Frayed Knot

80+ pitches to get thru just 4-plus and dangerous LHBs coming up [Schwarber/Harper] ... it was the right move IMO and Minter's been gold since. retiring four of five with only the bloop single.

Yeah, that's what I have too. The issue with the NYM offense isn't when they score their runs but the run total itself. Their runs scored per 0 outs, 1 out, and 2 outs and consistent with MLB avg. But the pitching skews higher with two outs which means they're ALMOST getting out of innings without further damage but too often don't. During the last PHI series several of those 3R & GS homers came w/2 out. So just a couple of 2-out ABs converted into outs could have cut their runs against significantly.

MLB pitching as a whole allows 37.4% of runs with two outs. NYM pitchers give up 43.8% of their runs w/2 outs.

More two out runs. That's three of the four the Phils have scored in this series.

If so I doubt they'd be Connie's first farm animal. So if that loud-talking pitchman comes on again yelling at me to "Check My Socials" I might have to put my foot through the TV screen and kick him in the nads.

Nice 'bunt' Ewing. Now don't get picked off.

We're off and running. Crash Christian K's Trea T to start the game. Home Whites held hostage: Day # (I don't even know) K - BB - K - 1B - FO ... so not the cleanest of 1st innings, but a scoreless one.

Did you also see the game where he allowed four of the first eight batters he faced to score?

Sawx take second straight from Yanx at Fenway. They beat Schlittler 6-3 on Thursday and win 5-1 today. Oh, and Gary cribbed the above Phils/Meets 9th inning stats and used it in today's game. We know you're reading here Gary, don't even try to deny it.

Getting picked off twice doesn't help matters much. When you total six baserunners, don't give 1/3 of them back. OK, Ewing wasn't actually erased in one of them, but that's more luck than skill. And I believe all 'Thoughts on the Game' references need to be followed by at least four exclamation points. It's part of the bylaws or something.

The biggest problem is being named as a deified Met legend in the first place. Seven seasons: the first one was lousy, the final one was cut short, two others in the middle were curtailed by injuries to where they don't even add up to one full year. That leaves three full-(ish) years, one great, two very good. But, then again, the definition of legend gets a little fuzzy at times.

Not only was that fair by 8 or more inches, but I think it ticked Harper's glove as well.

Barbarella says that the Mets have been sent by their government to find the weakness in Jhoan Duran

Despite this game having some degree of better vibes to it than most recent games, it still seems destined to end in much the same way.

Plus, the future managerial stint of Kodai Stengel is probably a long shot.

Gotta like Ewing challenging the call and then immediately start removing his guards and stuff.

And Thorton's gone.

Innings 2 thru 6 for Thornton: 0 R, 1 H, 3 K, 0 BB And only 78 pitches thru 6 [< 90 = Good] And, unlike many of the recent games, this one's moving along, approx 1:27 for six full

Obviously the fault is on the Phils, but Ewing forced matters by at least trying to stay alive in the rundown. Too many runners simply give up these days once they're trapped off the base.

Lindor jumps up to snag a liner and doesn't come down crippled .... so there's that.

Nice finish to the top 1st considering it started with three straight rockets. I couldn't help but think that, if it were the Mets in that same situation, that smash past Lindor would have gone right AT the SS for a GiDP. And still no white uniforms for like the 15th straight game it seems.

Day off for Alvarez who's been DH'ing often when not catching lately. And only the second DH assignment for Bichette all season who remains the only NYM to start every game this year now that Semien's streak is over.

When you consider the well-known correlation between foot speed and the organization for which a player played (part of) his career with future managerial skill, it all makes sense!!

It's a change because this has nothing to do with minor league players or with pre-FA major league players. So had this been in place last winter, for instance, the Mets could have offered Alonso a six-year FA contract whereas no other team could offer more than five. What it most resembles is what the NBA once called the 'Larry Bird Rule' which, similarly, gave a bargaining edge to the team the player was already on. The NBA did this because, in a sport that's more star-driven than any other one, they thought it was essential that a team be able to keep a player so identified with their organization. (aka: the old 'I can't imagine ______ in any other uniform" ploy) Of course NBA superstars bounce around all the time now so I'm not sure it ever really served its stated purpose (of even if it was ever intended to). Nor am I sure how any of this will appeal to players. MLB is both proposing to cap the length of a contract the players can sign and also, less directly through caps, the amount of money in said contract. oe: cross-posted with Grimm

Someone like, say, Mendoza?