Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Ken, althought the Mets play in a weaker league and are closer to first palce than the Yanks, the Mets have show nobody any indication that they make a serious run to make the playoffs. I know nobody has taken charge in the NL East, but the Mets can't get out of there own way. Can I see the Mets play more consistantly first and not lose to teams like the Mariners and Padres like they did? Also the difference between the Phillies and Mets is althought the Mets have better pitching than the Phillies, the Phillies have more heart, grid and guts than the Mets.

I only learned recently of the slotting system so I don't profess to understand it completely but from what I'm reading, this is a joke. And once again, I'm inclined to blame Selig. Either you have a rule or you don't. Mere suggestions are useless because it sets up a situation we have now where teams decide if they want to follow the commissioner's wishes or not. I'm the first one to suggest the Mets have done a pretty lousy job with their farm system but if part of the reason is they're following Selig's "rules", well that's ridiculous. Teams shouldn't be penalized for doing "the right thing".

What am I missing here?

andy - you aren't missing anything, that's basically what the slotting system is - a suggestion from the commish. take last year's draft for example (i think it was '07, maybe '08). andrew miller (now of the florida marlins) was considered top-tier talent, however, he let it be known that he wanted some outrageous amount of cash, forcing the top 20-some teams to pass on him (he didn't want to play for teams like tampa bay, he wanted teams like the yanks to draft him). lo and behold, detroit says, screw it - this kid is good, let's draft him and pay him what it takes for him to give up his committment to play at north carolina. drafted and signed, miller never stepped foot on campus at unc - which he would have had someone like tampa actually drafted him. sad part is, a guy like scott borris is the reason for this - i don't think ANY of his HS clients sign for slot.

the mets, for whatever reason, will not pay over slot while the yankees pay over slot in almost every round (slot is just done for the first 10 rounds, so some figure it is better to be drafted by a team like the rays in the 11th round - no slot to follow there, you can ask for whatever you want).

yes, it is a crooked system, but remember, selig didn't know about steroids in the game either.

Football and basketball basically slot too and the union isn't complaining. I don't see Fehr doing much about this either. They should all be happy that sports is the only business where entry-level salaries are higher than for those people with experience.

Ken you made a mistake when answering Dennis' question last night about why the Pirates could play last night's game at night when there is a day game scheduled for the Yankees today. Today's game is the rescheduled game and received approval from the union to be played this afternoon. The Pirates game last night was played at night as originally scheduled. I went to bed last night. and the game hadn't been cancelled yet and I fully expected to find out this morning they finished playing it at 2am.

Sandy, last night's game was postponed and will be made up on July 10. And if you notice the Yanks have play a lot of getaway night games during the week. I don't understand why the Yanks keep playing getaway night games instead of playing more getaway day games.

It's not a crooked system. Omar and the Mets simply have to grow a pair and tell Selig to stuff it. There are no penalties for going over slot outside of a potential minor rebuke from Selig's office. The Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers have cleaned up recently by going over slot. The Yankees bankroll plenty of small-market teams with their luxury tax bill, and since all teams split merchandising profits, the Sox and the Yanks don't feel like they owe the league anything -- they're pumping huge amounts of money into it. As a big-market, high-payroll team, the Mets should feel the same way, but, bizarrely, they don't. The Mets eventually caved on Mike Pelfrey and gave him five mil and look how that has worked out -- he's their second-best pitcher right now. They need to get more aggressive with their drafting if they want to have a bright future. Very few teams worry about slotting or money now -- even small-market teams were taking players with big money demands and Boras representation in this year's draft.

Sandy, the Yankees asked the Pirates to change yesterday's game from night to day, once today's doubleheader came to be. The Pirates said no.

Dennis, you can't view the Mets' season in a vacuum. Their best "indication" that they can play well in the playoffs is that they're so close to first place.

Ken, agreed on the Mets. They can do it. As you have said, the fact they are this close after a terrible 3 months, including firing the manager and two coaches, says a great deal. Manuel says some dumb things and he should drop that "part time philosopher" act, but I think he is capable of getting them into the playoffs, despite some poor play from a few guys. The Mets, because of their division and starting pitching are in better shape than the Yankees. That's obvious.

The Yankees definitely stunk in Game 1 of today's doubleheader, but not because of faulty showers in their locker-room.

Ken the Pirates had a right to say no since they sold the tickets as a night game and had a sell out crowd. It's not their responsibility to have a responsible schedule in this case. If anyone is to blame it's the Yankees for wishing to schedule this game as a "freak" doubleheader instead of a mutual off-day with the two teams. I'm sure they are happy after getting pwned. :(

Sandy, who said anything about blame? I was just explaining what happened. From my understanding, anyway, the only mutual off-day in which both clubs would've been near NY was Sept. 11, and by playing that day, they would've been playing more than the 20 straight days. As per the CBA, 20 is the maximum # of days you can play before a day off.

The first game today was ugly. Neither starter was great. It was a 4-3 Yankees lead until the 5th where from the 5th inning on the Mets outscore the Yanks 12-1. Delgado had a monster game with 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Now part of it is the Yanks have no one that can throw strikes PERIOD!!!!!!! I mean the Yanks have pitchers who can't throw strikes at al, especailly in the pen. Every body in the pen stinks except for Rivera because no one can throw strikes. How about the Yanks get some arms who can throw strikes in both the rotation and the pen. I would like to see that.

Ken-I was listening to Sterling and Susan on the way home and they commented that the Yankees desperately need some lefty relief pitching. They suggesting calling on the Pirates who have 7 lefthanded pitchers on their major league roster. Do the Yankees have anything to offer the Pirates in this case??

Steve, the Yankees have plenty of prospects to get Damaso Marte. It's just a matter of Cashman being willing to give them up. So far, Cashman has not expressed such a willingness.

Ken, typical Mets. The Mets score 15 runs in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium and then in Game 2 at Shea they get shutout by Sidney Ponson, SIDNEY PONSON FOR GOD SAKES!!!!! The Mets left base runners left and right in the first 3 innings, and made Ponson look like Bob Gibson for goodness sake. Meanwhile Pedro did his best Oilver Perez imtimation by walking 5 guys. If the Mets are counting on Pedro to be big pitcher this year their in trouble. Like I said before, the Mets starting pitching has been OVERRATED. Pedro has been very spotty, including tonight. Pelfrey has been alright. Maine has been OK. Perez is erratic and Santana has been disappointed for a guy making $140 million. The Mets has been inconsistant all year. They need to worry about themselves first before they worry about the Phillies and Marlins.
Anyone see how tight and small the strike zone was tonight with umipire Larry Vancover behind home plate? That's an exmple of a umipire having his own strike zone instead of folowing the book.

You have to admire how Minaya and the Wilpon's firing Randolph, Peterson and Nieto has caused the Phillies to lose 12 out of the last 16 games.
Now that Gary Carter has blessed us with his opinions of Randolph and Girardi, when does he tell us about Juan Carlos Osirio of the New York Red Bulls?

Nice spot on ESPNews, Ken. The easiest way to shock an ESPN person is to tell them that the Yanks WON'T do anything rash.

Sorry, Ken...you didn't think you'd slide that collective bargaining Sept. 11 thing by me did you Ken? I told Rieber that the players would NEVER give that up without a huge payday first.

2) That 9 RBI's by Delgado is going to cost the Mets dearly. Now they wont cut or bench him for a long time. He seems to be a clubhouse cancer.

3) Did you see Pedro not hustle to first on Damon's "single?" Two runs came in and instead of a managable 2-0 game it became 4-0.

Gary Carter is such a good guy he would immediately create international good will and better foreign relations for the US if he was head coach of the Red Bulls. He can relate to Spanish speaking players better because he spent most of his career playing in Montreal, a city that is half-French speaking and his number was retired up there and hanging in the Montreal Canadians arena along with Le Grand Orange's. Besides Osirio probably only got this job because he has pictures of the owners doing bad things with Red Bull cans.
What the hell is Kei Ogawa doing back? I think it would be nice in about a month to see how well Perez, Pelfrey, Heilman and maybe a few others are doing with Dan Warthem as pitching coach compared to what they did with Peterson.

baileywalk, thanks for watching.

Richie, Good Lord. Are you so opposed to unions that you don't believe in collective bargaining agreements? And the Pedro play, I don't consider that "hustle." That's execution. He wasn't where he was supposed to be on defense.

Ken I'm pro union. I'm in a union. But to compare the MLBPA Union to any other union is ludicrous.

I just think for September 11, maybe 50 multi-multi-millionaires can let it slide without a $40,000 extra payday, or whatever they would charge to play that game. But even if they would, there's no way Orza or Fehr would. And who am I kidding? The players would never go for that either.

As for Pedro not executing...George Steinbrenner would probably agree with me. He called Hideki Irabu a, "Fat Toad" when he didn't execute to first base. And thank God for the Yanks that Jeter decided to execute in 01' when he threw out Jeremy Giambi. Though its too bad Giambi didn't "execute" himself when he didn't slide. And Tim Perez didn't "execute" around the bases on Todd Zeilles home run.

In other words...you can sugar coat all you want. But It's about heart. And the Mets constantly show you they have none.

OK, Richie, one argument at a time:

1) As far as I know, the Sept. 11th date was never seriously discussed, because that would've given the Yankees games in 27 straight days. And the CBA, which is designed to protect the players, just as I have a CBA at Newsday to protect me and you presumably have a CBA at your job that protects you, protects the Yankees from such a scenario. There were never any discussions of "extra paydays." I have no idea where you're getting that from.

2) If this is your definition of "hustle," then we need to hit "reset" on the entire discussion. When you've always written about "hustle" here, I assumed you meant busting it out of the box, stuff like that. But not covering first base on a grounder to the right side? I mean, you can't win games if you fail to do that. It's like hitting a cutoff man, properly reading a ball hit into the outfield, etc.

If you want to call that "hustle" and "heart," that is absolutely your prerogative. I call it "execution" and "intelligence." But if your buddy researching the Mets' 07 season (how is that coming along?) is using your definition of "hustle," then he'll probably come up with the two examples you need to prove that "hustle" caused The Collapse.

I have absolutely nothing against the MLBPA. Like any union, it tries to get the best pay/benefits and working conditions for its members. Every union and management goes head to head on lots of issues. The players might all be millionaires, but the owners are even richer. Both sides agree to every contract and both sides have to abide by it.

Concerning the Mets: The more things change, the more they stay the same. While Manuel has changed some things around, many of the inherent problems with the team remain. I agree that Pedro's blunder had nothing to do with hustle and everything to do with execution. He lost his focus/wasn't paying attention to what he was supposed to do. It's still early, but I don't think the Mets should bring Pedro back, if they are even considering it. I don't think he is a reliable arm.

Concerning the Yankees: I like what Girardi is doing with the team. Despite all the problems they have had with the pitching staff, the shaky bullpen and the injuries to key players, the team has a winning record. Yes, they have talent, but so do the Mets and look at them in a weak division. I think Girardi has done a very respectable job. What I can't stand is his faith in Farnsworth.

Is there some kind of problem in the Mets clubhouse with Reyes? We all saw how unprofessional he was in the first 3 minutes of Manuel's interim reign as manager. A day later Manuel called him "she". Today he steals second base with 2 outs? Ken is he a problem, does he pay attention or is he just completely immature (my vote). If a guy who is 25 and been in the league awhile doesn't know how to play and act, isn't he prime to be gotten rid of?

I have often thought about just these same questions concerning Reyes and my vote is for immaturity. He really is less than a mature professional. If anyone needs a mentor it's him. Who is his agent? Why doesn't he or someone in either Mets management, the coaching staff or a fellow player step in? The bush celebrating last year and this year is part of this immaturity.

Ken...I never heard anything about them playing that game on 9/11. But if they would agree to it, they probably would want to be financially compensated. Like the Red Sox with their coaches this year going to Japan. I would totally understand if the teams said we're going to want the rest so there's no way we're going to play. What would piss me off would be if they negotiated a monetary solution to play that game.

As for my friend doing research...thanks for the reminder. I got to get on him!

But there was a play today that totally made my point. On Fernando Tatis "hit" Jeter looked up to see where Tatis was and then he bobbled the ball. Had Delgado or Castillo hit it, then Jeter would know he had all day and not have looked up. Tatis hustle created that hit. Though please please please tell me you think that was an error. The official scorer should be fired. Seriously. If that's not an error, neither was Buckners.

Agreed, Richie - that fits my more narrow definition of "hustle," and that was an error, not a hit.

Richie, it seems to me you look for reasons to hate the players. You're creating this scenario about Sept. 11th, and deciding that the players would've asked for money - and you're using that as further fuel. But none of that ever happened. There was never any discussion of a Sept. 11th game, beyond some media folk suggesting it.

Sandy and Jim, I agree, immaturity is Reyes' primary problem. I wouldn't trade him. His obvious talent and team-friendly contract would motivate me to work even harder on getting Reyes to grow up.

Oh Ken, I wouldn't trade Reyes. I would definitely work with him, but I am not sure it's being done to the extent needed. Or maybe he's just a very difficult student. HaHa. His contract is very favorable for a player of his stats/talent. I know Jeter is a special kind of player, but I don't recall him ever acting anything like this. Reyes could really use a veteran's assistance. The problem with some players is that they get lots of money, lots of cheers and a "big head" at a young age and not everyone can handle it. That includes Reyes. Although he obviously doesn't rise the level of what some of the NBA and NFL guys have done to disgrace themselves. He really is tame by comparison.

Ken, I do not hate the players. I just dont give them free passes for not trying their hardest, and for constantly striking. And by the way, I am not the only person who thinks the Mets are heartless. Which is exactly why they wont win this season. And again, I never insinuated the 9/11 game was ever a possibility.

But did you see Fernando Tatis last at bat? He hits another grounder to Jeter and once again Jeter makes a bad play. He throws it in the dirt because he hurried his throw. Giambi made an excellent play. Most Mets would have jogged fastly to first on that play and Jeter would have set and thrown. But because it was Fernando Tatis, he knew he had to hurry to get rid of it because Fernando RUNS! So Jeter almost committed another "hit." And hustle caused it.

Constantly striking? There have been five strikes and three lockouts by owners in the past 36 years. Players last went on strike in 1994. I don't get how this history can be called "constant."

By the way, I place the blame on Bud Selig for the 1994 strike and the cancellation of the post-season. First, he helped force out Fay Vincent, then he took over as interim commissioner and helped poison relations with the union. Vincent said at the time of the strike: "The Union basically doesn’t trust the Ownership because collusion was a $280 million theft by Bud Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf of that money from the players. I mean, they rigged the signing of free agents. They got caught. They paid $280 million to the players. And I think that’s polluted labor relations in baseball ever since it happened. I think it’s the reason Fehr has no trust in Selig."

Don't blame the players. They get nothing when they are on strike. They have the most to lose.

Jim what's constant is outside of 2002, they've went on strike everytime the CBA expired. That's pretty consistant! And they were minutes away from striking then too.

And sorry, but the players went on strike each time. They voted on it and agreed that they would rather not play. To give them zero percent of the blame...wow.

Yes Bud Selig is clueless and they knew they could torch him in 94 because the owners weren't solidified. But they gained not lost during that strike. And they knew it. At the time of the strike Bobby Bonillia was the highest paid player at 6.5 million or something. Now a poor starter makes that money.

Both sides should take 100% of the blame, and so should the saps called fans that have not only forgiven, but forgot.

Will they strike the next time? Probably not. I think Bud will cave into all demands. But they'll set a strike date.

Richie, you're forgetting about 2006, when the two sides settled months in advance of the deadline. So they're on a roll. Two in a row.

I just don't understand your logic in penalizing them for almost striking in '02. Not a single pitch was lost due to work action. The rest was just negotiations. Why does it matter how close they came to striking? They didn't strike. And they weren't going to, either.

Richie, where do you set the bar for when someone isn't allowed to go on strike? Is it a $1 million salary? $5 million? $500,000?

And yes, I'm at the game, and I agree, Tatis' hustle is admirable. But I'm confident that your pal is not going to be able to back up your assertion that the real cause of The Collapse was a lack of hustle.

Richie - When you read the history of the 1994 strike and the way the owners behaved, there is no way you can blame the players. The owners acted illegally (and unethically IMHO). They lost in court numerous times. Selig cancelled the World Series!! How can that be defended by anyone? The players lost more than $200 million dollars.

Leading up to the strike, the owners welched on a $7.8 million payment to the union pension fund. During the strike they unilaterally eliminated arbitration and they put in different free agent rules, used replacement players during spring training, etc. All of this stuff was overturned by the feds. The owners are fools.

Unions very often have to threaten to strike to get anywhere with management. The only leverage unions have is to threaten or carry out the withholding of their member's services.

You mentioned Bonilla's salary at the time, but the game's revenues were $3.5 billion in 1994. Now they are more than $6 billion. The owners are making plenty of money.

Richie has already advocated that they should have used replacement players in 1995. I hope he isn't a football fan because the big one is coming in 2010.
Ken--We all know that strength up the middle makes champions. Also, for the most part your shortstop or catcher is the defacto leader of the team. The Mets have a decent catcher right now, a CF who plays when he feels like it and a SS who isn't the leader he should be. They are weak at 2nd. Schneider can't be a leader yet, but could be one. LoDuca tried to be a leader and Piazza was the leader. Reyes isn't a leader. Now, let's say the Mets had a Jeter who was annointed to the HOF very early in his career and is derided by Mets' fans as "Capt. Intangibles" or a Jimmie Rollins, or even a Nomar Garciaparra in his prime, what would they be? David Wright is the defacto leader of this Mets' team and I'm not really sure he is the guy that should be it.

Sandy, football is different from baseball. I would't begrudge the players from striking in football. They have short careers and are often physically decimated afterwards.

Jim the owners are fools. They take a lot of blame in my mind for the strike. As do the players. Its not just one sides fault. It's both. Good point with the money though.

Ken, in 2001 baseball practically screamed, "LOOK AT ME!! WE'RE HEALING AMERICA!!" And then in 2002 they said, "What does 9/11 have to do with us?" It wasn't the time for posturing. It was the time for healing. If you remember Jim Bowden was pretty ticked and said they should strike on 9/11. And you keep saying they were never going to strike. Oh really??? Where did you get that information? They would have gladly struck had they not found the deal they were happy with. If your sources aren't private, I'd love to see that information.

And I'm sure your right. I dont have any Mets loss on tape. So I'm sure I wont find what I'll need. Though this season already they've lost a game to hustling. I think it was the Milwaukee 1-0 game and Wright and Castillio didn't hustle on a play. I didn't see it. Also, you're colleague David Lennon wrote a pretty damning article on Castillio and his lack of caring. "So as long as Castillo is going to be here, manager Jerry Manuel is trying a different approach: Either play hard or take a seat."

So it seems as if the Mets manager agrees with me that playing hard is important!! And if you dont hustle, you're not playing hard.

Richie, I agree with you that playing hard is important. I just happen to think that pitching, hitting and defense are more important. If we had a game full of Andy Foxes, the game would go bankrupt.

I'm sorry, I can't reveal my source on the negotiations of '02. Suffice it to say, the Astros, in the wake of the Enron fiasco, were adamant that they weren't going to strike. If you choose not to believe me, that is your right.

And really, you're not helping your cause by quoting Jim Bowden, one of the biggest buffoons in baseball history. That was real sensitive of him to compare a potential baseball players' strike to 9/11, don't you think?

Jim, the Union never does anything for the good of the game. They bitch and moan on just about every issue with the owners. They completely drop the ball when it comes to steriods. I don't care what happen in the past, what have the union done about steriods the last 15 years? Nothing, until there were force kicking and screaming by Congress to get a drug policy in baseball. I remember a game the Yanks had to make up with the Marlins in 2000. There were no other days to make the game up, so the only way to play that game was if the Yanks need that game to make the playoffs. But when it comes to having the best record, the union will not allot it to happen. Name me something that the union did for the good of the game?
In today's game, weather played havoc before and during the game. Santana look great the first 3 innings, but then he walk batters in which 3 of the walks came around to score. Pettitte look good today only giving up the 2 home runs to Castro and Wright. And Rivera was money in the bank getting the Mets out 1-2-3. I don't know what Reyes was thinking. In the 5th, the Mets had 2 on and 2 out with Wright at the plate, and what does Reyes do? He gets pick off 2nd Base. That was an abslutely bonehead play by Reyes. I have seem Reyes now get pick off at least 3 times this year. Somone on the Mets need to teach Reyes better instincts on the base paths. Also Carlos Beltran strikes out 4 times? That's not going to sit well with the Mets fans.
And once again typical Mets. Just when you thought they would take off, they can't get out of their own way. Can the Mets consistantly play some good baseball before we can take them seriously? The Mets need to worry about themselves first, before they can challenge any team in NL East.

Every time Richi G rails on the union, he owes Ken a donut!

As for the formation of the MLBPA in 1966 and Marvin Miller's work...

I'm beginning to think RG was the model for Beulah in the PTA meeting scene in the school from "Field of Dreams". (Dennis is a very close second.)

She claimss to have experienced the sixties, but Annie Kinsella responds: "No, I think you had two fifties and moved right into the seventies."

Ken, if the Astros refused to strike as an orginization, that means the players would have made the owners cave in to their demands. So a strike wouldn't have happened not bc of the players, but bc of the owners. And Bowden wasn't sensitive, and nor should he have been. I was glad someone called out Fehr.

As for the Mets...I think you really need to take a step back and re-evaluate. I know you joke about being stubborn with the Blue Jays-Mets thing, but what is your true feelings on this team?

I feel vindicated in the hustle argument when their own manager tells a Newsday reporter that Castillio doesn't try hard, then that's a problem! And I'm not the only one that thinks Delgado doesn't try or care. These two are clubhouse cancers and Wright and Reyes will never grow to their potential with them on the team.

If they cut Delgado and give a full on benching to Castillio (I'd love to cut him but I know they cant) then that *may* wake the players up. Firing Willie obviously wasn't going to affect these guys.

And as someone that plays a lot of sports, and I think Bob Tufts would agree with me on this one. Whether you play little league or the major leagues, when the next guy busts his tail, its a lot harder for you to loaf. And teams that play inspired, tend to play harder and win. Look at the Celtics vs. the Lakers. The Celtics played like men, and that guy Posey was an animal. He inspired the rest of his team. The Mets need Kirk Gibson.

Dennis, off the top of my head, I can’t ever remember the players “bitching and moaning” when it comes to what’s in their contract. It’s the owners who are usually trying to get something changed. Oh, yes, the players bitch about the latest schemes of the owners to deny them the riches they help produce, but that's not what you are saying. All unions stand up for their members when management is trying to trample their rights.

We have been over this before: If the game goes belly up, how does that help the players? The players want a strong, financially healthy game because it means they get to make lots of money. I’m sorry if you don’t think today’s players love the game. I have no doubts. The owners effectively stole $280 million from the players through collusion and you wonder how and why the relationship between the players and the owners prevented progress on various issues? Would you trust someone that stole from you?

When it comes to steroids, Bob Tufts has told you time after time that it was Commissioner Peter Ueberroth who botched the drug issue by abrogating the agreement. Unions protect the rights of its members and provide them with due process provisions prior to any discipline being meted out. This is America and we have a long history of labor unions, collective bargaining and due process protections.

You mention Congress. I am willing to bet that if you drug tested every member of Congress the failure rate as a percentage would be higher than that of MLB players. The current governor of NY has admitted he previously used cocaine and pot. Congress has an approval rating of less than 20%. Henry Waxman (who helped "push through" drug testing) represents a district that is so gerrymandered that Robert Mugabe has a better chance of losing an election than does Waxman.

Was the game stronger under the indentured servant rules? Remember the Curt Flood case? Do you really feel it was good for the game (and not shameful) that Flood was owned by someone via the reserve clause? What the MLBPA has accomplished is certainly good for players, but it’s also good for owners who are now making more money than ever before.

Jim, the union could have acted on their own when it comes to steriods. The clean players like Jeter, Griffey, Smoltz etc.could have stand up and tell Fehr and Orza to clean up the sport and get a policy in place. You guys talk about the owners and Bud Sleig's responsabillity, well how about the players? The players allow their own to juice up without taking action. And again, what has the union done to do something about it the last 15 years? Nothing, until 2002 when in a article in SI where it was detail how widespread steriods was.
Ken, once again Santana throws his teammates under the bus saying don't blame me for the loss to the Yanks yesterday. Hey Johan, you walk 4 guys and 3 of the 4 walk came around to score. How about you suck it up and take it like a man and take responsabillity for the loss because your the reason the Mets loss yesterday. And let's face it, the Mets are going nowhere fast. I don't want to hear about well the Mets are only 3 games back in the NL East when they can't get out of their own way. The Mets have not shown any evidence that they can put togther a run to make the playoffs.

Ken, have you ever been to a game that was as bizzare as the Angels-Dodgers game was last night? The Dodgers won the game 1-0 despite getting no hits. That is very bizzare to say the least. Who predicted that outcome?

Dennis nobody has made a big deal about what Santana said yesterday except for the Post and I never take that paper seriously. What he said last week when he blamed Wright making an error for him giving up a grand slam to Felix Hernandez is more damaging. I never read much about him while he was a Twin but I wonder if he blamed his teammates for his losses up there as well, although going 0-4 with a 2.5 era in his last several starts is pretty hard to take.

reyes is not even close to being as good as jeter.jeter is extremely smart on the field,always aware of everything.reyes is faster and that is it,he botches everything,shows no respects.jeter almost never lets his team down.the mets blew it by signing santanna,they depleted their farm system and their future does not look good unless they greatly increase payroll.

Let's face it, Santana has been a major disappointment. For a guy being pay $140 million, Santana has not live up to the hype. On Tuesday he gave up a Grand Slam to Felix Hernandez, the PITCHER. That's a big no-no. Then yesterday Santana walks 4 guys and 3 of those walks score. And he set up the third run by balking over the runner to 2nd. The Mets starting pitching has been OVERRATED. I just talk about Santana. Pedro has been spotty. Perez is erratic. Maine is OK. And Pelfrey has been up and down. The Mets have shown no indication that they can make a run at all.

Dennis, we need a session in reading comprehension here. Both Bob Tufts and I have repeatedly told you that the union and MLB HAD AN AGREEMENT on the drug issue and it was abrogated by then Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, who was looking to make a run for political office. The union operates under a collective bargaining agreement. NEITHER side can just “act on their own when it comes to steroids.” How do you know who is clean and who isn’t? If the testing results from 2003 that has been obtained by the feds are ever made public as part of the Bonds case you might be surprised. It’s not up to the MLBPA to police its members. The union has a responsibility to negotiate a CBA and see that it is enforced and members rights are protected. Unions don’t have the legal authority to do what you want the MLBPA to do.

You make me laugh. Read the Mitchell report. You might come away with a different perspective. It just might be that some owners and front office people liked the results they were getting from the juiced up players. Selig knew a long time ago about the problem and did nothing!!! Fehr isn’t an owner or the commissioner.

Players see other players juiced themselves in the clubhouse in the past. You mean to tell me that some players didn't report what they see to Fehr and Orza to do something about it and talk to the owners about getting a policy in place? Come on here. Everybody gets the blame for the Steriods era. But after Ueberroth left, nothing happen. The union could have done something about it and lead the charge to get a policy in place. Instead they stay silence after Ueberrroth left.

Dennis: When you come to the blog with some actual facts, let us know. Your blogs are getting tiresome.

1. Per Jim's suggestion, read the Mitchell Report, not a summary.
2. Read "Lords of the Realm" by John Helyar
3. Read some of the works of the late Doug Pappas from SABR.
4. Read Marvin Miller & Bowie Kuhn's books - see what you think.

Education will commence and the whining must stop.

Thanks for all of the Sunday action, guys!

Jim and Bob T., thanks for having my back on the union stuff. Although I do think that even some of the PA people wish, in retrospect, they had handled some of the steroid issue differently. But don't tell Dennis I wrote that. ;)

Sandy, I thought the Post backpage was dead-on accurate. I wrote my column about Santana's lack of accountability, as well as his inability to step up in low-scoring games. Here's my column:

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spken0629,0,2858315.column

OK, now Richie. Richie, you fire me up like few others. You are good. Like Dorothy and the Scarecrow, if I ever leave this blog, I'll miss you most of all ;)

First, concerning "hustle." You and I are not at opposite poles here. I am pro-hustle. In an ideal world, everyone would hustle. But that's not the world in which we live. We live in a world where Manny Ramirez, a legendary non-hustler, is going to the Hall of Fame. Where Alfonso Soriano still admires every fly ball he hits to the warning track, and he's in the middle of a $136-million contract.

I love hustle. But it's not the defining measure in baseball. John Stearns busted his tail. But Joe Torre hated managing him, because Stearns was a clubhouse lawyer who couldn't have had less regard for authority. Andy Fox busted his tail, and all that got him was a 73 OPS+.

Derek Jeter is busting his tail en route to Cooperstown. But he sure as heck wasn't a "team-first" guy two years ago, when he sat and did nothing when Alex Rodriguez was drowning in a sea of boos at Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox didn't win the World Series last year because of hustle. And the Mets' Collapse didn't result from a lack of hustle. You accused me of incompetence here recently - "You're just not paying attention" - and you've yet to back up that serious accusation. Don't sing it unless you can bring it.

Regarding my predictions, I seriously believe that the Mets and Blue Jays both have the pitching to turn their seasons around. If you want to question my sanity, that's your prerogative. But remember that, a year ago, you would've questioned my sanity had I predicted that the Yankees would make the playoffs and the Mets wouldn't, and that the Rockies would make the World Series. It's a long season. We're only halfway done.

As for Bowden, so you're OK equating a baseball players' strike with 9/11? That works for you. A couple of guys from my high school worked for Cantor Fizgerald and didn't make it out of the WTC that day. Should I call their parents and say, "Hey, I know you've had it rough, but it could've been worse. There could've been a baseball players strike in 2002"?

Finally, Richie, I need a number. At what salary does it become impermissible for a person to strike? Was it OK when the Hollywood writers went on strike? What about the NHL players in '94?

From 1990-2002, nothing happen as far as cleaning up the sport of steriods.

Ken, the Mets starting pitching has underperform and the Blue Jays offense stinks. If the Mets are going to make run, the starters have to perform. If the Jays are going to make a run, the offense has to pick up, otherwise the Jays lose a lot of close games where the offense does nothing.

Dennis: Not to pile on but for you to say Santana is a major disappointment is just wrong. Except for the fact his W-L record is .500 right now and his innings-hit ratio is below par for him, he has delivered everything else the Mets were looking for. And, if he goes on his typical streak starting after the All-Star game he will win between 17 and 21 games this season. You can argue that he should have at least 2 more wins right now . He should also learn to not be so honest as "I did my job, my teammates didn't do theirs". But he's not used to dealing with large media contingents either. Now, if you want to argue the Mets are wasting money on these stiffs: Delgado, Castillo, Alou, Beltran, El Duque, Omar and to a point Reyes, you get no argument from me. I won't include Pedro because he delivered when he was healthy and brought a good attitude into that loser clubhouse. He had a great career, it's too bad it looks like injuries took their toll and he's done. And, despite their business partner, The Daily News, which tried and failed to paint a portrait of a united and harmonious clubhouse in a story in last Sunday's paper, it is very clear there is plenty of dissension in the Mets clubhouse, like the Yankees of Bronx Zoo fame, but unlike the Yankees back then, they don't have the talent to overcome it. In the meantime, the press must be having a joyful time dealing with all that every game. :(

Sandy, what I mean when I said that Santana is a major disappointment was when you set the standard that Santana has done and get pay $140 million, Mets fans were expecting great starts from Santana everytime he pitches. Well so far that has not been the case. Granted, Santana has to deal with more media attention in New York than in Minnesota. But he also has to realize that he has to take responsibility for the games that he loses like the Seattle game on tuesday night and yesterday's game against the Yanks. And also Santana's starts will get more scrutinize everytime he pitches.

Dennis, at this point I think you would criticize Babe Ruth for striking out, Lou Gehrig for not hitting a grand slam "when it counts" and Cy Young for losing the second game of a doubleheader after he pitched a complete game victory in the first one. Lighten up: Santana isn't God. He hasn't pitched poorly. Some games he hasn't had a ton of support. Pitchers are going to lose games. That said, I am still happy the Yankees didn't trade three young players and invest more than $120 million in him. But, they didn't have to. The Mets did.

Just so we know the offensive Jim Bowden quote:

"If players want to strike, they ought to just pick Sept. 11, because that's what it's going to do to the game. I don't think there's going to be a work stoppage. I don't think anybody's that dumb. ... If they do walk out, make sure it's Sept. 11. Be symbolic. Let Donald Fehr drive the plane right into the building, if that's what they want to do."

Lovely!

Ken, you pretty much summed up my feelings/opinion on Girardi in your column. I think he has done a very credible job and has the team moving in the right direction. The club is no longer stagnant. I really believe this youth movement will pay dividends. There is no need to get involved with C.C. now, or in the off-season. The team needs to let this new way of doing things play out.

Thanks, Jim. Very much appreciated. And now it's time to fire up the Monday post...

Ken I'm pretty sure you dont read this after you put up a new blog. But I'll cut and paste my answer to you in your Monday blog unless you tell me you saw it here.

I dont think I can give you a #. But I know the Hollywood writers (the ones that just went on strike) dont make that much. So I'm fine with that. And I'm pretty sure (I dont want to look it up bc its cheating) that the NHL didn't go on strike in 94. They were locked out. I could be wrong. Either way, it killed the momentum the Rangers had made and was the dumbest thing ever. It killed my favorite sport. More importantly...

Ken, first of all I never ever ever insinuated you were incompitant. I wouldn't write on your blog almost every day if I didn't respect your opinion. Not paying attention and not knowing what you're talking about is totally different. I stand by what I said and what I meant. Not by what you inferred.

Also, I dont think I ever said that lack of hustle was the reason of The Collapse. What I said was had they hustled every play, along the way they would have picked up two more victories. (Not just during the Collapse, during the 162 game season) However, I think the reason for The Collapse was they were/are a SOFT team. And they couldn't handle the negative adversity. That combined with their lack of playing hard really hurt them. Had they been a team that busted it and played hard, they would have been more mentally tough and been able to pick up two more games the last two weeks.
And Ken...you know I'm not saying to call your friends parents. What I'm saying is this. Baseball helped me get through 2001. I loved the Mets run at the end of the season. I still cant watch the Piazza game because I was going to go to it and didn't at the last minute because I heard it was sold out. It is one of the biggest regrets of my life. But I loved the players that season. I forgave them for 94. And then the very next year they broke my heart by threatening to strike. And I wish I had the quote but I believe Donald Fehr said something like, "Baseball has nothing to do with 9/11." Sorry Fehr, you cant have it both ways. You cant bask in the glory without taking the blame. And that's what the players tried to do. They tried to romantacize their contributions and take it away the next year when it didn't fit their needs. I hope you have a better understanding of where I'm coming from. I know Fehr is just doing his job and he does it great. But that doesn't mean I have to like it or him.

BTW, did you know John Stearns is my favorite player of all time in any sport? He's the only person I ever wanted an autograph from since I've turned 18.

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Richie.

First of all, my bad on the NHL players in '94. It was a lockout. I stand corrected.

I don't think there's necessarily that strong a link between "busting it" and mental toughness. Were the Mets "soft" last year? Probably, yes. But they would've made the playoffs if their team ERA hadn't grown worse every single month of the season - from April to May, from May to June and so on.

Look at your boy Stearns (and I knew you loved him - you've mentioned him before). Did he bust it? Yes. Was he mentally strong? Nope. He was a clubhouse cancer.

As for '02, I don't remember that Fehr quote. I'd like to see it. In the greater picture, I still don't understand why you blame the players more than you do the owners for all of the work stoppages. But that's your journey.

In any case, I appreciate the give-and-take.