Tough loss. Terry showed yet again why he isn't a good manager but Atlanta isn't a crappy team. They're pretty good and getting better. Kemp is having one of his best years. He's not as good as Cespedes but when he's on he's still very good. Inciarte is better than any CF the Mets have, I'd love Sandy to get him in the off-season. He's only 25. Markakis doesn't have the power of Grandy or Bruce but he's a much better hitter than either. Garcia is proving to be a solid starter, not an all star but solid. Swanson at 22 could be their SS of the future 2b is a need for them Freeman is way better than any 1b on the Mets. Flowers / Recker is a push with the Mets Catchers Their issue is their rotation, its young and developing but they pitched well against the Mets.
Agree completely. From my point of view Rivera is overwhelmingly the reason for the Yankees being a top team for so many years; they had plenty of guys who were out in the upper tail, but his career performance was about 10-sigma out in the tail.
You have vastly overstated their positives. Freeman and Kemp are the only above average guys in their lineup. Inciarte is a centerfielder with a slugging percentage of .384, which is terrible (fourth-worst among qualifying MLB center fielders). Garcia is a well-below-average third baseman (his .727 OPS is fourth-worst among all qualifying third basemen in the majors). Markakis is a well-below-average rightfielder (his .749 OPS is second-worst among all qualifying rightfielders in the majors). Being in a push with the Mets catchers is basically the definition of damning with faint praise, since the Mets catchers are terrible. They have one starter with an ERA below 4.4 or WHIP below 1.3. And the series was at Citi Field. Getting swept was pathetic.
Thank God for Yoenis Cespedes. And yet another botched job by Teufel, and Cabrera is shaken up getting back to third. Wow, do they need a new third base coach.
I won't say something stupid like "Never had any doubt" (only a moron would not have had doubts last night), but I will at least give myself a little credit for keeping the game on, getting to see two of the most exciting moments of the season (and also two of the worst when Franco hit the three-run home run and then the Phils scored two in the top of the 11th). From the bottom of the 7th to the bottom of the 11th it was up, down, up, down, up in only nine half-innings. Good early start to Cards-Cubs at Wrigley, with four runs in the bottom of the first for the Cubbies.
Syndegaard will miss his start on Saturday because of strep throat. Sean Gilmartin will take his place.
Nice win for the Mets with a double and three-run HR for Conforto and an excellent 2 2/3 innings of relief from Robles. Mets 1 1/2 games up on St. Louis.
I think we all knew this would happen but we will be facing Jose. @AdamRubinESPN Per @clarkspencer, this was about Jose Fernandez throwing 8 IP/111 pitches Tuesday and benefiting from extra day -- not about screwing Mets. Sure whatever you say dude. lol
