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RF Jeff McNeil DH J.D. Davis LF Dominic Smith 3B Todd Frazier 2B Robinson Cano 1B Pete Alonso SS Amed Rosario CF Guillermo Heredia C Robinson Chirinos -- RHP Seth Lugo

http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/wp-content/uploads/F2633B2B-256A-46EA-8B09-B09B055FA008.png> I like that Zvon saw it as his obligation to mark the moments that deserved cards, such as the announcement of a new Mets HOF class. His commitment was every bit as impressive as his creativity.

Tim Kurkjian on the void of 2020. A dear friend, a baseball purist in his late 70s, called recently. He was distressed. "For the first time in 70 years,'' he said, "I don't care about baseball.'' He wasn't angry. He was hurt and sad that the game he loves wasn't delivering -- it had somehow let him down. I tried to explain that this wasn't the fault of the game; COVID-19 was to blame. It has changed everything in and around baseball -- it has changed how we play, watch, perceive and consume the game. It has changed how we all write, report and broadcast the game. "Everything is hard now,'' said Indians manager Tito Francona, who is as gregarious as it gets. So is Rays manager Kevin Cash, who said of the experience this year, "This isn't fun.'' They are not complaining. And you'll get no complaints here, no sympathy required. I remain the luckiest man on earth. I get paid to write about baseball and broadcast games a couple of nights a week. I am so grateful that I get to watch 15 games a night instead of another episode of "Succession" -- which is brilliant and depressing. But Cash is right. It hasn't been nearly as much fun. No fans in the stands, players who have opted out of the season, the many others who have been injured, the mangling of the schedule due to coronavirus outbreaks (mostly notably with the Marlins and the Cardinals), making up rules on the fly and the threat that the season could end any day, perhaps without warning. And having to cover all of this from home has made it so much more difficult. Most players would rather play at home. I am longing for a road game. There is no substitute for being at the ballpark. The things you see there, the things you learn there, can't be found watching on TV, on your computer or even in the beloved box scores. It's just not the same without fans in the stands; we have underrated and understated their importance to the game. The energy, the atmosphere that a crowd brings is clearly missing, and it has affected many players, including the Reds' Eugenio Suarez and the Brewers' Christian Yelich, who, like many, feed off the passion of the fans. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29898470/this-fun-how-everyone-baseball-navigated-very-different-seasonhttps://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29898470/this-fun-how-everyone-baseball-navigated-very-different-season

1111. Guillermo Heredia

Marisnick to the IL. Guillermo Heredia up from...WHO? He'll wear No. 15.

“What a great-looking crowd — so many stars, so much cocaine. Is this the Emmys or the Mets' locker room?” —David Letterman, 2020 Emmys (9/20/2020), reading jokes ostensibly left in his tuxedo pocket from when he last wore it, hosting the 1986 Emmys

Tire fire in Flushing. Literally.

Wright and d'Arnaud are the stars of today's game, yet it's not a good thing for the Mets.

Vance Wilson reportedly under consideration to succeed Gardenhire.

"I didn't have that many great moments as a player, as far as doing anything," Gardenhire said. "But that was a great moment to be a part of — to watch Tom Seaver at Shea Stadium make the walk to start that day. That was a really cool thing." https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2020/09/03/detroit-tigers-ron-gardenhire-tom-seaver-dies/5700386002/https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2020/09/03/detroit-tigers-ron-gardenhire-tom-seaver-dies/5700386002/

Let's not bungle in the jungle. Nimmo CF Conforto RF J.D. Davis 3B Smith 1B Canó 2B Alonso DH McNeil LF Giménez SS Ramos C Porcello RHP (1-5, 6.06)

Brandon Nimmo CF Michael Conforto RF J.D. Davis 3B Dominic Smith 1B Robinson Canó 2B Pete Alonso DH Jeff McNeil LF Andrés Giménez SS Robinson Chirinos C ———— David Peterson LHP

Ron Gardenhire retires from managing. Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire stepped down on Saturday, announcing his retirement after three seasons in Detroit and 16 years managing in the Major Leagues. The decision came out of a Saturday afternoon meeting with general manager Al Avila at Comerica Park, during which Gardenhire discussed his recent health issues. “This afternoon when I got here to the office, I come down and go into Gardy's office to talk baseball stuff,” Avila said in a Zoom conference. “And at that point we started talking, and he mentioned to me he was going to retire and he wasn't feeling well from a health perspective.” Gardenhire, 62, is a cancer survivor. He missed two games in Minnesota earlier this month with what was described as a stomach virus. He said he initially planned to retire at season's end, but he decided to retire immediately after talking with Avila about his issues, including shakes in his hands from the stress of the job. “The way I've been feeling since I had that bout of food poisoning in Minnesota and the stomach problems and the stress involved with this job, I told Al I'll step down right now,” Gardenhire said. Bench coach Lloyd McClendon will manage the Tigers through the rest of the season. The remainder of the coaching staff will stay on through the end of the season. https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/ron-gardenhire-retires-as-tigers-managerhttps://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/ron-gardenhire-retires-as-tigers-manager

Oswalt: back. Kilome: optioned.

The Rockies are activating A.J. Ramos.

Kilome: back. Guillermo: optioned.

I had my moment of z'Enaud when Travis emerged as a force in the playoffs with the Rays last year. This year he's a fucking Brave.

Karenism in defense of Seaver is no vice.

The newly resurgent Mets — the BEST 23-27 team in baseball (as well as the only) — welcome the first-place Atlanta Braves into Citi Field for the beginning of a three-game showdown that could determine absolutely nothing, but at least there won't be any small cadres of Braves fans on hand. Normally their presence, perhaps a TBS legacy, is quietly vexing. (You know what you hardly ever see outside of San Diego? Cadres of Padres.) The polar opposite pitching matchup: Max Fried (6-0; 1.98 ERA) vs Steven Matz (0-4; 8.63 ERA). Matzie will be motivated to show fellow his Steven, Cohen, that he's as reliable as any overpriced piece of metal in his collection. Or will it be Steven's last night in town? https://youtu.be/MrL-g-lkOCAhttps://youtu.be/MrL-g-lkOCA

Recommending the latest edition of the Art Shamsky Podcast, with Ron Swoboda, former HOF president Jeff Idelson and WFAN's Bob Heussler reflecting on Tom. Idelson confirmed Nancy had arranged with the Hall that it and not the Mets make the announcement when the time came, which perhaps indicates what Nancy thinks of certain outgoing team owners.

Not a walk from Nimmo.

Dominic Smith deserves his own follow-up article. “On that day, we didn't talk about it,” he finally says. “Everybody pretty much walked around like nothing's happening in the world. Obviously we have a job to do, so we kind of leave politics out of the locker room and kind of focus on the task at hand.” So he decided to kneel. Afterward, some of his teammates told him they were disappointed in the gesture—but not for the reason he'd feared. “They were pretty upset that I didn't tell them that I was going to take a knee,” he says. “Because they wanted to be there by me while I did it and to show their support out there on the field.” It's worth mentioning that those players could still have demonstrated once they saw him go down, or even on their own. But in a sport as conservative as baseball, their reaction is progress. And he saw even more progress the next day, when he headed to the park fully expecting to play. Manager Luis Rojas called a team meeting at 3 p.m. The players and staff discussed how much Smith's words had affected them. They decided they didn't want to play that night—and that they wanted to make a statement. After discussions with the Marlins, they settled on a plan: They would take the field at 7:10, as scheduled, and stand for the national anthem. Then they would pause for a 42-second moment of silence, in honor of Jackie Robinson, and walk off the field. They would leave a Black Lives Matter T-shirt on home plate. “To see my team rally behind me, and show their support for me, my community, where I come from—it was something that I've never felt before,” Smith says now. “And I felt very honored.” Smith spoke, and people listened. In some ways, the moment was small. But it was also crucial. Smith's message that night resonated: He matters. The kids at Baseball Generations matter. Black lives matter. The worst night of his season was the most impressive of his career. https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/09/17/dominic-smith-new-york-metshttps://www.si.com/mlb/2020/09/17/dominic-smith-new-york-mets

Leather knew her infielders. https://youtu.be/kW8gvGTlpWMhttps://youtu.be/kW8gvGTlpWM