Edgy MD

I checked two different stories on the Hader incident, and neither of them quoted the tweets, even with redactions — or even characterized the content. I guess I don't want to dig further if they're that unspeakable.

Frayed Knot wrote: Only because they agreed to move the game to his backyard. That's probably close enough to true. If a guy rehabs at the St. Lucie complex for an extended period, his first assignment is often the St. Lucie Mets or the GCL Mets, depending on who is home at the time. They care less about the (vastly) lower level of play in the GCL than about not having to put their guy on a bus or plane.

Yoenis is hardcore. When he goes down. He goes all the way down. Transactions, 7/17 DirectionGOINGTransactionSent To GCL On Rehab AssignmentPosition Group=#0000FF] Outfielder[fimg=90]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/cespedes-yoenis-2017-52.jpg[/fimg]NameYoenis CéspedesDoB10/18/85B/TR/R

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Clark strikes me as an especially ineffective Union chief. The owners must love him. Exceptionally so. I mean, he's tall and leaderly and talks well enough, but he seems to be three moves behind.

That's a disappointing article. Clark seems to support it. Why? Did you ask him? The owners seem to support it. Why? Anybody? The players. Same deal. They "seem" to be coming around on it. Well, give me something. WHO DO I GOTTA CALL?!

I saw the photo and figured that was Schwarber, and then thought, "But why does he have a Nats jersey on?"

Benjamin Grimm wrote: The latest unconfirmed reports say he'll be traded to the Dodgers right after the All-Star game. Imagine if he breaks his leg during tonight's game. From a hard slide by Matt Kemp.

I hope this goes to the Supreme Court.

There's nothing wrong with liking to see displays of patriotism. Those are real vets out there. The issue is the cynical and untransparent relationships, agreements, and money behind them, along with the heavy-handed enforcement from league offices. Among other things, it's the reason the Mets were strongarmed into no longer wearing the first responder caps on September 11th, and the reason management rolled over.

That thread is likely lost to history, but I did find this: http://archives.thecranepool.net/4400/f1_t4414.shtml

Benjamin Grimm wrote: And for the record, I don't think the game has become boring, but I do think that it's moved a notch or two towards boring on the "boring-to-interesting" scale. I agree. This is really how I understand the question.

I certainly agree. Maybe that's what killed Rusty Staub.

He was assistant director of player development. The empty and exploitative red-white-and-bluing of baseball is real and should be challenged. But if I was assistant director of player development, I'd work quietly from the inside or leave and then make my stink. Publicly embarrassing the chiefs was only going to lead one way. But more power to him going forward. He's a third-generation baseball legacy and that's not a platform that will go away. He's the son of a future Hall-of-Famer!

I disagree that balls in play don't make baseball interesting. They involve more people, more skills, more decision, more risk, more physical and mental and emotional drama. They also involve more geometry! They demand that we include a more diverse and interesting set of people in the game. As for Tom Seaver, what made his feat remarkable was it's rarity. It no longer is. The Red Sox struck out 11 in a row in 2016, and the feat didn't even lead the game stories the next day. Dwight Gooden, who mythologized the letter K in baseball, struck out 7.8 batters per nine during his Mets tenure. This season, if he was a Met, that number would rank him here: 1) Jacob deGrom: 10.9 2) Noah Syndergaard: 10.2 3) Jeurys Familia: 9.5 4) Seth Lugo: 9.4 5) Paul Sewald: 9.2 6) Zack Wheeler: 8.9 7) Robert Gsellman: 8.3 8) Steven Matz: 8.0 9) Dwight Gooden: 7.8 10) Jason Vargas: 7.6 That's just among pitchers with 35 or more innings pitched. If we take everybody, he'd also be behind A.J. Ramos, Anthony Swarzak, Hansel Robles, Tim Peterson, Buddy Baumann, and Scott Copeland. If the game is played exclusively at the extremes, we lose a ton of nuance of what used to be the real game in between. I find it hard to dispute that fans are growing disconnected. Here, there, and everywhere.

I'm OK with the notion that they are in the midst of three playoff appearances in five years. I'm really down on Barwis though. And not so up on Mickey.

Kablammo. [tweet:34vmzo1h] [/tweet:34vmzo1h]

41Forever wrote: Edgy MD wrote: I'm having trouble thinking of a single downside for deGrom in his agent releasing this statement. It's smart media management. He knows that with the All-Star break, the beat writers still have to file stories and just handed them a meaty topic to rehash for the week. Unless the Mets do something like release Reyes this week, they'll now be talking to everyone about deGrom and his situation. Yeah, it seems like a pretty basic play. Mex17 wrote: If I actually find myself starting to want the best homegrown players from the team that I root for to find a way to escape from said team for the betterment of themselves, is that bad? It certainly sounds like an unhealthy mental conflict.

I'm having trouble thinking of a single downside for deGrom in his agent releasing this statement.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: He can't become a free agent until after the 2020 season, so I don't see how he can force the Mets to negotiate now as opposed to three months from now. Although I would have no problem with them negotiating now. It won't be easy. My guess is that he'll probably want to be signed through 2025, the year he turns 37. Force? No. He can't force them to negotiate now or later. Can he subtilely coerce them by playing up his good hand? Absolutely. The team is stinking it up, has no good selling points save one. A guy who who has been historically good, consistently gracious, and unusually relatable, not promoting a false bullet-proof swinging bachelor superhero persona like Harvey and Syndergaard. He is the face of the franchise and their best asset, and now goes to his second All-Star Game, good enough to be the starter. There is nothing to happening for the Mets over the next several days except an inning or so by deGrom against the very best. His agent has seized the narrative. All the chatter over the next few days is going to be putting pressure on the Mets to acquiesce. It also implies with great nuance that his uncomplaining team player of a client might embarrass them by becoming a big crankypants. And prices will rise accordingly. That threat isn't coming from deGrom, and isn't even explicit, so it does no damage to his brand, but totally puts the heat on a panicky, lame-duck Mets management team operating without a head. And the Mets have a long history of opening negotiations during the All-Star break. Hewj leverage.

I think they have tremendous leverage.

G-Fafif wrote: I'm a Mets fan who sometimes goes to the Mets' ballpark to watch the Mets game, toward the end of which I find myself hoping none of the Mets' relievers blows it. If I'm lucky, I revel in a Met's success.

G-Fafif wrote: I'm a Mets fan who sometimes goes to the Mets' ballpark to watch the Mets game, toward the end of which I find myself hoping none of the Mets' relievers blows it. If I'm lucky, I revel in a Met's success.

Most agents ain't stupid.

Nothing gets by Major League Catcher Salvador Peréz. Not even bugs.

If a return of Reyes and Wright has any value, it doesn't speak to Reyes' current playing time. I'm more reluctant to judge, though, until after the break. I tend to agree that there's more than meets the eye with Smitty's situation. But I'm not expecting to be necessarily comfortable with the reasoning that Mickey will offer. I will say that (1) Smith's at-bats have been frustrating and excruciating, (2) there's a possibility that Reyes has been given an we're-planning-on-releasing-you-soon-but-we'll-give-you-enough-PT-to-try-and-dig-yourself-out-you've-got-X-amount-of-weeks ultimatum