met nicknames_19

Met Nicknames

So far during the season, Met fans have come up with several new

nicknames for players on this team. There was Sugar Pants for David

Wright, The Undertaker for Paul LoDuca from Metstra, Monday from some

genius for Victor Zambrano, The Truth for Lastings Milledge from

Benny, Jose "In the Clear" Valentin, and others that are escaping me

right now. So, let's get this out of the way and get nicknames.

David Wright = Sugar Pants

Paul LoDuca = The Undertaker

Victor Zambrano = Monday

Jose Valentin = Jose "In the Clear" Valentin

Lastings Milledge = The Truth

Steve Trachsel = The Human Rain Delay (too priceless to throw aside)

If you got a better one for anyone above? Let's hear it. Else, figure

out a fitting one for everyone else including Willie. Let's try and

keep it interesting as well and stay away from things like A-Rod and

other typical crappy nicknames. Swearing is ok, being lewd is

ok...just make sure it is good. Think before you suggest and try not

to lay any clunkers. I'll be compiling a list for the side bar when

all is said and done.

* * *

John Donovan on Benny's shit list?

Four quick hitters for a Friday E-Bag:

Let's forget about the Mets for a second, shall we? I mean, I know

that's practically blasphemy at this point. Everybody, suddenly, loves

the Mets. The Mets are winners again.

Bring your kiddies, bring your wife/Guaranteed to have the time of

your life.

Yeah, OK. The Mets are good. We get it.

Why must you urinate on the Mets parade? Since the Mets last playoff

trip, the A's made the playoffs three times, had 100+ wins twice, 90+

wins four times and 88+ wins five times. Is it exactly a story that

the A's are good? Yes, the Mets were good on paper, but being good on

paper and playing the games is totally different.

The Mets not only have not been good for while, but the butt of just

about every joke that related to Major League baseball. Met fans have

taken a lot of abuse from Yankee fans over the years and now the Mets

are good. Really good. Do not trivailize that because you don't like

the Mets. The Mets are all over the place for their play of late

because they are THE STORY.

David Segui was one of the people implicated in Jason Grimsley's

affadavit.

Segui emphasized that he obtained hGH legally from a doctor in

Florida. He said he still takes it because he has a natural deficiency

of the hormone. He said that when he saw the section of Grimsley's

affidavit pertaining to him, he knew he had been implicated, though

his name was blacked out.

"It was almost word for word the conversation we had, except there's a

couple key words that were left out," Segui told ESPN. "You know,

'legal' was one of the major - probably the most major omission in the

affidavit. ... I was under doctor's prescription, under doctor's

supervision."

Riiiiiiiigggght...

He would not speak specifically on the validity of Segui's case, but

said: "You wouldn't expect it in an athlete because elite athletes

cannot perform at an elite level if they have hGH deficiency or at

least you wouldn't expect that they could. ... Having said all of

that, he may have had a head injury or a pituitary tumor and didn't

tell anybody about it. We don't know."

All very interesting indeed. Is Segui telling the truth? Who knows.

The doctor could have been crooked and said guys were low hGH and

prescribed the drug. It would certainly not be the first time a doctor

prescribed drugs illegally though they are definitely the minority.

Baseball America has an interesting story about Ernie Young, who has

just hit his 300th minor league homerun.

The Devil Ray's AAA team really puts into perspective the 'problems'

the Mets have had with Lastings Milledge.

Upton's arrest and Dukes' suspension continue a frankly embarrassing

year for the Bulls and the Rays farm system. Most notably, outfielder

Delmon Young was suspended 50 games by the International League for

throwing a bat at an umpire. Young is due to return to the field

Tuesday.

Three stars...three suspensions.

Um, yeah.

Kevin Millar and the Baltimore Orioles were recently in Minnesota.

for his former manager, Terry Francona. It was a wrapped bag of dog

poop. "I opened it and reached in before I realized what it was,"

Francona said. "I just called him back and said, 'Any chance you had

of ever coming back here just went right down the toilet with that

bag.'"

He called the shit poop.

Ken Oberkfell has returned to the bench.

Ken Oberkfell, manager of the Mets' Triple-A team in Norfolk, was on

the bench for the first time this season yesterday after undergoing

multiple surgeries during spring training because of blood clots in

his left leg.

Tom Glavine netted his tenth win and it was not a pretty one.

Thankfully Sugar Pants went deep and hit a grand slam while driving in

five and Eli Marrero was impresseve defensively to save a few runs.

"Every time you looked up, Eli was doing something," said Glavine.

"Not just offensively, either. That catch he made was huge."

Ask BA on Evan MacLane:

Mets fans have been hearing about Mike Pelfrey and, to a lesser

extent, Philip Humber as potential future stars in the New York

rotation. However, I've noticed that a prospect I'm not familiar

with, lefthander Evan MacLane, has put up very impressive Triple-A

numbers this year and was rated by Baseball America as having the

best changeup and control among Mets prospects. What can you tell

me about him and his ceiling?

Josh Marker

San Francisco

Like Natale, MacLane has a humble draft pedigree. A 25th-round pick

out of Feather River (Calif.) CC in 2003, he went 23-10, 2.74 in the

lower minors and reached Double-A in mid-2005. He seemed to hit a wall

there, going 3-2, 4.14 in nine starts. MacLane didn't fare any better

in six starts at Binghamton this year, but he has been lights-out

since arriving at Triple-A Norfolk, posting a 6-0, 2.11 mark in seven

starts. His other numbers (47 innings, 42 hits, 14 walks, 33

strikeouts) aren't as impressive as his record.

MacLane, 23, is a typical finesse lefthander. His mid-80s fastball and

his curveball are fringy pitches most notable for his ability to

locate them in the strike zone. His changeup is his best offering and

he has little margin for error. He'll probably pitch in the majors but

I don't see a huge ceiling. He looks more like a middle reliever than