Amed Rosario

Lagares And Rajai Power Mets To Win . . . Seriously

With Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer starting tonight, you suspected you were getting the pitcher’s fuel you’d normally suspect this to be, especially with how the respective offenses are performing. Both pitchers would deliver.

Between the two aces, the only run allowed was a solo homer by Adam Eaton, who the second batter of the game. Both aces went six innings with deGrom striking out eight to Scherzer’s nine. After six, Scherzer was in line for the win.

But he wouldn’t get it. The win would go to Drew Gagnon because he pitched a scoreless eighth and because the Nationals bullpen is hysterically bad.

In the eighth, Adeiny Hechavarria would start a rally with a one out double off Kyle Barraclough. Hechavarria was only in the game because Robinson Cano left the game with a tight quad after actually running out a third inning ground out. [Insert your own joke here].

Todd Frazier continued the rally with a two out walk. This walk led to the Nationals going to their closer, Sean Doolittle, to get the four out save. He instead imploded.

On his second pitch, he plunked Carlos Gomez to load the bases. Two pitches after that Juan Lagares hit a bases clearing double to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.

As unexpected as that was, after an intentional walk to Wilson Ramos, Rajai Davis hit a pinch hit three run homer in his first at-bat as a Met. To put it in perspective how unlikely this homer was, Davis arrived at the ballpark after the game started. The Mets are sure glad he got there in time.

After a scoreless ninth from Tyler Bashlor, the Mets had a 6-1 victory in a game that once seemed destined for heartbreak. Instead, it was the extremely unlikely pair of Lagares and Davis with all six of the team’s RBI just like the team drew it up.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo was placed on the IL with a neck injury. Paul Sewald was designated for assignment to make room for Davis on the roster. Amed Rosario had a strong game in the field.

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McNeil Does All He Can Do To Beat You

Maybe it is a function of being a 12th round draft pick and coming from a school, Cal State Long Beach, which is not exactly a baseball hotbed. Perhaps, this is the result of being a player who has dealt with his share of injuries. Certainly, 26 year old rookies usually have a little extra to prove. It’s always possible this was instilled in him as a child, and he continues to play the game this way.

No matter what the explanation, Jeff McNeil never takes a play off, and he does all the things he can do to beat you.

At the plate, McNeil makes contact with nearly everything. He doesn’t get fooled making contact on nearly 90 percent of the pitches he swings at, and he has only struck out 10.6 percent of the time, which is the sixth lowest rate in the majors. He has improved his walk rates, and he is hitting the ball harder than he did last year.

In the field, he has not just been versatile, but he’s been good wherever he’s been put. So far this year, he has a positive DRS at second, third, and left field. This is partially due to his having good speed. It’s also the result of his hard work and dedication to getting better.

If you break it down, McNeil has been Ichiro Suzuki like at the plate, and he has been a better version of Ben Zobrist in the field. Given his hard nose mentality, his moving around the field, and his ability, it would not be a stretch to say McNeil is reminiscent of Pete Rose, you know, without the gambling and being a complete jerk.

With McNeil, it’s not just how he comes to beat you at the plate or in the field. He does the little things well too which mostly go under the radar. We saw that last night on Amed Rosario‘s game winning RBI single:

There’s a couple of things to remember here. First, McNeil didn’t have to move an inch on the play. With their being two outs, and Adeiny Hechavarria being on third base, his lone job was not to do something stupid and make an out. Taking that into account re-watch McNeil on that play.

The entire time he is facing Trea Turner. His eyes are fixed on Turner’s eyes, and he is shifting down the line. At the last moment he slides into Turner’s throwing path. Turner’s throw was a little high, and Rosario, who as David Sadler of MLB.com points out, was running at a speed equivalent to Billy Hamilton or Byron Buxton. Rosario deserves all the credit in the world, and if not for his hustle, there’s zero chance he’s safe.

That said, you can’t help but wonder what impact McNeil had on the play. Rosario beat out that throw by a hair, which means event he slightest hesitation by Turner could have led to his being safe. You could argue McNeil’s dancing around created that split second.

And maybe it didn’t. It doesn’t change the fact McNeil didn’t take that play off. Just like he does at the plate and in the field, he found a way to try to impact the game and give his team the best chance to win. In that moment, we saw just what a special player he is and just how lucky the Mets are to have him.

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Despite Or Because Of Mickey, Mets Win

In tonight’s game, you got to see reasons why the Mets should and should not fire Mickey Callaway.

For starters, there’s Zack Wheeler, who has been a different pitcher working with Callaway and Dave Eiland. While he’s had his struggles against the Nationals this year, he came to pitch tonight.

Over his first six innings, he allowed just two hits with one of those being a second inning Juan Soto solo homer. Entering the seventh, the score was tied 1-1 partially thanks to a Jeff McNeil fifth inning RBI single. With Wheeler at 99 pitches, you expected Callaway to pull Wheeler.

However, with Wheeler dominating and the Mets in a stretch of 14 straight games without an off day, Callaway pushed him. When Wheeler struck out Soto, you got a sense it was the right move. It probably still was even with Gerardo Parra hitting a single and Brian Dozier getting his first hit off a Mets pitcher this year. Unfortunately, that was a two run home run giving the Nationals a 3-1 lead.

While you may question sending Wheeler out for the top of the seventh, you have to give Callaway credit for utilizing his bench to take the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Wilson Ramos led off the inning with a single off Wander Suero, who was in his second inning of work. After Carlos Gomez struck out, Callaway sent up a pair of pinch hitters for Juan Lagares and Wheeler.

Dominic Smith walked putting the tying run on base. Then, J.D. Davis came up for Wheeler. Apparently, the Nationals are the only team who doesn’t have a scouting report on him because with two strikes against him, Suero didn’t throw a fastball to him. Nope, he hung a curveball, and Davis hit it off the top of the right field wall and out for a go-ahead three run homer:

The Mets had a lead with an opportunity to win their first game when trailing in the seventh. For some reason, Callaway went to Jeurys Familia despite his pitching 1.1 innings yesterday and struggling in that second inning, and that’s nothing to say of his coming off the IL recently.

Familia didn’t have it. Howie Kendrick hit a leadoff single, and he scored on a Trea Turner RBI double. Kendrick was able to score there partially because Davis, who is not a left fielder, couldn’t handle a ball hit to the corner.

Callaway went to Daniel Zamora to get Soto and Parra out. Soto jumped all over the first pitch hitting a go-ahead RBI double. After Zamora retired Parra, Tyler Bashlor came in and got Victor Robles out. Certainly, with how good Bashlor has been of late and with Familia going more than an inning yesterday, Callaway looked bad when Bashlor got that huge out.

We’d soon forget that as Callaway’s team played hard for him. That started with Pete Alonso, a player vocal in his support of Callaway, hit a mammoth homer in the eighth, tying the game:

Seriously, no one could quite tell if that was fair or foul. What we do know was that was Tommie Agee-esque, and it’s a new Mets rookie record for most first half homers.

With that homer and Edwin Diaz pitching a scoreless ninth, the Mets had a chance at a walk-off win.

Even with Tanner Rainey allowing that blast to Alonso, the Nationals stuck with him for the ninth. After striking out Gomez, he walked Adeiny Hechavarria and Davis back-to-back.

Kyle Barraclough came in and got deep into McNeil’s kitchen. McNeil hit a bloop toward second. Dozier got cut waiting on it. This led to getting Davis out at second easily, but Hechavarria and McNeil were easily safe. This put the game in Amed Rosario‘s hands . . . and feet.

Rosario hit a high chopper to short. Turner had to back up on it, and just as he was about to throw, McNeil jumped in his line. Maybe it made a difference, and maybe it didn’t. Whatever the case, the throw was a tad high, and with Rosario absolutely busting it down the line, he was safe by a half step, and the Mets won the game 6-5.

A week ago, the Mets lose this game. However, a team playing for a manager they apparently seem to like and respect, they pulled this one out. Even with a couple of questionable moves, maybe Callaway is the right guy for the job. He was at least for tonight.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo was a late scratch from the lineup with a neck injury.

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Winning Mets Team Now Just An Off-The-Field Disaster

As if things weren’t bad enough with the Mets after losing five straight to two of the worst teams in baseball, the Mets were a full blown disaster before the game.

Yoenis Cespedes fell into a hole and broke his right ankle. This ensures he’s done for the year, and the team can no longer sell him as a “trade deadline acquisition.”

Seth Lugo was put on the IL with shoulder tendinitis, and he was replaced on the roster by Hector Santiago. To make matters worse, Brodie Van Wagenen tried to sell this as improving the roster.

Robinson Cano was benched for a few reasons with one of them purportedly being disciplinary. The only problem there is Cano said Mickey Callaway never informed him of that.

Speaking of the lineup, for about a week now, the Mets has pinpointed Drew Gagnon as today’s starter only to switch it to Wilmer Font with no explanation.

There’s probably a multitude of things overlooked here but it’s hard to keep track of the Mets drama and incompetence. The one thing we do know is for seemingly the first time in a week, the Mets were better off getting on the field and playing a game.

For the first time in nearly a week, the Mets played well.

In the first inning, Amed Rosario and Pete Alonso homered off Nationals starter Patrick Corbin to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

That lead grew to 4-0 in the third on a rally started with a Rosario lead-off walk. After a Wilson Ramos two out walk, Todd Frazier hit an RBI single. Carlos Gomez doubled scoring Ramos. It was Gomez’s first hit as a Mets in 12 years.

In the fourth, Font’s luck started running out. He was getting hit hard most of the night, and it would be Anthony Rendon who got the Nationals on the board with a homer. The Nationals rally continued, but Font was able to keep things at 4-2. He’d be done after the four.

Gagnon, who was supposed to start, was very good in two scoreless innings walking one and striking out two. With Font not lasting five and how well he pitched, he was in line for the win. That would become dicey.

After a scoreless seventh, Callaway pushed to see if Jeurys Familia could give him six outs. The answer was four.

Rendon hit a one out double chasing Familia from the game. Callaway went to Daniel Zamora to get the left-handed hitting Juan Soto. Soto would punch a single to center. With Rendon getting an excellent read on the ball, he scored easily.

With Lugo on the IL, this meant Robert Gsellman had to step up and fill Lugo’s role. For a split second, it looked like he failed miserably when Howie Kendrick hit a rocket. Fortunately, it was hit right at Brandon Nimmo in left. Gerardo Parra grounded out weakly to end the jam leaving Edwin Diaz a one run lead to protect in the ninth.

Actually, it was two. Carlos Gomez earned a one out 10 pitch walk against Nationals reliever Joe Ross. Ross would then throw over what seemed to be at least three times that amount. Karma stepped in, and Ross threw it away putting Gomez in scoring position.

After Juan Lagares grounded out moving Gomez to third, the Nationals went to Tony Sipp to get the pinch hitting Dominic Smith. Smith jumped on Sipp’s first pitch for an RBI single giving the Mets a 5-3 lead.

For a moment, it seemed like a crucial insurance run. Diaz hit Victor Robles with his first pitch, and two pitches later Yan Gomes blooped a single. Diaz stepped up, and he made sure Gomes was the last National to reach. Diaz recoded his 11th save, and the Mets live to fight another day.

This was a much needed win for the Mets. They had an inexcusable five game losing streak, and just hours before the game, it seemed like the walls were closing in. Instead, the Mets win, so at least for a day, things are good in Flushing.

Game Notes: Cano made a pinch hitting appearance in the sixth. He hit a double beating out a throw from Adam Eaton. Cano was booed.

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If Mets Fire Mickey Callaway, Luis Rojas Should Be His Replacement

When Jim Riggleman was hired as the bench coach this past offseason, the running joke was the Mets hired their interim manager. With the Mets faltering, Mickey Callaway‘s seat grows hotter by the day, and it would appear this is less of a joke than it is becoming a reality. Or is it?

According to Mike Puma of the NY Post, in the event Callaway was fired, the organization would consider hiring Luis Rojas as they view him “as a rising star.”

Not only is Rojas a rising star, baseball runs through his veins. From the moment he was born, baseball encapsulated his entire life. This is the way things are when you grow up in country like the Dominican Republic. It’s also that way when your father is famed player and manager Felipe Alou, and your brother is Moises Alou. Taking a look at the bloodlines, you could almost see being a Major League manager as Rojas’ destiny.

For his part, Rojas believed this upbringing has influenced not just his career choice but also his views. Rojas would tell Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com, “Growing up in that environment was very impactful, very influential in my baseball growth. Just being born in a baseball atmosphere, right away opening my eyes on baseball from the beginning of my understanding was just really helpful. Right away, I wanted to follow my brothers’ steps. I wanted to follow the family’s steps.”

Obviously, Rojas was never the baseball player he brother was. From 1999 – 2005, he was a part of the Orioles, Marlins, and eventually Expos farm systems. He’d play 37 games for the Expos Gulf Coast League affiliate in 2004 hitting .240/.315/.352. Two years later, Rojas would begin his managerial career for the Expos Dominican Summer League team.

After that one season, the Mets jumped on Rojas, and they made him their DSL Manager for one season. The team then brought him stateside to serve as a coach for two years in the Gulf Coast League. Finally, in 2011, at the age of 29, Rojas would be named the manager of that same affiliate. From that point until this year, Rojas has been a manager in the Mets farm system.

During his time as a manager in the Mets system, he has managed a number of Mets prospects including current Mets Pete Alonso, Tyler Bashlor, Michael Conforto, Jacob deGrom, Drew Gagnon, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, Steven Matz, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith, Amed Rosario, and Daniel Zamora. Put another way, Rojas has helped develop the current Mets core become not just Major League players, but in some instances, All-Star caliber players.

He’s certainly left an impression on each of these players. When hired, Alonso shared a story about Rojas’ enthusiasm for his players saying, “He was jumping up and down, arms waving in the air. I honestly think Luis was happier than [Nick Sergakis].”

But it’s more than enthusiasm and relationships, Rojas can coach. It’s one of the reasons why the Mets see him as a rising star and why they were so enthusiastic to name him the team’s first ever quality control coach. In addition to those duties, he is also the team’s outfield coach.

We are seeing his impact as an outfield coach right now. Entering this season, McNeil had played all of 26.1 innings in left field over a six year span. It was up to Rojas to get McNeil up to speed. As he explained, Rojas’ plan was to begin “with the basics: pre-pitch, stance, route, reads off the bat and we progress into other things that we are taking here into camp and then some of the drills that we bring in with some of the outfielders.” (NY Post).

With Rojas coaching McNeil, McNeil has quickly become good in the outfield with a 2 DRS, which is sixth best in the league. It’s also important to note when Conforto was drafted, the knock on him was his defense. He worked with Rojas on his defense, and he has been really good out there. Now that he’s reunited with Rojas, Conforto has a 3 DRS which is good for sixth best in the majors.Credit is due to the players, but they got to that point because they are working with an excellent coach.

Rojas is not just a coach who is able to connect with this players, he is also comfortable not just with analyzing advanced data, but also putting it in terms which are useful to the players. As noted by MMO‘s Michael Mayer, it is Rojas’ responsibility to streamline the data to the players.

While comparisons of this nature tend to be unfairly lofty, in some ways Rojas does remind you of Alex Cora. Rojas has shown the ability to understand not just the fundamental aspects of the game, but he is also well versed and comfortable handling analytical data. He is an excellent communicator and coach. He loves the game, and he loves his players.

Whenever the time comes, Rojas should prove to be a good manager for the Mets. He is everything an organization and its players want in a manager. Being the communicator he is, he should also be able to handle the press well. Hopefully, another team doesn’t realize what the Mets have in Rojas and grab him before the time the Mets have a chance to elevate him into the manager’s role he was destined to be seemingly since the day he was born.

 

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deGrom Stumbles And Callaway Fumbles

You know things are going south fast with the Mets when Jacob deGrom gets battered by the Marlins. In five innings, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits.

Sure, deGrom was abandoned by his defense. Misplays by the team’s two best defensive players, Juan Lagares and Todd Frazier, led to runs. Carlos Gomez threw a ball away allowing a run to score and move a runner into scoring position. However, it wasn’t either one of them who allowed a Jorge Alfaro bomb.

Paul Sewald, who was called up today, would eat up two innings to help save the bullpen. When he left the game, it seemed like the team was just going through the motions.

Up until the seventh, the Mets only run was a Pete Alonso second inning solo shot. A J.D. Davis two run shot in the seventh pulled the Mets to within 7-3, and things began to get interesting.

Brandon Nimmo singled, and Amed Rosario walked in front of Robinson Cano. Instead of delivering the key hit, he’d ground into an inning ending 1-6-3 double play. Although he’s done it his whole career, he certainly chose an awkward spot to not even bother running it out.

For what it’s worth, Cano said the scoreboard said there were two outs.

Still, the Mets had another rally in them even after Sewald allowed a run in the bottom of the seventh.

For some reason, Don Mattingly thought it was a good idea to bring in Adam Conley to start an inning which Alonso was leading off. Alonso made Mattingly pay by hitting a homer which sparked, not killed, rally.

The Mets would load the bases with no outs, and Mattingly brought in Sergio Romo to get the six out save.

The decision briefly looked like it’d haunt Mattingly when Lagares hit an RBI single. However, the rally stifled from there. After a Davis pop out, Nimmo hit a sacrifice fly. That’s when Mickey Callaway made a game altering decision.

Amed Rosario, who has been one of the Mets better hitters of late, was due up. Romo was a tough matchup for him, and you could understand the inclination to hit for him, especially when the guy you’re bringing in was Jeff McNeil. However, that overlooks McNeil not only left yesterday’s game with an abdominal injury, but he also wouldn’t start tonight because of it.

McNeil didn’t look quite like McNeil striking out against Romo. As bad as that was, things would get worse in the ninth.

After two quick outs, Wilson Ramos hit a double to keep the Mets hopes alive. Because of Callaway’s decision in the eighth, that meant the game was Adeiny Hechavarria‘s hands. He predictably struck out and the Mets lost 8-6.

There was plenty of blame to go around. The defense abandoned deGrom, who didn’t pitch well. Cano didn’t run it out and/or didn’t know how many outs there were. Callaway set a series of dominos into effect which led to Hechavarria striking out to end the game.

This is what a bad baseball team looks like.

Game Notes: Michael Conforto was placed on the seven day concussion IL. Keon Broxton was designated for assignment to make room for Gomez on the roster. Gomez is wearing 91. Frazier was 2-for-3 with a walk and a triple.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Feast on Marlins

Nothing like the league worst Marlins to come into town to help the Mets offense get rolling:

1. Michael Conforto, not Derek Jeter, owns the Marlins. He proved that by going 5-for-6 with four runs, two walks, a HBP, two homers, and three RBI in the two game set.

2. For all the (deserved) talk of Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso, Conforto has been their best player. His 2.0 WAR is sixth in the league.

3. Batting Conforto fifth is plain stupid and reactionary, especially when he’s their best hitter. Same goes to batting Brandon Nimmo sixth.

4. Alonso’s numbers look good due to his first 12 games. Since that time, he’s batting .222/.316/.444. He’s increasingly becoming an all or nothing hitter, albeit one with the propensity for the big hit.

5. Nice to see the Mets wait too long before putting Steven Matz on the IL. It’s like for all of Brodie Van Wagenen’s boasting about things being different, nothing has changed with him in charge.

6. So, Jed Lowrie has gone from being activated on Friday to sitting out two out of the last four games, and the Mets having no timetable for his return.

7. Say what you want about Jason Bay, but at least he played for the Mets.

8. The Mets giving Mickey Callaway no information on Lowrie and then having him be the one answer questions about his status once again shows nothing has changed under Van Wagenen.

9. Mets determined Justin Wilson didn’t need a rehab stint, and now, after one appearance after coming off the IL, he’s going back on with the same injury.

10. Seeing how well things worked with Wilson, the Mets are using the same plan of action with Jeurys Familia.

11. You have to admire Van Wagenen’s refusal to learn and adapt on the job.

12. Injuries create opportunities, and we have seen Tyler Bashlor, Drew Gagnon, and Daniel Zamora take advantage of their opportunity thus far.

13. With Jacob deGrom having three straight good starts after coming off the IL, can we forever have fans stop clamoring for Devin Mesoraco?

14. If Tomas Nido starts hitting that’s a game changer. Over his last three, Nido 4-for-11 with a homer.

15. While it was overlooked, Nido had LASIK surgery in the offseason. It may take time to adjust, but if he’s seeing the ball better, he may begin to hit better.

16. One underrated thing Callaway did Saturday was running out Dominic Smith, Todd Frazier, and Juan Lagares for late inning defense. With Conforto in RF, that’s a great defensive lineup.

17. Amed Rosario went from a below average hitter over the first month to a 111 wRC+ so far in May. Seeing his offense progress this way, maybe there’s still hope for his glove to catch up.

18. Keon Broxton has been worse than terrible, and Carlos Gomez has been hot in Syracuse. That doesn’t erase the past few years, and Broxton should get a longer rope considering he’s out of options, has actually been a successful bench player, and has arguably been a better player over the past few years.

19. Mets going a perfect 5-for-5 for the Marlins is no small feat. It’s exactly what they need to do, and destroying bad teams is exactly how the 2015 Mets won the division.

20. Whoever came up with the new backpack policy is an idiot, and the Mets deserve to have decreased attendance for having implemented it.

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Mets Drown Marlins

Long story, short, the Mets first eight batters reached base safely off Pablo Lopez of the Marlins. The big blast was from Amed Rosario who hit an opposite field grand slam:

By the time the first inning was over, it was 8-0 Mets, which essentially meant it was game over. Really, the Mets abused Lopez. The young pitcher allowed 10 earned over two innings.

Aside from Rosario’s blast, Wilson Ramos and Robinson Cano hit first inning RBI singles, and Brandon Nimmo walked to force home a run. In the second, Michael Conforto hit a homer making it 9-0.

Conforto snapped an 0-for-12 streak heading into the game. He would not make an out going 3-for-3 with a walk, HBP, three runs, and the aforementioned homer.

Later in the game, Jeff McNeil hit a homer of his own, and Nimmo had an RBI single giving the Mets an 11-2 lead.

What was noteworthy about one of the Marlins two runs was Neil Walker drove home Curtis Granderson home in the second. It was certainly an off sight to see for Mets fans.

That rally was the only time the Marlins got to Zack Wheeler. He’d go seven allowing just two runs on nine hits with one walk and 11 strikeouts.

Every Mets starter, including Wheeler, reached base safely. Pete Alonso was the only Mets starter without a hit, and he’d still walk twice and score a run.

Overall, a Mets team scuffling and incapable of scoring runs got real healthy against a terrible Marlins team. This is what the Mets are going to have to continue to do to not just get to .500, but also make headway in the division.

Game Notes: This was the first time since 1989 the Mets first eight batters reached in a game. Dominic Smith was called up to replace Steven Matz, who was placed on the IL.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Show Signs Of Life In San Diego

The Mets went out to San Diego already under .500 and incapable of scoring runs. At least for one day, they figured things out, and suddenly things don’t look so bad:

  1. The Mets schedule so far this year has been idiotic including the team having a two city road trip to Milwaukee and San Diego. Someone should get the person in charge of making the schedules a map of the United States.
  2. If Chris Paddack was a Met, the fans would love this. In fact, they did when it was Matt Harvey before he had the audacity of getting injured.
  3. If Pete Alonso is going to hit homers and celebrate on the field, he is going to make himself a target for other teams. This was a good test for him. While he failed the first part striking out twice, popping out, and whining, he responded the perfect way by hitting the go-ahead homer and having a great bat flip.
  4. Aside from needing to respond to the challenge, he needed a good game because he went into that game hitting .184/.241/.347 over his previous 13 games.
  5. It wasn’t just Alonso who got off the snide, Brandon Nimmo snapped an 0-for-28 streak which was one off Eric Campbell‘s Mets hitless record. Instead of struggling, he’s Nimmo again with him going 2-for-6 with two doubles and three walks over his last two games.
  6. At least Robinson Cano was good for a day, but the Mets needs more than just the sporadic outburst from him.
  7. No one should fault the Mets for rejiggering the lineup to try to get things going, and with the way Amed Rosario has been hitting, it was smart putting him in the second spot in the lineup. However, this is a patch and not a fix, and when Jed Lowrie is finally activated, it is time to move him back down the lineup.
  8. Once Lowrie is activated, Todd Frazier has to go to the bench. While his defense has been great, his bat has been that bad.
  9. There is way too much hand-wringing over Keon Broxton, J.D. Davis, and Adeiny Hechavarria. They’re not that good, and no one should be that worried with them being designated for assignment or headed to Triple-A. Instead, they should be worried about what makes up the best composition of the bench and how it complements the roster.
  10. Indications are if Davis goes to Triple-A, he will work on the outfield. It’s bizarre the Mets would do that with him while simultaneously not even allowing Dominic Smith to work out there.
  11. Speaking of Smith, the Mets really could have used a left-handed bat off the bench during this road trip.
  12. It’s not just Frazier who has been bad. It’s the majority of the lineup. While you may expect this to be a blip, this may be Chili Davis‘ influence as his other teams have done the same exact thing.
  13. Wilson Ramos has a career worst ground ball rate, and there aren’t really signs of him turning things around right now.
  14. Tomas Nido had offseason LASIK surgery. If his hitting is that much improved, given how well he plays defensively, the Mets are going to need to find him more playing time, especially given Ramos’ struggles.
  15. The heart says Jeff McNeil looks like an MVP candidate, but the mind sees a staggering .400 BABIP with a low walk rate and wonders when exactly the regression is going to come.
  16. Brodie Van Wagenen built a team with zero starting pitching depth, and he was forced to trade for Wilmer Font to start a game despite Font not actually being a starting pitcher. It is beyond amusing the Mets had to go to Chaim Bloom to bail them out for the actions of the General Manager who doesn’t quite know what he’s doing.
  17. After a rough start, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have been terrific, and they are giving the Mets every opportunity to win these games.
  18. Michael Conforto going in an 0-for-12 streak where he is still drawing walks and getting on base is a testament to how great a player he is becoming.
  19. More than anyone Conforto gets screwed on balls outside of the strike zone. That’s not just guessing or fan overreaction either, it’s fact.
  20. Mets fans need to stop over-criticizing Mickey Callaway. Who cares if he didn’t throw a tantrum after that bogus third strike call? The team still rallied after it, so it’s quite possible he has the pulse of this team. After all, Callaway did have the team playing hard last year.
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Mets Can’t Get With Times . . . New Roman

The all-in Mets who dared everyone to come get them started Wilmer Font against the San Diego Padres. That happened because Jason Vargas and Steven Matz are hurt, and Brodie Van Wagenen could not be bothered to build starting pitching depth this offseason leaving him to trade a PTBNL for Font.

Font isn’t a true starter, but he was pressed into duty. Fortunately for the Mets, he would acquit himself well and not be the reason why the Mets lost.

In four innings, he’d allow two earned on three hits with no walks and a strikeout. This is better than what the Mets could’ve expected, but it wasn’t enough for the struggling Mets offense.

The Mets had grabbed a lead in the game almost immediately due to a Jeff McNeil hustle double to lead off the game followed by an Amed Rosario RBI single. Rosario would then be stranded. That’s certainly been a theme for the Mets of late.

After the Tomas Nido solo shot in the second, the Mets had a 2-0 lead. As noted, Font gave it back, but when you start Font, you should expect that to happen.

After the second, the game was effectively won by Manuel Margot, who has always killed the Mets. He’d rob Pete Alonso of a homer in the sixth.

In the seventh, Michael Conforto would leadoff the inning with a walk, and he’d steal second base. However, he wouldn’t score on a Jeff McNeil double because Conforto thought Margot caught the ball. It also didn’t help Nido and Todd Frazier struck out to end that rally.

Hunter Renfroe, who like Margot kills the Mets, would homer off Tyler Bashlor in the seventh. It was the only run the Mets bullpen allowed that one run due to the strong work of Robert Gsellman and Drew Gagnon.

The Mets would have a chance in the ninth despite just a horrendous third strike call against Conforto.

https://twitter.com/yayroger/status/1126250818641047552?s=21

As noted by the great Jacob Resnick, Conforto gets more balls called strikes against him than anyone not named Cody Bellinger or Domingo Santana.

Despite the horrid calls from the umps on balls and strikes, the Mets would put together a two out rally. J.D. Davis hit an infield single, and Nimmo walked.

This put the game in Nido’s hands. He was having a great game. He was 2-for-3 with the homer. He picked a guy off first base.

But against Kirby Yates, he struck out on three pitches. With that strikeout, the Mets lost the series and finished the road trip 1-5. Fortunately, they’re coming home to a weak schedule.

Game Notes: Jed Lowrie is on track be activated on Friday.

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