IGT 7-14 Mets @ Braves

[Fman99]

I missed, literally, every pitch of this game to entertain 20 guests (and 15 other people my wife and child invited) in my backyard for a birthday party for Fgirl today. I spent the day grilling and drinking and eating cake. Which makes me far better off than you sad sacks.

I hope to catch an inning or two of tomorrow's "get the fuck away" day game after my nap. YES, MY NAP. YOU DON'T WANT ME ALL FUSSY AND SHIT.

[Edgy MD]

Really, in the history of this team, has any in-season bullpen acquisition come in and made the difference? I can't think of too many for any team, really.

The closest I can think of is Guillermo Mota, who came in and picked up where Duaner Sanchez left off in 2006, but (a) the Mets got him for nothing, ( we were heading to the playoffs with or without him, © he ended up sucking it up in the post-season, (d) he was a-cheating, and (e) the Mets should have shunned him and instead paid him good money to take them for a ride and get suspended.

Meanwhile, we've given up valuable players like Jason Isringhausen and Jason Bay. Half of Xavier Nady too.

We lost this, in the end, on a few stupid grounders that split the infield. The answer isn't to trade for a more perfect bullpen. The answer is to build more margin for error.

[ashie62]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Just because a bill in my pocket isn't a $100K Woodrow Wilson note-- ULTRA-RARE!-- doesn't mean it has no value; whether it's $1000 or $100 or $20... it's got some worth. And just because a guy's not untouchable Wheeler or Harvey doesn't mean he's not "valuable." Relatedly, just because I could REALLY use a soda right now, that doesn't make dropping a Benjamin on a Diet Coke a good deal. If the aim is to build a sustainably successful team, you don't want to overspend wildly, in cash or (especially) in trade. Spending Valdespin (a 24-year-old, controllable multi-position asset just beginning to build his major-league value... who may end up being a LOT more than a utility guy) to get Street (a middling-to-good reliever having a very good 24-inning stretch right now, still due about $4M in salary, and NOT the one-size-fits-all-answer to getting the Mets to the postseason) would be a pretty big overspend. As-- at this point-- it's a seller's market, reliever- and righty-power-guy-wise, there is no "answer" out there that wouldn't be pretty fuggin' expensive. As such, it would be unwise to buy, at least without exhausting all internal options. (And while we know pretty well what Street is at this point-- 8-9 Ks/9 and solid, if not unhittable, relief-- we have NO idea whether he'd represent a significant performance bump over guys like Edgin/Beato, or guys like Ramirez/Francisco pitching at their previously-established performance baselines.) tl; dr-- Giving up real ML-ready value for Huston Street = dumb buy. Repeated assertion to contrary isn't more evidence; it's just kinda chafing.

Alot of speculation there. I agree to disagree...They make corn starch for chafing..Your argument is at best absurd.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: Really, in the history of this team, has any in-season bullpen acquisition come in and made the difference? I can't think of too many for any team, really. The closest I can think of is Guillermo Mota, who came in and picked up where Duaner Sanchez left off in 2006, but (a) the Mets got him for nothing, ( we were heading to the playoffs with or without him, (c) he ended up sucking it up in the post-season, (d) he was a-cheating, and (e) the Mets should have shunned him and instead paid him good money to take them for a ride, get suspended, and pitch like snot in 2007 when we needed him. Meanwhile, we've given up valuable players like Jason Isringhausen and Jason Bay. Half of Xavier Nady too. We lost this, in the end, on a few stupid grounders that split the infield. The answer isn't to trade for a more perfect bullpen. The answer is to build more margin for error.

This brings me back to the idea of "what can we do to get more out of our relievers that we have"? Maybe there is something, scouting wise, that they could be doing differently in preparation. And maybe it's simply usage. But I haven't hated the Mets usage that much this year. I loved going to Parnell for the save in that spot, and playing the infield back, or positioning a step or two left or right and that's a quick 2-3 inning for Parnell. Ultimately he left balls where they could hit them, but all Ks and grounders is really what you want from your relievers and I hope they don't let a small sample of results sour them on using Bobby as much as possible.

[Edgy MD]

This brings me back to the idea of "what can we do to get more out of our relievers that we have"?

That's the way to think. Looking in some other boy's yard at the cool bike he has and whining to your parents that yours sucks is never cool.