Frayed Knot

Keep the conga line moving boys.

FUTHER MUCKER!!!!

Ike, btw, 2-for-3 plus a walk and 2 runs scored tonight in Steeltown.

I've certainly seen a lot worse than that. But the Nats are playing kind of sloppy ball lately and I think mgr Williams saw this as an opportunity to send a message both to Harper and to the rest of the team. The kicker is that Harper's spot came up again in the 9th (he was pulled in the 6th) with runners on and the game on the line. Kevin Fransden was in his place and didn't get the run in (nor did Werth afterward) but sometimes you have to lose the battle in hopes of winning the war.

The umps did convene so I have to just assume that none of them saw it. Hell, I did!!

David to Chris: Stick THAT in your Johnson and smoke it!

Zvon wrote: That was just so much bullshit! That was a foul ball that pushed off his foot. Those umps couldn't see that? Yeah, that too. Not only should at least ONE of them seen it, but the fact that it then isn't even eligible to be corrected by the eye in the sky seems very odd.

Mex17 wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: ) which pretty much negates any reason to pick for immediate positional need. We can quibble over what a "top pick" means and over what a fair return for Ike will be, but, given the stadium that the Mets play in, I would argue that the need for line drive hitters and outfielders who can cover ground will be pretty persistent going forward. Line drive hitters who can cover ground will ALWAYS be a need. So are catchers. What I'm saying is that your conclusion that it's Meadows based on the idea that Sandy would go after an outfield prospect but not a catcher is flawed on account of it being based on the current roster while ignoring the fact that a HS draft pick from 2013 is unlikely to even see the majors until at least 2017 and who knows what the roster will look like then. It also kind of assumes that Pittsburgh gave Sandy an either/or choice.

So if anyone can come up with a good reason why the powers at be decided that outfield fair/foul calls are challengeable but infield ones are not I'd like to hear it.

Yeah, I think we're in danger of grasping here. Sandy can ask for whatever he wants but, even if this is a "top pick" (say first three rounds) from 2013, all were HS players which makes them each several years away (like, say, four, and that's only if everything goes right) which pretty much negates any reason to pick for immediate positional need. And even if this 'top pick' thing is true (remember that it's based on nothing more than "Buzz" at the moment -- is that more or less than "rumor"?) it assumes that Pitt is in such a panic over their less than stellar start 20 games in that they've not only upped whatever offer Sandy deemed not good enough from the spring but are now allowing him his specific pick of prospects. Ike may have hit 32 HRs in a season once but that represents nearly half his career total and he's likely to be no better than a platoon player w/the Pirates and essentially was in a position here where he Had to be dealt. Somehow, to me anyway, all that doesn't add up to: relief help PLUS last year's overall #9 pick who's off to a very nice start to his pro career [.294/.399/.524 last year and 9 for his first 17 this season w/2 HRs] Be nice if it did, but don't start hunting for his jersey in Mets shops quite yet.

Gotta like the subtlety of the front page headline in the Snooze: TAKE A HIKE IKE: Mets Dump 1st Base Bust

Nah, batter hits it right off the end of one of those cupped end bats, it catches the stitches at just the right (wrong) angle and they rip. Maybe a bad stitch job on that one particular ball but I don't think this is something we're going to be seeing regularly on account of some sort of systemic problem. No error was given on the play, btw, despite the understandable, yet lousy, throw.

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metsguyinmichigan wrote: Do you think this move frees up some money to finally sign Stephen Drew? No. First of all Ike's money wasn't all that much ($3 and change?) to the point where it's going to make or break something like this. Plus I don't believe Drew's non-signing was about not having the money as much as it was about Sandy's feeling that Drew simply isn't worth what he's asking for ($20 mil over 2 at minimum and a draft pick to boot). That every other team seems to feel the same way only strengthens that view.

The Yanx apparently have a LHP on their staff named Cesar Cabral ... yeah, me either, but maybe that's because he's made 12 ML appearances overall (8 last season, 4 this) and only managed to rack up 4-2/3 innings to date. Anyway, he comes into last night's game in Tampa with two outs and the bases empty in the 8th (Rays up by 3) and promptly produced a line of: Single Wild Pitch RBI Single HBP HBP 2 RBI Single HBP Final score: Rays 11 - Yanx 5 in a game where the Yanx initially jumped out to a 4-0 lead It didn't salvage the night where we got no-hit for 7 by Aaron Freakin' Harang ... but it helped a bit.

Niese - 3.0 Torres - 0.75 Wright - 0.75

Matt Cerrone at MetsBlog chimes in with "the buzz from Citi Field is that the player coming from the Pirates is likely a player they drafted with a top pick last June" -- Go nuts folks -- which does make sense in that it would prevent the choice from being named (at least officially) until early June. If true that would likely mean a higher ceiling player than most if not all of the above, but also a longer lag time (first three picks were all from HS) and a bigger swing-and-miss potential.

Kingham is the guy the Mets were supposedly after during ST but were rebuffed by Pitt - so it's probably not him. Jordy Mercer we've seen in the big leagues playing all four IF positions including SS. The drawback here is that he'll turn 28 before this year is out and he's yet to even play a full season in the majors so the ceiling probably isn't too high and there's a decent chance he's already reached it. Not sure how glove-tastic he is. Quickie notes on the other three via John Sickels - Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Grade B+ (#3 prospect Pitt org): Ridiculously good K/IP and H/IP marks in Low-A stand out as big positive and confirm reports of outstanding movement/velocity combination. Walk rate was too high to get an A-grade at this time, but he�s come a long way from being a high school kid throwing 86 MPH to throwing 95 and higher in three years. Further mechanical refinements with 6-7 body will push him into truly elite prospect range and he�s not far off right now. - Josh Bell, OF, Grade B: Borderline B+ (#6) Hit "just" 12 homers in Low-A, but 37 doubles and strong relative rate of production (wRC+132) are reasons for optimism. I think more home run power will come. Upside: Chili Davis after he lost his speed, a switch-hitting slugger with good plate discipline. - Alen Hanson, SS, Grade B: Borderline B+ (#7) Had some plate discipline issues after moving up to Double-A and questions persist about his defense and use of his speed on the bases, but even at second base his combination of youth and offensive ability should give him a good shot at being a productive regular. My guess is that it would be optimistic to plan on any of those three guys being our PtbNL

Vic Sage wrote: yes, but that "oldest" part didn't happen years ago; it was a few months earlier in the same season. So yes, maybe he turned a corner in June and never looked back, and his 2nd half represents the pitcher he "really" is, not the mediocre arm with over a 4 ERA in his prior full seasons (including over 220+ innings at AAA level). Or maybe he's streaky and unreliable and we just don't know what he have. Like i said, too early to say. And it's certainly too early to say whether his shaky start this year is indicative of anything yet, but i can just as easily look at it as consistent with his career to date as be disappointed that he hasn't picked up exactly where he left off last season. My only point here is the DG has had himself a very nice nearly full season, not that such stuff means he should be considered a front of the rotation starter - even though he kind of is on this staff right now (partly on merit, largely by default). I think the numbers then and now suggest that if Gee has a real issue it's that there's a big drop in quality between the first ~70 pitches and the rest; or the 2nd & 3rd time through a lineup. Which is why I thought a game where he was cruising with two-hitter, a 3 (later to be 5) run lead, and a super-low pitch count was the ideal time to push him ('push' isn't even the right word here) and see if he could break through that barrier. After all, we need to figure out if this is a trend or a quirk just as we do concerning the meaning of his last 26 starts.

I was thinking draft picks were six months ... but maybe it's a full year. PtbNL can be for any one of a variety of reasons: injury (although that would make it simple for most of the snoops to figure it out), Mets still deciding from a small list of players, Pitt needing to make a move somewhere first.

Johnson's got to be the ugliest looking .300 hitter in the history of the game. That he's hitting about .500 against the Mets doesn't make it any easier.

And now busting up the no-hitter is the ONLY priority for the rest of the night.

Harang Hits/9 career = 9.4 Pitches four games for the Braves after getting picked up off the scrap heap = just over 3

Gwreck wrote: Problem is that the Braves bullpen is going to be very capable of keeping the no-hitter going. That's part of what I meant (unless Kimbrel is unavailable still).

If I'm the Braves here, I say the heck with the no-no and yank Harang. He's not going to go all the way anyway.