Justin Verlander

The Ny Mets and star pitcher Justin Verlander agree on a 2 year contract. The way his wife Kate Upton took on Philly fans during the World Series vs Astros leads me to believe the Verlander family will fit right in--- at CitiField

Sad Day

A sad day as degrom signs with Texas Rangers--but the Mets will move on maybe sign Verlander if not maybe Rodon and Bassitt  with Scherzer at top of the rotation.  Use $ to fortify bullpen and/or add a hitter like Trea Turner or JD Martinez--But Jake will be missed. That being said, 5 years for a 35 ear old who has been injured a bunch is a risk and Mets showed restraint. Sad news but understandable

 

Yankees

If I were Yankees I would be real careful with deGrom talks. Steve Cohen has proven he will not be outbid and who knows if Yanks piss him off he may re-sign deGrom and then make Yankees pay ultimate price by landing Aaron Judge. 1 thing last off-season proved with Scherzer signing is that what Steve Cohen wants (whether it is a player or a valuable piece of artwork) he will NEVER be outbid.

Signing

If the Mets sign Senga it does not mean they are not signing deGrom but likely means no Bassitt AND deGrom. I would think a rotation of Scherzer, deGrom, Senga, Carrasco and Megill/Peterson could happen

 

Also IMHO if you lose Nimmo Adam Duvall as a free agent could be a good Plan B with maybe JD Martinez FA as a DH

 

Just a thought

Thoughts

With Nimmo being a free agent I certainly hope Mets sign him but I think a Plan B for OF could be Joc Pedersonor or Adam Duvall. They could also pursue Trea Turner for 2B and move McNeil to outfield with Marte in CF and Canha in corner OF position. With Vogelbach back might be worth it to pursue a righty dh like maybe Brandon Drury.

 

Pitching-wise you want to sign deGrom but should he leave both Rodon and Tyler Anderson are reasonable fits as well as Seth Lugo who is a free agent. Bridge to Diaz in pen right now has Drew Smith would like them to re-sign both Ottavino and Lugo--Trevor May not so sure.

 

And depending on rotation, right now only Scherzer, Carrasco, Megill and Peterson in the fold--deGrom and Bassitt are my first choices but even if both return I would still add Rodon to provide depth and of course consider Taijuan Walker's return if it fits in the budget.  I would like Megill and Peterson to be multi-faceted as they could be used as starters or relievers but to do that you need pitching depth.

 

As far as Alvarez is concerned, my hope is get him more time at AAA before making him either as DH and/or C

JetNation

Watching on TV this incredible Jets upset win over the Bills--makes me wish I was at Met Life Stadium on press row but nonetheless an incredible Jet win

 

The Jet defense performed so well limiting a great Bills offense and Wilson managed the game so well at QB

 

Jets are 6-3 and 2-1 inside the division--remaining 3 division games are all on the road, but the jets have played well on the road winning games in tough places like Denver, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Cleveland already

 

Things are looking up in JetNation

Astros Respect

Coming into this series, I was surprised to see lack of respect for the Astros. They have been to 6 straight ALCS's and last year down 2-1 in ALCS to Red Sox  and minus Justin Verlander who was hurt--they won 3 straight games in blowout fashion to win the pennant.

 

Last night all we heard is the roof is open and wind is blowing and yet the Astros with some subtle tweaks to the hitting approach got a win. First of all, Alvarez hit a double play ball which he beat out on sheer hustle giving Bregman an at bat.  He knew Severino would try to bust him inside and he took that inside heater over the short wall in left. My question is how come Yankee power bats could not do the same? Stanton's final AB he looked clueless.

 

And lack of hustle from Yankees has been obvious in post-season--Torres not hustling on DP grounder in Guardian series leaving Judge without an at bat in that inning plus the comical scene where Donaldson was called out as both he and Yankee first base coach were trying to enjoy a Cadillac run around the bases on a hit that fell short of the fence. After last night's game the Yankees embarrassed themselves further by Severino calling Astros "lucky" and Boone blaming open roof stadium.

 

As we head to a 4PM start in Game 3 tomorrow should the Astros blame a potential loss on shadows saying this game should be played at night? No, they won't --they will employ best at bats possible in those conditions. And I can tell you they will hustle every moment no matter what the situation. And Baker's use of his bullpen could be the key in this series.  It has already put Yanks in an 0-2 hole.

 

NY Yankee Fans

I hear NY Yankee fans complaining Judge shot would be a homer with closed roof. First of all, that is an MLB decision not an Astro decision and secondly if Yanks won the season series from Astros in regular season tonight's game would have been in the Bronx--you know the one with minor league outfield wall dimensions. Yankee fans pipe down and just get ready for games in the Bronx down 2 games to none.

On Yankees/Astros

On Yankees/Astros:

These teams are evenly matched with one notable exception: the manager's chair as Dusty Baker is better in these close games than Boone

It's The Astros

My ALCS pick is Astros in 7 as this Houston team is deeper, better managed by Dusty Baker and possesses a better bullpen, better lineup and a better ace pitcher in Justin Verlander. The 2 best post-season clutch hitters in this series--Altuve and Alvarez--wear Astro hats and because Astros swept the Mariners while the Yankees Guardians went the distance lets Astros use Verlander twice while Yankees cannot use Cole or Cortes till Game 3. Can the Yankees win? Of course, they can in a short series, but this Astro team is just a better squad and I think they will end Yankee season for the 4th time in the past 7 years. This matchup reminds me of 70's Yankees/Royals as KC was a great team but could not beat the Yanks till 1980 cause the Yankees were a better team in those years.