Name That Catalyst

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Pretend by some miracle the SHaMs get their shit together and retake 1st place. What's the one thing we'll look back on as the thing it'll take?



I was gonna make this a poll but it got stupid, so maybe a discussion is better.



Best I can see is, Lindor returns and he and Baez create some chemistry. I mean, Conforto could get hot and be a kind of superspreader too but I'm having a hard time even imagining that now.



Trevor Williams?

[bmfc1]

I agree with "Lindor returns and he and Baez create some chemistry". Maybe he'll be back in 2 weeks rather than a month.

[Edgy MD]

They've been strangely fortunate in that odd catalysts have come at opportune moments — the Pillar saga, the Mazeika walkoffs, the six-hop throw to first by Stroman, Du-Rag-Gate ... .



In fact, looking at those last two items, it would be foolish to sleep on Stroman's catalytic potential, even after that farce of a trip to the plate last night.

[MFS62]

Alonso starting a hot power streak, and hitting homers with people on base.



Later

[ashie62]

Alonso goes on a tear and carries the team like Piazza used to do.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Alonso is a good HR hitter but also, a .260-kinda hitter. I don't see him getting Piazza-level hot, where he's you know hitting .344 and also ripping homers in bunches

[kcmets]

Catalyst = plant electrodes in each batter's neck and if they swing at a 57 footer

or a pitch 1 1/2 feet off the plate they get zapped with two seconds of near household

current. That'll cure that, and quick!



(of course that's probably illegal and I'm sure the player's union might object, but tough

times sometimes require tough desperate measures)

[kcmets]

Oh and nuttiness aside, put me in Camp Lindor/Baez Gel for one hundred cranebucks.

[smg58]

McNeil goes 5 for 5.

[G-Fafif]

Conforto: bound to get hot.

[Chad ochoseis]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Alonso is a good HR hitter but also, a .260-kinda hitter. I don't see him getting Piazza-level hot, where he's you know hitting .344 and also ripping homers in bunches

You know who can do that? Dom Smith, that's who. Or the .344 part with a few HRs and lots of doubles, anyhow.

[Fman99]

Surprised no one has mentioned yet the inevitable, triumphant return of JdG to the mound. There's your catalyst.

[MFS62]

I looked through a Chemistry book to come up with an appropriate catalyst analogy and realized this entire team is inert.



Later

[Willets Point]

I'm thinking 20 years ago the Mets had a hot streak where they went 25-4 starting in mid-August. I can totally see the 2021 team doing something like that. Now it's not the best example of course, because we don't want to replicate the 2001 Mets fizzling out after the hot streak and missing the playoffs and certainly don't want to have another national tragedy in the middle of the hot streak. But I think this year's team is in a better starting position right now where a hot streak can launch them right into a playoff spot, and I also think the players on this year's team are better overall despite their inconsistent performance thus far this season.

[ashie62]

How about Steve Cohen.

[The Hot Corner]

=Fman99 post_id=73861 time=1628422277 user_id=86]
Surprised no one has mentioned yet the inevitable, triumphant return of JdG to the mound. There's your catalyst.

[ashie62]

Pete trying to blow smoke up our asses on the postgame



And Todd Zeile calling him out.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=ashie62 post_id=73900 time=1628453325 user_id=90]
Pete trying to blow smoke up our asses on the postgame



And Todd Zeile calling him out.

[G-Fafif]

“Disingenuous” was the word Zeile used for Pete being a little too positive after such a disastrous stretch.

[G-Fafif]

[Ceetar]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Best I can see is, Lindor returns and he and Baez create some chemistry.

This was the rumored plot to Breaking Bad 2.



Sounds like it's not likely now anyway, also the way the offense is going you can't play Baez over McNeil and Davis. (though Rojas would)



I think the best bet these days is an injury to Wheeler.

[Ceetar]

Todd Zieile is full of hot take nonsense, I don't now how anyone listens to these post games. I don't really have a problem with Alonso/the players acting confident and hopeful, but maybe Rojas and Cohen should be a little less "thoughts and prayers!"

[Frayed Knot]

Maybe Lindor & Squirrel need to duke it out in the tunnel again.



Other than that I got nothing. And, yeah, I know you're never really as bad as you look when you're blah blah, nor as good as you look when yadda yadda, but the rest of this season has the whiff of 10-40 to it with maybe an upside of 15-35 if both Lindor and JdG get green-lighted sometime before Turkey Day.



I know that sounds almost impossibly negative but at this point I could make at least as many arguments for it as against.

[Edgy MD]

I have to think they have one more run in them, but whether that will be enough or in time is a much more open question.



The decision to go for Baez remains ever-puzzling to me. Everybody insists they bring the latest science to developing and deploying their teams, but Baez is the epitome of a guy that art loves and science hates.

[ashie62]

Same with Lindor

[Lefty Specialist]

Frayed Knot wrote: Maybe Lindor & Squirrel need to duke it out in the tunnel again. Other than that I got nothing. And, yeah, I know you're never really as bad as you look when you're blah blah, nor as good as you look when yadda yadda, but the rest of this season has the whiff of 10-40 to it with maybe an upside of 15-35 if both Lindor and JdG get green-lighted sometime before Turkey Day. I know that sounds almost impossibly negative but at this point I could make at least as many arguments for it as against.

They've got those 13 games against the Giants and Dodgers coming up shortly and I could see them losing 11 of them. There'll be no help on the way by then, and they're just not competitive right now.



What might be a catalyst is firing Luis Rojas.

[Frayed Knot]

Lefty Specialist wrote: What might be a catalyst is firing Luis Rojas.

And that'll make them hit?!?

[ashie62]

Luis is a likely a goner. He wrote his own epitath on the second tweet. No one is performing, it's on me and I'm ready to step away

[Edgy MD]

=ashie62 post_id=73918 time=1628470688 user_id=90]Same with Lindor

[ashie62]

Lindor is the more complete player, by a lot.



We are polishing turds somewhat.