anonymous
Mar 29, 2008 May 31, 2012 47 6869
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Harmon Killebrew, RIP
by anonymous on May 17, 2011 3:52 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
Senators/Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, the prototype of the pure power hitter, has died, and there are a number of great memorial posts around the baseball Web, including several at SBNation. As always, Joe Posnanski provides one of the best:
Naturally, the reporters began to call him Killer. The nickname, in many ways,was an absurdity. "Killer" fit Killebrew the way "Jazz" fits Utah or "responsible" fits government. He was so quiet and gentle that, when one reporter asked him if he had any hobbies Killebrew said, without apparent irony, that he liked washing dishes at home. He had married his high school sweetheart, and they were raising a family, and there was just nothing violent about his nature. As Barbara Heilman wrote in Sports Illustrated: "You can't look an abstraction of amiability in the eye and call it 'Killer,' day after day, no matter how hard it hits."
While this isn't a directly Mets-related topic I thought it might be appropriate to share some memories and thoughts here, since Killebrew's was a very significant career. Despite not being as über-famous as those above and around him in the career HR record ranks, Killebrew was one of those players who changed baseball, pointing directly to the rise of the "true three outcomes" class of HR-and-K-heavy power hitters of the '90s. And he was also, by all reports, a pretty good guy.
Edit: Here is the memorial thread from SBN Twins site Twinkie Town, and don't miss this recollection of a childhood encounter with Killebrew from Jim Salisbury:
"Baseball has such a tremendous history," he said. "It's different than other sports, I think. I go around to different places, especially in the upper Midwest, and someone will still say,'I was on the tractor the day you hit that home run in Cleveland,' or'I was in the milking barn when you hit that home run against the Yankees.' It's great to hear things like that."
Killebrew lit up when I produced the ball he had signed, and 34 years later, he held it again.
The first name he saw was Thompson, his former teammate who died of leukemia in 1976 at age 29.
"Danny was just a great kid," said Killebrew, the memories flooding back. "I remember wanting to go see him when he was up at the Mayo Clinic. His wife said,'No, Harmon, Danny doesn't want anyone to see him like this.'
"I went to his funeral in his hometown of Capron, Okla. It was so large, they had to have it in a high school gymnasium. "
Killebrew was so moved by Thompson's death he helped establish a memorial golf tournament in honor of his former teammate. The 31-year-old tournament has raised more than $8 million for leukemia research.
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[O]nly 23 percent of the third-base coaches are members of minorities, compared with 67 percent of its first-base coaches. The disparity has existed for decades but it is now about twice as large as it was in 1990, based on an analysis by The New York Times.
The question is why.
The Times investigates the racial disparity between first-base and third-base coaches; includes some interesting material from Bobby Valentine, Dusty Baker, and other managers and coaches
Araton: Post-1975 HR Races Should Get Off My Lawn
The Times once again seeks to capture the bitter, nostalgic aging-baseball-fan demographic with yet another worshipful piece about why Hank Aaron's feat is still "more impressive," because he's "ethically preferable" to Alex Rodriguez. Yes, that's an actual phrase used in the article: "ethically preferable." News flash to Harvey Araton: Rodriguez is not competing with Aaron for the Nobel Peace Prize. Bonus old-news flash: people wrote similarly mealymouthed character-assassinating stuff about Aaron when he was challenging Ruth's record. We get it: things were always better when you were young. You don't need to prove it by piddling on the most exciting parts of present-day baseball; doing so only demonstrates how little perspective you actually have.
Jerry Manuel said that if Carter continues to hit well, he might play the outfield when the Mets return to Citi Field. Manuel said Carter could play the outfield for Jeff Francoeur or Jason Bay at home, and that Bay could replace Angel Pagan in centerfield, allowing Carter to play left.
Braves release Glavine
The 43-year-old Glavine...proclaimed himself ready to pitch in the majors again. Instead, the Braves cut him.
Peter Gammons on the Mets' offseason plans
Beltran is "quixotic"? Or just Gammons reaching new heights of prolixity?
During the 8th inning of today's final Shea game. Dan Warthen's reaction (second from right) says it all. (Via ESPN.)
Delgado, who hit two home runs on Wednesday to bring his season total to 30, has said recently that veterans can learn something about hitting by watching Murphy.
"He’s got a great approach," Delgado said. "You see him taking pitches, taking changeups, staying behind the ball, going to the opposite field."
Mussina? Hall of Fame? Seriously?
by anonymous on Aug 25, 2008 12:51 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
I just read this piece by Jonah Keri on ESPN.com claiming that if Mike Mussina wins 20 games this year, then he's a no-doubt Hall of Famer. Help me come to terms with this and work through my feelings of doubt and revulsion.
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Don't bother fixing the bullpen
by anonymous on Aug 12, 2008 3:05 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
The Mets' bullpen looks bad right now, no doubt. But relief pitching is always massively overvalued in mid-season trades, and the Mets have no business making unfavorable deals for the "last piece" since there are so many pieces they need. Furthermore, the bullpen struggles are only so prominent and disastrous-seeming because the team's hitting has been so lackluster, with a starting lineup consisting of 50% great hitters and 50% sub-replacement-level players who should be sitting on the bench -- in New Orleans.
Post: Niese Unlikely to Pitch Saturday
Disappointing news for the play-the-kids crowd:
A team source said yesterday that GM Omar Minaya and interim manager Jerry Manuel would prefer to avoid a situation where Niese is called up for just one start and then returned to Triple-A New Orleans. That would leave the Mets to choose between right-handers Claudio Vargas and Brian Stokes for Saturday, with Nelson Figueroa as a long-shot possibility.
Mets hire Krivsky
by anonymous on Jun 21, 2008 7:15 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
Throughout this bizarre ordeal, Minaya has come across as a marionette, a front office executive who doesn’t have the autonomy that was discussed before the season....What’s worse is that the organization, in its indecisiveness, seemed to be taking the blood lust of fans into consideration.
When the Mets sputtered in April, the backstabbing began, with Randolph being undermined along the way. Words of Randolph's honest player evaluations in those staff meetings somehow made their way to the ears of players. That left the manager in a brutal position of trying to draw performance out of veterans who heard that behind closed doors the manager wasn't so sure if they had the right stuff anymore. Some on-field staff members doubted whether they could trust the front office.
What a crowd these bums are, all of them, from the Wilpons at the top to Omar Minaya down below, all of them who conspired to botch this firing worse than any firing has ever been botched. Ever. You wouldn't trust these guys to run a 7-Eleven, let alone a National League baseball team. What a joke. What a cowardly, dastardly joke.
Roster moves: Muniz demoted, Pelfrey stays in rotation
Carlos "Not Very Good" Muniz demoted to make room for Pedro; Claudio Vargas is "rewarded" for his excellent outing last night by remaining in the bullpen as long man, while Mike Pelfrey will stay in the rotation.
Game Scores from ESPN
ESPN has a page devoted to pitchers' Game Scores, showing this year's best performances and the scores for all of the previous day's games. Useful for getting more comfortable with this stat and for the swag contest.
about 4 years ago
anonymous
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Moises Alou may return sooner than expected
The Daily News says he might be back as soon as Friday. We'll all believe it when we see it, I suppose.
Crasnick attributes Milledge "know your place" sign to Wagner
Milledge's perceived flamboyance later prompted Mets closer Billy Wagner to hang a sign in his locker with the message, "Know your place, Rook!''
First time (that I'm aware) that this bit of clubhouse nastiness has been attributed to a specific player. Way to support your teammates, Wags.
(apologies, can't get the quote to format correctly)
about 4 years ago
anonymous
3 comments
1 recs
Offseason OMGWTFLOL
by anonymous on Oct 7, 2007 1:12 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
I have no words adequate to describe this:
There is a term in baseball, grinder, to describe those who bring it every day and treat each at-bat like a mini holy war. The Mets need a whole lot fewer whiners and lawyers who sap the energy/togetherness in their clubhouse, and more grinders, especially because Randolph is so non-confrontational even with his worst offenders. Look, the Diamondbacks are a club that believes in statistical analysis, yet recently gave Eric Byrnes a three-year, $30 million extension in recognition of what his daily zeal does for the group.So the Mets should look seriously at free agents Aaron Rowand to play center field and David Eckstein to play second base, and/or see if they could pry someone such as the Angels' jack-in-the-box Chone Figgins to be their jack-of-all-trades.
Mullah Omar
by anonymous on May 31, 2007 1:21 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
Omar Minaya's risen fast from an unheralded talent-spotter who a lot of people thought was as dumb as he looked in Moneyball to a very loudly trumpeted baseball genius. And it looks like his anointment as boy genius is finally complete with this new two-page fluff-job from Jon Heyman on SI.com.
Diary: Trade Shawn Green
by anonymous on May 5, 2007 6:32 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
(moved from diaries. --eric)
After a fantastic April, it's time to start the discussion about how long Shawn Green should remain a Met.
His hitting stats for the first full month of play are amazing and evidence for an unexpected rejuvenation: his OPS of .928 as of today is good for 17th best in the National League. But the guy is bound to start regressing at least a little bit, and despite injuries to Alou and Milledge the Mets have a little depth in corner outfielders who can be expected to replace (more or less) what Green can be expected to provide for the remainder of the season. And let's not forget that he is due a large chunk of money this year -- something like $10-11M, of which the Mets are paying something like $6-7M (I think; memory is rusty). Since he now appears to be worth this money, he should be more tradable and bring more value in return than ever before. If the Mets are willing to send some money along with him, he should definitely bring prospects or useful pitching in return.
Trade ideas? Or should we keep him? Discuss.
Mirando en espa?ol
by anonymous on Oct 14, 2006 6:37 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
Following up on Doc Manhattan's excellent suggestion, I've been watching tonight's Detroit-Oakland game on Fox Sports en Español instead of subjecting myself to the idiocies of the English broadcast team. I have to recommend the experience to anyone with the (minimal) language skills to do so. (A lot of the baseball vocabulary is English words in Spanish anyway, so it's not hard to follow.) It's not that the analysis is so brilliant, but the Spanish announcers do a much better job staying on top of the game play-by-play instead of drifting off on stupid tangents.
Further amusements include the fact that it's the Anglo players, not the Spanish/Japanese-named ones, whose names the broadcasters get wrong (Joe Kennedy just became John Kennedy, and Jay Payton was called Walter Payton earlier). And Frank Thomas's nickname -- "El Gran Dolor" -- was worth the switch by itself.
Other stories, words I should know, etc., about baseball en español?
El Duque strains calf, may miss start
by anonymous on Oct 3, 2006 2:51 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
ESPN is reporting that El Duque suffered a calf strain and may miss his start tomorrow.
Willie Randolph announced that Orlando Hernandez might not be able to make his start in Game 1 of the division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Randolph said that Hernandez felt something in his right calf while running in the outfield Tuesday. Hernandez, who is 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA with the Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks this season, was scheduled to have an MRI exam this afternoon.
Source: ESPN
The Mets' postseason rotation is quickly becoming a mess. I hope Heilman and Oliver are ready to pick up the pieces.
Corner outfielders
by anonymous on Sep 25, 2006 3:17 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
I thought to myself: Wouldn't the Chavez vs. Green poll question be more interesting with both corner outfield spots up for grabs (as they may actually be)? I'd like to see what corner pair fans would choose among Floyd/Green, Floyd/Chavez, and Chavez/Green. Or is our loyalty to Floyd unquestioned? (I don't have a settled opinion on this question, so I'm interested in hearing arguments.)
20-20 Hindsight: looking back down the road to clinchville
by anonymous on Sep 7, 2006 6:53 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
As a diversion now that the Mets have settled into a quiet preparatory September where the results of the games are happily irrelevant, I've been trawling through Amazin' Avenue's archives from before this season started. I wanted to remember: What did we think would happen this season? How good did we think the 2006 Mets would be? What did we get wrong; who surprised and who disappointed us? Here are some highlights.
Return of the Mikes
by anonymous on Aug 7, 2006 12:51 PM EDT
on Amazin' Avenue
When the Padres come to town tomorrow, it'll be the Shea Stadium homecoming of two deservingly fan-beloved recent Mets, Mike Piazza and Mike Cameron. Before the series starts is a good time to catch up with how they've been doing this year in San Diego.
Mike Piazza left as a free agent after the Mets organization made clear he wouldn't be the team's starting catcher in 2006. The Mets subsequently traded for Paul LoDuca, and Piazza, finding the free-agent catching/DH market surprisingly poor, signed for relatively little money (1 year, $2M) with the Padres in exchange for a chance to start regularly behind the plate. Since going there (and after getting off to a terrible start in April) he's had a bit of a renaissance in limited duty, putting up a .297/.354/.525 batting line with 16 homers in just under 300 at-bats so far. His current OPS of .879 would make this season his best since 2002.
Mike Cameron was traded for Xavier Nady in November, a move that served several purposes. It cleared a lot of salary off the Mets' books and brought back a younger, already league-average offensive player with some chance to improve. It also got Cameron a chance to return to center field, his preferred position and the one that best showcases his extraordinary defense. In exchange, though, he had to return to play every day on the field where he suffered one of the worst injuries I've ever seen in baseball. Cameron has put up a .262/.343/.471 line with 15 HR in just under 400 at-bats in San Diego this year, and he hasn't missed too much time, starting 92 games in center field so far -- right in line with his career numbers (and his 2005 Mets season, after he had an off year in '04). Considering his fielding skills it's a very valuable performance.
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