The Crane Pool Forum

... love was changin' the minds of pretenders. While chasin' the clouds away

It would help if we could make some hay vs Boston (Sept 2nd, 3rd, 4th), Reds (x 3), and Jays (x3) because, after that,
we get Phillies (x3) Nationals (x3), Phillies (x4), Braves (x3), and Brewers (x3) to close out the season.

Braves losing in extra innings yesterday puts the Metsies just a game behind them in the wild card race. Let's go !

The Brewers will have clinched by that final series. Hopefully they put out a scrub team. Although I wonder if teams are subscribing to the “stay sharp” theory now that the post season is so drawn out.

25 games to go. 15 wins (including 2 of 3 against Atlanta) shoukd probably do it, right?

The Mets have the tie-breaker advantage over the Padres and Diamondbacks, which could come in handy. They're currently 5-5 against the Braves with a three-game series coming up. Taking two of those three games could prove critical. The games will be in Atlanta, beginning September 24. I can't help but think of late September/early October 2022, when the Mets only had to take one of three to get that same advantage but couldn't.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Tue Sep 03, 2024 3:03 pm The Mets have the tie-breaker advantage over the Padres and Diamondbacks, which could come in handy. They're currently 5-5 against the Braves with a three-game series coming up. Taking two of those three games could prove critical. The games will be in Atlanta, beginning September 24. I can't help but think of late September/early October 2022, when the Mets only had to take one of three to get that same advantage but couldn't.

Yeah I think any Met fan more than 23 months old would remember that series with a white hot hatred.

The table below is highly speculative, based on the notion that all teams will stay within the sequence of pitchers they currently are on, giving guys an extra day if there is a day off, rather than skip a weaker guy.

That notion is hardly reliable. Cincinnati's rotation is a mess — with Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott both currently out — and they haven't announced any starters at all for the Mets series, taking it day to day. Toronto has both Monday and Thursday off in the same week, so they could easily move guys around, and by the time the Mets face Atlanta, if the Braves have a playoff berth on the line, they'd be fools not to juggle things to get Max Fried in there instead of Schwellenbach or Morton. (The Mets are already using today's day off to skip Quintana this time through the rotation.)

But this is how it sort of looks right now from this perspective, and we can make adjustments going forward.

The Mets rotation order for now is MANAEA-SEVERINO-PETERSON-MEGILL-QUINTANA. Or MSPMQ. Or May Sovereignty Persist, My Queen!

Know it! Live it!!

Day	Date	Opp.	Starter	Opp. Starter	Score
Sunday	1	@CWS	Sean Manaea (L)	Garrett Crochet (L)	W, 2–0
Monday	2	vs. BOS	Luís Severino (R)	Brayan Bello (R)	W, 4–1
Tuesday	3	vs. BOS	David Peterson (L)	Kutter Crawford (R)	W, 7–2
Wednesday	4	vs. BOS	Tylor Megill (R)	Tanner Houck (R)	W, 8–3
Thursday	5
Friday	6	vs. CIN	Sean Manaea (L)	Brandon Williamson (L)
Saturday	7	vs. CIN	Luís Severino (R)	Jakob Junis (R)
Sunday	8	vs. CIN	David Peterson (L)	Julian Aguilar (R)
Monday	9	@TOR	Tylor Megill (R)	Chris Bassitt (R)
Tuesday	10	@TOR	José Quintana (L)	Bowden Francis (R)
Wednesday	11	@TOR	Sean Manaea (L)	Kevin Gausman (R)
Thursday	12
Friday	13	@PHI	Luís Severino (R)	Aaron Nola (R)
Saturday	14	@PHI	David Peterson (L)	Taijuan Walker ®
Sunday	15	@PHI	Tylor Megill (R)	Christopher. Sanchez (L)
Monday	16	vs. WAS	José Quintana (L)	Jake Irvin (R)
Tuesday	17	vs. WAS	Sean Manaea (L)	DJ Herz (L)
Wednesday	18	vs. WAS	Luís Severino (R)	Mitchell Parker (L)
Thursday	19	vs. PHI	David Peterson (L)	Taijuan Walker (R)
Friday	20	vs. PHI	Tylor Megill (R)	Christopher. Sanchez (L)
Saturday	21	vs. PHI	José Quintana (L)	Ranger Suárez (L)
Sunday	22	vs. PHI	Sean Manaea (L)	Zack Wheeler (R)
Monday	23
Tuesday	24	@ATL	Luís Severino (R)	Spencer Schwellenbach ®
Wednesday	25	@ATL	David Peterson (L)	Chris Sale (L)
Thursday	26	@ATL	Tylor Megill (R)	Charlie Morton (R)
Friday	27	@MIL	José Quintana (L)	Colin Rea (R)
Saturday	28	@MIL	Sean Manaea (L)	Frankie Montas (R)
Sunday	29	@MIL	Luís Severino (R)	Tobias Myers (R)
Monday	30

I saw Quintana listed as probable for Saturday. He’s being skipped?

I saw that DiComo is reporting that Blackburn returns to the rotation in Toronto (with Megill back to Syracuse).

Well, I had him skipped for Friday, but if that means bumping him to Saturday, and not just jumping over him, then shut my mouth.

How embarrassing to try to figure out the Braves starters at the end of the month and I can't even get this weekend's Mets starters right.

OE: Try this 'un.

Day	Date	Opp.	Starter	Opp. Starter	Score
Sunday	1	@CWS	Sean Manaea (L)	Garrett Crochet (L)	W, 2–0
Monday	2	vs. BOS	Luís Severino (R)	Brayan Bello (R)	W, 4–1
Tuesday	3	vs. BOS	David Peterson (L)	Kutter Crawford (R)	W, 7–2
Wednesday	4	vs. BOS	Tylor Megill (R)	Tanner Houck (R)	W, 8–3
Thursday	5
Friday	6	vs. CIN	Sean Manaea (L)	Brandon Williamson (L)
Saturday	7	vs. CIN	José Quintana (L)	Jakob Junis (R)
Sunday	8	vs. CIN	Luís Severino (R)	Julian Aguilar (R)
Monday	9	@TOR	David Peterson (L)	Chris Bassitt (R)
Tuesday	10	@TOR	Tylor Megill (R)	Bowden Francis (R)
Wednesday	11	@TOR	Sean Manaea (L)	Kevin Gausman (R)
Thursday	12
Friday	13	@PHI	Luís Severino (R)	Aaron Nola (R)
Saturday	14	@PHI	David Peterson (L)	Taijuan Walker ®
Sunday	15	@PHI	Tylor Megill (R)	Christopher. Sanchez (L)
Monday	16	vs. WAS	José Quintana (L)	Jake Irvin (R)
Tuesday	17	vs. WAS	Sean Manaea (L)	DJ Herz (L)
Wednesday	18	vs. WAS	Luís Severino (R)	Mitchell Parker (L)
Thursday	19	vs. PHI	David Peterson (L)	Taijuan Walker (R)
Friday	20	vs. PHI	Tylor Megill (R)	Christopher. Sanchez (L)
Saturday	21	vs. PHI	José Quintana (L)	Ranger Suárez (L)
Sunday	22	vs. PHI	Sean Manaea (L)	Zack Wheeler (R)
Monday	23
Tuesday	24	@ATL	Luís Severino (R)	Spencer Schwellenbach ®
Wednesday	25	@ATL	David Peterson (L)	Chris Sale (L)
Thursday	26	@ATL	Tylor Megill (R)	Charlie Morton (R)
Friday	27	@MIL	José Quintana (L)	Colin Rea (R)
Saturday	28	@MIL	Sean Manaea (L)	Frankie Montas (R)
Sunday	29	@MIL	Luís Severino (R)	Tobias Myers (R)
Monday	30

Paul Blackburn exists.

Indeed he does, and he may well yet reclaim his role in the rotation.

It's a moving target, subject to edits as new information becomes available.

Braves lose as Blackburn heals.

It occurs to me that the Mets could do a little roster arbitrage and have Megill start one game in Toronto, immediately get sent down, and have Blackburn start the next one.

Gives everyone an extra day, and pushes Manaea to the Atlanta series.

When can Senga be activated? I wonder if he can be an opener for the third game in Atlanta?

And yeah, Megill going twice against the Phillies and once against the Braves isn't really ideal.

I’m quite sure Megill is being sent down for Blackburn. The only question is whether Megill starts one more game in Toronto or not.

Senga is eligible to be activated 9/25. It would be a bold move to start him in Atlanta but I kind of like the opener idea.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 10:32 am And yeah, Megill going twice against the Phillies and once against the Braves isn't really ideal.

You are the master of the understatement.
Larer

A couple of notes.

1) Paul Blackburn is announced as the scheduled starter to go in the opener of the Toronto series, so he's been added there and every fifth game thereafter, taking Tylor Megill's rotation slot.

2) PhillY has a rotation hole, where Tyler Phillips had been trying to hold down a slot. Phillips has recently been pummeled and that turn comes up again tomorrow and is now being given to Seth Johnson, something of a minor-league journeyman making his first big-league start. If he holds down that job, the Mets will see him in both upcoming series, and that's what it says below, but the Phils have a day off before the first Mets series, and using that day to skip him would mean the Mets won't see him at all. If Philadelphia is feeling at all threatened by a Mets charge, that's probably what we should be expecting.

3) The Nats are stacked with lefthanded starters, and we'll likely be seeing at least two of them, and neither (as we now sit) is likely to be named MacKenzie Gore.

4) The Mets also are not lined up to catch Max Fried in the Atlanta series. I also think that might be switched up late if the Braves are desperate or threatened.

5) I miss McNoodles already.

Day	Date	Opp.	Starter	Opp. Starter	Score
Sunday	1	@CWS	Sean Manaea (L)	Garrett Crochet (L)	W, 2–0
Monday	2	vs. BOS	Luís Severino (R)	Brayan Bello (R)	W, 4–1
Tuesday	3	vs. BOS	David Peterson (L)	Kutter Crawford (R)	W, 7–2
Wednesday	4	vs. BOS	Tylor Megill (R)	Tanner Houck (R)	W, 8–3
Thursday	5
Friday	6	vs. CIN	Sean Manaea (L)	Brandon Williamson (L)	W, 6–4
Saturday	7	vs. CIN	José Quintana (L)	Jakob Junis (R)
Sunday	8	vs. CIN	Luís Severino (R)	Julian Aguilar (R)
Monday	9	@TOR	Paul Blackburn (R)	Chris Bassitt (R)
Tuesday	10	@TOR	David Peterson (L)	Bowden Francis (R)
Wednesday	11	@TOR	Sean Manaea (L)	Kevin Gausman (R)
Thursday	12
Friday	13	@PHI	Luís Severino (R)	Aaron Nola (R)
Saturday	14	@PHI	David Peterson (L)	Seth Johnson (R)
Sunday	15	@PHI	Paul Blackburn (R)	Christopher Sánchez (L)
Monday	16	vs. WAS	José Quintana (L)	Jake Irvin (R)
Tuesday	17	vs. WAS	Sean Manaea (L)	DJ Herz (L)
Wednesday	18	vs. WAS	Luís Severino (R)	Mitchell Parker (L)
Thursday	19	vs. PHI	David Peterson (L)	Seth Johnson (R)
Friday	20	vs. PHI	Paul Blackburn (R)	Christopher Sánchez (L)
Saturday	21	vs. PHI	José Quintana (L)	Ranger Suarez (L)
Sunday	22	vs. PHI	Sean Manaea (L)	Zach Wheeler (R)
Monday	23
Tuesday	24	@ATL	Luís Severino (R)	Spencer Schwellenbach (R)
Wednesday	25	@ATL	David Peterson (L)	Chris Sale (L)
Thursday	26	@ATL	Paul Blackburn (R)	Charlie Morton (R)
Friday	27	@MIL	José Quintana (L)	Colin Rea (R)
Saturday	28	@MIL	Sean Manaea (L)	Frankie Montas (R)
Sunday	29	@MIL	Luís Severino (R)	Tobias Myers (R)
Monday	30

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 10:32 am When can Senga be activated? I wonder if he can be an opener for the third game in Atlanta?

And yeah, Megill going twice against the Phillies and once against the Braves isn't really ideal.

9/25 I believe

Getting down to crunch time here.

SD 81-64 (17 games remaining)
ARI 80-64 (18 games remaining)
ATL 78-65 (19 games remaining)
NYM 78-65 (19 games remaining)

Squeaky bum time

Well, the Mets built up a one game pad, which is good, because as soon as the winning streak ended, the pad was spent, but we still wake up this morning in the money, albeit tied.

Coming into play now is the head-to-head record of the Mets and Braves, which is currently tied at five games apiece, making their upcoming series doubly dramatic.

No teams have demonstrated or announced a change to their rotations as of this morning, but ... Phillies debutante Seth Johnson got absolutely pummeled by the Marlins yesterday, seemingly increasing the likelihood that the Phillies use the off day Thursday to push him back in the rotation, giving them the chance to keep him (or another fill-in starter) out of both Mets' series.

Day	Date	Opp.	Starter	Opp. Starter	Score	Div. GB	WC1 GB	WC2 GB	WC3 GB
Sunday	1	@CWS	Sean Manaea (L)	Garrett Crochet (L)	W, 2–0	8.0	1.0	4.0	4.0
Monday	2	vs. BOS	Luís Severino (R)	Brayan Bello (R)	W, 4–1	7.5	0.5	3.0	4.0
Tuesday	3	vs. BOS	David Peterson (L)	Kutter Crawford (R)	W, 7–2	7.5	0.5	3.0	3.5
Wednesday	4	vs. BOS	Tylor Megill (R)	Tanner Houck (R)	W, 8–3	7.5	0.5	3.0	3.5
Thursday	5					8.0	0.0	2.5	3.0
Friday	6	vs. CIN	Sean Manaea (L)	Brandon Williamson (L)	W, 6–4	8.0	0.0	1.5	3.0
Saturday	7	vs. CIN	José Quintana (L)	Jakob Junis (R)	W, 4-0	7.0	+1.0	0.5	2.0
Sunday	8	vs. CIN	Luís Severino (R)	Julian Aguilar (R)	L, 3-1	7.0	0.0	1.5	2.0
		SQUEAKY	BUTT	TIME		🐭	( | )	⏰
Monday	9	@TOR	Paul Blackburn (R)	Chris Bassitt (R)
Tuesday	10	@TOR	David Peterson (L)	Bowden Francis (R)
Wednesday	11	@TOR	Sean Manaea (L)	Kevin Gausman (R)
Thursday	12
Friday	13	@PHI	Luís Severino (R)	Aaron Nola (R)
Saturday	14	@PHI	David Peterson (L)	Seth Johnson (R)
Sunday	15	@PHI	Paul Blackburn (R)	Christopher Sánchez (L)
Monday	16	vs. WAS	José Quintana (L)	Jake Irvin (R)
Tuesday	17	vs. WAS	Sean Manaea (L)	DJ Herz (L)
Wednesday	18	vs. WAS	Luís Severino (R)	Mitchell Parker (L)
Thursday	19	vs. PHI	David Peterson (L)	Seth Johnson (R)
Friday	20	vs. PHI	Paul Blackburn (R)	Christopher Sánchez (L)
Saturday	21	vs. PHI	José Quintana (L)	Ranger Suarez (L)
Sunday	22	vs. PHI	Sean Manaea (L)	Zach Wheeler (R)
Monday	23
Tuesday	24	@ATL	Luís Severino (R)	Spencer Schwellenbach (R)
Wednesday	25	@ATL	David Peterson (L)	Chris Sale (L)
Thursday	26	@ATL	Paul Blackburn (R)	Charlie Morton (R)
Friday	27	@MIL	José Quintana (L)	Colin Rea (R)
Saturday	28	@MIL	Sean Manaea (L)	Frankie Montas (R)
Sunday	29	@MIL	Luís Severino (R)	Tobias Myers (R)
Monday	30

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 10:27 amNo teams have demonstrated or announced a change to their rotations as of this morning

Spoke too soon. Mets just announced that Megill, not Blackburn, is starting tonight. Maybe this is just a way to get everyone an extra day (and better align the rotation).

Gwreck wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 11:16 am

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 10:27 amNo teams have demonstrated or announced a change to their rotations as of this morning

Spoke too soon. Mets just announced that Megill, not Blackburn, is starting tonight. Maybe this is just a way to get everyone an extra day (and better align the rotation).

Jeez. Did youse actually think that that chart was gonna hold for more than three or four days? Plotting out the pitching rotations for like half the league for about a month out.

Madness.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 11:25 am

Gwreck wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 11:16 am

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 10:27 amNo teams have demonstrated or announced a change to their rotations as of this morning

Spoke too soon. Mets just announced that Megill, not Blackburn, is starting tonight. Maybe this is just a way to get everyone an extra day (and better align the rotation).

Jeez. Did youse actually think that that chart was gonna hold for more than three or four days? Plotting out the pitching rotations for like half the league for about a month out.

Madness.

I was kind a hoping to see an expected reliever usage for each day too.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: ↑Mon Sep 09, 2024 11:25 amJeez. Did youse actually think that that chart was gonna hold for more than three or four days? Plotting out the pitching rotations for like half the league for about a month out.

Madness.

No, I didn't. And I wrote that up front.

I couldn't have been clearer.