deGrom Showed Up . . . Nola

Yesterday, Aaron Nola threw a gem against the Mets which showed everyone the National League Cy Young race is far from over.

While that may be true, Jacob deGrom stepped on Nola’s mound and reminded everyone that while Nola and Max Scherzer may be in the Cy Young race, they have a lot to do to catch up to deGrom.

All season long deGrom has been great, but today may have been him at his best. Through eight, he was at 99 pitches, and still Mickey Callaway sent him out for that ninth to let deGrom go out and get his complete game.

Any chance of trouble arising after Carlos Santana‘s leadoff single we’re quickly erased after Wilson Ramos hit deGrom’s next pitch to Amed Rosario for a 6-4-3 double play.

When Nick Williams grounded out, deGrom had his complete game. His final line was 9.0 innings, seven hits, one unearned run, no walks, and nine strikeouts.

Really, deGrom was just that close to a shutout.

https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/1030954814492925952?s=21

Wilmer Flores made a nice play to get the lead out at second, but instead of eating the ball, Rosario made a low throw which went past deGrom.

The throw allowed Williams to score from second, but the Mets still got out of the inning as both deGrom and Jeff McNeil made a heads up play.

With Odubel Herrera making the ever so brief turn to first, he was fair game. McNeil got to first and got the tag down on the deGrom throw.

This was just one of several ways McNeil helped deGrom come away with his eight win of the season.

In the fifth, he flat out robbed Herrera of a hit:

McNeil also started a fourth inning rally with a leadoff single against Jake Arrieta. When Arrieta threw one away trying to pick him off, he went to third, and he’d score on a Flores RBI single.

In the seventh, he hit an RBI triple off Luis Garcia to score Rosario. Add in a Devin Mesoraco homer earlier that inning, and the Mets would lead 3-0.

With deGrom pitching like deGrom, the Mets would win 3-1.

In the victory, deGrom lowered his already MLB best ERA to 1.71. He would also clear the 200 strikeout plateau. Basically, he continues to prove he’s the best pitcher in all of baseball with each and every start.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo missed another game after injuring his hand.

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No Mets Player’s Weekend Jerseys For Kids

One of the best ideas Major League Baseball has had in quite a while is Player’s Weekend. It’s a fun way to let fans see a bit of each player’s personality, which is just great marketing.

Really, in the end, baseball does stuff like this to market the game to young fans.

To a certain extent, it does work as I know my son wanted a Noah Syndergaard “Thor” shirsey. As a parent, whenever my son shows the slightest interest in both baseball and the Mets, I try to cultivate it (within reason).

With that in mind, I went to both MLB.com and Fanatics to try to get the jersey. No dice.

The best I could do is $21.99 plus shipping for a Player’s Weekend hat, which is an absurd price to pay for a specialty hat for a kid.

Sure, some of the other teams, emphasis on some, had player shirseys available. Notably, the Yankees had Didi Gregorious, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez available.

And no, the off logo shirsey does not really count. If you can recreate the shirsey for the other teams, you could’ve for the Mets.

What makes it all the more absurd is the Mets are wearing the Player’s Weekend uniforms in the Little League Classic.

Basically, they want kids to go see these players, but under no circumstances do they want them to be able to get their favorite player’s shirsey.

There’s not even a personalization option.

This is just bad business, and it’s an unforced error. Ultimately, if you’re going to do promotions like this to partially generate interest from younger fans, allow them to get the shirsey.

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Nola Is Just Better Than Syndergaard

Two years ago, Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Nola would have been a complete mismatch with Syndergaard being a Cy Young candidate and Nola fighting his way to have his results match his stuff.

Today, like most of this season, the roles were reversed.

In what is a three headed race for the National League Cy Young with Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, Nola continued to make his case.

In seven innings, he limited the Mets to just one run in three hits while walking one and striking out 11.

That one run came in the fourth on a Todd Frazier sacrifice fly scoring Jeff McNeil.

By that point, it was 3-1 Phillies because the Phillies jumped all over Syndergaard with a three run first inning. The first run cane courtesy of an Asdrubal Cabrera RBI double.

Really, Syndergaard labored through the entire game with him not recording a single 1-2-3 inning.

Another indication was how he finally got a run of support from his offense, and he gave that run right back in the bottom of the inning.

All told, Syndergaard needed a season high 115 pitches just to get through 5.2 innings. In his 5.2 innings of work, he would allow four earned on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Another troubling sign for Syndergaard is the stolen bases are back. On the night, the Phillies were a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts. It wasn’t speedsters like Cesar Hernandez either. Carlos Santana and Jorge Alfaro would as well. For Alfaro, it was the first of his career.

In that sixth inning, Syndergaard left with a runner on second and two out. Daniel Zamora would make his MLB debut, and he would strike out Hernandez to end the inning.

Zamora’s MLB debut was great with him not allowing any hits and his walking one and striking out two in 1.1 scoreless innings.

Importantly, Zamora kept the Mets in the game with a chance to tie it after Nola departed.

In the eighth, Jeff McNeil hit a flyball to shallow left center just past the outstretched arm of Maikel Franco. With the ball briefly on no man’s land, McNeil hustled his way to second for a double.

McNeil then scored on an Austin Jackson RBI single just ahead of Rhys Hoskins throw.

Gabe Kapler then lifted Victor Arano for the left-handed Adam Morgan to face Michael Conforto.

Conforto would battle back from 0-2 to a full count, but he would strike out looking leaving the Mets down 4-2.

Pat Neshek got the save opportunity for the Phillies, and the Mets did get the tying run to the plate again. This time, Wilmer Flores flew out to right to end the game.

The Mets once again showed fight, but in the end, they lost because somehow, some way, Nola has become a much better pitcher than Syndergaard.

Game Notes: Bobby Wahl was placed on the 10 day disabled list, which made room for Zamora to get called up to the majors.

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Trivia Friday: All-Time Hit By Pitch Leaders

With Keith Hernandez weighing in on the Jose Urena/Ronald Acuna situation, we have rekindled the old school versus new school thinking.  Certainly, there is the impression that throwing and hitting batters is an old and outdated way of thinking, but do the numbers and stats really prove that out.  As a way to test that out, we could look at the all-time leaders in that category.

Can you name the pitchers who have hit the most batters in the modern era?  Good luck!


Walter Johnson Randy Johnson Eddie Plank Tim Wakefield Joe McGinnity Charlie Hough Jim Bunning Roger Clemens Nolan Ryan Vic Willis Cy Young

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Mets Score Ton of Runs in Doubleheader Split

Amed Rosario hit the very pitch of the game from Ranger Suarez for a home run, and the Mets were off and running to set a new franchise record with 24 runs on 25 hits in their 25-4 victory.  These records were previously set 30 years to the date in a Mets game at the Cubs.

What is interesting is this game was back-and-forth for the first four innings with the Phillies getting to Corey Oswalt with solo homers from Rhys Hoskins, Maikel Franco, Nick Williams, and Jorge Alfaro.

Entering the fateful fifth inning, it was just 5-4 Mets.  Then in that fifth inning, Alfaro threw away the ball on an Oswalt bunt, and then Hoskins would later just completely miss a fly ball in left.  The big hit in what would be a 10 run fifth inning was a Jose Bautista grand slam.  From there, the game was over, and eventually Phillies manager Gabe Kapler actually turned to position players to get the final nine outs of the game so to save his bullpen for the second half of the doubleheader.

To put in perspective how well that went, the Mets scored seven runs off the position players, and that was highlighted by Jerry Blevins hitting an RBI single off of Scott Kingery.  Yes, that’s how absurd things got.  A reliever got a hit off of a position player.  All told, the Mets had an absolute field day at plate:

As you can see from the 1-2 for Nimmo, the one downside was he had to come out of the game due to him hitting his hand when he swung at a pitch he put in play.  Nimmo would come out the game, and his x-rays would be negative, but with the Mets being the Mets, you never know what will happen next.

In the second game of the doubleheader, it seemed like the Mets were going to once again be off and running.  Against Phillies starter, Zach Eflin, Rosario, Jeff McNeil, and Conforto would hit three consecutive doubles to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

The disappointment of Conforto not scoring from second would soon be magnified by Steven Matz giving up the lead by surrendering a three run homer to Hoskins in the bottom of the first.  Matz would not settle in during the second inning either with him giving up a homer to Kingery in what would be a consecutive three run inning for the Phillies.

All told in his first start since returning form the disabled list, Matz pitched just those two innings allowing six runs (four earned) on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

As bad as Matz looked, Devin Mesoraco looked worse.  After Roman Quinn reached on a throwing error by Matz, Mesoraco would push him to second with a passed ball.  Later that inning, Mesoraco threw through on what would be a double steal, and on the return throw, the out of position Mesoraco whiffed on the tag.

Things would lie dormant until the bottom of the sixth when Bobby Wahl entered the game.  Wahl would appear to have tweaked something in his leg or bat on the Quinn bunt single.  Wahl would stay in the game, and he would surrender an RBI double to Cesar Hernandez.  On the double, Conforto got to the ball, and made a strong throw to second.  Hernandez was dead to rights, but McNeil just dropped the ball.

Later that inning, Williams hit a sinking liner Williams just missed getting to in time.  At that point, it was 8-2 Phillies.

The Mets, who have been playing much better of late would show some fight.

In the seventh, Rosario doubled home Jack Reinheimer, and Conforto would hit a single through Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana to pull the Mets to within 8-4.

Tyler Bashlor would give one of those runs back by allowing back-to-back doubles to Santana and Franco in the seventh before settling in and retiring the Phillies.

Even with the five run deficit, the Mets would go on the attack in the ninth starting with Plawecki reaching with Phillies reliever Yacksel Rios throughing a screwball between Santana’s legs.  As the inning continued Conforto and Flores would hit RBI singles to pull the Mets to within 9-6, which then led to Kapler brining in his closer Seranthony Dominguez.

The Mets would bring the tying runs to the plate with Jackson and Bautista, but both would strike out to end the rally and the game.

Overall, it was quite a day for a Mets offense who is suddenly alive and robust.  It will be interesting to see how this continues as this series progresses with the Mets always hitting well at Citizens Bank Park.

Game Notes: With the Mets scoring 25 runs, they became the first team in a decade to score 15 runs in consecutive games.  Jacob Rhame was available as the 26th man, and he would pitch two scoreless to close out the first end of the doubleheader.

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Mets Blogger Roundtable: Will Wright Play This Year?

For the first time in a long time, we are seeing David Wright play in real baseball games in what is his latest attempt to make it back to the majors.  Certainly, there are hurdles ahead, and anytime Wright attempts to come back, the idea he could actually return is usually met with some skepticism.  That said, Wright is trying and according to reports, he does believe this could be his last chance.  With that in mind, we asked our Mets Bloggers if we will see Wright play this season:

Mark Healey (Gotham Baseball)

Yes.

Joe Maracic (Loud Egg)

I think he will play multiple games before the season’s over.

Michael Mayer (MMO & MMN)

I do think that Wright will play this year. He looks in much better shape than his previous comeback attempts. I’m sure the Mets would enjoy the sales boost in a lost season too.

Greg Prince (Faith and Fear in Flushing)

If David Wright is going to be optimistic, I’m going to be optimistic. If he’s getting ready to play at the major league level, I’m getting ready to see him do so. What a welcome sight that would be.

Tim Ryder (MMO & FOB)

Yes, I believe he does. Like he said, and I’m paraphrasing, he wouldn’t be going through all of this trouble without that goal in mind. Beyond that, and this is just my opinion, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is able to comeback and contribute. He likely won’t be the player he was ever again, but it’s not too far-fetched to think that he could be an integral cog next season. With Frazier in the mix, there would need to be some strings pulled if he is able to continue into ’19, but this team seems to have a thing for sticking random guys at 1B and an even bigger hard-on for blocking Peter Alonso.

Why not do it with the face of your franchise?

James Schapiro (Shea Bridge Report)

At the time, I didn’t know, because nobody knew, that David Wright would not play for more than two years after May 27th, 2016. I didn’t know that in August 2018, the home run he hit that night against the Dodgers would still be the last one I’d seen. I’m not even sure I knew that he’d been hurting.

We all remember this now, of course, because more than two years later he’s just getting to a rehab stint, and that two year absence tends to draw those few moments we have to remember into perspective. We hear tidbits every day, and see stats, and turn it all into completely arbitrary pronouncements — “He was 0 for three with a walk, but didn’t strike out…looks like he’s seeing the ball well, but needs to pick up the bat speed!” — but really, we’ve got nothing to go on. So it’s simple: no news, for the moment, is good news. Every day that David Wright plays a few innings, makes a few plays, and gives an interview in the clubhouse afterwards is a successful rehab day, no matter the numbers.

Here’s where a separate storyline enters the picture: I will be at Citi Field on August 26th, and then, as far as I know, not again until 2019. Will David Wright be in the lineup? Will it be his first game back in the lineup in two years? I don’t know; I’m no doctor. But I hope it is, because there’s something oddly poetic in attending what will be, in effect, two consecutive games that David has played in. I’ve played it all out in my mind; it’s a scenario, after all, that I’ve been looking toward for two years. “Wright’s in the lineup,” I’ll say matter-of-factly to the guy sitting next to me on the third base side. “Yeah, he’s had some trouble, but now he’s back…didn’t you see? He homered against the Dodgers, must have been just the other day.”

Mets Daddy

Personally, I believe the Mets will permit Wright to end his career on the field instead of in the trainer’s room.  In the end, they are going to allow him to once again take his position over at third base, have at least one at-bat, and then remove him from a game to a standing ovation.  Seeing how much Wright has struggled to get to this point, and with the Mets being so many games under .500, I do believe now is the time, and I look forward to seeing it happen.

While we wait to see what if this is the time Wright does return to the Mets, you should not wait to see what this fine group has written about Wright and all things Mets.  Please return the favor for their contributions to this and other roundtables by visiting their sites.

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Jose Urena Was Wrong, Keith Hernandez Wasn’t

Last night, Jose Urena channeled his inner Roger Clemens and instead of buzzing a player off the plate or hitting him in the butt, he threw his hardest first pitch of the season directly at Ronald Acuna.  Put simply, it was as dirty and dangerous as a play as there is in baseball.

Hidden beneath what Urena did, there lies a hard-nosed old-school baseball philosophy which harkens back to intimidating pitchers like Bob Gibson and Pedro Martinez.  Don’t let a batter get too comfortable in the batter’s box, especially a red hot hitter like Acuna.

With respect to Acuna, he is hitting .339/.433/.714 with three doubles, six homers, and 17 RBI against the Marlins this season.  He had three straight games with a leadoff homer.  In a different day and age, getting plunked or brushed off the plate might’ve been expected.  That philosophy was clumsily explained by Hernandez during yesterday’s telecast:

Again, Hernandez is explaining an old school philosophy where if you are hitting bombs and leaning over the plate, the pitcher’s duty is to bust a batter in and make them uncomfortable. And as he explained, when you do hit someone, you hit them in the “fanny” as Keith likes to call it.

The ultimate issue here is people creating a divide that doesn’t need to exist between an old-school philosophy and the modern game.  After all, Noah Syndergaard threw a pitch up and somewhat in to Alcides Escobar, who was having a great postseason, on the first pitch of Game 3 of the 2015 World Series.

Looking at Syndergaard, some of that old school philosophy is alive and well in younger players.  It is important to note when Syndergaard has utilized that old school philosophy of throwing inside or retaliating, he has done it the right way.  He has thrown it up but not near the head.  He threw a fastball behind Chase Utley, but not close enough for that fastball to actually make contact with Utley.

Of course, in the case of Syndergaard, he has always had terrific control, so when he does these things, you can trust him in sending that message even if there still exists a possibility he could miss.

That said, what Syndergaard has done is not what Urena did.  Urena stepped to the mound not just to make a batter uncomfortable.  He went to the mound with an intent to injure.  That’s what you are doing when you throw a 98 MPH fastball right at someone in a spot where he cannot possibly get out of the way.

There is no defending Urena’s actions, but there is defending the mindset where you make batters uncomfortable at the plate.  That’s part of a mindset.  There’s just a right way and a wrong way to do it.  As Keith noted, the right way is to brush the batter back or hit him in the fanny.  That’s not remotely close to what Urena did, and that’s why he’s entirely in the wrong.

 

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Mets Destroy Orioles

The Mets had a rare laugher tonight with the team thrashing Dylan Bundy (7 ER) and the Orioles bullpen to the tune of a 16-5 victory.

The big inning was a nine run sixth capped off by a Kevin Plawecki grand slam off Evan Phillips.

Plawecki was not the only one with a big night. Brandon Nimmo finished a homer short of the cycle going 5-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, triple, hit by pitch, and three RBI.

Todd Frazier had his best day as a Met going 3-for-6 with two runs, a homer, and four RBI.

Austin Jackson was 2-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and two walks.

Newest Met Jack Reinheimer would pinch run for Jose Bautista in the sixth, and he would score his first career run. Later in the game, he’d record his first career hit.

Overall, every Met in the lineup except Michael Conforto would get a hit me bore the ninth, and even then, Conforto had a walk and run scored. Conforto would correct that by smoking a ball Jonathan Villar couldn’t field.

In the ninth, Wilmer Flores hit a homer to cap off a 2-for-5 night.

In total, every Mets starter reached base at least two times, and everyone but Bautista scored at least one run.

This was more than enough support for Zack Wheeler who was terrific again limiting the Orioles to a run on five hits in five innings.

After that sixth inning outburst, Mickey Callaway did the right thing by pulling Wheeler and going to the bullpen.

Tim Peterson was the one lowlight of the day with him allowing four runs on five hits in his two innings.

Other than that, this was a good day for a Mets team who seemed to spend nine innings taking a season’s worth of frustration out on a very bad Orioles team.

Game Notes: Mets are now 19-19 over their last 38 games.

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Flores Winning 2019 First Base Job

This year, the Mets have been unwilling to give either Dominic Smith or Peter Alonso an opportunity to prove themselves at the Major League level. We’ve also seen recent reports Jay Bruce will get a long look at first base to close the season. Of course, there’s also Yoenis Cespedes who may need to play first when he returns from his double heel surgery, whenever that might be.

While all of this has been occurring, Wilmer Flores has been playing first base, and he’s done a good job there.

Since June 15, the day he ostensively took over the first base job, he’s hit .283/.332/.473 with 14 doubles, seven homers, and 26 RBI. That production equates to a 118 wRC+.

If Flores maintained that level of production, his 118 wRC+ would rate as the eighth best among MLB first basemen. This would leave him tied with Cody Bellinger and ahead of players like Anthony Rizzo, Jose Abreu, Carlos Santana, and Justin Bour.

It also happens to be the same level of production which prompted the Mets to give Bruce a three year $39 million contract even with Bruce not having a season anywhere near as productive since 2013.

There are a few reasons why Flores has been this productive.

First and foremost, he’s learned how to hit right-handed pitching. So far this year, he’s hitting .286/.344/.492 against right-handed pitching. This makes this the first year of his career the once thought of platoon bat has hit right-handed pitching better than left-handed pitching.

Flores is also showing improved plate discipline. Flores has a 7.8 percent walk rate and a 9.3 percent strikeout rate. Both numbers are career bests and both follow positive yearly trends Flores has made since 2015.

That’s one of the unheralded aspects of Flores’ 2018 season. He’s shown himself to be an improved player on the field, and he’s shown the ability to withstand playing everyday.

At 27, Flores is now in the prime years of his career, which means we could reasonably expect him to take a positive step forward in each of the next few years.

Looking over the roster and the Mets choices at the position, you’d be hard pressed to argue the Mets could do better than a 118 wRC+ player making improvements in his plate discipline and against right-handed pitching.

Looking at it objectively, Flores deserves that first base job next year over the options the Mets currently have.

Subjectively, it doesn’t hurt to have a fan favorite who has the most walk-off hits in team history. Moreover, you would like to get another look at him in his last year of team control to avoid another Justin Turner/Daniel Murphy situation.

Overall, Flores is a guy who wants to be a Met, and he is a guy who continues to make improvements in his game. Give him the 2019 first base job he’s earned with his play on the field.

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Orioles Beat Mets In Game No One Should’ve Watched

This was a matchup not even Gary Cohen to bring himself to watch.

The Mets and Orioles entered the night a combined 65 games out of first place, and the pitching matchup was Andrew Cashner against Jason Vargas.

Really, to put how dreadful both this game and the Orioles are, Vargas’ final line was 6.0 innings, five hits, two runs, two earned, three walks, and a strikeout.

Astonishingly, he had a 2-1 lead in the sixth before allowing a homer to Adam Jones.

That eliminated the lead from the Mets fifth inning rally. Up until that inning, the Mets were mostly stymied by Cashner, who retired the first 10 straight and 12 of the 13 batters he faced through four.

That changed with Brandon Nimmo drawing a two out walk and Todd Frazier singling. For a moment, it looked like that rally would sputter out with Austin Jackson hitting into a 6-4-3 double play.

However, Jose Bautista would draw a walk on a 3-2 pitch, and Kevin Plawecki and Amed Rosario would hit consecutive two out RBI singles.

After that rally, it was all Orioles beginning with the aforementioned Jones homer.

Bobby Wahl came on in the seventh, and he struggled mightily starting with a Chris Davis homer. Remember, Davis entered the night hitting .148/.242/.299. That’s not a typo. That’s just how bad a hitter he’s been this year.

After that, he issued a pair of two out walks leading to Mickey Callaway bringing in Paul Sewald, who allowed an RBI single to Renato Nuñez.

On the play, Frazier dove to stop the ball, but he deflected it towards center and past Rosario.

Sewald would get out of the inning without allowing another run, but he would allow a two run homer to Tim Beckham in the eighth giving the hapless Orioles a 6-2 lead.

After a Nimmo triple and Frazier RBI single in the ninth, it was 6-3 Orioles, which was the final score of this nearly unwatchable game.

Game Notes: The Orioles have the worst record in baseball and are 3-0 against the Mets

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