In the Bergen County Record, Bob Klapisch had this gem regarding whether or not Yoenis Cespedes will exercise his opt out clause after the season:
When asked by The Record’s Matt Ehalt if he intended to honor all three years of his current $75 million contract, without opting out, Cespedes flatly said, “Yes.”
In what has been a trying year for the Mets and Mets fans, this is a brief respite that should give each and every Mets fan reason for joy. However, it is hard to believe Cespedes.
As it stands now, Cespedes stands to be the top free agent on the market this offseason. If he opts-in, he could potentially be losing $100 million, possibly more. There should be several big market teams who want more offense that could offer Cespedes more money than the Mets are able or are willing to offer him.
Remember, Cespedes is a man who missed out on a chance of a lifetime. When Cespedes left Cuba, he left behind his mother, his son, and many more friends and relatives. Instead of going back to Cuba to see his loved ones, he stayed in the United States because he was “a free agent seeking a huge multiyear deal and essentially [had] to attend to business.” (New York Times). Quite possibly, Cespedes missed his last chance to ever see his mother and son again because getting a big multiyear deal was that important to him. This is not to be critical to Cespedes. Rather, it is to show how important the financial security, and yes, being in the right place is to him.
Remember, it’s easy to say you’re staying when it is August and your team is in the thick of the Wild Card chase. It is another thing all together when it’s just you and your agent, and you have a life altering decision to be made. An off-hand comment is not the same thing as purposefully walking away from at least $100 million. Even if he were so inclined. His agent wouldn’t let him. It’s probably why within 24 hours the story changed.
Now, when asked if he made up his mind about staying with the Mets past this season, Cespedes said, “Nope. My focus is just to play baseball and help the team win, hopefully make it to the playoffs. I let my agents worry about all that.” (New York Post).
Cespedes would also say he wants to remain a Met for the reason of his career. I believe Cespedes when he says that. He has seemingly found a home with the Mets. He seems to enjoy it here. He has become a much better player with the team. These are all terrific and very valid reasons why he wants to stay.
However, there are going to be over $100 million reasons that will help him make his decision where he winds up next year and the next few years past that.
He was really focused on that deal last offseason. It meant enough for him to miss seeing his loved ones. It will be just as, if not more important, this offseason.
He’s going to opt out.
You can point to whatever you want, but the simple fact is the Mets lost this game because Jacob deGrom didn’t have it for the second straight game. That much was made apparent when Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the first with a home run.
He would only last 4.2 innings allowing a whopping 12 hits with two walks while only striking out three. The scary part is it could have been a lot worse than the five runs he allowed.
In the second deGrom caught a wandering Yadier Molina off second after a leadoff double. The Cardinals still rallied that inning, but they wouldn’t score. Randal Grichuk tried to score on a Greg Garcia single, but he would be gunned down by Curtis Granderson to end the inning. The play was really made by Travis d’Arnaud, who made a terrific tag.
https://twitter.com/statcast/status/768659716088016897
That would keep the game at 1-1. The Mets sole run of the game was scored off an Asdrubal Cabrera double scoring Alejandro De Aza. It scored De Aza because he was pinch running for Jay Bruce, who injured himself on a leadoff double. The Mets are calling it a cramp. Given their ability to diagnose injuries, I’m sure it’ll be much worse:
In the fourth, the Cardinals expanded their lead to 3-1 on a Grichuk solo shot. They continued to rally, and they had first and second with one out. Carpenter then ripped a line drive right at James Loney, who then beat pitcher Carlos Martinez back to the bag for the inning ending double play.
In the fifth, deGrom allowed another home run. This one was a two run shot to Stephen Piscotty. After that deGrom would allow a hit and a walk all but forcing Collins to pull him after 95 pitches and the Mets down 5-1. Erik Goeddel came on and got the Mets out if the jam without allowing any further damage that inning.
It’s understandable why Terry Collins would try to push deGrom. He’s the ace, and he’s the guy who can get people out when he seemingly has nothing. On top of that, the Mets bullpen went 8.2 innings yesterday and needed a break. It should be noted the Mets were in that predicament because they started Jon Niese with full knowledge he had a bum knee, which could mean he would need to be pulled early.
What is strange is Collins pushed Goeddel, who put in a yeoman’s effort. Goeddel has a history of arm injuries, and he’s not a long reliever. Meanwhile, Hansel Robles was well rested and has had experience and success going multiple innings.
Collins wouldn’t go to Robles until the seventh until Goeddel hit a walk after 1.2 solid innings of work. He did allow a run on a Jhonny Peralta RBI triple that Granderson had some trouble with in right.
For what it’s worth, Robles wasn’t sharp like most of this over worked Collins’ bullpen has. Robles’ final line was 1.2 innings, five hits hits, one run, one earned, no walks, and one strikeout. He did allow an inherited runner to score tagging Goeddel with a second earned run allowed.
Through all of this the Mets could not solve Martinez who was great all night. His final line was eight innings, four hits, one run, one earned, three walks, and five strikeouts.
Overall, this story was about deGrom. Over his last two starts, he has allowed 25 hits to the 52 batters he’s faced while allowing four homers. It marked the first time a Mets pitcher has allowed 12 or more hits in consecutive games. This was deGrom’s third straight bad start against a Wild Card contender.
As it stands, the Mets lost 8-1, and it wasn’t really that close. The Mets are back at .500 . . . again. They are back to 4.5 games behind the Cardinals for the second Wild Card.
The loss makes tomorrow’s game all the more important. No matter what happens tomorrow, the Mets need to get deGrom to get back to his dominant self.
Game Notes: Neil Walker missed his second straight game as he is with his wife and newborn daughter. Yoenis Cespedes looked hobbled again out there in left. He went 0-4 with a strikeout.
Pennant Race: The Pirates lost to the Astros 5-4. The Nationals lost to the Orioles 10-8. The Marlins beat the Royals 3-0. Jose Fernandez appeared to leave that game with an injury. The Marlins are calling it a cramp.
This will be the third time after the All Star Break that Jacob deGrom is pitching in an important game against a team in the thick of the playoff race. The first two times did not go well.
On July 23rd, the Mets were coming off a 5-3 victory against the Marlins. If the Mets were able to win consecutive games for the first time in almost a month, the Mets would’ve jumped a half game over the Marlins and claimed the second Wild Card spot. However, deGrom faltered in his first start after his career complete game shutout. He allowed five earned on 10 hits in only 3.2 innings in a game the Mets lost 7-2. Instead of being a half-game behind the Marlins, the Mets were 1.5 games back, and they have not yet caught up to the Marlins in the standings.
On August 18th, the Mets were at .500 after a terrible nine game stretch against two of the worst teams in baseball. The Mets sent deGrom to the mound in what was supposed to be a classic pitcher’s duel against Madison Bumgarner. Neither pitcher lived up to the billing. For his part, deGrom would only last five innings surrendering a career high 13 hits while allowing eight earned in the Mets 10-7 loss to the Giants. With the loss, the Mets would fall back under .500, and they would fall 4.5 games behind the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.
The Mets have been playing much better of late having won three in a row. With last night’s win over the Cardinals, the Mets are a game over .500 and are 3.5 games behind the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot. With a win, the Mets will have won four in a row, pulled a game closer to the Cardinals, and they will have real momentum.
Tonight’s game won’t be easy. The Mets are going against Carlos Martinez, who has been the Cardinals’ best pitcher all season. That means deGrom is going to have to be at his best. He hasn’t been in these situations since the All Star Break.
However, to say he isn’t capable of going out there tonight and pitching a gem tonight is absurd. It was deGrom who started off the NLDS last year out-dueling Clayton Kershaw to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the series. In that game, deGrom struck out 13 Dodgers over seven shutout innings. In Game Five of that series, deGrom had nothing, but he outlasted Zack Greinke and kept the Mets in the game over six of the gutsiest innings you will ever see a Mets pitcher throw. In the NLCS, deGrom effectively ended the series with a dominant Game Three performance.
No matter how you slice or dice it, deGrom is a big game pitcher. Just because he has faltered in his two chances after the All Star Break doesn’t mean he won’t go out there tonight and shut down the Cardinals. While Noah Syndergaard could have the best stuff in all of baseball, deGrom is the Mets pitcher you trust most out there. He is the ace of the staff. He’s going to have a big game tonight.
With Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and now Robert Gsellman, the Mets feature a team with a number a players with long flowing locks:
Whose flow is best? Reply with who you think rules the #Mets hair game. #LGM pic.twitter.com/aC2Dgbz86S
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 23, 2016
None of that could prepare you for the Gary Cohen photo from college during the game last night:
Who knew Gary Cohen was a hippy? Heck, who knew he had hair?
At this point, seeing Gary Cohen, it’s fair to say none of the Mets will beat either this photo or this hair style.
For some reason or other, the Mets went with an injured and bad Jon Niese over a healthy and ready Robert Gsellman. One thing was for certain, no matter who started, the Mets needed an early lead and hold on.
The Mets just did that. Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera led off the game with back-to-back singles, and then they pulled off a double steal. Cleanup hitter Wilmer Flores then hit a three run homer to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.
Niese would give it right back even with Ron Darling saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger, but Niese is 55-3 with a three run lead.”
Niese allowed three of the first batters to reach base narrowing the lead to 3-1. Then his knee became too much for him. Terry Collins then went to Gsellman with one out and runners on first and second. Gsellman was greeted by a Yadier Molina game tying RBI double.
Gsellman would escape the first without allowing another run. Gsellman would be in trouble most of the night, but he would bend but not break. He was really helped by some terrific Mets defense.
Asdrubal is a vacuum. #LGM #Mets 6-3 | End 4 pic.twitter.com/ttHR8efTAK
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 24, 2016
Even with the struggles, Gsellman would earn his first win in his first ever game. His final line was 3.2 innings, two hits, no runs, none earned, three walks, and two strikeouts.
Gsellman was in line for the win as the Mets offense responded immediately to losing the lead. Travis d’Arnaud would hit a one out single and move to second on a Gsellman sacrifice bunt. Reyes then singled him home as it seems every time d’Arnaud finda his way into scoring position, Reyes singles him home. Cabrera then doubled home Reyes to make it a 5-3 game.
Justin Ruggiano effectively closed the book on Cardinals Jaime Garcia with a monster home run:
Garcia only lasted four innings himself in taking the loss allowing seven hits, six runs, six earned, and one walk with six strikeouts.
Things calmed down once it became a battle of the bullpens. Alexander Reyes flashed his dominant stuff shutting the Mets down over 2.1 innings.
Josh Smoker pitched two tension filled innings, but he only allowed one run on a monster Randal Grichuk solo homer in the sixth. There wouldn’t be another as Yoenis Cespedes robbed Stephen Piscotty of a homer:
It was an even bigger play when you consider Cespedes seemingly tweaked his quad chasing down a liner in the first.
In the seventh, Jerry Blevins and his tight firearm left a runner on with one out. Jim Henderson would then make his first appearance since coming off the DL. He got the Mets out of the inning, and he punctuated it by striking out Jedd Gyorko looking to end the inning.
Like every other Mets pitcher, Addison Reed pitched into trouble, but he got out of it unscathed. Jeurys Familia was the only one of the Mets seven pitchers to have a 1-2-3 inning in recording his 42nd save.
At least for one night, the Mets and Cardinals switched places. The Cardinals were 2-10 with RISP leaving 11 men on base. The Mets were 5-10 with RISP including a James Loney ninth inning RBI single to make it 7-4.
The Mets have finally won three in a row since the All Star Break. The Mets are now 3.5 games back of the Cardinals in the race for the second Wild Card.
Game Notes: Neil Walker missed the game as he is on paternity leave. His wife gave birth to a baby girl, Nora Vail Walker. T.J. Rivera is taking his spot until he returns. Curtis Granderson didn’t start with the lefty starter. Jay Bruce would go 0-5 with two strikeouts. He is now two for his last 22.
Pennant Race: The Marlins lost to the Royals 1-0. The Nationals lost to the Orioles 8-1. The Pirates beat the Astros 7-1.
Hopefully, the Mets will be in peak defensive form as the team is going to send Jon Niese to the mound in a critical three game set in St. Louis. How did we get to this point?
Plain and simple, a mixture of bad luck and bad planning. Niese was never supposed to be a Met in 2016. The Mets traded him for Neil Walker, and with his reasonably affordable option years, it was presumed that he would be a Pirate through the 2018 season. However, Niese was horrendous this season leaving the Pirates to demote him to the bullpen. They were clearly going to let him walk after the season was over. Fortunately for the Pirates, they were able to get rid of him even sooner.
The Mets had to contend with Matt Harvey‘s season ending surgery which left a hole in the rotation Logan Verrett couldn’t quite fill. Despite know this, the Mets kept turning to Verrett as they did not trust Gabriel Ynoa, Robert Gsellman, or Seth Lugo. Sean Gilmartin went down with a shoulder injury. Additionally, the Mets had the under-performing Antonio Bastardo in the bullpen. The Mets were probably the one team who could use Niese as a bullpen arm and/or a possible fifth starter. They were probably also the one team that believed they could salvage Niese.
As it turns out, the Mets desperately needed Niese. Verrett couldn’t handle being the fifth starter. Ynoa appeared as if the wasn’t ready in his short stint in the Mets bullpen. Gsellman isn’t putting up great numbers in AAA. Worst of all, Steven Matz was just diagnosed with a mild rotator cuff strain. It is quite possible the Mets will need to not only replace Harvey, but also Matz for the rest of the season. That will put Seth Lugo in the rotation. It also means the Mets will have to keep Niese in the rotation for the remainder of the season.
It’s strange to think about it. Niese was the first pitcher removed from the rotation last season. The Mets seemingly wanted to get rid of him. Now? Now, he is a key part of a rotation that is taking the ball to start what is the Mets most critical series to date.
Niese has his fair share of detractors due to his struggles and his inability to accept any blame for his poor pitching. Detractors could also be synonymous with Mets fans in this case. With a big finish to the season, Niese can win over a large group of Mets fans. That all begins tonight.
Somehow, some way, the Niese are relying on Jon Niese yet again. It’s strange how it came to this point, but here we all are. Let’s hope Niese makes the best of it because if the does, the Mets will return to the postseason.
Currently, the Mets outfielders are Jay Bruce, Yoenis Cespedes, Alejandro De Aza, Curtis Granderson, and Justin Ruggiano. Not on this list is Michael Conforto as the Mets have no intention of calling him up until September 1st.
Conforto is absolutely raking in AAA. In the 10 games since his demotion, Conforto is 22-40 with four doubles, four homers, eight RBI, and two walks. That is a .550/.581/.950 batting line. Offensive statistics in the Pacific Coast League are typically inflated, but they aren’t that inflated.
Better yet, over his two stints in the minors this year, Conforto is hitting .500/.559/.633 with a double, a homer, and seven RBI in 30 at bats.
No, the Mets have no interest in that production right now even with them playing in a crucial three game set against the Cardinals that will have a dramatic impact upon their chances of winning the Wild Card. Instead, the Mets want to go with the following:
- Bruce who is hitting .169/.263/.282 in 19 games as a Met
- De Aza who is hitting .192/.287/.308 on the season and .133/.264/.311 in August
- Granderson who is hitting .224/.312/.428 on the year and .186/.240/.347 since the All Star Break
- Ruggiano who was released from the Rangers while he was in AAA and is a career .258/.322/.438 hitter
Overall, the only player who deserves to be in the lineup day-in and day-out is Cespedes. After that, the Mets have to pick two other outfielders who are playing best to man center and right. Looking at the Mets 40 man roster, it is hard to believe that Conforto isn’t one of those players right now.
Hopefully, the Mets will sweep the Cardinals and get terrific production from their center and right fielders. If not, we will all be left asking why were the Mets willing to field their best possible team and best possible lineup in the most important series of the year.
Yesterday, both Stephen Strasburg and Steven Matz were placed on the disabled list for very different reasons.
The Nationals put Strasburg on the disabled list as a precaution as the pitcher complained of elbow stiffness. General Manager Mike Rizzo felt it was the right move saying, “We felt like the prudent thing to do – like we always have with our pitchers – was to give him this reset. We’re going to put him on the DL rather than pitch through some routine inflammation and soreness.” (Washington Post).
These are the things you do when you sign a pitcher to a seven year $175 million contract extension. Teams are afforded this luxury when you enter the day 8.5 game up in the division with a 99.99% chance of making the playoffs.
The Mets, who are in a different position than the Nationals, took a completely different course with Matz.
Matz wasn’t dealing with “routine inflammation or soreness,” rather he was dealing with bone spurs that were affecting his ability to finish his pitches. When asked about how to proceed, Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said, “At this point it’s a function of whether he can tolerate the discomfort while continuing to pitch. What we will do is monitor this discomfort, monitor his mechanics to make sure whatever discomfort he has doesn’t cause him to do something that might lead to something else, and we’ll monitor it on a start-by-start basis.” (ESPN).
Before each and every start, Matz needed to take painkillers before every start to manage the pain in his elbow, and now, Matz’s elbow discomfort has led to a shoulder injury. Matz has gone from pitching through bone spurs to landing on the disabled list with what the Mets are calling a mild strain and inflammation of his rotator cuff.
It should be noted this wasn’t the prudent course with Matz. Quite to the contrary. In fact, according to Jon Heyman, the Mets reportedly talked Matz out of getting surgery to remove the bone spurs despite him pitching with the bone spurs for at least a month with declining production.
At the time the Mets reported Matz’s bone spurs, the Mets were 40-35. They were 4.0 games out in the National League East, and they were a half a game behind the Marlins for the second Wild Card.
Beginning with the start prior to the June 27th announcement, Matz has gone 2-5 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.300 WHIP. Before that date, Matz was 7-3 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.134 WHIP.
During this post-June 27th stretch, the Mets have fine 22-27 slipping to 11.0 games behind in the National League East and 4.5 games behind for the second Wild Card.
The Mets pushed Matz, and they got declining production from him as they fell lower in the standings. Now, the Mets have lost Matz for at least three starts while the team is fighting for their playoff lives.
It makes you question whether things would have gone differently if the Mets took the prudent course in erring on the side of caution to protect their young pitchers arm instead of pushing him into another injury.
For some reason or other, it appears that most parents decide the time to start having birthday parties for their children with their friends is their third birthday. The parties are a lot of fun because you get to see your son running around and having fun with his friends. However, that does not mean the parties are without their stresses.
The main stress is getting the right present. First and foremost, you want to make sure you get an appropriate gift. You don’t want to show up to a party with a $20 gift when the parents paid $50 or more per child to throw the party. Avoiding this dilemma is quite easy. You can go on the place’s website and find out what they charge for a party, or you can call the place to “schedule your own party” to see what the price is per child. However, this creates another possible problem.
Once you get that first gift, you have effectively set a standard on what you should pay for each and every child’s gifts going forward. Believe it or not, parents talk. Better yet, the parents that talk to one another may not be the ones you expect would be talking with one another. If you got one an action figure and the other a book, sooner or later, they are going to find out about it, and one parent isn’t going to be happy. That could possibly mean that their child does not attend your son’s birthday party when the time comes. Either that, or they will retaliate by giving your son a bad gift. No one wants that.
Speaking of getting what you want, you have to let people know what your child likes. Now, it would be obnoxious to put on the invitation a list of presents your child likes. For some reason that works for Wedding and Baby Showers, but it does not work for birthday parties. However, there is a very subtle way to let everyone know what your child likes:
PUT WHAT YOUR CHILD LOVES ON THE INVITATIONS!
It doesn’t matter if the party is at Chuck E. Cheese, a farm, a zoo, etc. I don’t know what to buy your child if I get a standard Chuck E. Cheese invitation. I’m not going to buy your child a giant mouse just because the party is being hosted there. However, if there is a Mickey Mouse, Thomas the Train, Dora the Explorer, or Mets themed invitation, I know what to buy your child instead of guessing.
One other point. Only put on there what your child really loves. There was one parent who wanted to have a “cute” Peppa Pig Themed Party despite the fact that her daughter really loved Frozen. Apparently, she was able to get reasonably priced Peppa Pig cookie favor and because she was able to get Peppa Pig party favors and decorations reasonably priced. It is certainly understandable why she did it, but she was also appalled at all of the Peppa Pig presents her daughter got.
The simple reason why she got Peppa Pig presents is no one knows anyone else’s child really well – probably not even their best friend. It’s why people bought a ton of Peppa Pig things. They don’t know anything your child likes except what is on the invitation. With that in mind, even if it doesn’t match the theme of the party per se, make sure your invitations match what your child loves. It will ensure your child gets presents that they want, and it will help ensure that your child has a Happy Birthday.
And at the end of the day, that’s all a parent wants for their child.