Steven Matz
After getting swept by the Nationals, the Mets feel six games back in the National League East. The offense has been completely inept averaging 3.2 runs per game. The Mets went 11-15 over the course of the month despite playing only eight games against teams with a winning record. Both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are dealing with bone spurs in their elbows. These days you’d be hard pressed to find a Mets fan that has any hope that the Mets could return to the postseason.
Lost in all of this is the fact that the Mets are only a half a game back in the Wild Card Standings.
Even if you assume the National League East is out of reach (it isn’t), the Mets are in the thick of a pennant race. Better yet, they are going up against the Dodgers, Marlins, and Cardinals. In order to make the postseason, the Mets need only beat out two of those teams. Each of the three teams the Mets are competing with are flawed teams with real problems.
St. Louis Cardinals
Outside of Carlos Martinez, the Cardinals rotation is struggling. Their other four starters have ERAs 4.09 and above, and ERA+s of 1o1 and below. To be at the point they are, they have had to rely on what has been a pretty good bullpen. With that said, their closer, Trevor Rosenthal, is having a horrible season with a 5.19 ERA.
Offensively, the team has a black hole in center field. It has come to the point where they are trying Kolten Wong out there. This is the same Wong the Cardinals had sent down for his inability to produce at second base. The Cardinals were able to move Wong to center because Jhonny Peralta finally came off the disabled list. Peralta is now the third baseman, but he is not hitting after returning from the disabled list.
On top of all of these problems, the Cardinals finish the season with 10 of their final 20 games against the Cubs and the Giants.
Miami Marlins
Barry Bonds has certainly had an impact on this team as seemingly not named Giancarlo Stanton is having a good season offensively. Stanton’s production is troublesome for the Marlins as he is not the same player for the Marlins a year after wrist surgery. Fact is, the Marlins need him as their starting pitching hasn’t been very good outside of Jose Fernandez.
The Marlins really don’t have a viable fifth starter. In reality, they don’t have much of a rotation past Fernandez. Adam Conley is their second best starter, and he is 4-5 with a 1.357 WHIP. The other rotation options have ERAs of 4.45 and above. With a rotation like that, it should come as no surprise that the Marlins are performing above expectations as they have both allowed and scored 326 runs. If the rotation continues to drag down this offense, we can reasonably expect this Marlins team to trek back towards the .500 mark.
In the event they are able to hang in the race, the Marlins are going to have to earn their way into the postseason with nine of their last 13 games coming against the Mets and the Nationals.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are currently leading the Wild Card race with a 43-37 record. That record is mostly driven by the greatness of Clayton Kershaw.
This season Kershaw is 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA and a 0.727 WHIP. Name the pitching catergory, and you can rest assured that Kershaw is probably leading it. In games that Kershaw pitches, the Dodgers are 14-2 in games that Kershaw starts. If you removed Kershaw from the Dodgers rotation, the Dodgers would be 29-35 this year. That is not a team that would be in the thick of the Wild Card race let alone leading it.
Normally, that type of analysis is done to show why a pitcher like Kershaw should win the Cy Young and/or MVP awards. It is not done as an example to show why his team will not make the postseason. Yet, that’s the position the Dodgers are facing. Kershaw has been having back problems recently. He has received an epidural injection, and he is on the 15 day disabled list. As Mets fans have seen over the past few seasons, back injuries are funny things. Once it starts acting up, you do not really know when a player can returns.
With that in mind, we really don’t have an answer to the Cardinals, Marlins, or Dodgers question marks. As Mets fans, we become myopic in how we assess the Mets chances of making it back to the postseason. Day in and day out, we see the Mets put out a poor offense and begin to believe the Mets aren’t going anywhere. However, when you take a step back and look out over the National League landscape, the Mets are competing against other flawed teams for those two Wild Card spots.
Overall, despite the Mets recent struggles, this can still be a postseason team. As we saw last year, with the Mets pitching, the team just has to get there. Seeing the competition, they very well can.
It looked like more of the same for the Mets. Steven Matz allowed a first inning two run home run to Kris Bryant and a solo shot to Javier Baez in the sixth. The Mets were down 3-0 and didn’t seem to have a chance. It was the same old dreary Mets offense. In the bottom of the sixth, Yoenis Cespedes woke everyone up:
The 441 foot shot was the longest in Citi Field history and first into the Promemade Level. It was shades of Tommie Agee.
The Mets looked like a different team after that. Travis d’Arnaud got it started with a one out single off Cubs starter John Lackey. Then a minor miracle happened when Alejandro De Aza worked out a walk against Cubs reliever Joel Peralta. Then Brandon Nimmo had the at bat of the night.
Nimmo was quickly down 1-2 in the count. He would foul off three straight pitches, and he would hit an RBI single on the ninth pitch of the at bat. It narrowed the score to 3-2. He alertly moved to second when center fielder Albert Amora tried to get De Aza at third.
Joe Maddon then went to Pedro Strop to pitch to Neil Walker. Strop quickly went ahead in the count 0-2, and the Cubs pulled the infield in. Walker then hit a hooper at second baseman Baez who had no shot at getting De Aza at home. He tried to get Nimmo at third, but he threw it wild.
Nimmo then scored to make it 4-3. It was a comeback the likes of which the Mets have not made in quite a while.
In the eighth, MLB history was made when Addison Reed pitched to Addison Russell. Russell won the first ever battle of the Addisons by walking. It set up runners at first and second with two outs. Maddon sent up Jason Heyward to pinch hit, and Terry Collins countered with Jerry Blevins. Blevins got Heyward to tap one back to Blevins to end the inning.
Jeurys Familia recorded his 27th straight save this year to secure the 4-3 win. This one wasn’t easy. Ben Zobrist hit a double to make it second a third with no outs. Familia struck out Bryant, and then intentionally walked Anthony Rizzo to face rookie catcher Willson Contreras. Familia struck out the overmatched Contreras. Baez popped it up to end what was a tremendous save by Familia and win for the Mets.
The Mets took the first game of a four game set against the Cubs. By the way, last year’s NLCS was also a four game set.
Game Notes: Matz showed his frustration out there a few times, most notably when Lackey buzzed him on a sac bunt attempt. He also threw his glove after the Baez homer. Erik Goeddel earned the win after pitching 1.2 scoreless innings.
As the 2015 season began, the Mets finally had reason to hope. The main reason for that hope was Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey. At that time, there was the hope the Mets would eventually get contributions from Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, but no one knew what, if anything, either could contribute in 2015. No, the 2015 season was about deGrom and Harvey.
Seemingly out of nowhere, deGrom had a spectacular 2014 season that saw him win the Rookie of the Year Award. Due to his performance, Terry Collins slated him ahead of Harvey in the rotation. Throughout the 2015 season, deGrom justified that season going 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA and a 0.979 WHIP. He would be the lone Mets All Star, and he would be the story of the All Star Game striking out three batters on 10 total pitches. In the NLDS, he out-dueled both Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke to pitch the Mets into the NLCS. During that season, deGrom established that he is as good as any pitcher in baseball including his teammate Matt Harvey.
In his first start of the 2015 season, Harvey declared he was back by shutting down the Nationals over six innings allowing only four hits and walking one while striking out nine. Future MVP Bryce Harper would go hitless. He defeated former first overall pick Stephen Strasburg. That start set the tone for a season in which Harvey would go 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.019 WHIP. Harvey carried this greatness forward in the postseason. In Game 5 of the World Series, Harvey showed the world why he’s a great pitcher. He shut down the Royals over eight innings while striking out nine. Once again, he gave Mets fans hope that the team could win the World Series.
The Mets need Harvey to give them hope again.
The Mets were absolutely bludgeoned last night with Noah Syndergaard on the mound. After the game, Syndergaard denied rumors that he is dealing with a bone spur issue in his pitching elbow. For his part, Steven Matz did not deny the issue. The question surrounding him was not only whether he could make his start tomorrow, but also whether he needed surgery. On a day like last nigh, you tend to focus on all the negativity surrounding the the Mets. The team is struggling offensively. They feel hour games back of the Nationals and back to third place in the National League East. There are questions abound about what is wrong with the Mets.
With a strong start tonight, Harvey can remind everyone what is right with the Mets. Harvey has a chance to turn around the Mets season like he has turned around his own season.
Harvey’s 2016 season got off to a nightmare of a start. In his first 11 starts, he was 3-7 with a gaudy 6.08 ERA and a 1.688 WHIP. Batters were teeing off on him to the tune of a .330/.376/.525 batting line. He was having difficulty striking anyone out. Finally, the mechanical flaw was found and fixed. In the five starts he made since fixing the mechanical flaw, Harvey has a 2.25 ERA and a 0.875 WHIP. Opposing batters have only hit .205/.237/.286 in that stretch. Simply put, Harvey is back. It’s a good thing too because the Mets desperately need him.
The Mets need Harvey to go out there tonight and shut down the Nationals like he’s done throughout his career. He needs to have a start like he did last April where he announces to the world that both Harvey and the Mets are back. He needs to combine with deGrom and carry the Mets rotation and team like everyone knows they can. As long as deGrom and Harvey pitch the way that they are capable, the Mets will have a legitimate shot at not only the postseason, but also another run to the World Series.
It’s time for Harvey to go out there tonight and remind everyone of that.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on metsmerizedonline.com
Going into the season, the major concern was Tommy John. There was the fear that Noah Syndergaard would need Tommy John surgery due to his velocity and work load. There was concern over whether Zack Wheeler would be able to successfully return from Tommy John surgery. There was less of a concern about whether Josh Edgin could as well. There were concerns over how Matt Harvey would handle his second year post Tommy John surgery. All of that concern was misplaced.
As it turns out, everyone should have been concerned over bone spurs even if Syndergaard won’t admit he has one.Both Syndergaard and Steven Matz have gone from All Star Cy Young caliber seasons to everyone wondering if they need surgery, if their seasons are over. We don’t know when the problems began, but we do know that something is affecting them now.
Starting with Matz, who has admitted an elbow problem, there has been a precipitous drop off in his pitching. In a nine start stretch, Matz was 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.007 WHIP while averaging roughly 6.2 innings per start. He was limiting batters to a .222/.266/.282 batting line. At that point, Matz was the favorite for the Rookie of the Year award. He was putting up All Star caliber numbers. His last three starts present a much different pitcher.
In Matz’s last three starts, he is 0-1 with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.470 WHIP while only averaging roughly 5.1 innings per start. Batters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .324/.338/.529 batting line. What is really troubling in each of these starts is that Matz falls apart in the fifth inning. In each of the aforementioned three starts, he has no allowed one run through the first four innings of a game. The worst of it was when the woeful Braves offense chased Matz from the game after allowing six runs in two-thirds of an inning. Now, he’s missing today’s start, and the Mets are debating whether or not he needs surgery.
Syndergaard is a more interesting case as he’s denying the bone spurs rumors, but again like Matz something is wrong. As the season began, all we could talk about what Syndergaard’s new 95 MPH slider, and his emergence as the ace of the Mets pitching staff. Up until his last two starts, Syndergaard was 7-2 with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.965 WHIP. He was averaging roughly 6.2 innings per start. He stymied batters limiting them to a .223/.252/.312 batting line. If Clayton Kershaw were not alive, we would have been talking not just about the Cy Young award but also the possibility that Syndergaard is the best pitcher in baseball.
In Syndergaard’s last two starts we saw something uncharacteristic from him. He struggled. While his pitching line from his June 22nd start against Kansas City didn’t raise any red flags his pitching did. Syndergaard didn’t seem to have the pinpoint command he has had all year, and on a couple of occassions, he crossed up his catcher Rene Rivera. At the time, it was seen as a blip on the radar, but after last night’s start and the reports from yesterday, there is a real reason for concern.
The Nationals, who are no offensive powerhouse themselves, took Syndergaard to the woodshed. Syndergaard only lasted three innings allowing five earned runs. To put it in perspective, Syndergaard only allowed five earned runs in all of April. He had a season high three walks. Runners were stealing bases left and right off of him and Travis d’Arnaud. Now Ron Darling did point out that he didn’t seem in sync with Travis d’Arnaud, but was that really the problem? This is the second straight start Syndergaard has had trouble locating pitches. There are a numbers of explanations why that could be the case, but after the reports of his having a bone spur in his elbow, the bone spur seems to be the most likely reason for Syndergaard’s recent struggles.
Overall, Matz and Syndergaard might be fine and be able to finish out the year. Right now, that proposition is a little hard to believe seeing them struggle recently and hearing news about bone spurs in their elbows. If Syndergaard and Matz are unable to pitch effectively through these bone spurs, the Mets are going to be in trouble. If that is the case, it will be bone spurs, not Tommy John, that will damage the Mets chances of going back to the World Series.
In the top of the third, the Mets went up 4-0, and it seemed like the game was over. The Mets were hitting Nationals’ starter Joe Ross hard. The Mets had Noah Syndergaard on the mound who never loses with a four run lead:
Noah Syndergaard is 13-1 in his career when the @Mets score 4+ runs in a game
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 28, 2016
Then the bottom of the third happened. The Nationals would send nine men to the plate. The Nationals scored five runs on five hits, one walk, and four stolen bases. Like most of baseball, the Nationals ran wild on Syndergaard:
.@Nationals running wild on division rivals with 6 stolen bases. https://t.co/KQ4dixHN7L pic.twitter.com/8XsZ3CS3Nz
— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2016
Syndergaard just didn’t have it tonight. As Ron Darling would say, Syndergaard looked flustered. For a pitcher that rarely walks anyone, he issued three walks. He threw a wild pitch in the fateful third. With him previously complaining of some elbow soreness, and the recent Steven Matz news, there will be some Mets fans who panic. Mercifully, Collins pulled Matz after three innings after he threw 71 pitches allowing seven hits, five earned, and three walks with five strikeouts.
In true Mets fashion, an embattled Ross would settle down. Neither he nor the other Nationals pitchers would allow another run.
However, Sean Gilmartin and Erik Goeddel would. Gilmartin pitched two innings allowing seven hits, five earned, and one walk with one strikeout. Goeddel allowed a run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout in two innings. Amazingly, Antonio Bastardo was the only Mets pitcher that didn’t allow a run.
The only thing worse than the Mets pitching tonight was James Loney‘s defense. To say he had fall-down left, fall-down right range would’ve been complimentary. During the key rallies, there were a few balls hit by him that a first baseman with range could’ve fielded. He also made a mental error in the fifth inning. With the infield in, he fielded a ball off the bat of Ben Revere. Instead of stepping on first, he threw home to try to get Danny Espinosa, who he had no chance of throwing out at the plate. Revere would later score on a Jayson Werth double.
The fifth inning might still be happening if not for Werth’s classless play. With the score 10-4, Werth broke home on a Bryce Harper infield single, and Loney easily threw him out.
Overall, the Nationals beat the Mets in every way possible. It was an 11-4 laugher for them:
#Nats lead 6-4 heading to Bottom 5 thanks to Murph's 50th RBI of the season.#VoteMurph: https://t.co/H43Xregbxb pic.twitter.com/2u5qMfyJzI
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 28, 2016
Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo collected his first career hit and run scored. He finished the night 2-4 with a run.
This was supposed to be an easy game. The Mets were up 5-0 heading into the top of the fifth. James Loney hit a three run homer to make it 8-0. However, that’s not all that happened in the top of the fifth. Steven Matz was rubbing his pitching elbow in the dugout. Everyone saw him doing this but Terry Collins and Dan Warthen.
Matz came out in the fifth throwing a slower fastball (from 94 MPH to 92 MPH). The Braves opened the inning with three consecutive doubles. The second double was a can of corn off the bat of Nick Markakis, but Yoenis Cespedes lost it. It’s not really on Cespedes as the outfield lighting at Turner Field is a joke.
So it’s safe to say @ynscspds didn’t have a beat on this fly ball: https://t.co/v5HskiFO7x pic.twitter.com/iyd4JQtCrR
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 25, 2016
That’s the type of inning it was as Matz allowed six earned on eight hits. The big blow was a Brandon Snyder opposite field pinch hit three run homer.
Matz would eventually get chased after a Freddie Freeman RBI single. Hansel Robles then came in to bail out the Mets and preserve the bullpen again. The latter was very important with Addison Reed and Jerry Blevins unavailable. Robles got out of the inning without allowing another run. He would go 2.2 innings for yet another well earned win. For the week, Robles has pitched 8.1 innings.
Everything seemed calm down until Cespedes was picked off base in the seventh. Cespedes rolled his ankle stepping on first and had to be helped off the field. Every Mets fan breathed a sigh of relief as Cespedes took the field in the bottom of the seventh.
Once Cespedes was alright, it was easy to admit that a lot of good things happened tonight:
- Neil Walker was 3-4 with three runs scored
- Loney was 2-3 with three runs, three RBI, a double, and a homer
- Travis d’Arnaud was 1-4 with three RBI
The last two RBI were interesting. For some reason, the Braves walked Michael Conforto to load the bases to face d’Arnaud. Considering the fact that Conforto has been terrible since May, it was an odd decidion, and d’Arnaud made the Braves pay with a two RBI single.
It was good to see the Mets offense clicking, and it was great to see Jeurys Familia break Armando Benitez‘s record for consecutive saves to begin the season.
Familia would have to go four outs for his 25th save. Antonio Bastardo allowed a two out double to Markakis in the eighth, and Terry Collins went to Familia. Familia got Adonis Garcia, last night’s villain, to get out of the inning. However, the ninth wouldn’t be easy.
Familia allowed the first two on base, and then Chase d’Arnaud, Travis’ brother, was sent up to bunt. Wilmer Flores dove for the bunt, but barely missed it. However, it confused the Braves. Flores ran back to third for the force, and he threw to second to complete the unconventional 5-5-4 double play. Familia struck out the last batter if the game.
Still, that pitch went to the backstop. It forced d’Arnaud to race to the backstop and make a quick throw to first. It was off-line, but Loney held the bag to end the game.
It was a fitting end to a strange 8-6 game that was never easy.
I was having an absolutely terrific day. It was gorgeous out. My family got together today instead of tomorrow to celebrate Father’s Day because my parents know we can stay longer on a Saturday than a Sunday. It was so perfect that we even had a Fudgie the Whale:
Speaking of moving slow like a whale full of ice cream, somehow, someway Tim Teufel sent Wilmer Flores with no outs in the bottom of the ninth with the Mets down a run. I’m only slightly exaggerating when I say Flores was rounding third when Tyler Flores caught the ball waiting to tag out Flores.
If you’re a Mets fan, you know how the rest of the inning was going to go. Ty Kelly hit the ball “deep” to center for a flyball out. Deep is in quotes because it didn’t reach the warning track, but Ender Inciarte did have to go back a bit on the ball. Of course, Curtis Granderson, who had a brain cramp in the eighth leading to the go-ahead run scoring, struck out looking. Game over. Mets lose two in a row to a horrendous team. The Mets didn’t play any better than yesterday’s poor showing.
Simply put, the Mets beat themselves by playing bad baseball. They made mistakes and miscues. It was embarrassing. By the way, I’m not sure if this is referring to tonight’s game or any other loss since the calendar flipped from April to May.
If that wasn’t enough, here are some fun anecdotes from the night:
- Dario Alvarez, who the Mets dropped from the 40 to add Kelly to the roster, earned the win;
- Jim Henderson left the game with a shoulder impingement; and
- Steven Matz is experiencing elbow tightness.
It’d be funny if it wasn’t so depressing.
By hey, it was a beautiful day, and my son had fun at his grandparents.
When my son has a good day, nothing, not even the Mets, can ruin my day. My evening on the other hand was completely ruined. Thanks for that Tim Teufel.
In 1989, we were on a family vacation to Philadelphia at the same time the Mets were playing at the Vet. When my Dad picked up the free hotel newspaper, he noticed that Frank Viola was the Mets scheduled starter. It doesn’t take much for my Dad to want to take us to a Mets game. That night, my Dad wanted to take us to the game because we had an opportunity to see a former World Series MVP and Long Island native take the mound.
There haven’t been many players from Long Island who have played in the big leagues. The best player that comes to mind is Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. There are even fewer that play for the Mets. There was the aforementioned Viola. There has also been John Valenin and John Lannan, both of whom had less than stellar Mets careers. However, last year, Steven Matz burst onto the scene.
Like my Dad, I took my son to see Matz’s first game at Citi Field. It was an event with him pitching 7.2 innings allowing five hits, two earned, and two walks while striking out six. He was also 3-3 at the plate with a double and four RBI. It was a glimpse into what a special player he was going to become. So far in his young career, Matz is 11-2 with a 2.36 ERA. There are many reasons why Matz is so good. There have been many that have helped him along the way including his AAA pitching coach Frank Viola.
After the first day of the MLB draft tonight, it appears that Viola is going to get a couple more Long Island players to help out.
With the 19th selection, the Mets selected Freeport native Justin Dunn. Like most, I really don’t know that much about Dunn other than the published scouting reports. Here is all I’ve seen of him pitch so far:
On a special note, he is slated to pitch tonight for Boston College in the NCAA Baseball Super Regionals against Miami at 5 P.M. That game will be televised on ESPNU.
The other pitcher the Mets drafted was Anthony Kay who went to high school at Ward Melville. This is the same high school that Matz attended. They were not classmates as Kay was in 8th grade when Matz was a senior. It seems like the Mets have liked Kay for a long time:
The Mets drafted Anthony Kay in 2013 in the 29th round but were unable to sign him. They now get him with the #31 overall pick.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) June 10, 2016
Again, like Dunn, I don’t know much about Kay other than the scouting reports. Unlike Dunn, we’re not going to be able to see him pitch as UConn has already been eliminated. In the interim, if you are interested in seeing him pitch, here is a clip:
Sooner or later, we will get to see both Dunn and Kay pitch so long as they are able to agree to terms with the Mets. If so, it is likely they will be placed on the Brooklyn Cyclones roster where they can pitch close to home (closer for Dunn). Whether or not the fact that these players grew up as Yankee fans is irrelevant. What matters is that these local players are with the Mets now, and they are going to help the Mets in the future.
With the way things are going, they may eventually be joined by a couple of other Long Islanders since it is suddenly becoming a breeding ground for Mets pitching.
Other than David Wright and Steven Matz, the Mets players grew up rooting for another team. That includes Matt Harvey, who grew up as a Yankee fan.
Do you know what Harvey’s Yankee fandom has to do with his pitching? Absolutely nothing. He just wants to win. He pitched more than anyone did post-Tommy John surgery. He gave it his all during the postseason. He may have grown up a Yankees fan, but right now, all he wants to do is to get a World Series ring with the Mets.
This dumb issue reared its head when the Mets selected Justin Dunn in the first round. He’s a Long Island kid from Freeport that grew up rooting for the Yankees. This will have no bearing on how he will pitch for the Mets when he gets to the big leagues. Oh, and by the way, I think he’s just a little excited to be a Met:
When you get picked 19th overall in the #MLBDraft with 34 of your brothers there with you!https://t.co/8fc04P6QIj
— BC Baseball (@BCBirdBall) June 10, 2016
Dunn just proves that these guys are excited to be Mets no matter who they rooted for growing up. He wants to be a Met, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.