Edgy MD

Get pulled in.

What a terrific month for Verlander. That it couldn't raise the team's prospects at all by the end of the month is pretty stunning.

This decisive victory had some serious stakes by the way, as the Mets and Bucs went into the matchup tied for 11th place in the league-wide standings, a designation the Mets now hold all to themselves, thank you very much. Baltimore is currently up 1-0 after four against the Padres, and if the Orioles can hold on, the Mets will pull within two games of the coveted 10th-place position.

The Dodgers finally retired Fernando Valenzuela's number on Friday, and I ... guess this is what Fernando looks like now? https://blogs.fangraphs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/USATSI_21190152.jpg>

Miller, Calhoun, Bickford, Gott Claimed and traded, rehabbed and bought 　All new to town 　Now locking it down And holding the Pirates to squat

And to be clear, I have no idea, and was just summin' up accounts.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Alika Williams looks like Luther from the Rogues [FIMG=600]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vbLAMr_YAvo/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwE7CK4FEIIDSFryq4qpAy0IARUAAAAAGAElAADIQj0AgKJD8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGGUgTSg-MA8=&rs=AOn4CLCLrmxx7XKqEmuuWQWsPyNkO0_OWA[/FIMG] "I just like doin' stuff!!"

Sixth straight innings on the board!

Pretty odd to get two consecutive debutantes on the mound on August 14. Nice to get good, solid outcomes from both.

Eyeball scouting to me doesn't say it's the shift screwing him, so much as not dealing well with the fastballs and sliders in on his hands. The weak grounders to the right would mostly be outs in a shift alignment as much as a straight-up alignment. Perhaps moreso. His last week has produced better results against such pitches and I hope he's turned a corner.

Good policy.

A really ugly story... https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1691132057991237634 I was gonna guess this was next, but I feel kind of ugly prognosticating on such a matter.

I hadn't know there were reports on what they were focusing on. It's a weird year. They have the greatest free agent ever, and not many behind him who currently qualify as stars. The starting pitching group is deep but whether there's one standout target depends on how much you think Clayton Kershaw has left. And he's weird in that he's happy to play on one-year deals. But I'm not seeing any big offensive gets after Ohtani. Anyhow, I don't want to hijack my own thread theme.

Infused them into the system, mebbe, but whether any of them are ready to take a starting role in 2024 seems like a longshot. Also, Marte's future may be more of a mystery than McNeil's. Another Gelbs report (I think) suggested Joey Cora was predicting Marte wil be a 2024 All-Star and taking action in the clubhouse on the matter. Maybe, but from my seat, it seems as likely that he will be retired.

I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the future of Jeff McNeil. I wonder if, in the near-term, he might be best suited for third base, a move that (a) opens up second for Ronny Mauricio, ( gets him out of a relationship with Francisco Lindor that may or may not be problematic, © puts him in a position that allows him to react more than think, which might ease up the grinding gears that seemingly fill his head, and (d) allows Baty and Vientos to focus on hitting from (mostly) the DH spot, and they can worry about adapting to the big leagues defensively after they've turned a corner on offense. He only played six innings there the last three seasons, but saw plenty of time there before that. A good feature from Steve Gelbs the other day spotlighted Ron Washington's role with the Braves, and how he makes a point in helping rookies through their adjustments, getting them to focus not on the alleged weak spots in their game, but on their strengths. And once they establish that their strengths play at the big league level, they can work on ironing out the rest of their game without the pressure of their MLB existence being on the line. This seemed to be both obvious and revelatory, and I'd like to see the Mets introduce rookies in a philosophically similar manner. So I'd like to see Batientos protected from defensive obligations as much as possible for the time being. Beyond that, though, I wonder if McNeil's future beyond this season may be in left field. If Mauricio is coming, and Baty and Vientos have come (if not anchored themselves in place), the soft spot in 2024 appears to be in left field, which (a) the Mets have largely vacated with the trades of Tommy Pham and and Mark Canha, and ( isn't a very good opportunity to fill from the free-agent outfield class coming in this offseason. Also © McNeil has shown himself to be a pretty good corner outfielder, lacking only the polish of a regular on stuff like carom plays. Of course, the longer-term future for McNeil may be on a different team entirely. It's hard to read how frustrated (if at all) the Mets are with his substituting a potty mouth and red ass for productivity over extended periods, or with his swinging from All-Star-level to near-replacement-level offense every other season. McNeil came up on a parallel track to Alonso, and so, even in bad years, holds a share in what the team's identity is right now. His presence may even be part of Alonso's self-identity as a big-leaguer. He's a terrific all-round ballplayer when playing right, and continually hustles when playing poorly. Left? Right? Second? Third? Gone? I just don't know. But I think on it.

A hard-fought series between the Guards and the Rays ended on Sunday without Tampa Bay star Wander Franco in the lineup, despite (a) Franco being a healthy guy who plays every game, ( Franco having ended game one with a no-doubt walkoff homerun, and © the afternoon's promotion being Wander Franco Snap-Back Hat Day. It was puzzling, but as the day progressed it seemed that a story was breaking that Franco was being investigated for an inappropriate relationship with a minor (reportedly 14), that supposedly (a) her mother approved of, and ( was only coming to light because the mother started talking after Franco wouldn't sweeten the deal with cash and automotive gifts. Franco reportedly had been told by the girl and others that she was 18. The weird part is that I'm using "supposedly" and "reportedly" because the story first broke on social media, and I haven't included a source yet, because who knows where the genesis is on such narratives? But I share, because, well, the traditional media are sure running with it now. (When I Google "Wander Franco," the field quickly autofills with "Wander Franco 14.") Obviously, the reports are something less than established facts, though the reports are consistent. If the facts are as represented, there's plenty of disgust to go around. We've got the millionth guy who should know that you can't just take someone's word for it on a teenager's age, and we've got a gold-digging mother who pimped out an underage daughter. Supposedly. Real reporting, I'm sure, will emerge as the day progresses, and repercussions (baseball and more broadly) will swiftly follow. Ugly irony emerges as folks observe that "Wander Franco Snap-Back Hat Day" was a promotion that included a giveaway only available to "fans 14 and under."

Cool.

There seems to be a lot more about chemistry than about what they've been doing or not been doing differently. I find myself looking for a scapegoat, or a philosophical adjustment that blew up in their faces. The curious thing is that, in retrospect, you can see last September wasn't the last month of 2022, but the first month of 2023, in the same way that Synchronicity, in retrospect, turned out to not be the last Police album, but the first Sting album.

Thursday evening, Julio broke out of a 10-at-bat hitless mini-slump, going three-for-four with a homer and four RBI. His 39 RBI leave him tied for fourth in the massive (50-team) DSL.

Ottavino — the guy they didn't trade. Bring on the Pirates!!

A little insurance is a lot to ask. I ask.

I dunno know if this is what happened there, but Buck has been letting some of his better relievers atrophy the last several games.

Edgy MD wrote: THIS BETTER HOLD UP!!!! Shut my mouth.

When I read "Omar Narváez Flies out to Michael Harris II," it reads like it's the sequel to him flying out to Harris earlier in the game.

I imagine Senga is going to get pulled after this inning on the "Sitting Too Long" principle.