Musings
For the past year, we have seen the magic that can happen when a player plays for the team he rooted for throughout his entire life. Steven Matz is an astounding 11-1 as a Met. Not only has he become a beloved Met, but his grandfather has become a beloved figure as well. It doesn’t get any better than that.
However, what happens after that? What happens when the team you love decides they are better off without you?
Twenty years ago, that was what happened to Bernard Gilkey. Gilkey was born and raised in St. Louis. In 1984, Gilkey was signed as amateur free agent. Six years later, Gilkey made his major league debut for his hometown team. In six years, Gilkey played very well for the Cardinals. He hit .284/.354/.431. In his four seasons as a starter, he had a 117 OPS+. Then, after the 1995 season, the Cardinals decided they could do better than him as they had Ron Gant, Ray Lankford, and Brian Jordan. This facilitated a trade to the Mets.
Gilkey responded by going 2-4 with a homerun and 2 RBI on opening day against those same St. Louis Cardinals. It was the first step in what turned out to be a career year for Gilkey. Gilkey hit .317/.393/.562 with 30 homers and 117 RBI. He set a still standing Mets record of 44 doubles. He had a 155 OPS+. It stands out as the greatest season a Mets left fielder has ever had. Gilkey responded to the heartbreak of leaving his hometown team, the team that drafted him with a career year.
This year Neil Walker finds himself in the same predicament Gilkey did twenty years ago. Walker is responding in a similar fashion.
Moreso than Gilkey was to St. Louis, Walker was Pittsburgh. His father was good friends with Roberto Clemente. Walker walks this earth because Clemente told Walker’s father not to get on that plane. Walker was born in Pittsburgh, and he grew up in their suburbs. He was the Pirates first round pick in 2004, and he made his debut with the team in 2009. Walker was an important part of the make-over of the Pirates from a team that had a losing record 20 consecutive seasons to a team that made the playoffs three consecutive years. Despite all of this, the Pirates decided Walker was too expensive, and they traded him to the Mets.
Like Gilkey, Walker is responding by having a career. year. Walker has already hit 13 homeruns this year. That’s a 38 homerun pace, which would shatter his career high of 23. He is hitting .279/.348/.505. The OBP stands to be his second highest ever, and his slugging percentage would be his best ever. His 131 OPS+ would also be a career high. Perhaps more important than any of this is the fact that Walker is now a true switch hitter.
Before coming to the Mets, Walker only hit .261/.306/.338 with only six homeruns against lefties. This year, he’s hitting .341/.396/.727 with five homeruns. He’s nearly doubled his career homerun total. He’s gone from being meek against lefties to being a force in the lineup against lefties. In some way, the coming to the Mets as turned Walker’s already solid career around. Like Gilkey, coming to the Mets seems to be the best thing that has ever happened to Walker. Sometimes, the best thing that can happen to a player is for them to leave their hometown to fully develop as a player. The Mets have been fortunate to have Gilkey and Walker blossom after they left their hometowns.
With all that said, we all hope Matz never leaves the Mets. From what we’ve seen with him, he doesn’t need to leave the Mets to be great.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on metsmerizedonline.com
The biggest trade of the offseason was the Mets trading Jon Niese for Neil Walker. Now matter your thoughts on the trade, Walker has been terrific for the Mets as he has been their second best player this season.
Just glancing at the numbers, Niese has been pretty terrible this year making the trade look even better.
However, after starting the year 3-1 with a 5.94 ERA and a 1.680 WHIP in his first six starts Niese has turned a corner. It’s not that surprising given Ray Searage is his pitching coach. In Niese’s last five starts, he is 2-1 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.206 WHIP. Part of that is his BABIP going from .337 to .264. Part of that is his level of competition has dropped a bit. And yes, part of it is his pitching coach.
Whatever the case, Niese pitching well now is certainly the worst case scenario. No one – I repeat – NO ONE wants to see Niese beat the Mets.
Niese was a guy who had no love for Mets fans. He always had an excuse for why he was pitching poorly. He took a jab at his teammates about their defense on his way out of the door. In sum, Niese wasn’t built for New York.
He still had some good moments as a Met. He volunteered to go to the bullpen for the postseason, and he pitched well there. For a few years, he was one of a few viable starting pitchers in the rotation. It speaks volumes that he once got an Opening Day start. However you felt about him, he’s now toeing the rubber against the Mets tonight.
This is not a game any Mets fan wants to lose. I’m sure the players he slighted on the way out the door feel the same way. Hopefully, Walker goes out and does this tonight en route to a big win:
Go out and beat Niese tonight.
The other day, Travis d’Arnaud began his rehabilitation assignment playing DH for High-A St. Lucie. It’s interesting he started at a position other than catcher as many people believe d’Arnaud should be using this time to transition away from catcher.
There are sound reasons for this decision. d’Arnaud has been injury prone, and catcher is a position where a player tends to get many nicks, bumps, and bruises. With the torn labrum, d’Arnaud is going to have even more issues throwing out more base stealers than he is perceived to have. Finally, with the Lucas Duda and David Wright injuries, the Mets may need long term solutions to those positions.
Despite all of these reasons, it would be an incredibly poor decision to move d’Arnaud out from behind the plate.
First, d’Arnaud’s torn labrum shouldn’t affect his ability to catch and call a game. Throughout his career, d’Arnaud’s strength has been as a receiver and a pitch framer. Yes, his torn labrum could affect his ability to throw. However, his throwing would be a bigger issue from third base.
Additionally, moving d’Arnaud doesn’t help the Mets offensively. In d’Arnaud’s absence, Kevin Plawecki has hit .203/.302/.298, and Rene Rivera has hit .194/.310/.361. Right now, the Mets have James Loney at first, who is a career .285/.338/.411 hitter, and Wilmer Flores at third, who is a career .251/.288/.382 hitter. Simply put, the Mets are better off with d’Arnaud, Loney, and Flores in the lineup.
Overall, the Mets need d’Arnaud back with the Mets as soon as possible. They need his bat in the lineup to improve the lineup. He helps this team, and this pitching staff most, when he is behind the plate. He needs to stay there.
Lost in all the offensive struggles is the fact that this Mets team is built upon pitching. As a franchise, the Mets always have and always will be built upon pitching. It started with Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Jon Matlack in the late 60’s. It was continued in the 80’s with Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and David Cone. The mantle was supposed to be picked up this year by the Mets young rotation.
However, the rotation has had some struggles. Matt Harvey struggled mightily going 2-4 in May with a 5.91 ERA. To a lesser extent, Jacob deGrom struggled in May going 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. The concern with deGrom was not so much the results but the seemingly precipitous drop in velocity. These were to the two aces the Mets road all last year and into the postseason. These were supposed to be the two aces this year leading the team while the younger starters developed. Instead, the reverse has been true.
Noah Syndergaard has taken the next step this year. He is 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA and a 0.958 WHIP. He is throwing fastballs up and over 100 MPH, and more impressively, he is throwing sliders around 95 MPH. He is as dominant a pitcher as there is in baseball right now.
Steven Matz was named the National League Rookie of the Month for the Month of May. It was a well deserved honor after going 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA and a 0.757 WHIP. In fact, if you take away his first nightmare of a start, a start he made after a long period of inactivity, Matz is 7-0 with a 1.51 ERA and a 0.932 WHIP. Matz has been the pitcher everyone has imagined he would be and more since he burst onto the scene last year beating the Reds from the mound at the plate.
Overall, Syndergaard and Matz have taken the next step. On almost any other rotation, they would be the unquestioned ace. That was the same thing that has been said for Harvey and deGrom. On that front, there is some great news as well. In Harvey’s last start, he went seven innings allowing only two hits, no runs, and one walk with striking out six. In deGrom’s last start, he went seven innings allowing five hits, one run, and two walks while striking out 10. More importantly, deGrom’s velocity is returning with him getting his fastball up to 96 MPH.
So yes, it appears like the 2016 Mets are continuing the franchise’s legacy of having great pitching. With Syndergaard and Matz being ahead of schedule in their development coupled with Harvey and deGrom starting to return to last year’s form, the Mets rotation is stacked with four aces. If you’re a baseball player or a poker player, you know four aces is next to impossible to beat no matter whatever else you have in your hand . . . even if that hand contains the deuce that the Mets offense was over the month of May.
This year, the Mets intended to rely heavily upon Wilmer Flores. The Mets needed him to be the main backup at all four infield positions. Mainly, he was needed as insurance for David Wright‘s back.
Unfortunately, Flores wasn’t up for the task in the early part of the season. Flores started the year hitting a paltry .167/.242/.267 with a -0.4 WAR, 40 OPS+, and a 44 wRC+. He was struggling with his throws from second and third. He then went on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He was becoming an after-thought.
Part of the reason for Flores’ struggles could’ve been his irregular playing time. Now, with David Wright’s injury, there is a chance. With Wright being shut down for 6-8 weeks due to the herniated disc in his back, Flores is the obvious choice to get be the starter at third base. He’s going to get a shot to prove he’s up to the task. That’s all Flores wanted.
Flores knows this is his chance. Flores said, “You don’t want to have anybody get hurt. It happened. Since I got here, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity. It’s an opening. Knowing that you could be in the lineup, it changes everything.” (ESPN).
At least for one night, Flores looked like a changed player. On Friday, he went 2-3 with two runs, one walk, one RBI, and a double. He got a two out RBI hit, and he drew a walk to start the game winning rally. It’s the type of performance you wanted to see from him the first night he officially became the Mets short term answer at third base.
Better yet, there’s reason to believe games like Friday’s are not a mirage. Prior to that game, Flores had an unsustainably low .188 BABIP. That’s well below the league average of .300 and his career average of .264. Accordingly, it is reasonable to expect Flores to see an improvement in his offensive numbers.
Additionally, last year he got better as the season progressed. In the first half, he only hit .252/.286/.395 with a 91 OPS+. As he worked with Kevin Long, he improved. In the second half, he hit .280/.311/.429 with a 101 OPS+. His best month was August where he hit .306/.337/.506. As the year progressed, he steadily improved. It’s what promising young players do.
It’s easy to forget Flores is just 24 years old. He’s still developing as a player. He still hasn’t reached his full potential. He’s got a good coaching staff that will help him get there. Now, due to Wright’s unfortunate injury, Flores is going to get the playing time he needs to continue in his development.
This is his chance to show the Mets they don’t need to add a third baseman because he’s ready to take over. At least on one night, he took advantage of that opportunity.
Remember back in 2013 when Matt Harvey burst on the scene?
He took the ball every fifth day, and he was dominant. He was just awesome, so awesome in fact, that he was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All Star Game played at Citi Field.
His off the field behavior was covered, but it was put in a positive light. His attending Rangers and Knicks games was seen as being “pretty cool.” The coverage for his appearance in the famed ESPN Magazine’s The Body Issue was about how good he looked. His man about town appearance on Jimmy Fallon was seen as hilarious:
Then he got hurt and needed Tommy John surgery. After that, the coverage of him changed. The breaking point was his attendance at Derek Jeter’s last game at Yankee Stadium. From that point forward, the coverage of Harvey changed from positive to negative. It’s gotten to the point where the media feels comfortable outright mocking him for a serious medical issue.
It’s important to keep Harvey’s story in mind when analyzing how Noah Syndergaard has been covered since he debuted with the Mets.
Syndergaard captivated New York with his 100 MPH fastballs. He was celebrated for not only knocking Alcides Escobar down in the World Series, but also for being the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the World Series.
He spent the offseason doing a tour of all of New York’s stadiums. Syndergaard’s getting his picture taken at home court, center ice, and the end zones was seen as a young player having fun in the offseason. Syndergaard’s hair garnered its own coverage with news articles about his prank about getting his haircut. During what has been a dominant season thus far, he appeared in Times Square dressed as Thor, and it was seen as being funny:
Just to recap:
- Syndergaard burst on the scene with dominating stuff;
- He pitched in a big game at Citi Field;
- He attended sporting events;
- He got attention for his appearance; and
- He did the man about the town routine.
Following the Harvey timeline, the only thing that remains is the media backlash. With Syndergaard’s day trip to the the Bahamas to play a round of golf, on an off day, the media found their opening. Here’s John Healey of the New York Daily News take on Syndergaard playing a round of golf:
It’s worth pointing out that Syndergaard is slated as the starting pitcher for Friday’s opener.
Last year in the postseason, Yoenis Cespedes drew criticism for golfing prior to a playoff game and later revealed he was battling a shoulder injury.
Should Syndergaard struggle on Friday or worse, sustain an injury, then he may regret sharing the fact he was golfing in the Bahamas the day before a start.
As seen here, the tone of the media’s coverage is changing. With a good start tonight, Syndetgaard will quiet the critics waiting to use this golf narrative to tear him down. However, sooner or later, Syndergaard will have an off night; all the great ones do. At that point, the media will pounce.
This article was the first warning shot. It fits the pattern of the Harvey coverage. It’s a shame because the criticism is unnecessary and unwarranted.
Things are not looking good for David Wright. He came into this season battling spinal stenosis. Now, he has to deal with a herniated disc in his neck. It’s gotten so bad for Wright that there are days he doesn’t want to get out of bed. Now, Wright is going on the Disabled List, and no one can definitively tell you when he will return to the Mets. It’s a sad day for the Mets and Mets fans. The only thing we have left is hope. Hope that David Wright can return. Hope that David Wright can continue to play well when he returns.
Hope is a funny thing. As Red said, “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”
It certainly can. The hope of David Wright being able to play everyday without needing a stint on the Disabled List has led to the Mets being woefully unprepared for his extended Disabled List stint. Right now, Wilmer Flores is the best choice there is play third base everyday. This is the same Flores who is hitting .167/.242/.267 this year and .247/.284/.378 for his career. It’s led to the Mets going to Eric Campbell, Matt Reynolds, and Ty Kelly for stretches. Seeing these four players is enough to drive someone insane, especially after a month where the Mets averaged only three runs per game.
But watching Wright this season, you understood the hope. This is still the same David Wright that homered in his first at bat off the Disabled List last year. This is the same David Wright who hit the first ever World Series home run in Citi Field last year. This is the same David Wright who battled through spinal stenosis to become an effective major league player this year. This is the same David Wright that had homered in three straight games before needing to make this most recent trip to the Disabled List. It’s a reminder of what Andy Dufresne said, “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
There’s still reason for hope because this is David Wright. He’s been counted out so many times before. He was counted out when he got hit in the helmet. He was counted out when the Mets had the ridiculous dimensions at Citi Field. He was counted out when he had the broken bone in his back. Time and again, David Wright has overcome all odds. We were watching him do it again with spinal stenosis. David Wright has “crawled through a river of shit and come out clean on the other side.” He’s done it numerous times. When you place your hopes in David Wright, he is not going to let you down. At the end of the day, all we have is hope, but that hope is justified.
However, until such time as David Wright comes back, I’m just going to have to agree with Red when he said, “I guess I just miss my friend.”
Last year when David Wright went on the disabled list with a serious injury, the Mets moved Daniel Murphy to third base and recalled Dilson Herrera to play second base. This year? This year, we get Neil Walker at second with a revolving door of AAAA caliber players at third base.
Now, it should be noted that Walker has been far better than anyone could’ve imagined. With his hitting .283/.345/.522 line with 13 homeruns, he’s in the midst of a career year. He’s been everything the Mets couldn’t asked for and more. With that said, he isn’t a versatile player. According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets have reservations about moving Walker to an unfamiliar position.
This means Walker will remain at second while Herrera remains in the minors. That’s a problem.
Dilson Herrera is a superior player to Ty Kelly, Eric Campbell, and Matt Reynolds. He’s better than T.J. Rivera, who, for reasons unknown, is still not getting a shot. With his play this year, it’s fair to say Herrera is a superior option to Wilmer Flores. However, it doesn’t matter that Herrera is better than the four other options that have been and will continue to get playing time at third base. It doesn’t matter because there’s no room for Herrera to play second every day.
Herrera would be the second baseman right now if Murphy was here. It’s further evidence of how the Mets made a mistake by letting Murphy walk out the door. Better yet, Murphy’s in Washington helping a Nationals team that has a three game lead over the Mets in the NL East.
Walker’s been great player this year, but he’s still not a better fit for this Mets team than Murphy would’ve been. The reason is simple: No matter how good Walker plays this year, it won’t be worth having one of Flores, Reynolds, Kelly, or Campbell play third for long stretches of time.
One thing I’m shocked by is the amount of people who don’t want to take a flyer on a reunion with Ruben Tejada.
Here’s what we know to be true about Tejada:
- He’s not a great defender at second, third, or short;
- He doesn’t hit for power; and
- He’s much better than Eric Campbell, Ty Kelly, and Matt Reynolds
The third point is the key. If a team has an opportunity to improve its roster, isn’t it incumbent upon them to get better? Remember, the Mets have an obligation to the team and the fans to put the best possible team on the field that they can. So long as they’re letting Reynolds, Kelly, or Campbell player over an available Tejada, they’re not doing that.
No, Tejada doesn’t solve the third base issue. Ideally, you don’t want him playing everyday. However, in that same ideal world, Ty Kelly isn’t playing third yesterday and grounding into two rally killing double plays.
Right now, the Mets need a lot more than Tejada. They need Travis d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda, and David Wright. In the event they aren’t coming back anytime soon, and that seems like a possibility more and more each passing day, the Mets need to find real long term replacements. Unfortunately, these replacements are not on the roster.
The issue is the trade market for these players may just now be developing. The teams in possession of those assets may be holding on to them for a little longer to try to get more teams involved in the bidding to try to drive the price up. Theoretically, this means the Mets may not be able to get anyone for another month or so. While the Mets wait, they’re stuck with the Kellys, the Reynolds, and the Campbells of the world.
Why do we need to watch Campbell hit .159, Reynolds hit .100, and Kelly hit .118 when Tejada is available for nothing? Is there really anyone that really believes Tejada’s career .254/.328/.322 slash line isn’t better than what the Mets are currently sending out there on a daily basis? The answer should be a resounding “NO!”
Tejada is an improvement, and he’s more than just an incremental improvement. He’s also an improvement that can be in place tomorrow. He’s not the final solution. He’s a stop gap. His contract is up at the end of the year, and you only owe him a prorated portion of a $1.5 million contract. Tejada won’t stand in the way of another move.
In the end, Tejada is not THE solution. He’s just much better than Kelly, Reynolds, or Campbell. Tejada gives you the ability to put a much better player out there than what the Mets currently are putting out there until such time as the injured Mets get healthy or you make a move for a better player. Just because the Mets need someone better than Tejada, it doesn’t mean you should continue to trot out much weaker players like Reynolds, Campbell, or Kelly in the interim.
No, the Mets need better players than Kelly, Reynolds, and Campbell. Tejada is better than them. He should be claimed off waivers and play until such time that the Mets get a player better than him.
If you don’t want Tejada, you’re saying Reynolds, Campbell, and Kelly are better players. Unfortunately, there’s noting to justify that opinion other than a sheer dislike of Tejada.
Yesterday was about as frustrating as it gets. The Mets only scored one run in 13 innings despite drawing 13 walks. The natural reaction is to try to figure out where things went wrong, to try to figure out why this happened. There are many plausible and reasonable explanations. However, when seeking out an answer to what is currently ailing the Mets, Terry Collins is not one of them.
Yes, Terry Collins has his faults as a manager. He sticks with veterans too long. He has a tendency to mismanage the bullpen. He mismanaged the World Series so poorly he might’ve cost the team an opportunity to win the World Series. There are many things wrong with him as a manager. However, you cannot blame him for the current state of the Mets’ offense.
Terry Collins is not to blame for Travis d’Arnaud going down with a rotator cuff injury leaving him with the choice of the light hitting Kevin Plawecki or Rene Rivera each and every night. Terry Collins is not to blame for Lucas Duda‘s pre-existing back issue or his subsequent (if unrelated) stress fracture. He’s also not to blame for David Wright‘s spinal stenosis or the herniated disc in his neck. You can’t blame Terry Collins that his had to start someone from the triumvirate of Eric Campbell, Ty Kelly, or Matt Reynolds at third base. You can’t blame Terry Collins that the Mets had to go out and get James Loney, a player released by the Tampa Rays before the season began, to fill-in at first base.
Overall, the manager’s job is to get the best out of his players. It is not to suddenly turn Kevin Plawecki and Ty Kelly into capable major league hitters. That’s unfair and unreasonable.
While there is plenty of blame to go around for the offense, it’s not on Collins. In fact, you could argue that given the current state of the offense, Collins is exactly the manager you want in charge of the Mets. The Mets faced similar issues last year while Collins was at the helm. He had a young starting rotation going out there putting terrific start after terrific start just hoping the offense could score a run or two to get them the win. This is the type of environment that coiuld’ve fractured a team. It’s the type of environment when players could start getting frustrated and take those frustrations out on the field. Instead, Terry Collins held that team together until the team got healthy and Sandy Alderson could get reinforcements in place. A year later, the Mets are in the same exact position.
So, overall, Terry Collins is not to blame. In fact, he has shown that he is the exact manager you want in place right now. The World Series? Well, that’s a whole other matter. Let’s get through this rough patch first before discussing that point.