4/20/21

Mets News and Breakfast Links 4/20/2021

 



Good Morning.  Happy Birthday Masato Yoshii and Sean Green.  Mets travel to Chicago, Phillies and Nats lose, and Alt site highlights.

Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, This Day in Mets History and Comments. 

Mets Links: 

Today's Game: 

Mets (7-4) @ Cubs (6-9), 7:40 pm

CHC: Jake Arrieta (#49, 35, RHP, 2-1, 3.18)
NYM: Taijuan Walker (#99, 28, RHP, 0-0, 2.61)


Tim Healey Newsday: Meet the independent analytics guru helping Marcus Stroman and other Mets players.  “at least three Mets pitchers [Marcus Stroman, Trevor May, Drew Smith], they have a personal analytics guru. That is where Michael Fisher — a 51-year-old financial analyst by trade and baseball nerd by hobby — and his company Codify come in…” Tim explains how Codify provides the pitchers with heat maps: “the heat maps tell a pitcher where to throw what and when. Blue is good, red is bad.”        

Metsmerized Online: Hanging With Hejka: Returning to Action in a New World. Brooklyn Cyclones pitcher Josh Hejka talks about 2021 Spring Training with COVID 19 protocols and rule changes including reasons behind increased Ks and Homers.

Metsmerized Online: Mets Finding Success Without Firing on All Cylinders Yet. “With the uneven schedule this club has dealt with over the season’s first two-plus weeks, it should be no surprise that the offense is struggling to click…what does jump off the page, though, is this team’s lack of power. The Mets have hit just six home runs through 11 games…”

Ken Davidoff NY Post: Mets bear uncanny resemblance to 2015-16 Cubs.  Ken compares the 15-16 Cubs’ core to “The newly acquired and extended Francisco Lindor as well Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Davis, and, if he sticks around past this year, Michael Conforto. All of them are under 30.”

NY Post: Michael Conforto’s strong weekend a positive Mets sign after choppy start. “But in three games in Colorado (over two days because of a doubleheader), Conforto went 4-for-10 (.400) with a double, contributing to the Mets’ two victories.”

90 Percent Mets: Mets Leave Colorado with Rocky Mountain High. Feeling good is one thing but while the Mets pitching and defense looked great all series the offense continued to struggle in a hitter-friendly Coors Field. In three games the Mets scored just eight runs and hit just one home run, a solo home run by Pete Alonso in Game 1 of the double header on Saturday.

NY Post: 'Warrior' Edwin Diaz's confidence keep growing for Mets.

NY Post: Howie Rose returning to Mets radio booth after medical absence. 












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Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com: 

Born April 20:

National Pastime.com:

1967

Tom Seaver, a right-hander the Mets obtained in a lottery drawing that included the Braves, Phillies, and Indians, gets his first major-league win when the team beat the Cubs, 6-1. The 22 year-old rookie, who will become known as the 'Franchise,' goes 7.2 innings, giving up eight hits and one run in the Shea Stadium contest.

1997

In the second game of a doubleheader, the Cubs stop their season-opening losing skid at 14 games, beating the Mets, 4-3. By losing the opener, Chicago set a National League record (0-14) for the most consecutive losses to start a season and has the second-worst record behind the Orioles, who lost 21 decisions before winning a game in 1988.

 

2006

At Petco Park in his first at-bat of the season, Kaz Matsui hits an inside-the-park round-tripper, making it the third successive season in which the Mets second baseman has hit a home run in his initial plate appearance of the year. Ken Griffey Jr. also accomplished the feat starting in 1997 with the Mariners but had walked before going deep.

2006

Appearing as a pinch hitter at Petco Park, Julio Franco becomes the oldest major leaguer to hit a home run. The 47 years, 240 days old's eighth-inning blast, which put the Mets ahead in their 7-2 victory over the Padres, surpasses Jack Quinn, who accomplished the feat as a pitcher for the Philadelphia A's at the age of 46 years, 357 days.

 

Baseball Reference:

2020 - Show business newspaper Variety reports that former player Alex Rodriguez and his fiancé, show biz star Jennifer Lopez, have approached JP Morgan Chase to raise capital to make a bid to purchase the New York Mets. Owner Fred Wilpon and his son Jeff are known to want to sell the team, after an attempt to line up a sale with a hedge fund billionaire fell through last December.

Mack’s Blast From The Past comes from April 20, 2013.  In his Morning report, Mack had Omar Minaya’s reason why he drafted Matt Harvey: “The thing that impressed me most about Harvey was the way he sustained velocity. He was throwing 96, 97 late in the game. He’s doing that now, and he had that when I saw him in college. That’s what impressed me.”  

Centerfield Maz:

Brooklyn Trolley Blogger:

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6 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Yanks will have mid 70s today. Mets upper 30s. It happens every season.

Hard to get hot hitting in frigid weather. Good to see Conforto picking it up.

I think this is McNeil's and Lindor's week.

Yamamoto and Viscaino are ready to help - that's good.

April 20, 2021 at 6:21 AM
Tom Brennan said...

Cubs have a 4.98 ERA - time for that number to bust thru 5 in this series. Come on, Mets' bats.

April 20, 2021 at 6:29 AM
John From Albany said...

Tom, I think if Vizcaino is healthy, he will join the team pretty soon. It could be that they will wait until they start playing everyday as they don't need him yet. I can't see Barnes or another struggling relief pitcher going much longer.

April 20, 2021 at 6:49 AM
Mack Ade said...

I think all 3 will be fine by June 1st.

April 20, 2021 at 9:28 AM
Mack Ade said...

That means if we get 5 runs, right?

April 20, 2021 at 9:29 AM
Mike Steffanos said...

I'm looking forward to Vizcaino pitching for the Mets, too, John. He's got some real upside if he can stay healthy

April 20, 2021 at 11:59 AM

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