Press Release:
LEXINGTON, KY – Columbia overwhelmed Lexington on Thursday and defeated the home team, 9-4. The Fireflies scored six runs in the fourth to take a lead they would not relinquish. Columbia tallied 10 hits and when it was all said and done, had 17 baserunners reach. The Fireflies split the four-game series after winning the final two games in the set.
Lexington (35-31) starter Yefri Del Rosario (L, 0-2) walked back-to-back batters in the second inning and Columbia (33-31) capitalized soon afterward. With two outs, Rigoberto Terrazas slapped a bouncing ball up the middle that shortstop Cristian Perez booted into centerfield. The error allowed Edgardo Fermin to score the game’s first run.
After Lexington scored three runs in the bottom of the second, the Fireflies would then cut the deficit in half the following frame thanks to a Legends’ mistake. Del Rosario retired the first two batters of the frame and then struck out Scott Manea. The catcher, M.J. Melendez, dropped the pitch and the ball kicked left of the plate. Manea reached on the dropped third strike and scored moments later when Matt Winaker doubled to the wall in right field.
Columbia fell back behind, 4-2, after Lexington added a run in the bottom half of the third. This time, Nick Pratto tagged and scored from third when Melendez ripped a sacrifice fly into left.
The see-saw scoring battle continued into the top of the fourth when Columbia’s offense erupted for six runs (tying a season high for one half inning). The Fireflies batted around and 11 total hitters came to the plate. The frame was highlighted by Raphael Gladu’sRBI single and Winaker’s two-run base hit.
The club built on its lead in the sixth. Winaker was hit by a pitch and rolled to second base when Fermin singled. Winaker scored when Quinn Brodey ripped one of his three hits up the middle. The visitors led, 9-4.
Winaker and Brodey finished with a combined five hits and five RBIs. Their efforts helped Columbia starter Anthony Kay (W, 3-3) pick up his third victory of the season.
Dominic Smith
ReplyDeleteEvery other NY Mets batter on the ball club should go back and watch the video on Dominic's homerun in yesterday's loss to the DBacks. The reason being that this team is visibly pressing lately, both batters and pitchers alike. It's human.
Look at Lugo last night coming off a terrific start. He just needs to fully relax and realize just how really good he is now. Accept this. Relax with it, grow an attitude suiting to him, and be himself.
When a person is young, they kind of/sort of have to "grow into their own skin" to fully realize just who they are and to achieve their own full potential. Seth absolutely is now and will continue doing so as he moves forward. He is a very impressive and capable young pitcher and we NY Mets fans are very lucky to have him here. This is just the beginning of his voyage.
Dominic Smith is the antithesis of pressure. He stays cool, smiles, is always himself, never changes, does not press, gets the job done and then sits down to relax on the bench until he goes out to play first base. I truly like players like Dominic Smith. Always have. A joy to watch play. Glad he is here now a Met.
Contrast this to some of the other NY Mets batters and you will see what I am trying to say here, a difference. Some players habitually swinging at pitches two inches off the dirt and outside, thus writing their own book of plate vulnerability batting. The opposing team's catchers can barely block these pitches heading into the dirt with their shin pads, many deflecting off the catcher's shin pads and hitting the home plate umpire in the nuts. And yet, a couple of Mets batters cannot lay off this same exact pitch game to game.
Pressing. Sweating. Teeth clenched. Dirty looks at home plate umpires, arguing strikes like a goober...No good I say! No buffet for you! Water and bread for you!
Relaxed, yet with understanding of what needs to get done each at bat. Smooth. Silk. For the sky is not falling. The world is not ending, and there is no "Mini Ice Age" about to hit your house. Enjoy the moment, for you are here and life is very good when we let it. Be one with the team.
A couple of NY Mets batters might benefit more by starting to think first pitch hitting more in their at bats. Almost every pitcher (starters and relievers alike) really want that first pitch to be a strike to get ahead of the batter and dominate that at bat. So they tend to just lay it in there (sweet-like) from Grandma and with a kiss. It really can be the very best pitch (easiest offering to hit) a Mets batter will see in an given at bat. So why not be ready for "Grandma's Gift" and smack that sucker out to the fence?
The job of the batting coach is to identify these "Grandma first pitch pitchers" (because every MLB team has them) and get the whole batting lineup informed before the game even begins on just who they are. Remind the batters when there is a pitching change made, to stay on top of this.
If you need "saber-isometrics" with this, a team can go by the sheer probabilities here, then text those numbers over to the players pregame and during the game so that they have an idea of this first pitch offering and what kind of a pitch that specific pitcher prefers using. Arizona's Godley is one of these pitchers, but the Mets batters really did not take advantage of this fact I felt last night.
I am sure that the NY Mets management probably do this type of thing already, but to be honest here it does not show yet. But don't give up on this team. Good things comin' for them.
Through this 13 game losing streak (or however long it has been and it feels like three years to be honest here) the NY Mets starters have I think remained impressive overall. And a couple of relievers too. It's really just a matter of the Mets team hitting in succession more, one batter after another, and building that elusive rally type of innings. It will happen again like the beginning of this season.
ReplyDeleteOn Amed Rosario
After watching him enough batting, I have come to the conclusion that whatever he is doing batting, leave him alone because it is too innate a thing in him to try changing and it will not help him to try adjusting something that innate. Amed has his own way and to adjust anything about it will only hurt him batting. His style is "Island and a bit Billy Madison" like, but it works for him naturally. It's his way and he probably cannot ever change it if he even wanted to. If it works, do not fix it.
It's almost congruent a type thing, as to when Jose Reyes pulled his hammies his first two seasons up a NY Met. The Mets brain trust wanted to re-teach him "how to run" to spare Jose this kind of hamstring injury in the future. Remember that Mets fans? Was something. This was historically second only to the NY Mets trying to teach Dwight Gooden (the very best young starter in all of baseball in that mid 1980's timeframe) how to save his arm stress by using his legs more in his pitching delivery.
Health Concerns:
1. Mets fan's hearts. Broken and battered, desperate for a tonic of some sort of relief anyway. My best Mets buddy is green tea-ing with half a pint of vodka, six times a day. He says that he enjoys the Mets games a lot better this way.
2. Bruce Jay's hip flexor and back.
3. Yoenis Cespedes hip. Hip injuries are in again this year, evidently!
4. Paul Seawall's ability to stem the tide later inning. Maybe plant more seaweed Paul!
5. Noah Syndergaard's two fingers. Why not three? Why totally stop at two?
The Final Leg Of This Most Annoying Diatribe
ReplyDelete1. Yesterday, I stated that I had a plan to minor rebuild this Mets team in five moves. I spent countless hours yesterday trying to beat this five and did. Now I say just two off season moves, five call ups, and two moves at the 2018 Trade Deadline.
2. Here's one of my best 2018 Trade Deadline ideas. The Mets trade all five of their current catchers to the Miami Marlins' for JT Realmuto. Then find and make Anthony Recker (The Human Wrecking Ball) the team's backup catcher extraordinaire once again.
This 2018 team brings back memories of Casey Stengel for me saying, "Does anyone here know how to play this game?"
Great comments, "Anonymous." Almost missed them.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with the hitting comments.
You should consider contacting Mack thru this site to write occasionally for Macks Mets.