Post by Commissioner Erick on May 4, 2019 11:06:53 GMT -5
New York Mets (14-16) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (23-8)
NYM: Noah Syndergaard (4-0, 0.74)
LAD: James Kapriellan (4-1, 5.34)
The New York Mets are the poster child for crippling injuries. The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen three of their four best starting pitchers go down to season-ending injuries.
It's a battle of the walking wounded when the Mets and Dodgers square off in The Game of the Week.
The Mets haven't been as beat up as in years past, but it's been another season dealing with serious injuries. Michael Conforto was off to an excellent start with the bat, but he's sidelined with a concussion. Zach Wheeler is out for a month after surgery to remove bone chips in his arm. Josh Smoker, Buddy Boshers, and Tim Peterson have been banged up, hurting the team's bullpen depth.
Most of the injuries have been to New York's pitchers, but it's the offense that's struggled for the Mets as so many hitters are underperforming. Fans have turned on Mookie Betts as his .562 OPS has seen him turn into one of the worst hitters in the league. He's worth over $164 million for nine more years, which makes his start the absolute worst case scenario.
Orlando Arcia is only hitting .216 with no home runs. Ahmed Rosario has an OBP of .282. Nick Senzel has a .381 slugging mark. There are simply too many hitters failing to make an impact for the Mets.
Fortunately, they'll give the ball to a pitcher who has allowed only three runs all season. Noah Syndergaard has been spectacular in his first extended run of baseball in three years. After missing two seasons with arm maladies, he's worked to a 0.74 ERA in six starts. He hasn't yielded a home run, has allowed just 19 hits in 36.1 innings, and has struck out 44. He's only allowed a run in one of his last five starts, and hasn't walked a man since April 24th. He's been virtually flawless.
He'll take on a Dodgers team that isn't hitting well and keeps losing pitchers, yet still leads baseball in win percentage. Pitching has carried the team as they've allowed only 27 runs in their last 11 games.
James Kapriellan will take the mound, and he's had a bizarre year. He was outstanding in three starts against the Giants and Padres, then went to Coors and got rocked, allowing four home runs and 10 runs in 3.1 innings. He allowed three home runs the following game against Miami, before pitching well his last time out in Tampa Bay. The bad outing against Colorado skews his numbers, though he also hasn't faced the toughest lineups otherwise. Given that the Mets lineup hasn't hit, this may be a game where Kapriellan cruises.
The Dodgers' bullpen has also been terrific and deserves praise. As a unit they have the second best ERA in the league. Kenley Jansen has seven saves, a 0.96 WHIP, and has picked up exactly where he left off after a dominating 2020. Will Harris has a 2.02 ERA, while Mike Caldwell's 3.38 ERA is higher than his FIP would suggest. He's fanned 20 and allowed just one home run in 16 innings, and hitters have an OPS of .570 off him.
Osiris Ramirez has been a real gem as well. Never highly regarded, he exploded in 2019, turning into one of the successes of the Dodgers' development system. He received cups of coffee in 2019 and 2020 but spent most of 2019 in Tulsa and 2020 in Oklahoma City. Thus far this year, he's 2-0 with an 0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings. He hasn't allowed a home run after allowing just two last year across three levels plus the World Baseball Classic, and he's allowed just 10 hits. Only 25, he looks like he can be the next toy the Dodgers keep adding to their bullpen.
With a pen like that, it'll be up to the Mets to find a way to score against Kapriellan as they won't do much damage late.
Questions for the GM's:
For Steve Cox, you hired a brand new Trainer this year, with Keith Duggar coming over from Colorado. You've had better luck than years past, but you're still short Conforto and Wheeler. How do you feel about your training staff and those players seem to consistently get banged up.
Your offense has been a disaster relative to expectations. You recently added Joey Cora as Bench Coach. How much blame to you put on yourself and your management staff for not evaluating the players, how much do you put on the coaches for not getting the most out of that, and how much do you put on bad luck of the players not performing?
Los Angeles' bullpen has been awesome and Kapriellan has been prone to the long ball. Any thoughts on selling out your lineup for power in the game?
For Troy Allenbagh, it's been a difficult year for you with all the injuries. How confident are you that the guys on the staff can pull through for you, or do you feel you'll need outside help?
You've given Danny Diaz some time at short and some time at third, but he's really not hitting. At what point do you just keep him buried on the bench and get a better option for your infield?
You recently released Yasmani Grandal. Why did you decide to cut him after he was a stalwart for the Dodgers for years?
TRIVIA: Noah Syndergaard was the designated hitter for a few games and actually hit a home run. Not counting Mchael Lorenzen, which other PBA Pitchers have hit home runs in the majors?
NYM: Noah Syndergaard (4-0, 0.74)
LAD: James Kapriellan (4-1, 5.34)
The New York Mets are the poster child for crippling injuries. The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen three of their four best starting pitchers go down to season-ending injuries.
It's a battle of the walking wounded when the Mets and Dodgers square off in The Game of the Week.
The Mets haven't been as beat up as in years past, but it's been another season dealing with serious injuries. Michael Conforto was off to an excellent start with the bat, but he's sidelined with a concussion. Zach Wheeler is out for a month after surgery to remove bone chips in his arm. Josh Smoker, Buddy Boshers, and Tim Peterson have been banged up, hurting the team's bullpen depth.
Most of the injuries have been to New York's pitchers, but it's the offense that's struggled for the Mets as so many hitters are underperforming. Fans have turned on Mookie Betts as his .562 OPS has seen him turn into one of the worst hitters in the league. He's worth over $164 million for nine more years, which makes his start the absolute worst case scenario.
Orlando Arcia is only hitting .216 with no home runs. Ahmed Rosario has an OBP of .282. Nick Senzel has a .381 slugging mark. There are simply too many hitters failing to make an impact for the Mets.
Fortunately, they'll give the ball to a pitcher who has allowed only three runs all season. Noah Syndergaard has been spectacular in his first extended run of baseball in three years. After missing two seasons with arm maladies, he's worked to a 0.74 ERA in six starts. He hasn't yielded a home run, has allowed just 19 hits in 36.1 innings, and has struck out 44. He's only allowed a run in one of his last five starts, and hasn't walked a man since April 24th. He's been virtually flawless.
He'll take on a Dodgers team that isn't hitting well and keeps losing pitchers, yet still leads baseball in win percentage. Pitching has carried the team as they've allowed only 27 runs in their last 11 games.
James Kapriellan will take the mound, and he's had a bizarre year. He was outstanding in three starts against the Giants and Padres, then went to Coors and got rocked, allowing four home runs and 10 runs in 3.1 innings. He allowed three home runs the following game against Miami, before pitching well his last time out in Tampa Bay. The bad outing against Colorado skews his numbers, though he also hasn't faced the toughest lineups otherwise. Given that the Mets lineup hasn't hit, this may be a game where Kapriellan cruises.
The Dodgers' bullpen has also been terrific and deserves praise. As a unit they have the second best ERA in the league. Kenley Jansen has seven saves, a 0.96 WHIP, and has picked up exactly where he left off after a dominating 2020. Will Harris has a 2.02 ERA, while Mike Caldwell's 3.38 ERA is higher than his FIP would suggest. He's fanned 20 and allowed just one home run in 16 innings, and hitters have an OPS of .570 off him.
Osiris Ramirez has been a real gem as well. Never highly regarded, he exploded in 2019, turning into one of the successes of the Dodgers' development system. He received cups of coffee in 2019 and 2020 but spent most of 2019 in Tulsa and 2020 in Oklahoma City. Thus far this year, he's 2-0 with an 0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings. He hasn't allowed a home run after allowing just two last year across three levels plus the World Baseball Classic, and he's allowed just 10 hits. Only 25, he looks like he can be the next toy the Dodgers keep adding to their bullpen.
With a pen like that, it'll be up to the Mets to find a way to score against Kapriellan as they won't do much damage late.
Questions for the GM's:
For Steve Cox, you hired a brand new Trainer this year, with Keith Duggar coming over from Colorado. You've had better luck than years past, but you're still short Conforto and Wheeler. How do you feel about your training staff and those players seem to consistently get banged up.
Your offense has been a disaster relative to expectations. You recently added Joey Cora as Bench Coach. How much blame to you put on yourself and your management staff for not evaluating the players, how much do you put on the coaches for not getting the most out of that, and how much do you put on bad luck of the players not performing?
Los Angeles' bullpen has been awesome and Kapriellan has been prone to the long ball. Any thoughts on selling out your lineup for power in the game?
For Troy Allenbagh, it's been a difficult year for you with all the injuries. How confident are you that the guys on the staff can pull through for you, or do you feel you'll need outside help?
You've given Danny Diaz some time at short and some time at third, but he's really not hitting. At what point do you just keep him buried on the bench and get a better option for your infield?
You recently released Yasmani Grandal. Why did you decide to cut him after he was a stalwart for the Dodgers for years?
TRIVIA: Noah Syndergaard was the designated hitter for a few games and actually hit a home run. Not counting Mchael Lorenzen, which other PBA Pitchers have hit home runs in the majors?
