Musings
In the April 22 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brandon Nimmo went from first to third on a ball hit to left fielder Cooper Hummel. It was made possible due to the fact Nimmo read Hummel hesitate and because Nimmo is constantly hustling. In fact, after the game, Buck Showalter said, “He never slows [down]. He always gives himself a chance to get an extra base because he comes out of the box hard. Nim doesn’t do anything but go hard. (Tim Healey, Newsday).
This is something fans always noticed with Nimmo. Yes, at times, it seems comical. After all, why is it a player busts it out of the box for a walk? The answer is simply that hustling and always playing that hard is so deeply ingrained in Nimmo that he busts it out of the box on a walk, and we also see him racing around the bases after a homer.
The thing is the way Nimmo loves the game and plays hard gets noticed. The fans love him for it, and for some reason, commentators seem to hate him for it. As for his teammates, they notice and realize they need to match his intensity.
Specifically, on that play when Nimmo went first-to-third, Starling Marte would say, “When I saw the guy play like that, that’s how I have to play too.”
In that game, Marte did play like that. In the 10th, Marte busted it out of the box, and he would be safe on what proved to be an RBI infield single. It was one of the more memorable plays of the season because Marte’s hustle and speed delivered them a win in extra innings.
Now, it is easy to hustle when the game is on the line. It is a whole other thing when the game is completely out of reach. That was the case in the ninth inning of the game against the Phillies.
When Marte led off the inning against James Norwood, they were down 7-1. Coming into the series, their big bats were in a funk. No one could have ever anticipated the Mets were going to make a comeback. Despite that, Marte absolutely busted it out of the box, and he would be safe on an infield single.
You wanna watch that 9th inning over again? You know, the one where the Mets scored 7 runs?
Here you go 😉 pic.twitter.com/tTrCnOQbGX
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 6, 2022
That was a routine play which should’ve been an out. However, it wasn’t because Johan Camargo was going through the motions, and Marte was busting it out of the box. Really, in a moment where no one would have noticed or frankly even cared if he jogged down the line, Marte busted it for a hit.
In that very moment, the game winning rally was born. It was a moment which hearkened back to Nimmo hustling in Arizona and Marte saying he needs to play more like that. Really, it is quite fitting Nimmo would have the game tying hit, and Marte would have the game winning RBI driving in Nimmo.
This right here is why this Mets team is special, and why were are in for a great season. It’s not just that you have players like Marte and Nimmo absolutely busting it on every play. It’s more than that. This is about a team driving each other to be great, to be an even better version of the player they already are.
So far, it led to an extra inning victory, and it led to a miracle comeback. It can lead the Mets to a World Series.
Often times, fans have this notion that their team is singled out or treated unfairly. It is a natural part of fandom, but realistically speaking, it’s not the case. Case-in-point, New York Mets fans have long thought Angel Hernandez had it out for their team, but in reality, Hernandez is just that bad of an umpire.
Then, there are times when fans can see their suspicions are actually correct. That’s what the Buck Showalter suspension was.
Let’s make no mistakes here, Yoan López was out there to try to hit Kyle Schwarber. He tried twice until Jeremy Hefner went to the mound and told him to knock it off. We can also be honest that Showalter absolutely was aware of what López was going to do because in his last outing López buzzed Nolan Arenado leading to the benches clearing.
This is the type of policing which has been left to Mets pitchers because Mets batters have been hit 21 times. That’s five more times than any other team, and it’s more than the bottom four teams in the majors combined. It’s not just the hit by pitches but where they have been.
Pete Alonso has been hit in the helmet on multiple occasions. Both he and Francisco Lindor have been hit in and saved by the c-flap. In terms of Lindor, he had a chipped tooth due to a hit by pitch.
Now, there were warnings issued by the umpires, and López would actually hit Alec Bohm with a pitch. However, one more strike and the game would be over. It was very clear López was not trying to hit him, and as a result, the umpires were rational and did not eject anyone.
That’s an important pretext for what happened in St. Louis. As noted, López buzzed Arenado, which led to the benches clearing. Like with the series against the Phillies, Cardinals pitchers were hitting Mets batters at-will, and there were zero repercussions. Again, that led to López doing what he did, and it led to Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp attacking Alonso:
Buck Showalter and Yoan Lopez both got suspended for allegedly throwing at Kyle Schwarber—he was never hit.
Stubby Clapp got zero games for this.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) May 2, 2022
The Cardinales teamed up to grab Alonso from behind and drag him to the ground. Now, if Alonso was out there throwing haymakers, sure, go ahead. However, Alonso was in the mix but not doing anything more than the typical pushing and shoving. Despite that, Clapp singled out a player hit in the helmet a day before and attacked him.
Clapp wasn’t disciplined by Major League Baseball. The same goes for Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. Now, Arenado and Genesis Cabrera were both suspended, but again, no one from the Cardinals coaching staff was disciplined. Again, that includes a coach who attacked a player.
Yes, López absolutely earned his suspension. This was the second time he threw at a player in retaliation. Like it or not, it’s worthy of a suspension. That said, if a coach doesn’t get fined or suspended for attacking a player, Major League Baseball is going to have to explain why Showalter was suspended and hours before a game against a division rival. Truth be told, there isn’t a justification.
Overall, the message is clear. Major League Baseball has no issue with pitchers throwing at Mets hitters, and they don’t have an issue with Mets players getting attacked. However, if the Mets dare try to stick up for themselves, there will be consequences.
There were two things which became very clear Sunday Night. First, with Dominic Smith going 4-for-4, there was no way the New York Mets could option him to Triple-A Syracuse after that performance. It was just a testament to the fact he needed to play everyday.
With Francisco Lindor being miked up for the game, it also became clear Robinson Cano was a very loved and respected player in that Mets clubhouse. Apparently, his two PED suspensions did nothing to change that.
More than anything, that is what made this easy decision all the more difficult. The Mets players wanted Cano there. They believed in him. Despite that, and despite the $40.5 million still owed to him, the Mets really had no other choice but to designate Cano for assignment due to the rosters shrinking.
Really, the Mets had no other choice. For Cano, he can’t run, and he doesn’t have his bat speed. Sure, he hit a homer, but his exit velocities were lower than Luis Guillorme, who is a slap hitter and stellar defender. There’s just no room for a player like that on the Mets right now.
In some ways, Cano is a victim of the Mets success here (using the term victim very lightly here). The Mets are a very good team and a true World Series contender. They need to be focused on winning over trying to extract the most out of their investment. Another note here is if not for the lockout, this decision may never be made. If it was a 26 man roster out of Spring Training, in all likelihood, Travis Jankowski starts the year in Syracuse with Cano lingering on the roster.
That said, you have to remember Cano was out of baseball for a year. After 2020, you had to imagine there was more in the tank than what we saw so far in 2022. There’s a real chance he still needs some time to get up to game speed, and with that the bat speed will come. It’s just that the Mets were not in a position to be the team to give him the playing time for that to happen.
With the DFA, the Mets are not precluded from assigning him to Syracuse. Obviously, the Mets are going to get that chance because there is no chance whatsoever anyone claims Cano. After all, Brodie Van Wagnenen is out of baseball.
So for Cano, the question is whether he’s wiling to go to Syracuse. To some extent, it makes sense for the Mets. If Cano really is the proven veteran leader he’s made out to be, he can be a good influence on players like Khalil Lee, Nick Plummer, and Mark Vientos. Cano can also get to hit. If he doesn’t, that could put him in position to get called back up to help the Mets, especially in the event of an injury.
If he doesn’t, well, now we all know it will never happen again, and the Mets can finally cut him loose for good knowing they did all they could do.
As for other teams, who is going to come calling? There might’ve been a small chance with the Miami Marlins, but it’s doubtful with Cano’s teammate Derek Jeter out with the Marlins. As of the other 28 teams, who is taking that chance? Remember, this isn’t an Albert Pujols situation. Pujols could still hit left-handed pitching extremely well.
Right now, Cano does nothing well. If he wants to prove he still has it, he has to go to the minors with the Mets being the best chance. Of course,. that is if the Mets want to do that instead of just moving on from this error, sorry era. At this point, you can’t blame them. Still, for whatever reason, you have to believe Cano may just have one more shot before his career is officially done.
After this weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets are going to have to make a decision. They will have to cut one pitcher and one position player as the team needs to bring the roster down from 28 to 26. If this was purely merit based, the answer to that conundrum would be Robinson Cano, who has only shown he’s done.
As of this moment, if it is not Cano, all signs point to Dominic Smith, and the biggest reason why is he has an option remaining, and he does not have five years of service time. As a result, he can not reject the assignment to Triple-A.
Based on the numbers so far, there isn’t much of an argument. Through 17 games, he is hitting just .182/.300/.212 with a double and three RBI. More troubling behind that 69 wRC+ is a 30.0 K%. Even if there has been some recent improvement, including his go-ahead pinch hit against the St. Louis Cardinals, he just hasn’t shown enough so far this season.
A large part of that could be attributable to how the Mets have handled him this season.
As the Mets approached Opening Day, Smith was showing his 2021 shoulder issues were behind him. Max Scherzer was commenting how Smith was showing an ability to hit balls he was never able to hit. He was red hot at the plate, and he looked poised to return to his 2020 form where we all thought he was on the verge of being a star.
As it turned out, the team first looked to get Cano going. Even after he had a PED suspension costing him the 2021 season, they rewarded him with the Opening Day start. Smith would have to stay on the bench. He would actually be the last Mets player on the roster to get an at-bat and a start in the season.
Nearly a full month into the season, Smith has only started on back-to-back days just once. While having good numbers against left-handed pitching, better than Pete Alonso, he is benched against left-handed pitchers. Really, this is the story of his entire Mets career.
Heading into the 2018 season, the Mets signed Adrian Gonzalez to block Smith. When Gonzalez didn’t work, they went to Wilmer Flores. They never gave him an opportunity to compete with Alonso for the first base job. Time and again, the Mets just go out of their way to find excuses to not play Smith, and then when he doesn’t succeed in a tough situation, they act like they’re justified pretending like he didn’t thrive with extended playing time in 2019 and 2020.
All-in-all, Smith hasn’t performed this season. Certainly, there is blame on his shoulders for not taking advantage of his limited opportunities. That said, sooner or later, the Mets need to put him in a position where he can thrive and be an everyday player because Smith has shown he isn’t just an everyday player but a good one at that.
Back in 2001, things weren’t going well for Steve Trachsel. Over his first eight starts with the New York Mets, he was 1-6 with an 8.24 ERA averaging 4.2 innings per start. With that struggle, the Mets approached him and asked him to go down to Triple-A to get himself right.
For Trachsel, he didn’t want to lose a spot in the rotation and move to the bullpen. In the end, Trachsel accepted the assignment saying, “It’s going to make me better. In the long run, that’s a good thing.” (Tyler Keper, New York Times).
It turned out to be the best thing for him. After that rough start, he would go 10-7 with a 3.35 ERA over his final 20 starts. That included a two hit complete game shut out in his final start of the season. From there, Trachsel would go on to have a solid Mets career highlighted by two one-hitters during the 2003 season.
Fast-forward 21 years, and the Mets are facing a conundrum with Robinson Cano.
Due to the altered roster rules resulting from the lockout, the Mets have to pare down their roster from 28 to 26 by the end of this month. In all likelihood, that means they need to drop one pitcher and one position player. If this was Spring Training, the answer to that would probably be Travis Jankowski, but he has shown his value to this team, and it is highly unlikely he will be designated for assignment.
That leaves Dominic Smith, who has an option, and Cano, who is easily the worst player on the roster right now. If this was purely merit based, the answer would be Cano. Before delving deeper into that, the question is what does Cano want for himself?
At the moment, Cano’s bat has been slow, and his legs are even slower. His defense has slipped entirely. He’s chasing pitches he never chased in his career, and he looks like he’s just about done. You have to imagine Cano doesn’t want his career to end like this.
It should be noted Cano missed the entirety of the 2021 season due to a PED suspension. He did play in the Winter Leagues, but he has nowhere near the amount of at-bats needed to get into a rhythm and shake off the rust. Truth be told, he’s not going to get that with the Mets.
The team is deploying Luis Guillorme when there are groundball pitchers on the mound. The DH spot is being used to keep their position players fresh and healthy. Jeff McNeil is the regular second baseman, and his bat is not coming out of the lineup. This leaves Cano with no regular playing time, and as a result, he has no ability to get back up to game speed.
If Cano truly wants to get back to being Cano,, this is where accepting an assignment to the minors helps him. At the moment, there isn’t a second base prospect blocking his playing time down at Syracuse. He can go down there and play everyday. He can work to hone his approach much like Joey Votto did last season. He can get up to game speed and help him stop pressing and flailing away at pitches.
This would be his best avenue to truly get ready to contribute to the 2022 Mets. He can agree to a certain time frame, and in all honesty, there will likely be an injury permitting the team to call him up sooner rather than late.r
If this is about the team and his future, Cano should accept the assignment to Triple-A. Time will tell if this is something he will consider. If it’s offered, he should accept it.
Before the New York Mets take the field and try to win a fourth consecutive series to begin the 2022 season, they have emerged as one of the best teams in baseball. In fact, they might even be the best. However, there are going to be ebbs and flows.
We have already seen Tylor Megill and Chris Bassitt go from completely and utterly dominant to struggling against a good San Francisco Giants team. Conversely, we have seen Max Scherzer get better each and every time he has taken the mound.
We have seen the palpable excitement from sweeping the doubleheader against the Giants turn to angst when they lost a frustrating game the following day. What made it even worse was seeing Wilmer Flores absolutely robbing Dominic Smith of an extra base hit which might’ve proven to be a game tying or winning rally.
When things like that and losses like that happen, there tends to be an over-focus on the negative. The fans still don’t quite trust the bullpen even if things look better with Edwin Diaz back from bereavement leave. They become overwrought over how neither James McCann or Tomas Nido are hitting. Even with all that, there are some positives to glean.
Drew Smith has emerged as a true eighth inning guy and possibly future closer. Trevor May has shaken off the rust. Chasen Shreve has been terrific. Right there, you have what you need to win any close game, and that’s before you account for Seth Lugo getting stronger as the season progresses.
With respect to McCann and Nido, no, they aren’t hitting. However, they are framing extremely well. As a result, they are doing exactly what they need to be doing. They are helping this pitching staff immensely, and their respective work behind the plate is a big reason why Mets pitching has been so good to start the season.
Overall, things are very positive right now. This Mets team never seems truly out of it. They battle and fight back. They have pitching and timely hitting. These are the things which tend to last, and as a result, it is a good harbinger for the rest of the season and hopefully the postseason.
Honestly, everyone thought Jarred Kelenic was a no-doubt future star. At a minimum, his floor was solid regular. So far, it just hasn’t happened. In fact, Kelenic looks like one of the worst players in baseball.
Through 97 career games, he has a -1.8 WAR. He has a 70 wRC+ and -2 OAA. The future five tool center fielder is a poor hitter not playing all that great defense in left field. Breaking it down, it is hard to find something positive with his career up to this point.
Of course, he’s a 22 year old player who is allowed to struggle. There are countless examples in Major League history. If you’ve ever heard a New York Mets broadcast, you’ll hear Keith Hernandez talk about struggling when he was first called up and getting sent back down was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Keep in mind, Hernandez won an MVP, was part of two World Series champions, is in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, will have his number retired by the Mets, and he will one day be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Case-in-point, early career struggles from a player in his early 20s is far from dispositive on how his entire career pans out.
For some reason, people seem to want to take Kelenic’s struggles and want to play revisionist history on the Robinson Cano trade. That’s just ridiculous.
As noted, Kelenic’s career is far from over and treating it so it plain dumb. More than that, Kelenic’s value at the time was through the roof. The Mets literally could’ve gotten anyone they wanted had it been known he was available in trades. Because Cano was his former client, Brodie Van Wagenen opted to pursue him.
Keep in mind, the Mets return on this trade has been pretty lousy.
With respect to Cano, he has a had a 1.7 WAR< 107 wRC+, 3 OAA, and a season long PED suspension. More to the point, Cano was supposed to be a key piece of a win now Mets team in 2019. Instead, he had by far the worst season of his career. When you break it all down, he has done NOTHING to help this Mets team be a contender.
It’s worse than that. Cano displaced Jeff McNeil from his natural position. Now, he has a manager in Buck Showalter who is giving Cano playing time over players like Luis Guillorme and Dominic Smith. It’s ridiculous, but it is what happens when you are paying a player $20.25 million through his age 40 season.
With respect to Edwin Diaz, he was one of the bigger reasons the Mets missed that 2019 postseason. Like Cano, he had by far the worst year of his career with a 74 ERA+ and a 4.51 FIP. In that season, he blew seven saves and took the loss in seven games. The Mets missed the Wild Card by three games. Diaz has been good since then even if he’s had the propensity for blown saves.
Really, that 2019 team probably makes the postseason if that trade was never made. The Mets as a franchise would’ve been far better off because they wouldn’t have Cano eating up a roster spot and a significant chunk of payroll. Really, when you break it down, it is complete and utter tomfoolery to suggest the trade doesn’t look as bad because a 22 year old outfielder needs more time.
Overall, this trade was a disaster for the Mets and will continue being one. If you don’t believe that, you’re lying to yourself.
For all the talk about Buck Showalter being a good manager, there were concerns about his bullpen management and ability to adapt to the modern game. We are not a full week into the season, and we are not seeing signs of Showalter having adapted.
In terms of being more analytically inclined, we see Starling Marte batting second. Ideally speaking, your best hitter should bat second, and Marte is not the Mets best hitter. Instead, he is treated almost like a second lead-off hitter behind Brandon Nimmo because he is fast.
Speaking of Nimmo, we have seen Showalter ask him to sacrifice bunt. Nimmo has been their best hitter for years, and he’s being asked to sacrifice bunt. It’s one thing with Tomas Nido, even if that strategy is still questionable, but with Nimmo, it is just plain bizarre. With the implementation of the universal DH, you would think we not see the sacrifice bunt as a strategy, but with Showalter it is still a strategy.
More than the lineup and the sacrifice bunting, there is the way Showalter is handling the bullpen.
Before delving further, there is the caveat if Pete Alonso didn’t play poor defense, and if Seth Lugo didn’t struggle, we wouldn’t be talking about it. However, beyond that is the fact is Showalter made poor decisions putting pitchers in poor positions. That is what helped lead to the Mets blowing two late leads.
On Sunday, the Mets had a 2-1 lead in the eighth. He chose Trevor Williams for what was the Mets first high leverage relief situation of the season. Trevor May was available, and he warmed up at one point. Instead, Williams would be charged with a blown save. Yes, the caveat there is Alonso was terrible, and there were soft hits.
Another note is how Showalter used the Edwin Diaz less bullpen leading to that game.
In the previous game, the Mets won 5-0, and Showalter used Drew Smith and Adam Ottavino, two of his better options in the late innings. The game before that the Mets won 7-3, and Showalter used Smith and Lugo. To be fair, he would also use Sean Reid-Foley in that game.
Now, this was the first series of the season, and as we saw in that series, Showalter was just trying to get everyone involved. For example, every position player played just one game. Still, why was Showalter using Lugo, May, and Ottavino in spots where he could have been getting pithcers like Williams into games?
On that point, Showalter did say, “We’re too early in the season to be throwing guys three out of four days. We said the whole offseason with the lockout and everything that we’re going to be careful.”
Now, there is something to losing the battle to win the war. He’s right that its way too early to abuse relievers, and he does need to keep everyone fresh. On these points, Showalter has managed successfully many years, and there is some level of expertise to which we can demur.
That doesn’t explain the loss to the Phillies. Before getting to the game, we need to revisit what May would say after the game:
Trevor May discusses the extent of his fatigued arm: pic.twitter.com/H0DdRwGw37
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 12, 2022
He’s been battling bicep and tricep soreness, and he’s been getting treatments. He isn’t accustomed to pitching multiple innings. In fact, he hasn’t done that since 2020. Notably, he performed poorly both times.
Going back to the eighth inning, Showalter had a reliever he knew was dealing with shoulder issues and doesn’t go multiple innings. More than that, it was cold. In a day, Showalter went from you can’t push relievers to pushing a reliever he knew was dealing with arm issues. It doesn’t make sense.
Another factor at play was Lugo was apparently available. As we know, Lugo performs better when he’s starting an inning. The Mets could’ve avoided the whole mess of the inning if they went with Lugo to start the inning. Sure, Lugo probably still struggles, but the Mets could have then pivoted to a Smith or Ottavino if needed.
Instead, it was May then Joely Rodriguez, which made zero sense.
Remember, Rodriguez is horrific against right-handed batters. It was one of the reasons the swap between him and Miguel Castro made no sense. Rodriguez was warming, but May’s injury could have allowed Showalter to pivot and pitch whomever he wanted.
There was a runner on first with no outs. The right-handed hitting Matt Vierling was due up, and the Phillies had other right-handed hitting options on the bench. After the pinch hitter, which was the switch hitting Johan Camargo, the Phillies had Kyle Schwarber followed by J.T. Realmuto before Bryce Harper.
To get Schwarber and Harper, Showalter opted to have Rodriguez face Camargo and Realmuto with no outs. Camargo singled sending Alec Bohm to third. That allowed a run to score on the Schwarber RBI groundout. Realmuto then launched a homer to pull the Phillies within 4-3.
Right there, any margin of error Lugo had was completely gone. To boot, he was facing tough hitters in Nick Castellanos and Rhys Hoskins.
Lugo can and should get out of that situation. Then again, he should not have been brought into that spot. It should not have been. May should not have started that inning, and Rodriguez should not have followed. It was all a mess created by Showalter.
If this was Luis Rojas, writers and fans would have been livid, and they would have demanded he be fired. In fact, when the games were scripted for Rojas, these are the types of things that happened. Now, that Showalter is doing it on his own volition, he’s getting a pass.
In actuality, he shouldn’t. The ignoring analytics. The bunting. The bullpen management. These were all issues present when he was hired, and Showalter hasn’t shown any signs of progress or any willingness. These are problems before we even address leaning on veterans like Robinson Cano. There is still 157 games for Showalter to adjust and learn. The Mets need him to do it.
You’d never know the New York Mets miss Jacob deGrom with the starting pitching they’ve gotten to start the season. Tonight, it was Chris Bassitt‘s turn to dominate.
Pretty, pretty good. @C_Bass419 💪 pic.twitter.com/yX9SA3MUHu
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 10, 2022
Over six shutout innings, he only allowed three hits and one walk while striking out eight. He was never really challenged, and he was in sync with James McCann.
In terms of McCann, he’s looked better behind the plate than last year. He’d also get the game winning rally started with a leadoff single in the fifth.
After McCann singled, Brandon Nimmo walked. Starling Marte flew out for the first out of the inning bringing Francisco Lindor to the plate.
Lindor fell behind in the count 0-2 to Washington Nationals starter Joan Adon. Lindor battled back fouling off four pitches before drawing a walk to load the bases. Pete Alonso then unloaded them:
PEEEEEETE!!! GRAND SLAM!!!! pic.twitter.com/fm6P4zbQTe
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 10, 2022
It was Alonso’s first career grand slam. Also, after he and other Mets have been plunked in this series, including Marte tonight, he had quite the bat flip.
A thing of beauty! 🐻❄️ pic.twitter.com/pANnEA02SW
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 10, 2022
In this game, and so far this season, Buck Showalter has been looking for everyone to contribute. That included Luis Guillorme, Travis Jankowski, and Dominic Smith getting the start.
Like everyone else, they would each contribute. That includes Jankowski who became the first Met to steal two bases in his first start.
Give Travis Jankowski two steals on the night pic.twitter.com/GrKmPtVbQb
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 10, 2022
That 4-0 lead grew to 5-0 in the ninth as Nimmo went to work. He hit a leadoff double, and he went to third as he tagged up on a Marte fly out. That put him in position to score when Andres Machado threw a wild pitch.
Fifth run of the game, IN pic.twitter.com/8pILWY6ZdA
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 10, 2022
Again, the Mets bullpen did its job. Drew Smith (1.0), Joely Rodriguez (1.2), and Adam Ottavino (0.1) kept it scoreless. That made it an uneventful final three innings in the Mets 5-0 victory.
Game Notes: Edwin Diaz was unavailable as he was on the bereavement list after his grandfather’s death. Lindor made his second error of the season. For the first time since 2015, the Mets begin the season 3-0.