In finance, they are called bridge loans, or investment money, laundered or not. Entire companies are either held together or built into giant from sources that are never discussed and from people that no one ever meets.
In baseball, I call them bridge moments, or investment players.
We always talk about the great teams and applaud the obvious players that set this team apart from the last, It seemed that all the ESPN announcers talked about last night was with Albert or A-Rod. Yes, the Cardinals and Yankees wouldn't be a great team without them, but neither are one of the little things that make or break a season.
Today, beat reporters and bloggers will question all the decisions Jerry Manual made last night, but no time will be spent on the great moves he made in letting Mike Hessman play, followed by pinch hitting Ike Davis at the time a great play was needed. Nor will there be much time spent on the "bridge" players (R.A. Dickey, Jonathan Niese, Bobby Parnell, Angel Pagan) that have allowed this team to masquerade as a pennant contender.
No, it will be trash time today throughout the Mets community, but the important thing to remember are that great teams are set apart from the others, not because of the obvious (David Wright, Jose Reyes, etc.), but the "little things" (RISP batting average, amount of games lost in the last inning,
Did you notice the announcer last night pointing out the win-loss record that St. Louis has this season in games that originally took the lead in?
That's the little things that make a great team.
2 comments:
No argument from me on any point.
I just have a particular want for the Mets to finish the rebuilding job. Whether by design or by accident, let's face it ~ the kids saved Jerry's job, saved Omar's credibility, and into the All*Star break saved this season and totally changed the fan's perceptions.
It's the "old guard" back and playing who've brought back all the angst and anxiety with them.
I want the Mets to finish the job of the rebuild they started. That means some players HAVE TO go to make room on the roster for everyone I'd like to bring up to see what we have. Most GM's may not like our prospects. But there are a bunch of them that I do like.
Sigh...Welcome to Met Year 8 A.D. (After Doubleday).
there's still two more years in the three year plan based solely on length of contracts...
that being said, this is the ame owner and GM that gave these guys multiple year contracts...
but...
end of this year: goodbye to Francoeur, Tatis, and Maine
end of next 2011: goodbye to Beltran, Cora, Perez, and Castillo
I expect Perez to go to the Cubs for Zembrano by Saturday night, but I've been wrong before...
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