Centerfield

Terrific write up. Agreed on almost everything. A few thoughts of my own: 1. The traffic is just so bad. We left early to try to get there on time and still didn't make first pitch. We asked our cab driver to let us off so we could walk. Getting out is also bad. 2. The yellow seats are kinda jarring on TV but more so in person. I know it's part of the classic look. But it's still strikes me as odd. 3. Was really disappointed by the Dodger dog. Wish I had read the review here first. Spent the first half of the dog thinking "WTF, it's just a hot dog". Second half "but you know, not a bad dog". Drank an Estrella Jalisco. 24 ounce can. 4. When you're sitting in those seats, you can almost hear Vin calling the game in your head.

Hey guys, would you be interested in starting a guide to visit different stadiums? I would think between all CPF'ers, we could get a pretty comprehensive list. We just hit the three SoCal stadiums. I think it would be nice to get our thoughts down, post pics, give recommendations on where to sit, what to eat, how to get there, etc.

After crushing it in AAA, has hit .314-.385-.486 since his callup. Small sample size, but maybe he's figured it out?

Yeah, the only thing that sucks is the name. Suggested names that are way better: 1. Jack Murphy Stadium II 2. The Place Where Bartolo Went Deep Stadium

It's funny that as of right now, the OTRA Forum has three threads, PNC, Camden Yards, then Petco. Of all of the road stadiums I've seen, this is exactly how I would rank them.

Definitely one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, stadium in MLB. Stayed in downtown Pittsburgh. On the advice of metfairy, we walked across the bridge to get to the game. Highly recommend it. It's a terrific experience. Walk back too. All seats are great, but if you sit along the third base line, you can enjoy the skyline behind you as you watch the game. Simply breathtaking. Regretfully, we didn't leave ourselves enough time before the game, but the area surrounding the park has great food that we would have loved to have tried. The locals say that the food in the park is crap. And many echoed BG's assessment above. We drank I.C. Light. Pretty sure IC stands for Iron City. Comes in a black and yellow can. It was just ok. Nothing special, but when in Rome... I also recommend going when Jacob deGrom pitches a gem and returning hero Neil Walker hits 2 HR's. Makes the experience all the more better.

Petco is terrific. Another of these new ballparks that makes game-watching an incredible experience. We sat along the left field line and had a perfect view of the action (it's astonishing to me that it took 100 years for architects to start angling the seats toward the pitcher's mound). We walked around the field and there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. Beautiful views of the Coronado Bridge remind you a bit of PNC. Where to Stay: the park is in downtown San Diego. If you can stay in the Gaslamp District, it's an easy walk. Area is terrific. We were there when the Dodgers were in town, so it was overrun with LA people, but it's lively and fun. Before the Game: Get there early. Go visit the park/picnic area. It's great for kids. Plenty of room to throw a ball around before the game. My son brought his glove, but I wish I had brought mine and a ball. How often can you play catch at an MLB game? There is a mini-baseball field where kids play wiffle ball, a picnic area, and lots of other fun activities for the kids. Highly recommend checking it out. Check out the Tony Gwynn statue and practice talking in his voice. What we ate: Hodad's. It's a burger joint famous in San Diego. I guess it's kinda like their version of Shake Shack. It was ok. Got the bacon burger. The bacon was too crunchy for my taste, but worth trying. The garlic fries were pretty good. What we drank: Iron Fist IPA. Pretty good. Might have drank a few of these. Had another local brew as well but can't remember what it was. One thing that is strange about the Padres. They have been so fluid with their colors that it has really diluted the spirit of comraderie between their fans. It's striking when you see waves of LA fans wearing Dodger blue. Meanwhile SD fans wear brown and yellow, navy and silver, navy and orange, camo, desert camo, and brown and orange. Pick a color SD, then stick with it. My daughter is collecting those ice cream helmets from every stadium we visit. The helmet of choice was brown and yellow.

My two cents here. Since Conforto hurt his shoulder I've heard: *that he will never be the same. And that this could be a recurring injury, with a great chance that he will never recover to where he was before *that he will be just as good once he goes under the knife. Sure the rehab is tough, but he'll be completely healed when it's all said and done. *that the typical recovery from surgery is 3-6 months *that the typical recovery from surgery is 9-12 months *it's similar to Ceciliani/Matt Kemp *that this has happened to no one in the history of time. Ever. So yeah, input from someone who has had the same injury, had the same surgery, in the same hospital, and likely the same surgeons, as Conforto, is appreciated. No, it's not definitive. But is it more so than input from doctors who submit articles online without ever having examined the patient? Probably. It's close at least. Sure. It makes sense for the Mets to not put a specific timeline on the recovery and plan for the worst. That is prudent practice. Do I actually believe they will do this? (At least without ignoring another glaring need?) Um, no. I expect them to go into 2018 like they've gone into every season in recent history. Assuming that everything breaks right for them, and if that happens, being just competitive enough to compete for the post-season.

Jesus. Is Harvey really just toast? Can't believe it's come to this. Go get Yu.

Having a great time with my SoCal mistress in Anaheim. Hope she doesn't blow up my phone once I get back though.

themetfairy wrote: Unless he injured his labrum and glenoid, like D-Dad did in May. The good news is that the Hospital for Special Surgery is really good at repairing that kind of injury. What was D-Dad's recovery time?

Metsblog says 3-6 months recovery in the event of surgery. Other papers are saying it could be as long as 9-12 months. Seems like a huge discrepancy in projections.

Torn posterior capsule. Any word on recovery time for surgery?

Edgy MD wrote: First of all, the point of having three periods in a three-word phrase is to suggest that the statement in the phrase is such an unadulterated fact that each part of it is a fact, so it should be ... three periods. "BEST. TEAM. EVER." The question mark in "BEST. TEAM. EVER?" totally belies the two earlier periods. That's bad copywriting! This is exactly right.

By the way, I nominate Steven Matz for the Mr. "Best Shape of My Life" Spring Training 2018. "This year I feel totally different. I'm pain free for the first time in years."

The articles state he had inflammation between starts. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/steven-matz-headed-dl-undisclosed-injury-article-1.3430131 Matz said he had no issue with the way the Mets handled his injury. http://www.newsday.com/beta/sports/baseball/mets/steven-matz-may-need-elbow-surgery-source-says-1.14080944 According to a source, Matz consented to multiple pain-killing injections, occasionally on game days, to quell the pain that came along with an elbow that at times swelled to the size of a grapefruit. The pain came and went, though the elbow bothered him mostly between starts. It wasn’t like I couldn’t throw. I was still able to throw, so it’s kind of a tough call. It's crazy. I feel like you go into a subject with a preconception, read whatever is presented to you, then come out with the same conclusion regardless of the news might say. It's pretty clear. Matz pitched through pain all year. It affected him during, and between starts, to varying degrees of severity. Instead of persisting until they found an answer, they told him to grit his teeth and fight through it. In the end, he was hurt. In the same exact way deGrom was hurt. It's foolish. Anyway, surgery was a success. Let's hope he has the same results as deGrom.

Of course. A team cannot keep healthy player on the DL and collect insurance. As you mention it will invite a grievance and constitutes insurance fraud. But Wright is not healthy. And will never be healthy again. With his spinal stenosis, for Wright to have any chance to play, he has to perform hours of preparation, go through a rigorous stretching program, and even then, he can only play certain games. Right now, though he may be DH-ing in St. Lucie, he's certainly not healthy in that he has a pinched nerve that prevents him from throwing, and therefore, can't play the field. If the Mets were competitive, there would be no way they could waste a roster spot on that player. It's not clear what the insurance policy says in such a situation. But it certainly matters. And that's exactly why Met fans are concerned with the specifics of that policy. Just speculation, but I wonder if a deal is already in place. "Hey insurance company, we both know David isn't healthy and would be justified to sit on the 60 day through the end of the season. Still, we'd like to get him some pinch hitting appearances and give him a chance to stop on the field and wave his hat. How about you let this go, and instead of picking up 75%, we drop it down to 65%. Deal?" I can see an insurance company going for this. Negotiations over coverage are as old as insurance itself.

I got an idea when somebody is playing baseball wrong, or counterproductively. I really think I do. Whether somebody is doing a good job diagnosing injuries, I'm far less confident. Maybe some of these things are apparent, maybe some aren't. Maybe some become apparent over time. Maybe some become apparent as they measure how a regularly used arm responds. I have a hernia. I know I do. I pointed to the spot, and my GP felt me up, and said, "Yeah, that's a hernia." But I've been in for an ultrasound, and they smeared me with jelly, and they couldn't find the bugger. They went out in the hall and called in a bunch of interns and nobody saw nothing and I felt like a complete tool. Then I realized, and the GP confirmed, sometimes the thing pops back in place, and sometimes it doesn't. If this thing leads to increasing discomfort, I'll go in again, and maybe look stupid again. But it really manifests itself while I'm exercising, and that sucks, because I'm turning into a whale. Diagnostics is a mystery to me. Maybe they totally messed this up, but I have no idea, really. Yes. It's much harder to tell. Obviously we can't watch the exams unfold in front of us, with retired doctors commentating saying "Roll that back, see right there? That's where he missed it. Should have gone with the X374 scope and it would have been like reading a newspaper. Stupid." All we can do is look at the results. Look, we only follow the Mets so we can't compare apples to apples, but the Mets doctors certainly seem to be incompetent. From the article: Whatever it was, MRIs revealed no structural damages, because there weren't any to reveal. The doctors had to perform a nerve test and put him through CT scans, which they only did Monday, about five or so months after he first felt the discomfort. "The symptoms weren't necessarily leading to the nerve," Matz said. "So today I kind of used the last bullet and did the nerve test." Matz had suspected that it was a possibility based on talking with Jacob deGrom and Erik Goeddel, who pitchers who have undergone the same procedure. It's just mind boggling. "I don't know Steven. It's a head scratcher. Elbow pain. Drop in velocity, sudden negative impact on performance. Really I got nothing." Thank you Doc. I appreciate you trying. "My pleasure Steven." [shows him out of the room] "Lorraine, who's my next appointment?" [voice from offstage: "It's Jacob deGrom sir. His file is on your chair"] [thumbing through the chart] "Hmmm. Ulnar nerve in the elbow. Huh. That's something you don't see every day."

Meanwhile, back to the original point, as a knee-jerk reaction, I think Lorenzo Cain and Wade Davis make a lot of sense. Don't know enough about Cain to know if he's likely to hold up in CF at 31 years old, and of course Davis is a risk, coming off the surgery, but I'd be inclined to start there. Wouldn't kick JD Martinez or Yu out of bed either.

Frayed Knot wrote: If they believe in Dom Smith then his chance is now. If they don't then get rid of him or find some temporary option. But they're not going to stow him in the minors or use him to PH 2-3 times per week while a FA who only plays the only position he plays play out their (likely to be long) contract. Why does it have to be now? There's nothing saying Dom Smith has to be used in 2018. It's not like he's out of options. If he's called up in 2019 he'll only be 24 years old then. Just because Lucas Duda is signed to a three year deal doesn't mean Duda can't be traded in 2019, or Smith can be traded in 2019, or one of them could get hurt. Who knows. I get that there are more obvious places to upgrade, but no option should be off the table. We once had a promising young stud catcher coming back from an injury but we traded for an All-Star catcher anyway. No, Lucas Duda is not Mike Piazza, but sometimes it makes sense to take the best option available, even if it means displacing another option. Frayed Knot wrote: Because it's not like whether the insurance kicks in is part of some sort of decision on their part. If he can't get back to playing condition then the status quo continues as it has since sometime in 2016 -- more money for payroll ... Yay!! (I guess) If he can rehab then they either have to pay him and use him or negotiate how much of the remainder they want to pay in order to make him go away. But the team can't simply decide to choose one of those options over the other. I think the point Chad was trying to make was to see if the Mets, and David, and the insurance company can reach some sort of agreement that allows David to move into a non-playing role, where David still gets paid, but the insurance still covers part of it. That way, it absolutely is something that the Mets could choose, and most importantly, know what their obligations will be before going into the season.

Frayed Knot wrote: I think the Mets owe Steven Matz a pretty big apology. The incompetence is unbelievable. Might be somewhat understandable if the guy two seats over didn't have the exact same thing last fall. Fucking idiots. Meaning what, that the team should have somehow prevented this from happening to him? I don't get it. Meaning they should have diagnosed him correctly instead of labeling him "soft". http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2017/08/mets_steven_matz_finally_receives_diagnosis_what_t.html

Frayed Knot wrote: Unless you guys have already decided, based on 35 or whatever ABs, that Dom Smith is a bust (and convinced Sandy of such) and needs to be traded/dumped/warehoused/tased immediately, the Mets ARE NOT spending their allowance on a multi-year deal for a FA 1B next year. I have no idea why folks keep going back to this and certainly not why it seems to be their choice as to where to start a rebuild. I think you are right that the Mets will not spend on a free agent first baseman. I think they, like you, are set in giving Dominic Smith a chance, no matter what. I don't agree with this strategy. I think you have to look to upgrade the offense, where ever those upgrades might be available. Sure, it would be easier to upgrade at our available positions, but good luck finding a 30 HR, 800+ OPS guy at CF or catcher. All options have to be on the table for a "win now" team. If that means Lucas Duda is the best option (cost, production, etc), then he has to be in the picture, along with everyone else. And just because you sign Duda doesn't mean you have to put Smith out to pasture. Duda might be had for a three year deal. Smith is only 22 years old and can play in the minors another season. If the right trade comes along, you take it. If not, there's no urgency. Also, if Duda doesn't work out, or gets hurt, then you plug in Smith who costs you nothing. Again, I agree with you that it need to be the first option, that seems unnecessary, but it should be an option. There's no reason a big market team should limit themselves. Frayed Knot wrote: I also have no idea why folks keep obsessing about the specifics of Wright's insurance policy. If he can play then it's a non-issue, and if he can't then it's a matter for their accounting department to deal with and essentially status quo for how it's been for nearly two seasons now. They built teams with him on the payroll and also while he's on the shelf. Of the top 50 or so issues I fret over concerning the Mets, the details of the insurance policy the Mets have on Wright is like 84th on my list. I think it's obvious. If the Mets collect insurance for the Wright contract, that opens up more payroll. If they don't, this is a money drain and limits their ability to sign productive players. Are you saying that the Mets build their team the same way whether or not Wright is a drain on payroll? I don't agree with that at all.

I think the Mets owe Steven Matz a pretty big apology. The incompetence is unbelievable. Reminds me of how bad they fucked up Beltran before he took matters into his own hands. Might be somewhat understandable if the guy two seats over didn't have the exact same thing last fall. Fucking idiots.

Not impressed at all. Swing looks long. Defense seems overrated. I know. Small sample.

Crowd was dead last night. Lifeless. Just like the Mets.