The Great August Westward Migration - Phase 1

[Frayed Knot]

Some rough days ahead for those who like to view their baseball in real time.
Most are too late, some are too early, with very few just right.

After the day off on Thursday
Friday - Anaheim 9:38
Saturday - Anaheim 9:38 (grrrrr)
Sunday - Anaheim 4:07
Monday - St Louis 5:15
Tuesday - Colorado 8:40
Wednesday - Colorado 8:40
Thursday - Colorado 3:10
Friday - Seattle - 10:10
Saturday - Seattle 9:40 (grrrr)
Sunday - Seattle 7:10*
Monday - Off



* I bet the Mets are thrilled to close out an eleven game/four city/four time-zone shifting road trip with an ESPN-scheduled night game ahead of a west-to-east, time-losing, cross-country flight

[Gwreck]

6:40 is a positively lovely time to start a game on an August Saturday night if you live in Seattle.

This is a trip where the Mets should set the floor at 6 wins. Given the quality of opponent, more should be possible, but 6 is the minimum of what they need to stay in this wild card race.

[batmagadanleadoff]

6:40 is a positively lovely time to start a game on an August Saturday night if you live in Seattle.

This is a trip where the Mets should set the floor at 6 wins. Given the quality of opponent, more should be possible, but 6 is the minimum of what they need to stay in this wild card race.

I have no idea if six is the minimum number of wins the Mets'd need to stay in the wild card race but if it was up to me, I'd set the floor at 10 wins. Maybe it's just me, but I'd try to win every game, not just six of them. What does that even mean, to "set the floor at 6 wins"? And if the Mets go 5-5 on this trip, does that mean that they're eliminated from wild card contention?

[MFS62]

Isn't it time for their regularly scheduled rainy season in Seattle?
Later

[CitiFieldPornRoom]

I've come to adore the late night starts in my old age. House is quieter, less to do, I can actually sit and watch and drink and watch and drink..

Then I wake up in the morning and check the highlights for what happened after I dosed off on the couch.

[Edgy MD]

Assuming they stick with a five-man rotation, they don't decide to use days off to skip a guy, and no rejiggering occurs — and understanding that none of those assumptions are remotely safe — here's the way the starters line up for the month.

August	Day	Opponent	Pitcher
1	THU
2	FRI	@ANA	Paul Blackburn (R)
3	SAT	@ANA	David Peterson (L)
4	SUN	@ANA	Jose Quintana (L)
5	MON	@STL	Sean Manaea (L)
6	TUE	@COL	Luis Severino (R)
7	WED	@COL	Paul Blackburn (R)
8	THU	@COL	David Peterson (L)
9	FRI	@SEA	Jose Quintana (L)
10	SAT	@SEA	Sean Manaea (L)
11	SUN	@SEA	Luis Severino (R)
12	MON
13	TUE	OAK	Paul Blackburn (R)
14	WED	OAK	David Peterson (L)
15	THU	OAK	Jose Quintana (L)
16	FRI	MIA	Sean Manaea (L)
17	SAT	MIA	Luis Severino (R)
18	SUN	MIA	Paul Blackburn (R)
19	MON	BAL	David Peterson (L)
20	TUE	BAL	Jose Quintana (L)
21	WED	BAL	Sean Manaea (L)
22	THU	@SDP	Luis Severino (R)
23	FRI	@SDP	Paul Blackburn (R)
24	SAT	@SDP	David Peterson (L)
25	SUN	@SDP	Jose Quintana (L)
26	MON
27	TUE	@ARI	Sean Manaea (L)
28	WED	@ARI	Luis Severino (R)
29	THU	@ARI	Paul Blackburn (R)
30	FRI	@CHW	David Peterson (L)
31	SAT	@CHW	Jose Quintana (L)

Tough break that one of their days off is right between two stops of a road trip, rather than within or adjacent to a homestand, so they won't be able to get a night in their own beds.

[Fman99]

On work travel in Denver next week so I'll be attending either the Tuesday and/or Wednesday night games at Coors Field. Pretty happy about this.

The Mets should go 7-3 on this swing and if they win less than that I think it's a letdown.

[Edgy MD]

The Cards would be fools if they don't deploy every last resource to bury the Mets in that makeup game and send them limping back to Colorado and through the rest of the trip.

The Mets would be fools if they don't send their three starters for the Rockies series directly there from Anaheim to spare them the brutal turnaround.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That game against the Cardinals has the potential to be a tie-breaker that would keep the losing team out of the postseason.

I expect that both sides know this.

[Edgy MD]

I still think it would be good psychological warfare if the Mets just decided not to show up, and took the 9-0 forfeit loss.

They wouldn't tell anybody, either. They just wouldn't show, and fail to answer the phone when the Cardinals called up to ask where they are.

It's too bad they can't just send a starting pitcher there and let the Syracuse Mets back him up.

[TheNextMetsManager]

That game against the Cardinals has the potential to be a tie-breaker that would keep the losing team out of the postseason.

I expect that both sides know this.

The Mets have a significant advantage in the second tie-breaker

[batmagadanleadoff]

That game against the Cardinals has the potential to be a tie-breaker that would keep the losing team out of the postseason.

I expect that both sides know this.

The Mets have a significant advantage in the second tie-breaker

I was figuring that all the Mets have to do to win that Card game is for them to set the floor to win that game. But then I saw that "both sides know this" comment and realized that the Cards can just the same, set their own floor to win that game. And so we're back to scratch with this setting the floor business as each team's own floor setting should cancel out the other team's floor setting. Maybe Edgy's right all along when he suggested that the Mets should just forfeit the game.

[CitiFieldPornRoom]

I was figuring that all the Mets have to do to win that Card game is for them to set the floor to win that game. But then I saw that "both sides know this" comment and realized that the Cards can just the same, set their own floor to win that game. And so we're back to scratch with this setting the floor business as each team's own floor setting should cancel out the other team's floor setting. Maybe Edgy's right all along when he suggested that the Mets should just forfeit the game.

They each can submit a starting pitcher, and then each manager submits a number of runs they think they'll score to Manfred, and Manfred looks at the numbers and assigns a winner on a live ESPN prime time show.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I was figuring that all the Mets have to do to win that Card game is for them to set the floor to win that game. But then I saw that "both sides know this" comment and realized that the Cards can just the same, set their own floor to win that game. And so we're back to scratch with this setting the floor business as each team's own floor setting should cancel out the other team's floor setting. Maybe Edgy's right all along when he suggested that the Mets should just forfeit the game.

They each can submit a starting pitcher, and then each manager submits a number of runs they think they'll score to Manfred, and Manfred looks at the numbers and assigns a winner on a live ESPN prime time show.

I'd submit a trillion runs scored if I was in charge of that for the Mets. What's more than a trillion? A trillion and one? Set the floor at a trillion and one runs.

[CitiFieldPornRoom]

The way the Mets churn relievers I'd be very worried if I ended up pitching that Cardinals game. I feel like the move is to send the SP and 1-2 AAA relievers directly to Colorado, and option/dfa 1-2 of the ones you use, maximize rest.

[Gwreck]

The Mets would be fools if they don't send their three starters for the Rockies series directly there from Anaheim to spare them the brutal turnaround.

This was addressed during the SNY broadcasts this weekend (I admittedly forget which game). They are sending Severino ahead to Denver for Tuesday’s game but not the starters for Wednesday and Thursday; the training/sports science staff recommended spending less time at the high altitude of Denver than more.

[DocTee]

The Mets should go 7-3 on this swing and if they win less than that I think it's a letdown.

I thought the same but they'll have to run the table to make this happen now.

[ashie62]

I thought the rule of thumb was to win half of your games on a road

They way things are going on this trip I would be very happy with that outcome

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'd be okay with a 5-5. This was supposed to be a tough stretch, and they'll still have plenty of time to make up any ground they might lose with a 5-5 trip. Or a 4-6 for that matter. They won the game that has the most potential to matter, the one in St. Louis, so that at least is a good thing.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

SHaMs 10-8 since the ASB

[CitiFieldPornRoom]

They were intent on punting this season unless everything went right, and when it started to they took the same tactic at the deadline "If these moves work out they'll be good, otherwise at least we didn't waste assets".

It's an uninspired philosophy unless you're a prospect hugger, and I fear they underestimated (or simply didn't care) the Diamondbacks and Padres. Their best hope may be Atlanta just flat-out fading.

[Edgy MD]

I don't think the evidence suggests that anybody was intent on doing any such thing.

[CitiFieldPornRoom]

I don't think the evidence suggests that anybody was intent on doing any such thing.

Hang tight, let me just scroll back to my texts with Max Scherzer. There are a lot of them you understand. Keeps asking me to send him some NY pizza.

[Edgy MD]

I'm not sure what you are trying to suggest.