As someone who hadn’t watched the 2016 Reds before this series, I assumed they were a bad baseball team because they lacked talent. The matchup between hitters and pitchers is so individualistic that the whole is usually close to the sum of the parts (plus or minus luck). Players get years of professional instruction before […]
Tag: Asdrubal Cabrera
Game Recap September 6: Mets Continue Power Surge, Bullpen Bails Out Montero
The Mets hit four home runs and were backed by 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win. Playing in front of a sparse crowd at Great American Ball Park, New York (73-66) remained one game behind in the NL Wild Card race following the […]
Game recap September 5: We’ll sleep when we’re dead
In a sentence: The split-squad road team pulled off an improbably win after an all-nighter and took the first game of the series from the Reds 5-0. The good: The Mets weren’t supposed to win this game. It was the day game after a night game, hungover on celebratory champagne with your starters rehabbing strained hamstrings […]
Game recap September 4: I’ll be there for you
After splitting the first two games of their three game set, the Mets and Nationals squared off on ESPN (collective sigh) in the finale. Seth Lugo, owner of the best curveball spin rate in baseball and a 3.12 FIP through three major league starts, was opposed by young Nationals flamethrower Reynaldo Lopez. Though the division […]
Game recap September 2: If the Mets lose but don’t lose any ground, does it still count? (Yes.)
Matt Harvey had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and is done for the season. Zack Wheeler has had multiple setbacks and is done for the season. Steven Matz has a barking shoulder and a bone spur in his elbow and is possibly done for the season. Jacob deGrom has elbow inflammation and will miss another start. Noah […]
Game recap September 1: The Christian Yelich Show
Some team sports are more dependent on individual performances than others. Baseball, pitchers aside, is much more of a holistic endeavor than, say, watching LeBron James carry a “Who’s Who? No, Really, Who?” lineup to deep playoff runs in multiple seasons. But on certain nights, all roads lead through one player’s singular performance. For the […]
Asdrubal Cabrera Unleashes The War Elephants
Recently, I’ve been spending a bit too much time on baby-naming websites. I’m not expecting, nor do I have the dreaded Baby Fever, though one of the many pleasures of womanhood is that my mother calls weekly to “reassure” me that the family doesn’t care if I skip the nuptials and get knocked up, so […]
Game Recap August 30: Met Momentum
Executive Summary Behind Seth Lugo and Curtis Granderson, the Mets leapfrogged Miami in the Wild Card standings. Mets 7, Marlins 4. Discussion and Analysis A few short years ago, sabermetric Seth Lugo appreciation would consist of astonishment that a 26-year-old never-prospect with a 7.73 ERA in Triple-A could defy his Davenport Translation to post a 2.51 […]
Game recap August 28: Nobody wants the Wild Card
In summary: The pitching was good until it wasn’t; the offense was never good. Mets lose 5-1. The good: Robert Gsellman is good! The SoCal native fit in perfectly to the Mets rotation in his first start on Sunday — both the hair and the slider. The hard-throwing righty was the victim of Terry Collins’ […]
Game recap August 27: Home run cycles and playoff dreams
What Happened, In a Sentence The Mets overpowered Philadelphia’s weak pitchers, hitting four home runs in a 12-1 win. Top Hitters Beat Predictable Pitching If I were trying to teach a young pitcher why you can’t just stay away, away, away, I would show them Jeremy Hellickson’s performance against the Mets last night. Hellickson is a […]