Snow To Retire A Giant

Snow was only with:

NYY in '92
CAL in '93 - '96
SF in '97 - '05
BOS in '06

He was never with PHI.

I would bet he is thinking of the immortal J.R. Phillips.

Lol, good one, jza1218.

I'm actually going to take this seriously. I like the move. Look, Snow hit .281 with 28 HRs and 104 RBI in 1997. He fell off, production-wise, but he was always a major part of the Giants' organization. Even as late as 2004, however, he hit .327 with 12 HRs and 60 RBI in 107 Games/367 ABs. This is really one of the few/only things over the past few years that the Giants organization can be proud of.

And, if I may get out of my "serious" mode for a second, can I ask any Giant fan a question? Okay, would you do this for someone else? For example, let him start one game, as part of a ceremony, take him out before the first pitch of the game, and give him a 1 day, $2,131.00 Contract? Of course, I'm talking about Barry Zito, here. :)

I'm considerably frustrated over who I've got him confused with. Cough up one to the silly column for me.

Snow's line in 2003, though his playing time was more limited, was really his best.

.327 .429 .529

That said, Snow's greatest contribution to the teams he played for in Anaheim and San Francisco was his defense, which was among the best ever at his position. A lot of people also forget that he was a switch hitter early in his career.

I am a Met fan, so naturally, one moment in JT Snow's career will stay with me forever. JT Snow steps to the plate against Armando Benitez in the 9th inning of game 2 of the 2000 NLDS. Mets lead 4-1. JT Snow belts one right down the line. Fair or foul? If it's fair its gone. Homerun. Anybody that watched that game has to remember the way the ball cleared the high wall in RF, and where it landed, it was as loud as a gun shot going off when it hit the top of the wall and bounced over. That place went nuts. The Mets ended up winning the game in the 10th, but still, a very memorable play. Looks like the Mets always had some bullpen woes.

By the way, I guess a lot of you Cub fans (and baseball fans in general, since it was a national game) got to finally see firsthand the Mets downfall, that I have been talking about all year. They cannot hit with runners in socring position with no outs. They rely on homeruns and extra base hits for runs. They do not even know what small ball is. Case in point... last night, 7th inning, 1st and 3rd, nobody out, down 6-5, don't score. 8th inning, 1st and 3rd and nobody out, only score after 2 hitters fail to bring the run in, they intentionally walk the bases loaded, and then unintentionally walk Ramon Martinez of all people, to bring in a run. Bottom 9th inning, tied 6-6. Daniel Murphy hits a leadoff triple, and is on 3rd for Wright, Delgado, Beltran. Wright gets pitched around, swings 3-0, fouls one off, takes a strike, then waves wildly at a fastball about 2 feet outside, not only eliminating himself from the atbat, but taking the Mets two best hitters in Delgado and Beltran out of the game. Ryan Church weakly grounds out to second, the throw home gets the force out, and Ramon Castro strikes out. The Mets are crumbling again, and last night was just a perfect example in front of the entire country.

Sorry to get so off point. My motive in making this post to begin with really was to remember JT's big playoff homerun. Something about the Mets bullpen got me into rant mode though. I apologize.

"They rely on homeruns and extra base hits for runs"

Um, the whole mentality of the sabermetric era essentially screams for the old Earl Weaver 3-run home run play.

"Um, the whole mentality of the sabermetric era essentially screams for the old Earl Weaver 3-run home run play."

Sure, I generally agree with the idea that I want the most talented hitters who get on base and slug a lot, because over the course of a long baseball season, the most talented guys will win, which is why the Mets have been right in the pack amongst the leaders for 3 years now. The only problem with that is, it is not a good formula for winning individual games that are really important, ie, a playoff game or a pennant race game. Even the chances of a great hitter hitting a big homerun in a specific game is pretty small. Over 162 games, he may hit 45 dingers, but in that man on 3rd, 1 out situation in a tie game late, you will take the sac fly.

What I am getting at is with the Mets, it seems there is no middle ground. They either mash the hell out of the other team, or don't do any scoring. The great power hitters, the Ramirez's, Pujols', Delgado's, of the world know when a sac fly is good enough and they do not leave that guy stranded out on 3rd with less then 2 outs.

A team like the Angels, once the playoffs start can cause big problems for a team because they will keep a game close and if they get a leadoff man on 2nd or 3rd base late in a close game, you better believe that they will get him over get him in.

I am all for OBP and SLG, but there is a time and a place for small ball, which a championship team must be able to recognize and execute when the situation calls for it, something the Mets have struggled to do.