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We all knew there were some shenanagans going on with the Mets of the ’80’s. But Darryl Strawberry’s new book won’t leave anything to the imagination anymore according to Page Six’ Richard Johnson.
There were a few years that we all thought the wild child Mets were out having a grea time while bashing their way to a World Series title in ’86 and LCS in ’88. But that romantic notion came to an end with positive drug tests and behavioral problems shortly thereafter.
Now we get to hear the stories straight from the horses mouth in Darryl’s new book. We’ll hear about gallons of beer, speed freaks, coke heads, and sex in the middle of games.
I think I liked the fantastical notion in my head better than the base reality of the book.
Fonzie didn’t sign with those Giants, the other Giants. I’m talking about the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball. Fonzie last played with the Mets in 2002 before moving on to the San Francisco Giants, Angels, and Blue Jays. He hasn’t played in the majors since 2006.
It’s a little sad to see a player that I liked so much with the Mets relegated to the Japanese league. But when I see that he made more than $47 million during his U.S. career, I don’t feel so sad.
The Venezuelan native put up some very respectable numbers during his career. His line is .284/ .357/ .425 with 146 HR and 744 RBI.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Howard have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 3-year/$54 million contract. Howard had been seeking $18 million in arbitration and the Phillies were offering $14 million.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to see Ryan Howard go against the Mets 19 times per season for the next three years. I wouldn’t call him a Met killer like Pat Burrell was, but he does have numbers that are pretty much on-par for his career against the Mets.
Howard’s career numbers against the Mets are: 243 AB/ .272 AVG/.367 OBP/ .572 SLG/ 21 HR/ 50 RBI.
This is a fair deal for both the Phillies and Howard. He’s certainly one of the elite power hitters in baseball. Looking over his statistics, he’s really solid offensively in all of the splits. The most notable stat is that he really destroys right-handed pitching compared to left, hitting .304 AVG versus .231 AVG right-handed.
Kyle Suire of the Brooklyn Cyclones was suspened for 50 games today. He tested positive for Stanozolol, a performance enhancing substance. He’s a second baseman that spent most of last season with Kingsport.
His suspension begins at the beginning of the 2009 season. Suire is the fourth minor leaguer suspended this year.
It’s too bad to have another member of the Mets organization suspended. But I’ll be curious to hear his side of the story. Some athletes recently have claimed that over the counter products have led to positive test results. The unregulated nutritional supplement industry is a real problem that should be addressed, not just for professional athletes but for everyone’s safety.
The Seattle Mariners traded former Met Aaron Heilman to the Chicago Cubs today. He was traded to the Mariners on December 10 in the J.J. Putz deal.
I have to believe that he told the Mariners that he wanted to start but the M’s didn’t have a spot for him. Heilman will definitely get some kind of shot at starting in Chicago unless they end up completing a trade with the Padres for Jake Peavy. They’ve been rumored to be after Peavy for quite a while now.
Heilman went to Notre Dame so he’s probably happy to be back in the Midwest.
The U.S. and world economies have been in a free fall for months now. Major League Baseball free agents seem to be suffering as much as anyone. Okay, not as much as anyone but they’re certainly not getting the deals that they expected when they became free agents. I’m surprised that more high-level free agents aren’t taking short term deals so they can hit the market again when the economy is better. That’s what I would do.
Scott Miller from CBS Sports wrote a nice piece this week about the National League teams and their desire to, effectively, get something for nothing. Notably, the D-Backs have been turned down by Randy Johnson and Jon Garland already. And they signed Felipe Lopez on the cheap to replace Orlando Hudson.
The Washington Nationals have needs in just about every roster spot. They’re waiting in the wings for some of the best remaining free agents like Adam Dunn and Hudson.
The Mets are noted for getting Francisco Rodriguez for far less than anyone expected him to sign for this off-season. And trading for J.J. Putz to avoid paying out for another big free agent reliever, not to mention low-balling Derek Lowe.
Flickr photo courtesy of SD_Dirk
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