MLB: New York Mets at Miami Marlins

Game Recap July 23: deGrom Exits With Velocity

Executive Summary Jacob deGrom couldn’t complete the fourth inning against Miami ace Jose Fernandez—Marlins 7, Mets 2. Discussion and Analysis We don’t give Giancarlo Stanton enough credit. He should be discussed alongside Aroldis Chapman as a new breed of ballplayer, one who’s performing at a level nobody’s seen before. Chapman gets headlines for throwing harder than […]

MLB: New York Mets at Miami Marlins

Game Recap July 22: Run of the mill win still a win

WHO WON The blue-hatted, grey jersey’d Mets. WHAT HAPPENED, METS PITCHING BEATS MARLINS BATTING It’s not that Logan Verrett dominated the Marlins. He didn’t. He did, however, give the Mets five solid innings of work while locked in what one might call a pitchers-duel with Marlins pitcher Adam Conley. Verrett was able to hold the […]

MLB: New York Mets at Chicago Cubs

Game Recap July 19: Unconventional Win

Executive Summary While some folks tortured themselves watching a political carnival in Cleveland, the Mets’ defense was a circus in Chicago. Rene Rivera and Jeurys Familia played ringmaster. Mets 2, Cubs 1. Discussion and Analysis On August 2, 2015, Yoenis Cespedes told Terry Collins that he prefers playing center field to a corner spot. Less […]

MLB: Miami Marlins at New York Mets

Our Second-Half Predictions

We offered some #HotTakes back in April, some of which look prescient: David Wright will not start the Mets’ 2016 playoff games (he’s out for the season, if you’ve been under a rock) The 2016 team breaks the franchise record (200) for dingers (they’re 63% of the way there, having played 56% of their games) Addison […]

MLB: New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

Game recap July 16: Don’t hit, don’t score, what do you do?

What Happened, in a Sentence: The Phillies did a better job manufacturing runs, beating the Mets 4-2. Verrett Avoids Big Mistakes Saturday was Logan Verrett’s second attempt to replace Matt Harvey’s spot in the rotation. As I wrote last week, the first attempt didn’t go so well. Verrett entered the game walking 11.1 percent of […]

MLB: New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

Game recap July 15: Bartolo Colon’s not perfect, but he’s perfect for us

Fresh off a trip to the All-Star Game (though he didn’t appear in the game), Bartolo Colon started the Mets second-half opener, opposed by Jeremy Hellickson and the Phillies. Yoenis Cespedes remained out of the lineup with a quad injury, so Juan Lagares got a rare start in center field against a right-handed starting pitcher. […]

MLB: Washington Nationals at New York Mets

What Is Baseball For? Jose Reyes, MLB, and America’s Pastime

I’ve written for the internet a fair bit—fiction, memoir, literary criticism, theater and movie reviews, controversial takes on religion, disability, and politics—but nothing has attracted trolls like quite like my sportswriting. I’ve been attacked for calling a player’s .168 batting average “lackluster,” for being too optimistic about the Mets, for not writing an article about […]

MLB: Washington Nationals at New York Mets

Game recap July 9: Logan Verrett is not Matt Harvey

What Happened, In a Sentence: Daniel Murphy continued to hit Mets pitching like it’s the 2015 playoffs, with a homer and 4 RBI in a 6-1 Nationals win Mets Get to Scherzer Early Max Scherzer threw 7.1 shutout innings against the Mets two weeks ago. He’s been on a roll since June 1, holding batters […]