Centerfield

Win streak!!!

Walkoff Wilmer coming up.

Nimmo!!!!

Also. Noah tomorrow. Then three against the Marlins. Big inning here.

Winning streak. Coming up.

Cut Reyes. Yes please.

41Forever wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: So he was about two days early? YGB, man. It's the weekend, and we've got an undefeated guy on the mound who is second in the league in ERA. I can't believe some of you guys are talking about bailing because they've had a rough stretch. The 12-1 stretch should show what the team is capable of. Nothing but a rough stretch. Some orange barrels on the road to a vacation. There are a couple ways to look at this team. The team opened with a 12 game period where they went 11-1. They then followed with an 18 game period where they went 10-18. Overall they are 21-19. One could say they are a good team that hit a rough patch, like 41 says above. This might well be true since the story of the 2018 Mets has yet to be written. But it’s the least likely to be true. It’s hard to buy this logic when the “rough patch” is 50% longer than the stretch that “shows what the team is capable of”. Another way to look at it is to say they are a bad team that had a 12 game lucky streak. This is also not the best answer, but at least better than the prior take. As mentioned above, the bad streak is much longer than the good streak. Also all of the stats suggest this team is more bad than good. The best take is to look at all 40 games and say that this is a mediocre team, capable of good streaks and bad, but ultimately ending up mediocre in the long run. The slightly over .500 record is consistent with nearly all projections. The stats project to a team slightly below .500, but it’s early and you figure there is some room to shift those numbers a bit. Now, I know that this is painting with a broad brush and a lot of preconceived notions but I just can’t help but feel that 41’s take is such a typical Republican point of view. Come in with the notion you want to believe and stick to it. Even when logic and data suggest otherwise. Focus on numbers that support your thinking, even if those numbers are belied by better, more exhaustive information. Mix in a hint of inaccuracy (the team was never 12-1). Remember to be judgmental (“I can’t believe you guys are talking about bailing”). And you are almost there. Finally, before you leave the house, check if your opinion justifies the behavior of rich white men. Yes? Congratulations! You’re ready to be a Republican!

Look a look at Vargas's stats to see if maybe he could be a LOOGY if he loses his spot in the rotation. ESPN has splits for the last 3 years (2015-17). During that time lefties hit him better than righties (.850 OPS vs. .724). So no. Not really an option for a LOOGY.

G-Fafif wrote: If the Mets had begun the season 9-18 and then surged to their present 20-19 on an 11-1 tear, would things be universally seen as looking up or would the hypothetical recent success be viewed as an aberration because the Mets got off to the miserable start and the Mets suck and they always suck and LOLMets and all that? I really enjoyed the walking around town in Mets gear while the winning was endless. I mean in April. Obviously any time the winning is endless. Actually, I enjoy walking around town in Mets gear as a matter of course, but I like the bonus sense of "YEAH!" that generates when winning is prevalent. Sure. Trends have a lot to do with assessment, and I think fans always weigh recent performance as more relevant. But here, it’s not just the record but the manner of winning and losing. Even during 11-1 there was talk of “unsustainable” and “playing above their peripherals”. The Mets weren’t getting good starting pitching, they weren’t winning definitely. They were leaning heavily on their bullpen and relying on a hell of a lot of timely hits. Pythagoras told us even then that they would slow down. Now, during the last month plus, we have seen those fears materialize. Our taxed bullpen has started to leak. The manager mistakes that didn’t burn us in those 12 games are now contributing to losses. Our freakish good luck in close games has run out. More than anything, our starting pitching looks hopeless. Even if you assume deGrom and Syndergaard stay healthy and pitch well, 60% of our starts will go to Matz, Wheeler and Vargas. That will get us nowhere. Matz maybe can turn it around. But it’s hard to see any consistency coming from him. Even when he’s good, he’s not likely to us more than 5 innings. Wheeler and Vargas are awful. Like I said in the other thread, Wheeler is one of the worst pitchers in baseball. And has been for some time. We can hope that maybe he magically gets better. But it’s not likely. Same with Vargas. You figure Vargas won’t be this bad for long. But he’s a 35 year old journeyman with nothing on his pitches. The idea of him starting a post season game is terrifying. The potential rotation replacements are two failed starters from 2017. We have no arms in our system that are anywhere close, and no real prospects anywhere other than Alonso to bring in any help. People have been talking about the similarity to 2015 a lot. Sure. There is always reason to hope. Especially this early. But there are key differences. First, our division was generally terrible in 2015. Our closest competitor won 83 games. The division is much harder this year. But most importantly, our system is tapped. We have no Michael Fullmer. We won’t be calling up Matz and Syndergaard mid year. Maybe Alonso can be this year’s Conforto? But other than that we got nothing. Look, I think the offense will pick up. Ces will heal, Conforto will find himself. And I do think Alonso will be in Flushing before the year is out. But the pitching. Man. Maybe they can all learn a split finger fastball.

Yeah. Both were pretty badly exposed in their second year starting. I think the bullpen is where both of them can excel. But it might be a move we have to make. Even 2017 Lugo and Gsellman are outpitching Wheeler and Vargas.

It's working. They won't lose today.

Wheeler says he's going to learn a split finger fastball. Let's hope so. Or a cutter or something. He needs more.

I think it's time to pull Wheeler from the rotation. Insert either Lugo or Gsellman. Give Vargas another turn or two, and if he doesn't pick it up, insert the other one. Hope that Swarzak coming back fills a hole in the bullpen. Play Nimmo every day since Ces is out. Try to mix in more Lagares. His .339 looks like luck, but let's give him some AB's until we find out. Hope that Ces and Frazier get healthy soon. See if Peter Alonso is still crushing it at the end of June. If so, call him up. Play Devin Mesoraco more. Call Tampa Bay and take Wilson Ramos' contract off their hands. If all this fails, sell in July.

You know, ever since I was a kid, any time the Mets fell behind big on rainy-ish day, I would wish for the skies to open and wash out the game. I don't remember every being granted that wish. How would one look this up? I'm sure Greg knows off the top of his head. I think just once I'd like to see a 6-0 deficit get wiped out with Mets batting in the bottom of the fifth.

Back to the larger point, the Mets owners are shit people. Just because there may have been other shit owners doesn't change that.

Edgy MD wrote: You're hardly alone. The president himself has called Steinbrenner his best friend. [fimg=500]https://cdn-s3.si.com/s3fs-public/images/1998-George-Steinbrenner-wife-Joan-Donald-Trump-05936993.jpg[/fimg] If there was a Mt. Rushmore of detestable, I feel like those two would be the first two heads. In fact, I'm struggling to think of two more that are comparable.

And in case you might be thinking, "It's early yet, he'll find himself", the 1.55 WHIP is down from his 1.59 WHIP in 2017. The ERA is worse. But not by much. 5.21 in 2017. Zach Wheeler is not a good pitcher.

It's too bad the Mets don't have a struggling starter who could use some garbage time to find himself after three horrific starts.

Zach Wheeler has a 5.92 ERA. Out of qualified pitchers, that would rank him 89th out of 93 pitchers. He has a 1.55 WHIP. That's good for 90th out of 93. He is our fourth starter. Head and shoulders above our fifth guy.

Gsellman? Are you fucking kidding me? Gsellman and Lugo are vital pieces of our bullpen. They are so important we are keeping them out of the rotation despite being far better candidates than at least two of our current starters. Mickey has now burned Lugo in a blowout win yesterday, and is now bringing in Gsellman while losing 6-0 in the rain.

I guess it's possible Zach is intending to let the Jays bat until the game is called. Unconventional. I like it.

Stop pitching Zack. Throw to bases. Call the game!

No rule about throwing to first right? We could just walk the first guy and throw over indefinitely. Until like, Friday.

They have to play the entire fifth right? How many mound visits do we have left? Let's use all of them and make 4 pitching changes.

All kidding aside, it's my understanding that it's the home team's call before first pitch, then the umpires' decision after first pitch. With our beat up roster, and the dicey forecast for today, why not just call the game? Put it back on when we hopefully have Ces and Plaw and Frazier.