Drew is a very good defensive player and after watching Green patrol around the outfield for a few years, Drew looks like Willie Mays.

Q: Angelswin - Is Brandon Wood going to be working on his plate discipline this winter and next year? I noticed that his walks were up, but still a lot of strikeouts...

A: Eddie Bane - Personally I do not feel Brandon Wood has much of anything to work on in the off season. This young man has as good of makeup as anyone in the game and he has big time power. I do not worry about all these plate discipline issues that a lot of people seem to be hung up on. One thing society does is they like to tear people down after they built him up. Brandon had a great year in my mind in 2A and is right on track as far as helping our major league team. I think too much is made of a "general" hitting philosophy. I trust any and all of our hitters in the hands and minds of Ty Van Burkleo and then Mickey Hatcher once they get to the Big Leagues. Nobody works harder or has a better feel for hitters than those 2. Each hitter has to develop his own style and Wood and the others are just realizing that at this point. Besides I was a pitcher at the big league level and could not get many guys out so I thought everybody had a great hitting philosophy.

Someone tell me, how is this guy a scouting director?

First, let me acknowledge my well known lack of objectivity on this subject. Let me also acknowledge that nobody could reasonably posit that Green's defensive abilities have not declined with age and injury. That being said, Luft's article is biased and provides no meaningful insight or purpose. The standard is not whether Green is Tori Hunter or Jim Edmunds out there. We all know he is not and no one is suggesting he is, except Luft so he can prove his point. (We call this a "strawman") The issue is whether he is a liability out there. Luft's first example immediately exposes his lack of objectivity.

"Game 2: Scott Spiezio hits a fly ball thatrs to be headed over the fence. In a rare moment of grace, Green times his jump perfectly and looks like he is about to rob Spiezio of a go-ahead three-run home run. Alas, the baseball caromed off of Green's glove and rolled back into play, allowing Spiezio to reach third base and the tying runs to score in the seventh. The play proved to be the turning point of St. Louis' 9-6 victory.Game 2: Scott Spiezio hits a fly ball that appears to be headed over the fence. In a rare moment of grace, Green times his jump perfectly and looks like he is about to rob Spiezio of a go-ahead three-run home run. Alas, the baseball caromed off of Green's glove and rolled back into play, allowing Spiezio to reach third base and the tying runs to score in the seventh. The play proved to be the turning point of St. Louis' 9-6 victory."

Luft implicitly acknowledges this an extremely difficult play and then condemns Green for not making it, implying that most other players would have made it. In point of fact, very few players would have made that play and those that could have would only have made it once or twice out of ten tries. The ridiculous part of Luft argument is that he them proceeds to criticizes Green for saving a run by turning a HR into a triple.

Next Luft is critical of Green for diving for a ball in game 3 that bounces off his chest and leads to a 2-0 Cardinal lead in a game which the Cards went on to win 5-0. Was Green too slow? Was he too deep? Who knows. I will concede younger faster feet may have made the play-maybe not. Having the ball bounce off his chest is just bad luck. Maybe he exercised bad judgment diving for the ball. In any event, it didn't lead to 5 runs, it lead to 2 and in the end it made no diffence becasue the Mets were shutout.

For Game 5 Luft offers the following: "In the bottom of the fifth with the score tied 2-2, Preston Wilson hits a line drive to the right-center field gap. It goes over and to the left of Green and ends up as an RBI double for Wilson. This is a tough one to get on Green's case about, because it would have taken quicker set of feet (Lastings Milledge?) to catch. Still, it was a play that could have been made if not for Green's stunning lack of range. Later in Game 5, Aaron Miles hit a ball down the right-field line that took Green the better part of a fortnight to get back into the infield, extending his streak of consecutive games with a triple allowed."

Nonetheless he then gets on Green's case. I watched this play. It didn't go over Green-it split the gap between RF and CF. Neither Green nor Beltran were able to get to it because it was ripped. Luft acknowledges this was a very difficult to play that most would not make and then rips Green for not making it. He implies Milladge might have made the play but there is no evidence of that. It is sheer speculation on the part of Luft.

Finally, Luft ends his article citing a series of defensive metrics but states "I have yet to find an advanced defensive metric that I completely trust. . ." Meanwhile he does not cite to a single error committed by Green and most of all he completely fails to acknowledge the most obvious fact: Sometimes a well hit ball is indeed an extra-base hit.

Luft concludes that the Mets should put Milladge in RF full time and "eat his [Green] contract." I assume that means DFA him. First, Milladge hit .241. Second, I am sure there is nothing more the Mets would have liked than to save millions of dollars and play their rookie darling but he is not ready. If he were, they would have done it. If he were, they would not have sent him down. If he were, he'd be on the playoff roster and if he were ready, the Mets would not have picked up Shawn Green.

As someone who follows Green on a daily basis, I recognize and am disappointed that he is a shadow of his former self . I also understand how a case can be made against him. Indeed, many here have made articulate well reasoned observations regarding his decline. But Luft's analysis is so wanting and so shallow it exposes his bias and lack of creditability.

Dear Mr. Colletti, I want to thank you for taking the Dodgers' general manager position and doing a great job. After last year's debacle, I thought it would be many years before the Dodgers would be competitive again. However, you executed a plan, and it worked

First of all, what was Ned's "plan" (other than to acquire as many Devil Rays as possible) and in what manner did it "work" (other than to win 88 games)?

One other very important reason. I really don't want LaRussa to win.

Hey Lou your team finished with the worst record in the NL. In fact only the Royals and DRays had worse records. Nice to see you don't plaan on waiting a few years before doing something. That $10M is already paying huge dividands for the Cubs.

Also, this just in:

Crime is bad;
Pollution is not healthy; and
Poverty is harmful.

I saw commercials earlier this year from an oil company touting the benefits of carbon dioxide emissions...

Ditto for guns!

I am still rejoicing.

1. Being called "edgy" by Shimmin
2. Being called "scrappy" by Repko

Will Jesse and Joey be there too?

Bob Saget showed up as the emcee at my kids school auction last year which was weird cause he didn't have a kid at the school.

It's actually the Carbon Monoxide that gets to you first. Wouldn't want anyone committing suicide under false pretenses now. :)

Uninvited? Wow. He's desperate for work. An appearance on "Dancing with the Stars" can't be far behind.

I don't think she was sucking up. Mr. Colletti, being a smart, handsome, stud, I am sure realizes this.

I know that's not your point, but it is true that there are specific "positive" things about elevated CO2 levels.

Suicide Thoughts: Jon Weisman's readers' outlet for not dealing.