Frayed Knot

One of his biggest problems is that he tends to get himself into pitch-count hell early on in games and then seems to be fighting himself the rest of the way. The general rule is that you'd like a hurler to stay at or under 15 pitches/inning, but in Matz's eight starts since June 1st he's more likely to be over 20 per (3 times) than under 15 (twice he managed to clock in at 14.3, not surprisingly those were his only 7 inning games) Last night not only did he average over 20 per but there was just one inning where he was as low as 15 (exactly 15) an inning aided by a 1st pitch Lester bunt. And the result of the lengthy ABs (7 pitches or more) are perhaps the most telling: single (8th pitch) - deep fly out (7th) - 3R HR (10th) - Double (8th pitch, which was also his 102nd and last of the game even though just the first batter of bottom 6th).

Zvon wrote: Occasional? So you don't even peg Conforto as a starter? A starter, yes. A CF, no.

I'd like to know what's behind this RF-aphobia he seems to have. He pulled the same thing in Boston so it's not like this is either new or some sort of age deference thing towards Granderson. The idea that there's such a vast gulf between the two to the point where it makes one not only preferable but the other a complete non-starter as a topic completely baffles me, particularly since he obviously has no problem switching back and forth between left and center. It would be nice if any off-season discussions about extensions would start with the provision that they'd want him in RF going forward, but that would be a tough thing to go to the mat over if it means forgoing the bat. And, no, I don't think any amount of training is going to turn Conforto into anything more than an occasional fill-in in CF

Ashie62 wrote: PUNKED BY ROGER CLEMENS. 8 for 22 with a double, 4 HRs, 10 RBI; .364/.440/.955 // 1355 suggests otherwise.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Back then, you needed the secret decoder book to figure out who was pitching in the out of town games. Like I said, what triggered this whole discussion was Gary's testimony about how the Shea scoreboard always operated with regular uniform numbers indicating the pitchers. The fact that I knew that wasn't the case even while attending fewer games and retaining far less trivial knowledge as compared to Gary, I was surprised that no one contacted the booth within that very inning to correct him. Will have to listen in tonight to see if he revisits the topic. Who's the creepy face? Looks to me like that's 1965 starting NYM SS Roy McMillan, on the screen there with all the clarity and definition of your parents mid-60s 19" Zenith b&w set.

Not only is working out Conforto for two weeks in CF not going to turn him into a CF but I don't believe working him out there for two years would either.

A scoreboard shot with non-uni numbers denoting the out of town pitchers in a game vs Montreal which puts it no earlier than 1969 In fact that's Opening Day 1969. Mets would score 4 times in the 9th to lose 11-10 in the Expos first ever game. [crossout:3k6bso7o]Asdrubal Cabrera[/crossout:3k6bso7o] Rod Gaspar struck out with runners on 1st & 2nd to end the game. [fimg=900:3k6bso7o]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/2890856732_5fac9c5d5d_o.jpg[/fimg:3k6bso7o] - that's Rusty in RF - the flag at half-staff was for the death of President Eisenhower a week and change earlier - I was supposed to go to that game but my father got sick so we went the next day instead

Zvon wrote: Oh, you guys are talking about the outta town sections? I wasn't quite following , I didn't hear what Gary said. Gary & Ron were talking about Wrigley's scoreboard which still lists pitchers by numbers 1 through whatever based on an alphabetical list. And Gary mentioned they used to do that at Yanqui stadium back in the day but never did so at Shea. That shocked me because Gary remembers 10x more about that era Mets than I do yet I was sure that he was wrong. And I found another photo from as late as 1969 where the system was still in use but I can't get it to transfer here.

There you go. July of '65 according to the caption. [fimg=500:3bs718sx]http://forgotten-ny.com/wp-content/gallery/streetscenes_shea2_13/old-1965-scoreboard.jpg[/fimg:3bs718sx] And congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Allen while we're at it.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Gary's wrong about the pitchers' numbers on the Shea scoreboard, there absolutely was a time when you had to check the program in order to find out which number corresponded with which pitcher. But didn't the scorecard indicate the pitcher's uniform number rather than some arbitrary sequential number? It wouldn't be 1 Cuellar 2 Dobson 3 McNally 4 Palmer. (Would it?) Yes it was. Just like they were talking about at Wrigley still to this day, the active pitchers for each team were listed alphabetically in the program which corresponded to the number on the scoreboard. Don't remember specifically when they 'updated' to the uniform number but it definitely existed for a while. Maybe one of the guys around here who specializes in dredging up old photos of Shea will come up with one where all the pitchers seemed to have single digit numbers. The only difference in those days is that the numbers only went up to 9 or 10. Tonight in Wrigley some team was using pitcher #15

After losing 2 of 3 to the BoSox to start off the second half to revert back to their most common record of this season: one game under .500, things don't get any easier for the Yanx in the near future - four games at home starting tonight against the 1st place Orioles - they then get a visit from the 1st place SF Giants - and then they travel to now-hot Houston for three. After starting the year 7-17, the 'stros have gone 43-25 and looked more like last year's playoff quality team; they'd probably also be a 1st place team if they could only beat Texas once in a while (1-9) After that the Skanks go to Tampa but they'll also hit the trading deadline during that series so how these next three series go will go a long way towards determining how they play it at the deadline which will in turn dictate what kind of team we'll face in the Subway Series as that four-game tilt starts on August 1st after their games in Tampa. iow, they've got an interesting ten days ahead of them which may force them into the type of decision they haven't had to make in a very long time.

Already 0-for-5 w/RiSP Fortunately we were already so bad in these situations that I think tonight's oh-fer might actually raise the team's average.

Rizzo is so on top of the plate that an outside pitch to him isn't really outside.

Gary's wrong about the pitchers' numbers on the Shea scoreboard, there absolutely was a time when you had to check the program in order to find out which number corresponded with which pitcher.

But if, just to pick an example, two 15-K/one-hit/no-walk complete game shutouts were to automatically receive the same score even if pitched in very different eras then Game Score is distorting things somewhat in a similar way to say judging Jorge Posada the better offensive hitter as compared to Johnny Bench based on owning a 31 points higher lifetime OPS would be without also taking into account that Posada's entire career fell during the boom era 90s-2000s while Bench debuted in 1968. And indeed the era-compensating [u:ijel3sa2]OPS+[/u:ijel3sa2] shows Bench to be some 5% better (126 to 121).

If game scores aren't era-adjusted, particularly say for strikeouts, then it seems to me it would throw off at least part of its intended meaning. 10 Ks in a game meant a helluva lot more years ago than it does today.

All that after Murph had not started in three straight games since the break on account of a hammy he supposedly got during the AS game. Wonder if Nats fans were demanding that he be DL'd? Meanwhile, any rumors of Murph being seen at Robert Johnson's crossroads? Pirates just had a two-out double in the 16th (high off the wall in CF) and the potential winning run was thrown out at the plate. And now it looks like it's Niese's game from here on out as he comes in for the bottom 16 -- oe. just got the side 1-2-3 and it's on to the 17th and Oliver Perez in the battle of the one-time Mets!

Conforto up, Nimmo down. That is all.

Second Series in the Second City -- July 18-20 The scene now shifts to Chicago as we try to run our winning streak vs the baby bears to nine. Note that both night games are at seven o’clock EDT despite being in the central time zone thanks to the ESPN televising both games (they’re doing all three in fact - maybe they’re not total evil after all). Cubs started MLB’s 2nd half by winning 2 of 3 against Texas, but were 6-15 going into the AS break which is even worse than it sounds seeing as how four of those six wins came against putrid Cincinnati. They still have a ridiculous RS/RA ratio (+134) but much of that was built up early and their planet-best W/L record is now merely on a par with the other division leaders (Wash, SF, TEX, CLE, TEX, BAL) and just try to find someone to admit that they were one of those making early season projections of 120+ wins (and there were plenty of them) now that they're on pace for less than 100. Monday July 18, 7:10 — Matz vs Jon Lester [9-4; 3.01] I’m sure you’ll recall that we kicked the ever lovin’ shit out of Lester in the four-game series’ finale, an 8 runs on 9 hits in 1-1/3 kind of butt-kicking. And in his one start since then he only lasted 3 innings while giving up 5 runs vs Pitt. Tuesday July 19, 7:10 — Syndergaard vs Jake Arrieta [12-4; 2.68] We got to Arrieta for 4 runs on 8 hits over 5.1 in game 3 of the CitiField series two weeks ago as he got out-pitched by Big Sexy. And while the 2.68 ERA is certainly top-notch, it was in the mid-ones only a few weeks ago so the dominant run he had been on since mid-2015 has lost a bunch of its shine. Wednesday July 20, 2:20 — Colon vs Kyle Hendricks [8-6; 2.41] Raise you hand if you would have picked Kyle Hendricks as the lowest ERA among those three. Yeah, me neither - but the Mets have scored just three runs off of Hendricks in 3 career starts / 17 innings - one start in each of 2014 & ’15 and one more in the 2015 NLCS Roster Updates: They’ll still be without their CF/leadoff hitting Dexter Fowler as they were two weeks back as he's just getting ready to start a rehab assignment. Also, RP Trevor Cahill (he threw 4 scoreless innings in the CitiField sereis) has been DL’d since the last series as has utility OF Chris Coughlin. Former Atlanta utility man Tommy La Stella has been called up to fill in; little known fact: La Stella is Italian for ‘The Stella’

Curtis Soloderson strikes again!

a) five hits ain't gonna get you much Y'know what's another word for 'productive outs'? Outs. Y'know what's the best way to keep from scoring runs? Make outs. Y'know how to kill almost all probability of a big inning? Make a lot of outs.

I think that's now 15 PAs without a hit in RiSP situations. You couldn't rig a lineup to be this bad this consistently.

Edgy MD wrote: We are Sac Fly Kingz. KINGS, I tell ya! Good thing because we're hitless once again w/RiSP Statistically it comes down to 'only' 0-for-6, but no Met has a hit after coming to the plate 10 times so far with a runner on 2nd or 3rd: K, GO, FO, SacB, SacF, Pop-Out, GO, HBP, SacF, GO Not complaining about the two runs mind you but mixing in a hit every once in a while would be nice too.

Ashie62 wrote: Cespedes could have been put on the DL. And if you're willing to write him out of the next 8 games he still could.

We express our regrets that we're still Cespedes-less. REYES - 3B CABRERA - SS GRANDERSON - RF WALKER - 2B LONEY - 1B d'ARNAUD - C NIMMO - LF LAGARES - CF VERRETT - P