Happy Trails, Plaxico Burress

It was only a matter of time.

"I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out," general manager Jerry Reese said in announcing the decision. "We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico.

"It wasn't to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise."

Amen, Jerry.

For the moment, I'm going to try to forget about the fact that this all could have been easily avoided if Plaxico wasn't a paranoid fuck-for-brains who thought carrying a gun in his sweatpants into a nightclub in Manhattan was a good idea.

Just remember the good times, friends:


After the NFC Champsionship in Green Bay:



And of course:

Backhanded Complient Of The Day

"When he comes up he is still Gary Sheffield, he is still a presence,"

~ A Mets Official, obviously talking about Gary Sheffield

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Yes, he is a "presence". And by presence, I assume he or she means "a ghostly apparition of the hitter he once was". This is pretty much the worst way to evaluate a guy who is 40 years old. "He's still Gary Sheffield!!!"

Riiiight... except that he isn't (the darkest numbers are the highest):

(I took out 2006 because he only appeared in 39 games)

That, my friends, is what you call a trend. Omar, do you need some help with Excel? I am available.

What would give you any indication that he is going to be better this year? Yes, he is going to the National League, but the dimensions of Citi Field do not project to favor right handed hitters. Especially 40 year old ones with rapidly declining bat speed.

For more reasons this is a terrible idea, please see here.

Have Fun With This, Mets Fans...

Joel Sherman says the Mets are close to signing Gary Sheffield:

"Unless something drastic happens, he is a Met," one of the sources said. "Someone would have to offer him a second year, and I just don't see that happening."

One person who has talked directly to Sheffield said the slugger prefers the Mets over the Phillies because he sees a greater potential for playing time, and wants the heavier workload as a way to showcase for the 2010 season. Sheffield is a free agent at the conclusion of this season.

I see no way this could become an issue. He thinks he should be playing over Daniel Murphy who had an .871 OPS in 151 PAs last year and Ryan Church who was at .887 when he went down on June 5th to a concussion. Sheff's OPS in 443 PAs last year? .725

Omar, do you really want to waste valuable plate appearances on this guy over two younger, better players? The Tigers just paid him $14M NOT to play this year. He is 40 years old. He's played 28 games in the outfield over the last two seasons (with negative defensive value). Church and Murphy both have considerable upside and it's not like you have the option of DH'ing the guy. He's already making assumptions about the amount of playing time he is going to get.

It's not too late...

YMCA Is Coming To The New Stadium? Why?

I was watching the updated version of "Cathedrals of the Game: Yankee Stadium" on MLBHD last night and caught this little tidbit from Lon Trost at the end:

(Sorry for the terrible quality)


In light of reading an article this morning entitled "Stadium Laden With Trost's Fingerprints", I would tend to take the man at his word. I'm not a fan of your fingerprints, Mr. Trost.

Obviously, the emphasis was on carrying over traditions from the Old Stadium, but this "tradition" started in 1996. The song had been out since 1978, it's not like it was an original idea. YMCA blared in every roller skating rink I was unfortunate enough to have attended an elementary school birthday party at.

If they had dumped that kitschy convention, no one would have missed it after the third homestand. It was a perfect place to part ways, but now we are stuck with it indefinitely. Is Cotton Eye Joey going to make the trip too? I say that sarcastically, but seriously, if it does, we may have to organize a boycott.

Just like the food options, this is an instance when tradition is a bad thing. Do you think anyone would miss Famous Famiglia Pizza if Ray's got the contract? The Yankees represent New York City, not just the Old Stadium. There should be burrito places, Gray's Papaya, deli's, burger joints, and Chinese take-out in along with pizza, sausages and Cracker Jacks.

There's a difference between tradition and nostalgia.

I guess everyone was going to find out tonight (or maybe not...), but that is still really disappointing.