Melky has actually improved a lot at the plate in the last few weeks or so. His overall average is still low but he's been a lot better than McClouth. I think his average on this road trip and during that winning streak were pretty good. I wouldn't mind a platoon though. The Braves made an investment in McClouth so they shouldn't give up completely. Yeah the Mets are even streakier than the Braves I think. I hear Francoeur has a clue at the plate again, for now. That probably has a lot to do with their recent success. And the fact they're getting some fine pitching from Pelfrey.
Liriano was nasty tonight. Tip your cap. Seems like we've faced our share of aces and had quite a few one run losses. Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
That was rough. Hudson pitched a gem. Bad luck was the only reason he didn't pitch a complete game shutout. Really bad luck. I'd love to see Heyward start making contact again. Jordan Schafer was called up to take the place of McClouth who is on the DL now.
Actually they called up Hicks instead because of Infantes injury. Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
Interesting. Last night during the broadcast they were saying that Schafer was already on the way. Maybe they called them both up? Is Infante on the DL now too?
I may start a Brooks Conrad fan club. I haven't seen a suicide squeeze in forever. The Braves won tonight with a perfect one.
He also hit that walk off Grand Salami against the Reds in the 9th inning. Bobby has a deep and clutch bench this year.
The Braves played a great game today all around. No way Medlen sees the bullpen again. That kid was money. The lineup got to show an AL crowd today that NL teams can hit too. I'm optimistic about the Tampa series now. I was paranoid on Friday about the Mets jumping into first because they've been playing the worst team in baseball. They're still held off for now. At this pace Troy Glaus will be an MVP candidate. Amazing that he and Martin Prado are in danger of not making the Allstar team. I think I'll go vote for them now.
I'll be pretty happy if we go into next weekend's series still in first considering how easy a schedule the Mets have/have had. They do have to play the Yankees don't they? They've had a cakewalk so far and Atlanta's playing first place teams.
I wouldn't worry about the Mets, they're beating up the bad teams and thus looking better than they really are. The Braves are the better team. The team I'd be worried about is the Phillies, I'm really just surprised at how poorly the Phillies have played lately but I expect them to go on their usual 2nd half run. But I do like what I'm seeing with this Braves team, I think they might have the best team in the division.
I feel the same way. The Mets right now do have the better pitching, which is why they're beating up on those bad teams. The Phillies offense will come around, I'm sure of that, but their pitching hasn't been very good at all. After that weekend in Boston, you can attest to that. Halladay is really the only guy who's been consistent for them.
I still like Hamels too, maybe because he owned the Sox the two times he faced them but you're right the Phillies pitching is a little weak (maybe they should have kept Cliff Lee) and Hamels hasn't been consistent at all this year from start to start. I am surprised at how well the Mets have played but after Santana and Pelfrey their starters are weak too. I know Niese has been good since he's been off the DL, but I was at his start vs. Florida and his stuff is ok but nothing special, he screams a #4 starter to me, and I'm not a fan of Maine, Perez, R.A. Dickey or any of the Japanese pitchers the Mets are throwing out there. I think they're playing over their heads a bit. I think before the season started I picked the Phillies winning the division and the Braves the WC (and going to the WS). I do think the Braves are going to need to add a bat in the OF, either in CF or LF (I don't trust Hiniske, Mclouth, Diaz, Schaffer or whoever else they have right now) and maybe another arm if Jurrijans can't come back at full strength, but I think every team in the NL East needs to add another starter as well, in the very least.
Adding another arm never hurts, but when I look at what the Braves have done without Jurrjens, it's pretty encouraging knowing he'll be back soon. That's almost like adding someone in a trade with the way Medlen has pitched this year. Can't disagree about adding another bat in the OF, although the platoon has been OK. Melky has actually been pretty good of late, and Hinske has been more than we could've hoped. McLouth is a black hole. I guess the only encouraging thing about that is he hasn't done anything and we're still in 1st place.
I will miss him.... Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has heard from two sources that Chipper Jones plans to retire after this season. http://twitter.com/ajcbraves/status/16228426050
I won't miss him. It's about time he hung em up. Great player though and a class act. Met killer extraordinaire....
He's said this whole season that if he continues play at a sub-par level he would retire at the end of the season. So this would come at no surprise. He's hitting .228 with 3 HR's and has been hurt virtually the whole year. Hopefully Heyward gets his thumb right, because he's the Braves #3 hitter for the next 15+ years...and new Met Killer
No surprise that Chipper's retiring. He's not going to just hang around as long as the club will let him. He made it pretty clear that he would leave if he couldn't perform to his standards anymore. I think it's clear that's not happening. Maybe he changes his mind if things really turn around in the second half but I somehow doubt it. He just can't stay healthy. It's the end of an era. He will be missed and is the last player to go from the historic run. Even though he was in the minors when it started.
. After tonight we'll only be a half game in first. Damn Mets and their soft *** schedule. Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
Chris Resop should quit baseball and become a magician. He's already tricked the Braves into believing he's a good pitcher. Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
There's still hope of holding them off. We could still take the series now that Kawakami's start is out of the way. When was the last time the Mets played a winning team? Last month?
Something like that. I'm not too worried though. They've played a lot of games at home, whereas the Braves have played most of their's on the road. They have the Yankees coming up, we have the Royals. They're also abysmal on the road, save for these last few games against the Orioles and Indians, two of the worst teams in baseball. Overall, the Braves are the better team, even without McCann and Escobar doing much.
Now that the Mets are finishing up the AAA portion of their schedule I have a feeling they're going to come back down to Earth in a hurry. I wish Martin Prado could somehow leapfrog Chase Utley in the Allstar voting. It's not going to happen but he deserves it. With his three hit night last night I believe he became the hits leader for all of MLB. Utley's got all of that power and everything but there's no question which second baseman is playing better ball this season.
alright, so Chipper is probably going to retire. y'all have already covered that it is the end of an era, so i am going to fast forward to this offseason (an offseason that begins, hopefully, after a feel-good-storybook-ending of a Billy Wagner save of a World Series clinching victory that was secured by a Chipper Jones 9th inning 3 run HR after Bobby Cox gave him the swing-away sign on a 3-0 count and runners on 2nd and 3rd, but i digress). Chipper will get paid a portion of his remaining contract, but i gotta think the Braves will have some scratch to sign an impact free agent. so who is going to be available after this year? who is on your wish list? i am going to guess that Troy Glaus, unless he collapses at the plate, will be getting a multi-year deal to stay put, and maybe even switch to 3rd if Freddy Freeman is deemed ready next spring. i think the Braves are more likely to give him a shot with the success that Heyward has seen. of course, we will have to replace Wags at closer, so maybe that extra cash from Chipper's contract that i was talking about is already accounted for between those two. and who do you want to manage the Braves next season, since i am looking forward?
have you seen the Napolean Dynamite inspired t-shirts some of the Braves are wearing in the locker room that say "Vote for Prado?"
Crazy thing is before Utley still had the better overall numbers (OPS, HR's, OBP, SLG) and now they're pretty much even, with Prado's numbers slightly better. Amazing how good this guy has been. I'm sure Lucky is still claiming he's Mexican.
The Mets have played 34 at home and 31 on the road. After the game tonight Vs Cleveland and the series vs NYY it will actually be 35 on the road and 34 at home. Not a real big discrepancy either way. The Mets have been awful on the road but they were 3-3 on their last road trip in SD and Milwakee and now 5-0 on this one even if it is beating up some bad teams. McCann will get hot the last month and a half when he always does. I always try and trade for him in fantasy in mid july when people get frustrated with his mediocre 1st halves. As good as Glaus has been you'd be crazy to give him any kind of long term deal with his injury history. Guy can rake when hes right but thats usually only for about 75 games a season. I would consider him a stop-gap/transition type player where you let the young player come up behind and work his way in to a starting gig. Over the past 3-4 years Ive seen a lot of Niese and read a lot of Niese. I've seen him called everything from a bad #2 to a really good #4. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. But Seattle is insisting on him in any deal for Cliff Lee according to all the tabloids up here and he's been pitching awesome since he came off the DL. So make of it what you will. As far as the rest of the guys you mention...Maine, Perez, Takahashi, Little Dickey and Igarashi I think Met fans pretty much feel the same way you do. I think we're living on borrowed time with some of those guys and we need another proven starter whether its Oswalt or Lee prefereably or even a guy like Millwood or Jake Westbrook. Dickey is suitable as a #5 imo and seems to be making some strides as far as using his fastball in with his knuckleball. Perez and Igarashi are awful. And Maine its probably just a matter of time til he's hurt again. I know. Im gonna miss the "Larry" chants we had for him at Shea/Citifield. He's always hated those and you can actually see his face getting red. Awesome player, 1st ballot HOFER but man I wont miss him.....
If I were the Mets and depending on what exactly Seattle is asking for Cliff Lee, I might go all in this year and trade away Niese, Fernando Martinez and which ever prospects not named Ike, Mejia and Flores. I understand that Lee will most likely be a Yankee in 2011 but the Mets are a team badly in need of a playoff appearance to get the fan energy back. And really who knows, a 1/2/3 combo of Santana, Lee and Pelfrey in the playoffs might just get them on a run. I understand that I'd have to give up a lot to get Lee but just looking at the state of the team and the farm system (which isn't bad but lacks a lot of really high end prospects), the Mets might only have 1 or 2 more years with who they have now to be somewhat good until they have to rebuild. With the Phillies showing some weaknesses, now might be the time for the Mets to really go all in. I realize it's risky but this is a franchise in need of some October baseball in the worst way and I really don't think someone like Niese is going to come back to haunt the Mets (ala Jeff Bagwell). I'd do it. I'd also see what it would take to get a 2nd tier guy like Millwood, Westbrook or Arroyo (assuming the Reds fall out of it) and make that deal as well, just to have that #4 spot locked up. I'm still puzzled as to why Mejia is still up at the MLB level. I would have sent him down to the minors to start some games, so maybe he could really help this team during the dog days of summer. You could always stick him back in the pen in September or whenever he reaches his innings limit.
I'd be happy with that. The Mets can go right ahead and trade what little they have left of their farm system. Even if they add a front line starter I like our chances. If I were them, I'd be looking to add a 2B.
Their farm system isn't as bad as people think but it does lack a lot of top end prospects, that a team like the Braves have. I'm not sure how much value Fernando Martinez has right now since in his 4 years playing the minors he's never gone a full season without getting hurt once or twice, so that might hurt them in the trade market. Flores is a pretty good prospect and I do like Mejia even if the Mets are ruining his career by sticking him in the bullpen and costing him a full year of development and building up the arm. But after those guys (and Ike Davis who they're not going to trade), they don't have much to get excited about. I think the Mets definitely need to add at least one pitcher and a 2B would help too. I wouldn't be shocked to see them go after Ty Wigginton and stick him there. Yeah he makes Dan Uggla look like Roberto Alomar defensively but he can hit and also play multiple positions. Plus that's why you keep Ruben Tejada around for a defensive sub in the late innings. The big problem I see with the Mets is they're a win now team and the franchise badly needs to make the playoffs to give the fans some hope. That's why I'd go all in. It would bring back excitement to the town and team and with the NL East and WC so wide open right now it could push them over the top. And who knows maybe Cliff Lee ends up loving NY and the Mets and decides to stay, it could happen.
