Neil Walker

Umpires Blew the Call and the Explanation

In the fourth inning, Neil Walker ripped what appeared to be a double down the first base line. Or was it?  No one quite knew initially as the first base umpire, Crew Chief Tom Hallion, failed to make the call. 

He didn’t make the call because, as he was trying to get out of the way of the ball, he didn’t get to see where the ball landed. He looked to the homeplate umpire, Adam Hamari, to see if he saw where the ball landed. As Walker was rounding first and heading to second, Hallion got the call from Hamari. It was a foul ball. This call was made as a result of two umpires conferring with one another while the play was happening. 

It’s strange that Hallion conferred with another umpire on the play because according to him, calls need to be made immediately regardless of whether or not they are the right call. 

You see, when Hallion was questioned post-game about Hamari’s quick ejection of Noah Syndergaard, he said, “We have to make a snap decision. We can’t think about, ok, well this guy did this or he did that in game six of whatever. We don’t have enough time to think that way.” (Adam Rubin, ESPN).  It’s absurd. 

When Syndergaard threw behind Utley, the umpires had three choices: (1) eject Syndergaard; (2) issue a warning to both teams; or (3) do nothing. No matter what the decision the umpires make, it’s going to impact the game. Doing nothing invites the Dodgers to retaliate. Issuing a warning may cause the pitchers to be skittish scout throwing inside. Ejecting Syndergaard would have a profound impact on that game that would seriously alter the Mets chances of winning the game. 

Now, if you’re going to make a decision that could have a profound impact on the game, shouldn’t a discussion, no matter how brief, take place?  There was time. It was a dead ball. No one was on base. Keep in mind, this is the same crew that just one inning later CONFERRED DURING A PLAY! It’s irrational and inconsistent to say a snap decision needs to be made when there’s a dead ball but you can take your time while there is a play happening. 

In the end, they should endeavor to get the calls correct. That includes ejections. Not every ejection requires umpires to confer. Arguing balls and strikes, cursing at an umpire, or making contact with an umpire is grounds for immediate ejection. However, ejecting Syndergaard wasn’t automatic. It was a judgment call. It was a judgment call that not only had an impact on this game, but also the Mets bullpen for the next few games. 

The umpires took time to get the Walker call right. They also should’ve taken the time to get the Syndergaard call right. They didn’t, and they made a bad decision because throwing out a player requires a snap decision whereas judging whether a ball is fair or foul requires time. 

page top

Familia’s Struggles Lead to a Grandy Win

So far, Chase Utley is 5-16 with two walks, three runs, two doubles, one homerun, and four RBI. It’s one thing not to exact revenge, it’s a whole other to let him be this comfortable at the plate. The last double was a bases clearing double off of Jeurys Familia, who was in in a non-save situation, turning a 5-1 easy win for Jacob deGrom and the Mets and turning it into a frustrating 5-5 game. It was annoying. It was aggravating. It was the perfect theater for Curtis Granderson:  

Granderson took the second pitch of the ninth inning and hit a walk off homerun giving the Mets a 6-5 win. 

Granderson needed it. He’s been having a rough May. He had been 0-3 with three strikeouts and one walk before the game winning at bat.  In fact, Granderson started his night striking out against Dodgers 19 year old phenom Julio Urias. 

Fortunately for the Mets, it was downhill from there for Urias. Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker doubled off of him. Juan Lagares had a two RBI single making it a 3-0 game before Urias could even blink. Urias threw 35 pitches against eight Mets batters in the first. His final line was 2.2 innings, five hits, three earned, four walks, and three strikeouts. He left due to a mixture of his pitch count and his effectiveness. 

Urias was bested by deGrom. On the night deGrom pitched seven innings allowing only three hits, one earned, and three walks with seven strikeouts. His velocity was back in the early innings, but it faded in the later innings. The only two blips on the radar for him was his making his first career error in the third followed by Chase Utley not literally sacrificing himself. It was a sacrifice fly, not a sacrifice to appease Mets fans.

deGrom wasn’t the only Met who had a good night. Lagares went 3-4 with one run, three RBI, and one homerun. The homerun was an opposite field shot off righty to boot. 

  
Speaking of homeruns, David Wright homered in his third consecutive game. His homerun was a vintage David Wright shot to right center. Speaking of vintage, the Mets delivered tonight while wearing the 86 racing stripe jerseys as the Mets celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the 1986 World Series Champions. 

The Mets win tonight, absent failing to plunk Utley, was a nice homage to that team. An even better one was the Mets moving into first place in the NL East (tied with the Nationals). 

Game Notes: It was the second walk-off homerun of Granderson’s career. Cabrera made a decent play in the field

page top

Mets Show Some Resiliency 

The odds were stacked against the Mets today. They received word that Lucas Duda would be going on the DL with a stress fracture in his lower back. The Mets were facing Gio Gonzalez, who absolutely owns them. 

So naturally, the Mets offense played homerun derby. David Wright got it started with a three run homerun in the third. Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker went back-to-back in the fifth. With those and many more homeruns, the Mets now lead the majors as a team. Cespedes is the leader in homeruns. He’s now on pace for a 55 homerun season. Somehow that seems light. 

Throw in a third inning RBI single from Asdrubal Cabrera and an Eric Campbell sacrifice fly in the third, and you get a 7-1 Mets win. Colon pitched well going seven innings allowing five hits and one earned. One thing of note is he walked two batters. This is now his second straight start with more than two walks. Both of these starts came against the Nationals. 

The Mets are now only a half game back in the East with way too many games left on the schedule to be worried about the NL East standings. With that said, Matt Harvey takes the mound tomorrow with a chance to pitch the Mets into first place. 

Game Notes: Ryan Zimmerman stole a base in the sixth, and it was completely on Colon. Colon went to the wind up, and the extremely slow Zimmerman took off. He had the base stolen quite easily. 

page top

No He’s Not Going to be the Mets First Baseman 

After Terry Collins stated he doesn’t believe the prognosis of Lucas Duda‘s back is good, it has caused many to speculate on how the Mets will proceed in fulfilling the first base vacancy. Many of those thoughts are creative as the Mets may need to get creative to fill the void. Unfortunately, most of the suggestions will not work. Here’s why:

Move Michael Conforto to 1B

The thinking here is Michael Conforto was deemed to have all the tools to be a great 1B by his biggest fan – Keith Hernandez. This move would allow Juan Lagares and Alejandro De Aza to platoon in CF while moving Yoenis Cespedes to LF. 

Admittedly, this sounds great. It’ll improve both the offense and the defense. However, the problem is the Mets never even sought to have Conforto to play RF. Why should we now believe they’re willing to move him to the infield mid-season. They’re not. 

Move Alejandro De Aza to 1B

This one makes sense as De Aza is languishing away on the bench. He went from a platoon player to a fifth outfielder with the Cespedes signing. However, he hasn’t played there in over a decade, and he has just recently started working with Tim Teufel to get acclimated to first. He needs more than a week to get ready. 

Slide David Wright to 1B

The idea here is David Wright is better suited to first now with his back and throwing issues. In actuality next to catcher, first is the last position Wright should play. The amount of twisting and stretching involved is harder on the lower back and would only exacerbate his stenosis. Furthermore, even if he could play first base, all you’ve accomplished is reshuffling the deck chairs as you’ve now moved the hole to third instead of first. 

Slide Neil Walker to 1B

In this scenario, the Mets move Neil Walker to first and call up Dilson Herrera to play second. The argument is this is exactly what the Mets would do if they had Daniel Murphy. 

The problem with that thinking is Walker isn’t Murphy. Walker has never played first base in the majors. He last played first in AAA in 2009 and that was only for seven games. It’s not fair to expect him to be able to slide over with no preparation. It’s also not fair to add more things to his plate while he’s in the midst of a bad slump. 

Move Asdrubal Cabrera to 1B

The thought is Asdrubal Cabrera was once a utility player who is capable of playing multiple positions. In addition, the Mets have Matt Reynolds on the roster who is a SS. There are two problems here. First, Cabrera is one of the few Mets producing day in and day out. You don’t want to mess with that especially when he’s never played first. Second, Reynolds was in the middle of a slump in AAA, and he hasn’t shown any signs he’s getting out of it in his limited major league duty. 

Move Kevin Plawecki to 1B

This is a holdover from Spring Training when the Mets were looking for ways to keep both of their young catchers in the lineup while letting Duda sit against lefties. Doing this now would also open up more playing time for Rene Rivera, who has shown himself to be a terrific catcher. 

The problem is this really damages your offense. Kevin Plawecki has hit .203/.300/.291 this year. Rivera is a career .209/.258/.329 hitter. It’s one thing to have either one of them in the lineup. It’s a whole other thing to have both of them in the lineup. 

Call Up Dom Smith

The thinking here is if the Mets don’t have the answer at the major league level, they should go into the minor leagues to solve their problems. Who better than one of, if not the, best Mets prospect. The problem is he’s just not ready. He’s only played 41 games in AA. While the obvious counter-argument is Conforto, it must be noted, Conforto was much further along in his development offensively. 

Call Up Brandon Nimmo

The thought process here is Brandon Nimmo is absolutely raking in AAA right now. He’s on an eight game hitting streak that’s seen him hit .364/.462/.636 with three doubles, three triples, and six RBI. While he has played CF almost exclusively, he should be athletic enough to play first. While these are valid points, it should be noted he’s never played first, and like with Conforto, the Mets do not appear inclined to let either one play first. 

Trade for Yangervis Solarte

Yangervis Solarte makes a lot of sense for the Mets. He can not only play first, but he can also play third. In his career, he’s also played at second, short, and left. In essence, he’s a much better version of Eric Campbell. In his first full major league season last year, he hit .270/.320/.428. He’s hitting .250/.379/.375 this year. This is all the more impressive when you consider he plays most of his games at Petco. 

Here’s the rub. The Padres have no incentive to trade him. He’s not arbitration eligible until 2017, and he can’t become a free agent until 2020. If the Mets were inclined to even trade for Solarte, it’s going to come at a high cost, and the Mets most desirable trade assets were traded away last year. No, if the Mets do make a move your looking at the In the interim, the Mets can inquire about the Kelly Johnsons and Ike Davises of the world. 

Overall, that’s the issue. The Mets don’t have what it takes right now to address the first base position internally or externally. Although, the idea of having Travis d’Arnaud work at first during his rehab assignment is intriguing given his shoulder problems and injury history (hat tip Brian Mangan). However, short of that happening, it’s more of the same for the Mets. 

This means Campbell is your everyday first baseman until Flores comes off the DL. At that point, the Mets will probably go with Flores until Duda is healthy. Ultimately, Duda needs to be the answer there because in reality any other solution is unrealistic or just a question mark. 

page top

Birthdays Done the Wright Way

Today, my family gathered together to celebrate my younger brother’s birthday. With my son, family gatherings usually involve every fawning over him while he’s mostly interested in playing with Cosmo:

  
It also means that I get to watch a Mets game with my Dad, brother, and son. My Yankee fan uncle was also there. We get to have all those little conversations about each and every player and what the Mets should or shouldn’t do in each situation. Some major points of discussion:

  1. Why was Jacob deGrom getting pulled after only 100 pitches?  
  2. How good is Yoenis Cespedes?
  3. Do you think David Wright‘s career is effectively over?
  4. Why is Eric Campbell on the team?
  5. Should Kevin Plawecki or Matt Reynolds bunt?

It was fun having these and other little discussions during the game. It was also fun being in a room of people that universally agreed Daniel Murphy is a better baseball player than Neil Walker. Admittedly, some of these discussions were a bit disjointed with a two year old chasing a puppy and asking questions about the game. 

It was great to watch a Mets game with my family the way I grew up watching a games. Sure, we have these discussions over texts during games, but it’s much better having these conversations in person. It’s even better when a game ends with Wright setting a club record with his eighth walk-off hit and ninth walk-off RBI:

After the game was over, it was time for some cake and ice cream to celebrate a birthday . . . and a Mets win.

  
Happy Birthday Uncle Pat!

page top

At Least Eric Campbell Is Doing His Job

Due to Wilmer Flores’ injury and David Wright’s spinal stenosis, Eric Campbell has played in 21 games so far this year. Believe it or not, that’s the least amount of games by anyone on the team who is not on the DL. 

It may not feel that way because Campbell had played much more frequently. While he appeared in 10 games in April, he did not start one game. In May, he’s already played 11 games, and he has started in nine of them. Here’s the strangest thing of all with Campbell – he’s actually playing fairly well. 

In May, where Campbell has received the bulk of his playing time, he’s hitting .231/.375/.269. Yes, his batting average and slugging percentage is quite low, but as evidenced by his OBP, Campbell is getting on base. Also, he’s playing good defense at first and third base. We have already seen him make diving stops to stop extra base hits. Overall, Campbell is playing very well for the guy at the end of your bench. 

That’s the issue. Campbell isn’t at the end of the bench anymore. 

No, with Flores on the DL, Campbell has overtaken Flores’ super utility role. Campbell has also outperformed Flores. Before Flores went on the DL, he was hitting a paltry .180/.255/.280. Flores has also struggled with his throws from second and third. Accordingly, Campbell has been a better bench option than Flores. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, it should be noted Campbell is out performing some of the regulars. In May, Campbell’s .375 OBP is tops amongst infielders and second on the team to Yoenis Cespedes. He’s out slugging Neil Walker . In sum, right now, Campbell is not the Mets worst option either in the field or at the plate. 

This goes a long way to explaining the Mets troubles scoring runs. The Mets have averaged 2.74 runs per game in May. Opponents have out scored them by 18 runs. The Mets are 8-11 so far this month. Therefore, while there are problems like with Matt Harvey’s struggles on the mound and Jacob deGrom’s velocity, the biggest problem right now is the struggling Mets offense that isn’t getting on base enough and isn’t scoring runs. 

The Mets starters need to get better . . . at least better than Eric Campbell as there should never be no point in the season where you can say Campbell has been one of the Mets better offensive players. 

page top

Matz Back on Track

After all the Mets fans hysteria after Matt Harvey struggled against the Nationals, it was easy to forget there was a game to be played tonight. 

Like most of May, the Mets offense seemed to forget as well. For the first five innings, the Mets offense could only muster one run with three hits and a walk against Wily Peralta. This is the same Peralta who came into tonight’s game with a 2-4 record, 7.30 ERA, and a 1.992 WHIP. It didn’t matter as the Mets offense lately has been worse than Peralta . . . at least until the sixth inning. 

Asdrubal Cabrera lead off the inning with a single, and he scored when Michael Conforto hit one into what used to be the Party City Deck. 

Mets led 3-2. 

There was a chance for more, but well, no one is quite sure what happened. Yoenis Cespedes singled, and he took off on a 3-2 pitch to Neil Walker. Walker took the pitch right down the middle for strike three, and Cespedes didn’t even bother sliding into second. Former Met Carlos Torres came on, and he got the Brewers out of the inning. 

The three runs were enough for Steven Matz, who was terrific. He pitched seven innings allowing three hits, two earned, and no walks with eight strikeouts. He only made one mistake, which was hit for a two run homer in the first by Chris Carter, who is tied with Cespedes for the league lead in homers. Matz’s start was all the more incredible when you consider he had been shut down with elbow inflammation. 

However, it looks like he’s back on track, and the Mets are back on track as well. 

Game Notes: Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Torres got their NL Championship rings before the game. Eric Campbell started at third as David Wright had a scheduled day off. Rene Rivera had a nice game with an RBI ground out in the second, and he threw out another basestealer:

page top

The Mets Infield Is Eric Campbell

Right now, the Mets are in a prolonged offensive slump. It seems like every Met not named Yoenis Cespedes is having problems at the plate. Here’s how bad things are. Here are the triple slash lines for every Mets infielder (except Matt Reynolds) since the West Coast trip began:

  1. .176/.300/.235
  2. .227/.320/.273
  3. .152/.243/.273
  4. .129/.325/.258
  5. .200/.250/.267
  6. .235/.278/.294

Look at this list. Now, go and pick out which player is Eric Campbell. No, it’s not all Campbell. Yes, those are the real stats. Yes, each of the Mets infielders has been presented in that grouping. Take a look again and pick out which one is Eric Campbell. 

The answer is number 2.  

The other players were Lucas Duda (#1), Neil Walker (#3), David Wright (#4), Wilmer Flores (#5), and Asdrubal Cabrera (#6). 

Campbell’s numbers are not too far off his career slash line of .230/.319/.321. What’s interesting about that is every Mets infielder is hitting like Eric Campbell right now. Not surprisingly, Eric Campbell is the best version of himself. Since the West Coast trip, Campbell is second among Mets infielders in batting average, OBP, and slugging.

He’s even added a few nice defensive plays. He had the diving stop at third for the final out of the game on Mother’s Day. He made two nice defensive plays at first last night including robbing Daniel Murphy of an extra base hit in what was then a tied game. So no, Eric Campbell isn’t the problem. He’s performing about as well as you can reasonably expect the last man on your bench to perform. 

No, the problem is everyone on the Mets infield is performing like they’re Eric Campbell. 

We can all talk about the Mets striking out too much. We can talk about their supposed over reliance on the homerun. We can talk about their problems hitting with RISP. We can talk about all of that at length. However, we first need to find out how the Mets entire infield hits like Eric Campbell now. 

page top

Thor Wins Pitcher’s Duel

Tonight promised to be a pitcher’s duel, and it did not disappoint. The difference in the game was Max Scherzer made two mistakes and Noah Syndergaard made none. 

Curtis Granderson took the first pitch from Scherzer, and he homered to right. Scherzer would be careful with Granderson the rest of the game. Granderson would finish the night 2-2 with a run, RBI, the aforementioned homerun, and two walks. It appears that Granderson is breaking out of his May slump. 

The Mets needed it too. Before the first pitch, the Mets discovered neither Lucas Duda or David Wright would be available. Wright’s back flared up necessitating he sit. Duda’s own back issues re-emerged requiring him to receive an injection and sit. In their stead, Eric Campbell and Matt Reynolds manned the corners. It was Reynold’s major league debut. He played third, batted ninth, and wore Wright’d glove. Campbell and Reynolds each went 0-3. Campbell struck out twice, and Reynolds struck out once. 

It was a lineup reminiscent of last July. Like last July, Granderson provided the offense. Like last July, Michael Conforto came to the rescue. In the third, he homered to right to make it a 2-0 game. Syndergaard did the rest. 

Syndergaard pitched seven innings only allowing five hits, no earned, and no walks while striking out 10. He had the pitches coming in at 100 MPH. Before the game, Bryce Harper said at the ESPN Upfront event he was curious as to what would happen against the 100 MPH fastball. The answer was an 0-3 night with two strikeouts against Syndergaard. 

Aside from the two mistakes, Scherzer matched Syndergaard pitch for pitch. He allowed three hits, two earned, and three walks while striking out 10. He did all he could do, but he didn’t get much help from anyone other than Daniel Murphy. 

It was Murphy’s first game back at Citi Field since signing with the Nationals in the offseason. In the first inning, he made a sparkling defensive play robbing Campbell of a hit:

After that play, Murphy would get his first official at bat against the Mets. Before the at bat, Murphy would get a well deserved ovation:

Murphy would foul out to third. Before his next at bat, he would be booed. Murphy responded by dropping a single over the head of his replacement, Neil Walker. Overall, Murphy would go 1-3 dropping his batting average from .400 to .399. 

Despite Murphy’s and Scherzer’s efforts, the Mets shut down the Nationals. Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia came on and slammed the door shut. The Mets won 2-0, took sole possession of second place, and moved within a half-game of the Nationals. The Mets can take over first place with a win tomorrow. 

Game Notes: Kevin Plawecki had a nice game going 1-3 and throwing out Ben Revere trying to steal a base. It was only the fourth runner in 33 attempts thrown out while Syndergaard was on the mound. Of course, Oliver Perez entered the game and got his only batter out. Here was the Mets pregame video tribute to Murphy:

page top

Mets Decision on Murphy Not Looking Good

Coming into this season, Fangraphs showed how the Mets switch from Daniel Murphy to Neil Walker would hurt the Mets in 2016. The projections were that Murphy would have a better year in Washington than Walker would have in New York. 

So far, the projections were right. Murphy has been better with the Nationals than Walker has been with the Mets.  Much better. 

Coming into a three game litmus test for both the Mets and Nationals, Murphy is having a career year. He’s leading the big leagues with 56 hits. A month and a half into the season, he’s still hitting a major league leading .400.  Among major league second basemen, he’s among the leaders in nearly every statistical category:

  • Doubles (13) – 1st NL & 2nd MLB
  • Triples (2) – 2nd NL & MLB
  • Homers (5) – 3rd NL & 9th MLB
  • RBI (3) – 2nd NL & 3rd MLB
  • OBP (.433) – 2nd NL & MLB
  • SLG (.629) – 1st NL & MLB
  • WAR (1.7) – 1st NL & 5th MLB

Murphy is a big reason why the Nationals are in first place. It is unrealistic to expect Murphy to keep up this pace. He’s never been this type of hitter. With that said, it’s a month and a half into the season, and Murphy is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s been better in May than April. Even without facing the Mets once, he’s been a thorn in their side. 

No matter how you look at it, Murphy been the best second baseman in the National League. He’s been the best second baseman to switch teams. Even with Walker tying the Mets record for homers in a single month, the Mets decision to pass on Murphy doesn’t look good. 

However, the Mets moving on from Murphy wasn’t about 2016. It was about the future. The Mets, a win-now team, made a decision in Murphy based on the future. 

The wisdom of the Mets decision will be judged by how Walker plays this year in comparison to how Murphy plays. It will be judged by how Dilson Herrera plays when he becomes the full time second baseman. It will be judged by how the compensation pick the Mets received for Murphy develops. 

Ultimately, the Mets decision will be judged upon whether the Mets win the World Series. Murphy was the Mets best player in the postseason last year. The Mets don’t beat the Dodgers without him. They don’t go to the World Series without him. 

It’s too soon to judge the Mets decision on passing on Murphy. However, with him helping the Mets biggest competition in the NL East, the early returns aren’t good. 

page top