IntenseDebate - VCarver

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - News: Tatis to Start a... · 1 reply · +1 points

WTF? They need to keep playing Church until he slumps. He's the best glove to play RF at Citi too. He doesn't need a rest. I don't believe Manuel would have done this on his own. He must have been given orders from Omar to play Sheff more. Stupid. Sheff already got two starts this week. That's enough. He is not the Sheff of old. He's not going to hit his weight over the long run this year.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Pepsi Refresh Pre-Game... · 1 reply · +2 points

You're right, tmu. Chase Utley he is not. He is slightly better than Utley. At least from an offensive standpoint. Wright for his career has a higher OPS, higher OPS+ and slightly better numbers with RISP. Utley is an overall better defensive player however.

One thing to note is that Utley has played almost his entire career in a bandbox and that he is also 4 years older than Wright.

Right now, I give the edge to Wright.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Links: Willie, Citi, Y... · 0 replies · +1 points

"Since Ruth, the Yankees always have been, and always will be the Broadway feature with the marquee names."

"In the end, the suffering makes the success that much more meaningful. And it’s something Yankees fans will never experience, much less understand."

"it would be poor to dismiss the weight of their history and success. "

Toby, I actually agree with most of what you said in your original column and here, but it's statements such as the ones above that are so annoying and which I feel are false. They seem to be accepting of second class citizenry for the mets, no matter what you say.

In the 80's, it was the Mets who were the "Broadway feature" with the marquee names. Not the Yankees. And you yourself admit to some of the dismal periods for the Yankees in the 60s, 80s, and now. So how can you say Yankee fans will never know failure? If they consider 2004-2008 success then they are delusional.

Finally, the "weight of their history and success" means nothing in the face of a losing record or finishing in third place. I also think that their "history and success" pales in comparison to the weight of their history of spending $$$ and PEDs usage in terms of the reasons for any recent success.

Bottom line, I can't buy into this history is destiny thing.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Links: Willie, Citi, Y... · 2 replies · +1 points

Mets fans do seem to be a little more appreciative of the little intricacies of baseball -- and not just the goal of a WS title -- though you might not know that if you read all the posts from the mannyacs(c) this past winter.

As for this second-class-woe-is-Mets attitude, it's strongly entrenched in some Mets fans such as Benigno, and it's sickening to me.

And in terms of failure, it all depends how you define "fail" but in the 60s and late 80s/early 90s, the Yankees had consecutive years of below .500 seasons and were considered second class to the Mets. Maybe, Toby, you are too young to know this. In more recent years since 2004, there is only one NY team that's gotten as far as a league championship series, and that is the Mets. For all the money the Yankees have spent recently, they've been a failure. And I don't think in this era of PEDs testing that trend will change anytime soon.

Sorry, but I just hate the type of talk that paints the Mets as second class citizens. It doesn't have to be that way -- money or no money. Since 2004, the Yankees have been second class to the Red Sox, yet Boston spends as little as the Mets.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Links: Willie, Citi, Y... · 0 replies · +1 points

But I do agree that the new Yankee Stadium looks like a mausoleum and I said the same thing yesterday! The over-abundance of OF billboards and signage also makes YS look like a chintzy Vegas strip on the inside.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Links: Willie, Citi, Y... · 4 replies · +1 points

Maybe I just read it wrong, but I hated Toby's Mets-are-second-class-citizens-and-always-will-be approach. It's like Joe Benigno's tired lame woe-is-Mets spiel he gives all the time.

Suffering is NOT the Mets fans' destiny and in case Mets fans have forgotten, the Yankees were failures during many periods over the last 40 years and haven't won squat since 2000. Moreover, when they were successful over the last 15 years, it appears PEDs played a big role in their success, and that's nothing to be proud of.

Toby says that Yankee fans will never understand suffering but if that franchise simply continues on the track it's been on the last 4-5 years, that's all they will know.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Live: Blogging from Ci... · 1 reply · +1 points

rusty, sabermetrics has immense value in the game today, and franchises like St. Louis and the Red Sox have made heavy use of it in recent years. Is that why they've won 3 of the last 5 WS titles? I think it has something to do with it.

That doesn't mean that those clubs don't also rely on traditional scouting and instincts. They do both. I think if a team totally neglects stats, then they are doomed to failure. And if they totally ignore intangibles, they will also not attain success. You need both.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Live: Blogging from Ci... · 0 replies · +1 points

Each player has his own independent UZR but since fangraph's UZR incorporates errors, then an infielder's UZR is in small part dependent on the subjective opinion of the scorer and the performance of his teammates.

You bring up a good point about Castillo. I think it's entirely possible that his poor defensive play last year might have contributed to a few extra errors for Jose.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Live: Blogging from Ci... · 3 replies · +1 points

Some might be interested to know that so far this year Murphy is fielding above average as well. Yes, small sample size, but it's a good sign. His range is pretty good. He has a strong arm.

Give him time. He will prove to be a totally adequate left fielder defensively in the long run. Likely never as good as Church, but adequate.

17 years ago @ MetsBlog.com - Live: Blogging from Ci... · 0 replies · +1 points

Fangraph's UZR does factor in errors, unlike other ZR rating systems.

So, IMO it's fair to call him a slightly above average left fielder.

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