The Mets have had a number of players serve as admirable replacements and stop gaps to help lead the Mets charge back to the postseason.
Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have replaced the injured Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz in the Mets rotation, and they have combined to go 6-3 with a 2.64 ERA and a WHIP in nine starts and 10 relief appearances. James Loney had a terrific first half to help cushion the blow of the loss of Lucas Duda. Wilmer Flores and Kelly Johnson have helped to replicate the offensive production of Neil Walker who is done for the season after having season ending back surgery. After Flores went down with a neck injury, T.J. Rivera had the game of his life. When Juan Lagares needed surgery to repair a torn ligament in this thumb and Yoenis Cespedes found himself unable to play center field with his injured quad, Curtis Granderson began playing center field and hitting again. Same goes for Alejandro De Aza. For the very few games Justin Ruggiano played, he mashed left-handed pitching.
However, while each of these players have done a better than expected job, there is no doubt the Mets would be better off with their regulars. Fortunately, the reinforcements are on their way with Lagares being activated off the disabled list.
With the minor league seasons having been over for about a week, Lagares has not had the benefit of being able to face live pitching. That shouldn’t matter much as Lagares’ true value has always been as a center fielder. This season the 2014 Gold Glover has returned to form with a 4.5 UZR and a 7 DRS in 59 games this season. This will allow the Mets to put out their best defensive alignment of Cespedes in left, Lagares in center, and Granderson in right late in games.
This was the alignment the Mets used effectively in the stretch run last season and in their run to the World Series. Speaking of which, Lagares was a tremendous contributor to the Mets postseason run last year. Lagares appeared in 13 postseason games last year playing a Gold Glove caliber center field while hitting .348/.375/.435 with two stolen bases. If Lagares is again able to play and raise his game again, the Mets chances of returning to the World Series will greatly improved.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Duda will be activated later today, and at a minimum, he will be available to pinch hit. On Sunday, deGrom will return to the rotation. He will start to work his way back as he’s limited to 75 pitches. Finally, Matz has been throwing off a mound.
The reinforcements are coming, and with them the Mets chances of winning a World Series has vastly improved.
The Mets are where they are in the season because Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia. The tandem have managed to hold the lead in all but seven games in which they have been entrusted with the lead. They do it despite being used game after game after game. As it stands right now, Reed ranks third in appearances with 71, and Familia ranks fifth with 70. Terry Collins keeps sending them out there to face the stampede:
As it is the nature of the position, Familia is the one that gets the glory. He is the one setting save records this season, and the is the one that gets to stand on the mound celebrating when the Met win a game. However, most of the time, he only gets the save opportunity due to Reed “holding” the lead before the ninth.
So far this season, Reed has 36 holds which is far and away the most in the major leagues. It should come as no surprise due to the frequency in which he has been used and because of how great he has been. In Reed’s 71 appearances, he has gone 4-2 with a 1.82 ERA, a 0.947 WHIP, and a 10.3 K/9. With these numbers, Reed has accumulated a 2.9 WAR, which ranks only behind Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Yoenis Cespedes this season. It’s astounding when you think about it. Reed has had a greater impact in 69.2 innings than most of the Mets have made having played in many more innings.
Overall, Reed has statistically been the best reliever in the Mets bullpen this year. When he combines with Familia, they protect almost each and every lead. While people complain about how inane the save rule is and how made up the hold is, fact is the Mets have made every game a seven inning game. Reed is a large part of that.
No matter it is who steps in the batter’s box, so long as that player is wearing a Mets uniform, you are going to root for that player. At times, that can be tough as we have seen with Bobby Bonilla, Vince Coleman, Bret Saberhagen, and many other Mets past and present. These experiences make you relish the opportunity to root for a good player and an even better person like Curtis Granderson.
For the second straight season, Granderson was nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award for his being a “player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” (MLB.com). Major League Baseball announced Granderson was nominated for being:
One of the sport’s greatest ambassadors on and off the field, he makes a major difference for inner-city kids with his Grand Kids Foundation, backs many other causes and donated $5 million to his alma mater at the University of Illinois-Chicago to help create a new baseball complex.
The Grand Kids Foundation runs youth baseball programs in Florida (site of the Mets Spring Training), Chicago (his hometown), Detroit (his first major league team) and New York. Granderson doesn’t forget anyone or any place. In his career, Granderson has used the wealth he has accumulated due to his tremendous baseball talent, and he has helped children who are less fortunate than him. Recently, Granderson posted an example of the fun and learning that happens in his baseball programs:
Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes at our #GrandKids youth camps? Here's a sneak peak, thanks to @GoPro! pic.twitter.com/Bt0fGiw9lb
— Curtis Granderson (@cgrand3) September 14, 2016
Overall, the Grand Kids Programs stated mission is “Through play, education and sportsmanship, participants gain invaluable skills they can carry with them for a liftetime.”
This past year, Granderson has expanded beyond these baseball clinics and safe spaces for children to learn and play baseball by starting Grand Giving. Grand Giving is “an annual hunger relief program” that has the goal of providing “one million meals during November for families in New York and Chicago.” (New York Post). The program has been a success in Granderson’s native Chicago, and now he has brought it to New York this year. This program is near and dear to Granderson’s heart, as he said, “I remember days of not having a meal, trying to focus in the classroom and to be able to do things I wanted to on the baseball field and basketball court. Imagine if you did not have a meal for a couple days.”
However, Granderson is much more than these foundations. He has also donated his time during this season to read to school children:
Here are Curtis Granderson and Eric Campbell reading "Green Eggs and Ham" to children today at PS 92 in Corona. pic.twitter.com/RNPYqdJO08
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 3, 2016
Even with Granderson taking his time out to help others, he still remains an important and productive player for the New York Mets. Last year, he was far and away the team’s MVP keeping an injured Mets team in the race until reinforcements were able to arrive. He would also be the Mets best player in the World Series hitting three home runs. This year has been more of a struggle for him, but during the Mets charge for the postseason, he has been hitting .245/.387/.673 with a double, a triple, six homers and 14 RBI over his last 15 games. During that stretch, he has moved over to center field because that is what the Mets needed him to do.
Couple that with his taking time to sign autographs before and during games, Granderson is about an easy a Mets player there has ever been to root for. With that in mind, the least we can all do is tweet #VoteGrandy so he can get the recognition he so richly deserves for being a terrific player on the field and an even better human being off of it.
Some organizations regularly produce power hitting outfielders. The Mets aren’t one of those organizations. In fact, the 30 home run season from an outfielder is quite a rare feat. Well, it did happen again this year. Can you name the player who did it and all the outfielders that have accomplished this task in Mets history? Good luck!
Frank Thomas, Dave Kingman, Darryl Strawberry, Bernard Gilkey, Mike Cameron, Cliff Floyd, Carlos Beltran, Yoenis Cespedes
Tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals head out west to begin a pivotal four game series against the San Francisco Giants that will have far reaching implications on the National League Wild Card race. With each game played, the Mets will both gain ground on one team and lose ground to another. As the series begins, here is where the Wild Card race stands:
| Record | GB | |
| Giants | 77-68 | + 0.5 |
| Mets | 77-69 | – |
| Cardinals | 76-69 | 0.5 |
With the Mets being idle, one of two things are going to happen today: (1) they are going to be tied with the Giants for the first Wild Card; or (2) they are going to be tied with the Cardinals for the second Wild Card. As we can see from that, this four game set between the Giants and Cardinals can be both a blessing and a curse that makes you question what result you want from this four game set.
Case for the San Francisco Giants
Each generation of Mets fan has a tale of woe that has come at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. There was the Terry Pendleton home run off Roger McDowell in 1987, and Carlos Beltran looking at an Adam Wainwright curveball in 2006. There have been many other instances, and if history is any evidence, there will be more. It is quite understandable if Mets fans do not want to see a Cardinals uniform in a winner-take-all Wild Card Game.
There are other baseball reasons to want to face the Giants over the Cardinals. Since the All Star Break, the Giants have had the worst record in all of baseball. The Giants ace, Madison Bumgarner, has struggled in the second half going 4-5 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.200 WHIP. The last time Bumgarner pitched against the Giants he only lasted five innings allowing six hits, four runs, four earned, and three walks while striking out six. Bumgarner isn’t the only Giants star that has struggled in the second half.
Buster Posey is amidst the worst year in his career which hast mostly been the result of him hitting .274/.352/.366 with only one home run in the second half. Posey is a major reason why the Giants have scored the third least runs in the National League after the All Star Break. You would have to like the Mets chances against this lineup when they are hopefully sending Noah Syndergaard to the mound.
Even if the Giants were to get a lead on the Mets in the Wild Card Game, it will not be a safe lead for the Giants whose bullpen has completely fallen apart. Santiago Casilla has lost his closer’s job. Joe Nathan was given a chance, but only proved why he was a 41 year old pitcher in the minors this year. Hunter Strickland crashed and burned in his first chance to take over the closer’s position. Fact is, the Giants don’t have a bullpen that can protect a lead which is really dangerous against a Mets team that has Yoenis Cespedes ready, willing, and able to hit a clutch home run late in the game.
In addition to the Giants falling apart, the Mets could very well have more trouble with the Cardinals. Yadier Molina is a Mets killer. Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk give the Mets fits. While the Cardinals rotation has been a big disappointment this season, Carlos Martinez has pitched like an ace this year. In his career, he is 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA against the Mets. If the Cardinals get a lead, Seung-hwan Oh has shown himself to be a dominant closer. Given the past history, and how poorly the Mets matchup against the Cardinals, they would be better off facing the Giants.
Case for the St. Louis Cardinals
We can saw all we want about Madison Bumgarner having a tough second half, and it is true. However, under no circumstances do you want to face him in a winner-take-all game. You just have to go to the 2014 Postseason video for proof of that. In the Wild Card Game, he pitched a complete game shutout. In Game 7 of the World Series, he came out of the bullpen to pitch five shutout innings to earn the save. In his postseason career, he is 7-3 with a 2.14 ERA and a 0.883 WHIP. You don’t want to be anywhere near him. In addition to this, many people will tell you that you don’t want to face the Giants because it is an even-numbered year.
No matter how much better the Mets may matchup against the Cardinals, you always want to avoid an ace like Bumgarner in the postseason. Pitching wins, and the Cardinals have no one on the level of Bumgarner.
Case for a Split
A sweep at the hands of the other could bury one of the Wild Card contenders. The corollary to that is it will rejuvenate one of the two Wild Card contenders. As it stands, the Giants and Cardinals have seemingly had trouble getting out of their own way. If either team was able to sweep or take three out of four in the series, it will be a significant mental boost that could lead to them playing better baseball from here on out. Ideally, the Mets do not want to face a hot team in that Wild Card game.
Ideally, the Mets would also have homefield in the Wild Card Game. Unless, the Mets sweep the Twins, which may proven to be more difficult than it should be with Gabriel Ynoa potentially slated to go Sunday, the Mets will trail one of these two teams for home field in the Wild Card race. As of right now, the Mets do not have any teams over .500 remaining on their schedule. If the Mets take care of business, they should be able to earn a Wild Card spot not matter what happens in the Giants-Cardinals series.
As it stands, the Mets would probably want to face the Giants, and they would want to face them at home. However, baseball is an unpredictable game, and as we have learned far too often, you should be careful for what you wish for.
Before the game started, Terry Collins announced he was going with Rene Rivera over Travis d’Arnaud because he was going with the “hot hand.”
There are a number of valid reasons why you would want to start Rivera. He has dealt well with young pitchers over his career, and the Mets were starting Robert Gsellman. The Nationals had players like Trea Turner, and Dusty Baker likes to set his guys loose, especially against the Mets. Rivera has a better chance go neutralize the running game.
However, hot hand? Coming into yesterday’s game, Rivera was hitting .235/.316/.235 over the past two weeks. Over the same time frame, d’Arnaud has been hitting .250/.357/.250. To say, Rivera is the hot hand is simply not true. While Rivera did throw out two base runners, he didn’t get a hit yesterday leaving two runners on base.
What was bizarre about Collins’ justification was he only applied that reasoning to d’Arnaud.
Jay Bruce is now two for his last 17 with just one RBI. Yet, he stays in the lineup over Michael Conforto, who was hitting .493/.541/.821 with four doubles, six homers, and 13 RBI in 17 games in Las Vegas before his call-up. Apparently for Collins that wasn’t a “hot hand.”
With respect to the Bruce/Conforto situation, he changed the rules. After the game, Collins said he’s sticking with Bruce because, “I’d better be confident that someone can do a better job.” (New York Post).
Apparently, Collins doesn’t have confidence that Conforto or Alejandro De Aza could do any better than 2-17. Even if Conforto or De Aza were going to go 1-17 or 2-17, they are going to do so while playing vastly superior defense to Bruce.
I guess it’s any excuse to justify whatever Collins’ lineup whims are on a game-to-game basis.
I wonder what his excuse will be for his continuing to play James Loney who is hitting .253/.281/.335 in the second half while playing a poor defensive first base? Hot hand and confidence are already taken.
The obvious answer to when a team loses a game is after they have recorded their 27th out. It’s also the technically correct answer. However, there are moments within a game, the proverbial turning points, when a team really loses the game.
With respect to today’s game against the Nationals, many will pinpoint the moment Wilson Ramos hit a solo home run off Fernando Salas in the bottom of the seventh. It would be the only run scored in the game. The reason it was the only run scored on the game was because the Mets offense wasted a chance to put a crooked number on the board in the first inning.
Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera led off the game with back-to-back singles off Tanner Roark. Curtis Granderson then drew a one out walk to load the bases. Then Jay Bruce stepped up to the plate. Bruce was brought to the Mets exactly for moments like this. He’s a “proven run producer.” Bruce struck out on three straight pitches.
After T.J. Rivera fouled out, the rally was over. From that point forward, the Mets would only get one more hit. It was important to get a hit there because Roark entered the game with a career 2.76 ERA against the Mets having never allowed more than two earned runs against them in any appearance. Their chance to win the game was right then and there, and they blew it.
It also spoiled a terrific effort by Robert Gsellman. The Gazelle shut out the Nationals over 5.2 innings only allowing five hits and one walk with four strikeouts. It was probably the best he looked in his short time in the majors.
He got into a little trouble in the sixth. He allowed a leadoff single to Roark, and Roark would advance on a wild pitch. At that point, even with two outs, Terry Collins wasn’t messing around with Daniel Murphy coming to the plate.
Not only did Collins bring in Josh Smoker, he ordered Smoker to intentionally walk Murphy. Smoker then caught Bryce Harper looking to get out of the jam.
Instead of this spurring the Mets to victory, it just delayed the inevitable. The Mets never threatened after the first losing the game. With it, the Mets lost the chance to go to 10 games over .500, and they missed the chance to leap to the top of the Wild Card standings.
Game Notes: In going 1-2, Murphy has gotten a hit in all 19 games against the Mets this season. The Nationals were 12-7 against the Mets this year after going 8-11 last year. Rene Rivera threw out two base stealers to complete strike ’em out-throw ’em out double plays.
The Mets have 17 games remaining in their season, and at the moment, they still do not know who their second baseman is going to be on a game-to-game basis.
For most of the season, the answer was Neil Walker. Even with him struggling in the middle of the season, at a time where he couldn’t feel his toes, he was having the best season of his career. It was more than tying his career high in homers. He became a much better hitter from the right side of the plate. He was much improved defensively. He was a big part of the Mets. However, his season was over as he needed season ending surgery to address the herniated disc that prevented him from feeling his toes over the summer.
Fortunately, the Mets had a good backup option with Wilmer Flores and Kelly Johnson. Flores hit .306/.346/.542 with five homers and 19 RBI in August. He mostly did the damage against lefties, but he was also maturing as a hitter with him starting to hit against righties. Flores didn’t need to be overexposed against righties though because Johnson was having a resurgent season as a part time player with the Mets. In his 71 games with the Mets, Johnson has hit .269/.328/.473 with nine homers and 23 RBI in 73 games. The Mets very well could have rode this platoon the rest of the season. However, disaster struck again.
On Saturday, Flores slid headfirst into homeplate, and he injured his neck. He is having difficulty just taking batting practice. There is no telling when he will be able to fully warm up for a game let alone play again. This would be an opportune moment for Johnson to step up, but he has been slumping. Over the past two weeks, Johnson is hitting .188/.212/.313 with one homer and three RBI. While Johnson has been terrific all year for the Mets, it is quite possible that he has been overexposed playing semi-regularly after the Walker injury. Given Flores’ injury and Johnson’s slump, Terry Collins had to do something drastic, and that was starting T.J. Rivera last night.
Rivera had not started a game since the September 5th finale for AAA Las Vegas where he overtook Brandon Nimmo for the Pacific Coast League batting title. Rivera answered the call. He would make three terrific plays in the field. The third one in the ninth got overlooked because Daniel Murphy busted it out of the box to beat the throw, and because, as usual, James Loney didn’t stretch. However, it was at the plate where Rivera really stood out. Rivera came through in the clutch time and again delivering in both of his RBI opportunities with a two out RBI single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the fifth. When there were two outs in the top of the 10th, Rivera delivered with a home run off an 0-2 pitch from Mark Melancon, who had not allowed a home run since July 17th. With this game, Rivera made a case for himself on a Mets team that does not have an answer to second base right now.
This is unexpected as many thought this opportunity would never come. During the season, the Mets gave chances to Eric Campbell and Ty Kelly first while Rivera was thinking of new ways to try to get called up to the majors. The Mets would have to go through a rash of infield injuries for him to even be considered. He waited so long, in part, because he doesn’t fit the Mets profile. He’s an aggressive contact hitter at the plate. He’s not working the count. He’s finding his pitch, and he’s going to drive it somewhere.
So no, at no point during the first 140+ games this season did anyone, especially the Mets, think that Rivera would ever be the solution at second base. However, the Mets are looking for an answer at the position right now, and Rivera stepped in and helped the Mets win a game they lose any other time in their 54 year history. It really might just be time for Rivera.