People Come And Go Talking of El Pedro
"In the room the women come and go,
Talking of Michaelangelo." - T S Eliot, "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock"

One thing GM Omar Minaya has done, if nothing else, is create a stir. Rumours of trading Piazza for Shawn Green isn't much of a trade-off, one team's gout for another team's asthma. And nobody was ever really sure how they felt exactly about bringing Sammy Sosa to Shea. After all, the guy pulled back muscles coughing last season for crissakes, you've gotta be a little skeptical about how much of him can be left to rip mystical homers and institute that Sammy homer hop in Queens.

But this Pedro thing, well this is another matter altogether. Some people think
Pedro Is A Big Mistake. Clubhouse cancer, frail, rapidly ageing, whinger extraordinaire, etc. You can find an encyclopedia about why it's wrong to ink Pedro to some fat, four year deal (which is what it may take by the time the smoke from a looming bidding war clears), and you wouldn't be wrong to recite it.

On the other hand, he's 5-1 with a 1.17 earned run average at Shea Stadium and in the past three years, he is 4-2 with a 1.80 E.R.A. against National League teams. The NL plus the facing the Yankees only once or twice a season should compelling arguments for Pedro to move back to his mother league. Note the Post's Mark Hale's hysterical comparison with Roger Clemens:

"In Clemens' last year in the AL (2003 with the Yanks), he went 17-9 with a 3.91 ERA. This past year with Boston, Martinez's numbers (16-9, 3.90) were nearly identical. Then, facing non-DH lineups in the NL last season, Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA."

The theory gaining momentum is that whilst Pedro is on the decline in the American League, the absence of the DH and the naturally lower pitch count in the National League as a result, all play in Pedro's favour.

Of course, this might all be rubbish. Pedro might be just jacking up the bidding war in the hopes he'll eventually land back in Boston at the bloated salary he wanted all along. If that's the case, well, these frail thoughts are for naught and Omar will have alot of egg on his face.

This morning, the other shoe dropped. Yep, that was the noise. A size 14, steel-toed shoe. Just when you thought it was safe to make public offers to free agents without immediately being blown out of the water, the Evil Empire has suddenly announced they aren't interested in the Big Unit anymore.

Hmmm. Wonder how far beyond a 10 year, $200 million offer to El Pedro is.

Of course, this could be more of those dodgy "negotiating ploys". Or, this could mean that Pedro is going to be a very, very happy man by the time the ink dries on his contract, wherever they might be.

What this certifies in all probability, is that the Mets' chances of landing Pedro just became infinintely dimmer still, as King George waddles in with his billions, tossing his sugar daddy dollars around until Pedro gets a whiff.

*****

The baseball Hall of Fame announced its ballot and on it are five-time AL batting champion Wade Boggs, eight-time All-Star Darryl Strawberry and four-time All-Star pitcher Mark Langston. You might make the argument that none of them belong.

Not inducting Strawberry is a no-brainer for a no-brain kind of has-been waste of talent. A 17 year career of homers and coke, neither of which ever amounted to much, is hardly a Hall of Fame CV. For a man with a meagre .259 batting average, 335 career homeruns simply isn't enough. And three World Championships to his credit speak nothing of the volumes of disappointment, nevermind the .209 batting average in the 21 World Series games he played in. Scratch his name off the ballot and keep it off.

On Mark Langston's ballot you can just write "179 career victories" across the top and then scratch his name off the ballot forever as well.

Keeping Wade Boggs out is alot harder to justify. He's a .328 lifetime hitter. That's the same lifetime batting average as Rod Carew, who is already in the Hall of Fame. Rod Carew won 7 batting titles. Wade Boggs won five. Carew led his league in OBP four times and Boggs six times. Carew drove in 1015 runs in his career, Boggs 1014. Boggs played in just 30 games less in his career than Carew and had 43 hits less than Carew. They are tied at 30th for highest career batting average. These are basically, if you didn't know any better, the same careers. So it would pretty hard to make the argument that Wade Boggs doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame but Rod Carew does.

So don't make that argument. Who says Rod Carew really belongs in the Hall of Fame either?

Now everyone is throwing up their hands. How can you not put two .328 lifetime hitters in the Hall of Fame? The Rules for Election to the Hall of Fame note that "voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played."

You can't really gripe against either's .328 batting average. But the HOF has a history of electing stiffs like Jake Beckley and Dave Bancroft to name but a few. That doesn't mean the trend should continue.

And hell, if batting average is so important, why isn't Pete Browning and his lifetime .349 batting average in the HOF, or Dan Brouthers and his .342 average?

Somewhere along the line, enough is enough. Yes, Boggs and Carew both hit for high average and reached the 3000 hit plateau (barely and only because they dragged through a few extra seasons to get to it, well past their primes.)

The current trend is to reward players for achieving milestones. But Wade Boggs and Rod Carew are to 3000 hits, like Rafael Palmeiro and (almost Crime Dog McGriff) are to 500 homers and Don Sutton (who won 20 games only once in his career) is to 300 victories. They are meaningless numbers added on and added on until they appear to mean something. They don't.

If the urge to nominate someone, anyone is irresistable, then back the candidacy of someone who truly merits a place in the Hall of Fame, Jim Rice.

*****

I came across this gem a few days ago on one of the online NY tabloid sites which in a sense, summate both the hopes and dying dreams of Mets fans everywhere:

5:04 PM EST, Nov 30, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
my name is jose reyes. I am out for 2005 cuz i broke my hand buttering
toast.
Submitted by: jose reyes

*****

And just yestereday, reading about the SF Giants signing of closer Armando Benitez, I read the following understatement of the year:

..."But while Benitez has been one of the game's top closers in the regular
season with 244 saves in 283 chances (the fourth best percentage all-time,)his postseason history is spotty.

I had to have a laugh at this euphemism. Since when did choke like a dog morph into "spotty" -- is this some new PC language for tetchy closers? What Armandogeddon story is ever complete without the sacred litany of Armandogeddon Post Season Apocaplyses? (I'll spare my dear readers here, as this litany I've recited ad infinitum whilst he choked it up for the Mets game after meaningful game.)

*****

From the Keeping Perspective Dept.: Ricky Williams told SI's Mike Silver:

"At least I quit before all the fantasy drafts. Let's face it: If I'd
quit after the drafts, the fans would all hate me."

*****

Some of the other finds this past week that struck a chord:

Oddest stat in Peyton Mannings TD pass testimonial is that he's already thrown 55
more td passes than Roger Staubach did in his entire career. Of course, he'd thrown more than his father after his first half of his first game...

*****

Thoroughly enjoyed ESPN Page 3's Best Seinfeld Sports Moments. In particular the episode where George tries to get fired from the Yankees and so:

"Tying a World Series trophy to the back of a car and dragging it around the Yankee Stadium parking lot, yelling, though a bullhorn: "Attention, Steinbrenner and front-office morons! Your triumphs mean nothing. You all stink. You can sit on it, and rotate! This is George Costanza. I fear no reprisal. Extension 5-1-7-0."

Where have you gone yea George Costanzas of the world?

*****

Ever wondered what ever happened to The Jewish Michael Jordan?

"Tamir Goodman had a successful season for Givat Shmuel, which competed in the top Israeli league. He earned Most Outstanding Player when the team faced Maccabi Tel Aviv, a powerhouse in Israeli basketball. In 2003, Goodman was sent to Elitzur Kiryat Ata, a team in Israel's second tier division. He led Kiryat Ata to the division championship and was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship game.

Goodman is currently fulfilling his duty in the Israeli Defense Force, but recently signed a one-year contract and will return to Givat Shmuel to play this fall."

*****

Long on my list of favourites, The Mighty MJD continues to please:

"At halftime of the Chargers/Raiders game, the Raiders have their junior dance team on the field, consisting of 8-10 year old girls in Raider cheerleader uniforms. It was probably wrong of me to call them sluts. While we're on the subject, though... we've got an NFL organization dressing up children in skimpy cheerleader outfits, and we're worried about Terrell Owens and a Desperate Housewives intro?"