big_shooter17

Now Soriano's refusal to bunt has become a fact. My brains are about to be blown out of my ears.

I like how everyone is assuming that Lou asked Soriano to bunt and he said no

Not quite as upset at Piniella after that in some ways, but more mad in others.

"This is too good of a baseball team to collapse" I think that this was said about the Mets.

Can't make it worse.

Listening to this hurts my head...you shouldn't bunt in that situation unless if it is the pitcher, pie, or someone else with that hitting ability. Bunting does not make a complete hitter and anyone who has read any statistical analysis on the topic would know this.

Last time Pujols executed a sac bunt, Geo was 18. That means that he has more MLB experience bunting than Soto....

We'll make the playoffs. I just can't see how we'll win when we get there. Well, there is no way that we can win with this offense. This reminds me so much of the playoffs last year. The same offense that was one of the best (actually THE best) for most of the season? They've played poorly the past month or so. Who knows what offense will show up in the playoffs? Maybe they get hot and ride it to the WS or maybe they suck and get swept. And how different is the offense in reality from last year's playoff team? I don't understand why it is so hard to believe that this offense is capable of going in the can as they are now. You look back to last year over the last couple of months and the offense was somewhat similar to now, only we just aren't winning them now. Last year a lot of those games that we won, I was feeling queazy about and now we just don't get the breaks that allow us to win these games. Every game at this point is going to become must win soon and sadly I am already feeling that way. I say this somewhat fecetiously of course

Unlikely.

We'll make the playoffs. I just can't see how we'll win when we get there. Well, there is no way that we can win with this offense. This reminds me so much of the playoffs last year.

Pin another one on Lou.

The thought process there is that Lou wanted to save Soto's swings for a potential 5th game....

It makes all of the sense in the world to me why we dropped Eyre and kept Howry....

How did Lee look silly tonight? He was 2-5 with a walk and the double play was just bad luck. He hammered that ball. He should have been trying to get it in the air, but still, it's not like he reached out and guided it weakly to the shortstop like he usually does. Oh, and they scored 4 runs after Zambrano left the game. The thing is that Lee has been hitting ground balls at people for a long time already. His inability to drive the ball on a consistent basis is a reason for his movement out of the 3 hole. That spot in the lineup, as shown yesterday is one where you are expected to drive the ball or hit it in the air at times and with his inability to do so anymore, Lee should not be moved somewhere else in the lineup. He simply is not the run producer that he once was. Derosa and Soto have driven in more runs from spots in the lineup that are less conducive to collecting RBI. Part of the reason for Aramis' tear this year has been Lee missing out on RBI as well.

After seeing the results of Z's extended time off, can anyone be sure that Harden isn't in deeper trouble as well?

On July 1, the Mets were 3.5 back and a game under .500. Since then, Delgado has hit just over .300 with 17 home runs and 50 rbi. Over that time, Wright has 12 home runs and 39 rbi although his ba has been slightly better. Beltran's numbers have been similar to Wright's over this stretch. There is no doubting that there are more talented players on the Mets than Delgado, but he has been very important in their climb to the top of the division. The best player need not be the most valuable. Why should Delgado's pre-7/1 #s not come into play? His playing like crap the first couple months of the season is a big reason the Mets were in a hole to begin with. Wright, Reyes, and Beltran all play better defense at more premium positions, while putting up better #s on the year. Even with that slow start, if Delgado keeps up this pace, he will lead the team in HR and RBI. I also am not saying that Delgado will win, but I think that with what he has done as of late, his name belongs in the mix. That being said, I think that he needs to keep this up for me to continue to think that he belongs at or near the top of the list.

On July 1, the Mets were 3.5 back and a game under .500. Since then, Delgado has hit just over .300 with 17 home runs and 50 rbi. Over that time, Wright has 12 home runs and 39 rbi although his ba has been slightly better. Beltran's numbers have been similar to Wright's over this stretch. There is no doubting that there are more talented players on the Mets than Delgado, but he has been very important in their climb to the top of the division. The best player need not be the most valuable.

I heard mention of Delgado being an MVP candidate and if the Mets make the playoffs, he has to be the guy. I usually don't agree with the east coast bias on ESPN, but I had already started to think a little about his name before hearing them, so instead of being manipulated by their New York/Boston rhetoric, I was simply reassured of a previously held view. He has had a solid year overall and now while it has mattered, he has stepped it up and put his team in a position to go to the postseason. I don't know if there will be enough support for him to win, but right now my vote would go to Delgado. He is the most valuable player to his team. This is not to say that he is having the best season, that would have to go to someone like Pujols.

People act like this was a Buckner ball. This was a slow roller that the pitcher couldn't pick up due to the spin on the ball. These things are called hits all the time. Changing the ruling or calling it an error to begin with because of some unwritten rule about only calling things hits on no doubters is dumb. Want the no hitter? Make the play. Just like everyone who complains about umpiring, don't leave it up to them. You want the accomplishment, overcome. This especially points out how dumb the ruling is, that it WAS THE FREAKIN PITCHER that "made the error" they're trying to charge here. I understand they are charging the pitcher for the error, but it doesn't matter who makes the error (even though I don't agree with it) it still shouldn't be a hit. *IF* Sabathia comes up cleanly with the ball the runner is out... he did NOT come up cleanly with it which should be an error and not a hit. I think that it is totally realistic to believe that if someone like Hardy makes an iffy play like this, the odds of it being overturned increase 10 fold. Since it was the pitcher himself, it hurts his odds whether or not it matters. The truth is, though, this is a difficult call because this kind of hit has to be a hit because the pitcher has to deal with a ball that is difficult to pick up. I think that it could go either way, but between the fact that it was the pitcher and how Yost slammed the scorer and threw such a big hissy fit, the league office isn't likely to overturn it.

I agree. That was beyond taylor-made.

He said that with the umpire, the hitter, and the catcher in the way that it was very difficult for him to see that the ball would skip that far away. Then went on with the line, "it is easy to criticize from the stands or the press box...." kinda like how he criticizes soriano at every opportunity. Basically, he will defend Theriot, the catchers, the majority of the pitchers, and Johnson. There are some in betweeners, but he is part of the reason for why there is a perception of Aramis and Soriano being lazy at times. I won't say that they aren't sometimes, but Brenly doesn't like the high paid atheltes (this is the best that i can figure). Theriot not scoring there annoys me most because that kind of play is one of the things that he brings to the team. I would have still been frustrated had Dempster not scored while on third, but I could have understood.

He said that with the umpire, the hitter, and the catcher in the way that it was very difficult for him to see that the ball would skip that far away. Then went on with the line, "it is easy to criticize from the stands or the press box...."

Brenly is beginning to annoy me how he has picked and chosen "his" guys. He will defend Theriot on plays like that baserunning mistake, but jump on someone like Soriano as fast as he can for any minor mistake. Brenly sees a lot of himself in Theriot with the exception that Ryan is beginning to blossom into a key contributor. I still like Bob, but some of this stuff is getting to be annoying.

The way that this is going, I think that it is safe to say that we will be following the Mets/Phillies more closely starting tomorrow since they have greater playoff implications than the Cards.

At least some of these guys were not washups at the time including the likes of Willis (coming off of a cy young runner up year and heading into a sub 4 ERA season), Damon (wbc was sandwiched between a couple of decent years), chipper (still not washed up, just a constant injury risk), and Barrett (coming off of a silver slugger campaign and going into another nice year). This is not to say that there certainly were better players out there, but every team was missing some of their potential stars. Canada didn't have Dempster, who was becoming a solid closer, Gagne, and others. I'm sure that many teams had a mix of this, but the truth is that in a tournament like this, much like the playoffs (but there to a lesser extent), hot and cold streaks affect the outcome. If I remember right, Japan also began preparing for this much earlier than other countries, which clearly aided them. This is not to say that I didn't love the last tournament and can't wait for the next.