Centerfield

I looked up the numbers. He's performed significantly better than Mike Vail. Also, golf seems to be his second sport, rather than basketball. So the risk of injury is less. If you're of another generation, McNeil has amassed nearly twice as many AB's as '88 Jefferies.

What's crazy is that he's only hitting .340. I mean, every time I look he's got a multi-hit game. If I couldn't see his stats, I'd guess he's hitting .600. Which makes you wonder how guys like Olerud and Ichiro hit even better.

Another four hits. Yawn.

*Designated Walkoff HR Hitter

Is bmfc the one that makes the Mets lose when he goes? Or is that transmonk? I forget who is the kiss of death.

Rayburn was noticeably bad all night long. Squeezed Vargas on more than one occasion. Had a much bigger strikezone for Scherzer. I feel like Mickey needed to start barking at him long before he actually did. He had a terrible call against Jackson (at least I think it was Jackson, IIRC). Way down and away, called for strike 3. The calls against McNeil were laughable. Both of them. I'm glad Mickey came out and showed some fire. He needs to have a lot more of that (in these instances, I miss the hell out of Terry Collins). The call against Bryce was missed too, but it was a close call and one that someone is going to be upset about whichever way it's called. And of course we don't know what Bryce said, but his head was down and walking back to the dugout, so unless he used a few choice words, there's no need for that. Bryce Harper is such an interesting guy. He comes across as the biggest asshole, but seems well liked by teammates not named Papelbon. Is always gracious in his comments, and when off the field, seems somewhat likeable. Which is almost impossible for someone with that hair. Doesn't run out ground balls nearly enough, but also displays passion like we saw last night. Tough guy to figure out.

I guess it depends on severity. "Early onset arthritis, done for the year" sounds serious. But Mickey's and Wilmer's comments sound like it's not that big of a deal. But like smg said, he was a non-tender candidate even before this. Maybe the only mitigating factor is that his two most likely replacements (TJ Rivera and Gavin Cecchini) were nowhere to be seen this year. And non-tender doesn't necessarily mean he's gone right? We can sign him for less? But man, this sucks. Absolutely love Wilmer Flores. It would be terrible if his Mets career just fizzled like that.

Jose Loboton. shams MVP

Go home Rayburn. Jesus.

Mets rallying exact same time Red Sox clinching at MFYs.

All umpires have their heads up their ass today. Home plate blue has been killing the Mets al night. Mickey needed to be rung 3 innings ago.

Maybe take a strike from someone who has walked two straight and thrown 7 straight balls?

Wee Willie Small Balls. 2B. #69.

Roberto Alomar. 2b #18.

John Franco. Relief pitcher #6.

I'm ok with no rivalries and everyone playing a balanced schedule. Not a big fan of interleague play either, but it does give a nice way for NL fans to see AL parks. I want to see shifts go away. By hitters learning to exploit the holes in the defense they expose.

Wheeler in a position to possibly somehow edge the Cy Young favorite for the SHaM Young Award is astounding. deGrom, Post ASB: 3-5, 1.94 ERA, 78 2/3 IP, 0.92 WHIP, 15 BB, 102 SOWheeler, Post ASB: 9-1, 1.68 ERA, 75 IP, 0.81 WHIP, 15 BB, 73 SO The difference, to the extent that there is one, may be one ball that bounced out of a glove instead of being caught. Based on that, yeah. It's Wheeler. And that's even with the ball that bounced out of Todd Frazier's glove the other night.

SHaMs MvP CaNDiDatEs: Brandon Nimmo: .940 OPS (Power has dropped off though, only 4 HRs in second half) Jeff McNeil: .881 OPS (Nice average, but power has not translated yet. Only 3HR's in the bigs) Michael Conforto: .877 OPS (15 HR's, 45 RBI) Jay Bruce (yes, Jay Bruce!): .832 OPS (5 HRs) Dominic Smith: .892 OPS (Small sample size, but has 3 HR's in only 43 AB) Amed Rosario: .705 OPS (I thought this would be higher. but .831 OPS for September) Peter Alonso: .000 OPS (at first glance, numbers don't look great, but also: 40 Man Roster spots taken: Zero; Service Time Accrued: None) Who do you choose!?!?!?

Dom Smith. .892 OPS post all-star break. Small sample size? Misleading production during meaningless September games? Breakout star?

I'm probably being too tough on Marlins Park. It's not that bad. But generally I like outdoor stadiums. I feel like baseball should be watched either under the lights, or with a hot sun beating down on you. And in our particular seat at Marlins Park, there was a leak, so I spent the game getting dripped on. It was a Mets game, and after jumping out to the lead, they lost, and the empanadas we had been looking forward to getting were underwhelming.

Vic Sage wrote: 1B Hernandez 2B Alfonso SS Reyes 3B Wright C Piazza RF Strawberry CF Beltran LF [crossout]McReynolds[/crossout] Jones SP Seaver SP Gooden SP deGrom SP Koosman SP Cone RHRP [crossout]Familia[/crossout] Benitez LHRP Franco There, CF, i fixed it for you. Yeah. I think you can go either way with both choices. Cleon played longer, has the edge in WAR, but McReynolds put up better yearly numbers. For me, the 46 point difference in OPS swung me to McReynolds. WS ring notwithstanding. For the RH closer, kinda went with feelings on this. Benitez maybe has a slight edge with the numbers, but if I had a 1 run lead, and both were warm, I'm calling Familia. Unless it's Game 1 of the World Series, then both of them can sit down.

I'd go higher. [*]deGrom: Five years, $110 million [*]Syndergaard: Five years, $110 million [*]Wheeler: Four years, $60 million Or go longer and give them the mid-contract opt-out that has been so popular the last few offseasons. I think each pitcher would want 2 more years tacked on.

I know everyone is down on Reyes, but I'm excited about these two lining up together again. The best shortstop in Mets history and the best third baseman in Mets history. It's fitting they bow out together. 2018 may have been a crap year, but it's also one where we saw four members of the Mets All-Time team play in one season. 1B Hernandez 2B Alfonso SS Reyes 3B Wright C Piazza RF Strawberry CF Beltran LF McReynolds SP Seaver SP Gooden SP deGrom SP Koosman SP Cone RHRP Familia LHRP Franco Maybe Syndergaard and Conforto crack this team before all is said and done.

I feel like they should activate Wright before this series. He'd pass Straw by tomorrow.

Lol. I tend to agree. And all the things that stem from them. Budget, incompetence, meddling, short-sightedness, hiring dumb people. A fair amount of bad luck too. But others disagree. Curious what people attribute this to. I also wonder what the Mets attribute this failure to. You can't address a problem until you identify it. I doubt the Wilpons have identified themselves.