Frayed Knot

Just now, the 5th inning is beginning ... nearly 30 minutes after I tuned in when the 4th was already well underway.

14-6

So they just mentioned that pitch number #205 had been thrown in the game (two teams combined). Now up over 210 Again, Top of the 4th!!!! And now it's 12-6 ... and it's still the top of the 4th!!!

So I just got home and turned on the Yanx/Sawx from London (didn't realize it was starting so early). If this really started at 1:00 EDT as my TV sked shows then these Englishmen have to be wondering how we can sit through games that might never actually end cuz it's now more than two hours in and they're in the top of the 4th. Now granted there's been a lot of scoring (8-6 Yanx) but I'm not sure cricket games run this long and cricket games have been known to cover several days at a time. I've been watching for five minutes now and I think the same batter who was up when I tuned in just flied out like four seconds ago. btw, advertising all over the unis: dueling shoulder patches, helmet decals, hat ads, and who knows what else. Big FOX is televising

Edgy MD wrote: Teams go out and get a top, All-Star-quality closer and he stinks up his new home all the time. Mark Davis. Heathcliffe Slocumb. Francisco Rodriguez. Sure*, and if the problem were merely Diaz then you could say, as JCL has, that we were just asking for trouble by going out and buying (w/money or players) a closer on the open market and expecting him to repeat what made him attractive in the first place. But the problem hasn't been just the closer, it's been that any logical replacement for him is currently unavailable (Familia & Wilson), has been even worse than him (Familia), or has been at least as erratic as him if not more so (Lugsellman). That's when 'shit happens' turns into 'horror show'. * although Frankie Rodriguez stunk up his new digs more personally than professionally

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Was excited there in the 7th for a couple minutes Why? All a hit there would have done was gotten us a lead, and I sure as shit didn't want one of those.

Do you suppose Braves closer Luke Jackson celebrates saves by eating 50 eggs?

If that's what they're going to rule as "definitive evidence" then I'd prefer them just to chuck the whole fucking thing!

And so it continues. Gsellman was the only pitcher not to give up a run vs Philly in the recent series [2 G, 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB] But now, 1 inning with 3 runs on 3 hits as he retired 3 of the 7 batters he faced. I guess the only thing you can say about it is that he didn't give up a lead while doing so. No, he just took a game where the Mets had nearly closed up a deficit that had existed from the 1st inning and turned it into one that was bigger than it had been at any point in the game and with only two innings remaining. And he did it all by hisself with no help, ever from the defense.

So Brian McCann was signed in the off-season by the Braves despite being a 35 y/o, 225 lb (yeah, right!) catcher whose OPS dropped 119 points last year (w/Houston) compared to where it had been in '17 and was more than 320 points below his career high which came in his first full season in 2006 He's also, in my mind, probably the player most adversely affected by the advent of defensive shifts. Now granted he's only playing a bit less than half time now meaning he takes very few ABs vs LHP, but the result is his best OPS in nine seasons and, perhaps not surprisingly, about 200 points higher than Cano's at the moment when last season those spots were almost exactly reversed. iow, there's been nearly a 400 point swing just between those two players. Cano is 16 months older than McCann although his age isn't being measured in catcher's years. So you remember when we talked about all that good fortune the Braves had last year? Well it's happening again. 35 y/o part-timers are having near career years and, aside for a platoon at catcher and the switch in LF (Riley in for Inciarte), every player is playing every virtually game.

Pitch counts thru 3 innings: deGrom = 57; Soroka = 28 It's evened out a little bit since then, but that's not a recipe for success as it's yet another night where a NYM pitcher gets himself into a foul-ball-a-thon.

Volatile is one thing. Thinking that a (OK, five) man crew -- all of ages (25, 25, 29, 30, 31) to be either just entering or somewhere near the midst of their primes and without significant injury concerns (save maybe Lugo) -- will be, again, average to above at worst, yet instead turns into DFL in the league through half a season is way beyond 'yaneverknow' status. Even missing 1-1/2 guys to injury can't begin to explain the drop-off. Perhaps only Lugo has been as good or maybe better than expected and even that's been ruined by two dumpster fire weeks where five outings--his 2nd, 3rd & 4th games of the season and now his last two straight--add up to 19 batters reaching (13 hits/6 BB) for 14 runs (11 ER) in just 4.2 IP. That the Mets actually won two of those five games (obviously none of the recent ones) is mainly a testament to him entering those games with leads of seven and four runs; he was pulled mid-inning both times. All of which is enough to push his overall stats at this point over to 'NOT better' than expected. There's volatility and then there's 'Freak Show'.

Dippin' in the pocket of her raincoat Nice one. Was one of my early Paul solo favorites. [YOUTUBE]vH6v9JS26xc[/YOUTUBE]

Even considering the whole philosophy of pen building, or with the questions of usage by the manager ... - did anyone not believe that the grouping of Diaz, Familia, Lugo and Gsellman would *at worst* be an above-average foursome out of the pen?

With apologies to Jim Steinman One upon a time we were soaring to heights now we're only falling again. Nothing else to say, total collapse of the pen From the IGT on 6/27 Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: We did it! We blew a lead in every game in this series!! That's really only half a statement. They actually blew multiple run leads in every game of the series AND in the game prior to that. Final game of the Cubs series with a chance to take 3 of 4 from a 1st place club Had a 3-1 lead in the 5th. deGrom gave up 1 run, but then 3 in the 8th off Lugo killed it Game 1 Philly: With a 6-4 lead in the 5th the pen coughed up 3 in bottom 5, 4 more in the 6th, then another in the 8th. Pounders and Nogosek were the culprits. Game 2 Philly: A 5-2 lead in the 6th -- 5 runs allowed in the 6th, mostly on Font with also Gsellman & Flexen appearing Game 3 Philly: A 4-0 lead in the 6th: 1 run in the 6th, then 3 in the 7th. Two of those runs charged to Vargas (though one after he left the game). Lugo, Gsellman, Diaz & Nogosek Game 4 Philly: 3-1 lead in the 9th. Pounders & Flexen preceded Diaz who somehow surrendered 5 while getting just one out Totals for the pen over those five games = 13-2/3 IP; 21 ER; 26 Hits; 10 BBs [ERA = 13.83 ; WHIP = 2.63] Those numbers simply aren't possible, and yet they happened and virtually everyone in the NYM pen contributed. I mean, I'm pretty sure Cal Koonce was un-scored upon but that's only because he's been dead for nearly 30 years. And when Diaz exploded in that game vs the Dodgers a few weeks ago -- four runs allowed while recording just one out -- I said at the time that not only was it the probably the worst game he had ever pitched in the Major Leagues, but that it was likely the worst game he ever would pitch. Turns out I was wrong. Less than a month later he managed to serve up Five runs while only recording one out He's now allowed more ER this season than he did all of last season and also more HRs (7 vs 5) in slightly more than 40% of the innings pitched. Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

Keith wants a high energy call from Joe West? I think the last one of those came sometime during Clinton's first term. Oh, and lookie here, another inning with nothing even resembling a hit off a nothing bullpen!!

Now we get to see what we can do against a guy with 35 baserunners [23 Hits, 12 Walks] in 17 innings pitched this season. So far: yet another chopper beat into the ground towards 3rd

So do we assume that that's it for Diaz despite just a 12(?) pitch 1-2-3 inning? After all, the possibility of him getting even five outs was out of the question as little as four days ago.

So, how many batters will it take?

Still not a single ball out of the infield off three different Philly relievers!

Meanwhile, MFY games are almost the exact opposite of ours. This afternoon the Blue Jays scored five times on a 3R & a 2R HR in their first turn through the lineup ... and then got out-scored 8-2 from that point on and lost 8-7 on a 9th inning walk-off single. And this was all after the Jays managed just one run out of a bases-loaded/no-out situation in the top of the 9th

The other problem, for this game anyway, is that we've taken 10 hits incl 2 HR + 2 doubles, tossed in 2 SBs, 4 walks and a Philly error ... and somehow added all that up to just 4 runs. 9 LOBs and 2 for 11 w/RiSP will do that for you. They tattoo our bullpen. We can't get the ball out of the infield vs theirs.

Is anyone NOT expecting a Grand Slam?

Frayed Knot wrote: So: three run lead, three innings to go ... I'd say we've got at least a 10%, maybe even 12%, shot at winning this one. And dropping.

Ummm, this is not a big enough lead to be giving away outs on frivolous chances boys.