[Pun]

Since I posted the Family Guy clip about the Mets, I figured I would return the favor for Solly and Dev. Skip to the 8:45 mark.

[Outback Frito Pendejo]

Jul 15, 2009 17:49:01 GMT -5 Lucky said:

This is actually really simple. He signed a major league contract for guaranteed cash and a roster spot. He needs some tune up starts in the minors. You can't put him in the minors without dealing with waivers or giving him a minor league deal. If you put him on the DL it meets the requirements of his contract keeping him happy, allows you to send him on rehab starts, and probably doesn't change your timeline at all as he probably was going to need a couple of weeks. Its nothing.

These aren't the droids you're looking for....Move along.




Wake me up when the Sox trade Lugo and Penny for David Wright.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

Jul 16, 2009 23:04:24 GMT -5 Outback Frito Pendejo said:

Wake me up when the Sox trade Lugo and Penny for David Wright.

Don't be silly, you know Omar isn't authorized to take on that kind of salary.

[Pun]

In the "Well, It Can't Hurt" Department:

WASHINGTON -- The Cubs signed pitcher B.J. Ryan to a Minor League contract on Thursday in hopes that the left-hander can help the team out of the bullpen later this season.

Ryan was 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA in 25 games with the Toronto Blue Jays before he was released on July 8. The Jays owe the left-hander $15 million, and the Cubs will be obligated to pay him a prorated share of the Major League minimum if he makes the team.

Ryan will report to the Cubs' Minor League facility in Mesa, Ariz., on Sunday and work with pitching coordinator Mark Riggins. When he's ready, he will join Triple-A Iowa, but there's no timetable.

"He's not ready [now]," assistant general manager Randy Bush said. "What's great is that he wants to do it the right way. He wants to go to Mesa, get work on his delivery. He wants to get himself back to feeling good about where he's at and how he's delivering the ball. When he's ready to go and feels sharp, that's when he wants to go to Iowa."

The Cubs have one lefty in the bullpen, in Sean Marshall, and no one available. Neal Cotts was on the Opening Day roster but underwent Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his left elbow.

"We feel there's a whole lot of upside for us," Bush said. "It should be a thing that can work well for both sides. He can go about getting himself ready at the right pace."

Ryan told the Cubs that he felt inconsistent work had contributed to his struggles this season. In 2004, Ryan struck out 122 in 87 innings for Baltimore.

"If he pitches anywhere near how he pitched with the Orioles and Toronto, he'll help us," manager Lou Piniella said. "But I think that's down the road just a little bit."

I'm not expecting anything from this signing, but seeing as how it only cost the Cubs less than $200,000, you might as well at least see if he can regain any kind of form. If he does, he would be a pretty good LOOGY. If I remember correctly, he still had pretty good numbers against lefties, even in his bad years.

[Tommy]

www.weei.com/sports/boston/this-just-in/212834/source-lugo-designated-assignment

[blink]
LUGO DFA'D![/blink]

I don't know if this means Lowrie's close or not; But Lugo gone is a very good thing.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

And the sad thing is Omar should be all over that.

[Pun]

Cubs adding another coach.

Konichiwa

The Cubs will add another coach on Monday in Philadelphia. Kyosuke Sasaki, who was Kosuke Fukudome's hitting coach in Japan and who worked with the Cubs outfielder this offseason, will join the team there. Sasaki was in Chicago earlier this year, and has been getting updates on Fukudome as the season has progressed. Lou Piniella said Saturday night that Sasaki would be in uniform for the start of the three-game series vs. the Phillies.

"We're going to put him in uniform and let him observe and if need be, he can work with Fukudome all he wants," Piniella said. "He's got our blessing."

Sasaki will then fly to Chicago with the Cubs after Wednesday's game.

-- Carrie Muskat

Fukudome had actually started producing again after being moved to the leadoff spot. But, hey, anything else they think might help him improve even more, I'm all for it.

[Eric O'Mac]

Just to let all of you guys know, I met Jack McKeon Friday night while working in the press box at the Wilson Tobs game. McKeon coached the Tobs in 1960 and 1961 and Friday was "Jack McKeon Bobblehead night." I didn't get a bobblehead, but he came up to do a radio interview with your play by play guy, Dan Hasty, and he sat right next o me for about 45 minutes. The game was rained out, and I could have left anytime around 8, but I sat in the press box listening to his stories about being general manager and manager at the same time, calling up Cabrera and Willis in 2003, and why he likes the National League over the American League. Definitely a fantastic experience - and damn, that World Series ring is big!

[Pun]

Holy shit! The Cubs suck, but at least our minor leagues aren't imploding, too.

A New York Mets executive recently challenged one of club's minor league teams to a fight during a postgame clubhouse tirade, the New York Daily News reported, citing multiple sources with ties to the team.

Tony Bernazard, the team's vice president for player development, pulled off his shirt and challenged the Double-A Binghamton Mets in the tirade, about 10 days before the All-Star break. He in particular targeted middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, according to the report.

Binghamton had gone 1-6 during an early July homestand that coincided with the outburst, losing three of those games by at least seven runs. The team was 37-58 and in last place in the Eastern League Northern Division entering Wednesday's scheduled games.

Allegations of underage drinking on the team were apparently another motivation for Bernazard's tirade, an organization source said, according to the report.

"It's ridiculous that anyone in a professional baseball environment thinks it's acceptable," a friend of several players said, according to the report.

Mets GM Omar Minaya said Bernazard spoke to the minor-league team in a "stern voice," but said he had no knowledge of the particulars.

"I know he did have a team meeting with them," Minaya said, according to the Daily News. "It was not a 'you-guys-have-been-great meeting.' I know he spoke to them in a stern voice. But as far as what he was wearing, what kind of shoes he was wearing, I don't know anything about that."

It's the second report in two days of startling behavior by Bernazard, 52, who has been fingered in the media as a key influence behind the firings of manager Willie Randolph and pitching coach Rick Peterson last season.

Tuesday, the Daily News reported that at a recent game at Citi Field, Bernazard, who wanted a seat behind home plate that was occupied by an Arizona Diamondbacks scout, unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against a subordinate who suggested the wait until the half-inning was over to take the seat.

It has not been a good season on the field for the Mets' top farm teams. The Mets' top affiliate, the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, were an International League-worst 34-58 entering Wednesday's games.

[Mikey]

Needs more Willie.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

This is why there needs to be a regime change from top to bottom. Fire the GM, his staff, the manager, HIS staff, the scouts, everybody.

Bernazard is also the guy who undermined Willie by basically telling the players they didn’t have to listen to him. He's also the same guy who arrogantly thought Delgado would sign with the Mets because they both spoke Spanish. What a joke.

[Mikey]

Red Sox call up Adam LaRoche from AAA Pittsburgh.

[Jack Quinn]

you know, I don't really know how good LaRoche or Nate McLouth or Nyjer Morgan or Sean Burnett are, or if getting Milledge or Hanrahan in return is worth it, but when you add the trades to the evidently lowball offers to Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, this really seems like a team with no clue whatsoever as to what its doing.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

LaRoche is in his walk year - seems like a decent trade

Wouldn't you rather lowball someone like Wilson or Sanchez? It's either that or you overpay for a bum like OP.

[Jack Quinn]

well those offers, from what I have read - take that for what its worth, were intentional lowball offers. The Pirates knew (or at least really hoped) that Wilson and Sanchez would reject them so they could say to the fans "see? We tried!" as they trade both players.

Now, maybe there is no truth to that at all, maybe they were fair offers and both guys want a bigger payday, I have no idea. But I know this, it must be really hard being a Pirates fan right about now. They do still have fans, right?

[Mikey]

All I know is that when Pittsburgh is finally done stockpiling every prospect in the entire minor league system in 2042 and they finally decide to put them out on a major league field together (as opposed to trading them, because everyone else's system's will have been completely depleted) the Pirates are going to go 162-0.

[Mikey]

Jul 22, 2009 13:08:30 GMT -5 Jack Quinn said:

But I know this, it must be really hard being a Pirates fan right about now. They do still have fans, right?

My poor, poor father is the last one, I'm guessing.

[Lucky]

Why in Gods name would anyone NOT lowball Jack Wilson?

[Jack Quinn]

cause you're the Pirates and you have nothing else?

[Lucky]

I rather have a scrub making the league minimum than a scrub making money because you made the mistake of putting him in commercials 6 years ago when you thought he might be good.

Honestly, I'm not really prepared to stick up for the Pirates because they ARE a bad organization as best as I can figure. But it sounds to me like you're just criticizing them for not signing bad talent or getting more for not very good talents in trades. The team isn't talented. That's their problem. The guys they're trading away and "lowballing" aren't that talented either. No one's going to go crazy over their return on Adam Laroche... but then again no one's going to crazy over Adam Laroche.

They'd be a much WORSE organization if they overpaid and overvalued crappy and mediocre talent solely because they didn't have better. And for the record, they DO have better in some spots. Lets not ignore that McCutchen has outperformed McLouth since the trade.

[Jack Quinn]

Boston trades Lugo to the Cardinals for Chris Duncan. Damn, Lugo was supposed to go to the Mets and help them suck.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

They don't need Lugo for that.

The Mets are 10–36 once trailing 1–0 and 4–35 when trailing at the end of the sixth inning... but at least the Wilpons got a nice new stadium out of this.

[Lucky]

The thing is... is there really any number of clearly bad decisions or not made decisions that we can look back on and say "THIS IS HOW OMAR/WILPON FUCKED THINGS UP AND _____ WOULD HAVE DONE BETTER?!" This is the same team that a few years ago people thought was one of the best in baseball. They have 2 of the most talented young stars in baseball. They signed a MVP candidate who has performed great and the best pitcher in baseball who has performed great. Sure we can point at things like Luis Castillo as clear mistakes but when it comes right down to it isn't the problem with the Mets rashes of unpredictable injuries, impossible to imagine runs of losses at inopportune times, and a general lack of chemistry or whatever that no one can see coming down the pipe? Orlando Hudson wouldn't have put the Mets much closer to 1st place or anything.

It just strikes me that for as big a hole as the Mets seem to be in I really don't see anything to point to and say "THAT's where things started to go wrong" or "THAT's what could have been done different." Replace Omar with Billy Beane and Wilpon with Steinbrennar and I'm not sure how things play out that much different.

[Jack Quinn]

The injuries hurt for sure, pretty much any team would be crippled when three of your best players go down. I think what is most telling is that it doesn't appear that the Mets have done anything to try and fill those holes. And I don't mean going out and making huge deals and burning up the farm when you have guys eventually coming back, but smaller deals that could give you SOMETHING to trot out there other than that AAA lineup they are running out there now. I mean Hinske would be starting for the Mets right now, and would probably be an upgrade over SOMEONE getting regular playing time right now.

I know injuries are a part of it, but the Mets seemed real quick to write the season off last month, content to say "well we are not going to trade for anyone when we have three guys coming back sometime in August." Much like the Pirates, I can see how this would be frustrating for a Mets fan

[Lucky]

But small parts don't change anything and if anything that's the thing Omar's clearly been good at and the Mets have had success with. Grabbing little role players and getting a ton of production out of them. Then they linger too long in the spotlight and they wilt. Because role players are good for a near complete team but it takes bigger parts to really change the direction of a team. And the Mets HAD that team constructed for the most part... they just didn't stay healthy. Or they were healthy but they just come up short in that big spot. Its not really something the front office can predict, control, or be blamed for. I don't think so, anyway.

Which isn't to say the Mets were a perfect team that just were struck down by Dame Fortune. But ultimately while I understand the basic instinct of "blow it up" and "damn Omar/Wilpons" I really don't see any true reasons to say these things when you sit down and think about it rationally. Because short of some kind of crazy notion like signing a 2nd $20M SP I'm not sure what could have changed the Mets' fortunes.