Arizona Fall league on MLB: Latest on Ike Davis

The MLB Network is planning to air 2 games from the AFL league this coming November so at least we will have a little baseball after the World Series. They plan to air the AFL version of the ALL Star Game

"The Rising Stars Game will take place on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. ET. MLB Network's Tony Clark and Arizona D-backs announcer Daron Sutton will handle the broadcast live from Surprise Stadium. "

"The 18th annual Fall League Championship game will air on Nov. 21 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Saturday contest will be played at Scottsdale Stadium, and MLB Network host Victor Rojas will call the game. "

Ike Davis is doing well so far in the AFL in 45 at bats he is hitting .333 with 6 doubles and 2 homers and 9 runs batted in with a OBP of .367. He is hitting .444 with runners in scoring position.

Ruben Tejda is hitting .316 with 3 doubles in 38 at bats with 5 runs batted in

The Surprise Rafters so far are 8-8 after 16 games .

Mookie Awarded

Mookie Wilson, among the most beloved Mets ever, will receive the 2009 J. Walter Kennedy Award from the Connecticut Chapter of the National MS Society. This year’s MS Dinner of Champions will be held Thursday, Nov. 12, in Old Greenwich.

“The J. Walter Kennedy Memorial Award is presented by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Connecticut Chapter in recognition of the extraordinary accomplishments of gifted athletes and their championship teams. These champion athletes also demonstrate what can be achieved when exceptional talent is combined with perseverance, courage and teamwork on the field.” *

Lisa Gerrol, president of the Connecticut chapter said of Wilson, “William Hayward ‘Mookie’ Wilson was an outstanding athlete, known for his positive attitude and quiet determination on and off the field. We are delighted to present Mookie with this year’s J. Walter Kennedy Award.”

The 31^st award dinner will be held in Old Greenwich at the Hyatt Regency. The event will be hosted by former Mets manager Bobby Valentine , who recently signed on with ESPN and Baseball Tonight. Along with Wilson, former Giants running back Joe Morris will also be receiving the 2009 J. Walter Kennedy Award.

Source: Stamford Plus - National MS Society - CT Chapter

· * Quoted from above link

Around the horn: Be glad Drayton McLane is not our Owner. Chip Hale a new Mets coach?

With the News quiet in the Mets camp except for the blank check that Sandy Johnson basically received to come back in the front office for 2010 and that d-Backs Chip Hale will be named the new third base coach according to Mr Rubin there are interesting articles around the net about other teams.

2 interesting tid bits out of the Astros camp come from news writer Richard Justice who has issue with the fact that Mr McLane would not give Manny Acta a 3 year contract.

Some of the excerpts are below.

"Why wouldn't you give Manny Acta a third year? "
''I don't think it's really helpful to go into the details. It's not at a point that I think it's important to go into.''

"It comes off as, I don't know, cheap."
''Last year, we had a $108-million payroll. I'm willing to invest in a successful organization.''

"Were you not impressed with Manny? "
''I think it's more complicated than that.''

Did you think Manny was bluffing about having a three-year offer? "
''I really don't want to go into any of that. It's more complicated than just not being interested in Manny.''


Justice goes on to ask about Brad Mills

"The Astros have had five managers and three general managers since the middle of the 2004 season. No other organization has had this kind of chaos. Now you won't give the new manager even a three-year contract. Won't he feel insecure? Won't Brad think you're going to fire him if things go south? "
''I think if you see the success we've had in the last 17 years, we've had overall great success. We didn't have the success last year we should have had. I think he sees how the organization is willing to spend and invest in good players such as Lance Berkman or Carlos Lee or Roy Oswalt. He has seen we're willing to put the money in.''

Now I don’t know about you but if Mr Justice was in NY would he have a field day with Omar and Jeffy Wilpon? Oh wouldn’t that be a riot.

To check out the rest of the chat click here

Also read this article by Justice calling out his fellow writers here

Think it’s Bad Now, Remember 2002?

On this date in 2002, the impatient Mets, not wanting to give what Seattle wanted for Lou Piniella, and also not wanting to wait until 10 days after the World Series to talk to Dusty Baker, decided to give Art Howe a four year $9.4M contract. Howe, manager of the Oakland A's at the time, had won 383 games over the previous four seasons, matching Joe Torre and the Yankees.

Howe didn’t last the length of his contract, being replaced by Willie Randolph for the 2005 season.

Source: National Pastime.com