Mets Again Chose J.D. Davis Over Winning
Perhaps, it is unfair to suggest J.D. Davis was the reason the New York Mets lost. After all, in baseball, it is really more than just a player, play, pitch, or at-bat.
The Mets were down 3-0 after former Los Angeles Dodger Rich Hill allowed homers to Trea Turner, Albert Pujols, and Chris Taylor. With the Pujols homer that was one 40 year old homering off another one.
The Mets would begin to mount a comeback against Max Scherzer in the fifth beginning with a Brandon Nimmo solo homer. The inning continued, and Michael Conforto would have a tough at-bat with two outs to draw a walk with the bases loaded.
This brought J.D. Davis up to the plate. If you were expecting anything other than a strikeout, well, you haven’t been paying attention all season. This was the fifth time he did it all season in five such tries. Again, it was a fastball over the heart of the plate.
Didn't have his best stuff today, but legendary strikeout here from Max Scherzer to get outta the jam pic.twitter.com/IhDRIAbyId
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) August 21, 2021
The shame was after Miguel Castro loaded the bases with no outs walking in a run, Jeurys Familia got the Mets out of the jam further unscathed. Pete Alonso would also hit a two run homer off Blake Treinen to pull the Mets to within 4-3.
Pete continues to crush baseballs! #LGM pic.twitter.com/kng0W0hWU2
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 21, 2021
That would be the final score, and it was an extremely frustrating one at that.
Jeff McNeil got out of a huge slump hitting a big double and drawing a walk. Alonso, Conforto, and Nimmo continue to hit. We’d see a struggling Dominic Smith getting double switched out of the game.
As for Davis, well, the Mets decided they’d rather let him sink the season. It doesn’t matter he doesn’t play defense, run the bases, and isn’t hitting. In the end, the Mets just seem to be accepting his blaming everyone else for his inability to produce.
This is just one example for why Rojas won’t be back next year.
Not sure what the front office forcing JD into the lineup has to do with Rojas
When a game changing situation comes around, Rojas needs to pinch hit for a guy who is struggling to drive in runs. I’m not saying he’s got the greatest bench to work with, but how many times is he going to watch Davis end any chance of a met win by striking out with runners on base? Beyond Davis, Rojas has made more than his share of his head scratching moves and I hope he is not managing next year.
I’m sure he’s not permitted to a certain extent
We know you strongly dislike JD Davis and have the from the moment he became a Met.
For any objective fan who knows anything about hitting mechanics, it’s pretty clear JD’s high K’s and struggles with fastballs is mechanical.
And any objective fan who doesn’t know anything about mechanics, can turn to launch angle and see that at 13.7, it’s the highest of his career, which also aligns with his below average GB rate which in seasons prior, were well above average and something you regularly berated him for. This year you can’t.
It’s a good bet the launch angle was forced upon him by the incompetent hitting coach staff. front office, and Sandy’s Alderson Mets process which Luis Rojas recently said is for OBP and home runs. Davis now has rather high K rate, 32.3%, by far career highest,up from 24.5% in 2020, .because the Mets don’t know what they’re doing and pretty much every hitter is having sub par season.
A competent coaching staff and front office, would have had fixed the Mets awful offense long ago, would have helped established hitters improve, without impressing upon them a process that is counterproductive. The players loved Chili Davis, and Chili Davis and JD Davis worked well together. Last season JD said last how much he missed having him in the dugout during games. So this season Chili returns, and JD got off to hot start. When Davis returned from injury, Chili had already been fired and replaced by someone who has no experience, JD is struggling to hit fastballs because the Mets process for homers is pushing him into the highest launch angle in his career, his mechanics are off to the naked eye of those who understand mechanics, and now, very recently he’s even holding his bat differently in his stance.
If Steve Cohen has any common sense, he should be looking for Sandy Alderson’s replacement right now.
So, if I’m getting this right, it’s the front office’s fault for JD being unable to hit for any period other than the second half of the 2019 season.
It’s not that this is who he has been except for that inflated BABIP stretch. Much like with his errors, it’s someone else’s fault.
LTF, I agree and good post. do you think that applies to the Mets doing worse this year, including…..everybody?
This is what we typically see in year 2-3 of Chili. As I previously wrote about, look at Bryant
Keyser,
Mets Daddy despises JD, has from the moment he was acquired.
JD overall, has been a solid performer with the Mets, and has lots of upside. He’s thoughtful and studious. Hard hit%, line drive % BB % and EV above big league average for his career.
What the Mets need is competent leadership to get the most out of every Met, make them better by improving weakness, rather than weakening strengths which is what the Mets process of swinging for homers is doing.. To succeed under this regime, hitters need to ignore what the Mets are preaching,.
As usual, the J.D. fanboy responses are pure hyperbole and parody.
Keyser,
Thanks, and I like your posts too.
I absolutely believe the current regime’s corrosive processes is the reason just about every hitter on this team is struggling in some major way. It’s no coincidence at all, and is costing us the postseason. Instead of changing a failed policy, the Mets have doubled down on sticking with what isn’t working.. It reeks of incompetency.
If Steve Cohen doesn’t clean house, starting with Sandy Alderson and Rojas, they’ll be hard pressed to attract quality free agents. The good feel opportunity across the industry for a changed Mets organization, a fresh start, excitement to play for the Mets, will be squandered. Notice that with the failed Sandy Alderson re-hired by the Mets, no one of note wanted to head baseball operations under him.
Thanks, LTF. The posts here that are the dumbest are the ones about JD’s fielding. He made one the other day pulling out an error from mid-April that was charged to JD but was clearly on Alonso. JD had the ball there in time, it was in his mitt, and the ump signaled that Alinso came off the bag, as, always, he steps too early. The ump clearly signals this. I posted the clip! Freeze frame it! At worst, it was a bang bang play, jeez, it’s third base, give me a break, errors happen there. Oh! and it was like 31 degrees wind chill in Chicago that series — Lindor made and error, Conforto made an error, McCann made an error.
Here is the funny part. MetsDaddy probably had that piece written the next day. He had to wait FOUR MONTHS until JD made another error to post it! rofl..
Yes, my posts, DRS, and OAA are dumb because they honestly assess JD
As usual, you’re bad at this
Guess the bases weren’t loaded
Yes, we all know you’re bad at this and just trying to find a way to justify JD’s horrendous defense.
You must be related to him because no one else could possibly be so stupid as to defend JD
Ok, Oldbackstop
So, three years applies to defense but not hitting.
And we ignore BABIP and the like.
Ok, racist.
Ok, racist
JD as a Met coming into today:
289/.382/.477/.849
120 OPS+
Today
Base running mistake.
2 for 3, homer, HBP, 2 run scoring RBI, 3 overall.
Oh wow, it’s like he’s still terrible
Correction;
JD’s Met s OBP and OPS+ coming into today is .372
.289/.372/.477/.849
128 OPS+
I would’ve thought the correction was JD was a bad player having a good day.
But, I guess when you’re a shill, you’re going to shill.
LOL
Mets Daddy has hated JD from the moment he was acquired.
More than any Met, JD is throwback to old school baseball thinking at the plate. Has a cat and mouse plan and the capacity to hit the ball hard where he wants when it’s put into play. And that is reflected in his well above average BABIP’s 3 consecutive seasons, and well above average hard contacted %
There’s still lots of opportunity for JD to grow his game overall so I love the upside. Reduce K’s, lower his launch angle to around 9-10%, improve base running, and keep getting better and better on defense. His Outs Above Average are improving nicely, now @ -2. which bests Kris Bryant, and a bunch of others at 3rd base, and many, many others elsewhere putting him in very respectable company overall. At some point he’s going to put it all together to have monster season, I think that’s going to happen in his early 30’s. The more he consistently plays, the better he’ll get.
The only way I know this isn’t a joke is it wasn’t funny.
The only improvement in Davis’ game is fewer games played