Freddie Freeman left Saturday’s game with “an upper respiratory infection”, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Bowman also points out that Freeman tested negative for COVID-19 and that he may have caught an unspecified “bug” that his kids have at the moment. The Braves’ superstar first baseman is having yet another excellent season, with a wRC+ of 136. If he can maintain that level of production for the remainder of the campaign, it would mark an amazing ninth straight season with a wRC+ of 132 or higher. Freeman is out of the lineup today but hasn’t been placed on the IL, which suggests the Braves expect a short absence. In fact, Bowman says he could have played today, though the team will play it cautious and let him rest a bit longer. The club is in the midst of a three-team pennant race, sitting two games behind the Phillies and just half a game behind the Mets.
More notes from the National League…
- Brendan Rodgers was removed from last night’s game after being hit on the hand but seems to have avoided significant injury. Rockies Manager Bud Black says that the x-rays came back negative, per Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. The infielder is finally getting a good run of playing time from the club and making good on his prospect pedigree. He’s been on Baseball America’s Top 100 every year since 2016. Through 227 plate appearances this season, he’s slashing .286/.348/.485, for a wRC+ of 110. The club has no need to rush him back, as they are well out of contention, 12 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.
- Francisco Lindor’s return timeline is still murky, even to himself. “I don’t know when I’ll be back,” Lindor said, per Newsday’s Tim Healey. “I would love to sit here and say, I’ll be back at home. Or I would love to say, I’ll be playing rehab [games] next week. I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.” Before going on the IL with an oblique strain in mid-July, the star shortstop was mired in his worst season to date, slashing .228/.326/.376 for a wRC+ of 97, although that was mostly caused by an ice-cold start to the year. Since May 29th, his wRC+ has been an excellent 133. The Mets acquired Javier Baez at the deadline to try and cover for Lindor’s absence but have nonetheless slid out of the top spot in their division. They will surely be hoping for Lindor to recover as soon as possible, as the NL East pennant race seems destined to go down to the wire.
aren’t the mets the best team in the league tho?
Definitely! …Well, except for 6 or 7 others…
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Top 3 team according to MetsFan22. Technically they’re a top 3 team in the NL Least.
They were. As a life long fan in the past 1 injury killed them. This year they had a ton and go mileage out of their depth. But those things are supposed to be short term. Mets injuries are long term thus now the division is catching up and passing them
@Snake65 deGrom and Lindor are really the only two injuries left, no? Unless you’re counting Syndergaard too, but we knew about before the season. They’re playing a Phillies team without Hoskins, Didi, Cutch and so far lost 2 of 3. I’m not saying the injuries didn’t hurt them overall, but right now, something else is going on. They can’t hit. It isn’t because of injuries. It’s a fundamental problem with this squad.
The Mets are better than this slump. And The Mets got hit hard with injuries. I’m not a fool. I know this won’t last forever, but really this lineup struggled all year, even when relatively healthy. I’m still not counting them out of this division because it’s so close. But next year they really need to shakeup this lineup.
@ VonPurpleHayes…Don’t forget that this is the same franchise that lost the 1999 NLCS on a bases-loaded walk. Something is definitely going on up there.
Anything that happened in 1999 has nothing to do with the current team.
Try telling your own Phan Base that. They clearly think that the Braves can never win a title this century because they didn’t win a postseason series for 18 years…as if they didn’t watch the Nationals win it all after all those NLDS exits.
Don’t judge an entire fanbase based on a few loud hecklers. Everyone in this division respects the Braves and knows they’re a threat.
I’ll be the first to admit Atlanta needs to win a World Series but the other fan bases in this division all act as if their teams have won regularly. If we simply count the current cities only then it looks like this…
Braves: One WS title in 55 years
Marlins: Two WS titles in 28 years
Mets: Two WS titles in 59 years
Nationals: One WS title in 16 years
Phillies: Two WS titles in 118 years (first WS was 1903)
That’s not exactly worth bragging about for any team in this division. Just because the Braves won the division a bunch of times doesn’t mean they were the World Series favorite outside of the ‘90s.
It’s because it’s the only thing other fans can say really. The Braves have owned the division of late. So when talking trash, what can anyone possibly say except “you didn’t win a title.” It’s really hard to win the big one. Getting to the playoffs consistently is the sign of a good franchiss.
*franchise. I don’t know what a franchiss is, but we should make it a thing.
Cisco kid was a friend of mine.
Mets have been one of the luckiest teams in the sport and it is now catching up to them.
As for the Braves,
1. Release K Smith
2. Remove Touki from the rotation and hopefully forever
3. Remove Albies from the lead-off spot.
4. Remove Wilson from the closer’s role. If you don’t trust RRod, then you should not have traded for him.
5. Release Heredia
6. Resign Joc Pederson ASAP
7. Number 6 again
Bryse Wilson pitches for Pittsburgh now. Will Smith is our current subpar closer.
*typo smh
Not a typo. just a complete disconnect with the team you claim to support
You have quite an obsession with me. How about block me and stop responding. Thx!
There is no obsession, for a Braves fan you almost never back them up & as above you don’t even know who is still on the team. Stop trying to look like a victim & support the Braves. Get with it! Thx!
jerk much?
‘Mets have been one of the luckiest teams in the sport’
They’ve been one of the most injured teams in baseball and their run differential pretty much matches their record. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Luck stems beyond injuries.
The fact that they maintained the lead for most of the season despite the injuries and frankly an average team speaks volumes. Pretty much everything went their way for the first 4 months. Rotation and bullpen was dominant while the lineup consistently scored just enough to win.
Speaking of run diff, they have been negative for most of the year despite being in first.
This is because the rest of the division has been awful. ‘Everything went their way’? Most of the team has been injured.
And how is this:
‘Rotation and bullpen was dominant while the lineup consistently scored just enough to win.’
… classified as ‘luck’? Which players were playing over their heads? This is just what teams do to win ballgames but you’re ascribing luck to it.
and this:
‘they have been negative for most of the year’
is completely false. They’ve been positive in run differential for the vast majority of the year until a few weeks ago. Again, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Whatever you say. Hopefully, the Mutts keep you entertained the rest of the season so you can reassure yourself injuries are the cause of their collapse (if it happens).
Mutts! Lol! That never gets old!
…Or, does it?
Nope. Calling the NL New York team the Mutts or the New York MESS doesn’t get old at all. Just sayin…
The next Mets title will come against the Astros in 2049.
Duh…….bang bang?
It’s a mediocre team that needs to overhaul the roster this off-season. I also don’t think deGrom can be relied upon as an every 5th day starter from here on out (probably 20-25 starts a season) that’s if he avoids TJS. A major problem is the team for far too long has ignored fundamentals and situational hitting. This weekend and the past several games has shown this. Alonso and Davis getting blown away by “blazing” 93 MPH “heat” while swinging for the moon yesterday is a case in point. Nimmo grounding into a DP on the first pitch with bases jammed the night before is another. This season should also be Sandy Alderson’s swan song. This is pretty much, with the exception of the 2 Brodie years, his creation from top to bottom. It also needs to be dismantled top to bottom. I say all of this as a decades-long Mets fan and an Alderson supporter. This is a talented but deeply flawed roster offensively. They were playing better baseball with the Replace-Mets line-up.
Simple solution. Move them to Rochester, rename them the Rabbits and be done with it.
How does this sound? Convert deGrom to a closer.
Insane. Mets problems are due to their lineup. Their pitching has been fine even if it’s struggled a bit lately.
Definitely the line-up is bad but the rotation hasn’t been fine since the ASB and obviously losing deGrom hasn’t helped. The pitching needs overhauled simply because in 2022 after deGrom and Carrasco there are nothing but question marks and unfortunately deGrom is a question mark himself. The bullpen will probably remain largely the same with a few changes of course.
never been a big Alderson fan and remember that if Alderson goes,his son is looming in the background.seeing that he just got a big promotion within the organization. the whole front office has to go before they bring in another middle infielder whose best days are behind him. Javy Baez instead of Trea Turner? doesn’t anybody there watch baseball?
They do need to clean out the entire FO. I doubt the Nats would’ve traded Turner to the Mets.
I’m thinking the Nats might be a bit short in the cash department. maybe Crow-Armstrong (cool name at least) and some “cash considerations” would’ve changed their minds.
Tough loss last night for the Braves and Freddie’s absence was a big factor
As a Mets fan… I love the Phillies fans getting their hopes up. Like they are going to avg 7 runs the rest of the year lol. They’ll finish 3rd. It just sucks that we are giving them hope bc all the injuries are starting to catch up with us. About to be the first team this year to use 60 players I bet..: anyways I’m not wrong the Mets will win the division…
MetsFan22, I can accept that you support your team, but your posts are so overboard, that they lean towards the absurd. The Mets do have a great team but everyone has suffered injuries this year. Without too many more bold statements, lets see how this all turns out.
Nobody has suffered injuresi like the Mets. I’m tired of the oh everybody has had injuries. I wish the Mets got injured the rest of our division..
@MetsFan22 Just so you know, the Phillies have more injuries during this series than the Mets do. Hoskins, Cutch, Didi, Eflin, Herrera. That’s a huge chunk of our offense. I’m not talking about the year. The Mets were hit hard there. I’m talking about this 3 game series. Also, the Phillies aren’t winning because they’re scoring 7 runs a game. They are pitching well. Their bullpen has been solid (except for Llovera who should have never been in the game). Everyone is contributing.
So your “Phillies avg 7 runs a game” quote makes no sense because that’s not what they’re doing. It’s been an entire team effort.
Now to your point, the Phillies won’t win forever, and the Mets won’t lose forever, but the Mets have only really had 1 big winning streak all year and it was against St. Louis, Arizona, and Baltimore (Mets took 7 in a row there). The Mets don’t play those teams anymore. Guess who plays Baltimore and Arizona? The Phillies.
Mets had an easy front end schedule (although double headers and delays made that a bit difficult) and as a result they have a real tough back end schedule.
Phillies have every reason to be confident right now. The deadline moves fixed the starting rotation and (hopefully) the bullpen. Those were the two biggest problems all year and this win streak is the result of that.
All that being said, the Braves are playing really well, and I think they’re the most complete team on paper. The Mets will certainly start winning again, but it won’t be easy. If I were a betting man, I think all 3 teams will still be in the race until the very last week of the season.
Lol just don’t even bring up Lindor and Degrom lol. Or that the Mets have had to use 60 players this year….
@MetsFan read my comment more closely. Stop being ridiculous. Of course I’m counting Lindor and deGrom. Mets were hit hard by injuries all year as I stated, but deGrom doesn’t fix this lineup and he only pitches once every 5 games or so. Also Lindor has been mediocre all year so let’s be real. This team is overrated. They’ll get out of this funk, but they aren’t great and never were. The Phillies aren’t either. Don’t get me wrong.
The Mets are minus Lindor, Syndergaard and DeGrom. Meanwhile the Braves are minus Acuna, Ozuna, D’Arnaud, Siroka and Anderson, and just passed the Mets in the standings. The NL East is and will continue to be a three-way race to the end of the season. Declaring the Mets the Division winners on 8/8 is just a tad premature.
2021 Lindor isn’t that big of a loss.
@vonhayes. I always enjoys your comments. You are a realist and a true baseball fan.
Oh ok so that means Ozuna isn’t as big as a loss too?? Same tda..
@Von
Phils are hot and Mets are cold. Period. The question is, when does the momentum shift again? How can the Mets fail to hit at all against the Pirates, Marlins and AT Philly? And while we are waiting, the Braves just might slingshot past both teams. Rojas needs to get this team fired up and we need to bring back Chili Davis asap. If for no other reason, than to light a fire under his homegrown hitters.
@jim Completely agree. I think the Braves have been fairly consistent all year, and that’s really all it’s going to take. The Mets aren’t this bad. The Phillies aren’t this good.
BUT I will say, I think the Phillies and Braves both made deadline moves that vastly improved their teams. The Braves now have a hitting outfield to replace some of what they lost with the Acuna injury. The Phillies now, for the first time in 5 years, have a solid backend rotation. Eflin will squeeze in as the number 5 when he returns. The Mets signed a power-hitting shortstop to replace Lindor and added Hill to help with their rotation, but i don’t think that was enough. If deGrom doesn’t come back, the Mets are in trouble, and even if deGrom does comeback, this lineup isn’t scaring anyone and hasn’t all year.
Mets can definitely still win the division, but with their schedule, it’s not going to be easy, and the key is, it’s no longer just in their hands anymore. They need to rely on other teams.
My gut is telling me Braves > Phillies > Mets, but in a week everything can flip flop. We have meaningful baseball in the NLE. Should be a fun ride.
Phillies will finish 3rd… oh and you Always like to tell me.. “ your backups were playing better” so that means hokins would have been worst for you guys. Horrible defense and brad Miller was hitting really good this series…
Btw I think Hoskins is a clown. I hope he struggles himself out of a job. I laugh at him when he pays defense.
Hoskins was on fire before his injuries. Had huge hits in the Washington series and has been much more valuable than your boy Alonso. Call him a clown if you want, he’s very good. Brad Miller would have played regardless of Hoskins injury because Cutch is hurt. Comment makes no sense on any level.
They could but they sure need to right the ship quickly because getting swept by the Phils and going 1-3 in Miami is not a path to success. The team has a lot of flaws offensively.
I think the Angels would probably disagree with you on that one…
Well, you’re clearly handling the Mets falling apart right before your eyes in healthy ways it seems.
LOL
I’m 64 years old and I’ve been a Met fan the whole time. In that entire time the Mets have been good for 5 or 6 years. The rest of those years they have sucked. I had a lot of hope for this season. I tried to stay positive. All for naught I’m afraid. Different year, different owner, same crappy team. Screw them..
@bobg. The young hitters appear clueless, overmatched and unprepared. They can’t hit a fastball and never seem to have a clue what to expect.
Dom is good against lefties, so Rojas sits him.
JD is good against righties, so Rojas sits him.
Pete looks late and missing fastballs down the middle, so Rojas keeps batting him 2nd or 3rd every day.
They still haven’t figured out how to help Michael and Jeff can’t barrel up a pitch.
McCann and Nimmo have been the only steady producers.
Pillar needs to play every day somehow.
Villar gives us competitive at bats.
Baez is useless unless a pitcher is stupid enough to throw him a strike.
The front office failed to provide pitching help.
Stroman is a 3 and trying to carry the load as an ace.
Walker has maxed out and needs to be shut down.
Jake is done for the year. Rojas and the Hefner failed to manage his effort and pitch selections. He’s useless if he’s not on the field.
Waiting for Carrasco, Syndergaard and deGrom has cost us at least 10 games in the standings running out guys like Eickhoff and counting on bullpen games and AAA pitching.
We shouldn’t have wasted the trade deadline trying to get big fish when we needed guys like Pineda, Gibson along with Rich Hill.
What if we picked up Kennedy and Gibson instead of the Phils, along with Pineda and Rich Hill?
We may still get back in this once the Phils and Braves come back to earth, but it honestly appears this team has lost all self belief and the coaching staff doesn’t appear to have anyone ready to play in the first inning.
@jim stem, I believe you know what you’re talking about, but I fell into a coma halfway through the post. Sorry
Wait until you turn 65. You’ll be falling into comas on a regular basis
Wait mccan? Steady producer??? I must be having a dream lol. He has been steady alright… just steady at being horrible.
firing Chili Davis worked out real well didn’t it?the new hitting coach,Cattlebomb or whatever the heck his name is,is doing a bang up job ain’t he?
Mets were playing better ball with the ‘bench mob’ starting. At least those guys could put the ball in play. To everyone who felt getting rid of Chili Davis was a solution, how do you feel now? This team NEVER seems to have a plan against the opposing starting pitcher.
LOL at Mets fan whining about injuries.
Everybody has had them this year, quit crying. Your team is just way overhyped.
You clearly don’t understand that some teams have more….. it’s common sense that a lot of people lack on this website
The Braves have lost more to injuries than the Mets have…regardless of how good deGrom has been.
Injury this injury that…Blah blah blah… The Braves are playing through them and made smart moves at the deadline. It’s coming together and they are starting to roll…..See you at the finish line….Don’t care about what happens playoffs at this point gotta win the division
Lindor will come back only if the Mutts start winning again if not he wants nothing to do with losing he can blame everybody else.GREAT TRADE SANDY
Get well soon