Edgy MD

Yogi was smarter than the average bear.

My problem with that line of thinking is that while I agree with you and disagree with Terry, the problem is institutional, and his replacement would likely gravitate toward the same line of thinking. And if I found the independent thinking maverick I want (although not so mavericky that he didn't agree with me on the closer issue!), he'd get so much heat it'd be ... a distraction! But man, defenders of the orthodoxy (Keef and Gary included) utterly miss the point.

Getting shut out smells.

Nice try, Brucie. Need a little more on that. T.J., all hearts turn to you.

Homer by Wilson Ramos is what you missed. And you may have missed some really nicely spotted sliderinos from Blake Treinin.

Who gets to do the intentional walk has long been a curiosity to me. Maybe the idea is to help Smokes get four more warmup pitches.

Smoly crap. Way to go, Smokey.

Intentionally walking the Murph to get to Harper? Collect your million dollars if you predicted before this season seeing that ever happening.

Got a hit that inning, though. T.J., meanwhile, must've been listening to Roxy Music last night, because he's doing the Strand.

Kershaw in New York today, by the way, making his first ever start at the Mausoleum. It's only his second start since going on the DL in late July (the other being three innings against Miami on Friday night), so big playoff implications beyond just the two teams and their places in the standings.

Oooh. Danger. Pride before a fall and whatnot.

Frayed Knot wrote: Unbelievable how many 9th inning leads the Giants have blown this year, and particularly lately. Just giving up on the idea that a team needs a closer can really get a manager a whole lot of freedom.

Although Kristy Ackert didn't touch that angle in her game piece, the Daily News headline writer tried to spin the Rivera heroism as vindication for Backman. It's a tall order, but The News would love to turn the Backman firing into Willywhack II.

I understand. He's pumping his player up in a down movement. Murph does have a lot feel good about and he's reminding him.

Sheesh: Wilmer Flores is slugging the ball all over the place, OPSing .866 in August after a .957 July. He also brings a sugary magic with him to the ballpark every time he plays. José Reyes has been a freaking dervish and the leadoff hitter this team hasn't had since ... José Reyes. Gavin Cecchini is a number-one draft choice hitting .330 / .391 / .454 // .845 in Las Vegas. T.J. Rivera has hit over .300 at every level he's seen, except the big leagues where he's currently 11 points short. Give him time. Meanwhile, he's at .347 / .388 / .508 // .896 in AAA. I don't care how thin the air is or how old he is relative to the league. Guys who hit like that get paid. Ty Kelly is playing for the same team, going .328 / .409 / .435 // .844 and he's funny. He's hit a little in the bigs too. Phil Evans is a middle round draftee who got early round money to forego college, hitting .328 / .367 / .475 // .842 in Binghamton. He's fifth in the league in batting average. Amed Rosario is a consensus top 20 prospect, top 10 on at least a few lists, hitting .324 / .375 / .473 // .848 at 20 years old in the Eastern League. L.J. Mazzilli is named L.J. Mazzilli. They may combine to create a ridiculous glut of talent or they may all flop. So might Herrera. But what do you want? Eggs in your beer? T.J. Rivera, now adding the National League to the leagues he's hit .300 in.

T.J. Rivera became a man tonight.

Don't know why C�spedes doesn't get lifted for defense ... ever. He's ... limpy.

Murphy might have exceeded Armando Benitez' record for greatest revenge season by an ex-Met ever.

Tying run at the plate, and the side is whiffed. Now, how about they run Turner?

Nobody remarking on the Mets taking the 3-1 lead. Clearly everybody's riveted by the Music Triv Derby. Nine hits!

What Cabrera has done with a bad leg is nothing short of remarkable.

He was indefatigable, that Quitkowski. Unstoppable. No matter what came to pass, he never quit quitting. Those who knew him thought of him as a machine. While they were considering possibly giving up on the season, he was already quitting on the next one.

T.J > A.J.

I'll bust that little redneck in the face. Dave Anderson with the ins and outs of the Mets clubhouse.

G-Fafif wrote: He asked to be the bench coach. They declined and didn't give him a reason before hiring Dicky Scott. There's some mixed reporting on this. In the past, reporters have written that Backman didn't want to be on the staff unless he had the big chair. Other reports had Terry wanting to elevate Backman to the benchy job after Geren left, but being over-ruled by Sandstorm.