☀️ Good Morning:
Somewhere in a conference room or Slack chat or wherever newspaper headline writers convene, there must have been an intense brainstorming session.
You can imagine the ideas being scribbled on white boards or sent in text.
Whole Slam
Juan and 0
The ninth inning was setup for a storybook ending, but what makes baseball, baseball, it that it is real life. You don’t always get the storybook ending (otherwise it wouldn’t be so special when you occasionally do).
The New York Mets have won more games on Opening Day than any other franchise.
Only once have they won on both Opening Day and in the final game of a World Series.
Maybe it’s okay to start 0–1 for a change.
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🔨 WIP: Clay Holmes
Clay Holmes looked like… well, Clay Holmes, a reliever turned starter in his first game with a new team and new repertoire.
Facing a righty-heavy lineup, Holmes was limited in unleashing some of his new offerings (cutter, changeup), instead leaned into his sinker/sweeper combination. He got several outcomes you would expect from him (ground balls), but too many found holes or awkward spots in the infield.
POOR COMMAND: Meanwhile, his command was just not there. For a pitcher who already draws contact on his primary pitches, walking batters puts him in a situation when he is constantly working out of the stretch and pressing his pitch count.
“I think the big thing was the walks,” Holmes said. “I gave them five free passes — the walks and a hit-by-pitch. My game is limiting slug and basically limiting free passes. And I gave them those extra free passes today to give them enough base runners to create some traffic there.”
NASTY: There were still plenty of signs of why Holmes can be dangerous as a starter once he fully adapts to the new role. With improved command on his fastballs and an out-pitch that looks like this:
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