Edgy MD

Down 14-4 in the hit column. Down but somehow not out.

He's watching the bag, and forgot to look up. He judges when the catch was made by the smack of the ball against the glove. It probably sounded like a clean catch.

Mets, don't be afraid to go to Verrett. You can call up somebody to take the spare start.

And an almost accidental tack-on homer by Ozuna. BOOH!

Not a deep pen at all on this Marlins team. Keep the pressure on. You see the same pitch 3-1 as you see 3-0, Luke! Listen to Ralph Kiner!

Umps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the debut of MLB's first African-American umpire, Emmet Ashford. [fimg=216:3ths3wix]http://www.nndb.com/people/785/000207164/emmett-ashford-1-sized.jpg[/fimg:3ths3wix] [fimg=484:3ths3wix]http://www.bet.com/news/sports/2013/04/12/this-day-in-black-history-april-12-1966/_jcr_content/featuredMedia/newsitemimage.newsimage.dimg/040413-national-Emmett-Ashford.jpg[/fimg:3ths3wix] [fimg=360:3ths3wix]http://theruckerarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/10.-Emmett-Ashford-in-Action.jpg[/fimg:3ths3wix] [fimg=340:3ths3wix]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1265276.1454597556!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/emmett-ashford.jpg[/fimg:3ths3wix]

Oh, and injuries: Wei-Yin Chen is all one-day-at-a-time after taking a liner to the elbow. Bullpenner Carter Capps will be out for the year with Tommy John surgery, despite a near-sidearm motion. Lefty specialist Mike Dunn is on the 15-day with a forearm strain. Top prospect Tyler Kolek, 2014's #2 overall draft choice, will be out for the year with Tommy John Surgery. (A lot of dudes — Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Nola, Michael Conforto — already seem to have made an impact from that draft.)

Hey, Bill Webb is back!

Adam Rubin tweeting that Stacy deG is a-laborin'.

Cosart, like Matz is making his season debut and may have just as much rust. I don't know that I've seen anybody get two bases on a wild pitch at Citi. Backstop is so close.

I wonder if there's statistical support to the notion of some guys just being bad April hitters.

I think he'll get regular work, but with Cecchini and Herrera working up the middle in Las Vegas, full-time status is in doubt.

A year ago, the Marlins were in a similar position the Mets were in. A young team looking for a turnaround, with a lot of young pitching pushing their way onto the roster, and a high-profile young star pitcher working his way back from Tommy John surgery, but the offense behind the pitching, with one homegrown star hoping support could arrive on his watch. Not a lot worked out. José Fernandez was handled gently, returned on July 2, and showed fine form the rest of the way 6-1, 2.92, but by then it was almost too late to matter. (None of his 11 starts even came against the Mets.) Giancarlo Stanton homered off Dillon Gee early in the season to become the Marlins all-time leading home run hitter, and then went on a first half tear, slugging a Bondsian .606, but injured his hamate bone mid-season, and a recovery expected to last a month or so ended up topping his season off. These two indisputable stars filed pretty much not-quite one complete year between them, and little else went right, apart from the surprising breakout season of Dee Gordon, who on-based at .359, stole 58 bases, and landed 16th in MVP voting. If you wonder if that season is repeatable, you might take heart in observing that .333 of that .359 was batting average. Still, they finished strong and ended up a distant third, and then proceeded to have one of the quietest off seasons in baseball, counting on development and healing to change their fates. Apart from hiring a new skipper (Don Mattingly who thinks working for Jeffrey Loria is still better than Steinbrenner, but worse than working for Monty Burns), their main offseason aquiree was a five-year deal for Wei-Yin Chen (opt-out after two). The lineup that finished next-to-last in the league in scoring is back in its entirety, with the main addition being nu batting instructor Bobby Bonds. Are you retired big leaguer with unambiguous Hall of Fame numbers but a PED-tainted track record in need of big league redemption? Well, Don Mattingly has a job for you. Let's take a look at that lineup. Catcher Returning at catcher is J.T. Realmuto, who hits like a catcher. Modest average, low walks, puncher's power. Did OK last year and projects to fall back a little this year. He's a 1.5-win player. First Base Justin Bour came out of nowhere at 27 to hit 23 home runs. In a cavernous ballpark, too. I say he's a mistake hitter that the league will adjust to. Second Base Gordon is a good, sharp player who will hurt you, but no way is he last year's version over the long haul. For one, he's one of those guys who looks good on defense but isn't supported by he defensive metrics. For two, a lot of his value is tied up in that batting average, and it's not very reflective of his track record. That said, he's started off red hot this year, with eight hits in his first 19 at-bats. Third Base Multi-positional professional hitter Martín Prado returns. His modest power has to be park adjusted, but he's still about a 100 OPS+ hitter now, despite a hot start. He's 32 and the only player over 28 in this lineup. Shortstop Adeiny Hecheverria is a fine defender who will hit a mostly empty .280-.285. He'll give you three wins, but 2.5 will be with the glove. He'd probably win a gold glove or two if he wasn't in the same league as Andrelton Simmons. He's probably a better hitter than Simmons, though, if only just. Needs to cut his strikeouts. Laffield Christian Yellich is a solid leftielder with good average and low power. (This is something of a theme here.) He was a tick down from 2014, so he might have a bounce back year in him. Only 24, and a good bet to improve. Sinnerfield Marcel Ozuna probably got called up before his time. He clubbed the snot out of the ball in the low minors, but mostly skipped the upper minors, and has been adjusting for his first few years. Still young and hungry, but maybe hurt by being thrown in the deep end too soon. Is a cousin of former big leaguer Pablo Ozuna. Raffield Giancarlo Stanton is a big tough handsome badass, who has come back from several injuries that would have destroyed a lesser animal, and is still as dangerous a power hitter as you'll see whenever he's able to step into the box. That's what you've got. You see a lineup balanced top to bottom, but not balanced at a very high level. It's Stanton and a bunch of guys who may get hot here or there, but are a pretty good bet to be average over the long haul. But they are young, which makes a breakout here or there still possible. And a quick disposal easy enough. That's a versatile situation, but they need a breakout, and one or two injuries could really hurt. Bench HOLY SHIT THEY STILL HAVE ICHIRO. He's now 94 years old, in great shape, 65 hits short of 3,000, and hit his lone home run last year off of the Mets' Álex Torres. Pitching Jarred Cosart goes in game one against Steven Matz. He's a low-strikeout/high walk pitcher who keeps it in the park, but otherwise does little more than hold down a rotation spot until somebody better comes along. He's the type of nibbling pitcher a team like the Mets likes, to be frank. José Fernandez gets the marquee matchup against Noah Syndergaard in game two. The Mets caught him in his first start back in 2013 and twice more in June of that year, but amazingly, haven't faced him since. While he gave up but two runs in 18 innings over those three starts, it's been a long time. José gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings to the Tigers on opening day, but he also struck out 13 so he's still not the guy anybody wants to catch. WtF is Adam Conley? Aside from begin a damn fine insurance salesman, Adam Conley is your game three starter, who pitched some decent ball down the stretch for the Marlins last year. He went one inning in his first start and was pulled after a rain delay. He gives up a lot o' walks and is in the rotation while Wei-Yin Chen's elbow is balky. He's the lone lefty in the lineup, so look for starts from the likes of Laggy and Florrie, if not Campy. AJ Ramos established himself as closer last year, and he gets his share of punch outs and stuff. Doesn't expect to get a lot of dazzling support from iffy vets like David Phelps and Edwin Jackson and Dustin McGowan. Get into the bullpen early and then break out your hitting sticks, Mets. The Marlins are 1-4. I'm not calling for a sweep, because that's a lot to ask of any team facing a stopper like José Fernandez in game two. I'm just saying that a sweep would knock this young team down for a month at least, and the Mets can start going about the business of positioning themselves ahead of everybody else. Marlins Who Were Mets Turn-of-the-century Mets' pinch-hitting specialist Lenny Harris coaches third for the Marlins. (It's historically something of a bugbear among some African-American coaches that they get offered the first-base coaching gig a lot more than the third-base box, so bully to Lenny.) 1995 Met rotation filler Reid Cornelius coaches the relievers. While out in the bullpen, he may occasionally cross paths with Marlins catching instructor Brian Schneider, sometimes starting catcher of the Jerry Manuel-era Mets. Failed Mets deadline pickup and Marlins fixture Jeff Conine joins former Met debutante Preston Wilson with the pre- and post-game analysis. The Barbarian also holds the coveted "Special Assistant to the President" title. Marlins Who Compromise Seawolf's Rooting Interests Tom Koehler remains in the service of the South Floridians, but isn't scheduled to go this series. Mets Who Were Marlins Bullpen coach Ricky Bones served up some meat as a 2000-2001 Marlin. Mets Who Sound Like They Were Marlins Asdrubal Cabrera. Come on. That guy sounds like he spent a purgatorial four-five years down in South Florida. Terry Collins, too, to be honest.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Edgy MD wrote: I think sometimes the tendency is to take the slow action. When everybody's dooming and glooming, it can be attractive to take the optimistic view. And the payoff is huge. Now that optimism abounds (I mean, "best pitching staff in the league" is a cool assessment, but it's not necessary been established on the field of honor), one might feel like the community, in their contagious enthusiasm, is missing warning signs. Lotta preachin' on goin' on here, eh? No, actually, none.

I think sometimes the tendency is to take the slow action. When everybody's dooming and glooming, it can be attractive to take the optimistic view. And the payoff is huge. Now that optimism abounds (I mean, "best pitching staff in the league" is a cool assessment, but it's not necessary been established on the field of honor), one might feel like the community, in their contagious enthusiasm, is missing warning signs.

The Mets have this recent history of infield subs staying one year past their due date. Turner was good, then he wasn't. But as bad as that was, Satin stepped in, and he was good, then he wasn't. S'okay, because Campy stepped in, and he was good, and then, don't you know, he wasn't. It's Reynolds' turn to be good.

I joined a Major League post-season team, without ever having appeared in a big league game. That's me, man. Yeah, I didn't actually appear in the post-season either, but still, pretty cool, huh? Could anybody be so close to the big leagues without actually being there as I am? Did I get a post-season share? I don't know but I bet I did, if only a partial! You what else, though, Gavin Cecchini has joined me at AAA, and with the signing of Cabera, all suggests the surfeit shortystop talent in the organization is starting to squeeze me out (like it has already squeezed out Ruben). My first goal is to return to the bigs I guess as a utility guy, and show my merits once I get there. My merits! They are legion!! How much so? Perhaps you have an opinion on this matter. [fimg=392:18j50148]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2393267.1444592255!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_635/reynoldsweb12s-1-web.jpg[/fimg:18j50148] [fimg=308:18j50148]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/10/37/e7/1037e7760d69030d46ee2f1fa470a039.jpg[/fimg:18j50148] [fimg=316:18j50148]http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.11567784.1457825677!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG[/fimg:18j50148] [fimg=384:18j50148]http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/New+York+Mets+v+Miami+Marlins+EshtWq-Nv4jl.jpg[/fimg:18j50148]

I think Wright was going to get that off day no matter what, establishing early Terry's plan, and being more ginger in the cold weather. This reflects his policy-based (rather than current condition-based) handling of damaged players going back to the start of his tenure in 2011, when he was resting Carlos Beltran every third game the first weeks of the season, but ruining him out there most every day as the weather got warmer. Start carefully, assess, and gradually increase the workload as observation warrants.

I don't know if it was wishful thinking, but the storyline in his last spring training start or two was that his velocity was returning to normal.

At least Harvey is spared the chrome insignia, which he seemingly caught every time it was rolled out last year.

Even more difficult to believe is that Álex Torres (whose season was characterized by pitching into and out of trouble) couldn't make this Braves club, but they had room for O'Flaherty (who knew nothing of the "out of" part of the equation) could. I guess his history with the Braves and with McDowell works in his favor.

d'Kong wins a night in the Mets' booth.

Grulf.

This is your moment, Mets.

Howard didn't even see a strike.