Good morning
I was a newspaper sports reporter before
I was a Mets blogger. Wrote a two-page weekly column for Morris Publications.
Even an occasional center fold (feature on Dodgertown comes to mind). On Day
One, my editor said “of course, we use AP Style here…”. I quickly said “of
course” and dummied up until the meeting was over. I went home that night and
asked my wife, who was a syndicated food writer, what he was talking about. She
smiled, picked a book, threw it to me, and went on her business.
That book was this: https://www.apstylebook.com/ It’s the Bible used by
every legit reporter in any facet of the news business.
The “proper” technique here is like
English on acid. Things like:
Never refer to a team using the word
“we”. Use only third person, like “they”.
The first nine numbers have to be
written out. 10 and beyond have to be written using numerals.
Ya know, English on acid stuff.
So… if you ever decide to go legit, or
even want the baseball world to think you are, order yourself this book and
teach yourself how all the beat press you hate create their craft. Ya know,
those twelve people in the Mets gaggle you see on TV. Oh. Sorry. I meant to
write 12.
The Mets signed free agent pitcher Joe Jacques last week. Yeah, I
didn’t think you could sign players that played the previous season for another
team until the current season was over, but what do I know?
So, the Mets coaches lounge at their
training facilities in St. Lucie are pretty empty this month, but the Mets
still feel the need to sign a pitcher with a career -0.2-WAR/5.46-ERA (and
6.02-ERA last season) and promise him $900,000 if he makes the major league
roster. What you talkin’ bout, Willis? Are the Mets ever going to give it a
rest signing reclamation project? Sure, the nerds have too much time on their
off-season hands but doesn’t it take a human that actually knows something
about this game to determine if there is something in a failed pitcher that
could be changed or alters that would turn him into Paul Skenes? Guys, give it a rest
until the new coaches are hired. Go back to your Mindcraft game.
We’re all sitting around waiting for the last World Series game to be completed so the free agency season begins. I have no idea who the Mets will sign this year, but I do expect them to be active. First order of business is to lay a qualified offer on Edwin Diaz. The amount is usually the average of the top 125 salaries (thanks Juan) in the past season. In 2025, it’s $21.05mil. This is not a franchise tag. Diaz would not have to sign with the Mets. He simply has until mid-November to accept or reject it. The only good news in losing someone like Diaz is the fact that the Mets would receive draft pick compensation, usually a pick after the first round. The bad news is that new person isn’t going to help you for around four years. Twenty-one mil is a shite-load for a closer, so I’m not sure Diaz will find a better offer for the 2026 season. We shall see. We shall see.
I saw some video of Nick Morabito tearing it up in the Arizona Fall League. I also found it hard to concentrate on the game being played because my eyes kept going to those hard to come by seats behind home. THERE'S NO ONE IN THE STANDS! Why in three hells would baseball play fall ball in a state where people don't support? No one's making money there, including the vendors that are cooking to only a handful of "fans". I know both Arizona and Florida split minor league rookie teams, but, come on, play them in a state where some retirees actually go to these games.
Lastly... today is my brother's 81st birthday. Normally, I would call him and we'd shoot the shit about the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, and St. John's baseketball. He's big fans of all four. I can't do that this year. He's locked in a facility with full blown dementia. Here's a picture of him (on right) and I on my visit this summer to his home in Great Neck. Once the VP/Administrator for the 3rd largest law firms in the world. Oversaw the accounts of Howard Ludnick, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Ted Cruz.
Don't get old.
16 comments:
Mack,
Does Richard Lovelady's major league contract signing fall under the " why" category?
Happy Birthday to your brother. I lost my mother to Alzheimer's. It is tough to see a loved one fade as we age. But I still talk with mom and somehow, she still gives me great advice and makes me laugh and cry. Happy birthday!!!
Regarding Diaz. I don't think that is the money for 2026 but the guaranteed monies in future years. If he does not opt out, I would be extremely surprised. Could be his last chance for a big contract.
Depending on what happens in the spring, Morabito heads north? He is Rule 5 eligible. In order to control him, the Mets would need to add him to the 40-man roster. If not, some team will most likely select him.
Lady Love. Throws like a lady, too?
Aging does suck…which is why I am reminding myself NOT to take time for granted, and am singing 3 tunes in church in Manorville on Sunday that most folks don’t know:
Andy Park’s “I See the Lord”; Jackie Baker’s “Fire of God”; and Vineyard’s “Full of His Glory.”
I am bringing my searing vocal fastball, which still gets clocked at 100. I don’t like off speed vocals. If someone gives me the signal for an off speed pitch, I shake them off.
And I am never off-pitch. I am always high in the zone.
May that dementia part like the Red Sea.
For the qualifying offer formula of 125, make it 127, and drop the outliers: the highest (Soto) and lowest (whomever). That would probably lower the QO by a few hundred thousand.
Diaz is somewhat expendable if Ross and Lambert are really ready. Otherwise, not having Diaz could deep-six 2026.
No risk
If he does well in the spring, execute the contract, pay him 900K, and put him in the pen
If he stinks up the joint, execute him and cut him before OD
Interesting on AP Stylebook. One problem…I don’t read books.
If someone wanted to pay me big bucks to write, and I decided it was worth my time, I’d buy the book. And read it.
One rule I have, whether it’s in the book or not. I eschew long paragraphs. Newspaper writers don’t go long, and neither do I.
I'll share this with him if he ever picks up his frigging phone
Diaz wants to remain in Queens
This is in the hands of David... I sound like a Rabbi
As you know, my side hustle for 30+ years was being a singer-songwriter . ALWAYS sing what you want to sing
We laugh and talk 2x a day now but he had to cut last nights call short because he had to water the 12 people that were living in the houseplant in his room
Pause EVERYTIME you want a reader to think about what you just said
Biggest enemy is verbal writing
I almost never edit other writers’ articles, only if I happen to look and see an obvious error.
But I do break up others’ long paragraphs at times. Because I know that I for one will skip a 14 line paragraph before I will read it. I imagine other readers do the same.
Happy birthday to your brother. I lost my mother to dementia . Such a cruel disease,you lose your loved one twice really. On a baseball note ,Morabito is the one they can't afford to lose with all the centerfield problems they are having now.
Dementia is such a difficult disease to understand. People can otherwise be physically sound but they and you both lose the ability to communicate and reinforce one another through kinship. Best of luck to him.
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