PECOTA loves the 2019 NEW YORK METS

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!

you mean the move that led to David Wright being drafted, right

DiComo thinks Callaway stays all year

https://www.mlb.com/mets/news/mets-trade-deadline-outlook

If you can somehow forget how depressing the bullpen is, this season is almost worth it for batting title Mcneil and ROY Alonso. (Actually the whole offense being non-anemic is great).

not really sure who to blame (besides the wilpons)

the bullpen was supposed to be a strength! they spent money on familia and prospects on diaz but nevertheless they've somehow used chris flexen in eight games

degrom has been not cy, but still pretty good. they've gotten lucky with vargas, apart from the assaulting reporters thing. syndergaard and wheeler and matz just aren't what they were supposed to be

lucky with mcneil and alonso and ramos! unlucky with cano and nimmo getting hurt and lagares being a complete offensive void. well, maybe that last one was predictable

at any rate, i think we've finally confirmed that despite its former promise, this starting rotation has run its course and should get on with its life's work

this starting rotation has run its course

have syndergaard and wheeler really pitched that badly? i assumed they will bounce back sooner or later, unless it's injury-related. i'd say sell high on vargas and just sell matz, keep the other guys

Ramos' offensive numbers are in line with his career overall (eg 105 OPS+ this year, 104 career).

Syndergaard's FIP is 3.72, highest ever for him but not terrible. Matz's is an unsightly 5.41.

DiComo above expects Wheeler and Vargas to be gone. Mets intent on being "competitive" next year so Thor stays.

also they did a pretty good job developing Alonso and McNeil, looks like. I know it hurts to give them any credit whatsoever...

i don't think they had much of a clue about mcneil -- last year they started him in double-a at age 26

to be fair, no one else did either (except for alonso!) mcneil's weird; even last august keith law was all 'he's not a prospect'. i think it was kind of luck that he got called up and immediately started hitting to the point where they couldn't send him back down, because he had quad-a written all over him

he might be my favorite current ballplayer

Matz to bullpen for now

Pete Alonso is taking his Home Run Derby prep seriously. He's out practicing with his cousin, Derek Morgan, for the second day in a row.

By my count, he's hit 16 homers in 39 swings, including several to the batter's eye in straightaway center and two to the second deck in left.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 3, 2019

Seinfeld's booth stint tonight proved that he is a deluded LI yokel

Mickey Callaway on Edwin Diaz: "He's definitely healthy. He feels great. The velo's there."

Callaway did not dismiss the notion that the Mets could consider using Diaz in a lower-leverage role until he gets himself right.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 6, 2019

Today's back pages: pic.twitter.com/k9cXTeed7u

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 7, 2019

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kcNl1A7MOdA

DOM

alonso almost hit one out of target field

Pete Alonso: 474 feet

Mets' longest HR tracked by Statcast pic.twitter.com/7X9XFzRqNf

— David Adler (@_dadler) July 17, 2019

4-game winning streak, 5 out of WC2 perfect timing for a contention mirage

Next 20 games are against below .500 teams too!

that alonso homer was a bomb

Shoutout to Juan Lagares for being visibly upset that the runner held up at third base on his double against a position player in a 14-4 game. I relate.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) July 17, 2019

This 4-game series with SF is innnnteresting, as a sweep by either team might stoke contention delusions, and a 2-2 split would surely finish both (I think).

Most RBIs all-time by a Mets rookie:

1. Pete Alonso, 75 (2019)
2. Darryl Strawberry, 74 (1983)

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 20, 2019

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/67082981_1082616438600248_7396522815786057728_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_oc=AQmp9I-77ZmAiB_n_0hKj8X_s9sUs5MjNfdFUHnHWKXGjbs0_n32CYdzCA06hBwt8kI5Y4zXunTXGTYSIPL4jWNI&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=c0aa315f82e6626ad626f8e306f9bd9c&oe=5DEBC3D7

The disco was called Cooters!

What kind of jams are on the PA at a disco in Texas called "Cooters" in '86 that these guys would get into a scuffle?

We need a Roshomon/Seinfeld recall of the evening's events by the DJ at the Cooters of Houston, Texas in the night in question.

wotta torturous ballclub

Both sides unhappy with Mark Ripperger's strike zone today. Michael Conforto was just steaming mad after taking called strike three (pitch no. 7 here): pic.twitter.com/Z8PtxVBDQz

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 21, 2019

Pete snapped a bat too, right?

I only had radio on all weekend

Jarred Kelenic's mom Lisa on New York City and the Mets: "It still surprises me seeing him in New York newspapers after all this time. He's 19. He was yours for 4 months. You broke up with him."

— Joe (@JoeDoyleWSU) July 21, 2019

by popular demand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZZ0w7vMz-4

NEW YORK! Where I was born. Where my heart lies. Where my family resides. Crazy excited for this part of my journey. Some things were meant to be! @Mets #HDMH pic.twitter.com/Z2H3GaxfLG

— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) July 29, 2019

Photographed moments after he'd handed his parents a list of 15 complaints.

haven't followed his career, really... is he 'difficult'?

He's one of those people who should stay off Twitter, for sure. I'll put it this way: if your team is winning, you love his theatrics and intensity--he was one of the highlights of '15 and '16. But if your team's going nowhere and he starts getting into it with the umpire in the third inning over borderline calls, or he comes charging off the mound cursing and pumping his fist after striking out a guy when he's down 6-2, that's not nearly as much fun. That's why I thought he'd be perfect for the Yankees, or for some other team headed for the post-season.

Stroman is an extreme ground ball pitcher and now playing for one of the worst defenses in the league. Not a good fit but I like him a lot as a player.

Marcus Stroman on fellow Long Island native Steven Matz:

"I played baseball with Steven Matz my whole upbringing. Every travel team I was on when I was younger, he was on my team. ... It's going to be crazy to join him on this staff."

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 29, 2019

https://deadspin.com/a-working-theory-of-what-the-mets-are-even-doing-right-1836779351

Other teams selling pitchers are very annoyed at the Blue Jays return for Stroman, which one rival called “dogs*it.” If that’s all it took to get Stroman, fear is the price goes down for other pitchers unde control

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) July 30, 2019

The Mets have Marcus Stroman lined up to make his debut Saturday in Pittsburgh, in what would have been Jason Vargas' rotation spot.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 30, 2019

since mid-May, deGrom is essentially last year's vintage

oh shit, they're sort of back in it

Fangraphs playoff odds up to 19%

three more against the pirates should help

need to make Diaz as much of a nonfactor as possible; no 1-run leads in the 9th

I was looking at the Mets' roster this morning, and I would think their Top 3 starters + Alonso + McNeil would give them at least a decent chance at a wild-card. On the other hand, I was also thinking that yesterday's Sanchez deal (supposedly he and Stroman, former friends, had a falling out at some point) was another way of sticking it to Stroman: "Okay, you're going to the Mets, and you're going to the Astros."

mets might be a case of how being an awful defensive team is hard to quantify

the metrics are doing a fair job of that (28th in team defense last i looked)

i don't remember if that was DRS or what