PORT JEFF, NY – Greetings. Let’s get right into today’s topics: Mets, NL Wild Card, Giants Preseason Reaction
Mets
After a rough stretch the Mets have bounced back against the Marlins, winning the first two of the series. Francisco Lindor continues to lead this team and now leads the NL in WAR. Lindor is having an incredible year and continues to be criminally underrated. If he continues to play at this high of a level he’s going to finish top 3 in MVP voting, while having not been an All-Star. Incredible! Aside from Lindor, it’s been a struggle for most of this lineup. Though Alonso homered yesterday, he just frankly hasn’t been very good for prolonged stretches this entire year. I’m really not sure what kind of market Alonso will command this offseason, however I’d find it hard to imagine that he’ll be able to beat the seven-year $158 million contract he rejected last year. I would really hate to lose Alonso but if some team is going to break the bank for him it may be a tough reality we have to face.
NL Wild Card
Now for the weekly update in the ever-changing National League Wild Card race… The Padres remain scorching hot, having won 8 of ten. They sit one game ahead of the D-Backs for the top spot… The D-Backs have finally cooled off a little, dropping back-to-back games for the first time in what feels like months, and lastly the Braves have just tread water much like they have for most of the year. I’ll stand by my take that this just isn’t their year, they have far too many injuries to overcome… I’m very optimistic about the Mets’ chance to secure one of the WC spots in the final months of the season.
Giants Preseason
Daniel Jones made his return after tearing his ACL last season and looked awful. Jones made a mind-boggling throw for his first interception that resulted in a pick-six and then underthrew Jalin Hyatt for his second interception. On the bright side, first-rounder Malik Nabers looked incredible, making several great catches resulting in 4 catches for 52 yards in his brief playing time. Though Jones made some baffling decisions, I think it’s important not to overreact. This was his first game back since the injury, and we know Jones is a player who’s going to make mistakes. It’s all about if he’s able to limit them while being able to get the ball to his play-makers. If he’s simply able to do that, I think this team can be decent. My main takeaway from this game is that Malik Nabers may catch 100+ passes and have a historic rookie season.
