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Billy Wagner rips Mets teammates for ducking media
http://www.nydailynews.com/ sports/ baseball/ mets/ 2008/ 05/ 15/ 2008-05-15_billy_wagn...
That undercurrent of discontent over some Mets ducking the media boiled over after Thursday's game. As reporters spoke with Billy Wagner after the loss, first about the Yankees series, then about Thursday's game, Wagner wondered aloud why the closer was drawing attention.
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Country Times Version Of Clubhouse Leadership
http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/?p=13262In squandering a pair of fine efforts by Claudio Vargas and Mike Pelfrey (above) over the past day and a half, the New York Mets have dropped 3 of 4 to the lowly Nationals, a situation that has the clubs self-appointed spokesperson suddenly wanting no
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Billy Wagner Lets the Pigeons Loose as He Rips His Teammates
http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/05/15/billy-wagner-lets-...Filed under: New York, Mets, NL East, MLB GossipIt's gone from bad to worse for the New York Mets. The bad? Losing three out of four to the Washington Nationals, wasting two great outings from their starting pitching in the process. Worse? Billy Wagner
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When the coach gets fired, who is to blame?
http://twonateshow.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/when-the-coach-g...Within the last 48 hours, Willie Randolph, the head coach of the New York Mets was fired in the wee hours of the morning. Omar Minaya, the General Manager (important decision-maker) of the New York Mets made the following comment regarding the firing: “the tension went far too long. It was not fair to the team, it was not fair to Willie Randolph, and it was not fair to the organization.” In this situation I can see why they fired Randolph. You may remember the end of the 2007 season, when the New York Mets lost their last 11 of 17 games, and that was after they were up 7 games on the 2nd place Phillies. The Phillies caught up to the Mets, and the Mets ended up losing their last game of the season and missed the playoffs. This was supposedly the 2nd greatest collapse of a Major League Baseball team in the history of the game. The firing of Randolph has made me contemplate… When a professional team begins to play poorly, should the head coach or athletes be the bearer of the blame? In the case of the Mets during their historic collapse of 2007, what on earth could’ve caused a team to slump like they did? The Mets were certainly getting paid enough - 4 players made eight-figure salaries while 16 players made seven-figure salaries. But with a collapse that drastic, could the manager’s method of operation truly be to blame? Part of me gets frustrated when they decide to fire a coach, rather than blame the players. Sure, in some situations the coach deserved to get fired. But in other cases, I can’t help but wonder if the team was to blame. Even amongst the Mets clubhouse this year, there was alot of tension between two groups of players. Part of the team was comfortable staying after each game to answer questions to the media, while part of the team chose not to participate, particularly after losses. Set aside the 2007 collapse, I don’t think this had anything to do with Randolph. As the Mets are in a New York “high pressure” market, it is possible that the General Manager felt nervous about his own job, and so decided to pull the trigger on three of the Mets coaching staff. And perhaps it was because the GM was sending a message to the team… All this aside, I even wonder how much of an effect a head coach has on a team in the first place. You have a pitching coach, first base and third base coach, strength and conditioning coach, bench coach, catchers coach, bus coach and the list goes on and on. Can a head coach REALLY be that influencial on a team? At one point during the early 80’s, Ted Turner, the owner of the Atlanta Braves, became so upset about his team’s play that he decided to go down and coach the Braves for a game….And they lost. The jury is still out for this one. I guess I’d have to be a fly on the wall to know every circumstance behind coaches being fired, but my guess would be that part of the blame should be on the team!
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Baseball Today: Friday, May 16
http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/SoxBlog/archives/2008/05...Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson TWO TO GO: Let the countdown really begin. Manny Ramirez is two home runs away from 500, something he could accomplish in a single night. The anticipation began building during the last homestand -- the Sox stuck that '496' banner on one of the left-field light towers, but never got to update it as he went homerless against the Blue Jays and Rays -- and it'll be a nightly (or daily) thing now, starting this evening when the Brewers come to town. Joe McDonald looks at Ramirez' career and talks to ex-Red Sox pitcher Ken Ryan about facing Ramirez. "I thought I was Superman," Ryan said when recalling a long battle in Cleveland that ended with a Manny walkoff home run, "but I quickly realized who Superman really was.” ENOUGH, ALREADY: Alex Rodriguez has a message for Yankee fans outraged that he taped a congratulatory message that will be played when Ramirez hits his 500th home run: Get over it. (New York Daily News) IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN: Yes, yes, mention of the Brewers means that dreaded monster -- interleague play -- is back with us. I know most of you hate it, but ESPN's Steve Phillips "digs" it (Orlando Sentinel) and Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Mets-Yankees series alone gives it some redeeming value. Bloggers Steve Lombardi and Matthew Cerone handicap that series on sny.tv. A NEW PLAYER IN THE RACE: Speaking of the Brewers, they're in the market for pitching (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) and ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports they've entered the hunt for Julian Tavarez, making "as serious a run . . . as Colorado." SUPERMAN'S PAL: God bless the Internet. The blog The Lost Ogle tracked down the Red Sox fan in Baltimore who high-fived with Manny after Ramirez made his great catch Wednesday afternoon. Turns out he's a native of Oklahoma -- Barry Switzer's nephew, no less -- who became a member of the Nation in 2003 because his best friend at Oklahoma State was a New Englander who turned him onto the Sox. Despite the ruckus it caused in the media, he said no one sitting around him even realized he had high-fived Ramirez except for a husband and wife sitting next to him (though they had a radio and told him it was the talk of the Orioles broadcast for the next few innings). He was actually preparing to catch Ramirez, whom he assumed was doing a Lambeau Leap into the stands -- now that would have been a Manny Being Manny moment, a Lambeau Leap while play was still going on -- and added, "I’m not sure I’d call [what they did] a high-five. Maybe more of a slap 4." Like I said: God bless the Internet. A QUIET CORNER OF THE INTERNET: Bet you didn't know Manny has his own Web site. Doesn't look like it's been updated since last October, though, and some of the corners -- like the one which celebrates his first home run of 2007 -- are even dustier. A BUSIER CORNER OF THE INTERNET: Curt Schilling makes a chatty appearance on 38pitches.com in which, among other things, he tells us he loves the ESPN commercial parodying the bloody sock and warns us the Rays are for real. FIRST-QUARTER DEFICITS: That was the headline over Steven Krasner's review of the first quarter of the season, but since I wrote it I figured I could use it here, too. Kraz says the Sox have three areas of concern; click the link to see what they are. SECOND-QUARTER PROFIT: Bartolo Colon had a dominating performance in Buffalo yesterday (projo.com), and, considering Clay Buchholz is on the disabled list, could be in Boston soon. Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe says it will be next Tuesday, when Buchholz' turn in the rotation comes up. But Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports that because he threw so few pitches (64), Colon will probably need one more appearance for the PawSox, which means Tuesday's start could be made by David Pauley or Charlie Zink. Don't count on Justin Masterson; he's pitched poorly since returning to Portland after his spot start in Boston. (rotoworld.com) SUNK COST: The blog Driveline Mechanics does a detailed analysis of Craig Hansen and concludes "I don’t like Hansen’s chances to stick in the major leagues for very long." MYSTERY GUEST: Puzzled by the fact that Daisuke Matsuzaka has such dominating statistics and yet still struggles so with his command and his control? So are the Red Sox. (Boston Herald) THEY'RE NOT SAYING BOO, THEY'RE SAYING . . . Lou, as in Merloni, as in NESN's newest analyst. (Boston Globe) MONBO: The Globe's Stan Grossfeld has a touching piece on ex-Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette -- one of the few beacons of light during the very dark days of the early 1960s -- who's battling leukemia. BACK IN THE FOLD: Kevin Millar irritated quite a number of people in Baltimore last fall when he recorded a bit for Fox urging Red Sox fans to keep the faith, and then threw out the first ball before Game Seven of the ALCS. But now he's back in their good graces with this, ah, inspiring version of Orioles Magic. HO HUM: First place is becoming a permanent residence for the Rays, who now have the best record in the American League after beating the Yankees yesterday (Tampa Tribune). Baseball Musings' David Pinto says with each passing day, Tampa Bay is looking more and more like a real contender. FLIP SIDE: The Yanks had high hopes they'd be seeing a new Ian Kennedy when he took the mound yesterday, but it was the same old same old as the team dropped into last place with the 5-2 loss. (New York Daily News) Now they get to see the pitcher they wouldn't trade Kennedy for -- Johan Santana -- when the Mets come to the Bronx tonight. (New York Daily News) A bad weekend might spark another outburst from Hank Steinbrenner, and that's okay by Tino Martinez. (New York Post) ON THE HOOK: But a good weekend -- for the Yanks -- may cost Willie Randolph his job. (New York Post) GOOD NEWS AT LAST: Alex Rodriguez may return to the Yankee lineup Tuesday. (Newsday) MO INCREDIBLE: Peter Abraham has a fascinating tidbit on Mariano Rivera's athletic ability, which was on display during batting practice yesterday. (LoHud Yankees Blog) COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE: That's Mark Feinsand's summation of the opening quarter of the season for the Yankees, who received a 'C' grade in his Daily News blog report card. LIFE'S SIMPLE PLEASURES: In an interview with the blog Portfolio.com, Jason Giambi says life after baseball will be just fine as long as he "can have a fast boat and a margarita machine and can light my hair on fire." COULDN'T RESIST: At NYU's graduation ceremony held at Yankee Stadium, one grad simply had to run onto the hallowed field. (New York Daily News) FACE THE MUSIC: Last year, you may recall, then-Met Paul Lo Duca ripped his Hispanic teammates for using the language barrier as an excuse to duck talking to the media. Yesterday, current Met Billy Wagner -- while leaving race out of it -- went into a similar rant about teammates who refuse to speak to reporters, leaving the burden to players, like him, who don't duck into the trainer's room or out the door. (New York Daily News) Wagner called out Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado by implication -- though the New York Post reports Beltran actually did speak -- and promised the situation "will be reconciled [Friday]." DON'T ASK, BECAUSE I CAN'T TELL: Paul DePodesta says that he'll talk about many things on his blog, but his days as Dodgers GM isn't one of them. PERFECT NINE: The Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb is now 9-0 after Arizona's win over the Rockies last night. (Arizona Republic) PAPER TIGERS? Pinto breaks down Detroit's offense this season and wonders if something is seriously wrong. BLOCKBUSTER AHEAD? Matt Holliday on the trade block? Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal says that, with the Rockies struggling and Holliday due to hit free agency after the 2009 season, it could happen. WHY NOT US? Brian Sabean says the Giants can contend this year. The blog ShysterBall says Brian Sabean is delusional. RIGHT THERE UNDER OUR NOSES: Baseball Analysts says Chipper Jones has had a Hall of Fame career and very few people have noticed. NOBLE BY COMPARISON: In an online-only piece, the Arizona Republic's Dan Bickley thinks the steroids era actually was a boon to players like Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr., who achieved greatness without artificial help and will be applauded for it. AND FOR THOSE FOUR PEOPLE LEFT WHO STILL DON'T THINK HE'S CLUELESS . . . Astros owner Drayton McLane says Roger Clemens is still up in the air about actually being retired. (mlb.com) Can you imagine the crowd reaction if Clemens ever walked onto a field again? I'M WITH YOU, SIR: Yesterday, President Bush was singing Chase Utley's praises. Today it's Mike Schmidt. (USA Today) HERE AND THERE: Nick Johnson has a torn tendon sheath in his wrist that the Nationals say will sideline him for four to six weeks (Washington Post), though I recall Nomar Garciaparra missing most of 2001 because of that injury . . . The Reds' Jeff Keppinger, who has a broken kneecap, will also be out four to six weeks (Dayton Daily News) . . . Jason Isringhausen's troubles, which continued yesterday, might be traced to treatments he's been receiving for an arthritic hip (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) . . . Griffey paid off a debt to teammate Josh Fogg with 150,000 pennies (AP via yahoo.com) . . . Carlos Zambrano has made nice with his new teammate, Jim Edmonds. (Chicago Tribune) OLD FRIENDS: The Brewers have placed David Riske on the disabled list (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Exhibit A in the It Takes A Certain Mentality To A Closer case: Rafael Betancourt, so dominant for the Indians in the setup role, has a 7.31 ERA since taking over the injured Joe Borowski (Toledo Blade) . . . Joe Torre may use Nomar Garciaparra at shortstop in the absence of Rafael Furcal (Los Angeles Times) . . . AND FINALLY . . . It's got nothing to do with baseball, but I couldn't stop reading -- and laughing at -- Joe Posnanski's tale about going to an Italian restaurant recommended by Dan Le Batard. (joeposnanski.com) -- ART MARTONE
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And That Happened
http://shysterball.blogspot.com/2008/05/and-that-happened_16...Nationals 1, Mets 0: New York is shutout by a guy who gave up 16 runs in his first two starts, a reliever who had an ERA around six coming in, and a closer who, while OK, ain't exactly Bruce Sutter. Then Billy Wagner goes off. You gotta love the Post's account: "There are losses, and then there are soul-crushing nightmares that send teams spiraling and get managers fired." Sounds about right actually. The Mets open up interleague play against the Yankees tonight, followed by three games against the Braves. I'd say that if they don't go 4-2 through this stretch, Willie Randolph is a goner. Rays 5, Yankees 2: I'm guessing all the highlight shows are going to lead with "Oh noes! Yankees in teh last place!" this morning. I'm also guessing that none of them will note that at the same point last season they had one fewer win than they do now and were 10.5 games out of first place. They still made the playoffs. Nuke them from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 5: I guess Brandon Webb (9-0) just isn't going to lose another game. Phillies 5, Braves 0: I guess the Braves just aren't going to win another road game. Cole Hamels pitches a four hit shutout. Chipper Jones missed the game due to a sore groin. Sore groin, sore groin, sore groin. If you say that several times in a row the words start to lose their meaning entirely. Dodgers 7, Brewers 2: Ben Sheets gets rocked, and says after the game that there's nothing wrong physically. I'm dubious, as anyone should be when one of the home runs he gave up was to Andruw Jones on a fastball. Indians 4, A's 2: Technically the Cleveland starters still haven't given up an earned run, but the one unearned one that came off of Aaron Laffey was due to his own throwing error, so we should probably stop counting this little streak. The starters may very well have to keep this up, though, because Rafael Betancourt has shown no signs of the pitcher he was last year. He came in to the game in the ninth to get the easy three-run-lead save, promptly loaded the bases and got yanked. Masa Kobayashi saved his bacon with only one of the inherited runners scoring, but the fact remains that the Indians still have no reliable closer. Pirates 11, Cardinals 5: Closing wasn't working for Isringhausen. Setting up doesn't seem too kind to him either (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4R). Ron Villone was even worse, and a 5-4 lead turned into a laugher for Pittsburgh. Blue Jays 3, Twins 2: Over the last couple of days Minnesota got swept by Toronto, sank to .500, and got passed by the Indians in the standings. I'd say the flirtation with contention is on its way to being over. Twelve pitchers were used in a 3-2 game. Yikes.
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Billy Wagner Lets the Pigeons Loose as He Rips His Teammates
http://sportsnews2u.com/2008/05/15/billy-wagner-lets-the-pig...Filed under: New York, Mets, NL East, MLB Gossip It’s gone from bad to worse for the New York Mets. The bad? Losing three out of four to the Washington Nationals, wasting two great outings from their starting pitching in the process. Worse? Billy Wagner tearing his teammates a new one for ducking the media after their latest debacle, a 1-0 loss where they couldn’t get Mike Pelfrey a win after he no-hit the Nats for six innings. Wagner looked over toward the area of first baseman Carlos Delgado’s locker and blurted: “Someone tell me why the (expletive) you’re talking to the closer. I didn’t even play. They’re over there, not being interviewed. … I got it. They’re gone. (Expletive) shocker.” There once was a time where Paul Lo Duca complained about the media going to the same three or four guys after ballgames. Problem was that Lo Duca’s message was blurred by the fact that he made a comment about the rest of the team being able to “speak english”, causing a small racial controversy. Now with these comments by Wagner, we know that these issues within the clubhouse have nothing to do with race … it has everything do to with players not making themselves accountable for this season which seems to be spiraling out of control. And while you may dismiss this as Billy being Billy again, maybe Billy needs to be Billy and start causing some sort of commotion and get some things aired out. The Mets are playing some terrible baseball lately (with that roster, one game over .500 does qualify as terrible), and somebody has got to do (or say) something. It doesn’t seem to be their manager Willie Randolph, who when we last saw him, was standing in the dugout like a statue while one of his best hitters (Moises Alou) was ejected from the ball game on Wednesday night. The fact that it’s the reliever who’s pitched all of 15 and 2/3’s innings that’s the one trying to light a fire in Flushing should tell you something about the direction this team is headed (hint: not up.) Continue reading Billy Wagner Lets the Pigeons Loose as He Rips His Teammates Permalink | Email this | Comments
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MADDUX, BEST PITCHER OF OUR TIME?
http://ballhype.com/story/maddux_best_pitcher_of_our_time/Now I usually dislike Mariotti, or anything he writes or talks about, but for once, he got something right. Nice read about Greg Maddux, Cubs or MLB fans, check it out if you get time. docksquad33 posted 2 hours ago from www.suntimes.com [link] Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: MLB, Greg Maddux, Jay Mariotti, Chicago Cubs
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Billy Wagner Lets the Pigeons Loose as He Rips His Teammates
http://www.mlbrumors.org/rumors/billy-wagner-lets-the-pigeon...Filed under: New York, Mets, NL East, MLB GossipIt's gone from bad to worse for the New York Mets. The bad? Losing three out of four to the Washington Nationals, wasting two great outings from their starting pitching in the process. Worse? Billy Wagner tearing his teammates a new one for ducking the media after their latest debacle, a 1-0 loss where they couldn't get Mike Pelfrey a win after he no-hit the Nats for six innings.Wagner looked over toward the area of first baseman Carlos Delgado's locker and blurted: "Someone tell me why the (expletive) you're talking to the closer. I didn't even play. They're over there, not being interviewed. ... I got it. They're gone. (Expletive) shocker."There once was a time where Paul Lo Duca complained about the media going to the same three or four guys after ballgames. Problem was that Lo Duca's message was blurred by the fact that he made a comment about the rest of the team being able to "speak english", causing a small racial controversy. Now with these comments by Wagner, we know that these issues within the clubhouse have nothing to do with race ... it has everything do to with players not making themselves accountable for this season which seems to be spiraling out of control. And while you may dismiss this as Billy being Billy again, maybe Billy needs to be Billy and start causing some sort of commotion and get some things aired out. The Mets are playing some terrible baseball lately (with that roster, one game over .500 does qualify as terrible), and somebody has got to do (or say) something. It doesn't seem to be their manager Willie Randolph, who when we last saw him, was standing in the dugout like a statue while one of his best hitters (Moises Alou) was ejected from the ball game on Wednesday night. The fact that it's the reliever who's pitched all of 15 and 2/3's innings that's the one trying to light a fire in Flushing should tell you something about the direction this team is headed (hint: not up.) Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
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Video: RAPIDS v REAL SALT LAKE --- (May 15)
http://ballhype.com/video/video_rapids_v_real_salt_lake_may_...(4:14) Official highlights: ESPN's "MLS Primetime Thursday" featured a battle for first place in the Western Conference, in this first match of round 8. --- Real Salt Lake visited Colorado in Commerce City, also the first meeting in their Rocky Mountain Cup season series... MVNsoccer posted 119 minutes ago from www.youtube.com [link] Find more top sports news, videos, and blogs on BallHype: Soccer, Real Salt Lake, Colorado Rapids, Major League Soccer, Kyle Beckerman, Christian Gomez, Herculez Gomez, ESPN
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