Front row seats rock – that’s for sure!

Clemens: You want answers?

Congressman: I think I’m entitled to them.

Clemens: You want answers?

Congressman: I want the truth!

Clemens: You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has baseballs. And those balls have to be hit by men with bats. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Congressman? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for steroids and you curse HGH. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that HGH, while illegal, probably sells tickets. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, sells tickets…You don’t want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that mound. You need me on that mound. We use words like fastall, slider, splitfinger…we use these words as the backbone to a life spent playing a sport. You use ‘em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and falls asleep to the Sportscenter clips I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I’d rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a bat and dig in. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to!

Congressman: Did you order the HGH?

Clemens: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.

Congressman: Did you order the HGH?

Clemens: You’re god damn right I did!!

“The relentless Giants rolled to a Super Bowl championship – and now they’ll roll up the Canyon of Heroes.

Tomorrow’s ticker-tape parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Battery Place, head north on Broadway to Chambers Street, and be followed by a ceremony at City Hall Plaza, where the team is to be honored by Mayor Bloomberg and a host of officials.” – NY Post

I will be there to celebrate the best team in the NFL on this Championship day! Boo-hoo to the class-less Belichick – have fun with Congress!

The peak rating between 9:30 and 10 was 47.8, with a whopping 105.7 million viewers, more than a third of all Americans.

Super Bowl XLII was watched by an average of 97.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s “fast national” estimates, making it the most-watched American sports event ever, easily surpassing the 94.1 million for Super Bowl XXX between the Steelers and Cowboys in Arizona 12 years ago.

Fox was working Monday afternoon to determine exactly where the game ranked in the history of all sports and entertainment programs. The M*A*S*H finale in 1983 was seen by an estimated 106 million people, No. 1 on the list.

The game attracted 43.2 percent of households and 65 percent with a TV in use, making it the highest-rated Super Bowl since the Rams-Titans game in 2000 (43.3/67).

I give my valuable time, energy and passion – all for nothing! Several bums on this 2007 team!

My Grades and thoughts:

• GM – Omar Minaya: F, get a clue and get some pitching next year, don’t rely on a bunch of over the hill and inexperienced players. Can we PLEASE make a move instead of sitting on our hands in the offseason and at the trading deadline.
• Manager – Willie Randolph: C-, he can only play with the hand dealt by Omar so he gets a better grade than his GM. However, he needs to learn how to manage the pitching staff and bullpen a lot better. Looks like he really paid attention to Joe Torre when using the bullpen (Joe’s weakest trait as a manager). Willy’s job is safe; overall I like him as the manager of the Mets!
• C – Paul LoDuca: B-, He only gets a grade this high because he was one of the few to produce in September and has the heart of a champion. Too bad others in this club-house lack that heart. I would bring him back for 2008.
• 1B – Carlos Delgado: F, He’s shot, done! I could care less if he never put on this uniform again (get him out of town). I doubt he could hit a beach ball if thrown down the middle of the plate in 2007. I can’t remember watching a player that chocked so much in one season during so many big at-bats. I wish I could ship this guy and his contract elsewhere! It’s time for a career in beer-league softball (he might be able to catch up with those pitches).
• 2B – Luis Castillo: B+, I liked this trade and would enjoy watching him play a full season in a Mets uniform. He would score an A if he could hit a little better (rather than attempt so many failed bunt base hits).
• SS – Jose Ryes: C, Started with an excellent first half but was lost at the plate in the second half. I now know why his contract was only half of that of David Wright’s deal. Come-on Reyes, what happened to having a good time and some patience at the plate?
• 3B – David Wright: A, The only A on the team as he tore it up the second half of the season with a .366 batting average and became the fifth youngest player ever to join the 30 home run, 30 stolen base club.
• LF – Moises Alou: B+, He would join Wright with an A if he could only stay healthy for a full season. Alou is an excellent hitter that I look forward to watching in clutch situations and would like back in 2008 (even at 42 years of age).
• CF – Carlos Beltran: B, He’s soft! He stubs a toe nail and is out for 3 weeks. Other than that, he can continue to play on this team. He’s a 50/50 shot in clutch situations. Good player but not a leader!
• Shawn Green: B-, He has some good streaks and some bad streaks but I rather see Lastings Milledge full time next year. Greene is too old for this team; we need youth as we look towards Citi Field in 2009.
• P – Tom Glavine: C-, Get him the hell out of here. He was never a “true” Met to begin with! Over-the-hill with not much left in the tank! Sorry Tom, great career but you are still a Brave in my mind.
• P – Pedro Martinez: I, Incomplete as he was on the disabled list for the majority of the season.
• P – John Maine: B-, Capable of a big game but too inconsistent with too many blow ups in the 4th or 5th inning.
• P – Oliver Perez: B-, Has great stuff in the arm but it’s the mental aspect that keeps him from being special. Even more so than Maine, Perez has electric stuff that allows him to pitch a big game every time out but this rarely happens on a consistent basis.
• RP – Billy Wagner: C-, Has he ever showed up for a big spot? He shows up in May and June but disappears in September and October! He’s not much better than Benitez in a big game (in my book). Not the guy I want on the mound in game 7 of the World Series with his team leading by one run.

There you have it. The 2007 New York MUTS!

Offseason Goal: PITCHING, PITCHING, PITCHING! Hey Omar, learn from your mistakes and starting building a new bullpen (your strength in 2006). Then grab another quality starter or two: JOHAN SANTANA – trade a few of these young guys that may or may not pan out.

Start by doing whatever you can by dumping Mota off this team! He gets a double F for cheating and having no skills in 2007

Emotions can and will determine your success or failure while trading the stock market. When you learn to control emotions, you are at least half way towards winning the battle. Without control of your emotions, no matter how successful a system or set of rules, consistent profits will be difficult to obtain.

The stock market is not the only place in life where human emotions are constantly flowing and can be followed or charted. While driving in the car over the past few weeks, I have heard human emotions at their highest and lowest levels while listening to sports talk radio. I am in the NY metropolitan area so the main subjects are the Yankees, Mets, Giants and Knicks. It amazes me to hear callers on a day after their team loses versus callers on a day after their team wins (many times the same exact callers).

I want to present two examples of human emotions at their best. One from the stock market and one from the sports world; the same emotions surface but they take place in different entities.

Stock Market Example:
How does the average investor react after buying a stock that:

a. Goes up in price:
b. Goes down in price:

When scenario ‘A’ takes place, most average investors will start to hope that it keeps going up but as the stock continues its advance, fear starts to overcome their emotions. They now fear that the stock may come back down and they will lose the current profit. On up days, the investor feels like a genius but is scared to allow the profit to deteriorate so he looks for every reason to sell and hate the stock. On down days, the investor has all the hope in the world that the stock will recover and he loves the stock even though it is telling him that his judgment may be wrong. As a result of these emotions, they will sell the stock with a small profit with no other reason justifying the sell. The investors kicks himself when he sees that the stock he sold for a small profit is now trading 50% higher without any major selling violations along the way.

In scenario ‘B’, the investor starts to hope that the price will rebound and the negative action is temporary. The proper research was done and the investor believes that he has a great stock and it has to be successful (the market is wrong he thinks to himself). The investor starts making excuses as to why the stock is now in negative territory. He continues to hope for a recovery and will actually purchase additional shares at the lower price by averaging down. By averaging down, he convinces himself that the entry price is now more favorable with a potential for a larger profit. The stock continues to slide and he keeps hoping for a rebound and may buy more shares by putting good money after bad.

As the stock slides, he promises himself that he will sell on the first rebound to get out with minimal damage. Finally, the stock is up a few percent but volume is higher so he talks himself into holding onto the stock because this is the start of a rebound. Emotions play with his mind and he completely ignores his rules and system. As the rebound dries up, the downtrend continues and he is now just looking to get out on the next rebound. The rollercoaster will continue until he can’t take it anymore and probably sells near the bottom. He finally sells for a large loss and walks away with his tail between his legs.

Sports Talk Radio Example:
How does the average sports fan react and feel after a win or a loss by their team:

a. Their team Wins:
b. Their team Loses:

In scenario ‘A’, fans will call up the radio station and explain why their team is the best in their division and how they are going to win it all. Some fans suggest that the coach should be given a contract extension and the management is the best in all of sports. Other fans are already talking about a dynasty and a championship next year before even reaching and winning the championship game this year. Players should get contract extensions and everyone is an MVP candidate. Nothing can go wrong because their team just won (one game – that’s all).

In scenario ‘B’, fans will completely flip flop from what they were saying last week, last month or even last night. The change of emotion is absolutely amazing when listing to sports talk radio on a daily basis. Yesterday they were crowing the team champions and today they explain why the team is a bunch of bums that won’t make the playoffs. The coach should be fired, the general manager is garbage and everyone should be traded.

By listening to the radio, I can hear human emotion whip around the same way it does on a daily chart when news hits the wire. Looking at my charts last night; I can see human emotions and reaction over the past week. Up and down with wild swings and great volatility. The newspapers are spilling over with articles from talking heads about what is happening. The evening and local news stations are now featuring so-called experts on the market after the 400 point slide. They have every Tom, Dick and Harry claiming to be an expert on knowing why the market dropped, how the glitch happened and where the market is headed. I wonder what these fools will say if the market gains 450 points today; I bet they will completely flip-flop like the sports fan.

Human emotion is amazing and I would love to study psychology on a higher level because it fascinates me. Watching the market, playing sports and listening to sports talk radio gives me a front row seat as to how most people react to nonsense. I never realized this until I started to trade but people are neurotic and change their thoughts as quickly as the second hand changes on a clock. I see these reactions at the poker as well but the clearest change in human emotion must be on the radio. Try it out and listen to how fans can switch from one extreme to another in the matter of one day and one win or loss.

As Jesse Livermore said: “There is nothing more important than your emotional balance”

But even he couldn’t follow his own advice in the end. Maybe because he was only human!

Market cartoons courtesy of www.jsdykes.com

LET’S GO METS!

Piranha

Way to Go Italy!

-Especially after that dirty hit by the Frenchman! Way to lead by example captain!