Happy O.P FREE DAY BOYS AND GIRLS !!!
I know right about now you are probably scratching your head and wondering if I have been nipping at the moonshine (again), but for those of you that are not in the loop, today is a special day in the land of Mets INFAMY !
No today isn’t Mo Vaughn’s pet rocks birthday, neither is today the Day David Wright is suppose to be back in the Mets line up.
So do you give up ? Well today is the day that Sandy Alderson made good on his promise to cut the dead wood from the bloated Mets roaster ( as well as the payroll) . His first act of purposeful austerity was to eat the remaining 12 million dollars of Oliver Perez’s contract.
Yes that is correct – today is the one year anniversary of the banishment of Ollie P – hence the name O.P. Free Day ! I admit that I was never a fan of Perez ( I hated the fact that the Mets gave up Xavier Nady for him) and although he pitched well in his first two years with the Mets, you could just tell that the wheels were about to fall off.
And then just before the start of the ’09 season then General Manager, Omar Minaya signed Ollie P to a head scratching contract that hamstrung the Mets for 3 years and 36 million dollars. As we all know the contract was a disaster, and Ollie has since been placed in the Mets Hall of Shame with other disliked (I’m being kind here) players such as George Foster, Kenny Rogers and Tony Fernandez.
That proved to be the end of Ollie in Mets pinstripes, but his MLB career was far from over. Ollie would catch on with the Washington Nationals, assigned to their minor league team, and he has recently been demoted to the Mariners AAA affiliate.
So in this time of low expectations for our team, let us rejoice that Ollie doesn’t reside in Flushing anymore !
And once again I bid you all a Happy O.P FREE DAY !!!
And with that said… HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:
One time Mets Director of Promotions and traveling secretary Arthur Richman would have been 86 today (1926) .
Mets outfielder from the ’67 season, Tommy Davis is 73 (1939). Davis played well in his lone season with the Mets, bating .302 with 16 homers and 73 RBIs. He was traded that off season to the White Sox for future Mets legend, Tommie Agee.
Reserve outfielder from the ’99 season, Shawon Dunston is 49 (1963) .By the time the Brooklyn born Dunston was obtained by the Mets from the St Louis Cardinals , his halcyon days as a premier shortstop were way behind him. But Dunston proved valuable for the Mets down the stretch during the tight playoff race of ’99. In 42 games for the Mets , Dunston batted .344 with 16 R.B.Is in the final month of the season. He struggled in the playoffs though, batting a combined .178 in the postseason.
The New York Mets traded utility infielder, Bill Almon to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league pitching prospects, Shawn Barton and Vladimir Perez on March 21, 1988.
Mo Vaughn is celebrating O.P. Free Day by eating his weight in re-fried beans while downing a cold Corona Light !!!!
56 comments
darknova306
3/21/2012-6:44am at 6:44 am (UTC -4)
In the corner of some dark closet, Ceetar is quietly weeping over the unrealized “potential” of this “young talented lefty that will be a late bloomer” if only the Mets hadn’t mismanaged him.
Let me once again say: I told ya so. Before this contract was even signed I was railing against it. I said from the start it would be a disaster. I cracked open a beer the moment the 2008 season ended in celebration of what I hoped would be Ollie’s swift departure from NYC. Then Omar pulled an Omar, and my dream was shattered.
I loathe Ollie more than Francoeur, Omar, Castillo, Kenny Rogers, and Strasburg combined. A year ago today, the trash was tossed in the dumpster. Long live Sandy!
Ceetar
3/21/2012-9:05am at 9:05 am (UTC -4)
incorrect, but don’t let facts get in the way.
Anyway, I’m not going to wish anyone a happy anniversary on a point of failure. The Mets did not get better 1 year ago today.
trs86
3/21/2012-9:22am at 9:22 am (UTC -4)
Addition by subtraction.
darknova306
3/21/2012-6:47am at 6:47 am (UTC -4)
Point of interest, Rusty: Xavier Nady wasn’t “given up for Ollie”, he was traded for Roberto Hernandez with Ollie coming over as a throw in. And Nady would never have left if Dirty Sanchez hadn’t needed his midnight whores and blow fix – I mean, late night food. You know…
rustyjr
3/21/2012-7:07am at 7:07 am (UTC -4)
Semantics
darknova306
3/21/2012-6:53am at 6:53 am (UTC -4)
That picture… damn. What a dope that fool looks like! What a f*%king clown!
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-8:28am at 8:28 am (UTC -4)
I’ll admit I was one of the few who thought Ollie was going to put it together and be a fine middle of rotation type of starter. I could not have been more wrong. And I was dancing in the streets when SA released him, money be damned.
Stickguy
3/21/2012-9:51am at 9:51 am (UTC -4)
I was right there with Nova (TRS was too). The only sane plan was offer him arbitration, and take the picks when he walked, and go find someone more reliable.
Though to be fair, while I did not want him back, I never expected him to be as bad as he ended up being.
I was in the same boat with Bay. Thought it made a ton more sense to go ST with a platoon of guys with splits until one of the 100s of LF prospects was ready to take over. And I am on record as not wanting him signed, but again, I never expected this big of a debacle.
Ceetar
3/21/2012-10:19am at 10:19 am (UTC -4)
in that case, we would’ve failed anyway. None of the prospects became available. We would’ve been dealing with real crap in LF (well, had we not had the crazy mess of everyone injured) I was okay with Bay, figure we were overpaying for some solid power and consistency, but that that would go a long way towards creating runs. It only really hamstrings us now because of a sinking payroll.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-11:10am at 11:10 am (UTC -4)
Remember you saying that all along, right up front.
When you’re right, you’re right.
Good riddance.
trs86
3/21/2012-10:41am at 10:41 am (UTC -4)
I agree completely on Perez. It made no sense to pay him that amount when we could have paid similar pitchers perhaps slightly less AND collected 2 picks.
As for Bay, yeah if the hole had came open one year later then I don’t think we see a Bay type in LF. The guys we had were just too far away. Still don’t see why they spent it on hitting though with that rotation.
dtmfr
3/21/2012-10:28am at 10:28 am (UTC -4)
Seems like the perfect day to finally leave a comment on here…
I was estatic when Sandy cut O.P. I wasn’t happy when Omar re-signed him, but I still had (blind) faith that he could turn his career around. What made me turn on Ollie was when he declined a demotion to the minors. The Mets had done it before with a couple of pitchers of note: Steve Trachsel and Bobby Jones. Both were more effective when they were recalled to the majors. Ollie refusing to go to the minors showed me that he wasn’t a team player. And if he wasn’t gonna care about improving his game, why should I care about him?
trs86
3/21/2012-10:55am at 10:55 am (UTC -4)
It’s always the perfect day to comment on TRDM!!! Welcome aboard.
saltygary
3/21/2012-3:48pm at 3:48 pm (UTC -4)
dt, you are going to reflect back to this day 10 years from now and understand that this one of the best decisions you have ever made. Welcome.
And yes Ollie was as selfish as selfish come. At this time of the contract I wasn’t too concerned since there wasn’t much in FA but man hindsight can be brutal sometimes.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-3:33pm at 3:33 pm (UTC -4)
Zack Wheeler sprained his ankle walking up the stairs at his apartment, the team says. He’ll miss his next start.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
Stickguy
3/21/2012-3:37pm at 3:37 pm (UTC -4)
of course he did. Why wouldn’t he?
Just make sure they don’t boot him.
saltygary
3/21/2012-3:45pm at 3:45 pm (UTC -4)
Jordany for LF!!! Screw the defense, Torres is fast enough to run over there when needed.
Stickguy
3/21/2012-4:32pm at 4:32 pm (UTC -4)
I had a brain storm. talk about out of the box.
Put Jodany in LF and Torres in RF. Then put Duda in CF. Have the 2 speed guys on the corner cover 45% of the field each. Duda can just cover the dead center.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-5:28pm at 5:28 pm (UTC -4)
hahaha.
I’m actually starting to worry about the defense a bit.
Damn Bay….if his bat would be somewhat serviceable having him in LF is fine. He covers a bit more ground than I was led to believe he could and he doesn’t flub catches.
I think his speed is underrated a bit. He stole second yesterday after he walked which allowed him to score on the next hit, which I thought was an Ike single.
Stickguy
3/21/2012-5:36pm at 5:36 pm (UTC -4)
starting to worry? and for the bat, serviceable I think is too much to ask. I don’t think he is going to be around long.
Anyway, the D overall is not a strength, but it is really only 2B when Murphy is playing that really scares me, with Thole being a close second. Other than that, they will be OK, at least when Torres is playing.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-5:40pm at 5:40 pm (UTC -4)
I think the word is out, if these ST games are any indication.
Run early and often. Thole’s success at throwing out runners is just not that good. Some of that can be put on some of the pitchers – Pelfrey, Francisco for example. They’re not good at holding runners on.
darknova306
3/21/2012-7:25pm at 7:25 pm (UTC -4)
I’ve been saying that for a while. This defense will be ugly. Without Torres the entire outfield defense is a disaster. Murphy is not good, the whole catching situation says “run as often as you like”, and the throwing from Wright is also very not good. Couple the awful defense with a pitching staff that is lousy and pitches to a ton of contact and you have a recipe for disaster. This season will be dreadful.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-8:51pm at 8:51 pm (UTC -4)
I’m a little surprised Joe D over at MMO is advocating trying Valdespin in CF. Actually, so is Terry, if latest reports of him throwing Valdespin’s name out there for CF are rumored to be true.
With Duda playing RF? Two rookies in the OF, playing out of position, with one not really expecting to make the team out of the gate?
Can you say worst OF in the league?
Stickguy
3/21/2012-9:33pm at 9:33 pm (UTC -4)
I think they were looking for someone that could cover a lot of ground. Valdespin was probably far and away the fastest guy!
though with the 40 man issues, just let Lagares have a shot at it. At least he can play the position!
gategem
3/21/2012-7:00pm at 7:00 pm (UTC -4)
I would be amiss if I didn’t mention that today was Johann Sebastian Bach’s 327th birthday. A little clavichord music please.
Mr North Jersey
3/21/2012-7:20pm at 7:20 pm (UTC -4)
Because you asked Gategem.
Hazmet
3/21/2012-7:25pm at 7:25 pm (UTC -4)
Like
Mr North Jersey
3/21/2012-7:28pm at 7:28 pm (UTC -4)
It gets really good at the 2:45 mark.
Hazmet
3/21/2012-7:23pm at 7:23 pm (UTC -4)
Heard on MLB Network:
When asked about what players teams should worry about the one commentator stated Carlos Beltran. Shoulder problems at the moment.
Good luck Carlos, still a fan.
Oh, they also just laughed about a tweet stating the Mets are way overlooked. I wish I could contradict their reaction…let’s get to real games already and get this over with one way or the other.
darknova306
3/21/2012-7:29pm at 7:29 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, it’s becoming the cool thing to say the Mets will “surprise some people” and “are overlooked” and so forth. To rational people, the team is not good. That’s all that needs to be said.
Hazmet
3/21/2012-7:44pm at 7:44 pm (UTC -4)
So true, I’m just looking forward to seeing more homegrown talent for better or worse whether it be Valdespin, Capt. Kirk, Havens at some point and leading to Harvey later in the season. If we can linger around .500 for a few months and start breaking in more kids before settling into whatever the final record will be I’m good with that for another transition season. Anything above that is gravy, and if we can cause some periodic angst for division rivals all the better.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-9:21pm at 9:21 pm (UTC -4)
Bored this evening. Can’t wait for the regular season to begin.
Doing some reading. Beerleaguer has a post up with a poll asking Philly fans who they consider their biggest threat in the NL east this year. The 3 teams listed are:
Braves
Nats
Marlins
Not even an honorable mention for our current hapless Mets.
No respect – LOL.
Stickguy
3/21/2012-9:35pm at 9:35 pm (UTC -4)
I hate the phillies and their fans.
Can’t wait to get out of Jersey and move in with Real in a couple of years (well, elsewhere in NC, but close enough). Or maybe SC. Somewhere south!
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-8:52pm at 8:52 pm (UTC -4)
Loved Carlos when he was here but he’s just not a full time player anymore.
Stickguy
3/21/2012-9:40pm at 9:40 pm (UTC -4)
it was time to move on. Not part of a rebuilding phase for sure.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-8:57pm at 8:57 pm (UTC -4)
Well…..
reading the shoutbox over there, two disgruntled regulars are blaming some of us over here on TRDM for running the blog. We’re all just clowns who don’t know a think about baseball and only get knowledge from ‘books’. Among some other less than complimentary jabs.
Too bad this is a Yankee blog. This would be right up their alley. Maybe they should get together and start one revolving around the Mets. Instead of Wins Method, it could be Eyes Method. They could rail to their hearts content about sabermetrics.
http://winmethod.blogspot.com/
Stickguy
3/21/2012-9:39pm at 9:39 pm (UTC -4)
saw that. I had to go see what Real could possibly have said. It made perfect sense, and was accurate.
so of course, they ran amok with it, as if he was saying something sacrilegious.
those guys are a panic. They “know” what is the only right answer, and if you say anything counter to that, you get bashed. Even though in this case Real was not advocating punting D at 2B, merely pointing out the reality of what teams are doing!
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-9:53pm at 9:53 pm (UTC -4)
I wasn’t a regular reader at MMO until sometime this past year.
Makes me wonder what kind of posts and/or debates they used to have, if we all ‘ruined’ it for them.
I’m thinking the handful of Sandy and sabermetrics haters kind of bullied anyone who had a difference of opinion.
I was serious when I said those handful of haters should just start their own blog. They could go on all they want about ‘real’ baseball and just ban anyone who didn’t agree. They’d be so much happier b/c honestly, they are some angry Met fans.
TRS86
3/21/2012-10:11pm at 10:11 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, I ran away too quickly. I am amazed by the disrespect shown and general tough guy on the blog tactics that some of them use.
As to 4D’s point. I think the shout box is already their loser blog. No one but the losers comments in there.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-10:18pm at 10:18 pm (UTC -4)
I have a theory on that.
They’re always putting down AA, metsblog and now this blog, among others. IMO, MMO is probably the only blog that’s willing to tolerate the personal attacks and name calling by a couple of those posters over there. Most other blogs would have just permanently banned them and been done with it.
I believe in second chances so I can see the temporary bans that apparently took place. But a couple of them didn’t learn. They just cannot seem to help themselves. It has slowed down though to some extent as they seem to amuse themselves in the shoutbox when they really want to go off on a rant. I stay away from that all together.
Can’t wait for the regular season to start.
Stickguy
3/21/2012-10:22pm at 10:22 pm (UTC -4)
some of them violated the posting policy so frequently and grievously without repercussions that I don’t even know why they bother having one.
funny thing to me though, I actually agree with some of the concepts they spout off about. In a small way, but they manage to take it way to far and make absurd leaps of logic.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-10:29pm at 10:29 pm (UTC -4)
One I can’t abide by at all – guess who?
I totally ignore his posts unless he comes after me.
The other two bring something to the table.
But one rarely checks his facts before he posts and the other is like a dog with a bone – he just won’t let anything go.
TRS86
3/21/2012-10:33pm at 10:33 pm (UTC -4)
Very true, thing is we have such a great loyal reader section here that if anyone tried it they would be ran off even before we had to ban them. There there’s too many Bert’s to have found their Ernie’s.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-10:38pm at 10:38 pm (UTC -4)
Most of the good blogs I peruse, the ‘regulars’ do self police their own like here and AA.
Over at MLBTR, they must pay moderators. Nothing gets by those guys. I must see ‘comment removed’ at least a couple of times in every post’s comment section. And if it’s questionable, it’s removed fairly quickly.
TRS86
3/21/2012-10:41pm at 10:41 pm (UTC -4)
They changed their’s recently after some issues and then did it again when it still wasn’t what they wanted. You think Metsblog is big business, you should look at MLBTR’s. They are a million dollar company. They have to protect their investment.
TRS86
3/21/2012-10:28pm at 10:28 pm (UTC -4)
Yup, I like Joe but as he said today it’s great for business to have those types of discussions. The only thing is the shoutbox for the ignorants actually drives down his hits.
But hey it’s called a shoutbox for a reason.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-10:34pm at 10:34 pm (UTC -4)
If that were my blog, I’d at least take that shoutbox off the home page. At least some of that rhetoric (and I’m being kind) some of them are spouting wouldn’t be immediately visible to anyone signing onto the blog.
TRS86
3/21/2012-10:42pm at 10:42 pm (UTC -4)
Exactly and will cause some to stay away because of fear. Remember that 90% of those reading during the day are reading at work on a work computer. Anyone want their boss seeing that garbage?
Stickguy
3/21/2012-10:18pm at 10:18 pm (UTC -4)
I actually posted on that box when I first discovered the site (last year maybe?) but after some nasty experience with the “regulars” I won’t ever go back. And I think Joe did put it back up to keep them mostly out of the threads!
That Agee dude seems to pop in there too, but I would bet that is purely to get the “core” all riled up (kicking the bears).
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-10:32pm at 10:32 pm (UTC -4)
I spent some time there too winter of 2011 but gave up after a bit. It was like a grade school playground in there.
Agree about tagee. One thing about most of his posts though: he does his research and his facts are accurate. His opinions are well thought out and stated – whether I agree with them all or not.
TRS86
3/21/2012-10:34pm at 10:34 pm (UTC -4)
Hey do you two have time to pop in the dugout? NJ is working on a new theme and I wanted your opinions without actually posting the site.
MetsFan4Decades
3/21/2012-10:39pm at 10:39 pm (UTC -4)
Sure. I’ll go there now.
Mr North Jersey
3/21/2012-11:10pm at 11:10 pm (UTC -4)
LoL I see 4D got a peek behind the curtain.
What are your thoughts 4D?
TRS86
3/21/2012-11:25pm at 11:25 pm (UTC -4)
Special membership perks. Speaking for her but she liked it.
MetsFan4Decades
3/22/2012-7:05am at 7:05 am (UTC -4)
I like it.
Much faster load for me then the current is at times.
Theme is pleasing to the eyes. I like the touch of the 8 Kid patch on the home page.
Love the format for comments.
Has all the features I regularly use here: recent post, recent comments, sportspyder, twitter feed, link to MLBTR and current standings — although can’t wait until the season starts and we’re not staring at 25 games out.
Stickguy
3/22/2012-7:33am at 7:33 am (UTC -4)
I popped in but Ceetar told me the keg was kicked and I missed the party.
but sounds exciting.
I don’t care as much for the current iteration of the spyder crawl. Can’t see too many items back.