Mets

[Amazin69]

You mock D.J.…but is he not the best D.J. in team history? Carasco, Dozier, and who else is there?

[Westheim]

I'm as excited as I can be for a 29-year-old career .222 hitter who is a casual defender, who struck out twice in three at-bats last year, and is just three homers away from his single-season high.

At least he's not on a stretcher...

Edit: I expect the Mets to tire of Vogie soon-ish, so maybe Stewart can be retained on the cheap for a part time OF/DH role next year. I wouldn't say no to that.

[Déjà Bru]

"You've been chopped."

As the New York Mets enter the final month of a massively disappointing season, the club has fired multiple people within its front office across different departments, league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Thursday.

The Mets fired pro scouting director Jeff Lebow, farm director Kevin Howard, performance director Jim Cavallini and baseball development director Bryan Hayes.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Gary, subtly forecasting a sell-off at the deadline? Hmm.

(I actually think the team is good enough that Eppler will be able to delude himself that they're still in contention even if they're dead in the water, but cynicism is an easy fix.)

Shows what I know! Ha!

[Westheim]

Jeff McNeil is a homer shy of the cycle in the eighth inning. Make it a walkoff in the tenth, Jeff!!

Edit, the first: we couldn't just waive and be done with Snottavino?

Edit, the second: sometimes Vogelbach could just admit he's fat and stay at first base...

[Westheim]

Pete slings #40, which is the sixth 40-homer season in Mets history, and Pete owns half of them.

I love Pete.

[Amazin69]

Also, the win means we can't lose 100 this year. 63-74, baby!

And we're now 1.5 games above the Gnats, I see. We're putting that Cellar Series with the Yanks in danger, now!

I'm happy for Pete, albeit I wish his slash line didn't look like "Dave Kingman, 1976, with a few more walks." Of course that 1976 team finished 86-76. Good luck with that, Pete!

Edit: I had a Tommy LaSorda "What did I think of Kingman's performance?" joke here, and went to get the audio…

…only to discover, to my dismay, that LaSorda's tirade was NOT because of Sky King's 3HR, 8RBI performance at Dodger Stadium on June 4, 1976, but in response to Dave doing the same thing (including the 8RBI) as a ****ing Cubbie at the same venue, on May 14, 1978.

Which makes sense, as Walter Alston was still managing the Dodgers in 1976. (And presumably held it together better.) Still, I hate to lose what I had thought was a classic part of Mets history.

"Ah, ********," to quote Joe Schultz.

(The Mets didn't need the dingers. They won 11-0, as Tom Seaver threw a 3-hit shutout and the game lasted just 2:18. First win in 6 starts for The Franchise, but he loved pitching in front of his family and friends down from Fresno.

Here, have a game recap, from SABR.)

[Westheim]

With his second bomb today (#41), Pete also reached 100 RBI for the year.

Not bad for a team that can't score its way out of a minigolf course.

[Déjà Bru]

Why have you broken your bond with your crosstown pals by leaving last place?

[Amazin69]

We're trying! (Hey, we're not the ones flirting with .500, okay?)

But if the Gnats keep on gnatting, there will be gnought we can do, gnaturally.

[Déjà Bru]

I imagine Billy is busy polishing his resume right now.

Mets hiring David Stearns as president of baseball ops

[Amazin69]

So, based on this year's production, here is next year's pitching rotation:

1. Kodai Senga
2. Jose Quintana
3. Joey Lucchesi
4. Jose Butto
5. ???

Spend all that Jack…and end up with a bunch of Regular Joes. Huh.

[Westheim]

I think we are currently pretending that David Peterson is a major league-grade starter after all.

(expressionistic shrug)

Meanwhile, last night: CIN 5, Pete 3 - now 45 bombs, 112 RBI on the only player on the team providing actual value.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I think we are currently pretending that David Peterson is a major league-grade starter after all.

(expressionistic shrug)

Don‘t you have to be French to pull that off? I thought that was in…one of those treaties y'all signed? They get the shrug, you get the loud singing while slamming the stein on the table in the beer hall to ask for more?

Or is that only next month and you have to borrow from the neighbors until then?

Meanwhile, last night: CIN 5, Pete 3 - now 45 bombs, 112 RBI on the only player on the team providing actual value.

It would be even nicer if Kingman, I mean Pete, accompanied said value with something other than a .226 BA and .330 OBP, though. Keep the line moving etc.

Current leading NY Mets BAs:

Ronnie "Well, Hello" Mauricio, .282
The Immortal D.J. Stewart, .278
Mr. Pointy, .267
Squirrel, .266
Frankie "Uncontrollable Giggling" Lindor, .249

Your 2024 Metsies, everybody! I can smell the 74-88 from here!

************************************
Also from last night's box score, Mets with RISP? 1-for-10. Which mean the Mets did literally not place a base hit anywhere in the playing field in all ten of those attempts. Pete got the big bomb, everyone else merely bombed.

I am so glad that "close your eyes and swing real hard" is standard batting strategy now, aren't you? Thanks, Kris Bryant!

************************************

In other news, Max Scherzer is out for the season. Do he and Jake sit around comparing paychecks or X-rays first, I wonder?

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Or is that only next month and you have to borrow from the neighbors until then?

Contrary to popular belief, the Octoberfest actually takes place in September. It actually started today.

Originally Posted by Amazin69

In other news, Max Scherzer is out for the season. Do he and Jake sit around comparing paychecks or X-rays first, I wonder?

That's the level of oozing sarcasm only Mets fans can reach.

Or in F1, Ferrari fans.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Westheim

(expressionistic shrug)

The best and the worst examples that I could come up with (and without spending an undue amount of time on searching):




But I don't view it as essentially Gallic, at least not anymore. It represents the state of equanimity that a sports fan must reach, for the sake of his health and sanity, when saddled with a frustrating franchise that he cannot help rooting for.

Thanks for this word picture. I will keep it in mind should the Yankees be on the precipice of long-term futility. As it is, I will invoke these images should I ever think of rooting for the pathetic New York Giants or Knickerbockers.

[Déjà Bru]

It's the last part, with the double asterisks, that has me puzzled. When a ballclub has a president of baseball operations, what does a general manager do? Act as an executive assistant?

[Amazin69]

Aww, so it's the exact same 281 days for Zak and Eppler? How sweet!

Except that 281 days is less than a year, and I'm rather certain that Eppler did in fact already have the job last season. (Porter and Zak were in 2021.) So it appears that this rag (no idea which one) has cleverly managed to copy the length of Zak's tenure and paste it under Eppler's pic, perhaps distracted by trying to add the proper assemblage of asterisks.

I guess the rag shouldn't be mocking the Mets' lack of quality control, huh? Well done, rag! Keep it up!

[Westheim]

Eppler was hired in November 2021 (Wikipedia), so something is definitely off there.

On the other paw, the other three were a complete kid-with-matches-in-dynamite-factory disaster and two hot potatoes; one was fired for baseball reasons, the other two were not.

[Westheim]

Swept in the town of broken bells (not that I expected much down the stretch).

The burning questions are, though:

1) Is it the Mets' fault or is it Anthony Kay's?

2) Why are the Mets not drafting the most awesome names, like the Raccoons do?

3) Is Orion Kerkering's dad gonna be okay?