Centerfield

Cardinals take a 4-3. End of 6.

I’m not sure we agree on the definition of “fraud.” The Mets got better than expected results out of Canning this year before a freak/non-pitching injury. Senga was excellent before getting hurt with, again, a freak/non-pitching injury. He’s been awful since and maybe there’s no connection but the timing is surprisingly coincidental if not. Holmes has had diminishing results as his inning count goes up. Big shock, we all saw this coming. Why he hasn’t been transitioned to a reliever already is a failure of strategy but overall he was a serviceable back-of-rotation starter. Manaea is the worrisome one. Was his excellent half season the outlier? Is he just not healthy? Griffin Canning was a big part of the pitching lab success. He finished April with a 2.61 ERA. Then posted an ERA over 4 in 5 starts in May. Then posted an ERA over 5 during 5 starts in June. We have no idea what might have happened had he kept pitching. But one month of success isn’t enough to warrant praise. Similarly, Megill was a big part of the early season story line. Then he, like Canning, started to fade. Then like Canning, got hurt. Montas was hurt, then a disaster, then hurt again. Manaea is unpitchable. Is he hurt? Let’s hope so. Cuz if he’s healthy it’s going to be a long three years. And Senga is so bad he’s in the minors. I get that you can’t control injuries, but Senga and Manaea are supposedly healthy and this pitching lab can’t do a thing to help them. Peterson has taken a step back, and has an ERA in the mid 6’s for August and September. Clay Holmes is predictably fading, as you mentioned. Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley have all pitched worse for the Mets than they did for their prior teams. Granted Rogers has been pretty good still, but the freefall from Helsley is baffling. If the pitching lab were real, you wouldn’t have the 24th ranked ERA in the second half, and 17th ranked ERA for the year.

The Mets are 17th in team ERA. So if you’re looking for reasons why they won’t make the playoffs, you can start there. Their 1.34 WHIP is even worse. 24th overall. So if you feel like the other team has baserunners all the time, you’re not wrong. Post All Star is even worse. 24th overall in ERA. 25th in WHIP. The Mets pitching lab has been exposed as a fraud.

Regarding Mendoza. The Baty play is on him. I get it. Sometimes players fall asleep. It sucks but these guys are human. But it should absolutely not happen twice in a week. That means that Carlos didn’t adequately address it the first time. If he had, Baty would be ****ing alert every time he’s on base the rest of the year. And especially in that situation where the other team thinks you might be bunting, you have to tell the baserunners to be alert for the throw. That’s on Mendoza. You don’t have to rip into him in front of the cameras, but you better rip into him somewhere.

I know I said this yesterday. But I think we win today. Less confident than yesterday though. I don't know anything about their pitcher, but he has good numbers. How is it that every team has good pitchers but us.

Dodgers get 3 right back. 12-7 LA.

Reds just tied it 5-5. The teams chasing us have a lot more fight than we have.

Down 4-3, the Dodgers scored 6 to take a 9-4 lead. Then gave back 3 in the bottom half. 9-7 Dodgers Athletics lead the Reds 5-2. Hunter Greene, who looked like Cy Young on Sunday, didn't make it out of the 3rd.

The mistakes are what kill you. The pickoff. The catcher interference. The dropped liner by Lindor. What can you even say.

Ok Pete. Save the season.

Awful inning from Lindor.

The Baty pickoff. Catcher interference. The missed liner by Lindor. That's how you lose 8 in a row.

Season is over.

Or before Baty got picked off had they been given the chance.

Omg. Gotta catch that.

There is no such thing as rock bottom.

And I actually thought they would win today.

Brutal.

And this is why you don't pull your starter early.

Edgy MD wrote: Pulling Sproat after 70 pitches — mercy sakes. Inexcusable

Board wasn't working when I tried earlier. So here a belated: WTF BATY

Wow. Great job Sproat. Let's get this kid a big lead.

Mets back to watching fastballs again.

That called third strike by Marte is everything you need to know about the Mets approach.

And they complete the 0 for 4. Can’t even steal one game. It’s a lot to ask of the rookie pitchers, but the Mets now have two winnable games before another pitching mismatch on Tuesday. No words for how bad this is.