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1/12/11

Cutnpaste: - John Milner, Carlos Beltran, Gary Carter, Jose Reyes, and FIP

John Milner:

Greenies or no, Milner’s career never took off the way some imagined, though he had moments of sideburned success. Standing on top of the plate, he hit 17 home runs as a rookie, and then a career high 23 the next season, driving in a key run in Game 5 of the 1973 World Series. Milner was the best hitter on the 1976 Mets, with 15 home runs, 25 doubles, and 65 walks in 127 games. But he was constantly sidelined by hamstring injuries, never able to fulfill his potential, and was traded to Pittsburgh in 1977′s head scratching four team, eleven player deal. Milner won a World Series with the ’79 Pirates, but also did a lot of cocaine with his Pittsburgh teammates, going so far as to make a clubhouse drug deal during a game in 1980. He retired at age 32 and would later become a star witness at the Pittsburgh baseball drug trials in the mid-eighties. Thanks in part to his testimony, baseball never turned a blind eye to drug or PED use by its players ever again. - patrickfloodblog  



Carlos Beltran:

Beltran signed an enormous seven-year, $119 million deal with the Mets after the 2004 season, and he is among the most complete outfielders in all of baseball. Through six years of the deal, he has posted an average season of .279 BA, 22 HR, 82 RBI, 16 SB and 124 games. While solid, that is far from what the team expected when they signed him. With his contract set to expire at season's end, he could be among the most attractive options when the trade deadline rolls around. Chances are the Mets won't be in the NL East running, and they will certainly be looking to get something for Beltran if they can land some prospects and save some money. -

bleacherreport.  

Gary Carter:

Helped develop a young pitching staff, clutch hitter, and produced offensively at a position not known for it. His big years came in Montreal, but he helped bring a championship to New York. Fizzled after age 32, but the haul was worth his final two productive seasons. His production in 1985 and 1986 were right up there with Piazza, and probably better, if you factor in his defense. - nybaseballdigest  



Jose Reyes:

We all need a big season from the franchise shortstop. The fans need it, the team itself needs it, and most importantly, Jose needs a big season for himself. When Reyes is healthy, there’s no arguing that he is one of the most tantalizing players in baseball. But in 2011, Reyes needs to prove that his body is not already starting to break down at the age of 27. Realistically, this could be the last season that Jose Reyes is a Met. He’s a free agent after the season, and if he has a big year he will undoubtedly be targeted by several teams who could use an upgrade at shortstop. If the Mets don’t plan on resigning him, you could see him used as trade bait in late July if the Mets aren’t in contention. - metsreport.



FIP:

FIP, standing for “fielding independent pitching,” is a pitching statistic that takes just three numbers — a pitcher’s strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed — and spits them back out as a number scaled to look like an ERA. The reasoning is that strikeouts, walks, and home runs are events that do not involve fielders; therefore, they should better reflect the skills of the pitcher and not his defense, ballpark, chance, or dragons. It seems counter-intuitive to ignore everything else a pitcher does except those three events — it’s throwing out around 70% of the available information — but if you’re building your fantasy baseball team, a pitcher’s FIP from last year serves as a better predictor for his ERA this year than his actual ERA from last year. So FIP has its uses. - link  

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