Jay Bruce
Normally, you don’t fire someone until you have a viable replacement in place. It’s not the prudent course of action, and ultimately, you can make matters worse by acting off raw emotion to quickly fire someone. However, it’s time. The Mets need to move on from Terry Collins despite the lack of an obvious suitable replacement.
This isn’t said lightly. It was his ability to manage the clubhouse that kept the team together last summer until the Mets could make the trades to add Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe, and Yoenis Cespedes. Despite your impressions of his in-game management, Collins was the manager of a team that went to the World Series last year.
More than that, Collins appears to be a good man. He has written notes to Mets fans who are mourning the loss of a loved one. He stopped Spring Training practice so a young heart transplant survivor could meet his idols. Make no mistake, when you lose a human being of the caliber Collins is, your entire organization is worse off for it.
And yet, there comes a time when being a good person and past results need to be pushed aside. You need to focus on the job he’s doing and how he’s hurting the team.
This isn’t just about the Mets disappointing season thus far. You cannot pin a player underperforming on the manager alone even if Michael Conforto has regressed as the season progressed. Players certainly have to share in their responsibility as well. Furthermore, injuries have certainly played a part in this, and injuries cannot always be blamed on the manager.
It’s also not about Collins in-game management, which can be head-scratching at times. There are many factors at play to which we are not always privy. A player may feel under the weather or not ready to play in a game. Also, even if it may seem strange to people, a manager should be allowed to draw from 48 years of baseball experience to play a hunch every so often.
No, the reason why Collins needs to go is his decision making process and how it has hurt the team.
In April, there was his ill-advised decision to pitch Jim Henderson the day after he threw a career high 34 pitches. It was even worse when you consider Henderson is pitching in his first full season after having had his second shoulder surgery. Eventually, Henderson landed on the disabled list due to a shoulder impingement. Collins’ excuse for pitching Henderson was Henderson telling him before the game that “he felt great.”
That signals that what was Collins’ greatest strength is also his biggest weakness. He puts too much trust in his players leading Collins to sometimes play players when they shouldn’t be playing.
It was the big issue with Game 5 of the World Series. He let Matt Harvey talk his way back into the ninth inning despite Collins belief that the Mets should go to Jeurys Familia in that spot. That moment wasn’t about whether anyone thought it was the right move to let Harvey stay in the game. It was about Collins thinking it wasn’t he right move and his letting the player control the situtation.
Speaking of Familia, Collins recently overworked him as well. Over a six day stretch from July 22nd to July 27th, Familia had worked in four games throwing 76 pitches. He was tiring, and in his last appearance, Familia finally blew his first save. The following game the Mets got seven innings from Jacob deGrom, and the rest of the bullpen was fairly rested and ready to go. Instead, Collins went back to Familia who would blow his second save in a row. Collins’ excuse? He was going to sit Familia until Familia approached him pre-game and told him he was ready, willing, and able to pitch.
With Henderson, Harvey, and Familia, it appears that Collins is losing control to the players. That seemed all the more apparent during the Cespedes golfing drama. The Mets star player and key to their entire lineup had been hobbled for over a month due to a quad injury, and yet he continued to golf everyday. That was news to Collins who said, “I didn’t know he played golf until you guys brought it up. Had it been bothering him then, he would’ve said something about it, but not a word.” (Ryan Hatch, NJ.com).
It is not fair to blame Collins for Cespedes’ injury. It also isn’t fair to blame Collins for Cespedes playing golf. However, your star player is injured, and his injury is severely hampering your team. Doesn’t a manager have an obligation to speak with Cespedes knowing he is an avid golfer that played golf throughout the postseason last year despite having a shoulder injury?
On it’s own the Cespedes golf situation would be overblown as well as the aforementioned pitching decisions. If that was the only issue, you could argue Collins should be permitted to stay on as manager. However, his decision making this past week was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
On August 5th, the Mets lost a game 4-3. The fourth and decisive run was set-up by a J.D. Martinez double. Upon replay, it appeared that Matt Reynolds had held the tag on Martinez appeared to came off the bag. Reynolds looked into the dugout, but there would be no challenge. Now, that’s not necessarily Collins’ fault as he is relying upon the advise of the replay adviser. However, it was important to denote this when setting the stage for what happened the following night.
The Mets trailed the Tigers 7-6 in the top of the ninth. Jay Bruce started a two out rally in the top of of the ninth, and he would try to score from second off a Travis d’Arnaud single. Martinez would throw him out at the plate, and the Mets just walked off the field without challenging the play to see if there was a missed tag or if Jarrod Saltalamacchia was illegally blocking the plate. Why? As Collins said himself, “Because I didn’t think about it — that’s why. Plain and simple.” (Ken Davidoff, New York Post).
The Mets literally lose the game without that challenge. They lost the night before, in part, because they failed to challenge a play where it appeared Martinez was out at second. Even with all of that, Collins still didn’t at least try to challenge the play to try to get the tying run home.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was the matter of why Brandon Nimmo wasn’t pinch running for Bruce in that spot. Collins didn’t choose Nimmo as a pinch runner because he simply doesn’t know which one of his players is faster:
Collins said he didn't consider Nimmo for Bruce pinch running last night because for all he knows Bruce is faster.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 7, 2016
When you cede decision making to the players, when you fail to do everything possible to win games, and when you don’t fully know the capabilities of every player on your roster, it is time to go.
Normally, you don’t fire someone until you have a viable replacement in place. It’s not the prudent course of action, and ultimately, you can make matters worse by acting off raw emotion to quickly fire someone. However, it’s time. The Mets need to move on from Terry Collins despite the lack of an obvious suitable replacement.
This isn’t said lightly. It was his ability to manage the clubhouse that kept the team together last summer until the Mets could make the trades to add Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe, and Yoenis Cespedes. Despite your impressions of his in-game management, Collins was the manager of a team that went to the World Series last year.
More than that, Collins appears to be a good man. He has written notes to Mets fans who are mourning the loss of a loved one. He stopped Spring Training practice so a young heart transplant survivor could meet his idols. Make no mistake, when you lose a human being of the caliber Collins is, your entire organization is worse off for it.
And yet, there comes a time when being a good person and past results need to be pushed aside. You need to focus on the job he’s doing and how he’s hurting the team.
This isn’t just about the Mets disappointing season thus far. You cannot pin a player underperforming on the manager alone even if Michael Conforto has regressed as the season progressed. Players certainly have to share in their responsibility as well. Furthermore, injuries have certainly played a part in this, and injuries cannot always be blamed on the manager.
It’s also not about Collins in-game management, which can be head-scratching at times. There are many factors at play to which we are not always privy. A player may feel under the weather or not ready to play in a game. Also, even if it may seem strange to people, a manager should be allowed to draw from 48 years of baseball experience to play a hunch every so often.
No, the reason why Collins needs to go is his decision making process and how it has hurt the team.
In April, there was his ill-advised decision to pitch Jim Henderson the day after he threw a career high 34 pitches. It was even worse when you consider Henderson is pitching in his first full season after having had his second shoulder surgery. Eventually, Henderson landed on the disabled list due to a shoulder impingement. Collins’ excuse for pitching Henderson was Henderson telling him before the game that “he felt great.”
That signals that what was Collins’ greatest strength is also his biggest weakness. He puts too much trust in his players leading Collins to sometimes play players when they shouldn’t be playing.
It was the big issue with Game 5 of the World Series. He let Matt Harvey talk his way back into the ninth inning despite Collins belief that the Mets should go to Jeurys Familia in that spot. That moment wasn’t about whether anyone thought it was the right move to let Harvey stay in the game. It was about Collins thinking it wasn’t he right move and his letting the player control the situtation.
Speaking of Familia, Collins recently overworked him as well. Over a six day stretch from July 22nd to July 27th, Familia had worked in four games throwing 76 pitches. He was tiring, and in his last appearance, Familia finally blew his first save. The following game the Mets got seven innings from Jacob deGrom, and the rest of the bullpen was fairly rested and ready to go. Instead, Collins went back to Familia who would blow his second save in a row. Collins’ excuse? He was going to sit Familia until Familia approached him pre-game and told him he was ready, willing, and able to pitch.
With Henderson, Harvey, and Familia, it appears that Collins is losing control to the players. That seemed all the more apparent during the Cespedes golfing drama. The Mets star player and key to their entire lineup had been hobbled for over a month due to a quad injury, and yet he continued to golf everyday. That was news to Collins who said, “I didn’t know he played golf until you guys brought it up. Had it been bothering him then, he would’ve said something about it, but not a word.” (Ryan Hatch, NJ.com).
It is not fair to blame Collins for Cespedes’ injury. It also isn’t fair to blame Collins for Cespedes playing golf. However, your star player is injured, and his injury is severely hampering your team. Doesn’t a manager have an obligation to speak with Cespedes knowing he is an avid golfer that played golf throughout the postseason last year despite having a shoulder injury?
On it’s own the Cespedes golf situation would be overblown as well as the aforementioned pitching decisions. If that was the only issue, you could argue Collins should be permitted to stay on as manager. However, his decision making this past week was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
On August 5th, the Mets lost a game 4-3. The fourth and decisive run was set-up by a J.D. Martinez double. Upon replay, it appeared that Matt Reynolds had held the tag on Martinez appeared to came off the bag. Reynolds looked into the dugout, but there would be no challenge. Now, that’s not necessarily Collins’ fault as he is relying upon the advise of the replay adviser. However, it was important to denote this when setting the stage for what happened the following night.
The Mets trailed the Tigers 7-6 in the top of the ninth. Jay Bruce started a two out rally in the top of of the ninth, and he would try to score from second off a Travis d’Arnaud single. Martinez would throw him out at the plate, and the Mets just walked off the field without challenging the play to see if there was a missed tag or if Jarrod Saltalamacchia was illegally blocking the plate. Why? As Collins said himself, “Because I didn’t think about it — that’s why. Plain and simple.” (Ken Davidoff, New York Post).
The Mets literally lose the game without that challenge. They lost the night before, in part, because they failed to challenge a play where it appeared Martinez was out at second. Even with all of that, Collins still didn’t at least try to challenge the play to try to get the tying run home.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was the matter of why Brandon Nimmo wasn’t pinch running for Bruce in that spot. Collins didn’t choose Nimmo as a pinch runner because he simply doesn’t know which one of his players is faster:
Collins said he didn't consider Nimmo for Bruce pinch running last night because for all he knows Bruce is faster.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 7, 2016
When you cede decision making to the players, when you fail to do everything possible to win games, and when you don’t fully know the capabilities of every player on your roster, it is time to go.
The Mets batted Ty Kelly second and put him in left field leaving Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and the Mets hottest hitting outfielder, Alejandro De Aza, on the bench.
Terry Collins decided to make Rene Rivera his DH. I can’t tell you how many times I checked the lineup and this sentence to see if it was correct.
You had to do it because there is no way the left-handed hitters on the Mets could hit Tigers starter Matt Boyd who entered the game with a 4.71 ERA.
The Mets started Logan Verrett.
Seriously, how do you think things went?
Verrett only lasted 3.2 innings allowing seven hits, six runs, six earned, and two walks with two strikeouts. He spotted the Tigers a 6-1 lead with his only run supporting coming off a Jay Bruce solo fourth inning home run.
The Tigers then proceeded to try to give the game away to a Mets team not fully equipped to take full advantage.
Curtis Granderson started the charge with a fifth inning solo home run. Birthday boy Wilmer Flores would hit an RBI single to pull the Mets to with three runs.
It was a terrific game for Flores at the plate going 2-4 with two RBI. With the lefty on the mound, he got the start at first base in place of James Loney.
Flores’ RBI single actually scored Kelly, who actually played well going 2-4 with two runs and a walk. He’d score his second run in the seventh off a Miguel Cabrera throwing error.
On the very next play Mike Aviles would misplay a ball off the bat of Flores allowing Neil Walker to score. Walker continued his hot play of late going 2-4 with a run and a walk.
It set up runners on first and second with no out, and the Mets down a run. Naturally, the Mets wouldn’t score on a night they went 2-12 with runners in scoring position leaving 10 men on base. Travis d’Arnaud would hit into the second of three Mets double plays on the night, and Kelly Johnson popped out to end the threat.
The Mets would have one rally left in them starting with a Bruce two out single off Francisco Rodriguez. De Aza would pinch hit for Flores, and move Bruce to second setting the stage for the final play of the game:
A 9-2 putout.*
(*???)https://t.co/dEicgC3rMZ
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 7, 2016
It took a great throw from J.D. Martinez, and a terrific job by Jarrod Saltalamacchia to legally block the plate under the new rules while getting the tag down.
While Tim Teufel has made some curious decisions as the third base coach, this wasn’t one of them. He should’ve sent Bruce there. Like most of the night (season?), the real issue was with Collins.
First, he could’ve pinch ran an arguably faster Brandon Nimmo which might’ve been the difference between scoring and making the final out at the plate. Second, Collins could’ve at least tried to challenge the play especially after what happened last night.
Sure, it turns out Bruce didn’t touch home, but who cares? There are enough quirks in these replay rules that it might not have mattered. Furthermore, what do you have to lose by challenging? If you don’t, you lose the game. There should be nothing holding you back from challenging that play.
Then again, there is no reason to believe the Mets were best off with Kelly and Rivera in the starting lineup. Collins found a way to do both.
At least the Marlins and Cardinals lost tonight as well.
Game Notes: Bruce had his best day as a Met going 2-5 with a run, an RBI, and the homer. Rivera only lasted two at bats going 0-1 with a walk at DH before getting lifted for Conforto.
This matchup was supposed to be Justin Verlander versus his heir apparent Noah Syndergaard. Instead, we got to see more of the struggling Syndergaard.
In the first, Ian Kinsler would steal second and third off the battery of Syndergaard and Rene Rivera. He would then score on a Miguel Cabrera RBI ground out.
Kelly Johnson gave Syndergaard and the Mets a 2-1 lead with a two run home run off Verlander in the fourth. That 2-1 lead would have been good enough for Syndergaard a couple of months ago. However, this diminished bone-chipped version of Syndergaard would give the lead right back in the bottom of the fourth.
First, he allowed a long two run home run to Victor Martinez. The Tigers would continue the rally scoring another run on a James McCann RBI single. It should be noted that it was J.D. Martinez who scored on the play after doubling to right field.
Jay Bruce made a strong throw to second, but Matt Reynolds laid down an awkward tag. Still, Reynolds held the tag on Martinez. Replays would show Martinez came off the bad, but Terry Collins would not challenge. Martinez would score later making it 4-2. It would prove to be the deciding run in the game.
Syndergaard would make it through six innings throwing 112 pitches. His pitch count rose in part because he has issued a 10 pitch walk to Nick Castellanos and a nine pitch walk to Victor Martinez. It is indicative of Syndergaard’s location being off. Syndergaard’s final line was six innings, seven hits, four runs, four earned, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
In contrast to Syndergaard, Verlander wouldn’t struggle. He dominanted the Mets over six innings allowing four hits, two runs, two earned, and one walk with nine strikeouts. Those nine gives him an American League leading 164 on the season.
The Mets offense only mustered four hits until the ninth. The team had gone 0-3 with runners in scoring position. Even if you were to claim Verlander was that dominant, it does not explain why the Mets couldn’t do anything against a Tigers bullpen that entered the game with a 4.18 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and a .266 batting average against.
Former Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez would come on and survive a Mets rally in the ninth. Neil Walker had a leadoff single, moved to second on a wild pitch, and to third on a Bruce ground out. He scored on a James Loney ground out ending the rally. The final score was 4-3 with the deciding run being scored Martinez, who would have been out if Collins challenged the play.
Yet again, the Mets have failed to win back-to-back games. They haven’t done so since July 6th – July 7th. The Nationals won moving the Mets back to nine games out in the division. The Cardinals and Marlins are leading in their games. And, oh yeah, Gary Apple is terrible.
Game Notes: Today’s game of center field musical chairs had Brandon Nimmo in center, Alejandro De Aza in left, and Curtis Granderson at DH. Michael Conforto sat even though it was a right-handed pitcher on the mound.
Unlike last season, the Mets were proactive in replacing an injured player on their roster when the obtained James Loney from the San Diego Padres to replace Lucas Duda who was slated to be on the disabled list for a long time with a broken back.
It was a good move as Loney was not only cheap, he was immediately available. He was certainly better than what the Mets internal options of Eric Campbell and Ty Kelly.
Coming into the season, Loney was a .285/.338/.411 hitter who averaged 10 homers and 64 RBI in a season. His OPS+ was 105 meaning he was roughly a league average hitter. In his 55 games with the Mets, Loney has been a slightly better version of himself hitting .289/.339/.443 with six homers and 23 RBI. His OPS+ is 108, which is what Mo Vaughn‘s OPS+ was as a Met. Long story short, Loney is the perfect stopgap, but he is not a difference maker. The problem is he was taking over for a difference maker in the lineup.
Since Duda became the Mets everyday first baseman, he has hit .249/.350/.483 while averaging 28 homers and 82 RBI. His OPS+ over that stretch is 133 meaning he is batting at an All Star caliber level, and he is a difference maker at the plate. To put it into context, David Wright‘s career OPS+ is 133.
Essentially, the Mets have gone from a David Wright level of production at first base back to the days of Mo Vaughn. This drop in production goes a long way to explain why the Mets offense has been struggling since Duda has gone down with the broken back.
With the grim prognosis for Duda this season, and with the trade deadline having gone by, the Mets never made the necessary upgrade at first base. If the Mets were to shift Jay Bruce (128 OPS+ this season) or Michael Conforto to first base (129 OPS+ last year), they would go a long way to replacing that production. It is certainly worth a shot. The time for stopgaps is over. The Mets now need to find a real replacement for Duda’s offense. That isn’t Loney. Hopefully, it could be Bruce or Conforto.
After tonight’s loss, the only person angrier than Mets fans was fake tough guy Mark Teixeira.
In an interview earlier in the year with Carton and Governor Chris Christie, he admitted he would never charge the mound, but he sure is good at pulling a hissy fit.
Whether it's yelling at his own 3B coach or screaming at Matz, Mark Teixeira is one doofy angry guy. #Yankees #Mets pic.twitter.com/gTUYGiTym5
— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) August 4, 2016
He would then have a very late slide into Neil Walker because sliding late into a defenseless player is tougher than being a man and facing off against Steven Matz.
It’s hard to imagine Matz throwing at Teixeira even though Teixeira hit a three run homer off of him in his prior at bat to break a 3-3 tie. Matz hadn’t had pinpoint control since he’s been dealing with the bone spurs, the ball was at Teixeira’s feet, and it was an extra base runner with the Mets trailing. In this pennant race, the Mets need all the wins they can get, and they’re not sacrificing games to exact revenge on a .195 hitter.
Regardless, the Mets should not have been in that position. They were tattooing Yankees starter Chad Green starting with Curtis Granderson delivering the keynote address:
It was his 18th leadoff home run with the Mets breaking his tie with Jose Reyes.
Granderson has a terrific night going 1-3 with two runs, one RBI, three walks, and a home run. The rest of tur a Mets offense? Not so much.
Wilmer Flores was halfway to a Joe Torre (four GIDPs in one game) by the third inning. He killed a first inning bases loaded rally by grounding into an inning ending double play. In the third it was only runners on first and second when he grounded into his inning ending double play.
In the second, it was Walker who killed a rally with a double play. Given the amount if base runners were left on base, you knew it was going to come back and haunt the Mets. The Mets should’ve score much more than three runs in the first three innings, but what else is new?
The team was 2-12 with runners in scoring position including Michael Conforto striking out in a big spot in the seventh when he represented the tying run, and Granderson had scored a run on a James Loney ground out to make it 6-4. He was amongst the biggest culprits of the night as six different Mets would leave multiple men on base:
- Neil Walker (2)
- Yoenis Cespedes (5)
- Jay Bruce (3)
- James Loney (2)
- Michael Conforto (5)
- Wilmer Flores (5)
Between that and Matz allowing six earned over six innings of course the Mets weren’t going to win this one.
To make matters worse, Teixeira would get the last laugh. He got into Hansel Robles‘ head with Robles thinking Teixeira was stealing signs. Robles lost his concentration and his cool leading to a Starlin Castro infield RBI single to Robles. No, Asdrubal Cabrera doesn’t make that play.
After an uncharacteristically poor performance, Robles was pulled while Teixeira and the third base coach were laughing at him. After Josh Edgin walked in a run against Didi Gregorious, the only batter he faced, there would be three runs charged to Robles making it 9-4.
That’s where it would remain as Luis Severino came on and shut down the Mets allowing one earned on one hit and one walk with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Walker would homer off Tyler Clippard in the ninth to provide some window dressing in a 9-5 loss.
With Daniel Murphy going off again for the Nationals, the Mets are a season high 8.5 games out of first place.
Game Notes: Bruce is now 0-8 with one walk and three strikeouts to begin his Mets career. Despite Collins’ you hit you play philosophy, Alejandro De Aza, Travis d’Arnaud, and Matt Reynolds would sit. Cespedes shot an 83 before the game, and he would go 1-5 with two strikeouts in the game.
The Mets acquisition of Jay Bruce was designed to solve the Mets offensive woes, and more importantly, their difficulty with hitting with runners in scoring position. However, the move coupled with Yoenis Cespedes‘ injury, it exacerbates the Mets center field problem.
As Barry Bloom reports for MLB.com, Sandy Alderson admits, “As people will comment, it’s not an absolute perfect fit for us. You start with the need for offense and go from there.” The Mets need to go from there as Cespedes can no longer play center field.
In fact, the Mets are unsure what Cespedes is capable of doing after a game where he said he can no longer go “full speed” anymore without experiencing pain. (Matt Ehalt). There is real fear amongst the Mets as Terry Collins said, “To be honest, he could go out there. Could he aggravate it? Maybe. And if he aggravates it more, we’re looking at three or four weeks. I’m not going to do that.”
Fortunately, the Mets will be able to use Cespedes at DH for the next five games with the Yankees playing two at Yankee Stadium followed by a three game set in Detroit. After an off day Monday, who knows what the Mets can get out of Cespedes, or what the Mets outfield alignment will be.
This is a Mets roster without a true centerfield option. Juan Lagares had thumb surgery will be out for at least six weeks. Imported replacement Justin Ruggiano just landed on the disabled list.Michael Conforto has only played five games there, and Collins doesn’t appear to be eager to put him there or to let him hit against left-handed pitching.
With these injuries, Terry Collins admits, “We’re asking now for three guys to play a position they’re not comfortable playing.”
Curtis Granderson has more center field experience than anyone on the roster, but he hadn’t played there regularly since 2012. For what it’s worth, Collins doesn’t appear eager to play Granderson in center either as he believes it “is going to tax him a lot.”
Given Collins reluctance to play Granderson and Conforto in center, and his other options being injured, he had gone so far as inquiring about newly acquired Met Jay Bruce‘s willingness to play center.
With respect to the center field dilemma, Bruce stated, “[Collins] asked me if I played any center and I told him that I had. But it sounds like the plan is for me to play a lot of right field. I told him I’d be more than willing and happy to play anywhere he needed me. I don’t think there’s a clear cut center fielder on the team. I’m ready for wherever he puts me. I’m ready for anything.”
Despite the inquisition, Collins still intends to keep Bruce in right saying, “I’m going to play him in right field for now. I’m scheduled to talk to Grandy in a little while about moving him in the outfield situation. [Bruce] told me he hasnt played center field since 2008, so that’s quite a while.”
Just like Bruce, Granderson has taken a team-first position on the issue. When the issue first arose, and Granderson got a start out there, he said, “Wherever they put me at – Catch, short, pitch, outfield – I’ll play all of them.” (Jared Diamond, Wall Street Journal).
The best bet for now might just be Alejandro De Aza who has been the Mets best hitter since July 1st. With yesterday’s perform de, he is hitting .342/.500/.553 with two doubles, two homers, and four RBI in that stretch. Each and every game he hits, it becomes harder and harder for the Mets to sit him. It should also be noted that before Cespedes was re-signed, he was brought in by the Mets to platoon with Lagares in center.
Overall, like it did when he joined the Mets a year ago, everything revolves around Cespedes with Collins saying, “A lot of this is about [Cespedes’] availability. We’re still trying to figure out what path to take as we get down the road a little bit. Health is going to be a big thing for them all.”
Editor’s Note: this was first published on Mets Merized Online
Coming into the season, the Mets were high on Dilson Herrera, and they viewed him as the second baseman of the near future. It is why the Mets let postseason hero Daniel Murphy walk, and they eschewed other long term free agent options to trade for Neil Walker who was a year away from free agency. However, the Mets made it perfectly clear they were willing to forego Herrera as the second baseman of the future if the right player came along. That is why the Mets doggedly pursued Ben Zobrist in the offseason. For the right piece or for the right price, the Mets were going to move on from Herrera to make the team better.
It is just hard to believe that player was Jay Bruce.
There is a lot to like about Bruce. He is a traditional slugger who is leading the league in RBI. He has a very affordable team option. He is insurance against Yoenis Cespedes missing an extended period of time this year, and quite possibly insurance against him leaving in free agency. He also helps with a sluggish Mets offense and with the Mets inability to hit with runners for scoring position. He is also more of the same.
This is a Mets team full of low OBP, high slugging outfielders – Bruce, Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, and Michael Conforto. With the exception of Cespedes, all of the Mets current outfield options are left-handed batters. What this team doesn’t have is a center fielder. Currently, the best defensive center fielder on the team is Alejandro De Aza. While he is the team’s hottest hitter and best defender, it is hard to imagine he is going to be an everyday player while the team sits one of Granderson or Conforto everyday. In sum, Bruce is a nice offensive upgrade, but he doesn’t solve the teams problems. With that in mind, it seems like Herrera was a steep price to pay for someone that doesn’t solve what ails the team.
It’s also selling low on Herrera in what has been a tough year for him. Herrera has gone from a .327/.382/.511 hitter to a .276/.327/.462 hitter in AAA this year. He has had nagging shoulder issues, and he has fallen into some bad habits at the plate. It has been the first time the 22 year old has struggled at the minor league level. However, given the fact that he is still young for his level, and the fact that his struggles are closely associated with an injury, there is every reason to believe Herrera will rebound and become the All Star second baseman the Mets envisioned he would become. That is a steep price to pay for a duplicative player that does not solve the Mets problems.
We are just seeing it now with Michael Fulmer in Detroit. Fulmer was the big time prospect the Mets traded last year. He is the leading Rookie of the Year contender, and he is certainly in the Cy Young conversation with him going 9-2 with a 2.50 ERA and a 1.089 WHIP. With each and every dominant start, it is a stark reminder how much the Mets need him this year with Matt Harvey‘s season ending surgery and Zack Wheeler being well behind schedule to return to the rotation. Overall, the idea behind trading Fulmer was to trade from depth to acquire a missing piece . . . a missing piece that was an imperfect fit. As we see last year, the Mets supposed depth was an allusion.
Now, the Mets did trade from depth with Herrera. Gavin Cecchini could move from shortstop to second, which now seems to be his destiny with the meteoric rise of Amed Rosario. Wilmer Flores could move over there next year. The Mets could always re-sign Neil Walker or another free agent or make another trade. Depending on David Wright‘s health, Jose Reyes could move from third to second. There are any number of factors at play, but as we see again this year, the Mets can never have enough depth as this team seems more snakebitten than any other team in the majors. With that in mind, the Mets are now less deep at second base, and they are quite possibly without their best second base option for next year.
The Mets traded away another big time prospect for another slugging corner outfielder. Hopefully, Bruce will have a similar effect on the Mets as Cespedes did last year. The Mets are going to need that type of performance to help them get back to the postseason. They are going to need that type of performance to help Mets fans forget about the player they gave away in Herrera.
Pick a date from this season including last night. If anyone told you Alejandro De Aza and Travis d’Arnaud would lead the Mets offensively to a win, you’d either stare in disbelief, or you’d call that person an outright liar. Frankly, a James Loney stolen base would seem more believable. Well, tonight not only would Loney steal a base, but De Aza and d’Arnaud would lead the Mets offensively.
It started in the bottom of the third when, at the time, Masahiro Tanaka seemed to have no-hit stuff. The early no-hit bid was broken up by Jacob deGrom, and he would score when De Aza homered to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
This was more evidence that De Aza has been the Mets best offensive player for more than a month now, and the Mets need to find him playing time especially with the team having no true center fielder on the roster.
That 2-0 lead would grow to a 3-0 lead when d’Arnaud hit a solo shot to lead off the fifth.
Since the rumored Jonathan Lucroy fell through, d’Arnaud seems like a much more relaxed and better player.
This was more than enough support for a deGrominant deGrom. The final line for deGrom was seven innings, four hits, no runs, no earned runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts. His velocity and swagger are almost completely back. When he’s this good, you’re reminded why the Mets should not be counted out.
In the seventh, the Mets would put the game far out of reach seemingly taking out their aggression from last night’s game and a season long struggle hitting with runners in scoring position.
It started with Wilmer Flores singling and advancing to second on a Brett Gardner error. He would come home to score on a Michael Conforto RBI double. He would score on a Matt Reynolds RBI single. He’d move to third on a deGrom single, and he would score on a Yoenis Cespedes pinch hit infield single. The hobbled Cespedes certainly turned on the jets when he smelled a base hit. Terry Collins would still play it safe pinch running Curtis Granderson for him. The fourth and final run of the inning would score on a Neil Walker RBI double.
In the inning, the Mets would send nine batters to the plate scoring four runs on six hits.
Jon Niese made his first appearance since the trade, and he was less than warmly greeted by a fan base who remembered him bad mouthing everyone out the door. He worked his way into a bit of a jam in the eighth before striking out Brian McCann on a borderline pitch to end the rally. However, Niese wouldn’t escape the game completely untouched as Didi Gregorious would hit a solo shot off of him in the ninth to break up the shutout. On the bright side, he pitched much better than Antonio Bastardo, which, admittedly, isn’t saying much.
One Met that was warmly greeted was Jay Bruce:
The Mets got Bruce, in part, to revitalize the offense and hit with runners in scoring position. On his debut, Bruce would go 0-4 with two strikeouts, but the Mets overriding goal was achieved for at least one night as the Mets scored seven runs while going 4-10 with runners in scoring position.
Following the 7-1 win, this seems like a different Mets team for at least one night.
Game Notes: Conforto had a great game going 2-4 with one run, two doubles, a walk, and one RBI.