In many different ways, the 2015 season seems so long ago. The biggest example of that might just be Travis d’Arnaud. Back then, d’Arnaud was a 130 wRC+, which was second only to Buster Posey among MLB catchers, and he was an exceptional pitch framer. He seemed like a budding All Star. It has not worked out that way.
We’ve seen two straight injury prone seasons where d’Arnaud has regressed. This year was the most startling. Through 95 games, d’Arnaud is hitting just .232/.281/.397. Even with the team hiring respected Glenn Sherlock as a catching coach, d’Arnaud has regressed in all aspects behind the plate. The pitch framing numbers aren’t there. He’s even throwing out fewer base stealers than he has in the past.
At the same time, we have seen Kevin Plawecki begin to figure things out.
In Las Vegas, we have seen Plawecki hit .300/.348/.484 with 17 doubles, a triple, nine homers, and 45 RBI. Even if you believe these numbers are purely fueled by the hitting environment, you should take into account, he hit just .224/.267/.341 in the same place last year.
You’re a bigger believer these numbers are more of an indication of Plawecki improving as a hitter when you consider who he has played since his recent call-up. In 11 games, Plawecki is hitting .314/.385/.486 with three doubles, one homer, and three RBI. Those numbers translate to a 128 wRC+. Small sample size for sure, but the production is similar to what we saw with d’Arnaud in 2015. Like d’Arnaud in 2015, that would be second to just Posey.
The real question is whether Plawecki can do this for the course of a full season. The short answer is we don’t know. However, he has earned a shot.
With his early career struggles, we forget there was a time when the Mets actually expected him to surpass d’Arnaud sometime in 2015. He hasn’t really gotten the opportunity to develop to that point because he’s bounced all over the place with d’Arnaud’s injuries. However, he’s gotten that chance this year, and he has actually improved. The real question is if he’s improved to the point where he’s an everyday catcher.
We won’t know that until he plays everyday. At a minimum, he’s earned that chance. Moreoever, d’Arnaud’s poor play has created a window of opportunity. Overall, the Mets should play Plawecki over d’Arnaud over the final few weeks of the season to see what they have in Plawecki.
This is a season where you can pretty much pick your nadir. Tonight might have been that night because when Jacob deGrom can’t beat the Phillies, the Mets really have no hopes of winning games.
Coming into tonight, deGrom was 6-0 with a 2.10 ERA, 0.917 WHIP, and a 9.5 K/9 against the Phillies. He was 22-14 with a 2.17 ERA, 1.033 WHIP, and a 10.2 K/9.
Tonight, deGrom allowed nine runs (six earned) off 10 hits and two walks while striking out five.
With this poor start, deGrom has allowed five plus earned runs in three of his last five starts. Given how dominant we have seen him at times this year, and how this Mets season has gone, you’re just waiting for the Mets to announce he’s injured.
It certainly doesn’t help his team let him down once again. Dominic Smith made a second inning error allowing the first run to score in a three run inning. With the game at 5-1, Nori Aoki made a throwing error on an Odubel Herrera RBI single, which made it 6-1. The error let the other runners get into scoring position, which helped facilitate the six run inning.
At the end of the day, the Mets lost 9-1.
If you’re looking for a positive, Jacob Rhame got himself into a bases loaded jam, and he worked his way out of it without allowing a run. Kevin McGowan also pitched a scoreless inning.
But really, we’re just grasping at straws looking for the positive. In the end, a bad team looked bad against another bad team. That’s it.
Game Notes: The Mets lone run came on a first inning Travis d’Arnaud RBI double scoring Aoki.
Since 2013, it has been a number of health issues with Matt Harvey. First, it was Tommy John surgery. Then, it was the fight between the Mets and Scott Boras over his innings limits. In 2016, Harvey struggled because of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. This year, Harvey had a stress reaction in his pitching shoulder. A large part of that was the fact that the muscles in Harvey’s pitching shoulder had atrophied.
Through all of it, the Mets answer has to have Harvey pitch through it.
Of course, everyone, including Harvey himself, believes all of his issues are mechanical. As everyone but the Mets seem to realize, Harvey’s problems are all mechanical until they discover the underlying issue that was the real reason why Harvey was struggling.
Well, Harvey is struggling again. His rehab outings were not truly dominant like you hoped they would be. After those four rehab starts, none of which lasted longer than 4.2 innings, the Mets still called up Harvey to the majors.
As you can imagine, things did not go well. Harvey needed 70 pitches to get through just two innings. Sure, he was able to get his fastball up to 94 MPH, but none of his other pitches were really working. He was unable to locate anything. He gave up seven runs, all earned, on eight hits.
After the start, the Mets solutions had a similar refrain. Harvey had mechanical issues. He needs to just push through it. However, the Mets and Harvey had a fun irresponsible twist this time. Harvey will start on three day’s rest.
Because that’s been the answer all along. The answer hasn’t been to let Harvey rest, get health, and get to full strength. No, no, no, no, no. The real solution is to have him pitch on short rest despite his not having thrown at least five innings since June 9th.
This is just crazy, and it seriously makes you question where Boras is.
Boras was a guy popping off at the mouth as the Mets pushed for a pennant in 2015. However, now, as Harvey has had injury issue after injury issue, he’s nowhere to be seen. It’s almost as if he sees Harvey as damaged goods, so he’s lost interest. Either that, or he’s been muted by Harvey and the Mets because they’d rather do their own thing than listen to the agent who’s role is to help watch out for the player’s best interests.
Even if all parties want to have Harvey pitch, someone needs to be the adult and say this is not working. The plan of trying to fix mechanical issues and pitching through it just hasn’t worked. There’s no reason to believe it will work again, especially when you are trying to do both with Harvey making a start on short rest.
If Harvey struggles tomorrow, maybe he can pitch the following day. Why not? The team’s answer has always been to double down on pushing through injuries. It’s a dangerous game they’re playing, and as a result, Harvey may never be the same again.
In life, we tend to get attached to and attribute meaning to bizarre things. Today, that was my car.
Now, I hated that car. From day one, it was a nightmare. I sank more money into it than I care to admit. Driving into bad neighborhoods time and again, it was constantly dinged and scratched. Tires blown. Dents in the car. Really, I hated it.
Even if I found the best Paintless Dent Repair in San Antonio (or wherever I happened to be at the time of the car needing repairs), it didn’t do much to lessen my annoyance with the car, except for the timely repairs, which I’m obviously thankful for.
But you know what I didn’t hate? All the great things I did with the car.
What started out as a car I purchased to commute to and from work became the family car.
It was the car I drive with my wife to Pre-Cana. The day after our wedding, my wife and I drove home for the first time.
I drove that car with my then infant son to and from doctors appointments. That includes when I had to take him for emergency room visits, and one day his surgery.
We took that car to take him for his first day of school, his first Mets game, his ice skating classes, soccer practice, and on family vacations. We drove that car to places where we would share some of our favorite memories as a family. We drove that car everywhere.
Every so often, he liked to get in the front seat and pretend to drive just like his daddy:
I didn’t realize it at first, but there were hints of all those moments scattered throughout the car. I realized this as I cleaned it out today so I could trade it in for the new family car. In some ways, it felt like a moment right out of The Wonder Years.
As we cleaned out the car, there were remnants of these events. Just like we had done a thousand times, we listened to the Mets game on the radio.
You couldn’t pick a more appropriate starter than Rafael Montero. First terrible, but now you see him in a whole new light.
This is because Montero has been a much better pitcher of late. We saw it again from him today. He cruised through five innings allowing just the one run.
It was the sixth he got into trouble. Like his last start, he put his bullpen into a tough situation handing them a bases loaded one out situation. Unlike AJ Ramos, Paul Sewald, who hadn’t pitched in eight days due to some physical issues, allowed all the inherited runners to score.
Fortunately, it didn’t matter much because the Mets offense exploded against Mark Leiter.
Most of the damage came in a six run fourth inning. Even with him not hitting lead-off, Brandon Nimmo got it all started with a single. Four hits, including a Juan Lagares double and Gavin Cecchini RBI single, and an error later the Mets were up 9-0, and the Phillies brought in Kevin Siegrist.
After Siegrist issued a couple of walks, Nimmo capped off the inning with an RBI single. That single gave the Mets a then 10-0 lead.
It proved to be an insurmountable lead. That was true even for the hurt Sewald and Hansel Robles, who had another adventurous outing.
It was the Robles outing that had me sitting in my car just a little longer. I sat in my car a little longer like I had done several times in the past. Except this time was the last time in this car.
As Ramos got Rhys Hoskins to fly out to end the game, I had the last memory in that car. It was a rather small one, but a memory nevertheless.
It’s now time for a new car with new family memories. This will be the car I take my next son home from the hospital in. It’ll be the car I take to drive him to his first Mets game. Hopefully, it will be the car I drive to see the Mets in their next World Series.
Game Notes: Kevin Plawecki was 2-4 with two runs and a stolen base.
Since he was first called-up to the majors, Dominic Smith has been benched and pinch hit for against left-handed pitching. As a result, when Smith was allowed to face the left-handed Francisco Liriano and swing away 3-0, reporters rightfully ask about it. Collins answer was startling:
Terry Collins ladies and gentlemen pic.twitter.com/tiGXFfdswx
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) September 3, 2017
With rumors already swirling Collins won’t be back next year, it sure seems like he’s checked out.
He’s that guy who gives his two we notice and shows up to work everyday in a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and flip flops. He takes two hour plus lunches, and leaves before 4:00.
It’s why the top of his lineup is now locked in as Jose Reyes–Nori Aoki–Asdrubal Cabrera.
He disagrees and really doesn’t know how long Amed Rosario has dealt with a finger issue.
Brandon Nimmo won’t hit leadoff anymore.
Odd and inconsistent use of his relievers will continue.
Injured players will continue to play well after they shouldn’t. To that end, just wait for what we know is Wilmer Flores‘ imminent return.
The marginalization of young players for underperforming to not performing vets will continue.
Bad decision making will continue.
Why will all this continue? Why the hell not.
When you watch Mets games now, you’re not really looking for wins and losses. Mostly, that’s because you’re really only going to see losses.
No, you’re looking for important or exciting moments. It’s even better when it comes from a player who has a possibility of being a part of the 2018 Mets doing something important.
Of course, that is difficult with Terry Collins as the manager. For consecutive games, Collins has set forth Jose Reyes, Nori Aoki, and Asdrubal Cabrera as the top three hitters. Of course, that’s more productive than seeing Brandon Nimmo atop the lineup.
We can dwell a bit by bit how a 4-0 lead turned into an 8-6 loss, but frankly we shouldn’t care all that much. The team has a manager more interested in stopping a 90 or maybe a 100 loss season than doing the right thing and playing the young players.
Collins can’t ignore the veterans, and the front office doesn’t care. Worse yet, they handed him Aoki to only further fuel his wants and needs.
Despite the Mets focus on declining vets, it doesn’t mean we all have to focus on them. To that end, here’s what we need to know from this Mets loss to the Astros:
- Dominic Smith continued hitting well going 2-5 with a double and an RBI single in the first.
- Nimmo continued showing off his patience at the plate drawing three walks. One of them was with the bases loaded.
- Chris Flexen fell apart in the third blowing a three run lead. He threw 79 pitches and didn’t get into the fifth inning.
- Amed Rosario was 0-3 and was forced to leave the game with a finger issue.
- Juan Lagares continued hitting well at the plate going 1-3 with a walk and an RBI single. That and he continues to amaze in the field:
A new kind of 'Holy crap Juan Lagares' play pic.twitter.com/0vro1h3Rfb
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) September 3, 2017
So, yes, the Mets lost. Of the young players who actually got to play, Smith was the standout. Oh, and Rosario got hurt because that’s what happens to Mets players.
Game Notes: Aoki was 3-4 with two runs, a double, two RBI, and a stolen base. Reyes stole two bases.
Yesterday, Wilmer Flores actually fouled a ball off his face:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/florewi01.shtml
That is the most Mets injury this season.
Adding to the absurdity of the injury, Flores had to be taken to a Houston area hospital.
Could you just imagine that hospital? “Everyone! Dropwhat you’re doing. We will get to all those affected by the hurricane and subsequent flooding later. A New York Mets player fouled a ball off his face. We need to address this STAT before Ray Ramirez can get to him.”
Throw in the fact this was the second time this season a Mets player hurt himself while swinging. With Flores and Michael Conforto, it really makes you question what activities a Mets player can undertake without hurting themself.
After all was said and done, Flores broke his nose. If Flores is lucky, former Met Carlos Beltran will pay for the surgery to fix his body much like he did for Jon Niese.
Well, we finally have the moment that perfectly encapsulates the Mets 2017 season. We just had to wait for the 135th game of the season and the second game of today’s doubleheader:
Wilmer is lucky he didn't get hit in the eye at least. Gif is before the blood comes don't worry. pic.twitter.com/eRhyMKfJXb
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) September 3, 2017
That’s right, Wilmer Flores fouled a ball off his face and had to leave the game.
That moment right there is the Mets season. In fact, the whole double header was the Mets season.
In the first game, Matt Harvey was rocked in his first game back from the DL. Yes, you did get the sense Houston seemed to relish teeing off on Harvey. More than anything, they just seemed relieved to be playing baseball.
Harvey only lasted two innings throwing 70 pitches. His final line was two innings, eight hits, seven runs, seven earned, no walks, and three strikeouts.
Harvey had some velocity hitting 94 MPH, but he didn’t have much else. Again, like he’s done many times in the past, he said there were mechanical issues. As history repeats itself, we know Dan Warthen lacks answers.
After that, we got the Major League debuts of Jacob Rhame and Jamie Callahan. Rhame had the more successful debut of the two, but still, both threw some serious heat. Like Harvey, Callahan was abandoned by his defense, but he didn’t pitch well enough to make it an issue.
The shame of Callahan’s tough outing was the Mets made a game of it after a poor Harvey start and bad Tommy Milone relief appearance (2.2 IP, 3 ER).
Dominic Smith hit a two run fourth inning homer to cut the deficit to 7-2. In the seventh, Flores hit a grand slam to make it a 10-7 game.
With Callahan’s poor outing, it would end at 12-8.
Of course, with the doubleheader, we got fun with Collins making lineups.
Despite Brandon Nimmo starting both ends of the doubleheader, he didn’t lead off once because the Mets have Jose Reyes and now have Aoki. Also, we were blessed to see Cabrera play in both ends of the doubleheader.
The Mets were much more competitive in the second game of the doubleheader. Note, competitive, not good.
The main problem was the Mets offense was not doing anything against Brad Peacock. In fact, when the Mets got to him in the sixth, they didn’t really get to him but to George Springer.
Juan Lagares led off the sixth with a triple to right-center. Lagares busted it out of the box, and he appeared to have a shot at the inside-the-park home run. However, Glenn Sherlock held him up at third.
For a moment, it seemed as if the Mets wouldn’t score. Amed Rosario, who came on for Flores, struck out, and Asdrubal Cabrera walked. The Astros then brought in Francisco Liriano to face Smith.
To the surprise of everyone, Terry Collins didn’t PH for Smith. Perhaps that is because Flores was already out of the game.
Smith lined a ball to Springer, which might have been deep enough to score Lagares. It didn’t matter as Springer misplayed it into a double. Because Cabrera is slower than Sid Bream right now, he didn’t score on the play.
It wound up biting the Mets because the horrors of this season continue to repeat themselves.
Seth Lugo cruised through five innings keeping the Astros scoreless. In the sixth, the Astros began going through the lineup for the third time, and they began teeing off on Lugo.
The first three reached against Lugo with the Astros tying the game on a Josh Reddick RBI single. They then took the lead taking advantage of new Met Nori Aoki‘s bad arm.
Astros third base and outfield coach Gary Pettis sent Jose Altuve. With Aoki’s throw up the line, he didn’t give Kevin Plawecki much of a chance to make the tag. Just like that, the lead was gone.
Later, Matt Reynolds got gun shy with a shot to nail the runner at home. He took the sure out at first. With the shift being on, his being far off third allowed Marwin Gonzalez to go to third setting up his scoring on a sac fly.
As if the indignity wasn’t enough, Reynolds lost a ball that was literally lost in the roof. The ball would drop right in front of him just out of his reach.
It appears Houston doesn't have all of its gravity back just yet pic.twitter.com/dsisv6DzKQ
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) September 3, 2017
Of course because baseball is cruel, a ball would once again go into the rafters:
I don't blame Matt Reynolds for giving up. Horrible thing to say but sometimes kids you might as well. pic.twitter.com/Fxn3cnVGzD
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) September 3, 2017
After the rough half inning was over, the Mets were down 4-1 with all four runs being charged to Lugo.
In the end, the Mets were swept in the doubleheader by a MUCH better team. They lost to a team representing a city who needed this distraction. Hopefully, those who are still suffering were able to take some time and enjoy these games.
As Mets fans, we’re hard-pressed to enjoy any of this. The veterans are still playing over the prospects. The players are still getting hurt. The pitchers are still struggling.
Game Notes: Reports indicate once the Rumble Ponies season is over, Tomas Nido will get called up to the majors. Former Met Carlos Beltran did not appear in either end of the doubleheader. He is dealing with a foot injury.
With rosters expanding now, the Mets have called up Jacob Rhame and Jamie Callahan up to the majors.
With Rhame being the return for Curtis Granderson and Callahan being one of the three prospects netted in exchange for Addison Reed, we get a glimpse of how well Sandy Alderson did at the trade deadline. We also get a glimpse into what exactly the 2018 bullpen could look like.
So far, it’s safe to say Jerry Blevins, Jeurys Familia, and AJ Ramos will be in the Mets bullpen next year. Most likely, but not as definitely, Hansel Robles will be in the bullpen as well. Assuming no moves, and based on Alderson’s tenure with the Mets, it’s a fairly safe assumption, there are three open spots in the bullpen.
To a certain extent, Paul Sewald and Chasen Bradford have stated their case.
Sewald has shown versatility in the pen coming on for multiple innings and being a late inning reliever brought on to get the Mets out of a jam. He’s pitched 57.0 innings in 47 appearances. Overall, he’s 0-5 with a 4.11 ERA, 1.158 WHIP, and a 9.8 K/9.
Bradford has terrific in his first 17 appearances before his clunker against the Reds. Even with that poor performance, he’s still 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.235 WHIP, and a 7.9 K/9.
With they way they’ve pitched, you could certainly envision Sewald and/or Bradford being on the Opening Day roster. However, digging deeper, neither pitcher really fits the mold of what Alderson envisions from this bullpen.
It’s clear Alderson now wants to see power arm after power arm after power arm coming out of the Mets bullpen.
Rhame throws 98. Callahan can also touch 98. The other two pieces from the Reed trade Stephen Nogosek and Gerson Bautista throw even harder. For his part Bautista is routinely hitting triple digits.
Clearly, these big arms are a sign of what Alderson wants in this Mets bullpen. The first wave will be Rhame and Callahan. More will certainly follow.
Hopefully, now, Alderson had found that right formula. Each and every year he’s been the Mets GM he’s started the year with bad bullpens, and he had to fix them on the fly.
Hopefully, now, he has the arms in place. If he does, the Mets chances of returning to the postseason are much better.
For the second time this season, Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki toed the rubber for the New York Mets. His appearance was the second time in Mets history a position player made two relief appearances in a season. It also marked the 10th time the Mets had a position player pitch in a game.
Can you name the eight Mets position players who have pitched in a game? Good luck!
Bill Pecota Desi Relaford Matt Franco Todd Zeile Rob Johnson Anthony Recker Derek Bell