Edgy MD

I'm not sure I understand the distinction between "four-inning starts and more overuse of the bullpen" and "fourth -inning starts and heavy use of the bullpen." But I'm not comfortable because I think the proliferation of relief pitching only leads to the proliferation of relief pitching. And people tear their hair out, thinking the poison pill on their team is the ninth-best pitcher on their staff. If only they can get the ninth-best pitcher in a groove, things would be alright. Jerry Manuel and his "eighth-inning guy." Terry Collins and the "second lefty." Always they are trying to figure out how to win by getting one more struggling pitcher pitching well. Never are they asking themselves why they are so keen to keep pulling the pitchers who aren't struggling. Now we're to believe the key to the season is going to be getting good relief in the fifth inning? My God, it's new wax on the same old car!

Acuna will fall like grass before the sickle. As for Berrios, he hasn't been to Bingo yet, having briefing filled in at AAA this season before being relegated back to Columbia and St. Lucie for the summer. You must be thinking of some other modestly built guy.

On his way to becoming the first Met to hit 50 when he misses a month following a beaning by Vince Velasquez of the Phillies. This leads to a vicious and frightening cycle of retribution between the two teams, before the commissioner has to step in. Tries a little too hard when he comes back, overswinging and looking like he's going to hurt himself again, but he gradually finds his groove after a week or 10 days, initially just hitting it where it's pitched, before catching is on fire as the season closes out, hitting five homers in the last seven games, ultimately ending up with 37 homers in 123 games.

Berrios = another undersized outfielder, struggling to stick at St. Lucie. A switch hitter from the interstate who Tim Tebow blew past on the depth chart last season. Very nice.

Dumb guys losing to the smart guys. Blame Rhame!

Dunno. It would seem. Or at least I would think it would become more consistent. There is also usually a dead-arm period of Spring, or so it has been said. And Nimmo ties it up because he is glorious.

Some guys are big. Few are bigger 'n' me. Some guys are powerful. Not a lot are more powerful 'n' me. Some guys are Cuban. I'm the Cubanest. The Cubanest of them all. I'm a big, powerful Cuban with muscles on my muscles, and my much-expressed goal is to win an MVP. Yeah, that's a lot of expressing for such an individual goal, even an individual goal that dovetails nicely with team goals. So I toned it down. But then I started it again this spring. Because I'm a little crazy. I own a ranch, I drive funky cars, I dress a little bit flamboyantly, and maintain a private life despite all that. Yeah, and then there's the golf. I would climb out of my coffin to play a round of golf. None of that, on it's own is crazy, right? But add it up, throw in the ballplayer bit, and yeah, maybe I'm a little crazy. But that's not without it's benefits. I work out hard, I play hard, and that's the stuff MVPs are made of, right? Yeah, sometimes I injure myself, and when I do, I injure myself hard. So you want to tell me what my 2018 is going to look like? Because I'm looking in the mirror, and the letters MVP are floating over my head. [fimg=337]http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Yoenis+Cespedes+Arizona+Diamondbacks+v+New+LQxQ_tgFIAnl.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=151]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/83/0c/fb/830cfb67bd5055312e0dbdaf495130f8.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=337]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2446392.1448466358!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/495027030.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=335]https://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2016/11/30/images/mlbf_1211966583_th_45.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=353]https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/cespedes-3.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&strip=all[/fimg] [fimg=138]https://usatftw.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/usp_mlb__miami_marlins_at_new_york_mets_84788288.jpg?w=1000&h=1368[/fimg] [fimg=150]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2365205.1442537291!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_750/cespedesleap-web.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=338]https://cdn-s3.si.com/s3fs-public/2015/12/29/yoenis-cespedes-signs-contract.jpg[/fimg] [fimg=337]http://media.nj.com/mets_main/photo/mlb-miami-marlins-at-new-york-mets-0d1a7ebf28f4e4ef.jpg[/fimg] I'm curious what you have to say, but let's be frank: It ain't hard to find a highlight reel of me. PupdiukfIP0 hiwDBdbu2Qc lgfgfh6uMKA

Gets out of a first-and-third with a run-scoring double-play grounder. I approve.

I think seo, yes.

A strikeout each of their top prospect and top hitter in the first inning, along with a pickoff? I'll take it, Harv. Stay focused, now. One more inning.

Too easy.

Biggest game of the spring so far, in that it gives us a first look at whether or not there is a future for Matt Harvey. [fimg=250]http://www.vintagecardprices.com/pics/1814/168612.jpg[/fimg][fimg=250]http://www.vintagecardprices.com/pics/1799/163586.jpg[/fimg]Amed Rosario (R), ssBrandon Nimmo (L), cfJose Lobaton (S), cPatrick Mazeika (L), dhPeter Alonso (R), 1bZach Borenstein (L), rfGavin Cecchini (R), 2bDavid Thompson (R), 3bMatthew den Dekker (L), lf Matt Harvey (R), spRonald Acuna (R), cfDanny Santana (S), rfFreddie Freeman (L), 1bTyler Flowers (R), cPreston Tucker (L), lfDansby Swanson (R), ssAustin Riley (R), dhRio Ruiz (L), 3bChristian Colon (R), 2b Brandon McCarthy (R), sp

That would be some kind of emergency. Tyler's a reliever that has never started a single game as a pro. Here's to an heroic seven innings from him in that start, though.

I tend to think it's hard for lefty specialists to utterly stink it up for too long. Their role is so small and specialized, and their contracts usually short enough, that if they aren't getting it done, they go from nightly appearances to shorter, less frequent, lower leverage spots, to utterly gone in a matter of weeks. Like, does anybody know where Scott Rice is these days?

Walk with me, my two-star companion!

I'm not particularly comfortable with investing too much in third-time-through-the-order thinking. Have your bullpen ready when a guy reaches the third time? Sure. Shorten that leash. Have a class of starting pitchers who automatically come out after 18 batters? Bleh. [fimg=400:215vjuju]http://78.media.tumblr.com/7f682850bb806ac75f15e2cee31a8c6b/tumblr_mr8d3unlKw1razffxo1_1280.jpg[/fimg:215vjuju]

I like his swing. He keeps his hands in close like Wright, for opposite field goodness, but still gets around with authority (see him against Kershaw above, or that big double in the Phillies comeback game). But the opportunities will be slim: 33 games, good for .284 / .317 / .379 // .696, with 3 homers and 9 RBI. Jeff Keppinger, 2004

Those are real pitchers, man. 40-man roster guys. Guys we'll need if Matz continues to perform as he did. "Working on stuff."

A Mets first-rounder, I established myself early in my career as a no-doubt fielder who still had questions about his bat. As I climbed, I began to establish myself as a hitter ... and then my fielding stock cratered. What's a guy to do, the upper minors are thick with infielders, with Smith and Rosario passing us all, Reyes re-signing, Cabrera getting re-optioned, and the team going out to get a Frazier? How does a guy break through? A guy like, I don't know, ME? Me, Evans, T.J. ... we all just need that one-big break. Yeah, Reynolds is gone, but Guillorme is coming up on us fast, and he can get stuffed. I NEED A BREAK! What might that the chances of that break look like in 2018? And what might I do with it? [fimg=352:yrek72sn]https://www.reviewjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_ap_16269065516677_7233787.jpg[/fimg:yrek72sn] [fimg=348:yrek72sn]https://imagesvc.timeincapp.com/v3/fan/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Frisingapple.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F09%2F838631904-arizona-diamondbacks-v-new-york-mets.jpg.jpg&c=sc&w=850&h=560[/fimg:yrek72sn] [fimg=349:yrek72sn]https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YEldYCegf-Db5M2iaquUuORjNaw=/128x144:2769x1516/1200x800/filters:focal(766x311:1246x791)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56874371/800023818.0.jpg[/fimg:yrek72sn] [fimg=351:yrek72sn]https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/gavin_cecchini-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=618&h=410&crop=1[/fimg:yrek72sn] Don't think I'm a big leaguer? Well, I'm not intimidated by anybody. [youtube:yrek72sn]XfyPJBYnXwE[/youtube:yrek72sn]

The brilliant Mets get one back on an RBI single by ... Jeremy Vasquez.

Brooklyn firstbaseman Jeremy Vasquez back on the field for the Mets, so you KNOW they're serious.

I'm not a big fan of the frame art in the Topps 1982 set, but that's just a terrific shot that encapsulated Mookie's style perfectly.

Fun fact: Patrick Biondi is a four-year player from the University of Michigan, where he lit up the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex. The Wilpon family are also big supporters of UM's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, where young Patrick spent his non-baseball time studying English Lit.

This is the silliness born of an artificial economy.