Frayed Knot

Reports I read a few days ago listed the Mets as one of several teams checking out Hanrahan now that he's more than a year removed from his TJ surgery and is on the road to a comeback. He was (or maybe already has) to work out for teams sometime this week I believe. But even if he does look good and even if the Mets are the ones to sign him, that hardly means he should slot in the 9th inning immediately. Right now I'd just patch in with who's there now: Fransworth (not that he's even handled that role well) or Familia, or hell, even Dice-K. It's not like 9th innings are going to get LESS reliable with an untested guy filling the role.

So did we get an explanation as to why Gee was pulled despite a 3 hitter and only like 70 pitches? G&K speculated about the tangle he got into at 2B, but if it wasn't that or some other cautionary reason (blister, etc.) I was very much against yanking him at that point. Yeah he's been known to fall apart somewhat quickly at times but, as Keith pointed out, he's not going to bust through that threshold by not being allowed to even try.

Feels like a game where we should be up by more than 3 at this point. Definitely NOT a time for Gee to have one of those bad innings and give it all back. The good part is that he's barely over 50 pitches thru five so "the wall" shouldn't be right in front of him yet.

Mejia - 2.6 Germen - 1.2 Nieuwenhuis - 3.0 EYoung - 1.6 Murphy - 1.2 Quintanilla - 0.4

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Edgy MD wrote: Probably still capable of uncorking a throw from the warning track straight into the press booth. No way, everyone knows that Bobby Abreu never goes near the warning track.

I think they'll "day to day" Granderson and if he can't go by Friday then you activate CYoung and retroactive Grandy's DL. Worst case scenario you're only short a man for two games.

"Well you can't actually dust for vomit" -- Nigel Tufnel

I don't think he's eligible for recall for another four days or so. We may need him sooner than that given the events of tonight.

We need to keep adding these tack-on runs tonight, as not only do we have to bullpen-proof this game we also have to OF-defense-proof it too.

Didn't Ryan Rowland-Smith serve at least one term as Chancellor of the Exchequer prior to being signed by the DBacks?

Apparently they're x-raying the entire left side of Granderson's body to check for, like, broken stuff.

Nice get-over by Torres. That was by no means a sure out w/Campana running.

'nother double switch (Recker for d'A) We're rapidly running out of players here.

Two risky sends w/Parra in RF; both worked although each could have gone the other way.

Geraldo Parra (Great Arm!!) plays RF while former Cub Tony Campana (Great Speed!!) is outfielder #4 25 y/o Addison Reed was an off-season trade acquisition from the ChiSox to fill the role as closer which he did for Chicago since the middle of 2012. Like most teams that once employed Heath Bell in that position, the DBacks were anxious to get out of the Heath Bell business. Like most closers he'll have his share of successes and disasters. 6 appearances this season all for one inning each. 3 saves, 4 runs allowed (2 earned) on 6 hits with 8 Ks and 2 BBs Other bull penners: - Brad Ziegler was briefly the closer last season but looks like hes doing mostly 7th innings right now - Also JJ Putz & Oliver Perez!!!

Yeah, I just don't think they were sold enough on Lagares at that point (not to mention den Dekker, Nieuwenhuis, etc). For all the promise he showed last summer he still hit just .242 with neither a lot of walks or pop. On the other hand, if this small 2014 sample proves even close to sustainable [b/O/S currently up 77/72/116 points] that means CYoung doesn't have to man CF as anything other than an occasional filler and the rest of the picture changes a whole lot.

I think that with the reduced state of the NYM OF by the end of last year, this past off-season wasn't exactly time for getting rid of the few OF they had. But especially if Lagares continues to show that he can hit enough to handle an everyday job, that means CYoung and Granderson are NOT needed for CF making EYJ becomes more tradable as the season goes on. And if additional pressure comes from below in the form of den Dekker, Nieuwenhuis, Puello, and/or Abreu, even more so.

I don't have a problem w/EY's glove. Yeah he plays too deep and doesn't have much of an arm, but he runs well and catches everything he gets to. On the plus side, Chris Young is 5-for-5 so far at his Las Vegas stint including 2 doubles and a HR

Rumor has it that seven-year Atlanta Brave Martin Prado plays 3B for the NL-worst (4-11) Diamondbacks this year. He was their main guy there last year too after being swapped in the deal that sent out Justin Upton*. The 30 y/o Venezuela native turned in a very respectable though average-ish .282/.333/.417 in over 600+ ABs during his first year in the desert (only slightly below his norm w/the Braves) he'll even play you some 2B, SS and OF if needed. * Justin Upton And Chris Johnson, meaning that the DBacks essentially gave up Justin Upton and a 3Bman for a worse hitting 3Bman. There were a couple minor leaguers as well plus pitcher Randall Delgado (mentioned in LWFS's review above) but unless those kiddies start looking good real quickly this looks like a dog of a deal for the Snakes. It also adds a third truism to the canon: 1) Never get into a land war in Asia 2) Never take on a Sicilian where death is on the line and 3) Never trade with the Braves when they're willing to dump pitchers

metsguyinmichigan wrote: This is going to be a distraction for the team all year. A less-egotistical player would have announced at the end of the season, or even in the last month. I suspect this early announcement was the result of several factors: - the Yanx get to cash in on the rolling retirement party. Lots of "Last Time Ever" stuff --both actual merchandise and less tangible things as well-- to sell. - that the team made it clear to Jeter that the raise he was getting after a lost year was essentially a good-bye package and that no such contract would be offered for 2015. Retiring in advance so to speak gets rid of a whole ton of questions and speculation based on each AB or missed game (he's already sat of 4 of their first 12) - it closes the window on the idea that Jeter would have to lower himself to the indignity of looking for jobs with other teams at the end of the year. - it closes the possibility that a bad and/or injured season is seen as the reason for this being his last year. By announcing ahead of time that "it's time to do new things" it's easy to say that he would have quit even off a good year By taking all those factors out of play, the pre-season announcement might end as many distractions as it causes.

Paul Goldschmidt, when he wasn't making sure that your engagement ring is so perfectly suited to your individual tastes that you'll never want to take it off, took enough time off to lead the NL in HRs, SlgPct, and OPS in 2013 while manning 1B for the DBAcks and finishing 2nd in MVP to Andrew McCutcheon. He already has 9 XBHs so far this year and, IIRC, fields and runs fairly well too. He also, as far as I know, has never contracted Valley Fever (or even Johnny Fever) despite living in Arizona and occasionally visiting Cincinnati.

Cause I've Done These Card Threads So Many Times Before I see what you did there.

EYJ is hitting .200 while striking out in 1/3 of his PAs He's good at making things happen when he actually does get on base, but it's not like his overall performance is throwing up a roadblock to any and all challengers.

Well currently he's the only Young on the team, so that's some low-hanging fruit there.