Pages

8/22/20

John From Albany – Mets News and Breakfast Links 8/22/2020



Good Morning. Happy Birthday Ray Burris.  The Weekend Subway Series is cancelled, and Pete Alonso leads by staying positive.


Mets Links:

SNY.TV: Pete Alonso speaks out after Mets coronavirus postponements: 'I'm fortunate that I'm healthy'. First baseman took to Instagram to share his thoughts on Mets' situation. "Sometimes, the only thing you can do in life is smile," Pete Alonso wrote. "There’s a lot of bulls--t and negativity that is in our world. We can choose to cave in and keep feeding the negative energy or we can choose to find the good. Every day is a blessing regardless of the circumstances."

NY Post: Subway Series postponement could bring big Mets rotation boost. If the Mets and Yankees were rescheduled for Monday, , Jacob deGrom could potentially get the ball on his normal rest and then return to the mound five days later at Yankee Stadium.

Mike Vaccaro NY Post: Subway Series fans don’t have to choose between devotion and compassion. “And even now, the first questions from fans tend to be the same: does this help the Yankees (who could surely use a break from the daily trips to the MRI tube they’ve been making)? Does this hurt the Mets (who were fixing to catch the Yankees, perhaps, at their most vulnerable)? Of course, that’s what people want to talk about. That’s baseball. And if you’re all-in in a baseball season, there’s no “off” switch. It’s just a little different this time…And that is what makes it especially concerning, a reminder that, even if there is caution, even if there is strict adherence to the rules, the virus doesn’t play by those rules.”


Dave Lennon Newsday: Mets rediscover what a formidable foe the coronavirus is to MLB. “Apparently, after the Mets and MLB consulted with health officials, it was determined that the safest course of action — for the presumably healthy members of the team — would be to get the heck out of Miami, the nation’s petri dish for COVID-19… Considering that MLB was unable to employ a bubble concept for the regular season — it’s being discussed for the playoffs — this regional-travel concept is the best they could do. Relatively speaking, it has performed better than anyone could have anticipated despite the fact that nearly a month into the season, there has not been a single day that featured all 30 teams in action.”

Mike’s Mets: Out of an Abundance of Caution – “Testing for the coronavirus is still imperfect, even among the relatively privileged class of Major League Baseball players. So, in essence, the decision to keep the team off the field for 4 days is simply a prudent decision to most likely insure that the virus has been contained. MLB's claim of an abundance of caution makes as much sense as waiting an extra day to cancel the whole weekend series when they knew they were going to do that from the start.”




Pat Ragazzo Metsmerized Online: Mets’ Pitcher Brad Brach Talks Bullpen Shakeup. “The team did a good job with communicating these plans to us beforehand that they were thinking of putting Seth Lugo back in the rotation. They also made us aware that there would be more innings to pickup now. We all saw it coming when they discussed it with us earlier in the series,” said Brad Brach.





MLB Links:

Marlins 3 Nationals 2 (Box Score).



Braves 11 Phillies 2 (Box Score).

Padres win – but no grand slams. Padres 4 Astros 3 (Box Score).



6 HRs, 6 straight wins: White Sox rout Cubs, Abreu's 2 blasts lead onslaught; Keuchel beneficiary in 8-inning gem. White Sox 10 Cubs 1 (Box Score).


MLB.com: Mariners CF Kyle Lewis (6th HR, .354) continues AL ROY case. Mariners 7 Rangers 4 (Box Score).


Red Sox 8 Orioles 5 (Box Score).


Yahoo Sports: MLB ratings are up in 2020 thanks to women and younger fans.  “It’s possible changes to the way the game is played has led to increased viewership, though that’s impossible to know for certain. The league has altered extra innings rules, putting a player on second to start each inning, made double headers seven innings, implemented a three-batter minimum for pitchers and increased the number of playoff teams to 16.” – Not being able to attend these or minor league games may have something to do with this as well.

MLB Trade Rumors: The Phillies and Red Sox have announced a trade that will send two veteran relievers – Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree – as well as $815K to Philadelphia in exchange for right-handers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold. That sum should enable the Phillies to stay under the luxury tax, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia observes.

MLB.com: 7 most likely to be dealt before the Deadline. #2. Kevin Gausman, RHP, Giants - Potential landing spots: White Sox, Mets, Astros; #5. Taijuan Walker, RHP, Mariners - Potential landing spots: Braves, Mets, Yankees; #7. Alex Cobb, RHP, Orioles - Potential landing spots: Braves, Mets, Angels.

MLB Trade Rumors: Yankees, Phillies Swap David Hale For Addison Russ.

MLB Trade Rumors: Orioles Promote Top Prospect Ryan Mountcastle, Place Chris Davis On 10-Day IL.


MLB Trade Rumors: Yankees Place James Paxton On Injured List with a Grade 1 flexor strain.

MLB Trade Rumors: Yankees Place Gleyber Torres On Injured List with Grade 1 strains of his left quad and hamstring.


MLB Trade Rumors: Padres Place Drew Pomeranz On Injured List with a shoulder strain.

MLB Trade Rumors: Marlins Activate catcher Jorge Alfaro, Designate catcher Ryan Lavarnway For Assignment.


Born on this date:
Transactions:

New York Mets signed free agent Ike Hampton on August 22, 1970.

New York Mets sold Jorge Toca to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 22, 2003.

New York Mets traded Evan MacLane to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Shawn Green on August 22, 2006.

Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Rod Barajas of the New York Mets on waivers on August 22, 2010.

New York Mets signed free agent Daisuke Matsuzaka on August 22, 2013.

New York Mets purchased Eric Young from the Atlanta Braves on August 22, 2015.

1973
Trailing by a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and a man on second, Felix Millan, Rusty Staub, and John Milner hit consecutive singles to give the Mets an improbable 3-2 decision at Shea Stadium. The victory, the first win for the 0-6 Tug McGraw, appears to ignite the "Ya Gotta Believe" reliever, who once again will become one of the best closers in the league.
1984
Dwight Gooden strikes out Garry Templeton in the eighth inning of the Mets' 5-2 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium to become the 11th pitcher to strike out 200 batters in his rookie season. The 19 year-old freshman becomes only the third teenager to accomplish the feat, joining Bob Feller (1938 Indians) and Gary Nolan (1967 Reds).

1984
Graig Nettles' fourth-inning two-run homer off Dwight Gooden is his seventh round-tripper in his last six games, tying a National League record shared by Walker Cooper, George Kelly, and Willie Mays. The Padres third baseman's blast, one of only three hits given up by the New York 19 year-old rookie in the Mets' 5-2 victory, accounts for all of San Diego's runs in the Jack Murphy Stadium contest.
1999
Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire becomes the first player to reach the 50 home run plateau in four consecutive seasons. 'Big Red' goes deep twice (#'s 49 and 50) in an 8-7 loss to the Mets at Shea Stadium.

2007
Jose Reyes sets a Mets record, swiping his 67th stolen base of the season, surpassing Roger Cedeno, who had established the previous mark in 1999. The New York shortstop swipes three bases in the team's 7-5 loss to the Padres at Shea Stadium.

1970: Johnny Bench has a 2-out, 2-run double in the 9th to give the Reds a 3 - 2 win over the Mets at Shea Stadium.

1972: Jim Beauchamp hits a home run and drives in all the Mets' runs in a 4 - 2 win over the Astros. Yesterday, Beauchamp celebrated his birthday with a pair of home runs as the Mets beat the Astros by the same score.

1999: At Shea Stadium, the Mets and Cardinals split a doubleheader, with New York winning the opener, 8 - 7, and St. Louis taking the nightcap, 7 - 5. Mark McGwire hits two home runs in the first game, his 49th and 50th of the season. Number 49 breaks a light bulb in the scoreboard, 502 feet away. This gives him a major league record 50 or more home runs for four straight seasons.

2000: The Mets have less success using OF Derek Bell to mop up in a 16 - 1 loss to the Padres. Bell, who keeps his sunglasses on, lobs in 36 pitches to 10 batters and allows three hits, three walks, and five runs (4 earned) in his inning.

2011: Cliff Lee is dazzling, throwing 7 scoreless innings as the Phillies down the Mets, 10 - 0. Lee is is 4-0 with an 0.58 ERA this month. John Mayberry and Hunter Pence both hit two-run homers off losing pitcher Dillon Gee.




Want something else tracked here each day?  Please leave a comment below.

8 comments:

  1. Ray Burris? I love these birthday announcements, so I can keep saying to myself "that guy was a Met?" I forget a lot of the old stuff where guys didn't do much.

    Pete is right - every day is a blessing - glad he is healthy.

    I watched the Travis d'Arnaud HR video - THAT move will make me sick for a LONG time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's how I feel about the Wilmer Flores move.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Does anyone read Martino anymore?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Why read Martino - when you can read Macks Mets? C'mon, man!

    ReplyDelete
  5. John, Wilmer has truly hit great as an ex-Met, similar really to Jeff McNeil, and I always thought his bat could come on strong, but he would have been a harder fit in this crowded infield, even with the DH option, given his defensive deficiencies. Of course, maybe you keep Kelenic, keep Flores, don't get Cano, and look for a closer elsewhere if you don't do that trade.

    Nido, even with some signs of life with the bat, is still someone who has to prove he can hit more than .220 at a tough position to stock up - catcher. Since starting catchers probably play only 2/3 of games, a strong back up catcher is paramount.

    d'Arnaud is arguably now perhaps the best offensive catcher in baseball. Certainly top 5. We had him - and we dumped him in the trash.

    I wanted to keep TDA even though I did not think he would hit as well as he has in Tampa and Atlanta. I DID think he'd hit a lot better than Nido - BINGO.

    ReplyDelete
  6. John, one more thought on TDA. The Buffalo has hit horribly this year. If we had TDA, the Buffalo would have slid over to # 2 and we'd be getting real offense from catcher - rather than Ramos' 4 RBIs. We surely would have won 2-3 more games. Even with Ramos not hitting, Nido is not being used that much - my guess that is for a reason.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Travis should at least have been kept last year and Nido given everyday reps at Syracuse. When Travis got to Tampa Bay - they simplified his approach at the plate and that helped him tremendously.

    Was Wilmer replaced with Jed Lowrie? 'Nuff said.

    ReplyDelete
  8. They rushed Travis back, and gave up on him almost immediately - I thought another week in the minors was all he needed, assuming he had the time left to do that. But there was no rush.

    Nido has 6 RBIs this year - but all in one game. So is he a hopeful bat, given that one great game, or the no RBI guy he was in the other 6 games in which he went 5 for 21? Not to rag on Nido - dropping TDA was a huge mistake.

    How huge? If Atlanta beats out the Mets this year, HE could be the difference, the same way Murphy was with the Nationals.

    ReplyDelete