Given how the story du jour in baseball is pitchers using substances, like pine tar or spider tack, on the baseball to increase spin, they should all be prepared to answer questions about it. There are many reasons why, including but not limited to whatever Gerrit Cole said:
Gerrit Cole on if he ever used Spider Tack while pitching:
"I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest…If MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation that we can have" pic.twitter.com/2fR1AUeOQX
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2021
Honestly, that’s just about the worst answer to a question you’ll ever see. Really, the only way he could’ve made it worse was by admitting and then suggesting his success is more attributable to undetectable steroids.
To some, he admitted it. Certainly, you can make that case, and there’s spin analysis which will back that up. His discovering this ability to spin the baseball was in Houston where the Astros found new and improved ways to cheat.
While Cole didn’t admit it, he didn’t leave much room for an alternative. It at least appeared it was him or one of his teammates. Whatever is happening he just invited more attention. Really, Cole has no one to blame but himself on this one.
This answer is as bad as it possibly could be. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess.
In the end, we can only hope he’s asked more of these questions. No, not because we need to get to the truth of the matter. Rather, this is absolutely great theatre, and we all can’t wait to see how he’ll attempt to answer it next.
The New York Mets couldn’t have gotten off to a better start against the Baltimore Orioles. Before David Peterson took the mound, the Mets had a 2-0 lead off a Pete Alonso two run homer:
?️ PEEEEEETE! pic.twitter.com/FxrT3KT9Pp
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 8, 2021
There were a number of problems from there. Up first was umpiring and replay. Again, the state of umpiring is poor, and the replay system needs to be scrapped.
Ryan Mountcastle hit what should’ve been an inning ending double play. Francisco Lindor‘s throw beat him. James McCann‘s foot was on the bag. Somehow, not only was Mountcastle called safe, but it was upheld on replay. Gary Cohen and Ron Darling justifiably blasted the whole thing:
https://twitter.com/snytv/status/1402408375112110084?s=21
Regardless of the horribly blown call, Peterson escaped the inning unscathed. That wouldn’t be the case in the second when the Orioles scored three or when he was knocked out in the third.
It’s the second straight start Peterson didn’t last three innings. He’s now the sixth time in his 11 starts he failed to go five. His ERA is now 6.32.
While Robert Gsellman stepped up the last time this happened to Peterson, he didn’t here. He allowed four over his 2.1 innings.
At that point, it was 8-2 entering the sixth, and it was all but over. Jacob Barnes and Drew Smith each allowed a run, and Alonso hit another homer in the ninth.
All told, this was a 10-3 loss where just about everything went wrong. That includes the replay. It’s probably just best to forget about it and move on to the next game.
Game Notes: Alonso was the DH with McCann back at first. The last Mets pitcher who failed to go three in consecutive starts was Steven Matz.
Stop being an idiot. It doesn’t exist. Many have pointed to the spin on Jacob deGrom‘s pitches have been fairly static throughout his career.
His current catchers, Tomas Nido and James McCann responded to the false accusations by not only definitively saying he didn’t, but by also pondering what would happen if he did.
We saw similar support of deGrom from Marcus Stroman, Trevor May, Taijuan Walker, and others. The best response came from Kevin Pillar who said he’d bet his paycheck deGrom wasn’t. He then upped the ante by bringing it to Steve Cohen’s attention.
I’d bet my paycheck on it that he doesn’t use anything. He might be from a different planet though ? cc: @StevenACohen2
— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) June 7, 2021
Look, we know what accusations deGrom is cheating really are. It’s trying to deflect from other pitchers. It’s attention seeking behavior, and overall, it’s plain old sour grapes.
Fact is deGrom is the best pitcher on the planet, and he’s doing things only the greatest of the greats have done. In fact, he’s beating their records. Instead of trying to diminish it, we should all be appreciating his greatness.
Back in 2019, Chris Paddack famously threw down the gauntlet. He remarked while Pete Alonso was a deserving Rookie of the Month, Paddack would be Rookie if the Year.
The two went on wildly divergent paths from there. Alonso went on to become Rookie of the Year while Paddack has been a well below average pitcher with a tenuous spot in the Padres rotation.
While the New York Mets struggled to get hits and runs in most of this series, they did not have similar struggles against Paddack.
In the third, Jose Peraza hit a one out ground rule double, and after he was sacrificed to third by Marcus Stroman, Billy McKinney drove him home.
That 1-0 grew to 2-0 in the fourth when Dominic Smith homered to dead center
Right in his wheelhouse. ?@TheRealSmith2_ | #LGM pic.twitter.com/7kNIwhvfRm
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
In the sixth, Alonso would get his revenge. After McKinney hit a lead-off single, he stole second. He then came home on an Alonso RBI single. At that point, it was 3-0.
That was a massive lead considering how Stroman was pitching. Yes, Stroman was wild with an uncharacteristic four walks. Still, he made the pitches he needed and got good defense.
For example, in the fourth, the Padres loaded the bases with one out. Webster Rivas hit a ball down the line. Brandon Drury fielded it on his knee, touched third, and began the inning ending double play.
It's the throw from the knees for me. ? pic.twitter.com/7bu83GADN8
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
It was one of those days for Stroman. He made the pitches he needed, and he got great defense. He also helped his own cause hitting an RBI double in the top of the seventh to increase the Mets lead to 4-1.
The only time the Padres could get to him was by a fluke. In the sixth, Stroman made a nice grab on a Fernando Tats Jr. grounder. Stroman made a poor throw (Alonso should’ve stopped it), and Alonso compounded it by the throwing it away himself allowing Tatis to go third.
Tatis would then score on a Eric Hosmer RBI groundout. That was it against Stroman.
Stroman allowed the one unearned run over 6.2 innings. He yielded four walks and four hits while striking out seven. He’d pick up the win.
That 4-1 Mets lead in the seventh grew to 6-1 when James McCann hit a two run homer:
.@McCannon33 hits a missile. ? pic.twitter.com/vz1GEYAQsV
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
In total, the Mets would win this game 6-2. After a tough start to this series, the Mets battled through, and they claimed a split. This deserves everyone’s respect.
Game Notes: After getting six extra base hits to start his Mets career, McKinney finally hit a single.
One of the New York Mets most controversial moves this offseason was jumping the gun to sign James McCann. That bold move did not work out early.
In just about every single aspect of his game, McCann was struggling. Things got so bad for him he eventually lost his starting job to Tomas Nido. Eventually, due to injuries, McCann actually became the team’s first baseman.
Whether it was the temporary position switch or the change in hitting coaches, McCann has figured it back out, and he’s now looking every bit the player the Mets thought they were signing. He’s now a force both before and at the plate.
Over the past 11 games, McCann is hitting .300/.333/.675 with three doubles, four homers, and 11 RBI. That included a big game against Madison Bumgarner and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
James McCann over his last 8 games:
3 HR
5 RBI
4 2B
1.260 OPS(via @Mets)pic.twitter.com/ea5bzikmEK
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 2, 2021
After the 2016 Wild Card Game, seeing the Mets beat up on Bumgarner feels good. What feels better is seeing the Mets pick up a hard fought win.
In what was a back-and-forth game, McCann was 3-for-5 with a run, homer, and four RBI. His bat was the driving force of the Mets 7-6 win.
This game was both emblematic of where McCann and the Mets have come. After early season struggles, they’re settling in and starting to thrive. It’s why they’re in first place with the largest lead in all of baseball. It’s also why it was the Neon Moment of the Week!
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Each and every time Jacob deGrom takes the mound, he does something special. Then, there are nights like tonight where he was just on another level.
We saw it with everything including his defense. He took what would normally be a weak infield single, and he turned it into an unassisted out.
That was nothing compared to what he did in the fourth.
Jake Cronenworth hit a one out single. It was a very nice play by Billy McKinney sprinting in the gap to keep Cronenworth at first. Cronenworth did get to second when Francisco Lindor bobbled a Fernando Tatis, Jr. grounder.
Then, we got the biggest play of the game. Eric Hosmer blooped a ball which landed in front of Dominic Smith. Cronenworth got crossed up thereby preventing him of any chance of scoring. As a result, the bases were loaded with one out.
That meant deGrom had them right where he wanted them. He made very quick work of Wil Myers striking him out on four pitches. Tucupita Marcano battled, but he’d strike out on a 3-2 slider to end the inning.
Right there was the Padres chance, and as we know when you fail against deGrom, you’re not going to get another opportunity. The Padres wouldn’t. The question really was whether deGrom would get run support.
After back-to-back nights where the Padres flirted with no-hitters, they threw Joe Musgrove, the only pitcher in Padres history to throw a no-hitter.
Ironically, Musgrove didn’t flirt with the no-hitter. That ended when McKinney led off the game with a double. To the shock of no one, the Mets failed to score.
Entering this game, the Mets hadn’t had a hit with RISP in this series. As such, you had to believe the Mets needed to homer to score.
That happened twice in the fifth as Jose Peraza and Lindor each hit a solo homer giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.
José Peraza puts us on the board. #LGM pic.twitter.com/w06Hu1f5F0
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
It's outta here! @Lindor12BC pic.twitter.com/ZBnzYg1wwe
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
As impressive as these homers were, there was the miracle in the sixth. Kevin Pillar and Tomas Nido began that inning with consecutive singles. That’s when Jonathan Villar, who has been on the bench with a hamstring issue pinch hit for Trevor Blankenhorn.
Villar came up big with the Mets first hit with RISP in the series. Villar drove home Pillar to increase the Mets lead to 3-0.
That was more than enough for deGrom, who was absolutely brilliant. He pitched seven scoreless allowing three hits and one walk while striking out 11. His season ERA is now 0.62. That’s the lowest ERA a pitcher has ever had through his first nine starts.
If someone says there is a pitcher better than Jacob deGrom, you can slap them. ? pic.twitter.com/9uRRVWXibj
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
Now, with deGrom recently off the IL, this was supposed to be no restrictions. Maybe that was the case, and maybe it wasn’t, but we saw deGrom lifted despite throwing just 77 pitches.
While the decision seemed curious, the Mets had Seth Lugo for the eighth and Edwin Diaz for the ninth all lined up. After a scoreless eighth for Lugo, the Mets tacked on an insurance run.
Former Mets prospect Nabil Crismatt was pitching his second inning of relief. Lindor led off the 9th with a lead-off double. After Smith drew a one out walk, Pillar drove home Lindor to increase the lead to 4-0.
The Mets threatened for more, but didn’t deliver. Not even with the bases loaded. This meant it was not a save situation for Diaz.
In years past that was an issue for Diaz. Not tonight. He pitched a scoreless inning preserving the Mets 4-0 win and snap the Padres 12 game home winning streak.
This win was made possible by deGrom who was brilliant. He keeps setting new records and further establishes himself as the best pitcher in the game.
Game Notes: In the game, deGrom passed Sid Fernandez for fourth all-time on the Mets strikeout list. deGrom has given up just 10 hits with the bases loaded in his career over 58 plate appearances.
For the second night in a row, the San Diego Padres flirted with a no-hitter against the New York Mets. This time it was Blake Snell.
Through 4.2 innings, he was perfect until he walked Billy McKinney. That led to nothing. Leading off the seventh, Francisco Lindor saved the Mets from the indignity of being no-hit with a lead-off single.
The real shame was Joey Lucchesi was again terrific. It didn’t start out that way when he gave up a homer to Manny Machado to lead off the first.
After that, he gave the Mets 4.2 strong innings before handing it to the Mets bullpen. The Mets bullpen kept it close but had a seventh inning hiccup.
Wil Myers doubled off Drew Smith, and then Smith plunked Jurickson Profar. For a moment, it seemed he get out of it when he pounced off the mound on a sacrifice bunt attempt to get the rare 1-5-3 double play.
We love turning 2 on a sac bunt! pic.twitter.com/sdTW6u229a
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 5, 2021
Instead of getting out of it, Smith walked Tucupita Marcano. Jeurys Familia then relieved Smith only to walk the first two batters he saw to force home a run. When he walked Machado with the bases loaded, it meant that Machado had both RBI in a 2-0 game.
In some ways, this whole game was that seventh.
Lindor had the aforementioned single, which got past Tommy Pham and rolled to the wall. That meant Lindor was at third with no outs in what was then a 1-0 game. He wouldn’t score.
Snell struck out James McCann. In a tough at-bat, Pete Alonso eventually popped out. Then, Snell made quick work of Brandon Drury striking him out on three pitches.
Despite all of this, the Mets gave themselves a chance to win in the ninth. Like with Snell in the seventh, they had Mark Melancon on the ropes in the ninth.
Lindor had a one out single. McCann came up, and he was rung up on a pitch very clearly off the plate. McCann got angry, gave home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott a piece of his mind, and he was quickly tossed.
A clearly irritated Luis Rojas came out to stick up for his player, and Wolcott didn’t waste time ejecting him too.
Once the dust settled, Alonso singled putting the tying run on base. Drury fought off some pitches, but he’d eventually strike out to end the game.
Say this for the Mets right now. They’re pitching the bottom part of their rotation, and they have 17 players on the IL. Despite that, the second best team in the NL has needed everything they had to beat them. It’s a good harbinger for when these Mets are finally healthy.
Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was 1-for-1 with a walk in a rehab game for Syracuse.
Sometimes, it just isn’t your night. That was the case for the New York Mets tonight.
You could see it in the third. With a runner on first, Fernando Tatis, Jr. launched a pitch to deep center. Mason Williams leapt, caught it, and then, well, his glove made contact with the wall as he was landing.
There are no almosts in @tatis_jr's world, only absolutes.#HungryForMore pic.twitter.com/fvseJ92NTo
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 4, 2021
Instead of two outs, it was 2-0 Padres. That wouldn’t be the last time Tatis and the Padres got the better of Taijuan Walker either.
In the fourth, after a Victor Caratini one out walk, Yu Darvish kept at the butcher boy until he hit a double to right. Jurickson Profar drooped one right in front of Kevin Pillar.
For a moment, it looked like Pillar may have a play on Caratini, who hesitated on the fly ball, but Pillar threw in to second instead. As a result, it was now 3-0 Padres.
In the fifth, it was again Tatis’ time to strike. This time he took advantage of Walker and Brandon Drury.
First, Tatis hit an infield single Drury couldn’t barehand. Then, Drury spiked a throw which Jose Peraza couldn’t field allowing Tatis to get to second on the fielder’s choice.
After a ground out moved Tatis to third, he sprinted for home on a wild pitch which did not get far from James McCann. It was apparent far enough as Tatis beat Walker to the plate sliding well under a tag which was never applied.
With Darvish flat out dealing, it seemed like that 4-0 lead was completely insurmountable. After all, Darvish no-hit the Mets for 4.2 innings.
However, these Mets have a lot of fight in them, and they made this a game.
In the sixth, after Francisco Lindor hit a one out single, McCann hit a two run homer to pull the Mets to within 4-2.
.@McCannon33 is soooo hot rn! ??? pic.twitter.com/A1TFCzPlmp
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 4, 2021
The Mets pushed that inning to tie the score. The once dominant Darvish was on the ropes, and the Mets would be well poised to tie or take the lead.
Darvish followed the McCann homer by hitting Dominic Smith. Tim Hill then came on for Darvish.
Hill walked Billy McKinney. He then got what could’ve been an inning ending double play. Instead, Tatis made a poor throw loading the bases. That’s when the Mets played the ace up their sleeve.
As Pete Alonso did not have a rehab assignment, the Mets gave him the day off, but he was available as a pinch hitter. You couldn’t have drawn it up better. Unfortunately, Alonso hit into an inning ending double play.
That would not be the Mets last opportunity to tie. In the eighth, Lindor drew a lead-off walk against Padres reliever Emilio Pagan. Lindor stayed there until there were two outs and McKinney at the plate.
McKinney hit a ball to deep right. It took a funky bounce off the wall past Wil Myers. Lindor scored easily, and it appeared McKinney was going to hit an inside the park homer.
The problem was with McKinney being left-handed, the Padres shifted Manny Machado to shallow right field. As the ball got away from Myers, Machado made the heads up play to go get it and get it in. As a result, McKunney only had an RBI triple. He was stranded there as Drury grounded out to end the inning.
Again, these banged up resilient Mets would continue to fight to the end. That began with a Tomas Nido pinch hit single against Padres closer Mark Melancon.
Peraza battled in his at-bat and probably got away with a check swing. After he drew a walk, Travis Blankenhorn hit a surefire double play ball. However, Machado tried to tag Nido. When Nido moved back to second, the chances of the double play were gone.
Well, it was for that play. With the tying run at second, Kevin Pillar hit a ball up the middle. If not for the shift, it’s probably a tie game. Instead, it was a game ending double play.
This was just one of those games where the Mets seemed snakebit. An out became a homer. A third baseman was in left. A single was a double play. Really, there’s nothing to do but appreciate the effort and hope the breaks go the Mets way tomorrow.
Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was set to begin his rehab assignment, but the game was rained out.
The New York Mets went to the desert, and it was the Arizona Diamondbacks who came up dry. While the Diamondbacks did push the Mets, the Mets took this series:
1. The fact Bob Brenly is still employed after what he said about Marcus Stroman is an embarrassment to the Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Seriously, why hasn’t Rob Manfred stepped in here?
2. Brenly should forever keep Tom Seaver‘s name out of his mouth. He should not be sullying the name of a great man and best right handed pitcher in the post World War II era.
3. Luis Rojas going to the well with Trevor May was really bizarre. May has been struggling, and he was very fatigued.
4. Holding back Seth Lugo from a save opportunity when you’ve already used Edwin Diaz and Miguel Castro because you want to ease him back from his injury is all well and good. However, you just can’t follow that up by trying to throw him two innings in his first appearance back. That’s a contradictory and dumb position.
5. Diaz is just a different pitcher than he has ever been. He’s able to go back-to-back days now with no issue. He’s shaking off blown saves. He’s having consecutive good years. There is not enough superlatives you can throw his way right now. He really deserves credit for how much he’s improved.
6. On that note, Jeurys Familia resurrecting his career has been perhaps the biggest key to this bullpen being this good.
7. It looks like that stint at first base was great for James McCann. He’s continued hitting well, and as we’re seeing, he seems to thrive on the platoon role. Fortunately for the Mets, Tomas Nido has taken his game to a new level to make this a tenable plan.
8. Between McCann hitting again and Francisco Lindor having figured things out, perhaps we can stop passing judgments on two months. Clearly, these two needed to settle into a new city with a new coaching staff. And yes, it helps them and everyone that the team replaced Chili Davis.
9. For those who haven’t noticed, Lindor is a truly great player. Look at what he’s doing. He’s top five in the majors in OAA, and over the past month, he has a .758 OPS. Remember, that includes a period when he was in a deep slump. By September, we’re all going to laugh at the panic some people showed over his start.
10. This team is clicking with the return of Pete Alonso. His presence in the lineup seems to have taken pressure off of everyone, and frankly, it helps that he returned to the lineup in peak Alonso form.
11. There is no one tougher than Kevin Pillar. Not only did he return from that fastball to the face and surgery to replace multiple facial fractures, but he’s picked right up where he left off.
12. The Mets have had a number of injuries, but if the hamstring lingers, none might be more impactful than Jonathan Villar. Villar has been able to hold down third base with all the injuries, and while his numbers and propensity to get picked off leave something to be desired, he does find a way to have an impact on games. The Mets are going to miss him.
13. The J.D. Davis injury is getting increasingly worrisome. It seems like he just has set back after set back. You really just have to wonder if the Mets are really missing a significant injury here.
14. The fact the Mets have a 4.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves, the largest in baseball, is impressive. The fact the Mets have that lead allows them to hold their cards and wait for Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo to return at their own pace. Of course, the pitching being so dominant allows that as well.
15. At some point, Jacob deGrom gets a no-hitter, right? Sure, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux didn’t, but you have to believe deGrom eventually gets one.
16. Because baseball is stupid, you have to guess Joey Lucchesi or David Peterson gets one before deGrom even though neither pitcher really belongs in the starting rotation right now. Injuries have really helped keep them here.
17. The Mets really need to decide if they want Peterson to be Mike Pelfrey, or if they want to try to give someone else a shot while he goes to Syracuse to develop like he needs.
18. For those saying the Mets need Pelfrey, the team can certainly figure it out. After all, they have Lugo, Robert Gsellman, and Sean Reid-Foley who can give you multiple innings consistently out of the bullpen. They also have Jerad Eickhoff, Corey Oswalt, and Thomas Szapucki to plug into the rotation. Really, there are options, and they need to do something.
19. Speaking of Gsellman, those 3.2 innings were phenomenal, and it speaks to his being back to being the pitcher the Mets thought he was when he was first called up in 2016.
20. May was right. That game winning hit by Josh Reddick was foul. Really, this just highlights the absurdity of the replay system where there aren’t cameras down the lines to ensure we get calls like that absolutely correct. Then again, this is baseball under Manfred, so why should we expect any different?
GAME RECAPS