AJ Ramos

Mets Desperately Need Plawecki Back

On April 11th, the New York Mets were soaring at 10-1, and they lost their second catcher when Kevin Plawecki was hit on the hand by a Tayron Guerrero pitch.

Up until that point, the Mets catching situation was actually one of the bright spots to what was a great start to the season.  The combination of Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud combined to hit .229/.341/.343 with six runs, a double, a homer, and four RBI.  While they were catching, the Mets pitching staff had a 2.47 ERA, 3.2 BB/9, and a 9.9 K/9.

Since d’Arnaud opted to have Tommy John surgery and Plawecki’s hand has taken longer to heal than expected, things have gone quite differently for this Mets team with the new catching tandem of Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido.

Whereas the Plawecki/d’Arnaud tandem was at least passable offensively, Lobaton/Nido have not.  Combined, Lobaton and Nido have hit .164/.269/.218 with a double, triple, and four RBI.

While we should be cautioned not to rely upon things like catcher ERA or results in small sample sizes, the Mets pitching staff has had a 5.30 ERA.  Surprisingly, the walks have come slightly down to a 3.0 BB/9 while the strikeouts have remained at a 9.9 K/9.

More troubling, the Mets who got off to a 10-1 start have gone 7-9 with their new catching duo.

There are many reasons for the difference in records including a natural regression from a team that started the season 10-1.  Really, no one believed the Mets were going to go 147-15 for the full season.

And the catching situation has nothing to do with Amed Rosario regressing, Michael Conforto not hitting for power, or Adrian Gonzalez not contributing anywhere near what the Mets expected.  Still, these catchers are part of a black hole the Mets have in the bottom of their lineup.

The Mets have also had two bad bullpen meltdowns with Lobaton behind the plate.  The first one was the Nationals six run 8th inning.  It was a complete meltdown, and no one quite knew how to stop it from happening.  Not Mickey Callaway.  Not Dave Eiland.  Not Lobaton.

The second one, much smaller in scale was the Mets blowing a 3-0 lead to the Braves.  Lobaton was on for the two run eighth, and Nido was there for the two run ninth.

Maybe these meltdowns were coincidences.  It’s possible Matt Harvey would have regressed the way he has anyway.  We’ve seen enough of Steven Matz to know we don’t know what he’s going to provide.  AJ Ramos and Jerry Blevins always had difficulty with walks.  The list goes on and on.

Whatever the case, the one thing that is apparent, even if this stretch is not completely the fault of either Lobaton or Nido, the Mets miss their catchers.  Unfortunately, d’Arnaud is gone for the season, and he may never suit up for the Mets again.  As for Plawecki, he’s still a few weeks away.  Seeing how the Mets are performing in his absence, he cannot get back here soon enough.

page top

Mets Led by deGrom, Cabrera, and Lobaton (Yes, Lobaton) in Win

With the Mets having lost three straight series, the last thing they needed was a West Coast trip.  They needed to play in Petco Park even less.  It’s not just that it’s a suddenly woeful Mets offense was going to one of, if not the, most extreme pitcher’s park in the league.  No, it was the Mets all-time record at Petco Park entering this game was 18-32.

Fortunately for the Mets, they had their best weapon out there tonight – Jacob deGrom.

Once again, deGrom was brilliant.  His final line on the night was 7.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, and 8 K.

This is the third straight game he would strike out at least eight, and he now has the longest stretch in the National League of pitching at least 5.1 innings.  Basically, deGrom is pitching about as well as anyone, and really, he’s been better than almost everyone.

Given how he’s pitched of late, the offense, and his luck, the questions were whether he was going to get run support and whether the bullpen could hold things down.

Well, deGrom would get his run support before he even stepped foot on the mound.  After Doug Eddings, who had a wildly inconsistent strike zone all game long, ruled a 3-1 pitch was a strike and not a ball, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a lead-off double off Clayton Richard.  After moving to third on a Yoenis Cespedes fly out to deep right, Cabrera scored on a two out Todd Frazier RBI single.

The score stayed that way until the seventh because the Mets could not get anything going against Richard, Michael Conforto made a couple of nice plays in the field, and the Padres were afraid to challenge Yoenis Cespedes‘ arm.

At that point, it was time for Cabrera to once again leave his mark not just on the game but on the early part of the season.

Juan Lagares led off the inning with an infield single just beating Carlos Asuaje throw.  Jose Lobaton, who easily had his best game as a Met, singled to set up runners at the corners with no outs.  With Richard faltering, it seemed like this is where the Mets would blow the game open.  It almost . . . ALMOST didn’t happen.

First, there was the Lagares base running mistake.  Instead of following Christian Villanueva down the line on the deGrom sacrifice bunt/safety squeeze, he immediately dashed back to third.  If he followed Villanueva down the line, it’s quite possible he scores.  Instead he stayed, and when Amed Rosario hit a sharp grounder to Asuaje, the Mets had runners at second and third with no runs and two outs.

With the Padres going into a strong bullpen, it seemed as if they were going to get out of the jam. That perception was absolutely wrong as Cabrera hit a Craig Stammen mistake for a three run homer to effectively end the game.

In the eighth, the Mets would expand their lead with a two out rally.  After recording two quick outs, Kazuhisa Makita hit Lagares with a 1-2 pitch, and Lagares would score on the ensuing Lobaton RBI double.

Again, Lobaton easily had his best game as a Met.  He caught deGrom, who had a great game.  He threw out Franchy Cordero, who was the only Padre to attempt a stolen base.  On the play, it was a perfect throw and a perfect tag by Cabrera.  Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, Lobaton was 2-4 with a run, a double, and an RBI.

With the 5-0 lead, the only remaining question was whether the bullpen could hold onto the lead or whether there would be another meltdown.

When deGrom parted with one out in the eighth, there was a runner on, and Jerry Blevins came on to face Eric Hosmer.  Conforto needed every bit of that deep right field to corral the long fly Hosmer would send.  Mickey Callaway then went to AJ Ramos who got Villanueva to fly out.

Then, Callaway went with Matt Harvey in the ninth to close the door.  As bad as things have been for Harvey since 2015, no one could have imagined this outing.

No, he didn’t blow the lead, although he did make everyone nervous with Cordero greeting him with a homer, and Harvey walking Jose Pirela.  Given Harvey’s recent history and the recent bullpen meltdowns, this was an ominous sign, and Jeurys Familia was rapidly trying to get loose in the bullpen.

Fortunately for the Mets, Harvey, whose velocity dipped all the way down to 90, yes 90 MPH, got a fly out and a game ending double play.

Yes, there was plenty of reason to be excited for this 5-1 win, but seeing Harvey pitch this way certainly did put a bit of a damper on things.  Hopefully, both Harvey and the Mets can figure something out at this point because this has become sad and painful to watch.

GAME NOTES: Before the game the Mets recalled Jacob Rhame and sent Corey Oswalt back down.  The Mets moved David Wright to the 60 day disabled list to make room for LHP Buddy Baumann, who the team claimed off waivers from the Padres.  Bauman was sent down to Triple-A Vegas.  Despite his good numbers against Richard, Callaway sat Adrian Gonzalez in favor of Wilmer Flores

page top

Mets Defense Blows Another Game

The story of this game should have been Noah Syndergaard returning to form.  Like on Opening Day, he was mowing down the Cardinals, but this time, he was much more efficient in doing so.  Through six, he kept the Cardinals scoreless striking out six and allowing just two hits, and it looked like the Mets were going to cruise to a 2-0 victory at that point.

Both RBI came from Yoenis Cespedes, who snapped out of his funk going 2-5 with a double and two RBI.  The first RBI was a first inning off Carlos Martinez scoring Brandon Nimmo from first.  In the seventh, in what looked like window dressing at the plate, he plated Amed Rosario with a sacrifice fly.

However, as we have learned with Cespedes, sometimes he will giveth and sometimes he will taketh.

That was evident with Tommy Pham “doubled” on a ball that hit off of Cespedes’ glove.  Pham would then come home to score on a Marcell Ozuna single to cut the lead to 2-1.  With the way Paul DeJong kills the Mets, really it was a miracle he didn’t tie the score on his double.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter as the Mets gave up the lead in the eighth with some more poor defense.

What was interesting was Mickey Callaway let Syndergaard start the eighth while holding back Robert Gsellman.  Really, you wonder why not just go to the fresh arm after an inning in which Syndergaard faced some trouble.  Really, this is a bit nitpicky because this is Syndergaard we are talking about here.

In any event, Rosario threw a ball away on a Greg Garcia grounder starting off the inning with a runner on first instead of one out and the pitcher’s spot coming up.  Syndergaard struck out Yadier Molina before allowing a single to Matt Carpenter leading to his getting pulled from the game.

Gsellman was in a tough spot, and he didn’t deliver immediately.  The first batter he faced, Pham, singled to tie the score.  To his credit, with the go-ahead run in scoring position and just one out, Gsellman got Jose Martinez to ground into the inning ending 6-4-3 double play.

After a rusty Seth Lugo battled through a hit batter and walk to get through a scoreless ninth, the Mets would get an absolute gift run in the 10th.

After two quick outs, Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier hit back-to-back singles putting the game into Adrian Gonzalez‘s hands.  Somehow, not only would Luke Gregerson walk Gonzalez, but he would also walk Jose Lobaton to force in a run. With Jeurys Familia coming into the game, it seemed like the Mets would win a series after losing two straight.

Didn’t happen.

After two quick outs, Pham hit a ball up the middle most second baseman make fairly routinely.  The problem is Asdrubal Cabrera, even at full strength, doesn’t have much range.  With his current leg injury, he has almost no range.  Cabrera did all he could do, but he really had no shot at Pham.

Oddly enough, Juan Lagares wouldn’t have a shot at the subsequent Martinez double.  Oddly enough, Callaway went against his recent trends, and he put in Lagares for defense.  Martinez’s ball to deep center was a play almost no center fielder makes, but we have all become so spoiled by Lagares, he almost makes the impossible seem routine.  He ran back to dead center, leaped, and missed.  Instead of another highlight reel defensive play, it was a game tying double.

AJ Ramos pitched a perfect 11th, and Paul Sewald pitched a perfect 12th.  Unfortunately, the hottest pitcher in the Mets bullpen couldn’t keep the Cardinals off the board.  A Martinez walk followed by consecutive singles to Ozuna and Dexter Fowler was the ballgame.

With that, the Mets have lost three straight series, and the vibes from their amazing start have faded.  They have faded because the bottom of the lineup is black hole, but mostly, it is because this defense is bad and plays bad.

Game Notes: With the Mets out of position players, Sewald hit for himself in the top of the 13th.  Jose Reyes grounded out in the 10th to end that rally.

page top

Mets Blow Another Late Inning Lead

Through seven innings, the batters in this game might as well have gone up to the plate blindfolded and holding onto a broken tennis racket.  That was how good their chances were scoring a run against either Jacob deGrom or Julio Teheran, both of whom dominate the other team and allowed just four hits apiece tonight.  Really, their final lines were practically identical:

deGrom (ND) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K
Teheran (ND) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 6 K

It wasn’t until the bullpens got involved that these offenses would wake up, and with the Mets being the away team, they were the ones who went off first.

Wilmer Flores drew a leadoff walk against Braves reliever Sam Freeman, and he moved to second on a Jose Reyes single.  For Reyes, despite him entering this game 0-20, he had a resurgent game reaching in his first three plate attempts going 3-4 with a run and a stolen base.

The pivotal moment of the inning, and at that time, the game was when Ozzie Albies just botched catching the throw in his haste to turn a double play on a Michael Conforto grounder.  While Reyes was initially ruled out, Mickey Callaway challenged the call, and Reyes was ruled safe.

As an aside, it was the second successful challenge for the Mets on the day.  The other was just as important on what was initially ruled an Ender Inciarte stolen base of third with no outs in the sixth:

Todd Frazier‘s holding on the tag kept the game scoreless, and it helped allow this game remain scoreless into the eighth.

With the bases loaded and no outs, this was the spot where you assumed Yoenis Cespedes would come through.  Even with his recent struggles, and his batting .195 on the season, he’s still gotten the clutch hits, and he is still hitting with the bases loaded.  Except for tonight.  He hit a shallow fly to Nick Markakis, and with Flores on third, there was no way he was going to tag up and score on that.  With Cespedes’ failure to deliver, it put the rally in jeopardy.

That was until Asdrubal Cabrera came up and hit a clutch two run RBI single to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.  Jay Bruce followed with an RBI single, and he hustled to second on an Inciarte fielding error.

Eventually, Adrian Gonzalez was intentionally walked, and Jose Lobaton hit a sinking line drive which Preston Tucker almost misplayed.  Instead he made a sliding catch getting the Braves out of the inning down 3-0.

With his performance yesterday, you thought this would be enough for AJ Ramos to lock down.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see that Ramos tonight.

No, we saw the Ramos who has troubles maintaining the strike zone.  He’d bookend an Inciarte strikeout with walks to Ryan Flaherty and Albies.  With Mets killer Freddie Freeman coming up, Callaway understandably went to his lone lefty Jerry Blevins.

Much like how he performed on the season, Blevins failed to get the exact guy he was brought into the game to get.  Freeman hit a two RBI double to pull the Braves within one.

Blevins would strike out Markakis, but the damage was done.  It was done not just because the Braves plated two runs, but because Blevins failure to get both left-handed batters, but also Ramos’ ineffectiveness, Jeurys Familia needed to come into the game to get the last out of the eighth.

Going multiple innings like this was something that was once old hat for Familia, and with him doing it already two times this season, the hope was he could do it tonight.  He didn’t.

It started with a leadoff walk to Dansby Swanson, who scored the game tying run on a Johan Camargo (yes, the very same one) triple.

The Mets got a bit of a break with Kurt Suzuki lining a ball off of Frazier’s glove.  Suzuki reached first safely, but Camargo wouldn’t score on the play.  It seemed things were turning back towards the Mets direction as Charlie Culberson struck out, which at least created the possibility the Mets could get out of the inning with double play.  That didn’t happen because, as Gary Cohen predicted may happen, Inciarte dropped down the drag bunt:


With that bunt, the Mets lost the game 4-3.  More than that, the Mets blew a great start from deGrom.  More than anything, this is the second time this week, the Mets bullpen has lost a game against a division rival.  It is still too early to begin worrying about these sorts of things, but it is never to be soon to be aware of what issues it could raise for the Mets down the road.

Game Notes: Before the game, it was announced Matt Harvey was moving to the bullpen.  Joining him there was Corey Oswalt.  Gerson Bautista was sent down to make room for Oswalt.

page top

Cespedes Strikes Out Until Clutch Situation Arises

With the Mets blowout loss on a really bad Matt Harvey start, it looked like a team who lost three of their past four games needed to gain some momentum.  Fortunately for the Mets, in baseball, momentum in the next day’s starting pitcher, and the Mets were sending Noah Syndergaard to the mound.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the rest of the team was not quite up to the task when he was on the mound.

Yes, Syndergaard was beat by Ozzie Albies on a fastball, but that was Albies hitting a good pitch.  The other runs against Syndergaard was really on the Mets.

In the third, Jay Bruce, who has struggled in every aspect of his game lately, misplayed a John Flaherty ball leading to an RBI double that allowed Dansby Swanson to score from first.

In the sixth, Nick Markakis made the mistake of challenging Yoenis Cespedes‘ arm trying to stretch and single into a double.  As poor as the decision was to challenge Cespedes’ arm, it was a smart decision to test Asdrubal Cabrera‘s glove. With Cabrera unable to field the one hop throw, Markakis was safe at second.

Markakis moved to third on a Syndergaard wild pitch, which was partially the result of Tomas Nido not getting down, and he would score the third and tying run on a Kurt Suzuki sacrifice fly.

The shame of it was Syndergaard was very good on the night.  His final line was 6.0 innings, seven hits, three runs, three earned, no walks, and six strikeouts. He would get the no decision, partially because Wilmer Flores couldn’t quite score in the top half of the inning:

Still, the Mets did score three runs against Braves starter Sean Newcomb.

The Mets scored their first run in the third inning on an Amed Rosario double to deep center allowing Nido to score from first.  With Ender Inciarte making a throwing error on the play, Rosario was able to scoot over to third.  This allowed him to score on a Michael Conforto sacrifice fly, which, at the time, gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.

The Mets lead grew to 3-1 the following inning.  Todd Frazier drew a walk to lead off the inning, and he stole second putting him in scoring position to score on a Flores RBI single.

After the sixth, the Mets would begin to play much better in the field, including Nido, who threw out both Flaherty on a strike ’em out-throw ’em out double play in the seventh.  He would then nail Albies in the eighth.  These would be the first two players thrown out on the basepaths by Mets catchers.

As impressive as that was, the Mets bullpen was even better allowing just one hit after Syndergaard departed the game.  Seth Lugo pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth.  AJ Ramos threw a scoreless ninth. Robert Gsellman contributed a scoreless 10th and 11th.

With the tired arms in the Mets bullpen, Mickey Callaway sent Gsellman up to bat against Josh Ravin, who was in his second inning of work.

Gsellman would reach with Ravin hitting him with a pitch, and Gsellman quickly found himself on second on a successful Rosario sacrifice bunt.  For a moment, it appeared the Mets were going to squander an opportunity with Conforto popping out, and the .197 hitting Cespedes, who had already had the golden sombrero on the night, coming to the plate.

However, like Cespedes has done many times this season, despite his struggles, he came through hitting an opposite field single against the shift scoring Gsellman from second and giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.  That lead expanded to 5-3 when Cabrera hit a double off the right field wall.

Then for the second time in a week, Cabrera made a really bad base running mistake.  On the way to third on what should have been a stand up triple, he did one of his slides to stop himself, and he went back to second.  He was beaten back to the base by Swanson leading to the third out of the inning.

The good news is that play needed a replay review giving Jeurys Familia more time to warm up and get into the game.  Between that and the two run lead, the Mets had all they needed to lock up this 5-3 win.

Once again, the Mets are back to their winning ways, are still in first place, and are sending another ace to the mound in tomorrow’s game.  Once again, things are looking up for the Mets.

Game Notes: With a bloop opposite field double in the sixth, Bruce snapped an 0-19 skid.  He then went hitless in his next two at-bats.

page top

Callaway May Be Overworking The Mets Bullpen

After an epic eighth inning bullpen meltdown against the Washington Nationals, the fans and media began the process of second guessing Mets manager Mickey Callaway. With that the central question was why Callaway went to Seth Lugo instead of allowing Jacob deGrom to face Howie Kendrick, who deGrom has completely dominated both that night and over the course of his career.

As we know, Lugo did the inexcuable and walked Kendrick on four pitches. This led to Jerry Blevins, AJ Ramos, and Jeurys Familia not getting the job done. With the exception of Blevins, there were ensuing questions about how each reliever was used in that inning.

These questions are interesting for debate, but they are missing the larger issue here. In his brief managerial career, Callaway has ridden the bullpen too hard for this team to have sustained success over the course of a 162 game schedule.

There are a number of caveats many people will cite. There have been a number of off days. The Mets pitchers aren’t going deep enough into games thereby forcing Callaway’s hand. The bullpen can’t possibly be overworked because they have pitched just the 17th more innings in the majors.

Here are some other key stats to consider. There are 15 pitchers in baseball who have made double digit appearances this season. The Mets have three of those pitchers with Familia, Ramos, and Blevins. By the way, they were also the three pitchers who failed to get the job done that fateful eighth inning.

By the way, the Mets are the only team to have three relievers make double digit appearances, and that number will grow to four when Robert Gsellman, who has scuffled a bit of late, makes his next appearance.

We tend to over-focus just on the number of appearances, innings, and pitches relievers throw. Them getting up to warm up also counts. It is part of the fatigue which can set in for a reliever.

At this point, we can not be definitively sure any of the Mets relievers are gassed even with the recent drop-off. Really, that can be explained by regression to the mean or just a fluke small sample size.

Here’s what we do know. For most of this season, Callaway has had a bullpen with an extra arm in it. Despite that, the Mets have had to make roster moves on two separate occasions to get a fresh arm into the bullpen. First, it was Corey Oswalt for a day. Now, it’s Gerson Bautista for who knows how long?

The answer to that one may just be up until he gets gassed and the Mets need to go back to the minors to pull up Hansel Robles or Jacob Rhame again. Maybe this time, it’s Tyler Bashlor who comes up to the majors straight from Double-A.

Point is, the way Callaway is using this bullpen is having an effect, and it is causing the Mets to need to dip into their minor league depth to get fresh arms into this bullpen. Maybe this was the plan all along, and that plan is buttressed by Sandy Alderson’s moves at the trade deadline last year. Probably not.

Whatever the case, the Mets are going to have to figure something out because this cannot continue for 162 games.

page top

Mickey Callaway’s Eighth Inning

Look, it was bound to happen.  The revamped and praised bullpen was finally going to have a meltdown.  Mickey Callaway was going to have a game leaving fans scratching their heads a bit leading up to him getting criticized.  The fact it came against the Nationals was tough.  The fact it was a blown 6-1 lead was tougher.  The combination of the two left a really sour taste in your mouth despite the Mets 12-3 start.

In that eighth inning, the Mets would use five pitchers who allowed six runs on five hits, three walks, and a hit batter.  Two of those walks were bases loaded walks.  With the exception of Jacob deGrom, each and every pitcher who appeared that inning has some explaining to do.

Naturally, when you have a complete bullpen meltdown like that, much like we saw cause the 2008 Mets collapse, there are going to be some questions about how Callaway handled the inning.  Let’s take a look.

Questionable Decision No. 1 – Lifting deGrom

At the time Callaway lifted deGrom, the Mets had a 6-1 lead in the top of the eighth.  A Michael Taylor strikeout was book-ended by a pair of singles by Moises Sierra and Trea Turner.  At that point, deGrom had thrown 103 pitches, and he was about to go to the Nationals lineup a fourth time.

Before moving on, some key stats should be considered.  In his career, batters hit .277/.300/.447 when facing deGrom for a fourth time.  However, that stat should be mitigated by the batter Howie Kendrick.

For his career, Kendrick is hitting .087 with no walks or extra base hits against deGrom.  Last night, Kendrick was 0-3 with three strikeouts against deGrom.

Considering Bryce Harper is hitting behind him, and you have Jerry Blevins warming in the pen to face him, there’s no way you second guess Callaway for leaving deGrom in the game.

By removing deGrom, Callaway opened himself up to second guessing.  That second guessing grew louder when Seth Lugo, who had been excellent this year, walked Kendrick on four straight pitches.

Question Decision No. 2 – Using Lugo for One Batter

As noted above, with Harper on deck and Blevins warming, whoever you brought into the game to face Kendrick was only going to be in for one batter, so why Lugo?

There is a time to experiment with your bullpen guys to give them a different taste of different moments, but a game against the Nationals just isn’t that moment.  Not when there was something brewing that caused you to go out there and bring in a reliever to nip a potential rally in the bud.

Since you are bringing Blevins into the game to face Harper anyway, you could have used him to pitch to Kendrick.  After all, Kendrick is just 1-8 off Blevins.  Even if Kendrick hits an unlikely homer, you are still up 6-4 at that point, and you have Blevins to face Harper.

Instead, Lugo was put in an unfamiliar situation, and he struggled.  That doesn’t excuse Lugo’s performance in the least.  He should have gone out there and recorded the out, or at least forced Kendrick to put the ball in play.  Really, this at-bat was a seminal moment as this is where the rally really began to build momentum and begin to spiral out of control.

Questionable Decision No. 3 – Using Ramos

Iseemed odd Callaway would go to AJ Ramos over getting Jeurys Familia into the game at that spot.  Heading into this season, Callaway spoke about getting his best relievers into the biggest spots of the game regardless of whether there was a save situation or not.  That’s not what happened.

Instead of using Familia to nip the rally in the bud and let Ramos start a clean ninth, Callaway took a page out of Terry Collins book and saved his closer.  He also used Ramos, who has allowed 24.5% of inherited runners to score in his career.  Now, to be fair, Callaway may have wanted to shy away from Familia who has had a fairly high workload this season. Still, you have to wonder why Ramos there.

Out of anyone in the Mets bullpen, Ramos has the highest walk rate with a scary 4.9 BB/9 for his career.  That included his walking six batters in the 6.1 innings he had pitched entering last night’s game.  Bringing Ramos into this game into a powder keg of a situation could potentially light a fuse and blow the game.

It started out well with Ramos over powering Ryan Zimmerman to get the second out, and the Nationals sent up Matt Reynolds to the plate.  Right here was why the Mets should have never lost this game.  It’s also why using a walk prone Ramos is dangerous.

Reynolds, who is a career .224/.294/.393 hitter with an 8.1% walk rate, walked on four straight pitches to make it 6-4.

Questionable Decision No. 4 – Double Switching Flores into the Game

When Callaway brought Familia into the game, he obviously had the intention of using him for the four out save.  With the pitcher’s spot due up second in the bottom of the inning, Callaway understandably double switched him into the game.

What is interesting is Juan Lagares had made the last out of the bottom of the seventh.  By the book, you swap him out.  Being smarter than that, Callaway didn’t do that instead opting to keep his best fielder in the game in a crucial spot.  Instead, he went back and pulled Adrian Gonzalez.

Now, Gonzalez isn’t the four Gold Glove Gonzalez anymore.  In 92.1 innings this season, he has a -1 DRS and 0.1 UZR.  It’s a small sample size, but it is in line with what he’s been the past few seasons.  His dimished skill and range were prevalent when Harper had hit an RBI single earlier that inning between him and Asdrubal Cabrera.  That was more on Cabrera’s range, but it did speak to the limited range on the right side of the Mets infield.

Now, Flores arguably has more range than Gonzalez with a 0.2 UZR at first this year and a 2.3 UZR over the past three seasons.  However, he’s not yet good enough to consider using him for defense late in games at any position.  In fact, he also has a -1 DRS at first this year but in just 45.2 innings.  Flores’ poor defense and relative inexperience MIGHT have been at play when Wilmer Difo hit a single by him.  Whether Gonzalez gets to that or not, we’ll never know.

Another important point here is with Flores being double switched into the game, you do not get to deploy him against a left-handed pitcher.  Instead, you have to use him against a right-handed one.  Flores has improved against right-handed pitching, but not to the point where he’s your first option over Yoenis Cespedes or Jay Bruce.

As an aside, what would have been so wrong if Familia batted?  If he immediately gets out of the inning, you have a two run lead.  Let him go up there and take his strikeout, and you have your optimal defense for the eighth and ninth innings.  Instead, you weakened your infield defense with a power sinker pitcher, and you didn’t try to get a platoon advantage with Flores coming off the bench.

Questionable Decision No. 5 – No Gsellman At All

Arguably, Robert Gsellman has either been the Mets best or second best reliever this season.  In a pressure filled spot, you would think you would’ve found a spot for him, especially at a time when you were looking to get a ground ball double play to get out of the inning.  Instead, Callaway decided to go with Ramos and an obviously fatigued Familia.

Synopsis

When you have a complete meltdown like the Mets had, there is little a manager can do but pray.  Really, Callaway is getting second guessed because the Mets lost a game where they had a five run lead with one out in the eighth inning.  You should never lose those games.

Lugo can’t walk Kendrick on four pitches.  Blevins has to get Harper out in that situation.  Ramos can’t walk and hit batters.  Familia needs to dig just a little deeper and not hit a batter or walk in the go-ahead run.

Also, someone needed to make a play.  Two balls where hit between the first and second baseman.  Cabrera couldn’t make a play on either.  Certainly, you could argue an infielder with even average range gets to the Harper single.  Cabrera would then exacerbate his inability to make a play in the field by getting bizarrely aggressive on the base paths getting thrown out at third with one out in the ninth inning.  That was inexcusable.

Really, this game was your typical Callaway game.  When it comes to his bullpen, he’s going to be a little more aggressive than most in what is typically his attempt to put his players in the best position to succeed.  In his first 15 games, it seems he’d rather put players in a position to succeed than leave them out there and let them  make a play.

Until last night, that made Callaway look like a genius.  Last night?  Well, it made him look like a meddling over-manager.  Ultimately, that’s the way it goes with not just managing, but managing in New York.

Whatever the case, after that brutal loss, we are really going to find out something about both Callaway and this Mets team.  Do they get off the mat and show the Nationals they’re the better team?  Do they come out shell-shocked and lose this game?

Right now, we don’t know, but we are soon going to find out just how special both this team and this manager is and can be.

 

 

 

page top

Mets Lose On Ugly Eighth Inning Meltdown

With two outs in the top of the first inning, Bryce Harper would hit one of the most incredible home runs you will ever see off of Jacob deGrom:

Harper was sawed off, and he still hit a no doubt home run.  Because of who the Mets are this season, they would immediately respond.

In the bottom of the first, Michael Conforto hit an opposite field double off of Jeremy Hellickson that Matt Adams just could not corral. After that, Todd Frazier, who is suddenly the hottest bat in the Mets lineup followed with a two out RBI single tying the game at one.

In the third, it was Frazier again.  After an Asdrubal Cabrera single and Conforto walk, Frazier ripped a go-ahead RBI double giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.  It could have been more but the Nationals nailed Conforto at home.

 

Juan Lagares would create the first rally after drawing a walk off of Matt Grace.  During Jose Lobaton‘s at-bat, he would steal both second and third base. That led to Mickey Callaway surprising everyone by calling a squeeze:

With the ball scooting away, this allowed Lobaton, who had reached earlier by walk, to get to third.  This put him in perfect position to score on an Amed Rosario fielder’s choice giving the Mets a 4-1 lead.

The Mets would quickly make that a 6-1 lead in the seventh.  Brandon Nimmo began the inning with a triple off the outstretched glove of Michael Taylor, and he’d score when Cabrera hit a two run homer off A.J. Cole.

At 6-1, the Mets looked to be in great shape. deGrom was pitching like the ace he is being the first Mets starter to pitch into the eighth inning.  His final line would be 7.1 innings, six hits, three runs, three earned, one walk, and 12 strikeouts.

At the time the Mets added four tack on runs, it didn’t look like deGrom needed them.  While he might not have a suddenly imploding Mets bullpen would actually need more than a five run cushion.

After allowing a pair of singles, deGrom was done with one out in the eighth.  Seth Lugo relieved him and walked Howie Kendrick to load the bases.  This led Callaway to call on Jerry Blevins, who allowed Harper to hit a two RBI single to bring the Nationals to within 6-3.

All three runs were charged to deGrom, but the last two were allowed to score by the Mets bullpen.

With Lugo and Blevins not getting the job done, Callaway summoned AJ Ramos with two on and one out in what was now a ballgame.

Ramos would strike out Ryan Zimmerman before allowing a single to Pedro Severino to load the bases.  That put the game in the hands of former Mets infielder Matt Reynolds, who pinch hit for Cole.  After a four pitch walk. the Nationals were within 6-4 and still with the bases loaded with two outs.  At this point, Callaway had little choice but to go to Jeurys Familia.

Familia would choose a bad time to blow his first save of the year as he allowed Wilmer Difo to tie the score with a two RBI single.  It got worse with him hitting Moises Sierra, a player who has not played in the majors since 2014, before issuing a bases loaded walk, the Mets second of the inning, to Taylor to give the Nationals a 7-6 lead.

In the ugliest inning of the year, the Mets bullpen would allow six runs (two inherited) off three hits, three walks, and a hit by pitch.  That really is embarrassingly bad and reminiscent of last year’s terrible Mets team.

Kendrick would homer off Hansel Robles in the ninth to ensure the entire Mets bullpen would pitch poorly on the evening.

Just to make sure this loss would sting all the more, Cabreara would hit a one out double off Ryan Madson, he would try to get to third on a pitch that got away from the catcher.  The play would be reviewed, Cabrera would appear safe, but the out call was upheld.  In the end, it doesn’t matter, Cabrera made a real bone headed decision.

The Mets came into this series with a chance to maybe bury the 2018 Nationals in April.  Instead, they may have breathed new life into a team which desperately needed a shot in the arm with this 8-6 loss.  This is really the Mets first taste of adversity this year.  Let’s see how they respond.

Game Notes: Yoenis Cespedes did not start the game for the first time this year.  He pinch hit in the eighth and flew out.  Jay Bruce didn’t start again today with his plantar fascittis flaring up again.

page top

Wilmer Homer Was a Family Affair

Due to a family event, I was unable to use the Mets tickets I had originally purchased for the game.  Considering it was me who scheduled the family event, it was REALLY poor planning on my part, except for one thing . . . .

With the exception of one of my uncles, an uncle who harbors no ill-will towards the National League team, we are all Mets fans.

We are all split on football and hockey.  Generally speaking, we all prefer NCAA basketball to the NBA, with us each having our own colleges we support.

Despite the many differences we have as a family, it is our being Mets fans that bind us.  Perhaps more than the blood itself.

So, when you have a group of us together, if there is a television around, any and all family occasions will eventually turn into us sitting there watching and rooting for the Mets.  Yesterday was no exception.

We talked about what a great and underrated pickup Todd Frazier was when he delivered an RBI single in the first.

While we all agreed we loved Mickey Callaway, we loudly wondered what the (blank) he was thinking pinch hitting for Tomas Nido with an open base and Thor on deck.

This led to a discussion as to what exactly the Mets should be doing about the cdatching situation.  Some wanted J.T. Realmuto.  Others, myself included, wanted the Mets to go with the catcher who would get the most out of this pitching staff.  Regardless, we all debated what the Marlins would want for Realmuto presuming the discussions would start with Justin Dunn and Peter Alonso.

We marveled at just how dominant Noah Syndergaard was with him finally returning to form early this season with his striking out 11.  We also groaned in that sixth inning when the Brewers plated two unearned runs on an Amed Rosario throwing error.

My family had smiles bigger than the one on Brandon Nimmo‘s face when he hit a game tying homer in the bottom of that inning.  All right, almost as big a smile.

We got nervous and held on for dear life as AJ Ramos had one of those heart in your throat innings, and he was not helped by Jose Lobaton. To a man, we agreed wild pitch or not, your catcher has to get that.  Regardless, Ramos got out of the inning with some help from Jerry Blevins.

Surprisingly, no one seemed that nervous about Hansel Robles anymore.  Sure, he may not have been everyone’s first choice, but there was a calm believing he could get the job done. For Robles, that must’ve been a different feeling from past years.

And in my family, we are smart baseball fans, so there was no waiting for Jeurys Familia to lose the game in the ninth.  We’re better than that, and with his stretch, I hope all Mets fans are getting to that point as well.

Finally, like Citi Field and wherever you were, we cheered and celebrated when Wilmer Flores hit the walk off homer.

Did I get to go to the Mets game yesterday?  No, I didn’t.  However, one of the reasons we go to games is to sit in the stands and have a shared experience.  Considering I watched yesterday with my family, and it was bitterly cold yesterday, I think watching it from an Italian restaurant a state away was probably a much better experience.

The next experience will hopefully be the group of us at Citi Field as we look to recreate one of our old traditions.  Hope to see you all there.

Game Notes: Wilmer’s second career walk-off happened against the very same Brewers team he was supposed to be traded to back in 2015.

page top

Mets Beat Nationals Bullpen Again, Familia Great Again

In the Mets first game against the Nationals, the Mets let the Nationals and all of baseball know that at their best, this Mets team is as good as any in all of baseball.  Now, that’s easy when you have Jacob deGrom on the mound, Michael Conforto returning to the lineup, and Yoenis Cespedes hitting homers.  The next question and perhaps the real question is what happens when these factors weren’t present.

Well, with Steven Matz starting and Mickey Callaway giving Juan Lagares the start, the Mets were going to find out.  As it so happened, those questions started to get answered in the second inning.

Brian Goodwin would draw a two out walk, and he’d quickly steal second base on the duo of Matz and Travis d’Arnaud.  On a 3-2 with a chance to get out of the inning, Pedro Severino singled up the middle, and the speedy Goodwin dared challenge Lagares’ arm:

That’s the Gold Glove Lagares who re-emerged last year.  Whether or not his new swing and approach are for rule almost seems inconsequential when he plays center this way.

Another note here is in this game, you got to see all that d’Arnaud is as a catcher.  When his pitchers aren’t even bothering to hold on base runners, much like Matz didn’t in this game, he’s not going to have a real shot to throw out anyone trying to steal a base.  The Nationals know that better than anyone, and they stole five bases in five attempts off of him.

However, he offsets that deficiency in other ways.  As we see in the Lagares play, he’s exceptional in fielding a throw, blocking the plate, and getting the tag down.  Really, he’s the best catcher in baseball on the front.  He’s also a very good pitch framer.  That came into play on a day when Mets pitchers would record 10 strikeouts while walking just three.

That pitch framing led not to not just a third inning strikeout of Anthony Rendon, it also led to his ejection on what was a horrible overreaction by Home Plate Umpire Marty Foster:

That ejection was the Mets gain because Rendon is a great player who kills the Mets.

Even with Matz pitching well, the Mets still could not get ahead of Gio Gonzalez.  That’s not unusual because he came into this game 14-5 with a 2.93 ERA against the Mets in his career.  That left the Mets with little margin for error. That margin of error went away on two plays centered around Todd Frazier.

The first play was in the fourth inning.  Jay Bruce hit a two out double to right.  The much maligned Glenn Sherlock could have sent Frazier to have him challenge Bryce Harper‘s arm.  It would make sense with two outs and Matz due up next.  Instead, Sherlock stopped Frazier, and Matz struck out.

This decision was magnified in the fifth when Frazier threw a ball away on a Michael Taylor grounder.  After a Goodwin sacrifice bunt, Severino plated him with an RBI single giving the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

What made the game interesting and the start of this season interesting was how the Mets immediately responded.  In the sixth, Frazier atoned for his error by hitting an opposite field one out double that nearly went out.  He’d then score on a d’Arnaud RBI single (the other aspect of his being a complete catcher) tying the game at 1-1.  The Mets would have a chance to get the lead, but Jose Reyes could not deliver in a pinch hitting situation.

On came Hansel Robles.

To start the 2018 season, he has been a bit of a revelation.  He went from send down to Triple-A to start the year to getting a big sixth inning opportunity against Harper.  Mets fans expected him to melt down and point to the sky.  Well, in his defense, it was a a really good pitch:

All this proved was Harper is a great player.  What Robles proved from there was he could settle in, limit the damage, and give the Mets a chance.  The Mets took that chance with some exceptional base running in the seventh.

Amed Rosario led off the inning with a single up the middle, and he’d fly around the bases on the ensuing Asdrubal Cabrera RBI double getting just ahead of the Severino tag.  Not to be outdone, Cabrera would go from second to third on a Cespedes grounder to short.  Knowing Ryan Zimmerman can’t throw, the Cabrera, who can’t really run, read the situation perfectly and took the extra base.

After the pinch hitting Conforto was intentionally walked,  Cabrera scored on a Frazier RBI groundout.  The Mets finally had the lead at 3-2, and it was time to see if this so far improved Mes bullpen could hold the lead.

First up was AJ Ramos, who pithced a 1-2-3 seventh.  Surprisingly, the next test went to Jacob Rhame.

Rhame proved up to the task by getting former Met Matt Reynolds to groundout.  What was surprising was where Rhame succeeded, Jerry Blevins didn’t as he issued a one out walk to Harper.  This set the stage for Jeurys Familia.

In what was his biggest moment since he faced Conor Gillaspie in the 2016 Wild Card Game, Familia was in a position to get a big save.  With him needing to get five outs, he was going to be tested.  That should say tested in theory.  The Nationals were no match for him, and as a result, the Mets came away with a 3-2 victory.

It’s April and the season is barely a week old.  However, this is a different Mets team.  They’re getting the most out of every ounce of their ability.  They’re playing smart baseball.  They’re fighting.  They’re special.  They’re showing that to the Nationals, and they may soon show it to the rest of baseball.

Game Notes: Mets pitching has recorded 10 or more strikeouts in six of the seven games they have played.  The one time they did not record 10 strikeouts was in their sole loss of the season.

page top