Given the pitching matchup and the location of today’s game, tonight’s game wasn’t a guarantee. That went double when you consider the game was at the Mets own House of Horrors in Turner Field that is thankfully closing at the end of the season. Before it closes, the Mets have some demons to exercise. They did just that tonight despite a slow start.
The Mets had a chance to score off Julio Teheran in the first, but they couldn’t cash in. A Curtis Granderson walk loaded the bases with one out. However, the Mets wouldn’t score as Wilmer Flores hit into the inning ending 6-4-3 double play. It was a giant missed opportunity.
Instead if having a lead, the Mets would soon trail in the game. Matt Kemp lead off the second with a solo home run off Robert Gsellman.
The Braves would then expand on their 1-0 lead with a big fifth. Gsellman had almost navigated through a Dansby Swanson leadoff single. He stood on third with two outs when Adonis Garcia singled him home. The Braves then proceeded to load the bases. Nick Markakis hit a two run single to right to give the Braves a 4-0 lead. Once again the tales of Jay Bruce‘s arm were greatly exaggerated.
In reality, the main difference between this Gsellman start and his others was the Braves took advantage of their opportunities. In Gsellman’s short career, he has consistently played with fire. Tonight, he got burned.
The Mets would begin the comeback in the sixth. Yoenis Cespedes hit a comebacker off Tehran which seemingly broke the spell. The insanely hot Granderson followed the Cespedes single with a two run homer to make it 4-2. It was the Mets first runs off Teheran in 29 innings.
The Braves wouldn’t expand on this lead due to a truly great Josh Smoker appearance.
Smoker inherited a mess in the sixth. Jose Reyes made a nice play to ball Swanson hit down the third base line off Jim Henderson. However, Reyes’ arm wasn’t strong enough to get the speedy Swanson. Worse yet, James Loney‘s arm wasn’t strong enough to get Jace Peterson who went from first to third on the play. Ultimately, it didn’t matter as Smoker was terrific.
Smoker first struck out A.J. Pierzynski. Then he got Ender Inciarte to hit into the inning ending 3-6-3 double play. The appearance might’ve been Smoker’s best in his short career. It did give the Mets a chance to win.
While it wasn’t as impressive as Smoker’s effort, Hansel Robles got out of a jam in the seventh to keep the Braves from tacking on to their 4-2 lead. At the time, it seemed like nothing more than a nice recovery for Robles. As it turns out, Robles would get the win.
The Mets loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth off Mauricio Cabrera. The bases shouldn’t have been loaded as Reyes hit what could’ve been a double play ball that Swanson booted. It would’ve been a tough turn with Reyes’ speed, but at a minimum, the lead runner should’ve been out.
In any event, Cespedes came up with the bases loaded, and he put together a terrific at bat hitting a deep sacrifice fly to right scoring Alejandro De Aza. The ball was deep enough to permit Reyes to go to third. Granderson followed with a bloop that seemingly stayed up forever, and still Kemp could not get to it. Just like that tie game.
The Mets took the lead on a Kelly Johnson pinch hit RBI double.
Kelly is so KLUTCH!! #LGM pic.twitter.com/uq1465DrxC
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 10, 2016
Bruce was then intentionally walked by Cabrera before he departed in favor of Jose Ramirez. Ramirez then plunked the pinch hitting Michael Conforto to make it a 6-4 game. In the inning the Mets batted around with only two hits, but it was enough to score four runs.
This set up the formula the Mets wanted. No, not Eric Campbell at first base due to all the lineup machinations, even if he did make two great plays at first in the eighth. The Mets were able to fog with Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia to close out the 6-4 win.
The Mets had this chance because Granderson is playing like the Granderson of old. With him contributing like this each and every night, the Mets are certainly capable of repeating performances like tonight.
Game Notes: Gavin Cecchini was the sole non-catcher bench player who didn’t get into the game.
With the Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz injuries, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have pitched extremely well so far. With each passing day, it becomes more and more questionable deGrom and Matz can return meaning Lugo and Gsellman may have to make a postseason start.
If that is the case, they will join a list of young Mets pitchers who have been thrust into the postseason despite them only making a few career starts. Can you name the Mets who have had the fewest career starts before pitching in a postseason game? Good luck!
John Maine, Noah Syndergaard, Gary Gentry, David Cone, Matt Harvey, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, Sid Fernandez
Because this is Tim Tebow, the Mets signing him is going to elicit a number of strong reactions from all across the spectrum. However, once the smoke from that clears, what you have left is Tebow in a Mets minor league uniform. Ultimately it is a decision that makes sense.
Marketing and Gates
During the press conference, Sandy Alderson said the Tebow signing was a purely baseball driven move. Keep in mind, the Mets say a lot of things that prove to be untrue like their insistence they were not going to bring Jose Reyes back after being released by the Colorado Rockies. There was also the time that Sandy called Cespedes a “square peg” in discussing why the Mets were not interested in re-signing Cespedes. Reyes and Cespedes are both wearing Mets jerseys.
The fact of the matter is that while you can argue signing Tebow makes sense from a baseball standpoint (more on that in a minute) his ability to generate revenue cannot be dismissed.
When Tebow signed with the Eagles, he had the 15th best selling NFL jersey. That was for a guy out of the NFL for a year, and who was unlikely to make the roster. Fact is, Tebow sells. He is going to attract fans to the ballpark. What may seem like peanuts to you or I is a major revenue boost to a minor league affiliate, some of which the Mets own themselves.
Remember, minor league teams do everything they can do to get you to the ballpark with whacky promotions and on field events between innings. They do everything they can do to get you there short of giving you a turn at bat. In a world where the Mets have alienated the Buffalo Bisons and were sent to AAA purgatory in Las Vegas, the Tebow signing matters.
It could also generate revenue for the Mets. There are going to be more than a fair share of people who are online right now ordering Tebow jerseys at MLB.com or at Citi Field.
There is also the opportunity for the Mets, if they so chose, to sell Tebow merchandise to generate additional revenue. There will be a fair share of Tebow fans who may very well purchase a Kingsport Mets or Brooklyn Cyclones Tebow jersey.
Overall, while no one can quite quantify what the revenue boost will be, it is inarguable that Tebow will boost revenues for the Mets organization.
Tebow’s Presence
Generally speaking, Tebow is the type of person you would want to have around younger players.
Throughout his life, Tebow has built up a reputation as a good and devoutly religious person. He played at Florida and in the NFL, and there was never a scandal or even a cross word about him. Rather, Tebow was able to keep his nose clean (Mets pun intended), and he built a reputation as not only a good person, but also as a well spoken person. It’s why when his NFL career was seemingly over, ESPN came calling to ask him to be a commentator.
This is the type of person you want around impressionable young players who are not only trying to find their way into the majors, but also their way in life. Keep in mind that as an organization, you never falter when you add good people as they can have a positive effect on the others around them. There are too many prospects that fail not because of talent, but because of attitude and them losing their way off the field. Hopefully, someone like Tebow can help that type of player find their way either by speaking with them or by leading by example.
There’s another factor to Tebow’s presence. The guy is a winner. In college, Tebow won two National Championships and a Heisman Trophy. In 2011, Tebow took over a 1-4 football team, and he helped them win the AFC West. In his divisional round, he led the Broncos to an overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers throwing an 80 yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas. Ultimately, that was it for Tebow’s NFL career as he didn’t have the talent to stay in the league. However, despite his lack of talent, he was a winner everywhere he went. This is an asset every team and organization wants around.
He’s Giving Exposure to Other Teammates
One of the biggest fallacies surround Tebow’s signing is that he is going to cost another player a shot at playing in the majors. This simply isn’t true. Minor league rosters are full of organizational depth players that are signed so a minor league team can field a full roster. Also, keep in mind no one had this complaint when a 37 year old Mike Hessman was chasing the minor league home run record.
So no, Tebow is not going to cost the Mike Hessmans of the world their shot at making it to the major leagues. Quite to the contrary, Tebow may actually help other players get discovered.
As discussed above, Tebow is a draw meaning more people are going to go see his games. Ultimately, baseball people will want to go see Tebow, but they’re not going to watch just Tebow. They’re going to keep their eyes on everyone. When that happens, other players get additional exposure, and another organization could call the Mets and look to make a minor minor league deal to get the lesser known guy into their organization.
Tebow May Actually Be a Baseball Player
Fact is, no one yet knows what the Mets have in Tebow the baseball player. It is no different than when the Mets signed Wilmer Flores as a teenager out of Venezuela. You see a guy with some raw baseball tools, and you hope they make it to the major leagues.
Admittedly, Tebow is much older than Flores was. However, at 29 years old, Tebow is still young enough that he could go through the minors and eventually make the major leagues. After his showcase, he did show speed and some raw power. Given the right environment, he could develop into a fourth or a fifth outfielder on a major league team. If he doesn’t? No big deal. You eventually cut ties with him like you would any other prospect that didn’t pan out.
The Cespedes Factor
Right now, Yoenis Cespedes is the most important position player on the New York Mets. After this season, he is most likely going to opt out of his deal and become the top free agent available. When Cespedes does opt out, the Mets have to do everything they can do to keep him in Flushing for the long term.
Part of doing that is having a good relationship with Cespedes’ agents. No, it won’t lead to Cespedes turning down more money to play elsewhere, but it could give the Mets some advantages. For example, the Mets could be given the opportunity to match or beat any offer before Cespedes signs a deal. A good relationship with Cespedes’ agents could lead to the Mets striking quickly after the season and wrapping up Cespedes before he has an opportunity to hit the free agent market much in the way the Mets struck quickly with Mike Piazza after the 1998 season ended.
Overall, it is never a bad idea to have a good relationship with the agent who represents your most important pending free agent. Also, for what it’s worth Cespedes’ and Tebow’s agents also represent Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Eventually, the Mets are going to want to discuss an extension with each of those players. Again, it’ll help if the Mets and the agency are on good terms.
So yes, there are a number of reasons why people may not want Tebow. However, when taking everything into consideration, this was a good move for the Mets organization.
After sweeping the Reds, and having won 14 of their last 18 games, the Mets have rallied from two games under .500 to get themselves back into the thick of the Wild Card race. In fact, after Wednesday’s games, the Mets are in a virtual tie with the St. Louis Cardinals. Better yet, they’re just a half game back of the Giants for the second Wild Card.
As we hit the homestretch with the Mets having 22 games remaining on the schedule, here is where everyone stands:
San Francisco Giants 74-65
The Giants are in a free-fall. They went from having the most wins in the National League before the All Star Break to having the third worst record in the National League after the break.
The Giants are 4-6 in your last 10, and they are 6-11 over their last 17 games. Even with all that, the Giants have a half-game lead over the Cardinals and Mets for the top Wild Card spot and are five games back of the Dodgers in the NL West.
The main reason why the Giants are struggling right now is their pitching. Madison Bumgarner has gone from dominant in the first half to human in the second half with a 4-4 record and a 3.66 ERA. Johnny Cueto has similarly struggled going 1-4 with a 3.90 ERA in the second half. Keep in mind, these were the only starters the Giants can truly rely upon with Matt Cain never fully came back after his injury problems, Jake Peavy missing most of the year with injuries, and Jeff Samardzjia not living up to his free agent contract.
Worse yet, when the Giants get a late lead, it isn’t safe. Santiago Castilla had blown three saves in the second half. Castilla is struggling to the point that Bruce Bochy removed him from the game against the Rockies rather than letting him make matters worse.
The Giants currently have 23 games remaining against the following opponents:
- 3 at Diamondbacks (58-81)
- 3 vs. Padres (57-82)
- 4 vs. Cardinals (73-65)
- 3 at Dodgers (79-60)
- 4 at Padres (57-82)
- 3 vs. Rockies (67-72)
- 3 vs. Dodgers (79-60)
The Giants remaining opponents combined winning percentage is .481. The biggest benefit to their schedule are the 10 games remaining against the Diamondbacks and Padres as the Giants have a combined 19-9 record against them.
Fangraphs gives the Giants a 66.6% chance of getting a Wild Card spot, and Baseball Prospectus gives them a 70.7% chance of making the postseaon.
St. Louis Cardinals 73-65
Injuries are starting to catch up to the Cardinals who are 5-5 over their last 10. Since Aledmys Diaz went on the disabled list with a broken thumb, the Cardinals are effectively a .500 team going 17-16.
Other notable injuries are Matt Holliday, Michael Wacha, and Trevor Rosenthal. While the Cardinals are keeping their heads above water, they may need to play better than .500 ball to return to the postseason.
The Cardinals currently have 24 games remaining against the following opponents:
- 4 vs. Brewers (62-77)
- 3 vs. Cubs (89-50)
- 4 at Giants (74-65)
- 3 at Rockies (67-72)
- 3 at Cubs (89-50)
- 4 vs. Reds (57-81)
- 3 vs. Pirates (68-69)
The combined winning percentage of the remaining teams is .502. Of the Cardinals remaining 24 games, 14 of them are at home where they are 30-37 on the season.
Fangraphs gives the Cardinals a 57.4% chance of getting a Wild Card spot, and Baseball Prospectus gives them a 58.6% chance of making the postseason.
Washington Nationals 81-57
If seven with 17 remaining isn’t an insurmountable hurdle then 8.5 with 22 remaining shouldn’t be either. That goes double with Stephen Strasburg leaving his first start from the disabled list with an apparent injury. With that said, the Nationals are hot winning seven of their last 10, and with their remaining schedule, it’s going to take a miracle for the Mets to win the division. Here are the Nationals remaining games:
- 4 vs. Phillies (62-77)
- 3 vs. Mets (74-66)
- 3 at Braves (54-86)
- 3 at Marlins (69-71)
- 3 at Pirates (68-69)
- 4 vs Diamondbacks (58-81)
- 3 vs. Marlins (69-71)
The Nationals remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .461. Of the Nationals remaining 24 games, they have 16 against National League East teams, and so far, the Nationals are 42-18 against the National League East. Fangraphs gives the Nationals a 99.7% chance of winning the division, and Baseball Prospectus gives them a 100% chance of making the postseason.
New York Mets 74-66
When the dust settled last night, the Mets found themselves in a virutal tie with the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot, and a half game behind the Giants for the first Wild Card spot. It should be noted the Mets trail both the Cardinals and the Giants by one game in the loss column.
The Mets are at this point with question marks of their own. Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera are each effectively playing on one leg. Neil Walker is out for the season joining David Wright, Lucas Duda, and Matt Harvey. With Rafael Montero‘s struggles, Gabriel Ynoa having difficulty getting major league hitters out, and Logan Verrett not living up to the challenge, the Mets have no real fifth starter at the moment. While Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have stepped up, they are not on par with Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz, neither of whom is definitive to return this season. With all that said, the Mets have hope because they have the weakest schedule out of any of the aforementioned Wild Card competitors:
- 3 at Braves (54-86)
- 3 at Nationals (82-57)
- 3 vs. Twins (52-88)
- 3 vs. Braves (54-86)
- 4 vs. Phillies (62-77)
- 3 at Marlins (69-71)
- 3 at Phillies (62-77)
The combined winning percentage of the Mets remaining opponents is .457, which is the lowest opponent’s winning percentage of any of the aforementioned teams the Mets are still chasing.
Fangraphs give the Mets a 64.5% chance of grabbing a Wild Card spot, and Baseball Prospectus gives them a 67.2% chance of making the postseason.
Overall, the Mets schedule is filled with a lot of winnable games. If the Mets take care of business, they should be returning to the postseason for the second straight season.
The bad news was that Noah Syndergaard struggled. It was to be expected from the scheduled times the Mets have had the past four games. The good news is that the aforementioned issues didn’t matter because the Mets were playing the Reds yet again.
Syndergaard needed 95 pitches just to get through five innings. He didn’t have one 1-2-3 inning. He tied a career high by issuing four walks. Still, he was able to keep the Reds at bay because he struck out seven batters, and because, well, you’ll never believe it – there were three base runners nailed on the basepaths.
Rene Rivera would nail two base runners alone in the second inning. First, it was Brandon Phillips who was thrown out trying to steal second after leading off the inning with a single. Scott Schebler would then walk, and Rivera would throw him out when he tried to steal second.
As if that wasn’t good enough, something more impressive happened. There were runners on first and third after consecutive singles from Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez. Mayhem would ensure, probably as the result of the Reds not knowing how to respond to Syndergaard trying to hold on a base runner. Syndergaard caught Suarez napping on a throw over to first. Suarez broke to second to get caught in a run down. As this happened, Peraza broke for home. Asdrubal Cabrera noticed, and he threw home to nail him to get Syndergaard out of another jam.
Due in part to that, Syndergaard’s strikeouts, and the Reds suddenly morphing into the Mets with runners in scoring position, Syndergaard pitched five scoreless and got the win because of the home run.
Right out of the gate, Jose Reyes took the first pitch of the game from Anthony DeSclafani, and he deposited it into the right field stands:
Well, that escalated quickly. https://t.co/JPNMBijOeL #LGM pic.twitter.com/m9X3J4L9m5
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 7, 2016
Reyes would account for the next run in the third when he scored a proverbial “Reyes Run.” After Syndergaard led off the inning with a single, Reyes busted it out of the box to avoid the double play. It seemed as if the Reds were going to get out of the inning as DeSclafani got Yoenis Cespedes to hit a grounder to short. However, Peraza missed it allowing Reyes from first to third. With Curtis Granderson at the plate, DeSclafani unleashed a wild pitch allowing Reyes to score.
It was part of a terrific game from Reyes who was 2-5 with two runs, an RBI, and a homer. It was the rare terrific game for Reyes this year from the left-hand side of the plate. Before today, Reyes was hitting .244/.283/.353 as a left-handed batter. While it is a small sample size, it should be pointed out Reyes hit .275/.309/.374 as a left-handed batter last year, and .289/.328/.404 the year before that. While he gets reviled, we could be seeing the positive effects of Reyes working with Kevin Long.
The other run was the result of the resurgent Curtis Granderson:
.@cgrand3 hot at the dish. He rips his 25th home run of the season. #LGM https://t.co/Iz5wTy5ejB pic.twitter.com/IDEtB4GljZ
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 7, 2016
Granderson is suddenly scorching at the plate after having a poor July and a dreadful August. Over Granderson’s last four games, he has three homers and seven RBI. Given Terry Collins propensity to play him and bench Michael Conforto at all costs, the Mets are going to need more of the same from him.
Wilmer Flores would blow the game open in the eighth hitting a two run pinch hit home run off Reds reliever Wandy Peralta. For some reason or other, Reds manager Bryan Price let the left-hander actually face Flores with the game still in doubt. It was yet another sign we have seen from a Reds team that has seemingly quit on the season.
Flores’ pinch hit home run was the Mets 12th of the season, which ties the Mets single season mark set in 1983.
In addition to the Mets hitting a bunch of homers, a couple of struggling Mets relievers got some redemption. Hansel Robles would pitch a scoreless 1.2 innings. Robles went into the second inning of work because Collins emptied his bullpen yesterday, and because Robles clearly hasn’t gotten enough work all season. Jerry Blevins then relieved Robles with a runner on and two out in the seventh to face Joey Votto. Blevins snapped out of a recent funk a bit in striking out Votto.
Of course, no game would be complete without a completely baffling Collins’ managerial decision. Yesterday, after Rafael Montero couldn’t make it through five, Collins had tabbed Gabriel Ynoa to get the last out of the fifth inning after Votto’s sacrifice fly off Josh Edgin. As insane as it was to bring a minor league starter and use him for a third of an inning in a game the Mets needed a long reliever, it was even crazier to use that guy for the second game in a row.
With the Mets not knowing when Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz will be able to pitch next, and Montero showing he shouldn’t start another game, Ynoa was most likely the guy you would tab for the next start. Instead, Collins chose him to pitch today even with Sean Gilmartin and Logan Verrett fully rested. It should come as a surprise to no one what ensued.
Ynoa would immediately load the bases with no outs forcing Collins to go to Addison Reed, who is not good with inherited base runners. Reed would strike out Tyler Holt, and then things would get interesting. Tucker Barnhart would hit an RBI single, and the bases would remain loaded. After a Ramon Cabrera ground-out, with Reyes getting the force out at home, Peraza would hit a two run double over Cespedes’ head. Reed would strike out Eugenio Suarez to get out of the jam. The Mets would keep the lead even if it was shaved down to 5-3.
The Mets added an insurance run in the eighth as Cabrera and Cespedes hit back-to-back doubles of Reds reliever Tony Cingrani. Again, you have to question what the Reds were thinking with them pitching to Cespedes with an open base.
With the 6-3 lead, it was a save situation leading Collins to bring in Jeurys Familia, and he would record his 47th save of the season. It would also be the 60th game he finished this season. Reed and Familia have now pitched four times in the last five games. But hey, it was a good idea to bring in a non-reliever in Ynoa for the second straight day.
Fortunately, the Mets pulled out the win, and they are now eight games over .500, and they are a half game out of a Wild Card spot (two in the loss column). Pending what happens tonight, the Mets could find themselves in a virtual tie with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Game Notes: Gavin Cecchini didn’t play again today. Alejandro De Aza started in center with Jay Bruce and Conforto sitting. James Loney continues to hit better of late going 2-3 on the day.
Pennant Race: Everyone who matters plays later.
Early on this season, it appeared as if it would be Noah Syndergaard and Clayton Kershaw as the main competitors for the Cy Young Award. When healthy, Kershaw is always going to be the Cy Young front runner. However, Syndergaard seemed to be arriving ahead of schedule.
In his first start against the Royals, Syndergaard was doing the usual in throwing his fastball over 100 MPH. However, it was his slider that looked like a game changer. Syndergaard was striking out Royals left and right with his brand new 95 MPH slider. Syndergaard would carry it forward, and he would be utterly dominant to start the season. Up until the bone spurs became an issue, Syndergaard was 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.989 WHIP.. Before the bone spurs, Syndergaard was in the conversation to be the starting pitcher at the All Star Game. However, with the bone spurs, Syndergaard would miss the All Star Game, and he would start to regress.
In a nine start stretch, starting with a three inning outing that saw the Nationals knock him around the ballpark, Syndergaard would go 2-5 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.592 WHIP. Syndergaard was no longer in the Cy Young discussion. Rather, the discussion was whether he could continue to pitch effectively with the bone spurs. Syndergaard has found a way to do that. In his last three starts, Syndergaard is 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA and a 0.545 WHIP. He is going deep into games pitching seven, seven, and eight innings. He’s winning important games down the stretch that includes
Through it all, Syndergaard is 12-8 with a 2.56 ERA and a 1.111 WHIP. His ERA is the third best in the National League. His 188 strikeouts rank fourth in the National League. His 10.4 strikeouts per nine also ranks fourth in the National League. Additionally, Syndergaard has allowed the least amount of homers per nine innings in the majors, and he also has the best strikeout to walk ratio. Syndergaard’s quality start percentage is 69%, which is the fifth best in the National League.
Going into the more advanced numbers, Syndergaard’s 4.3 WAR ranks eighth in the Nationals League. His 157 ERA+ ranks third in the National League. Syndergaard’s 2.32 FIP is the best in the major leagues.
With Kershaw missing most of the season, the National League Cy Young race is up for grabs. Everyone can name their own personal front runner whether it is Madison Bumgarner, Kyle Hendricks, or Max Scherzer. As we have seen from Sydnergaard’s statistics, no matter the list you compile, your list is going to be incomplete if it does not include Syndergaard. In fact, if Syndergaard continues his current streak of dominance, he may very well find himself winning the Cy Young Award.
The Mets just about blew this game in every way, shape, and form. And yet, Yoenis Cespedes wouldn’t let them lose.
Rafael Montero was handed a 2-0 lead as a result of Curtis Granderson and Jose Reyes solo home runs off Brandon Finnegan. However, Montero would give it back as his high wire act came crashing down to Earth.
In the third, Montero issued a one out walk to Zack Cozart. Montero then paid no attention to him, so Cozart stole second. It was your classic Travis d’Arnaud didn’t throw out the runner who got a massive jump situation. After that, Montero would break an 0-27 streak opposing batters had against Mets pitching with runners in scoring position when Adam Duvall crushed a game tying two run homer.
The Reds would then go ahead in the fifth with Montero still struggling. He allowed a lead off triple to Hernan Irabarren. He would then issue a one out walk to Cozart. At that point, through 4.1 innings where Montero allowed three hits and four walks, Terry Collins had seen enough. He went to the bullpen to get a left-handed to pitch to Joey Votto to get the biggest out in the game.
Collins could’ve gone with Jerry Blevins, who has been the Mets best lefty out if the pen. He could’ve gone with Josh Smoker who is a strikeout machine. No, Collins went with his worst possible option with Josh Edgin, who still has not regained his velocity.
Votto would lift a fly ball to right. Jay Bruce, the man with the highly touted throwing arm, made a weak and offline throw to home plate allowing Irabarren to score giving the Reds a 3-2 lead.
It seemed it would stay that way after a brutal top of the sixth. Bruce led off with a single, and he moved to second on a brutal Duvall fielding error. First, d’Arnaud couldn’t get him home as he flinched on a pitch that was clearly a strike. After a Granderson hit by pitch, Kelly Johnson, pinch hitting for Matt Reynolds, just beat out the relay throw to avoid the 3-6-3 double play. Michael Conforto, pinch hitting for Ynoa, struck out looking on a ball that looked off the plate. Apparently, it was too close to take.
In the seventh, Cespedes would start to take over. Asdrubal Cabrera summoned all he could with his injured knee to leg out an infield single to get on in front of Cespedes. Cespedes then did his thing:
The ball just cleared the center field wall to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.
In the eighth, Cespedes wouldn’t let the Reds get something going. Mets killer Brandon Phillips lined a ball to the left field wall off Addison Reed. Cespedes fielded the ball cleanly as it ricocheted off the wall, turned, and delivered a perfect strike to Johnson.
From there, Alejandro De Aza hit a pinch hit homer, the Mets 11th of the season, to give the Mets a 5-3 lead. That two run cushion was more than enough for Jeurys Familia who recorded his 46th save of the year.
This game was another example of how important Cespedes is to the Mets, and how much they need him healthy down the stretch.
Game Notes: Collins made six pitching changes with the expanded rosters. Gavin Cecchini, T.J. Rivera, Eric Campbell, and Brandon Nimmo joined the team today, but would not enter the game.
What is most interesting about the Mets calling up Gavin Cecchini is the fact that the Mets did not need him.
The Mets didn’t need him to play shortstop. Even with a lingering knee injury, Asdrubal Cabrera is able to play everyday. If and when Cabrera needs time off, the Mets have sufficient depth on their current roster to address the shortstop position. Both Jose Reyes and Wilmer Flores can slide over in a pinch. Matt Reynolds has shown himself to be a good defender at the position. In an emergency, Eric Campbell and Kelly Johnson have played there and have not embarrassed themselves.
Recently, Cecchini has been playing at second base. He has worked there over the season, and he has played three of his last four AAA games at the position. Even with Neil Walker‘s season ending surgery, he isn’t needed there either. Flores and Johnson are more than capable of replicating Walker’s numbers with their platoon splits and hot hitting. Reynolds has shown he can handle the position adeptly. In an emergency situation, both Campbell and Ty Kelly are more than capable of playing second base.
While Cecchini hasn’t played third, the Mets have an incredible amount of depth over there, and that was even before the expanded rosters. So, again, it begs the question: why was Cecchini called up?
It’s an important question because with the Mets calling up Cecchini, the team is starting the clock on him. It doesn’t make sense for the Mets to start the clock on Cecchini when he could reasonably be considered the Mets second baseman of the future. Given Walker’s back and the Mets trading Dilson Herrera, maintaining control over Cecchini has become more important than it once was. It’s why it is very interesting the Mets are now adding Cecchini to the 40 man roster, a few months before they needed, and called him up now.
The move would only make sense if the Mets were actually intending upon playing Cecchini everyday at second base. If the Mets were to do that, it would allow the team to let Flores and Johnson platoon at first base instead of second thereby removing James Loney‘s poor offensive production from the lineup. Now, there is some danger in this. As we have seen with Terry Collins handling of Michael Conforto and other young talent, Collins doesn’t trust young players, and he gives them very little rope. As we have seen with Conforto, this could have a detrimental effect on a young player’s development. It’s a strange position to put Cecchini in, but it is the only one that makes sense.
Because at the end of the day, if the Mets are bringing up Cecchini just to sit on the bench, they’re not helping him. Worse yet, they are losing important control time over a player that could be their second baseman for years to come.
The Mets who were long said to have organizational pitching depth are once again at the point where they are pitching Rafael Montero in a pennant race. Worse yet, the Mets are pitching Montero in this spot because Jon Niese cannot make the start because he had knee surgery. With that said, it’s Montero who his making the start in place of the injured Jacob deGrom.
Keep in mind this is the same Montero who the Mets were apparently done with Montero this season.
The Mets were disgusted with him last year because they wanted him to pitch because there was a fundamental disagreement between him and the team regarding whether his shoulder was injured enough to pitch. After pitching horribly in his first Spring Training start, he was one of the first players sent down to minor league Spring Training. The Mets called him up briefly in April to help a struggling bullpen, but Collins almost refused to pitch him. After being put on the shelf for a week, he struggled. Montero then struggled in AAA when he was sent back down leading to his demotion to AA. With important prospects like Amed Rosario needing to be added to the 40 man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, it appeared Montero’s days in the Mets organization were coming to an end.
Now, with a rash of injuries, the Mets turn again to Montero to make a critical start during a pennant race. Once again, the Mets hope Montero can be the pitcher they always thought he would be.
In Montero’s first start of the season, he pitched five shutout innings against a Marlins team that was ahead of the Mets in the Wild Card standings. In those five shutout innings, he gave the Mets a chance to at least outlast Jose Fernandez and get into the Marlins bullpen to eke out a victory. On the glass half-empty side, you see a pitcher who allowed six walks and was constantly on the brink of disaster. He was a pitcher who needed 100 pitches to get through those five innings helping tax the Mets bullpen. On the glass half-full side, you see a pitcher who, despite getting squeezed by the home plate umpire, battled his way and kept his team in the game. You finally saw Montero persevere.
Tonight, we’re going to find out once again if the glass is half-empty or half-full. Montero is pitching against a bad Reds team in a hitter’s ballpark. The glass half-full Montero beats a team that he needs to beat. The glass half-empty Montero struggles in a hitter’s park. So far, the glass has been half-empty with Montero, but there is still time to change that.