Edgy MD

Man, we should've had a plan about pitching to Drury.

I certainly didn't think he wasn't going to contribute. Shortening Greene's workday could go a long way toward helping the Mets sweep.

Chad ochoseis wrote: Bench famously beat out Kooz by one vote in '68. I have the odd random fact in my brain that Jim Lefebvre was a ROY, and I think he did it as a Red. (after checking...he was indeed an ROY who spent his entire career as a Dodger) And Rose infamously beat out Met Ron Hunt for the '63 ROY award -- and by a lot more than one vote (17-2) But compare their stats. slash lines; Rose .273/.334/.371 Hunt .272/.334/.396 OPS+ Rose - 101; Hunt - 110 HR/RBI Rose - 6/41; Hunt - 10/42 bWAR Rose - 2.4; Hunt - 2.5 Rose, however, had the edge in PA's - 696 to 600. But Hunt indisputably played at a higher rate than Rose did in '63. Wrong I could be, but I had always guessed that Rose was an incredible self-promoter right from the get-go.

By the shway, thanks for quizzing up this thread. Seeing one's thread get traction only because of a benevolent hijack beats no traction at all.

Frank Robinson.

india.jonathan

Zat Pachry.

If it's one guess per post, I'll open with ... Chris Sabo.

Blue Jay manager Charlie Montoyo mysteriously pulled first base coach Mark Budzinski in the third inning on Saturday, before they both left the dugout for the remainder of the game. The clubhouse was closed after the game and all that was said was that they were attending to a personal matter. Turned out yesterday to be the worst sort of personal matter, as Budzinski's teenage daughter had died. I don't think we yet know how, and one kinda wants to know and wants to never know.

The Cincinnati Reds may not look much like a respectable MLB club with a 27-51 record, but since their storied 3-22 start, they've almost tread water at a 24-29 pace. So, if you look at that start as the performance of an under-staffed AA team playing in the majors, and their subsequent period as an almost manageable major league team, the average should be about an average AAA team — a team you should win against if you play crisp solid baseball. You can't just assume a sweep. A mediocre AAA team has experienced players capable of punching back, guessing right, and playing big league ball twice a week. You can't assume a sweep, but having seen the Mets play good, very good, and excellent teams for what feels like a month, I understand if you want a sweep. One thing on the Mets side is perhaps injuries. Second-year catcher Tyler Stephenson was looking like the squad's lone All-Star, but in the midst of a red-hot streak a little over a month ago, he broke a thumb on a foul tip. He appears to be a fast healer, because he just got sent to AAA on a rehab assignment, but I'd be surprised if he returns at all for this series. More likely to come back is the Reds other injured Tyler, rightfielder Tyler Naquin, who's played three or so AAA games on his rehab assignment. [FIMG=600]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/04/23/PCIN/81a50fe4-7a9f-4c9a-b186-0f6d2d5e37c8-042222_REDS_0015.jpg?width=660&height=441&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp[/FIMG] Catching: Soft hitting backups Aramis Garcia ® and Mike Papierski (S) staff the catcher's box until Stephenson returns, and they're pretty analogous to Tomás Nido and Patrick Mazeika — the former a defense first guy, whose defense isn't quite so hot that you want to keep running out there until he gets his batting figured out, and the latter a consistently decent-hitting minor league catcher who hasn't translated that to the bigs yet. First Base: Through the Reds' wretched start, future Hall-of-Famer Joey Votto was probably the worst player in baseball, and there were only two or three other candidates. He was go-see-your-doctor bad — hitting .129 / .291 / .143 // .434 through April. So, of course he found himself in May, going .278 / .395 / .639 // 1.034 in 11 games, and followed that up with a pretty strong June. (.274 / .361 / .495 // .856). He's no All-Star anymore, maybe, but he was 16th in MVP voting as recently as last season, he still plays in a bandbox, and he's still a future Hall-of-Famer, so when he comes to the plate, don't let that .214 batting average fool you. April is long-gone. Second Base: Jonathan India, your 2021 Rookie of the Year, missed six weeks in April and May with a pulled hammy. You know how hammies work, and you know how young players play, so you'll be not shocked at all to know he came back too early and reinjured it. What may shock you is knowing just how ghastly his performance has been since returning in mid-June. But again, he's still a defending RoY with beautiful hair, and he loves to get hit by pitches, so be glad that he's playing poorly, but don't take that .217 average lightly. Third Base: Brandon Drury who was the best hitter on the 2021 Mets for maybe 10 days, has been the best hitter on the 2022 Reds for most of the season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get the team's lone All-Star nod with a .270 / .329 / .523 // .852. While it doesn't speak well of a team when your best hitter is a 29-year-old who spent most of the previous season in the minors, 16 homers is 16 homers. He likes to swing, and probably smells that All-Star spot, so make him chase. Shortstop: Kyle Farmer can hit OK for a shortstop, but on most teams, he'd be a Wigginton — a second-/third-base guy who you'd only use at short in a pinch. Left Field: Thirty-four-year-old Tommy Pham has had a really interesting career. His bat might have played higher if he played in the middle of the diamond, but he's been solid, has plenty of post-season experience. He has no shortage of really compelling copy: He's from a mixed African-American and Vietnamese-American background. He's a twin. His dad was incarcerated when he was born, and has a long rap sheet. He wore leg braces as a kid. He's been reportedly stabbed at least twice — once (by his account) by his stepfather, and once (by police account) by a combatant outside a strip club, because baseball. He's pretty open about being a frequent gambler. I wouldn't be surprised to see him move to a contender at the deadline — perhaps to the Mets, who once tried to boost their prospects mid-season by bringing in veteran Vietnamese-American Danny Graves from the Reds. Plus, there was that whole Tim Tebow thing. Center Field: Since his rookie year in 2019, Nick Senzel has been a human power outage, and doesn't exactly make up for that with on-basing or base-stealing. He probably should be losing more time to Albert Almora, Jr., than he has, but I guess they still hope for a future from him. Plus, Almora has been forced into service in ... Right Field: A 2021-Mets-like vaccum has hit at this position, and with injuries to Naquin, Jake Fraley, and Aristedes Aquino, they've been running Almora J. and Max Schrock out there. You mostly know Almora. Schrock hasn't hit for squat. Recent Met and backup infielder Matt Reynolds has even seen time out there. You can see why I think Naquin is coming back for this series, ready or not. DH: Possible future salary dump Mike Moustakas is a good argument against the DH. Starting Pitchers: GAME ONE: Taijuan Walker goes against righty Hunter Greene. Greeen sports a 5.72 ERA and is one of two Hunters on this staff. That's about the most mid-American thing ever. If I had to guess which team had multiple Hunters, I'd guess Cincinnati or Arizona. Greene's a talented 22-year-old rookie, throws the ball a MILLION miles an hour, and broke Jacob deGrom's record for most 100-mph-+ pitches in a game like his first time out. He's given up 13 runs in 14 innings over his last three, but his control is mostly pretty good for a flamethrower, hi aquilles heel being his league-leading homers-allowed figure. He threw a one-hit shutout against the Diamondbacks back on June 6, though, and this guy is really expected to turn a corner, so best to chase him off the mound early before he remembers what a blue-chip prospect he is and finds a groove. GAME TWO: Max Scherzer is expected to return against lefty Nick Lidolo. Lidolo is a rookie first-rounder, recently out of college, who is also coming off the 60-day injured list for this start, so both starters could exit early, possibly creating some fifth-of-July fireworks late. GAME Three: TBD vs. Graham Ashcraft. The Mets haven't announced a starter yet, but Chris Bassitt is in the mix if he's sufficiently recovered from Covid, and David Peterson is a possibility if he's sufficiently recovered from fatherhood. Ashcroft will be the third rookie the Reds throw at the Mets, but he's stocky pitch-to-contact guy. Less young Nolan Ryan (like Hunter Greene) and more young Joe Blanton. Or shorter Ed Lynch. Bullpen: Hunter Strickland, 2020 Met, is the default closer, but the Reds haven't really settled on one all year. And with good reason. This is really where other big league teams can outclass the Reds. It's like the Phils the last few years, into their bullpen and go to town. Let them walk a guy, hit a guy and then give up a three-run-homer or a two-run double, and then do it again. Just put on your wellies and open the spigot. Anybody having a decent year has hit the injured list, and anybody having a lousy year gets mercilessly trotted out again and again. Expect to see Jeff Hoffman (the only solid option) a few times, and Art Warren (not solid at all) once or twice as well. They fucking have this guy named Riever Sanmartin who has somehow thrown 24 1/3 innings despite compiling a just-barely-legal 9.99 ERA. Tall lefty Ross Detweiler is their other lefty and you've seen plenty of him as a Nat. If we do not score liberally against this crew, it's on us. One-Time Friends: Luis Cessa was a Mets minor leaguer who once upon a time helped bring Yoenis Céspedes from Detroit. He's now a seven-year vet, who has had some success, but is now generously contributing to the leakiest bullpen in baseball. Ineffective closer Hunter Strickland was briefly a highly ineffective 2020 Met. Top hitter Brandon Drury closed a gap for the 2022 Mets and third or forth outfielder Albert Almora, Jr. opened a gap for that very same squadron. Reds utility man (if he isn't DFA'd sometime before the start of the series) Matt Reynolds was drafted in 2012 by the Mets and started out for them in 2016 and 2017 before returning for a single plate appearance earlier this season. Hitting coach Alan Zinter was the Mets first-round selection of 1989, spending like 13 years in the minors before finally debuting in 2002 for Houston. Not the shiniest moment for then-Mets scouting director Roland Johnson, but it's good to see a gray-bearded Zinter still in the game.

And Gosuke Katoh.

Which platform did you get this off of?

Matt Harvey and Steven Matz each had a minor league start this weekend too. With Wheeler going against St. Louis, the only one idle was Noah Syndergaard.

I'm pretty sure G-Fafif, without checking notes, can rattle off a list of what you call "ghost" Mets (aka "paper Mets") who made it to the big league roster, but didn't get into a game. Thus far, 2022 has given us Gosuke Katoh. Some years back, we had a thread about a blog post in which Keith Olberman declares Wilbur Huckle to have been a big leaguer on paper, an assertion that researchers in this group couldn't support.

If deGrom heads to Brooklyn for his next start, he won't be alone. After the game, the organization promoted outfielders Alex Ramirez and Stanley Consuegra, along with pitcher Dominic Hamel, who went six in relief of deGrom for his fifth win.

Plus, he lasted long enough in Binghamton to eat on Scherzer's dime.

Passing Tommy Lasorda is pretty sweet, but look at Dusty Baker sneaking up on Walter F. Alston! Career Wins as an MLB Manager 1) Connie Mack (HoF, 53 seasons): 3,731 =#002D72]　Tony La Russa projected to end of season (35 seasons): 2,901.00 2) Tony La Russa (HoF, 35 seasons): 2,859 =#FF5910]　Tony La Russa at start of season (34 seasons): 2,820 3) John McGraw (HoF, 33 seasons): 2,763 4) Bobby Cox (HoF, 29 seasons): 2,504 5) Joe Torre (HoF, 29 seasons): 2,326 6) Sparky Anderson (HoF, 26 seasons): 2,194 7) Bucky Harris (HoF, 29 seasons): 2,158 8) Joe McCarthy (HoF, 24 seasons): 2,125 =#002D72]　Dusty Baker projected to end of season (21 seasons): 2,092.92 9) Walter Alston (HoF, 23 seasons): 2,040 10) Dusty Baker (25 seasons): 2,038 11) Leo Durocher (HoF, 24 seasons): 2,008 12) Bruce Bochy (25 seasons): 2,003 =#FF5910]　Dusty Baker at start of season (24 seasons): 1,987 13) Casey Stengel (HoF, 25 seasons): 1,905 14) Gene Mauch (26 seasons): 1,902 15) Bill McKechnie (HoF, 25 seasons): 1,896 =#002D72]　Terry Francona projected to end of season (21 seasons): 1,867.26 16) Lou Piniella (23 seasons): 1,835 17) Terry Francona (22 seasons): 1,822 =#FF5910]　Terry Francona at start of season (21 seasons): 1,782 18) Jim Leyland (22 seasons): 1,769 =#002D72]　Buck Showalter projected to end of season (21 seasons): 1,651.48 19) Mike Scioscia (19 seasons): 1,650 20) Ralph Houk (20 seasons): 1,619 21) Fred Clarke (HoF, 19 seasons): 1,602 22) Buck Showalter (21 seasons): 1,600 23) Tommy Lasorda (HoF, 21 seasons): 1,599 24) Dick Williams (HoF, 21 seasons): 1,571 =#FF5910]　Buck Showalter at start of season (20 seasons): 1,551 25) Clark Griffith (HoF, 20 seasons): 1,491

Why are there ninjas on his belly?

DeGrom sets down two more batters on six pitches and his evening is done. Six batters — five strikeouts and a hit batsman.

Guerra grounds out to end the inning. Tune in now if you want some deGrom action!

De Los Santos walks, and the Mets have Bargallo on the ropes. The only Met to make an out is a slumming guy from Syracuse who hit into two with one swing.

Consuegra caroms a ball off the shortstop's glove and hustles to second. Lugo knocks one up the middle and the METS TAKE A 1-0 LEAD!!! RUN SUPPORT FOR DEGROM!!

Alex Ramirez leads off with a walk. Tzu-Wei Lin, also on a rehab assignment (from Syracuse) bounces into an easy double-play. DeGrom threw 18 pitches in the first. I think he was scheduled for only 25, so ... .

Listen live here: https://www.milb.com/st-lucie/fans/audio-listen-livehttps://www.milb.com/st-lucie/fans/audio-listen-live

deGrom mows down the first two before hitting the number three guy with an 0-2 backfoot slider. Cleanup batter goes down looking. [TABLE][TR][TH][/TH][TH][FIMG=250]https://cdn.freebiesupply.com/logos/large/2x/jupiter-hammerheads-logo-png-transparent.png[/FIMG][/TH][TH][/TH][TH][/TH][TH][FIMG=250]https://seeklogo.com/images/S/st-lucie-mets-logo-90FD850AE4-seeklogo.com.png[/FIMG] [/TH][TH][/TH][/TR][TR][TH]#[/TH][TH]Player[/TH][TH]Pos.[/TH][TH]#[/TH][TH]Player[/TH][TH]Pos.[/TH][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]1[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Osiris Johnson (R)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]dh[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]1[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Alex Ramirez (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]cf[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]2[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Carlos Santiago (S)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]ss[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]2[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Tzu-Wei Lin (S)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]ss[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]3[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Ira Lewis (S)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]2b[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]3[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Stanley Consuegra (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]lf[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]4[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Brady Allen (R)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]cf[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]4[/TD][TD]=#002D72]William Lugo (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]3b[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]5[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Zach Zubia (R)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]1b[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]5[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Omar De Los Santos (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]rf[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]6[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Cristhian Rodriguez (L)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]3b[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]6[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Justin Guerrera (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]2b[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]7[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Jorge Caballero (R)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]rf[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]7[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Jack-Thomas Woid (L)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]1b[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]8[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]José Estrad (R)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]cf[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]8[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Raul Beracierta (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]dh[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab]9[/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Angeudis Santos (S)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]lf[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]9[/TD][TD]=#002D72]Juan Loyo (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]c[/TD][/TR][TR][TH][/TH][TH][/TH][TH][/TH][TH][/TH][TH][/TH][TH][/TH][/TR][TR][TD]=#a1a7ab][/TD][TD]=#d8365e]Sandro Bargallo (L)[/TD][TD]=#a1a7ab]sp[/TD][TD]=#FF5910][/TD][TD]=#002D72]Jacob deGrom (R)[/TD][TD]=#FF5910]sp[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]