Frayed Knot

Insurmountable Lead Alert: Dodgers have two, Mets runs in the three games don't yet add up to two.

Yanx have given up 21 runs to the Angels in three games (they have a fourth game Thursday afternoon) but won two of the three with both wins coming by scoring three times in the bottom of the 9th. Tonight it was bases-empty/one out in B-9th when Jazz Chisholm popped up in the IF. But the SS & 3B played I-got-it/you-take-it and it fell untouched. The Angels never got another out. About the only positive thing for LAA is that Trout has homered four times in the three games so maybe the 34 y/o (35 in August) has some juice left in the tank yet ... until the next injury occurs anyway.

Going to be coming home from California with an aching in our hearts.

Didn't even come close to making that 9th inning interesting. The Dodgers notched three hits and three walks (plus one IW) but they twice paired a walk and a hit to score a run. The Mets, far too often, do the one baserunner per inning thing (when they're even getting baserunners at all).

Leadoff walks!!!!

I didn't even realize that one was called a strike and Gary didn't seem to either.

Two consecutive ABS challenges that were much more hope than belief.

Encouraging reckless sports gambling. Do you really need the money that badly Kevin Hart?

We got get this kid some runs. And he's only at six innings worth of pitches (thru 6-2/3) so no need to yank him yet unless this next out takes a while.

Let's test this out ... The Mets have now gone 42 straight games without a two run, tie-breaking double. Hmmmm, now quite a fool-proof strategy apparently.

Will Smith seems to be tattoo-less. Are you allowed to be a big league catcher sans ink?

Hit -- 20 straight (mostly weak) outs - Hit

Are you kidding? That kind of outing makes him THE epitome of a Met. And as you know: When you're a Met you're a Met all the way / from your first bullpen gaffe to your last pinch-hit K

I think they'd hit the ball a lot harder if they started using wooden bats to swing instead of the wet, rolled-up copies of old Rolling Stone magazines they've been using.

Not sure. But if it's a Win it looks like it'll have to be the kind where you score early and try to make it stand up over the next 27 outs.

Dom Smith is 3/4 tonight including an 8th inning/two-out/3-RBI 2B to put the Braves ahead 6-5. This should put his BA at right around .400 and push his OPS to 1100. OK it's just 38 ABs, but still ...

From the 'Things Could Be Worse' file: at least none of the Met pitchers have had a game as bad as the one put forth on Monday night by Boston's Garrett Crochet of all people. Bottom of 1st inning (vs Twins): FO, 2B, WP, 2B, 1B, FO, BB, HBP, IF 1B, PO [9 batters faced, 4 runs, 4 hits] Bottom 2nd: 1B, BB, BB, 1B, 2B, HR, GO, FO, HR ... and then pulled. [9 batters faced, 7 runs, 5 hits, 2 BB] In all, 18 betters, 11 scored, 5 retired. (1-2/3 IP) 2 LOB. Sawx are now 6-10 (much worse than our 7-10)

I was hoping they'd bat McLean cleanup.

Has anyone seen actual evidence of this blister?

Yeah, I'm out for this one as well. Maybe tomorrow I'll give it a go.

Andy Pages, who was benched during the playoffs last year for offensive ineptitude, is basically leading the majors in every offensive category so far this season. Let's put it this way: he's currently out-WAR'ing Ohtani. And Miguel Rojas, along with Hyeseong Kim, are not only replacing Mookie Bettes at SS while he's injured, but they're also out-performing him ... by a lot!!

And if this shit doesn't straighten itself out there's a chance 'Mendy' doesn't survive the year. But it's not happening tonight kids.

If it makes anyone feel better the Yanx have now also lost five straight as they got swept over the weekend by Tampa. Today they got a 2R 9th inning HR from Judge which was enough to lose the game by one. So tonight is the first NBC Sunday Night GotW (the first two weeks they farmed it out to their 'PEACOCK' channel). And 1/2 inning in it's apparent their plan is to have as many people saying as many words as possible. So if you're one of those hoping for many even a 1/4 second of air in between lots of verbiage ... you're going to be disappointed. Cleveland and Atlanta are tonight's combatants and so It's the p-b-p guy (?) plus ex Indian/Guardian Corey Kluber, ex-Brave Andruw Jones (who set the record for 'ummmmms' in one paragraph in top-1) in the booth with ex-Indian/Guardian C.C Sabathia in a raised chair somewhere near one of the dugouts because of course you need a fourth competing voice. Not sure if the plan is to have a revolving set of ex-players in the booth depending on which teams are playing that night or if there will actually be a set crew. Couldn't tell you as I'm currently watching the game muted while I listen to music (right now George is singing 'Within You and Without You').

The larger point is that if some guy(s) has a bad two week stretch in mid-season it's barely noticed because that slump (or hot streak for that matter) is mixed in with the other 2-3-4 hundred ABs so the overall numbers are only slightly dented. But when those dozen+ games are out there all naked by themselves it looks particularly, and often misleadingly, ugly, btw, there are a lot of other guys than just the ones listed above [prolly 3x as many] I was just picking out the more 'name' players. All this doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned about it all, but the idea that the manager needs to have his plane ticket confiscated before the second road trip of the year or that this is proof that the PoBo, especially one with a lengthy track record of success, needs to be dumped 1/10th of the way into a season (and less than 1/2 of the way into his contract) because some [not Robert, not Peralta, not Williams] of this winter's acquisitions are off to slow starts (as are some of the holdovers).

Sitting, as all catchers do and as he will probably twice a week. Get used to it. And Torrens had one of the hits and was robbed of a second.