Mets Are Giant No Shows

Maybe the New York Mets were just too accustomed to playing at 10 P.M. after their west coast trip. Certainly, they came unprepared to play.

The San Francisco Giants started swing starter Sammy Long who had been ineffective in his eight appearances. Naturally, he shut out the Mets over 5.1 innings allowing just one hit.

Tylor Megill struggled allowing four homers in an ugly start. Overall, he allowed seven runs on 11 hits and five walks over 3.2 innings.

As shown, there was no fire in this team and no boost from Francisco Lindor coming off the IL. On Lindor, he hit the ball hard but at people.

With Lindor’s return, Javier Báez moved to second. Jeff McNeil shifted to left field. Finally, J.D. Davis stayed at third because you need to shoehorn him into the lineup to go 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a HBP.

Really, the only highlight was the Friends theme being played for old friend Wilmer Flores. Of course, he promptly doubled reminding us of the the Wilpon and Van Wagenen incompetence.

Long story short, the Mets lost 8-0 and dropped back to three games under .500. That just about sums up what happened to this once glorious season.

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Jeff McNeil Must Become Mets Everyday Third Baseman

Francisco Lindor has returned shifting Javier Báez to second. That begs the question what happens to Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis, and Dominic Smith.

Starting with the obvious, none of that trio have exactly made the case to play everyday. At least, not this season.

Smith has an 84 wRC+ and a -2 DRS in left while he battles a wrist injury much akin to Michael Conforto in 2016.

Davis has been yet again completely incapable at third with a -6 DRS and -2 OAA. He’s been a horrible base runner, and as we especially see with the bases loaded, his strike out rate is climbing. Sooner or later, his BABIP luck will run out leaving him to slide to being what he was last year.

That leaves us with the enigma of McNeil.

Look, for whatever which reason, McNeil isn’t hitting. We see that with his career worst 94 wRC+. We also see it with his career worst K%, ISO, AVG, OBP, SLG, etc.

All told, this is the worst he’s ever looked at the plate. Maybe it’s injuries. Maybe it’s something else. Whatever the case, he hasn’t been good at the plate let alone near his career norms.

However, he’s been phenomenal in the field. He has a 5 DRS and a 4 OAA at second. This is the best he’s ever looked in the field, which is saying something given his level of success at different positions.

That success includes third where he’s been quite good in his career. With Báez back, that’s where the Mets need him.

Instead, the Mets are putting McNeil in LF. That’s a huge mistake for a few reasons.

First, it puts Davis at third where he has no business playing. Second, and perhaps more important, McNeil is dealing with leg injuries.

It’s part of the reason we’ve seen McNeil’s speed and sprint speed decline. That’s not a good mix for LF where McNeil was merely average. That’s nothing to say of the possibility he aggravates his leg injuries further when trying to track down a ball.

Overall, for his health and to prevent neutralizing the greatness of Báez and Lindor, McNeil should be at third. To build the best lineup and defensive alignment possible McNeil should be at third.

Really, no matter what way you look at it, McNeil should be the Mets everyday third baseman.

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Marcus Stroman: Big Game Pitcher

The New York Mets were reeling, and honestly, they were on the verge of not just falling out of the race, but completely falling apart. They turned desperate activating Javier Báez without so much as a rehab stint.

This was actually the perfect time for a Marcus Stroman start.

In his career, Stroman was established himself as a big game pitcher. We saw it as he rushed back from an ACL injury to help the Toronto Blue Jays in the postseason. He was the World Baseball Classic MVP. We now have his Mets performance to add to the list.

Entering his start yesterday, Stroman had a 3.07 ERA in the second half. That’s nearly a run and a half lower than the Mets team ERA in the second half. Of course, that team ERA is lower partially due to Stroman.

He took the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers with the Mets a season worst three games under .500 and 7.0 games back in the division.

Báez proved to be a spark plug to the offense with an RBI double in the first. It actually led to three first inning runs and an offensive explosion of seven . . . SEVEN! . . . runs.

However, before it got to seven, it was 3-0, and it was up to Stroman to ensure the win. After that top of the first, he did what great pitchers do. He shut down the side, and he did it in order.

In fact, Stroman wouldn’t allow a hit until the third. That was a single by the opposing pitcher David Price. A position player wouldn’t get a hit until the fourth. The reason was Stroman was filthy.

He would get into trouble in the fourth, and it was partially because J.D. Davis couldn’t make a play a third baseman needs to make. The bases would be loaded, and Cody Bellinger hit a two RBI single pulling the Dodgers within 3-2.

That’s as close as the Dodgers would get. Patrick Mazeika came up big throwing out Bellinger trying to steal second for the third out of the inning.

Speaking of Mazeika, this was the second straight start he worked with Stroman, and they look like they’ve been working together for years. It’s something Stroman spoke about and for the second straight start, he gave credit to his catcher.

The Dodgers wouldn’t get another hit off Stroman, and they wouldn’t score another run in the game. Stroman’s final line was 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

This isn’t just the line of a pitcher who wants to push his way into the Cy Young discussion, or one who has free agency pending. No, this is the line of a pitcher who wants to will his team into the postseason.

What was a tight game became a blowout. Again, it was Báez igniting things with a double. That seventh inning double didn’t just spark two runs, it was also the smoothest slide you’ll ever see. It was in front of Trea Turner to boot.

In the end, it wasn’t just a 7-2 win, it was a desperately needed win. Mostly, it was a big time pitching performance against a loaded lineup at a time the Mets needed one.

There were many players who stepped up on the day, but in the end, Stroman loomed largest. This is what he does, and it’s what he may well continue to do as he looks to push the Mets into the postseason.

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Mets Again Chose J.D. Davis Over Winning

Perhaps, it is unfair to suggest J.D. Davis was the reason the New York Mets lost. After all, in baseball, it is really more than just a player, play, pitch, or at-bat.

The Mets were down 3-0 after former Los Angeles Dodger Rich Hill allowed homers to Trea Turner, Albert Pujols, and Chris Taylor. With the Pujols homer that was one 40 year old homering off another one.

The Mets would begin to mount a comeback against Max Scherzer in the fifth beginning with a Brandon Nimmo solo homer. The inning continued, and Michael Conforto would have a tough at-bat with two outs to draw a walk with the bases loaded.

This brought J.D. Davis up to the plate. If you were expecting anything other than a strikeout, well, you haven’t been paying attention all season. This was the fifth time he did it all season in five such tries. Again, it was a fastball over the heart of the plate.

The shame was after Miguel Castro loaded the bases with no outs walking in a run, Jeurys Familia got the Mets out of the jam further unscathed. Pete Alonso would also hit a two run homer off Blake Treinen to pull the Mets to within 4-3.

That would be the final score, and it was an extremely frustrating one at that.

Jeff McNeil got out of a huge slump hitting a big double and drawing a walk. Alonso, Conforto, and Nimmo continue to hit. We’d see a struggling Dominic Smith getting double switched out of the game.

As for Davis, well, the Mets decided they’d rather let him sink the season. It doesn’t matter he doesn’t play defense, run the bases, and isn’t hitting. In the end, the Mets just seem to be accepting his blaming everyone else for his inability to produce.

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Mets Lose On Umpire Blown Call And J.D. Davis Strikeout

The New York Mets offense has been dreadful lately. With that being the case, you can never quite tell if it’s the offense or the opposing pitcher.

Because the Los Angeles Dodgers started Walker Buehler it’s easy to concede it was the starting pitcher. After all, Buehler is arguably the current NL Cy Young favorite. Despite that, the Mets almost got him.

The Dodgers had jumped out to a 3-0 lead with Trea Turner being a pest. In the first, he led off the inning with a double, tagged up on a fly out, and scored on a Justin Turner RBI ground out.

In the third, Turner he hit a one out single and would score on a Max Muncy double. After Turner walked, Corey Seager hit an RBI single giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

That would be the last time a Dodger reached base. Carlos Carrasco settled in, and he would have his finest start since coming off the IL. It was the first time he went five innings, he struck out a season high six, and he seemingly started figuring stuff out.

After Carrasco, the Mets bullpen did their job putting up zeros. That kept the Mets in the game, and a Pete Alonso fourth inning solo shot had the Mets trailing 3-1 entering the eighth.

That eighth inning set umpiring back decades, and you could actually argue putting players on the honor system would be better.

Patrick Mazeika got it started with a single. Brandon Nimmo followed with a one out single. They’d both advance on. Buehler wild pitch during the Jeff McNeil at-bat.

That McNeil at-bat is where home plate umpire Nestor Ceja which would’ve left Eric Gregg scratching his head. McNeil appeared to work out a walk loading the bases. That was until Ceja called a pitch a foot off the plate a strike.

That bogus strikeout was the difference between bases loaded one out and two on with two outs. It would make a huge difference.

It was Alonso driving in another run with an infield single pulling the Mets within 3-2. Problem is it shouldn’t have been a single.

Alonso who has a ton of hard hit outs lately got some assistance from his cleat. On the subject of Ceja, he had called a foul off Jonathan Villar‘s foot when the ball easily cleared his foot.

With Michael Conforto due up, the Dodgers brought in Alex Vesia. In what was a great 10 pitch at-bat, Conforto drew a walk. Unfortunately, this meant J.D. Davis came up with the bases loaded.

Davis would strike out. It was the fifth time Davis struck out with the bases loaded, and he has yet to get a hit in that situation. It’ll be interesting to see how he blames that on Alonso.

After Kenley Jansen made quick work of the Mets in the ninth, the Mets fell to two games under .500 and six games behind the Braves. There are just no words for that right now.

Game Notes: James McCann and Jake Reed were put on the IL. Geoff Hartlieb and Yennsy Diaz were recalled. Jacob deGrom was transferred to the 60 day IL.

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J.D. Davis Can Blame Pete Alonso From The Bench

In April, Kris Bryant hit a routine grounder to third, and he was safe because J.D. Davis doesn’t charge the ball before triple clutching it. Davis’ response to the play was he didn’t know what happened because he delivered a strike.

That’s right. Davis completely botched the play, and he laid the blame at the feet of his first baseman who did all he could do to save him. Apparently, this is not an isolated incident.

Against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Davis made a dive to stop a Chris Taylor grounder. Now, for any other third baseman, this is a routine play, but Davis, he of limited ability, he has to dive.

Then, somehow thinking he’s Manny Machado or Nolan Arenado, he goes to throw from his knee. Davis proceeds to throw it away despite Alonso’s desperate attempts to knock it down and keep it from rolling away.

Of course, Davis, thinking he’s amazing, has an issue not with himself. No, the Dodgers cameras showed us Davis was in fact irritated with Alonso:

This error, which was properly attributed to Davis, was the beginning of the end for the Mets. From there, Taijuan Walker let up some seeing eye hits which saw a 2-1 deficit grow to 4-1.

The shame is this is not at all reflective of how Walker pitched. Walker was quite good against a loaded lineup. However, when you play someone completely incapable of playing third at third this stuff tends to happen.

Really, Davis has no business at third. He has a -10 OAA and a -25 DRS at the position. He’s shown zero improvement, and as we saw, he apparently doesn’t think he’s the problem.

At the plate, he’s still a guy with an outlier second half fueled by an unsustainable BABIP. For those who point to this year’s numbers, again, they’re unsustainable.

Over his first 14 games, he had great stats with a .583 BABIP. No one can keep that up, and he hasn’t.

Since returning from the IL, he’s hitting .252/.352/.396. Even that has a lot of luck with a .375 BABIP. Notably, he’s struck out 32.4% of the time.

None of this even addresses his running the Mets out of the inning by getting doubled off second. Really, when you look at everything, you see a guy with a low baseball IQ and next to no instincts.

The press can continue to not cover his comments at Alonso much like how they ignored his involvement with the Houston Astros cheating scandal and lying about it. They can pretend he’s a better player than Bryant.

However, in the end, what you have is someone who is a mediocre hitter, wholly incapable defender, and someone who is completely unaccountable for his actions. That’s not a player who should be in your lineup.

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Mets Overcame Giant Obstacles And Distractions To Finally Win

After being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets were perilously close to being swept by the San Francisco Giants. With all that was happening, you almost expected it.

After all, even by Mets standards, things were completely haywire. It started with Steve Cohen’s tweet calling out the offense.

There was also Tim Healey of Newsday sending a bizarre tweet including the amount of times Marcus Stroman re-tweeted his highlights amongst his game stats. Then, there was Stroman re-tweeting tweets promoting violence against Healey and calling Cohen a clown.

James McCann was still dealing with back spasms, and the Mets still weren’t aware of whether he’d need to be put on the IL. This necessitated Chance Sisco getting emergency called up and Patrick Mazeika doing the dreaded starting a day game after a night game.

Then, well, there was a game where a lot happened. Again, that’s a lot by Mets standards.

Tylor Megill was terrific allowing just one run over six innings. Of course, he’d leave on the losing side because the Mets offense has been terrible. That’s even with Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani leaving the game in the second with an injury.

Over the first eight innings, the Mets only had just three hits. When they did get a base runner, well, they didn’t knock them in, and even better, Jonathan Villar got picked off again. Even for Villar, this was horrendous.

As a result of all the tomfoolery, the Mets were down 1-0 on the verge of a second straight sweep. That’s when Giants closer Jake McGee plunked Pete Alonso on the elbow.

That seemed to give the Mets life as Michael Conforto followed with a single sending Alonso to third. He’d then score on a sacrifice fly to tie the game. He’d then leave the game as a result of the HBP.

Edwin Diaz mowed down the Giants on six pitches sending it to extras. In the tenth where the Mets inability to score runs went to comical levels.

Villar was the ghost runner, and for some reason, Luis Rojas wanted Mazeika to bunt him to third. Naturally, Mazeika had a poor bunt, and Villar was out by a wide margin.

Brandon Nimmo kept the inning alive with a two out single. That once again put the go-ahead run at second, but Jeff McNeil hit it hard into the shift ending the inning.

Diaz again came up big. While he would plunk Austin Slater with one out, he dominated the other Giants hitters sending it to the 11th.

In the 11th, Conforto came up big with a one out RBI double giving the Mets the lead. To no one’s surprise, he’d be stranded there. That hurt as Jeurys Familia allowed a single to the first batter he faced tying the game at 2-2.

In the 12th, the Mets offense finally woke up and put the game away. Mazeika hit a one out single, and then Kevin Pillar hit a three run homer giving the Mets the lead.

That 5-2 lead grew to 6-2 with McNeil and Sisco hitting a pair of two out doubles. With Diaz and Familia done, the Mets turned to Jake Reed to close out the game.

Once again, Reed was very impressive. He retired the Giants in order. While it wasn’t a save with the Mets having a four run lead, it was every bit of a save considering the Mets struggles and needs to win this game.

In many ways, the Mets had to have this one. It got them back to .500, and it has them past a brutal losing streak. It also has them feeling better heading into a four game set at the Dodgers.

Time will tell whether then can turn their season around and get back in the race. If so, this was a huge next step.

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Mets Front Office Has No One To Blame But Themselves

As things started to slip, acting general manager Zack Scott had a press conference blaming the players for their injuries. He also called the team he assembled mediocre.

Now, that the season is falling apart with the Mets in third and 3.5 games back, owner Steve Cohen is now attacking the players:

Cohen, Scott, and whoever is with the front office can put the blame on the players all they want. Fact is, they assembled the roster, and they opted not to fortify a roster 3.5 games up in the standings at the trade deadline.

Their lone Major League acquisition was Javier Báez, a player who was dealing with heel issues at the time of the trade. He would play 10 games before hitting the IL.

The team failed to really add another starter. You could say Trevor Williams, but considering the Mets keep stashing him in Syracuse, they didn’t add one.

The Mets didn’t add to a bullpen who has been HEAVILY used. There are signs of overwork and fatigue with everyone but Aaron Loup. The front office opted to instead ride with pitchers like Anthony Banda, Yennsy Diaz, Geoff Hartlieb, and others of the same ilk in big spots.

Another important matter here is Chili Davis. His track record shows how players under his tutelage fall down this path. Despite that, they opted to keep him to start the season.

As an example of the Davis effect look at Kris Bryant. He went from an MVP to the absolute worst offensive season of his career. With Davis gone, he’s again improved to being Bryant again.

There’s another important point on Bryant. The Mets have punted on third base all year. They hoped for J.D. Davis to magically learn the position (he didn’t) or for Jonathan Villar to be a regular player (he’s been somewhat).

The Mets had the option to address the rotation, bullpen, third base, and the depth that includes non-playable players like Kevin Pillar. As we saw with the Braves, that didn’t need to be blockbuster deals.

Really, the Mets needed something like the 2015 trade for Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. They also could’ve gone the Los Angeles Dodgers route of taking on a bad deal to get players who help.

Remember, the Dodgers current run was jump started by trading for Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez. That option was on the table with the Twins looking to move Josh Donaldson and Kenta Maeda to the Mets.

Adding Donaldson and Maeda would’ve transformed the Mets and made them significantly better. However, the deal fell apart over money.

Therein lies another problem. Entering the season and at the trade deadline, the Mets treated the luxury tax threshold as a hard cap. They were unwilling to surpass it despite the very soft penalties for first time offenders. They were unwilling to surpass it despite a new CBA being negotiated this offseason which will likely change the threshold and penalties.

All told, the Mets front office just wasn’t willing to do what they needed to do to win the division. They failed to give a first place team what they needed to stay there.

In the end, they can point all the fingers they want, but at the end of the day, this team is a direct reflection of their actions, and when this team misses the postseason, they have no one to blame but themselves.

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Marcus Stroman Didn’t Deserve Loss For Now Under .500 Mets

This was a big game, and Marcus Stroman reminded us all he’s a big game pitcher. He went out there and did all he could do to will the New York Mets to a win, but they couldn’t follow.

Stroman went a season high 114 pitches and seven innings. He struck out nine. He had a hit. He was great in the field.

Unfortunately, he made just two mistakes. The first was hit for a two run homer by Tommy La Stella in the first. In the seventh, when Stroman was somewhat surprisingly back out there, Evan Longoria hit a solo homer.

That’s how the Giants built a 3-0 lead. The other reasons for the lead was the Mets did nothing against Logan Webb. Some of it was how good Webb was. Some of it was the Mets shooting themselves in the foot.

In the fourth. Michael Conforto tallied the Mets first hit with a one out double. J.D. Davis was then credited with an infield single on a ball Evan Longoria threw away.

Since Conforto didn’t look to advance when Longoria made the play, he didn’t score on the error. Then, no one scored when Jeff McNeil hit into an inning ending double play.

In the fifth, a Mets two out rally ended when Brandon Nimmo hit a hard liner right at La Stella.

It wasn’t until the eighth the Mets cracked through. Dominic Smith led off the inning with a pinch hit single. After a fielder’s choice, Pete Alonso launched a homer pulling the Mets to within 3-2.

After Aaron Loup pitched a scoreless inning, the Mets had their chance in the ninth. In that inning, we’d see what separates these two teams.

McNeil led off with an opposite field single. It got past the center fielder, but it was backed up by Lamonte Wade Jr. As a result, McNeil stayed at first.

Jonathan Villar was called out on strikes on a very dubious call, and McNeil advanced to second. He’d stay there as Kevin Pillar had just about the worst at-bay you’d see in that sp

McNeil moved to second but would not score. The game down to Kevin Pillar. In a very poor at-bat, he’d strike out looking to end the game.

The loss put the Mets deeper into third place and finally put them under .500. It doesn’t matter who is stepping up because as a team the Mets just don’t have it.

Game Notes: James McCann was late scratch. He was replaced in the lineup by Patrick Mazeika.

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J.D. Davis, SS Because Who Cares Anymore

With the injuries the New York Mets have faced, Jonathan Villar has become the everyday shortstop. Believe it or not, he’s actually done a good job with a 2 OAA and 2 DRS.

The issue is what happens when Villar needs a day or gets hurt himself. Looking at the roster, there really isn’t an answer on this roster. That may be why Luis Rojas offered up J.D. Davis as a possible name.

If you think about it, it makes complete sense. Davis couldn’t play left field, and he’s played there. He can’t play third, and he’s played there. He can pitch and play first, but you’ll never find him at either position.

Seriously, Davis has no business being in a position where he has to move, field, and throw. He has poor reaction time and instincts, and he needs to at least double clutch.

It’s seriously at the point where he makes a routine play look nearly routine, we get hyperbole. You can understand because it’s a complete shock to see it.

That may well be why when Davis made a routine play in what was a lopsided loss, Gary Cohen suggested Davis had shortstop skills.

Giving Cohen the benefit of the doubt, he’s sometimes so wry, you can miss the joke. He can also be like anyone of us watching a game into the early hours of the morning leaving us a little delirious. It’s also possible he’s watching the Mets fall apart looking to cling to something good.

Whatever the case, the statement was as insane as the thought itself.

Putting Davis at short is more of a give-up than a position pitcher pitching. It’s more so than Brandon Drury being relieved by Kevin Pillar. It’s just preposterous.

So that said, just do it. The Mets aren’t going anywhere with this stretch of games and with the way they’re playing. Put Davis at short and then use him as a defensive substitution in center.

After all, as Davis intimated after the loss dropping them to .500, it’s not necessary to stay over .500. With that being the case, let Davis play wherever he wants.

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