Frayed Knot

Vientos hits into another run-scoring double play Sorry, had to do some editing.

And while Crash Christian is throwing well, he's already up over 70 pitches thru just 4 frames.

Especially not if three of first nine batters are erased on the basepaths. Four Mets have reached base yet the Marlin hurler has faced just one over the minimum on 33 pitches thru 3

And he didn't break his leg pouncing on HP !!!

Good thing we had Brujan's speed out there.!!

Shocked that they pitched to Soto, and at least as shocked he went after that pitch.

Closing out the visiting opposition scoreless in an extra inning should be counted as a Save ... or maybe a 'Pre-win'

Apparently just the 34 pitches in the last game (Wed)

Multiple injuries essentially handed Vientos the opportunity to seize the 1B job and run with it. But, after looking like he was going to run with some kind of everyday job following that great second half in 2024 [.25/.306/.506 // 812 w/24 HRs in 401 PAs from June 1st on], he's hit just .231/.281/.402 // 633 w/23 HR in 643 PA since] and has hit into almost as many GiDPs as HRs [18 vs 23 (now 24)] So, as Angelo Dundee sid to Sugar Ray Leonard when he started getting away from the game plan during the middle rounds, "You're blowing it, kid!" Oh, and Soto to 1st might be a thing at some point ... but it's not going to be without a full off-season's notice. It might even make the whole Piazza-to-1st drama seem like a mini-series.

Bad fielding AND bad defensive decision making by the Marlins tonight.

Only if batters get credit for distance over frequency.

Just in case you hadn't noticed, Caissie's at the bat

And if there's anyone you play for a GiDP against, it's Swaggy

A floor. I frequently go outside without any kind of cap or hat, but without a floor I'd fall down a lot. But seriously folks ... it's kind of a meaningless question because it's not like it's a choice between one or the other; it's either going to be both or neither. The owners desperately want a cap* meaning they have to figure out some novel approach of selling that idea to a union with decades worth of momentum standing up to anything even smelling like one; hence the floor. The union is naturally going to declare it a non-starter right off the bat so the owners are going to have to sell the idea that a floor plus whatever else is in the details of their proposal will be enough for at least a starting point for discussion because I can't believe that the owners are stupid enough to believe that they can simply wait the players out until they crack and start breaking ranks. * in part because they get made fun of by all the other sports owners who mock them (probably at Epstein parties) for running the only sport that doesn't have one. 'Ha, you guys are so lame you can't even get a cap!!!'

Maybe. But where else do you get to watch a ballgame and learn English as a second language at the same time?

So were Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday ... amirite folks?!?

Lack of 'clutch' hasn't been the problem. Unlike 2025 when the Mets were in the upper ranks of overall OPS yet only in the middle of the pack in runs scored* because their OPS w/runners on and w/RiSP were miles behind their bases-empty prowess, this year they're actually slightly-better with duckies on ponds. So, no, the problem now is that they're DFL in OPS (tied for last w/COL in OPS+ where home field conditions are taken into consideration) which makes last week's 'scoring surge', one which boosted their RS/G up to a lofty 26th best in MLB, actually lean slightly to the fortunate side of things. * not having access to the 'chives means I can't draw up the specifics, but at one point last year they were 5th or 6th in all MLB in OPS but somewhere around 15th in runs scored which, considering that OPS is the best correlation to runs scored, is really difficult to do but the '25 Mets somehow managed. Only one other club (ATH) had a bigger rankings differential at the time. That OPS-v-RS gap got smaller as the year went on -- regression to the mean and all that -- but never quite managed to synch up entirely finishing the season at a more reasonable 6th OPS vs 9th in RS/G,

I'm starting to doubt a comeback here today.

Even assuming that there is such a thing as a #1 or #2 (see Edgy's post) how was he "asked" to be such when he joined a team with established (to one degree or another) ML starters Senga, Peterson, Manaea, and Holmes on the staff. He more or less became the guy you most felt would give you a good game by turning in 17 straight good starts right out of the gate coupled with regression and/or injuries from each of the others. Hell, we had guys here arguing late last year, as the drive for a playoff spot got dicey, that the Mets were wrong for not bringing him up earlier. This 'not ready' stuff has more than a whiff of looking for ammo to feed a pre-determined conclusion.

Again, this is something that never would have occurred to even try to find much less know that those things are commonly known info.

This was McLean's 19th ML Game/start. Through his first 17 starts/100-1/3 innings (just under 6 IP/G) he pitched to a 2.50 ERA w/a 1.036 WHIP. Was he not ready for those games?

So apparently Nolan McLean is no longer a good pitcher.

Reds have two runs despite eight hitters putting just two balls in play [bloop 1B, GO] ... and now a second GO to end the inning. So nine batters: 1 single, 2 GOs, 4 K's, 1 BB, 1 HBP + a passed ball

I'm amazed that this knowledge is both knowable and findable.

A holiday 4:10 start will feature Nolan McLean vs Nick Lodolo in the battle of the big, round-headed mascots. Lodolo didn't make his first start of the season until 5/8 and the three he's made so far haven't been pretty [7.20 ERA / 1.53 WHIP w/14 hits and 9 BBs in 15 innings]. But since when has such stuff mattered to Met bats? They'll go down weakly to anyone. Last July Lodolo held them to 2 runs / 4 hits thru 7 in an 8-4 Reds win. Reds got rained out today in StL so are probably already in New York while the Mets won't get home until washing the stink off this game/series and flying 1,000 miles only to face a quick turn-around.