Bright Sides Of Mets Time Off After Positive COVID19 Test

First and foremost, everyone’s sincerest hope is the player and coach who tested positive will be safe and healthy. At the moment, that is the most pressing concern. After that, we all continue to hope none of the other members of the Mets organization tests positive.

That said, Mets baseball returns today with the Mets having a real grind. They’re going to play nine games over the next six days and 34 games over the final 34 days of the regular season. Assuming Brodie Van Wagenen was honest saying the Mets would not be active at the trade deadline (no one should assume Van Wagenen is honest or won’t jump at the chance to trade prospects), what the Mets have now is what they’ll have to try to grab a postseason spot.

With that being the case, it’s good these Mets got some rest because it’s the last test they’ll see all season. With that rest came some opportunities for this team.

With the time off, the Mets now get to reset their rotation. That presumably means we see Jacob deGrom pitch today in one of the two games. When you get more deGrom, the Mets not only get more rest for what will be a tested bullpen, but also a better chance of winning.

On the starting pitching front, the extra time off buys the Mets time in getting David Peterson back from injury. It also gives Steven Matz some time to work on things. The came could potentially be said for Michael Wacha, but with his history of shoulder injuries, who knows with him?

Looking at the pitching, the bullpen needs the rest their getting because they’re going to be pushed to their limits. They’re going to be up and pitching 34 times in 34 days. They’re going to need the Mets to get as many healthy and viable arms in the rotation that this team could get.

Given the construct, this bullpen needs Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo back. The bullpen is going to need the quality innings they can provide. Honestly, the plan of stretching them out may no longer be a viable one as the Mets schedule doesn’t permit for it.

Looking at the offense, Jeff McNeil has been nicked up and struggling. Currently, he’s mired in a very un-McNeil like 2-for-18 slump. The time off should hopefully allow him to heal up a bit and get back to being McNeil.

That’s of increased importance because with the condensed schedule, the team is going to have to find games off for everyone. McNeil’s versatility is needed for the Mets to maximize their lineup and defense even with the days off.

In terms of days off, Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are the only two Mets who have played in every game. This time off should help them recharge and allow them to play as many of the remaining 34 games as possible.

In terms of the rest, it is going to help this team. It’s allowing their best players to heal and recharge. It’s also allowing the Mets to reset their rotation. Overall, this time off has helped. Let’s just hope it’s enough to make the push the team needs to make over the final 34 games.

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How Brodie Van Wagenen Ruined 2020 Mets Pitching Staff

Upon taking over the Mets job, Brodie Van Wagenen has traded prospect after prospect in an attempt to win-now. Last year, the Mets fell short. This year, the Mets are under .500 and are currently on the outside looking in on an expanded postseason.

On that front, his trades have not planned out. Another way to analyze it is to see how the players he traded are faring:

Justin Dunn (-0.2 WAR) 1-0, 5.57 ERA, 1.381 WHIP, 6.4 K/9

Anthony Kay (0.5 WAR) 2-0, 3.14 ERA, 1.256 WHIP, 7.5 K/9

Blake Taylor (0.8 WAR) 1-0, 1.38 ERA, 1.077 WHIP, 9.0 K/9

Combined this trio of pitchers have accumulated a 1.1 WAR. Due to their absence and Van Wagenen letting players like Zack Wheeler walk, he’s had to replace them with these players:

Walker Lockett (-0.1 WAR) 0-0, 7.50 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 7.5 K/9

Rick Porcello (0.0 WAR) 1-3, 5.76 ERA, 1.640 WHIP, 7.6 K/9

Michael Wacha (-0.1 WAR) 1-2, 6.43 ERA, 1.643 WHIP, 11.6 K/9

Through his series of moves, Van Wagenen replaced 1.1 WAR with -0.2 WAR. That’s before you take into account Wheeler’s 1.6 WAR this year.

Now, this is where some will point out Noah Syndergaard undergoing Tommy John, and Marcus Stroman opting out. There’s an inherent problem with that line of thinking.

First and foremost, Van Wagenen traded away the depth which would’ve helped the Mets withstand those injuries. Furthermore, he was the one who opted to allocate money which could’ve gone to Wheeler with other assets. There’s also the fact the Robinson Cano trade hamstrung the Wilpons financially, or at least that’s what we’re led to believe.

What makes this all the more befuddling is Van Wagenen purportedly opted for this path for the sake of depth. If you follow the timeline, he purged depth, then quality, and then signed replacement level pitchers for the sake of saying the Mets had depth.

Overall, the Mets could’ve had a great pitching staff in 2020. Sandy Alderson has left behind great depth on that front. Instead, Van Wagenen pilfered it for short-sighted ineffective trades. Now, that pitching depth is gone. With the sale of the Mets, he may be gone as well.

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Mets Negative Tests Cause For Some Positivity

One day, the Mets were going for a sweep of the Marlins. The next, an unnamed player and coach tested positive for COVID19.

Since the initial positive test results, early indications are the virus has not spread through the Mets roster . . . at least not yet.

We do know it’s possible we will see someone else test positive within the next day or so. It’s possible we could have another Marlins or Cardinals situation on our hands. Maybe not.

The only thing we know right now is the Mets “only” have two positive test results. The more days pass in which that remains the case, the better.

Hopefully, in a year where so much has gone wrong, this may be the one thing which goes right. Maybe, a Mets organization who has handled nearly every medical issue as incompetently as possible could have handled this better than anyone.

Hey, it’s 2020, MUCH stranger things have happened.

Whatever the case, let’s all keep hoping the Mets players and coaching staff keep testing negative. If that continues, we get closer to the return of Mets baseball. More important than that, we will see a situation where players and coaches avoided getting infected.

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Martino’s Latest Disingenuous Article Shows How Wilpons Use SNY To Show Disdain For Mets Fans

Remember that SNY is owned and operated by the Wilpons. It’s their network. If they don’t approve of the personalities or the coverage of the team, they can and will do something to change that.

After all, we have heard over the years on WFAN about different hosts relationship with the team over how the team is covered and how it impacts their ability to get guests.

The Mets are far from the only team who does that. It’s par for the course. As such when it comes to the Mets, the Wilpons have that same control over their own network which covers its own team.

So what type of coverage do we get as Mets fans? We’re told how awful we are.

Gary Apple, a Yankees fan, hosts Irrational Twitter Theater, where he mocks tweets from Mets fans. We also get Andy Martino, a Phillies fan, calling us awful people for our lack of empathy shown towards players who tested positive for COVID19.

We should note the complete lack of integrity in that Martino article. It paints the fanbase as unfeeling as a whole, which they weren’t. In fact, the vast majority showed concern.

It also does not have any attribution to the quotes. For all we know, he could’ve made it all up. We are also aware of the existence of trolls on the internet who make stuff up and say incendiary things just to rile people up on the internet. Those people are being treated as being genuine and representative of the fanbase.

Keep in mind, this was as disingenuous an article as you can write. Case in point was Martino’s article about the trades the Yankees should consider making with their injuries. You’ll note the complete lack of concern for the health of the players.

That’s all the more egregious when you consider what he wrote about Mets fans and the fact these Yankees players have to visit hospitals and medical facilities during a pandemic.

This selective morality for Martino should come as no surprise. There’s no article from him chastising Jeff Wilpon for firing Leigh Castergine. He also took no issue with the Mets bringing back Jose Reyes after he beat his wife.

But you know what Martino did write about? He wrote Mets fans were racists for booing Luis Castillo. He also wrote how a dirty player like Chase Utley, who broke Ruben Tejada‘s leg in the NLDS, should be more appreciated.

If you’re keeping track here, Martino has no issue with players who beat their wives or break other players legs. However, he really takes issue with fans.

The Wilpons and SNY knew what they were getting when they hired Martino. They not only hired him, but they continue to raise his profile within the network. They do it despite his dishonest work seeking to demean and antagonize the fanbase.

This is what the Wilpons have made SNY. If the Wilpons are able to maintain control of SNY after the sale, it’s what it will continue to be, that is, until the owner of the Mets gives them the same treatment they’ve given other media over the years.

Much like how the Mets are operated, Mets fans deserve better than SNY. They deserve better than Martino.

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Marcus Stroman’s And Yoenis Cespedes’ Worst Fears Realized

When Marcus Stroman opted out, he did so because he has high risk family members. The same was true for Yoenis Cespedes. In fact, when Stroman opted out of the 2020 season, he specifically pinpointed this Mets road trip to Miami:

You see the Cardinals, the Marlins, you see (case) spikes everywhere in the country. You see protocols not being handled properly, from citizens everywhere. You see us going to Florida (to play the Marlins) soon. That was a big discussion I had with my family — going to see the Marlins. I don’t think that’s something where I want to be in that situation.

Well, after taking the first three of what was supposed to be a four game set with the Marlins, one Mets player and one Mets coach has tested positive for COVID19.

The Mets finale against the Marlins wasn’t played. The first two games of the Subway Series appears like they are going to be cancelled. If the Marlins and Cardinals previous outbreaks are any indication, the Mets aren’t playing anytime soon.

Worse than that, two human beings, after all that’s what a player and coach are, are now ill. As we’ve seen with other COVID19 cases, they may face serious and lifelong health issues. The same potentially goes for anyone they’ve come into contact.

This was exactly what Stroman feared. That same for Cespedes. The worst case scenario becoming true is exactly why they made the right decision.

To their detractors, you owe them an apology.

Overall, Stroman and Cespedes made decisions to protect their families. They did it at the cost of millions of dollars. And if you didn’t think their decisions were justified or felt they were alarmist, well, now, it’s unequivocal that they made the right decision.

Today, Stroman and Cespedes are safe. Hopefully, the same is true for the 26 other Mets players and the rest of the coaching staff who have not tested positive (yet). Hopefully, the player and coach who tested positive will suffer no long term heath issues.

Hopefully, those who did not support Stroman’s and Cespedes’ decisions now realize how wrong they were.

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Mets Not Built To Have Seth Lugo In Starting Rotation

Time and again, we’ve seen Seth Lugo come up huge. That’s both in the starting rotation, where he wants to be, and the bullpen, where he has established himself as the best reliever in baseball.

When it comes to Lugo, it’s never really been a question of whether he could pitch in the rotation. The question is what is his best role on this Mets team.

As this Mets bullpen and pitching staff as a whole is constituted, they lean on Lugo’s ability to not just go multiple innings, but to also get the biggest outs in the game. With the current state of the rotation, you could argue Lugo’s ability to eat those innings in pressure spots makes him all the more needed in the bullpen.

With injuries and opt outs, Jacob deGrom is the only Mets starter guaranteed to give you at least five innings. That’s it. As a result, there’s an onus and strain on the bullpen.

What makes it all the worse is Robert Gsellman and Corey Oswalt being in the rotation. Those are two pitchers who could be relied upon to at least eat innings.

Keep in mind, that’s just eat innings. Presumably, you can also have Paul Sewald, Walker Lockett, and Franklyn Kilome do that. However, that’s only one part of the equation.

The real value with Lugo is his versatility. He’s a one inning closer. He’s a long man. He’s there to bail you out of the inning. No one else can do what he does.

The aforementioned long men can give you innings, but they cannot be relied upon in a crucial spot. Right now, Justin Wilson and maybe Jared Hughes can be relied upon in a crucial spot, but they can’t give you more than three outs in a consistent fashion.

As we saw last night, the Mets bullpen is still very suspect in those late innings when Lugo is unavailable. Part of the reason is Dellin Betances, Edwin Diaz, and Jeurys Familia are occasionally prone to fits of wildness.

With respect to Diaz and Familia, they’ve made significant strides from their disastrous 2019 season. As previously explained, Diaz can likely be relied upon to close again. However, like most closers, he’s not as good or as reliable when being brought into a jam.

With respect to Betances, he’s not the same reliever he once was. His velocity is down, and he’s more hittable. As a result, he’s no longer the guy you can just plug into the seventh or eighth.

Now, you may want to argue Steven Matz may be able to be that guy. If that is the case, why remove him from the rotation and disrupt the status quo.

Taking Matz out of the rotation implicitly means the Mets don’t trust him. That goes double when the Mets won’t start him against a Martins team with the fifth wurst wRC+ in the National League.

Digging deeper, the Marlins are the worst offensive team the Mets face all year. This is the team you let Matz get right against. That is all the more the case when the Marlins have a 69 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.

All told, the Mets bullpen is already getting taxed. It’s going to get worse with every Gsellman and Oswalt start. Now, it’s going to get worse with each Lugo 2-3 inning start.

Removing Matz from the rotation now is a short-sighted panic move. The team simply doesn’t have the arms for three bullpen games through each turn through the rotation. They’re even less equipped without Lugo.

In the end, Lugo will be a good starter. It’s just that the entire team is not built to have Lugo in the rotation. The Mets should be aware of this, but as usual, Brodie Van Wagenen thinks he knows better than everyone. Each and every time he thinks that, the decision blows up in the Mets faces.

Chances are, this decision will too.

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Mets Bullpen Almost Negates Guillorme And deGrom Brilliance

After an inexplicable hiatus, Luis Guillorme was back in the lineup, and he picked up offensively and defensively. The beneficiary of his great play was Jacob deGrom who has been unaccustomed to Mets players stepping up their games when he’s on the mound.

For starters, deGrom was his usual brilliant self and showed no ill effects of his neck issue. The Marlins only had five base runners against deGrom and one of those was courtesy of a J.D. Davis error.

While that wasn’t surprising, deGrom getting support was mildly surprising. After being inexplicably benched a few games, Guillorme was back in the lineup, and he delivered almost immediately with an almost literal cue shot double.

The double moved Pete Alonso to third. He’d score on a Wilson Ramos sacrifice fly. That double is not all Guillorme did to provide support to deGrom. He was also his sterling self at second:

deGrom would also get some defensive help from Alonso. Good defense and a lead is a rare experience for deGrom.

Overall, deGrom pitched six shutout innings striking out seven. At 92 pitches, Luis Rojas pulled him even with Seth Lugo unavailable to pitch.

When the Mets went to the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh, the Mets had a 2-0 lead. The second run came in the top of the seventh when Guillorme singled home Dominic Smith, who had doubled earlier in the inning.

The bottom of the seventh didn’t get off to a great start with Jeurys Familia walked Francisco Cervelli. After a fielder’s choice, Davis wasn’t able to get a throw off after diving after a Logan Forsythe grounder.

With Jonathan Villar entering as a pinch hitter, Rojas brought in Justin Wilson. Wilson would do his job, but Ramos wouldn’t.

After a Villar groundout, Wilson would throw a pitch in the dirt. Instead of getting in front of it, Ramos missed on the backhand. The pitch went to the backstop as a run scored.

The Mets would get that run back in the top of the eighth when Smith doubled in Conforto. Unfortunately, the two run lead was not enough for Dellin Betances.

The Marlins loaded the bases with two outs against Betances. Instead of going to the bullpen for another reliever, Rojas let Betances pitch to Eddy Alvarez. With his second pitch of the at-bat, Betances hit Alvarez to force in a run.

Rojas then made a very curious decision. Edwin Diaz has a history of bouts of wildness. Bases loaded with the tying run at third was probably a better situation for Brad Brach who has better control and also has closing experience.

Diaz walked Forsythe on five pitches with none of them all that close. After blowing the save, Diaz rebounded to strike out Villar.

At that point, deGrom’s brilliance was wasted. It seemed Guillorme’s efforts were all for naught. At this point, the hope was the Mets would not fall apart and lose a game they should’ve won.

That didn’t happen, and that’s because Michael Conforto had another clutch ninth inning hit.

That two run homer gave the Mets a 5-3 lead. That was enough for Diaz who struck out the side in the ninth to vulture the win.

With the win, the Mets pull themselves to within two games of .500. They also are close to completing their first series sweep of the season.

Game Notes: Lugo was unavailable as he will start the series finale against the Marlins. He will be taking over Steven Matz‘s spot in the rotation with Matz moving to the bullpen.

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What Happened To Luis Guillorme’s Playing Time?

Due to injuries, Luis Guillorme went from completely forgotten man to what appeared to be an extremely important part of this Mets team. He was playing that well.

Starting on August 11, he played in six straight games. Over that stretch, he hit .588/.636/.706 with a run, two doubles, four walks, and four RBI. He walked (4) more times than he struck out (3).

With that stretch, he had a seven game hitting streak, and he improved to a 199 OPS+ on the season. At .458, he was at least flirting with being the first Major Leaguer to hit .400 in a season since Ted Williams.

Even if no one reasonably expected him to do it, it would’ve been fun to watch. What also would’ve been fun to watch was his Gold Glove caliber defense.

Guillorme was and is absolutely brilliant at second. It’s a very small sample size for sure, but he was already at a 1 DRS and 14.2 UZR/150. Those numbers were very likely going to improve because he’s always been an exceptional defender.

We saw him working with Andres Gimenez to turn double plays the Mets wouldn’t have even dreamt of turning since Edgardo Alfonzo and Rey Ordonez were the double play combination for the best defensive infield in baseball history.

By every measure, Guillorme earned his playing time. He was great in the field. That has always been expected of him. He was also better at the plate than expected. Although, the low expectations of him at the plate were not entirely fair.

Again, we’re playing with some small sample sizes here, but Guillorme proved himself last year. In the second half of 2019, he hit .300/.391/.475 with four doubles, a homer, and three RBI in 48 PA. You could certainly argue what we’re seeing this year was an extension of that.

You can also fairly argue none of last year or this is a reliable indicator of anything. The only thing we do know is at the moment Guillorme was playing like some sort of hybrid of Jeff McNeil and Luis Castillo (Marlins, not Mets version).

When you’re playing at that level, you should be in the everyday lineup. Unfortunately for Guillorme, the Mets were not interested in seeing how long Guillorme could keep up that high level of play and help the Mets win.

Admittedly, it is a dicey situation. Dominic Smith has been playing great all year. Pete Alonso started hitting again. Robinson Cano has turned back the clock and is arguably the Mets best hitter this year. All told, it’s difficult to make a move to take these players out of the lineup.

It’s also difficult to remove McNeil from the lineup. With his versatility and track record, he’s one of the best and most important players on the team.

As usual, the obvious answer would be to sit J.D. Davis, but the Mets remain unwilling to do that. It doesn’t matter to them Davis is at a 0.1 WAR to Guillorme’s 0.5. It doesn’t matter Davis is at a -3 DRS at third this year and a -14 for his career. He’s also a -2 OAA there for his career.

It should also be noted Guillorme is at a 194 wRC+ to Davis’ 145 wRC+. Really, in every aspect of the game, Guillorme has completely and utterly outplayed Davis this year.

However, Guillorme with his game changing defense and hot hitting will sit in favor of Davis.

He’ll also sit in favor of Amed Rosario and Gimenez, two other players he has outplayed this year. The simple answer as to why this has happened is the Mets organization is more invested in Davis, Gimenez, and Rosario.

That’s a real shame because Guillorme has absolutely earned the starting job at second base, and at the moment, by WAR, he’s the Mets fourth best position player. Seeing everything taken into account, the Mets benching Guillorme is unjustified, and they better be right about this decision.

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Roadsario Re-Emerges In Win Over Marlins

Around many corners, many were wondering if this was it for Amed Rosario. The one time uber prospect was struggling while Luis Guillorme and Andres Gimenez seemed to be forming an all-time great Mets middle infield.

That’s what small sample sizes will do to you. That’s also what the urgency of the 60 game season will do.

To their credit, the Mets haven’t given up on Rosario’s talent. Last night, they were rewarded.

It started as an ominous day. That was because in typical Mets fashion David Peterson‘s shoulder injury being worse than originally advertised. That led to Peterson being placed on the IL, and Corey Oswalt being recalled to make the emergency start.

Oswalt acquitted himself well. He threw three scoreless before getting into trouble in the fourth. In that inning, Jesus Aguilar hit an RBI double and come in to score on a Brian Anderson RBI single. That Marlins rally narrowed the score to 3-2.

The first two Mets runs came via solo homers off Marlins starter Humberto Mejia. The first of which was a Brandon Nimmo third inning shot which has continued his impressive stretch of extra base hits.

The Mets rallied in the fourth with another solo homer. After that Michael Conforto walked, and Pete Alonso hit a one out single. Dominic Smith would drive in the Mets third run with a ground rule double.

That put Oswalt in position for the win, but he would fall just short. Overall, his final line was 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. He’d also have a pick-off.

Magneuris Sierra led off the fifth with a single, and he would steal second. With the Mets holding a one run lead and the tying run in scoring position, Luis Rojas brought in Justin Wilson to relieve Oswalt with one out in the fifth.

Wilson got out of the jam, and he’d pitch 1.1 scoreless. He’d pick up the win as he’d combine with Jared Hughes, Dellin Betances, and Edwin Diaz to shut out the Marlins over the final 4.2 innings.

They’d maintain the lead and see it grow as Rosario began to put on a show. In addition to making diving stops in the infield, we’d see his bat come back to life. We first saw that with a no doubter in the seventh.

He wasn’t done. In the eighth, the Mets loaded the bases, and Smith drew a wall forcing home a run. Then, Rosario came up and delivered an opposite field two RBI single effectively ending the game.

Nimmo delivered the final RBI with a single to increase the Mets lead to 8-2. In addition to Rosario, Nimmo had a huge game as well going 3-for-5 with a run, triple, homer, and three RBI.

Going back to Rosario, he was 2-for-5 with a run, homer, and three RBI. Perhaps more than any Met, he needed this one. Maybe, he just needed to get away from Citi Field as he’s been a MUCH better hitter on the road.

Whatever the case, he put together a big game with Guillorme and Gimenez seriously vying for playing time. He helped a Mets team desperately trying to right the ship. They’re now 11-14 and three games behind the Braves.

Game Notes: Wilson picked up the win on his birthday. Jacob deGrom appears set to start the series finale against the Marlins.

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Fernando Tatis, Jr. Did Nothing Wrong, Nor Did Ian Gibaut

With the bases loaded, the count 3-0, and the Texas Rangers trailing the San Diego Padres by the score of 10-3 in the eighth inning, Juan Nicasio threw what was essentially a get me over strike. For much of baseball history, no batter would swing at the pitch.

There were and are unwritten rules where you don’t show up your opponent. When the score is this lopsided late in the game, you don’t steal bases, take the extra base, and you certainly don’t swing when up 3-0 in the count. Last night, Fernando Tatis, Jr. swung 3-0 and boy did he connect:

The swing caused some controversy. Tatis’ manager Jayce Tingler spoke about how he didn’t like it calling it a “learning opportunity.” Seeing that, perhaps it should come as no surprise Tatis apologized for it.

When Rangers manager Chris Woodward addressed the “incident,” he said, “I didn’t like it personally. You’re up by seven in the eighth inning. It’s typically not a good time 3-0. It’s kind of the way we were all raised in the game. But … the norms are being challenged.”

Woodward hit it right on the head. There are going to be people who don’t like it. There’s NOTHING wrong with that. In sports and life, there’s always room for sportsmanship and not showing up the opponent or rubbing it in their face.

On the other hand, baseball is definitively evolving. Players are throwing out the unwritten rule book. There’s definitely merit to it.

Look at it this way, Tatis’ homer helps his case for MVP discussions. It also helps him for a future arbitration cases and salary discussions. Understand the point here. It’s not that one single PA affects it, but rather all of these PA accumulated.

As a Mets fan, we have heard Keith Hernandez comment on several occasions about these purportedly garbage time at-bats. As he’s said, you don’t just give away these at-bats. From his old school perspective, it could be the difference between hitting .300 and reaching 200 hits or falling short.

Almost assuredly, Hernandez would not be a fan of Tatis swinging 3-0. However, even with his old school mindset, you don’t just give away at-bats. That has an impact on your season and career. You’re a professional hitter facing a professional pitcher. You go up there, and you try.

That’s also part of the unwritten rules. The batter isn’t up there to just give up. Another part of the unwritten rules is the Rangers are still going to try and comeback to win that game no matter how unlikely.

That last part is why Tatis swinging is justified. The Rangers didn’t give up. Sure, if it was a position player pitching, we could see swinging 3-0 as beyond the pale. Still, these are Tatis’ numbers and MVP voters and arbitrators aren’t going to tally unwritten rule points to factor into their determinations.

So yes, for a multitude of reasons, Tatis was justified in swinging. By the same token, there’s no problem with the Rangers feeling like they were shown up. That goes double when for over 100 years things like swinging 3-0 just wasn’t done.

That’s why there was no issue with Ian Gibaut relieving Nicasio after the grand slam and throwing one behind Manny Machado:

It’s important to note Gibaut did it the right way. He kept the pitch low and towards Machado’s backside. It wasn’t towards the head or hands.

Gibaut went up there, and he stuck up for his teammate. He properly delivered the message to the Padres to knock it off. They found what Tatis did wasn’t acceptable.

Machado understood. He assuredly wasn’t happy, but he didn’t escalate the situation. The umpires did what they needed to do to make sure the situation didn’t escalate from there. Gibaut then did the right thing by moving on and pitching normally to Tatis.

There are going to be many who didn’t like what Gibaut did. To that, there’s still room in this game for having your teammate’s back, and there’s room for delivering messages. Notably, by getting it out of the way, it was addressed and no issues should fester.

Ultimately, we should all be able to admit Tatis did absolutely nothing wrong while also saying Gibaut did nothing wrong. Both can be true, and honestly, baseball is better if we can admit this.

It’s great if we have a sport where talent like Tatis can shine, and we have the ability to have one teammate stick up for another (in the right way). To a certain extent, this is what Woodward was hinting at in his statement. Essentially, he said, I don’t like it, we don’t have to like it, but things are different.

Really, when you break it down, only one person was absolutely in the wrong here – Tingler. He needed to have Tatis’ and Machado’s backs. He needed to say my players compete, and don’t throw at my players. He didn’t, and that’s plain wrong.

Overall, other than Tingler, who embarrassed himself, no one should have a problem with anything that happened. Tatis’ grand slam was great, and the Rangers response was fine. That’s baseball.

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