Frayed Knot

And just in case you've lost count, that's 10 leadoff hitters on in the last 14 innings and, in some cases, leadoff hitter[u:1an26x0h]S[/u:1an26x0h] have reached base.

I was just about to ask if these muthafuckers ever hit a ball AT a fielder - but now that hardly matters. Of course the fact that on those rare occurrences when they do hit one in the vicinity of one of our guys we can't field it properly makes it moot anyway.

And now it's 9 leadoff hitters on in the last 13 innings.

The hell with the Kentucky Derby: Bartolo beating out an infield hit is the most exciting two minutes in sports.

And now it's 8 innings of 12. Also, when the Cards have more hits [u:7keq5quq]per inning[/u:7keq5quq] than the Mets have in the whole game, I don't think that's a good thing.

Cards have had the leadoff hitter on in 7 of the last 11 innings -- 5 of 9 Tuesday night and the first two tonight. And most of the ones they missed were after last night's game was already out of reach. Ain't gonna win playing that way.

Nice of someone to finally dent the back end of the Yanx bullpen, just wish it hadn't been the Nats. Not technically a blown save since it was a tie game, but those were the first earned runs scored all season off of either Betances or Miller. Ryan Zimmerman, who won last night's contest with a 2R HR off of Andrew Miller, now has 10 career walk-off HRs. Not only is that a lot in a general sense, but everyone else who has as many* or more than him has at least twice as many career HRs as compared to Zimmerman's comparatively paltry 189. Looked at another way, more than 5% of his HRs have gone for walk-off winners. Active leaders Pujols & Papi, for instance, have 11 walk-off HRs each but have those spread over a combined 999 career HRs, barely over 2%. Jayson Werth back to the DL. I think he sprained his hair. Infielder Wilmer Difo was called up making the NL East a two-Wilmer division. * At least as far as can be determined. Some pre-1930s data for WO HRs are sketchy.

An update on how our votes here are trending as the season reaches the 1/4 pole. QUESTIONRESULTSTRENDINGGRANDY LEADS TEAM in HRs21 of 24 = NONot leading, but is only one off the paceMEJIA LEADS TEAM in SAVES18 of 24 = YESNot looking too good, eh?GEE to STAY on TEAM ALL SEASON16 of 24 = YESMay be about to lose his starting job so who knows …COLON ON ROSTER ALL SEASON16 of 24 = NOSo far so goodd’ARNAUD ON ROSTER ALL SEASON22 of 24 = YESCompetition has arrived, though probably not ready to displace him ... yetRECKER ON ROSTER ALL SEASON16 of 24 = NONow has competition from both above and belowMUPRHY ON ROSTER ALL SEASON12 said YES, 12 said NOVoting was a toss-up, still looking like a toss-upTEJADA ON ROSTER ALL SEASON16 of 24 = NOCertainly not looking like he’s going to start anytime soonNIESE ON ROSTER ALL SEASON24 of 24 = YESPitching well (until recently) and still w/his left armCOLLINS IN CHARGE ALL SEASON23 of 24 = YESHe was said to need a fast start and he got oneDUDA OVER/UNDER 29.5 HRs11 of 24 = OVEROn pace for 12CUDDYER OVER/UNDER 119.5 Games Played16 of 24 = OVEROn Pace for 152 ^^^MEJIA OVER/UNDER 19.5 Saves15 of 24 = OVERNot bloody likely!!FLORES OVER/UNDER 449.5 PAs18 of 24 = OVEROn Pace for 504 ^^^COLON OVER/UNDER 17.5 Starts14 of 24 = OVEROn Pace for 32 ^^^WRIGHT OVER/UNDER 21.5 HRs19 of 24 = OVEROn Pace for 4 - with extenuating circumstancesNIEUWENHUIS OVER/UNDER 199.5 PAs9 of 24 = OVERWas Trending Low (~160) and now is trending even lowerSYNDERGAARD OVER/UNDER 19.5 Starts2 of 24 = OVER2 so far but w/a potential for 20+ more out thereMATZ OVER/UNDER 9.5 Starts4 of 24 = OVERNothing Yet, but we knew going in that this was a 2nd half questionNIMMO OVER/UNDER 49.5 PAs6 of 24 = OVERNothing Yet, and the Knee Injury isn’t HelpingMURPHY or HERRERA: More PAs22 of 24 = MURPHSolidly Trending in favor of MurphNIEUWENHUIS or MAYBERRY: More PAs15 of 24 = MAYBERRYWas Virtually Dead Even, but suddenly looking up for JMJ backersd’ARNAUD or PLAWECKI: More PAs24 of 24 = d’ARNAUDAn Unexpected Early Lead for PlaweckiPARNELL or FAMILIA: More Saves15 of 24 = FAMILIASafe to say that this contest is virtually OVAH!GILMARTIN or LEATHERSICH: More IPs18 of 24 = GILMARTIN11 to 3 Early Lead for Gilmartin

I heard this catcher only has one leg. Is this true?

Syndergaard - 3.6 Robles - 0.4 Familia - 0.4 Campbell - 1.4 Granderson - 1.4 Duda - 1.4 Cuddyer - 1.4

deGrom - 3.5 Granderson - 1.5 Flores - 2.0 Cuddyer - 1.5 Plawecki - 1.0 Murphy - 0.5

Recker - 2.5 Flores - 1.5 Mayberry - 1.0 Granderson - 0.5 Duda - 0.5 Robles - 0.5 Goeddel - 0.5

Ashie62 wrote: Well, the Yankees are up 6-5 mid-game anyway. 6-6 now. Turns out that's only a two-game series so I've decided I'm rooting for a split. Right now they're staging a HR contest down in DC: Teixeira, Desmond, Ramos, and, yes, Harper. No ARod w/o the DH

Muffy reminds me of the old ODD COUPLE line where Oscar tells Felix that whenever he tries to help he winds up making the situation worse. "You're like a vicious Saint Bernard"

Centerfield wrote: Why was Niese left in the game to face Wong? The lone LHB in the lineup.

Wacha's had more successful bunts in this game than the Mets have had over the last three years running.

And the thing is, interviews like that aren't even all Gelbs' fault. Yeah it was inane, but what are you going to ask a guy early in a game he's not playing? The main fault lies with station mgmt who hires guys like this because they think they have to (after all, everyone else has one) and then feels obligated to use him to justify the hire. Bottom line is, just because you CAN do something ('hey, we've got the backup catcher cornered - get Gelbs over there quick!!') doesn't always mean it's a good idea.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: So, Ceciliani (I'm going to have to learn how to spell that) replaces Nieuwenhuis (I do know how to spell that one!) But what's his role going to be? Does he replace Campbell? ... He's a LH-hitting OF, so he replaces Nieuwenhuis.

Do keep in mind also that Harvey was removed for a PH w/a runner on and 2 outs in bottom 8th (could have been two on and one out but for Wilmer's pick-off) so it's not like he was being yanked simply on account of pitch count or the inning.

And how 'bout that game-winning rally: Walk, Walk, IF grounder, IW, IF grounder

Edgy MD wrote: Ironically, the Mets might have won in regulation if Terry had tried to get what utility there was left out Nieuwenhuis and sent him out to right in the late innings as a defensive sub for Grandy. The run maybe scores anyhow, but Nieuwie probably has a better shot at Kozma than Granderson. More likely, there's a better chance that Kozma holds his base outright.. I thought about that too - both as the inning was progressing and certainly afterward. I think there's no way Kozma scores if Nieuwenhuis is out there. If fact I was trying to figure what percentage of RFs DON'T throw him out or hold him there. Impossible question to answer exactly but I bet it's VERY few. Problem was that Grandy's spot was hitting 2nd in the bottom half of the inning (he doubled) and you'd hate to proactively make that change on the off chance it would come to the throwing arm only to have it bite you back and shorten the bench before extra innings even started.

After going through 1/4 season with an almost non-stop diet of night games (even on Saturdays) in the east coast time zone (except for a brief Wrigley trip) that pattern is about to change Big Time. It begins with Thursday's (5/21) �get-away� day game. That will be followed by a home weekend series where only Friday�s game is at night. Then it�s Memorial Day Monday day game followed by a night game on Tuesday but then another get-away day game on Wednesday and then an off day Thursday. That weekend will be a series at home with again only Friday�s tilt at night. And then it�s off to the west coast and a string of late night games ending with a Sunday late afternoon and a Monday off day. So for those looking for their standard 7-PM EDT NYM fix over the upcoming three weeks are going to be hit with [u:x9lccxq6]only 3 games in a 20 day span[/u:x9lccxq6] at that time: Friday 5/22 (at Pitt), Tuesday 5/26 (home v Philly), and Friday 5/30 (home v Marlins), then not again until Tuesday June 9th. Adjust your lives accordingly.

Speculation is -- and, really, the only logical move it could be -- is to replace Kirk. They'd have to DFA him and expose him to waiver claims if they were to try and get him down to Vegas. That he's at such a low right now makes a trade unlikely (or at least unlikely to bring back anything) but it also means the odds on him going unclaimed and stashed in Vegas are higher. The other alternative, of course, is just a flat-out release. Would be a shame but Kirk will turn 28 in mid-season and this is a results oriented business. Ceciliani (no, auto-spell, not Cecilia!) their 4th round draft pick in 2009 out of mighty Columbia Basin College in Pasco Washington (Go Sockeye Salmons?) is three years younger and, unlike Kirk, is actually hitting right now even though just in the PCL.

Ike Davis - 15 day DL (Quad) Bruce Chen - called up by Indians just last week, was DFA'd after one start.

Mayberry after swinging at the first pitch at his ankles: "Just trying to be patient here"