn't go home empty-handed, though, as Henderson signed another ball the fan already had.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2865084

As much as I love Rickey, I wonder how much good he'll do the power hitters. If the Mets want to school Lo Duca, Milledge and Gomez on pitch reognition, this is the guy. But for Delgado, Green, ect, I wonder if Rickey is the best man for the job. I could see he and HoJo sharing the job, but that might seem like a "too many cooks" thing. I can't remember who Delgado's coach was in Toronto for his monster years, but getting that guy to come in and advise him might not be a bad idea. We're in panic mode at this point with Carlos...

Add me to the crowd giddy with anticipation.

This is all just a trick, so that The Rickey will go into Cooperstown with a Mets cap.

I can't remember who Delgado's coach was in Toronto for his monster years, but getting that guy to come in and advise him might not be a bad idea. We're in panic mode at this point with Carlos...

Cito Gaston was the hitting coach in 2000 (and 2001). Mike Barnett came aboard as hitting coach for the 2002 season and served through mid-2005, including Delgado's second MVP-calibre year in 2003.

"Everybody was asking me for the ball," Henderson said Tuesday, according to the Star-Ledger of Newark. "I said, 'You're not getting this ball. I always wanted to get a foul ball. This one's going on a shelf at home."

This is classic Rickey. Maybe he's cultivating an image, but he seems to genuinely love baseball and what baseball fan hasn't wanted a foul ball. You have to think that if not for the long, HOF career, he'd have caught a lot of foul balls by now.


Hitting coaches are much less influential than thought, IMO. I think the best thing they can do is teach a hitting approach, but the actual hitting of the ball isn't a greatly teachable thing. In this, Rickey should have some good things to say. Still, as in any situation, if a student doesn't want to learn, there isn't much a teacher can do. So, my guess is that Rickey has good info to impart to the Mets players. If they listen to him and want to learn, it should work out.

As for Ricky teaching the power guys - if Delgado lays off the bad pitches, he'll whack a lot of the good pitches out of the park.

Thanks Tsg. I never liked Gaston as a hitting coach- IIRC, his was the "look for your pitch and kill it, or strike out" approach.

Who did Rick Down run over in the parking lot? He worked miracles last year (Chavez, Valentin, LoDuca to some extent). He also has a good record with the other clubs for which he's worked.
Did he shoot Alou in the quads?
This a risky move for a team in first place. Hope it works out.

The White Sox, unexpectantly in the midst of the 1990 pennant race, declined to activate Minnie Minoso for his 6th decade, supposedly due to a player revolt. It's not exactly the same situation, but if the Mets are in a race in September, I could see a player's objection.

The player objection will be led by Julio Franco, not wanting to lose playing time to the young man.

Thanks Tsg. I never liked Gaston as a hitting coach- IIRC, his was the "look for your pitch and kill it, or strike out" approach.

According to one online biography Delgado was "quick to credit" new hitting coach Gaston with his turnaround during the 2000 season after he slumped during the first few weeks. However, who knows how much help Gaston really was? Gaston is a "look for your pitch and hit it" type and doesn't emphasize the walk or working the count like some coaches do. In light of Delgado's specific struggles, maybe he's not the best fit in NY. However, his methods must have got results. I can't believe he would have lasted 7 years as hitting coach (1982-1989) and then been promoted to interim manager if he was completely or even mostly ineffective.

Barnett is also an interesting case as he never played baseball beyond college and worked his way up through the college and then minor league coaching ranks until the Jays gave him a chance in the majors. He was praised a lot during his first year, especially for getting some natural free-swingers to control the strike zone better, but after the disasterous 2004 season and the slow start in 2005 the team basically had to get rid of him. He is currently the hitting coach for the Royals, IIRC.

As much as I love Rickey, I wonder how much good he'll do the power hitters. If the Mets want to school Lo Duca, Milledge and Gomez on pitch reognition, this is the guy. But for Delgado, Green, ect, I wonder if Rickey is the best man for the job.

This might pull the discussion in a different direction, but it would seem to me that pitch recognition is essential for every type of hitter. A hitting coach that stresses patience and pitch recognition is helping both Punch-and-Judy hitters and monster sluggers to identify the pitch(es) they can do something with. At some point, it's up to the player to use his God-given talent with the lessons he's taught (which is why a good number of hitting coaches are fairly interchangable).

As much as I love Rickey, I wonder how much good he'll do the power hitters.

The man does have 297 career homers (so far), despite being a little fella. I suspect he knows a few things about power hitting.

This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey's ready to coach.

Rickey's approach as a player was about shrinking the strike zone, then making pitchers come in to his spot. Part of this was based on their fear of facing him as a basestealer, which made them not want to walk him. He had the reflexes and bat speed to be really successfull at this, which is why I think he was so great a tutor for Reyes (and why I think he'll help Milledge, who has great bat speed as well). When he was on, it worked great for him and was a thing of beauty to watch. But I'm just saying, that was his approach and it may not work for everyone. And he doesn't need to advocate it for everyone; that's not usually what a good hitting coach does. I'm sure (I hope?) the Mets have talked to him about the way he'd coach different guys and have confidence in what he wants to do...

Everybody is focusing on the possibility of Rickey being the hitting coach (justifiably, as that's what the article reports). What if he is the first base coach though? Is there anybody else who you would want standing next to Reyes, Gomez, Beltran or Wright helping them read a pitcher's move?

1. Tony Phillips. Phillips was Rickey's teammate at the beginning of his career and for half a season in 1989. Phillips's offensive performance increased slowly but substantially over the course of his career. He adopted a crouch that in some ways resembled Rickey, and his walk totals and OBP kept increasing and increasing. The problem with assuming that Rickey had anything to do with it is that some of the biggest steps forward that Phillips took occurred around 1985-86 when Rickey was in New York and during 1990-93 when Phillips was in Detroit.

Question: Why isn't Phillips considered a fringe HoF candidate?

Racism

My favorite Rickey story: after his release from the Mets, Henderson ended up in Seattle.

During BP his first night, he came upon John Olerud shagging balls abound the 1B bag.

Rickey: "Yo! I used to play with a dude in New York kept his helmet on all the time too!"

All-time Rickey teammate team:

C - Mike Piazza
1B - Mark McGwire
2B - Roberto Alomar
SS - Alex Rodriguez
3B - Carney Lansford
OF - Manny Ramirez
OF - Dave Winfield
OF - Tony Gwynn
DH - Edgar Martinez

SP - Pedro Martinez
SP - Phil Niekro
SP - Ron Guidry
SP - Orel Hershiser

RP - Dennis Eckersly
RP - Trevor Hoffman
RP - Eric Gagne

(solid team)

Quite a team, Nate. Reminds me of the all-"Managed by Joe McCarthy" team in the Bill James book on managers. Can anyone come up with a better teammate-team than Rickey's? Also, kinda surprised that Lansford is the best 3B Rickey's ever played with - that's the one name that doesn't seem to fit in.

C - Mike Piazza
1B - Mark McGwire
2B - Roberto Alomar
SS - Alex Rodriguez
3B - Carney Lansford
OF - Manny Ramirez
OF - Dave Winfield
OF - Tony Gwynn
DH - Edgar Martinez

Paul Molitor at 3rd? When they were teammates in Toronto Molitor was the DH, but still. And John Olerud should have a spot on this team.

Who did Rick Down run over in the parking lot? He worked miracles last year (Chavez, Valentin, LoDuca to some extent). He also has a good record with the other clubs for which he's worked.
Did he shoot Alou in the quads?
This a risky move for a team in first place. Hope it works out.

How risky can it be? They are in first, yes, but they're 10th in the league in runs (after finishing 3rd a year ago). Even if Rickey doesn't help matters, is there really that much at risk in replacing Down?

This may be the most high-profile thing that happens with the Mets today, but it sure as hell isn't the most important. The return of Lastings Milledge -- and what surely must be the critical phase of his future as a Met -- begins today. How that unfolds will affect the future of the team a heck of a lot more.

Also, kinda surprised that Lansford is the best 3B Rickey's ever played with - that's the one name that doesn't seem to fit in.

Robin Ventura.

Paul Molitor at 3rd? When they were teammates in Toronto Molitor was the DH, but still. And John Olerud should have a spot on this team.

Yeah we'll put Molitor and Edgar in a rotation for 3b and DH and drop Carney off the team

Question: Why isn't Phillips considered a fringe HoF candidate?

Question: Why would you consider Phillips a fringe HoF candidate?

This may be the most high-profile thing that happens with the Mets today, but it sure as hell isn't the most important. The return of Lastings Milledge -- and what surely must be the critical phase of his future as a Met -- begins today.

These seem to be pretty closely related, don't they? I suspect that from the Mets perspective, Rickey's tenure as a coach is going to be judged primarily by how good Lastings Milledge turns out to be. I'm not a Mets fan so maybe I'm way off, but they seem to be a good match - in terms of both personality and also in terms of baseball skill set. I suspect that Rickey will be a good mentor for Milledge, but of course there's no way to know that from where we sit.

Question: Why would you consider Phillips a fringe HoF candidate?

Strong fielder at multiple positions with the largest amount of games at 2B.

Lifetime .374 OBP, 103.5 WARP3

Also, I think he's cool.

OF - Manny Ramirez
OF - Dave Winfield
OF - Tony Gwynn

The roster is good, but you've forgotten the best teammate Rickey ever had - Rickey!

Who did Rick Down run over in the parking lot? He worked miracles last year (Chavez, Valentin, LoDuca to some extent). He also has a good record with the other clubs for which he's worked.

He's also been dismissed by those clubs.

Team OPS+ for each stop Rick Down has had as hitting coach:

-----
Yankees 1993-95

2 years prior .. 094 106
in his tenure .. 112 119 104
2 years after .. 099 109

Notable additions: Paul O'Neill and Wade Boggs for 1993, Darryl Strawberry mid-1995 (and again in mid-1996), Tino Martinez and Tim Raines for 1996, some Jeter kid for 1996.

Notable departures: Don Mattingly after 1995.

-----
Orioles 1996-98

2 years prior .. 098 096
in his tenure .. 107 103 107
2 years after .. 105 100

Notable additions: Bobby Bonilla mid-1995, B.J. Surhoff and Roberto Alomar for 1996, Eddie Murray mid-1996, Eric Davis for 1997, Geronimo Berroa mid-1997, Albert Belle for 1999.

Notable departures: Harold Baines, a bunch of times. Bonilla and Murray after 1996. Davis after 1998.

(Worth noting that 1996 was Brady Anderson's 50-HR season. Team OPS+ was 104 in 1996 without him.)

-----
Dodgers 1999-00

2 years prior .. 108 093
in his tenure .. 101 107
2 years after .. 107 104

Notable additions: Gary Sheffield in May 1998. Shawn Green for 2000. LoDuca, effectively in 2001.

Notable departures: Piazza in May 1998. Raul Mondesi after 1999. Sheffield after 2001.

-----
Red Sox 2001

2 years prior .. 099 092
in his tenure .. 102
2 years after .. 111 118

Notable additions: Carl Everett for 2000. Manny Ramirez for 2001. Johnny Damon for 2002. Ortiz for 2003.

Notable departures: Everett after 2001.

(Varitek & Nomar were injured most of 2001.)

-----
Yankees 2002-03

2 years prior .. 100 102
in his tenure .. 116 117
2 years after .. 114 111

Notable additions: Soriano 2001, Giambi 2002, Matsui 2003, A-Rod and Sheffield 2004, Cano 2005.

Notable departures: Knoblauch and Tino and O'Neill after 2001, Soriano after 2003.

-----
Mets 2004-06.5

2 years prior .. 098 086
in his tenure .. 092 099 108 107

I'm tired of looking at the transactions, but methinks the addition of Wright (2004), Beltran (2005), Delgado (2006), and Alou (2007) have been a significant part of the improvement.

-----

Without fail Down's first year with a team was been a significant improvement over the prior year. But the cause of that is unclear. He has often arrived with some new bats: Boggs/O'Neill in 1993, Alomar/Surhoff in 1996, Ramirez in 2001, Wright in 2004. In his stints with the Dodgers and Mets he may have arrived just after a "down" year. There's enough variation in the year-to-year numbers that it's hard to say how much of the change is due to him and how much is due to random fluctuation.

Similar to the first manager he served under, Buck Showalter, perhaps he's someone who makes a difference early on but whose style tends to annoy players after a while. I don't know; he hasn't had a terribly long tenure anywhere.

Also, kinda surprised that Lansford is the best 3B Rickey's ever played with - that's the one name that doesn't seem to fit in.

rickey played on the 96 padres with mvp 3b ken caminiti.

During BP his first night, he came upon John Olerud shagging balls abound the 1B bag.

Rickey: "Yo! I used to play with a dude in New York kept his helmet on all the time too!"

I thought this story had been debunked as being made up by Robin Ventura? Rickey seems like a current day Yogi; people will make up quotes and attribute them to him. Not that I mind, I think its hilarious.

I think my favorite Rickey story is either the foul ball story already mentioned here, or one where he isn't directly involved. Bill Simmons told a story about how one time he had a radio interview with Kevin Towers about 6 or 7 years ago, when Rickey was on the Padres, and his entire goal in the interview was to ask Towers a question that would lead him to respond "Thats just Rickey being Rickey." Needless to say, it wasn't that difficult to do.

In his stints with the Dodgers and Mets he may have arrived just after a "down" year.

This is probably true of most hitting coaches. Teams having "up" years generally don't fire their hitting coach.

There's enough variation in the year-to-year numbers that it's hard to say how much of the change is due to him and how much is due to random fluctuation.

You'd really need to compare him with other hitting coaches. I suspect there's a general tendency for teams to do better under new hitting coaches, simply because teams that hire new hitting coaches were under-performing when they fired the last guy.

From the quotes above, it looks like Rickey has stopped referring to himself in the 3rd person. Color me disappointed...

Rickey: "Yo! I used to play with a dude in New York kept his helmet on all the time too!"

The version of that story that I heard had them playing cards in the clubhouse when Rickey said that.

He has often arrived with some new bats: Boggs/O'Neill in 1993, Alomar/Surhoff in 1996, Ramirez in 2001, Wright in 2004.

O'Neill's OPS+ in Cincinnati, ages 25-29: 102, 123, 105, 127, 102.
O'Neill's OPS+ in New York, ages 30-34: 134, 177, 138, 122, 138.

Roberto Alomar went from 116 and 108 OPS+ in 1994-95 to 137 and 134 under Down.

Down's record is quite good, IMO.

an anyone come up with a better teammate-team than Rickey's?

Quite a few Yankees of the 30's could probably beat that. Especially if they played elsewhere too. Here's Dixie Walker

C Dickey
1B Gehrig
2B Robinson
SS Appling
3B Vaughan
OF Ruth
OF Snider
OF Kiner

SP Lyons, Pennock, Gomez, Ruffing

Not the greatest pitching staff, however. There's likely a better choice.

Quite a few Yankees of the 30's could probably beat that. Especially if they played elsewhere too. Here's Dixie Walker

Yeah, but then you have to add in Dixie Walker v. Rickey. Doesn't that kind of spoil it for Walker's team?

Oh, and one other benefit to replacing Down with Rickey: one more guy who'll talk to the media so Paul LoDuca won't have to. Rickey may be the first hitting coach in the majors who'll be the beat reporters' go-to guy for quotes after games.

Are you saying, then, Sam, that you believe the replacement of Down by Rickey is a sign of racial tension in the Mets clubhouse?

Okay, let me nominate somebody else for the best teammates-team: Tris Speaker. Just look at that pitching staff!

C Cochrane
1B Foxx
2B Collins
SS Chapman or Sewell
3B Sewell or Dykes
OF Cobb
OF Simmons
OF Ruth

SP Young
SP Johnson
SP Grove
SP Wood
SP Covaleski

The Julio Franco 25-man roster, sticking only to guys whose career numbers are pretty much secure (so leaving out guys like Andruw, the younger Mets, etc.).

C Ivan Rodriguez
1B Raphael Palmeiro
2B Jeff Kent
3B Mike Schmidt
SS Omar Vizquel
DH Frank Thomas
OF Sammy Sosa
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Albert Belle

SP Pedro Martinez
SP Greg Maddux
SP Bert Blyleven
SP Nolan Ryan
SP Steve Carlton

RP Kevin Brown
RP Tom Glavine
RP John Smoltz
RP Norm Charlton
RP Phil Niekro

BENCH
Pete Rose
Jim Thome
Wade Boggs
Eddie Murray
Albert Belle
Gary Sheffield

If we expand to the 40-man, it gets sick. Some guys who didn't make the list (along with Andruw et al mentioned above) - Orel Hershiser, Bartolo Colon, Tim Raines, Juan Gonzalez, Fred McGriff, Jose Canseco, Brett Butler, Charlie Hough, Jamie Moyer, Goose Gossage, Robin Ventura, Kenny Lofton, Dennis Martinez, Ken Caminiti, Chipper, Billy Wagner, Delgado, I'm sure some others that I missed.

Fair enough, he played with a lot of these guys when their careers were on the downswing, but still...

With this:

OF Sammy Sosa
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Albert Belle

I feel bad for that pitching staff.

As of this writing, Julio Franco is the one looking for a new 25 man roster.

I think it's awesome that Albert Belle is both on the bench and in the starting outfield.

If Julio Franco signs on with the Yankees you can get Clemens in that rotation and Jeter or A-Rod at short (although I believe that history will probe that Jose Reyes deserves the spot) and if he signs on with the Giants you can put Bonds in that outfield (and eventually the great Tim Lincecum -- winner of 1 Cy Youngs and 12 Tim Lincecums -- in the rotation). Clearly, this DFA is just about adding to his illustrious list. Could he have the best list of all-time?

What if he is the first base coach though? Is there anybody else who you would want standing next to Reyes, Gomez, Beltran or Wright helping them read a pitcher's move?

I mentioned this to a friend today. Reyes could reach 100 steals this year.

As much as I love Rickey, I wonder how much good he'll do the power hitters

isn't rickey the alltime leader in leadoff homeruns? the guy had a power stroke.

With this:

OF Sammy Sosa
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Albert Belle

I feel bad for that pitching staff.

Yeah, outfield defense is kinda brutal. I suppose with the multiBelles (see below), you could leave Belle1 on the bench and put in Tim Raines. Also, recall that I left Andruw and Beltran off the list - if they can live up to expectations for the rest of their respective careers (ie, normal age-related decline, rather than Beltran's one-year-great-one-year-goodish pattern of the last few years or Andruw's what-foul-hex-has-been-here-wrought pattern of this year), then that turns into a pretty fine defensive outfield.

And anyway, given that that offense would put up about infinity runs per game, a few dying quails dropping in isn't going to kill them.

I think it's awesome that Albert Belle is both on the bench and in the starting outfield.

I hate guys like Albert Belle and Chris Truby who can be in two places at once.

As of this writing, Julio Franco is the one looking for a new 25 man roster.

So a spot's open for Rickey!