Shortly after his bases-clearing double to the left-center gap off a 97 mph fastball helped the New York Mets pull one percentage point ahead of the San Diego Padres, Brandon Nimmo expressed the strong belief in the team who made him their first-round pick in 2011 and signed him to an eight-year, $162 million deal by casually dropping a word often heard this time of year.
Buyer
As in the Mets should be doing what it takes to bolster a team on a 25-12 run since a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers represented the lowest of lows and triggered a lengthy team meeting called by the players.
We want to be buyers at the end of this month,” Nimmo said. “We believe we’re not that far off from being serious contenders. We’ve been playing really good baseball and we want to continue to do that.”
Nimmo also uttered the word during his on-field interview with SNY and following a pulsating win in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Two days later, the Mets made a small trade by adding Phil Maton, whose 10-pitch inning was the easiest outing of any reliever while also throwing the softest with no pitch over 89 mph.
Nimmo also uttered the word during his on-field interview with SNY and following a pulsating win in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Two days later, the Mets made a small trade by adding Phil Maton, whose 10-pitch inning was the easiest outing of any reliever while also throwing the softest with no pitch over 89 mph.
After Nimmo spoke, further proof of everything turning up Mets these days occurred when Reed Garrett spoke with a relieved tone after his injury being inflammation, thus avoiding the dejection when a pitcher finds out the injury is actually something serious with the ligament.
The Mets are the feel good type even with the high payroll and seemed determined not to wallow in the misery of playing out the string through most of the summer and a contrast to what is currently unfolding with the Yankees, whom they will visit in their second series following the All-Star break.
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge reacts after [+] COPYRIGHT 2024 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Yankees will still be a decent amount over .500 but their 6-17 slide since easily winning their first game at Fenway Park makes it feel what the Mets were going through on their way to a 22-33 start.
The win was part of a 10-3 start, a stretch that featured a fairly entertaining series with the Los Angeles Dodgers and talk of a World Series preview. While still possible, the Yankees are hardly anyone’s idea of a World Series favorite these days though who knows what a World Series favorite actually looks like now considering the last two NL entrants were the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks and the 87-win Philadelphia Phillies.
Since then anything to go wrong is going exactly that for the Yankees, who are now 0-7-1 in their last eight series with the losses coming in a variety of way. There are a few blowouts sprinkled in but also nine losses by three runs or fewer including a few where the Yankees threatened early and never got things done, notably in their 9-7 loss to the Mets on June 25 or Thursday when the Yankees stranded 10 and featured a comeback blunted by a running catch from Tampa Bay second baseman Jose Caballero — the same player who engaged Gerrit Cole in some pitch clock gamesmanship with the Mariners last season.
SportsMoney Playbook: Sign up for SportsMoney Playbook for the latest sports news and analysis of valuations, signings, gambling and billionaire owners.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service, and you acknowledge our Privacy Statement. Forbes is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
All of this is coinciding with Cole’s return to the rotation following three months of elbow rehab. The remarkable nature which the rest of the Yankee rotation held up without him is now experiencing a correction, most notably from Carlos Rodon and Luis Gil, though at least the Yankees can feel encouraged by Gil’s worst pitch being the mislocated fastball to Rafael Devers for his only run on Sunday against the Red Sox, who were one strike away from losing last Friday and now are on a similar roll as the Mets.
The Yankees head into Baltimore in bad shape due to the quality of their play which sporadically shows dominance such as Ben Rice’s three homers in a 14-4 win along with a pair of blowouts in Toronto and a routine eight-run showing to beat Atlanta.
They also could be in worse condition but can spend part of their flight to Baltimore writing thank you notes to the Chicago Cubs for sweeping the Orioles and keeping the gap in the AL East at two games. The sweep to the Cubs is part of a middling 12-12 stretch which also featured a five-game losing streak immediately after a 17-run showing in the Bronx on June 20.
