Gang while you are watching the game tonight or not, please consider if you think Alex R. might ask Hal for a buyout before next season. He has regained some affection and there is a baseball tonight seat waiting. He hit .212 in the second half and his presence takes ab's from Bird and Sanchez who is about to pop. Just a thought to keep the Yanks in the mix.

Might ask Hall for a buyout? Whatever for? He had one of his most enjoyable seasons ever. Even if he is old and tired why wouldn't he play it out until he can't do anything about it anymore like just about every other player ever.

I hear what you're saying from the perspective of the good of the team or whatever. But I don't see Alex going away...EVER. That's the thing about him. He won't go away.

LOL

Oh, and I like Grienke and if he's great tonight and the Dodgers win I'm okay with that but otherwise I've got too many loved ones rooting for visitors so:

LET'S GO METS!
LET'S GO METS!
LET'S GO METS!

[2]The Yanks have to pay him but they don't have to play him. If he doesn't hit early they will go with the young guys. Bird only plays first and Tex also has to be in the game. Guys his age who are overpaid cannot complain. Leaving now with most of his cash would improve his reputation as a team guy even more.
Let's Go Mets or something like that.

Curtis sure has lost a step or two.

More scoring early than I thought there'd be.

I'm ok with either the Young Mets or Donnie Baseball winning. As long as one of them beats the Cubs.

Regarding last thread, got to disagree respectfully with my music-loving buddy thelarmis. I LOVED Bautista's stare & bat flip. Baseball would be better with more pimping, like after soccer goals or football touchdowns.

[7] As someone who has and continues to coach a high school sport it and all that nonsense on any televised sport is a real bad example to kids.

Ha! First to third on a walk, take that, shifty shifters. Tied up!

[3] I tried to wish A-rod away. May as well root for him.

What's everyone's thoughts on Bautista? To me the only thing cheaper and more bush league are the Jays fans. Throwing shit on the field really irked me. The call was correct. May as well give them their trophy so they won't protest.

[8] Honestly, you know what I think is a bad example for kids? Uptight, illogical obsession with 'play the right way', which doesn't mean anything. Kids want to have fun, let them have fun! In the Latin American leagues they pimp everything and no one starts a beanball war..

[10] Bautista hit a monster tater to pretty much win the series for his team. I can't for the life of me think why his reaction is 'bush league'..

My thoughts on Joey Bats: Latin players are more demonstrative. I'm from old New England stock, where we don't do that sort of thing. Part of me is bothered by it, but I also want the best baseball players in the world playing in MLB.

Remember El Duque blocking the first baseline on a come backer? Loved it.

Now Blow Jay fans, well Toronto has taken a deep dive in my estimation now.

[12] True, I think it's not a 'bush league' thing, just cultural. But even in the US in the old days, players had style. Seems to me pretty simple: if you don't want a batter pimping then don't give up a monster tater!

[10] I root for all Yankees but he doesn't project to get better at 41 and he will take at bats away from Bird and force Tex and Beltran to play the field. Unless he pounds big time he is really a liability.

I hate the look at me celebrations. I refuse to think of myself as old fashioned because I think good sportsmanship is tradition worth preserving in all sports.

[11] standing and staring and posing and bat flipping and showing up the other team seems bush to me.

[14,15] I do not understand this feeling. Do you want to watch robots on the field? I like players with passion. Sportsmanship means not cheating, the rest is just nonsense they try to teach you in gym class.

You guys must hate the Babe, Rickey!, Reggie, etc?

{16} Would you coach kids to do that?

[16] I never ever saw even Reggie do something remotely close to that.

Night all.

[17] I'd coach kids to have as much fun as they want as long as they don't fight.

[18] Seriously? Just this morning watched his 1978 homer off Bob Welch in the WS. Stare, minor bat flip, hat tip to the LA fans (in Dodger Stadium!) Total showboat, was awesome.

[20] Showing up opponents leads to fights. Kids watch adults and learn how to conduct themselves. Exuberance good, enthusiasm great, behaving like a horses ass sit on the bench.

[21] I still don't get it. Pitchers/Closers can do all sorts of routines after big inning-ending strikeouts but batters cannot celebrate a series winning homer, one of the biggest home runs all year after a very crazy inning? Why is that acting like a horses ass?

I really hate the idea of taking the natural joy and emotion out of baseball. That's what the Japanese little league does, one reason I did not let Jazz Jr join (loooooong story to tell the Banter one day about our visit to a local Little League here...)

The Mets showed a lot more class than the Blue Jays in winning their Divisional Series. Bautista's bat flip was low class. Of course I'm old enough to remember when football players scored touchdowns and politely handed the ball to the refs.

Dave Cameron at FanGraphs sums it up nicely here I think: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/on-the-line-between-emotion-and-sportsmanship/

[24] That's The Man, Jim Brown. Just tossed the ball to the side a trotted off glowing with confidence in his ability, but not needing to do anything extra to show it. And from what we can read, he is one proud, confident man.

[22} Japanese Little League. You mean the Bataan Death March of Baseball?

Let's squeeze all the fun out of a game and force the parents to dedicate every entire weekend to helping a team coached by smoking, overweigh, alcoholic failed athletes.

Little Leagues in America. Drop your kids off with the kindly coach who may be a man or a woman. Kids wear whatever they want, until the first game of the season. Coach brings all the equipment except gloves, but he usually has a catcher's glove. He, she often personally drives the kids to another field if all the main fields are used. Water and juice is supplied by the coach. After games, the coach buys ice cream for all the kids win or lose.

Little League in Japan. Kids must all have their own brand new Mizuno bats and cases for carrying them, brand new Mizuno gloves, full unis and spikes (from 8 years old). Their are 6 smoking coaches and about 6 helping mothers serving tea and lunch to the men, and doing the grounds work. If the kids play well they get to eat or have a sip of water. If they not they do not, they sometime miss lunch and do laps in the hot sun until they puke.

Sounds like a blast. Sign me up.

I do not like the Chris Gomez antics. He needs a Scott Procter fast ball to the head (but not actually hitting him, of course, just scaring the piss out of him).

I stand with Jazz on this one; I actually liked the bat flip. Nothing like seeing actual thrill from a star player, like they actually like playing the game as opposed to just liking to cash their awesome paychecks. As Boat demonstrated, it could easily go too far the other way as well.

That said, I don't like what Chris Gomez did because that was actually confrontational as opposed to showy. I would have forfeited the game to go Strawberry on his temple at that moment, but when you scream at the opposing dugout, you're asking for it. Celebrating a huge hit, well I might be mad about it for a little while, but that's the game and I might do the same thing under the circumstances. Playing with emotion as opposed to being a jackass.

(At least Bautista didn't rip his uni to shreds and scream "BEOWULLLLLF!!!") >;)

[27] Yeah, so am I.
I would not coach little league players to do it, but that's because I think the eleven-year-olds on the other team would feel bad and get upset. I expect grown men being paid millions of dollars to take it.
Does anyone think Derek Jeter ever got worked up over an opposing player showboating? I can't imagine it.

Bat flip? I guess I'm among the alte kaker now. Hate things that show up the opposition, and in my opinion (feelings) disrespect the game. Since Kirk Gibson's fist pump 30 odd years ago, I find the behavior disturbing. Joy, celebration, ok. Baseball is an art, athleticism with finesse, not a display of brute force.

But the game moves on. I might have to also. Please don't dispute my feelings, I can't help it.

Oh, and let's go Mets! (Except I kinda want the Cubbies to win it all).

You think Daniel Murphy will ever have to pay for dinner again as long as he lives?

29) You should never apologize for your feelings. Nobody can dispute them. Someone can disagree with your opinion but not dispute your feelings.

[31] thanks. You have wisely listened to your therapist...

Thing is, it wasn't a bat "flip." He violently *threw* the bat after a stupid stare down of the pitcher and an idiotic huff and puff. Douche.

A little bat flip, fist pumping, and some celebratory emotions are cool. Joey Bat Shit, Fat Liar, and Carlos Gomez are not cool.

32) Ha! Paging Dr. Freud!