Addidon Reed

Coronavirus Shutdown Helps Mets

Now that Major League Baseball has finally done the right thing in shutting down Spring Training and postponing the first few weeks of the 2020 season, we can now look at how this will impact individual teams. With respect to the New York Mets, this shutdown is exactly what they needed. That may seem a bit crass, but it is true nonetheless.

At the moment, the Mets were put in a precarious situation as Michael Conforto was dealing with an oblique injury. This injury left the Mets in a position where they needed to go with a couple of first basemen in J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith in the corners or go with Jake Marisnick in an everyday role despite his inability to be even a near league average hitter when he knew what was coming.

This shutdown doesn’t just give Conforto time to heal, but it also gives Yoenis Cespedes more time to heal and get ready for the season. According to all reports, he had been working quite hard to get back on the field, and he was making considerable progress. However, even with all of his progress, he had not yet been playing in full games.

The further back the season is pushed; the more time Conforto and Cespedes have to get ready to play games. With each day the start of the season is pushed back (that’s an unknown at this point), the greater the chance Conforto and Cespedes will be ready for Opening Day.

Even if they are not ready for the new Opening Day, they will miss fewer games as a result of the delay to the start of the season. That means we are this much closer to an outfield of Cespedes-Brandon Nimmo-Conforto. That type of outfield takes the Mets from postseason contender to World Series contender.

It is not just Cespedes who is rehabbing from an injury which robbed him of his 2019 season. Dellin Betances was only able to pitch 0.2 innings for the Yankees last year due to a shoulder injury and then a partially torn Achillies. It was only recently he began pitching in Spring Training games.

As is typically the case, it takes Betances time during Spring Training to go from the low 90s to the upper 90s. When Betances is able to get to that point, he is a completely different reliever. It may be difficult to remember now, but when Betances can ramp up his fastball to the upper 90s he truly is the best reliever in baseball. The more time he has to get back to that pitcher (which may not be a given) the better for him and the Mets.

Generally speaking, the more time the Mets pitching staff has to work on things, the better. This is the first year with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. There are things he wants to share with players, and there are tweaks in deliveries and pitch sequencing/usage he wants the staff to make. Getting to get some of that out of the way now as opposed to in games helps.

Speaking of more time to prepare for the season, this is Luis Rojas‘s first year at the helm. While he has managed most of these players previously, he has not done it at this level. The more time he has to bond with the team and manage expectations the better he and the team will be set up for success.

Overall, the coronavirus has created a serious situation, and things should not be taken lightly. It may seem crass to say this about a virus which is infecting people at a scary rate leading to the shut down of all pro sports and society as a whole, but this is a bad situation which will help the New York Mets.

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Cespedes Is Back!

Hopefully, all the suddenly (if relatively) healthy Mets needed to get going was to get one game under their belts. It certainly seemed to be the case as the August 2015 Yoenis Cespedes returned:

Cespedes powered the Mets offense to nine runs by going 3-5 with two runs, a double, two homers, and three RBI. He was just one of the Mets to tee off on Matt Moore and Jake Peavy. Even more amazing was the fact that the Mets were 5-9 with runners in scoring position. 

Like it once did a decade ago, it all started with Jose Reyes, who doubled to leadoff the game en route to going 1-4 with two runs, a walk, a double, and a stolen base. He was the only Met to score in a first inning that saw the first four Mets get on base with two of the Mets hitting doubles. 

The reason for the one run was partially a TOOTBLAN from Asdrubal Cabrera and his Ryanochte hair dye trying to go to second on what really didn’t amount to a wild pitch. At the time, the out loomed large. However, he’d make up for it with a third inning sacrifice fly scoring Reyes and his overall solid day at the plate going 2-4 with an RBI. 

Soon to be dad, Neil Walker, was 2-4 with two runs, one walk, and one double. Justin Ruggiano was 2-3 with a run, a walk, and an RBI. Ruggiano needed a good day at the plate as he had some miscues in the field as he is apparently learning how to play alongside Cespedes. 

The icing on the cake was an Alejandro De Aza three run sixth inning homer which capped off a four run inning. At the time, it put the Mets up 7-2, and they seemed to be in control. 

It certainly was enough for Bartolo Colon, continued his good start, bad start pattern with a good one with a final line of 6.1 innings, nine hits, two runs, two earned, one walk, and five strikeouts. He departed with a runner on first. Josh Smoker came on and got Colon out of the inning. 

While the lead was safe for Colon, it initially seemed the lead wasn’t safe for the bullpen.  Hansel Robles was brought in to pitch the eighth, and he sandwiched walks to Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford around a Buster Olney line out. Even with the big lead, Collins was right to move to get the recently slumping Robles out of the game. However, Collins went to Addison Reed as Collins is the only one who doesn’t know Reed struggles with inherited runners. 

Reed would allow both inherited runners to score on an Eduardo Nunez two RBI double. Reed would allow another run to score before getting out of the inning. Reed would settle in in the ninth shutting the Giants down ensuring the Mets 9-5 win. 

Game Notes: Jim Henderson was activated off the disabled list but did not pitch. Erik Goeddel was sent down in his place. Slumping Jay Bruce sat against the lefty Moore. It was classified as day to get himself going than a benching. 

Despite Travis d’Arnaud catching, there were no stolen base attempts once again showing there are more forces at work in a stolen base other than a catcher’s arm. 

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