Now That's What I'm Talking About

by Eric Simon on Jul 6, 2008 1:33 AM EDT

This team, man. I'm out, I'm in, I'm out, I'm in. They almost won on Friday night only to blow it late, just as they almost lost last night only to come on strong at the end and win by five runs. The Mets gave John Maine a three-run lead early on and he gave it back when man-beast Ryan Howard went opposite field in the fourth. The Phillies took the lead in the bottom of the seventh just to see the Mets march back with three apiece in the eighth and ninth to put the game away.

Maine and Ryan Church both left the game due to injury, but it doesn't look like either is serious. Maine had a cramp in his left forearm and was removed for precautionary reasons. Church left with dizziness that was later diagnosed as a migraine. I'd normally be pretty concerned, post-concussion syndrome and all, but Church has had migraine problems since high school so this could very well have nothing to do with the concussion(s).

Big winners: Brian Schneider, +33.8% WPA, Marlon Anderson, +15.9% WPA
Big losers: Pedro Feliciano, -16.6% WPA, David Wright, -14.6% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Schneid Dog's two-run double, +33.9% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Ryan Howard three-run bomb, -26.8% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -1.7%
Total batter WPA: +51.7%

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by pingel; his effort in last night's game thread embiggens us all.

Name	# of Posts
pingel	33
Reg Dunlop	32
Endys Game	23
itsmetsforme	22
ZaBlanc	11
JohnPeterson	10
DoctorK16	9
kingcritical	6
sireric	6
future	1
JE	1
Prince	1

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Eric...

You will always be in, no matter what, and so will most of the Mets fans here. Through thick and thin, you’ll always be there. I think this team will do this the rest of the season—they will break your heart in the end, though. Wait until they run off a streak of 6 or 7 straight wins then lose that many in a row. They are a .500-ish team this year.

"We praise or blame as one or the other affords more opportunity for exhibiting our power of judgment." Friedrich Nietzsche, "Human,All Too Human" (1878)

by wgarrett on Jul 6, 2008 8:22 AM EDT reply actions

Committed for life.

We’ll never be out. Good or bad.

So what’s your stance on Ryan Howard? The guy was a monster a couple years ago and looked like he was gonna make his run at Aaron/Bonds. In the last 2 years, he’s sorta become a homer-or-nothing guy. Far less scary at the plate, assuming he doesn’t hit it out. A .300 home run guy is a different story than a .250 home run guy.

Incy dinky doo?

He’s stilly young, it can change, but still.

Also, what the hell ever happened to Sean Casey? I really liked him, had a ton of talent. Now he’s a bench guy for the Sox. Weird.

The 2008 NY Mets: Reyes singles. Castillo infield single. Wright walks. Beltran lines out. ZaBlanc bitches. Delgado strikes out. Reyes picked off third. Fans boo. Padres win 2-1.

by ZaBlanc on Jul 6, 2008 9:13 AM EDT reply actions

Howard

I’d be a little concerned if I were the Phillies. He’s still only 28 and his body of work before this year is stunning, and I think he’ll settle in somewhere above his current .224 batting average. I don’t think he’s a good enough hitter to go .300 every year, but .260-.280 probably isn’t out of the question. My biggest concern about him is the drop in walks this season. In fact, overall, if you disregard all of the intentional walks he’s accumulated over the last few seasons he really just has solid plate discipline, not great plate discipline as his overall walk numbers might otherwise indicate.

The other problem with Howard is that he’s got a terrible body type and is already a lousy fielder and baserunner at the least demanding defensive (while most critical offensive) position on the field. He’s only going to become a worse fielder and baserunner as he gets older, and that’s going to put even more emphasis on his bat.

We know he strikes out a lot, but strikeouts aren’t really so much worse than any other kind of out (and considering Howard’s speed they’re considerably better than double-plays), but if he’s going to hit .230 and only walk once every 10 plate appearances or so, all of his value is tied up in his power. That’s fine, but his power is down considerably from last year, and this year he has been considerably less valuable than Adam Dunn, who is also 28 and will be a free agent at the end of the year.

Sean Casey was only marginally useful the last two seasons with Detroit, and really profiles more as a bench player now, even at age 33. He was never a big homerun guy, but he used to hit enough to justify playing him at first. Now he has virtually no power, and his on-base and fielding skills aren’t enough to justify a full-time job at first.

by Eric Simon on Jul 6, 2008 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

sean casey

was a nice little signing for the sox this year. in the limited time he’s been given, he’s hit fine (125 OPS+ in only 107 AB). probably would’ve been nice for us to have him….

by gogomets on Jul 6, 2008 10:24 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Howard

Excellent point about everyone obsessing about striking out when it’s really no worse than any other out. If anything, Howard is more than a “good enough hitter”—the man’s a powerhouse. Just check him out going head-to-head with Vlad Guerrero, the defending Home Run Derby champ.

And speaking of, I think Howard should’ve absolutely gotten an invite to the derby. Unlike A-Rod, he’s not too big to accept.

by JustAnotherPhen on Jul 9, 2008 12:46 AM EDT reply actions