Series Thread: NLDS..NY METS vs. LA DODGERS

yoga≈surfing said:

It's just horribly bad all the way around...not only did the replay official add insult to injury by calling utley safe...but now torre and marsh are insulting the intelligence of everyone by throwing in that lame straw man argument to validate their explanation for the decision?????


WOW. JUST. FUCKING. WOW.

(and I thought the NFL was bad)

YEEEEEEEESH!!!

Click to expand...

I really liked the "uhhhh...because neighborhood plays are not reviewable, this play became a non-neighborhood play when we reviewed it"

Seriously, Joe?

Huwaryu_in_exile said:

I really liked the "uhhhh...because neighborhood plays are not reviewable, this play became a non-neighborhood play when we reviewed it"

Seriously, Joe?

Click to expand...

HOLY SHIT....THAT'S BEYOND PATHETIC.
I've now officially lost the respect I once had for Torre....

This & That....

• Mets replace Ruben Tejada on NLDS roster with SS prospect Matt Reynolds

• 2015 MLB postseason -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins hopes umpires don't issue pregame warnings for Game 3

• Terry Collins wavers on Michael Cuddyer as Game 3 left fielder - Mets Blog - ESPN

• Steven Matz officially named New York Mets' NLDS Game 4 starter - Mets Blog - ESPN

Chase Utley suspended 2 games for slide into Ruben Tejada, will appeal

Chase Utley suspended 2 games for slide that broke Ruben Tejada's leg



Kudos to Joe Torre for taking a stand with Chase Utley suspension - SweetSpot - ESPN

NEW YORK --(10/12)

FIRST PITCH:

It's time for the biggest Matt Harvey Day ever to this point.

The Dark Knight opposes left-hander Brett Anderson as the New York Mets andLos Angeles Dodgers play Game 3 of their deadlocked National League Division Series. It will mark the first postseason game in Citi Field's history.

The game officially will begin at 8:37 p.m. ET because three other division series games also will be played.

The gates to the ballpark will open at 6 p.m. ET.

Mets icon Rusty Staub, who suffered a heart attack nearly two weeks ago on a flight from Ireland to the United States, will attend the game and may throw the ceremonial first pitch.

Harvey said he would not be deterred from pitching inside even if umpires issue a preemptive warning about hitting batters. He added on Sunday before Chase Utley was suspended: "As far as sticking up for your teammates, I think being out there and doing what's right is exactly what I'm going to do."

Harvey will be pitching for the first time since limiting the Washington Nationals to one unearned run in six innings Oct. 3.

He logged 189 1/3 innings during the regular season. Harvey will not be restricted beyond the norm in terms of pitches Monday. The accommodation to his rising innings count will be pitching fewer times per round, such as only once in the division series.

On having a weapon such as Harvey to throw in the third game of the NLDS, fellow rotation member Steven Matz said: "I think having him as your third starter is insane."

Of course, Harvey also will be pitching for the first time since missing last Tuesday's mandatory team workout. On that topic, Harvey said: "It's a playoff baseball game. Obviously my job is to go out and put up zeros and go as long as I can. And regardless of what's happened -- what's happened yesterday, in the past -- all that's been taken care of internally. And regarding moving forward, pitching a good game, pitching my game is all that's on my mind. And I think that's all that's on our team's mind."

MONDAY'S NEWS REPORTS:

• Utley has been suspended for two games by Major League Baseball for Saturday's "rolling" slide that fractured the fibula in shortstop Ruben Tejada's right leg. Utley's appeal of the decision will be heard before Monday's Game 3, so he still may be eligible for the game. Utley's agent called the ban "outrageous and completely unacceptable." Read more in the Times, Daily News, Newsday, Journal, Record and at NJ.com and MLB.com.
  
  
• Prospect Matt Reynolds is expected to be added to the NLDS roster in place of Tejada. Wilmer Flores will be the starting shortstop. If Reynolds appears, he will become the second player in modern history to make his major league debut in the postseason, joining Oakland's Mark Kiger in 2006, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Read more in the Post and Newsday.
  
  
• Matz officially has been named the Game 4 starter. Jacob deGrom will start a winner-take-all Game 5 at Dodger Stadium if the series goes the distance. Read more in the Post, Daily News, Newsday and at MLB.com.
  
  
• Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said the Utley slide would be viewed very differently in New York if David Wright had done it. Speaking hours before the suspension was handed down, Mattingly said: "I look at it as a baseball play. It was a hard, aggressive, legal slide to me. ... Our organization is proud of the way Chase plays. We love the way he plays. He's got a reputation for playing the game right, playing it hard, and we're behind him 100 percent ... If it would have been their guy, they would be saying, 'David Wright, hey, he's a gamer. He went after him.' That's the way you gotta play. But it's our guy. It's different. So I know how the New York media gets a little bit going, and it gets dramatic. But, for me, you can't have it both ways. If David would have did it, it wouldn't have been any problem here in New York." Read more in the Post and Daily News.
  
  
• Steve Dilbeck in the Los Angeles Times agrees with Mattingly that Utley and the Dodgers got a raw deal with the suspension.
  
  
• Terry Collins did not commit Sunday to starting Michael Cuddyer in left field against Anderson in Game 3. Other options include starting Michael Confortoagainst a southpaw for the first time since the rookie's major league debut, or placing Juan Lagares in center field and using Yoenis Cespedes in left field.
  
  
• Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post notes that Tejada also suffered a broken right fibula on Sept. 18, 2013, in a collision with sliding outfielder Andrew Brown while pursuing a pop fly. So Sherman wonders if Tejada's major league future may be compromised.
  
  
• Utley told Fox's Ken Rosenthal that he reached out to Tejada via Wright. Read more in the Daily News.
  
• In light of Utley's suspension, the Mets should pass on attempting potentially costly retaliation Monday, columnist David Lennon writes in Newsday.
  
  
• Tyler Kepner in the Times looks at what rules MLB may institute to protect middle infielders. Meanwhile, Brian Costa in the Journal advocates change.
  
  
• Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa defended Utley to George King in the Post. "Chase is not a dirty player," Bowa told King. "It might have been a late slide, but if anything [Tejada] should have known it wasn't a double-play ball."
  
  
• Mattingly said on Sunday that Clayton Kershaw or fellow left-hander Alex Wood could start Game 4. Kershaw would be returning on short rest.
  
  
• Read a preview of how Harvey might handle Monday's start in the Post.
  
  
• Bob Raissman in the Daily News looks at how TBS' analysts dissected Utley's slide on the game telecast.
  
  
• From the bloggers ... Faith and Fear finds that sense does not come easily in the Utley-Tejada affair. ... Mets Report believes Collins has his work cut out for him in getting his players to control their emotions. ... The Kings of Queens looks forward to the first postseason games at Citi Field.
  
  
• Happy Birthday: Sid Fernandez (El Sid turned 53 today)

It would serve the Amazin's well to retaliate by winning these next 2 games to knock those bums out of the playoffs and send them packing.

Associated Press
NEW YORK -- All of a sudden, Matt Harvey's postseason debut contains an extra layer of drama.

Wouldn't seem normal any other way.

With the New York Mets still steamed about a late slide by Chase Utley that broke Ruben Tejada's right leg, Harvey is set to start a pivotal Game 3 on Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first playoff contest at Citi Field.

Whether the Mets will see Utley anytime soon was uncertain. Major League Baseball on Sunday night suspended the second baseman for Games 3 and 4, with executive Joe Torre calling it an illegal slide.

Utley appealed the suspension, but a hearing was not completed Monday. That meant he was eligible to play in Game 3, and it's unclear when the hearing may take place.

Hours before the penalty was announced, the natural question was whether Harvey would retaliate against Utley or perhaps some other Dodgers hitter.

"I think the most important thing is going out and doing my job and doing what's best for the team. For me, in my mind, that's going out and pitching a long game and being out there as long as I can, and keeping zeros on the board," Harvey said. "But you know, as far as sticking up for your teammates, I think being out there and doing what's right is exactly what I'm going to do."

The first thing he needs to do is show up on time.

Harvey missed a mandatory workout last week and apologized after arriving late. The misstep drew a curt comment from Mets captain David Wright and the latest round of criticism for a star pitcher who is constantly in the headlines for one reason or another.

The next could still be his latest showdown with Utley, a thorn in the Mets' side for more than a decade while he played for NL East rival Philadelphia.

The 36-year-old Utley has a part-time role with the Dodgers after they acquired him Aug. 19. But before the ban was handed down, manager Don Mattingly said Utley might start Monday because of the lefty-righty matchup and his good numbers against Harvey (6 for 18 with a homer).

"He will definitely be a possibility," Mattingly said Sunday evening.

The best-of-five NL Division Series is tied 1-all after Utley's takeout slide swung Game 2 in Los Angeles, keying a four-run rally in the seventh inning Saturday night that sent the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory.

"Obviously the replay, everybody saw that it was more of a tackle than anything," Harvey said. "We're all feeling for Ruben. We're going to pick him up, and we're excited to be back at home."

Mattingly said Utley tried to reach out and apologize to Tejada, who will be replaced at shortstop by Wilmer Flores. Matt Reynolds, a Triple-A infielder who has never played in the majors, was on his way to New York as a potential addition to the roster.

Harvey already has a history with Utley, who angered the Mets with a rough slide into Tejada back in September 2010. During his first home start this season, the right-hander nailed Utley in the back with a 95 mph fastball after Phillies pitcher David Buchanan plunked Flores and Michael Cuddyer, both on the left hand.

"I think history has kind of shown that he's kind of been in situations like that before," Harvey said Sunday. "I know personally, after watching in 2010 and hearing about it with Ruben as well, you know, there's some situations that need to be taken care of. I think the league is going to do their best to do that and take charge."

With retaliation on everyone's mind, there is some thought MLB might instruct umpires to warn the Mets and Dodgers before Monday's game about throwing inside.

"I would personally hope that there wouldn't be such an issue, only because the impact it would have on the entire game itself, would change the way the game's supposed to be played," New York manager Terry Collins said. "In the game of baseball, we do ask our pitchers to pitch inside once in a while, and the last thing we need is an umpire to take the games into his hands where he thinks it was on purpose. ... And all of a sudden to create a mess that certainly wasn't intended."

Mattingly sees it the same way.


"You do want it to be about back to the field," he said. "I know it's fun to talk about all this stuff, and you hear about it all, and it gets a lot of attention, but I'm sure it won't go away.

"I don't think there needs to be any kind of warnings. Just let the game play," he added.

Left-hander Brett Anderson gets the ball for Los Angeles after going 10-9 with a 3.69 ERA in his first season with the Dodgers. Anderson tossed six shutout innings of two-hit ball to win his only previous playoff start for Oakland in 2012 against Detroit.

Game notes
Mets rookie LHP Steven Matz (back) threw off the main mound at Citi Field and will start Game 4, Collins said. ... LHP Alex Wood or LHP Clayton Kershaw (on three days' rest) will pitch Game 4 for the Dodgers, Mattingly confirmed. ... Neither team worked out at Citi Field (which opened in 2009). The Mets landed in New York about 8:15 a.m. after an overnight flight from Los Angeles. The Dodgers slept at home and flew across the country Sunday. ... Harvey was 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA this year in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. ... Reynolds could become the second player since the first World Series in 1903 to make his major league debut in the postseason, according to STATS. Mark Kigerdid it for Oakland in 2006.

LETS GO METS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW YORK -- With Ruben Tejada's postseason over because of a fractured fibula in his right leg, Wilmer Flores takes over at shortstop for the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

Manager Terry Collins has bailed on Michael Cuddyer in left field. Cuddyer went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and misplayed two fly balls into doubles in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Juan Lagares will start in center field, withYoenis Cespedes shifting to left.

Collins opted not to start the lefty-hitting Michael Conforto in left field against the southpaw Brett Anderson. Conforto's lone major league start against a left-hander came in his July 24 debut.

Here are the lineups for Game 3 on Monday. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:37 p.m. ET.

Chase Utley is not in the lineup, but fellow ex-Phillie Jimmy Rollins is starting.

It marks the first postseason game in Queens since 2006, and the first in Citi Field history.





Curtis Granderson, RF

David Wright, 3B

Daniel Murphy, 2B

Cespedes, LF

Lucas Duda, 1B

Travis d'Arnaud, C

Flores, SS

Lagares, CF

Matt Harvey, RHP




Dodgers

Howie Kendrick, 2B

Rollins, SS

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

Justin Turner, 3B

Andre Ethier, RF

Carl Crawford, LF

Yasmani Grandal, C

Enrique Hernandez, CF

Anderson, LHP

Chase Utley won't start Game 3 vs. Mets

Chase Utley of Los Angeles Dodgers not in starting lineup for Game 3

Clayton Kershaw starting Game 4 for Dodgers on short rest

Clayton Kershaw is starting on three days' rest in Game 4 of the National League Division Series for the third year in a row.

Manager Don Mattingly had previously penciled in LHP Alex Wood or Kershaw (on three days' rest) to pitch Game 4.

Kershaw (0-1) endured his fifth straight postseason loss after giving up the seventh playoff homer of his career in the Dodgers' 3-1 Game 1 loss to New York on Friday. Last season's NL MVP and Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out 11 and walked four.

New York Mets' Ruben Tejada won't need surgery to repair fractured leg - Mets Blog - ESPN

David Wright won't say if Chase Utley's text message seemed sincere - Mets Blog - ESPN

New York Mets mulled starting Michael Conforto in Game 3 - Mets Blog - ESPN

Matt Reynolds could make major league debut in postseason - Mets Blog - ESPN


If Matt Reynolds does appear in a game, he would become the second player in modern history to make his major league debut in the postseason. Elsa/Getty Images

PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!!!

METS WIN 13-7....to take a 2-1 series lead into tomorrow's game 4.

In the top of the 9th after Eric Goeddel gave up 3 runs and couldn't get anyone out, TC went to Familia to finish it up, which left me scratching my head and shouting at the TV (as I figured, why waste him with a 6 run lead...and he wouldn't be available to pitch tomorrow if LA made him work and throw too many pitches).
Turns out he needed just 11 pitches to get the final 3 outs...meaning he should be good to go for game 4 tomorrow if called upon.

Mets set franchise postseason run record in win over Dodgers

Mets thrash Dodgers 13-7 for 2-1 lead in NLDS


Mets get revenge on Dodgers ... by winning Game 3 of NLDS

New York Mets get revenge on Los Angeles Dodgers ... by winning Game 3 - Mets Blog - ESPN

Tejada introduced before game

d'Arnaud's RBI single

d'Arnaud's two-run homer

Harvey works out of the 3rd

Statcast: Cespedes' big blast

Granderson clears the bases

Granderson's two-run double

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/73955164/v522450183/ladnym-gm3-colon-strikes-out-the-side-in-the-6th

http://m.mlb.com/video/v522451083/ladnym-gm3-colon-starts-a-double-play-in-the-7th/?game_pk=446252

http://m.mlb.com/video/v522480483/ladnym-gm3-familia-retires-ethier-to-seal-the-win/?game_pk=446252

Nice articles by Ian O'Connor & Adam Ruben:

Mets' Game 3 win shows they can win it all

Mets on Game 3 victory: 'The greatest retaliation is winning the game' - Mets Blog - ESPN