Cutnpaste: - Terry Collins, Keith, Javy Vasquez, Reese Havens, and Disco Demolition Night



Brian Costa

 Terry Collins:

Terry Collins, Mets. New Mets GM Sandy Alderson, who was last to choose, picked from a selected field of four finalists who were already working for the Mets (Collins plus Bob Melvin and Chip Hale were ex-GM Omar Minaya hires while Wally Backman was mostly a Jeff Wilpon import). Collins, who hasn't managed a major league team since 1999, knows his baseball but looks like he might be the riskiest choice of all after bad endings in Houston, Anaheim and with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan. Collins appeared like the favorite the moment his close relationships with new team VP Paul DePodesta and the immortal Sandy Koufax, who also happens to be Mets owner Fred Wilpon's childhood friend, came to light. Mets people say the feisty Collins rounds out an erudite front office. Moneyball men also tend to pick guys they have pre-existing relationships with who can be counted on to fulfill the orders of the front office. Collins is no dummy, and his fiery shtick should play well at the start (especially among those Mets fans who craved for Wally Backman, a starter on the 1986 World Series champion Mets), but his history suggests he may have difficulty making it all work in New York. Grade: D-plus. - sportsillustrated.  

Keith:

After frequent clashes with manager Whitey Herzog, Hernandez was finally dealt from St. Louis during the 1983 season. Hernandez hit .306/.424/.434 over the remaining 95 games with the Mets, and captured his sixth consecutive gold glove. He went on to play another six season in a Mets uniform, and over that period was elected to three all star games (1984, 1986-87), won five more gold gloves (1984-88), was in the top ten in MVP voting from 1984-86 (including a second place finish in ’84), and even won a Silver Slugger (1984). - bleacherreport.  

Javy Vasquez:

But there are probably some people in the Marlins organization that aren't nearly as happy about the Vazquez signing. If you're Sean West or Alex Sanabia, the two young pitchers who were in line to compete for the No. 5 spot in the rotation come spring, you're probably banking on an injury now to get some turns in the rotation. But they shouldn't expect to take those turns from Javy- 2010 was his first season with less than 198 IP in 10 years, he's pitched at least 154 innings in every season of his 13-year career, and in those 13 years he's averaged 204 innings per seasaon. So while West and Sanabia toil in pitching purgatory on a team that can't fit them onto the roster, let's take a look at exactly who these two young pitchers are: - BTBS  

Reese Havens:
11-24-10 from: - mets geek  - 6. Reese Havens. One of the Glass men in the top 10, Reese has the world’s weakest Oblique of any athlete. If healthy, he’d be in the top 3, no doubt in my mind. I like his bat. He will bring a plus bat to a position that has been weak since Edgardo Alfonzo left and signed with San Francisco. I heard he looked fluid at second base but not flashy. I do not believe he is the type of player that I would label as flashy anyway. Best case scenario sees him in the Mets lineup as a second hitter from 2012 till free agency. Worst case scenario is him fading away because of his weak oblique. There have been rumors circulating on his health and no one is sure when he will start baseball activities. If he starts the season healthy, it will be for the Double A ballclub.

Disco Demolition Night:

The turnout for this promotion far exceeded all expectations. White Sox management was hoping for a crowd of 12,000, about double the average for a Thursday night game that year. But an estimated 90,000 turned up at the 52,000-seat stadium. Thousands of people climbed walls and fences attempting to enter Comiskey Park, while others were denied admission. Off-ramps to the stadium from the Dan Ryan Expressway were closed when the stadium was filled to capacity and beyond. - shake shake shake... shake shake shake... shake your booty...