Edgy MD

Yeah, that was a darn good curve that Oneil Cruz whacked to the wall, but he didn't have to put it over the plate.

Sucks to see an infield error while Gelbs is talking big about our infield defense.

=kcmets post_id=107570 time=1663356603 user_id=53] They spelled Vogelboom wrong.

Nido now draws power from The Spirit of the Dude.

I originally voted for Bassitt, because I like the others more. But that seemed like a crappy reason. So I rethought it. Then I decided on Bassitt again, because I didn't want the appearance of letting him start and bypassing one of the other guys based on white privilege. Tough break, Chris, but there are bigger things to think about. But, yeah, that seemed like ass thinking too. Then ABNS showed up and straightened me out. Engage the Bullpen Cookie Machine.

Meanwhile, in game play, Mets leading in the bottom of the third.

I've got another magic number worth caring about — the one that gets the Mets three games ahead of the Braves before the head-to-head matchup in the next-to-last series.

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Cookie was a highly effective reliever w/ Cleveland when he made his comeback from cancer treatment. I'd feel real CAHN-fident with him working high leverage 7th innings for the orange and blue. Love him a ton so don't call it a demotion, Cookie, you're the best for the job! This is brain thinking.

Assuming a) Scherzer and deGrom, deGrom and Scherzer, are healthy and available for the post-season, along with Bassitt, Carrasco, and Walker; and you're planning on going with a four-man rotation in said post-season; ... which of them are you leaning toward bumping to the pen? We enter this exercise acknowledging that (1) a lot can happen in the next few weeks that can make the decision for you, and (2) a starter sent to the pen doesn't have to make him the screwed-over "odd man out," as this thread title inelegantly suggests, but can make him available for targeted deployment with a possible uptick in his stuff. Jon Niese threw harder heat and sharper breaking balls as a reliever in 2015 than he had been dealing as a starter, so it can totally happen. But who are you looking at for redeployment? All have post-season experience. All have anchored the rotation at some reasonably long stretch this season. Not an easy call. [FIMG=250]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/kn4AAOSwSGNiuENk/s-l1600.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=250]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Ud8AAOSwfwRiuEQ3/s-l1600.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=250]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/59MAAOSw68ViuEU5/s-l1600.jpg[/FIMG]

Here's two things you'll never read, except maybe now, as you are currently reading them. "The Mets may be playing .385 baseball, but they've done nothing to embarrass themselves as a team and an organization. The decency and impressive, forward-thinking bearing with which they've conducted themselves is a model for any organization. Society would be well served if we all tried to be more Metly in our manner and decision making." As the Mets' winning streak extends their first-place lead, it's worth noting how obviously laughable and disgraceful this organization is, and that can't be ignored just because they're winning. Ridiculous-but-true accounts of their dysfunctional mess of an organization have poured out of their press corps as frequently as winning boxscores." Innocuous accounts, such as "GM breaks down on highway, gets lift from passing fan," are surefire traits of greatness or shittiness, depending on the context into which they fall. In short, yes, there have been "ridiculous stories" but they don't get as much legs, or get filtered through the same lens, when they don't feed the easier narrative.

My favorite post-Mets John Stearns story Now that Davey Johnson is no longer manager of the Cincinnati Reds, the story of how he hid a coach from his owner can be told. Johnson wanted John Stearns on his staff to work with his catchers. Knowing that penurious Marge Schott wouldn't allow another coach on the payroll, he appointed Stearns to manage a rookie league team in the organization. Stearns traveled with the team all season. During games he wore a jacket without his name on the back. He asked local media not to quote him and became known among the writers as the "unknown coach." Stearns certainly seemed to have the respect of the managerial class. Dallas Green was the Phils' director of player development when Stearns was coming up, transitioning from infield to catcher. But GM Paul Owens traded his pupil away just as he was reaching the majors and well before Green would have the juice that would come with his appointment to manager. But Stearns retained Green's respect, and years later, when Dallas returned to managing, taking over for the 1989 Yankees, he started off Stearns' MLB coaching career, hiring him to run the Yankees bullpen. Whitey Herzog lived and died by the speed game, and he publicly stated that Stearns and Neil Allen were the hardest battery to run and bunt against — coveting the two of them even though they were in last and he was in first. By the time Herzog had a deal for the Mets and a chance to break up the pair, Stearns was hurt, so the Mets gave up Allen instead in the great Hernandez heist. Apart from the Yankees and his ghost tenure with the Reds and Davey Johnson, Stearns would join with Johnson coaching for the Orioles in the mid-nineties, would have two-ish tenures with Bobby Valentine's Mets (dismissed as a bench coach and then rehired as a third base coach the next season), and later joined Lloyd McClendon's Mariners. A hiatal hernia surgery during that tenure began a series of not-necessarily related-but-compounding health problems. He also was a writer with The New York Times, penning https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/16/sports/the-long-comeback-of-john-stearns.htmlthis piece in 1984 about his long struggle to come back from injury. Ironically, the injury that did him in was sustained in a non-contact situation playing third base. The Mets' offense had been slumping, and so poor were their options, they thought they could boost their output by giving good-contact/zero-power backup catcher Alex Treviño more regular playing time and switching Stearns to third. They could have put Treviño at third, where he had plenty of experience, but maybe Torre, whose career had been extended by moving out from behind the plate, saw more wisdom in moving Stearns. His position almost certainly wasn't related to the matter, but making warmup tosses from third, his elbow went twang. I'm pretty positive that what he was suffering from is what we now know to be a torn UCL. I'd bet good money on it. But we've had two revolutions in imaging and surgery since then, and what we know now wasn't so obvious at the time. The article concludes with "my struggle continues," but he would play his last game two weeks later.

Luis Guillorme's return has seemingly knocked Tyler Naquin out of the rotation.

That "no ridiculous stories" angle is nonsense.

I had not known (or had forgotten) about Stearns catching win #90 in 1984. Considering what a rough time he had in any year that had an 8 in its third digit, that's a pretty cool thing.

Mike Hampton, NLCS MVP.

There was math involved, but I think it got away from me. I'm seeing now that I double counted additional-hits needed in calculating, leading me to understimate by half. Where I've written "one more hit than Goldschmidt to finish ahead of him, and two more hits than Freeman," please read "two more hit than Goldschmidt to finish ahead of him, and four more hits than Freeman." My poor dog has been sick and I made the mistake of doing math while nursing her. That's my story. And it really isn't so simple as all that, so much as, he would have to tack two and four hits onto his projected total beyond what Goldschmidt and Freeman tack on (or fail to tack on) beyond their current rates. Freebird is 181/550. Continuing at that pace, assuming four at-bats per game over 20 games, should he hit at more or less his current rate of .32909, he'd collect 27.33 more his to finish with that average. Goldberry is 165/509. Continuing at that pace, assuming four at-bats per game over 18 games, should he hit at more or less his current rate of .32417, he'd collect 23.34 more hits to finish with that average. McNeil is 129/444. Continuing at that pace, assuming four at-bats per game over 17 games, should he hit at more or less his current rate of .32196, he'd collect 21.89 more hits to finish with that average. If the first two (somehow) get those exact fractional totals, McNeil would need his 21.89 plus two additional hits (23.89) to pass Goldschmidt (with a .32569 average) and four additional hits (25.89) to pass Freeman (with a .32941 average). So yeah, I'm kind of rooting for him to go .38074 over his final 68 at-bats. But it won't have to be that lofty if Freeman and Goldschmidt cooperate with a well-timed collapse. So, to simplify it, in daily watching, I'm suggesting we just root for McNeil to get two more hits than than Goldschmidt going forward, and four more than Freeman. Conceivably, he could pull that off in a single night! Maybe tonight!

Also, Bob Ojeda.

Al Leiter stared a post-season game? That seems out of character for him.

It was a pretty loose mood after the Mets took the early lead. At one point, Luis Guillorme brought out a harmonica and played a few licks in the on-deck circle.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I remember the time he tagged out Dave Parker at the plate, in a collision that rattled the entire stadium. And also this: https://www.tcdb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/81/81-205Fr.jpg> https://www.tcdb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/81/81-205Bk.jpg> "New Loop Mark for Thefts" May God ever bless baseball blurb jargon.

McNeil a had sweet start today, singing and doubling in his first two trips to the plate, but then, instead of cashing in, pumped more money in the slots, finishing at 2-for-5. And then Goldschmidt went and doubled and walked in this three trips, finishing the evening two-ish points ahead of Def Jeff. With Freddie Freeman's Dodgers inactive last night, they have a more compressed schedule going forward, still having 20 games while the Cards and Mets have 18 and 17, respectively. It's that tight. McNeil, according to current estimates, needs one more hit than Goldschmidt to finish ahed of him, and two more hits than Freeman. Startling Marte moved up the easy way, staying in the clubhouse while Alec Bohm took a collar, and so is now seventh in the league in batting average. National League Batting Average, 2022 1) Freddie Freeman (STL): .329 2) Paul Goldschmidt (LAD): .324 3) Jeff McNeil (NYM): .322 4) Trea Turner (LAD): .305 5) José Iglésias (STL): .300 6) Nolan Arenado (COL): .298 7) Manny Machado (SD): .297 8) Starling Marte (NYM): .292 9) Nico Hoener (LAD): .291 10) Alec Bohm (PHI): .289

I'm always surprised how scruffy the playing field looks in some of the old photos. I don't know if that's a late-season shot after the Jets played a few games, or if was just less of a priority in those days. "The 1978 Mets: We didn't bother painting the façade of the field level seats or doing much maintenance to the playing surface, because we wanted to put all our money into your on-field product!"

I'm not promoting the glories of brawlin', but I never forgot, when it came time to restrain John Stearns, just how many players it took from both the Mets and the Expos it took to restrain him, and he stayed on his feet. [media=youtube]FSwJOzFDYqQ[/media]

Louisiana is... Our strangely tall 1930s deco state capitol building. The ornate ironwork of a balcony overlooking the French Quarter in New Orleans. An air-pollutin' paddle steamboats on the Mississippi, possibly the legendary Natchez. Tulane Stadium, home of The Sugar Bowl, which college marching bands will spell out while refusing to choose between a centered or flush right layout. The Memorial Tower of Louisiana State University, perpetually displaying the time 10:04 after getting struck by lightning at that time on November 12, 1955.

Was a thirdbaseman as a youth and amateur player, but when he finally put aside football, he became a catcher, seemingly because playing without contact and pain just seemed un-natural to him. https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N3vrsZhb3Uo/XvfC9vE3g-I/AAAAAAABJPM/Nxmz4J1LKl8ixkvSVUbJlkzqrl3qnHCKACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/stearns0.JPG> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/John_Stearns_%2851009246746%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-John_Stearns_%2851009246746%29_%28cropped%29.jpg>