Gwreck

Need a Rivera blown save in there too to make it perfect.

HahnSolo wrote: Didn't it used to be part of the collective bargaining agreement that you couldn't play a day game following a night game in a different city? No. The provision is (and has been): "Getaway games shall not be scheduled or rescheduled to start later than 5 P.M. if either Club is required to travel for a day game, scheduled the next day, between cities in which the in-flight time is more than 11/2 hours. In each season, the championship season schedule may contain six exceptions to the rule in the immediately preceding sentence provided that the traveling Club is traveling to Chicago to play the Cubs and the in-flight time does not exceed 21/2 hours."

There are always going to be small variances in competitive advantage or disadvantage. One would think througout the course of the 162 game schedule there are always going to be instances where one plays a team in the middle of a long homestand, both teams having traveled the night before, neither teams needing to travel the night before, and so on. The competitive disadvantage here is so minor as to be a nonissue. I know that because it wasn't prohibited in the Basic Agreement which does indeed have very specific restrictions regarding Sunday night games.

dgwphotography wrote: Edgy MD wrote: It's not about convenience, really. It's about their ability to perform at a reasonably competitive level the next day. I agree. I was just attempting to refute the previous post. These are professional athletes in their athletic prime. They're going to be fine. Additionally, the fact that it's a Sunday night game means they get extra rest between Saturday's game and Sunday's game. I'm quite sure we will indeed hear about what time the team gets into Atlanta, and I'm quite sure that if it's too "late," we'll hear unwarranted excuses about how tough it is to travel. Wah wah wah. Cry me a river.

regardless of where or when those teams will play the next day and selected the Mets @ Nationals game on September 1. Even though Harvey isn't pitching (perhaps Strasburg is), even though the game is likely meaningless (unless they want to analyze the Mets 9/1 call-ups!), and even though the Mets have a 1:10 game in Atlanta the next day (which might be the same day by the time the Sunday game ends), they picked this game I highlighted the relevant parts. The Mets will take a bus (maybe even with a police escort) directly from the stadium to the airport. They won't stand in the TSA security lines, they'll board their chartered jet to take them directly to Atlanta; they'll deplane and not have to wait for their bags, they'll be driven straight to their five-star hotel rooms where they'll get plenty of rest before going to the park on Monday. There are plenty of things that suck about Sunday night baseball games from the fan's perspective. Player inconvenience is not one of them.

Too bad he can't fieldfield. We need a DH next weekend in Cleveland, right?

Lots of interesting series this weekend. In order: 1. Cardinals at Pirates Cardinals have a one game lead in the Central division. Just started listening to this game on the radio a little and the Pirates broadcasters describing the crowd as "ready to explode" in the first inning. I am pulling hard for Pittsburgh here. It's a great town, a great stadium, and -- I've always felt -- great fans. They deserve it. 2. Tampa at Oakland The two teams leading the AL wild card race. Tampa 2.5 back in the AL East behind Boston. 3. Indians at Tigers Tigers are up 6.5 in the division and could pretty much sew it up with a sweep. Or they could let the Indians back in again. Indians are four out of the wild card. 4. Orioles at MFYs Baltimore is 3.5 out of the Wild Card. MFYs somehow only 5 out. Time for the MFYs to go away. Let's go O's.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: So what's Wright gonna do if it turns out that the FO was full of shit? Test the free agent market? Instead of the rhetorical, what about the actual issue? What are your thoughts about Wright making this sort of public statement? Seems like a good thing, no?

My next guess was the McRaes but that doesn't fit with Edgy's clue. The Hairstons and Alous don't fit either. The Bufords?

Cecil and Prince Fielder, duh. Just kidding. The Alomars?

I didn't watch tonight's game, but I'm going to assume the connection was Eric Young Jr. and Sr.

Whatever. Just give him the Tommy John surgery now and let's be done with it. Stephen Strasburg had it in 2010. Missed 2011, came back stronger 2012 by which time the Nationals had also assembled a quality ballclub and they went to the playoffs. Unless the Mets were going to be signing tons of free agents, we weren't going to be ready to compete in 2014 anyway. But we had best be ready for 2015 when Harvey returns. That's plenty of time for Fred and Sandy to get their act together.

I don't think TV commentary works that way.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'm sad and miss that. I really do. Yeah. It was a really nice day at the park, great pitching matchup and all, but first when the Tigers scored, and then after the Lagares/Buck combined failure there was just no hope of a comeback. There's barely 1.5 quality major leaguers in our lineup here.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: To be fair, it was Johnny Vintner who soured the sweeter chance. Yabbut, swinging first pitch when the pitcher is clearly tiring and struggling with command? Just poor

John Buck, you're fired.

I have an idea. Let's never throw anything in the strike zone to Miguel Cabrera, ever. I was disappointed that the scoreboard never said "85 MPH Gyroball" tonight.

Should be noted that it was an absolute shit job by the umpiring staff last night. Dempster throws behind Rodriguez, fine. He had his chance, he missed, issue closed. MFYs are free to retaliate in kind if they so choose. When Dempster completely and obviously hits him three pitches later, he needs to be ejected. Hard to say but Girardi was completely right to go nuts.

Ceetar wrote: do you? I've found the mets.com deals are usually better than StubHub with fewer fees. Depends on the game and the seats you want, really. I don't think I've ever paid "face value" for a ticket on the Excelsior level, even factoring in SH fees. Yet there are often better deals to be found through the Mets on the less desirable sections - like the ones they are offering for this promotion.

Hard to not think that was our chance to win the game.

Not good, [crossout:3afkkkpg]Juan[/crossout:3afkkkpg] Chad Fairchild

The person not yet identified is Dave Racaniello. The correct identity is, left to right: Andrew Brown Niese Dave Racaniello Wheeler Buck Gee Turner Baxter

Know Your Dodgers (August 12-14) Previously, on "Know Your Dodgers:" A National League team in one of America's largest cities has an owner in financial trouble. His plan is to raise ticket prices and keep payroll down. He loses the support of his fans. He has major litigation troubles. In THIS case, Major League Baseball has decided they've had quite enough of the troubled owner, and exert their will to force a sale. As the team obviously has lots of value, the troubled owner makes a handsome profit. The new, energized owners show a commitment to winning. They dump tens of millions of dollars into making the team competitive. Coming up on this episode, "First Place:" The Mets visit the first-place Dodgers, who are 66-50, with (per ESPN) a 93.1% chance of making the playoffs. They are 19-3 since the all-star break; have won 36 of their last 44; and haven't lost a series since mid-June. The Mets played 4 game series in Los Angeles in both 2011 and 2012; they won games 1-3 and couldn't complete the sweep. This year, there are only 3 games. Dodgers Starting Pitchers: The Dodgers have the top ERA for NL starting pitchers this year, but the Mets will fortunately miss both Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw this series. Pitching matchups: (All games 10:10 EDT) Monday: Ricky Nolasco ® v. Jenrry Mejia Nolasco was traded by Miami in June for prospects. He is a free agent at the end of the season. Combined stats this year are 8-9, 3.65 in 24 starts; 117 Ks against 36 walks in 145 innings. If it seems like he's pitched a lot against the Mets, it's because he has; this will be his 24th start against the Mets since 2006 (more than any opponent). He faced the Mets in April and was nothing special; 6 hits, 3 walks and 3 runs; Mets knocked him out in the 6th inning. Tuesday: Hyun-Jin Ryu (L) v. Matt Harvey 26-year old Korean import in his first season in the majors, which is going quite well: 2.99 ERA and 1.245 WHIP in 22 starts. Dodgers have won his last seven starts. Faced the Mets in April and pitched a strong seven innings in a pitcher's duel with Hefner that the Mets bullpen would lose in the 9th. Second Dodger player to wear number 99 (Manny was the first). Wednesday: Chris Capuano (L) v. Dillon Gee This the second year of the two year contract Capuano earned after proving in 2011 with the Mets that he was able to pitch a full season again. After an excellent 2012, things aren't going quite as well in year two, with a 4.50 ERA and 1.388 WHIP in 80 innings (he missed time due to injury). Dodger Lineup: C - A.J. Ellis ® Andrew James was drafted by the Dodgers in 2003 and was in the minors and a backup in the majors for years before getting the starting job last year at age 31. Serviceable offense (.721 OPS); serviceable defense; a solid major league catcher. 1B - Adrian Gonzalez (L) 16-27-.294; .803 OPS. Leads team in hits, homers, RBI. 2B - Mark Ellis ® No relation to AJ. Mostly there for his glove (.682 OPS). 3B - Juan Uribe ® Having a bit of a bounceback year after two prio miserable seasons (both were sub-.560 OPS). Up to .710 OPS this year. Got called out on Saturday when the Rays pulled the hidden ball trick. SS - Hanley Ramirez ® is not on the DL, but hasn't started since last Sunday, when he injured his shoulder going into the stands at Wrigley to catch a popup. He pinch hit on Friday. We didn't see Hanley in April as he was injured during the WBC and was still on the DL. he's been extremely productive (1.051 OPS, 11 homers in 192 ABs) when on the field this year. Nick Punto (S) has been starting in his place and doesn't exactly have the same pop, with a .254/.329/.317 line. (Yes, that's right, OBP higher than slugging). LF - Carl Crawford (L) is never going to again be the 6.9 WAR player he was in his walk year in 2010 for Tampa, but he's already doing significantly better than the six-tenths of a win above replacement he put up during his two years in Boston. .766 OPS, decent defense, 11-for-15 stealing. CF - Andre Ethier (L) is manning center most of the time with Matt Kemp on the DL. He's a solid player (.758 OPS) but probably not worth the 5-year, $83.5M extension he got from the Dodgers last June. RF - Yasiel Puig ® You may have heard a little about this 22-year old rookie from Cuba. He's 250 PAs into the season and is sporting a 1.043 OPS, with 26 of his 85 hits for extra bases. That's already 3.8 WAR in slightly less than a half season. Dodger Bench: Tim Federowicz ® - Backup catcher who hit at AAA but hasn't done anything in the majors. Jerry Hairston Jr. ® - Utility player. Dodgers are his 9th major league team. Dee Gordon (L) - middle infield speedster who can't hit. Skip Schumaker (L) - backup outfielder. Hits like a backup outfielder. Real first name: Jared. Dodger Bullpen: Kenley Jansen ®, current closer. 2.01 ERA and 0.840 WHIP in 58 innings; 84 Ks to 9 walks. 17 saves. Brandon League ®, former closer. Lost the job in June after a run of blown saves. Mets got to him in April, tying the game in the 9th, before Valdespin hit his walk-off grand slam the next inning (against a different pitcher). Ugly numbers (5.27 ERA, 1.383 WHIP) but he's pitched better of late. Carlos Marmol ®, former Cubs closer, acquired via trade in July for Matt Guerrier in a swap of underperforming relievers who had both been DFAed. Spent a few weeks in AAA before getting called up. Small sample size but he's been mostly effective as a Dodger. Ronald Belisario ®, top set up guy. 3.33 ERA, 1.442 WHIP, 41 Ks and 20 BBs in 51 Innings. J.P. Howell (L), 2.05 ERA and 1.076 WHIP. Shuts lefties down quite effectively. Paco Rodriguez (L), shuts down lefties effectively as well. 2.14 ERA, 0.738 WHIP, 45 Ks to 12 walks in 42 innings. Dodger Injuries: Matt Kemp, ankle, 15 day DL Brian Wilson (yes, the former Giants closer). On rehab assignment, won't be back for this series. John Beckett, out for the year (surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome) Chad Billinglsey, out for the year (Tommy John surgery) Ex-Mets: Capuano Ex-Dodgers: None Essential Dodgers Blog: Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness (http://www.mikesciosciastragicillness.com/) * All stats through Saturday, 8/10

Awesome game. Bears repeating (no matter how many times it's already been said) how enjoyable having a player like Harvey is in an otherwise lost season. Seemed like a high fan IQ night; lots of applause for Flores' first hit, even before the scoreboard told everyone why. Super-cool moment when the Mets honored "The Immortal" Chris Majkowski as today is the 20th anniversary of his consecutive games streak (3,209). Cake presented on camera, scoreboard recognition, the whole nine yards.

Since we're looking at this with the benefit of hindsight: From a baseball perspective, of course it was the wrong decision to not sign Rodriguez. The contract he got from Texas was 10 years, $252 million. Rodriguez put up 71.7 WAR over the life of that contract, easily living up to its value, and arguably more. How he got there (PEDs) is irrelevant as he was never caught. As stated above, it is one of those few long-term contracts that actually benefited the club over the life of the entire contract. Not a "steal" but undoubtedly a good signing. The contract looks even better if Rodriguez opted out after 7 years (as he did), as those first seven years were the peak value.