Javier Baez

Tylor Megill And Offense Completely Derail Yankees

Things did not start well for Tylor Megill. He allowed a run in each of the first two innings including a Joey Gallo homer.

Believe it or not, this wasn’t more of the same of what we’ve seen from the New York Mets. Rather, it was the start of the Mets completely derailing of the New York Yankees in the start of the Citi Field portion of the Subway Series.

Megill had his best start as a Major Leaguer pitching a career high seven innings while recording a career high 10 strikeouts. He’d pick up his third career win as the Mets dominated.

The first indication of what we were about to see happened in the first inning. Gary Disarcina had an all-time bad send (his speciality), and yet Jonathan Villar was safe due to what can only be classified as the worst tag attempt in Major League history.

Right there, Gary Sanchez set the tone. The rest of the Yankees team would take it home.

The Mets blew it open in the third when Jordan Montgomery loaded the bases with no outs. The first run plated when Pete Alonso drew a walk.

Javier Báez hit a ball to Gio Urshela. Urshela made a poor throw home thereby keeping the bases loaded and allowing the run to score. Jeff McNeil followed with a perfect drag bunt to increase the score to 4-2.

A Kevin Pillar sacrifice fly and James McCann RBI double later, and the Mets had a five run inning. They were far from done. The lead was expanded to 7-2 when Francisco Lindor hit an opposite field one out homer.

Later in the inning, Báez doubled home Michael Conforto from first. The rally ended there with Báez being nailed at third. It was just about the only thing the Yankees did right all night.

As Keith Hernandez put it, the Yankees were “Pepe Le Peu.” They had two errors and a number of misplays. They looked every bit the team who has now lost seven straight.

As for the Mets, this 10-3 win was a glimpse at what could’ve been. With the exception of Alonso, their top six hitters reached safely at least twice.

Overall, this looked like a real postseason team. The shame of it is they likely won’t get there. Instead, we see them in the black jerseys and dream.

Game Notes: McCann hit what should’ve been an inning ending double play in the seventh. Instead, Gleyber Torres threw it away allowing two runs to score. Yennsy Diaz surrendered a solo homer to Anthony Rizzo in the ninth.

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Bad Mets Team Loses To Marlins

The New York Mets were up 2-0 due to the genius of Javier Báez and Marcus Stroman. It was really just the two of them.

Báez created a run with his hustle and base running in the first, and then he homered in the third. He really accounted for all of the Mets runs.

Through the first five, Stroman allowed just one hit. In the sixth, he got himself into trouble putting the first two on base, but he limited the damage to one run.

Through six-and-a-half innings, the Mets led 2-1. Luis Rojas stuck with his big game pitcher in the seventh. Sadly, the team failed the pitcher and manager (again).

After a Sandy Leon one out infield single, Rojas went to Brad Hand. You could argue it should’ve been someone else, but this bullpen is getting increasingly spent.

Hand looked like the pitcher the Toronto Blue Jays released as he struggled to find the zone. Still, he limited the Marlins to just infield singles.

The bigger problem was Hand threw a ball he had no business throwing. He tried to get the speedy Lewis Brinson. Instead of eating it and leaving the bases loaded, his throwing error allowed Isan Diaz to score.

Of course, the Mets would find a way to compound that frustrating inning. After Pete Alonso tripled to lead-off the eighth, he would be left stranded there.

Báez and J.D. Davis grounded out to the drawn-in infield. After Michael Conforto was intentionally walked, Jeff McNeil grounded out to end the inning.

Parenthetically, there was criticisms of Rojas not allowing Davis to face Anthony Bender in last night’s loss. Rojas’ assessment that Bender”s velocity and slider was a bad match-up for Davis proved correct.

In the bottom of the inning, Jazz Chisholm went upper deck against Jeurys Familia to give the Marlins a 3-2 lead. After the Mets went down 1-2-3 in the ninth, that was the final score.

Long story short, this was just the latest in inexcusable losses, and if not for the other competition faltering, it would’ve proved to be a death knell for the Mets. Whatever the case, this is a highly flawed team who is going nowhere.

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Luis Rojas Facing Increased Scrutiny Because Edwin Diaz Choked Again

There are many reasons the New York Mets blew this game to the Miami Marlins and lost a game they couldn’t afford to lose. Sandy Alcantara was brilliant, and the offense came up short again.

The Mets blew it in the 10th inning. There was probably a botched call from the umpires and replay. That meant instead of Jesus Sanchez‘s error leading to runners at the corners, it was just prolonging the at-bat.

Javier Báez would strike out. Jeff McNeil had some bad luck hitting one off the pitcher for what turned out to be a ground out. Luis Rojas then went running to his bench.

First, it was Luis Guillorme for Kevin Pillar. Guillorme walked. Then, in a somewhat incredulous decision, he pinch hit Patrick Mazeika for James McCann. Mazeika meekly grounded out to end the inning.

With the Mets other high end relievers having been used, Rojas was essentially forced to bring in Edwin Diaz. What was over concern should now be alarm.

After blowing consecutive saves to the Washington Nationals, Diaz was entrusted with getting this tied game to the 11th inning. He’d fail miserably.

The first batter, Magneuris Sierra, laid down a good bunt. Diaz got there and nearly threw it away. Really, it took a great play from Báez to not only get the out, but to also stop Diaz from throwing it away to end the game.

Diaz did rebound to strike out an overmatched Sanchez. Then, Bryan De La Cruz came to the plate. Make no mistake, there’s just no way Diaz should’ve been pitching to De La Cruz.

After the game, Rojas cited a number of reasons why. Those included the R/R matchup as well as Diaz’s control issues. No matter what, the real issue was Diaz.

Despite ordering the intentional walk being the right call, Diaz would pitch to De La Cruz. Instead of being careful, Diaz would throw a 1-1 fastball over the heart of the plate which De La Cruz launched to dead center to end the game leading to Diaz with the Hansel Robles signature finger point:

Again, blame the offense all you want for the 2-1 loss. Blame Rojas for some weird pinch hitting decisions and for pitching to De La Cruz. Those are all valid critiques.

However, at the end of the day, the Mets have a closer who can’t seem to pitch in September in a pennant race. He had a 7.36 ERA in September 2019. He’s allowed five runs in 3.0 innings taking a loss and going 1/3 in save chances.

Closers like Diaz, or at least what many pretend Diaz to be, are supposed to hide some of the deficiencies by ensuring the close games go in your favor. That just doesn’t happen with Diaz in the huge spots.

For the third straight outing, that was the case. You just wonder how many more outings like this he has before the Mets are completely out of contention.

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Mets Need To Give Something Extra In Big Win

Well, it was bound to happen. After all the times the New York Mets were going to ignore his track record, they were bound to get Rich Hill through six. Tonight was that night.

This was Hill’s best start as a Met, and he was helped along by his defense and some Nationals snafus.

In the first, Lane Thomas failed to retouch second on a flyout leading to him getting doubled off. In the third, after Luis Garcia doubled, Hill would pick Garcia off second.

Garcia hit his second double in the fifth. If not for a terrific play off the wall by Michael Conforto and a strong relay throw, Riley Adams scores. Instead, Hill got Keibert Ruiz popped out to end the inning

As evidenced by the above and Francisco Lindor, really the play behind Hill was phenomenal. Hill dropping down some and getting Juan Soto out in big spots, like the sixth, is exactly how you pitch six shutout innings.

Hill got the win because the Mets offense did just enough. It also helped they were able to absolutely abuse Soto’s poor defense in right.

In the second. Javier Báez had a hustle double on a ball hit to Soto. He’d score on a frightening moment where Conforto lined one off of Washington Nationals starter Sean Nolin.

Fortunately, Nolin was able to move enough it didn’t hit him in the head. More than that, he was able to stay in the game.

Kevin Pillar followed with a double putting runners on second and third. The runs would not score with Chance Sisco and Hill being unable to deliver a hit.

In the third, Brandon Nimmo drew a one out walk, and Pete Alonso hit a ball the other 29 right fielders in baseball catch. Soto was the one who couldn’t turning it into an RBI triple giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.

At this point, the hope was the Mets offense would take off and put the game away. Instead, the Mets offense went away leaving very little margin for error.

The Mets had chances. In the fifth, there were runners on second and third with one out. In the seventh, they had first and third with one out. They failed to score in either situation.

These are the situations which come to haunt you. We saw Aaron Loup and Seth Lugo handle it. Unfortunately, Edwin Diaz couldn’t.

First, Soto got a measure of revenge with a lead-off homer. After a strikeout, Diaz walked Ryan Zimmerman, who was replaced by the pinch runner Andrew Stevenson.

This is where Nimmo almost cost the Mets the game.

On an 0-2 pitch, Stevenson took off, and Adams lined it to center. Nimmo had no chance to catch it, but he dove anyway. If not for Conforto backing up the play, the Mets lose on an inside the park homer.

Instead, they lost their catcher. Conforto made a strong relay, and Báez made a strong but albeit offline throw. Sisco just got blown up on the play, Stevenson scored. and the game was tied with the tying run at third.

Patrick Mazeika came in, and Diaz settled down to get the next two outs to send it to extras. The Mets would score more in the tenth than the previous nine.

With Lindor as the ghost runner, Alonso golfed one to center giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. When Baez fouled out to deep left, Alonso had heads up base running to tag up and go to second.

This led the Nationals to intentionally walk Conforto to set up the double play. Instead, Kevin Pillar ripped a two RBI double to left extending the lead to 5-2.

That lead would be extended to 6-2 later in the inning when Jonathan Villar hit an RBI single. Remarkably, Villar started the game 0-for-2, and he would still have a four hit game.

Jeurys Familia entered the game in the 10th, and there would be no blowing it. He shut the door on a game the Mets had to have.

Well, the Mets need them all. In any event, the Mets turned what could’ve been a bad loss to a terrific 6-2 win.

Game Notes: Brad Hand was activated. Dominic Smith was placed on the bereavement list. Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling went on the road to broadcast a game for the first time in nearly two years.

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Mets Still Alive After Sloppy Win

This is the way it works with Carlos Carrasco. He struggles in the first, and he shuts the opponent down after that. That’s what happened again in his start against the Miami Marlins.

It was 2-0 before Carrasco recorded an out, but he kept the Marlins there. What was unusual was the Mets responded immediately with a Jonathan Villar lead-off homer off Sandy Alcantara.

In the fourth, we’d see Francisco Lindor put his stamp on the game.

Brandon Nimmo led off the fourth with an infield single. He went to second when Isan Diaz threw it away. Lindor drove home Nimmo with an RBI double and moved to third on a fielder’s choice. That put him in position to score when he induced Alcantara to balk.

This speaks to how bizarre the game was from a defensive standpoint. There were just a number a terrific defensive plays. However, there were also a number of errors and miscues. By some miracle, there were no unearned runs in the game.

Case-in-point, in the fifth, Jorge Alfaro reached on a Villar error. He took off on a pitch which Bryan De La Cruz lined to right. Javier Báez brilliant deked Alfaro allowing Michael Conforto to easily throw him out at first.

We saw that in the sixth. Mets killer Miguel Rojas, who opened the game with a homer, hit a lead-off single, and he moved to second on an error from Carrasco. After a one walk, Luis Rojas brought in Aaron Loup.

While he’s been the Mets best reliever, Loup just didn’t have it. He’d walk back-to-back batters to force home the tying run. He’s dig down to get out of the inning, but the damage was done.

After Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless seventh, he was in line for the win. They’d get it for him giving him a team high nine wins.

Jeff McNeil and Patrick Mazeika hit consecutive one out singles. McNeil was able to go to third on a Jesus Sanchez error.

Rojas went to his bench to have Dominic Smith pinch hit. Smith sat because he’s been struggling and due to his best 0-for-9 off Alcantara. After he ripped a double off Jesus Aguilar‘s glove, he’s now 1-for-10.

If Aguilar didn’t touch it, the ball probably goes foul. However, he did, and in a fitting fashion, the go-ahead run scored on an almost play.

The Mets made good on that 4-3 lead. First, it was Trevor May in the eighth. May did all he could do that inning including trying to dive to catch a foul ball.

In the ninth, Edwin Diaz continued his recent stretch of dominance. He struck out two in a perfect inning saving the sloppy 4-3 win featuring seven errors and a number of misplays.

Game Notes: Brad Hand was claimed off waivers. As it happened after August 31, he will not be postseason eligible. Khalil Lee was sent down for Yennsy Diaz. Like Lee briefly was, Albert Almora is a September call-up.

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Javier Báez: New Mets Fan Favorite

Before the suspended game from April 11 resumed, there was the theatre of the absurd where Javier Báez and Francisco Lindor were forced to apologize for the thumbs down controversy. Their qualifying the apology certainly didn’t help matters.

What really didn’t help was the Mets falling behind 5-1 to the Miami Marlins. It also didn’t help Jesus Aguilar was taunting them during the game.

Worse yet, this was the same old story with the Mets blowing chance after chance after chance. That includes the eighth when Báez was announced as a pinch hitter. He was booed lustily by the sparse crowd. It’ll probably be the last time he’s ever booed.

Chance Sisco of all people got a rally started with a one out walk. Brandon Nimmo followed with a two run homer, which at the time seemed like little more than window dressing.

Don Mattingly brought in Richard Bleier to replace Anthony Bass. Bleier retired Lindor putting the Marlins within one out of victory and a group of Mets seeking redemption.

First was Dominic Smith, who singled. Pete Alonso came up as the tying run, and he lined a double to left. Mattingly went to Dylan Floro, and Báez came up as the go-ahead run.

Báez hit an infield single scoring Smith pulling the Mets to within 5-4. Michael Conforto followed with an opposite field single easily scoring Alonso to tie the game. When Jorge Alfaro, a catcher somehow thrown to left, bobbled the ball, Báez made a mad dash for home.

It was a run arguably only Báez could score. It involved a player with speed who always hustles, and a player with a high baseball IQ willing to take calculated risks. The end result was a win and a great call from Gary Cohen.

This was a win which flipped the script. Not only did it take a bad loss and make it a great win, but it changed the narrative and reaction towards Báez.

It was also a win with legs. The Mets would get off and running in the fourth with a Conforto two run homer.

Later in the inning, Jeff McNeil would double home Báez. It was 3-0, and the Mets would hold on.

Trevor Williams cruises through four, but he’d hit a bump with the 3-0 lead and a Jonathan Villar error. An Aguilar double drove in a run.

With two on and one out, Luis Rojas went to Aaron Loup. While Loup would walk Jazz Chisholm, he’s get Isan Diaz to hit into the inning ending double play.

Things weren’t easy for Seth Lugo in the sixth, but he’d get out of a runners on second and third jam by striking out Sandy Leon and Magneuris Sierra.

Edwin Diaz came in the seventh and retired the side in order for his eighth consecutive save. With that, it was a doubleheader sweep.

This day had all the feel of the Wilmer Flores walk-off. With the Mets 5.5 games out of a postseason spot with a month left in the season, who knows?

Doubleheader Notes: Jeurys Familia picked up the win in the first game. Loup won the second game. Between games, Luis Guillorme was activated off the IL, and Brandon Drury was optioned. Yennsy Diaz was the 27th man.

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Sandy Alderson Upset Javier Báez Better At Mocking Mets Fans

Javier Báez admitted the thumbs down gesture was booing the fans. Essentially, if fans will boo poor performances, they’ll boo the fans when they succeed.

This led to Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson saying this is unacceptable. With respect to Alderson, he said, “The Mets will not tolerate any player gesture that is unprofessional in its meaning or is directed in a negative way toward our fans.”

Talk about hypocrisy.

During Alderson’s first stint with the Mets, he was the GM when the Mets had the loyalty pledge. He also said if fans want the payroll to improve, they needed to attend more games.

In 2015, when the Mets were blowing it and the Mets were largely standing pat at the time, Alderson referred to the media and fans as “Panic City.”

Apparently, dubbing the fans Panic City and blaming them for not spending doesn’t fall under the purview of Alderson’s most recent statements.

Whatever the case, Alderson was always good at directing blame away from himself and directing it away. Chances are he would’ve done it himself if given the chance.

Whatever the case, Báez shot back at the fans. For his part, Alderson poked at them for his failures. This time, Báez is the messenger, and Alderson has a problem because Báez did it better.

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Mets Players Hilariously Embarrass Themselves By Booing Fans

Finally, the New York Mets won a game in easy fashion. For that matter, they finally won two games in a row for just the second time this month.

Naturally, the Mets being the Mets, they found a way to ruin it. They ruined it with Javier Báez, Francisco Lindor, and Kevin Pillar doing a thumbs down after hits.

This wasn’t the thumbs down like we once saw with the Mets fan and Todd Frazier when Frazier was with the New York Yankees. No, according to Báez, it was retaliatory booing of fans.

It should be noted Pillar had a different version of events liking it to be nothing more than the Joey Lucchesi churve sign. Still, we know why Báez did it.

We can debate whether Báez was here long enough to react that way. The clear answer is no. Sure, he’s sticking up for his good friend Lindor, who fans stupidly booed, but Báez isn’t the guy here.

He’s also not the guy to adjudge fans not being behind this team. He seriously has zero clue as to what it means to be a Mets fan. It’s an idiotic statement. It’s all the more idiotic given the ovations he received when he first joined the Mets.

Assuredly, those are gone.

Another important note, this is a Mets team who opened the month with a 3.5 game division lead. It hasn’t even been a full month, and they turned that into a 7.5 game deficit.

That shifts to what makes this all too embarrassing and hilarious. Apparently, the Mets players had been trying to do this for a week.

That’s just how bad the Mets have been. They’ve been trying to make this a new thing for a week. The only problem is no one noticed because they have been so bad the past week, and really this month, they couldn’t even pull it off.

It’s just a bad joke.

They’ve been trying to get back at the fans for the better part of a week, and they were so bad, no one knew this was a thing. Pulling off this retaliation might as well have been the Mets hitting with the bases loaded.

And therein lies the problem. The players are now obsessed over trying to teach the fans a lesson. Great. Good for them. It’s not going to help them win games or hit.

So, great, teach Mets fans a lesson. They’re still going to boo a team four games under .500 who completely nosedived against teams they were supposed to compete with in the postseason.

Even better, the booing is going to get worse much like the Mets performance has been in the second half. So, in the end, the players actions are going to be as counter productive as their at-bats with RISP have been.

Really, all you can and should do, is laugh at them because this is just sad.

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Mets Are Giant No Shows

Maybe the New York Mets were just too accustomed to playing at 10 P.M. after their west coast trip. Certainly, they came unprepared to play.

The San Francisco Giants started swing starter Sammy Long who had been ineffective in his eight appearances. Naturally, he shut out the Mets over 5.1 innings allowing just one hit.

Tylor Megill struggled allowing four homers in an ugly start. Overall, he allowed seven runs on 11 hits and five walks over 3.2 innings.

As shown, there was no fire in this team and no boost from Francisco Lindor coming off the IL. On Lindor, he hit the ball hard but at people.

With Lindor’s return, Javier Báez moved to second. Jeff McNeil shifted to left field. Finally, J.D. Davis stayed at third because you need to shoehorn him into the lineup to go 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a HBP.

Really, the only highlight was the Friends theme being played for old friend Wilmer Flores. Of course, he promptly doubled reminding us of the the Wilpon and Van Wagenen incompetence.

Long story short, the Mets lost 8-0 and dropped back to three games under .500. That just about sums up what happened to this once glorious season.

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Jeff McNeil Must Become Mets Everyday Third Baseman

Francisco Lindor has returned shifting Javier Báez to second. That begs the question what happens to Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis, and Dominic Smith.

Starting with the obvious, none of that trio have exactly made the case to play everyday. At least, not this season.

Smith has an 84 wRC+ and a -2 DRS in left while he battles a wrist injury much akin to Michael Conforto in 2016.

Davis has been yet again completely incapable at third with a -6 DRS and -2 OAA. He’s been a horrible base runner, and as we especially see with the bases loaded, his strike out rate is climbing. Sooner or later, his BABIP luck will run out leaving him to slide to being what he was last year.

That leaves us with the enigma of McNeil.

Look, for whatever which reason, McNeil isn’t hitting. We see that with his career worst 94 wRC+. We also see it with his career worst K%, ISO, AVG, OBP, SLG, etc.

All told, this is the worst he’s ever looked at the plate. Maybe it’s injuries. Maybe it’s something else. Whatever the case, he hasn’t been good at the plate let alone near his career norms.

However, he’s been phenomenal in the field. He has a 5 DRS and a 4 OAA at second. This is the best he’s ever looked in the field, which is saying something given his level of success at different positions.

That success includes third where he’s been quite good in his career. With Báez back, that’s where the Mets need him.

Instead, the Mets are putting McNeil in LF. That’s a huge mistake for a few reasons.

First, it puts Davis at third where he has no business playing. Second, and perhaps more important, McNeil is dealing with leg injuries.

It’s part of the reason we’ve seen McNeil’s speed and sprint speed decline. That’s not a good mix for LF where McNeil was merely average. That’s nothing to say of the possibility he aggravates his leg injuries further when trying to track down a ball.

Overall, for his health and to prevent neutralizing the greatness of Báez and Lindor, McNeil should be at third. To build the best lineup and defensive alignment possible McNeil should be at third.

Really, no matter what way you look at it, McNeil should be the Mets everyday third baseman.

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