Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
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The Mets — yes, the team that barely did anything this offseason after winning just 79 games in 2014 — have baseball’s best record thanks to winning 10 games in a row. It’s not really a fluke, either — well, as much as winning 10 games in a row in a sport where the best teams win 60 percent of the time can be considered not a fluke, anyway — and they are likely here to stay. That is, unless they have to deal with anymore significant injuries, as they are already testing their depth quite a bit by replacing David Wright, Travis d’Arnaud, Zack Wheeler, and more in the early going.
The injury to watch for is on Matt Harvey, who missed all of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery and is now dealing with a minor foot issue. The plan is for Harvey to keep starting, but if he tweaks that sprained ankle the wrong way, he’s either going to pitch poorly while trying to make it through the pain, or have to miss time until things heal. It could be nothing, but pitching requires everything working in sync for it to happen right, so it bears monitoring.
On the brighter side of Metsdom, they get to face a slate of teams who should be pretty bad all season long in the Phillies, Braves, and maybe the Marlins too if they can’t turn things around. They have Noah Syndergaard and Steve Matz on the way to replace Dillon Gee or fill in for whomever is injured next. d’Arnaud won’t be out forever, and neither will Wright. Things are looking good for the Mets for now, and while they could still use a shortstop to really tie things together, it’s hard to complain about much at this moment.
- The Tigers and Yankees played in the snow on Wednesday night. Since it’s now late-April, this isn’t a funny early season quirk so much as a nightmare that won’t end for the north.
- Barry Bonds has had his obstruction conviction overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals, which means he has legally been cleared of all charges involving the use of steroids. This is unlikely to change the minds of enough BBWAA members to get him into Cooperstown where he belongs — a similar clearing of his name did nothing for Roger Clemens — but it does make it even easier for me to judge every single voter who doesn’t use one of their 10 spots on the greatest baseball player in the history of the game.
- Carlos Rodon was used in a difficult, key situation for the White Sox in his major-league debut, and now White Sox manager Robin Ventura is under even more fire for his decision making.
- Baseball is much better when teams hate each other, as the Orioles, Blue Jays, Athletics, and Royals have reminded us of in the past week. So, who else should hate each other for our amusement?
- Speaking of the O’s and Jays, MLB is considering punishments for the players involved in baseball’s most recent scuffle.
- Something is wrong with the Giants’ 2014 World Series championship plaque.
- The Mariners signed Carlos Quentin to a minor-league deal, giving him an end to an April journey that started in San Diego with a quick trip to Atlanta.
- David Ortiz’s home run against the Rays gave him sole possession of 32nd place all-time on the career homers list, and the RBI it generated put him ahead of Joe DiMaggio for 46th all-time.
- Watching this tremendous Juan Lagares catch over and over is a good way to waste your morning before work.
