Benjamin Grimm

=smg58 post_id=57966 time=1615813981 user_id=62] a rock solid #2 when he takes the mound.

Cespedes (Spanish) = Lawn

After scoring a run, if the ball is in play you have the option of trying to get safely to first base.

I'm thinking it might take less time if they don't cut to a commercial, but maybe not.

Instead of going to a commercial, just call it the "Geico Pitching Change" and have the announcers read a promo.

Frayed Knot wrote: My objection to the shift-ban is that for every part of extra ground the defense is covering by using a shift (extreme or otherwise) they are, by definition, leaving other parts of the field Less covered and it's up to the offense to exploit That. But hitters have decided to hit with one form of offense [pull, launch angle] and don't want to be bothered with another, and mgmt doesn't seem to want to find or use all-field/contact type of players. The hitters and the teams that do that won't find themselves facing extreme shifts. Yeah, that's where I'm at too. The shift is frustrating to me, as a fan. (When did it start, by the way? I know that some teams shifted against Ted Williams, but the earliest Met I recall being "victimized" by the shift is Carlos Delgado. Does that sound right?) I'd rather see the shift go away because of players exploiting the open part of the field. I recall Lucas Duda doing it sometimes. I wish Michael Conforto, for example, would just go the opposite way once or twice a game and take an easy double or two. That would certainly stop the shift.

You can still circumvent the rule by playing your leftfielder in short right field against a left-handed pull hitter.

I predict that when he goes to Venezuela, he'll spend time with his family and probably go out to eat.

In Double A... "Four infielders will be mandated to have both feet on the infield dirt, preventing the extreme shifts that often see players from the left side of the infield shifted to short right field. Depending on the results, the league said, the second half of the season could see a more extreme version of the rule: two infielders on each side of the second-base bag." Does "both feet on the infield dirt" also mean that they can't play in for a bunt? Or does it just mean that they're prohibited from positioning themselves on the outfield grass? The electronic strike zone in the former Florida State League: "Instead of using a three-dimensional zone that covers the entire plate, it will call balls and strikes based on a two-dimensional plane at the front of the plate." In "High A" (Brooklyn, I guess): "Pitchers must step off the rubber before throwing to first base, eliminating a go-to move for many left-handed pitchers that weaponized the pickoff. MLB implemented the rule in the Atlantic League in the second half of 2019 and saw stolen-base attempts jump 70% with a leap in success rate as well. While the stolen base has been disincentivized by teams deeming it not worth the risk, the new rules likely will change that." In Triple A: "Bases will be 3 inches longer on each side. Currently, the front edge of first base sits 88 feet, 9 inches from home plate. It will move to 88 feet, 6 inches; the distance between first and second, and second and third, will likewise decrease. The result, MLB said: "a modest impact on the success rate of stolen base attempts and the frequency with which a batter-runner reaches base on ground balls and bunt attempts." MLB also hopes larger bases will allow for fewer injuries on collisions at the bag."

Larger bases will make it easier to steal a base, to bunt for a single and to get infield hits.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31046691/major-league-baseball-deploy-several-experimental-rules-minor-leagues-seasonhttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31046691/major-league-baseball-deploy-several-experimental-rules-minor-leagues-season Larger bases. Pitch clocks. Limits on pickoff attempts. There are going be a ridiculous number of stolen bases if they limit pickoff attempts.

At the time of his death, he was the Eighth Oldest Living Met. Now, Joe Hicks moves into the Top Ten, Wayne Graham into the Top Twenty, and Al Moran into the Top Forty. http://leaptoad.com/mets/oldestliving.phphttp://leaptoad.com/mets/oldestliving.php

I don't see him pitching a single game for the Mets in 2021.

So this may resolve the competition between Peterson and Lucchesi. They both win, unless surpassed by Yamamoto?

I really thought that he'd have been traded during this past winter. That's not actually a prediction at this point though. It's more of an admission of a failed prediction that I would have made a few months ago. I suppose the Mets probably dangled him and didn't find any takers. For 2021, I'll say that he'll appear in about 30 games, but almost never in the eighth or ninth inning.

Mauricio may also end up being a 3B. Especially if Lindor sticks around.

Huggy Bear Fargas????

I keep wanting to pronounce his name "Batty" but I believe it's "Beatty" as in Warren and Ned, right? I suppose we'll have to see what Gary Cohen comes up with.

There goes my Dark Horse Met vote.

JD Davis can never rest easy, can he?

I voted "abomination" but I can accept them being worn infrequently. https://i.stack.imgur.com/UkfCl.jpg>

I think Hundley and Duda are the two guys with the most hits who never appeared on that animation.

Todd Hundley. Lucas Duda.

That's how I feel. I think Steve had hinted that they might be resurrected for Friday night home games or something like that.