On Sunday night I had a near catastrophe when a water main line broke and started flooding into the basement which is where I work, where my computer and my collections are kept. I literally had to spend 11 straight hours using two buckets every 15 minutes to contain the flooding to a tiny portion (it was within a foot of impacting my wall rack of CDs including all film music CDs) before help arrived to shut it off and then spend two days tearing up the yard to replace it.
I have survived that ordeal with no damage. I wonder if the Yankees are going to survive their ordeal in which their season has been like a broken water main. They have played inconsistently and while the big hitters are coming around, the failure of the bullpen, the erratic starting pitching and embarrassing themselves to the Marlins shows this is a team failing to live up to its expectations.
It hasn't been the kind of start I've hoped for and to see Boston play like the 98 Yankees has been an even further insult to injury on that front.
Sorry to hear about your water line issue Eric. I hope there was not too much damage. You've probably by now considered moving your collections considering any current (or future) moisture issues. When I lived at the house I stored a lot of books in the basement and although I never had any extreme flooding issues down there over the years during my move in 2008 I discovered that some of those books had to go. I know you have extensive collections so hopefully upon further review nothing is damaged or lost.
The pitcher formerly known as "The Dark Knight", Matt Harvey, has been banished to the Mets bullpen. Jason Vargas will be activated to take his spot in the rotation. Harvey has not pitched well, and as usual he is sulking. This is the final year of his contract as a Met and he will most likely be pitching elsewhere next season. It would serve him well to embrace the challenge and prove he belongs in the rotation. Because of the arm injuries his once overpowering velocity with movement on multiple pitches is down. The control is no longer there. He's going to have to learn to be a different pitcher. But he's stubborn. He's trying to pitch as though it's still 2013 when he was the starting pitcher for the NL in the All Star Game and now he's getting pounded. 2013 is long gone. Five years ago he was on the top of the baseball world. Now, after numerous injuries and missed time he's a pitcher on the verge of thirty years of age who is left to ponder where his career is going.
When I think of Matt Harvey now I am reminded of the rapid rise and fall of another Mets "phenom" power pitcher of many years ago now. His name is Tim Leary. Leary (as was Harvey) was also touted as being the next Tom Seaver. He never quite made it. Not by a long shot. The window of potential greatness shut as quickly as it opened. Leary, like Harvey, also had arm issues early on and found himself on various teams pitching mostly out of the bullpen trying to keep his career going. But he was never the same.
Thanks Anz. Ordinarily this place is a cool, dry one where we run a dehumidifier in the summer. Things are in good shape overall but this incident is the one kind of thing where a calamity could have happened. But everything thankfully is safe and secure.
Was glad the Yankees made it three of four from the Blue Jays. Gleyber Torres is now here and despite going 0-for-4, he is touted as the most elite prospect in the system.
Harvey's rise and fall is more like that of Joba Chamberlain. Leary's Met career I recall consisted of a single game, where he injured himself in his first start (ironically I have the radio broadcast of that game) and the Mets cut him loose before he recovered to have a journeyman career (I remember him being awful on the last place Yankee team of 1990. He lost 19 games and was shelved to keep from losing 20). But Harvey did have a couple bright moments before the meteor flamed out much like Joba did (and to another extent Phil Hughes).
Well the Yankees are finally showing what kind of a team they can be with 11 of 12 now, and winning two of three so far from the Astros. Severino showed he's a genuine ace now with a complete game shutout and Stanton finally had his first great night since Opening Day.
Still, they've lost Jordan Montgomery for two months now and that exposes a weakness in the rotation. Given the glut of players they have they can use as trade bait for a starter (think Brandon Drury, Clint Frazier), I wouldn't be surprised to see them decide to go for a starter in a couple months or less.
With Matt Harvey's days as a Met over, I think it's now clear that the past major leaguer he most resembles career-wise is Bo Belinsky. His desire for the celeb fame with being a player seemed to exceed his desire to be a great player.
This was a game that went from a relaxing laugher to a nervous wreck disaster (thanks to the bad relief pitching of Chasen Shreve) to a near victory to a disaster (Chapman wild in the ninth with a hit batsman and two wild pitches) to a relief-filled walk-off win thanks to Miguel Andujar. Under no circumstances should they even think of taking him out of the lineup no matter what Brandon Drury is doing (trade Drury for a starting pitcher!)
So, the Mets have designated Matt Harvey for assignment after he refused to accept being sent to the minor leagues. We all knew this would be his last year with the Mets, some success or not. But not even pitching guru's Callaway and Dave Eiland could fix Harvey this spring. Harvey has been terrible so far this year. As have the other three, four, and five starters so far in the Mets rotation . As I said before, he must now look to being a different type of pitcher now. Other pitchers who once upon a time had overpowering stuff and lost it have done this with success. Bartolo Colon has carved out a very nice career for himself now throwing 92 mph and artfully hitting the corners. He had to relearn how to pitch with movement, not just throwing seeds down the middle of the plate which any major league hitter can crush now.
Harvey's problem is that he still thinks he can blow hitters away with the four pitches he used to master. One of the reasons he did not want to go to the bullpen was that he would be reduced to being a two pitch situation pitcher. The injuries and operations he's had over the last several years and his performance over the last several seasons have proven that he can no longer dominate the way he once did. He's got to adjust and reinvent himself. And at this point at age 29, he's still not willing to accept that. And that alone is a big part of why he's heading out the door. After 7 days he will officially be released by the Mets and somebody will take a chance on him. You can count on it. Given his ego, he'll probably want to land in a place with the nightlife he so covets. Think Dodgers, Angels, and yes, even the Yankees. The Yankees of the past loved to collect up fallen Mets stars, and Harvey grew up a Yankees fan. Any team picking him up will get him for peanuts for the remainder of the season. But he can at times be a clubhouse headache and a sulker, especially if he still pitches badly but that comes along with him in the package for any team taking a chance.
Alderson and the rest of the Mets top brass won't admit it, but Harvey traveling to Los Angeles to party while the rest of the team was on the road in San Diego recently was probably the last straw. Matt Harvey gave Mets fans a lot of thrills early in his career. The diva stuff was tolerated (albeit with clenched teeth) because he performed superbly on the mound. And his agent, Scott Boras, who is notorious for causing headaches for upper management on ball clubs was always a constant thorn in Alderson's side as it related to Harvey. The Mets tried to protect Harvey's right arm as best they could. I must of posted about this dozens of times here. Sadly, it ends this way with Harvey parting a shell of what he once was. I hope he can find some success going forward wherever he lands. Perhaps it has taken hitting rock bottom for him to start to finally find himself. In about a week his journey will continue. Perhaps in a new situation the coaching staff can somehow pull a rabbit out of a hat with him. Callaway and Eiland thought they could fix him, and could not. We shall see.
Matt Harvey at his very best as a Met. It was electric.
The Mets did not wait long after designating Matt Harvey for assignment. They had a week to consider a trade before releasing him and worked out a deal with the Cincinnati Reds. In return, the Mets got former All Star catcher Devin Mesoraco. One fallen star for another. The Reds will pay the remainder of Mesoraco's 13.125 million dollar contract and the Mets will pay the remainder of Harvey's 5.625 million dollar contract. Both players can be free agents at the end of the season. As the trade took place while the Mets were already playing in Cincinnati, all Mesoraco had to do was cross over to the Mets side to change uniforms. There he found former Reds teammates from better times Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier to greet him. Harvey will join the Reds on their road trip in of all places to get started, Los Angeles, to face the Dodgers.
The struggling Reds are desperate for starting pitching, any starting pitching, and Harvey will go straight into their starting rotation. Cincinnati is probably the last place Harvey would choose as far as the nightlife, but he's getting his chance to pitch as a starter once again. And how well he pitches there on a bad ball club will shape where he eventually winds up next season. It won't help that their home ballpark is a bandbox for the long ball. The Reds will probably keep trotting Harvey out there on his scheduled days whether he gets pounded or not. If he pitches well, they can possibly flip him to a contender later in the season for much needed prospects. Of course, all of this depends on how much, or how little, he has left in that right arm. Harvey is getting his chance to pitch in a rotation again. But he's also pitching for his baseball life.
Gleyber Torres keeps adding to his rookie mystique with a winning hit in a dramatic comeback victory against the Astros. It was one of the worst played games on their part with five errors, but the Yankees found the Astros achilles heel which is their bullpen and tied it up in the 9th and then won it in extra innings.
Greg Bird is back with the team now which gives the lineup more depth because they're dealing with horrible slumps from Gregorius, Stanton and Sanchez, but fans don't notice it because you have Judge, Torres etc. to pick them up. If everyone in the lineup were in a groove the results would be incredible offense wise (pitching wise there are still too many questions)
The one thing keeping me from enjoying the season so far has been Boston keeping pace and turning the AL East into a two team race which means the loser will have to play a one game wildcard playoff against a much weaker team who in one game could end the season with just one dominant start. I didn't like this last year, and now I think MLB should consider something else. I would be for the abolition of divisional play outright and just seed the teams 1 to 5 based on win total and have (1) a one game playoff between 4 and 5 to determine who advances to face #1) (2) 2 and 3 open their playoff series on the same day as the playoff thus guaranteeing extra rest for #1. Frankly, I don't think divisional titles have much meaning any longer.
Luis Severino is now 8-1 and the Yankees take two of three from the Astros! If they face them again in a postseason at least this time they'll have the home field advantage.
The Yankees have proven so far in 2018 that they can beat the Astros. Severino has fully blossomed as an ace. As I said earlier in March this Yankee team has a lineup that even if a player or two enters into a slump (Didi Gregorius) they have such depth all the way through that they can still ride it out and then some. And now they've got Greg Bird back off the disabled list. The Cubs got their World Series Championship but they had to give up Gleyber Torres in the trade for Chapman to do it. I'm sure that those devoted Cubs fans and upper management are looking with awe at what their former top prospect Torres is now doing with the Yankees. Cashman will most likely make a move for another starting pitcher down the road to solidify things. It might very well be a trade to get the seasoned playoff veteran Cole Hamels from the Texas Rangers. But even as they stand now, this Yankees team will be tough to beat for any ball clubs facing them this fall.
Another rainout in Baltimore. A few weeks ago, I was down in Washington to see the two games scheduled there and I ended up seeing a suspended game and a rainout. I'm scheduled to go back on the 18th for the makeup. I hope I don't get snakebit again! But the weather in that area is really becoming a pain for the team.
Mets vs. Yankees Subway Series this coming weekend.
Not looking forward to it!
It's seasons like this in the modern age where I wish both teams could just stay out of each other's way. The Yankees are surging along like a young Emerson Fittipaldi in a Formula One race and the Mets after an optimistic start to the 2018 season have been chugging along for weeks now with a blown head gasket.
Onetime St. Louis Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst dies, aged 95. He was the manager of those great Cardinals teams of the 1960s. His Cards won the 1967 World Series over the Boston Red Sox.
Onetime St. Louis Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst dies, aged 95. He was the manager of those great Cardinals teams of the 1960s. His Cards won the 1967 World Series over the Boston Red Sox.
Onetime St. Louis Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst dies, aged 95. He was the manager of those great Cardinals teams of the 1960s. His Cards won the 1967 World Series over the Boston Red Sox.
Not only a legendary manager of the Cardinals but also a Hall of Fame player on the Cards 1946 Championship team and also the Milwaukee Braves champion/pennant teams of 1957-58.
With his passing and the passing of Bobby Doerr last year, who was on the Red Sox pennant team that faced the Cardinals in 1946, that makes Dr. Bobby Brown of the 1947 and 49 Yankees and Eddie Robinson of the 1948 Indians the only living players who appeared in a World Series in the 1940s (Whitey Ford's first year was 1950).
My only comment on the Subway Series as it's unfolded is that Tanaka's injury more than ever leaves me convinced that MLB simply has to make the DH uniform in all Interleague games and in the World Series. It's ridiculous that the Yankees have to lose a pitcher for a reason that has no legitimate purpose for the good of the game. Let the NL keep their pitchers batting in their own games but AL pitchers who are not being trained for this stuff should not be subjected to things that risk injury needlessly. I already had to see one Yankee pitcher's career ended because of this (Wang).
Severino gets his 10th win and looks more like the ace he was projected to be. Sanchez looks like he's starting to come out of his batting slump with his first home run in a while.
On Monday I go back down to Washington for the conclusion of the suspended game I went to last month and the make-up of the rainout game. No more rain this time please!
