Edgy MD

Six pitches to the last five batters.

Twenty-one outs and one hit. Launch angles be damned.

The potential for glorious victory is reason enough for me.

Starting Pitcher Janson Junk RHP 4-6, 4.89 ERA, 57 SO Lineup Liam Hicks (L) DH Xavier Edwards (S) 2B Otto Lopez (R) SS Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Griffin Conine (L) RF Heriberto Hernández (R) LF Jakob Marsee (L) CF Joe Mack (L) C Javier Sanoja (R) 3B Starting Pitcher Kodai Senga RHP 0-7, 8.85 ERA, 49 SO Lineup A.J. Ewing (L) LF Francisco Lindor (S) SS Bo Bichette (R) 3B Carson Benge (L) RF Luis Robert Jr. (R) CF Jared Young (L) 1B Brett Baty (L) 2B Jorge Polanco (S) DH Francisco Alvarez (R) C

C. O'Neill Perez to the injured list with a strained forearm. Jonathan Pintaro and Xzavion Curry rejoin the team to replace him and A.J. Minter. That's two righties to replace two lefties, so that's sub-optimal. Go, Senga, go!

It's going to be tough to trade a guy if he's got visible scratches.

If Mike Sirota isn't walking up to "My Sharona," the world is off its axis.

I want Steve Henderson too. And by that, I mean a soft-spoken guy with a cute overbite who can set a team rookie record in consecutive games reaching base, and can cap a stunning comeback with a three-run, two-out homer in the ninth three years later. Fun Steve Henderson Facts: As ... ... he was acquired by the Mets on the day Dave Kingman was traded, and ... ... he was himself traded by the Met for Kingman 3 years, 8 months, and 13 days later, ... ... therefore, one or the other was a Met for 8 1/2 years, but never at the same time. And as ... ... Dave Kingman was named "Kingman," and ... ... brought a kingly if flawed presence to the game, and ... ... was nicknamed "Sky King," and ... ... was also nicknamed "King Kong, ... ... the exact beginning date to the exact end date of Henderson's tenure can be said to be an interregnum.

I am certain that, if they trade him, it will be for more value (on the face of it, anyhow) than for A.J. Minter.

Super-rested Kodai Senga on high alert. Hey, maybe Peralta gets the start tonight, but for the Marlins.

And we have our last guy!! Thank you for playing Beloved Backup Catchers. Our winner is Cowtipper, but Johnny Lunchbucket has to be congratulated on a strong finish. He might have pulled it out of he let Cowtipper lower his score with a few more bad guesses, but the 'Tipper was too close to grabbing the last guy. Congratulations to Ben Grimm for coming up with Melvin Tidewater, simultaneously the best and worst of guesses. Johnny Monell Devin Mesoraco Eli Marrero Mike Nickeas Brent Mayne Luis Torrens Vance Wilson Jason Phillips Henry Blanco Mike Difelice Incorrect Answers: Patrick Mazeika, Tomás Nido, Kevin Plawecki, Anthony Recker, Josh Thole (#1), Travis d'Arnaud, Sandy Alomar, Sr. (#2), Gary Carter, Butch Metzger, Melvin Tidewater, Tom Wilson, York (#7), Paul Lo Duca (#10). Scoring Cowtipper: 9 Johnny Lunchbucket: 5 DocTee: 3 Frayed Knot: 3 Gwreck: 3 MFS62: 1 whippoorwill: -1 smg58: -1 Benjamin Grimm: -2 Steve J. Rogers: -2 metirish: -3

He was part of a devastating Braves bullpen for a lot of years, and was absolute money — big outs he got — at the top of 2025 for the Mets, and losing him and Danny Young for the season early on was a grim foreshadowing of the unsustainability of the team's explosion out of the gate. They certainly never really found the lefty they wanted out of the pen after that. Brandon Waddell and Jose Castillo had their moments, but Gregory Soto and Richard Lovelady not so much. In our age of exploding elbows, it seemed funny that a strained lat could lead to season-ending surgery, but so it went. He never really became relevant this season as the more the team worked to develop him into a role where he might get key situations, the fewer the key situations there were for him. As 33s go, he was no John Maine, but he got the job done.

Yeah, this. I'm kind of tired of references to pursuing prospects from a teams' "top-ten list," as if one team's #7 is equivalent to another team's. The team is suddenly packed with lefthanded relief pitching and even if the Mets had their foot on the gas, Minter was not pitching featured innings. And now we are unMinted.

This answer may actually make me cry. No, number seven is not John Buck. Read the hints, you unlettered trail-leavings. Johnny Monell Devin Mesoraco Eli Marrero Mike Nickeas Brent Mayne Luis Torrens Jason Phillips Henry Blanco Mike Difelice Incorrect Answers: Patrick Mazeika, Tomás Nido, Kevin Plawecki, Anthony Recker, Josh Thole (#1), Travis d'Arnaud, Sandy Alomar, Sr. (#2), Gary Carter, Butch Metzger, Melvin Tidewater, York (#7), Paul Lo Duca (#10). Scoring Cowtipper: 10 DocTee: 3 Frayed Knot: 3 Gwreck: 3 Johnny Lunchbucket: 2 MFS62: 1 whippoorwill: -1 smg58: -1 Benjamin Grimm: -2 Steve J. Rogers: -2 metirish: -3

Above you wrote that you wrote that you weren't guessing him, logically and correctly reasoning that he wasn't a backup, but hey, if you insist on losing a point, I can't stop you. HINT: Also, it is important to note that all of these guys have generously given of their time, stepping forward to describe themselves in the first person in the post atop this quiz, so as such, no deceased guys were available to participate. I congratulate you on being correct in believing Melvin Tidewater to be incorrect. I will also help you out and rule out Kenny Kingsport and Julio Visalia. HINT: The guy we are looking for is a current MLB coach. Johnny Monell Devin Mesoraco Eli Marrero Mike Nickeas Brent Mayne Luis Torrens Jason Phillips Henry Blanco Mike Difelice Incorrect Answers: Patrick Mazeika, Tomás Nido, Kevin Plawecki, Anthony Recker, Josh Thole (#1), Travis d'Arnaud, Sandy Alomar, Sr. (#2), Gary Carter, Butch Metzger, Melvin Tidewater, York (#7), Paul Lo Duca (#10). Scoring Cowtipper: 10 DocTee: 3 Frayed Knot: 3 Gwreck: 3 Johnny Lunchbucket: 2 MFS62: 1 whippoorwill: -1 smg58: -1 Steve J. Rogers: -1 Benjamin Grimm: -2 metirish: -3

Butch Metzger is neither the answer to #7 nor a beloved backup catcher, except possibly in the sense that ... if a relentless but localized parasitic infection ravaged the 1978 Mets dugout, in the first game of a double header, leaving only those safely ensconced in the bullpen disease free, and they had to form a lineup for Game Two comprised entirely of relievers, because even the backup catchers left the bullpen to pinch-hit at some point, passing through the dugout to grab a bat from the rack, before they realized the danger that was upon them, and so somebody had to catch Game Two, and Metzger was of less value and therefore more worthy of risk than Dale Murray or Bobby Myrick or somebody. ... then sure, in that sense he can be called a "Beloved Backup Catcher," as he was probably beloved by somebody, even if that sort of logical stretch makes for a massive violation of the spirit of the question. But no, that is not the answer. Johnny Monell Devin Mesoraco Eli Marrero Mike Nickeas Brent Mayne Luis Torrens Jason Phillips Henry Blanco Mike Difelice Incorrect Answers: Patrick Mazeika, Tomás Nido, Kevin Plawecki, Anthony Recker, Josh Thole (#1), Travis d'Arnaud, Sandy Alomar, Sr. (#2), Butch Metzger, York (#7), Paul Lo Duca (#10). Scoring Cowtipper: 10 DocTee: 3 Frayed Knot: 3 Gwreck: 3 Johnny Lunchbucket: 2 MFS62: 2 Benjamin Grimm: -1 whippoorwill: -1 smg58: -1 Steve J. Rogers: -1 metirish: -3

Mets win!! Nobody traded!!

I'm glad Alvarez was able to get his challenge logged as he chased that ball. But damn, throwing strikes is something to be wished with this guy.

Poor Taylorfeet!

Will they send Willie out for the save?

Tim Leiper redeemed!!! Luis Robert fails to strike out!!! Again!!!

Benge fought so hard for that hit and was pissed about not getting the RBI.

Three hits tonight after two last night. #progress

The upside of sticking with a reliever when he is getting outs.