Frayed Knot

One thing that's helping the Mets WC odds -- aside from things like 5 more vs ATL, Minn x 3, Phil x 7, etc -- is that, starting this coming Thursday, the Cards go to SF for a four-game series (Sept 15-18) Cards also have six left against the Cubs (including a series leading into the SF trip) and the Giants have six more vs LAD

Z really going hard-core last night. The Giants used 9 pitchers in that game, the DBacks [u:2jhnvz71]used 12[/u:2jhnvz71]!!, 11 of them for 2 innings or less. So the bottom line is that the 'Big 3' WC contenders stayed status quo last night with the Marlins (4.5, 5.0, and 5.5 back) keeping pace. They also all gained a game on the Dodgers (for whatever that's worth) while dropping the Pirates another notch further down.

metirish wrote: Christ almighty, how many stupid shirts would the Mets have to sell to make any real $$ on this?, what's the cut for the team on apparel sales?, the angst over this is comical. Teams don't really make money on minor league guys. Even if Tebow winds up boosting the hell out of the attendance in whatever minor league stop he makes (assuming he even gets that far) that windfall will mostly benefit the minor league owner at each level which, with the exception of Brooklyn and the Gulf Coast squad, isn't the Wilpons. At the moment I believe the outlay for Tebow is around 100K which maybe sounds like a lot for what is so far just a winter commitment, but at the same time it's less than what many teenage draft picks get and most of them won't see the big leagues without a ticket either. Finding and developing players is expensive and you miss a lot more than you hit. Tebow's path to get there is different for sure but at this point he's just another hopeful whose journey will end far short of CitiField. The money for jersey sales is split 30 ways among the teams with the exception that teams can own and run outlets in their designated 'home area' and keep the profits from them. So if you're wondering why NYM outlet stores sell other teams' stuff (including MFY gear) it's because they think they'll sell and that helps the bottom line. But the money made from a theoretical Tebow shirt sold in Modells or wherever (and I can't believe there'd even be Tebow shirts made yet) would go to MLB's general fund and not directly to Fred's pocket. Angst is what Met fans do.

Problem with rooting for the meteor is that it allows the Yanx to gain on each team that gets wiped out. As the result of Friday night, Yanx are now just one game off a WC spot gaining full games on WC-leading Toronto (lost of 6 of their last 7) and T-2 Baltimore, and kept pace with the other T2 team Detroit. They also kept pace with ALE-leading Boston and put some extra ground between them and chasing teams Houston & KC

Matz to throw off a mound tomorrow.

See Familia shake-off Travis on that last pitch? I was thinking, once he got to 0-2 on Flowers, that the next two pitches at least would be splitters he'd bury in the dirt. But after the shake-off they went upstairs and Flowers had zero chance. I wonder if that shake-off was real or just for show?

Edgy MD wrote: Closest thing to an alternative was Kelly at second and Johnson at first. Terry made the right call. Besides, that would be too many Kellys in too small an area.

Are complete left arm 'sleeves' of tattoos a requirement for incoming pitchers these days or just near universal fashion?

Frayed Knot wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Who's the third-string first-baseman? We have ourselves an Eric Campbell sighting!! Campbell?? In a close game? You want to give back the PH that drove in the go-ahead runs? Or that third out?

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Who's the third-string first-baseman? We have ourselves an Eric Campbell sighting!! Campbell?? In a close game? You want to give back the PH that drove in the go-ahead runs?

Edgy MD wrote: Who's the third-string first-baseman? We have ourselves an Eric Campbell sighting!!

I think that's Conforto's first RBI since April ... I'll take it!!

So now we know why his name isn't Handsby Swanson.

HahnSolo wrote: I agree about the wild card. But jumping three teams to win the division will be tough. Sure, but the fact that the AL East title is even in play for the Yanx is an embarrassment to the Jays who got swept after proving unable to hit a bunch of no-name MFY pitchers or keep from giving up crucial runs late. And with everybody playing everybody else this weekend -- except for the Yanx -- I don't even know which way to root.

Yeah, the freakin' Blue Jays had the chance to really bury them this past week with a sweep, or at least severely damage them by simply winning the series, but then totally blew up the whole thing by getting swept instead and not only are the Yanx in decent position in the WC hunt but the division is back in play as well.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Is this the first time we're seeing Kemp as a Brave? I'm already fearing him putting some kind of Pendeletonian hurting on us. First for Kemp, also first look at 2015 #1 overall pick (though not by the Braves) SS Dansby Swanson Kemp = .262/.312/.433 w/5 HRs in 141 ABs Swanson = .270/.319/.413, 2 Hr, 63 ABs Freeman OPS by month: April = 776 May = 741 June = 1080 July = 907 August = 1147 Sept (such as it is) = 1200

OK this Yanqui thing is starting to get out of hand. They've won 4 straight, including a sweep on previously 1st place Toronto, and are now 22-13 since dumping half their players at the deadline (Aug 1) and sit just 2 games out of the WC race (4th position for 2 spots) and also 4 games out of AL East lead although behind 3 other teams there too and with several others hot on their tail. But they've consistently been winning series against other contending teams (Balt, KC, SEA, TOR) and now a bunch of the others are facing each other while Tampa visits the Bronx. This sort of aggression can't not be allowed to stand. EAST Boston -- Toronto -1.0 Baltimore -2.0 Yanx -4.0 WC Toronto +1.0 Baltimore -- Detroit -1.0 Yanx -2.0 Houston -2.5 Kansas City -4.0 Seattle -4.5 Match-ups this weekend: Tampa @ Yanx which started with the Yanx winning in walk-off fashion Thursday night Boston @ Toronto Baltimore @ Detroit Cubs @ Houston KC @ ChiSox Seattle @ Oakland

We haven't seen these guys since losing 5 of 7 to them in mid-late July and while they're not a good team now they're more or less .500 since then going 17-18 since August 1st so it's not a weekend to be taken lightly especially as we're starting three pitchers most Met fans had either never heard of as the season started or hoped would be relegated to the bullpen by now. What's New? - mainly that Dansby Swanson has been installed as the everyday SS, replacing Erick Aybar who was dealt to Detroit This former overall #1 draft pick out of Vanderbilt, traded to the Braves by the DBacks last year, made his ML debut on Aug 17 and is hitting .270 with 2 HRs since. That he's a Georgia native (growing up right near where their new stadium is going to be) means that the team is going to attempt to build the future and a lot of their marketing around his talent and looks so long as he doesn't fall on his face. - also Matt Kemp is now the everyday LF as Jeff Francouer has moved on to the Miami phase of his round the NL East tour. Kemp is a bunch of years removed from the .300-hitting Gold Glove OF he once was but does have 28 HRs to his credit this year and is still just 31 y/o. His $21+mil/yr contract still has three seasons to go after this year so we're going to get used to seeing him out there, although the payments for the remainder of that 8-year deal signed back in 2012 are going to be split between the Braves, Padres, and Dodgers. - AJ Pierzynski is just recently off the DL but no longer starting games at catcher. Tyler Flowers backed by Anthony Recker (speaking of dreamboats) is their main backstop right now. Friday, 7:35 -- Robert Gsellman vs Julio Teheran Teheran is only 5-9 but with a 3.01 ERA and 1.03 WHIP Saturday, 7:10 -- Seth Lugo vs John Gant In a game so obviously going for the shortest starting pitcher's names award, Gant is a RH rookie with the funky motion that we faced, and lost to, during the sweep debacle in July. To date it's his only big league win: 1-3; 4.70 in 14 ML games/5 starts Sunday, 1:35 -- Bartolo Colon vs Williams Perez [2-2, 5.47, 1.31 in 10 ML starts] This will be Perez's 2nd start since going on the DL in early June. He got crunched by the Nats in start #1 on Tuesday.

WC opponent skeds for this weekend: - Saint Louie continues their four-gamer with Milwaukee under the big arch. Nice butt-kicking by the Brews to start things off but you get the feeling they probably shot their load and would have been better saving a couple of those runs. - Giants head to the desert for the first of three games. They're 10-6 vs the Snakes this year but 13-21 overall since Aug 1 and probably wishes Phoenix was still their old AAA affiliate - Pirates (now 4 full games behind us) hosting Reds for the 2nd of their four-game series Pitt won the opener Thursday - Marlins host the Dodgers just in time for the return from the DL of Clayton Kershaw ... mmmm, lucky them And, just for kicks, Washington takes their 8 game division lead against the Phils after being held to just five hits in a loss on Thursday but at five games out after losing 10 of 12, they're basically on the fringes of things anyway at this point

Puma: “This is an opportunity for us to associate with excellence,” general manager Sandy Alderson said. “While I and the organization are mindful of the novel nature of this situation, this decision was strictly driven by baseball. This was not something that was driven by marketing considerations or anything of the sort. He is a tremendous athlete, has great character, a competitive spirit and aside from the age this is a classic player development opportunity for us.” He will report to the instructional league on Sept 18th - although will miss “a couple” of days each week in the instructional league because of his commitment to the SEC Network, according to Alderson.

It's kind of funny that we're sounding like a bunch of football coaches by using their all-time favorite curse word -- "DISTRACTIONS" -- when discussing this. 'Distractions' in football speak meaning anything that the coach can't directly control and instantly banish. Look, Tebow's not even going to get to spring training unless he shows something in the instructional league where they'll have (what, about a month?) to evaluate him rather than the 1/2 hour or so in the group setting from last week. And if he does get there, when exactly did spring training become too exciting to where "a distraction" like the presence of T.T. will send us all to the clinic to have our blood pressure checked once a week? And if he then survives spring training and is offered a contract and decides that he's willing to ride the buses to find out where this actually leads ... well then just think about what an attraction the Port St Lucie Mets will be next April. Hell, they might just outdraw both the Rays & Marlins!!

Edgy MD wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: When he throws the ball in from the outfield does it drop short of the second baseman? I don't know that he'll be an outfielder, but I doubt he'll have the worst arm the league. The whole problem with his throwing as a QB wasn't that his arm was so weak, it was that it took him so damn long to get rid of the ball. That wasn't a problem in college where he ran much more often than he threw and got away with it because he was generally bigger than the fast guys on defense and faster than the big guys*. But his athletic edge wasn't as big in the NFL and pro QBs need that catcher-like throwing motion where you just bring the ball back to barely behind your ear and get rid of it in a hurry otherwise you wind up telegraphing both when and where the pass is headed. I once saw a breakdown of Tebow's throwing motion and you may have to go to the PGA Tour to find a longer "back-swing"; in his case he brought the ball way to the point where it was pointed skyward and was back behind his shoulder blades before his forward motion started. IOW ... he throws like an outfielder! * and while I have no idea whether this guy can play baseball or not (bet heavily on the 'NOT') but holy shit that dude is huge and he's friggin' jacked!!

I'm completely indifferent to this news except to the point where I find it funny that ESPN is still so wired into all things Tebow that it's their news/gossip geek Adam Schefter who apparently first breaks the news. Wonder if Schefter is next going to get a hold of Tebow's private medical records and put those out on the internet the way he did with Jason Pierre-Paul's? I hope he and the four-letter network totally get their collective a$$e$ kicked in court over that one.

ROX WIN!! ROX WIN!! 3 runs in the 9th

Steven Strasburg returned to the rotation today after the minimum 15 days on the DL - only to leave the game tonight after 40 pitches with some as yet undisclosed problem. May be nothing but could certainly take him out of the series next week in DC where he was lined up for the opening game of the series on Monday.