The New York Backpage Battle.

The Red Sox come to the Bronx this weekend in a battle for first place.

The Mets invade Miami in a battle for fourth place.

Do not ever be snarky.

This guy was anointed way too early … I don’t know why he got the job in the first place … and I think the general take that his team lacks talent is ignoring some obvious flaws in the managing.

But I know one thing … as long as you are polite to the writers, the writers will let you off the hook.

As soon as you utter one sentence of derision, the writers will turn against you.

The lack of fundamentals has gotten out of hand.

This is embarrassing:

"Amed Rosario was in the batting cage, an hour before the Mets would take BP on Monday, working on bunting as part of a teaching session that involved three coaches, as well as manager Mickey Callaway.

And much like the baserunning clinic that first-base coach Ruben Amaro conducted last week, as players gathered around him at each base, you couldn’t watch without thinking that players shouldn’t need such basic instruction at the big-league level.

All of which begs the question: what’s going on with the Mets’ player-development system? Aren’t players getting this type of instruction in the minors, particularly in spring training?

...
 

Meanwhile, on Sunday Callaway said he didn’t consider having Dom Smith drop down a bunt in the ninth inning, with the go-ahead run on first and the Dodgers in an over-shift, because the young first baseman had never bunted as a minor-leaguer.

Records show that Smith did bunt once, executing a sacrifice as a Class-A minor leaguer in 2014, and, in truth, with the bunt being de-emphasized as a strategy all around baseball in the last few years, there are surely plenty of former first-round draft picks who haven’t bunted in the minors.

The point, however, is that somebody like Smith should at least be doing bunt drills during spring training as a minor-leaguer, and Backman says he only recalls pitchers being asked to take part in such drills during his years with the Mets."

Dom Smith doesn't know how to bunt?

Gary Sanchez is fat.

Aaron Boone sure doesn't like to get to the point:

“Maybe it’s a time that we make sure he’s staying proactive with the conditioning so that when he does come back he’s in the best possible place so that he can be physically sound the rest of the way.

“That’s something that we’ll attack aggressively in these next two, three, four weeks while he’s down, hopefully putting him in a good place.”

Put down the fork and get on an elliptical.

Oh, and do me a personal favor. Make an attempt to catch the pitches when the bases are empty. Maybe then it will become a habit.

Did he do something wrong? Is he being benched for doing something wrong?

“I’m just having a couple of days for me to relax and enjoy the game. I’m available to come from the bench. It’s OK, something that I understand. It’s something that will help me and I agree with that.

I'm watching the game from the dugout to see how the other pitchers, the rival pitchers, are working against us so I can see how they’re doing and take advantage of that . . . I see one day . . . I do very well and the other days it doesn’t happen.’’

Even when you're in the starting lineup, most of the time is spent in the dugout watching the game. This isn't backyard wiffle ball with two batters alternating.

Sometimes, it's good to be wrong.

I though they were both shot.

I'm right and everyone else is wrong.

"The New York Yankees are on pace for 111 wins as of Wednesday. The archrival Boston Red Sox are on pace for 107.

Even if they maintain that pace—an admittedly massive "if"—one of them will face a one-and-done wild-card playoff at best.

Is that justice?"

It's Sweet Injustice.

Besides, if the Wild Card team doesn't like it, there are a couple of things they can do:

1) Win the division.

2) Win the Wild Card game.


"On its face, the renewal of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry is a great thing for the game. Two ancient foes with large, vocal fanbases crossing swords. What could be better?

Here's one thing that could be better: a club with triple-digit victories not being subjected to sudden death."

What would be even better is two ancient foes with large, vocal fanbases crossing swords all year with no safety net.


"The do-or-die wild-card play-in has undeniably provided drama. It's an instant Game 7; just heat and serve."

It's cheap thrills. I can't recall any of the Wild Card matchups except when the Yankees were involved.


"It's not all about the Yankees and Red Sox. Over in the AL West, the defending champion Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners are also on pace for 100-plus victories. Two of the four best teams in baseball, at least by current record, could be shoved into the wild-card crucible where one costly error or errant pitch can tip the scales."

You make it sound kind of ... dramatic and great when you put it that way.


"The point, though, is that it was unjust then and unjust today. The playoffs should be about the best teams competing under the brightest lights, not a top World Series hopeful going home because it ran into an ace in the smallest possible sample of one game."

"Running into an ace" sounds like a perfectly great reason to topple a World Series hopeful ... who should have won the division.

If the teams stay on course, the September pennant race will be great.

It would be even better without the Wild Card.

It would be schoolkids at the beach checking the out-of-town scoreboard every evening.

It would be a real pennant race.

In the month of June, Stanton has played in 16 games and struck out in 15 of them.

"Stanton struck out twice in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Rays, both in crucial spots. He has a .608 OPS with runners in scoring position, and is 4-for-34 in “late & close” situations."

Yikes.

The Dark Knight of Cincinnati.

Matt Harvey update.

With Cincinnati: 6 starts, 1 W, 2 L, 5.04 ERA, 30.1 IP, 30 H, 17 ER, 8 BB, 24 K, 7 HR.

Still stinks.

Cowardly and gutless.

This guy may just be trying to drive the price down.

Greg Bird looks like he should be a good hitter.

This is the only reason I can think of that he is batting third in this Yankee lineup.

Underachiever.

It's a tough label. Maybe he's just slumping. Gardner and Didi just slumped and they weren't called underachievers.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of this situation is that Sanchez's backup is hitting .344.

This probably won't go on much longer, but he brings up some good points.

He can't play and he's a bad guy:

"4. Those able to pardon both those things have a hard time — rightly so — forgetting the only reason Reyes was available for his encore as a Met is because he was a pariah in the sport following a domestic-abuse suspension handed out by MLB in 2016, the details of which remain chilling."

It doesn't ruin my day if the Yankees use five pitchers.

"Over the past 18 months, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has been all but begging major league players for ideas and input on ways to make the product better. He seems ready to discuss even radical ideas, whether it’s some restrictions on defensive shifts, a pitch clock or maybe -- eventually -- an electronic strike zone.

 Here’s a fundamental change that would improve the game on many levels: Limit managers to the use of four pitchers per nine innings, with exceptions built in for injuries and blowouts."

Define "injury" and "blowout" for me.


"Major league baseball desperately needs to get off the growing front-office addiction to relief pitchers, which is helping to destroy important components of the game."

Funny, I actually think it's a natural strategic evolution which makes the game better.


"Among those: the essential pre-eminence of starting pitchers, who need to be marquee-worthy not only for the teams and their marketing departments but also for the players’ union; the scoring of runs by means other than a home run; and batters making contact and putting the ball in play."

1. The "essential pre-eminence of starting pitchers" is diminished, I suppose. On the other hand, the few remaining studs are worth more than ever.

2. The scoring of runs by means other than a home run?

3. Batters making contact and putting the ball in play [sic]? As opposed to, of course, the recent explosion of players putting the ball in play ... without making contact.

Point #1 I largely disagree with. I agree that it's hard to market a middle reliever, but the top relief pitchers have been marketed as superstars for a long time. Sure, you might be disappointed if you show up in a Rivera tee shirt, but the odds of seeing your favorite players are still better than 1 in 5.

Points #2 and #3 both boil down to superior pitching overall. Superior due to specialization and the realization that it's better to go full throttle for a shorter period of time.


"None of this is meant to challenge the analytical wisdom behind the parade of relievers overrunning the sport. It's been demonstrated beyond any doubt that there are statistical advantages in the growing number of reliever/batter matchups and in the strategy of yanking the starting pitcher before he's exposed to the opposing lineup a third time. Smart people are making smart decisions to create effective seven- and eight-man bullpens."

Which side are you on?


"But this trend is affecting the game in ways that will never attract the young fans baseball wants and could also alienate longtime fans.

Few starting pitchers concern themselves with getting through five or six innings these days. Rather, they're increasingly trained to throw as hard as they can, and when their work is finished, they're followed by relay teams of relievers who also throw really, really hard. The number of pitches of 96-plus mph has more than tripled in a span of just four years, and quite frankly, a lot of hitters -- especially older hitters -- are getting crushed."

Oh, the ineffectiveness of older hitters is the problem. Maybe we can pitch underhanded to Adrian Gonzalez to make the game exciting for the youngsters.

I can see where this is headed, but it's a dumb solution to a non-problem.

The batters have to figure this out and adjust (or hit against the freaking shift once in a while). Did you know the total MLB batting average is just .246?

Yeah, the balls will surely be put in play by over-the-hill batters if the pitchers are all out of gas. Sounds like an over-correction and not lots of fun.

Felz Stats of the Day

• Gary Sanchez is batting .194 this season.
• Greg Bird is batting .221 in his career.

Pitcher's can't hit.

I'm surprised that Tanaka's injury is drawing so much attention. I doubt it will be a tipping point, and it shouldn't be. This argument should have been settled a long time ago:


"Sure, these are professional athletes and they should be able to run 90 feet once in a while without injuring themselves. 

But why take the chance anymore? Why is MLB still putting players of such importance at any unnecessary risk if it’s at all avoidable?

The Players’ Association for years has been in favor of an expanded implementation of the DH to both leagues because it would translate into several more high-paying jobs, but there hasn’t been much indication recently from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred towards the NL finally making the switch.

Please spare me the baseball purists’ argument that such a move would eliminate too much of the strategy from the game, or that Bartolo Colon once leaned into one and ripped a home run for the Mets. Entering the weekend, pitchers also were hitting a collective .113 this season. How exciting.

Ask any Yankees fan if they’d rather see Boone execute a double-switch or have Tanaka available for every start the rest of the season, especially with Jordan Montgomery already undergoing Tommy John surgery this week.

It’s a simple answer. And it’s a common-sense change that’s long overdue."

Tim Tebow has a future career in politics.

I have no idea what his actual opinion is regarding whatever he's talking about:

“I think when people believe in something and they stand for that, I don’t knock them for that. Even if I agree with some or disagree with some, I appreciate it when people have convictions and they stand for that. I think it’s important how we do that as well. So I think there’s a lot of players that I’m friends with that have been on both sides and I understand it and I think what’s more important is to know their heart and where they’re coming from and where the conviction stands in their heart and what they really want to share."

I think Bumgarner is my favorite player.

" 'You just gotta find a way to get a guy in, bases loaded and no outs,’' said Bumgarner, who fouled off a hittable 2-0 fastball. 'There’s no excuse for it, pitcher or not. Or at least a better opportunity than striking out.' "

I would honestly say that the only player on the Yankees’ roster who understands this is, like, Ronald Torreyes, and he’s in the minor leagues.

I think Gary Sanchez, for example, is disappointed when he strikes out with RISP and less than two outs, but it’s hard to tell the difference, because he’s always disappointed when he strikes out and slowly trudges back to the dugout.

I think nearly 100% of all major league batters think of this situation as a chance to get 4 RBIs, regardless of the score, regardless of the game situation. The hitting coaches and managers can explain that you can get 1 RBI the easy way … maybe even 2 easy RBIs with the shifts … but it simply doesn’t register.

Four is better than one, coach. That’s how I get paid.

The Boston Daily News.

"By the way?

We keep hearing about the Yankee starting pitching, and I happen to think it’s better than what the Red Sox have, even though the Red Sox have Sale, Price and Porcello at the top of their rotation.

Maybe one of these days Price will make you believe he could ever get a game off the Yankees in a big moment. He just hasn’t done it yet."

Mike Lupica writes about David Price more than he writes about any player on the Yankees or the Mets.

He also writes about the Red Sox as if he was writing for a Boston newspaper.


"After this season, Major League Baseball needs to take a look at the Wild Card system, as a way of making it more fair."

Get rid of it.

"There is great fun, for sure, in having do-or-die games in both leagues for the two Wild Card teams.

So often games like that have provided great drama."

Cheap thrills.

"At the end of it, if you have won 95 games or 100 or more than that, you should earn the right to do more than go up against a hot starting pitcher and lose to him the way you can lose to a hot goalie in hockey in a one-game season."

Boo hoo. Sports aren't fair sometimes.

If you want real drama, imagine the 2018 season with no wild card.Every game would be precious and you'd check the out-of-town box scores for three months.

I think it's great when a 100-win team misses the playoffs.

When Lupica complains about this situation, I can't help but think he's just worried about his beloved Red Sox getting knocked out by Seattle in a one-game playoff.

Mike Conforto missed a cutoff man.

Happens just about every game, but I guess it can't hurt to remind pro ballplayers that they're expected to execute the fundamentals. Conforto is maybe identified as a player who can shrug off the criticism, or whatever, but it sure seems like a misdemeanor in the scheme of things.

In order to have a career-defining moment, you need to have a career.

"Six years ago today, Johan Santana threw the first and only no-hitter in Mets franchise history. It took him 134 pitches, the most controversial foul ball Carlos Beltran had ever hit and a career-defining catch by Mike Baxter."

Just for kicks, I looked up the "career" of our favorite Archbishop Molloy product:

.228/.333/.331, 4 HR, 28 RBIs.

Career WAR of 0.4.

So, yes. That time he made a nice catch in a big spot was undoubtedly the highlight of a career full of lowlights.