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I'm not sure that Harrison is proven yet
could be a flash in the pan
gamble for the bucs here, but it could pay offComment -
A-Rod goes yard on Thursday for #655. First homer since September of 2013...
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WASHINGTON -- Compared to their two-year-old predecessors, the chants echoing through Nationals Park on Thursday seemed almost more like whispers, like hints of greater things to come. But they were every bit as audible as the scattered pockets of orange were visible, spicing a crowd of 25,327 on an otherwise cold, damp day in the District. They were symbols of a holiday. Matt Harvey Day. And "HAR-VEY'S BET-TER!" was the anthem.
Making his first big league appearance in 593 days, Harvey looked like Matt Harvey again, delivering six shutout innings to outpitch Stephen Strasburg in a 6-3 win over the Nationals. It was vindication for the thousands of fans who had waited nearly 18 months to watch him pitch again. It was vindication for a year and a half of rehab.
"You take it for what it was," Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer said. "It was a great start for him."
Considering the 90-something pitch count the Mets imposed upon him, it was essentially the best start that Harvey could have provided. Striking out nine, the right-hander reached 97 mph with his fastball. He walked one batter in his first outing since undergoing Tommy John surgery in Oct. 2013, allowing four hits.
Harvey's terrific start 4/9/15: Matt Harvey allows four hits while striking out nine over six scoreless frames in his first start of the 2015 season
Harvey's exclamation points were three whiffs of Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, all of them on 96- or 97-mph fastballs -- proof, for Harvey, that nothing was missing after 17 1/2 months of rehab.
"I've said it a million times," Harper said. "He's going to be Cy Young one day and everybody knows that."
Harvey's Mets teammates did the rest, taking advantage of Ian Desmond's third error in three games to plate three unearned runs in the third inning, two of them on a Travis d'Arnaud single. A David Wright two-run hit in the sixth gave the Mets a six-run lead and chased Strasburg, prompting the chanting from Mets fans in the crowd -- a reference to April 19, 2013, when Harvey outdueled Strasburg at Citi Field in what became something of a coming-out party for him.
Harvey's first K of 2015 4/9/15: Matt Harvey strikes out Michael Taylor swinging to register his first strikeout of the 2015 season
This one was more of a coming-back party, even if Harvey's dominance made it seem as if he never left. Given 91 pitches, Harvey generated 15 swinging strikes. He threw 95-plus with his fastball, regularly touching 97. He made, in Wright's words, "pretty good hitters look foolish."
"He was throwing strikes," Wright said. "That's what makes him so good, is he can rear back and throw the ball by you, or he can outpitch you."
Then there's the confidence boost that having someone of Harvey's caliber on the mound gives the Mets. Maybe that's cliché. But everything Harvey brings to the ballpark -- from his stony seriousness to his Dark Knight-etched baseball bats to the competitive edge that dominates his personality -- screams confidence.
"He's such an impressive guy to be around, period," manager Terry Collins said. "Nothing he does surprises you."
Mets on Harvey's performance 4/9/15: Matt Harvey, David Wright and Travis d'Arnaud discuss Harvey's performance in the Mets' 6-3 win over the Nationals
When Collins finally decided to take Harvey out of the game, he knew there was a chance Harvey would fight him on it, even with a six-run lead. So he asked his entire team to line up in the dugout as Harvey walked off the mound, ambushing him with high fives and handshakes.
This time, there would be no negotiating. This time, Harvey understood. The thought of doing all of this again in five days at Citi Field, then again and again and again this summer, was too intoxicating to ignore.
"It can all be taken away pretty quickly," he said, in response to a question about what surgery taught him. "So for me, it's exciting to show up to the ballpark every day."Comment -
Which start is the most surprising???
Rockies 4-0
White Sox 0-4
Reds 4-0
Braves 4-0Comment -
By the way, the Pittsburgh Pirates are the best 1-3 team in MLB.
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A disappointing season start for Brantley after a breakout 2014 season.
Indians manager Terry Francona said Saturday that Michael Brantley felt a "stabbing" pain in his back late during Friday's game against the Tigers.
The Tribe's manager admitted that he probably shouldn't have played Brantley on Friday. He's resting on Saturday and could get the day off on Sunday as well, though a trip to the disabled list remains a possibility.Comment -
White sox finally break thruComment -
Batting Average Leaders end of action April 11th:
1. 
Gonzalez, A LAD .667 2. 
Iglesias, J DET .600 3. 
Lind, A MIL .529 4. 
Alonso, Y SD .471 4. 
LeMahieu, D COL .471 Comment -
Locke gives his best every time he is a real blue-collar type pitcher. The lines are usually decent when he pitches unlike guys that are tabbed as "Aces".Comment -
Yeah Locke doesn't have the best stuff but he finds a way to pitch wellComment -
Evan Gattis 0-16 with 12k's WOWComment -
People just don't seem to steal bases too much anymoreComment -
After week 1 currently 6th in my division (top 5 pay)
Need to make a couple of taxi changes bringing in Kingsler and dropping Gomes (out 6-8 ) and BrantlyComment -
I think Brantley will be okComment -
Buccos win their home opener this afternoon.
Everything is fine and good right now!
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Yeah, he sure did. It got a little dicey once he left, but Cole shut down that strong Detroit lineup...
Cole
(W, 1-0)6.0 3 1 1 2 8 0 94-63 3.27 Comment -
This is crazy! What were these kids thinking?
Florida is currently ranked #5 in the nation and have a solid shot of playing in Omaha this June...Comment -
Mets third baseman David Wright leaves with a right hamstring injury
Mets third baseman David Wright left Tuesday's game against the Phillies with aright hamstring pull after sliding into second base, reports MLB.com.
Wright slid into second when trying to steal the base and came up lame, needing medical attention. Wright stayed in for a few more pitches before heading back to the locker room for further evaluation.
"That's a major problem," manager Terry Collins said.
Wright said after the game he took the cautious approach instead of taking the risk and playing through the injury. He felt his hamstring grab a few steps before he made it to second base.
He will have an MRI Wednesday and the team will bring Eric Campbell to New York in the event a roster spot opens up, the team announced.
Wright went 2 for 5 before leaving the game.
That didn't take long.Comment -
Hey guys, just in case it hasn't been mentioned, Odrisamer Despaigne is a good pick up as a starter. Might get more playing time for the Padres even when Ian Kennedy comes back. Will probably take Cashner's spot in the rotation.Comment -
The Chicago Cubs have a $155 million problem. The Cubs signed one of the biggest prizes in free agency this winter when they locked up Jon Lester to a six-year, $155 million contract to be their ace. In Lester's first two starts with the team, however, a major issue has emerged: Lester is struggling to make one of the basic plays in baseball.
Lester can't make routine pickoff throws to first base, which has led to speculation he has the yips.
On Monday night, Lester made two pickoff attempts to first base. These were significant because they were Lester's first pickoff attempts in 67 starts, dating back to April 2013.
And we can see why he didn't throw to first for two years.
The first throw was not terrible, but it did cause first baseman Anthony Rizzo to come off the base to make the catch.
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(WGN) But Lester's second pickoff was a disaster, with the ball sailing well over Rizzo's head and into right field.
Your browser does not support the video tag. Comcast Sportsnet
In this case, Lester got bailed out when right fielder Jorge Soler threw the runner out at third base. But it seems clear that Lester doesn't want to throw to first base and that bad things are going to happen if he does.
That Lester has struggled with his pickoff move is not new. As pointed out by Ben Lindbergh of Grantland, Lester began working to improve his pickoff attempts as long ago as spring 2012. Teams almost certainly noticed Lester had stopped throwing to first base in 2013 and 2014.
But what differs now is that before Monday night, Lester still held the threat of throwing to first base and keeping potential base stealers close to the bag.
From the point of the view of the runner, there is a big difference between thinking the pitcher doesn't like to throw to first base and knowing the pitcher can't throw to first base.
For a while, runners did not appear to be taking much advantage of Lester's lack of pickoff attempts. Data compiled by Lindbergh shows that runners are not attempting steals much more often against Lester than the Major League average rate of 5.6% stolen-base attempts over the past seven seasons. But there was a pretty sharp rise in 2014 over the past two seasons, when Lester may have still had a reputation as being a good pickoff pitcher.
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(BusinessInsider.com) Cubs manager Joe Maddon told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he thought the problem was "being a little overplayed right now" and that it would "get better."
But until it does, the cat is clearly out of the bag, and teams are going to run all over the Cubs until Lester demonstrates that the problem is fixed.Comment -
Lester got the pick up yipsComment
