NFT: IGT: Mets (Thor) @ Nats (Hellickson) Game 1, 7:05 pm

If Lowrie is going to be out with a hamstring now play MF'ing JD every day.

JD has a nice weekend and Frazier gets back in there.

7 inning shutout (doubleheader).

Kay's a stud. Promote him to Syracuse.

Ramos!

Granny!

4-0

Ramos has been wretched.

pitching inside to these Nats in the first.

Dig it.

just totally confused by Jeremy Hellickson.

that players lasted longer 10-12 years ago because they were all on steroids.

reinforcements... in July.

looking good.

when other teams make mistakes you have to take advantage. Thor needs to cruise along and keep his pitch count down to save the pen a little bit. with a 4 run lead keep things around the strike zone.

Zack Wheeler 1.6 fWAR
Jake deGrom 1.2 fWAR
Noah Synergaard 1.0 fWAR (before tonight)

Shaping up to be a nice race indeed.

Be good to see Thor go deep ahead of Font's opener start tomorrow.

forget strikeouts, just get weak contact.

he's not throwing it at all

creeping up towards .300. Very little talked about breakout season going on right now.

nice five IP so far for Noah.

In comment 14443914 CMicks3110 said:

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he's not throwing it at all

I don't think he's junked it. It just hasn't been very good at all and so I don't think he's featuring it very much right now.

here

Great to see Brandon put a move on that pitch!

pretty effectively with that AB.

In comment 14443918 Eric on Li said:

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creeping up towards .300. Very little talked about breakout season going on right now.

Probably because he is the worst defensive player in all of baseball this year and its not even close. But I do appreciate the offensive improvement going on.

but Chris Sale has 17 k's through 7 innings.

He's at 108 pitches. Do you leave him in for the 8th see if he can get 20ks or don't fuck around?

him out.

this is a really nice start.

Pitching 9 innings in 2 of his last 3 starts would be incredible!

6-2

Much prefer Lugo in non-save situation.

need to find a way to get Smith and Alonso in the lineup at the same time.

they are both two of the best 8 bats on the team and neither has the athleticism or experience to play anywhere but 1B.

I know some of you don't like to hear it, but a trade might be best

In comment 14444162 pjcas18 said:

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need to find a way to get Smith and Alonso in the lineup at the same time. they are both two of the best 8 bats on the team and neither has the athleticism or experience to play anywhere but 1B. I know some of you don't like to hear it, but a trade might be best

I doubt Mets get much for Dom. Better off keeping him. He can be a late inning defensive replacement for Alonso and serves as a backup in case of injury.

Really enjoy how he works.

reliever.

In comment 14444190 Vanzetti said:

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In comment 14444162 pjcas18 said: Quote: need to find a way to get Smith and Alonso in the lineup at the same time. they are both two of the best 8 bats on the team and neither has the athleticism or experience to play anywhere but 1B. I know some of you don't like to hear it, but a trade might be best I doubt Mets get much for Dom. Better off keeping him. He can be a late inning defensive replacement for Alonso and serves as a backup in case of injury.

Of course they can do that.

What if you could get a 22 year old all-star OFer for Alonso? Or a 22 year old TOR pitcher?

Obviously Alonso has more value and prodigious power, but if Dom can play you may be able to improve the team more by trading Alonso since his value is sky high.

If would have to be a ton for him but, just throwing it out there.

In comment 14444200 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 14444190 Vanzetti said: Quote: In comment 14444162 pjcas18 said: Quote: need to find a way to get Smith and Alonso in the lineup at the same time. they are both two of the best 8 bats on the team and neither has the athleticism or experience to play anywhere but 1B. I know some of you don't like to hear it, but a trade might be best I doubt Mets get much for Dom. Better off keeping him. He can be a late inning defensive replacement for Alonso and serves as a backup in case of injury. Of course they can do that. What if you could get a 22 year old all-star OFer for Alonso? Or a 22 year old TOR pitcher? Obviously Alonso has more value and prodigious power, but if Dom can play you may be able to improve the team more by trading Alonso since his value is sky high. If would have to be a ton for him but, just throwing it out there.

Definitely have to listen -- but I don't see anyone giving an AS OF or a #1 pitcher for a guy who can 1B/DH and who has 5 weeks of success at the Big League level.

Pretty two seamer by Lugo.

Nice win.

Barves are getting smoked and Phils are losing as well.

Mets are 3-0 in the 16-game (now 15-game after the rainout Sunday) stretch against sub-.500 teams. Winning the games you gotta win to right the ship.

Back to .500. Hopefully they can get to Corbin tomorrow.

"Judge". He has to be close to untouchable at this point, especially after the D he has shown. Plus McNeil-Nimmo- Conforto is your starting OF with Cespedes still likely to come back and play about a 1.5 on his contract or so. Definitely don't need any outfielders anytime soon IMO.

Sadly, best bet for Dom is still probably to play every day in Syracuse... rake.. and be used as a chip at the deadline.

He's going to lose his bench spot soon anyway once Matz, Vargas, Wilson, etc start filtering back in.

to this important 16 game stretch.

Keep getting fat.

I like him as a player but something has to give. The best move for them is to play him in the big leagues as much as possible over the next few weeks and then hope to find a similar aged pitcher who hasn't fully broken through yet that they believe in - whether it's a reliever or starter.

when Gimenez is ready

In comment 14444296 CMicks3110 said:

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when Gimenez is ready

Why would you bother?

In comment 14444273 Eric on Li said:

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I like him as a player but something has to give. The best move for them is to play him in the big leagues as much as possible over the next few weeks and then hope to find a similar aged pitcher who hasn't fully broken through yet that they believe in - whether it's a reliever or starter.

Where are you playing him? You cant bench Alonso for more than a game a week tops.

on the horizon. Gilliam and Villenes come to mind...

Mathew Brownstein
@MBrownstein89
Ryley Gilliam threw two scoreless innings in the second game of Binghamton's doubleheader tonight.

Gilliam did not allow a hit or walk and struck out four, including striking out the side in the 7th inning.

Over 18.2 IP this season, Gilliam has 31 SO. #Mets

So presumably he's back on his next turn.

In comment 14444304 ZGiants98 said:

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Where are you playing him? You cant bench Alonso for more than a game a week tops.

Catcher! I mean, the both wear big gloves. How different is it really?

In comment 14444304 ZGiants98 said:

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In comment 14444273 Eric on Li said: Quote: I like him as a player but something has to give. The best move for them is to play him in the big leagues as much as possible over the next few weeks and then hope to find a similar aged pitcher who hasn't fully broken through yet that they believe in - whether it's a reliever or starter. Where are you playing him? You cant bench Alonso for more than a game a week tops.

Give him a start or 2 in LF and put Mcneil at 3B. Send Frazier to the moon.

He seems to really energize this bench
He an hot cold off the bench. A rarity in this era
Insiewnce for Alonso or other big power bat injury
Cheap and under control
Can play an occasional game in corner OF if in dire need
DH for WS if they get there...huge weapon.

Unless is for a stud all star then why?

*is a hot bat who can hit cold
*insurance

but you have two players both who seem like they could be capable of being a long-term solution at 1B and neither has the ability to play another position.

Without a DH it seems like you could improve the team by dealing one of them.

Smith is 23 years old. He's a former 1st round pick who finally looks like he may reach his projection, do you want him as a bench bat?

Alonso is about a year older, and has prodigious power, a valuable asset in MLB especially for a player who isn't a k-machine.

I don't see an optimal use of roster resources keeping them both on the major league roster, and neither should be in the minors.

There are other players who could provide 1B insurance.

The best thing about them together is they are L/R batting, but neither has proven to need a platoon and you hate to take Alonso's bat of the lineup at any time (so far).

Especially with the rough pitching matchup on-tap tonight. It's nice to see our "big 3" start to round into form.

Nice to be back to .500, but we all hoped for better 1/4 of the way through the season. Hopefully this is a starting point to better things.

Hoping to see Davis in the lineup tonight. So sick of Frazier. Awful signing. Also looking forward to seeing Familia back in action. He's a guy we're going to need to be a key piece of the pen. Even if we use him low-leverage for a while to get him into form, we really need to see some encouraging signs from him.

In comment 14444222 ZGiants98 said:

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Sadly, best bet for Dom is still probably to play every day in Syracuse... rake.. and be used as a chip at the deadline.

Dom has nothing left to prove in AAA, teams know he can hit there, he needs to prove he can hit MLB pitching consistently. Yeah, it sucks that a 23 yr old has a 24 yr old in front of him, but I'd keep Dom in NY short term, even if it means the rest of this year. He has value as a PH and late inning D replacement.

stay put. The value of 1B/DH types around baseball has taken a nosedive in recent years. Jose Abreu, Edwin Encarnacion even Josh Donaldson if ATL falls out of it are among the names that'll be available around the deadline.

I doubt any of them fetch a huge haul at the deadline and I don't think we'd get a lot for Smith either. Smith does have a lot more team control, but doesn't have any sort of worthwhile track record of MLB success and isn't likely going to have an opportunity to earn one here.

so unfortunately his best value to this team is probably going to be trading him for someone like Mike Minor. Texas is already 9 games back, 5 games under .500, and no locked in 1B. Currently shifting around journeyman Logan Forsythe and Danny Santana. Maybe you could even get them to take back Frazier to offset some salary. (anticipating this would happen closer to the deadline once Lowrie is healthy).

I'd prefer to get a young cost controlled pitcher for Dom, like someone else's Lugo, but anyone worth a damn is unlikely to be given up by their team. Kansas City is another team already out of it with nothing at 1B, but they also don't have much in the way of appealing pitchers to send back. Ian Kennedy appears to be having an excellent year out of the BP but his contract is obviously a no fly zone even without an asset like Dom Smith on the table. I wonder if they'd be willing to swap Kennedy for Vargas/Wilson/Frazier. Money is about even overall but would open up some flexibility for KC since 2 of them are just 1 year deals (vs. Kennedy's 2).

Would be nice to see BVW get as creative in season as he was in the offseason to adjust the underperforming areas of the roster.

In comment 14444458 Metnut said:

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stay put. The value of 1B/DH types around baseball has taken a nosedive in recent years. Jose Abreu, Edwin Encarnacion even Josh Donaldson if ATL falls out of it are among the names that'll be available around the deadline. I doubt any of them fetch a huge haul at the deadline and I don't think we'd get a lot for Smith either. Smith does have a lot more team control, but doesn't have any sort of worthwhile track record of MLB success and isn't likely going to have an opportunity to earn one here.

Also need to take in consideration that a full time DH spot could be heading to the NL next season.

In comment 14444742 Rory said:

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In comment 14444458 Metnut said: Quote: stay put. The value of 1B/DH types around baseball has taken a nosedive in recent years. Jose Abreu, Edwin Encarnacion even Josh Donaldson if ATL falls out of it are among the names that'll be available around the deadline. I doubt any of them fetch a huge haul at the deadline and I don't think we'd get a lot for Smith either. Smith does have a lot more team control, but doesn't have any sort of worthwhile track record of MLB success and isn't likely going to have an opportunity to earn one here. Also need to take in consideration that a full time DH spot could be heading to the NL next season.

Where do you put Cano? I thought the Cano trade was made with the assumption the NL would adopt the DL around the time he needs to be moved there.

And I doubt it happens within a few years if it even happens.