Musings

Luis Rojas Did Not Blow That Game

Let’s rewind to the exact situation. David Peterson had retired 17 in a row and was at 83 pitches. The Mets had a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the eighth with the bottom of the order due up.

The Tampa Bay Rays 7-8-9 hitters were particularly terrible. Here’s now they had faired in the game up to that point:

Simply put, Peterson dominated this trio. He had not thrown many pitches, and since the second inning, Peterson was literally generating pop outs, ground outs, and strikeouts.

There was absolutely zero reason to believe the Rays could mount any realistic threat in the eighth. That goes double when you look at the hitters careers:

  • Zunino – 72 wRC+ since 2018
  • Padlo – Zero career hits
  • Phillips – career 71 wRC+

There was absolutely zero reason to anticipate trouble. Peterson’s pitch count was down, and the batters due up were dreadful. To put things in perspective for Mets fans, Eric Campbell with his career 80 wRC+ would’ve been a better option.

Seeing it that way, Luis Rojas was right to send Peterson out for the eighth. That’s even the case with no safety net.

Remember, this isn’t the postseason. You don’t just get guys up and throwing just in case. You’re managing for 162 games, and the Mets are slated for a bullpen game.

The Mets needed Peterson to get through that eighth, and again, there was no reason to believe he couldn’t. Of course, with this being baseball, he didn’t.

Zunino, who has a career .387 SLG against LHP in his career homered. Padlo, who was 0-for-10 in his career doubled. It sucks, but it happens.

From there, Peterson struck out Phillips (who failed in his bunt attempts), and he was relieved by Trevor May. Obviously, no one is going to question that because no one wanted Peterson going through the lineup a fourth time.

Remember, at that time, the Mets still had a 2-1 lead. It was a hard out, but May retired Randy Arozarena. That left May facing Manuel Margot, who is a career .240/.289/.373 hitter off RHP. He’s also a career .232/.316/.297 hitter with two outs and RISP.

This is the exact match-up you want. You wanted May to get an overmatched Margot to get out of the inning, so the Mets could go to Edwin Diaz in the ninth.

Instead of ending the inning, Margot hit a game tying double. May just stumbled here after being great all season. Again, it happens.

This is what caused Mets fans fury. They expected Rojas to not let Peterson start the eighth or to not permit him to pitch against a batter with zero career hits.

Even if you had a preference, that’s not the same as saying Rojas blew it. Rojas had made sound decisions and put his pitchers in a position to succeed.

They just didn’t. It happens.

The same goes for Jeff McNeil failing to deliver with two on and two out in the second. McNeil hit a one out double in the eighth, but Michael Conforto and Francisco Lindor failed to drive him home.

Failing to deliver those insurance runs proved costly. Even more costly was James McCann grounding out with two out and two on in the ninth.

That’s emblematic of what happened in the eighth. The Rays delivered in the big spots, and the Mets didn’t. That’s on the players, not the manager.

In the end, Peterson allowed extra base hits to two flat out bad hitters. May couldn’t get a batter who couldn’t hit RHP out. The Mets couldn’t get the key hit they needed to expand or reclaim the lead.

That’s what happened, and it’s difficult to pin the Mets inability to deliver in these spots on the manager. Overall, there is plenty of blame to go around, but none of I should be directed at the manager.

Rojas managed that game well, and he put his team in a position to win. His players just didn’t take advantage. It’s just time to move past this game and start a new winning streak. With Rojas at the helm, they should.

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David Peterson Needs a Big Start

We are weeks away from Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco being able to rejoin the rotation. Of course, that’s not set in stone especially with Carrasco having a setback.

When they return, someone has to come out of the Mets rotation. Right now, David Peterson hasn’t given the Mets a reason why it shouldn’t be him.

Through six starts, he’s 1-3 with a 5.54 ERA, 1.385 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, and an 11.1 K/9. His advanced stats aren’t great either with his having a -0.6 WAR, 69 ERA+, and a 4.64 FIP.

Peterson’s StatCast numbers are even uglier. Peterson isn’t throwing with a high rate of spin, and he doesn’t show great velocity. Worse yet, his control isn’t great. The end result is Peterson getting hit hard. Very hard.

We see that play out in his starts. In half of those starts, he hasn’t been able to get into the fifth. In five of his starts, he’s walked 2+ batters.

Now, that’s not to say he’s been all bad. His 10 strikeout performance was a real glimpse into what he could be. He had another strong start against the Boston Red Sox.

Mostly, what’s missing with Peterson is consistency. To a certain extent, this is an indication of how Peterson was rushed to the majors. There’s talent, real talent, but he’s not ready.

That’s at least the conclusion Peterson forces us to come to with his performances. With his lack of consistency, his control problems, and his getting hit hard, it increasingly seems like he belongs in Syracuse.

That’s at least where he’s at now. He still has time and a few starts to prove otherwise. We’ve seen flashes. He now needs to show dependability.

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Jarred Kelenic Debuts On Day Mets Need An OF

The Seattle Mariners waited that extra couple of weeks, and they have called up Jarred Kelenic at a time when they get an extra year of control over him. It also happens to be at a time when the New York Mets need some outfield depth.

Brandon Nimmo and Albert Almora have landed on the IL. Fortunately, Kevin Pillar is proving himself to be excellent depth, and the Mets did have Khalil Lee to call up.

Still, none of that group is what Kelenic could be. It’s also not just about this year. Michael Conforto is a pending free agent, and no one knows if the Mets will be able to keep him.

That goes double with Robinson Cano‘s contract coming back onto the books. Again, this is just a reminder of his epically stupid and short sighted this trade was. It didn’t just cost the Mets the opportunity see Kelenic.

No, the Mets are also going to be in a tight spot when also looking to sign Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard. The Mets will be stuck with Cano and his awful contract as they await the next positive PED test while trying to find a way to keep everyone.

What makes it all the more unpalatable is how the team is coveted. Pete Alonso‘s fun Donnie Stevenson bit was blamed for firing Chili Davis (despite being told it was not a factor).

Francisco Lindor has put a target on his back over the rat or raccoon debate because he wouldn’t say what happened between him and Jeff McNeil.

We’re even at the point where some writers are questioning how Jacob deGrom was put on the IL. That was something never done when Jeff Wilpon played doctor.

However, we won’t see articles about how the Wilpons knew they were selling, so they were willing to strip down the farm to win one last World Series. They even went out and hired the GM who was either clueless or similarly lacked integrity.

The end result is the Mets need an outfielder now, and they’re going to need one for 2022. That outfielder should have been Jarred Kelenic.

The only problem is he’s in Seattle. Fortunately, the people who put him there are out of baseball and will remain so.

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Matt Harvey Sad Return

Matt Harvey came back to pitch at Citi Field for the first time as a visitor. While he received multiple deserved ovations, he was greeted quite rudely.

Kevin Pillar hit a two run triple in the second, and things went precipitously downhill from there for Harvey. After a Jose Peraza RBI single, it was 3-0 Mets.

In the third, Francisco Lindor hit a leadoff single, and he’d steal second with two outs. He’d come home to score on a Dominic Smith RBI single.

Harvey rebounded with a scoreless fourth, but the Mets would knock him out in the fifth.

Jonathan Villar led off the inning with a single, and he’d steal second. He’d then score on a one out RBI single by Michael Conforto. After Harvey walked Pete Alonso, Harvey was taken out of the game, and he was treated to another standing ovation.

Harvey was responsible for the two on base, and Orioles reliever Shawn Armstrong would let them both score. First, it was a Dominic Smith RBI double. Peraza would get his second RBI single giving the Mets a 7-0 lead.

Unsurprisingly, that was all the support Taijuan Walker needed as he was again excellent. Through seven innings, he allowed just one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four.

As good as the offense and Walker was, the Mets defense might’ve been better.

Overall, this was an all-around effort for the Mets. What made the 7-1 win all the more impressive is it came from the bench, or Bench Mob, as they have been dubbed.

The Mets have completed consecutive sweeps, and they have now won seven in a row. While the NL East is still fighting it, the Mets are taking off.

Game Notes: Jeff McNeil was available off the bench after dealing with cramps. Albert Almora landed on the IL, and Khalil Lee was called up. Drew Smith made his season debut pitching a scoreless inning.

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Happy Harvey Day Returns

From the first time he took the mound with the New York Mets, Matt Harvey was special. You could see it. It was more than just the great stuff. He had the build and demeanor to be one of the best pitchers we have ever seen. In 2013, he would be so good where he would not only be in the running with Clayton Kershaw for the Cy Young Award, we would hear him start to be compared to Tom Seaver.

There was the bloody noses. The time he almost had a perfect game against the Chicago White Sox. There was moment after moment until he had to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Harvey would return from that, and he would return to being a top of the rotation caliber starter. Yes, there would be some drama caused when his agent Scott Boras asked the Mets to honor their agreement over the innings limits, but despite that, Harvey would pitch. Harvey pitched where Stephen Strasburg once did not, which at the time only seemed fitting considering the “Harvey’s Better!” chants which echoed across Citi Field.

Harvey was great in the postseason. He won a pivotal Game 3 in the NLDS. He was lights out in Game 1 of the NLCS setting the stage for a Mets sweep of the Chicago Cubs. His performance in Game 5 of the World Series was one of the best pitching performances in Mets history. He and the Mets would come THIS CLOSE to pulling it off.

From there, things went bad, really bad. We don’t need to recall all the drama. In the end, what really mattered was Harvey had TOS. It would cost him almost all of 2016, and it would cost him his chances of once again being that ace. It would lead to him being designated for assignment from the Mets, which led to him being traded for Devin Mesoraco.

After seemingly reclaiming something with the Cincinnati Reds, he would get a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Angels. After 12 starts, he would be released, and Harvey would try to catch on somewhere. He would finish that season in the Oakland Athletics farm system, but they showed no interest in calling him up. During the pandemic season, Harvey signed on and flamed out with the Kansas City Royals.

What the real story is with Harvey is this is a guy who continued to work hard. Where even the strongest willed people would’ve justifiably retired, Harvey just keep working trying to find his way back to a Major League rotation again. He did everything conceivable, and he would leave no stone unturned. That led to him signing with the Baltimore Orioles and earning his spot onto their Opening Day roster.

Through seven starts this season, Harvey is 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.286 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, and a 6.4 K/9. No, this is not the Harvey we knew and loved. And yet, this is still a good Major League starter who is putting up a 118 ERA+.

Because of that, we are going to get to see Harvey take the same mound where he first brought hope to Mets fans after the Madoff Ponzi scheme. He’s going to take the mound where he started the 2013 All-Star Game and where he dominated in the 2015 postseason. He is going to take the mound in Citi Field, but this time as a visitor.

Harvey did more and went through far more than anyone could’ve imagined. It will be tough to see him facing the Mets, but as a Mets fan, you can’t help but root for him. Orioles uniform or not, seeing Harvey on the Citi Field mound makes this a great day. In fact, we can once again celebrate and say “Happy Harvey Day!”

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Taijuan Walker Outpitching Trevor Bauer

During this past offseason, even with Marcus Stroman accepting the qualifying offer and the team trading for Carlos Carrasco, the New York Mets needed more starting pitching. For a brief moment in time, it looked like that pitcher was going to be Trevor Bauer.

As we found out, Bauer didn’t actually pick the Mets. Instead, he went to the Los Angeles Dodgers. That left the Mets sorting through what was remaining on the market.

Just as Spring Training opened, the Mets signed Taijuan Walker to a two year $17 million deal with a mutual option. So far, this looks like an absolute steal for the Mets.

In six starts, Walker is averaging 5.2 innings per start. In four of his six starts, he’s pitched at least six innings. More than the innings, Walker is pitching exceedingly well.

So far this year, he’s 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.029 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9 (inflated by one six walk start), and a 9.3 K/9. From an advanced stats perspective, he has a 161 ERA+ and a 2.84 FIP.

In the National League, Walker’s He’s 11th in ERA, sixth in FIP, and 11th in ERA+. Notably, Walker is ahead of Bauer in each of these categories.

What makes this all the more impressive is Bauer is pitching very well this year. In fact , he’s leading the league in innings and strikeouts. Still, Walker has been the better pitcher.

It’s not a fluke. Like Bauer, Walker was a very well regarded prospect. The issue was injuries got in his way, and with the shortened 2020 under his belt, Walker appears poised to build off a strong year for seemingly the first time in his career.

Looking at Baseball Savant, we see Walker has increased his velocity with increased movement. He’s also avoiding barrels while striking out batters at a good clip.

Now, Bauer’s Baseball Savant presents a better outlook. He’s getting more spin on his pitches while getting more swings and misses. Still, he’s not outperforming Walker who has a better ERA, ERA+, and FIP.

Of course things can and probably will change. Even with MLB taking balls Bauer threw to inspect them, it seems like Bauer is primed for another big year. He may not be the Cy Young, but he’s certainly pitching well.

Perhaps, that’s why he’s venting his frustrations. He’s pitching well for the defending World Series champions, and yet, the Dodgers are struggling.

Looking past that, Walker is having a better year thus far, and he has provided a much better return for his salary than Bauer. Certainly, this is something which bears monitoring.

Part of that monitoring is seeing Walker continue pitching with increased velocity. That has helped him not just be a better pitcher, but it’s also a factor in his bring one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Walker is defying expectations, and he’s been better than nearly anyone pitching right now. That includes Bauer, a pitcher making $35 million more than Walker.

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Francisco Lindor Rat/Raccoon Story Genius

There is not one soul on the planet who believes Francisco Lindor‘s explanation about what happened. Really, no one believes there was a dispute between him and Jeff McNeil over whether they saw a rat or a raccoon in the clubhouse.

We know there was some sort of an altercation. Well, we at least expect there’s one. What really happened is only known by the Mets team.

Yes, it’s the job of the reporters to ask questions and get to the bottom of things. However, their reaction was been way over the top. Instead of bemusement, we saw a charge led by Todd Zeile where they were personally insulted.

Of course, they didn’t with Jeff Wilpon when he stood in the way of Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Jed Lowrie, and countless others with their career threatening and altering injuries. The same goes for creating an environment of harassment with Mickey Callaway, other employees, and his own actions. Who knows what other heinous acts went unreported.

That’s partially besides the point. The media gets to cover what they want to cover. Then again, teams and players in turn get to dictate how to respond to inquiries. There are several options including ignoring the questions, boilerplate answers, and as we saw with Lindor, having some fun with it.

And, the Mets did have fun with it. We saw McNeil have fun saying it was a possum. We also saw tweets from players like Marcus Stroman, Dominic Smith, and Tomas Nido.

Instead of the incident between Lindor and McNeil dividing them and the team, we saw it become a moment which brought the team together. We got a sense of that from Stroman.

It’s also something which has galvanized the fanbase. Mets fans are very protective of their players, and they’re all the moreso when they believe their players are being unfairly maligned.

The raccoon is also a fun angle reminiscent of the rally raccoon. For that matter, Mets fans always enjoy a good animal story whether it’s the black cat or Yoenis Cespedes‘ rally parakeet.

Whatever the case, Lindor took what could’ve been a divisive moment, and he made it absurd. From there, the players and fans rallied together. His ability to do that may very well pay dividends now and in the future.

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Keith Hernandez Reminder Mets Need Better Attention To Own Hall Of Fame

During this series between the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals, it was announced Keith Hernandez will FINALLY be inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame. It didn’t exactly go great:

The Edward Jones advertisement being larger than Hernandez’s name is embarrassing. Then again, at least the Cardinals are attending to their Hall of Fame.

The Cardinals have an official committee, and they have fan votes to determine who belongs in their Hall of Fame. More than that, they actually have a Hall of Fame.

When Citi Field first opened, there was some lip service to the Mets Hall of Fame. As time progressed, and the impact of Madoff continued, we saw the Team Store push into and completely overwhelm the Mets Hall of Fame.

Aside from that, there’s been a serious lack of attention to inducting new members. The last member inducted was Mike Piazza in 2013. That’s unacceptable.

Right now, 13 of the top 24 Mets by WAR have not been inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame. Put another way, most of the best players in team history have not been recognized.

That includes Edgardo Alfonzo and Al Leiter. That’s shocking with Alonzo being the best second baseman in team history, and with Leiter being the only Mets pitcher to win a play-in game.

It’s more than that. Bobby Valentine led the Mets to consecutive postseasons. Johan Santana had many great moments including the first and only no-hitter in Mets history. There’s also Nelson Doubleday who purchased the Mets and brought in the right people leading to the best run in Mets history.

Point is, the Mets Hall of Fame is severely lacking. Case-in-point. David Wright has not yet been inducted. We can argue over retiring his number, but his not being in the Mets Hall of Fame is absurd.

The Mets need to have Wright and others in the team Hall of Fame. For that matter, there needs to be a real Mets Hall of Fame.

This is a franchise with real history and great moments. It’s well past time it’s celebrated and properly honored. The Mets need a real and proper Hall of Fame. Hopefully, it will happen soon.

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Pete Alonso Did Not Get Chili Davis Fired

In some ways, the Chili Davis firing was a surprise. After all, you don’t fly a hitting coach out to a city and fire him after one game. You also don’t see it happen just as the team starts scoring runs again.

On the other hand, this was not a surprising move in the least. Even with the recent surge, the New York Mets overall offensive performance was dismal, and Francisco Lindor still has not hit yet.

There’s another factor here as well – Zack Scott. The Mets interim GM was part of the Boston Red Sox analytics department. For years, we’ve heard how Davis’ approach and the more analytical approach doesn’t jive, and to that end, we see a disconnect which usually results in the coach getting fired.

Unfortunately, none of that was a sufficient explanation. There were reporters who went to Peter Alonso and his Donnie Stevenson joke as either a root cause or contributing factor.

For those who forgot, Alonso jokingly indicated Donnie was the reason for the breakout. Everyone knew it was a joke, and even Steve Cohen joined in the fun:

Here’s the problem. People can’t let fun things be just that.

Mike Puma of the New York Post asked Davis about it and the role in his firing. He “chuckled” at it, and he said:

It was a fun time for them, but it probably didn’t help. People were just trying to loosen up as a group and it worked that night. They went out and put some runs on the board. I am all for them enjoying the game

According to Davis, he thought it was a fun thing, and in the interview, he noted he believes he’d still have the job if Lindor was hitting. To a certain extent, the fact that Davis did speak to it not helping matters did make it a bit of a fair game to ask Alonso and the other players about it.

There’s just one problem with that. Before speaking with Davis or Alonso, that question had already been posed to Scott when he made himself available to the media after the firing. When pressed on the Donnie Stevenson angle, Scott had replied:

I think that should highlight that this isn’t about recent results. This is about the process behind the scenes. Whether we’re not hitting with runners in scoring position or knocking 17 hits or whatever we had last night, it’s not about that. It’s too early to be overreacting to small samples of results. It’s really about what the daily process is and the assessment — my assessment from doing a lot of research and observations of my own was that we can be better and this is a step towards that.

Put another way, this was about “process.” It didn’t have to do with Alonso’ creation of Donnie Stevenson and the players having some fun with that. It also really didn’t have to do with Lindor not hitting. This was a GM who had been involved in the firing of Davis in Boston, and as the GM, he once again had an issue with Davis’ process, and he once again took part in his firing.

Despite Scott speaking to that, there were articles written about the Donnie Stevenson effect, and then Alonso was asked about it. Aside from the effect the link had already been dismissed, Alonso was surprisingly candid in his responses, and he was obviously emotional about it. Despite that, Alonso was asked about the impact he had on the firing even after the obviously tenuous link had been dismissed.

To even suggest Alonso had a part in the firing of Davis is extraordinarily unfair, and frankly, it’s a cheap shot levied at a person who was honest and emotional about the firing. Alonso deserved much better than that, and anyone suggesting the player who started off the year with a 142 wRC+ to start the season had any impact on Davis being fired owes Alonso an apology.

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Mets Mishandled Chili Davis Firing in Willie Randolph Fashion

Look, it was only a matter of time before Chili Davis was going to be fired as the New York Mets hitting coach. If you’ve followed his career, his approach doesn’t work, and teams are better when they move past him.

Baseball has moved past his philosophies. His tutelage results in an increase of ground balls, decrease in homers, and an increase in strikeouts. It’s a disaster.

We saw the Mets falling into the same traps, and there was no juiced ball to bail them out. It certainly didn’t help Davis’ case Francisco Lindor, a traditional slow starter, had one of his worst ever starts.

There was also Zack Scott’s elevation to GM. As noted by Michael Mayer, Scott was with the Boston Red Sox when they fired Davis. A large part of that was his “old school” philosophies and their resulting decrease in offense.

Firing Davis was absolutely the correct decision. The Mets could ill afford to continue to hold back their team. They needed to make the change.

They needed to make the change on Wednesday when they ended their homestand. They needed to make the change when the Mets prepared to depart Philadelphia, which is in driving distance to New York, to head to St. Louis.

Instead, the Mets opted to fire Davis after the team flew to St. Louis. They made him go through all that extra COVID19 screening and protocols only to fire him immediately thereafter.

It’s cruel and unnecessary, and it’s how inept front offices operate. It’s like when the Mets run by the Wilpons fired Willie Randolph one game into a West coast trip. That was a low moment for the Mets.

St. Louis isn’t Los Angeles by any means. However, it’s still a flight. It was unnecessary to have him on that flight if the intention was to fire him. The Mets had the notion they were firing Davis soon, and they should’ve done it before he got on that plane.

Hopefully, this will be the last time the Mets act in a way reminiscent of the way the Wilpons ran things. This should be the last time it ever happens because it’s unacceptable.

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