Frayed Knot

Sheffield says THAT's why I'm hitting cleanup

Cox winds up getting burned by his short bench. He allows RP Peter Moylan to hit w/1 out and a runner on 2nd -- yet then switches pitchers immediately anyway.

Somewhere we have an entire thread on this topic. Someone, might have been GWreck, did a lot of the legwork on it.

J.J. is Putzing too many guys on base

]For example, Roger Clemens tested positive for steroids at the end of the 2005 season and thats why he missed the beginning of the 2006 season. He wasnt signed until the night after the Astros played 50 games I've heard this theory before but it doesn't hold water IMO. I think people see the 50-game mark and simply run with it. But we all know that Guillermo Mota was able to sign during the winter before the days of the suspension even started ticking off. And, of course, Clemens merely signed on day 51 (assuming that's even accurate) but didn't start pitching until 70-some days had gone by. Why? And then he did the same thing the next season. Then, of course, none of this explains Manny, who only got suspended after only a questionable drug test made MLB do follow-up investigations to confirm their suspicions.

soupcan wrote: ="New York Post"]Beltran was ruled safe, and later scored the tying run on Luis Castillo's sacrifice fly, leaving Chipper Jones dumbfounded. "The baseball gods owe us," Jones said. "That game came down to one play, and the umpire got it wrong. I never had a guy slide into my glove and be safe. That's the whole game right there. We played a perfect game tonight and had it taken from us." Paraphrasing Bob Ojeda last night on the post-game - "Bad calls happen to everyone, you know its going to happen, get over it, move on." Chipper's exaggerating just a bit there. Yes it was the wrong call and yes it changed the game -- but by just a hair and it basically took several slo-mo replays with that blow-up feature they now use to confirm that. He swiped the side of Beltran's hand while his finger tips were inches from the pillow. He didn't exactly "slide into your glove" and we've all seen much worse. btw, that was a GREAT throw from McCann, not normally noted for his defense.

Pelfrey - 3.5 Rodriguez - 1.1 Reyes - 2.2 Beltran - 1.6 Castillo 0.5 Cora - 0.7 Church - 0.2 Castro - 0.2

]You've got to manage for the moment. Yeah, except that I don't think walking Cora put the Braves in much more danger of losing the game that inning. I thought it was pretty much a toss-up move myself. But if the game goes on another inning or more it would have forced Jerry to either let his pitcher hit or use the hobbled Delgado.

P.S. -- between Wright's caught stealing, Reyes's triple attempt, and the unsuccessful Sac Fly (plus the usual ground outs) we had runners thrown out for the cycle last night. Former ump Ron Luciano claimed in his book that he once saw Lou Piniella get thrown out for the cycle in one game. I suspect that might not be entirely true but Lou was exactly the kind of guy who could combine his good hitting, fierce determination, and bad wheels to do exactly that.

The count on Cora was 2-1 (Reyes stole on a called strike after a 2-0 count) when they decided to issue the IBB. I wasn't surprised they walked Cora. Yeah Castro is the better overall hitter, but I think Cox saw Cora as the more likely to get the bat on the ball for a single type and it did set up all kinds of force plays. Plus it's not likely that your pitcher is going to walk the next two guys and bring in the winning run (oops). I also think Bobby probably wanted to make Jerry spend his last bench player.

]But he can't be clutch because we all know Met players are not clutch! Just ask a WFAN caller or ChipperJJeets. The WFAN-ian response (particularly from the likes of Baddabingo) is that he did those things in Houston and therefore they don't count. He has yet to prove anything in NYC.

- Oy the baserunning! Yeah Wright was probably out on that steal attempt, but you never see that call. Doesn't help that Tatis swung at ball 4. On the other hand nothing Cora could do on Muffy's blooper. If he strays any further and Anderson comes up with that one then he's doubled off which is even worse. - I didn't mind the call to send Wright on the Sac Fly though. I bet that one works at least as often as not. - I don't understand the reasoning behind pulling Pelfrey, particularly when the decision was obviously made ahead of time. He did get hit hard in the 6th but cruised thru the 7th. - At least once Pelfrey was out Jerry saw fit to go with his top two guys despite being behind. I'd be willing to bet that using your studs down a run or two steals you more wins using them when ahead by 3. - Reyes going to 3rd ... Grrrrrrrrr. Play's right in front of you dude! I remember the stat Fran Healy used to trot out all the time (so it may not have been true) where he would claim that Lance Johnson [u:a901f23b46]never[/u:a901f23b46] got thrown out at 3rd on a triple attempt despite all the 3-baggers he racked up. - We caught a break on the Beltran steal of 3rd but at least he can't be accused of playing it safe there. - Nice AB by Castillo

Not who I was talking about MD but always good to hear from you anyway. And the thing about Schneider is that, yes, he's been a disappointment, both in his the fact that he doesn't give the impression of being the top-notch defensive fielder we were led to believe and in his inability to stay on the field. Anyone who thought coming in that he was going to be a dynamite hitter has only himself to blame. But, to a large extent, Met fans have been spoiled over the last few decades by having the likes of Carter, then Hundley, then Piazza behind the dish (and also fooled by Posada across town). Many of them need to be reminded of the dirty little secret that reads: [u:1fn9o8fu]most catchers don't hit much[/u:1fn9o8fu]. Schneider's offense (particularly if you throw out last season's first half - he was much better in the 2nd) is much closer to the norm than a lot of fans seem to think. You want to find an upgrade for next season or even this it's fine with me -- just don't expect to find one under every rock.

You have to forgive SJR, he suffers from listening to too many folks who value having an opinion more than they do actually reasoning it out and that if they yell said opinion out loud enough and often enough it becomes true whether it actually is or not.

You pot-stirrer you!!

1) Those claiming to [u:qxslajic]know[/u:qxslajic] that Lowe would have been a good sign need to be sure to tell us all about how they are calling this one in their favor approx 1/20th of the way through a deal that takes the pitcher until just before birthday #40 while, at the same time, I'm sure were all over the Glavine deal being a mistake despite coming at a similar age & money only with 1 fewer year guaranteed and a better career up to that point. And the first one to answer that this is different because Lowe is better able to handle NYC gets bopped on the nose. Yes, that includes you Mr. Francesa. 2) as for infield defense (or defence as Irish or Duan would put it) - I'll take Wright over Chipper and Castillo/Cora over Johnson/whoever - SS is probably a toss-up although I'll be kind and give Escobar a slight edge - only a big gap between Kotchman and Delgado is a clear winner for Atlanta So if the writer wants to pat Lowe on the back for choosing the better gloves behind him while slapping the Mets upside the head for opting for the wrong pitcher, I just want to make sure he revisits the issue from time to time.

Santana - 4.0 Santos - 1.5 Tatis - 1.5 Reed - 0.5 Wright - 0.5

Of course, managerial/bullpen issues aside, the real problem tonight was getting out-hit, out-pitched, and, especially, out-fielded. We hit a handful of at'em balls (Reyes in particular) and los Bravos certainly had their share of dinky hits but it's not like we deserved a 'W' out of it even though it was certainly possible 3/4 of the way into the game.

I can justify taking Santana out (lots of pitches, not his sharpest game from the beginning) and even, though to a lesser extent, leaving Feliciano in to face Diaz (good success against even if a small sample). Where I think Jerry worked his way into a problem was pulling Parnell after just 1 out and a broken bat hit. Yeah McCann's their best hitter w/Chipper out, but if Pedro doesn't get him there you wind up in a position with little margin for error. Of all the chances to take that inning I would have opted for Parnell v McCann.

And to think, it's only been a week since the phone lines were burning up to fire the manager, deport the GM, shoot the owners, and replace most of the roster. Of course all that resumes with a loss tonight. ]What is Net GB? The sum of games behind all teams in front of you. For the Nats it means the 4.5 they trail the Braves + the 5 behind Philly + 5.5 in back of the Marlins in addition to the 6.5 behind us. It acknowledges the fact that being 'X' number of games out of first is a very different thing depending on whether you're in 2nd place or if you also have to hurdle several teams in between.

Hernandez - 2.8 Feliciano 0.4 Reyes - 1.5 Santos - 1.5 Castillo - 1.5 Beltran - 1.5 Wright - 0.8

I think, for the most part, the Yanx simply weren't used to the likes of the Rays actually competing against them. They just expected them to roll over and die like usual. It was almost as funny hearing Kay and his crew sounding like they were lowering themselves when they had to start paying attention to Rays games on the out of town scoreboard. For years it was just them and the Sox and they seemed put out by the fact that someone else had crashed the party. This year it's those fucking Jays who somehow slipped by the bouncers and got into the V.I.P. lounge where they don't belong. Anarchy, Anarchy!!

Green continuing to not make friends in his new hood.