Musings
After the Mets took two of three against the Reds, their chances of being one of the two Wild Cards has worsened. In fact, according to Fangraphs their chances are 2.0 percent. As Lloyd Christmas would say, “So, you’re saying there’s a chance.” Here’s where the standings are at the moment:
| Team | Record | GB |
| Nationals | 85-69 | 0.0 |
| Brewers | 86-70 | 0.0 |
| Cubs | 82-74 | 4.0 |
| Mets | 81-74 | 4.5 |
| Diamondbacks | 80-76 | 6.0 |
| Phillies | 79-75 | 6.0 |
As it stands for the Mets, they are going to need some help. The good news is with the Cubs getting swept in a four game series with the Cardinals and their losing six straight, they are tied in the loss column with the Mets. That means the Mets are really only behind the Wild Card leaders at the moment. This makes this an exercise in how the Mets fare against the top two teams:
| Mets | Nationals | Brewers |
| 7-0 | 3-5 | 2-4 |
| 6-1 | 2-6 | 1-5 |
| 5-2 | 1-7 | E |
| 4-3 | Eliminated | |
Basically speaking, as Todd Frazier eluded to on Saturday, the Mets need to run the table. However, that still might not be enough to claim a Wild Card. For the Mets, their playing the Marlins in a four game set is a good start for them. If they sweep like they should, they may have a shot.
The Nationals are about to embark on a five game set against with Philadelphia Phillies. You could imagine Bryce Harper is going to try all he can do to knock his old team out of the postseason. As shown above, it’s not going to be just personal as the Phillies are on the very periphery of this race. Of course, after one loss, the Phillies are out, so it will be interesting to see how the Phillies respond when that loss happens.
After the Phillies, the Nationals finish the season with the Indians, who are in a dog fight with the Rays and Athletics for the two Wild Card spots. What makes those games all the tougher is the Indians may be getting Jose Ramirez back. While you can’t anticipate a Nationals collapse, it is certainly on the table.
What may not be on the table is a Brewers collapse, and yet, there is hope the Christian Yelich-less team may finally stumble. After all, they are no longer playing a Pirates team who is easier than a bye.
The Brewers are one game under on the road, and as we recently saw, the Reds and Rockies haven’t given up on the season. It should also be noted that even with the Reds and Rockies being under .500, both teams are over .500 at home. Moreover, the Brewers and Reds season series is tied with the Brewers losing the last three they played in Cincinnati.
All told, the Nationals and Brewers have a difficult end to the season. The issue for the Mets is whether it is difficult enough for them to make a run against the Marlins and a Braves team which really has nothing to do but get ready to host the Cardinals in the NLDS.
Hopefully, this should be a very interesting final week to the season. If everything breaks right for the Mets, we should hopefully see what we saw 20 years ago with Melvin Mora scoring followed by Al Leiter pitching a one hitter. You never know.
Even with Geno Smith inexplicably starting a game over Eli Manning in December 2017, with the fan uproar and front office cowering, it was clear the Eli Manning Era was not over for the Giants. While there is much debate and hand-wringing over that decision, the Giants allowed a legend to essentially go out on his own terms (or close to it), which is an ending befitting legends.
When Daniel Jones gets the start later today, Eli Manning is officially the back-up now and a former Giant after the season. Sure, there may be an injury or other situation which could press Eli back into action this year, but make no mistake, we’ve seen the last of him as the Giants top quarterback.
With Eli Manning, the Giants have received not one but two epic Super Bowl victories. There have been countless other big moments not just in those runs but in other seasons as well.We all know the biggest moment will forever be Super Bowl XLII, but there were others.
There was also the pass to Manningham, and there were all of the come from behind victories. There were Giants wins and division titles. Through it all, Eli made good on the promise he had when the Giants traded to get him after he was selected first overall by the San Diego Chargers with the top pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.
This is the end of an era for the future Hall of Famer, and yes with his winning two Super Bowl MVPs, he is a Hall of Famer. As a Giants fans, we all know it is time to move on from him to enter into the new era focused upon Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. Still, that does not mean there isn’t an element of melancholy and sadness to see one of the greats in team and NFL history have his career effectively ended.
Soon enough, the melancholy will turn into excitement for Jones, and it will turn to warm memories of a great career which delivered two Super Bowls. At the end of the day, all that is left to say is, “Thank you, Eli.”
Following up on yesterday’s post about what needs to happen for the Mets to claim a Wild Card spot, and yesterday’s game, the current Wild Card standings are as follows:
| Team | Record | GB |
| Nationals | 84-68 | +1.0 |
| Brewers | 84-70 | 0.0 |
| Cubs | 82-72 | 2.0 |
| Mets | 80-73 | 3.5 |
| Phillies | 78-74 | 5.0 |
With nine games remaining in the season, the Mets need to go on a hot streak while hoping two of the other teams fall back to the back while the Mets stay ahead of the Phillies. Putting the Phillies aside, here is what needs to happen for the Mets to catch each of the teams ahead of them.
| Mets | Nationals | Brewers | Cubs |
| 10-0 | 6-5 | 6-3 | 7-2 |
| 9-1 | 5-6 | 5-4 | 6-3 |
| 8-2 | 4-7 | 4-5 | 5-4 |
| 7-3 | 3-8 | 3-6 | 4-5 |
| 6-4 | 2-9 | 2-7 | 3-6 |
| 5-5 | 1-10 | 1-8 | 2-7 |
| 4-5 | 0-11 | 0-9 | 1-8 |
| 3-6 | Eliminated |
Keeping in mind the Mets need for two of those events to happen. That’s how it looks in numbers. Given the schedules and the injuries, anything less than 8-2 is a non-starter for the Mets, and if we are being honest the anything less than 9-1 eliminates the Mets.
Yan Gomes Matt Adams Brian Dozier Trea Turner Anthony Rendon Juan Soto Victor Robles Adam Eaton Howie Kendrick Kurt Suzuki Gerardo Parra Ryan Zimmerman Wilmer Difo Asdrubal Cabrera Michael A. Taylor Andrew Stevenson Adrian Sanchez Raudy Read Tres Barrera Stephen Strasburg Patrick Corbin Max Scherzer Anibal Sanchez Sean Doolittle Wander Suero Tanner Rainey Joe Ross Javy Guerra Jeremy Hellickson Austin Voth Fernando Rodney Daniel Hudson Hunter Strickland Roenis Elias Aaron Barrett Wilson Ramos Pete Alonso Robinson Cano Amed Rosario Todd Frazier J.D. Davis Brandon Nimmo Michael Conforto Jeff McNeil Tomas Nido Joe Panik Luis Guillorme Rajai Davis Rene Rivera Jed Lowrie Sam Haggerty Jacob deGrom Noah Syndergaard Zack Wheeler Steven Matz Edwin Diaz Seth Lugo Jeurys Familia Justin Wilson Marcus Stroman Luis Avilan Drew Gagnon Walker Lockett Tyler Bashlor Paul Sewald Chris Mazza Brad Brach Donnie Hart Daniel Zamora Willson Contreras Anthony Rizzo Addison Russell Javier Baez Kyle Schwarber Albert Almora Jason Heyward Victor Caratini Nicholas Castellanos Daniel Descalso Ben Zobrist Ian Happ Tony Kemp Jonathan Lucroy Nico Hoerner Kyle Hendricks Yu Darvish Jon Lester Jose Quintana Cole Hamels Craig Kimbrel Steve Cishek Kyle Ryan Brandon Kintzler Pedro Strop Tyler Chatwood Rowan Wick Alec Mills David Phelps Derek Holland Dillon Maples Brad Wieck James Norwood Danny Hultzen Duane Underwood Jr. Yasmani Grandal Eric Thames Keston Hiura Orlando Arcia Mike Moustakas Ryan Braun Lorenzo Cain Christian Yelich Ben Gamel Travis Shaw Hernan Perez Manny Pina Trent Grisham Cory Spangenberg Tyler Austin David Freitas Jacob Nottingham Tyrone Taylor Zach Davies Chase Anderson Brandon Woodruff Gio Gonzalez Jordan Lyles Josh Hader Junior Guerra Alex Claudio Adrian Houser Freddy Peralta Corbin Burnes Jay Jackson Drew Pomeranz Jimmy Nelson Taylor Williams Brent Suter Ray Black Jake Faria Devin Williams
The New York Mets are somehow just three games out of the loss column for the second Wild Card. For that matter, they are four games out of the top Wild Card spot. With 10 games remaining in the season, that gives the Mets a viable albeit an outside chance to get the Wild Card.
What helps the Mets is the remaining schedules.
Starting tonight, the Mets play a three game set against the Cincinnati Reds. Now, the Reds have proved feisty of late having taken four out of six from the Diamondbacks and Cubs to deliver real damage to their respective Wild Card hopes. They also have ace starter Luis Castillo lined up for this series.
What mitigates against Castillo is the fact he’s facing Jacob deGrom. In fact, it is the Mets rotation which really sets them up for success in this series with Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz to pitch after him. It should also help the Mets that their bullpen is fairly well rested and pitching well of late.
After the Reds, the Mets have a four game set against the Marlins who have been terrible in the second half. That has been the case of late with them losing 10 of their past 13. They’re a bad team, and the Mets should absolutely sweep them. This means at a minimum, the Mets should go 6-1 over this stretch of seven games heading into the final weekend. If the Mets really have designs on claiming a Wild Card spot, they should really go 7-0.
While the Mets are hopefully taking advantage of this opportunity, the Cubs are going to first be playing a four game set against the Cardinals. As we saw last night, that didn’t go so well for them. The Mets need to hope for more of that as the Cubs have the Pirates next, and as we have seen, the Pirates are an unmitigated disaster being almost the equivalent of a forfeit victory right now. Of course, after the Pirates, it is right back to the Cardinals, which puts the Cubs on the brink.
The other NL Central team the Mets are chasing are the Milwaukee Brewers. Even with Christian Yelich done for the year and Lorenzo Cain dealing with an ankle injury, the Brewers schedule is far too easy with their final nine games coming against the Reds, Pirates, and Rockies. Even with the Reds playing well and the Rockies looking game right now, it is hard to imagine they fall back with that schedule.
That brings up the Nationals. They have lost four out of their last six to come back to the pack a bit. However, they have the opportunity to get back on track with a three game set in Miami. After that, things get more difficult.
While they have handled the Phillies well all year, the Phillies are still fighting for a Wild Card spot, and they are sure to give the Nationals all they have. After that, the Nationals finish the season with the Cleveland Indians, who are in a dog fight for one of the two AL Wild Card spots. The way things are shaking up that final series of the season can prove to be an elimination series for one of these two teams.
With respect to Mets, they need to enter the final series of the season putting themselves in a position to capitalize if one of the aforementioned teams should falter, and it’s possible they will.
The Cubs have six remaining against the Cardinals. The Brewers are without their two best players. The Nationals have the Phillies and Indians.
As for the Mets, they really just need to keep out of their own way entering the final series of the season against the Atlanta Braves. Should they do that, the Mets may very well be in a position to claim a Wild Card by beating the Braves. Based upon the season series and past history, Mets fans have reason to shudder and be pessimistic.
Then again, the Braves will have nothing to play for, and the Mets have overcome far worse than a three game set against the Braves. With the Mets having Matz, Marcus Stroman, and Noah Syndergaard (hopefully with Tomas Nido or Rene Rivera), you have to like the Mets chances.
This has not been the year anyone expected from Noah Syndergaard. This was supposed to be the year he took off, but he has a career worst ERA, FIP, ERA+, BB/9, and K/9. However, when you peel things back, he has shown flashes of being the pitcher he was in 2016.
There have been a number of issues Syndergaard has faced including the new ball, but the biggest has been Wilson Ramos. Ramos’ inability to frame the low pitch has really hindered Syndergaard’s ability to do what he does best. With Ramos has been behind the plate, he hasn’t been able to utilize that slider he debuted against the Royals in 2016. Instead, he’s been using his four seamer more, and he’s had to pitch up in the zone.
That has led to Syndergaard not being the great pitcher he has been in his career. With Ramos behind the plate, he has a 5.20 ERA. With Tomas Nido and Rene Rivera, it has been a completely different story. With Nido and Rivera, he has a 2.22 ERA.
In essence, with Ramos behind the plate, Syndergaard has pitched like Walker Lockett or Corey Oswalt. With Nido and Rivera, he has pitched like Jacob deGrom. No, that’s not a stretch. With catchers whose framing actually complement Syndergaard’s skill-set, he has pitched like a Cy Young caliber pitcher.
After all their pigheadedness, the Mets have opted it is better to help a pitcher succeed than to prop up one of the signature signings of the offseason. They have finally allowed Syndergaard to have what he needs to be successful. Of course, it Mets fashion, they finally relent when it’s Coors Field, and their relenting just so happens to coincide with a day game after a night game. Still, Rivera is going to catch Syndergaard.
The only time that has happened this year, Syndergaard pitched seven scoreless innings allowing just three hits and striking out 10 against a loaded Nationals lineup featuring Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, and Juan Soto. The last time Rivera caught Syndergaard in a big game, Syndergaard matched zeros with Madison Bumgarner for seven innings in the 2016 National League Wild Card Game.
This is the Syndergaard the Mets need. For that matter, Syndergaard needs to be that pitcher for himself to prove to the team he is still great, and they need to invest in him going forward. However, before the offseason, the Mets need to win today to keep their Wild Card hopes alive. The Mets and Syndergaard have exactly what they need for that to happen.
At 77-72, the New York Mets have been officially eliminated to the National League East race, and they are 4.0 games back of the Cubs for the second Wild Card with 13 games remaining in the season. To that end, they are also three games behind the red hot Milwaukee Brewers who are making a charge for the second Wild Card.
This means the Mets next stretch of games is likely going to be their entire season. They have 10 games to get back into this race to put themselves into position to fight for that last Wild Card spot.
First up is the Colorado Rockies who are playing just terrible baseball right now. They are just 21-40 in the second half. That said, they are three games over .500, and they are just one game under .500 in September after sweeping the Padres. There is also the matter of Daniel Murphy, who has been a Mets killer and has been hot at the plate.
Still, the Rockies are 33-56 against teams over .500. As a result, the Mets can sweep them.
After the Rockies, the Cincinnati Reds are next. The Reds are better than their record indicates with a +10 run differential. Like the Rockies, they are just one game under .500 for the month, and they are five games over .500 at home. Fortunately, the Mets are going to miss Luis Castillo, but they are going to get Trevor Bauer, but that may not be such a bad thing with Bauer having a 6.39 ERA with the Reds.
Again, the Mets might be able to sweep them.
That brings the Marlins into town. These aren’t the Marlins of 2007-2008 with Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, and Cody Ross. No, this is a very bad Marlins team who appears to be the only team in the National League who will lose 100 games this year.
The Mets second half run and impressive march from 10 games under .500 until this point started by taking two out of three from the Marlins in Miami. In August, the Mets really made things interesting by sweeping a four game set against the Marlins in Citi Field in what part of an eight game winning streak.
The Mets need to get part of the way there. Likely, they will need a 10 game winning streak to get them to 87-72 to have a real chance of getting into the postseason.
If the Mets do go 10-0 over this stretch, they will need the Cubs to go 6-4 against the Reds, Cardinals, and Pirates. Given how terrible the Pirates have played of late, that means the Mets need the Cardinals to sweep the Cubs, which is certainly possible but not entirely likely to happen.
The trickier part is the Brewers. Over their next 10 games, they have the Padres, Pirates, and Reds. Even with the Brewers being without Christian Yelich, again, the Pirates laying down is a major impediment to the Mets chances of catching either club. Fortunately, the Mets “only” need the Brewers to go 7-3 over this stretch of games to tie them.
Overall, with the Cubs and Brewers both playing the Pirates, at minimum the Mets need to go 9-1 over this stretch. Realistically speaking, that is probably not enough. They need to sweep the 10 games. If they do that, they will be likely giving themselves an opportunity to have a shot at being the second Wild Card entering the final weekend of the season.
While September series against the Braves are typically horror stories for the Mets, the Braves likely will have nothing to play for at that point and will be more interested in lining up their rotation for the NLDS. If things stand the way they are, the Mets will also be definitively sending Steven Matz to the mound.
Matz has been great in the second half, has a 1.94 ERA at Citi Field, and has limited the Braves to a .189/.255/.400 batting line against him this year. After that, if there is still hope left for the final game of the season, it’s all on Stroman to keep it alive to maybe put the whole season on Noah Syndergaard where you hope the Mets are just not stupid enough to start Wilson Ramos over Tomas Nido or Rene Rivera.
Put another way, right now, the Mets still have a puncher’s chance. Considering where they were coming into the break and their losing two out of three to the Braves, you’ll gladly take that.
On Thursday, I had the privilege of being to be invited on the Simply Amazin‘ Podcast. On the podcast, I mentioned Wilson Ramos, Tomas Nido, Rene Rivera, Pete Alonso, Gerson Bautista, Jarred Kelenic, Jeff McNeil, Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Brad Brach, Daniel Zamora, Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Marcus Stroman, Luis Santana, Keon Broxton, Felix Valerio, Juan Lagares, Luis Guillorme, Paul Sewald, Luis Avilan, and others.
In 2007, the Mets were seven games ahead with 17 games to play. We all know that season ended with Tom Glavine melting down against the Florida Marlins. That humiliating collapse is not a good memory for Mets fans, but it should serve as a reminder that anything can happen.
There are better and more positive stories in Mets history on this point.
The 1969 Mets entered September five games back of the Cubs, and they’d go 24-8 to finish the season and win the division going away en route to winning one of the more unlikely championships in professional sports history.
In 1973, the Mets entered September 4.5 games of the Cardinals and Pirates. The “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets pulled it off with a 82-79 record. They’d then push off one dynasty another year by beating the Big Red Machine in the NLCS, and they’d come within one game of knocking off another.
As we know, recent history hasn’t been as kind. The 1998 Mets entered September just one game out of the Wild Card. On September 21, they were one game up in the race only to lose their final five games including getting swept by the Braves. What made that all the more difficult was they only needed to win just one game to tie the Cubs and Giants for what was then the only Wild Card spot.
In 1999, it did seem like there was going to be another collapse with the Mets losing seven straight in October, and they’d lose five of six to the Braves with Chipper Jones telling Mets fans to get their Yankees jerseys out of the closet. They’d get some help sweeping the Pirates to over come the two game deficit with three games remaining in the season before Al Leiter‘s one hitter propelled them to the NLDS.
Heading to the future, the Mets collapsed in 2007, and they did it again in 2008 with Jerry Manuel going to Scott Schoeneweis to end the season. There were bleak times ahead before the 2015 and 2016 season. In terms of 2016, it was a somewhat similar situation to this year where a down National League allowed the Mets to linger in the race.
It should be noted that 2016 team was just 1.5 games back of he St. Louis Cardinals for the second Wild Card. It was not the five game deficit this Mets team faced. In any event, that whole run left a bitter taste as Jeurys Familia allowed a three run homer to Conor Gillaspie to end that season.
Overall, it has been quite a mixed bag for the Mets in these late September Wild Card races. We’ve seen them collapse in 1998 and 2007. We have seen them force a one game playoff in 1999 and go on a magical run. Under a different system in 2016, they got to that game, but they couldn’t win it.
No matter how you break it down, there is one theme for all of those years – the Mets had a chance. As we have seen you have a chance even if you are down seven games with 17 remaining. You can look at that all as a negative all you want. That’s your prerogative.
However, this Mets team has Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Steven Matz pitching great. Seth Lugo is the best reliever in baseball. Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Michael Conforto have played great all year, and Todd Frazier seems to be getting hot at the right time. There are so many more positives behind these players.
At the end of the day, there is legitimate reason for hope. As long as there is hope, there is every reason to believe the Mets can pull this off. We should all be excited at the opportunity before this team.
LETS GO METS!
During the 2019 season, the New York Mets are going to wear all sorts of crazy caps for all sorts of reasons. Here are some examples of the hats MLB has chosen for their teams to wear to commemorate different dates on the calendar this year.
For Mother’s Day, teams wore special pink caps like they have for a few years now:
"Ooh! Nice drip!" – Mom, probably#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/AhYmMYyg5g
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 12, 2019
For Armed Forces Weekend, teams wore a special camouflaged cap:
Strong day from @Noahsyndergaard. ⚡️ #LGM pic.twitter.com/Wfnj4gMwFd
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 19, 2019
For Memorial Day, all teams wore a patch on their cap and a poppy on their uniforms:
No more, no less … Thank you. ??#MemorialDay | #RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/6zvgeghcXl
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 27, 2019
Like with the pink caps on Mother’s Day, there would be blue caps for Father’s Day:
#FathersDay baseball with Jason Vargas on the mound. Let's go! #LGM pic.twitter.com/cWZfpf0sGL
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 16, 2019
For the Fourth of July, MLB teams would wear stars and stripes themed caps:
?⚪️?#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/0Wxx1L4KNq
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 5, 2019
There would be more than few caps for the All-Stars for the game played in Cleveland:
The best of the National League and American League come together. Back your favorite All-Star with The Official On-Field Cap of the All-Star Game @NewEraCap https://t.co/ZGRczbaB9N pic.twitter.com/NajbWtRuHs
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 5, 2019
Ready for tonight. ??? #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/D5BMsJw3b7
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 9, 2019
Then, to much controversy, there was the Player’s Weekend caps and uniforms the players and fans seemed to hate with the teams being forced to wear them:
This one was special. pic.twitter.com/BUpAP4jWt4
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 25, 2019
Crafty Matzy. ??? pic.twitter.com/OCc0wQbAOm
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 25, 2019
Sundy Fundy. #PlayersWeekend pic.twitter.com/WRflElRl69
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 25, 2019
So for the year, Major League teams have worn pink and blue caps. They’ve worn camouflaged and stars and stripes caps. There was two different All Star Game caps as well as black and white caps. What we won’t see is the First Responder caps the Mets wore after 9/11 to help a city and a country heal.
He helped the City heal after the 9-11 attacks. Hear @BobbyValentine reflect upon the Mets-Braves game, the first sporting event in NYC after September 11. Gives a vivid account of @mikepiazza31’s classic home run. https://t.co/4JxfLRbYVh pic.twitter.com/ofFA2IeFYi
— Jay Horwitz (@Jay_HorwitzPR) August 9, 2019
The reason we will not see the caps is because Major League Baseball will not allow it. To be fair, they didn’t allow it in 2001, but Todd Zeile would not stand for it, and he on the field with the rest of his teammates. He would have the support of his manager Bobby Valentine and the entire Mets organization.
The only thing Major League Baseball has permitted is for them to be worn pre-game when the game is not televised. It’s at the same time players can basically wear whatever they want making this nothing more than a hollow empty gesture especially since MLB officials go scrambling to collect the caps before the National Anthem.
As R.A. Dickey once noted, they’re not even allowed to be on the field for the commemorative ceremonies, and players are threatened with fines. The last player who tried to defy Major League Baseball to do the right thing was David Wright, but the caps were gone before he had the chance to do it.
To their credit, the Wilpons have tried and have been rebuffed. The players have tried and were rejected. The fans have begged for them. Through all of it, one thing remains clear: Major League Baseball still doesn’t care, and they clearly forgot.
Just remember that the next time you see a “fun” pink or blue cap on the field.
During Saturday’s game against the Phillies, Steve Gelbs did a segment to discuss why the Mets are one of the least shifting teams. When you boil it all down, the Mets believe the shifting has a negative impact on the Mets pitchers psychologically leading to them making mistakes:
When they discussed it I immediately checked for your take. pic.twitter.com/aC1M9OfNhE
— Roger Cormier (@yayroger) September 8, 2019
It should be noted these conclusions aren’t because Fred Wilpon or someone else in the Mets front office being staunchly against the numbers and wanting to play the game the way it was played back in the Brooklyn Dodgers days. Rather, it is the result of the work of Russell Carlton, who literally wrote the book on the shift entitled The Shift: The Next Evolution in Basebal Thinking.
He would also write a piece on the topic for Baseball Prospectus. In his article, he would write about how the shift has correlated to an increase in walks and generally how “pitchers often talk about how The Shift made them uncomfortable.” His ultimate conclusion was there is much research left to be done with the shift, and ultimately, “The Shift should be used very cautiously.”
It should be noted the Mets hired Carlton this past year. What they haven’t done is hired someone who has written at length about the significance of the pitcher/catcher relationship. That was made abundantly clear yesterday.
In an exclusive article by Joel Sherman and Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, it was revealed how Noah Syndergaard has become increasingly frustrated by the Mets pairing him with Wilson Ramos instead of Tomas Nido or recently Rene Rivera.
When it comes to Syndergaard, the Mets apparently have little to no regard for his psyche. As noted in the article, “Van Wagenen’s front office believes the pitcher-catcher dynamic is overstated and favors the best offensive matchup against the opposing pitcher.”
As noted previously in an article on this site, the conclusions derived by the Van Wagenen front office are not factually sound. Rivera and Nido have excelled at framing the low pitches, which is an area where Syndergaard needs the calls to be effective. We’ve seen that play out recently with Syndergaard pitching seven shut out innings with no walks and 10 strikeouts sandwiched between complete and utter duds with Ramos behind the plate. This was after a stretch where Syndergaard pitched extremely well with Nido behind the plate.
Perhaps, this is nothing more than psychological with Syndergaard, and that despite all the data to the contrary, the Mets front office is right there is nothing really to personal catchers. That is all well and good, but it is really odd that the same front office which doesn’t shift much in response to the impact on the pitcher’s frame of mind completely disregards the impact a catcher has on a pitcher’s psyche.
In essence, the Mets front office believes there is more bearing on where the second baseman stands than who is standing behind the plate.
There is really no making sense of that. There is also no sense in weighing 3-4 at-bats Ramos will get in a game over the 20-30 batters Syndergaard or another Mets pitcher will face in a game. Essentially, the Mets think four at-bats from Ramos is more important than 20 from the opposition.
The best way to sum this up is the Mets believe in pitcher psychology until they don’t. They believe in the impact a shift has on a pitcher but not the impact framing and pitch calling has. They believe in doing all they can do to support Ramos but not Syndergaard.