Let's just hope he doesn't go all Brett Favre on us

 

Pettitte strikes me as a smart guy. After the steroid incident, I don't think he'd hurt his reputation even more by pulling a Favre.

Random Observation:

 

I've never seen ANY old footage of Jackie Robinson playing the field. I have no idea what position he played... I've only ever seen him running, hitting or stealing home...

2B, SS, 1B

Random Observation:

 

I've never seen ANY old footage of Jackie Robinson playing the field. I have no idea what position he played... I've only ever seen him running, hitting or stealing home...

 

If I recall correctly, he played 2B, because they always talked about how players would come in high with their feet and spike him.

Justin Duchscherer is an Oriole.

So, the Metropolitans are in some serious trouble.

A trustee trying to recover money for victims of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff is demanding $300 million from the partnership that owns the Mets, which he says were fake profits from the massive fraud, according to a lawsuit unsealed Friday.

 

The suit in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan names Sterling Equities, along with its partners and family members, including Met owner Fred Wilpon, team president Saul Katz and chief operating Jeff Wilpon, the owner's son.

 

It alleges the partnership "received approximately $300 million in fictitious profits" from hundreds of accounts opened with Madoff's firm. Of that, $90 million of "other people's money" were withdrawn to cover day-to-day operations of the Mets.

 

"Given Sterling's dependency on Madoff, it comes as no surprise that the Sterling partners willfully turned a blind eye to every objective indicia of fraud before them," the suit by trustee Irving Picard alleges.

 

In a statement Friday, Fred Wilpon and Katz called the suit "an outrageous strong-arm effort to force a settlement by threatening to ruin our reputations and businesses we built for over 50 years."

 

The pair called the allegations "abusive, unfair and untrue," insisting they were victims of the fraud.

 

"We should not be made victims twice over - the first time by Madoff and again by the trustee," they wrote.

 

The suit has cast a cloud over the Mets ownership, which has said it's exploring a partial sale of the team.

So, the Metropolitans are in some serious trouble.

 

 

Nice try by the trustee going after a deep pocket, but... not sure how the Mets could be held responsible.

 

Like Wilpon said, it's a classical example of where a merit-less suit is filed to try and force someone to settle a case rather than risk getting their reputation smeared in a fight.

Nice try by the trustee going after a deep pocket, but... not sure how the Mets could be held responsible.

 

Like Wilpon said, it's a classical example of where a merit-less suit is filed to try and force someone to settle a case rather than risk getting their reputation smeared in a fight.

If you've taken profits out of a ponzi scheme, you don't get to keep those profits.

 

Just 2 months ago, the investigator seized $7.2 billion in ill-gotten gains from the estate of one of Madoff's large clients.

Justin Duchscherer is an Oriole.

...and now, so is Vlad... 1 year @ 8 mill.

...and now, so is Vlad... 1 year @ 8 mill.

 

Somehow the Orioles look like a legitimate team now.. Too bad they're in the AL East

Edited February 4, 201115 yr by ChrisLikesBaseball

Somehow the Orioles look like a legitimate team now.. Too bad they're in the AL East

 

Not with their rotation. Their offense should be nice. But after Matusz, their SP is fugly.

Not with their rotation. Their offense should be nice. But after Matusz, their SP is fugly.

 

Right after I posted that, I thought "who's pitching for them?" and looked up their depth chart... fugly doesn't even quite describe how laughable it is. I like their offense though, especially if Adam Jones reverts to 2009 form and Mark Reynolds can get his strike outs under control.

 

1 2B Brian Roberts

2 CF Adam Jones

3 RF Nick Markakis

4 DH Vladimir Guerrero

5 LF Luke Scott

6 1B Derrek Lee

7 3B Mark Reynolds

8 C Matt Wieters

9 SS J.J. Hardy

Right after I posted that, I thought "who's pitching for them?" and looked up their depth chart... fugly doesn't even quite describe how laughable it is. I like their offense though, especially if Adam Jones reverts to 2009 form and Mark Reynolds can get his strike outs under control.

 

1 2B Brian Roberts

2 CF Adam Jones

3 RF Nick Markakis

4 DH Vladimir Guerrero

5 LF Luke Scott

6 1B Derrek Lee

7 3B Mark Reynolds

8 C Matt Wieters

9 SS J.J. Hardy

 

They need Markakis to revert back to his '08 form and for Wieters to start to live up to the Strasburg-like hype he generated going into '09. Matt was supposed to be what Posey is for the Giants by now, maybe even better. A healthy Roberts would be nice, too.

Edited February 5, 201115 yr by Jordan4life

If you've taken profits out of a ponzi scheme, you don't get to keep those profits.

 

Just 2 months ago, the investigator seized $7.2 billion in ill-gotten gains from the estate of one of Madoff's large clients.

 

Most clawbacks don't recover much from clients unless they're family or founding members of the ponsi scheme... or unless it's determined that there was knowledge on the part of the client.

 

HOWEVER... After seeing your response, I read up more on the relationship between Mets owners and Madoff... and it was pretty tight.

 

So, I think you're right... it could get really interesting.

 

 

Somehow the Orioles look like a legitimate team now.. Too bad they're in the AL East

yeah, but their line-up improvement will just expose the NYY rotation even more this year, will be interesting to see if they beat each other up so much that wild card comes out of west or central

yeah, but their line-up improvement will just expose the NYY rotation even more this year, will be interesting to see if they beat each other up so much that wild card comes out of west or central

 

I'd have to say the West may have the best chance, but the Central will be another dogfight.

 

I'd have to say the West may have the best chance, but the Central will be another dogfight.

 

The West has improved, but I don't think it's that good yet. The Rangers took a pretty big step back in losing Lee, even if they did bring in Beltre. The Athletics have a solid team and could be dangerous, but I still think they'll have trouble scoring runs. The Angels biggest moves were bringing in Scott Downs and trading for Vernon Wells - consider me extremely unimpressed with their offseason.

 

Meanwhile, the White Sox and Twins both look like legitimate 90 win teams, perhaps better.

 

My bet for best 2nd place team outside of the AL East is the Central, and they may have the best 2nd place team in the league anyways (though I tend to doubt that).

The West has improved, but I don't think it's that good yet. The Rangers took a pretty big step back in losing Lee, even if they did bring in Beltre. The Athletics have a solid team and could be dangerous, but I still think they'll have trouble scoring runs. The Angels biggest moves were bringing in Scott Downs and trading for Vernon Wells - consider me extremely unimpressed with their offseason.

 

Meanwhile, the White Sox and Twins both look like legitimate 90 win teams, perhaps better.

 

My bet for best 2nd place team outside of the AL East is the Central, and they may have the best 2nd place team in the league anyways (though I tend to doubt that).

 

Cliff Lee only had 15 starts for the Rangers, went 4-6, and had an era around 4... I agree that it hurts them in the post season but as far as regular season goes that isnt a factor at all.

Cliff Lee only had 15 starts for the Rangers, went 4-6, and had an era around 4... I agree that it hurts them in the post season but as far as regular season goes that isnt a factor at all.

 

Yes, but now instead of having one of the top three pitchers in the game lead your staff from day one, there's now an infinite amount of more pressure on super studs like Colby Lewis, Tommie Hunter, and C.J. Wilson to duplicate, if not exceed, what they did last year. I don't like the odds of that happening. Losing Lee was a mammoth blow. Sure, they could still win that division. But it's going to be much more difficult.

Edited February 5, 201115 yr by Jordan4life

Yes, but now instead of having one of the top three pitchers in the game lead your staff from day one, there's now an infinite amount of more pressure on super studs like Colby Lewis, Tommie Hunter, and C.J. Wilson to duplicate, if not exceed, what they did last year. I don't like the odds of that happening. Losing Lee was a mammoth blow. Sure, they could still win that division. But it's going to be much more difficult.

 

Right but Cliff Lee was not a factor in their regular season success last season so I still don't see that as a blow.

Right but Cliff Lee was not a factor in their regular season success last season so I still don't see that as a blow.

 

That's not the point. Last season was last season. Now a bunch of no- names that came outta nowhere have to do it again. If you have Lee, you have a lot more margin for error if there is some regression. Which most agree is imminent. Unless you're one that can honestly look at that rotation on paper and be confident of a repeat. In which you would definitely be in the minority.

That's not the point. Last season was last season. Now a bunch of no- names that came outta nowhere have to do it again. If you have Lee, you have a lot more margin for error if there is some regression. Which most agree is imminent. Unless you're one that can honestly look at that rotation on paper and be confident of a repeat. In which you would definitely be in the minority.

and I'll also make the unproveable argument that even though he didn't contribute in his starts in Texas in 2010, just the mere move of obtaining that caliber of player boosted the rest of the team and contributed to their success... again, it's something nobody can prove, but I would argue it was somewhat of a factor, especially in a divison that was dominated by the A's and Angels. Possibly a bold move by management shook the locker room a fraction and pushed them over the top.

Not with their rotation. Their offense should be nice. But after Matusz, their SP is fugly.

 

I'll look for my boy Arrieta to take that next step and surprise you, but I'll agree other than that , it ain't that pretty. (though Tillman is a wildcard)

Tillman has a huge upside

The wildcard may actually come out of the central this year. I'd still bet on the Yanks but I wouldn't be shocked if it's the Sox/Twins. No chance in hell it comes out of the west though.