The Eddie Kranepool Society

Posted 12/08/2003 08:08:00 PM by Kranepool
Kazuo Matsui is now a proud member of the New York Mets Matsui has signed a 3 year $20 mil contract to become the everyday short stop. Jose Reyes will now move over to 2nd base and the Mets infield for 2004 is now set. Folks, it is what it is. The debate on Lil� Matsui is over. Let�s all hope this guy is what we have been led to believe he is, a Gold Glove shortstop, with speed and power. I know as Mets fans we have grown to be skeptical, as we should, of any moves made when the Skill Sets take charge. We just have to wait and see. Just what exactly is John Franco looking for? Franco made $3.75 mil last year at the end of a 3-year deal. I know he doesn�t have the onions to ask for a raise or even the same salary as last year. I mean if the Duke is offering anything near $2mil for next season he should put a stocking over his head and take it. I wish he�d stop wasting the Mets time, as the Duke and the front office has bigger fish to fry and should not have to be courting a 43 year old short reliever coming off major arm surgery. The Mets bullpen is a shambles and if Franco comes back he will be joining two other underachievers in David Weathers and Mike Stanton. So how many spots are open? They need a closer and a long man and hearing the name Ugeth Urbina to close games is not very comforting. If I�m the Duke I give Franco a take it or leave it offer and tell get back to me fast because I have Arthur Rhodes on line 2. Just a little heads up to the Wilpon�s. The Expos have decline offering arbitration to Vladimir Guerrero. Feel free to call his agent. <

Posted 12/08/2003 08:02:00 PM by Kranepool
WEEK 14 NFL PICKS RECAP Home teams in CAPS EAGLES -5 � over Cowboys Eagles 36 Cowboys 10 The bitch is back. Payback that is. The Iggles gave the Cowpokes a good ol� fashion ass whuppin in the second half of this game to pull away from a 10-10 tie. Since the �Boys from Big D beat Iggles 23-21 on October 21st, the Brids have kicked 8 straight opponents by the wayside. Philly D coordinator Jim Johnson, read the riot act to his passive defenders at halftime, telling them be aggressive and go on the attack. They did causing Cowboy turnovers, the costliest one sacking Quincy Carter in his own end zone for a safety. Donovan McNabb was 19 of 35 passing for 248 yards and 3 TD�s (more medicine Mr. Limbaugh?) and have the best record in the NFC at 10-3. The Iggles will be rooting hard for the Browns tonight as they take on the Rams in Cleveland. The Martz�s are a half game back of Philly for best record in the NFC. PACKERS -7 over Bears Packers 34 Bears 21 YEA MON! Dreadlock draped Packer DB Mike McKenzie, intercepted a Kordell Stewart pass and took it to the house-90 yards-for a TD. This added to the Packs, 19-14 lead making it 26-14 and the Men of the Frozen Tundra never looked back. Da Bears had an unforgivable 5 turnovers in this game and Brett Farve up his record against the Bears to a gaudy 20-4. PATRIOTS -3 over Dolphins Partiots 12 Dolphins 0 28 degrees, wind chills in the low teens plus 2 1/2 feet of snow spelled disaster for the �Phins. The Pat�s now have beat the Dolphins 4 out of the last 5 times they�ve met and the road to the Super Bowl could run through Foxboro. With the Chiefs losing big to the Broncos, the Chiefs and Pat�s are tied at 11-2 for best record in the AFC. The story of this one was as it has been all season, the Patriot Defense stepped up again by scoring 9 of the 12 points scored by New England. The key play was LB Teddy Bruschi interception of a Jay Fiedler pass at the 5 yd line and ran it in for a TD. Week 14 Record 3-0-0 YTD Record 22-17-3 <

Sunday, December 07, 2003

Posted 12/07/2003 08:40:00 PM by Kranepool
Gordon Edes in his great Sunday notes column in the Boston Globe, claims that the Orioles have offered Vladimir Guerrero 6 years at $13-$14 mil a year. The Wilpons have that in one of Nelly D's old sport coats that he left at Shea. Also it seems inevitable that A-Rod will join the Olde Town Team by the end of the winter meetings. Wilpon house boy Mike Lupica had this little nugget in his Shooting from the Lip column today: "How come it's all right to talk about moving Alfonso Soriano, who has hit 75 home runs and stolen 75 bases the last couple of seasons, to the outfield, but it isn't all right to move Jose Reyes from shortstop to second base?" Maybe because Lil" Sori plays 2nd base like Dave Kingman played 3rd and Jose Reyes is off the charts good a short. More Wilpon propaganda from Lupey. I find that after reading a Lupica column, I keep scraping the bottom of shoes, like I stepped in s#$&. "But we're supposed to believe all the shouts that the Earth will suddenly stop spinning on its axis if Reyes moves to the other side of second base. Even if it gives the Mets a dazzling shortstop-second base combination, maybe the best in the big leagues, for the next few years. Right." Yup, just like Freddy and Jeffy told him to write it. On a more positve note. Adam has checked in with a brand spanking new Mets blog with one the great names I've seen in a long time Ducks on the Pond. As I told Adam, the more Mets blogs the merrier, so click and read, you'll be glad you did. Someday all us Mets bloggers will lead a palace coup to overthrow the Skill Sets and bring the franchise back to it's glory days. No Vlady, No Peace!!!!!!!! One last thing and this is non Mets and non sports. The last two days we here in the NYC area were hit with a snowstrom that dropped over a foot and a half of snow. Now I know all you folks you live in the Great Mid West that this type of snowfall is a walk in the park. Yesterday while watching the news on TV, a reporter was interviewing a woman from Minnesotta who thought we New Yorkers were whimps by reacting so to the snow. She said that when they get snow like this in Minnesotta, it's no problem at all. Well it would be no problem for us either, if we did not have over 7 million people living in such a small land mass. There are more people living here on Staten Island (450,000) than in the city of Minneapollis (383,000), plus you do have lots of unused space in Minnesotta to store your snow. See here in the big city, garages go for more than houses do in the mid west. Add in the fact that NYC goes 24/7/365 and on a normal day there is traffic and congestion, so yeah when it snows it's a royal pain in the ass to us. Oh and by the way, while you spent your hard earnred money to come to my city to do your Christmas shopping-because it's the great shopping city in the world-I would have to be in the wittness protection program to vist your town, house frow. Have a pleasant evening! <

Saturday, December 06, 2003

Posted 12/06/2003 12:06:00 PM by Kranepool
Looks like we can scratch Mike Cameron off the Mets shopping list. So we still have a hole in CF, RF and we possess the worst bullpen in baseball but we will have a $21mil shortstop and a 2nd baseman who never played the position before. I think I will now burry myself in a snowbank! <

Posted 12/06/2003 11:46:00 AM by Kranepool
According to the Toronto Globe and Mail today, the Expos have made a 5 year offer for more than $70 mil to Vladimr Guererro with the intersesting provison that backloads the deal with $35 mil in the last 2 years of the contract. So now the Mets need to offer 4 yrs for $75mil with the bulk of the money up front in the way of a sigining bounus. Please Freddy give me permission to make this deal. I'll make sure you get all the credit. <

Posted 12/06/2003 10:20:00 AM by Kranepool
Non-Mets News It takes a lot for me to post anything about the NY Islanders but Joe MacDonald the owner and operator of the fabulous MOFO Sports web site is running a contest on the Islander message board portion of his site. If you enter 100 posts on the Islander site you will be eligible to win an autographed Mariusz Czerkawski puck. So click the link and post away. A fire Milbury post is always encouraged. <

Friday, December 05, 2003

Posted 12/05/2003 06:44:00 PM by Kranepool
As I write this post, it is 26 degrees and snowing like a mutha' outside. But I am hunkering down with some besbol de Venezuela on Fox Sports World. Tonight FSW is showing Magallanes v. Cardenales de Lara. The best part of this game is on the Magallares roster are Mets farm hands Aaron Baldris, Endy Chavez and Ron Acuna. There is also a couple of familar faces on Lara, Luis Sojo and Kelvim Escobar. <

Posted 12/05/2003 06:44:00 PM by Kranepool
NFL PICKS WEEK 14 Home Team in CAPS EAGLES -5 � over Cowboys After the first two weeks of the season, Iggles fans and a certain pill popin� pundit were calling for Donovan Mc Nabb�s head. Lucky for the phine pholks of Philly that Head Coach Andy Reid pays no attention to them. The Iggles have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games (the one loss to Dallas in week 6) and are rounding into form just in time for the home stretch. Although the Texas Tuna�s have the #1 D in the league, they have not faired well recently losing 2 of their last 3, 12-0 vs. Pats, a 24-20 win against the Panthers and the Turkey day blow out to the Dolphins 40-21. The Iggles are led by their three headed RB�s of Buckwalter, Staley and Westbrook, the deepest set of backs in football. The Cowpokes are still looking for one of their RB�s to step up as Troy Hambrick has not answered the call and Richie Anderson is not an every down back. The Tuna had high hopes for Avieon Cason who has yet to assert himself. PACKERS -7 over Bears Here is the stat that swayed to the Pack. Brett Favre is 19 -4 all time vs. Da Bears and the Pack has won 6 straight games against the Monsters of the Midway. Ahman Green leads a rushing offense that is 40 yards shy of hitting the 2,000 mark but he has to start holding on to the ball and cut out the turnovers. The Pack has gone 3-2 in their last 5 including a Turkey Day loss to the Lions (it seems it�s the only time Detroit gets up for a game is on Thanksgiving). They have two very nice wins at Minny and at Tampa. A Green Bay win and a Vikings loss puts them in a tie for the lead in the NFC North. PATRIOTS -3 over Dolphins There is a lot riding on this game for Belichick�s Boy�s. They are trying to keep pace with the Chiefs for home field throughout the playoffs and they would love to throw dirt on the Fish for the 2nd year in a row. The Pat�s have played some very entertaining games the last 4 weeks. They beat Denver at Denver, shut out the Cowboys at Foxboro, pulled out a last minute win in Houston, and stopped Peyton Manning and the Colts at Indy on the 1 yard line. Unlike the New York Football Giants who are blaming their sucky season on injuries, Belichick has shown his strict Parcells upbringing by not letting the P-Men use injuries as an excuse for losing. The other big factor in this game is the weather. Right now there is snow up and down the East Coast and Sunday in the dark at Foxboro it should be colder that a witch�s tit. That spells trouble for the Aqua and Orange. <

Thursday, December 04, 2003

Posted 12/04/2003 09:51:00 PM by Kranepool
The one position where the Mets are solid and should be for the next 10 years, is shortstop with Jose Reyes. So what in their infinite wisdom are the Mets �brain trust� working on? Signing a shortstop. According to various news sources, the Mets have made a 3-year $21mil dollar offer to Japanese superstar Kaz Matsui. Matsui is considered a power hitter with lighting speed has shown a great interest in playing for either the Mets, Dodgers or Angels. So with the other teams in the hunt, the Mets wanted to strike first and have sent their offer to Matsui via his agent Arm Tellem. Meanwhile Vladimir Guerrero is still sitting in free agent limbo without even a morsel of an offer, but the Mets do not feel it�s prudent to reach out to his agent. The Mets have at least 5 positions that need to be filled, 2nd base, CF, RF, a starting pitcher and some reliable relievers since the Mets bullpen was a Major League worst 9-30. So of course they are chasing after a shortstop who even though he hit over 30 HR�s in the Japanese League, which would translate to about 15 HR�s playing 81 games at Shea Stadium, to fill a position of strength. This is why when the organization is ridiculed and mocked, Mets fans just have to grin and bear it. You see it in print and on TV and radio, this organization is not taken very seriously. Just about every move the Wilpon�s make has people scratching their heads, from firing Bobby Valentine and not Steve Phillips to hiring Art Howe to stringing along Jim Duquette to letting Al Leiter, John Franco and Tom Glavine dictated policy. The front office has no problem in telling the best prospect to come out their minor league system since Darryl Strawberry, Jose Reyes to go learn another position even after Reyes showed fantastic rang and a howitzer arm at shortstop. But at the same time Duke, Artie from Flushing and The Skill Sets wet their draws when asking, not telling, Mike Piazza to move to 1st base, which would be for the good of the team. The Yankees have acquired Javier Vasquez from the Expos for Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and LHP Randy Choate. They Phillies also acquired more starting pitching by sending utility man Nick Pinto and RHP Carlo Silva to the Twins for LHP Eric Milton. Where were the Mets when these two pitchers were available? Especially Vasquez who throws hard and strike guys out, the exact type of pitcher they should be fighting tooth and nail for. No, the Duke and Jr. Skill Sets are out wining and dining Reggie Sanders and looking to make a deal with malcontent Jose Gullien. You better believe I have my onions twisted. The Skill Sets better be ready to pull a rabbit out their hat this off-season or Shea will be a ghost town in �04 <

Wednesday, December 03, 2003

Posted 12/03/2003 05:54:00 PM by Kranepool
The Mets have annouced that Bill Livesey has been named as Special Assistant to the GM. We can only hope he's not on a low-carb diet. <

Posted 12/03/2003 10:39:00 AM by Kranepool
My wife hates when I read the newspaper when we go to the diner for breakfast. Besides the fact I ignore her, it�s the muttering, cursing, and banging the table with my fist that annoys her the most. It scares the crap out of the waitress as well. Today was one of those mornings. When ever I read news articles about the Mets I have to keep repeating a mantra (usually I use Frank Constanza�s Serenity Now) �They have to fill space, They have to fill space� because what�s reported makes my blood boil. Some of the crap I�ve read today I hope is just reporters having to fulfill an obligation to their editors. Let me take them one at a time. Mets are courting Reggie Sanders and Jose Guillen. Sanders OK, but Jose Guillen? Please Duke say it an�it so. Guillen is not only a miserable teammate and a royal pain in the ass, he sucks as an outfielder as his 12 errors attest to. Add to that at the age of 27 he has played for the Pirates, Devil Rays, Diamondbacks, Reds and A�s. 7 years in the bigs and 5 teams. Hello? does anyone else see the red flags here? In 2001 he hit .274/.317/.378 with the D-Rays. 2002, Guillen played for D�Backs (131 AB�s) and the Reds (109 AB�s) and produced .229/.277/.385 in Arizona and .248/.299/.385 in Cincy plus he was the most hated man in the Reds clubhouse. In 2003 he did make a turnaround on the field with the Reds in 315 AB�s he produced .337/.385/.629 with 23 jacks and 63 RBI. Even though at age 27 Guillen looked like he was becoming the player that most scouts and front office folks thought he would be, he was such an a-hole the Reds could not take him anymore so the shipped him off to Oakland. His 170 AB�s with the A�s produced .265/.311/.459 with 8 HR and 23 RBI. Why even give this guy the courtesy of even a phone call? Now on to Reggie Sanders. Over the last 3 seasons Sanders has averaged .265/.335/.521 87 HR�s and 262 RBI�s. He�s a decent outfielder but the bug a boo with Sanders is two-fold, injuries and he�s bounced form team to team. From 1991 to 1998 he played exclusively for the Reds. Since 1999 he�s played for the Padres, Braves, D�Backs, Giants and Pirates. 5 teams in 5 years. Add in the fact that he�s 35 years old as well. The Mets are wining and dining Sanders, taking him to dinner and to a Knick game, like he�s an A-list free agent. The guy only plays well when he�s given a one year deal. He played for the Pirates for $1mil last year what the F are we courting him for? Just tell his agent, �Here�s the deal, 1 year for $1.5 mil. What? too low? No problem, have a nice day� This is what pisses me off, Vlady Guerrero is still without a contract. We hear the same old crap �he does not like NY, you have to be careful of his back, we won�t be able to get insurance on his contract, yada, yada, yada. Please Freddy show us fans your serious MAKE VLADY AN OFFER!!!. If your not going to be a �playa� and your going to go the close out store route then CUT THE TICKET PRICES IN HALF DAMN IT!!!!!. If your going to give me Reggie Sanders and Jose Guillen then you can�t charge me and other fans $50 bucks for a box seat, and by the way that tier pricing scam from last year, you need to fire the schmuck you came up that idea. The next item is Kaz Matsui. I pray that either the Dodgers or the Angels beat the Mets out of this signing. Leave Reyes alone. Leave him at shortstop let him grow in the position he has played his whole life and where he is most comfortable at. There is no reason what so ever to upset the apple cart for Lil� Matsui. The Duke believes this as well and has stated he does not want to move Reyes from short. But of course Freddy Skill Sets has fallen in love with Lil� Matsui and wants him playing at Shea through any means necessary. So again we have to watch this one to see if Sr. Skill Sets undermines his top baseball man for the second or third time this off season. <

Tuesday, December 02, 2003

Posted 12/02/2003 09:17:00 PM by Kranepool
Sorry about that but it seems Blogger has gone mashugga. <

Posted 12/02/2003 08:53:00 PM by Kranepool
NEWS ITEM: CASTILLO RE-SIGNS WITH FISH Luis Castillo got what he wanted, a 3 year deal plus an option on the 4th, that�s very attainable and he gets to stay with the organization he grew up in and won a World Series with. The Mets it seems offered more money than the Marlins but they did not want to give the slam-dunk option. The thing that has me perturbed with this signing is The Duke was wanted Castillo very badly but it seems Sr. Skill Sets was not as hot to trot. It seems the object of the Wilpon�s affection is Japanese import Kaz Matsui. Freddy Skill Sets has a son Bruce who lives with his wife in Japan. Bruce Skill Sets has cozied up to Lil� Matsui to try to sway him to make out a change of address card for 126th Street & Roosevelt Ave Flushing, NY 11368. Now from all the reports we have seen and read about Lil� Matsui, he�s all that and a bag of chips. Which is fine. But, his main occupation is shortstop and we have that spot filled, hopefully for the next 10 years with Jose Reyes. As we are seeing there may be another riff between the Skill Sets and the �baseball people�. The Duke does not want to move Reyes from shortstop (me either) Sr. Skill Sets feels if it takes moving Reyes to 2nd base to accommodate Matsui, then so be it. This situation bears watching as the Duke, Artie from Flushing and Professor Rick were turned down in their request to trade for Billy Koch for David Weathers, which would have cost the Mets about $200K, and now Freddy is sticking his nose (and his foreign agent son) in the Matsui negotiations. Why even bother hiring a GM? <

Posted 12/02/2003 08:53:00 PM by Kranepool
NEWS ITEM: CASTILLO RE-SIGNS WITH FISH Luis Castillo got what he wanted, a 3 year deal plus an option on the 4th, that�s very attainable and he gets to stay with the organization he grew up in and won a World Series with. The Mets it seems offered more money than the Marlins but they did not want to give the slam-dunk option. The thing that has me perturbed with this signing is The Duke wanted Castillo very badly but it seems Sr. Skill Sets was not as hot to trot. It seems the object of the Wilpon�s affection is Japanese import Kaz Matsui. Freddy Skill Sets has a son Bruce who lives with his wife in Japan. Bruce Skill Sets has cozied up to Lil� Matsui to try to sway him to make out a change of address card for 126th Street & Roosevelt Ave Flushing, NY 11368. Now from all the reports we have seen and read about Lil� Matsui, he�s all that and a bag of chips. Which is fine. But, his main occupation is shortstop and we have that spot filled, hopefully for the next 10 years with Jose Reyes. As we are seeing there may be another riff between the Skill Sets and the �baseball people�. The Duke does not want to move Reyes from shortstop (me either) Sr. Skill Sets feels if it takes moving Reyes to 2nd base to accommodate Matsui, then so be it. This situation bears watching as the Duke, Artie from Flushing and Professor Rick were turned down in their request to trade for Billy Koch for David Weathers, which would have cost the Mets about $200K, and now Freddy is sticking his nose (and his foreign agent son) in the Matsui negotiations. Why even bother hiring a GM? <

Monday, December 01, 2003

Posted 12/01/2003 07:53:00 PM by Kranepool
WEEK 13 NFL PICKS RE-CAP RAVENS -3 OVER 49ers RAVENS 44 49ers 6 (W) To me one of the most important stats in football is the takeaway/giveaway chart. Usually the team over a season that leads in this category is headed to a championship game. Yesterday the Ravens turned 5 Niner turnovers into 24 points. Ravens LB Ray Lewis had a game for the ages with an INT for a TD and 18 tackles (14 unassisted and 4 assists). On the other hand, 49ers QB Jeff Garcia had a return to forget by throwing 4 INTs and 0 TD�s. Coach Dennis Erickson called in back up Tim Ratty for mop up work. Can you imagine the Rave4ns will take on the Cincinnati Bengals next week in Charm City for first place in the AFC North? UN-F�in-BELIEVABLE. Patriots +4 over COLTS Patriots 38 Colts 34 (W) What a game! The Pats saw a 21 point lead go by the boards, as the Colts tied the score at 31-31 on a Manning to Walters TD pass. Then Bethel Johnson struck again. With a 92-yard punt return for a TD already in the game, Johnson returned the kick-off after the tying TD for 67 yards that set up the game winning Brady to Deion Branch TD pass. But the best was yet to come in this one. The Pats defense was sucking wind in the 4th quarter as Peyton Manning was looking like he had another comeback in his pocket. The Colts were driving for the winning TD with under a minute left in the game and the Pats out of time outs. LB Willie McGinest looked to be injured with 1:09 left in the game, so the officials called timeout for the injury. McGinst left for 2 plays but his �injury� gave a badly worn down defense a much needed blow. With Manning operating out of the no huddle offense, the Pats stopped Edgerin James for a 1yrd gain. Manning then threw incomplete into the end zone and that set up the last play of the game. With the Colts on the Pats 1 yard line McGinest was back in the game. He noticed that Manning, as he does quite often, was calling an audible at the line of scrimmage. When McGinest saw Manning pat the right side of his butt, he figured the play was changed form a pass to a run. McGinest guessed right and stopped Edgerin James cold for no gain as the clock ran out. What a game! Chiefs -7 over CHARGERS Chiefs 28 Chargers 24 (L) It�s been about 12 years since I have bet on a professional sporting event. It�s games like this one that have me thanking God I don�t wager on games anymore. I �m sure there were a lot of people who lost their mortgage or car payment on this one. This game was moseying along nicely as the Chiefs were proving that even though they have the best record in football they better start figuring out on defense how to stop the run. In the 4th quarter Trent Green hit Tony Gonzalez with a 3 yard TD pass and the Chiefs were up 11, 28-17 with 6:28 left in the game. Both teams traded possessions until the Chargers got the ball back with just over a minute left. The Chiefs go to the always useful �PREVENT DEFENSE�. I thought well OK, there�s under a minute left and the Chiefs are rushing 3 men with 8 back in pass coverage. That�s fine, just force everything to the middle of the field and we�re out of here. 57 year old Doug Flutie hits LaDaiman Tomlinson with a short out pass and he gets out of bounds to stop the clock. HUMMM! All right KC, no more of those, keep them in bounds and run down the clock. Now not only is KC in a prevent D, but upon the snap the NT is dropping back into pass coverage so now the Chiefs have 9 men playing the pass. So what happens? Fluite hits Osgood for a sideline pass and he gets out of bounds to stop the clock. A shot of Dick Vermeil on the side lines shows him happy and laughing with his players and coaches, meanwhile I�m screaming at the TV �YO, CRY BABY WTF? Next thing I know with 9 seconds left in the game, Flutie goes back to pass from the KC 19 yd with NO PASS RUSH AT ALL, the Chiefs let Flutie throw a TD pass to Gates that makes the score 28-23. Doug Christie kicks the extra point to make the final score Chiefs 28 Chargers 24. GEEEEERRRRAAANNNAAAMMMMMOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WEEK 13 2-1-0 YTD 19-17-3 <

Sunday, November 30, 2003

Posted 11/30/2003 10:32:00 AM by Kranepool
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving-well Yankee fans and turkeys(same species)didn't we know that. The Red Sox gave their fans an early holiday present with the acquisition of Curtis Montague Schilling to their rotation. As for us Mets fans, well we're waiting for the Mets to release their 2004 schedule so we can see when Pokey Reese Do-Rag Day will be. Joel Sherman has his take on who the Mets should be targeting with free agent cash. Let�s look at some of the names on his list. A middle defense with Cameron, Matsui and Jose Reyes would be so good that it would be like making an investment in pitching, as well. After the recent misery of dropped balls and plodding play, Met fans would certainly appreciate the glove work/athleticism of that trio. Mike Cameron has been the flavor of the month for some time now with the NY media. Sherman stated in his column that Cameron is �Andruw Jones-esque in CF� WHEW! some pretty high praise their. Is Cameron a supierior CF? Yes. But I always think of Wille Mays who said that CF at Shea was the toughest in all of baseball to play. As we all know the Say-Hey Kid was THE GREATEST CF of all time! Ok back to Camereon, here are some of his offensive numbers from the last three years: 2001 .267/.353./.480 25 HR 110 RBI 29 Win Shares 2002 .239/.340/.442 25 HR 80 RBI 19 Win Shares 2003 .253/.344/.431 18 HR 76 RBI 21 Win Shares Well it seems the bulk of his All Star caliber Win Share rating comes from his defense, since his offensive totals are not really in that class. What really stands out is his strikeout numbers, which are Rob Deer-esque: 2001: 155 K 2002 176 K 2003 137 K So the question is who is bidding on this guy besides the Mets? The Mariners would love to have him back, The A�s would love to have him patrolling the vast CF of Al Davis Stadium and the Padres, who will be rolling in the dough this season at their new home, all have an interest in Cameron. So how much will it cost? Well, Cameron, who is 31 years old, made $7 mil last year on the end of a 3 yr. $15.5 mil deal. Is he worth more than a 3 yr. $21 mil dollar contract? Maybe to the Mets he is, since the weakest link in the farm system is OF, and especially CF, since Jeff Duncan seems to translate into a 4th outfielder at best. If I�m the Duke I offer 3 yrs. $20.5. I do not go over 3 years with Cameron and I nudge maybe to $21.5 and that�s a strong maybe. I don�t think the M�s, A�s or Pods will contend that. <

Friday, November 28, 2003

Posted 11/28/2003 10:00:00 AM by Kranepool
WEEK 13 NFL PICKS Patriots +4 over COLTS Any time I can get the Patriots PLUS points, I�m getting froggy. Pats QB Tom Brady is back to his Super Bowl form and is as confident and productive as any QB right now in the NFL. Tony Dungy is the master of the Cover-2 Defense but a Brady will hit his receivers right off the line with passes and get valuable yards-after-catch (YAC). With Ted Washington back clogging the middle and with Peyton Manning, who has never done well against the Patriots, with an iffy wing, the Pats should squeak this one out. Attention Messers Mara and Tisch Please hire Patriot Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel as the New York Football Giants next Head Coach. RAVENS -3 over 49ers The Niners defensive and offensive are banged up badly, so with Jamal Lewis running for the Ravens and the fired up Ravens D lead by Ray Lewis and add in the Niners are 0-5 on the road, while the Ravens are 4-1 at home this looks like a long day for the Red & Gold. One bright spot for the 49ers is the return of QB Jef Garcia who claims he�s healed and rested from his ankle injury. Great for him, after this game on Sunday he will have a fresh batch of black and blues. Chiefs -7 over CHARGERS The Chargers have given up on the season and maybe even the on the City of San Diego. Alex Spanos the Chargers owner, is trying very hard to get out of his lease at Quallacom Stadium. He�s doing this in order to hold the city hostage as he plays the �Move to a New City Card� by holding a move to LA over the city leaders of SD�s head, for a more lucrative payout for the San Diego city fathers. Spanos figures he wants to strike first before the Ursays of Indy do. Oh as for the game, the Chargers have lost 16 of their last 20 games as Marty (my coaching career is Shott)enheimer turns to 57 year old Doug Fluite to try and put at least one in the win column. That won�t happen on Sunday. The only thing �Tears on my Pillow� Vermile has to worry about in this one is boredom. <

Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Posted 11/26/2003 12:33:00 PM by Kranepool
MIKE PIAZZA'S HOLIDAY MESSAGE TO THE METS AND THEIR FANS: "I LIKE YOU, I REALLY LIKE YOU" In an interview with the Newark-Star Ledger, Mike Piazza says there is no truth to the rumors that (a) He wants off the Mets and (b) He has a problem playing 1st base. Here are some spin...err I mean quotes from Piazza: "I don't want to be traded," Piazza told The Star-Ledger in a casual, matter-of-fact tone by phone yesterday from his L.A. home. "I signed on for seven years. I made a seven-year commitment and I plan to stick to it. I don't know where all this came from, but it didn't come from me. What hurts me is that the fans are confused, and they shouldn't be. It's kind of embarrassing. It shouldn't be about me. It should be about making the team better." Translation: "There is no market for a 35 year old catcher with diminishing skills who is coming off a serious injury and is owed $30 mil over the next 2 years. That is, there is no market where I would like to go, that would pay my contract. Where? Arlington Texas? Are you kidding? Sure, I want to catch in 100 degrees in the middle of August with a team that's 20 games out of 1st place." "I'm just trying to be accommodating, to help the team. I think we should have open lines of communication and we should be adults about it. They shouldn't be afraid to come talk to me about anything. I'll do whatever they want me to do. My agent was quoted saying I'm willing to play first base. I've said it over and over again. What do I have to do, go to the top of a mountain at high noon and sign it in blood?" Translation: "Artie if you have something to say to me, then SAY IT TO ME, DAMNIT!. Don't go to MSG or WFAN or the Oxygen Channel, SEE ME FIRST! "Mistakes were made," he said, "but there wasn't irreparable damage. I'm not sitting around stewing over it. When I signed with the Mets, I looked at it as a marriage -- through good and bad, sickness and in health, for richer or poorer. You don't just bail out because of a couple of things." Translation:Artie, If you go to the press again about playing me at 1st base before talking to me, your going to get a size 12 Nike in your ass" So, why didn't he call a press conference, issue a statement, hire a public relations firm and make a rebuttal when the recent media furor grew and grew? "I didn't think it was necessary," he said. "It was so silly I didn't want to give any credence to it. I mean, if I was going to say something, I would say it. I wouldn't leak it out or whatever. I'm a pretty straightforward guy." Translation: "Now if the said I was gay and wouldn't play 1st base then I would have went on Larry King to set the record straight" <

Posted 11/26/2003 12:12:00 PM by Kranepool
So Sr. and Jr. Skill Sets went to the Flushing Savings Bank to cash in that 3 yr CD they had so they could make an offer to 2nd baseman Luis Castillo. It was a tough decision because the bank officer threw a monkey wrench into the works by offering the Skill Sets a George Foreman Grill and the Westclock AM/FM Clock Radio if they rolled over the CD. The Duke says the Mets offer to Castillo is simmlar to what the Fish offered, which is 3 yrs $15.5 mill, and I don't think either team will go much higher than that. Castillo would be a marked improvement to anyone the Mets have had a 2nd base since Fonzie went to SF. With Reyes and Castillo at the top of the order you finally have two top table setters, now with Prince Mikey and Cliff Floyd at 3 and 4 followed by Phillips, Mike Cameron(?) and Reggie Sanders(?) and Wiggy in the 8th spot, we Mets fans may not have to renew our anti depressants. Hopefully, the Skill Sets have a couple of more CD's that are due. <

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Posted 11/25/2003 11:33:00 PM by Kranepool
�CASSSSHMAAAAAAN.. GET IN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!! So bellowed Georgie Porgie when the news came out that Curt Schilling, upon agreeing to a contract extension, would join the Boston Red Sox. The Old Towne Team may have finally got one over on the Evil Empire. And the man with the biggest smile on his face? That would be Andy Pettite. Pettite can just sit back and see his price go up like the meter in a NYC Taxi stuck in Mid-Town traffic. Not just Pettite should be smiling either, Bartolo Colon, Gary Sheffield, and Kaz Matsui have finally found the team to be the free agent pace car. Those with frowns on their face would be Nick Johnson and Soriano, due to the fact both men will need to take French lessons as either one or both of them will be headed to Montreal for Javier Vasquez and Jose Vidro. Meanwhile on 126 Street and Roosevelt Ave, the Skill Set family is waiting for the 3 yr CD to come to due at the Flushing Saving Bank before they go free agent shopping. �Spahn and Sain and pray for rain� Warren Spahn the winningest left handed pitcher in baseball history, passed away at the age of 82. Not only was Spahn one of the great pitchers of all time, he was also a World World II hero, earning a battlefield commission and awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Spahn had a solid repertoire of pitches. His strength was being able to throw his fastball, breaking ball and change all with the same motion. His uncanny ability to hit the black of the plate and have batters chase pitches out of the strike zone was his claim to fame. Just click here to see his career accomplishments from the good folks at baseball-reference .com as I did and marvel at this man�s career. The first one that stands out is 13 season of 20 wins or better and how about 16 season of over 260 IP 7 of those seasons Spahn pitched 290 innings or more. Spahn was at the end of his career when he joined the Mets and his first big league manager Casey Stengel. In fact, Spahn became the highest paid Met at $70,000 for the 1965 season. <

Monday, November 24, 2003

Posted 11/24/2003 09:54:00 PM by Kranepool
RECAP OF WEEK 12 NFL PICKS Home team in CAPS PACKERS -4 � over 49ers PACKERS 20 49ers 10 With Brett Farve still hampered by a broken right thumb, The Pack, led by the Big Dwags on the OL, and the running of Ahman Green, ran rough shod over the 49 ers �D�. Packer running backs combined for 243 yards on the ground lead by Green�s 154 yards on 24 carries. Najeh (Dump) Davenport pinched out 62 yards as well. Farve threw only 15 passes completing 10 of them for 152 yards and 2 TD. But he also threw 3 INTS. The Pack still remains a game back of the Vikes who also won on Sunday for the NFC North lead. Put this one in the win column for me. Patriots -6 over TEXANS Patriots 23 Texans 20 (OT) The Pats out gained the Texans 473 yards to 169 yards but still need 14min and 40 seconds of OT to beat the up and coming Texans. Adam Vinatieri kicked a FG to start the 4th quarter to make the score 13-10 Pats. The Texas took the lead when QB Tony Banks hit TE Billy Miller with a 12-yard TD pass to put the Texans up 17-13. Kris Brown then added a 31 yd FG and it looked like the Texans had a nice upset win at 20-13. The Pats defense then played a big series holding the Texans in check and getting the ball back for Tom Brady and one last drive. Brady drove the P-Men 80 yards in 9 plays topped off by a Brady to Daniel Graham TD pass and Vineteri extra point to send the game into OT. After a Mike Vrable INT the Texans Special Teams made a huge play when Ramon Walker leaped over the pile and blocked Vinitrei�s FG attempt, the first blocked kick in Texans history. But Viniteri was vindicated in a back and forth OT, when he hit the game winning FG with 41 seconds left in the game. A great game to watch but a loss for me. Titans -7 over FLACONS Titans 38 Falcons 31 The Titans were down 21-0 by the end of the 1st quarter. Then Steve McNair brought the Titans back with 2 TD passes to Frank Wycheck to make the score 21-14 Dirty Birds. It seem the comeback would go by the wayside as McNair injured his right calf and came out the game being replaced by Billy Volek. WHO? Yes THE Billy Volek. Volek threw a TD pass to Justin McCareins but the biggest play of the game was McCareins 58 yd punt return for a TD that put the Titans in the lead 28-24, a lead they held on to the rest of the game. Great comeback win for Jeff Fishers boys but a push for me. Week 12 record 1-1-1 YTD 17-16-3 <

Sunday, November 23, 2003

Posted 11/23/2003 12:18:00 PM by Kranepool
ITEM: PENNIES SCREAM OUCH! AS THEY ARE PINCHED BY THE WILPON'S Larry Rocca in today's Newark-Star Ledger reports that that The Duke had a deal with the White Sox that would have sent David Weathers to the Sox for closer Billy Koch. It seems this deal was agreed upon by the Duke, Artie from Queens, and Professor Rick. The problem was Skill Sets Sr. vetoed the deal because it would have cost the Mets a little less that $3 mil. That 's the difference between Koch's '04 salary ($6.375 mil) and Weathers ($3.6 mil). Although I am on record as saying signing a closer and paying him big money is ridiculous for this team, if this report is true then it is very disturbing. When your three main baseball men come to you and say I have a deal that we feel will make us better but it will cost a little less that $3 mil to do and the owner says NO! That's beyond discouraging. Even though Rocca states in the piece that the Mets could still land Koch, it looks like the Skill Sets are becoming the Dolan's. Rocca also touches on the return of Prince Mikey in '04. He mentions how Piazza is distant form his teammates (no suprise there) and how he has no love loss for Senator Al. It goes to show that those rumors of Titan Tommy Glavine not wanting to pitch to Piazza were not so far off. As I've said many times Prince Mikey is a strange bird. I think the youth movement the Mets are going toward worries Piazza .Since the team won't contened for a few years and the fact that Piazza does not seem the type to mentor the younger players. I think it's safe to say the Piazza will not comeback to the Mets as a hitting coach when he retires. <

Saturday, November 22, 2003

Posted 11/22/2003 09:52:00 PM by Kranepool
ITEM: MO VAUGHN VOWS TO COME TO SPRING TRAINING Paris Hilton has a better shot of regaining her virginity than Mo has of playing another inning for the Mets . ITEM:MIKE PIAZZA WANTS TO STAY A MET AND PLAY 1st BASE Did Piazza say this himself? Well, not exactly. I heard this from my mothers cousin, who heard it from his next door neighbor, who it from his nephew who's a door man, who heard it from a mail man, who knows the super in the building where Piazza lives. <

Friday, November 21, 2003

Posted 11/21/2003 09:00:00 PM by Kranepool
J.J. Cooper at Baseball America conducted a chat sesion on their web site exclusivley on the NY Mets farm system. It seems the Chat lasted a record 3 hours! Some of the highlights from the chat: Mets have a MnL RHP named Ceslo Rondon who is a hard thrower. But the best thing about him, he's bulit like Rich "El Guapo" Garces Tyler Yates, Royce Ring, Koyle Stayhorn all have a shot at becoming the Mets closer. It seems the Mets MnL's have a plethora of hard throwing relievers. Cooper is very high on Jeremy Griffiths, as am I Scott Kazmir and David Wright project as ML All Stars. That's according to ML scouts :>) 18 year old RHP Yuserio Petit pitched lights out for Kingsport in the Appy League last year. He poseses a +FB and +Ch & Curve. His K/BB ratio was 85:10. GIDDY UP !!! <

Posted 11/21/2003 08:57:00 PM by Kranepool
NFL PICKS WEEK 12 Home team in CAPS PACKERS -4 � over 49ers This is a survivor game for both teams. One team will go up to 6-5 and stay in the playoff hunt and the other drops to 5-6 and starts looking at future draft picks. With this game being played at Lambeau Field, the tundra will not be frozen but it could be sloppy as a winter storm could invade Green Bay on Sunday. The strength of the Packers is their massive offensive line, which has sprung RB Ahman Green loose for an NFC best 1,172 yds and 10 TD�s. Green is also been the QB Bret Farve's favorite target by air to the tune of 48 receptions and 4 TD�s. Farve is still bother by a sore thumb on his right throwing hand so a cold and blustery day it could hamper his throwing. The Packers have incentive as the wheels are starting to falloff the Vikings wagon. The Pack could close the Vikings lead in the NFC North to 1 game. Patriots -6 over TEXANS The Pats have been one of the great stories this year in football. Even with injuries and the release of a popular player in Lawyer Miloy, Bill Belichick has kept this team on top of the AFC East and made them a Super Bowl contender. The Patriots are winning with defense and the �D� will be even stronger with NT Ted (BIG HOUSE) Washington and LD Ted Johnson back in the line up. Titans -7 over FALCONS After scoring 30 or more points for 6 straight games, the Titans offense took last week off against the Jags and still won the game (10-3). No way the most underated head coach in football, Jeff Fisher allows that 2 weeks in a row. QB Steve Mc Nair should add to his league leading 16 TD passes in this one and the Tennessee D even without �THE FREAK� Jervon Kearse should have no problem with a Michael Vick-less Dirt Bird offense. <

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Posted 11/20/2003 10:00:00 PM by Kranepool
ITEM: THE DUKE HAS ACCTIVATED THE PIAZZA ALERT SYSTEM Stop me if you�ve heard this one before, Piazza and his agent will meet with the Mets next week. At a charity function last night in Brooklyn, Senator Al Leiter (R-NY) was asked if he has spoken recently to Prince Mikey. The Good Senator said, �No, I haven�t talked to him. Mike�s kind of hard to get a hold of, even if you�re his teammate and even if you have all his numbers� So, Prince Mikey has the phone off the hook. What does this guy do with his time? He doesn�t have a wife handing him a �honey-do� list or kids to take from place to place. Is he that busy that he can�t pick up a phone and call his employer who pays him a handsome sum of $15 mil a year? Yes this bugs the shit out of me. ITEM: JOHN FRANCO'S AGENT HOPES NEGOTIONS WITH METS WON'T DRAG ON. HHHOOOOOOO HOOOOO HAHHHAHAHAHA OOOOOOOO man is that funny or what? When asked about the contract negotiations Franco�s agent Dan Horwits said, �I hope it would be quick. For John�s sake, I hope it wouldn�t drag on� I damn near wet my pants reading that. Where is Franco going? He played this the last time his contract was up. He claimed he was going to Baltimore or Philly. Yeah right. John, please don�t piss on my leg and tell me it�s raining, take the one year deal for a couple a million in base salary and add some incentives and move off the line please. ITEM: METS LOOK TO WOO KAZ MATSUI I really don�t know why it annoys me that the Mets would move Jose Reyes to 2nd base to bring in Little Matsui? From all indication Kaz is the real deal both offensively and defensively. He�s a switch-hitting, power hitting, and Gold Glove shortstop. I mean if the Yankees can talk about moving Soriano to the outfield, and he�s hit 40 HR�s, why can�t the Mets move Reyes to 2nd base? ITEM: IBANEZ SIGNS WITH MARINERS So now the Mariners have 4 player for 3 spots. Ibanez and Ichiro are locked in so that leaves the object of the Mets affection Mike Cammeron and Randy Winn as the odd man out. How would you like to be Camereon? You play out your contract and hit the free agent market and you know the Mets want you badly. But then comes a market correction in salary AND one your teammates becomes available and may be a better fit than you for the Amazin�s. Winn is arbitration eligible so if push comes to shove he could be a non-tendered come December 20. The way it looks the Mariners will non-tender him so the Mets could swoop in and offer him 3 yr deal for $15 mil. Where does that leave Camerron? The only teams you�ve heard that had any interest in him are the Mets or the Mariners? This one we have to watch closely. ITEM: 14 YEAR OLD SIGNS WITH D.C. UNITED OF THE MSL George Steinbrenner hit the ceiling yesterday when he heard about the signing of 14 year old Freddy Adu to a 6 yr contract with D.C. United of the MSL. Here is a transcript of a phone conversation between Georgie Porgrie and Pee Wee Cashman: GS: CASHMAN!!! WHY WEREN�T WE IN ON THIS KID A-DO DO, SCOOBY DO, DO BE DO BE DO? BC: Ah Boss the kids name is Freddy Adu and he�s a 14 year old soccer player. GS: I DON�T CARE. WE COULD HAVE SENT HIM TO TAMPA WITH BIILY (Connors) AND TEACH HIM TO PITCH. BC: But Boss�.. GS: WHAT ABOUT 2nd BASE WE COULD HAVE PUT HIM THEIR MOVE THAT DAMN SORIANO TO THE OUTFIELD BC: Boss the young man plays SOCCER�.. GS: I JUST KNOW THAT BASTARD LUCHINO HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS BC: Boss, please listen to me for a minute�. GS: LISTEN TO YOU? GOD DAMNIT CAHSMAN YOU LISTEN TO ME, IF THIS KID DOODY DOO WINS THE HOME RUN CROWN AND THE RED SOX WIN THE PENNANT WITH HIM, I�LL CAN YOUR SORRY ASS! <

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Posted 11/19/2003 08:03:00 PM by Kranepool
I found something very intersting while surfing through various web sites I like. One of them a Red Sox site called the Sons of Sam Horn had a posting on it's message board on Peter Gammons giving a talk at Harvard Law School. There is some extremly intersting points posted here. Such as: A-Rod to Boston for Manny is heating up. A-Rod wants to be a Red Sox very badly. In fact he told Buck and John Hart that both of them would lose thier jobs if this deal is not done. Andy Pettite is leaning toward the Astros but wants top dollar. Jeter asked Gammons how does Manny and Pedro get away with not talking to the media. Bartolo Colon will be pitching for the Evil Empire come April. <

Posted 11/19/2003 05:10:00 PM by Kranepool
I meant to link to this story yesterday. Tadahito Iguchi will NOT be headed toward the U.S. He has decide to stay in Japan and play 2nd base for the Daiei Hawks. So cross his name off the Mets list for a 2nd baseman. Alos cross of Adam Kennedy's name as it looks like he wil re-sign with the Angels. Marco, Marco wherefore art thou Marco? Tom Seaver now has an offical web site. I was so excited when I first entered into it becuase you hear some great monents from The Franchise's career. But the rest of the site leaves alot to be desired. I could do without the schilling of Seaver memrobillia. What makes that part worse is Seaver is just awful about signing autogrphs for fans. I got lucky when my brother met Tom Terrific at a dinner and got him to sign a baseball for me. As much as I love Seaver, I'm not paying $125 for his autograph. <

Posted 11/19/2003 04:52:00 PM by Kranepool
Bill Singer was given the pink slip by the Mets. You can't tell me this is the first time he's been stewed and made racists comments. The Duke needs to tighten up on the background checks on the new employees. <

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Posted 11/18/2003 09:34:00 PM by Kranepool
TAKE YOUR PICK: The NY Daily News says: NAY ROD- MVP OPEN TO TRADE, BUT METS SAY DON�T CALL US The NY Post says: METS WANT A-ROD-SOURCE: AMAZIN�S TO MAKE PITCH FOR AL MVP The Kranepool Society says: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Enough A-Rod already please I�m beggin� here. Why would the Mets want to go down this road again? All these stories today prove one thing, like the blind squirrel finding the acorn; Swarmy Steve Phillips was right about Rodriquez being a �24 and 1 guy� The guy wins his first MVP Award and all his press conference is about is his desire to be traded. He claims that the Rangers approached him about moving on, but here are a couple of items about Rodriquez you need to know. First, he has not returned any phone calls from manager Buck Showalter. It seems he�s pissed of at Buck for firing some gopher that worked in the Ranger clubhouse. He�s also mad because Buck gave him a day off last year and interrupted his consecutive games streak at a whopping 546. Who said money can buy happiness? Is he a great baseball player? Absolutely. He�s a phenomenal talent both offensively and defensively. But when he left Seattle, the next season the Mariners won116 games, a 25 games increase from the previous season, and the Rangers finished last. In fact, the Rangers have finished last the 3 seasons that Rodriquez has been there. A-Rod does not turn the Mets into a winning team. So why waste our time. Then you have his obscene contract. He is owed $21 mil for the �04 season and $179 mil for the seven years left on the deal. To add to this, he has incentive clauses in his contract. You see making $20 mil a year is not incentive enough, Rodriquez needs more. All he is is a pig at a trough. Take a look: 1st in MVP Voting-$500K All-Star Team-$100K Gold Glove-$100K Silver Slugger-$100K Baseball America Player of the Year-$100K The Sporting News Player of the Year-$100K The Sporting News All-Star Team-$100K Total=$1 mil Now I know he did not put a gun at Tom Hicks� head. But when you make that kind of scratch you need to shut your mouth about being traded. You should be out front and center to contributing making your team better. As great a talent as he is, A-Rod does not make his team better. The Skill Sets have gotten a bad rap as being cheap. I think they found out buying Trophy Players does not equate to winning. His contract cripples your team. Don�t you think Mets ticket prices are high enough? Do you want to pay $80.00 for a box seat? How about Upper Deck Reserve for $40.00? And for what, to watch some guy compile stats? I sure don�t. The agent for Mike Piazza held a s�ance yesterday and Mike�s sprit said �Mike has no problem playing 1st base next season and wants to remain a Met� Barry Bonds has notified the MLBPA that he does not want to be part of the unions licensing agreement. He and his �advisors� are going out and striking his own marketing deal. So, the younger players and journeymen who enjoy a nice stipend from the licensing deal will have to do without Bond sharing his likeness and name to. He�s an 800 and 1 guy. When he is inducted into the Hall of Fame, they can hold the ceremony in a phone booth. <

Monday, November 17, 2003

Posted 11/17/2003 10:19:00 PM by Kranepool
Doris from Rego Park was laid to rest yesterday. I saw this story from the Journal News on her just a little while ago. Of all the times I heard Doris on the radio I never knew her favorite Mets player of all time was Eddie Kranepool. Well, the woman had great taste. <

Posted 11/17/2003 07:40:00 PM by Kranepool
NFL WEEK 11 (Home team in CAPS) PANTHERS -6 over Redskins PANTHERS 20 Redskins 17 Stephen Davis was a little too hyped up for this payback game against his former team. He did settle down though to make two huge plays in the 4th quarter. The Panthers were down 17-13 and faced with a 4th and 1 at their own 38. QB Jake Delhomme pitched it to Davis who followed some outstanding lead blocking, to scamper down the sideline for 25 yards. 1st and 10 and the Panthers were rolling. Delhomme, who is growing in leaps and bounds each week at QB, threw a dart to WR Steve Smith for a 30 yard gain to the �Skins 7. 1st and goal Panthers. Now, you could see Davis� leg twitching just wanting to run the ball into the end zone for the game winner. Delhomme hands off to Davis who breaks a tackle but falls short a yard from the goal line. The Panthers go back to their bread and butter play and give the ball to Davis up the gut and he breaks the plane of the goal line for the winning TD. John Kasay missed to FG attempts-47 yds and 54 yds-up I�m not upset. What I�m upset about is that John Fox is the Panthers coach and not the coach of the Giants. TITANS -10 over Jaguars TITANS 10 Jaguars 3 Did you see the TD catch by Titans WR Justin McCariens? McCariens caught a pass in the end zone on his back and tipped the ball about 4 times before he grabbed possesion of it for the game winner. The Jags did make a valiant comeback. After a FG cut the Titan lead to 10-3, the Jags stopped the Titans in the next possesion and forced them to punt. The Jags got the ball back and marched down the field to establish a 1st and goal at the Titan 3 yard line. Jags QB Byron Leftwich handed off to FB Chirs Fuamatu-Ma�afala twice and he lost yards both times. A delay of game penalty pushed the Jags back to the Panther 10. Leftwich then hit Coretz Hankton with a pass at the Panther 2 yard line. So with 4th and goal, Leftwich tried an end zone pass to that bad Muther, Ma� afala but it was just out his fingertips. The Titans win but I lose game number 2. BENGALS +6 over Chiefs BENGALS 24 Chiefs 19 Bengal WR Chad Johnson talked the talked, but it was WR Peter Warwick who walked the walk. Warwick had a game to remember yesterday. He had 6 receptions for 114 yards. One of those receptions went for a 77 yard TD and he also had a dynamic 68-yard punt return for a TD. Chad Johnson was no slouch either with 7 receptions for 74 yards. The Bengals ran rings around the previously unbeaten Chiefs to the tune of 200 yards. The Phenom, Rudi Johnson ran for 165 of those yards. Marvin Lewis had his Bengals well prepared for this game. The two things the Bengals needed to do they did. They held return specialist Dante Hall in check and limited RB Priest Holmes to 62 yards on the ground. Pinch yourself; the Bengals at 5-5 are tied with the Ravens for first place in the AFC North. Week 2 1-2-0 YTD 16-15-2 <

Sunday, November 16, 2003

Posted 11/16/2003 12:07:00 PM by Kranepool
Finally some good Mets news to report. Future Mets 3rd baseman David Wright, had a exceptional season at St Lucie this past season and he contiuned his fine play in the AFL. This is why I would sign Fernado Vina for one year and put Wright at 3rd on '05 and move Wggy to 2nd. Also RHP Matt Peterson continue to raise his stock along with LHP Lenny DiNardo. Di Nardo showed his strength as a strikeout pitcher. <

Posted 11/16/2003 11:58:00 AM by Kranepool
I guess one of these days we will actually hear from Mike Piazza himself about wether he's want to stay or go. He's turning into Greta Garbo. <

Posted 11/16/2003 11:37:00 AM by Kranepool
It looks like Bill Singer will have one of the shorts employments in Mets history. And to think this schmuck was hired for his ties to the Japanese leagues. <

Saturday, November 15, 2003

Posted 11/15/2003 11:00:00 AM by Kranepool
We are hearing form everyone from Piazza's parents to newspaper columists to the Mets faithful. The one person we want to hear from is incomunicato, Piazza himself. What's the dealio Mikey? Speak up son, let's hear it from the horeses mouth. Show some onions, make a statement damn it! <

Posted 11/15/2003 10:28:00 AM by Kranepool
Reports this morning in the NY Daily News and the LA Times have Mets asst to GM Bill Singer being drunk and making racially insensitive remarks to Dodgers asst GM Kin Ng at a hotel bar during the GM meetings in Phoenix. See ya Bill, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. The Duke has got to be steaming over this incident and I'll be shocked if Singer still has a job by the end of the weekend. Just for the stupid remarks alone he should be booted. By adding being drunk just ices it for me to boot his ass out of here. These guys never get it. When your out in public your the face of the organization you work for. Just look at the accounts in the papers. It's not Bill Singer made racially insensitive remarks.....It's "Mets superscout Bill Singer..... Here's part of his attack on NC: According to witnesses, Singer approached Ng in the bar of the hotel where the meetings occurred. After asking Ng, the highest-ranking Asian American in the major leagues, questions about her background in a sarcastic tone, Singer began speaking nonsensically in mock Chinese before eventually leaving Two officials within earshot described the exchange. Singer: What are you doing here? Ng: I'm working. Singer: What are you doing here? Ng: I'm working. I'm the Dodger assistant general manager. Singer: Where are you from? Ng: I was born in Indiana and grew up in New York. Singer: Where are you from? Ng: My family's from China. Singer: (Nonsensically mock Chinese). What country in China? This should be an easy call for the Mets. Singer has made a statement of apology to Ng: "I'm embarrassed by what I said when I met Ms. Ng on Tuesday evening," the statement read. "My comments were totally inappropriate and I'm truly sorry. I have apologized to her and hope that she will forgive me." Drunk, belligerent, and racist That's enough for me to can Singer's ass. <

Friday, November 14, 2003

Posted 11/14/2003 08:21:00 PM by Kranepool
NFL PICKS WEEK 11 Home team in CAPS BENGALS +6 over Chiefs I wasn�t going to touch this one, but a couple of things got me going with the Bengals. First, Marvin Lewis has done something in Cincy that no one thought could be done, these guys really believe that they�re good. They�re a game behind the Ravens and are looking at a December 7th show down in the Charm City in what could be a game for the division championship. Think that over for a minute, the Bengals could be playing for a division championship. WHEW!. QB John Kittna runs hot and cold but over all he completes 61 % of his passes and has a TD/INT rate of 18/9. Rudi Johnson has pushed Corey Dillon to the curb as the go to RB and Corey Johnson is emerging as a top flight WR, giving his cousin Keyshawn a run for his money as the top WR in the Johnson family. The key to the Bengals winning is containing KR extrodinaire Dante Hall and His Holiness RB Priest Holmes in check. Something no opponent has done against the Chiefs so far this season. I�m sure when Chiefs Head Coach Dick Vermeil got his copy of SI this week with his team on the cover he went to pieces. The SI Cover Jinx will claim another victim this weekend. TITANS -10 over Jaguars 10 points is a lot of wood these days in the NFL to lay, but when you have the leading candidate for MVP,Steve McNair running the offense against and a defense Viagra couldn�t get a rise out of you feel confident. I love watching McNair. He reminds me of a more talented Joe Kapp. I used to love watching Kapp as he would hurdle over defenders and throw on the run. anything to win a game. That�s how McNair is, there�s nothing he can�t do on the field. PANTHERS -6 over Redskins I�ve been on the Panther bandwagon form the start of the season so I have a good seat. Steve Spurrier cast off, RB Stephen Davis, brings his 992 yards rushing into the game against his ex-mates. With DE Mike Rucker (11 sacks) and DE Julius Peppers line up against the tissue thin Redskins OL, it looks like QB Patrick Ramsey will be a human pinata for another week <

Posted 11/14/2003 05:47:00 PM by Kranepool
NEWS ITEM: 5-7 % OF MLB PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE FOR STEROIDS First the baseballs were juiced, then the bats now the players. What, you thought Barry Bonds was going through a late puberty? You thought is natural that his baseball cap is the size of a soup tureen? Com�om. The 5-7 % is of over 1400 players tested. SO we�re talking about 70 players here. Without naming names I think we can guess a few of the players who tested positive, in fact, it may be the first test some of these guys ever passed. So what does it all mean? Well considering that the players all know they were going to be tested, the 70 who were busted either are idiots, or did not have the right masking agent for their urine sample. Even though I�m not suprised by this, but it does piss me off some. I mean when we see all the home run records being not just broken but annihilated, that would have been the time for a massive investigation. The major problem you is the union and management have such distrust for one and other. If they had a better relationship, you would think they could sit down and say not only is bad for the game but it�s deadly for the players. Do you think it�s a coincidence that pro wrestlers are dropping dead at such young ages? When Orioles pitcher Steve Blecher died from use of ephedra you would think the union would have stepped in for the membership and tell them they can�t fight the drug testing ban anymore? They won�t because everything is about not giving the owners an inch. One of three things will have to happen to end the steroid use. Either someone has to go to jail for trafficking this stuff, lose their endorsements because of use of performance drugs, or god forbid some super star player has to drop dead from complications of steroid use. <

Posted 11/14/2003 05:40:00 PM by Kranepool
NEWS ITEM: MIKE PIAZZA TO WANTS TO BE TRADED According to NEWSDAY, Mike Piazza wants to end his relationship with the NY Mets. YAWN! There�s no suprise here. Everyone knows my stance on Mike. If your not part of the solution, your part of the problem. Piazza does not want to be a 1st baseman. He want to catch and be a DH. So that leaves AL teams as trading partners. Piazza is also owed $30mil over the next 2 seasons. That narrows the field substantially. It says in the story that Piazza would like to go the Baltimore. It�s close to his family home in Norristwon PA and it�s a great hitters park. What has me scratching my head is Piazza wants to leave the Mets because he does not like the direction the teams is heading. HUH? The Mets are trying to get younger and more aggressive. The Duke is trying rebuild the team with pitching and defense, the two staples of any success this franchise has had. And Mikey�s not down with that. He has no desire to be a 1st baseman. In fact you would need a court order to get to play there. This just justifies my opinion that Piazza is inflicted with �The Disease of Me� It�s Mike�s world we�re just privileged to be in it. I don�t want this to become a Piazza bashing post. Believe it or not I�m a Piazza fan. I was at Shea the night the Mets made the deal with the Marlins on May 22, 1998. The Mets were dying on the vine. They had no juice and were just an awful team. According to most people in the know, it was Nelly D who told Steve Phillips go get him. In fact after that �98 season, Nelly told Phillips �Here�s a blank check, get on a plane and sign him�. It was one of the greatest signings in Mets history. But it looks as though the bloom is off the rose so to speak. I�ve written that I did not think Mike was a very happy guy playing here and this paragraph for the NEWSDAY article seems to back that up. He never seemed comfortable either playing or discussing first base, and he didn't seem particularly happy the past two seasons, when the Mets finished last. In addition to the losing and the positional switch, Mets pitcher Al Leiter has been outspoken about the team's need to improve its defense up the middle, an implied shot at Piazza. I hate bring this up again but a lot of Mike�s disenchantment I believe goes back to the Clemens beaning. That whole Mets bench should have charged en mass to get Clemens and beat his ass to an inch of his life. But no one did. I�ve always felt that sent a message to Piazza that your not well liked. Mike Hampton hated his guts and that�s not a secret. Most of the pitching staff hated throwing to him but never let in known. Just the fact that it took what 2 season for someone to retaliate-Shawn Estes feeble attempt-speaks volumes. So it my be time to file for divorce. One of those no-frills kind. The problem now is what happens if they can�t move him? He does have a big nut to pay and his choices my be limited. In fact what do the Meets get back in return for him and how much of his contract to they pay off? Just what we need one more distraction for this team. <

Thursday, November 13, 2003

Posted 11/13/2003 11:09:00 PM by Kranepool
Irina Paley has a fantastic blog that is hip, happenin' and it's uptown at West 116 St. I do caution my devotees of the Blue and Orange, The lovely Irina does lean toward the Pinstripe side. Please check out her site and enjoy. Maybe we can convert her from the dark side to the Amazin' Side <

Posted 11/13/2003 10:41:00 PM by Kranepool
Did you see the back page of the NY Daily News today? �YANKEES LISTEN AS ALOMAR BEGS FOR SECOND CHANCE�. Oh Man! How desperate is the Diva and his agent Jaime Torres. Obviously the Diva cannot get a sniff of an offer on the free agent market, so of course whenever you become a free agent you have to get the Yankees in the mix for a bid. So far with the first month of the off season half way through according to the ink stained wretches in the media the Yankees are trying to obtain: Curt Schilling Valdimir Guerrero Andy Pettite Bartolo Colon Jim Edmonds Luis Castillio Alex Rodriquez Kaz Matsui Todd Walker J.D. Drew Shigetoshi Hasegawa And of course the Diva. Now seriously think about that, what the hell would the Evil Empire want with a broken down valise like Alomar. He cannot hit right-handed and he has lost about 5 steps in the field. Not to mention that he bails out on the pivot to complete a 6-4-3 double play. The guy is a shell of what he was and the sheds tears when he�s criticized. How would he ever put up with Georgie Porgie? Who is going to be the exec that goes to Georgie and says, �I really like Alomar, let�s give a 2 year contract for $8 mil�? Unless Pee Wee Cashman wants to get some revenge he�ll sign him. As for the Mets, it just a rehash of all the articles, and rumors we�ve been hearing since the season ended. Again, nothing will be done until the middle of December, when the non-tenders are known. How about this little blurb form Adam Rubin�s Mets Notebook in the Daily News. That the Mets could bring back one or two of the dead wood that was moved out of here last season. Who out this these five putz�s would you want back? Robbie Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, Graeme Lloyd, Rey Sanchez, and �GASP�! Armando Benitez? The only guy worth a look is Down Under Lloyd. But, with Franco and Stanton on the roster, the Mets have reached their quota on left-handed geezer relievers. The NY Times has a story today on Kazuo Matsui-aka-Little Matsui. Although his stolen base numbers were down last year and his K�s (124) were up it seems Kaz is the real deal. A reporter who covers the Japanese league calls him �Ichiro with power�. The key here with the Mets is where to play him. If he came to the Mets would he shift to 2nd base or do you move Reyes to 2nd base? As you see 2nd base is turning into the problem that 3rd has been for the past 42 years. <

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Posted 11/12/2003 05:33:00 PM by Kranepool
Art Carney With all my surfing for Mets stuff I completely forgot about mentioning the death of Art Carney. Carney was not just a great comedian and the co star of arguably the greatest television show of all time, The Honeymooners, he was also an claimed Broadway performer, staring as Felix Unger in Neil Simons play The Odd Couple. Carney, as Ed Norton he had some of the great lines of all time. Address the ball, "Hello ball" , The Hucklebuckle, The Chief of The Future, and on and on. The one thing I loved about Ed Norton was he was not only a NYC Civil servant like myself, but he was a sewer worker, so that meant he was employed by the NYC Dept of Environmental Protection(DEP) The same DEP I have toiled at for the past 19 years. Although I don't work in sewers, air and noise pollution is my gig. I do think the city should rename one of our sewer treatment plants-maybe Owl's Head or Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn-in honor of Art Carney/Ed Norton. The MTA named a bus depot in Sunset Park Brooklyn in honor of Jackie Gleason, so Art should get the same honor as well. <

Posted 11/12/2003 02:40:00 PM by Kranepool
The White Sox are shopping Maglio Ordonez around the majors and the Mets are one of teams interested. I looked over Ordonez's digits the last 3 years and he sure fits the bill as the RF the Mets would covet. Take a look: 2001 .305/.382/.533 40 2b 1 3b 31 HR 113 RBI 2002 .320/.381/.597 47 2b 1 3b 38 HR 135 RBI 2003 .317/.380/.546 46 2b 3 3b 29 HR 99 RBI Quite attractive I must say. defensively he's about average which is a tremendous step up from Roger Cedeno. His arm is average-and that's being kind-but he is durable having played 160, 153, and 160 games the last 3 season. BUT, and there always is a BUT, his paycheck for the 2004 season is $14 mil dollars. Now if the Mets are as interested in Billy Koch, as is reported, he would be cashing checks to the tune of $6.375 mil for the season. If the White Sox take back Cedeno and the final 2 years of his contract thats $10 mil saved there. So that leavesl another $10 mil left over. With the relief from Mo Vaughns contract this could be worth making the deal. <

Posted 11/12/2003 02:32:00 PM by Kranepool
More talk on the Kevin Millwood front. I am not crazy about signing Millwood. The Mets are desperate for a strikeout pitcher and Millwood is not a strikeout guy. The Duke should be trying to free Javier Vasquez form the Expos. Again, nothing will happen until the non tenders hit the open market. Then it will look like the opening bell at the Commodities Exchage. As Murph would say, "Fasten your seatbelts." <

Posted 11/12/2003 02:29:00 PM by Kranepool
Jose Reyes will be the shortstop next season. Mike Cameron will be signed to play CF. Billy Koch will be closing games for the 2004 Mets. Predictions? Nope. Fact. Yes. Why? Because Senator Al Leiter said so. <

Posted 11/12/2003 01:52:00 PM by Kranepool
When the baseball season was over with the Marlins defeat of the Evil Empire, I said to myself "I wonder what I can find to write about during the off season? Well, as I am finding out, there is plenty of material out there. First, let me say here in NYC, baseball is still front and center. I guess with two pro football teams looking to close shop early and the Knicks just a shell of the organization of what they were and until the NHL decides to bring pro hockey back to Manhattan, baseball is still on the front burner. There are lots of stories coming out of Arizona and the GM meetings. But there will be no movement until Decmeber 7th when the non tenders are known. This is the owners way of trying their hand at collusion once again. Required reading is a post by Alex Bleth at Bronx Banter of a reprinted story by Tim Marchman of the NY Sun on Frank Coonelly. Who is Frank Coonley? His official title is Chief Labor Counsel but he may be the guy who is setting the market price for free agents. Some where Charley O. Finley is laughing his ass off as his proposal of letting the players be free agents every year is not a pipe dream anymore. Finley knew the more players out there the more the demand is lessen. It's capitalism at it's best, supply and demand. <

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Posted 11/11/2003 05:03:00 PM by Kranepool
The Mets have fallen in love with Billy Koch. Well not so much Koch, but the fact that he has one year left on his contract for $6.375 mil, and the opportunity to move Roger Cedeno and his dopey contract. Cedeno as we all know, is owed $10 mil over the next two years. So if the White Sox take him and spilit the difference in money with the Mets, then Koch will be the Mets close for '04. On the plus side, Koch can hit the Juggs at 100 mph and he did excel under Dr. Rick. The down side, he lost his closer job to Tom Gordon, who is on the free agent market, and Koch also has a tendency to give up the gopher ball. But, if you can get Koch for the year and move Cedeno, you have to make the deal. <

Posted 11/11/2003 04:39:00 PM by Kranepool
Remember when the NY Post printed a blind item on Page Six that a certain memeber of a NY baseball team was gay? And Mike Piazza had to hold a press conference to say he wasn't? Well I'm here today to tell you the Piazza is NOT a homosexual. No, he is a METROSEXUAL. You know the new phrase for a straight man who loves to get in touch with his femine side? Well that's Piazza. I have never seen a professional athlete act like such a little girl like Piazza has about this move to 1st base. It seems Piazza has retuned form a vacation in Italy and will sit down with his agent and The Duke next week about where he will play in '04. There seems to be a possibilty the Piazza will ask for a trade. Check out this quote form Agent Lozano: "He (Piazza) and I plan on sitting down and talking about the direction of the team [and] the potential of switching positions," said Lozano. On Sunday, Piazza returned from a vacation in Italy with his parents and will rest for a few days before meeting with Lozano. Among the topics to be discussed: whether Piazza wants to move to first base, and if so, would it be a permanent switch. Also, would Piazza rather be traded if the organization were going through a rebuilding mode. Lozano said he's unsure what Piazza wants at this point. "To ask me today," Lozano said, "it's a little premature." This is why I could never be the GM of a pro sports team. Who the F is Agent Lozano think he is that he has any say in what the Mets organization does? What the Duke should say is here's the plan, "Mike we are a better team and have a better chance of winning with you playing 1st base and Jason Phillips becoming the everyday catcher with Vance Wilson backing him up. Moving back and forth from 1st to catcher does not do you or the organization any good. We want you here and we are commited to winning and we feel this is the best plan. If you disagree, here are the phone numbers of the other 29 teams in ML feel free to call and make a deal." I really like Piazza, I do, but this guy is making this move to 1st base more than it really is. That's why I have to question his commitment to winning. What would he rather do make the team stronger or hold a record that is meaningless? He is already been called the greatest hitting catcher in history. He will be a lead pipe cinch to go into the Hall of Fame. What other personal marks does he need? <

Posted 11/11/2003 04:17:00 PM by Kranepool
As we Mets fans know, the organization is buying into the new ways of baseball in the 21st century and are looking to hire a sabermatician to look over numbers al la Bill James and Paul DePodesta. Eric Mc Erlain of the great blog Off Wing Opinion has sent a note to the Mets to think about hiring David Pinto who is the A-Rod of bloggers at Baseball Musings for the position. What's needed is for all of us Mets fans to sent a letter to the Duke in a effort to get David at least an interview. Click the links to Eric's blog and David's site for more on this story. If the Mets were to hire David, it would rank right there with the Rick Peterson hire. <

Monday, November 10, 2003

Posted 11/10/2003 08:47:00 PM by Kranepool
Sad News from Mets Land. As anyone who has listened to WFAN since it's inception in 1987 knows the name "Doris from Rego Park" and also knows that there was no bigger Mets fan than she. Doris passed away today at the age of 58. She had battled through many health difficulties and it seems she lost her battle with breast cancer. Mike Francessa read an obituary earlier this afternoon which mentioned how Doris had battles lots of health problems but the one thing that kept her going were the Mets. She always had great insight into the team and always made great points when she called the station. She will be missed. If I see any type of obit with info on a memorial I will to post it here. <

Posted 11/10/2003 08:40:00 PM by Kranepool
I forgot to post this story yesterday-the Giants game threw me for a loop-Bobby Valentine was given a heroes welcome when he arrived in Japan to begin his stint as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines. But there was a paragraph in the story that was extremely interesting. It seems before taking this job and leaving for the Land of the Rising Sun, Valentine went to Sr. Skill Sets and The Duke and burry the hatchet. It seems he is keeping the lines of communications open with the Mets. It was noted that Bobby Valentine coming back to the Mets to manage is not far fetched. It seem the contract that Valentine signed has a lot of out clauses for him to come back to MLB to manage. Just like Lotto, Hey, you never know! <

Posted 11/10/2003 08:37:00 PM by Kranepool
NFL PICKS WEEK 10 Colts -6 over JAGUARS JAGUARS 28 Colts 23 WOW! What a weekend! 0-3 for my picks ,OUCH! Everyone was ready to rub it in as well. I received an e-mail from Fred Wilpon who told me I did not have the skill sets to make NFL picks. Broncos QB Jake �The Snake� Plumber e-mailed me as well with this message,� Who sucks now? Even Artie from Flushing chimed in saying �You have the onions to criticise me?� Yep, the chickens have come home to roost. Fred Taylor vowed he�d get his revenge and he did. Colts DB Mike Doss humiliated the Jags RB back in week 3 during the Colts 23-13 win over the Jags. Doss it seems pushed Taylor�s head into the ground after he recovered a fumble. Taylor ran for 152 yards and 2 TD�s, one of which, a 32 yard TD run, was the game winner with 2:08 left in the game. Seahawks -3 over REDSKINS REDSKINS 27 Seahawks 20 Loss number 2. Things are so bad in D.C.; Steve Spurrier threw in his game plan and gave the playing calling duties to Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson. This is like the time back in the 80�s when the Yankees were going so bad that Billy Martin picked his line up out of a hat. Same results, the Yankees won and yesterday the Redskins won. However, the two crucial calls of this game were called by Gator Steve. The first one was the Redskins had 4th and 1 on their OWN 25 with 6:13 left in the game with the score 20-20. Gator Steve said, �Let�s go� So the ball goes to Rock Cartwright-who was either on Bonanza or The Flintstones, I forget-and he bulls his way through for the 1st down. The second big call was the one that won the game. QB Patrick Ramsey took a couple of steps back after taking the snap from center. He then lateraled to WR Rod Gardner who found a wide open Trung Canidate for the TD. GIANTS -10 � over Falcons Falcons 27 Giants 7 Loss number 3. This one will go down in Giants history with the FUMBLE and the Flipper Anderson playoff loss, and the 49er playoff game last year. This will be the win that ends the Jim Fassel era and maybe it will put some heat on GM Ernie Accorsi ass. I�m not a Fassel fan, but if he loses his job after this season as I think he will Mr. Mara and Mr. Tisch might as well clear out the whole damn operation-except for OL coach Jim Mc nally-and start over. This was awful but you know something it was not surprising. As a long time Giants fans, I should have seen this coming. The Giants never go out and put an ass whippin� on any team. Everything�s an F�in struggle, and that points to Jim Fassel. However, there is ABSOLULTY NO ON FIELD LEADERS!. There are big mouths like MLB Michael Barrow and DE Michael Strahan, who do more BS ing than anything else. But no one called the team into a huddle to tell them to get their heads out of their asses but no one did. Kerry Collins showed why no one thinks of him as one of the better QB�s in the league and if Tiki Barber treated the ball like one those checks he gets from the 100 media spots he does, the team would be better off. What a shame. 78,000 fans show up every game, there is a waiting list with about another 78,000 names on it for tickets and this the way the players repay their fans. Pathetic. Week 10 Picks 0-3 YTD 15-13-2 <

Sunday, November 09, 2003

Posted 11/09/2003 04:00:00 PM by Kranepool
What a day! The New York Football Giants are about to go down to defeat to the Atlanta Dirty Birds and thus the Giants season is about to go down the ol' crapper. The New York Rangers lost again yesterday as Slats Sather plays Mark Messier like he's a 21 year old in an Oiler sweater. The Celtics are playing the Kings at the Vault tonight so I'll being viewing that contest but the C's if they make the playoffs, it will be by the skin of their teeth. They even switched to white sneakers instead of the black or green they've worn forever. Oh did I mention that it's about 40 degrees and it's going down to the upper 20's tonight in NYC. I can not wait to board the Staten Island Ferry tomorrow at 6:20 AM with wind chils in the teens. I need to vist Dr. Melfi. Some Mets news today. Mike Piazza will play 1st base in the '04 season. So says his agent and Artie from Flushing and The Duke and the beer vendor form section 28 in the mezzanie. The only guy I have yet to hear from is Mike Piazza . The stories today are on the Mets going after Keith Foulke to be their closer. Again I ask the question, what will he be closing? Why would you go out and spend big money on a guy who will not have to make a sinifigant save next year. Why not just have an open compition in the spring between Royce Ring, Ober Marino, Tyler Yates, Grant Roberts, David Weathers or John Franco? The most pressing need for the Mets is an outfielder who can catch and can hit with power. Since there is no on in the organization that fits this bill, The Duke and his Early Bird Special advisors should be on the look out for that type of talent. <

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