#jeff-mcneil

#jeff-mcneil

In what was rightfully billed to be a pitchers' duel between Spencer Strider and Justin Verlander, the Braves and Mets combined for eight runs in the first inning and a half of baseball and ultimately 23 runs over 10 innings as Atlanta walked off New York, 13-10, on Thursday night.In total, the two pitchers gave up 13 runs on 15 hits and six walks in 7.0 combined innings pitched.

Three thoughts on the Mets being unexpectedly and horrifically shorn of Edwin Diaz for the 2023 season:
1) Joe Sheehan got some grief on Twitter for saying that the loss of a "one-inning reliever" was "a bee sting, not an axe blow," and while I wouldn't have put it that way - losing Diaz is being stung by the whole goddamn nest at minimum - I do see his point.

Still not quite believing the Carlos Correa news.Lets take a look at the potential upside of the 2023 Mets.We'll look at the best fWAR for the main guys from the past three full seasons.5.4 - Brandon Nimmo (2022) 5.5 - Starling Marte (2021) 6.8 - Francisco Lindor (2022) 4.4 - Pete Alonso (2019) 6.2 - Carlos Correa (2021) 5.9 - Jeff McNeil (2022) 3.9 - Mark Canha (2019) 1.5 - Daniel Vogelbach (2022) 2.8 - Omar Narvaez (2021)
6.4 - Justin Verlander (2019) 6.5 - Max Scherzer (2019) 4.0 - Jose Quintana (2022) 2.4 - Carlos Carrasco (2022) 1.4 - David Peterson (2022) 3.0 - Edwin Diaz (2022)
That's 42.4 from the hitters, without counting any bench production and with only 2/3 of a DH.

The Atlanta Braves will look to take two today as they will continue their series against the New York Mets in a Monday doubleheader.Spencer Strider will get the start on the mound for the first game as he looks to continue his stellar start to the season.The Mets will go with Denyi Reyes to start a bullpen game.

Some impressive pitching performances and some timely hitting helped the Atlanta Braves to a 6-2, spring training win over the New York Mets Thursday in Port St. Lucie.The Braves got on the scoreboard in the second against Mets starter Carlos Carrasco.Kevin Pillar worked a leadoff walk and then scored on a two-run home run by Eli White.

"I have seen enough to know I have seen too much."This line from Squiggy at the end of the final game in the initial AAGPBL season can be used for many occasions.Today it's being applied to the Mets career of Tommy Pham.Back on the last day of April, here was my take on the Pham situation:

Likely, at this point it's more tied to how poorly Canha/Marte/Pham perform than it is to how many reps Mauricio has under his belt.

I followed Thursday afternoon's game from Citi Field as much as I possibly could, and it followed me almost but not fully everywhere I had to go.Thursday afternoons can be uncooperative that way.I had TV at the beginning and end, radio on and off in the middle, and pitches missed here and there.My attention was focused no more than three-quarters Metwise at any given moment.

The common refrain about baseball is that if you go to a game, you can see something you've never seen before.But you can also end up seeing a lot of things you have seen before.By my mental accounting and box-score research, in my life I've been to roughly 20 major-league games across eight stadiums.

QUEENS The Mets are finally learning that it's beneficial to play the kids.Twenty-three-year-old Mark Vientos, making his 2023 debut, and 21-year-old Francisco Alvarez sprung an anemic offense to life with late-inning, game-tying home runs before Pete Alonso wiped away two Tampa Bay Rays runs in the 10th inning, launching a no-doubter of a three-run home run to lift the Mets to an 8-7 victory.

PORT ST.LUCIE Mark Vientos worked hard to reach the major leagues last season, but once he got there, he was unprepared for the Mets' job expectations.Unaware of how much work major league players put in daily, he was surprised when infield coach Joey Cora would approach him in the clubhouse, telling him Let's go.

QUEENS Daniel Vogelbach couldn't stop thinking about his base-running blunder in the first inning of the Mets' series finale against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.If I don't make that play, who knows where the game goes? he wondered aloud at his locker.The Mets had scratched three runs across Rockies starter Ryan Feltner to take a 3-1 lead in the first inning following a run-scoring single from Jeff McNeil and a two-RBI hit from Brett Baty.

The Mets youth movement is underway as two of the team's top prospects took center stage on Monday in a doubleheader split against the Atlanta Braves.Yet, the lineup could get even younger as it seems like another prospect is nearing a call-up.Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty were both expected the break camp with the Mets after spring training, so it was a surprise when both were optioned to Triple-A to start the year.

As a longtime Daniel Murphy fan, it was great fun to see that he's signed a contract with the Long Island Ducks, where he'll play with Ruben Tejada and be managed by Wally Backman.Murphy sounds like he wants another shot at the majors.While I wouldn't bet on that happening, it's fun to think about.Injuries kept him from having a longer career.

The United States is out to defend its crown in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with the team's first game set for Saturday, March 11.It's the first World Baseball Classic since 2017 due to the COVID pandemic, and Team USA has assembled its greatest group of Major League Baseball stars to date.Managed by Mark DeRosa, the 30-man roster includes MVP winners in Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Paul Goldschmidt ( Clayton Kershaw had to drop out), and some of the game's other finest players like Nolan Arenado, Trea Turner, Tim Anderson and Pete Alonso.

With just eight days remaining until Opening Day, here are three things we'll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Storybook ending to the WBC Last night's World Baseball Classic final proved to be an instant classic as Team Japan beat Team USA 3-2.Japan, undefeated during the tournament, jumped out to an early lead.

This isn't just about what's best for Shohei Ohtani anymore.This is about what's best for baseball.Ohtani can't sign another contract with the Angels.Next winter, Ohtani has to move on, and he has to move on to a team that will offer him a chance to play baseball every single October.His talent requires it.

In order to be the best, one must be willing to put in the hours, especially in the offseason.The superstars are the players that are always the first one to the field and last to leave - greatness does not happen in baseball by accident.Mookie Betts is a clear-cut example of this.He is just 29 years old and has captured two World Series titles, six Gold Gloves, and an MVP trophy - and he still has much more left in the tank.

Unlike a number of his other New York Mets teammates, center fielder Brandon Nimmo won't be participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, set to begin on March 7, where he was slated to star for Team Italy.With a new eight-year, $162 million contract in hand and coming off a career year in which he played in 151 games (his previous career high was 141), it was a risk far too great to take so close to the start of the 2023 season
"Once I signed I did consider it, but my past experience was that I got injured in the last game against Puerto Rico in 2017," Nimmo said on Monday.

(2:47) - CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND: JJ recaps the AFC and NFC championship matchups and previews the Super Bowl.(18:14) - JETS: Aaron Rodgers hasn't waived his trade clause, and signs are pointed that the Jets are in on him.(21:34)- CALLS: Callers talk Empire State Building lights.(24:58)- KNICKS: The Knicks see their ninth straight loss to the Nets and try to maintain their spot in the playoff race.(33:30) - METS: The Mets extend Jeff McNeil for four more years.

Big Miami Marlins news in more ways than one: Jeff McNeil and the New York Mets agreed to a contract extension on Friday that could keep him in the National League East through his age-35 season.BREAKING: National League batting champion Jeff McNeil and the New York Mets are in agreement on a four-year, $50 million contract extension, pending physical, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.

Note: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links, Schneps Media may earn a commission.Consider Jeff McNeil as one of the gems of the Mets' embarrassment of riches should they get this Carlos Correa deal over the finish line.Already possessing one of the deeper lineups in the National League with a premiere power hitter in Pete Alonso and one of the best offensive shortstops in the game in Francisco Lindor, McNeil is as pure a hitter as they come in today's game, fresh off a batting title where he batted .326 in 2022.

Sports Illustrated's cover for its Sept. 6, 1999 issue featured John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordonez, and Robin Ventura of the New York Mets with the headline, "The Best Infield Ever?"And while Tom Verducci's cover story focused more on their defensive play and why they'd be worthy of such a title, what are they going to call the Mets' infield in 2023?

Woke up this morning to the shock that the Mets had given a 12-year contract to Carlos Correa, the free agent infielder who'd almost signed with the Giants for 13 years but for an unnamed injury concern.That solidifies 2022-23 as the most spectacular offseason the Mets have ever had and worries me a little because I'm a worrier at heart.