When the Mets signed Jed Lowrie, all indications were he was going to be the Mets third baseman. Of course, he has been injured, and as a result, the team has had to find someone else to play the position. The first option should have been Todd Frazier, but he began the year on the Injured List. So the Mets moved onto Plan C, which was J.D. Davis, who hit but could not field the position.
Since Frazier has returned from the Injured List, the team has not been able to decide on a third baseman. Since Frazier was activated off the Injured List on April 22nd, he has started 13 games, and Davis has started seven games. Over those 20 games, neither player has been able to get into a groove.
Since, April 22, Frazier is hitting .148/.164/.259 (12 wRC+). When you’re hitting like a pitcher, you are not justifying your spot in the lineup. With Frazier hitting that poorly, it should come as no surprise Davis is hitting much better. However, that does not mean he is hitting well. Since April 22, Davis is hitting .278/.297/.333 (75 wRC+). As if being a below league average hitter wasn’t enough, Davis’ has arguably been lucky to have that level of production as he has a .400 BABIP over that span.
The luck isn’t the real issue with Davis. It’s the defense. His defense has been unplayable with a -8 DRS and -3.1 UZR. Among players with 180 innings, Davis’ DRS is the worst in the Majors, not just among third baseman. No, he’s the worst fielder in the entire game.
With respect to Frazier, he has been solid with a 1 DRS. If you look to his 25.8 UZR/150, he’s the third best third baseman in the game with at least a 100 innings played. That said, when you hit like a pitcher, you need to be fielding even better than that to be in the lineup.
That’s the Mets dilemma. They have one third baseman who can hit but can’t field, and they have another who can field but can’t hit. If you look at the history, you could believe Frazier will eventually hit, but with each passing game, that is becoming harder to believe. With his Triple-A stats and early season production, you may believe Davis could become at least a league average hitter, but again, with each passing game, you believe less and less in that and his ability to field his position.
In the long run, it is hard for either player to hit or for Davis to get up to speed defensively if they’re getting irregular playing time. The bouncing back-and-forth between the two players isn’t going either player any good, and in the long run, it is doing the Mets a disservice. Ultimately, the team is acting like they don’t have a player they can trust at the position, and they are flipping a coin everyday.
In the end, the Mets inability to decide on a third baseman is hurting this team, and it will continue to hurt the team until one of Davis or Frazier steps up and claims the job. Based upon what we have seen so far, that’s not happening, nor is Lowrie going to show up and bail the team out.
In the end, considering how things have played out, the answer might just be to move Jeff McNeil to third and play Juan Lagares in center. Sure, Lagares isn’t hitting much either, but his 70 WRC+ isn’t far off the mark Davis is giving the Mets, and his defense is better than Frazier’s, and it is coming from a premium defensive position. Really, seeing how things are with the Mets right now, you’d be hard pressed to argue this isn’t the best option right now.
Tonight, Gio Gonzalez had his fourth consecutive good start. He’s now 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA. Of course, because Brodie Van Wagenen felt the need to keep his former client Jason Vargas and his 5.92 ERA and his 3.2 innings per start in the rotation, despite knowing Steven Matz was dealing with elbow issues, Gonzalez is pitching well for the Milwaukee Brewers and not the New York Mets.
Instead, Van Wagenen made a panic trade for Wilmer Font, a 29 year old reliever with a 6.39 career ERA, to slot into the rotation. Perhaps, Van Wagenen is the only man alive who is surprised Font pitched like a 29 year old reliever with a career 6.39 ERA thrust into a starting role.
It was 1-0 off an Anthony Rendon ground rule double before Font recorded an out. The lead grew to 3-0 on a Juan Soto RBI groundout and Howie Kendrick RBI single. If Brian Dozier could still hit and Kendrick didn’t get caught stealing, things could have been much worse.
Actually, things did get worse. After a scoreless second, the Nationals tacked on two more in third off a Victor Robles solo shot and another Rendon RBI double.
With Patrick Corbin dealing, it was game over. The hanging slider J.D. Davis hit for a two out RBI double in the third was about his only mistake on the night. He’d last eight innings allowing just the one run on four hits and one walk while striking out 11.
The real shame for the Mets is Drew Gagnon pitched well in relief of Font. He’d allow no runs on three hits over 2.2 innings. Certainly, seeing Gagnon pitch, you have to question why the Mets traded for Font (or if Van Wagenen knows what he’s doing). Add in two scoreless from Tyler Bashlor, and the Mets bullpen did what Font couldn’t – pitch well.
About the only real positive from the night was Jeurys Familia pitching a 1-2-3 inning in his first game since coming off the IL. It may seem like a stretch, but when the Mets lose to a bad Nationals team because of an inept set of decisions by a novice GM, you take what you can get from this once again under .500 team.
Game Notes: Davis made his LF debut with the Mets in the eighth. He did not have a ball hit to him. The Mets remain disinterested in trying Dominic Smith in left field.
When Jason Vargas on the Injured List and Steven Matz unable to make his start due to injury, the Mets needed to find a starter. Instead of recalling Corey Oswalt or Chris Flexen or making a 40 man move to call-up Hector Santiago or Casey Coleman, the Mets opted to make a trade for Wilmer Font, a 29 year old reliever with a career 6.39 ERA.
When the Mets are making trades to acquire relievers for emergency starts, you get the sense of just how poor this Mets Major League ready pitching depth is. You also see how desperately the Mets need one of their pitching prospects to step up and force their way to the Majors.
Fortunately for the Mets, Anthony Kay has not just been the organization’s best starting pitcher this year, he has arguably been the best pitcher in Double-A this year. In eight starts this year, Kay is second in the Eastern League in ERA while leading the league in complete games and shutouts. He’s second in the league in wins, fifth in the league in strikeouts, and third in WHIP. More than the numbers, he has been dominant.
We saw that again last night. In a complete game seven inning shutout (second game of a doubleheader), Kay allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out eight. In the game, only one batter would reach as far as second base, and Kay would retire 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.
https://twitter.com/yaschwa30/status/1128470343851610114
When you have a complete game shutout, there are a number of areas where you can draw your attention. When it comes to Kay and his development, the main focus from yesterday should be his issuing just one free pass. In his brief professional career, Kay has had control issues walking 3.5 per nine and 4.2 over his first six starts of the season.
Recently, Kay has had better command. In his last two starts, he has pitched seven innings and issued just one walk. He has gone from throwing strikes 60 percent of the time to throwing strikes 70 percent of the time. His pounding the strike zone has permitted him to befuddle hitters and go deeper into games. When he is pounding the strike zone like this, you really take note of his stuff.
The first thing which stands out is his curveball. According to Baseball America, it has an average spin rate of 3,000 RPM. That’s Seth Lugo territory. In addition to a high spin rate on his curveball, Kay has an excellent spin rate on his fastball. His fastball typically sits in the lower 90s, but he is able to ramp it up around 96 MPH. Combine that with a change-up with a 10 MPH difference than his fastball, and you have the makings of what could be a very good starting pitcher at the Major League level.
Before even discussing him at the Major League level, the Mets first need to see Kay in Syracuse. He needs to work with Mickey Abbott to further hone his delivery and control. The Mets need to see him against a higher level of competition to make a better evaluation of whether he is ready to pitch at the Major League level. Considering how Kay has been dominating in the Eastern League and the Mets not having a Triple-A pitcher they want to slot into their rotation, it would seem the time is now to send Kay to Syracuse.
Once Kay is in Syracuse, the Mets can get a much better read of how he performs against better competition, and they can better determine if he is going to be a part of the 2019 Mets pitching staff in some capacity. Considering the depth, the Mets should find this out sooner rather than later, which is why Kay’s next start should be in Syracuse.
Before the game, Mickey Callaway introduced us to the concept of catcher wins. While Mets fans and the collective baseball world rolled their eyes, Wilson Ramos would have his manager’s back.
Robinson Cano hit what should’ve been an inning ending double play in the first. Except it wasn’t because Gerardo Parra, who was playing out of position, dropped the ball and probably pulled his foot off the bag as well. The Mets would make the Nationals pay for the play (which is technically not an error), when Ramos hit a grand slam off Jeremy Hellickson:
When you go two days without baseball, why wait any longer for runs? pic.twitter.com/5r35prFfqS
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 14, 2019
That was more than enough run support for Noah Syndergaard who pitched well in Nationals Park for the first time in his career. That’s putting it lightly.
Syndergaard had a no-hitter through five off just 59 pitches. He’d sit on the bench for a lengthy sixth inning, one which featured a Brandon Nimmo RBI double off the left-handed Matt Grace, the Nationals would finally get to Syndergaard.
First, it was a Wilmer Difo leadoff single. Later, with two outs in the inning, Victor Robles hit a two run homer. Even with the homer, the Mets were up 5-2, and Syndergaard was in control.
Overall, Syndergaard pitched eight innings allowing two earned on four hits and one walk while striking out six.
The Mets would get an insurance run in the ninth when Dominic Smith hit a 3-0 pitch from Joe Ross out to dead center. It should be noted with the homer, it was no longer a save situation, and as we know there is the Diaz Dictate.
This meant Callaway would dry hump Edwin Diaz, and he would bring in Seth Lugo to pitch the ninth. Callaway made that decision despite Diaz being ready to go, and Wilmer Font likely giving the team a short start tomorrow. Hopefully, that won’t matter as Ramos looks to win his second in a row. If he does, the Mets will be back over .500.
Game Notes: Jed Lowrie has been shut down again, this time with a grade one hamstring strain, and he currently has no timetable for his return.
Much like the Mets were forced to make a decision with Adeiny Hechavarria when he exercised is opt out, the team is going to have to make a decision on Carlos Gomez on June 1st. That is the date Gomez can opt out of his deal and become a free agent.
With the way Gomez has been playing, he’s sure to opt out. Over his last 13 games, Gomez is hitting .373/.431/.686 with four doubles, four homers, and 15 RBI. One of the benefits of this being Syracuse and not Las Vegas is the results are more reliable. With this recent streak, you could see Gomez being the All Star caliber player who almost came back to the Mets in exchange for Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores.
The issue for Gomez is whether he can actually be that player at the Major League level.
Since that 2015 season, Gomez has been a .232/.312/.394 (90 wRC+) hitter. In the field, he has not been the Gold Glover he once was. Over the last three seasons, he has a -9 DRS in center over 1,594.1 innings. Still, Gomez did prove himself to be quite a capable outfielder. With him seeing more time in the corners, he had a 7 DRS over 825.2 innings for the Rays last year.
Looking at Gomez, this is a player who is a good corner outfielder who can fill-in capably in center. He has speed on the basepaths, and he still has some power in the bat. As a bench player, he could have real value.
There are some impediments there. Gomez has been an injury prone player landing on the disabled list in each of the past four years. In 77 career pinch hitting appearances, Gomez has hit .188/.240/.304. More than that, the Rays transitioned Gomez to more of a part-time role last year, and he struggled.
Still, when it comes to Gomez, the question is whether he is better suited to the bench right now than Keon Broxton. Looking at how Broxton has been playing, the answer is a definitive yes.
Broxton has been terrible so far this year. He has a 15 wRC+ partially fueled by a a 42.0 percent strike out rate and a complete absence of power. He has not been the fielder he was advertised to be posting a -1 DRS in 106.1 innings between all three outfield positions. That’s a far cry from his 13 DRS last year which was mostly fueled by an 11 DRS as a center fielder.
Ultimately, the question the Mets have before them is whether Broxton is broken beyond repair. After all, this is a player who had a 1.6 WAR as a bench player for the Brewers last year. As a pinch hitter, he has hit .216/.310/.541 in 42 plate appearances. According to Baseball Savant, Broxton is one of the fastest players in the game. If the Mets can get through to him and get him to turn things around, Broxton could well prove to be the outfield depth they envisioned him to be when they made the trade.
With Broxton being a year away from arbitration and still being under team control through the 2022 season, the Mets have every reason to make this work. There’s all the more incentive when you consider Juan Lagares is a pending free agent, and the Mets have no center field depth on the horizon. Looking at the offseaon, there isn’t going to be a center field free agent available.
So, right now, the Mets are invested in getting Broxton to be the player they believe him to be. However, at a certain point, that has to end. With the June 1 on the horizon, it seems like Broxton has two weeks. In those two weeks, he has to show the Mets something while simultaneously hoping Gomez cools off considerably.
If at the time things are status quo on June 1, the Mets need to make the switch. But as for right now, the Mets need to let this play out because in 17 days, the Mets are likely going to lose Broxton or Gomez, and if that is the case, they need to be 100 percent right in that decision.
When analyzing the Mets acquisition of Wilmer Font, it is important to start with who Font is before turning to what exactly the Mets parted with to obtain him. When it comes to Font, the Mets really obtained a duplicative asset who wasn’t of much, if any, value.
Font is a 29 year old reliever with a career 6.39 ERA, 1.493 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9, and a 7.7 K/9. He has a career -0.3 WAR He has never made more than 19 appearances or pitched more than 44.0 innings. Last year, he pitched for three teams. That’s the way it usually goes for players with tantalizing talent who cannot translate their success to the Major League level.
He certainly tantalized the Rays last year with a 1.67 ERA (with peripherals which screamed regression) in nine appearances for them last year. Of course, the real Font returned this year. In 10 appearances for the Rays, he had a 5.79 ERA with a 3.2 BB/9. With him being out of options, it would appear it was only a matter of time before Font was designated for assignment than being a trade asset.
As we know, the Mets would step in and make a trade for Font. Despite having Corey Oswalt and Chris Flexen, two pitchers with comparable stats to Font, the Mets made the trade for Font. Instead of signing Hector Santiago, and touting him as a former All Star, the Mets made a trade for Font. Instead of calling up Casey Coleman, a pitcher with better results at the Major League level in his career, and who was showing he was capable of being that three inning reliever Font truly is, the Mets swung a trade.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. The Mets were well within their rights to prefer Font over the pitchers they already had. Certainly, F0nt’s ability to be plugged in right away helped his case. While that may be the case, the point to remember here is Font is a bad Major League pitcher with no value whatsoever.
The Mets then traded an asset for Font. The asset was an 18 year old pitcher named Neraldo Catalina.
Now, not much is known about Catalina other than his age and the fact he signed for $150,000 out of the Dominican Republic. Yesterday, Mets Minors had a write up on him. Basically, Catalina is a power arm with a strong build who was going to debut stateside this year.
There are any number of potential outcomes with Catalina. He could be like any number of teenage pitchers who sign out of the Dominican Republic who don’t pan out to be anything. It’s certainly possible he could be nothing more than a footnote listed in the transaction portion of Font’s Baseball Reference page. He could also pan out to be like Jeurys Familia, who had signed for $100,000 out of the Dominican Republic back in 2007.
But that’s the thing, Catalina has the potential to be anything. He’s an asset, and it’s why the Mets used their bonus pool money to obtain him. After all, if the team didn’t think he was worth anything, they wouldn’t have given him anything.
It’s the same exact situation with Felix Valerio. Does anyone really know what the Mets had in Valerio? Probably not, but the problem is the Mets are included in that group of people. As reported by Fangraphs, the Mets don’t scout beneath full-season ball. This means players like Valerio, who played in the Dominican Summer League, aren’t scouted by the Mets. Considering short season affiliates have not yet started their seasons, the Mets supposedly revamped front office has not had the opportunity to self scout players like Valerio or Catalina.
To make matters worse, the Mets are trading players of whom they have little to no knowledge for players who are out of options and are on the brink of getting cut. It was Catalina for Font, and it was Valerio for Keon Broxton, who has been terrible. Yes, the Mets also gave up Bobby Wahl and Adam Hill in the Broxton deal, but that’s also the point. They included Valerio in a deal where Wahl and Hill should have been sufficient.
Should fans be up in arms over losing Catalina? Maybe. We honestly don’t know. He could be great,and he could be terrible. With him not pitching one inning in the Mets organization, no one can know anything for certain. But that’s also the point here. The Mets don’t know what they have in these players, and they are trading them anyway.
They’re doing it because they’ve become very short-sighted in their win-now mentality. That’s odd considering that mentality which does not extend to signing Craig Kimbrel or Dallas Keuchel or to guaranteeing a rotation spot to Gio Gonzalez over a terrible Jason Vargas. The Mets are also doing it because they’re playing the odds that even if Catalina does eventually succeed it will be so remote in time that no one is going to immediately link Catalina to Font or the Mets.
In the end, Catalina is a symptom of a problem. This trade is an example of the poor depth the Mets built this past offseason. It’s a further indication the team not only is unaware of the value of their assets, they also don’t understand the value of bottom of the roster players on the trade front. Mostly, it’s another sign of how the team is more than willing to do away with organizational depth and talent instead of actually spending the money which was required to build the team into the “Come get us!” team the Mets advertised themselves to be.
When a team disappoints, the manager will be on the hot seat. So far this year, the Mets are one game under .500, the organization had a meeting to discuss what was wrong with Mickey Callaway and to see if there are things the team can do to prevent a repeat of what happened last year. Considering how the team traded away all those prospects in a clear win-now move, it does not seem Callaway is going to stand on firm footing.
The question is whether Callaway should be on the hot seat. The Mets Bloggers offer their views:
Michael Baron
There’s no question about it. I never like to blame the roster or it’s issues on the manager, but the fact remains they have under-performed to this point in the season. The schedule has been rough, but that’s not an excuse for good teams. And the decision making in the dugout continues to be perplexing at its best, which only exacerbates the problems they have. I think there could be action taken if the Mets don’t come through what should be a lighter 16 games heading into Memorial Day over .500.
Tim Ryder (MMO)
Unfortunately, yes, I think he should be. His players appear to enjoy playing for him. But if the results aren’t there, despite his players’ support, he’s gonna have a hard time sticking around.
Joe Maracic (Joe Art Studio)
I never want to see someone lose their job but Mickey should be on the hot seat. Back to back seasons of starting strong then fading is not a good sign. He was a pitching coach and has been anything but creative handling the staff.
Mark Healey (Gotham Baseball)
Should he be? Yes, this team was built to get off to a fast start and should have, despite the injuries. I like Mickey, seems to be a good man who the players seem to like. But that sounds like how people described Terry Collins for the majority of his tenure. Will he be? Hard to tell. Brodie didn’t hire him, and Jeff Wilpon is reactive, so if the team starts creeping toward being 10 games under, a change will be made.
Here’s the rub for me; the heir apparent is Jim Riggleman, who is the living embodiment of a retread. Not much winning in his background, but a get along, go along persona that will fit right in with an organization that thinks scripting the lineup is the way to run the day-to-day. Think a more assertive, more veteran type of skipper is needed in New York, esp a team that has a perception of not being “all in” financially. A guy who can get more out of players, a guy who has the confidence to walk into his office, see a lineup on his desk, and choose to write up his own if he feels it will be a better one.
Metstradamus (Metstradamus Blog)
He will be, but he shouldn’t be. I think he should get the season and I think that’s probably going to be it for him. But this team started struggling when it stopped hitting. The players that stopped hitting were Brodie’s acquisitions. They may come out of it and when they do, everything will be fine again. Callaway hasn’t been the best, but we’re living in an age where front offices are taking more of a role in how a manager does his job and makes more decisions than ever. More of what makes a manager successful these days is having a good bench coach. So a manager does less and less, right? Then why now, when we look at fall guys, do we still look at the manager? And if Callaway goes, who replaces him long term, assuming Riggleman is the interim for the season? Is it going to be Joe Girardi or Buck Showalter or Wally Backman? Can you picture the Wilpons hiring a strong personality like that? Okay, so Callaway’s long term replacement is probably going to be somebody else just like Callaway. So my quesion is: what’s the point? Fire Callaway if you want. It won’t do much. This is the way we’re going in baseball now. GMs and team presidents are the stars of the show now. The only question is how long are they going to get away with using managers as scapegoats before people pull back the curtain and realize that front offices have most of the responsibility these days anyway?
Greg Prince (Faith and Fear in Flushing)
The hot seat is a terrible concept, but Mickey Callaway hasn’t been much of a manager.
James Schapiro (Shea Bridge Report)
To me, it seems like too many fans judge managers mostly based on whether or not they look like Lou Brown from “Major League.” I’ve seen a lot of people saying things like “Mickey has no fire” or “this team isn’t hungry enough,” or things like that, but I think the simple truth is that we hit a bunch of offensive skids (Robinson Cano, Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso, Wilson Ramos, Jeff McNeil to an extent, Todd Frazier, J.D. Davis, Brandon Nimmo) and not many teams could overcome that. To me, the manager barely matters at all, and in terms of actual managing, I’d say Mickey has been pretty much solid so far. If there was someone else who could make the team better, I’d say sure, go out and get them — but I don’t think the manager is where our problems are coming from right now, and our problem certainly isn’t some ridiculous 1950s-style intangible, like “not wanting it more,” that could be fixed if we just brought in a guy with a beer gut and a mustache who cursed a lot.
Greg Prince (Faith and Fear in Flushing)
Lou Brown was an analytics pioneer. Knew exactly how many wins the Tribe would need to take the division.
James Schapiro (Shea Bridge Report)
Oh, believe me…the moment the Mets call the California Penal League and sign a big arm with no control who doesn’t realize he needs glasses, Lou Brown is the guy you want.
Until then, though…
Mets Daddy
There are many and varied valid criticisms of Callaway. Personally, I find his willingness to just burn pinch hitters late in game to be a bizarre move, especially when the front office routinely gives him short benches. But when you look at it, this is the team the front office gave him.
There’s no amount of managing Callaway can do to make Cano younger, or to make players who are playing through injuries, like Nimmo, play better. Also, when a team buys into Chili Davis‘ offensive approach like the Mets seemingly have so far, you begin to realize this is more a problem of design than execution.
When looking at Callaway, you do see a team continuing to play hard, and you do see the team pitching well. These are two areas which could be attributable to Callaway. You also see a manager handling the bullpen much better than he did last year. Taking a long term view, the real strength of this team is the pitching, and it has been Callaway and Dave Eiland who has taken them to the next level.
What the Mets need to do before even considering putting Callaway on the hot seat for the inherent flaws in this roster, is they need to figure out who they can hire to keep Eiland around even if they fire Callaway. Short of Girardi, is there really anyone? Of course, the next step is to figure out why Girardi would make this team his last stop or how exactly the Mets plan to pay him.
No matter what the Mets decide with Callaway, this great group of fans and bloggers aren’t going anywhere. You should do yourself a favor and follow the links to their sites to read their great analysis of Callaway and all things Mets.
Nothing like the league worst Marlins to come into town to help the Mets offense get rolling:
1. Michael Conforto, not Derek Jeter, owns the Marlins. He proved that by going 5-for-6 with four runs, two walks, a HBP, two homers, and three RBI in the two game set.
2. For all the (deserved) talk of Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso, Conforto has been their best player. His 2.0 WAR is sixth in the league.
3. Batting Conforto fifth is plain stupid and reactionary, especially when he’s their best hitter. Same goes to batting Brandon Nimmo sixth.
4. Alonso’s numbers look good due to his first 12 games. Since that time, he’s batting .222/.316/.444. He’s increasingly becoming an all or nothing hitter, albeit one with the propensity for the big hit.
5. Nice to see the Mets wait too long before putting Steven Matz on the IL. It’s like for all of Brodie Van Wagenen’s boasting about things being different, nothing has changed with him in charge.
6. So, Jed Lowrie has gone from being activated on Friday to sitting out two out of the last four games, and the Mets having no timetable for his return.
7. Say what you want about Jason Bay, but at least he played for the Mets.
8. The Mets giving Mickey Callaway no information on Lowrie and then having him be the one answer questions about his status once again shows nothing has changed under Van Wagenen.
9. Mets determined Justin Wilson didn’t need a rehab stint, and now, after one appearance after coming off the IL, he’s going back on with the same injury.
10. Seeing how well things worked with Wilson, the Mets are using the same plan of action with Jeurys Familia.
11. You have to admire Van Wagenen’s refusal to learn and adapt on the job.
12. Injuries create opportunities, and we have seen Tyler Bashlor, Drew Gagnon, and Daniel Zamora take advantage of their opportunity thus far.
13. With Jacob deGrom having three straight good starts after coming off the IL, can we forever have fans stop clamoring for Devin Mesoraco?
14. If Tomas Nido starts hitting that’s a game changer. Over his last three, Nido 4-for-11 with a homer.
15. While it was overlooked, Nido had LASIK surgery in the offseason. It may take time to adjust, but if he’s seeing the ball better, he may begin to hit better.
16. One underrated thing Callaway did Saturday was running out Dominic Smith, Todd Frazier, and Juan Lagares for late inning defense. With Conforto in RF, that’s a great defensive lineup.
17. Amed Rosario went from a below average hitter over the first month to a 111 wRC+ so far in May. Seeing his offense progress this way, maybe there’s still hope for his glove to catch up.
18. Keon Broxton has been worse than terrible, and Carlos Gomez has been hot in Syracuse. That doesn’t erase the past few years, and Broxton should get a longer rope considering he’s out of options, has actually been a successful bench player, and has arguably been a better player over the past few years.
19. Mets going a perfect 5-for-5 for the Marlins is no small feat. It’s exactly what they need to do, and destroying bad teams is exactly how the 2015 Mets won the division.
20. Whoever came up with the new backpack policy is an idiot, and the Mets deserve to have decreased attendance for having implemented it.
While we all expect Jacob deGrom to receive little to no run support in his starts, this was the Marlins. When push comes to shove, you’d expect the Mets to give deGrom the run support he needed to get the win.
When opposing pitcher Sandy Alcantara doubled home a run in the third, you figured it would be the only run the Marlins got off deGrom. You’d be right too as deGrom allowed just one run over seven innings off five hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
The Mets finally broke through in the fourth when Michael Conforto singled home Robinson Cano. Still, entering the sixth, it was tied at one, and aside from that fourth inning, the Mets did little against Alcantara.
Then, Pete Alonso and Conforto would make sure deGrom would get his win:
https://twitter.com/mets/status/1127380015417524225?s=21
With respect to Conforto, the Marlins cannot get him out. After his going 3-for-3 yesterday with a HBP, walk, and homer yesterday, he was 2-for-3 with a walk and a homer tonight. Perhaps, he should be hitting higher than fifth, especially when you consider he’s probably the best hitter on the team.
Even with the two homers, Don Mattingly didn’t pull Alcantara. The Mets and deGrom would make him pay. After a Brandon Nimmo two our walk, Tomas Nido and deGrom hit back-to-back singles giving the Mets a 4-1 lead.
In the eighth, Mickey Callaway had some fun. He double switched Seth Lugo into the game putting him in a position to go two innings. He’d line up his defense as well with Dominic Smith, Todd Frazier, and Juan Lagares coming into the game. With the way Lugo pitched, it proved to be a superfluous move.
Even with the flexibility to go two innings with Lugo, with the Mets not adding an insurance run in the eighth, Callaway gave the ball to Edwin Diaz in the ninth.
Diaz got the first two outs quickly, but after Diaz issued a walk to Jorge Alfaro, Harold Ramirez hit an infield single bringing Jon Berti up as the tying run. He’d line out to Conforto to end the game, and suddenly, the Mets are in position to not just go for the sweep tomorrow but also get back to .500.
Game Notes: Before the game, Justin Wilson was put on the IL with elbow soreness, and Eric Hanhold was called up to take his spot in the bullpen. This is Wilson’s second IL stint due to his elbow.
Long story, short, the Mets first eight batters reached base safely off Pablo Lopez of the Marlins. The big blast was from Amed Rosario who hit an opposite field grand slam:
The best way to start a Friday night. ??? @Amed_Rosario pic.twitter.com/RZudZsLpiS
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 10, 2019
By the time the first inning was over, it was 8-0 Mets, which essentially meant it was game over. Really, the Mets abused Lopez. The young pitcher allowed 10 earned over two innings.
Aside from Rosario’s blast, Wilson Ramos and Robinson Cano hit first inning RBI singles, and Brandon Nimmo walked to force home a run. In the second, Michael Conforto hit a homer making it 9-0.
Conforto crush job. ? pic.twitter.com/W0bmgxJaSP
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 10, 2019
Conforto snapped an 0-for-12 streak heading into the game. He would not make an out going 3-for-3 with a walk, HBP, three runs, and the aforementioned homer.
Later in the game, Jeff McNeil hit a homer of his own, and Nimmo had an RBI single giving the Mets an 11-2 lead.
What was noteworthy about one of the Marlins two runs was Neil Walker drove home Curtis Granderson home in the second. It was certainly an off sight to see for Mets fans.
That rally was the only time the Marlins got to Zack Wheeler. He’d go seven allowing just two runs on nine hits with one walk and 11 strikeouts.
Every Mets starter, including Wheeler, reached base safely. Pete Alonso was the only Mets starter without a hit, and he’d still walk twice and score a run.
Overall, a Mets team scuffling and incapable of scoring runs got real healthy against a terrible Marlins team. This is what the Mets are going to have to continue to do to not just get to .500, but also make headway in the division.
Game Notes: This was the first time since 1989 the Mets first eight batters reached in a game. Dominic Smith was called up to replace Steven Matz, who was placed on the IL.