Musings
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
There is no such thing as a bad time to get called-up to the majors. Everything about the majors is better. The money. The travel. The women have long legs and brains. Mostly, it’s what you’ve worked for your entire life.
You don’t want to blow your shot. It’s why now may not be the best time for Matt Reynolds to get called-up.
In Reynold’s last 10 games, he’s hit .175/.214/.275 with no homers and four RBI. He has struck out 15 times. That means Reynolds has struck out 37.5% of the time over his last 10 games. He’s 0-1 in stolen base attempts. After this slump, Reynolds is now hitting .238/.303/.369. Simply put, Reynolds has not played well enough to earn a promotion.
However, he’s getting the promotion because it’s a numbers game. Wilmer Flores is on the DL, and the Mets need a reserve infielder that can play second, third, and short. Reynolds is the only minor league player on the Mets 40 man roster who can do that. So now with Reynolds playing the worst ball he ever has, he’s getting called up.
This is his shot to impress. Considering who the Mets manager is, he’s going to have to impress if he’s going to have a future with the Mets.
Terry Collins has some shortcomings as a manager. The first is he typically relies heavily upon his veterans. The second is that he’s quick to put players in his doghouse. We’ve seen it this season with Collins potentially dangerous use of Jim Henderson rather than using Rafael Montero.
Montero has been in Collins’ doghouse for being injured last year and not pitching effectively this Spring Training. Collins only used Montero when he absolutely had to use him and no more. Montero didn’t produce in his limited chances, and he moved into Collins’ doghouse.
Right now, Reynolds is scuffling. He’s going to get very limited chances, especially with six of the next nine against the Nationals. When Reynolds does get his shot, it’s going to leave a huge impression with his manager. If he gets a basehit, Collins may be inclined to use him more. If he doesn’t get hits, Collins will bury him on the bench. If and when he’s recalled, Collins will again bury him on the bench.
Whether it’s fair or not, Reynolds’ performance will have a big impact on the rest of his Mets career. With the way he’s been playing lately, this chance could not have come at a worse time.
Yesterday’s 0-3 with a strikeout certainly isn’t going to help his cause.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsminors.net
Lost in Daniel Murphy’s return to Citi Field is the fact that we have a good old fashioned pitching duel between the two best teams in the NL East.
The Nationals have Max Scherzer who is coming off a historic 20 strikeout game. The last time he faced the Mets he threw a no-hitter.
The Mets have Noah Syndergaard or
So far this year, Syndergaard is doing things we’ve never seen before and may never see since. In his last start, Syndergaard allowed two earned over eight innings with six strikeouts. By the way, he also hit two homeruns. In his last start against the Nationals, he allowed only two hits and one run over seven innings while striking out 10.
Tonight should be a terrific pitcher’s duel amongst two of the game’s best. Looking over the rosters, just about every time these teams meet, we should see a pitcher’s duel. These 19 games are going to be fun . . . especially when the Mets win them.
Sooner or later someone is going to hit .400. It’s been 75 years since Ted Williams famously played both ends of a double header bumping his batting average from .400 to .406. It was the last time anyone has hit over .400 in a season.
There have been some famous chases for that elusive .400 batting average. In 1980, George Brett was hitting .400 until September 19th. He finished the year hitting .390. In 1994, Tony Gwynn was hitting .394 until August 11th, which was also the last game of the season due to the strike. These were two Hall of Fame players, and they fell short.
Daniel Murphy isn’t a Hall of Famer, but he’s making a charge to hit .400. A big reason why is there is no safe place to pitch him:
I wonder if Nationals 2B Daniel Murphy's .406 heat map looks like Ted Williams' .406 heat map.
Pretty impressive! pic.twitter.com/iaDs0yAPC4
— Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) May 7, 2016
Right now, there’s no way to neutralize him. He’s hitting .385 off of righties and .452 off of lefties. He’s hitting .415 at home and .387 on the road. He hit .370 in April, and he’s currently hitting .441 in May. He has played in 38 games, and he’s sitting exactly at .400. Accordingly, he’s 23% of the way there.
In 1941, Williams played in all of the Red Sox 154 games. It wouldn’t be until 1961 that MLB changed to the 162 game schedule. When Williams had played his 38th game, he was hitting .422. He was in the middle of a 16 game stretch where he hit .557 raising his average from .369 to .436.
So Murphy is far off Williams’ pace. Murphy’s chase to .400 is further complicated by his having to face the Mets pitchers 19 times this season. With that said, as we saw last October, with Murphy, anything is possible.
Coming into this season, Fangraphs showed how the Mets switch from Daniel Murphy to Neil Walker would hurt the Mets in 2016. The projections were that Murphy would have a better year in Washington than Walker would have in New York.
So far, the projections were right. Murphy has been better with the Nationals than Walker has been with the Mets. Much better.
Coming into a three game litmus test for both the Mets and Nationals, Murphy is having a career year. He’s leading the big leagues with 56 hits. A month and a half into the season, he’s still hitting a major league leading .400. Among major league second basemen, he’s among the leaders in nearly every statistical category:
- Doubles (13) – 1st NL & 2nd MLB
- Triples (2) – 2nd NL & MLB
- Homers (5) – 3rd NL & 9th MLB
- RBI (3) – 2nd NL & 3rd MLB
- OBP (.433) – 2nd NL & MLB
- SLG (.629) – 1st NL & MLB
- WAR (1.7) – 1st NL & 5th MLB
Murphy is a big reason why the Nationals are in first place. It is unrealistic to expect Murphy to keep up this pace. He’s never been this type of hitter. With that said, it’s a month and a half into the season, and Murphy is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s been better in May than April. Even without facing the Mets once, he’s been a thorn in their side.
No matter how you look at it, Murphy been the best second baseman in the National League. He’s been the best second baseman to switch teams. Even with Walker tying the Mets record for homers in a single month, the Mets decision to pass on Murphy doesn’t look good.
However, the Mets moving on from Murphy wasn’t about 2016. It was about the future. The Mets, a win-now team, made a decision in Murphy based on the future.
The wisdom of the Mets decision will be judged by how Walker plays this year in comparison to how Murphy plays. It will be judged by how Dilson Herrera plays when he becomes the full time second baseman. It will be judged by how the compensation pick the Mets received for Murphy develops.
Ultimately, the Mets decision will be judged upon whether the Mets win the World Series. Murphy was the Mets best player in the postseason last year. The Mets don’t beat the Dodgers without him. They don’t go to the World Series without him.
It’s too soon to judge the Mets decision on passing on Murphy. However, with him helping the Mets biggest competition in the NL East, the early returns aren’t good.
This is as bad as it gets. You’re down a run against one of the best pitchers in baseball. Your guy is great, but he’s struggling. He just doesn’t have it. You lose this game, and your season is over. Someone has to do something and quick. That’s when Daniel Murphy did this:
With one stolen base, Murphy swung the momentum of that game. With his homer in the sixth, Murphy gave the Mets the lead:
Almost single-handedly, Murphy won Game Five of the NLDS. Without Murphy, the Mets lose in the NLDS.
Instead, the Mets won, and they hosted the Cubs in the NLCS. In his first at bat, Murphy let the Cubs know that 2015 wasn’t going to be their year:
Murphy went off on a homerun binge en route to winning the NLCS MVP Award:
This is all why you give Murphy a massive standing ovation when he steps to the plate tonight. Regardless of how you felt about his time as a Met or his move to the Nationals, you give him a standing ovation. That magical run to the World Series doesn’t happen without Murphy. If you enjoyed one iota of that run, you owe him a standing ovation.
Murphy’s earned it. Stand up and cheer.
The Mets are slumping. They had a rough 4-7 road trip that saw them fall from first to third place in the NL East. That will happen when your position players hit .209/.282/.336 over an eleven game stretch. The team hit .184 with RISP. The overreaction to the slump has caused some people to look for a solution.
Many have pointed to moving David Wright down in the order. With his spinal stenosis any slump could be a signal of the beginning of the end of his career. This is further exacerbated by his possible travel issues. That’s Wright’s new reality. Accordingly, the Mets and Wright should look to do what is best for the team even if that means Wright moves down in the lineup.
The argument for Wright moving down in the order focuses on the aspects of his game that are subpar starting with his strikeouts. According to Fangraphs, he’s striking out 32.6% of the time, which is by far the highest strikeout rate of his career.
Also of concern is Wright’s average with RISP. He’s only hitting .185 with RISP. That’s bad. However, it should make you question why someone would want to drop him lower in the lineup when people are on base. If he’s not driving in batters from the second spot in the lineup, there’s no evidence he will do it batting sixth or seventh in the lineup with more runners in scoring position.
No, you want Wright batting second and setting the table for the Mets big bats. Looking deeper into the numbers, Wright is succeeding in this role.
No matter how you look at the numbers, the fact remains Wright is getting on base. His 18.5% walk rate is the highest in his career. It’s fueling his .373 OBP. His OBP leads the team. That’s eight points higher than the second place Yoenis Cespedes and 20 points higher than the third place Michael Comforto. Cespedes and Conforto also happen to hit third and fourth in the lineup. In essence, Wright is getting on base in front of the team’s big run producers.
As for that tough road trip, Wright struggled like everyone else. He only hit .148/.361/.296. You’d like for him to hit for a better average and more power. However, it must be noted Wright’s .361 OBP was the second highest on the team next to Cespedes.
If we look at Wright’s numbers this year, the fact is he’s a table setter now. He’s the guy that gets on base in front of the Mets big bats like Conforto and Cespedes. So far this year, Wright is doing his job. It’s time the people behind him do their job and knock him in.