XIGT: 2/28, STL @ NYM

[Edgy MD]

Hey! Remember Starling Marte?! That old rightfielder who used to play with the Mets?! Apparently he's either still with the team or they're doing some kind of special promotion where they let a retired guy take a few turns in the lineup, because he's making his 2024 Spring Training debut today, leading off, as the Mets host the Cardinals and field a lineup that's a little more Major League-y than yesterday's victorious outfit.



Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil are still MIA. Has anybody written any coverage about why presumably healthy veteran players are held out of game action while the likes of Lindor and Alonso have been trotted out every other day? I'm guessing they're working on something.



Anyhow, reliever Reed Garrett gets first crack at the Cardinals as the 3-1 Mets have a good chance to catch the first-place Orioles in the Grapefruit League standings, because NOTHING says "ACTION!" like the word "grapefruit"!





[FIMG=300]https://floridagrapefruitleague.com/app/uploads/2020/07/floridagrapefruitlogo.png[/FIMG]

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[TH][/TH]	[TH][FIMG=250]https://cdn.freebiesupply.com/images/large/2x/st-louis-cardinals-logo-transparent.png[/FIMG][/TH]	[TH][/TH]	[TH][/TH]	[TH][FIMG=250]https://cdn.freebiesupply.com/images/large/2x/new-york-mets-logo-transparent.png[/FIMG][/TH]	[TH][/TH]
[TH]#[/TH]	[TH]Player[/TH]	[TH]Pos.[/TH]	[TH]#[/TH]	[TH]Player[/TH]	[TH]Pos.[/TH]
[TD]=#C41E3A]1[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Dylan Carlson (S)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]cf[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]1[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Starling Marte (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]rf[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]2[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Alec Burleson (L)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]rf[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]2[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Francisco Lindor (S)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]ss[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]3[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Nolan Gorman (L)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]2b[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]3[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Pete Alonso (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]1b[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]4[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Luken Baker (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]dh[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]4[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]DJ Stewart (L)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]lf[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]5[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Alfonso Rivas (L)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]lf[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]5[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Mark Vientos (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]dh[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]6[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Jared Young (L)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]1b[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]6[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Brett Baty (L)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]3b[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]7[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Pedro Pagés (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]c[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]7[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Trayce Thompson (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]cf[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]8[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]José Fermín (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]3b[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]8[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Yolmer Sánchez (S)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]2b[/TD]
[TD]=#C41E3A]9[/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Arquímedes Gamboa (S)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]ss[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]9[/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Tomás Nido (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]c[/TD]
[TH][/TH]	[TH][/TH]	[TH][/TH]	[TH][/TH]	[TH][/TH]	[TH][/TH]
[TD][/TD]	[TD]=#0C2340]Miles Mikolos (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#C41E3A]sp[/TD]	[TD][/TD]	[TD]=#002D72]Reed Garrett (R)[/TD]	[TD]=#FF5910]sp[/TD]

That's an impressive six acute accents in today's opening lineup card — a total that's doubly impressive when you consider that it's a total shutout of Team Accent Grave, Team Tilde, the Cedillas, the Circumflexes, and Die Umlauts.

[Frayed Knot]

Didn't Nimmo sit out almost all of last year's ST games until towards the very end even though not injured?

Maybe they're repeating that plan.

[metirish]

Tomàs Nido is still around, wow

[MFS62]

I think they want to give Stewart as many corner outfield reps as necessary to determine if he can play there for an extended period of time or if he will strictly be a DH. He has started games this spring in both LF and RF.

Later

[Edgy MD]

=metirish post_id=147894 time=1709142482 user_id=72]
Tomàs Nido is still around, wow

[bmfc1]

mlb.tv ran a commercial that included Pete hitting a HR against the NYY... and used Michael Kay's call. Pathetic.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy MD wrote: Phun Phact: Francisco Álvarez is at the top of their catching depth chart, but fourth in salary among catchers on the Mets' payroll, behind Omar Naváez, Tomás Nido, and James McCann. And hey! That's THREE acute accents on the catching depth chart!

Too bad his parents didn't name him Jámes McCánn.

[Edgy MD]

Well, Pete Alonso is currently a hitting machine.



Luke Voit has taken over after Pete piled up six bases in his first two at-bats.

[Edgy MD]

Darryl Strawberry photographed dishing advice to Mark Vientos.

[Edgy MD]

Mental Note for the Season: This guy Santos on the mound for St. Louis has the most comically helpless move to first I can imagine.

[Edgy MD]

Je✈️✈️ Williams on for Lindor at shortstop.



Zach Short making a Brooks Robinson backhand play down the line at third, turning a dubble into a 5-3 out.

[Edgy MD]

A two-out rally is all about the wheels on Bannon, Ramirez, and Williams. A third run is on the board and the Mets are still batting.



Confusing St. Louis defense includes a #95 playing both second and third.

[MFS62]

Two scoreless innings by Trey McLaughlin - that's my kid!!



Later

[Fman99]

I napped from 1-2 PM and so I'm watching but a few innings behind and in catch up mode (I'm still in the 5th). Murph sounds a bit less stilted today. Just saw the Trace Thompson HR.

[kcmets]

[bIGPURPLE]1:59![/bIGPURPLE]



Sorry, that's all I got...

[Edgy MD]

Murph is more comfortable.



Wilkin Ramos finishes it off with a strikeout, and the Mets wrap up a 3-0 shutout for their fourth straight win.



Baltimore up 8-1 over Minnesota, so we might have to wait until tomorrow for the Mets to seize first place among Sunshine Staters.



Thank you for watching. Please safe drively.

[MFS62]

Who were the last two pitchers for the Mets?

The box score I saw has how they pitched but not their names.

Later

[Edgy MD]

The last two pitchers were Joshua Cornielly, who pitched for Brookly last season, and https://metsmerizedonline.com/developing-the-right-breaking-balls-a-wilkin-ramos-deep-dive/Wilkin Ramos, who came over from Pittsburgh in the 2022 Rule V Draft and split 2023 between Brooklyn and Bingo, pitching very effectively.

[Edgy MD]

[media=youtube]nnOtjW9K0CA[/media]

[ashie62]

Seven pitchers combined on a five hit shutout



Two walks seven K's combined



I'm not convinced Ryan Bannon is not in the mix at 3B



He is an ex Oriole who was overmatched on that team



I'm feeling 85 wins