Edgy MD

Soto and McNeil are the only guys not in the hit column. Pour it on.

Hey, Lindor is the leadoff hitter. And with the rate the Mets are stealing and the rate of Soto hits going for extra-bases, I say you take what you are given.

A slider from Strider is good for rider.

Bunt hits are golden.

Plenty of time to draw more blood.

This game is going to be great.

Dom Hamel has not been starting.

Transactions, 8/2/2025 [table][tr][th]Direction[/th][td90]GOING[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Transaction [/th][td90]Released[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Position Group [/th][th]Relief Pitchers[/th][/tr] [tr][th][/th][td90][fimg=90]https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/image/upload/d_people:generic:headshot:67:current.png/w_213,q_auto:best/v1/people/657240/headshot/67/current[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Name [/th][td90]Julian Merryweather [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]DoB[/th][td90]1991-10-14[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]B/T[/th][td90]R/R[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]High Level[/th][td90]MLB (2025)[/td90][/tr][/table] Longtime Cub Julian Merryweather spent less than a month in the Mets organization. His contract came with a right to demand his release, and when the Mets fattened up on relief help at the deadline, he didn't like getting bumped so many steps down the ladder, and he exercised that right. Transactions, 8/8/2025 [table][tr][th]Direction[/th][td90]GOING[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Transaction [/th][td90]Signed away by MIL[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Position Group [/th][th]Relief Pitchers[/th][/tr] [tr][th][/th][td90][fimg=90]https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/image/upload/d_people:generic:headshot:67:current.png/w_213,q_auto:best/v1/people/657240/headshot/67/current[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Name [/th][td90]Julian Merryweather [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]DoB[/th][td90]1991-10-14[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]B/T[/th][td90]R/R[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]High Level[/th][td90]MLB (2025)[/td90][/tr][/table] While the Brewers were sweeping away the Mets, the only downside of their weekend was how un-merry the weather was, so they celebrated their success by fixing that as well. Transactions, 8/11/2025 [table][tr][th]Direction[/th][td90]NEUTRAL[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Transaction [/th][td90]Ended Rehab Assignment and Demoted to Syracuse[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Position Group [/th][th]Relief Pitchers[/th][/tr] [tr][th][/th][td90][fimg=90]https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto/w_180/v1/people/663399/headshot/milb/current[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Name [/th][td90]Brandon Waddell [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]DoB[/th][td90]1994-06-03[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]B/T[/th][td90]L/L[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]High Level[/th][td90]MLB (2025)[/td90][/tr][/table] The question must be asked: If you finish your rehab assignment and get assigned to the same place you were rehabbing, was what you were doing actually rehab?

Well, I really was more interested in discussing whether he has a future in switch-hitting.

It may be too early to give up on switch hitting for Ronny Mauricio, but I looked at his lefty-righty splits in the minors, and while they aren't as grossly distorted as they are in the majors, it seems to be a consistently stark difference every year. Here are his MLB numbers. The minor-league numbers are harder to sort through for posting, but the pattern is certainly clear. [TABLE][TR][TH][/TH][TH]OPS vs. L[/TH][TH]OPS vs. R[/TH][/TR] [TR][TH]2025[/TH][TD].234 (35 PA)[/TD][TD].857 (115 PA)[/TD][/TR] [TR][TH]2023[/TH][TD].491 (46)[/TD][TD].767 (55)[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

That last batch was submitted without remark. Transactions, 8/4/2025 [table][tr][th]Direction[/th][td90]GOING[/td90][td90]GOING[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Transaction[/th][td90]Released[/td90][td90]Released[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Position Group [/th][th]Relief Pitcher[/th][th] Infielder[/th][/tr] [tr][th][/th][td90][fimg=90]https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/image/upload/d_people:generic:headshot:67:current.png/w_213,q_auto:best/v1/people/806709/headshot/67/current[/fimg][/td90][td90][fimg=90]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/07/zitella-jake-2023.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Name [/th][td90]Deivy Paulino [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/dominican-republic-flag-small.png[/fimg][/td90][td90]Jake Zitella [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]DoB[/th][td90]2005-06-15[/td90][td90]2005-02-24[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]B/T[/th][td90]R/R[/td90][td90]R/R[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]High Level[/th][td90]Rk (2025)[/td90][td90]Rk (2025)[/td90][/tr][/table] Deivy Paulino did passingly as a starter in the DSL, but moved up to the FCL this year, he found himself in the pen and he lost the plate. Deivy hails from San Pedro de Marcoris where you get signed just for being born male. Corner infielder Jake Zitella was in his third season in the organization, but still hadn't graduated from Rookie ball. He got to the plate only a dozen times this season, all in May, so it appears he got hurt and was released upon healing. Transactions, 8/5/2025 [table][tr][th]Direction[/th][td90]COMING[/td90][td90]COMING[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Transaction [/th][td90]Signed as Undrafted Amateur Free Agent out of Mercer, Assigned to FCL Mets[/td90][td90]Signed as Undrafted Amateur Free Agent out of Florida State, Assigned to FCL Mets[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Position Group [/th][th]Starting Pitchers[/th][th]Starting Pitchers[/th][/tr] [tr][th][/th][td90][fimg=90]https://mercerbears.com/images/2025/1/13/MU-BSB_MediaDay-07.jpg?width=300[/fimg][/td90][td90][fimg=90]https://images.sidearmdev.com/crop?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Ffsuni.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2023%2F9%2F12%2FCharles__Joe.jpg&width=180&height=270&type=webp[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Name [/th][td90]Colton Cosper [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][td90]Joe Charles [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]DoB[/th][td90]2002-09-08[/td90][td90]2000-04-05[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]B/T[/th][td90]L/L[/td90][td90]R/R[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]High Level[/th][td90]Division I (2025)[/td90][td90]Division I+ (2025)[/td90][/tr][/table] Colton Cospor should not be confused with Colton Cowser, Kolten Wong, Collin Cowgill, or Rod Gaspar. Colt comes to the Mets from Mercer University down in Braves territory. There he spent four unremarkable seasons, but then he enrolled in the MLB Draft League and really put his best foot forward, giving up only one run in 17 innings, walking one and whiffing 20. That wasn't enough to get him drafted, but it got him on the Mets radar. Joe Charles is from Daytona Beach, suggesting there is a non-zero chance he is related to fellow-Daytona Beach native and former Met Ed Charles, or perhaps more likely related to the people who owned Ed's family. With a little help from the loosened rules of the Covid pandemic, Joe managed to appear in five ACC seasons over six years with two different schools.

As demonstrated by the Mets' pre-emptive hook of Montas in that same game, you can turn starters into bulk relievers and hope that pushes them further into the game, but if you continue to ever-shorten their workdays and keep them out of high-leverage mid-to-late-game situations, the real crisis remains.

You can ask any Rays as to how it succeeded and how it failed to succeed, depending on whether your goal is to win more or to get more wins credited to your rotation. I certainly can speculate.

An entire potential outfield there. Bad news for your Omar de los Santoses and your Gilberto Celestinos.

Some teams have gone to a consistent opener strategy for a time. Most notable is The Rays. It tends not to last, and the 20-game winner tends not to emerge. As with most pitcher-deployment innovations, the team finds they are robbing Peter to pay Paul.

That's what you get for going to college.

There are currently eight female umps in the affiliated minors.

The Long island Ducks finished the first half of their Atlantic League season on a tear, winning their last four and nine of their last ten to land in second place, four games behind The York Revolution. They took that mo' into the second half, as they sit at 18-12, only one game behind Lancaster. Their pitching staff includes former Mets prospect Nolan Clenney, who got Rule V'd away by the Cubs in 2024, as well as Jonah DiPoto, son of Jerry. Outfielder River Town is putting on a nightly fireworks show all by himself with a line of .327 / .429 / .538 // .968. He has socked 11 homers and stolen 28 bags in 31 tries, plus he gets to go around honestly telling people that his name is "River Town." [YOUTUBE]EuwTt-KJuiE[/YOUTUBE]

Yeah, they dragged their feet on making those official. Transactions, 8/4/2025 [table][tr][th]Direction[/th][td90]GOING[/td90][td90]GOING[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Transaction[/th][td90]Released[/td90][td90]Released[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Position Group [/th][th]Relief Pitcher[/th][th] Infielder[/th][/tr] [tr][th][/th][td90][fimg=90]https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-photos/image/upload/d_people:generic:headshot:67:current.png/w_213,q_auto:best/v1/people/806709/headshot/67/current[/fimg][/td90][td90][fimg=90]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/07/zitella-jake-2023.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Name [/th][td90]Deivy Paulino [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/dominican-republic-flag-small.png[/fimg][/td90][td90]Jake Zitella [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]DoB[/th][td90]2005-06-15[/td90][td90]2005-02-24[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]B/T[/th][td90]R/R[/td90][td90]R/R[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]High Level[/th][td90]Rk (2025)[/td90][td90]Rk (2025)[/td90][/tr][/table] Transactions, 8/5/2025 [table][tr][th]Direction[/th][td90]COMING[/td90][td90]COMING[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Transaction [/th][td90]Signed as Undrafted Amateur Free Agent out of Mercer, Assigned to FCL Mets[/td90][td90]Signed as Undrafted Amateur Free Agent out of Florida State, Assigned to FCL Mets[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Position Group [/th][th]Starting Pitchers[/th][th]Starting Pitchers[/th][/tr] [tr][th][/th][td90][fimg=90]https://mercerbears.com/images/2025/1/13/MU-BSB_MediaDay-07.jpg?width=300[/fimg][/td90][td90][fimg=90]https://images.sidearmdev.com/crop?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Ffsuni.sidearmsports.com%2Fimages%2F2023%2F9%2F12%2FCharles__Joe.jpg&width=180&height=270&type=webp[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]Name [/th][td90]Colton Cosper [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][td90]Joe Charles [fimg=50]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/usa_m.png[/fimg][/td90][/tr] [tr][th]DoB[/th][td90]2002-09-08[/td90][td90]2000-04-05[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]B/T[/th][td90]L/L[/td90][td90]R/R[/td90][/tr] [tr][th]High Level[/th][td90]Division I (2025)[/td90][td90]Division I+ (2025)[/td90][/tr][/table]

He has to hit the slide every time there is a homerun, so he presumably can't move around the stadium much, interacting with the crowd, frolicking and posing for shots. Does he just chill up there on the patio of his chalet, occasionally waving at people from a distance, and then jump down a slide once or maybe twice a game? Is this the cushiest job in baseball?

Indeed, they are keeping their powder dry by necessity. But hey, he is a prospect that is working out. He is currently working out in St. Lucie.

This doubleheader also featured this play. [YOUTUBE]1dHKOgFh8Wo[/YOUTUBE]

The only flaw was that a couple of the acts they couldn't squeeze in to the live performances ended up performing at a different time with The Band in an otherwise empty theater. They get edited in, but it feels kind of jarring.

Stands rivaled only by Stop Making Sense as the greatest American concert film.

I do not know what the ideal contract for the Mets would be (ten years for one dollar, I guess), but I am not sure we have any reason to believe that Alonso would have signed for five years at the time.