The Mets were fully willing to give the Braves the game last night, but the Braves, who have such kind hearts, knew how important last night was to the Mets and, being able to celebrate Hank Aaron all day, there cups were already overflowing with joy and they allowed the lowly Mets once glimpse into happiness.
But tonight…nope. The Braves are ready to stomp holes in those stinkin’ Mets. Reynaldo Lopez will face off against RHP Adrian Houser at 6:20 CT/7:20 ET.
Braves Lineup
Mute on Sean Murphy?
It was an unfortunate occurrence when Sean Murphy hit the IL after his 1st AB. What’s more is that we haven’t heard a peep on him in the 11 days since. While I love Travis D’Arnaud, the Braves need Murphy’s agility behind the plate as well as his stick. Hopefully we hear something soon.
RE: Murphy
I think Murphy will be out for a while. And since I will go to my grave believing he was ran into the ground last year, I couldn’t be happier. d’Arnaud, sorry for the cliche, is a “coach on the field”, can still hit a little, can still throw a little, and has become wildly entertaining. Tromp can handle the bat and throw a little, and he’s a backup catcher in most organizations anyway. So we’re in good hands if Murphy even needs, I dunno, 2 months off. Snit’s only flaw is refusing to give his guys days off, and so unfortunately, I just have to root for them to get an annoying but non-catastrophic injury (oblique is perfect) to get these guys some damn rest.
RE: Lopez
Interested to see if Lopez can both make 30 starts and be effective for 30 starts. He’s found money if he stays healthy.
RE: Strider
As exciting as Strider is, the reality is that he’s toed this line with injury the entire time he’s been here. And we can say he’s vegan, his legs are massive, he pitched with his lower half, he’s smart, etc. etc. etc. and therefore he was somehow exempt from injury because of that. But at the end of the day, he clearly prioritized swing-and-miss. And if you live by it, you die by it. It shows up in his FIP/ERA disparity, and now it showed up in his elbow. I’m not saying ole 5’11” Strider was chasing K’s for some intrinsic reason, but at the end of the day, would it have been better for him to look for more contact, chase spin rate less, and chase velo less? Yes, both for his actual performance and for, now, his health. He needs to take a year and a half off, and reinvent himself a little. We don’t need 300 K’s. We need an ERA of 3.
Of course, I say all this knowing that we have like 6-7 guys who might be able to give us the 3.86 ERA and 5 2/3 IP per start he gave us last year. If we didn’t, I’d probably be crying in my beer. Strider’s evaluation is one of the rare misses by WAR, IMO. For instance, Strider was at 5.5 fWAR and Cole was at 5.2 But if you’re asking me if I’d rather have Cole’s 2.63 ERA and 209 IP in 33 starts, I’d take Cole all day. I’d take Zac Gallen’s 5.2 fWAR, 3.47 ERA, and 210 IP. Logan Webb: 216 IP, 3.25 ERA, 4.9 fWAR. I get that WAR is going to use FIP more heavily than ERA to isolate the variables, but give me the guy racking up outs, not strike outs. Give me the guy still in the game in the 7th inning, not the guy who threw 110 pitches to get through 5.
When Strider returns (post-op, possibly), could he become another Smoltz (aka the Closer of Doom)?
EDIT: Gotta like this start. Keep it up, fellas…
Apparently our relief staff spent all of their bullets in the Arizona series.
Ozzie’s defense…woof
This slinging thing that Ozzie’s picked up is a horrible idea. Not only does it weaken his arm but the motion itself is erratic.
Too much is going to be asked of this bullpen.
Prepare for blown leads galore.
If we lose this game look no farther than the squandered chances we had earlier to blow the game open when we hit into double plays twice.
Why can’t we ever get a lock down closer? Iglesias is always an adventure with his nibbling
This game should’ve been 10-0 before the Mets started scoring. This is why you never stop adding on runs.
Two bases loaded no out situations ending up with only one run scored.
Recapped