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Murphy flips his bat and gets tossed by the ump that made a lousy call. TC weakly defends his player by politely questioning the ump instead of showing any passion.

Despite that DP, doesn't SF want Hairston to replace Cabrera? Perhaps SF only offered an trifle which insulted Sandy who would rather lose a player for nothing than receive minimal compensation.

Frayed Knot wrote: We need a change of crew for the boat.... Hear Hear!

Valid point FK. It shows how weak the lineup is and how badly they need Bay to do what he's being paid to do.

Runner on 3B, no one out--the Nationals had the Mets just where they wanted them.

LWFS--perhaps, but I see him as useless. He should go work for Chik-Fil-A and leave us alone. I'm dreading hearing his name as a rotation candidate next spring.

I think it was determined that the Mets lose when Hefner starts. What a nothing pitcher he is.

Agreed, Edgy. Gonzalez let Shoppach use his phone? Shoppach knows enough about mobile phones that he was tweeting pix from the Smithsonian yesterday--he would have used his own. Someone there is using the guy that left as a scapegoat. Speaking of BV: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/19825776/wth-red-sox-a-mess-from-top-to-bottom-bobby-v-never-had-a-chance The stuff about Tim Bogar was interesting.

I'd prefer a different LF and 2B. It probably doesn't matter considering the caliber of the players.

Ceetar wrote: Of Mets with at least 100 AB, Cedeno is 4th in OPS. .798. He's actually having a really good year. But 6th? He'll take a walk and Bay will hit into a DP. Don't you want some pop there? You could put him 2d but that means Turner at 6 so it's not an improvement.

Good one from The Apple: http://www.readtheapple.com/2012/08/mets-pitcher-jon-niese-rides-uniform.html Is this what it's like when your team is good? I've forgotten. You still played well, it's just another game and you won't give credit to the other team: Jackson �probably threw less bad pitches� than Mets starter Jonathon Niese, LaRoche said. �I mean, hittable pitches. And one of them happened to leave the park. It�s tough.� The Nationals fell in order in the ninth, though Zimmerman roused fans to their feet when he drilled a ball deep to right field to lead off the inning. Right fielder Mike Baxter tracked down the slicing ball, catching it and slamming into the wall. The Nationals� best chance at sparking a rally rested in the fielder�s glove. �I really don�t know why he was there,� Zimmerman said. �But he got me out so it worked.� �Didn�t work out,� LaRoche said. �Get �em tomorrow.� http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/nationals-vs-mets-jonathon-niese-outduels-edwin-jackson-in-new-yorks-shutout-win/2012/08/18/630f4cfc-e99f-11e1-a3d2-2a05679928ef_story.html

Cedeno at #6 doesn't speak well for the lineup... or for Bay. Them: 1. Jayson Werth ® RF 2. Bryce Harper (L) CF 3. Ryan Zimmerman ® 3B 4. Adam LaRoche (L) 1B 5. Michael Morse ® LF 6. Ian Desmond ® SS 7. Danny Espinosa (S) 2B 8. Kurt Suzuki ® C 9. Gio Gonzalez ® P

Shorty McBunty is a horrible in-game manager. I wouldn't trust him to manage a JV high school baseball game. Terry Collins is an alleged leader of men. However, those men have stopped playing well for him the last two years. It is arguable whether these players stink or they quit after playing well for 3 months. Do you want to see if that patterns continues for a 3d year? I don't but since he's under contract, we'll find out.

Martino has more on Shoppach today with regard to BV: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/adrian-gonzalez-hook-ny-mets-kelly-shoppach-takes-fall-boston-text-mutiny-article-1.1139537

Obviously I meant "Orioles". I had "Nationals" on my mind.

The Mets go to 3-5 at Nationals Park. I'm 0 and 5. Be advised that I am not going tomorrow, either.

Did Baxter hurt himself on that catch?

Shorty makes the moves he thinks should be made whether or not they are based on logic or recent performance.

Mets batters act like they're double parked.

A standing ovation for Robin Ventura when he brings out the lineup card?

Thanks for the recap FK. I thought it was my dismay making me see nothing but grounders and popups.

ARGH! Two questions: on the single that preceded the Harper bomb, it looked like Wright and Tejada expected the other to get it so neither made an effort. Is that how it looked on TV? Why did Shorty let Shoppach bat in the 9th rather than Thole or Baxter? I know that Shoppach hit one out earlier but his splits show that he is Nickeas-like against righties. It was the 9th inning so there was some urgency involved. I thought it was time to use Baxter.

Edgy DC wrote: I'm not sure I understand the complaint from that perspective. The Mets take on salary with this deal. I'm looking at the two deals: Salaries of Q and Beato (minor league) + money received from Orioles=plus Salary of Shoppach=minus. (edited to fix mistake that was obvious to almost everyone.)

METS: 1. Ruben Tejada ® SS 2. Andres Torres (S) CF 3. David Wright ® 3B 4. Scott Hairston ® RF 5. Daniel Murphy (L) 1B 6. Ronny Cedeno ® 2B 7. Jason Bay ® LF 8. Kelly Shoppach ® C 9. Johan Santana (L) P Nationals: 1. Jayson Werth ® RF 2. Bryce Harper (L) CF 3. Ryan Zimmerman ® 3B 4. Michael Morse ® LF 5. Adam LaRoche (L) 1B 6. Ian Desmond ® SS 7. Danny Espinosa (S) 2B 8. Kurt Suzuki ® C 9. Ross Detwiler ® P

oops