To your surprise, this is going to be covered objectively with no bias on my end. The little-engine-that-could Mets, a team on pace for 101 wins, miraculously defeated the Evil Empire in a two-game set. I was going to bring up the fact that these games were in Citi Field, they had the luck of the draw in pitching matchups, and caught the Yanks (14-15 in their last 29 games) at a good time, but no excuses. The Mets were the better team those nights.
Mets outplayed the Yankees, who went 0-15 with runners in scoring position for the series. Anytime Pete Alonso was at the dish, it looked like he was going deep (he did twice). Edwin Diaz and Max Scherzer were throwing filth, plus Degrom is set to come back next week. The Mets are good. The Yankees are good. It would be one helluva October Classic. NYC should be so lucky.
Trade Targets
With the MLB trade deadline set for this Tuesday, here are some of the top names rumored on the move…
Juan Soto has been linked to the Cardinals and Padres of late. JD Martinez and Willson Contreras would be my trade targets if I were the Mets. Ian Happ, Josh Bell, and Whit Merrifield Braves could use two of these guys with the injury to Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna playing like he needs to be upgraded. Yankees acquired Benintendi while the Mets fans were sipping champagne. This fits due to the combo of the short porch and the fact he’ll get bat on the ball, avoiding strikeouts. He is the anthesis of Joey Gallo at hitting. Gallo needs to revive his career in a small market, 84% of Yankee fans would call in sick to drive him to the airport.
The Yankees could use multiple new arms down the stretch. Cole-Castillo-Cortes has a nice ring to it, but Frankie Montas is no consolation prize either. Quintana would feel very much like the Andrew Heaney trade from last year, would hope this one would work out better. With Thor, maybe you find lightning in the bottle. Soto, Moore, and Robertson wouldn’t exactly move the needle in my view. Trust Cashman here to try to find his next Clay Holmes project, so bank on them acquiring a no-name out of obscurity.
Mike Trout vs Ken Griffey Jr.
Mike Trout has been diagnosed with a rare chronic back condition. The condition, “costovertebral dysfunction at T5”, will likely need to be managed for the remainder of Trout’s career. This is an unfortunate situation that is now drawing comparisons to how Ken Griffey Jr.’s career turned out.
While Trout has produced at a higher rate, Ken Griffey Jr. dealt with fewer injuries in his age 19-30 seasons. “The Kid’s” body didn’t start to fail him as an everyday center fielder until his age 32 season. His career never was truly the same after. Although their on-field production may be similar, Jr. had a bit more of an impact on the culture of baseball. He is credited for being the first to wear the backwards hat.
Judge Watch
After a rough Wednesday night in Flushing, Aaron Judge hit a walk-off home run to give the Yankees a 1-0 victory over the Royals. Judge is the first Yankee with 3 walk-off HRs in a season since Mickey Mantle in 1959. The 39th HR of the season puts him on pace for 63 homers in a season with 62 games left.
This week all 32 teams officially started their training camp. The Hall of Fame Game is less than a week away between the Jaguars and Raiders. It’s that time of the football calendar where you might as well drink the kool-aid and dream.
Jimmy G Out In San Francisco & Julio Jones Joins Brady’s Bucs
Trey Lance, the 2022 #3 overall pick, is now set to be the 49ers’ QB. The Niners have permitted Jimmy Garoppolo to seek a trade. If they can’t find a trade partner, they will cut him before Week 1, which is when his $24.2 million salary would become fully guaranteed.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed the 12-year veteran WR. While it may not have sent seismic waves throughout the NFL as it would have just 3 years ago, would it surprise you if Jones found the fountain of youth playing with Tom Brady?
Medium Dive: “The Captain” Ep. 3+4
‘99
Certainly the most forgotten Yankee championship team of the late 90s dynasty. Sandwiched in between the historic 1998 season and the Subway Series, they swept the Atlanta Braves. Mariano Rivera won World Series MVP. From 1995 to the conclusion of this series, Rivera had pitched 47.1 postseason innings and had allowed just 2 runs.
‘00
‘01
The 2001 World Series was truly the one that got away. The games in NY took on a bit more meaning for obvious reasons. Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius on consecutive nights hit game-tying 2 out, the bottom of the 9th homers. It was destined until it wasn’t.
One thing from the doc that has stuck out to me is that Paul O’Neill doesn’t seem to be featured much. 4 episodes in and he hasn’t even been interviewed yet. Would’ve been nice if they at least acknowledged the game 5, “Paul-Oh-Neill” chant. The fans knew O’Neill was leaning towards retirement. Some things are bigger than sports.
‘03
YouTube Rabbithole
With “That 90s Show” allegedly in the works over at Netflix, here’s Red Foreman.
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That 90s Show. That’d be something