I never understood this rule and I don't like it.

Throw in Tebow and it's a deal.

Maybe the problem is you.

Designated Hitter is not murky.

Aubrey Huff's free speech rights are intact.

If they weren't, you wouldn't be hearing from him.

I actually tend to agree with Huff on this one. It sounds like an over-reaction by the Giants to satirical tweets.

Outside of SF, was anyone in the country clamoring for the 10-year anniversary of the 2010 Giants WS title?

Invite him to the reunion. He’ll stand in the corner and eat some pigs-in-a-blanket while wearing a JCPenney suit. This doesn’t need to be on the national radar.

But in terms of Freedom of Speech, the Giants can exclude you from their reunion simply because they don’t like you. It sounds as if that’s what they did and they were forthright about this.

In terms of the First Amendment itself, the Giants are not a Government agent … Huff has been embarrassed perhaps (it’s questionable), but he hasn’t been fined or jailed or intimidated by the State. 

In fact, the State probably loves him.

You Know Who will probably give Huff a medal.

Big names piling on the Astros.

This seems to indicate a fracture amongst the players which is quite different than the reaction to the PED scandal.

I'm also quite surprised.

The odds are stacked.

"Entering his fourth season with the Mets, the 32-year-old left fielder is coming off a 2019 season at Triple-A Syracuse in which he struggled, slashing .164/.299/.338 with four home runs and 19 runs batted in over 77 games.

So the odds are more than stacked up against Tebow, the former college football star at the University of Florida (2006-09) and three-year NFL quarterback (2010-12) who signed a minor-league contract with the Mets in September 2016. But he's back once again for his latest Spring Training with the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where Tebow embraces another opportunity."

What about his arm?

It's not you, it's me. I read his stuff, so I'm to blame.

Lupica with a predictable about face:

"And yet with all that drama, because there always seems to be drama around the Mets, in the best of times, they are still getting ready to play the season.

And guess what?

They have a chance to be good. Maybe really good."

This is Lupica seven whole days ago.

Keeping Score

"As one scout this week told me, 'They'll win 90-95 games easy if Diaz figures it out again. And they should have a championship bullpen.'

Hard to argue."

My first observation is that 90 wins is a good season. Third place in your division.

95 wins is a playoff spot.

In the 2020 NL East, 95 wins seems like a stretch.



This kind of prediction also assumes that nothing else changes between 2019 and 2020. Like, we start with a baseline of 86 wins. Then Diaz is better, Betances helps, and that's 90 - 95 wins.

It may work out exactly like that.

No one knows.

But since we keep score on everything, I will predict it doesn't work out that way.


"Because if Diaz again becomes a reliable closer, the Mets should be monsters in the late innings, with newcomer Dellin Betances likely sliding in as the primary set-up man and Seth Lugo then available as an Andrew Miller-like wild card, helping to lock down games with multiple-inning outings wherever needed."

You just changed the parameters of the discussion.

It's not just Diaz who's going to single-handedly get you an extra 4-to-9 wins by being the most dominant relief pitcher in baseball history.

He's going to triple-handedly join an already-dominant bullpen.

Yeah, I'll buy that. If everyone on the Mets is good, then they will surely win a lot of games.



"'Potentially, and I say potentially with great caution,' said another scout, 'they've got a better pen than just about everyone -- even the Yankees. But obviously there's a lot of uncertainty, starting with Diaz.'"

An unnamed scout said it, so I guess it doesn't mean much.

How can a professional athlete not realize he is 25 pounds overweight?

Get ready for endless stories about Spring Training Optimism.

Last year at this time, Troy Tulowitzki was going to hit 25 HRs and provide clubhouse leadership.

So weird how the Astros cheating scandal has brought Pete Rose into the spotlight again ...

... not so much because of the President's tweet, just listening to angry people on sports radio.


Gambling is worse than steroids or sign stealing.

Gambling is an existential threat to baseball. Sign stealing is not, and, as the 1990s proved beyond any doubt, steroid use surely is not.


No surprise that Trump's tweet is inaccurate ... Trump has no idea which teams Rose bet on ... and, obviously, this is not the point.

The point is that MLB does not need a manager who owes a bookie $250k and is looking for a way out.

Also, whatever you think of Giamatti's original punishment, Rose is his own worst enemy. Rose lied over and over and has never shown contrition to this day.


I kind of think Rose belongs in the HOF, unceremoniously, just so the world would shut up about him and move on. I don't think the HOF is for angels.

On the other hand, MLB is allowed to make its own rules. MLB is allowed to decide that gambling is the worst crime of all.

Somehow, this jerkoff overrated crook and statutory rapist has become a sympathetic, gritty, throwback hero to old, white men.

Maybe it helped more than I initially thought.

The pronounced decrease in "chase rates" would seem to indicate that the batters were cheating often and it helped a lot.

Maybe he's angry at the Mets for ignoring Buck Showalter?

I don't really believe in the Battle for New York anyway, but I can't recall Lupica disregarding the Mets. Maybe he'll change his tune by Opening Day?