Edgy MD

Noshington. The DC park has a lot more bizarre features than that.

NOU. Here's an overhead rendering of the same park, to give you a sense of the building's shape.

That is not The Way of the Fen above. I like how "bull pen" is two words in the Shea seating chart above. Seemingly every term in baseball evolved that way. Strike out became strikeout. Home run became home run. Even baseball was originally base ball. Frequently, on the way from being a two-word term to being a one-worder, there's an in-between stage when the expression is stylized as a hyphenate.

The weird part about Tatis is that he is still right around his career batting average and walk rate. It's just that his power that has disappeared. In this era, when guys fade, it's usually a case of him still getting the occasional homer, but all the other numbers are cratering.

Post-Seattle updates! Austin Slater: .586 (and presumably done with the 2026 Mets) Bo Bichette: .583 Update One: Now at .591 after closing the Seattle series with a 4-for-4 game. Luis Torrens: .583 Update One: Now at .578 after closing the Seattle series with a 2-for-4 game with a double, but going 0-for-3 in the previous game. Hayden Senger: .539 Update One: Went 0-for-2 in the Seattle series after launching his first career homer in the sweep over Miami. Now at .467. Ronny Mauricio: .532 (and IL-ing it) Jorge Polanco: .532 (and rehabbing with Binghamton) Tyrone Taylor: .530 (and chilling on the IL as well) Vidal Bruján: .347 (and flying out against a position player today) Nick Morabito: .083 (back in Syracuse, acting all embittered and short with his teammates) Tommy Pham: .071 (last seen in the minors with Baltimore, wondering if his tenure on the 2026 Mets even actually happened) Andy Ibáñez: .000 (Syracusing it and dreaming of any kind of second chance)

I was looking at some sweet seats back in 1970. The price was a little steep, but once I learned that the fence was 10 feet in high in left center and right center, well, I put my money down.

After a day and a half off, the Mets report to San Diego for a series opener featuring Christian Scott against Michael King. King has been a mainstay at the top of Padres rotation for a few years after being wasted int he bullpen by the Yankees, and he kind of does it old-school with control and guile rather than malicious stuff. Two seamers and four seamers, changing speeds and switching sides of the plate, inducing soft contact, and hard to wait out. He even looks kind of shlubby and prematurely middle-aged like a 1970s Padres rotation mainstay. Can't you picture that guy nestled into a rotation between Randy Jones and Bob Owchinko? Christian Scott has been mostly Christian Hott over his last five starts, but has had trouble getting through the fifth, so he has only one decision (a win). With the Mets best relievers well rested following the Seattle series ending in the blowout and a long break in between, look for Mendoza to again be quick with the hook.

It is not Oriole Park.

In between a handful of stray Met minor-leaguers being lovingly rehomed and sad demotion for Jonah Tong, a strange series of transactions befell Christian Arroyo. Transactions, 5/5/2026 GOING Signed away to Minor-League Contract by WAS Relief Pitchers Colby Frieda R/R DoB: 37462 High Level: Division I+ (2024) Colby Freida, who does not have naturally curly hair, had an ignominious start to his pro career. He was signed by the Mets out of college as an undrafted free agent, but released at the end of spring training, without playing any actual regular-season games for the organization. This is why the only thumbnail pic at left depicts him as a Troy University Trojan. He also played for Kentucky, and frankly, I would have stuck with that, as that Troy hat insignia looks like the Tesla logo, which itself looks like an intrauterine device. Anyhow, his starting off with a 10.50 ERA through six innings, as a 23-year-old playing against teenagers in the Florida Complex League, suggests the Mets may not have been particularly rash in letting him go, but we're glad to see him playing for pay. Transactions, 5/12/2026 GOING Signed away by Saltillo (Mexican League) Relief Pitchers Daniel Juarez L/L DoB: 36797 High Level: AAA (2025) Venezuelan-born infielder Daniel Juarez certainly seems like a natural for La Liga Mexicana de Béisbol. Unfortunately, the circuit has no team situated in Ciudad Juárez, but Daniel has done the next-best thing, settling in with a 1.42 ERA through his first 6 1/3 innings with Los Saraperos de Saltillo (who have a much cooler hat insignia than Troy U!). Having been in the Mets system since 2019, topping out at AAA in 2025, he will almost certainly get another chance in affiliated ball. Transactions, 5/16/2026 GOING Signed away by Ciudád de México (Mexican League) Relief Pitchers Kevin Gowdy R/R DoB: 35750 High Level: AAA (2025) Kevin Gowdy, with his very jocky name, is a minor-league vet still looking for his first taste of The Show at 28. He was within sniffing distance for a few years there, but was deeply ineffective — lotta walks, lotta hits — at Bingo this year, and so it's off to the Mexican capital to find himself. And there are worse ways to live. Transactions, 5/22/2026 GOING Signed away to Minor-League Contract by KCR Relief Pitchers Luke Jackson R/R DoB: 1991-08-24 High Level: MLB (2026) It's been five teams in 10 years for veteran reliever Luke Jackson, and a few more at the minor-league level. After his brief-and-abortive tenure with the Syracuse Mets, we are happy to see him take his career to a new employer, but fans of the Omaha Royals may be less happy as his struggles to remain afloat have continued apace. He's got an MLB championship ring, though, and you don't. Transactions, 6/1/2026 GOING COMING Released Sent to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment Infielders Catchers Christian Arroyo Francisco Alvarez R/R DoB: 1995-05-30 High Level: MLB (2023) R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 High Level: MLB (2026) Francisco Alvarez' capacity for rapid healing and torrid rehab assignments has now reached near-legendary status. He has already gone 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI in his first start in Syracuse, while catching six innings and throwing out the only Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRider baserunner foolish enough to run on him. If only he could turn that miracle-working ability toward keeping himself from over-swinging at the big-league level, he could grow into the MVP performer that Mets Roster Central knows he can be. At any rate, don't grow too attached to Hayden Senger. Christian Arroyo has been the most consistent hitter at Syracuse all season — hitting .300 with lots of MLB experience in a big market and all poised to be the guy that makes the Mets everybody's first call when they have an emergency at second base. And that team may very well be the Mets themselves. So why on earth would the Mets just up and release the guy? Mets Roster Central notes that Arroyo got cut loose on the first of the month, which suggests that he had an upward-mobility clause in his contract, requiring the club to release him by a certain date (June 1 is a nice, round date) if he hasn't yet been promoted. AAA guys with beaucoup big-league experience tend to get such clauses. Transactions, 6/2/2026 COMING Transferred from Binghamton to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment Re-Signed and Assigned to Syracuse Infielders Jorge Polanco Christian Arroyo S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 1995-05-30 High Level: MLB (2023) And there you have it! The cat came back the very next day! After less than 24 hours of free agency, Arroyo is back with Syracuse, and we suspect he never left the club at all. Perhaps he is back with a modest salary bump, and perhaps he has a further promote-me-or-release-me clause set to trigger in another month, but back he is, hopefully continuing to hit .300 and not putting voodoo pins into a Marcus Semien doll. Jorge Polanco has gone from Binghamton to Syracuse on his personal rehab journey, and along the way, has played all of three innings in the field, and number that is not expected to grow propitiously in the coming weeks (or even months) as his struggle with Achilles tendonitis continues. Thanks to Commissioner Manfred, however, playing the field is not a requirement for being a New York Met, so he is expected to return in the near future. But as the former middle infielder was always going to be hardpressed to provide enough offense to justify his deployment at first, whether a wounded-stem version of him can provide the stick to be the Mets DH is certainly an open question. He won't likely take any particular job away, but as a switch-hitter, rather scrape appearances in different measures away from Jared Young, MJ Melendez, Eric Wagaman, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos, but unless another injury clears a path for his activation, we can expect Waggy to be the guy who loses his roster spot. Transactions, 6/2/2026 GOING NEUTRAL COMING Demoted to Syracuse Transferred from Bullpen Promoted from Syracuse Signed as International Amateur Free Agent out of Venezuela, Assigned to DSL Orange Relief Pitcher Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Jonah Tong Sean Manaea Joey Gerber Wraniger Navas R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 High Level: MLB (2026) R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 2008-01-19 High Level: Academy (2026) Mets Roster Central was actually impressed with Jonah Tong's recent outing against Seattle, and was disappointed to see him exiled back to Syracuse for further seasoning. His stuff was certainly big league with several of his offerings qualifying as out pitches, but clearly his faith was not as strong in his stuff as ours is, as he spent much of the evening nibbling around the edges, and lost too many to walks. We retain faith that he has a weaponized future. Who gets his slot in the "rotation" (such as it is, with all the opening an piggy-backing going on) is not a matter that has yet been publicly decided, but Sean Manea has certainly moved himself to the front of the conversation with his long relief work in recent weeks, so we are going to plant him there for now until we hear more. Please welcome back the cute-assed dimples of Joey Gerber. Joey has been far more successful in the majors than in the minors this month, but if you're going to have a disparity, that's the way to have it. And if Manea isn't the answer, we keep looking down that depth chart, and if we go 200 or so steps down, we meet a new Venezuelan teenager with the rocking name of Wranager Navas, A novice he may be for now, but may the Metly circle of life ever continue. See you in San Diego!

Too late, because ... Cooby is on the board! Such a limited amount of features and tiering on display in the chart, and so you'd almost think you were looking at a AAA field, when in fact you are looking at perhaps the most celebrated latter-day park off them all! Let's look at this beloved park from the first-base side:

Arizona is correct. Chase field (not named for Chevy) is one of two fields with the path between the mound and the plate. Beyond that, the straight and perpendicular centerfield wall and the vertical bullpens situated at the foul lines (not marked in this rendering) are particular to the Phoenix ballpark. Also, pretty symmetrical for a latter day edifice. Let's get a sideview of #3.

That's not even Adell's first career four-base error.

That is correct. The tipoff is not only a symmetrical playing area, but a symmetrical seating area (and pretty much a symmetrical structure) placing this one squarely in the mid-century modern generation of parks, and Dodger Stadium is the last girl standing from that era. Our second chart comes with some nice 3D overlays and shadow effects from a fan-site devoted to the team who calls this park home.

Gerber puts it to bed!! Winning a day game followed by an off day followed by a night game ... on the West Coast ... gives you a lot of time to savor this one. See you in San Diego!

And he keeps his day perfect-ish by plating a run with a sac fly.

More important-like, Dante Bichette is sitting on a 4-for-4 game.

Also, that two-run single by Dante Bichette was sweet, but had not J.P. Crawford reached the Derek-Jeter-range period of his career, that might well have been an inning-ending double-play.

Gary said there was nothing that Naylor could do when that ball ricocheted off the base, but if anybody knows how false that is, it's Daniel F. Murphy.

Keep calling him "Dante." Pass it on.

A successful hit-and-run/run-and-hit is such a rarity that MJ Melendez didn't know what to do when Torrens executed it perfectly.

Also, bad checked swing call against Marcus Semien there.

I just stirred from a nap. Sometimes it's 1998 in Napland. Have you heard the new track from Third-Eye Blind? Also, those new iMacs look pretty sweet.

This game already features a hit AND a run by Dante Bichette!

Can you identify the MLB Stadium by their seating chart? It may be SeatGeek chart. It may be a TicketMaster chart. It may be a chart from any of the many other semi-criminal shakedown agencies cornering the market on tickets and pumping all sorts of premium fees in there. You don't know! Here's stadium number one.

However Stearns may be indicted, let us not call the defense worse if it isn't.