The Hot Corner

I always liked Cabrera, but that was a totally classless move. Asdrubal kind of "sucker punched him". I saw in the comments that it was the hitters 3rd home run of the game. I'm not a big fan of bat flips, but it seems there must have been more to it than that to cause such a reaction..

I believe he can opt out after 2025 and the Mets have an option ($20 M) for 2028. I believe there is a No Trade provision as well.

Very good start to what should be a very busy off-season. Glad to see Diaz remaining with the Mets.

I would definitely attempt to retain Walker. At the very least I would extend him a qualifying offer.

I got 4 of 7. I apparently don't don't give pitchers the high strike. Both of the letter high strike I called a ball.

I went with the Astros, not really a fan, but at least they're not the Phillies.

With all the holes that the Mets will need to address this offseason, I believe it is foolish to commit too heavily to any one individual such that the team can not adequately afford to fill the remaining holes. It's nice to believe there is no limitation on what the Mets can afford to spend in order to build the team for 2023 and beyond. However, I do not think it is realistic to believe that funds are limitless. Yes, Steve Cohen is enormously wealthy, but he, as do virtually all businesses and individuals have budgets. To think the funds available to the Mets are virtually limitless is folly. I definitely would keep all lines of communication open with DeGrom, but if retaining him for 3-4 years costs so much that the Mets are unable to address Nimmo, Diaz, multiple openings in the rotation, an upgrade at catcher, and some bullpen help, then it is better to let him walk in my view.

All 12 teams in the playoffs are good teams (some better than others), but in a short series it is often a matter of which team gets hot and is playing their best at that particular time. There is a lot of randomness or luck (as batmags has noted) that comes into play in a short series. The Dodgers practically owned the Padres in head to head match ups this season (14-5), but got beat 3 games to 1 in the playoffs. The Padres are playing their best at the right time and subsequently outplayed the Dodgers (and the Mets) when it mattered most. The Guardians are attempting to do the same thing against the Yankees after New York won the regular season series (5-1) by a cumulative score of 38-14. Oh yeah, Go Guardians!

Definitely hope the Padres continue that playoff magic.

I too dream that Jake would decide no to opt out, but I'm afraid that's only a dream. Just like virtually every other player that hits the open market, money talks. I expect he is looking for a huge increase in his annual salary and he will almost assuredly sign with the highest bidder. If that happens to be the Mets, I'm sure he will be happy, but I don't expect him to give them a discount to stay with the organization.

Many people, Keith Hernandez included, felt that Mike Scott was scuffing and doctoring balls, rather than actually throwing a splitter.

Frayed Knot wrote: Braves opted for rookie Spenser Strider in place of vet Charlie Morton. Strider was perfect thru two. He didn't survive the 3rd. 6 - 0 Phillies, middle of 3 The Phillies must have got a lot of "lucky" hits.

I saw that Josh Donaldson got thrown out at first base for doing a homerun trot on a ball off the top of the right field wall. While he was doing his trot and high fiving the first base coach the Guardians right fielder player the carom and threw to second base before Donaldson was half way there. The shocked Donaldson then tried to retreat to first base, but was thrown out pretty handily. The conventional 9-6-3 force out. Unfortunately, the Yankees scored 3 runs despite Donaldson's bone headed play.

Probably not much need for a poll. Still I want to voice my support for the young, underdog Guardians.

I will go with the Braves. Not sure why, but I just don't like the Phillies. I may not like the Braves, but I respect and admire the way the Braves have built themselves into a perennial power. They are a well run and efficient organization.

Going with the Mariners. I can't pull for a bunch of cheaters. I know that was in the past, but sevral of the current lineup were there at the time. Plus I will generally go with the underdog.

Did I want the Mets to win and move on to play the Dodgers? Hell, yes. Did I think they would beat the Padres? I certainly hoped so, but I wouldn't have bet on it. In reality, I believe the Padres were a tough draw (obviously) for the Mets. Yu Darvish practically owned them this season (and his career). Joe Musgrove was very possibly the best pitcher in MLB the final 2-3 weeks of the season and he continued his dominant streak last night. The Padres won the season series against the Met 4-2, so this should not be the most shocking result. The Mets were a consistently good team throughout the year. Unfortunately, they came up short down the stretch, particularly in the crucial Atlanta series. Then again in playoffs against the Padres. I enjoyed watching them this season and though I was disappointed that they bowed out of the post-season so soon, I appreciate all that they accomplished in 2022. I realize that no team is assured victory, no matter how badly we fans desire it.

Now, I Gotta Believe It's Over

The Mets offense needs to kick in. This is still doable, but they need to start getting some hits.

The offense isn't doing anything either. Peterson isn't doing to well at holding down the fort.

Edgy MD wrote: a meaningful chance that it was deGrom's last game as a Met. A damned good chance, I'd say. Curious: for comparable money, do you suspect he thinks "Get me the fuck away from these non-supporting teammates and these horrible memories" or "I like it here and the run support can only get better if I stay"? I believe he is thinking, "Show me the money!"

Lefty Specialist wrote: Well that ate an IKEA bag full of dicks. Was Scherzer pitching hurt and if so, why? Hate to say this, but I have no faith in Jake tonight. Prove me wrong, please. Mets bats are moribund also The Mets offense really needs to kick in and starting getting the hits with RISP. Too often they have been squandering their opportunities early in the games and letting the opposing pitcher settle in with minimal to know damage. I expected last nights game to be a low scoring affair (I was half right) with Scherzer and Darvish on the mound. Darvish continued his mastery of the Mets last night, while Max just did not have it. The Mets anemic offense last night actually raised Darvish's ERA against them for the season. This was his third start against the Mets season and his overall line against them has been "deGrom-like". In three starts against the Mets he has gone 3-0 with 21 IP, 12 Hits, 2 runs allowed, 19 Ks & 1 walk. Thankfully, the Mets won't have to face him again. They really need to get to Snell early tonight. Even deGrom has a hard time winning if the Mets don't score but 1 run.

Well, that was about as bad as it could get. I didn't much from the offense, as Darvish has pretty much owned the Mets this season. I was hoping they could scrape together 3 runs and that classic Max would make that stand up. Alas, Darvish once again owned the Mets (other than Escobar) while Max was clearly not himself. The power deficient Padres put on a home run clinic. Jake needs to have his "A game" tomorrow or it will likely be a very disappointing end to the season.

These Mets got the collective asses kicked tonight.

AS Don Meredith use to say on Monday Night Football, "Turn out the lights, the parties over."