New York Mets 2016 Season Thread

[NJDevs4978]

LOL you have GOT to be kidding me.  Talk about a frigging Houdini.

['7']

Wow. Lucky. Lucky as fvck.

Great scoop by Loney on the ATROCIOUS throw by Walker. Bounced it in there. I'm about sick of looking at Walker.

Just now, NJDevs4978 said:

LOL you have GOT to be kidding me.  Talk about a frigging Houdini.

but you know...I guess that's what separates him from the Looper, Benitez, and Wagners of the world.

[NJDevs4978]

2 minutes ago, '7' said:

Wow. Lucky. Lucky as fvck.

Great scoop by Loney on the ATROCIOUS throw by Walker. Bounced it in there. I'm about sick of looking at Walker.

but you know...I guess that's what separates him from the Looper, Benitez, and Wagners of the world.

Yeah he did somehow manage to right himself in mid-stream, most pitchers can't do that.  It helped that Scuzur tried to hit a grand slam on the first pitch in the dirt with the bases loaded but after that he locked in and got the grounders he needed.

Edited July 20, 2016 by NJDevs4978

['7']

9 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Honestly that was probably a dumb decision to bunt to begin with.  But then Reyes should have just let the ball go foul instead of taking the .2% chance he'd actually be able to barehand it and throw him out.

I'd almost prefer losing the lead on a bomb then self-inflicted wounds (two walks and a mental error).

 You're probably right. I'll concede. It was a split second decision and Reyes always errs on the side of extreme aggression. I guess we were lucky that throw didn't get past Loney either.

And man was I happy Loney was fielding and throwing to the plate on out 1 this inning instead of Duda. 

The Mets still have a sh!t ton wrong with him, but if there ever is a feel good turning point win for them, this could be it. Nats lost (Murphy 2-4 with an RBI of course) but the Fish have gone ahead of Philly in extras unfortunately.

Edited July 20, 2016 by '7'

[NJDevs4978]

5 minutes ago, '7' said:

And man was I happy Loney was fielding and throwing to the plate on out 1 this inning instead of Duda. 

Hoo boy seriously.

Or Flores for that matter.

Edited July 20, 2016 by NJDevs4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Gotta wonder when the horseshoes planted firmly up Familia's ass finally slide out.  His numbers as of late are a little scary for a closer:  9.1 IP, 6 H, 7 BB, 9 K, 17 pitches on average per outing.  But somehow it keeps working out for him. 

Hard not to love what Loney brings...it's so refreshing to see someone who can put the damn ball in play.  Still plenty of time for him to slow up enough that Doofus will just waltz right in and get his job back...but like you guys made note of, just his D alone makes so much of a difference...Duda will never be anything more than an average-fielding first baseman who will have you holding your breath in big spots.  I REALLY hope that he is not back here next season, but he's got one more arbitration year left.  Hard to say what Sandy will do...so much of it depends on whether or not the Mets' braintrust thinks that Dominic Smith could be ready in 2018 (does seem kind of soon...Smith is only 21, and in 2018 would only be 22 at the start of spring training).  If Smith figures heavily into the Mets' plans for 2018, then the Mets only really need a stopgap in 2017.  If that's the case, I'd rather it be Loney than Duda, and Loney will cost less...always a consideration for a team that won't or can't spend with the big boys.  Just hope Loney can continue to be a solid (though low-power) hitter and fielder.  I've had more than my fill of Duda.  Bad-team ballplayer.

Amed Rosario held hitless for just the second game since being promoted to AA (0-for-5 with 2 K).  Still rocking an OB+SLG over 1.000 there.

Dominic Smith on a tear in his last six games:  13-for-26, 2 BB, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR.  Now slashing a very solid .294/.354/.459.  His OB+SLG is at a season high. 

Still lots of time for Dilson Herrera to figure things out, and the PCL is as forgiving as it gets...but it continues to be a struggle for him right now.  Curious to see what happens if he finishes his second full AAA season on a down note.  Does Sandy even entertain trying to bring back Walker on a team-friendly deal (yeah, he's been struggling for an extended stretch, but I'm guessing he'll have Walker-like numbers by the end of the season, with a little more HR than usual thanks to his April surge)?  Or does Flores get one last shot to show either the Mets or some other team than he can handle an infield position on a daily basis (his first arbitration year is coming up)? 

Of course, the hope is that Herrera goes on a tear and puts up numbers similar to last season's when all is said and done...which probably keeps Plan A in place:  Walker is allowed to leave without so much as an offer, Herrera comes to 2017 spring training with either a job to lose, or to possibly compete with Flores. 

Edited July 20, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Yikes...this is definitely not a "trying to win" lineup out there today.  And the first three hitters strike out.  Note to Sandy the Sabermetrician:  strikeouts suck.  Whether sabes guys want to believe that they're not so bad or not...they suck. 

['7']

Granderson bunting with 2 strikes? Huh?

d'Arnaud takes one off the wrist and appears to be hurt again. Oops. not the wrist. Someplace worse

Edited July 20, 2016 by '7'

['7']

10 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yikes...this is definitely not a "trying to win" lineup out there today.  And the first three hitters strike out.  Note to Sandy the Sabermetrician:  strikeouts suck.  Whether sabes guys want to believe that they're not so bad or not...they suck. 

especially quick K's as the Mets specialize in. It's not like they work 8-10 pitch at bats and K. It's good morning, good afternoon, good night. 

['7']

Big Bart really laboring in the 1st.

['7']

He doesn't have it today, going to be a short rocky outing.

Edited July 20, 2016 by '7'

[thecoffeecake]

On 7/19/2016 at 0:12 PM, '7' said:

The Mets just played 3 games in Philadelphia and had more Mets fans in the building than Philly fans. The Mets used to regularly put 30k of their own fans at the Vet in the 80's. Look at most of the license plates in the parking lot. Almost no NY, all NJ and Penn. I would gather in the Phillies sphere of influence the Mets fans are a regular 15-25% of those suburbs.

You're just in denial. Wish it away all you want but the Phillies are back to being Jacksonville Jaguars level of interest. The natural order has returned.

And the Mets are done in the division. Cooked. Nagging injuries all year and under-performing talent. A wild card is our only way in. Washington is too determined, injury free, lucky, and have guys way outperforming expectations. 

Oh man, you must not go south too often, huh? You're legitimately just pulling numbers out of your ass.

This New York Times project is the closest to an empirical study of the geography of baseball fandom: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/24/upshot/facebook-baseball-map.html#10,40.688,-74.103

While no study is going to be perfect, pulling data from every Facebook user is the closest you're gonna get. The Mets don't pull the largest number of fans in any single zip code in the country. None in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, or even in Queens. 15% to 25% in the Philly area? They pull 25% in the zip code on Citi Field's address. The reason you jump to the relevancy argument with every post is because of your own insecurities about the Mets and their long history of perpetual irrelevance. Yea, the Phillies are bad and irrelevant on the field at this moment. At least more than a quarter to a third of baseball fans in their own market identify as Phillies fans (70%-80% in the city and immediate suburbs, which is as strong as any fan base in baseball). The Mets don't register south of Central Jersey. There are more Orioles fans in parts of South Jersey and the Philly metro (including Philly itself. I see Orioles gear all the time here) than Mets fans. You can make up as many numbers as you want, but that's not changing anything.

The Mets have the relative relevancy of the Oakland A's. They both have what's supposed to be a traditional stronghold (Queens and the East Bay), but no one in those areas even really care. In the case of the A's, it's because they've been too poor to keep a good product on the field and play in a falling apart half century old football stadium in the middle of nowhere, while their local rivals have everything they don't. The Mets just couldn't sell that nostalgia since day one, and the only reason they survived was because of the sheer size of their market. If one in every 8 or 9 people buying baseball tickets in New York City are going to Mets games, they still put a few people in the seats.

Let me make one thing clear; I have more respect for the Mets and their fans than I do for the Yankees and theirs, the same way I have a ton of respect for the A's fan base. They're small, rabid fan bases (whether they be idiot loudmouths or not), and they have fewer casual fans that show up for every reason besides watching baseball (although with the nature of New York sports, Yankees casuals have no problem dusting off their Mets stuff every 10 years when the Mets make a run). The primary issue here is that New Jersey doesn't have a team of our own, because, as the people in the thread illustrate, the fans of the New York teams from Jersey disproportionately make up the bearable and knowledgeable section of those fan bases.

And as far as this weekend's series, you do know that we can easily access highlights from those games, because it's 2016. So why don't you go back and take a look at the crowds during the series. If you're still going to try to pull "the Mets have more fans in Philly than the Philles", you're flat out lying.

I agree with CR; the Nats probably have the biggest lead they'll have, and whether they win the division or not, they aren't good enough to pull away. Papelbon is a cancer, Werth is a cry-baby, and Harper is still an immature kid. They don't have the clubhouse to put the Mets away. Who knows how effectve Dusty's voice is going to be down the stretch at this point and with this team on top of that.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

4 minutes ago, '7' said:

He doesn't have it today, going to be a short rocky outing.

33 pitches in the first.  Looks like Bastardo will be getting some work today.  Unfortunately Bartolo's due for some second-half implosion games.  He didn't really have any in the first half of the season.

['7']

2 minutes ago, thecoffeecake said:

Oh man, you must not go south too often, huh? You're legitimately just pulling numbers out of your ass.

This New York Times project is the closest to an empirical study of the geography of baseball fandom: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/24/upshot/facebook-baseball-map.html#10,40.688,-74.103

While no study is going to be perfect, pulling data from every Facebook user is the closest you're gonna get. The Mets don't pull the largest number of fans in any single zip code in the country. None in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, or even in Queens. 15% to 25% in the Philly area? They pull 25% in the zip code on Citi Field's address. The reason you jump to the relevancy argument with every post is because of your own insecurities about the Mets and their long history of perpetual irrelevance. Yea, the Phillies are bad and irrelevant on the field at this moment. At least more than a quarter to a third of baseball fans in their own market identify as Phillies fans (70%-80% in the city and immediate suburbs, which is as strong as any fan base in baseball). The Mets don't register south of Central Jersey. There are more Orioles fans in parts of South Jersey and the Philly metro (including Philly itself. I see Orioles gear all the time here) than Mets fans. You can make up as many numbers as you want, but that's not changing anything.

The Mets have the relative relevancy of the Oakland A's. They both have what's supposed to be a traditional stronghold (Queens and the East Bay), but no one in those areas even really care. In the case of the A's, it's because they've been too poor to keep a good product on the field and play in a falling apart half century old football stadium in the middle of nowhere, while their local rivals have everything they don't. The Mets just couldn't sell that nostalgia since day one, and the only reason they survived was because of the sheer size of their market. If one in every 8 or 9 people buying baseball tickets in New York City are going to Mets games, they still put a few people in the seats.

Let me make one thing clear; I have more respect for the Mets and their fans than I do for the Yankees and theirs, the same way I have a ton of respect for the A's fan base. They're small, rabid fan bases (whether they be idiot loudmouths or not), and they have fewer casual fans that show up for every reason besides watching baseball (although with the nature of New York sports, Yankees casuals have no problem dusting off their Mets stuff every 10 years when the Mets make a run). The primary issue here is that New Jersey doesn't have a team of our own, because, as the people in the thread illustrate, the fans of the New York teams from Jersey disproportionately make up the bearable and knowledgeable section of those fan bases.

And as far as this weekend's series, you do know that we can easily access highlights from those games, because it's 2016. So why don't you go back and take a look at the crowds during the series. If you're still going to try to pull "the Mets have more fans in Philly than the Philles", you're flat out lying.

I agree with CR; the Nats probably have the biggest lead they'll have, and whether they win the division or not, they aren't good enough to pull away. Papelbon is a cancer, Werth is a cry-baby, and Harper is still an immature kid. They don't have the clubhouse to put the Mets away. Who knows how effectve Dusty's voice is going to be down the stretch at this point and with this team on top of that.

That was done in  2014. It is thoroughly inapplicable now to what's actually going on, as they are outdrawing the Yankees at the gate and pulling in better TV ratings than the Yankees. 

Do you remember the 80's when there used to be a regular 30k Mets fans at the Vet? Tell me when the A's put 30k of their fans anywhere in the bay area.

I'm watching those highlights now. The crowd is pretty much louder when the Mets score than when the Phillies score. It also seems like the Mets fans pretty much bought up the entirety of the seats down the left field line right now

April 2014, we've had an absolute earth-change since then. That poll was taken at a pretty low point. But the thing about the Mets is that it doesn't take much to fire up the masses. The Mets didn't even win a World Series, they have had thus far a 1 year return to relevancy, and already they've trumped the Yankees. The best assessment I can make about our fan base is that when it is dormant it is quiet, when it is awakened it is one hell of a sleeping giant. And you greatly greatly underestimate the Mets diaspora as aw whole, especially when you see the large amount of Mets fans that show up in Florida, DC, and Atlanta. 

Any sports bar in Florida regularly plays Mets, Sox and Yankees games along with Rays and Marlins (they're obligated) No other team gets that billings. You see the same thing in Los Angeles.

['7']

12 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

33 pitches in the first.  Looks like Bastardo will be getting some work today.  Unfortunately Bartolo's due for some second-half implosion games.  He didn't really have any in the first half of the season.

And an awful job by Lagares. Had something cooking there in the 2nd with a d'Arnaud double followed by an infield single...immediate DP ground out. This team has hit into way too many double plays of late (though overall on the season they haven't, but of late they are piling up)

['7']

It's embarrassing how slow Loney is. He has to score on that play.

['7']

Oh wow. Loney safe at the plate, but no challenge

Umps have blown a ton of calls against the Mets this series.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Wonder why they didn't challenge. 

Reyes' .213 BA and .255 OB% is going to lead to the Mets rescinding his "everyday player" scholarship soon (I hope).  Especially now that he's racking up the Ks.  Still not sure why Reyes got 2008 Reyes treatment right off the bat (he hasn't done a single thing you'd like your leadoff hitter to do), but nothing should surprise me with this team anymore.  Hope Jeffy Wilpon is having a good time rubbing one out everytime Reyes comes up to the plate.    

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

And that's game. 

['7']

Reyes triple was instrumental in us getting our first run yesterday...so sometimes he can pull that out of his ass, but in the grand scheme of things he has to play less. He had a chance just now with Conforto in scoring position and in typical Reyes form, did not get the run in. He was always a bad clutch hitter with men on. Kelly Johnson is 2-2 today. Maybe if his bat is getting hot it's time for him to get some reps at 3rd.

Bartolo blows up. We never really had a chance to, or tried to win this game with the Forfeit Lineup out on the field. Just hope Philly cares enough to try vs Florida tonight. They've pretty much quit the past few games.

Edited July 20, 2016 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

4 minutes ago, '7' said:

Reyes triple was instrumental in us getting our first run yesterday...so sometimes he can pull that out of his ass, but in the grand scheme of things he has to play less. He had a chance just now with Conforto in scoring position and in typical Reyes form, did not get the run in. He was always a bad clutch hitter with men on. Kelly Johnson is 2-2 today. Maybe if his bat is getting hot it's time for him to get some reps at 3rd.

Bartolo blows up. We never really had a chance to, or tried to win this game with the Forfeit Lineup out on the field. Just hope Philly cares enough to try vs Florida tonight. They've pretty much quit the past few games.

With Reyes, the glut of extra-base hits isn't enough to offset a .255 OB%.  Geez, we were complaining about Granderson when he was stuck around .300 for much of the season, before he picked it up considerably.  At the very least, I agree with Has, in that 2016 Reyes doesn't look like a leadoff guy anymore.  Would be nice if the Village Idiot would stop just sticking him there in lineup everyday, but TC, like Forrest Gump, is not a smart man. 

Give Bastardo the next 7 outs if possible.  No reason to wear down any good arms today.  Like you said, this was the Forfeit Lineup, and it's performed predictably. 

[NJDevs4978]

20 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Wonder why they didn't challenge. 

Reyes' .213 BA and .255 OB% is going to lead to the Mets rescinding his "everyday player" scholarship soon (I hope).  Especially now that he's racking up the Ks.  Still not sure why Reyes got 2008 Reyes treatment right off the bat (he hasn't done a single thing you'd like your leadoff hitter to do), but nothing should surprise me with this team anymore.  Hope Jeffy Wilpon is having a good time rubbing one out everytime Reyes comes up to the plate.    

Not if you heard Terry in the pregame saying (in response to why Flores wasn't playing more) that Reyes brought an element we needed - speed and was brought in to be the leadoff hitter, etc.

Of course with the way Sandy operates out of concert with his manager now this might mean Reyes is gone tomorrow

Edited July 20, 2016 by NJDevs4978

[NJDevs4978]

14 minutes ago, '7' said:

Reyes triple was instrumental in us getting our first run yesterday...so sometimes he can pull that out of his ass, but in the grand scheme of things he has to play less. He had a chance just now with Conforto in scoring position and in typical Reyes form, did not get the run in. He was always a bad clutch hitter with men on. Kelly Johnson is 2-2 today. Maybe if his bat is getting hot it's time for him to get some reps at 3rd.

Bartolo blows up. We never really had a chance to, or tried to win this game with the Forfeit Lineup out on the field. Just hope Philly cares enough to try vs Florida tonight. They've pretty much quit the past few games.

Yeah Bartolo against a good lineup in the heat was a recipe for one of 'those' games, which fortunately has been limited this year even more than last year.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

You can't steal first Terry.  Why not bring Eric Young back too? 

[NJDevs4978]

20 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

You can't steal first Terry.  Why not bring Eric Young back too? 

Good point, Terry's definitely old school in that he thinks you have to have a rabbit at the top of the order.  You would think last year with Granderson being the perfect leadoff hitter when they didn't have any speed and had to throw him there would have taught him something.  Plus it's not like the Mets have the lineup to play smallball even if Reyes was prime Tim Raines, they don't have good situational hitters at all.

Edited July 20, 2016 by NJDevs4978