Frayed Knot

I kinda like the guy. Never been a great player (2 AS games, 1 Silver Slugger, was 30th in MVP one year) but has lasted 19 seasons / 2,000+ games / 7,700 PAs strictly as a catcher (plus 32 games as DH) and he's a tough old bird (will turn 40 in December) who's still at it. Most of his rep seems to stem from the one time he slugged a guy at home plate in a tussle during a ChiSox/Cubs series (like that even qualifies as violence in Chicago these days) which led to all kinds of stuff, maybe none of it as good as the promotion the White Sox put on the following week when Pierzynski was one of the 'final picks' for the AS Game and the team encouraged the fans to "Step Up and Punch AJ" so he could win the vote for the game's final slot. That's probably not the only time he's been an irritant but it's never come against the Mets (except for hitting where he's .338 in 80 ABs) nor has it even been something blatantly out of line that I've personally witnessed. Besides, he's the second best Polish player ever to come out of the east end of Long Island (even though raised in Florida).

RealityChuck wrote: He's going to want a long-term contract and there are other suitors. Yeah that's the thing, it's not as simple as saying: David hurt, ergo sign FA 3B cuz he sounds like a good fill-in for the remainder of the season. That doesn't mean I'm against looking into it but do realize you'd be getting into bed for multiple years with a 32 y/o (or so he says) about whom you have little to go on outside of brief glimpses and rumors (scouting from Cuba being what it is) and the say-so of his self-described 'best friend' is not always the best barometer.

So what's new with the Braves? Not much, they still suck (20-46). May wasn't as bad as April but that's not saying much and June (5-10) is off to a worse start than May as they come off a hard-fought 4-game split with Cincy in a series that must have been attended by dozens. At least when the Cubs were in town some Cubs fans probably bought tickets. C - Tyler Flowers and AJ Pierzynski are splitting the time. That Flowers can't outright steal the job from the 39 y/o, 457 OPS'ing AJ says something though I'm not sure what. 1B - Freddie is hitting better than back when we last saw him but still not vintage Freddie over the season 2B - Jace Peterson was recalled from exile following the trade of Kelly Johnson (remind me where he went again?) SS - Erick Aybar still under .200 as he has been all year, so Chase d'Arnaud is getting semi-regular work for the first time in his career and is doing OK for himself [.302/.362/.396] 3B - Adonis Garcia was demoted for a time but he's back and as mediocre as ever LF - Francouer and Mallex Smith are pretty much splitting time out in left, which makes for lots of athleticism just not a lot of baseball skill. CF - Ender Inciarte, though a good CF, makes his contribution to the sub-.300 OBA theme RF - Nick Markakis plays near everyday while he looks for HR #2 on the season and wonders where he'll be dealt next month Friday 7:10 -- John Gant vs Matt Harvey Gant was part of the price paid for Kelly J and Juan U last year. The former 21st round draft pick of the Mets has been up and down w/Atlanta this year. This will be Gant's 9th ML game overall and 2nd start [0-1; 5.63; 1.75] Saturday 8:15 PM (thanx FOX) -- Aaron Blair vs Steven Matz This will be the second Mets appearance against the Blair Pitch Project. Met bats got to him for 3 runs on 6 hits over 5.1 innings back in Blair's ML debut April 24 in an eventual 3-2 NYM win. Since then he's 0-3 in 8 starts while rarely lasting past the 4th inning. Sunday 1:10 -- Julio Teheran vs Jacob deGrom Teheran is a weak 2-7 but with a sub-3.00 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHiP so it's hardly his fault. We managed to miss him in both of the earlier series so this will be our first meeting in nearly a full year (Jun 21, 2015) certainly an oddity to go so long without seeing an in-division ace.

Nymr83 wrote: Wilmer is now hurt too. But no broken bones and no major surgeries scheduled in the general vicinity of his spinal column ... at least not today, tune back in tomorrow though.

So they say it was a "discectomy" with fusion which, as I understand it anyway, means they removed the offending/irritating disc (essentially the cartilage 'padding' between two vertebrae) and fused those two now unpadded vertebrae together - the idea being that the fusing restores stability and the source of the pain, the bulging disc impinging on nerves, is gone. The downside to that solution is that the spine is now less flexible than before. Think of a length of chain with two of its links welded together, it's now less able to be coiled, snaked, wrapped, whatever. It would definitely shoot the hell out of a ballet career. Baseball, maybe not, but each case would certainly vary.

And Kratz was a recent pick-up otherwise the Pitt catching situation would be even worse. As Gary said, Chris Stewart couldn't have been available otherwise they don't leave Kratz in there.

I think the Mets have hit more balls hard tonight than they did yesterday despite the 19 to 9 (thus far) hit difference.

Lefty Specialist wrote: You know, Colon is making this look easy. 7 scoreless, 4 hits, 0 walks, 6 Ks, just over 11 pitches/inning so should have plenty of juice left ... yeah, I'd say so.

Edgy MD wrote: St. Louis. They're always talking to somebody I'm supposed to care about. Always I don't. Always they're excruciatingly empty. And they're pretty much always a coach named "Woody." Or a baby quarterback named "Trey." I've heard my share from Cincy as well (no coincidence that both the Reds & Cards broadcast over a FOX affiliate). You know who should care about Massillon High School football? People who either currently attend or currently have a child attending Massillon High School. The fact that far too many other "adults" (for lack of a better term) care far too much is the source of many problems in our sports culture (IMHO of course).

I would have bet on a broken hand/wrist also - but the early news says no.

Frayed Knot wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: Gelbs talking to draft picks is excruciating. I was just about to post that the next one of these 1st round pick NFL draft interviews that produces an interesting comment will be the first -- and EVERY station in EVERY city does this type of thing EVERY year. Now that I think about it, dealing with those painful interviews once or twice a summer isn't so bad. But if you happen upon a broadcast emanating from the football-happy south or midwest, especially if that local station is under a corporate umbrella like FOX, and one of them gets a mic in front of the 1st round draft pick or sometimes even the local HS star, they'll talk to him for two straight innings or more while the ballgame you tuned in to watch fades into the background.

Speed kills!!

Lefty Specialist wrote: Gelbs talking to draft picks is excruciating. I was just about to post that the next one of these 1st round pick NFL draft interviews that produces an interesting comment will be the first -- and EVERY station in EVERY city does this type of thing EVERY year.

Amazing how the insurance clause is now almost automatically in the first paragraph when stories like this crop up. The Mets have an insurance policy on Wright which allows them to begin recouping 75 percent of his salary once he misses 60 games. It will kick in in late-July, potentially resulting in $5 million in savings, reports Mike Puma of the NY Post.

Is he going to have those Frankenstein-like bolts in his neck when this is all over? That would be kind of cool.

In certain situations, yes it is.

John Sickels review of NYM draft: NEW YORK METS 1) Justin Dunn, RHP, Boston College 1) Anthony Kay, LHP, University of Connecticut 2) Peter Alonso, 1B, University of Florida 3) Blake Tiberi, 3B, University of Louisville 4) Michael Paez, SS, Coastal Carolina COMMENT: Obviously a heavy college orientation early. Dunn was a fast-riser this spring with his arm strength, athleticism, and rapidly improved pitchability. The Mets drafted Kay out of high school but got their man with his 93-95 MPH fastball and strong change-up this time. Alonso and Tiberi have strong track records as college hitters but don’t offer much defensive projection. Paez has pop but will wind up at second base, perhaps in combination with fifth rounder Colby Woodmansee, Arizona State shortstop who has some pop and a decent glove. 8th round LHP Placido Torres was a statistical dominator out of Tusculum, already signed for $10,000, perhaps opening bonus space for more expensive preps like RHP Cameron Planck (11th round) or RHP Matt Cleveland (12th round).

Has there been any research into whether or not it even helps? You mean other than the fact that strikeout rates have quintupled every decade? or something like that

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I dunno if Wilmer is incapable or just, that's what his swing does best so that's what he does. I think it's just what his swing does best. And, although his calling card coming up through the minors was his good bat-on-ball skills so you'd think that he should be able to go the other way, I just don't know if it'll ever consist of much beyond just serving the ball that way rather than hitting it with much authority. On the flip side, that one he turned on last night and hit over the Great Wall of Flushing reminds you of why peeps had so much hope in him. That thing got outta there in a hurry.

Edgy MD wrote: I'm not one to say never, but it's certainly something that struck me early. I'm hoping that he wouldn't necessarily have to go the other way with authority, but just making enough contact to keep the pitcher and the defense honest would be nice. Of all the times that Keith, or numerous others of his generation, go into their 'players these days' laments, the one I tend to agree with most is to bemoan the loss of the 'two-strike swing' where a player cuts down and goes the other way so as to make contact and avoid strikeouts. For whatever reason, ex-Cub (also Philly, Padre, Tiger) Keith Morland is the guy I think of when this topic comes up. A big, blocky, 'swing hard in case you hit it' type, Moreland was the epitome of a hit-only player to the point where his lack of fielding prowess in multiple positions got him immortalized in Steve Goodman's talking-blues classic 'The Dying Cub Fan's Last Request'*, you'd think he'd be the last type to put his macho aside when behind in the count but I remember him doing so regularly and wound up with a 12 year career that had almost as many XBHs and walks as he did Ks [349 v 405 v 515]. As for Wilmer, I love it if/when he goes to RF, although the three times he went that way last night -- two dribblers and a bloop beyond 1B -- were more by luck than design, even if the 2 RBIs were nice. * Have the organ play the "National Anthem" and then a little 'na, na, na, na, hey hey, hey, Goodbye' Make six bullpen pitchers, carry my coffin and six ground keepers clear my path Have the umpires bark me out at every base In all their holy wrath Its a beautiful day for a funeral, Hey Ernie lets play two! Somebody go get Jack Brickhouse to come back, and conduct just one more interview Have the Cubbies run right out into the middle of the field, Have Keith Moreland drop a routine fly Give everybody two bags of peanuts and a frosty malt And I'll be ready to die

Centerfield wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: The problem with Wilmer's swing is that he's never going to hit with any authority to the opposite field. Pokes and the odd piece o' luck are great, but that's about all he's going to get in that direction. How can you tell that? Something about his swing? Mostly about his results. Like have we ever seen him hit a ball hard the other way? And, yes, it's about his swing also, although I don't know enough about hitting to explain it properly; it's more a 'know it when I see it' kind of thing. Also, was watching a Mets/Phils game via the Philly station not long after Wilmer first came up and color-man Matt Stairs talked at length about how he'd never hit the ball with any authority to the opposite field based solely on how he held his hands. Again, the specific mechanics were a bit beyond me but Stairs, who I'm not even sure had seen Wilmer prior to that day, went on to describe Wilmer perfectly based on nothing more than his stance, hands, and a couple of swings.

The problem with Wilmer's swing is that he's never going to hit with any authority to the opposite field. Pokes and the odd piece o' luck are great, but that's about all he's going to get in that direction.

The other alternative is a trade. Not sure who thinks they're a SS/IF away from competing right now but, if there is one, they might agree to send a warm body in exchange for the Rox picking up merely most of the money. Of course you know the Rox already explored trade possibilities and wound up DFA'ing him anyway, although the prospect that he'll soon be on the open market could kick some team's butt towards the idea of a trade rather than letting him hit the open market. The problem with picking him up as Wright insurance is that every AB he gets at 3B is one that Flores doesn't get and at some point the Mets need to find out what we've got in this enigma known as Wilmer. The recent pick-up of Kelly Johnson argues against this also. Perhaps a bit ironically is that the only need we'd have for him would be as a replacement for the only IF who hasn't been hurt this season. oe: Jose's .310 OBA in 2015 doesn't argue strongly for his getting on base skills these days

Zvon wrote: An amazing baseball player. If he started playing here at 21 or so he would have past Pete, no doubt. Hard to tell because of the different leagues, eras, conditions, countries that they grew up in. Ichiro was playing in the NPL as an 18 year old and was a full-timer by 20, something that's virtually unheard of here. That's what allowed him to be a FA by age 26 (even under the more restrictive rules in Japan) and then have as long a career as he has over here. Pete came up in 1963 at the beginning of the most dominant pitching time since the dead-ball era; Ichiro shows up in the 2000's just as MLB offense was at its peak. On the other hand they play shorter seasons in Japan, yadda, yadda. Pete, not surprisingly, is being a bit of an ass about it when asked, possibly because most of his clothing has 'HIT KING - 4,256' embroidered on it somewhere.

I suppose, after all the shit games we've had lately, that it would seem ungrateful to complain about "wasting" all this hitting on the same night we get a dominant pitching performance. But, SHYEEEET, if they could have just spread a few of these runs around ...