Centerfield

Gotta win Friday's game.

Beat guys say Cabrera expects to be back in the lineup Friday. Wait, tell me if you've heard this one before: Back in the lineup Friday. Ineffective for 2 games. Late scratch on Sunday. Examined by Mets doctors Tuesday (Monday is a holiday. Altcheck throws great BBQ's according to everyone except Frank). HSS confirms that Asdrubal Cabrera is actually missing his spine.

I think Reynolds and Ty Kelly would be happy to get on the interstate right about now.

Unless Asdrubal is laid up.

Exactly. I agree he should have stuck around. And you can even call him out on that. But like you said, to pretend that this is a character flaw that he knew about all along? Just infuriating. Plus, I admit to still being irritated at the papers for what I felt was a really disrespectful display when dealing with a man's health. It's just mind-boggling to me that anyone who works for a company that uses the headline "URINE LUCK" has any grounds to question someone's professionalism.

Seriously. I think Mike Vaccaro overestimates his role in defining a star player. Not once have I ever said "Man, if only the Mets could get a dominant, flame-throwing ace that makes sure he talks to reporters after every game."

Never a doubt! (Just kidding. I had to go do work during the 9th inning because I was too nervous.)

Y'know, I get all that. But the 'we've always known him to be this way it was only a matter of time till it showed' line of writing sounds awfully hollow when you're only trotting it out after he hits rock bottom. (at least we hope he has) Kernan NYPost: It would be pathetic if it weren’t so predictable. This is who Harvey is, the ultimate front-runner, wanting everything his way when times are good and making the rules up as he goes along when they aren’t. His phony act hasn’t just worn thin, it’s worn out. The Mets are worried about his arm? They need to be worried about his heart. If it was so predictable how come you didn't predict it? Or even hint at the idea that maybe this emperor was at least occasionally short of clothes even when not doing SI photo shoots? Oh, I remember why. It's because you (meaning the whole pack of yous, not just Kernan specifically) were too busy slobbering over him while writing about how he was not just a singular talent but one uniquely suited to this time and place. I don't mind them jumping on him, I'm just a bit put off by the 'now it can be revealed (even though I always knew so)' angle. Now what would be really funny -- and by funny I mean totally absurd -- is if Francesa all of a sudden were to jump on this train as well after going from the guy who had barely heard of him to virtually claiming to have discovered him. Man, Mushnick, who dedicates maybe half his column space to calling big Mike out for claiming to have always known but only say so right after they occur, would have fodder to dine out on for months if that were to happen. This is actually Mike Vaccaro. http://nypost.com/2016/05/24/silent-matt-harvey-confirms-hes-the-phony-mets-have-enabled/ You know what? Fuck you Mike Vaccaro. What exactly has Matt done to suggest he isn't taking responsibility? Or shouldering the load? His responsibility is to work on his craft and do what it takes to get better. Boo fucking hoo he didn't talk to the media. And it's shocking to me that anyone from the Post can call anyone unprofessional. The same paper that ran juvenile stories, covers and headlines mocking the man's medical situation. A situation that might have been more serious than we know now. Fuck you with a fucking streetlamp.

Really thought he was going to be better. I mean, he looks like he can hit. Short stroke, quick to the ball, has enough size to hit for some power. When he first came up I thought he could be a candidate to hit in the 2 spot when he got comfortable. But man, he's kinda sucked. It's only 300 ABs. And so obviously you don't give up on him. But man. Come on Kevin. Hit better.

I am still team Dilson. But if you are not going that route, Loney needs to be signed ASAP. He's a better hitter than Wilmer, and a better first baseman. Platooning Wilmer and Loney, as FK suggests, is probably a good bet. If something better presents itself, you can just cut Loney. This frees up Wilmer to spot Wright and spell Cabrera, who is eventually going to need some rest. And all of this takes away at-bats from Eric Campbell.

Oh, and fuck these media guys who are piling on him right now. I get that Harvey is kinda douchey, but questioning a man's character because he's struggling is a dick move.

I thought Harvey actually looked better last night. Good life on his fastball, was mixing in his secondary pitches. Questionable throwing those changeups middle in to Zimmerman and Rendon though. Cripes. Throw that changeup low and away. I think for him he's lost a bit on his fastball, and his slider is lacking the bite. That takes him from being an elite pitcher, to a vulnerable one. I think that's really messed up his confidence, and that's the reason he's made the drop from a vulnerable pitcher, to a terrible one. I think the move is to DL him with a "dead arm". Let him get his head straight, rest his arm a bit. Hope that it cures him like it did Strassburg last year. Time his comeback with an Atlanta start and let him start building his confidence a bit. I still think he's going to be fine. Once the weather warms up his fastball will come back, and everything builds off of that. I believe he will find some secondary pitch that will work for him. It's strange. I thought I heard in spring training that his slider was back to being devastating.

Fucking Campbell.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Cabrera's pregame physical issue? Back problems. What the hell is with these guys' mattresses? Can the team spring for clubhouse Aeron chairs? Crap. Well I guess that asshole who wanted to see Reynolds starting at SS in 2015 and criticized the Cabrera signing will be happy.

Huge game today. It would be nice to get some runs early. Tanner Roark sucks. It is known. It is known.

If you're getting Yankees, can we have Beltran back? I bet he could learn to play 1st.

Someone needs to be knocked down.

And if they mention skin color, we can call them racist!

The Dilson Herrera advocates seemed to have won the crowd, until the Wilmer Flores crew pulled ahead. If we are Greyjoys battling to lead the Iron Born, the Dilson crowd is covertly stealing ships and escaping.

Is Eric Campbell seriously hitting 6th? I am so sick of seeing this asshat. I feel like he's started more games than Cal Ripken. Terry mentioned the other day that Campbell was starting to come around with the bat as he's gotten more playing time. Really? Last 7 days: 3 for 19. All singles. .419 OPS. Season OPS: .549. This is our [u:ifnk8sbt]#6[/u:ifnk8sbt] hitter.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think Hererra is the future at second base but only when Walker leaves -- but that's by a trade, not by moving to first base. As a pending FA it's just not in his best interest to be moved off his best position and essentially treated like a backup. I think the short term answer is a combo of Flores, Soupy and De Aza, with eyes on the trade market/waiver wire for an affordable veteran masher-type. Do you think it would hurt his value? I mean, it's not like anyone's going to think he forgot how to play second. I would think the ability to slide to 1B would be a plus. At least so long as the position change doesn't screw up his hitting. I was thinking about possible outside the organization options as well: 1. Kelly Johnson (someone else mentioned it) 2. That guy that used to be in Pittsburgh that hits HR's but strikes out a lot. Forgot his name and where he ended up. He was non-tendered. 3. Freddy Fucking Freeman 4. Adam LaRoche and his Son. What happens when a guy retires? Is he still under CWS control?

I don't know. To me, Dilson Herrera seems to be the pretty obvious choice. Reasons For: 1. He's our best hitting prospect and he's ready. A lot of scouts say he's a future star. His minor league stats back that up. He's hit at every level. 2. We are going to have to make a decision about him at year's end when Walker is available for FA. Why not use these 2 months to see what he's got? If he's Conforto we let Walker go. If he's Plawecki, we have to make a bid to keep Neil. If we don't find out about him we are dealing with hypotheticals in November. 3. Flores is not very good. I love Wilmer, but he's had nearly 900 ML AB's and hit to a .655 OPS. He hits for some power but is not very good at anything else. I'd go with Herrera and the upside. 4. The other option, Lagares, is also not that good. Career .655 OPS. Plus, this requires moving Conforto, and I think Walker makes that transition easier. Reasons Against: 1. Walker has never played first. Really, this is the only reason, and I grant you, this is a big reason. But I think he can do it. Duda did it, so did Murphy. And Flores, and Campbell. And Walker is the best athlete of all of them. I think he's a much better candidate to move over than both Conforto and De Aza, considering Walker has been an infielder his entire career. My Plan: Call up Herrera. He plays every day. Walker plays first. So long as Walker keeps hitting lefties (which he's done this year, but has not over his career), he plays every day. If he starts struggling as a RH batter, Wilmer is there. Wilmer spells Wright and Cabrera as necessary. The OF stays the same, except that Granderson and Lagares platoon. The splits make that one a no-brainer. When Lagares plays, he plays center. Cespedes and Conforto draw straws to play RF. Either one should be able to do it. Conforto is much more likely to handle RF than 1B. Save all of our trade bullets for a catcher. Travis is always hurt and Plawecki sucks. Win the fucking division.

I'd be happy even if he just gave us a workman-like effort. 5 innings, 3 runs. And then score 25 off of Strasburg.

Amazing tidbit raised during the telecast: Colon's multiple-walk game last time out was odder than we realized, most likely. Like, he hadn't walked back-to-back hitters since July 18... 2007. Among many others, Evan Longoria, Daniel Murphy, Clayton Kershaw, and Chris Davis have had their entire major league careers (so far) in between. Mad Men and Breaking Bad and the Obama administration (almost entirely) have debuted and eclipsed in the interim. Syndergaard was in middle school the last time Bartolo Colon walked two hitters in a row. That had to be the back right? I mean, this is just not Bartolo.

d'Kong76 wrote: Centerfield wrote: This game sucks already. I'll take 'Egg on Face' for $800, Alex! (that's good egg, keep it coming) Ha! Had eggs for breakfast in tribute. Happy to have eggs every morning. Will eat a live chicken if Harvey can get us a win tonight.