Ceetar

Can we change this to Pessimism check since the question is phrased rather negatively? I think they're for real. More importantly, I think the Nationals aren't a 90+ win team. It's maybe worth noting that they were 35-33 on this date last year and finished 96-66. 61-33 after this point. They're not going to do that again. (In part because the Mets aren't going to roll over for them this year) I'm pre-writing my narrative for this year. David Wright returns 8/1, plays in 50 games, hits .333/.401/.550. Captain America. Harvey allows 4 earned runs in September. Syndergaard strikes out 17 in a game. At some point someone will realize that the Mets threw 9 consecutive innings of no-hit ball over a Syndergaard-Harvey back to backer. National columnists will fall all over themselves to pick the Mets to win the World Series going into the playoffs.

Edgy MD wrote: deGrom. I know it's anathema to Back Page Terry, but part of the dynamic and formula with the six-man rotation should be a willingness to use the guy three days away from his next start as a relief option. we're back to 5 man though.

Frayed Knot wrote: And not just 'go statue' but then made the 2B chase him for a sec in order to kill any chance at a DP. Makes one wonder what Murph would have done in that kind of situation (either as the fielder OR runner): Run into the fielder? Run backwards? Call a time out? Throw to 3rd? Fake a punt? hestiated, panicked, pivoted and tore his knee.

you seem to imply this is an 'update'. It's not an update, it's doubletalk and as such does not diverge from prior reports.

Edgy MD wrote: Alderman Sandy told the press today that Wright "could" be back by the All Star break. That's a serious divergence from prior reports that he "could" miss the season, but I guess he resets the optimistic outlook. really all he said is that it's realistic to look at the ASB as a realistic possibility of Wright's return. So you know, nothing new.

winning 15 in a row is hard.

The Mets are 9-0 against the Blue Jays all time at home.

Is on his way to New York and is expected to be activated tonight...Morris, 22, will wear #64...A corresponding roster move will be made...Morris, a native of St. Thomas, would be the 12th player born in the Virgin Islands to appear in the majors, including original Met Joe Christopher...

I didn't know Yogi posted here. "The Mets giving Wright money is a clear example of them not having any money!"

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I agree it was a reach for the Mets to sign Wright to an extension like they did given their other financial issues but there's probably an argument to be made for it in terms of the larger picture (i.e.: The Mets could not be taken seriously without Wright, would invite the kind of public ridicule and calls for scrutiny they're getting now, there was every chance Wright could be worth the investment etc etc) If they thought the Reyes backlash was bad, Wright would have been many many times worse. Also, no indication that without him on the books they'd necessarily devote the $$ to others. or that they specifically passed on guys because he was on the books. He still might be worth it. Overall he's got a pretty team-friendly deal. It's easy to point to the injuries, but spinal stinosis is not something you can predict. that's an argument against lost contract period, because a guy could get by a bus tomorrow. I mean, he had an amazing year, followed by an average year that maybe would've been better had he not played through injuries and taken 30 days off, and then this year. fwiw, Fangraphs has Wright at being worth $60 million so far while being paid about $40.

Josh Donaldson, 3B, is beating the tar out of the ball. Slugging .575 with 17 HR. 52 runs leads the league and 47 RBI. wRC+ of 161 which is 8th in baseball. Was traded by Oakland last winter for Franklin Barreto (minors), Kendall Graveman, Brett Lawrie and Sean Nolin. Good trade for the Jays.

funny, I almost got a t-shirt on Tuesday. Was up in the excelsior. Saw one hit the corner but wasn't sure if it tipped in or fell down. I sorta meandered over there (no one in the last two sections, and this was pre-game) but an usher hustled over and grabbed it and gave it to a kid 2 sections over who seemed to have no idea what was going on. but hey, free shirt!

Edgy MD wrote: Joel Sherman: another place not to look for insight. I was going to bitch about that excerpt and halfway through I realized there were so many holes I didn't know where to start. I can't tell if he's arguing that the Mets should or shouldn't spend money.

Edgy MD wrote: "Severely clogged sinuses." Plawecki has been suffering from "severely clogged sinuses." He needs strangers to come and cut his snot out.

eh, rotations change. Few people actually bought tickets for Sunday with Thor in mind, was just lucky.(Also, I'd rather have seen Gee start his last start, so there's that) Also Muno is already back.

the other concern here though, is that the Mets will be using 9 hitters in the middle of next week. (well, 'hitters') So 6 man rotation, 9 guys batting, 8 guys in the pen. That's 23. It's a nice bench.

d'Kong76 wrote: Ceetar wrote: Sure, the off-field stuff informs the on-field stuff in some way. But we're not obligated to have the top payroll. The Wilpons put out a product. Take it or leave it. Horse piddle! They're lucky they have addicts like us who hang around in spite of them. Well sure, but they DO have us. But just because we're addicts doesn't mean we have an added right or insight as to how the meth should be made. Ceetar wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Don't act like nobody here knows the Wilpons are incompetent fools unable to make money selling the Mets to Mets fans. They're the worst, everyone knows that. I'm not. If I post a positive article about Jacob deGrom, am I assuming that nobody but me knows how good deGrom is? If it's a crappy post yes. If it's an interesting post talking about various aspects of his success, no. No. Idea. Whatsoever. I don't need to read a repost of a "deGrom is good" topic either if it's already been done to death. I can read the ones that were already posted. if you find a new article with new info, post that, sure.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Don't act like nobody here knows the Wilpons are incompetent fools unable to make money selling the Mets to Mets fans. They're the worst, everyone knows that. I'm not. If I post a positive article about Jacob deGrom, am I assuming that nobody but me knows how good deGrom is? If it's a crappy post yes. If it's an interesting post talking about various aspects of his success, no. I honestly don't give a crap about the Wilpons. it's not about keeping track of off field/on field stuff at the same time, it's that I ONLY CARE about the on field stuff. I barely care about the minor league stuff. Sure, the off-field stuff informs the on-field stuff in some way. But we're not obligated to have the top payroll. The Wilpons put out a product. Take it or leave it. I'm not writing long diatribes criticizing Indra Nooyi for not re-releasing Crystal Pepsi because that's what I really want him to do with her company. COKE re-released Surge cola. GET WITH THE PROGRAM INDRA! You're an embarrassment to soda companies.

Edgy MD wrote: Well, Dilson � as you'll note � still has to prove he's a worthy part of a big-league lineup. So does Lagares, I guess. I feel like he's done his best hitting the last two seasons in the hot weather, but ... well, he's pretty much better than Campbell, but we'll see what happens when Tejada and then Murphy returns.

TransMonk wrote: The Mets haven't won a series since that sweep of the Phillies May 25-27 (though, they did split a four-gamer with ARZ). It would be nice to see them go on a little run here vs. against these teams who have B nicknames over the next couple of weeks...starting with a win today. Agreed, we could actually accidentally let the Braves back into this race if we're not careful. With d'Arnaud back and hopefully Herrera can make some progress and Murphy will be back sooner rather than later they're saying, so suddenly we could be back to a no-holes lineup with the above average Tejada on the bench.

he's stated repeatedly he's not comfortable there. What Terry should say in response to this: "Wah wah wah. What a baby. I don't care if you're not 'comfortable.' You're getting $8.5 million dollars, you'll fucking play catcher if we tell you to." well yes, I do agree with that. Especially since he probably won't be worse than Campbell. At least on days we're facing a lefty and can put Mayberry in LF?

Gwreck wrote: Yes, no team ever suffers injuries and it's [crossout]a good idea[/crossout] acceptable to plan as if your starters will be healthy all year instead of having some efficient redundancy. You're not getting efficient redundancy for David Wright, he's elite. You're not getting efficient redundancy for Travid d'Arnaud, catchers are hard to come by and you had at least some hope that Plawecki WAS better than any random veteran guy. You had Herrera and Tejada for Murphy, and that's generally worked out fine. Nieuwenhuis probably would've been fine over the aggregate, just like Mayberry will be. The outfield's kinda been fine too, expect for Lagares who's sorta coming around now anyway. I'm not really sure what the obvious solution here was that the Mets whiffed on. I mean, I would've taken Peralta personally to play SS. That's one, but it's not easy to say that that was financially driven either. Maybe they didn't trust him to bounce back amid PED stuff.

I guess he's just more open with Howie or Gary.

err, I think the injuries to Wright, Murphy and d'Arnaud are the main culprits in making this team 'offensively starved' No quote from Sandy is telling. 2014 was an important year. He didn't say it was going to be a contending year, a 'go for it year'. all years are important. What he's really saying is nothing.

Frayed Knot wrote: So still no backup infielder - at least in the short term. They (GKR) were talking last night about Recker in an emergency although I don't understand why Cuddyer isn't an option. Hell, when Wright went down I wanted him as the first option (both because he's played it before and also in an effort to get Nieuwenberry some semi-regular work) but apparently the powers at be think that ship has sailed even in a pickle. he's stated repeatedly he's not comfortable there.