Edgy MD

Curtis Mead: Future Australian Met.

Well, shit, I didn't carve it.

Are you perhaps conflating the George Foster and Tom Seaver trades? A backup catcher who got us a near (and perhaps someday actual) Hall of Famer in a trade is Ed Hearn.

There is also the best-defense-in-the-league part. I'm not sure why Christopher Morel has entered the chat, as he has appeared professionally at every position except catcher and pitcher.

He's trying to be cynical, but beneath the surface, this post is bursting with love.

First on your card is this exciting adventure of Jeff McNeil loose on the warning track in Detroit.

Acquired from the Yankees for cash. The team certainly has a history of acquiring catchers about whom we were assured that the top-tier defense clearly offset the offensive shortcomings — Charlie O'Brien, Brian Schneider, James McCann. And in most of these cases — the statistical results as well as eyeball experience quickly suggested that wasn't true. And yet there seems to be a consensus that the tradeoff is working with Torrens. Part of that may be that Luis has only occasionally been asked to be the first-stringer. During those periods, his offense become harder to bear, but still, he seems like an asset, and now that he's the backup, he is certainly a frequently deployed one — like he's #1B, rather than #2 on the depth chart, and seemingly justifiably so. The fear about getting too attached to such a figure is that the balance is delicate. If the offense falls below a certain level, it cannot be carried anymore. But even then, he becomes a #2 again, starting once a week or so and coming in for defense after a pinch-running assignment. It's a good fallback position to have, and hopefully, the modest amount of usage he gets — whether as a 1B or a 2 — helps sustain his defense over the long haul. And maybe, some of whatever makes his defense so good rubs off on the other catchers in the system. Also, acquired from the Yankees for cash.

He's gonna get one of those sweet Topps All-Rookie Team cups on his card next year. NL Rookie WAR Leaders 1) JJ Wetherholt, STL: 3.7 2) Nolan McLean, NYM: 2.6 T3) Foster Griffin, WSN: 2.0 T3) TJ Rumfield, COL: 2.0 T5) Shane Drohan, MIL: 1.9 T5) Esmerlyn Valdez, PIT: 1.9 T7) Joe Mack, MIA: 1.5 T7) Carson Benge, NYM: 1.5 T7) Sal Stewart, CIN: 1.5 8) Didier Fuentes, ATL: 1.3 9) A.J. Ewing, NYM: 1.3 10) Cole Carrigg, COL: 1.2 It would be a shame to see that cup appear on his card when he's got somebody else's hat on, even moreso since Pete Crow-Armstrong is looking like the leader in the MVP race (no matter how much Gary Cohen slobbers over Shohei Ohtani.

The Giants are at home on the West Coast against the Brewers tonight. They're only in the second inning, but in the meantime, the Mets have pulled into a virtual tie with them in the standings. (Actually, .002 ahead!) They remain 5 1/2 games behind Cincinnati and the rest of the relevant teams, but ... 13th place is 13th place!

We'll have to re-acquire David Peterson, but yeah, sure.

In the end, we get an 11-run victory. We need to redistribute those excess runs to other games! Socialism!

Crazy thought, but we may get a Dom Smith pitching appearance tonight.

Now it's gonna be Daniel Duarte, do your parte. I must be forgetting a game, but it feels like weeks since we've seen Kodai Senga.

Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy.

Two balls in a row sneaking past Albies' backhand.

Austin Riley looks more every year like a righty-hitting Daniel Murphy. He's, like, costumed up for his trip to MuffyCon.

A two-run lead is nice, but they used the A-relievers yesterday and they don't like doubling up. Today, it's Brazobán and please hold ón.

Send the valets home because Marcus Semien is parking!

Foolish take, foolish challenge there, Youngkin.

You've got to let Young bat for himself here. Polanco is a pinch-hitting option, but he's so cold.

The Mets should have a Knick throw out the first pitch the rest of the season. Good will is good will.

Lindor's good. Under contract for five more years, too.

Kumar Rockstar pitching today for the Rangers. And David Peterson going for the Cubbyholes. Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens are both in the lineup. Carson Benge, not so much. Starting Pitcher Martín Pérez LHP 6-6, 3.38 ERA, 65 SO Lineup Ronald Acuña Jr. (R) RF Drake Baldwin (L) DH Matt Olson (L) 1B Ozzie Albies (S) 2B Michael Harris II (L) CF Mauricio Dubón (R) LF Austin Riley (R) 3B Joey Bart (R) C Jim Jarvis (L) SS Starting Pitcher Zac Thornton LHP 1-1, 1.93 ERA, 17 SO Lineup A.J. Ewing (L) RF Francisco Lindor (S) SS Bo Bichette (R) 3B Luis Robert Jr. (R) CF Francisco Alvarez (R) DH Jared Young (L) 1B Tyrone Taylor (R) LF Marcus Semien (R) 2B Luis Torrens (R) C

It's 4:44 PM and The Mets are sitting on their lineup, which I can only interpret as being related to a trade in the works. It's the only possible explanation.

Francisco Alaverez has been an especially vexing case this season, but it's been there in a lesser sense across his career. 2026 Split PA BA OBP SLG OPS High Leverage 53 .222 .327 .267 .594 Medium Leverage 95 .262 .330 .417 .746 Low Leverage 107 .276 .336 .561 .898 Career Split PA BA OBP SLG OPS High Leverage 290 .226 .298 .418 .715 Medium Leverage 437 .244 .317 .408 .724 Low Leverage 584 .235 .313 .460 .773