TransMonk

Damn, damn, damn. I just spent a couple hours putting together a KTE for this last series against the Brewers, but didn't save the Word file after copying and pasting into the preview on the CPF. I then of course accidentally closed the browser window before submitting the post. GRRRR. Sorry guys. The gist was not really about the Brewers team of today, but rather a tie-in to the Piazza HOF induction and how he had tons of success against Milwaukee as a Met. Yea, Piazza! Boo, Brewers! Boo, TransMonk.

Has surgery, but will never again pitch like he did the first half of this season. I'm not sure he would have returned to that form without the surgery or even without the tear at all.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I suspect The Plan all along was to use Terry as a kind of positive cheerleader during the down years then hand the reigns to a guy with real championship juice concurrent with the payroll increase/maturation of prospects so as to continue whatever momentum we have going, make it seamless & stuff. I agree completely with this. However, I don't think the team is there yet and Terry will be re-signed.

Yeah, yeah....:^P You're the only one of us who isn't already thinking about 2014.

My favorite tweet so far... Richard Dreyfuss @RichardDreyfuss You read for a part, you feel good about it, you feel confident, then they cast Ben Affleck.

batmags don't need no "within 2".

I had picked up Valdy mid-season, but cut him a few weeks ago.

Me three. I won't panic until the coaches are older than me.

Young has more youth and skills to offer, so I went that way.

He's a cheater and a liar. F him. If I was Matt Kemp, I'd be livid right now.

Maybe the Clothes Do Make the Mets ...But it's their alternate blue road uniform that has become their fashion staple this year. Baseball superstition probably plays a big part in this: The Mets have a 15-10 record wearing it�including nine wins in their past 12 games. They've worn the alternate road blues the most of any of their seven uniforms so far this season...

38

I didn't weight in on the other thread, but I would not retire any more numbers at this time. Hernandez and Carter both had success for other teams. Darryl and Doc burned out instead of fading away. The only player that I would have no beef with retiring right now is Franco...but the rub is if it would be 31 or 45? I feel that many people would think of 31 as Piazza (who I could warm up to retiring eventually) and 45 as possibly Pedro, Tug and (hopefully, eventually) Wheeler. So, I would be happy honoring Franco on the wall somehow, but I don't know that putting away a certain number would do the honor justice.

I'm not sure the Jays were expecting RA to repeat last year's performance. They were probably looking at 2010-2012 as a whole.

Tim Wakefield provided AL clubs a regular look at the knuckleball for 17 years. Dickey was able to take the NL by storm, but maybe AL teams are more used to the circus pitch.

seawolf17 wrote: Was really happy with the signing, but boy, what a flop. This. I considered him a low-risk high-reward signing. It didn't work out. Meh.

Beware the approaching Deathship. I have been relying on my pitching all year...but my offense hit a wall at the end of May. mm's O needs to come back down earth or else I am going to have to start trying to sell off some pieces.

2013 has been a down year for the Milwaukee baseball club. A 34-50 record is good for last place in the NL Central. Key injuries have left them without major players on offense and sub-par starting pitching has not been able to provide any spark. Their star outfielder has been implicated in another possible steroid scandal and their farm system boasts very few impact players on the horizon. On the bright side, a couple of their young offensive trade acquisitions (Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura) have been having great years, which provides Milwaukee fans some hope for the future. The Brewers are 11-6 vs. the NL East so far this season (and 23-44 vs. all other opponents). The Brewers have faced all of the other NL teams at least once this season�the Mets will still have the Giants remaining after Milwaukee. The Mets went 2-3 against the Brewers in 2012 and have not won a season series against Milwaukee since 2008. The Mets are 58-42 all-time vs. the Brewers. Fri., July 5 RHP Zack Wheeler (1-1, 5.06) vs. RHP Johnny Hellweg (0-1, 20.25) 8:10 p.m. (SNY, WFAN, ESPN1050) RHP Johnny Hellweg is making his third appearance and second start tonight. Hellweg made his Major League debut in a start last Saturday at Pittsburgh in a 10-3 loss (1.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). Hellweg was recalled on 6/26 from AAA Nashville, where he was 7-4 with a 2.82 ERA in 14 starts (76.2 IP, 55 H, 31 R, 24 ER, 44 BB, 50 K, 3 HR). He held Pacific Coast League opponents to a .204 batting average and led the league with his 2.82 ERA at the time of his recall. Johnny was drafted by the LA Angels and came over along with Jean Segura in the Zack Greinke trade last season. Sat., July 6 RHP Shaun Marcum (1-9, 5.03) vs. RHP Yovani Gallardo (6-8, 4.78) 7:15 p.m. (FOX, WFAN, ESPN1050) Gallardo has long been considered the ace of the Milwaukee staff (69-43, 3.63 ERA in 148 starts from 2007-2012), but he has been a disappointment in 2013 as his strikeouts are down and runs are up. As we approach the trade deadline, rumors have surfaced over the past few days about a deal between Arizona and Milwaukee that may include Gallardo. His salary increases to $11.25M in 2014 and the Brewers may be looking to re-stock the farm system. Sun., July 7 RHP Jeremy Hefner (3-6, 3.54) vs. RHP Wily Peralta (5-9, 5.27) 2:10 p.m. (SNY, WFAN, ESPN1050) Peralta is one of the young arms that Milwaukee is hoping develops into a strong starter for them. He allowed just 3 hits and zero runs on 07/02/13 in a win against Washington, but he was pulled early with a strained left hamstring. He is day-to-day and if he is unable to go on Sunday, the Brewers may turn to Tyler Thornburg (9 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K�all out of the bullpen) to make the start. Probable Lineups: RF - Norichika Aoki (L) - .292/.364/.373/.737, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 43 R, 9 SB Aoki is a Japanese import who has become a fan favorite and a sparkplug at the top of the Milwaukee lineup. He finished 5th in the 2012 ROY voting and has showed no signed of slowing in 2013. Aoki has been consistent with his OPB, but has not hit a HR since May 11th at Cincinnati. SS - Jean Segura - .323/.359/.497/.856, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 48 R, 26 SB Segura has been everything that the Brewers were looking for when they dealt Zack Greinke to the Angels last summer. Segura leads the league in hits and all NL shortstops in OPS and WAR this season. With legitimate five tool ability and at just 23 years old, Milwaukee looks to have found a shortstop to rely on for years to come. CF - Carlos Gomez - .311/.350/.562/.912, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 48 R, 17 SB Ex-Met Gomez has been having a remarkable season for the Brewers in 2012. After a few years of great defense and speed but less than desirable offensive numbers, Gomez has blossomed into a player with many skills. His power numbers are up and he leads the league in triples and WAR. 3B - Aramis Ramirez - .227/.358/.424/.782, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 21 R, 0 SB After hitting .300 and finishing 9th in NL MVP voting last season, Ramirez�s numbers have taken a sharp dip this season. He was brought in an attempt to replace some of the power lost when Prince Fielder left for Detroit, but since June 1 his SLG is only .356. C - Jonathan Lucroy - .269/.313/.427/.740, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 22 R, 2 SB Lucroy has cooled off after hitting .320 in 2012. He is batting .295 with 19 RBI since June 1, but has just 4 walks to go with 18 Ks during that span. 2B - Rickie Weeks - .226/.324/.387/.711, 9 HR, 20 RBI, 34 R, 4 SB Weeks was off to an Ike Davis-esque start hitting only .183 with 3 HRs through the end of May. However, since then he is hitting .329 with 6 HRs and a 1.061 OPS. Weeks has always been a streaky hitter, but when he is on, he provides speed and power to the Milwaukee lineup. 1B - Juan Francisco (L) - .240/.322/.493/.815, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 0 SB Francisco was acquired via trade from the Braves on June 3rd. The Brewers have been struggling to find a regular first-baseman as neither Mat Gamel nor Cory Hart has played a game this season due to injury and Yuniesky Betancourt being ineffective. Francisco may not be a long-term answer, but he has been slugging .493 since joining Milwaukee. LF - Logan Schafer (L) - .209/.259/.291/.550, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 12 R, 2 SB With Ryan Braun on the DL with a thumb injury, Schafer has been forced into filling the All-Star�s shoes. Schafer was a 3rd round pick for the Brewers in 2008 and made the team out of Spring Training this season. Schafer has not been able to answer the call so far in Braun�s absence. He is batting just .195 in 31 games as a starter in 2013. Braun is not expected back until after the All-Star Break. Bench: IF - Yuniesky Betancourt - .206/.236/.352/.588, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 20 R, 0 SB C - Martin Maldonado - .192/.254/.333/.587, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 9 R, 0 SB UT - Jeff Bianchi - .241/.259/.304/.563, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, 1 SB OF - Sean Halton - .250/.286/.350/.636, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R, 0 SB Bullpen: Jim Henderson: 3-2, 2.05 ERA, 31 G, 30.2 IP, 22 H, 7 ER, 2 HR, 9 BB, 31 K, 1.011 WHIP, 10 SV Burke Badenhop: 1-3, 3.66 ERA, 41 G, 39.1 IP, 34 H, 16 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB, 29 K, 1.093 WHIP, 1 SV Brandon Kintzler: 2-0, 3.72 ERA, 34 G, 36.1 IP, 29 H, 15 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 34 K, 1.101 WHIP, 0 SV John Axford: 3-3, 3.86 ERA, 40 G, 35 IP, 36 H, 15 ER, 6 HR, 14 BB, 37 K, 1.429 WHIP, 0 SV Mike Gonzalez (L): 0-3, 3.30 ERA, 43 G, 30 IP, 29 H, 11 ER, 4 HR, 16 BB, 40 K, 1.500 WHIP, 0 SV Tom Gorzelanny (L): 1-1, 2.43 ERA, 33 G, 40.2 IP, 25 H, 11 ER, 5 HR, 19 BB, 38 K, 1.082 WHIP, 0 SV Donovan Hand: 0-1, 3.10 ERA, 12 G, 29 IP, 28 H, 10 ER, 2 HR, 6 BB, 18 K, 1.172 WHIP, 0 SV Francisco Rodriguez: 1-1, 0.92 ERA, 20 G, 19.2 IP, 14 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 7 BB, 21 K, 1.068 WHIP, 7 SV Tyler Thornburg: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 G, 9 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 6 K, 0.889 WHIP, 0 SV If there is an area of strength for Milwaukee, it seems to be their bullpen�especially in the eighth and ninth innings. Gone are the days of closer John Axford who has been replaced by Jim Henderson. However, K-Rod is having a very nice season, and while he has not yet been named the team�s regular closer, he is available to back up Henderson when needed and picked up his 300 career save a couple of weeks ago. Ex-Met Brewers: Carlos Gomez Francisco Rodriguez Ex-Brewer Mets: LaTroy Hawkins Shaun Marcum Ricky Bones (Bullpen Coach) Both the Mets and Brewers are having disappointing seasons. The Mets have a young bright spot in Harvey and the Brewers can say the same about Segura. Both teams would be happy to see some of their injured/underperforming players return and contribute to a strong second half in an effort to build toward next season.

I am! I am! I am!

to Jeremy Hefner. This may have been noted elsewhere, but he has been very, very solid since late April (a 2.93 ERA since 04/25/13). I never figured he would be this decent for this long so I never really gave him a chance. I know the bottom could fall out at any time, but now when he takes the mound, I feel like he is an asset to the team instead of a liability. Keep up the great work, Hef.

Ashie62 wrote: Mets minor leaguers on display. Exactly what I thought when I saw that.

That ALL looks great! Yum.

Edgy MD wrote: I've been deeply enjoying Class A Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere, reflections from a young minor league mascot, who seems to share my belief that the health of minor league baseball is sort of symbiotic with the health of the American small town, the city, the Republic, and it's culture and economy. I highly commend and recommend. This is in my summer reading queue.

There are prospects and then there are first round draft picks...again, there's a difference in expectations between the two in my mind.

Wheeler doesn't need to be Seaver to be considered a success, but he does need to be better than Pelfrey. Huge difference. OE: Vic beat me to it.