Bet on the Mets and the Mob Will Be After You

Longtime Mets equipment manager Charlie Samuels was suspended by the team because of his involvement in an FBI investigation into mob-run gambling.
Samuels is accused of making illegal sports bets with mob bookies. He bet on the NFL and on horse-racing, but not baseball. He placed bets from work. He placed bets for other team employees, but not players. He's also suspected of stealing bats, balls and jerseys from the clubhouse. And in his role as associate travel director (aka assistant to the traveling secretary) he may have skimmed money off hotel bookings.

Now, here's what really happened: Samuels kept betting on the Mets to win. As we know the Mets always lose, so he lost a lot of Monday and the bookies threatened to break his knees. And as Dr. Farthing told us: "When you owe a bookie a lot of money, and he blows off one of your toes, you still owe him the money. Doesn't seem fair."

Another life ruined by the horrible Mets.

Guess Who's Coming to Thanksgiving Dinner

Uncle Mick!

The Case the Lawyers Are Talking About

In April 2009, Juliet Breitman, 4, and Jacob Kohn, 5, were racing their bicycles, under the supervision of their mothers, Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, on the sidewalk of a building on East 52nd Street. At some point in the race, they struck an 87-year-old woman named Claire Menagh, who was walking in front of the building and, according to the complaint, was “seriously and severely injured,” suffering a hip fracture that required surgery. She died three months later of unrelated causes. Her estate sued the children and their mothers, claiming they had acted negligently during the accident.

That's the story. Here's the ruling: the case can continue, but no ruling has been made yet as to whether the kids are guilty of negligence. Previous cases have set the precedent that a child under 4 is not capable of negligence. Since the girl was nearly 5, the judge allowed it to go forward.

Here's my take: I think children this young are capable of understanding risk. I am 100% sure that if Chase were riding his bike and someone was in the way he would know enough to stop, slow down or try to avoid that person. But then again, if someone walked out in front of him suddenly, or if he were racing and distracted, he might not.

I really don't know what to decide so I am going to punt. Here is my ruling: What is the difference if you sue a 4-year-old? She can't be held liable for monetary damages, can she? Future earnings? You wouldn't seek a criminal penalty, certainly not for this.

So the parents should be held responsible since they were "supervising." They're the ones who should have known that a bike race on a crowded Manhattan street was not a good idea.

The NFL is Poop - Week 8

I Guess the Big Story This Week Involves the Redskins
I didn't blame Mike Shanahan when he embarrassed Albert Haynesworth in the preseason and I don't blame him for embarrassing Donovan McNabb now. The Redskins were winning that game by 5 points with 4 1/2 minutes left and they had the ball. No way can you lose a game in that situation. But Donovan threw a horrible interception. Brining in Rex Grossman was probably hasty, but McNabb has shown no ability to string together a drive in clutch situations. He couldn't do it against Houston or Indianapolis. I feel strongly McNabb will be the starter after the bye against the Eagles. But in half a season I have learned why Eagles fans complained about him for 11 years.

How Bout Them Cowboys
Jerry Jones has to fire Wade Phillips. It's obvious the team has quit on him. Yes, Tony Romo is hurt, but they were bad with him too. And nothing makes me happier.

You Ain't So Bad
All the talk this year so far has been centered around how the 5 best teams in the league are in the AFC. Until the Steelers and Jets got thumped by NFC teams, the Saints and the Packers. I still think the AFC is a much stronger conference, but at least now we think it's competitive.

What a Dick
Randy Moss just got kicked off his second team in a month. Moss just can't keep his mouth shut. People like Moss, and Terrell Owens, think "keeping it real" means saying exactly what you think about everything at the exact moment you think it. Moss criticized Brad Childress's play-calling, said he love Belichick then said of the catering provided by the team "who ordered this crap? I wouldn't feed this to my dog." That did it. He's now looking for a new team, and no doubt he'll find one. I've heard the Rams mentioned, but I think that would be a big mistake to saddle Sam Bradford with that.

Josh Freeman is Good
I really like the Tampa Bay combination of Josh Freeman, LaGarrette Blount and Mike Williams. I think they are the foundation for a good team for many years, in addition to the strong defense they are building. Unlike McNabb, Freeman continues to make plays late in games to give his team the win. Freeman has six fourth-quarter comebacks in 16 career starts. "It's like he almost did that on purpose," coach Raheem Morris said. "He is throwing games to get another fourth-quarter comeback." Blount had one of the best runs I've ever seen to seal the game, combing a spin move and a hurdle to get the Bucs out of bad field position and prevent the Cardinals from getting the ball back.

This Could Be the Start of Something Big
Every year I fall in love with the Chargers. Every year they start slowly. Every year I give up on them. Every year they launch a huge comeback and win almost all the rest of their games. If that's to happen again, the win over the Titans was a good first step. Philip Rivers has been playing great, if the rest of the team (especially the special teams) joins him they will win the division again.

Song of the Week

"All I Want is You" - Miguel f/ J. Cole
The thing I like about this song is very subtle. I like the stilted way he sings, pausing every few words so as not to overwhelm the music.

Tear Down the Playground

An old saw referencing our increasingly reactive culture says that every time a kid falls a playground is closed. I didn't think this was literally true, but I suppose it is.

"Elementary school playgrounds in one West Virginia county are losing their swing sets.

Swings are being removed from Cabell County schools in southern West Virginia in part because of lawsuits over injuries.

Cabell County schools safety manager Tim Stewart said Wednesday that a lot of parents are accusing him of being un-American, but he says the cost of maintaining a safe surface is too expensive.

Stewart says a lawsuit in the past year involved a youngster who broke his arm jumping off a swing like Superman. It was settled for $20,000.

Other equipment such as monkey bars will remain. Stewart says the schools are able to maintain the proper protection underneath them."

It's only a matter of time until the monkey bars go too. And eventually our kids will play in foam rubber rooms where no one ever gets hurt and no one is good or bad. And when that day comes kids in China will kick our kids' asses.

Weekly Picks

Still nailing those best bets at a pretty good rate so I have a respectable score despite a sub-.500 record.

denver +1 1/2 SAN FRANCISCO
Nowhere to go but up for the Broncos.

miami +2 CINCINNATI
The Dolphins are a better team. And they are 3-0 on the road.

tennessee +3 SAN DIEGO
I admit I was wrong about the Chargers. When will the oddsmakers admit the same thing?

INDIANAPOLIS -5 1/2 houston
The Texans aren't going to be the Colts twice this year.

BEST BET
NEW ENGLAND -5 minnesota
Brett Favre is done. I firmly expect to see Tarvaris Jackson in this game.

Last week: 3-2 (4 point)
Season: 16-19 (19 points)
Best Bets: 1-0 (5-2)
Home Favorites: 2-1 (5-6)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-0)
Road Favorites: 0-0 (5-9)
Road Underdogs: 1-1 (5-4)

Brian Wilson Went to Londonderry High School

And like all Londonderry High School graduates I know, he keeps a guy in a leather mask around the apartment. Wilson calls his "The Machine."

LeBron James Listened to "Garden Party"

The LeBron strikes back. In his new Nike ad "What Should I Do?" LeBron goes wild with the Ricky Nelson mantra "you can't please everyone so you gotta please yourself."

The ad is full of subtext reminding the viewer that he "did this before" meaning going to SVSM to play with his friends. And he takes nasty shots at Michael Jordan (for his awful Hall of Fame speech) and at Charles Barkley (for being a fat, loudmouth who never won anything).

I love it. As someone who mostly defended his decision (though voiced displeasure with the Decision special) I'm glad LeBron is basically saying to the world "I did what I did, I'm happy with it, I don't care what you think."

That's a great attitude to have but now the Heat need to start winning some games.

The NFL is Poop - Week 7

The Dolphins Got Unlucky, Not Screwed
The Miami Dolphins lost to the Steelers 23-22 on a very unlucky break. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dove into the end zone but had the ball jarred loose just before he crossed the goal line. Unfortunately the refs called it a touchdown on the field and therefore never presided over an orderly determination of the fumble recovery. So when the replay showed it shouldn't be a touchdown, they needed clear video evidence showing the Dolphins came away with it. The video showed Karlos Dansby recovering it, but I can see why the ref didn't feel comfortable going with that, there was a Steeler with his hand in there. So the ball was placed at the spot of the fumble, the Steelers kicked a field goal and one.

So it was unfortunate circumstances, not a bad call or stupid rules that cost them this one.

But the Dolphins may also want to look in the mirror, their first two drives started on the Steelers 22 and 13, respectively, and they came away with 6 points. And after that disputed play, they got the ball back with plenty of time, and couldn't even make a first down.



Everything Ends Badly, Otherwise It Wouldn't End
Last season Brett Favre led the Vikings to the NFC title game with one of his best seasons ever with 33 TDs and only 7 interceptions. How could he retire coming off a year like that?
So far this season has been a disaster. But for one brief shining momemet, we almost saw what it is that makes Brett Favre special. Taking the frozen (not really) tundra of Lambeau Field for the last time he came within a footstep of leading his Vikings to what would have been an amazing comeback win over the Packers.
Instead we have a guy who threw 3 more interceptions, denied sending pictures of his penis to a hot Jets employee (though it allegedly came from the same phone number as the texts he admitted too) and is injured (elbow and ankle, though he may be faking to take the heat off). I have a strong feeling Favre may finally sit out a game with injury, ending his amazing consecutive games streak, and he may never come back.

What the Fuck Was That?
How did the Oakland Raiders put 59 points up on the Denver Broncos? It wasn't even turnovers, sure the Broncos made three of them, all of which were converted into touchdowns, but how do you explain the other 5 TDs? Just an incredible outlier of a performance, especially coming from the Raiders.

Wade Phillips is the Dumbest Mother Fucker to Ever Coach in the NFL
Wade Phillips is a terrible coach, and when the Dallas Cowboys fire him he will never get another coaching job in the NFL ever again. But there is no excuse for what he did last night. Trailing 38-20, with about 8 minutes left the Cowboys faced at 4th and goal from the six. Probably everyone watching was screaming for Phillips to kick the field goal and extend the game. The reason is: you never know what will happen next. What if the next play is a turnover returned for a touchdown. And that's almost what happened. The Giants turned it over on their next two possessions, one led to a touchdown. I know circumstances change and the events that follow change, but its reasonable to assume that had Phillips kicked there the Cowboys would have gotten at least one possession late in the fourth quarter trailing by only one score.

You Can't Beat the Champs Without a Little Luck
The Cleveland Browns couldn't have pulled off a huge upset over the Saints without a little luck. Drew Brees threw two interceptions for touchdowns, yes, but you also make your own luck. And that's what they did on the coolest play of the season, a 68-yard run on a fake punt by Reggie Hodges. I have never seen a bigger running lane in all my life.



NFL Stands for Not For Long
Last year Drew Brees was king of the world, this year he stinks. He's the 10th rated QB in the NFL and he's already thrown 10 picks, one fewer than in all of last year. Not sure what's wrong with him and the Saints but they are not the same team on offense they were last year.

A Win is a Win, I Guess
The Redskins beat the Bears 17-14 in what was one of the worst games ever played. Of the first 8 possessions in the second half, 7 of them ended in turnovers. The Redskins have played better in at least 2 of their losses this year than they did in this one. But the Bears were intent on giving it away. Billie has now convinced me that Jay Cutler is terrible and he will never be a good NFL quarterback.

Song of the Week

"I Hope She Cheats on You" - Marsha Ambrosius
"I hope she cheats on you with a basketball player
I hope she Kim Kardashianed her way up."
If you don't recognize the name, Marsha was one half of the awesome neo-soul duo, Floetry.

What Are Chase and Julian Going to Be For Halloween?

Enjoy It While It Lasts

Since Friday night I have been on an incredible run of good luck.
The Yankees lost.
The Phillies lost.
Syracuse won (best win for the program in at least 5 years).
The Redskins won.
Cain Velazquez won (and I got to see the whole thing for free, and live).

It's a great time for me sportswise.
Not to mention today is the 24th anniversary of the greatest day of my life.
The day my three favorite words in the English language were first uttered together:

GETS BY BUCKNER!!!!!!!!

I'm Calling Bullshit on This

As cool as this would be I just can't fathom the story of Barbara Soper. She says her 3 kids were born on August 8, 2008, September 9, 2009 and October 10, 2010.
That's right, 8-8-08, 9-9-09 and 10-10-10.
The story is in the Indianapolis Star but I don't know if they actually checked the birth certificates.



Their doctor had to give drugs to start labor for the couple’s first daughter, Chloe Corrin Soper, who was born full term on Aug. 8.

Ok, I buy that.

Their son was a surprise all around. “He wasn’t a planned baby at all, he was a miracle,” says Barbara Soper. He was due on Sept. 20, 2009, but because sister Chloe’s birth had caused some hemorrhaging, their doctor, suggested he come out a little early so he’d be smaller.
Soper was started on drugs to induce labor on Sept. 8, but it took 24 hours before Cameron Dane Soper made his way into the world, arriving on 9-9-09.

That sounds a little fishy, but possible.


Soper says she and her husband had thought it would be “neat” if their third child was born on 10-10-10 but because her due date wasn’t until Nov. 4, it seemed unlikely.

But it ended up being “kind of a mandatory eviction,” says Soper. She developed blood clots in her legs and three weeks before her due date doctors told her the baby needed to be delivered.

The induction was begun on 10-9-10, but it wasn’t until 6:53 on Sunday night, 10-10-10, that Cearra Nicole Soper arrived.

That's the part that seems like bullshit. First of all, why would they want to have kids only 13 months apart. Especially after having gone through it once, they would have been more careful. And why did it take 5 hours for the induction. They paid the doctor to hold off until after midnight.

While the dates might seem “incredibly rare,” they’re really not. Such a lineup can only happen in the first 12 years of the century and at least 10 months apart, says Shannon McWeeney, a professor of biostatistics at the Oregon Health Sciences
University in Portland.
“Given that the first birth occurred in that window, the probability is not as astronomical as you might be compelled to think,” she says.
In fact, it’s not that high a number at all, says Philip Stark, a professor of statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. “The ‘chance’ you get depends on the assumptions you make,” he says. One set of assumptions gives a chance of about 1 in 50 million. More realistic assumptions — including allowing at least 11 months between births — increases it to about 1 in 2,500.
Since thousands of women in the United States had kids in 2008, 2009 and 2010, this suddenly seems a little less extraordinary. But humans “like to look for patterns, to make sense of things” he says.

I don't buy that math. I don't think this can happen unless you actively try for it.

Weekly Picks

I'm pissed at myself because the Saints were my best bet but for some dumb reason I changed my mind and went with the Falcons.

ATLANTA -3 1/2 cincinnati
I think the birds will bounce back.

jacksonville +9 KANSAS CITY
Jacksonville has been a very inconsistent team so I expect them to follow up a Monday night stinker. Plus 9 points is a lot to give up for a team with an offense as questionable as Kansas City's.

TAMPA BAY -3 st. louis
I think the Bucs are actually a decent team they just got smoked by two better teams, the Steelers and the Saints. They can beat weaker teams like the Rams on the road.

new england +2 1/2 SAN DIEGO
I am officially giving up on the Chargers especially with all their injuries.

BEST BET
GREEN BAY -2 1/2 minnesota
Counting on Brett Favre to do something stupid.

Last week: 2-3 (1 point)
Season: 13-17 (15 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (4-2)
Home Favorites: 1-0 (3-5)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-0)
Road Favorites: 1-2 (5-9)
Road Underdogs: 0-1 (4-3)

Who Wore It Best?

When I saw Minka Kelly's sexy photo shoot in Esquire (she was named their sexiest woman in the world, deservedly) I knew the outfit looked familiar. Jamie Lynn-Sigler rocked a similar get-up in Maxim.

So who wore the white blouse, black bra better?








Btw, Minka revealed in that interview with Esquire, her mom was a stripper. Too bad she didn't follow in those footsteps.

Because JLeary is My Favorite Poophead I Answer His Comments in a Separate Post

jleary said...
Duda in the outfield over Pagan?

Yes Pagan had a great season (for him) but his OPS was only .765, 34th among all major league outfielders.

When you consider other factors his WAR was excellent, 13th among outfielders.

But that's because he stole 37 bases in 46 attempts and played great defense. But as opposed to traditional hitting stats those numbers often swing wildly from year to year.

Another thing he did really well this year, hit runners with in scoring position (.901 OPS) also tends to fluctuate from year to year.

Also, he is 29 years old and I believe last season was at or near the peak performance of which he is capable.

And my entire philosophy for the Mets right now is not to let older players stand in the way of the development of younger players.

Maybe Pagan can be traded for a decent prospect, or he can hang around as a 4th outfielder and play everyday when Beltran gets hurt or if Beltran is traded.

jleary said...
I don't see that much potential in Duda. the Mets have 2 better outfield [sic] prospects I would rather see playing in the majors F-Mart and Kirk Nieuwenhuis [sic]

You are wrong about this. Neither of those guys is as good as Duda, based on results on the field. Yes, Martinez has more hype but juding by what happens on the field, Duda is the best.

Check out the OPS for all 3 over the past 3 years, 2008 - 2010 (levels in parenthesis):

Nieuwenhuis: .744 (Brooklyn), .843 (St. Lucie, Binghamton), .801 (Binghamton, Buffalo)
Martinez: .772 (Binghamton), .877 (Buffalo), .772 (Buffalo)
Duda: .755 (St. Lucie), .808 (Binghamton), .967 (Binghamton, Buffalo)

Note: Martinez has a career .505 OPS in 109 at bats with the Mets, Duda is .678 in 84 ABs.

Judging by the stats, Duda is clearly the best performer of the three. And though you often say past performance is no guarantee of future results, I often say past performance is the best indicator of future results.



jleary said...
Let's not forget about Schilling.
I did not forget about Schilling but considering his ERA is twice as high as Lee's I couldn't in good faith put him up there as the very best. Yes his resume is very impressive, but I chose Koufax because of his best ever post-season ERA (0.95) and Gibson because of his 8 CGs in 9 postseason starts. And because the number of starts for those three is very similar. That's not to say if Lee starts 11 more times in the playoffs he might end up with an ERA higher than Schilling's. It could happen, but as of now, I'd take Lee over anyone.



Note: For Damino, while El Duque had a fantastic start to his postseason career, his overall numbers (9-3, 2.55 ERA) are not even close to Lee's.

I Am a Fat Pig

Here's what I ate at the Big E this year
Start off with the turkey leg



Wash it down with a slushie



Fried Oreos (my favorite, tied with the turkey leg)




New England Clam Chowder, in what used to be a bread bowl



Tried the fried jelly beans



It was really only 2 maybe 3 jelly beans and a lot of dough. Sort of like a jelly donut, a little sweetness in a donut.



I also tried the fried butter which wasn't really good at all. It was just really greasy dough.

And of course we have to teach the youth.

Song of the Week

"Tuesdays and Thursdays" - Hot Boyz
A throwback from the glory days of Cash Money Records.

A Mike Scott Situation

In the 1986 NLCS the Mets won games 2, 3 and 5 by beating Nolan Ryan and Bob Knepper. They lost Games 1 and 4 against Mike Scott. So in Game 6 when the Mets were losing 3-0, their thoughts must have turned to this: if we lose hear, we have to face Mike Scott in Game 6. Perhaps motivated by that fear the Mets scored 3 in the 9th to tie and eventually won in the 16th, making Mike Scott a helpless bystander as the Mets moved on to the World Series.

The Yankees now face a similar quandary for 3 straight games. If the Yankees lose even one more game they guarantee themselves a date with Cliff Lee in Game 7.



Through 8 postseason starts Lee is building the best postseason resume of any starting pitcher ever (the Lee-Rivera debate is unsolvable).

Cliff Lee: 8 GS 3 CG 7 W 0 L 1.26 ERA 67 Ks 64 1/3 innings
Sandy Koufax: 8 GS 4 CG 2 SHO 4 W 3 L 0.95 ERA 61 Ks 57 innings
Bob Gibson: 9 GS 8 CG 2 SHO 7 W 2 L 1.89 ERA 92 Ks 81 innings

A couple of caveats. All of Gibson and Koufax's starts were World Series games. But Lee is playing in an era much more weighted towards the hitter. So I think that even things out pretty well.

Lee can pad his postseason resume in a Game 7 against the Yankees, but I know the Yankees are hoping they can win before it comes to that.