Frayed Knot

But can Gary & Ron name the only player in MLB history whose name started with M - M? Also, I think this is also the first time they've revealed the specific town of Keith's new digs: Hilton Head I always figured him for a 'Low Country' guy.

Gary has mis-called non-catches at least three times recently and maybe more. I don't remember him doing that before. Anyway, so that's two balls that have hit NYM gloves this inning but neither became an out. When it rains ...

Did you really think that Vientos AB was going to end any other way?

Braves & Phils have split one-sided victories in the first two games of their weekend series, which I guess is a good thing. Even with the Braves so far behind (-9.0 to the Mets and 9.5 to PHI) I wouldn't like to see them suddenly get a head of steam. But I'm OK with them winning today if they can pull it off [suarez v Strider]. Yanx have traded shutouts with ATH, winning 2-0 on Friday then getting a 7-0 beating yesterday. But the bigger story is that Tampa continues to surge (17-8 in June to the Yanx 12-13) and sits just 1/2 out so could replace the Yanx in 1st place before the day is out. Yanx then go on to face Toronto to start the week with the Jays (14-10 in June) sitting only 3.0 games out at the start of today's action.

Two things I remember from that Parker/Stearns collision. - Parker returned wearing one of those old-fashioned hockey goalie masks (the molded plastic types rather than the modern cage-style) but only half of one. It was cut vertically so as to allow him to play while covering just the side of his face with the broken cheekbone. Needless to say, it looked rather odd on a baseball field. - one of the NYM announcers, probably Murph, saying that when the next team the Mets face arrived for the series (my memory says it was the Phils) the first thing they all wanted from the NYM media (back in those days when you couldn't just order up high-light plays on demand) was a blow by blow description of that play. Tough to think of two contemporaries to play those roles any better than the Dude and the Cobra. And now they're both gone.

I think now that the Bezos/Sanchez wedding festivities are over* everyone should be much more able to concentrate on the job at hand and play some inspired baseball. * They are, aren't they? Please tell me they are!

"When the leaves turn brown I'll be wearing the [batting] crown"

The turnstiles at Grand Central don't turn as rapidly as the Met Count does these days. You can't tell the players With a scorecard.

808 PAs / 674 ABs going into today's (Sat 6/28) game -- so that's 25.7% of their PAs w/RiSP [3,144 total PA] or 24.3% of ABs [674/2,771] . Mets have a higher than average OBA so it stands to reason that a higher pct of their plate appearances would come with runners on while their BA is right at MLB average. A simpler way to look at all this is via OPS which is the stat that most closely correlates to runs scored. The correlation between RS and BA is positive but not all that strong. SLG is a stronger link, OBA is better still, and OPS better than all of them. Mets started today 6th of 30 in MLB OPS, yet 14th in runs scored. Of the top 11 OPS teams, every other one has their RS (1-30) rank within two slots (one way or the other) of their OPS rank The only team with a wider disparity than the Mets (-8) is the [fill in the blank] A's who are 12th in OPS but 24th in RS The Brewers (+12) are the team on the other extreme: 19th in OPS, 7th in runs scored. Not surprisingly the Brews' 703 overall OPS turns into 740 w/RiSP while the Mets go in the opposite direction: 743 to 694 This all comes on the heels of the stat thrown out during last Saturday's game by the FOX crew which showed the Mets 3rd in hard hit pct, behind only LAD and NYY. And since you figure that a higher hard hit rate should beget a high OPS, the Mets are somewhat failing to turn their hard hits into bases won. Not a big gap (3rd to 6th) but one that implies a few too many at'em balls and not enough fortune in finding holes. Then, once you tack on their failure to turn that already lower-than-expected OPS into runs at the expected rate, their run scoring troubles just get compounded.

Grenada, Mississippi born (I did not know he was from there) though a product of a Cincinnati area HS so quite possibly a product of the Great Migration.

For all the bitching about the pitching, the Mets are being held to 2 runs or fewer for the 7th time in the last 11 games. This (bottom 8th) doesn't even matter. A one run lead was already an insurmountable lead.

Baty didn't run for 3rd when he should have and did run when he shouldn't have.

Can these guys hit a M----F----s grounder AT someone before the game is over?!? Just ONE of those in the vicinity of a NYM infielder in that 2nd inning and this is a very different game.

The last 25 NYM HRs have driven in a total of 29 runs [22 solos, two 2R HRs + one 3R] That they've only scored 30 other runs during that time (17 games, < 3.5 RS/G) doesn't help either.

First of all, tonight's game will start at 6:40 EDT for those of you who haven't received this week's issue of TV Guide Check your local listings for channel in your area. Mets are taking a break from the ATL - PHI - ATL run they've been on to go visit the Steel City and the (not very good) Pirates 32 - 50 on the year, the Buccos' main issue is scoring runs as they're DFL in RS/G in the NL (3.26) and only 0.01 RS/G ahead of KCR for DFL in all of MLB David Peterson takes the mound for the Mets, at least until his scheduled mid-game injury (5th inning is the current betting favorite) vs Pitt Righty Mitch Keller Keller has somehow managed to go 1-10 this season despite a nothing-to-be-ashamed-of 4.02 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. It might be that whole lack of run support thing but I don't want to jump to any premature conclusions pending further investigation. That long-lost Ralph relative Isiah Kiner-Falefa, with his 1 HR and .319 OBA, is the team's leading WAR-rior (1.0) among position players says a lot. And while newly minted CF and highlight reel star Oneil Cruz might lead the league in SB (26 of 29) he's also tops in Ks and is just barely over the Mendoza line at .205 BA 38 y/o DH Andrew McCutcheon is still giving a good account of himself [.259/.338/.406] as a mostly full-time player, even if just as a faint version of his younger self.

Big win today. - back in 1st place as Philly was busy getting swept in Houston - back to 10 G ahead of Braves. Not quite the 13 back they were before the series in ATL, or even the 14.5 they briefly were behind, but better than the 8 G they had closed to before the final two games of this series. - Braves & Phils play each other (in ATL) this weekend whilst we're in Pittsburgh where ... we'll miss Paul Skenes! Now we just need to find some upright pitchers.

Lefty Specialist wrote: 6 outs to get, boys. And that number was halved quickly! 5.1 innings for the NYM pen since Canning went down: 1 single, ZERO WALKS, 7 Ks

Frayed Knot wrote: 8 hits (plus 3 walks) in 7 innings but that one is the first non-single (even though it was the second one to reach the wall). And now the 9th hit/8th single is the biggie.

8 hits (plus 3 walks) in 7 innings but that one is the first non-single (even though it was the second one to reach the wall).

I think I like the 'My Girl' sing-along best when it's 1st inning only.

I like him, I can not lie.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Time for Nolan McLean perhaps? A river runs through that decision. a bit of an obscure reference ... even for me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Macleanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Maclean

A 6-3 groundout without a pitcher injury ... so that's an improvement!

That looked very achilles/season to me.

Trying for two wins in a row, something we haven't seen 'round these parts since the days when the Rox, Sox, and Nats dominated our schedule. But, as bad as things have gone recently, a win here at least somewhat rights the ship. We're still just 1/2 game out of 1st and a win tonight not only gets a split but will leave us 10 full games ahead of the Braves despite losing five of seven. That's why you build up big leads, so you can weather the tough spots. Griffin Canning faces [CROSSOUT]Ryne Stanek[/CROSSOUT] Grant Holmes for the Braves. Holmes (we missed a Holmes vs Homes matchup by one day!!) is easily mistaken for Stanek as both are thick built RH'ers who are former 1st round draft picks (22nd & 29th) and both appear to go to (and/or avoid) the same barber. Holmes, 29, didn't get a call to the majors until last year despite his draft status. He was traded once and then picked up by Atlanta two years ago after being released by the A's but spent all of '23 in the minors. This year: 15 starts, 4-6, 3.71, 1.22