Former Yankees and Padres relief pitcher Goose Gossage was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today after appearing on 466 of the 543 ballots for 85.8% of the vote. A player must appear of 75% of the ballots to be elected. Gossage was the only player to garner enough votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America and will be the sole player inducted in 2008. Former Red Sox OF Jim Rice was second with 72.2% of the vote finishing 16 votes short.

Congrats to the Goose, all I can say to the hall of fame committee is "anyone but the Yankees". And to the Veteran's Committee, put Gil Hodges in Cooperstown where he belongs.
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Phillies closer Brett Myers allowed the final two runs to score on two solo home runs last night in a 4-3 loss to the Padres. But he was only getting warmed up. In the clubhouse after the game, he got into an argument with Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Sam Carchidi which nearly came to blows.

Apparently it all started with Carchidi questioning Myers' characterization of what happened during the game. Carchidi didn't like how lightly Myers took the blown save. Myers took offense and they started jawing at each other. Carchidi had to be restrained by Shane Victorino and Antonio Alfonseca while Pat Burrell wrestled Myers into a back room.

Excerpt of the argument from Bugs & Cranks:

Sam Carchidi: “You thought they both were popups?”

Brett Myers: “Yeah, didn’t you? You think they crushed ‘em?”

SC: “The first one I thought was out, the second one no.”

BM: “Yeah, cause you’re a retard, you don’t know s*** about f****** baseball. You’re filling in for somebody.”

SC: “How do you spell ‘retard’?”

BM: “You know how to spell it, it’s in your f****** vocabulary, I’m sure you know.”

SC: “You are classy, I’ll tell ya.”

BM: “Go on. [Get] outta here, you f****** idiot.”

SC: [pointing at Brett Myers] “You’re the f****** idiot.”

BM: “Hey! You pointin’ at me m*****f*****?! I’ll tell you what, dude, I’ll knock you m*****f****** out! F*** YOU!!! You’re tough when f****** people are standing in front of you, aren’t you, you piece of s***! Come on! You f****** idiot. Yeah, you’re tough when f****** people are standing in front of you, you stupid a**.”

SC: “I’m a retard?”

BM: “Yeah, that’s right, YOU ARE, you’re a f****** idiot. You ask stupid a** f****** questions!”

Looks like Myers needs some more anger management classes. I guess the Phillies inability to catch up to the Mets is fraying tempers in Philly. You can find audio here.

Zac posting on a Wednesday? Whatever is the cause? Well, my beloved readers, it is because I have a free moment and I want to touch base about last night's come-from-behind victory. That and, due to a busy schedule at work over the next two days and the fact that the wife and I are heading back to Erie this weekend I may once again miss my Friday post. I know; you're all pretty upset.

I've been on the Padres' bandwagon all season long as I've declared them the team to beat both in the National League West and in the NL Wild Card race. Despite what too many people who read this blog may think the Padres are a good team and are dangerous when playing at home. With that being said it was very fulfilling to watch the Mets come back last night.

Two thoughts have been running through my mind about last night's game.

Just how angry were the fans at Shea last night after the sixth and seventh innings? I have to say that I loved to hear the crowd get that fired up about the Mets' bullpen giving up the lead. Yes, I am that guy who gets loud and boos when the team that I pay money to see is stinking up the joint. I would much rather listen to a stadium that is passionate about the hometown team than be in a place where everybody is sitting on their hands and quietly watching another loss.

Will Carlos Beltran keep this up for the rest of the season? Caros had five RBIs last night, including a two-run shot in the first. In his last six games Beltran is hitting .435 with four homers, 13 RBIs, and a slugging percentage of 1.087. Oh yeah. His on-base percentage has been .517.

Yes.

In a season where many of us were ready to officially declare Beltran's new coming-to-the-plate music be Don't Let Me Down (myself included) Carlos has been coming up big recently. Beltran's bat is the spark that this offense needs heading into October. Ask yourself this question: Do you really want the Mets' offense relying on Moises Alou? Keep it up, Carlos.

Too many times this season the Mets have followed up an emotional victory with a lame-duck performance the next night. It's Brian Lawrence (1-0, 5.06 ERA) against the Padres' Jake Peavy (13-5, 2.19 ERA. No, that's not a typo). This may not necessarily be the match-up Mets' fans want to see but it's games like these where the home-field advantage come into play. That is, if the game doesn't get rained out. Hopefully the bats stay hot, the crowd stays into the game, and the Mets can get to Peavy tonight. Read More...

The Mets completed the 3 game sweep of the Nationals at RFK stadium by beating the Nationals by a score of 8-2. The Mets outscored the Nationals 21-8 during the series.

The Mets' bats continue to produce as this was the 8th straight game in which the Mets had scored at least 5 runs, and their 5th straight game of scoring at least 6 runs.

The Mets went 5-1 on the 6 game road trip to Pittsburgh and Washington, which helped them extend their lead over the Phillies and Braves to 4.5 and 5.5 games respectively.

Last week, I had said that the Mets would need to win at least 6 of the 9 games against the "second rate teams" (the Marlins, Pirates, and Nationals). The Mets accomplished that goal, and have now opened up a bit of a lead in the NL East.

However, the road from here is difficult, over the course of the next 4 series, the Mets will face the Padres, Dodgers, Phillies, and Braves; all of whom are contenders looking to make a playoff run.

LAST NOTE: Congratulations Global New York Mets for this the 100th post on the Blog, may there be hundreds more Read More...

Castro is a free agent after this year. With 9 homeruns in 124 ABs for the Mets this year, Castro could move to the front of a weak class of catchers. Assuming Jorge Posada and Ivan Rodriguez never hit the open market, that leaves Castro, Michael Barrett, Paul Lo Duca, and Jason Kendall.

Castro signed for $850K last winter to again serve as Paul Lo Duca's backup. Lo Duca hasn't been healthy or hitting, and Castro's having his best season with an .889 OPS.

In 119 games as a Met, Castro has a .255/.324/.455 line with 21 HR in 459 ABs. One has to wonder if he could do that in a single season. If so, he'd be one of the better catchers available. In the past, Castro has shown the ability to throw out 30%+ of would-be basestealers. However, he's nailed just two of 25 this year. Mets fans - what's up with that?

Teams like the Devil Rays, Mets, Cubs, Astros, and Padres may all be looking for catchers this winter. Castro should get consideration as a regular, and might be a decent buy at two years, $8MM or so. Read More...

MLB.com reports that the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres have completed a three-player trade today, as the Braves acquired hard-throwing left-handed pitcher Royce Ring in exchange for left-handed pitcher Wil Ledezma and minor league left-handed pitcher Will Startup. Ring will be assigned to Richmond, the Braves' Triple-A affiliate.

Ring, 26, appeared in 27 games for Portland (AAA) in 2007, going 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA, a .188 opponents' batting average and 44 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. He also appeared in 15 games for the Padres this season and posted a 1-0 record with a 3.60 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.0 innings pitched.

Originally drafted and developed by the Chicago White Sox, Ring was traded to the New York Mets in 2003. He spent the 2004-2005 seasons with the Mets and appeared in 26 games, with a 3.47 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.

Ledezma, 26, was designated for assignment on Sunday (July 29). Startup, who turns 23 on August 4, has spent three minor league seasons with the Braves organization. Read More...

This weekend, a huge event in North American professional sports occurred in a small village in Upstate New York. The event was largely overshadowed by the negative events going on in the sports world. In a time where we have to worry about overrated NFL quarterbacks mass murdering dogs, an asterisk next to a home run record, and the MAFIA fixing NBA games through referees, a lot of Americans overlooked what should have been one of the greatest days of the summer; the induction of Tony Gwynn, and Cal Ripken Jr. into the National Baseball Hall Of Fame. The two of them today would be considered a rare breed. While the two men were loyal to baseball, they were also loyal to their respective teams, and respective fans, and would never dream of leaving their respective cities. So since the national media didn’t give them the honor and recognition that they deserve, they are going to get it right here.

Ripken was a player of the likes that we might never see again in Major League Baseball. Ripken was called up to the Baltimore Orioles in 1981, and by 1982 Ripken was Baltimore’s everyday shortstop. From May 30, 1982 until September 19, 1998 Ripken never took a break, amassing an astounding streak of playing in 2,632 consecutive games. Ripken’s accomplishments along the way solidified his Hall Of Fame status. Two MVP Awards, two Gold Glove Awards, eight Silver Slugger Awards, the 1982 AL Rookie Of The Year, 19 All Star Game selections (including two MVP Awards), and being named to the MLB All Century Team. Not to mention Ripken did it all with his beloved hometown Baltimore Orioles, with whom he led to the 1983 World Series title. After 2,632 consecutive games Ripken took himself out of the starting lineup in the Orioles last home game of the 1998 season against the Yankees. In 2000 Ripken collected his 3,000th hit, and during the 2001 season he announced he would be retiring at season’s end. What followed was a farewell tour, the likes that I have never seen in my whole life. Opposing ballparks would sell out when the Orioles came to town, just to see Ripken one last time. Ripken is still involved with not only the Orioles organization, but also the whole state of Maryland.

Equally as great as Ripekn, Gwynn brought as much joy to San Diego for 20 seasons as Ripekn did to Baltimore. Gwynn made his name as one of the best pure hitters in Major League Baseball winning eight National League Batting Titles, and seven Silver Slugger Awards. Gwynn was also an expert in right field winning five Gold Glove Awards. Along the way Gwynn was selected to 15 All Star Games, led the league in hits seven times, en route to becoming a member of the 3,000 hit club. By the end of his career Gwynn was regarded as the best pure hitter in the game since Ted Williams. In the strike shortened 1994 season Gwynn finished with a batting average of .394; the closest anyone has gotten to .400 since Teddy Ballgame. Gwynn also led his Padres to two National League Pennants (1984, 1999). By the end of his career Gwynn had a career batting average of .338 and had amassed 3,141 hits. In an era where power and home runs overshadowed the game, Gwynn still managed to make a name for himself as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Gwynn is still involved with baseball in San Diego, as he is the manager of the San Diego State baseball squad, and is still active around all of Southern California.

In a time where sports are ripe with scandal, it is great to see two men who exemplify what it is to be not just a great athlete, but also a great human being. Men who help in the community, who stay out of trouble, who are ambassadors to the game, and men who are loved by baseball fans all over the world. It’s time for some of the athletes and sports figures of today to take a look back at guys like Ripken and Gwynn, and take a look at how not so much to be a great ballplayer, but how to be a great human being. Congratulations Tony and Cal, your accomplishments, and contributions to the game were not forgotten.
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