MLB 2022

[ElJavi76]

On 8/6/2022 at 6:22 PM, Chas.Alpha said:

Braves and Mets go head to head this weekend!!!

And my Mets did their thing. I was at Citi field for the Saturday night Scherzer game. My only gripe with Mets fan is I don’t know why we have so few sellouts at that stadium. I know it’s a huge PITA to get there. Took us 2 hours to get from north Jersey to our seats. Traffic was really bad but seriously… the food is great, there are no bad seats, and the team is kicking @$$. I went to opening day which was I think one of 3 full houses all year. Shame considering the travesty teams we’ve had in years passed and the quality and hustle this team is exhibiting. 
 

The irony of the weekend was Spencer Strider, Atlanta’s starting pitcher from yesterday’s game… this cat said the Mets were just lucky and that it’s only August we’ll see where we’re at in October. Now, maybe Braves fans wanna hear that but it’s asinine and I think it might give the Mets some whiteboard material for the upcoming series that remain. Kid got his pee hole kicked in and said “A lot of weird hits today”??? Dude your lineup got owned to the tune of 19 strikeouts. So 70% of the outs in Sundays game came from your boys swinging at air and you’re flapping gums? Try to make it out of the third inning next time Spencer. Btw he pitched a grand total of 2.1 innings for the 2021 World Champion Atlanta Braves, so he can’t piggyback on their success cause he had very little to do with it. Kid needs to pipe down, take his L, and come back next time and do better. 
 

In the meantime @JohnS, we’ve opened up a very nice 6.5 game lead (7 in the loss column) that should get us riding high thru the next few weeks. I just don’t want any let down versus the Cincinnati Reds, Marlins, or Nationals. 

[Cairo]

23 minutes ago, ElJavi76 said:

My only gripe with Mets fan is I don’t know why we have so few sellouts at that stadium.

Once the heat wave is over I would expect those games will start selling out--the Mets now have the best starting rotation in the game (imho)--and perhaps the best closer.

That is going to carry them a long way.

[BigGuns]

37 minutes ago, Cairo said:

and perhaps the best closer.

Best entrance without a doubt

[JohnS]

7 hours ago, ElJavi76 said:

And my Mets did their thing. I was at Citi field for the Saturday night Scherzer game. My only gripe with Mets fan is I don’t know why we have so few sellouts at that stadium. I know it’s a huge PITA to get there. Took us 2 hours to get from north Jersey to our seats. Traffic was really bad but seriously… the food is great, there are no bad seats, and the team is kicking @$$. I went to opening day which was I think one of 3 full houses all year. Shame considering the travesty teams we’ve had in years passed and the quality and hustle this team is exhibiting.

In the meantime @JohnS, we’ve opened up a very nice 6.5 game lead (7 in the loss column) that should get us riding high thru the next few weeks. I just don’t want any let down versus the Cincinnati Reds, Marlins, or Nationals. 

I know from being a long-term Mets fan (albeit from overseas) that there are plenty of fans that will make their presence later on at the business end of the season at Citi Field. I predict there will be a run of sellouts, especially if we maintain our lead a top the NL East.

I concur, Citi Field is a long way out in Queens. When I visited I took the train with my family that was 1 hour from Manhattan from memory. I have to say though, they built a nice Baseball park though, it has all the facilities.

Regarding the next series of games, I think the team will aim to stay competitive in their standards. We've had excellent pitching for a long time now, but what let us down before was clutch hitting and defense. I see big improvements in those areas this year obviously with the team we've acquired (I have especially enjoyed every two-out, two-strike RBI and hit this year).

Then again, we kept a number of players that we've 'groomed' that have played better and I believe that is down to the excellent leadership we have in Buck Showalter and especially Max Scherzer. These guys remind me of the Mets teams of the 80s...they're good but together they're better. They enjoy playing for each other's success it seems to me.

6 hours ago, Cairo said:

Once the heat wave is over I would expect those games will start selling out--the Mets now have the best starting rotation in the game (imho)--and perhaps the best closer.

That is going to carry them a long way.

At the business end of the season it is always pitching that defines how teams fare. As they say, "Good pitching will always beat out good hitting".

[KCCubano]

So gents (JohnS and Big Guns) any bets on who takes the 3 game set? Would have liked to see Scherzer pitch in this series! 

[Ford2112]

In other news:  GIANTS SUCK! My god get rid of these inflated contracts on the dinosaurs and get some top shelf young talent already. If the Padres had a decent bullpen they'd be roilling,aside from steroid abusing Tatis. I am tiring of this "Playoff hopes" rhetoric from the organization. Our playoff hopes are done IMO.

[KCCubano]

17 minutes ago, Ford2112 said:

In other news:  GIANTS SUCK! My god get rid of these inflated contracts on the dinosaurs and get some top shelf young talent already. If the Padres had a decent bullpen they'd be roilling,aside from steroid abusing Tatis. I am tiring of this "Playoff hopes" rhetoric from the organization. Our playoff hopes are done IMO.

Most fans would be OVERJOYED with 3 WS wins in recent history lol. Of course as a Royals fan I wasnt too pleased in 2014! 

[Ford2112]

9 hours ago, KCCubano said:

Most fans would be OVERJOYED with 3 WS wins in recent history lol. Of course as a Royals fan I wasnt too pleased in 2014! 

I am and I realized when it was happening how special it was. I just see the Dodgers and Padres smoking us for the forseeable future.

[JohnS]

On 8/31/2022 at 6:07 AM, KCCubano said:

So gents (JohnS and Big Guns) any bets on who takes the 3 game set? Would have liked to see Scherzer pitch in this series! 

Based on current form, The Dodgers would be favourites even with an away series.

As a Mets fan in general, I'm just keeping an eye on current form in anticipation for the postseason, especially with some key pitching options coming back in September. So, in that regards, I'm quite satisfied with how the Mets are faring at the moment.

[ElJavi76]

Hey @JohnS I’ll just leave this here. Apparently this Aussie hadn’t been to a baseball game in his life before yesterday. Tonight he blew the trumpet before Edwin shut the lights off. 
 

 

[JohnS]

@ElJavi76, Timmy the trumpet...what a guy, seriously! I very much enjoyed that ! 😆

[Chas.Alpha]

On 8/31/2022 at 11:08 PM, JohnS said:

@ElJavi76, Timmy the trumpet...what a guy, seriously! I very much enjoyed that ! 😆

John, what cigars were the Braves smoking in the visitors locker room after tonight's game? Looked like Double Coronas, but I can't be sure...

Yes, a PM FU is completely appropriate! 😀

CAH

[KCCubano]

Looking forward to post season play. Like to see Toronto win AL and Dodgers in NL. Should be a good one! 

[JohnS]

4 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said:

John, what cigars were the Braves smoking in the visitors locker room after tonight's game? Looked like Double Coronas, but I can't be sure...

Yes, a PM FU is completely appropriate! 😀

CAH

Honestly, I'm not sure about the cigars but I must congratulate the Braves on their wise use of Coors Light beer! 😆

[Ford2112]

May both the Dodgers and Yanks choke. I want to see the Mariners go. Maybe the Cards.

[brutusthebuckeye]

Hopefully my Indians can make some noise. They came out of nowhere. That’s the way it has to be with any Cleveland team. Circa 1987 Sports Illustrated had Joe Carter and Corey Synder on the cover. They picked the Indians to win the World Series.They lost 107 games that year. 

[Cairo]

4 hours ago, brutusthebuckeye said:

Hopefully my Indians can make some noise.

I am going to resist any temptation to comment on the current name of the Cleveland baseball team.  

😀

There was one regular on MLB Network that kept predicting the White Sox would win the division right up to the day they got eliminated.    I guess MLB refuses to fire an "expert" that gets it so wrong.

 

[JohnS]

Congratulations to Aaron Judge for hitting Home Run No, 62. In light of the records posted in the Steroids Era by players such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens on the pitching side, I wonder if this will now be seen amongst fans as the new mark? One thing I can say in the modern era is that hitting 50 home runs a seasons is a significant event. Even 40 is excellent. Times have changed.

More here: https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/watch_yankees_slugger_aaron_judge_hits_al_record_breaking_home_run_no_62/s1_13132_37957483

[Chas.Alpha]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

Congratulations to Aaron Judge for hitting Home Run No, 62. In light of the records posted in the Steroids Era by players such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens on the pitching side, I wonder if this will now be seen amongst fans as the new mark? One thing I can say in the modern era is that hitting 50 home runs a seasons is a significant event. Even 40 is excellent. Times have changed.

More here: https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/watch_yankees_slugger_aaron_judge_hits_al_record_breaking_home_run_no_62/s1_13132_37957483

Nothing cooler than 61 in '61, except maybe 62 after 61 years!!!

[rolaand]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

Congratulations to Aaron Judge for hitting Home Run No, 62. In light of the records posted in the Steroids Era by players such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens on the pitching side, I wonder if this will now be seen amongst fans as the new mark? One thing I can say in the modern era is that hitting 50 home runs a seasons is a significant event. Even 40 is excellent. Times have changed.

More here: https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/watch_yankees_slugger_aaron_judge_hits_al_record_breaking_home_run_no_62/s1_13132_37957483

To be honest it is now the era of spin rate, illegal substances, and suspicious balls (juiced vs deadened). It is an even more remarkable feat since most home run numbers are down across the league. 
 

huge accomplishment. 

[RedLantern]

On 4/3/2022 at 8:25 PM, RedLantern said:

Julio Rodriguez is going to be a STAR for the M's. Remember the name, if you don't know it already!

 

On 3/22/2022 at 5:21 PM, RedLantern said:

Casual Mariners fan checking in. Hoping we can actually make the playoffs this year.

 

These aged well

[LLC]

I’m hoping to see the Blue Jays go deep. All three Wild Card games in Toronto and the atmosphere should be nuts, so getting through Seattle will be the first step. 🤞

[brutusthebuckeye]

On 10/5/2022 at 2:46 PM, Cairo said:

I am going to resist any temptation to comment on the current name of the Cleveland baseball team.  

😀

There was one regular on MLB Network that kept predicting the White Sox would win the division right up to the day they got eliminated.    I guess MLB refuses to fire an "expert" that gets it so wrong.

 

The name change sucked I will leave it at that. You’re right! Everybody had the White Sox winning that division. Most talking heads here had the Tribe winning 80 games this year. 

[ElJavi76]

On 10/6/2022 at 8:19 AM, JohnS said:

Congratulations to Aaron Judge for hitting Home Run No, 62. In light of the records posted in the Steroids Era by players such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens on the pitching side, I wonder if this will now be seen amongst fans as the new mark? One thing I can say in the modern era is that hitting 50 home runs a seasons is a significant event. Even 40 is excellent. Times have changed.

More here: https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/watch_yankees_slugger_aaron_judge_hits_al_record_breaking_home_run_no_62/s1_13132_37957483

It’s a remarkable feat but I’m sorry you can’t rewrite history just cause it feels yucky. When those big boys were hitting 68 and 73 home runs a season… MLB wasn’t batting an eye and their ratings were probably at all time highs. Bonds, as much as I didn’t like him or the Giants, never got caught with an PED positive test. We’re not dumb. We know he was doing it, but you can’t turn around now and erase what was accepted once. Are we sure Pujols didn’t do PEDs? He’s got 700+ and MLB is celebrating that now even. The Mitchell report didn’t include names like Pujols, McGuire, and Sosa. Go figure. 
 

To me Judge is JUST the American League HR champ. That’s all you get bud. Nothing to sneeze at but the other stats all stand to me. 

[JohnS]

I completely concur Javi, no need to rewrite the history books as that is always fraught with issues, especially in this age where modern culture regularly denounce past generations based on the values we have today. But that's another story.

Absolutely, the records still stand. I remember that McGwire/Sosa race in 1998 and even more so the incredible feat that Barry Bonds achieved in 2001. I remember thinking, "how many intentional base on balls can a guy get in a season?" I mean, no-one wanted to pitch to Bonds in the last two months of the 2001 regular season. I was especially miffed watching games because an intentional walk meant the pitcher threw to the catcher four times. In this aspect, I'm glad times have changed.

You can talk about the dead ball era pre-1920s, the grandfathered use of the spitball, the fact Maris played 162 games and Ruth played 154 or that Bob Gibson had an ERA of 1.12 in 1968 when the pitching mound was raised (and then brought back down the following season) but the records stand and that's how it should be...yes.