I think the secret is that these are two very good but not perfect teams. Almost identical numbers of runs scored and given up despite their different approaches.
Now we need to beat Chicago tomorrow night
I took a look at the schedule before the next matchup with the Braves. It’s pretty evenly matched between the two teams in terms of weaker and stronger opponents. The slight edge I might give the Mets is they have two games against the Yanks while the Braves get three against the Angels.
It’s been a great season so far and I want it to continue. I hope the Mets can open up a slightly bigger lead before they meet the Braves again. Like I said before a tight division race is fun but I’m not sure my frail constitution can take it.
another edge the Mets have is that of the 69 games that remain after the break, 38 are at Citi. They've actually had a pretty tough first half schedule. They'll have played seven more games on the road than at home, and they've played 50 games against teams with winning records (they've won 28, most against >.500 teams in the NL). And they've done it without deGrom, and without Scherzer for nearly two months.
a lot of reason to be optimistic, especially if May comes back and pitches well, and they pick up one more arm for the pen.
absolutely. Lifelong Mets fan. Played his whole career in NY, owns nearly every record in the book, captain, led the team to a division in '06, and played in a WS in '15. They should retire #5 tomorrow. They should name Mr. Met after him too
Doc on the other hand is a no for me. And not because of his addiction. I get that's a medical issue and not a personal flaw. But based on performance I don't think he makes the cut. His season in 1985 was a phenomenon we've not seen before or since. But aside from that he was very good, but never again that dominant. In '86 they won in spite of him. The Sox lit him up in the WS. He never won a postseason game.
If the team retires Doc's number I won't object. But IMHO Darryl and Carter are ahead of him in the retired number queue.
I don't want to be like the Yankees, but I do feel they have been lacking in acknowledging great players, though they are getting better. Wright is a no brainer for me as well. I was surprised he wasn't at Keith's retirement ceremony.
I don't want to be like the Yankees, but I do feel they have been lacking in acknowledging great players, though they are getting better. Wright is a no brainer for me as well. I was surprised he wasn't at Keith's retirement ceremony.
the Yanks are ridiculous with the retired numbers. I do think retiring #8 in honor of both Carter, who was co-captain of the great '80s teams, and Yogi who was a coach for many years, and managed the team to a WS, makes sense. If they retire Darryl's number I'd be good with that too. He still has the HR record, he was ROY, and a dominant player in the years he was a Met. After that, I'd be done with retired numbers. Maybe #12 for Darling in recognition of his lifelong association with the team, but perhaps he gets a microphone icon on the stadium like Ralph Kiner.
BTW, I know they named the broadcast booth after Murph, but why doesn't he have his name in the ring of honor next to Ralph?
And to that point, why don't they put mics up to honor Gary and Howie? Do we have to wait for broadcasters to retire to recognize them?
the Yanks are ridiculous with the retired numbers. I do think retiring #8 in honor of both Carter, who was co-captain of the great '80s teams, and Yogi who was a coach for many years, and managed the team to a WS, makes sense. If they retire Darryl's number I'd be good with that too. He still has the HR record, he was ROY, and a dominant player in the years he was a Met. After that, I'd be done with retired numbers. Maybe #12 for Darling in recognition of his lifelong association with the team, but perhaps he gets a microphone icon on the stadium like Ralph Kiner.
BTW, I know they named the broadcast booth after Murph, but why doesn't he have his name in the ring of honor next to Ralph?
And to that point, why don't they put mics up to honor Gary and Howie? Do we have to wait for broadcasters to retire to recognize them?
I get the sense that Gary and Howie will continue broadcasting for as long as possible. I love listening to Howie.
Darryl used to have a restaurant in the town next to where I used to live in Queens. He arranged to have the entire '86 team, including coaches and Cashen have a reunion at the restaurant. I don't know if this is true or not, but rumor has it Doc called hm the day of the reunion and said he would only show up if he was paid. He didn't end up showing up.
I saw an interesting proposal. Washington still owes Patrick Corbin 59 million. If the Mets take his contract it could save them a few prospects. I wouldn't care if they released Corbin the next week. I would give a few prospects for Soto if he would agree to a deal. Otherwise he could walk in two years.
just as important is finding a new home for Smith and Davis. I like them, but there is no fit for them here. The roster spots can be better used.
I would love to pry Robertson from the Cubs. No interest at all in Contreras.
Happy anniversary to (still) the craziest baseball game I ever watched. So much more than just the brawl.
I think I tuned in just after the brawl. Which was when the really weird stuff started happening. I recall Carter playing 3rd and Orosco and McDowell alternating between the outfield and the mound.
in checking with Baseball Reference, it appears Carter had played only one major league inning at 3B prior to that game.
Happy anniversary to (still) the craziest baseball game I ever watched. So much more than just the brawl.
I think I tuned in just after the brawl. Which was when the really weird stuff started happening. I recall Carter playing 3rd and Orosco and McDowell alternating between the outfield and the mound.
in checking with Baseball Reference, it appears Carter had played only one major league inning at 3B prior to that game.
Off the top of my head:
- Strawberry ejected for arguing a called 3rd strike; wasn't around for the fight (and you KNOW he'd have gotten his hands dirty).
- 45 yr old Pete Rose was player-manager, inserted himself to pinch-hit in extra innings and singled, which brought in pinch-runner Eric Davis (spoiler alert -- steals second and third).
- Dave Parker dropped line drive right in his glove with 2 outs in the 9th that would have ended the game for a Reds win and no brawl; the rest as they say...
- Pitcher on the mound when Parker blew the catch was Reds then closer, John Franco, who did not hide his displeasure.
- Rose played under protest, something having to do with Orosco getting warmup pitches to which he was not entitled.
- Controversial HoJo interference play to start the 9th with the Reds up 2; dropped 3rd strike and when HoJo started to run he kicked the ball and ultimately was ruled safe at first.
- With that Orosco-McDowell switcharoo back and forth, Jesse actually caught a rope line drive in RF.
- Tony Perez got his 2,700th career hit.
- And yes, The Kid playing 3B, which included one of Keith's greatest plays ever, charging a bunt to turn DP with Carter at third.
I cannot believe that the Mets made this trade. Utterly stupid. Giving up Holderman a quality arm, for a DH hitting 228 in Pittsburgh. We already have plenty of options at the 228 level.
I cannot believe that the Mets made this trade. Utterly stupid. Giving up Holderman a quality arm, for a DH hitting 228 in Pittsburgh. We already have plenty of options at the 228 level.
got to admit I don't like the trade. Holderman has been very good. And Vogelbach might be the slowest runner in MLB. when he doesn't hit a HR, he's almost useless.
Giving up Holderman while keeping Rodriguez. Now we need two more arms, not one. And I thought the Mets had trouble hitting off lefties. Everyone is hyping how this DH kills righties.
I still don't like the Vogelbach deal, but a win's a win. He had a couple of solid ABs. I don't know why the announcers seemed impressed by him making it from 1st to 3rd on a double. Those ESPN announcers are brutal.
I still don't like the Vogelbach deal, but a win's a win. He had a couple of solid ABs. I don't know why the announcers seemed impressed by him making it from 1st to 3rd on a double. Those ESPN announcers are brutal.
the degree to which they were making excuses for Kim not knowing how slow Vogelbach is, was ridiculous. If he even glanced at 2B, he would have seen Vogelbach was 30 feet from the base. But beyond that, a MLB SS should know who's on base before the pitch is thrown. And that failure to get a force at second led to a bigger inning.
GKR would have roasted a Mets infielder if he was unaware of who was on 1B and made a similar play.
Yeah, and either the inning before or two innings before he should have seen how slow Vogelbach was by just watching him running from 1st to 3rd. They gave Kim more grief on the popup that fell between them than on that play.
The Mets had a perfect opportunity last night to give Rodriguez a chance to show them why he should be on the team. They gave him the chance, and he didn't take it.
From the whispers on line: Contreras and Robertson of the Cubs are targets. But I really hope they do not give up the prospects Alvarez or Baty to get Contreras.
Not sure why Mancini is on their radar, other than that Showalter liked him in Baltimore. I mean, don't we already have a pretty damned good first baseman? And if you bump Pete to mainly DH, will he be unhappy or not as clued in to the game? What do you do with Vogelpuff--use him as a pinch runner?
Martinez from the Red Sox is an intriguing short-term rental so long as the cost is not too high for younger players. May be able to get him relatively cheaply if the Sox are more focused on trading Boegarts.
Pitching--we need pitching! And we just traded a young arm for that speedster Vogelpuff.
I think Mancini would be a DH, Vogel would be a PH. I don't want Contreras. He's not a great catcher, but people only look at offense. Two relief pitchers and a DH would do it for me.
I was in the car listening when Rizzo hit that bases-loaded bomb that fell just short--almost had to pull over to catch my breath. In past years that inning would have blown up--a couple of mishits that turned into singles, a questionable defensive play, needing to pitch around Judge, and then Rizzo up with no where to put him and looking dead red on a 3-0 count.
But this year the ball landed in Nimmo's glove, Walker settled down and made it through 6, and the bullpen held up (Diaz was again lights out). The Yankees are a very good hitting team this year with a lot of confidence, but the Mets can hang with them and clearly know they can win any game.
BTW, pretty nifty second inning for Walker as well--caught Trevino napping on 1st base, then snagged a line drive to end what could have been another bad inning.
I was in the car listening when Rizzo hit that bases-loaded bomb that fell just short--almost had to pull over to catch my breath. In past years that inning would have blown up--a couple of mishits that turned into singles, a questionable defensive play, needing to pitch around Judge, and then Rizzo up with no where to put him and looking dead red on a 3-0 count.
But this year the ball landed in Nimmo's glove, Walker settled down and made it through 6, and the bullpen held up (Diaz was again lights out). The Yankees are a very good hitting team this year with a lot of confidence, but the Mets can hang with them and clearly know they can win any game.
BTW, pretty nifty second inning for Walker as well--caught Trevino napping on 1st base, then snagged a line drive to end what could have been another bad inning.
Walker was not sharp, but he managed to get through six tough innings. He showed that he's a different guy than he was in the second half of last year. We were at the game last night, and when Rizzo's fly ball left the bat I had a fleeting sense it might go out, but as soon as I looked at Nimmo, I was pretty certain it was going to be caught. Nimmo had it tracked pretty much right off the bat. The four HRs were no-doubters from the moment of contact though. The only question off the bat was whether or not Marte's was going to hook foul.
A fun game with a few weird baserunning plays, but otherwise a pretty well-played game. Plate umpire seemed to have a pretty small strike zone all night, which led to a nearly 3.5 hour game. But there was plenty of suspense for a game in July, and it was great that our team came out on top for one night.
They need bullpen help quickly. I was watching it with co-workers and some were thinking Walker might come out after 4 innings. I said they don't have enough relievers to get through another 5 innings. I guess Diaz will be available today since they have off tomorrow, but I don't think Buck has confidence in anybody other than him and Ottavino.
another edge the Mets have is that of the 69 games that remain after the break, 38 are at Citi. They've actually had a pretty tough first half schedule. They'll have played seven more games on the road than at home, and they've played 50 games against teams with winning records (they've won 28, most against >.500 teams in the NL). And they've done it without deGrom, and without Scherzer for nearly two months.
a lot of reason to be optimistic, especially if May comes back and pitches well, and they pick up one more arm for the pen.