Musings
Since Mike Piazza left the Mets in free agency, no Met had worn 31. The number was taken out of circulation until he made the Hall of Fame. Once that happened, the Mets announced his #31 was going to be retired this summer. The Mets were following their long unwritten policy of only retiring the numbers of Mets Hall of Famers.
It makes you question why the Mets have continuously issued Carlos Beltran‘s number 15 since he was traded away from the Mets.
They reissued the number to Val Pascucci the same year Beltran was traded away. The number was then worn the following year by Fred Lewis. Travis d’Arnaud tried it out for the following two years before switching to the number seven. At that point, former bench coach, Bob Geren wore 15 for the 2015 season. Now, Matt Reynolds has become the latest Met to wear Beltran’s number.
Make no mistake. It is Beltran’s number.
With Beltran hitting his 400th homerun this year, he had further cemented his Hall of Fame case. He’s only the fourth switch hitter with 400 homeruns. He’s only one of three players with 500 doubles, 400 homeruns, and 300 stolen bases. He’s been a true five tool player that has the WAR, WAR7, and JAWS score to deserve induction. All of this is before taking into account his postseason heroics. Make no mistake, he is a Hall of Famer.
For his part, Beltran has said he could see himself going into the Hall of Fame as a Met.
However, at this point, it doesn’t seem the Mets are interested in encouraging Beltran to enter the Hall of Fame as a Met. They say it loud and clear every time they reissue his number to other players. It was clear going into this year that Beltran was going to be a Hall of Famer. The number was vacated with Bob Geren’s departure. The Mets should’ve set the number aside until that day the Mets retired his number.
They’re not. Instead, the Mets are going to let their differences and acrimony get in the way of honoring a great Met.
Beltran gave his all with the Mets. He was the best baseball player on the planet in 2006 leading the team to the NLCS. He’s in the Top Six in WAR as a Met (seven spots ahead of Piazza). He’s in the Top Ten in runs (eighth), doubles (seventh), homeruns (sixth), RBI (sixth), OBP (sixth), and SLG (fifth). He made six All Star teams and won three Gold Gloves. He hit the final Mets homerun in Shea Stadium.
Beltran was a great Met. He will be a Hall of Famer. He should be in the Hall of Fame as a Met, and his number 15 should forever be on the LF wall. It’s why his number shouldn’t have been issued to Matt Reynolds.
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.
After another tough start, Matt Harvey finds himself standing in Stephen Strasburg’s shoes, or cleats if you prefer. Scott Boras agreed as much in his interview with Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports saying, “We’re dealing with unknowns about why [Harvey] isn’t locating. All I can tell you is that with Tommy John guys there are times they don’t locate. Take a look at Strasburg last year.”
In 2014, Stephen Strasburg threw 200+ innings in the first time in his career and for the first time since his Tommy John surgery. When the 2015 season started, he struggled mightily.
In his first 13 starts, he was 5-5 with a 5.16 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Batters were hitting .289/.342/.439 against him. The Nationals pulled Strasburg from a July 3rd start after he threw 55 pitches over 3.2 innings. He was put on the DL due to discomfort in his side. It was his second DL trip in what was quickly becoming a lost year for the former number one overall pick and presumed Nationals ace.
Many questioned whether Strasburg could still fulfill his pre-Tommy John potential. His agent, Boras, put it best saying, “If I gave you those numbers, you would have to say the pitcher is in the dumps. His career path is altered. He’s changed. He’s someone who is in deep trouble and he’s not the same.” Boras then added this caveat, “The numbers I just gave you are of a pitcher who just signed a $175 million contract.” How did that happen?
It’s because after Strasburg’s stint on the DL, he came back a much different pitcher. He finished the year going 6-2 with a 1.90 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. Batters were only hitting .179/.206/.306 against him. He’s come out this year and been the same dominating pitcher. So far, he’s 7-0 with a 2.80 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Batters are hitting .233/.278/.317 against him. He’s back in the discussion with Max Scherzer as the Nationals ace.
Keeping this in mind, it was fitting that Strasburg faced Harvey on Thursday. It shone a light on how a pitcher’s return from Tommy John is not linear.
Harvey had a good year last year going 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.019 WHIP. He had a memorable Game Five of the World Series where he seemingly re-established himself as not only the Mets ace, but also the best pitcher in the division. As Boras pointed out, “You go back a year and who’s who. I’m sitting on the phone (then) and no one is saying anything to me about Matt Harvey’s velocity and dominance. Now the roles are reversed, and the reality of it is there are unknowns in going through the Tommy John scenario.”
Like Strasburg in 2015, Harvey has faced a cold reality this year. Harvey has struggled mightily in 2016. He’s 3-6 with a 5.77 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. According to Brooks Baseball, he’s gone from throwing 96+ MPH last year to under 95 MPH this year. Boras, however, doesn’t believe Harvey’s velocity is an issue saying, “His velo is there. It is definitely there. When his velo is there, how is the league doing? The league is hitting .208 off him when he throws a 94-mphfastball and above.”
As for last night, Boras said, “Last night he was throwing 94. But the reality of it is when he mislocates . . . last night what did (Daniel) Murphy hit out of the ballpark? A curveball. He hung a curveball.”
The question the lingers is why is this happening. Boras, who represents both Harvey and Strasburg, doesn’t seem to know. He said, “This Tommy John carries with it unknowns.” He went on to elaborate, “Why are there unknowns? Because we had a pitcher go from zero to (216) innings after a 17-month rehab.”
If Harvey truly has his velocity, the question remains as to what the issue is with him. Everyone has a theory. One is Harvey’s conditioning or lack thereof. Boras didn’t lend any credence to that saying, “This guy was at our fitness institute for six weeks. And you know what? His lower half is one of the strongest in baseball of any pitcher. This is not conditioning, believe me.”
If it’s not conditioning, and it’s not velocity, then what is it? At this point, no one can honestly pinpoint the reason for Harvey’s struggles. Right now, the Mets don’t have any answers. While the Mets are still looking for answers, the Mets are going to send him back out there.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com
After starting his career career going 0-22 with seven strikeouts against Matt Harvey, the last thing you’d expect is for Bryce Harper to feel sorry for his presumed arch nemesis. However, after getting booed off the mound after 2.2 excruciating innings, as Kevin Ducey of Sports Illustrated Tweeted, he does:
Not only did Harper see diminished velocity from Harvey, he also saw his first hit against him.
However, that’s not all he’s seen from Harvey. He’s seen Harvey at his best. He’s seen Harvey work hard in the offseason to return to form. He saw Harvey get booed by his hometown fans.
Like most, Harper has a theory on why Harvey is struggling. Like most, he attributes it to Harvey’s workload from last year.
Truth is no one really knows at this point. If there was a simple answer, the Mets and Harvey would’ve resolved the issue by now. Instead, everyone is back to the drawing board like they’ve been after all of Harvey’s starts. There are many unknowns as to what the issue could be.
However, as Harper said, we do know that Harvey’s “working his tail off.” That should give us all hope that Harvey will eventually figure it out.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com
In the offseason, the Mets unceremoniously let two left-handed batters walk out the door: Daniel Murphy and Kirk Nieuwenhuis.
The Mets just got their first taste of Murphy as an opponent, and it was a bitter. In the three game series, Murphy went 4-11 with an intentional walk, two runs, four RBI, and a homerun. His replacement, Neil Walker, was 2-10 with no runs, no RBI, one walk, and four strikeouts. Walker was outplayed by Murphy. The only thing you can say the Mets got over on Murphy was knocking his batting average down from .400 to .397.
It should come as no surprise that Murphy outplayed Walker this series as Murphy has outplayed Walker this whole year. Murphy is better in almost every statistical catergory than Walker. The main exception is homeruns where Walker’s nine is more than Murphy’s six. So far, the Mets are not benefitting from their change from Murphy to Walker.
So far, they are also not benefitting from their change from Nieuwenhuis to Alejandro De Aza.
De Aza has struggled so far as a Met. In 25 games, he’s hitting .167/.222/.484 with three runs, one double, one homer, and two RBI. Most of that damage came on April 15th against the Indians. In that game, he went 3-4 with a run, a double, a homerun, and an RBI. If you omit this game, De Aza is hitting .105/.171/.105 with no extra base hits, two runs, and one RBI.
Conversely, Nieuwenhuis is having a good year in Milwaukee. In 35 games, he’s hitting .267/.389/.413 with eight doubles, one homer, and 12 RBI. Believe it or not, he had similar good numbers with the Mets last year hitting .279/.364/.559 with seven doubles, four homeruns, and 11 RBI in 37 games. Three of those homeruns came on one glorious July day when the season was in the balance.
Despite that, the Mets felt like they could get an upgrade over Nieuwenhuis. He was designated for assignment in December, and he was picked up off waivers by the Brewers. Ironically, he was on waivers so the Mets could make room for De Aza on the 40 man roster. The Mets are also paying De Aza roughly $5.2 million more than Nieuwenhuis is making.
Overall, the Mets switch from Murphy and Nieuwenhuis to Walker and De Aza hasn’t panned out as well as they thought it would. It is still early, and a lot can change over the next 100+ games. For right now, all we can hope for is that Nieuwenhuis doesn’t outplay De Aza the way Murphy just outplayed Walker.
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:
- .176/.300/.235
- .227/.320/.273
- .152/.243/.273
- .129/.325/.258
- .200/.250/.267
- .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.
There’s no sugar coating it. David Wright is struggling. Since the West Coast trip, he’s hitting .129/.325/.258 with 16 strikeouts in 31 at bats. He had to sit out Tuesday’s game as his back wouldn’t let him play. When he played yesterday, he went 0-4 with three strikeouts. He looked over matched last night. He particularly looked so when he struck out to end the eighth.
Somehow and for some reason Wright was booed after his last strikeout. Hasn’t Wright earned a pass?
Wright arrives at the ballpark six hours before a game to get ready. He needs a few hours to get ready just to get to the point where he can take infield and batting practice. With his grueling routine, no one would blame him if he wanted to walk away. Instead, he does this day in and day out to try to bring the Mets a World Series.
Remember, he wants to be here to do it. Even with all the losing and the tough times, Wright stayed a Met. Rather than test free agency, he signed what was then a discounted deal to stay with the team. The Mets were his team growing up, and they will forever be his team. Mets fans are lucky it is.
We’ve seen 30/30 seasons from him. We’ve seen Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger Awards. We’ve seen him put together some of the best seasons a Mets player as ever had. He’s the best position player the Mets have ever produced.
Lost in that shuffle is the fact that Wright is still the Mets best choice at third base. Lost in every strikeout is the fact that he still leads the team in OPS. Lost in his poor at bats is the fact that he’s surrounded by a lineup of people having the same issues he has.
Understandably, Wright is the Captain and presumable face of the franchise. Accordingly, he’s bound to face the brunt of the Mets fans frustrations. With that said, with everything he’s done, with all he’s meant to the franchise, doesn’t he deserve a pass?
David Wright should not be booed.
Throughout this season, Matt Harvey has struggled. His velocity is down. He’s having trouble with his mechanics. He’s bad in the fifth inning. He’s horrendous in the sixth inning. He’s yet to pitch into the seventh inning. The Mets now send him out for the rubber game tonight against the Nationals.
This could be the best thing that has happened to Harvey.
In his career, Harvey has upped his game when he has faced the Nationals. It’s a good thing too not only because they’re the Mets main obstacle to repeating in the NL East, but also because he’s faced them more than any other team. In his 10 starts against them, he has a 1.77 ERA, a 0.937 WHIP, a 9.6 K/9, and a 7.03 K/BB ratio. The Nationals only hit .197/.249/.259 against him.
Even better, Harvey is facing off against Stephen Strasburg. The first time that happened was April 19, 2013. In that game, Harvey pitched seven innings allowing four hits, one earned, and three walks while striking out seven. Harvey recorded the win as the Citi Field faithful serenaded Strasburg with “HARVEY’S BETTER!” chants. Last year in Harvey’s first start back from Tommy John, he again bested Strasburg going six innings allowing four hits, no earned, one walk, and nine strikeouts.
Strasburg has yet to get the better of Harvey. He’s still done better against Harvey than Bryce Harper has. Harper is 0-20 against Harvey with seven strikeouts.
Harvey has pitched extremely well against the Nationals in his career. Maybe, just maybe, going up against the Nationals is exactly what Harvey needs to figure it all out. If he can do that, he just might have the terrific 2016 most assumed he would.
Day in and day out, we simply do not know if David Wright is going to play. We do not know if his back will allow him to play. There’s always the possibility that he can’t go.
Wright said as much himself when he said, “It’s just day to day. And I think that’s the most frustrating thing — you just never know how it’s going to feel waking up. You try to go through the preparation.” (ESPN).
For the first time since his spinal stenosis diagnosis, Wright had to be scratched from a game. He couldn’t get ready to play the game. As Wright said, “I basically did everything today to get it somewhat manageable. I just couldn’t get there.” Wright classified his back as being worse than it usually is saying, “This is the first time this year where I’ve come to the ballpark where I’ve felt the significance of it — the back. Most of the days have been fairly mediocre. Today was more toward the bad.”
The trainer tipped off Terry Collins. Despite Wright’s pregame issues, he still wanted to play. He was willing to do what was necessary saying, “I thought the extra treatment and extra preparation that I put in helped. And I wanted to give it a go.”
To his credit, Terry Collins wouldn’t let him no matter how much Wright tried to change his mind: “In batting practice he came up to me and told me he couldn’t play me. I was trying to change his mind, because obviously you want to play everyday, especially under these circumstances, with Lucas being out and us having a short bench. I just tried to see if there was any leeway there. I tried to be honest with them all year. I wanted to give it a go. And he just thought better of it.”
Collins benched Wright and started Matt Reynolds. It was the right decision, and Wright has to know better.
It was just a month ago that Wright tried to push his back beyond the point he should’ve. As a result, Wright couldn’t stand up straight the next morning. After the incident, he swore up and down he wouldn’t do that again. He said that he knew he needed to be there for the whole season rather than just one game. Wright should’ve remembered how he felt a month ago before trying to force his way into the lineup against the Nationals.
In reflection, Wright admitted Collins made the right call. Wright said, “It’s probably the right call [to scratch Wright]. I mean, it is the right call. It’s probably the best way to go about it. At the time, when you get the news that you’re being taken out of the lineup, obviously here everyone has a competitive streak Wherw you try to push it.”
Wright needs to understand the Mets need him for a full season. He’s the Captain. He leads the team in OBP. He’s still their best option at third base. It’s not about one game against the Nationals. It’s about all 18 games against the Nationals. It’s about the remaining 124 games left on the schedule.
No one wants to see a lineup with Eric Campbell and Matt Reynolds at the corners. No one wants to see it for multiple games. It’s reminiscent of the feckless lineups the Mets sent out there last July. Those lineups were in part due to Wright’s absence. It’s why Wright needs to make sure he’s available for a full season.
Wright does the work day in and day out to try to be ready each and every game. He wants to be out there with his teammates. When that can’t happen like it did today, Wright says, “I’m mad at the situation. But there’s nothing you can do. It is what it is.” While he’s mad, Wright is learning, and he’s listening to his manager.
Wright acknowledged Collins is keeping his best interests in mind saying, “Maybe Terry saved me a trip to the DL. Maybe he saved me missing multiple games. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. And hopefully it’s better.”
Editors Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com