roger_that

Like I said, Lefty, you're probably right, in that the Mets will probably send Baty down to AAA (or up to Syracuse) when McNeil returns--I just don't think that's their best move, and not only because I have more faith than others in Baty's innate ability but also because I think the roster's skewed with only one backup infielder. As to the long run, we must consider the possibility that McNeil's on the downside of his career, maybe closer to the end of the road than we like to think. Personally, I think he's still a decent player--maybe not a contender for the BA championship any more, but a versatile role-player and a hustler that every championship club needs. But he's 33, and a .257 batter the last two seasons, and the odds favor his batting ability going down rather than up from here on in.

=Fman99 post_id=190259 time=1745194847 user_id=86] Baty comes back to the 'Cuse

What exactly is the downside of giving Baty a few hundred more ABs? Possibly stunting Danny Young's career?

And Al Kaline began his career 2-for-13, both singles. Mays started out 1-for-26. Your point? Baty started his career with a .215 average through 591 at-bats. Small samples are cute novelties but are largely meaningless; Baty's career is beyond "small sample" territory and is now in "established pattern" territory. There are a lot of great hitters who had extended slow starts, which we attribute to bad luck, mostly. Clemente began 128-for-502 (.255) with an OBP under .300, and very little power. We don't need Baty to turn into Roberto Clemente to give him a few more big league ABs. We're discussing a choice here between Baty and some 8th-line reliever, a guy who is virtually guaranteed to have a marginal big-league career. Baty's record in AAA suggests that he could be at least a regular player in MLB, and possibly a star.

The Hot Corner wrote: I don't believe the Mets will opt to send a pitcher down when McNeil is ready to join the team. You're probably right, but I'd rather they keep him and send a pitcher to AAA. The Hot Corner wrote: Personally, I would go with Acuna over Baty to make room for McNeil. Acuna is better defensively, has elite speed which can be a valuable asset, and he can play shortstop (if needed) in addition to second or third. Acuna is clearly more valuable than Baty for the reasons you cite. He stays, for sure.

And Al Kaline began his career 2-for-13, both singles. Mays started out 1-for-26. Your point? I'd say it's that small sample sizes mean very little. Which is an argument for Baty, rather than against him.

You could be sorry. He went 6-for-15 between April 13th and 18th, with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. Still, that's one vote for "shitcanning Baty." Anyone else? McNeil is close to being back, I understand.

To be sure. The offense will improve and the defense deteriorate. Both are unsustainable. The stat to consider offensively is not BA, which has become less important lately, but OPS. The Mets' OPS is about .700 (OPS+ is just about league average .100). Last season's OPS/OPS+ was .734/108, and I'd say this year's model, by adding Soto, is probably a bit better than that. By driving in only one crummy run today, Pete falls further behind Hack Wilson's pace. At this rate, he'll drive in just under 177 runs for the season.

Current winning percentage is .68181818181818etc., which works out to about 110 and 1/2 wins. I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

Stanek's ERA blows up!!

I'm "watching" on mlb.com gameday. How the hell did Acuna get a double out of a gb to SS? The 3B tried to barehand it and missed. The SS was out of position and the ball trickled into short left field and Acuna took advantage Thank you. Good thing Arenado wasn't out there today. 7-3. I can live with that. Even relax a bit.

I'm "watching" on mlb.com gameday. How the hell did Acuna get a double out of a gb to SS?

Is there a writer of fiction who would try getting away with naming a character "Nootbar"?

Agreed. I'm really talking about emergency fielders here, guys who can do a competent job for a few innings in a pinch. I'd be concerned if one day Lindor shows up with a 102 fever, so they have to start Acuna at short but he twists an ankle in the second inning. What then? Play a feverish Lindor for seven innings? Play Baty at short, and Vientos at second (or vice-versa) and Torrens at third? Ugh. I'd feel better with either Marte or Winker in center, or better yet, move Nimmo back to CF and play one of those guys in left (if Taylor were your only CFer and he went down in the middle of a game.) A middle infielder is harder to replace, in my view, than a CFer, who could go a whole game without a demanding play.

Did any of us ever patronize Rusty Staub's restaurant? I always meant to but didn't. Now I can't even remember where it was. Upper East Side somewhere?

This is a good point to project starting pitching, since all five starters have gotten 4 starts apiece to date. Good news for Senga is he's on track to go 24-8, with 6.5 WAR, an 0.79 ERA and probably a Cy Young Award. Bad news for Peterson is he's on track for an 8-8 year despite a 3.27 ERA in 32 starts. Probably split the difference? I'll take that. Megill has a decision in every start so far, making him 16-16 on the year.

=Cowtipper post_id=190138 time=1745154781 user_id=166] =roger_that post_id=190130 time=1745151369 user_id=128] I brought this up elsewhere, but it will probably die there unaddressed, so I'll paraphrase what I asked there: Assuming Manaea, Alvarex and McNeil return to the roster soon, Manaea can fill a slot in the rotation easy, of course, and some reliever goes down (but who?) and you just put Alvarez behind the plate and send Senger to AAA, but what do you do with McNeil? Specifically, what do you do with Acuna and Baty? The conventional thinking is that one of them, most likely Baty, goes to AAA, but I don't know. I'd try to find a way to keep all three at the MLB level, and go one pitcher short or maybe use Taylor as your day-in/day-out CFer and send Siri (or Azocar if Siri's not back) down to AAA. They've got two OFers now playing DH, each capable of playing in either corner OF position, and McNeil can spell Taylor in center if need be. Of course, someone will most likely get hurt between now and McNeil's return, but that's my thinking. This business of having only one available backup infielder seems a dangerous long-term strategy--when Vientos went out suddenly today, we really had to hope we wouldn't need to put Torrens or whoever in if one other infielder got hurt, ejected from the game, whatever. Eventually having only one backup infielder is going to cost the Mets a game, in my opinion. In my view, there's little need for so many relievers on the roster, given the closeness of Syracuse. Why not keep a group of pitchers on the 40-man roster with options (Kranick, Butto, Hagenman, Nunez, Warren, etc.) shuttling between NYC and Syracuse a little more often, and go with one more position player?

Muy cool! Did you have any truck with The Man Himself?

Pete is still on track to threaten, but not to break, Hack Wilson's RBI record. At this pace, he's going to drive in over 186 runs on the season. He's only going to hit 48 lousy HRs though (48.6, to get technical).

I brought this up elsewhere, but it will probably die there unaddressed, so I'll paraphrase what I asked there: Assuming Manaea, Alvarex and McNeil return to the roster soon, Manaea can fill a slot in the rotation easy, of course, and some reliever goes down (but who?) and you just put Alvarez behind the plate and send Senger to AAA, but what do you do with McNeil? Specifically, what do you do with Acuna and Baty? The conventional thinking is that one of them, most likely Baty, goes to AAA, but I don't know. I'd try to find a way to keep all three at the MLB level, and go one pitcher short or maybe use Taylor as your day-in/day-out CFer and send Siri (or Azocar if Siri's not back) down to AAA. They've got two OFers now playing DH, each capable of playing in either corner OF position, and McNeil can spell Taylor in center if need be. Of course, someone will most likely get hurt between now and McNeil's return, but that's my thinking. This business of having only one available backup infielder seems a dangerous long-term strategy--when Vientos went out suddenly today, we really had to hope we wouldn't need to put Torrens or whoever in if one other infielder got hurt, ejected from the game, whatever. Eventually having only one backup infielder is going to cost the Mets a game, in my opinion. In my view, there's little need for so many relievers on the roster, given the closeness of Syracuse. Why not keep a group of pitchers on the 40-man roster with options (Kranick, Butto, Hagenman, Nunez, Warren, etc.) shuttling between NYC and Syracuse a little more often, and go with one more position player?

OK, now we're on track for slightly better than 105 wins (13-7 = .650 = 105-57), which I think is pushing plausibility, still within possibility, not terribly likely, but within the bounds of conceivability if no one else gets seriously hurt and Manaea, McNeil, and Alvarez come back strong. Manaea can fill a slot in the rotation easy, of course, and you just put Alvarez behind the plate and send Senger to AAA, but what do you do with McNeil? Specifically what do you do with Acuna and Baty? The conventional thinking is that one of them, most likely Baty, goes to AAA, but I don't know. I'd try to find a way to keep all three at the MLB level, and go one pitcher short or maybe go with Taylor in CF and send Siri (or Azocar if Siri's not back) down to AAA. They've got two OFers playing DH, and McNeil can spell Taylor in center if need be. Of course, someone will most likely get hurt between now and McNeil's return, but that's my thinking. This business of having only one available backup infielder seems not to be a great long-term strategy--when Vientos went out today, we really had to hope we wouldn't need to put Torrens or whoever in if one other infielder got hurt. Eventually having only one backup infielder is going to cost the Mets a game, in my opinion.

=ashie62 post_id=190117 time=1745102066 user_id=90] They get Sean Manaea back at some point also

The Hot Corner wrote: how non-cholent Lindor seem Is this a typo or a Jewish joke?

And stranded on third!

At their current rate, the Mets will go 102-60. (Or a little better, but that's how it rounds off.) Realistic? You tell me.