Friday Dickeysauce: Dickey Signs Books As We Talk Knuckleball Velocity

No game yesterday for the Amazins, but there were still some happenings in Mets-land to speak of. As always here at AA, we'll lead things off with R.A. Dickey. Dickey spent the day signing books yesterday, and his stature has now risen to the point where fans had to be turned away due to the overwhelming turnout. Dickeymania lives. We can't reasonably expect to have an applesauce with only one Dickey mention though, so we'll also link you to the excellent look at the velocity of his knuckleball done by Eno over at FanGraphs. That one is certainly worth a read if you love all things Dickey. Actually it's worth a read if you don't. Who doesn't though? Seriously.

Dickey isn't the only pitcher the Mets have who has been excellent this season though, as Howard Megdal is keen to point out. Most of us here realize how the Mets defense has done some of our groundballers no favors, but the extent to which it appears to be hurting Dillon Gee is almost silly. Get well soon, shortstops.

Poor infield defense aside, the national media seems to be taking note of just how good the Mets rotation has actually been this season. I'm still scared to death of the options should the injury bug strike, but the results this year have me really thinking the future of the rotation is awfully bright. It's nice to know Harvey and Wheeler can take their time to develop.

The novelty that the Subway Series had when it was first introduced has certainly worn off by this point, and with the struggles of the Mets in recent seasons there are still tickets available for the upcoming edition. Some are even discounted. I guess that's good for most of us, but hopefully tickets become a little more scarce because of increased demand soon. Speaking of the Subway Series, A-Rod gave Yankee fans a little more reason to hate him just prior to its latest installment. I like A-Rod a little more now. WINMETHOD!

Daniel Murphy has been struggling recently, and Andy McCullough has a few comments from the hammer about how he's dealing with it. Hopefully he snaps out of it soon, as Reese Havens hasn't had much of a season in AA.

Around MLB

It was generally a good night for the Mets around the division, but the only team ahead of us at the moment managed a win. We also have some more talk about the impressive Stephen Strasburg, one of the excessively bright spots of an excellent Nationals season.

Unlike the Nats, the Marlins haven't been able to live up to the pre-season hype the national media placed on them. They lost again yesterday, dropping 8 games back in the division. Time for a firesale. You know who won't bring back the return he would have 2 years ago? Hanley Ramirez won't.

The Phillies lost as well yesterday, staying alone in the cellar and continuing to be the most "disappointing" team in baseball. Who outside of the MSM didn't see this coming though? There might be good news coming in Philly though, as Chase Utley looks set to return. This might be a good thing though, as it will likely fool Ruin Tomorrow into not trading his impending free agents and leaving the farm system barren at the top before they walk this winter.

FanGraphs took a look at Francisco Liriano's return to the rotation after some time in the bullpen. He's certainly had a rough couple of years. I hope things go well for him moving forward.

A noted cheater believes that some forms of cheating aren't really cheating. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Brendan Donnelly has always struck me as kind of a douche.

Finally for today, the A's won over the Dodgers in walk off fashion as Yoenis Cespedes hit a 3-run shot to end it. I'm glad he didn't sign with the Marlins.