Today’s game is the biggest game the Mets have played since they moved to Citi Field. It’s their biggest series in seven years. No matter what happens, they will leave Washington in first place.
They’re carrying a four game lead into Washington. Even if the get swept, they will remain in first. If the Mets sweep, they will be seven up with 26 games remaining. Like James Ingram, all I’m asking is that the Mets win “Just Once.” That’ll give them a three game lead presumably forcing the Nationals to sweep the Mets in the last series of the season to have a shot of winning the division.
The Mets set up their post-All Star Break rotation with Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, and Jacob deGrom facing the Nationals in their first two series against each other. After the Mets August 2nd win completing the sweep, the Mets have been in first place, and they do not look like they want to give it back. The Nationals seem to have noticed.
They have set up their rotation so the Mets face Max Scherzer, Jordan Zimmermann, and Steven Strasburg. While the Mets will lead-off with Jon Niese, they will follow with Harvey and deGrom. The last two games of this series is must see TV. Especially with Harvey and deGrom, I like the Mets chances.
Since 2009, the Mets have had a losing record. We dreamed of the day that this young pitching would come together and lead the Mets to the playoffs and beyond. The Nationals are the only obstacle in their way. “I know we can break through it.”
With injuries to Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, and Michael Cuddyer, the Mets had to improvise at first base this past weekend against the Marlins. That meant we saw Kelly Johnson and Eric Campbell play first base.
It seems with the most important series in seven years, the Mets can turn back to their two best 1B options. After his two game rehab stint, Duda is rejoining the Mets in Washington. After sitting out two straight games, Murphy made a pinch hitting appearance in the seventh. He grounded into a double play, and he didn’t exactly look like he was busting it down the first base line. Cuddyer has wrist tendinitis requiring a splint and a cortisone shot. He’s still unavailable.
I’m glad Duda and Murphy are seemingly ready to go. However, I’m still nervous about Duda’s back and Murphy’s quad. These are nagging types of injuries. Given their recent history dealing with injuries, please excuse me for not believing either player is fully ready to go. Murphy running out of the box should convince you of that.
Terry Collins has a delicate situation here because the Mets need to put their best foot forward in this series. He started it by sitting David Wright yesterday. They’ll be further aided with Duda at first and Murphy at second. I’m sure that’s where they will be in the lineup. I hope they’re able to contribute.
I hope they stay healthy because a season and postseason rides on it.
As I’ve said before, it seems like the Mets are having auditions for a spot on the postseason roster. Jon Niese has already been put on warning that his start against the Nationals will be the biggest start of his career.
That’s not hyperbole. Right now, Niese is probably the Mets worst starting pitching option. While he’s been shrinking, his teammates have been stepping up. On Saturday, Bartolo Colon became the oldest Mets pitcher to have a complete game shut out. Noah Syndergaard pitched a good game saving the bullpen and giving the Mets a chance to win. Steven Matz had a strong start until leaving the game with a blister.
As the other starters are stepping up, Niese is shrinking from the moment. Hopefully, this has nothing to do with his shoulder. The Mets haven’t done him any favors by putting him up against Max Scherzer and a rejuvenated Nationals lineup. It’s the perfect time to step up.
The Mets fans are on the fence right now (not me). They’re invoking 2007 and 2008. It’s like they need an exorcism to prove those demons are gone. Niese probably needs one as well. He made his first three career starts in 2008, all in September. He went 1-1 with a 7.07 ERA and a 2.000 WHIP in 14.0 innings. In his last five starts, he has a 7.06 ERA and a 1.535 WHIP.
He’s almost as bad this year as we was in 2008. We’ve seen the meltdowns with him when something doesn’t go right. The pressure gets to him. It seems like the pressure of a pennant race also gets to him. He has time to prove me wrong. I want him to prove me wrong.
The Mets won’t take him out of the rotation in the regular season, especially with the recent drama. However, if he keeps this up, he’s out of the rotation in October. It’ll be amazing to see the man born on the day the Mets last won the World Series not be on the postseason roster.
If Niese wants to be there in October, it starts today.
After Duaner Sanchez‘s infamous cabride, Omar Minaya made a trade to acquire Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez. While the thought process might have been to get another reliever, it was Perez who was pressed into action.
At first, Perez seemed like an asset for the future. More likely, he was a throw-in. However, Pedro Martinez‘s season ended in September because he needed rotator cuff surgery. El Duque was injured right before Game One of the NLDS. Steve Trachsel was horrid in the NLDS and the NLCS. The Mets had no option but to press Oliver Perez into action.
With the Mets down 2-1 in the NLCS, Perez pitched reasonably well. Through five innings he only let up three runs. He started to lose it in the sixth, but that was only after the Mets expanded their lead to 11-3. Then came that epic and tragic Game Seven. Perez was pressed into action again. This time it was on three days rest.
In Game Seven, he allowed one run over six innings. He was terrific that night, but he was mostly aided by Endy Chavez:
By the way, I was there. I’ve never see Shea like that. For all the good Citi Field has to offer, it will never be like it was at Shea after that catch. I don’t need to continue as to what happened next.
In 2007, Perez went 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA. In 2008, he wasn’t as good, but he was effective going 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA. He started the last game at Shea with another collapse on hand. He gave the Mets 5.1 innings with two earned allowed. He kept the Mets in the game allowing Carlos Beltran to tie the score in the sixth on a two run homerun. The season effectively ended when Jerry Manuel brought in Scott Schoeneweis.
Imagine if that was the end of Oliver Perez. He would’ve been remembered as a gamer. He would’ve been remembered for two decent seasons. Unfortunately, he signed that contact, and he was terrible. That was the lasting memory; not his clutch performances.
It’s a shame. He could’ve been beloved by Mets fans forever instead of the villain he is. While good-byes are hard, sometimes it’s harder when the player stats too long.
For one Sunday afternoon, it was nice to focus on baseball. The good? Steven Matz went 5.2 innings with four hits, two walks, six strikeouts, and two earned. He left on the long side. The bad? He had to leave in the sixth with a blister problem.
Given the hand he was dealt (yet another pun from me), Terry Collins did a good job with the bullpen. I hate that Tyler Clippard let up the game tying homerun in the eighth. I love how angry he was about it. I love how he was pacing in the dugout angry after the inning. I love the fire he showed.
If nothing else, this is a resilient team. After just losing the lead, the Mets loaded the bases. Unfortunately, Travis d’Arnaud, who has been d’Man lately, hit into a double play. Sure enough, it was started by new Mets killer, Martin Prado.
Now, I’m not getting on Collins for pulling d’Arnaud. I know Anthony Recker had a passed ball on a strike three that started the game winning rally, but Recker is a good defensive catcher. I also trust Collins knows if one of his players needs a blow. Also, you want d’Arnaud as fresh as possible with a huge series starting with tomorrow’s day game against the Nationals.
The Marlins would win with Prado’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. He’s a new Mets killer. I can’t kill anyone for this loss. Collins made the right moves. I don’t have a problem with Clippard going a second inning. The Mets simply lost because the Marlins were the better team today.
The team fought hard. Sometimes, it’s just not your day. The Mets will still have a four game lead going into Washington. They still control their own destiny. I’m not talking collapse yet.
This is a resilient, fun team. Have some faith. Have some fun. Lets Go Mets!
I’m excited to see Steven Matz pitch today. I went with my son to see his first career start. We need just a baseball game, especially with everything going on with Matt Harvey. It’s nice to be excited for something positive. That and wins are the best cure for everything happening.
I know the Marlins are terrible and he’s still building up arm strength, but you have to start somewhere. Enjoy today because we may be seeing an important October piece begin rounding into form. It appears now that we’ll need him as a starter. I’m excited for today.
Let’s Go Matz!
You have a promising career, and then out of the blue, you get sick. You’re not sure about anything, least of all your job. Your employer gives you time and tells you to come back only when you’re ready.
You recover, but you never completely feel whole. Your doctor says you can go back to work. However, you need to be a little cautious. You can’t let yourself get that sick again. At that point, you go back to work. Your employer welcomes you with open arms. Everything is great.
You’re a workaholic. You always have been. You come back working pretty close to the hours you used to work. Your employer is concerned and wants you to slow down. You only know one way to go, and you continue working harder than you probably should. Your performance has been great. You love being back doing what you love. Initially, your employer takes some stuff off your plate.
Eventually, they realize it’s useless, and they let you be you. Then it happens. It’s not all at once. However, you begin to notice it. While your performance seems like it’s the same, you know it isn’t. You put it off, but you eventually see the doctor. He tells you that you need to scale it back. You’re going to need to take some time off. If you don’t, you can get sick again, or worse. Your career might be over. Your ability to earn a paycheck forever gone.
You tell this to your employer. The problem is there’s a huge deadline coming up. It’s the biggest project they’ve ever taken on, and they need all of their best people on it; that means you. They tell you they can give you some time here and there. However, they’re going to need more from you than you really should give. You talk to your doctor again, and while he can’t offer guarantees, he strongly advises you from pushing it. You tell your employer.
Your employer is now angry. They feel duped. They knew the situation the whole time, but they began to count on you. Earlier they knew you were working harder than you should, but they don’t care anymore because there’s more on the line now. No, you’re not getting fired, but their opinion of you has changed. Your options are now to potentially risk everything and work or to take the time off you most likely need.
Ultimately, do you continue working or do you protect your health? If you honestly would continue working, and I know people that would, you can scream and yell at Matt Harvey. If you take the time off back off of Harvey. If you’re not willing to make the sacrifice, don’t expect someone else to make it.
Personally, I once put off tests and ignored doctor’s advice because I was asked to by my employer. My grandfather was a construction worker who worked year round. My father was injured in Vietnam. He’s a DAV. They never took a day off. Who was I?
I worked in an office. I wasn’t putting together the Verrazano Bridge. I wasn’t wading in rice patties in Vietnam. I worked in an office. I ignored my doctor’s advice and the pleas from my wife. Foolishly, I thought if I change my diet or change the times I was eating, it would work out.
I got through it, I was in severe pain each and every day. There were sleepless nights from the pain and the work. The busy time eventually ended. In exchange for my hard work? I got to be one of the people at one of those fancy, expensive dinners. My sacrifice was never acknowledged. Im probably still not quite right all these years later.
I was lucky to make it through everything without anything getting worse. I think of these times now when we talk about Harvey possibly shutting it down. The Mets don’t have the right to tell him to ignore his doctor’s advice. They surely aren’t offering him any financial incentive to do so.
We forget he was rehabbing with Jeremy Hefner, who had a setback, had a second Tommy John surgery, and was non-tendered by the Mets. He remains unsigned to this day. You see the Mets were willing to pay him so long as he was able to pitch, but once he wasn’t, he was shown the door.
Should the Mets have paid Hefner anyway? No. However, they should keep in mind if they won’t show loyalty to injured players, they can’t expect other players to show them loyalty. Harvey saw this first hand. He realizes he’s one surgery away from being ruined and losing that $100 – $200 million contact we all discuss.
If he shuts it down now, he’s that much closer to collecting it. If he pitches, he risks it all. Go to Atlantic City with all your earnings, go to the roulette wheel, and pick a number. I doubt you’ll do it. It’s not the risk. Why are we now asking Harvey to risk all that money.
Just because Harvey is an athlete, it doesn’t give us or the Mets the right to ask him to do something that could put him in harm’s way. Personally, I hate the timing. I’m disappointed. However, I also acknowledge, things have been getting worse for a while now. The same Harvey that wanted to pitch in 2014 and hated six man rotations now agrees to skipped starts. He leaves games with dehydration and can’t make the initial trip to Miami.
I can’t prove it but something went wrong within the last month or so. I think it scared him. I bet Scott Boras scared him some more. He thought he was invincible, even after the Tommy John surgery. He remembers Hefner. Maybe I’m wrong and he was convince. By his doctors and/or Boras to stick to 180 or otherwise risk potentially $200 million. He could be being greedy.
The thing is we’d never accept less money in our jobs. We’d never gamble away or future ability to earn a living. We wouldn’t put our bodies at risk for our jobs. We need to stop asking athletes to do the very same things we wouldn’t do ourselves.
We need to give Harvey a break and let him figure this out. Remember he still hasn’t ruled out pitching in the postseason. He just wouldn’t talk about it. You want to get angry? Get angry with the Mets for not offering him some financial security to allow Harvey to pitch in October with one less thing on his mind.
When I began this blog, there were many things and players I thought would be great topics. I u thought I would’ve written so much about Dario Alvarez. In that vain, here’s yet another post.
With the earlier bullpen problems, the Mets called up Alvarez. He was on the roster from August 21st until August 23rd when he was sent down to make room for David Wright on the roster. The Mets kept up Logan Verrett, who wouldn’t be available for another three days.
In that time, Alvarez made no appearances. Even Akeel Morris was allowed to make an appearance the one day he was up. Last night, Terry Collins let Eric O’Flaherty pitch to a right thereby costing the Mets the game. Alvarez didn’t even get warmed up. I’d say it’s personal, but to his credit Collins seems bigger than that.
Overall, with the LOOGY situation unresolved, I can’t believe the Mets keep going to the same failed options. If you’re not going to give Alvarez a chance to be a solution to a major problem, send him back down and stop wasting his service time.
Honestly, the next time I write about Alvarez, I want a one sentence blurb in a game recap. Any more than that, and I’m wasting my time while the Mets are wasting his time.