Coco vs Johnny

Andy Park over at Round Ten Sports has a great article comparing my wife's ex-boyfriend Johnny Damon to Coco Crisp.

Once again, the Yankees overpay for an aging star (e.g., Giambi, Brown, etc.) and his past performance, when it has become clear that there existed better value for centerfielders in the marketplace. Whether the Yankees could have come up with a package to trade for Crisp is another story, but they could have at least tried.

Finally, there is a hidden bonus to Boston’s acquisition of Crisp. While Damon moves from hitter-friendly Fenway to the less-friendly Yankee Stadium, Crisp will move to Fenway, which is one of the best hitter’s parks. Breaking down Crisp’s home/away splits last year, I see major potential for Crisp in his new home park.


The difference is significant. For whatever reason, Crisp did not enjoy playing at Jacobs....

That all said, Crisp probably won’t be as good as Damon in the 2006 season, but by 2007, Crisp will be the better player. And he will be cheaper. A lot cheaper. Crisp will make Boston fans forget about their long-haired idiot center fielder.

I agree with all but the statement saying Crisp probably won't be as good as Damon in 2006. Why is that? Coco was just as good, if not slightly better, than Damon in 2005! I am confident my wife will soon have a new man. She is going to go cuckoo for Coco Crisp.

"Remember When" – Subway Series 2000

It’s time to introduce a new feature to the site where we will look back at what we were thinking during some of the big moments in Mets history…all 3 of them! Of course, I jest. The Mets have had countless big moments…unfortunately many of them just have unhappy endings, including this first moment we will look back on.

So, for our first “Remember When” entry, let’s look back at October 2000. For this one, let’s take a look at some old saved emails so we can witness how a Met fan deals with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. (Thank you Mr. Sussman for this idea).

Let me first introduce our friend Matt. I am confident you will see quite a few references to him on this blog over time. Anyway, my friend Matt and I were lucky to witness the Mets clinch the NL pennant at Shea Stadium. As soon as I got home, I quickly had to start reading the coverage (Matt and I get more enjoyment from “reading the articles” than from the games themselves). I sent this to Matt when I got home:

(Note: I have made no edits to any of these emails, other than omitting some non-baseball stuff)

From: Doug
Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 1:00 AM
To: Mathew
Subject: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT???????????????

I have to admit, after reading this stuff, a subway series would be so much fun. What a week it would be! I hope you watched sportscenter when you got home. Lots of great interviews, especially one with Leiter. You gotta love him. I swear I get chills reading our articles. My personal favorite (very chillworthy): http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/17/sports/17METS.html

The headline itself is chiller.

Ah, notice the excitement and satisfaction in my voice! A day later, the Yankees finished off Seattle and we had a subway series! Optimism was running high…

From: Doug
Date: Thursday, October 19, 2000 8:55 PM
To: Mathew
Subject: best news yet!

From a yahoo article:

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Baseball has talked with Billy Joel about signing the national anthem before Saturday's World Series opener.

I think Game 1 (the “Run Timo Run!” game) must have been too painful, as I don’t have any noteworthy emails after that one. I remember watching the game with my father and brother, both Yankee fans (which I will discuss in a future post), and it was definitely one of the more painful moments of my life. Game 2 was no less painful…

From: Doug
Date: Monday, October 23, 2000 12:05 AM
To: Mathew
Subject: fascinating

I am watching the postgame report and Al Trautwig and Michael Kay are defending Clemens like crazy and Howie Rose and Keith Hernandez are all over him. To me...I watched it 100 times by now and I ADMIT I am biased, but I really am trying to be objective and I SWEAR it is SO obvious to me. He was looking RIGHT AT HIM! Ridiculous. He threw it at him. But it is fascinating how the Met reporters are on the Met side and vice versa.

From: Doug
Date: Monday, October 23, 2000 6:54 AM
To: Dad; Mathew
Subject: from espn.com (Jayson Stark)

"Freedom of thought is what makes America great. So feel free to believe Clemens' explanation for firing a jagged piece of bat at a hitter who has openly professed to dislike him.

Feel free to believe that he was so emotional that he didn't know he'd just broken Mike Piazza's bat in 16 billion pieces and therefore was unable to distinguish a baseball from a flying piece of ash.

And while you're at it, feel free to believe that Ed McMahon is dying to come to your house and give you a million dollars, too, even if you don't subscribe to "Modern Computing and Home Decorating."

From: Doug
Date: Monday, October 23, 2000 11:30 PM
To: Dad
Subject: to be fair

Bob Murphy didn't think he was aiming for Piazza. But he is senile.

To this day, I am still dumbfounded by anyone who actually believes Clemens didn’t purposely throw the bat at Piazza. But enough about that. After winning Game 3, the Mets still had life and I sent this before the critical Game 4:

From: Doug
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2000 11:40 AM
To: Alan; Mathew
Subject: Guys…

"We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!"

Game Four
Tonight.

Game Four final score: Yankees 3, Mets 2. Al then replies to my note:

From: Alan
Date: Thursday, October 26, 2000 1:54 AM
To: Doug, Mathew
Subject: Re: Guys…

"If we lose another one-run game, I am no longer a Met fan"
-Anonymous heartbroken Met fan

Baseball trivia

"That's my only goal," Delgado said. "I just want to have a chance to go to the postseason, hopefully go to the World Series and win the World Series. Almost 11 1/2 years and I never had a playoff game under my belt. It would be nice."

I just read that according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Carlos Delgado ranks second among current players in most games played (1,567) without having been in a playoff game. Hopefully we can change that this year. But guess who is first. Think about it, and when you give up, click here for your answer.

Quote of the Week

Aaron Gleeman posts an excellent review of a new bookabout Bill James by Scott Gray which has already been added to my Amazon shopping cart. There are so many reasons to admire Bill James, but mostly I respect him for calling out BS when he sees it.

Today, Al and I are starting a new feature of the blog..."Quote of the Week." Each week we will present one of our favorite baseball-related quotes, whether old or new, for your enjoyment. To kick things off, I'll provide two this week, one from Bill James and one from a writer on Baseball Prospectus, a site that wouldn't exist if it weren't for Bill James. Both of these quotes summarize my beliefs when it comes to baseball and knowledge in general, and frequent readers will find it to be a recurring theme on Baseball For Thought:

“If you care to think about it at all you have to realize, as soon as you acquire a taste for independent thought, that a great portion of the sport's traditional knowledge is ridiculous hokum.” - Bill James, as quoted in Moneyball

“I'm skeptical of any conclusion until it's proven to be so. I have a very healthy distrust of other people's opinions.” - Dr. Rany Jazayerli, Baseball Prospectus

40 days until Opening Day!

Forget the upcoming WBC, now we know that baseball is officially almost back! Why? ESPN has released its first "MLB Power Rankings" for 2006! No major surprises, with the White Sox leading the pack and the depleted Marlins bringing up the rear. Our overrated Mets come in 6th. (Readers who will visit this blog often will quickly discover that Al is the much more optimistic fan...I'm the realist). Not that ESPN's opinion matters, but what I am most pleased about is my other team placing 2nd, and getting the respect it deserves. Which GM has had the best offseason? The best GM in baseball, of course:

#2:
Add Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley to the lineup and add Esteban Loaiza to an already deep rotation and what do you have? A title contender.

Let's go A's!!!

Last Hurrah?

According to USA Today, Barry Bonds told the paper that he will be done after this upcoming 2006 season.

"I'm not playing baseball anymore after this. The game (isn't) fun anymore. I'm tired of all of the crap going on. I want to play this year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget about me."

Ok Barry, whatever you say. I don't think anyone is going to forget about you though. It looks like Bonds' plan is to surpass Ruth and let Aaron hold on to the HR crown. No matter what your opinion of Bonds and the steroids story, I hope you still manage to appreciate his greatness. His B-Ref page has more bolding and highlights than a pre-med's textbook. And imagine what his numbers would look like if he didn't become a walking machine in his later years. To help put his major league walks record into perspective, just think that he has more walks than Hall of Famers Joe Dimaggio, Willie Stargell, Johnny Mize, Duke Snider, Harmon Killebrew or Willie McCovey had hits! Amazing. So, if this is indeed his last season, enjoy every moment...we may never again see a player dominate a sport like he did.