Matt Harvey is starting to look really, really good...

Another awesome outing for Matt Harvey in AAA on Friday night: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. He retired the first 14 batters of the game.

There were some great quotes worth reading from Wally Backman and Harvey himself about his effort as well as this stat line:

"His last four starts: 2.16 ERA, 25 IP, 18 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 7 BB, 32 K, .194 opponents’ batting average (18 H/93 AB). He’s gone seven innings in two of those four, and at least five in all four outings."

A Dunk That Would Make Blake Griffin Blush

This dunk is just plain sick.

Carlos Beltran in the Baseball Hall of Fame someday?

It's not an absurd thought or, as this article states, he's closer than you think:

"Through various advanced metrics, Beltran already fares favorably to Hall of Famers like Andre Dawson, Billy Williams and even Dave Winfield. He has more home runs than George Brett, more stolen bases than Robin Yount and probably will end up with more runs scored than Tony Gwynn and RBIs than Roberto Clemente."

Probably one of the quietest stats generating careers of all time.

Knuckleballer in Full Ascendancy | Patrick Flood Blog

Fantastic blog post by Patrick Flood. Well worth the lengthy read. Here's a great excerpt from it:

"Hitting a good knuckleball may be near-impossible, but it’s probably easier for hitters trained to make contact instead of swinging with max-effort. E.g., Omar Infante, a cardinal in the church of just-making-contact, has excellent career numbers against Dickey and is one of the few hitters who looks comfortable in the batter’s box against the knuckleball. But Infante is the exception, and most modern hitters run closer to Dan Uggla’s troglodytic approach to hitting. Which approach can be reduced to: see ball, swing as hard you possibly can, repeat. The violence and power of the modern swing is basically useless against a well-thrown knuckleball, and no hitters yet seem to know how to adjust to Dickey’s magic show."

He gets extra points in my book for use of the word 'troglodytic', which is quite apt in describing something being done by Dan Uggla.

The Knuckleball Mystique: Using PITCHf/x to distinguish perception from reality

A Really Awesome article about how the Really Awesome R.A. Dickey's knuckleball is a product of randomness rather than erratic behavior. Check it out!

The Progression Of R.A. Dickey's Knuckleball - Baseball Nation

The Progression Of R.A. Dickey's Knuckleball - Baseball Nation

Select decontextualized quotes from “The Humpty Dance” that seem apt to describe R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball

This is just plain awesome!!

Amazin’ prospect Wheel’s & deals - NYPOST.com

How good is Zack Wheeler?

"Zack Wheeler shattered two bats and hit 98 mph on the radar gun yesterday, and it was only 10:45 in the morning.

This, though, was to be his worst outing of the season for the Double-A Binghamton Mets. Imagine Wheeler on a really good day. Go ahead and dream big, Mets fans."

New York Mets Exploring 'Quiet' Section At Citi Field For Families With Autistic Kids « CBS New York

Very classy move on the part of the New York Mets. Honestly, they should tone down most PA announcements anyway.

R.A. Dickey's Historic Run - Baseball Nation

Great read about how unique R.A. Dickey's accomplishments have been this season.

Tom Seaver Has No Friends | NotGraphs Baseball

I can't believe Tom Seaver's official statement said he never met Johan Santana when Fangraphs found proof to the contrary.

So sad Tom. Perhaps you should ease up on that wine at the Seaver Vineyard.