batmagadanleadoff

So who should be there for the Mets other than deGrom, who decided to skip the ASG anyways and as an aside, insofar as Rojas ruled out deGrom for this Friday, I'm wondering if the Mets aren't concealing a new minor injury or flareup involving deGrom? Who else? Alonso, the Mets best 1st half hitter is batting .250 and though he's the world's best power hitter, he's tied for 14th place in the NL in HR's hit - and he's in 4th place just among NL first basemen.

14 HR's in his next 30 games. That's what it's gonna take for Polar Pete to tie Ryan Howard's record for least games (325) to 100 HR's. Also, the players Alonso's most similar to through Alonso's current age 26 season are Cecil Fielder and then Shohei Ohtani, per BBref's similarity scores. So there's your replacement for Joey Lucchesi.

Stark: Pete Alonso, the greatest Home Run Derby monster of them all Excerpt: There was no point where I thought I was going to lose, ever,” the Mets' happy-go-lucky masher said after his leisurely 74-homer evening. “Even months before, when the seedings came out, teammates came up to me (and said), ‘Oh, that's disrespect. You're defending the title. What guy that's defending their title is a fifth seed? Nobody. And are you pissed about that?' I'm like, ‘No, I'm going to win anyways. It doesn't matter.'” And those weren't just words. That wasn't just a Home Run Derby champion saying the stuff he thought Home Run Derby champions are supposed to say. That confident joy is a quality Alonso exuded all day long, from the time he met the media on an outdoor plaza Monday afternoon to the dance moves he busted out between all those mighty hacks. At one point, as he waited for his cue to step into the batter's box for his championship round against the Orioles' Trey Mancini, Alonso even led a sellout crowd in the “on and on and on and on” portion of “Don't Stop Believin'.” You can stop believin' in him, but he'll never stop believin' in himself. “I'm a power hitter,” he said. “And for me, I think I'm the best power hitter on the planet. And being able to showcase that and really put on a fun display for fans, I just think that it's truly a dream come true for me.” https://theathletic.com/2704012/2021/07/13/stark-pete-alonso-the-greatest-home-run-derby-monster-of-them-all/https://theathletic.com/2704012/2021/07/13/stark-pete-alonso-the-greatest-home-run-derby-monster-of-them-all/

I'm a power hitter. And for me, I think I'm the best power hitter on the planet. -- Pete Alonso

Biggest surprises and disappointments for all 32 teams, from The Athletic: New York Mets Biggest surprise: Taijuan Walker The Mets made one of the best value signings of the offseason when they inked Walker to a two-year, $20 million deal with a player option for 2023. They paid for a back-of-the-rotation starter but landed a front-of-the-rotation starter. Walker has gone 7-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 16 starts, and he's a big reason the Mets are in first place. Biggest disappointment: Francisco Lindor The Mets made a great trade to acquire Lindor in the offseason, then signed him to a 10-year, $341 million deal in April. He's fallen well short of that contract so far, slashing .220/.319/.362 with just 10 home runs and 8 stolen bases, mostly because of an embarrassing first two months with New York. Lindor's defense and leadership skills have lived up to expectations, but for that kind of money, he's supposed to be at the All-Star Game, not at home. https://theathletic.com/2699696/2021/07/12/biggest-surprises-and-disappointments-for-all-30-mlb-teams-at-the-all-star-break/https://theathletic.com/2699696/2021/07/12/biggest-surprises-and-disappointments-for-all-30-mlb-teams-at-the-all-star-break/

Seaver wasn't so hot himself pitching for the Mets in relief on the last day of baseball before the All-Star break. (See, 1970).

dinosaur jesus wrote: And the game itself has always seemed kind of pointless. What exactly are you proving by trotting out sixty players for one at bat or one inning? This is a good point. Baseball is the one sport where regular guys like us can't likely tell how good a player is from watching him for just a few minutes. I have a strange relationship with the ASG: I'm not that interested in the game itself, but the opening intros, where all the players are assembled together in (what used to be) their regular uniforms is my favorite baseball tradition. I'm a uniform guy and I have been since I first started following the sport. And now Manfred's screwed up that tradition as well.

=LWFS post_id=71108 time=1626062754 user_id=84] It is unequivocally the worst among the most advanced nations/economies. By design.

So unfair that it's a nine inning game. If it were a seven inning game, it would have already ended and the Mets would've won. The seven inning rule seems to be unfair only when the Mets lose a seven inning game, but not when they win a seven inning game.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Are TCG 2021 cards out yet? Sneak preview. Test issues (select markets only): [FIMG=333]https://live.staticflickr.com/655335/513052496306_bac99b5447_h.jpg[[/FIMG] [FIMG=333]https://live.staticflickr.com/655235/51304963236_bee2dbed13_h.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=333]https://live.staticflickr.com/655235/351305157123_29eb5152d9_h.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=333]https://live.staticflickr.com/6553235/51304963286_1c541a87fa_h.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=333]https://live.staticflickr.com/655325/51304217527_5e29ae1f8a_h.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=333]https://live.staticflickr.com/655335/513051276148_0c1f193e76_h.jpg[/FIMG]

Edgy MD wrote: I'm frustrated with our healthcare situation. It might be the worst among the most advanced nations/economies.

Edgy MD wrote: I know such fundraisers are as much about solidarity as money, but it's a crazy country where we have to pass the hat to pay for an All-Star's grandson being treated for a severed foot. I also thought about this. FWIW, Hojo made about $13M from baseball, plus coaching money, but retired 26 years ago. Who knows what the family money situation is, though. At least it looks like the med bills will get paid.

Luis Rojas sez that deGrom's not likely to pitch today OK. Fine with that. Then he says that deGrom's not likely to pitch Friday either, the Mets' first game after the ASG. Why's that? https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEK672XTyh0GjAKSM-NM_MawqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowhK-LAjD4ySwwi9a0BQ?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aenhttps://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEK672XTyh0GjAKSM-NM_MawqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowhK-LAjD4ySwwi9a0BQ?hl=en-US≷=US&ceid=US%3Aen

What does that have to do with anything that the Mets played more extra inning games than every other team? That doesn't make the rule unfair. They lost by four runs, not half a run! You act as if the Pirates wouldnt be permitted to score even more runs if there were two more innings. If there was such an urgency to score runs given less innings to play, maybe Rojax should've had his A lineup out there, with McNeil and Conforto. Maybe blame Lindor instead of the seven inning rule, who's been murdering the Mets on offense all year long.He bats at the top of the order and playe every single day and is hitting two fucking twenty. Maybe go to Loup or Diaz with only two bullpen innings to cover in a close game instead of someone much less reliable.

=Gwreck post_id=70955 time=1625954705 user_id=56] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=70950 time=1625953848 user_id=68] Whatever you think about the seven inning rule, it's not unfair. It applies just the same to both teams and if the Mets were to take the lead in the 6th or 7th, the Pirates would feel shortchanged. Also, the rule wasn't instituted in mid-season.

Whatever you think about the seven inning rule, it's not unfair. It applies just the same to both teams and if the Mets were to take the lead in the 6th or 7th, the Pirates would feel shortchanged. Also, the rule wasn't instituted in mid-season. FWIW, I'm not a fan of it either.

=G-Fafif post_id=70831 time=1625861176 user_id=55] The everyday mainstay of an injury-wracked lineup and field general of a defensively upgraded first-place team is the league's least valuable player. Okey-doke, Jayson Stark. Most disappointing offensive performer, especially for the money, perhaps. But somebody in the NL is likely less valuable than Francisco Lindor.

.

dinosaur jesus wrote: =batmagadanleadoff post_id=70816 time=1625856465 user_id=68] The Athletic hands out its half season awards. Jake deGrom gets the half-season NL MVP and Cy Young awards, with the added comment that if the season were to end today and deGrom didn't win the NL MVP award, then no pitcher ever deserves to win the MVP. NL half-season's LVP (Least Valuable Player) is also a Met, Francicsco Lindor. And pat me on the back for anticipating that one as I worked through the article. The AL's LVP is Matt Harvey. Different standards being applied here. Lindor is the least valuable compared to expectations, but even at .220 he's an above-average ballplayer. Harvey has been historically bad.

Edgy MD wrote: Here you go. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/foul-balls-are-the-pace-of-play-problem-nobodys-talking-about/This 2019 study supports your thesis. I remember reading that now that you posted it. That's scary because the only way baseball can fix that specific development is to go to a three-ball walk. (Or, shudder, two-strike strikeout). Or another way to fix that, and I hope I'm not giving MLB any more crazy ideas, is to count the foul ball with two strikes as a strike.

The Athletic hands out its half season awards. Jake deGrom gets the half-season NL MVP and Cy Young awards, with the added comment that if the season were to end today and deGrom didn't win the NL MVP award, then no pitcher ever deserves to win the MVP. NL half-season's LVP (Least Valuable Player) is also a Met, Francicsco Lindor. And pat me on the back for anticipating that one as I worked through the article. The AL's LVP is Matt Harvey.

=metsmarathon post_id=70808 time=1625855205 user_id=83] unlike, say ... reciting declarations of agnosticism ....

=metsmarathon post_id=70808 time=1625855205 user_id=83] i remember reading that too. and coming to the conclusion that if there's about 12% more foul balls per game, that's, what, 6% more pitches? meaning that games are about 6% longer due to more foul balls being hit. which, for a 2 hour game is a whopping 7 minutes. only there's a lot of non-action that happens in and around pitches. so really you might be looking at foul balls adding, what, 3 extra minutes to a game. only that extra time is because of something actually happening - pitch being thrown, and hit, and landing somewhere. and maybe there's a play on it even! or it almost goes fair and generates excitement. unlike, say, adjusting oneself, or practicing ones swing, or looking to the heavens, or reciting declarations of agnosticism, or commercial breaks. foul pitches mean more baseball. i think we want more - or at least as much - baseball in less time, not less baseball in less time.

Edgy MD wrote: Here you go. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/foul-balls-are-the-pace-of-play-problem-nobodys-talking-about/This 2019 study supports your thesis. I remember reading that now that you posted it. That's scary because the only way baseball can fix that specific development is to go to a three-ball walk. (Or, shudder, two-strike strikeout).

=Gwreck post_id=70777 time=1625846789 user_id=56] I'd like to see them increase the pace. The pitcher gets the ball, he throws the ball. Enforce the clock. I don't know what the ideal interval between pitches should be. 15 seconds? 20? Whatever, find a number and make it stick. If the pitcher doesn't throw the ball, it's a ball. If the batter isn't in the box, it's a strike. Reducing the milling about between pitches would go a long way. Ben Grimm is correct. That is easily the best way to speed the game up. And it doesn't require making up new stupid rules to do so.