Brandon Nimmo
This is the point where the Mets were in 2015, 2016, and 2017. A Mets team with much promise has either regressed or been exposed, and you are left wondering how exactly things were going to get better for this team.
One of the more troubling things we saw both yesterday and throughout this season was how Noah Syndergaard hasn’t been Thor. It’s not too dissimilar to how Matt Harvey had stopped being The Dark Knight, except with Syndergaard there really isn’t any reason to suspect any injury.
That’s not to say Thor was or has been bad. Far from it. His only allowing two runs over six innings is a testament to that. However, it was the way he pitched that was the problem.
A pitcher with remarkable control walked four batters. That included him issuing back-to-back walks in the third inning to Nolan Arenado and Gerardo Parra to force in a run. Between that and the solo home run he allowed to Ian Desmond in the second, he gave away the Mets 2-0 lead. Yes, it was a thin margin of error, but we have seen Thor thrive with even narrower margins.
The Mets two runs were scored in the first off of Kyle Freeland. The first run was the result of three straight singles from Juan Lagares, Yoenis Cespedes, and Asdrubal Cabrera to start the game. After that, Todd Frazier hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. In that first inning, Cespedes once again injured his right quad:
I thought he was just doing the Robert Gsellman exercises pic.twitter.com/aUQXXO631T
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) May 6, 2018
He would be removed from the game for Brandon Nimmo, who we would find out can still draw a walk off a left-handed pitcher, but with two strikeouts, he sure does struggle hitting off of them.
Really, the Mets struggled to hit Freeland for the rest of the game. After that three hit onslaught to begin the game, the Mets would get just one more hit off of him until he departed after seven strong innings.
With the Mets not hitting, Syndergaard settling back down, and Jerry Blevins and AJ Ramos combining to pitch a scoreless seventh, Mickey Callaway went to Hansel Robles in the eighth. No one can be quite sure if Robles pointed to the sky again, but we do know he surrendered another homer. This time to Desmond, his second of the game.
With the Mets inability to hit right now, it might as well have been a walk-off home run for all intents and purposes.
The 3-2 loss ended a dreadful home stand which saw the Mets go 0-6. They pitched poorly and hit even worse. They dropped from first to third place in the NL East. They don’t look like a team in a freefall inasmuch as they look like a bad baseball team without any answers. Hopefully, the trip to Cincinnati and Philadelphia will awaken their bats. Although, we should shutter to thing what will happen to the pitching.
Game Notes: Wilmer Flores was 0-2 with a walk against Freeland. He is now hitting .161/.235/.226 off of left-handed pitching this season.
In the first inning, Steven Matz surrendered a solo homer to Nolan Arenado, and it seemed like more of the same for Matz and the Mets.
But, tonight was different. Both Matz and the Mets showed more fight, and they didn’t fall apart like they’ve done recently. In fact, Matz was quite good allowing just the one run over six innings:
Final line on @Smatz88:
6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.??? pic.twitter.com/8mvIdhYupD
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 6, 2018
In addition to Matz pitching better, both Brandon Nimmo and Yoenis Cespedes had outfield assists.
https://twitter.com/mets/status/992928717155504128?s=21
The latter helped control the damage the Rockies did to Robert Gsellman and keep the Mets close, but ultimately, the Mets would still lose 2-0.
That was more a matter of Chad Bettis pitching very well over seven innings.
Bettis was also helped by some hard hit balls right at Rockies defenders. This includes a Todd Frazier low liner in the sixth hit right at Trevor Story. Instead of Frazier tying the score with an RBI single, it was an inning ending double play.
Overall, the Mets were 0-4 with RISP.
This was the Mets fifth straight loss and sixth out of their last seven games. During that stretch, the Mets have played some really bad baseball. Not tonight. Tonight, they were just beat by a good team.
It happens, but if the Mets play more like they did tonight with good pitching and defense, and generally showing more fight; the Mets can turn things around.
Game Notes: Matt Harvey was officially designated for assignment before the game. With the loss, the Mets fell to third place in the division.
Before the game, it was announced Matt Harvey refused an assignment to the minors, and in response the Mets designated him for assignment effectively ending his Mets career. This may have been a long time coming, and arguably, you could see Harvey being scapegoated for a Mets team that has struggled since it’s incredible 12-2 start.
Well, Harvey might be gone, but the Mets problems still remain.
Zack Wheeler, who allowed five first inning runs is still inconsistent. Michael Conforto is not hitting for any power, and really, he isn’t even getting on base anymore going 0-5with the golden sombrero. Jay Bruce, for that matter, isn’t hitting for any power either. Maybe there was an impact on Jose Lobaton, who was 1-4, and Amed Rosario, who was 2-4 with an RBI, but probably not.
No, we wouldn’t see Jose Reyes or Adrian Gonzalez bat, both of whom have been utterly terrible, and we did not see Jason Vargas, who by comparison made Harvey look like the 2013 version, and we’ll see what Steven Matz contributes tomorrow.
Overriding point is the Mets problems are still present even with Harvey gone because as bad as Harvey was pitching, he was probably fourth or fifth on lower on the tiers of what is actually wrong with this Mets team.
On the bright side, Bruce played first allowing Brandon Nimmo to hit leadoff going 1-4 with a walk. Of course, he drew a walk. He also scored on the Asdrubal Cabrera home run. That provided a jolt that lasted until Charlie Blackmon hit a homer in the top of the second.
As bad as the five run first was or the Blackmon homer was, it was the Josh Thole-esque Tony Wolters hitting one to the top deck off Wheeler that was the worst.
By the time the Mets awoke, it was too late. Todd Frazier‘s eighth inning two run homer made it 8-4. A ninth inning rally with Rosario knocking in Wilmer Flores, who hit a pinch hit double, made it 8-5 This led to Wade Davis coming into the game to close it out . . . just like he did in Game 5 of the World Series.
He allowed a Cabrera RBI triple and subsequently a Frazier RBI single to pull the Mets to withing 8-7. It ended there as Conforto struck out to end the game. Again, somehow Harvey being released didn’t fix him.
Starting tomorrow, it seems like the Mets are going to have to focus on the things that are actually wrong with the team. Seeing how Reyes was re-signed in the offseason, no one should hold their breath.
Game Notes: With Harvey gone, Jerry Blevins and his 6.43 ERA is the worst ERA in the Mets bullpen.
The Mets started 12-2, and it seemed like they could do no wrong. That was until a complete bullpen eighth inning meltdown against the Nationals. Since that point, the Mets have gone 5-9, and they have fallen to second place in the division. With that as the backdrop, we turned to the Mets Blogger Roundtable to ask if Mickey Callaway‘s Mets team is for real:
Becky (Blue Seat Blogs)
We’re already seeing the Mets falling back to earth, and there was never any question that they would lose more than 15 games this year. The positive is that they have a core that’s skilled, and a new manager who will hopefully find ways to adapt and keep the room positive throughout the highs and lows of a season.
Roger Cormier (Good Fundies)
What *is* reality anyway? We are all one big consciousness agreeing upon a never ending list of rules and quibbling over interpretations of shared perceptions, right? That’s what I learned in third grade from the bus driver who smelled weird. If the reality of the situation is I am being asked if the Mets are as good as they were when they started 11-1, then no, they are not “for real.” They have been the fourth-luckiest team in all of baseball while the Nationals have been the most unlucky. We aren’t going to cry over Bryce Harper‘s misfortune (the Vegas native should be aware of streaks of bad luck at the very least anecdotally). We will cry over the Mets though. Yet we shouldn’t; they just have to play .500 ball from their 13th to 162nd game to hit lucky number 86 wins. They uh, haven’t played over .500 ball since that time but I guessed they would make the wild card game five weeks ago, so I might as well keep my chips on 86.
Michael Ganci (Daily Stache)
Right now I want to jump off of my seat in section 509.
Editor’s Note: this response was sent during the game after we learned about deGrom’s elbow.
Mark Healey (Gotham Baseball)
Yes, but they have holes to fix and this passive approach to every situation is part of the problem.
Joe Maracic (Loud Egg)
Greg Prince (Faith and Fear in Flushing)
Are the Mets for real in the sense that they have a genuine chance to end the season where they ended April, in first place? Based on what we’ve seen…sure, why not? I’d hate to think they’re pulling the cap down over our eyes.
Are the Mets for real in the sense that I’m supremely confident they won’t fall out of the race altogether after a while? That’s what the rest of the schedule is for: to find out.
But overall I feel pretty good about this team. The next 130+ games are always the hardest.
Caveat: All of the above is up for grabs in light of the uncertainty surrounding Jacob deGrom.
Tim Ryder (MMO & FOB)
I think the Mets’ start is most-definitely indicative of the potential of this team moving forward through the season.
The inevitably-oncoming adage of “Jake and Thor, then pray for it to pour” that was true for most of the first month of the season seems to be slowly fading away.
After the inconsistencies of Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler over their first few starts, as well as the banishing of Matt Harvey to the bullpen and the alarming start to Jason Vargas’ second stint with the Mets, things have started to look up lately.
If Wheeler can be effective (read: keep his pitches low), his stuff alone places him among the upper-crust of middle-of-the-rotation starting pitchers in the NL, and the same goes for Matz.
If Vargas has shown anything over his career, he’s proven to be the model of mediocre-but-efficient consistency, and that’s all the team really needs out of him.
I think this offense is truly one of the more-dangerous groups we’ve seen here since the days of Carlos Beltran/David Wright/Carlos Delgado, and I mean that. The recent upticks in production for Jay Bruce and Adrian Gonzalez are promising.
The incredible starts of Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo are even more exciting, but we, of course, must be wary of Newton’s Law of Physics in their cases.
The Mets’ bullpen has, for the most part, been the strength of this team and will continue to be, in my opinion. AJ Ramos looks to have found his groove and Robert Gsellman is absolutely thriving in his new role. Even Seth Lugo, who may not be adapting as easily as Gsellman has, has had some success and only figures to get more comfortable as time goes on. And, to be honest, Harvey could come to be a key cog in the relief corps once he gets a feel for things.
James Schapiro (Shea Bridge Report)
Are the Mets for real? It’s hard to say, but what’s becoming clear is that this season certainly won’t be easy. We got off to a hot start with Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, and Bruce all slumping, and you have to think we’ll get more from all of them going forward — but we’ll also presumably see regression from Todd Frazier and Asdrubal Cabrera, and the pitching has gone downhill fast since the first few turns through the rotation. Now deGrom is hurt too…if our starters besides Thor are a failed Harvey, a failed Matz, an inconsistent Wheeler, and an unimpressive Jason Vargas, there’s only so much room to get wins with that kind of rotation. Sure, things could turn out well — anything can happen. But as I said, the only thing that’s clear is that it certainly won’t be easy.
Mets Daddy
Initially, I had a long piece detailing how much the lineup and the pitching staff could benefit from Kevin Plawecki‘s return. How even with the inability to hit for power right now, Conforto is playing a good outfield and getting on base. How when you look deeper into the farm, you see Gavin Cecchini and Peter Alonso getting off to terrific starts making you wonder “What if . . . .”
None of that matters if deGrom is injured like he was in 2016 or Syndergaard was in 2017.
This is not to say his having a serious injury ends the Mets season. Rather, it means the season needs a miracle. In 2016, the Mets got that out of Lugo and Gsellman. Maybe the Mets get that this year out of some group that includes Harvey, Matz, Corey Oswalt, or Chris Flexen.
Maybe . . . .
Personally, I’d like to thank everyone for being able to respond to this roundtable. It was all the more impressive when you consider how panic striken we were collectively as a fanbase when deGrom left the game last night. We do know when that news finally breaks, there will be some terrific things written about deGrom and the Mets. Some of the best things will be written by the people in this roundtable, and I hope you will visit their sites.
That is except for Becky. She is currently a free agent and needs a home to write about the Mets. Hopefully, someone will soon jump in and find a home for her terrific work.
During the offseason, many Mets fans, myself included, had implored the Mets to go out on the free agent market and address the real needs this team had. Instead, the Mets went out, looked for bargains, and they signed more Major League free agents than they had during Sandy Alderson’s tenure as the Mets general mananger.
On the surface, it must be working out because the Mets are 17-9 and in first place. With the salt and pepper shaker bit, the Mets seem to have built a strong clubhouse and a strong team who is in good position to make the postseason.
However, if you dig a little deeper, you will see of all the players the Mets signed this past offseason, Todd Frazier is really the only one producing. While we are dealing with small sample sizes, here is the respective WAR for each of the Mets free agent signings:
Adrian Gonzalez-0.3 WAR
Jay Bruce 0.0 WAR
Jose Reyes -0.2 WAR
Jason Vargas -0.3 WAR
Anthony Swarzak 0.0 WAR
Combined, these free agent signings have accumulated a -0.8 WAR. Now, there are bound to be some caveats to this, and one of those caveats is injuries.
Vargas and Swarzak have both spent time on the disabled list. With Swarzak, his being on the disabled list has prevented him from contributing. With Vargas, his injury limited him to one start, and in that one start where he allowed nine runs on nine hits in 3.2 innnings, he was arguably rusty. At least you hope Vargas was rusty.
With respect to Bruce, he has been hampered by plantar fascitiis. As a result, the Mets have not seen the player who got off to a terrific start last year. Instead, this looks more like the Bruce of 2014 – 2016 who averaged a 0.1 WAR.
Bruce’s injury and Gonzalez’s ineffectiveness have had it’s impact on the Mets which go far beyond their recent 7-8 streak. No, their presence on the team has limited Brandon Nimmo‘s playing time. Nimmo has started the season hitting .313/.488/.563 with a double, two triples, a homer, three RBI, and a stolen base. If this were a true meritocracy, Nimmo would be leading off and playing everyday.
Instead, because he made the mistake of being born in the 1990s instead of the 1980s, he’s on the bench. As a result, the Mets are not fielding their best team each and every day.
Speaking of which, it is still baffling how Reyes is still on this roster. Last year, he had a -0.6 WAR, 94 wRC+, and an MLB worst -26 DRS among infielders. Basically put, he couldn’t hit and couldn’t field.
As for the argument he’s a mentor for Amed Rosario, then he’s failing at that job too. Rosario has an unfathomably low 4.3% walk rate, a high 25.3% strikeout rate, and a -2 DRS. Overall, he’s hitting just .238/.282/.325 with five doubles, a triple, no homers, eight RBI, no stolen bases, and two caught stealings. The end result of that is Rosario having a -0.2 WAR.
Looking at Rosario’s numbers, he’s nowhere close to living up to his potential. Rosario is a truly gifted player, and the Mets have a lot invested in him and his development. So far, whatever Reyes is telling him, just isn’t working. And if Reyes is playing poorly and isn’t helping Rosario along, you need to again question why Reyes is here.
The good news is we should reasonably expect Bruce and Vargas to improve. Sooner or later, Swarzak will return and be a real shot in the arm for the bullpen. To that extent, the Mets could be a significantly better version of the 17-9 team they are right now. Of course, part of being a better team is putting their younger players like Nimmo and Rosario in a position to succeed. To that end, the Mets may need to re-look at the players they signed this offseason and cut bait where appropriate.
Editor’s Note: This was partially adapted from the 3 Up, 3 Down piece published on MMO
One of the most interesting phenomena in sports is how when an aging player returns to his old stomping grounds, sometimes he is just able to turn back the clock. As Mets fans, we saw this in 2006 when Mike Piazza had a two home run game against Pedro Martinez. Yesterday, we saw Adrian Gonzalez have one of those days.
It’s been bad for Gonzalez of late, really bad. He’s been mired in a 1-17 stretch with no extra base hits. Going back a little further, over his last 10 games, he’s hitting .121/.205/.212.
Things have been so bad Wilmer Flores got the previous two starts at first base. Yes, the Padres were starting left-handed pitchers both days, but Gonzalez has killed Clayton Richard. However, when you’re hitting like he’s been hitting, you’re not going to get into the lineup. You’re also going to hear about the Mets planning to move Jay Bruce to first base. This meant if Gonzalez was going to do anything to stop it all from happening, he was going to have to do it now.
Did we mention earlier that @Adrian_ElTitan is Petco Park’s all-time home run leader, too? pic.twitter.com/dnUAVVeHjC
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 29, 2018
That seventh inning three run homer was needed because it helped put what was a close game away. Instead of a tight 4-2 game with Mickey Callaway having to use his best relievers, it was a 7-2 laugher allowing Callaway to get work for guys like Matt Harvey.
It was all part of a great day for Gonzalez. Overall, he was 3-6 with a run, double, homer, and five RBI. He would have had an even better day had Franchy Cordero not robbed him of another double earlier in the game.
With Gonzalez front and center, this was really a day when a lot of beleaguered Mets got healthy. Jose Reyes contributed going 2-5 with three runs, a homer, RBI, walk, and a stolen base. Tomas Nido was 2-5 with a run, RBI, and a walk. And Harvey would pitch a scoreless ninth, even if he did allow a hard hit double to Eric Hosmer. Really, that’s the last time I want to ever put Harvey’s name, double, and a 2015 Royal in the same sentence.
Going with the rejuvenation theme, Zack Wheeler was good, which was needed from a Mets rotation still trying to figure out who can be an effective third starter in this rotation.
He battled most of the afternoon, and he did not get a 1-2-3 inning until the fifth, his last inning of work. That said, what impressed you most about this start was how Wheeler found that extra something at times when he’s usually lost it. Wheeler ended a rally in the first by striking out Freddy Galvis. He helped curb a third inning rally limiting the damage to two runs by striking out Carlos Asuaje. After Manuel Margot‘s two out single, stolen base, and advancing to third on a throwing error, Wheeler struck out Hosmer.
Overall, Wheeler had nine strikeouts, but what was really remarkable was how he got them at key moments when he needed a strikeout. That hasn’t always been his M.O., and it’s a real positive step going forward for him.
Even with his start and with Gonzalez turning back the clock was how the Mets offense put five spots on the board in consecutive innings. It was a full on onslaught by a Mets offense which saw every starting position player register two hits. Even Brandon Nimmo, who came on for Yoenis Cespedes, would register two hits. In addition to Gonzalez, Reyes and Todd Frazier would homer. The sum total of this barrage was a 14-2 Mets win marking the first ever time the Mets have scored double digits at Petco Park.
Of course with this being the Mets, not everything could be a positive. Cespedes, who has been torrid of late, had to come out of the game after executing a double steal with Bruce. In what was his second stolen base of the inning, Cespedes jammed his thumb. The good news is the x-rays were negative. The bad news is Cespedes believes he can’t play over the next three days, and that’s with the Braves coming to town.
Still, things could have been a lot worse with Cespedes, and with the Mets going to Petco, a place where they had only previously won one series, things could have gone a lot worse there. All in all, this was a good series where the Mets got back on track.
Game Notes: Paul Sewald recorded his first hold of the season. He initially came on to relieve Wheeler when it was a two run game. He now has a 1.98 ERA on the season.
The story of this game should have been Noah Syndergaard returning to form. Like on Opening Day, he was mowing down the Cardinals, but this time, he was much more efficient in doing so. Through six, he kept the Cardinals scoreless striking out six and allowing just two hits, and it looked like the Mets were going to cruise to a 2-0 victory at that point.
Both RBI came from Yoenis Cespedes, who snapped out of his funk going 2-5 with a double and two RBI. The first RBI was a first inning off Carlos Martinez scoring Brandon Nimmo from first. In the seventh, in what looked like window dressing at the plate, he plated Amed Rosario with a sacrifice fly.
However, as we have learned with Cespedes, sometimes he will giveth and sometimes he will taketh.
That was evident with Tommy Pham “doubled” on a ball that hit off of Cespedes’ glove. Pham would then come home to score on a Marcell Ozuna single to cut the lead to 2-1. With the way Paul DeJong kills the Mets, really it was a miracle he didn’t tie the score on his double.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter as the Mets gave up the lead in the eighth with some more poor defense.
What was interesting was Mickey Callaway let Syndergaard start the eighth while holding back Robert Gsellman. Really, you wonder why not just go to the fresh arm after an inning in which Syndergaard faced some trouble. Really, this is a bit nitpicky because this is Syndergaard we are talking about here.
In any event, Rosario threw a ball away on a Greg Garcia grounder starting off the inning with a runner on first instead of one out and the pitcher’s spot coming up. Syndergaard struck out Yadier Molina before allowing a single to Matt Carpenter leading to his getting pulled from the game.
Gsellman was in a tough spot, and he didn’t deliver immediately. The first batter he faced, Pham, singled to tie the score. To his credit, with the go-ahead run in scoring position and just one out, Gsellman got Jose Martinez to ground into the inning ending 6-4-3 double play.
After a rusty Seth Lugo battled through a hit batter and walk to get through a scoreless ninth, the Mets would get an absolute gift run in the 10th.
After two quick outs, Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier hit back-to-back singles putting the game into Adrian Gonzalez‘s hands. Somehow, not only would Luke Gregerson walk Gonzalez, but he would also walk Jose Lobaton to force in a run. With Jeurys Familia coming into the game, it seemed like the Mets would win a series after losing two straight.
Didn’t happen.
After two quick outs, Pham hit a ball up the middle most second baseman make fairly routinely. The problem is Asdrubal Cabrera, even at full strength, doesn’t have much range. With his current leg injury, he has almost no range. Cabrera did all he could do, but he really had no shot at Pham.
Oddly enough, Juan Lagares wouldn’t have a shot at the subsequent Martinez double. Oddly enough, Callaway went against his recent trends, and he put in Lagares for defense. Martinez’s ball to deep center was a play almost no center fielder makes, but we have all become so spoiled by Lagares, he almost makes the impossible seem routine. He ran back to dead center, leaped, and missed. Instead of another highlight reel defensive play, it was a game tying double.
AJ Ramos pitched a perfect 11th, and Paul Sewald pitched a perfect 12th. Unfortunately, the hottest pitcher in the Mets bullpen couldn’t keep the Cardinals off the board. A Martinez walk followed by consecutive singles to Ozuna and Dexter Fowler was the ballgame.
With that, the Mets have lost three straight series, and the vibes from their amazing start have faded. They have faded because the bottom of the lineup is black hole, but mostly, it is because this defense is bad and plays bad.
Game Notes: With the Mets out of position players, Sewald hit for himself in the top of the 13th. Jose Reyes grounded out in the 10th to end that rally.
Entering the 2018 season, the Mets right side defense was a question mark. With veterans who could mitigate against their declining skills with positioning and baseball acumen, how much of a question mark the right side would be defensively would be open to debate.
With the Mets starting the year 15-6, it would be fair to say any concerns about any areas of this team could be overblown. And yet, it does seem the right side defense has been an issue on more than one occasion, and possibly, it helped cost the Mets some games. Here’s a review:
April 16th
This game was known for a complete and utter bullpen meltdown with the bullpen walking in two runs, issuing another walk, hitting a batter, and allowing three hits in a six run Nationals inning. In a microcosm, the focus is the bullpen. In a macro sense, there is a question if the defense could have stemmed the tide.
The first two runs of that inning were scored on a Bryce Harper single hit between Asdrubal Cabrera and Adrian Gonzalez. Arguably, another tandem fields that ball and gets at least one out.
The next RBI single was a game tying Wilmer Difo single by Wilmer Flores. Again, it is an open debate if another first baseman, maybe not Gonzalez, but another first baseman gets that ball or even knocks it down.
Lost in the meltdown were two plays where the right side could have made a play, and they didn’t. Maybe if those plays were made, that inning goes much differently.
April 21st
With the game already tied in the bottom of the ninth, Ender Inciarte came to the plate with runners at the corners. In 2017, Inciarte was third in the NL in bunt hits. As a result, his dropping down a bunt, even against a drawn-in infield, could not be ruled out as a possibility. Even Gary Cohen predicted it could happen.
Inciarte would drop down that bunt, and even with Gonzalez charging in, he had no real shot to get the runner at home, and as a result, the Mets lost that game.
April 24th
With the game tied and Matt Harvey on the mound, Dexter Fowler hit a line drive to right field. A plantar fascitiis plagued Jay Bruce took long to get there, and the speedy Fowler took advantage stretching the single to a double. That would put Fowler in position to score on the ensuing RBI double by Paul DeJong.
Unlike the aforementioned games, the Mets would not lose this close one due to a Gonzalez sacrifice fly and Bruce homer.
Advanced Stats Perspective
Looking at the trio of Gonzalez, Cabrera, and Bruce, they are some of the slower players in Major League Baseball. According to Baseball Savant, Gonzalez is the sixth slowest first baseman, Cabrera is the second slowest second baseman, and Bruce is the slowest outfielder in all of baseball. All combined, this is the slowest right side defense in all of baseball.
This creates an opportunity for teams to get more hits through the right side of the infield, drop those hits into the Bermuda Triangle, and take the extra base on balls hit to right.
Expanding it further, Gonzalez’s -1 DRS is 15th among MLB first baseman, Bruce’s -2 DRS is 16 among MLB right fielders, and Cabrera’s -3 DRS is worst in the majors among MLB second baseman.
Overall, the Mets -1 DRS among first baseman is 17th, -2 DRS among their right fielders is ranked 22nd, and -3 DRS among second baseman is third worst in the majors. The combined -6 DRS takes the Mets defense from a middle of the pack in the majors to a lower third defensive club.
It has created a soft spot in the Mets defense, which is all the more of a problem when you consider the bullpen has one left-handed reliever in Jerry Blevins and right now has just one left-handed starter in Steven Matz. Even with Jason Vargas soon to come off the disabled list and a bullpen full of platoon neutral to reverse platoon pitchers, this is a problem.
Now, when Cabrera is hitting like an MVP candidate, Gonzalez is getting key hits, and Bruce is hitting go-ahead homers, no one is going to care all that much.
However, when Cabrera comes back to Earth, Gonzalez stops getting those clutch RBIs, and Brandon Nimmo continues to pressure a hobbled Bruce for playing time, it’s going to become harder and harder to ignore the defensive liability the three present on one side of the field. While we can argue their impact on the aforementioned games, there will come a point in time the Mets right side defense will cost the team a game or two or more.
So, yes, right now there is no reason to have a cause for alarm or a sense of urgency. That said, sooner or later, Sandy Alderson and Mickey Callaway are going to have to find a way to mitigate against what could be the Mets biggest issue right now, even if that means bruising a couple of egos by lifting them late in games for defense.
If you were paying attention before the game, there was a stir over a contrived controversy featuring Yoenis Cespedes. No, it was not the typical contrived Cespedes controversies with his golf, cars, or his hat being backwards. No, this one was the utterly false claim that somehow Mets fans are irritated with or hate Cespedes. Today, Cespedes set out and showed why such claims are utterly preposterous:
I think he played golf yesterday pic.twitter.com/Evp7wNzN7G
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) April 25, 2018
If you think he took out a month’s worth of frustrations and completely demolished that ball, you would be right:
Yoenis Cespedes just hit the #Mets' hardest and farthest home run since #Statcast started tracking in 2015.
How hard and how far?
115.1 mph, 463 feet. pic.twitter.com/KhniTFcOXL— David Adler (@_dadler) April 25, 2018
The Mets really needed that homer too because the Mets have not been playing their best baseball of late, and they were not really getting anything going against Cardinals starter Luke Weaver to that point, and Zack Wheeler was struggling.
Wheeler’s day started with his allowing a Tommy Pham two run homer in the first. He would never quite settle in with his not registering one 1-2-3 inning in the game. While he dodged troubled in the second and third, the Cardinals got to him again in the fourth with Kolten Wong‘s second double the day scoring a run, and Weaver delivering an RBI single of his own to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead.
The Mets lone run had come off a complete Marcell Ozuna misplay in left on what was scored a Jay Bruce RBI triple. The Mets continued rallying from there, but they were not able to score another run in that second inning. The seminal play was an Adrian Gonzalez hot shot Wong made a great play on which kept the slow and injured Bruce at third.
Really, the Mets looked dead in the water until there were two outs in the top of the fifth, and Weaver lost the strike zone. He walked Wilmer Flores and Michael Conforto on eight straight balls until the aforementioned Cespedes homer.
With Wheeler lifted after four uninspiring innings, this put the game in new reliever Matt Harvey‘s hands.
In the fifth, he was victimized a bit by Bruce’s complete and utterly lack of speed. Dexter Fowler hit what should have been a single, but with Bruce’s speed, he made it an easy double. That allowed Fowler to score easily on the subsequent Paul DeJong double. Likely, Fowler doesn’t score from first on the De Jong double. Still, Harvey did allow back-to-back well struck balls which broke the 4-4 tie.
Overall, Harvey pitched fairly well out of the bullpen. In his two innings, he allowed one earned on two hits with one walk while striking out two. Tomas Nido was helping him get those extra calls, and Harvey had better velocity than we have seen of late:
Matt Harvey's first relief outing is in the books:
2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 35 pitches. He topped out at 94.7 mph. #Mets pic.twitter.com/ccflZkcdyM
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 25, 2018
All in all, it was a positive outing for Harvey was in line for the loss partially because Mickey Callaway has been making some odd decisions of late and because of Bruce’s speed. Really, Bruce’s speed cost the Mets at least two runs tonight – when he couldn’t even score on the Wong play and his allowing Fowler to get into scoring position.
As for Callaway, in the top of the 7th, Callaway used Juan Lagares instead of Brandon Nimmo as a pinch hitter. Considering Nimmo’s OBP and Jordan Hicks‘ 6.2 BB/9 this year, you might as well of put Nimmo on first to start the inning. Instead Callaway went with his best defensive outfielder who struggles historically against right-handed pitching.
Still, even with the Bruce speed issues and Callaway’s curious decision making, this is a resilient Mets team.
Paul Sewald kept the Mets in the game with a scoreless seventh, and the Mets offense went to work against Hicks in the eighth.
Todd Frazier started the inning with a four pitch walk, and he went first to third on a Bruce single which snuck just past Jose Martinez. A Gonzalez sacrifice fly would tie the game up at 5-5. Unfortunately, that was where the rally would end. Luke Gregerson came on and struck out Amed Rosario and got Nido to fly out to get out of the jam.
This would be the second time the weak bottom of the lineup prevented the Mets from cashing in on an opportunity, and it was another instance where you were left wondering why Callaway didn’t bring Nimmo into the game to take full advantage of a key opportunity.
Again, even with that, Sewald was great out of the Mets bullpen again. He had two scoreless innings keeping the Mets in the game.
Robert Gsellman would make things really interesting in the ninth by first walking Matt Carpenter, and then allowing a bloop single to Pham. However, he would send the game into extras by first striking out Martinez and then inducing Ozuna to hit into the inning ending 5-4-3 double play.
That play loomed large as Bruce would hit a go-ahead homer in the top of the 10th off Matthew Bowman. Inexplicably, Mike Matheny challenged whether Bruce touched first base, which only served to give Jeurys Familia more time to warm up in the bullpen. The well warmed up Familia came on to blow through the Cardinals for his ninth save of the year.
With some questionable decisions and calls, the Mets are back to their winning ways. They won mostly because this is a resilient club with every member of this team summoning something each night to help deliver a win.
GAME NOTES: This was the first time all season the Mets wore a blue alternate jersey. Mets are now 3-0 in extra inning games.
Aside from his rare ability to draw walks and find a way to get on base, Mets fans have take a real liking to Brandon Nimmo because he expressly the very same joy on the baseball field we have watching him play. The homegrown Mets always has a positive attitude and a smile on his face. Overall, he plays the game the right way, and he has the right attitude in everything he does.
This begs the question as to why he seems to rub people the wrong way.
Seeing Nimmo’s disposition, it was of no surprise Nimmo is willing to accept any role with this team. In fact, he went a step further saying, “
On the Afternoon Drive with Carlin, Maggie, and Bart, Chris Carlin implored him to “Dial it back” because he’s Brandon Nimmo. Bart Scott told him to “Be quiet young man” and even called him “Rex, Jr.” It should be noted Maggie Gray defended Nimmo for being upbeat and buying in.
In the sixth inning on Sunday, Nimmo hit a big game-tying home run the half inning after the Mets had lost the lead. There were no bat flips and slow trots. Instead, he sprinted around the bases with a smile on his face.
Apparently, this rubbed Mark DeRosa, former Major Leaguer and Mets managerial candidate this past offseason, the wrong way. On MLB Central, DeRosa would feel the need to put Nimmo in his place saying, “I get it. We’re grown men competing! Wipe the smile off your face! It’s game 14!”
Last night, with the Mets down 3-2 in the sixth inning, Nimmo was hit by a pitch by Tanner Roark, which loaded the bases. Nimmo responded to the beaning by smiling, clapping his hands, and running to first. That prompted this reaction from WFAN overnight host John Jastremski:
Love emotion in baseball. Like Brandon Nimmo, but he can’t be serious clapping his hands and celebrating like a little leaguer after getting plunked. That’s little league stuff…
— John Jastremski (@john_jastremski) April 19, 2018
So far in his career, Nimmo has not had a cross word to say about anyone. He plays hard, and he does not take one game off. In everything he does on the field, he plays the game the right way. He’s that rare quality of being both a grinder and being a guy who gets both his team and the fans into the game.
When it comes to the team or the clubhouse, no one ever has a bad word to say about him. In fact, Mickey Callaway went so far as to compliment him after Nimmo had to be sent down to the minors despite his terrific play saying, “Tough break for Nimmo, he deserves to be here, he handled the news unbelievably. What a guy. He’s a winning player, he’s going to help us for a long, long time so it’s tough but we felt like it was necessary.” (northjersey.com)
This is a guy who loves being a Met, baseball, and life itself. He checks his ego at the door, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win. Normally, players like this are celebrated. However, because Nimmo does it with a smile on his face and plays with joy on the baseball field, people want to just tear him down.
Through it all, Nimmo has risen above it, and he’s been a great ambassador for baseball. It’s why Mets fans love him, and it’s why he’s quickly become a fan favorite. So, they can all go ahead and mock him and criticize him. Mets fans will be here cheering for him and smiling along with him every step of the way.