A dear friend and fellow Mets Blogger, MetsGrrl.com, is a finalist for “Best Sports Blog” for the 2008 Weblog Awards.
In a show of Mets-related solidarity, please show her some love by voting: http://2008.weblogawards.org/polls/best-sports-blog/
You can vote daily, so help support her! Good luck MetsGrrl!
About half of my New Years day was spent at the “Frozen Confines” of Wrigley Field for the NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. The day started around 9:15 at Murphy’s Bleachers. Around 11, Nik and I made our way into the game. Despite the outcome, it was one of the coolest sporting events I have ever been to. Below are just a few pictures from the game and the surrounding Wrigley area. A bunch more can be found on my Flickr page.
*Again, plenty more pictures at my Flickr
Guest blogger Andrew Kennis writes:
This year’s hot stove period has produced little substance in terms of the Mets’ biggest signing. The Mets would have been better off opting for a closer who has more substance than style. Indeed, there has been a significant amount of criticism of K-Rod, and with good reason:
The fact is, Francisco Rodriguez’s performance this season has not been special for any closer, and it’s been below average for 50-save closers. Even among his peers in 2008, Rodriguez’s run prevention has been ordinary; Rivera, Soria, and Joe Nathan have lower ERAs, RAs, and higher VORP scores. He’s chasing the record not because he’s having a season like Eckersley’s ‘90 or Gagne’s ‘03, one that raises the bar for short relievers, but because his teammates have given him more chances to save a game than all but one pitcher in MLB history has had. If the Angels had Nathan, Soria, or Rivera—pitchers who have a higher save percentage than Rodriguez has posted—they would perhaps have already set the record for saves in a season, and the Angels would have more wins. Quite frankly, earlier versions of Rodriguez would have been more productive as well; this is one of the lesser seasons in his six-year career.
That snippet and critique of K-Rod was taken from a well-written article by Baseball Prospectus writer, Joe Sheehan. Take note of the fact that that critique was written *before* K-Rod’s lackluster playoff performance … something that did not escape recent NY Post coverage, which noted additional concerns:
Omar Minaya would have been able to save a lot of money by going after the closer with the second highest save percentage in the league, Joakim Soria, who incidentally was mentioned in trade possibilities by a Newsday columnist. Soria, who hails from Coahuila, Mexico and has earned the nickname the ‘Mexicutioner,’ was described as having pitched a “near-perfect” season through the All Star Break last year. This impressed the Royals so much that he garnered a new, re-negotiated contract reportedly worth $8.75 million over three years (which actually happened far before the All Star break, after only a quarter of the season had passed last year). This figure still would have made Soria a bargain-basement signing had the Mets landed him. Further, since the Royals sent Soria and no one else to the All Star game last year and landed in a next-to-last-place cellar finish in their (less than impressive) division, they seemingly would have been quite open to a trade for some Met prospects (which the Mets have plenty of, as duly noted) and some possible cash (also something the Mets were obviously not lacking of, in light of the signing itself).
Why Minaya chose to go after style and flair (K-Rod) over actual substance (Soria or another accopmlished, if not famous closer), is a bit puzzling. Hopefully, however, the Mets won’t have to suffer as a result as indeed, few doubt that K-Rod is a quality pitcher. Further, Rodriguez does seem like quite a good fit for New York given his penchant for flair and attention coupled with his intimidating approach on the mound. In light of the concerns just noted, however, the question of whether K-Rod was actually the *best* pitcher the Mets could have bought - dollar-for-dollar - has a painfully clear answer: Minaya did not pull off that shrewd of a move and certainly the tough fans and press in New York will hold K-Rod accountable. Further, it will be interesting to see how the future of a high-profile closer like K-Rod’s matches up (or not) with Soria’s, the still largely unheralded ‘Mexicutioner.’
-Andrew Kennis is a freelance journalist, a PhD student in Political Communication and an adjunct professor. He is a life-long Mets fan who resides in Logan Square, Chicago.
It’s not really much of a field trip since it’s in my neighborhood, but regardless, I ventured to Wrigley on Thursday afternoon to check out the Winter Classic Prep. Here a few pictures I took, but since then there has been a lot more progress made. Again, I cannot wait for this game. I just hope it’s not negative degrees out like it was today.
It’s about that time for some random thoughts…
First up, it’s been a snowy day in Chicago and at 2pm when I headed to work, the three main streets I drive on, all main roadways by the way, had not been touched by plows. Just wonderful. Keep on buying those SUV’s city of Chicago and sacrificing the plowing and salting.
Staying on the snow subject, the truck carrying all the parts for the Winter Classic rink arrived at Wrigley today. I’ve written extensively about the game, so needless to say, as each day passes I get more excited for January 1st:
Since this is a Mets blog, let’s just say I’m happy with the deals the Mets have made. Signing K-Rod, trading for Putz. I like it. Obviously there is still more work to be done - um, anyone got a starter for us? I’m hoping for good things in 2009.
More baseball- Not sure when it launched, but the MLB network now has a website. The studios look like they’ll be pretty cool. They are occupying the old MSNBC studio space. Quite a big change, having seen the MSNBC space in person.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Just enjoying hockey season, looking forward to a few Bowl games and getting ready for opening day 2009!
Members of the media were able to get a tour of Citi Field today. The Daily News’ Adam Rubin posted some pretty nice pictures.
While a tour is highly unlikely for myself, I’m looking forward to the chance of going to the home opener on April 13…which also happens to be my birthday. I learned yesterday that the game is scheduled for night which is quite unusual since as long as I can remember it’s always been an afternoon game. Whether it’s a TV thing or not, who knows. I know that I’m slighly disappointed with that, as Nik and I were hoping to make the game and fly back home to Chicago that night. And now it seems we might have to stay until the next morning. Heck, it’s 4 months away, a lot could happen between then and now.
Here we are, half way through the month of November and the baseball hot stove is heating up. Yay. Great. Woo-hoo. Seriously, tell me when deals are done. I’m not a fan of the rumors, the daily reports and so on. I know the Mets need pitching help and I hope they are smart about who they sign or make deals with. Just tell me when a deal is done.
Next, my hopes for a Mark Cuban owned Cubs team have taken a big hit today with the news that the Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing him of insider trading for allegedly using confidential information on a stock sale to avoid more than $750,000 in losses. Who knows what his defense of this is, but I’m sure this is not going to help his case with the MLB in buying the Cubs. Too bad, because he’d be one reason for me to enjoy the Cubs a bit more than I already do.
And lastly, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my time as a Blackhawks season ticket holder. I have been to 9 out of 11 home games so far and I’m not sick of it yet! Though I’ve seen more overtimes and shootouts than I care for, it certainly has been fun; including my rubbing shoulders with Eddie Olczyk:
What started off as a slow day of work has picked up once I saw this AP wire story:
Baseball great Mike Piazza, a home run slugger and 12-time All Star widely regarded as the best hitting catcher in history, is working on a memoir.
“I look forward to having the chance to take people behind the scenes and to talk about the many great people and characters I’ve played with and for over the course of my career,” Piazza said in a statement issued Tuesday by Simon & Schuster, which plans to release the book in 2010.
Financial terms were not disclosed for the memoir, currently untitled.
Piazza, who retired earlier this year after a career spent mostly with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, had a .308 lifetime batting average, 427 home runs and 1,335 RBIs. Along with his many triumphs, he will also write about such controversies as pitcher Roger Clemens throwing a shattered bat at him during the 2000 World Series between the Mets and New York Yankees, and the 2002 press conference in which he denied rumors he was gay.
“He will also talk about the personalities and players from his days with the Mets, including Bobby Valentine, Pedro Martinez, and Rickey Henderson and many others,” according to Simon & Schuster. “In the book, Piazza will describe how he matured as a ballplayer and a man over the last decade.”
Thank you AP for making my day. I cannot wait for this.
…well only two of them. According to this NY Post article, David Wright and Carlos Delgado were both granted pistol permits and keep them in their apartments! Very interesting, to say the least. I know DW’s dad is a policeman, but I wonder if they’ve had a personal experience or something of the sort to have them pursue gun permits.
Last night was the home opener for the Blackhawks. Before the game, the team held a “Red Carpet Event” for fans to see the team arrive and walk a red carpet into the United Center (The UC). I got there a bit early to ensure a prime viewing location, and I think I succeeded. You can see all the pictures on Flickr, but here are just a few of my favorites from the event:
Jonathan Toews
Patrick Sharp
James Wisniewski
The game itself was alright. The Hawks played the Nashville Predators. The Hawks were down early but came back to tie it up and the game went to a shootout with the Predators getting two goals in for the win. Luckily the Hawks still earned a point for the standings. Most of the game pictures are on Flickr, but here are a few:
