I will close with some slightly more inflammatory rhetoric. If Metsblog isn't exhibit A for the power of financial backing and access and its subtle influence, then I'm Gary Carter. I lurked, read and commented on his excellent and path-breaking blog from its inception up until a few years ago, and I hope he won't take offense when I say that in the early years, the communities comments/posts, not the actual editorial content, were the major draw. It was like sitting in an electronic bar with other knowledgeable and oppressed Mets fans, and it was fantastic. That said, Metsblog made choices along the way, as is their right. Symbolically, they chose to remove their corny "blog roll," something I took as indicating their fundamental shift in self-identity from a blog with roots in a community into a corporately sponsored website. And that shift might not change the fan at the heart of the enterprise, but it changes the game considerably. - itsmetsforme.
Carlos Beltran:
It’s a moot point of course — the Mets are stuck with Beltran, his $18.5M this year, and won’t get a draft pick after he leaves this winter. The proposed deal with the Dodgers was pure fantasy, and unlikely to have been executed by either club at the time. But the point is, the Mets had a window of opportunity to trade Beltran when his value was still high, at a time when those not drinking the Kool-Aid could see that the organization needed a major facelift. Now, of course, it’s more of a facelift that’s needed, the Mets have no leverage in dealing Beltran, and those in charge are looking at a much longer-term plan than they are letting on. It doesn’t make Steve Phillips any less of an idiot, but the irony is scathing. - .metstoday.
Bob Feller:
The newsreel footage I posted below shows him throwing an estimated 98.6 MPH, which would be well over 100 MPH on a modern gun that measures the pitch at release and not at home plate. That measurement was done in 1946. His contemporaries felt that Feller threw harder when he was younger, and that his peak velocities were when he first reached the majors in 1936 and 1937. If he was throwing, say, 102 MPH in 1946..what was he throwing in 1936? Bob Feller's signing bonus was $1. If there was a high school kid available for the 2011 draft who was throwing consistent 100-104 MPH fastballs, who also had a good curveball, who had an incredible work ethic, and was a fine overall athlete to boot, how much money would he make on draft day? - minorleagueball.
Mike Piazza:
The 1998 Mike Piazza trade continues to be a “shot heard around the world” moment in Dodgers history. On one level, they traded their best offensive player, reigning matinee idol and all-around superstar for a group of players, some effective, some not so much. On a more symbolic level, it was a game changer. It was a true sign the O’Malleys were getting out of baseball as behemoth Fox was moving in. Trading Piazza was in effect trading a homegrown favorite son away for some free agent-types and journeymen, a departure from “the Dodger way” where Dodger teams were built around homegrown talent. - hardballtimes
Hobie Landrith:
It was nuts for Weiss to invest as early a pick as he did in Landrith, but the lefty-hitting catcher was a solid journeyman who, if spotted properly, could still be expected to provide capable work for a couple of years. - hardballtimes.
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