After last night’s Mets game, I flipped to MLB Network to watch some West Coast baseball. As it was the most important baseball game being played at the moment, the end of the Angels-White Sox game was being aired. MLB Network did a tremendous job of a split screen between the game and the Twins clubhouse. As Nick Delmonico hit a walk off home run, the Twins clubhouse erupted:
#WereGonna Postseason! pic.twitter.com/gddtiMthqb
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 28, 2017
It was not too long ago we saw the Mets clubhouse that exuberant. It’s always exciting to see, and there are more than one or two humorous moments. Who can forget Jay Bruce wandering around the Mets clubhouse last year after the team clinched a Wild Card spot:
But it’s not just the funny moments like this. It’s the moments of pure joy you see from the players. Typically, you see them with the older players who either thought they were never going to get to this point, or they were never going to get there again. For the Twins that was Joe Mauer.
The player who grew up a Twins fan became a great Twin. More than that, Mauer was on a Hall of Fame path. The 2009 AL MVP had made six All Star teams, won five Silver Sluggers, and three Gold Gloves.
Even with the Twins having budgetary issues, they were able to find money to sign the fan favorite to a contract extension. Not too long after that, the injuries started piling up. Specifically with Mauer, it was concussions. The concussions forced him out behind the plate. More than that, it led to questions over whether he could be the same player. Moreover, many said Mauer’s contract and status with the team was holding them back.
With the Twins turnaround, the first person on that team you felt happy for was Mauer. He certainly looked thrilled during the interview. For a moment, I was happy for him.
I then began to become a bit melancholy. Seeing Mauer’s joy reminded me of David Wright during the 2015 postseason run. At the time, whether we wanted to admit it or not, it looked like the it was going to be his last chance to win with the Mets. With the way things have progressed, that increasingly becomes the case.
It is a shame because for a while Wright and Mauer had parallel careers. Wright was playing for the team he rooted for as a child. He was the MVP caliber player that chose to stay with the franchise who drafted him rather than testing the free agent waters and cashing in. That contract is similarly seen as an albatross. And yet, he’s still a beloved player.
We’ll never know if Wright will get another opportunity much in the way Mauer got his. Hopefully, Mauer will not only have a long run this offseason, but he will get another chance in the future years. Hopefully, his loyalty to the Twins is rewarded with a World Series. We should all hope that for Mauer.
We also hope that for Wright, but unfortunately, it seems less likely he will get the chance Mauer seems to have in front of him.
In what is likely Terry Collins last game as the Mets manager at Citi Field, he went out the way he would’ve wanted to go out. No, not batting Jose Reyes lead-off while sitting Dominic Smith and Michael Conforto against the left-handed Braves starter Sean Newcomb. Although, we can be sure he was happy to do that. No, Collins went out a winner.
The main reason the Mets won this game was Robert Gsellman.
Gsellman would allow just one run over six innings while allowing six hits. That sole run came off an Ozzie Albies two out RBI single in the third. That wouldn’t be the Braves last threat.
In the fifth, the Braves loaded the bases with two outs with Mets killer Freddie Freeman striding to the plate. Gsellman would get out of the jam striking out Freeman: one of his four on the night.
Gsellman would depart in the sixth due to the bat of Travis d’Arnaud. d’Arnaud would have all three Mets RBI on the night.
In the fourth, he tied the game off a Dansby Swanson error scoring Juan Lagares. d’Arnaud was back abusing Swanson again in the fifth.
Gsellman led off the fifth with a walk, and Reyes followed with a single. After a Lagares strikeout, an Asdrubal Cabrera groundout moved Gsellman and Reyes to second and third for d’Arnaud, who delivered a two RBI single under the diving Swanson for a 3-1 lead.
The game would stay tight until the seventh when the Mets would blow the doors open with the help of a Freeman error.
First baseman Kevin Plawecki got the rally started with a two out walk against Jim Johnson. The inning would continue after Freeman couldn’t come up with a Brandon Nimmo tough grounder.
That error proved costly as Smith would snap out of a 3-35 streak with a three run homer into the Coke Den.
.@TheRealSmith22's 3-run homer highlights the 4 run 7th. ?
7-1 #Mets pic.twitter.com/3n1ZobUdma
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 28, 2017
Surprisingly, the rally would continue. Matt Reynolds singled, and Nori Aoki walked chasing Johnson. The Braves substituted Ian Krol for Johnson. In what may prove to be Reyes’ last at-bat at Citi Field in a Mets uniform, he doubled home Reynolds and Aoki giving the Mets a 7-1 lead.
Jamie Callahan, Chasen Bradford, and Paul Sewald combined to pitch the final three scoreless innings preserving the 7-1 win.
This game closed a chapter in the legacy of Collins and perhaps Reyes. It’s very likely neither one of them will be Mets next year. For Collins part, he deserved to go out this way.
Through it all, he gave his all to the Mets and treated Mets fans better than any other Mets manager. Whoever takes over for him will have big shoes to fill on that front.
Game Notes: Today was the 28th Anniversary of Keith Hernandez‘s and Gary Carter‘s last home game as a Met.
When Sandy Alderson took over as General Manager of the New York Mets, he would hire Terry Collins as manager. Seven years later, Collins remains as the Mets manager.
It’s been quite the ride for Collins and the Mets. Whenever he officially leaves, he leaves as the longest tenured Mets manager. It should come as little surprise that he’d have the most wins and losses in Mets history.
During his tenure, he joined Davey Johnson and Bobby Valentine as the only Mets managers to go to two different postseasons. Like Valentine, he would go to consecutive postseasons.
Clearly, the highlight of his tenure was leading the Mets to the 2015 World Series.
It was a challenging season where he had to handle a number of injuries and a roster with many AAAA players. Collins kept things together long enough for those players to get healthy, and for Sandy to go get reinforcements.
While there were many heroes during that 2015 season, Collins role keeping things together should never be overlooked. He was a big part of that team, and he deserved to enjoy that ride. Enjoy it, he did:
Amazing video of Terry Collins spraying the Mets fans at Wrigley with champagne! @SNYtv pic.twitter.com/W9FYWGbPjR
— Matt Dunn (@MattDunnSNY) October 22, 2015
He celebrated each step of the way to the World Series with the fans. That’s one area where Collins truly excelled. He was good to the fans.
He would take his time to write a letter to a grieving widow to offer his condolences. He stopped practice, gathered his team, and organized a photo with a boy who recently underwent heart transplant surgery. Certainly, Collins has shown himself to be a good person who loves the fans.
Love or hate him, each Mets fan owes him a debt of gratitude. They owe him for the recent good times and for how he’s treated them.
With this rumored to be his last homestand of his Mets managerial career, now would have been a good time. There could have been “TER-RY!” or “THANK YOU COLLINS!” chants throughout Citi Field. As fans, that’s how you express gratitude.
Except we’re not entirely sure he’s gone. He’s already saying he wants to remain in baseball not just next year, but the subsequent year. With these overtures, and with us knowing how the Wilpons once interceded when Alderson previously wanted to fire Collins, it’s not completely clear he’s definitively gone.
That’s true even with the Mets leaking a number of names which they will consider to replace Collins.
As is the nature with fans, they don’t want to do a send-off unless there is a reason to do it. We still don’t know if he’s definitively gone. Accordingly, the fans have been subdued when cheering anyone or anything at the park.
Overall, Collins has done all the Mets have asked him to do. With that being the case, the team had an obligation to be upfront and inform him of their decision. In turn, this would let him know the fans appreciated him.
Except the Mets won’t do that leaving the 68 year old manager to wait a decade or so to get those cheers he should have been receiving this homestand. For some odd reason, they have either not made up their minds, or they don’t want Collins to receive the attention he’s due.
With Collins future in limbo, the fans who do attend tonight’s game should let him know how much we all appreciate him. Serenade him much in the same way Wilmer Flores was by the fans after the trade fell through. Regardless of what you ghithhg of him as a manager, let him know that through it all, we appreciated him.
Almost five years ago to the day, R.A. Dickey took the mound for the Mets, and he earned his 20th win of the season all but locking up his highly improbable Cy Young Award.
While Dickey hasn’t been anywhere near that good since the 2012 season, he looked like that pitcher once again tonight. He controlled his knuckleball extremely well not walking anyone. He kept the Mets honest by throwing his fastball just enough.
Through six, the Mets accumulated just two hits – a second inning double by Brandon Nimmo and a third inning Travis Taijeron single. They didn’t amount to anything.
Really, the Mets didn’t seem like they were going to touch Dickey until Kevin Plawecki hit what seemed to be the first mistake Dickey made all night for a two run homer. The homer pulled the Mets to within 3-2 making the game a bit more perilous for Dickey than originally anticipated when the inning began.
It would be a two out Amed Rosario triple that finally chased Dickey from the game. With Dickey having been a beloved Met during his tenure, he received a well earned ovation as he entered the dugout.
Great job out there tonight @RADickey43! ?? pic.twitter.com/wIjAEJL8yU
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 27, 2017
Dan Winkler struck out Taijeron to end the jam preserving the 3-2 lead.
The Braves were up 3-2 because they got to Rafael Montero early.
A pair of first inning doubles from Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis gave the Braves a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Montero got himself out trouble by issuing a lead-off walk to Dansby Swanson. He scored on a Jace Peterson double, and Peterson scored on an Ozzie Albies RBI single. It was be enough to ensure Montero would finish the year with an ERA over 5.00.
On the season, Montero finished 5-11 with a 5.26 ERA. Keep in mind, this is what was deemed to be a resurgent year for Montero where the Mets think he could realistically be a contributor next year.
While the three runs were enough to ding Montero, it would not prove enough to give Dickey a win partially because Sam Freeman was snake bit.
The first issue was his issuing a one out walk to Nori Aoki. Johan Camargo would then throw the ball away on a Jose Reyes grounder setting up second and third with one out.
Asdrubal Cabrera then ripped a line drive that should have give the Mets the lead. It would only be a game tying sacrifice fly because Inciarte did it against the Mets again:
After a scoreless ninth from Jeurys Familia, the Mets would have a chance to walk it off. It was going to be difficult against A.J. Minter who has had a terrific rookie season.
The Mets would give the rookie his first loss of his career.
The game winning rally started with a Plawecki single, and Juan Lagares pinch ran for him. Terry Collins then uncharacteristically allowed Dominic Smith to face a left-handed pitcher. The decision was all the more surprising when you consider the Mets had a bench full of right-handed batters.
Smith rewarded Collins’ faith when he drew the first walk Minter has issued in his brief career. Not just a walk to a left-handed batter. First walk.
After Rosario failed to lay down the sacrifice bunt, Taijeron delivered with a single to left giving him the first walk-off hit of his Major League career.
Five years later, Dickey was great, and the Mets won the game. If this was really the end of his career, it was a fitting end for a pitcher that really helped turn the Mets around.
Game Notes: AJ Ramos has been unavailable with a bicep issue, and he may be done for the season.
With the Mets moving on from Terry Collins, the Mets will begin their managerial search, and according to reports, the Mets will consider Robin Ventura. Certainly, there is a reason why Mets fans would be pleased with the decision:
Ventura was a fan favorite, who was part of the greatest defensive infield of all time. There is a certain level of buzz and excitement his hiring would create with fans. However, that is not the sole basis to hire a manager. Thankfully, we know the current front office will not be swayed as such. Otherwise, Wally Backman would have been hired as the manager in 2010.
Therefore, we know the Mets will only hire Ventura only if he’s the right manager for the job. The question is whether hiring him would be a grand slam or a single.
On the one hand, Ventura once finished third in the 2012 American League Manager of the Year voting. That season, Ventura’s White Sox surprised many with an 85-77 record. One of the reasons why that team was so successful was because Ventura effectively managed Chris Sale‘s first season as a starter. Sale wasn’t his only young pitcher. He also managed Jose Quintana and old friend Addison Reed in their rookie seasons.
While those pitchers may not have reached their full potential immediately, they had a solid foundation from Ventura’s years as their manager. Now, much credit there goes to Pitching Coach Don Cooper, Ventura was still the manager, and he deserves a portion of the credit.
One of the reasons why he deserves credit is because Ventura actually rated well in bullpen management using the stat Bullpen Management Above Random (BMAR). Without getting into the nitty-gritty, the stat “assess[es] how closely each manager lined up his best relievers with his team’s highest-leverage relief opportunities.” (Grantland). Among active managers, Ventura would rank fifth in voting.
Certainly, the Mets could use a manager who works well with pitchers and handles a pitching staff well. That goes double when you consider the Mets will have to handle all the injured pitchers coming back next year and the development of Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith.
The rest of Ventura’s stint as White Sox manager was a bit of a mixed bag. While he effectively managed they young pitchers, Adam Eaton, and Jose Abreu when he came to the United States, he never quite developed either Alexei Ramirez or Gordon Beckham.
After that surprising first season as the White Sox manager, Ventura’s teams failed to contend, or for that matter, finish over .500. What was troubling there was the White Sox heavily invested in their 2015 and 2016 teams. Whether it was Ventura or the mix of players brought to the White Sox remains to be seen.
That 2016 season was a difficult one for the White Sox. Kenny Williams had instructed Adam LaRoche he couldn’t bring his son to the clubhouse as frequently leaving the player to retire leaving behind angry players. This was just the first incident. While he didn’t lose the clubhouse then, he might have later in the season.
Later, Sale would infamously cut up all of the throwback jerseys because they were uncomfortable. Upon learning of Sale’s actions, Ventura would scratch him, and the team would suspend him. This led to a Sale tirade with him attacking Ventura saying, “”Robin is the one who has to fight for us in that department. If the players don’t feel comfortable 100 percent about what we are doing to win the game, and we have an easy fix — it was as easy as hanging up another jersey and everyone was fine. For them to put business first over winning, that’s when I lost it.” (MLB.com).
Overall, when looking at Ventura’s tenure as the White Sox manager, it’s a mixed bag. He’s been able to develop some players while not getting through to others. He’s largely kept control of his clubhouse, but in the end, he eventually lost his star player. Of course, this happens to even the best managers, and it’s easy to over-analyze the final days of his White Sox tenure.
The one thing we do know is Ventura always handled himself well with the media throughout these issues. It is not too dissimilar for how well he handled himself as a player while with the Mets and the Yankees. Considering he played with the Mets in difficult times (9/11, decline as a player, team under-performing), it is easy to believe he could handle the press well as a Mets manager.
Taking everything into consideration, Ventura merits consideration and an interview for the Mets managerial opening. If the Mets wind up hiring him, they will have a manager whose strengths might just coincide with what the team needs. If he’s better for his experience with the White Sox all together. In the end, Ventura would be a fine choice as manager.
The Mets played two ends of a doubleheader against the Braves with vastly different results.
When you look at the lineup on the first game, you can immediately guess which game they won and which one they lost:
- Nori Aoki
- Jose Reyes
- Brandon Nimmo
- Phillip Evans
- Dominic Smith
- Amed Rosario
- Juan Lagares
- Tomas Nido
- Chris Flexen
For his part, Flexen fought the good fight pitching five good innings allowing just one earned run. Then the sixth inning happened.
Flexen would load the bases to start the inning including his issuing back-to-back walks to Ender Inciarte and Ozzie Albies.
Josh Smoker would relieve Flexen, and he would allow all three inherited runners to score. The highlight (lowlight?) was Mets killer Freddie Freeman hitting a two run double.
With the lineup the Mets had, this game was all but over. The base running certainly didn’t help that Tyler Flowers threw out Lagares and Reyes trying to steal a base.
The Braves would score runs in each of the final four innings in the 9-2 blowout. The only Mets runs came off a Nido two run seventh inning double; his first career extra base hit.
Things would go much better in the second game of the double header because Seth Lugo was great.
Lugo pitched six scoreless innings allowing just two hits while walking none. He kept the Braves off balance striking out seven.
He’d get all the run support he needed from Travis d’Arnaud who had another big night in what has been a big month for him.
In the third, after Asdrubal Cabrera had an RBI groundout scoring Nimmo, d’Arnaud doubled home Lagares. The Mets 2-0 lead would become a 3-0 lead with a d’Arnaud eighth inning homer.
It should be noted d’Arnaud was not the only Mets with a big game. Nimmo, who finally hit lead-off, was 3-4 with a run and a double. Matt Reynolds got the start at SS, and he was 2-4 with a double.
The Mets needed all the room they could get because Jeurys Familia had an adventure in his second save opportunity since coming off the disabled list.
After a Kurt Suzuki lead-off single, Familia made an error on a Freeman grounder to set up first and second with no outs.
After a Jace Peterson RBI single and Matt Kemp RBI groundout, it was a 3-2 game with Peterson in scoring position.
Familia then bore down, and he got Flowers to ground out to end the game.
Between the two games, the Mets scored five runs. The runs were sufficient in the second half because the Mets had good pitching. That was a reason why the team was good in 2015 and 2016. For at least one night, you were reminded of those days.
Of course, with them getting annihilated in the first half of the doubleheader, you were reminded why the Mets are terrible this year.
Game Notes: Kevin Plawecki started at first base in the second game. With the Mets losing the first game of the doubleheader, they have officially gone the 2017 season without sweeping an opponent at home.
If you’ve been a Mets fan long enough, you’ll remember one of the issues with the Mets obtaining Carlos Delgado was his refusal to stand for “God Bless America.” There were a number of reasons why from the United States use of the Vieques for bombing runs to the the war in Iraq. As a Puerto Rican, and as a man, Delgado felt compelled to sit out the singing of “God Bless America.”
With 9/11 still so raw for many New Yorkers, and “God Bless America” being a de facto anthem adopted in the ensuing days, this was a sore point for some Mets fans. However, it never became an issue because the Mets had a policy their players were to stand for “God Bless America,” and Delgado complied with the policy.
As Delgado put it, “The Mets have a policy that everybody should stand for ‘God Bless America’ and I will be there. I will not cause any distractions to the ballclub…. Just call me Employee Number 21.” (The Nation).
From that point forward, Delgado would go on to become one of the most beloved Mets to ever wear the uniform. It wasn’t just his home run hitting ability. It was the fact he was an actual human being that was fun to root for. In that first season with the Mets he won the Roberto Clemente Award for his work in helping children’s hospitals.
Reflecting on his time in New York, you wonder what impact his sitting out “God Bless America” would have had on his legacy as a Met and as a ballplayer. We don’t know because he wasn’t given that opportunity.
I was reminded of the Delgado situation when Terry Collins spoke about how his entire team stood for the National Anthem before the Mets game yesterday:
I’ve got to tell you, I’m not a big political guy, not by any stretch of the imagination. But I respect — I have been blessed enough to travel the world — and I respect our country immensely. We do have rights here, which other places don’t. I respect that, also.
But I’m proud of my guys that they go line up every night, stand and face the flag. Everybody’s allowed to have their own thoughts and certainly I don’t criticize anybody, I don’t do that stuff. But I’m happy that our guys do what they do.
Given the history with the Mets and Delgado, you have to wonder if the Mets players stand for the National Anthem out of national pride, a sense of civic duty, or because they were ordered by the team.
This is normally something we would not have to ponder, but this has become something more and more players have done across the sports world. It first came to baseball with Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell becoming the first Major League player to kneel for the anthem. It became an issue with some tweets from President Trump over the weekend:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/911654184918880260
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/911655987857281024
Reading those tweets, you knew it was going to cause people to react. Many teams and players operated in many different ways. Some knelt. Others stood and locked arms. Then there was the Pittsburgh Steelers who ordered their players to stay in the locker room. All but one player would heed the order:
Former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva stood outside the tunnel alone during the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/6KOZzSJj6q
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 24, 2017
Former Army Ranger and Iraq War veteran Alejandro Villanueva was the lone Steeler to take the field during the National Anthem. In many circles, the man was lauded. Really, you’d be hard-pressed to find any detractors for his action, but there was a significant one – his head coach.
Mike Tomlin set forth a direct order to his players, and Villanueva disregarded the order, and instead chose to stand for the National Anthem. Where many people saw a hero, Tomlin saw a disobedient player.
And you know what? Tomlin is as right for telling Villanueva to not stand as the Wilpons were in telling Delgado not to sit.
Delgado was a member of the Mets, and Villanueva is a member of the Steelers. When they take the field, they represent not just themselves, but an entire organization. Just like you or I when we go to work, we have to listen to our employers when it comes to voicing our politics or protest. We may not to like it, but ultimately, if we choose to be employed, we have to adhere to the guidelines set forth. It’s a fact of life.
As for their specific actions? Well, honestly, that is for each and every single one of us to decide.
Personally, I don’t like it when I see players kneel. I’ve had relatives fight for this country, and I’ve actually had friends die defending this country. I have family who are police officers who rushed down to Ground Zero when 9/11 happened. While standing and removing my cap was something that was once rote for me, something instilled in my by my father, it is actually now a conscious decision.
At the same time, I refuse to condemn those who kneel . . . at least not until hearing them out.
If you’re Delgado, and you grew up with the United States effectively destroying part of your beloved Puerto Rico, you are sure to have a different reaction to the National Anthem and God Bless American than I will. Same goes for some of the players who have chosen to take a knee during the National Anthem.
Personally, I want to hear from everyone who kneels why they are doing it. More than that, I want to know how they choose to be a part of the solution. You’re kneeling to get our attention, and you have it. Frankly, it’s not enough. You need to actually do something with it. You need to let us know why, and what we all can do to try to help you or the people you care enough about to kneel.
Even if these players don’t know exactly why they’re kneeling or what is a real solution, I will still defend their right to kneel. It’s an exercise of the First Amendment. If you are of the belief, kneeling disrespects our military and our democratic institutions, you’re wanting to take away an exercise of the First Amendment is equally as a disrespectful . . . perhaps more so.
In the end, instead of the useless shouting back and forth, it’s time for an honest discussion to take place.
That discussion is not for this space. As was always my goal, this blog was always intended to discuss the Mets and raising little Mets fans. For the most part, politics really plays no part here. However, this is a time where sports and politics are converging instead of diverging. When you have Mets figures like Collins offering statements on the matter, the issue certainly comes within the purview of any Mets related website. Accordingly, I figured it was long since time I offered by thoughts on the matter. It is my sincerest intention this will be the last.
Tomorrow, I will get back to the Mets and explaining how the team is mismanaging it’s development of Brandon Nimmo, Dominic Smith, and Amed Rosario. We can all get back to discussing how to handle David Wright. Mostly, we can all focus on how to fix this team so they can get back to the team that was in the World Series instead of an injured and broken down team fighting for a top five draft pick.
Yesterday, the Mets sold us own Noah Syndergaard making his first start since April followed by a “relief appearance” by Matt Harvey. T0day, the selling point was to see Jacob deGrom try to get t0 200 innings for the first time in his career and to see him get his 16th win of the year.
While the Mets largely disappointed, deGrom didn’t. Despite experiencing flu like symptoms, not too long after Amed Rosario had to be hospitalized, deGrom took the mound and gave his team every chance to win. However, deGrom would not get that win.
Part it was his giving up a two run homer to Trea Turner turning a 1-0 lead into a 2-0 deficit. Another part was his teammates really let him down today. To that end, it was not much different than most deGrom starts this year.
Things were really bad in the fifth. Michael Taylor led off the inning with an infield single to third that Phillip Evans couldn’t quite make a play on. Taylor then attempted a steal of second base, and he found himself on third after Travis d’Arnaud threw the ball into center field. A Jose Lobaton RBI single later, and the Nationals had an insurmountable 3-1 lead.
It was insurmountable because the Nationals had Max Scherzer going. As such deGrom’s final line of six innings, five hits, three runs, two earned, no walks, and 11 strikeouts wouldn’t be good enough for that win.
Really, after a Brandon Nimmo first inning home run, the Mets offense couldn’t get anything going. More than that, this offense was inept. This was apparent in the seventh when Victor Robles caught a Rosario liner in right and picked Evans off first.
https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/912051685534654466
The play helped kill what could have been a game tying rally. That play was even more magnified in the eighth.
With three straight singles, the Mets pulled within 3-2 with one out.
After a Nimmo strikeout and a d’Arnaud walk, the bases were loaded for Dominic Smith. It was a big moment for a big Mets prospect. The only problem is the Mets manager is still Terry Collins, a manager who has shown zero interest in developing these young Mets players.
When Dusty Baker brought in the left-handed Sammy Solis to fave him. In terms of developing Smith, you couldn’t as for a better situation. Instead, Collins went with Kevin Plawecki.
Plawecki got ahead 3-1 in the count, but Solis would get back in the count and strike him out.
That ended the Mets last chance to beat the Nationals. Not just today, but the season.
Game Notes: Nimmo has struck out in 14 straight games.
Since Citi Field opened, I’ve been to a countless number of games. It’s fewer than the games I’ve attended at Shea, but still I’ve attended many games at Citi. Tonight, I made the conscious decision to enjoy the park.
Honestly, I made that decision based for two different reasons. The first was the lineup was Nori Aoki–Jose Reyes–Asdrubal Cabrera. Once again, that lineup signals the Mets have completely lost focus on their primary objective, which is to develop and find out about their young players.
The second was when I entered Citi Field with my son, and he was interviewed by SNY:
From, there it was the usual pre-game routine with him. First, it was the baseball:
Then, it was a visit with Mr. & Mrs. Met
After that, I made it to the starts because I wasn’t going to miss Noah Syndergaard‘s first “start” off the Disabled List.
It was a glorious return with him hitting 99 MPH on the gun while facing the minimum. Once Daniel Murphy grounded into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play, Syndergaard’s night was over.
He looked great, and he left the game without issue. It was certainly a highlight.
From there, the Mets went to Matt Harvey. It was Harvey’s first career relief appearance even if he was really the scheduled starter.
In Harvey’s first inning of work, he looked like the Harvey of old. The velocity was there. The slider was moving. It was great to watch, but knowing how he’s pitched this year, I knew it was fleeting, so it was time to re-embark and walk around the ballpark starting with the dunk tank
Going across the Shea Bridge, right above the Home Run Apple’s old location, I spotted something new
Of course, that made him want a snack, so we continued our tour around the ballpark.
Before grabbing his snack, we settled on popcorn in a helmet.
By the way, I’ve found the helmets with the popcorn and nachos to be the best bang for the buck. They’re full of
After watching a few innings, we ventured back out because he wanted an Amed Rosario shirsey. Even though Yoenis Cespedes is his favorite player, he reminded me he already has a Cespedes shirt. Because I was swept up in the moment, and I had a coupon, I got swept up in the moment
Rosario shirsey in tow, my son not only wanted to play baseball again, but he was feeling a bit cocky:
By the way, I really appreciate the giant screen in CF that lets parents run around with their kids and still watch the game. By far, this is the most underrated part of Citi Field.
We were in our seats for the next few innings including the seventh inning stretch. With all the running around and with it being well past my son’s bedtime, he only made it through the ninth.
He was drifting, and I thought it cruel to have him awoken by fireworks. As I entered the car, I did hear the fireworks start. Unfortunately, it was in the form of a Murphy 10 inning game winning off Jacob Rhame.
Overall, I really appreciated going around the park with my son. Citi Field really is a great place to take a kid to a game. It would be even better with a better team or with an organization that cared about developing their young players in times like these.
Since Brandon Nimmo was called-up on July 30th and became an everyday player, he has shown patience and a good eye at the plate. In fact, he has led all Mets players in walks (25), and he is second on the team in OBP (.392). These are the numbers you would like in a lead-off hitter, especially one that was a successful lead-off hitter in Triple-A.
However, the Mets don’t want Nimmo as their lead-off hitter right now. They would rather have Nori Aoki hit lead-off. For that matter, they would rather have Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera hit behind him. Surprisingly, the Mets have no room for Nimmo in the top half of their lineup.
Instead, they would have Aoki lead-off. Now, it’s quite understandable why the Mets would play Aoki. There’s really no third Major League caliber otufielder on the team, and the Mets want to get a closer look at him with the team having a possible opening for a fourth or fifth outfielder on the 2018 roster. Still, that does not mean he should be hitting lead-off.
We already know what he is as a lead-off hitter. He has been fine in that role hitting .286/.354/.388 in his six year career. He’s been successful enough in that role that he has played a vast majority of his games as a lead-off hitter. Overall, it’s been well established he is a capable lead-off hitter.
The same cannot be said for Nimmo. While we know he’s a great lead-off hitter in Triple-A, we don’t know that he is in the majors. Sure, September is a small sample size, but it is still an opportunity. It’s a wasted opportunity with the way the Mets are wasting. It should be a surprise to no one as the team has wasted most of this season.