Since coming to the Mets, Cespedes is batting a slash line of.308/.356/.691. “They’re well aware of it. We play pretty good here”. “Doesn’t his nickname mean “The Talent”?”
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“I went out there and battled”, Strasburg said.
Frank Robinson is still the only player to win the award in both leagues.
He has power, he has talent, and more than that, he has the swagger and presence to change a lineup and even an entire team. New York might skip his next turn in the rotation to give him a rest. But it sure is working right now. The former closer gave up a three-run double to Cespedes and walked three straight batters, allowing the Mets to tie the game in a six-run seventh.
He keeps saying it’s not all him, and he’s right. “Can’t take any time off because they’re a unsafe lineup that has shown they can come back at any moment”.
But anyone around the Mets can tell you Cespedes has been at the center of the turnaround. His success has become their success.
“It’s huge for not only us but for David”, Mets manager Terry Collins said.
Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson fields a fly ball in the outfield during batting practice before a baseball game between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins, Tuesday, September 15, 2015, in New York. The Mets are 5-1 in Colons last 6 starts vs. Marlins.
Cespedes has started 549 major league games since he signed with the A’s in February 2012. In all other games, those same teams are 169-214. “Toronto was playing.500, made some deals for [David] Price and [Troy Tulowitzki] and now they’re in first place”.
Last year, the A’s had the best record in baseball (and had scored the most runs) when they traded Cespedes to Boston for Jon Lester. He went up against them last night and got blasted, giving up six runs in five innings.
“It just seems like he rises to the occasion”, Collins said. The 67-year-old GM, though, is generally imperturbable-at least when Scott Boras is not involved-and he has avoided making decisions in response to tabloid headlines, a job requirement in New York. He’s enjoying his finest offensive season since 2011 – when he finished fourth in the AL MVP vote with the Yankees – and has played in 142 of the Mets’ 144 games this year.
“It’s not the bad kind, either”, Johnson said. It starts with deGrom, let’s just hope it doesn’t end with him. “We’re lucky to have him”. Manager Dan Jennings said he is still hopeful Stanton can return this season. “He’s in an environment where he’s a key to their success”.
Marlins left-hander Justin Nicolino allowed three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two over six innings. This offseason, the Mets will also have to pay Matt Harvey, while Daniel Murphy and newcomers Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson hit free agency, too.
Want to know how big a shift that is?
It looks like it may be a race to the finish to see who gets home-field advantage in the NLDS between the Mets and the Dodgers.
It really has been a ideal fit.
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Jedd Gyorko, 2B, at Ari (Ray), $14: He has a.796 OPS against LHP this season and will be hitting in one of the best hitter’s parks in all of baseball.
