Frayed Knot

So on what count will Lagares be thrown out stealing?

I remember when the Yanx terminated the contract of a Cuban player after they were shocked ... SHOCKED!! to discover that he had lied about his age. That this came right on the heels of them signing El Duque, who was blatantly lying about his age, wasn't a conflict in their minds. Translation: Duque was better than we expected while this other dude was far worse. (IIRC they eventually settled with the player for a small amount, but I forget his name and he never played in the majors and maybe ever formally in the minors either). Switch gears to the Dodgers. They hit a jackpot with Yasiel Puig as baseball folks were stunned at the size and length of his contract when first signed -- he was a barely known figure at the time and others didn't see whatever it was that the Dodgers did. They've since signed several more Cuban emitters and one can imagine a situation where they think they've got this whole thing figured out and that everyone they sign is destined to be a future star. But maybe this one isn't and the team is looking for ways to get out from under his deal. Doesn't mean he isn't screwing up also, but how teams opt to handle violations often varies with the offending player's output on the field. Puig, for example, hasn't been an angel or on off the field either but I think the worst punishment he's seen to date is being sat for a game.

The Pirates -- 18-22, Tied for 3rd, 8.5 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central -- are coming off back to back playoff appearances since back in the era when the presidential candidates were named Clinton & Bush (oh wait!) but they�re not off to a good start in 2015 (although with a +9 RS/RA) and are in the midst of a 6-12 month of May. Their pitching�s been good enough with their RA/G just a bit above that of the Mets. The main problem is due to their offensive �Stars� not duplicating the recent lines on the back of their baseball cards. Friday 7:05 � Gerrit Cole [5-2, 2.40, 1.15] vs Noah Syndergaard Cole, the #1 overall pick out of UCLA in 2011 (after spurning the Yanx in an earlier draft � heh, heh), has been solid or better in each of his 8 starts this year Saturday 4:05 � AJ Burnett [3-1, 1.38, 1.15] vs Matt Harvey After contemplating retirement over the winter, the 38 y/o Burnett has been their best starter so far holding the opposition to 2 runs or less each time. Sunday 1:35 � Francisco Liriano [1-4, 4.15, 1.11] vs Jonathan Niese Lots of Ks and only 6 Hits Allowed/9 IP for the 31 y/o lefty Liriano. But he also walks too many (4.0/9) and is too erratic as evidenced by his previous start, a 2-inning outing vs Twins where he got tagged for 7 ER C - Francisco Cervelli (an excitable boy they all say) [.286/.348/.352] He�s the former Yanqui acquired in an off-season trade to replace the previous former Yanqui Russell Martin who FA�d it for Toronto. That he�s out-OPS-ing current Yanqui catcher Brian McCann, who Cervelli backed up last year, is just an added bonus. Backing up Cervelli this season is former Yanqui Chris Stewart. I sense a theme here. 1B - The non-retention of Ike Davis cleared the way to move native NYer Pedro Alvarez across the diamond from 3B where he had been averaging like 98 errors/year (OK it was �only� in the mid-20s but that includes 25 in just 99 games last year!!). But, aside from the pitch he smacked into a boat docked on the Allegheny River behind the RF wall the other day, he�s one of those not hitting up to par [.220/.317/.431 - 7 HRs] and is still on pace for 20 errors on the �easy� side of the diamond. 2B - Switch-hitting local boy Neil Walker begins his 6th season as the (more or less) everyday 2B-man for the Buccos [.267/.333/.390]. Not a star but a good all-around player. Think Daniel Murphy but with an understanding of how baseball is played. SS - Incumbent Jody Mercer wasn�t hitting -- and I mean REALLY wasn�t hitting [.171/.225/.198 over 111 ABs] -- so the much-discussed (including here) Korean FA from last winter, Jung Ho Kang, has taken over and is off to a hot start [.313/.378/.450 - 2 HRs]. They say he�s challenged on defense but the club is willing to live with that for the promise of offense. Boy, good thing we didn�t sign up for a SS like that! 3B - Josh Harrison has finally found a permanent home at the hot corner (another byproduct of the Alvarez move) after floating between five different IF & OF positions during his career to date. But his offense is down across the board [.255/.289/.407 - 4 HRs] as compared to his Top-10 MVP season in 2014 Biggest issue with him is that the Pittsburgh fans and announcers have to get a better nickname for him than the totally unimaginative �Jay-Hay� LF - Sterling Marte [.297/.346/.531] Not to be confused with Sterling Hayden, Roger Sterling, or Sterling Equities, this Sterling, 26, is part of a young & talented OF. CF - Andrew McCutcheon [.238/.333/.399 - 5 HRs] No doubt some are blaming the troubles of this 2013 MVP (and 3rd last year) on the Samson-like removal of his famous locks, but really his numbers are down due to a horrid April and he�s pretty much back up to speed lately. Again a bit like Murphy but with, you know, lots of talent. RF - Gregory Polanco [.234/.297/.326] This is the first full season for the highly touted, though still learning on the job, 23 y/o left-hand hitter. Pen: Mark Melancon in their 9th inning go-to guy (another one-time Yanqui) but isn�t your typical high-octane closer. He tends to run towards a low Ks / low walks approach and has already had two separate 3-run innings blotting his record this year. Tony Watson & ex-Phillie Antonio Bastardo are their LHPs, plus they got a bunch of no-name RHPs out there who I�m not even going to pretend to know anything about. They appear to be missing no major players due to injury (boy that must be nice!) The most important news about the Pirates is that they appear to be leading the charge towards the matte finish batting helmets, a trend I'm noticing more and more in MLB and one that has been part of the Japanese leagues for a while. And while I'm not a uniform minutia maven like some here, I like this look and it's something I hope will replace the glossy/metallic look on NYM unis soon. Don't be the last ones to pick up on things, OK F & J?

deGrom - 5.5 Duda - 4.0 Cuddyer - 0.5

Edgy MD wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Once Choate fucks up out of the pen, does the manager then go to Exeter? That's some heady punning. I prefer to think of it as intellectual humor.

Duda hitting against lefties, Mayberry walking against a righty. Cats and Dogs living together.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Cuddy sets up the potential DP again. Muffy singles but keeps the DP possibility in line.

Once Choate fucks up out of the pen, does the manager then go to Exeter?

Well, give it up for Terry, the PH move worked.

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Has a team ever had every batter in the lineup hit into a double play in the same game? Theoretically possible in a 9 inning game but probably has never happened. Wonder what the record is - either for number in a game or for the number of different guys in the lineup?

Zvon wrote: d'Kong76 wrote: What's that, like the fifth DP??? Jeez. 4th but who's counting? Feels like more. Add in the one CS and it's five baserunners erased. And just now is the 4th leadoff walk in 8 innings

And it's Grandy PH-ing.

deGrom MUST be sent out to start the 9th!!! The one thing throwing a wrench into the works here is that he's slated to lead off ... but between the way JdG hits and the way our bench hits what difference does THAT make.

Y'know how you really kill the few meager scoring chances you do get? ... have FOUR of your already rare baserunners erased in the first five innings!!

A walk plus 3 hits (including 2 hits w/RiSP) still yields just one run. Of course seeing as how the quality of the hits were all pretty weak, I suppose we should feel lucky to even get the one.

Ashie62 wrote: We are being no-hit. By a guy pitching his 1st game in 11 months.

d'Kong76 wrote: Who was the infamous poster that had a sig line, "expect the mets?"... original jb? It was Horace P. Osterdunk

Three straight leadoff walks and yet our best offensive AB behind those is a Sac Bunt - and even That is a sign of progress.

1. Juan Lagares (R) CF 2. Wilmer Flores (R) SS 3. Lucas Duda (L) 1B 4. Michael Cuddyer (R) LF 5. Daniel Murphy (L) 2B 6. John Mayberry Jr. (R) RF 7. Eric Campbell (R) 3B 8. Kevin Plawecki (R) C 9. Jacob deGrom (L) P Dear crew, Out-doing last night's pathetic 4-single "attack" would be a nice start. Hell, deGrom had three singles by himself last time out so it can't be that hard. Although considering that we're starting as a lead-off hitter a guy whose last hit I can't even remember maybe it won't be so easy after all even while facing a pitcher who hasn't pitched all year.

So, Gary Kolb, good night or a bad one?

Harvey - 4.9 Robles - 0.8 ATorres - 1.0 CTorres - 1.0 Granderson - 0.9 Mayberry - 0.5 Duda - 0.9

Duda - 1.0 Leathersich - 0.5 Gilmartin - 1.0 CTorres - 0.5

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 2. New York rookie LHP Jack Leathersich has yet to allow a run in six appearances. ... Miraculously. Yes, left out of that "accomplishment": - Appearances = 6. Appearances with baserunner(s) allowed = 6 - Batters Faced = 20, Batters Retired = 12 - Inherited Runners = 4, Inherited Runners Scoring = 4

Lefty Specialist wrote: There are two outfielders who aren't pulling their weight and I want to see them sit for a while. Cuddy and Grandy are 'great clubhouse guys' but they're killing this team. Don't look now but there are three -- Lagares has the lowest OPS out there. Actually there [crossout]are[/crossout] were five dropping anchor if we want to go beyond just the starters, although one has now been replaced.

Apparently it's not enough that Bryce Harper has like 52 HRs this month because for the second time in a week he gets ejected only to have his replacement HR in the very next AB. 2-2 in the 5th