Diaz looks crappy, but Conforto saves his bacon by throwing out the tying run at the plate. Still one out to go.
Diaz gets through it and the Mets even the series at 2-2. One more game tomorrow. Drury with his third pinch hit HR of the season.
Well, I hope Walker enjoyed his All-Star Game appearance, because apparently he left his pitching ability behind in Denver when he left.
Mets need another starting pitcher and a bat that can hit lefties. Regardless, none of the moves they make will matter if they don't learn how to HIT a CURVEBALL.
Now that the Nat'nals have self-eviscerated (Schwarber, Scherzer, and Turner all reportedly gone), it's down to the Braves and Phillies as the competition in the NL East. None of the teams have done anything particularly noteworthy as the trade deadline approaches (Joc Pederson to the Braves, Rich Hill to the Mets are it so far). I wonder if everyone will just go with "This division stinks, so we'll just see what happens."
Steve Cohen is putting pressure on his front office to be active. Not a ton left out on the market though. What a fucking seed this was.
Mets reportedly interested in attaching Zach Davies to Bryant or Baez in a potential deal with the Cubs I think you'd rather have Baez. Baez can play 3rd and would resign to play with his boy Lindor. Bryant is soft and will leave in FA to whomever offers the single highest amount
Just so everyone is clear, Lindor's OPS in his last 46 games (.847) is at a level that Baez hasn't come close to in his last two seasons. Who is he going to replace when Lindor comes back - McNeil or Davis? Will that really be such a step up? Unless they're giving up very little, color me unimpressed. And, of course, does anyone in the NL have a prayer of beating the Dodgers anyway?
Yes it is, especially against lefties. Mets batting average against lefties is around .260, Baez is hitting over .300 against lefties. In Baez' last 150 games, he has 30 homeruns and 89 RBIs, but he does strikeout a lot. It also adds a lot of versatility in the Mets lineup in my opinion. Conforto can't hit lefties so when there's a lefty starting pitcher you can put McNeil or Davis in RF and bench Conforto, same for Dom against righties. All in all, the Mets gave up a CF prospect that is in low A baseball coming off labrum surgery that won't be in the MLB for at least 3-4 years and if he even makes it here, who's to say he will even be good? EDIT: To add, the Dodgers are still 4 games back in that division and will most likely be one really good Darvish outing from getting bounced in the first round. The current WC matchup between the Dodgers and Padres is a juicy one.
The Dodgers are 3 games back, not 4, and they have the highest run differential in the NL by a wide margin. IMO the Dodgers are much better than either the Giants or Padres - I do not believe that they will be playing in the wild card round barring monumental collapse or injury. In his last 150 games Baez has an OPS+ of 89, showing that he is a distinctly below average major league hitter. Like I said, it's good that they're giving up very little, but I don't see this moving the needle much. All three NL West teams and the Brewers are still better than the Mets, and the Braves probably are, too.
I watched Baez every day. He's not a below average hitter. I wouldn't get hung up on the last 150 games. He had a slow start this year impacting those figures but he's been the Cubs best hitter the last couple weeks and trending up He's an elite, elite defender. Lindor and Baez together has got to be the best defensive infield grouping yeah he strikes out quite a bit but its kinda the way of the league these days. I think you Mets fans will love him. He goes 100% balls out every day, I have much respect for that
Actually, it was last year that he was truly pathetic, and then he followed it up by getting off to a bad start this year. That's a lot more data than what he's done in the last two weeks. He has a .303 on-base percentage for his entire career, which is bad, and a beyond pathetic .271 OBP in the last two years. I hope he's great and I'm wrong, but I just don't think he's going to make much of a difference in the larger scheme of 2021. The Mets aren't good enough, and he isn't good enough.
His OPS+ in his career has been consistently above 100. He had one year with 92, rookie year was 52 and last year was 60. This season his OPS+ is 108 which is above his career average. He's hitting .248 this year with 22 home runs and 65 RBI. Pete Alonso is hitting .262 with 23 HR and 62 RBI. I will say that Alonso's OBP is much higher than Baez's. Javier Baez is NOT a below average hitter in today's MLB. The days of small ball single and double teams to death is gone.
The Dodgers are going to win that division and then you are possibly looking at this: Trea - 2B Mookie - RF Seager - SS Turner - 3B Muncy - 1B Smith - C Bellinger - CF Taylor - LF Pitcher Their rotation Scherzer Buehler Bauer Kershaw Urias Does even the most optimistic Mets fan think they could take more than one game in a 7 game series?
