Heh, they picked a good picture to go along with the factoid. I mean, 40+ innings with an ERA of 0.45 in seven starts and only two wins? You, too, would like like this.

And Noah Syndergaard to the DL with a finger ligament strain thing, and thus this season concludes on May 29.

Probably got stuck combing.

And while we're on it - kill me, kill me, kill me.

11th player currently on the Mets DL. Still, were we to do a survey of MLB clubs, would we not find more than a handful in the same boat?

What is it about baseball today that makes players so injury-prone?

Over-caution, for one thing, which is in turn a manifestation of how money has ruined the sport. That's on both sides, team and player.

A crappy attitude in some cases, too? Less than willing to endure some soreness to benefit the team?

There I go again, sounding like an old curmudgeon. But if you are of an age, you will remember a time when having 11 players on the DL at once would have seemed like a plague or natural disaster necessitating the Red Cross.

I think attitude on occasion but more commonly for pitchers it is due to throwing too hard too many times before you get to the majors as in starting at the age of 13 , being a slave to the radar gun and playing year round etc (I recommend the book "The Arm" by Jeff Passan for an in depth look at this.epidemic).

For position players lack of flexibility strikes me as a frequent contributor to leg injuries and weight training is a contributor to upper body problems. Just sayin'


:2cents::2cents:

Mets.

-.-

Mets are the one team where you expect the pitcher to throw a fastball and his arm rips itself clean off the shoulder and flies all the way into the catcher's mitt.

No, above the catcher's head. Mets can't throw a strike either. And with the bases loaded.

And they blew a 6-2 lead to the Barves.

And I think I have blood in my mouth.

Westheim, I don't mean to make fun of your suffering, and the imagery is gruesome, but once again you have made me laugh out loud! :laugh:

"And the arm goes all the way to the backstop! The ball is still in its hand! The catcher cannot stop retching long enough to retrieve it! The bases are clearing!"

The era of pitchers who were reliable workhorses is sixteen exits back in the rear view mirror.

That is what OOTP is for. The good kind of baseball.

I mean, this season alone I lost one promising young starting pitcher to a shredded elbow (career-ending), my weird unicorn of a Brazilian shortstop with an English name has torn apart his knee, I made one terrible trade after another, and the team is scoring approximately -0.5 runs from every three on, no outs situation ...

... but it's still less painful than the Mets.

Yeah, sorry, I didn't quite get the curve back at the end.

At least Vargas pitched well yesterday. He lowered his ERA from 10.62 to 8.53!

Guys, you know that I am not really a Mets fan - more of an interested bystander - so I want to assure you that I am not "piling on" when I bring stuff like this to this thread. If anything, I am lending moral support.

That said, I have highlighted a portion of this column that may explain the Mets' DL phenomenon a bit. This is Sandy Alderson talking, not the columnist (click for a larger view):

And I say Big Sandy is full of ****.

If everything I ever do is hauling in 30+ year-olds for that veteran magic, I don't have to scratch my head too hard about everyday wear-and-tear bogging them down. Last thing I heard, 25-year-olds are juicier than 35-year-olds. Yet we seem to have an endless supply of the latter group.

Besides, Mets management has consistently and for years mishandled injuries, big and small, to players. Oh, he has a bad knee. There is some soreness of the hamstring. He felt something during the swing, but they think it's gonna be okay. And those sods are on the field until they break down. Then they linger on the roster for another five days while Mets brass tries their filthy hands at some black devil magic, only to put them on the DL eventually, where they remain for the rest of the season.

This team.

Westheim, cheer up. Imagine if you had no money, no prospects, and the likes of Ian Kennedy locked up to a long term deal. (I’ll always exclude Gordon because of the biggest home run in Royals history but you could add him if helps you feel better about your team).

Seriously, we’ve got two Rule 5 guys who are amongst the most dependable pitchers. Our best player was signed expressly to be traded, which means he probably tears up his knee the day a deal is to happen. Our closer with a sub 1 ERA is wasted on the team and will be dealt. And....AND.......the people in town act like Whit Merrifield is Superman. That is a bad team if he’s your hero.

It’s all relative, buddy. You can’t control these guys. They’ve got talent. That Conforto thing yesterday would make me puke if I had to see it more than once but still they’re just one under.

Braves are throwing a curve in there aside from the Nats given the division but still, while the Meets aren’t playing good baseball for their talent level, like I said, it’s all relative as far as how bad it could be.....

Sandy Alderson though....terrible. I wouldn’t take him for my GM even if you offered to take Ian Kennedy off my hands,

Yeah, I was just noticing that box score of yours from yesterday. :(

I was wondering what you meant by that until I read this. I like Conforto's response to the criticism, at least.

I was way angrier for the household grounder Reyes cocked up in the ninth. Not that Conforto's throw was any good. It was pretty terrible. Bill Buckner in Game 6 kind of terrible.

But I admit, it takes a special team as well to allow two 7-spots in a single game. And get shut out.

But how do you lose 7-4 when your starter shuts them out over six? How? I don't... I don't...

Great game going on right now. 1 out bottom 13.....

Mets leave em loaded. Luke Farrell has done a nice job.

Heading to 14th. Great game no matter what happens...

Well... maybe not...

Below, I have provided ex post facto visual analysis of this post and its cause. Basically, the Mets wasted another great pitching performance by Jacob DeGrom and lost because they hit the bottom of their bullpen barrel.

I might as well spring this on you guys now. I had been holding back but can do so no longer:

Jacob deGrom’s Record-Pace Bad Luck

DeGrom deserved so much better last night. The guy simply dominated. My hats off to him. I almost wish the offense came through for him... almost! That said, I was very impressed with farrell last night. Too bad it’ll likely lead to him getting sent down to bring up a fresh arm.

I'm afraid the Mets' core of young aces never staying healthy will be the MLB's biggest what if since Babe Ruth was traded to the Yankees