Brandon Nimmo

Mets Now Not Hitting Bad Pitching

Garrett Richards made four starts in 2021 averaging under 5.0 innings per start. He’s allowed 14 runs over 16.2 innings while walking more than he’s struck out.

Naturally, he dominated the New York Mets over 7.0 innings. In fact, he struck out 10 batters, which nearly matched his 2021 total. He picked up the win after allowing one run on seven hits with no walks.

Now, every now and then, every pitcher has a great game. Perhaps, that was just that for Richards. It’s also possible this is just the Mets continuing their season long offensive struggles.

On the night, the Mets only run scored on a Jeff McNeil second inning homer. At the time, that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

The problem is that was just one of two Mets extra base hits on the day. The other was Michael Conforto in the fourth, but in what doesn’t remotely come as a shock, he was stranded there.

James McCann had tried to get his own extra base hit in the fifth, but he was thrown out by J.D. Martinez.

Conforto was the only Mets player with multiple hits. Francisco Lindor was the only Mets player not to strike out, but he went hitless. Pete Alonso had the golden sombrero. Both of those players did come to play defensively.

They needed it too because with the way the Mets were hitting, they needed to keep it close. David Peterson did that, and he’d be the hard luck loser for his efforts.

Peterson had kept the Red Sox at bay until the third. Right after the Mets gained the lead with the McNeil homer, Peterson gave that lead right back when Bobby Dalbec homered off of him.

The Red Sox didn’t get anything going until the sixth. Enrique Hernandez led off the inning with a double. He then scored on a Rafael Devers RBI single. That was the scoring in the game.

Peterson rebounded, and he got out of the sixth. That was partially due to Lindor turning a double play. That wouldn’t be his best one of the day.

With the Mets trailing 2-1 heading into the seventh, Jeurys Familia relieved Peterson. Familia allowed a one out double to Hunter Renfroe, and Marwin Gonzalez hit a liner up the middle which Lindor turned into an unassisted double play:

This was an amazing defensive play. However, it wasn’t enough for the Mets fans in the ballpark who had the temerity to boo Lindor. You’d think early season offensive struggles caused by a number of factors would be excused for Lindor, but the people at Citi Field are morons.

The bigger problem than the idiots booing was the loss. The final 10 batters of the game failed to reach.

When that happens, you really can’t win games. The Mets didn’t here, and they fell back to .500.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo was held out of the lineup with a hip impingement. Lindor went hitless. Stephen Tarpley was sent down to the alternate site, and Jose Peraza was called-up. Lindor batted lead-off.

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Mets Lost Faith In Jeff McNeil Again

If we hearken back to the 2018 season, the New York Mets were languishing, and Todd Frazier landed on the IL for the first time in his career. Jose Reyes was just flat out terrible, Wilmer Flores was at first, and David Wright, well, he wasn’t an option. Down in Double-A Binghamton, Jeff McNeil was flat out raking. He just kept hitting and hitting and hitting.

The answer seemed obvious to everyone. Everyone, that is, except Sandy Alderson and the New York Mets. When pressed on calling up McNeil to play third base, the answer was McNeil was a second baseman only. Of course, the irony there was McNeil was the Binghamton Rumble Ponies Opening Day third baseman.

Back then, it was difficult to ascertain how much of personnel decisions were driven by Jeff Wilpon, whomever Wilpon decided to listen on any given day, or Alderson. Whatever the case, McNeil would eventually get the call-up, prove himself, and he would go on to have an All-Star season in 2019.

Since 2019, things have gone quite uneven for McNeil as it has for the rest of us. In the end, what we do know with McNeil is he is an exceptionally gifted contact hitter, and he is a fiery player who you could trust defensively at four different positions.

According to Baseball Savant, McNeil has a career 3 OAA at second, 3 OAA at third, and -1 OAA in left field. DRS has a much better picture with McNeil having a 5 DRS at second, 6 DRS at third, and a 3 DRS in left field. All told, McNeil is not a Gold Glove, but he is a very solid defender at multiple positions.

As noted, McNeil could hit. Entering this season, McNeil had a 139 wRC+. Since his debut, he has been the 13th best hitter in the majors, and he trailed only Brandon Nimmo among Mets players. All told, McNeil has established himself as a very good, versatile, and valuable Major League player. Despite that, we are seemingly back at square one with McNeil.

With the acquisition of Francisco Lindor, and his preference to hit near the top of the lineup, McNeil was dropped from the top two spots, where he thrived, to sixth and seventh in the lineup. Perhaps it was the drop in the lineup, the new baseball, the delay to the season, the typical influence Chili Davis has on his teams, the pandemic, or just the normal ebbs and flows of the season, but McNeil has struggled.

The thing is, he didn’t quite struggle right away. In fact, to start the season, McNeil was tattooing the ball. Unfortunately, he was not getting any luck. Balls he normally hit for singles and doubles weren’t falling in anymore. The Mets reaction to that was to sit him after the Mets first two games of the season.

That has become an emerging pattern for McNeil. So far, the Mets have played 17 games, and McNeil has only started in 14 of them. The only projected starter who has started in fewer games is J.D. Davis, but that was only because Davis landed on the IL after getting hit by a pitch early in the season.

Davis is somewhat illustrative of the problem here. Davis has again been a nightmare defensively. He’s already a -2 DRS and a -1 OAA at third. He made errors directly impacting his team and leading Taijuan Walker and David Peterson to have shorter starts. The end result was just one game off, where he still appeared as a pinch hitter, and he was put right back in the lineup.

For some reason, Davis is able to work through his problems despite them not being fixable. For McNeil, this is very clearly a blip, but he keeps getting relegated to the bench. Instead of getting to see more pitches and get into a rhythms, the Mets are doing to the opposite. In fact, they’re just setting him up to continue to struggle.

Perhaps, this is just Alderson resting back on previous biases towards players from his first stint with the Mets. Taking a broader look, Dominic Smith has had some similar struggles getting into the lineup. In fact, the Mets have begun using him as a platoon bat. That’s despite him being one of the Mets best hitters against left-handed pitching.

To some extent, McNeil is also being used as a platoon player. For example, he was also not in the lineup against Patrick Corbin. More likely, McNeil is just being punished for struggling. For some reason, he is not going to be permitted to struggle and figure things out at the plate while others can go out there being butchers in the field costing the Mets games.

Make no mistake, how the Mets are handling McNeil is a very big problem. They are taking one of their best players, and they are crossing him up further. They are not putting him in a position to succeed in terms of where he hits in the lineup and in terms of getting to play enough to get into a rhythm and figure things out. Whatever the reason for the McNeil benchings, they have to stop, and they have to stop now.

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Taijuan Walker Gets Some Help

The New York Mets sent Taijuan Walker to the mound to take the series against the Washington Nationals. He did everything the Mets could possibly ask of him, and we saw his team step up around him.

We got a sense of what type of day this was going to be when Josh Harrison reached on a lead-off single. However, he was not there for long when Walker, who has an excellent move, picked Harrison off of first:

Long story short, Walker and the Mets were going to make this a long afternoon for the Nationals offense. That topsy turvey first inning would end for the Nationals when Jonathan Villar robbed Josh Bell of a hit:

We saw this again in the third when Victor Robles got greedy. Robles had hit a ball to the right center field wall where Michael Conforto fielded it. Now, to Robles’ credit, Conforto’s arm hasn’t been good at all this year. However, on this play, he was perfect with a relay to Jonathan Villar, who nailed Robles at third:

Here’s what is so fascinating. The first two hits by the Nationals off of Walker were IMMEDIATELY erased off the basepaths. That’s a real problem when you are trying to score runs. That’s an even bigger problem when you get all of three hits off of Walker over his seven scoreless innings.

Of course, a very large part of that was the way the Mets played defense in this game. There was perhaps no bigger defensive play in this game or even the season than what we saw from Albert Almora in the sixth.

In the sixth, Walker had issued a one out walk to Yadier Hernandez and then hit Trea Turner with a pitch. After a fielder’s choice by Bell, there were runners at the corners with Kyle Schwarber at the plate. Schwarber would give one a ride which Almora tracked down in Juan Lagares fashion:

There was literally nothing the Nationals could do to crack what was seemingly an impenetrable Mets defense. What was odd about that is the Mets defense was the second worst in the National League coming into this game with a -7 DRS. However, this still made the plays when it counted, and they would put Walker in a position to win.

One of the reasons why is the Nationals started Patrick Corbin, who is not only just a shell of himself so far this year, but he also struggles against the Mets hitter. Chief among them is J.D. Davis and Michael Conforto. It should come as little surprise both had a good day at the plate.

Davis was 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs, a homer, and two RBI. We also saw Conforto go 1-for-4 with a double, but he deserved a better fate. In the bottom of the fifth, Conforto had hit what was originally ruled a sacrifice fly. However, upon reply, Francisco Lindor missed touching home plate making that a double play and not an RBI:

Honestly, it was just one of those weird days for the Mets offense, and home plate umpire Doug Eddings just had one of those really bad days. Case-in-point, in the fourth inning, the Mets had already scored a run on a James McCann RBI single. They had loaded the bases thereafter with two outs with Brandon Nimmo coming to the plate.

As is usually the case, Nimmo worked the count full. The last pitch was further outside than a pitch already called a ball in the at-bat, and frankly, it was well off the plate and towards the opposite batter’s box. As Nimmo started sprinting towards first, Eddings rang him up.

What really hurt about that was not only was that going to be another run to make it a 4-0 game, but Pete Alonso was going to come up with the bases loaded. Instead, with the game 3-0, Alonso would lead off the fifth, and he would make it 4-0 all on his own:

The Mets offense wouldn’t do much from that point, but it didn’t matter as the pitching and defense carried them the rest of the way. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t any drama.

Miguel Castro relieved Walker to start the eighth, and the Nationals offense seemed to come alive. Andrew Stevenson and Yadiel Hernandez book ended a Harrison striking out to put two on and one out. Castro responded by striking out Ryan Zimmerman, who was pinch hitting for Turner after he had been hit by a pitch earlier in the game, and Bell to end the jam.

Edwin Diaz came on for the ninth, and he pitched a perfect inning. With that, the Mets are once again above .500, and they have won two out of the three series at home (tying the other). In the end, we see the Mets taking care of business at home, which is a recipe for a good season.

Game Notes: This marks the first time the Mets have played consecutive series all season without a postponement. Nimmo has reached base safely in 15 out of the 16 games he has played. Jeff McNeil did not start for the fourth time this season.

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Jacob Completely deGrominates Nationals

To a certain extent, you can say Jacob deGrom underperformed tonight. After all, Andrew Stevenson and Starlin Castro managed to get a hit off of him.

That’s it. That was the total extent of the Nationals offense, and honestly, it was a miracle they even made contact.

deGrom set a career high with 15 strikeouts. He was around 100 MPH the entire night. He retired the final 19 batters he faced.

Really, there are no words to describe how great deGrom was. That’s because they haven’t been invented yet. Likely, that’s because we have not seen anything like this.

It’s at the point with deGrom where he’s struck out 14+ in three consecutive starts. He has a 0.31 ERA on the season. With this complete game shutout, his career ERA is lower than Tom Seaver‘s Mets ERA, and deGrom has a better ERA+ to boot.

Dominating from the mound isn’t enough for deGrom. No, he also has to be great at the plate. Tonight, he was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs, a double, and an RBI.

That’s right. Jacob deGrom had as many hits as he allowed. He also scored and drove in more runs than he allowed. In fact, deGrom drove in as many runs in this game as earned runs he’s allowed. Of course, that also means he scored more than he’s allowed.

Overall, the Mets won 6-0, and it was almost all because of deGrom. He was pure magic to the point where he awoke a sleeping Mets offense.

After his third inning RBI double off Erick Fedde, Brandon Nimmo would hit a two RBI single. That three run inning put the game out of reach.

Nimmo returned to the lineup after missing two games dealing with a hip issue. He was great too going 3-for-5 with two runs, a homer, and four RBI.

The other run was driven in by Dominic Smith with a seventh inning single driving in Nimmo. Of course, this is all filler. What the night was really about was deGrom.

We are seeing pure greatness every fifth day. You never know what he’s going to do next. The only thing you do know is he’s going to amaze.

Game Notes: Michael Conforto hit for a second consecutive game for the first time since the second game of the season. After a day off due to his defense, J.D. Davis returned to the lineup. He fielded the only chance he had, but he also had a three strikeout game.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Swept In Embarrassing Fashion By Cubs

The New York Mets came to Chicago looking to beat up on a reeling Cubs team. Instead, they got beat up and are reeling themselves.

1. J.D. Davis needs to be on the bench period. He continues to prove he can’t field, and that really hurt the team in this series.

2. In the three game set Taijuan Walker, David Peterson, and Joey Lucchesi failed to go four innings let along five.

3. Walker and Peterson were really hurt by Davis’ defense. Walker would also be hurt by walks as would Lucchesi.

4. The more you see Lucchesi, the more you realize he’s not a starter, but he might be a great reliever.

5. One bright spot of this series was maybe discovering Sean Reid-Foley could be a real piece. He kept his walks down for a night. If he can do it for many nights, watch out.

6. Speaking of watch out, Pete Alonso is heating up. He hit some big homers, one of which left the ballpark.

7. Michael Conforto almost hit one out, and he at least appears to be working towards being his normal self.

8. After all the nonsense and hand wringing over Francisco Lindor, he hit his first homer and had his first three hit game.

9. Jeff McNeil just can’t seem to get going this year. It’s really difficult to pinpoint the problem too.

10. While the Mets are struggling at the plate, it’s too early to derive conclusions. That said, they’re following the same patterns as other Chili Davis coached teams with climbing ground ball rates.

11. James McCann is just so good mechanically, and he gets the ball out so quickly, he gives his middle infielders a real chance to get down the tag.

12. The one issue with McCann is he hasn’t been great receiving throws. Then again, the throws to him at home have been terrible.

13. The Mets defense on Wednesday set the sport back. It was just that bad, inexcusably so.

14. Davis can be terrible all he wants, but he has no one to blame but himself. He sure can’t blame Alonso.

15. The state of umpiring in the game is really bad. We’ve seen Mets pitchers get really squeezed. Walker was ejected AFTER he was removed from the game. Kris Bryant still hasn’t touched first.

16. Luis Guillorme is the epitome of a grinder. Down 12 with two outs in the ninth, and he battles in an at-bat and gets a hit.

17. If Brandon Nimmo has an issue, the Mets should just get him on the IL. Get him the rest to allow him to come back as their best offensive player.

18. If Kevin Pillar is struggling this much, the Mets should at least throw Albert Almora at least one start.

19. Edwin Diaz has great stuff, and he can be absolutely dominating and unhittable. That said, it’s really difficult to trust him when he implodes like he did in the 10th inning.

20. It’s hard to take people seriously when they support runners on second in extra innings and seven inning doubleheaders, but they get bent out of shape about uniform colors.

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Mets Need To Stop Playing J.D. Davis At Third Base

For two nights in a row, J.D. Davis made errors which cost the New York Mets dearly. In back-to-back nights, his defense was a direct cause of Taijuan Walker and David Peterson being unable to navigate through five innings.

The problems with Davis at third are multi-faceted. He sometimes has difficulty hitting balls hit right at him. He doesn’t have range. While he has a strong arm, he seemingly has the yips where he is taking multiple steps before releasing the ball.

Honestly, this is a player who is crossed up right now, and it is an adventure when he is out there. Right now, his play is on par with Todd Hundley in left field or Mike Piazza at first base. Put another way, the Mets are putting a player in a position to fail, and despite Davis’ best efforts, he’s failing miserably.

This is not a direct reflection on the effort. We all saw the reports of Davis working with Gary Disarcina and Francisco Lindor. There is really nothing to doubt the effort. That said, there is every reason to doubt he can play third base or any position.

Since joining the Mets in 2019, Davis has a -19 DRS at third base. That is the worst at the position by a significant margin. In fact, on just his play at third base alone, he’s the fifth worst defender in the majors. When you include his -9 DRS in left field, he surpasses Jurickson Profar as the worst fielder in all the majors.

The Mets were attempting to hide him at third, and they thought putting him next to Lindor would help. Seeing him in action this year and over the past three years, it’s not working. It can’t work.

Also, keep in mind, the Mets are not just trying to hide Davis’ glove. Because they refused to make the hard decisions, they put Pete Alonso at first pushing Dominic Smith to left field. That put Brandon Nimmo to center. Of all those moves, Nimmo in center seems to be the only one working well. That’s the Mets getting lucky.

The Smith in left field is another factor. The Mets left side defense is atrocious. He and Davis combined are working to neutralize Lindor. Honestly, what is the point of getting Lindor if you’re going to surround him by terrible defenders? That’s like putting a great sound system in a Ford Pinto.

The bigger problem is the Mets pitching staff. We saw it with Walker and Peterson, and we will see it with Marcus Stroman. In fact, we will also see it with Jacob deGrom. The Mets have a ground ball pitching staff. That issue will further compound it self when Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard return from the IL.

Overall, the Mets have built a team based on ground ball pitching. That is why you could believe you can get away with Smith in left and Nimmo in left. That’s all well and good. However, you can’t assemble a ground ball staff and put literally take the worst defensive third baseman in the majors and make him the starter.

The Mets decision is compounded by the fact they have Luis Guillorme, who is a great defender. We also see Guillorme is hitting to start the season. He’s a grinder who is just never going to give up. Case-in-point is Guillorme’s at-bat last night. The Mets were down 12 with two outs in the ninth, and he got a base hit after battling in a seven pitch at-bat.

Overall, when you look at how the Mets built this team, Davis cannot start. When you look at how mightily, he’s struggling, Davis cannot start. When you see his numbers over the past three years, Davis cannot start. When you see the other options available, Davis cannot start.

Yes, this is getting redundant, but then again, so is the Mets insistence on trying to make Davis an everyday player. They tried. Davis tried. It’s not working, and they are putting an entire season at risk by doing so. It’s time to make Davis the strong bench player he was always meant to be and allow Guillorme and/or Jonathan Villar play in his stead.

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Mets Defense Sets Baseball Back A Century Or Two

David Peterson had no-hit the Chicago Cubs for the first 3.1 innings. That was despite a moving and ever changing strike zone.

The Mets had a 2-0 lead, and things looked great. After all, Francisco Lindor hit his first homer with the Mets:

Not only would the Mets lose this one, but they would lose bad. Adding salt in the wound was how embarrassing a loss it was. The fourth inning defense was just about the worst you’ve ever seen:

It was 2-1 Mets after the Cubs hit three consecutive singles. With runners on first and second, Javier Baez hit what should’ve been an inning ending double play. Instead, J.D. Davis, the worst defender in baseball, booted it.

That error not only allowed the inning to continue, but it opened the floodgates. It also precipitated just a series of gaffes.

Michael Conforto threw one away. Lindor booted one and then threw it away. After all was said and done, the Cubs scored seven runs. Gary Cohen called it a circus, and he was being kind.

In the fifth, Lindor had a bloop, and Pete Alonso had a blast. That’s putting it mildly. Alonso killed that ball:

At that time, they had hope. It was just 7-4. The problem was the Mets weren’t done playing just awful baseball.

Lindor and Jeff McNeil got crossed up on who should play a ball. That turned into a Willson Contreras double. James McCann had a catcher’s interference.

One potential inning ending double play ball deflected off Robert Gsellman‘s leg and into center. Another was hit to Davis who took his time and STILL nearly threw it into the outfield.

That was just the three run fifth.

In the sixth. Trevor Hildenberger walked the bases loaded before allowing a grand slam to Javier Baez. At that point, it was 14-4, and frankly, it seemed like the Mets were lucky to be that close.

It got to that point Guillorme pitched. That’s right, their second best defender pitched while Jonathan Villar took over at short with Davis at third.

Guillorme allowed two runs making it 16-4. The sad part is this ruined Guillorme’s 0.00 ERA entering the game.

Perhaps, the most impressive part of the game was Guillorme. With the Mets down 12 and two outs in the ninth, Guillorme battled, and eventually, he pulled off the single. The Mets wouldn’t score that inning.

The Mets lost, but at least they played Davis at third. That, and not winning games or supporting their young sinkerball pitcher, is what’s really important.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo sat out with a sore hip. Luis Guillorme is hitting .417/.563/.417, but he can’t start over Davis.

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Umpires And J.D. Davis Cost Mets Chance To Win

Taijuan Walker took the mound looking to build off of his strong start to the season. Instead, he was plagued by bad umpiring and defense.

It got so bad Walker was ejected in the fourth. At that point, he had had enough of getting squeezed. The same could be said of Luis Rojas who was also ejected.

After 3.2 innings Walker had allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and SIX walks. He struck out seven, but again, six walks.

Things should have gone better for Walker even in an abbreviated start. In the third, Walker got the ground ball he needed to get out of the inning. The bad news is Willson Contreras hit it at J.D. Davis.

What should’ve been a routine play was an error the Mets could’ve have. With that, it was 1-0 Cubs.

As bad as that was, there was the all around disaster in the fifth. Kris Bryant hit a ground ball towards Davis, who threw the ball away again.

If you’ll notice, Bryant never touched first, and yet, he will still called safe. That right there speaks to the state of umpiring and just how bad Davis was in this game.

It’s notable Davis has the yips, and he can’t get a throw off without double clutching and taking a few steps. For some reason, that was the over exaggerated narrative about Jeff McNeil, but for Davis, it’s ignored.

The good news is the Mets bullpen held up. After Walker was ejected, Robert Gsellman (0.2), Jacob Barnes (2.0), Jeurys Familia (1.0), and Trevor May (1.0) combined to keep the Cubs scoreless. That kept the score at 3-1, and, theoretically, gave the Mets a chance to win.

They didn’t.

Once again, the offense was flat out bad. As a team, they were 1-for-6 with RISP leaving 10 men on base. For five innings, they made Jake Arrieta look like the Arrieta of old.

Things were at their worst in the ninth. Craig Kimbrel was looking for the save, and he was wild. He was begging the Mets to take walk after walk after walk.

Two of the first three batters did walk. The second one, Davis struck out on a ball he had zero excuse swinging at:

After a Luis Guillorme pinch hit single to load the bases, the Mets seemed to be in great shape to tie or take the lead.

It was at that point Kimbrel regained his control. He struck out Brandon Nimmo, and then Francisco Lindor jumped on the first pitch he saw.

When Lindor grounded out, the game was over. This was easily the most frustrating loss of the season. On the bright side, it’s just one game, and they’re still in first place.

Game Notes: This was the guest time Nimmo did not reach safely this season.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets On Rocky Mountain High

The New York Mets flew into Colorado, and they were greeted with snow. That meant another postponement and another doubleheader to the schedule. It just seems like this is the way 2021 is going to go:

1. Marcus Stroman has been nothing short of phenomenal. He’s fielding his position better than anyone, and he’s 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA. He’s been better than expected, which is saying something.

2. As great as Stroman has been, Jacob deGrom is still the best pitcher on the planet. His striking out 14 and nine in a row once again put him on the precipice of Tom Seaver‘s level. That’s a testament to how great he is.

3. One remarkable thing is through the first seven years of their careers, deGrom has a better ERA+ than Seaver, and seeing the way he has started this year, it will continue through their first eight seasons. Of course, Seaver threw a lot more innings.

4. It was nice to see deGrom get picked up by his offense for once. It was also great to see Francisco Lindor deliver his first game winning RBI as a member of the Mets. Certainly, it will be the first of many.

5. Lindor’s enthusiasm out there is only matched by Stroman’s. When you have these two players out there, it makes the Mets not just more likeable but more exciting to watch.

6. While Lindor and James McCann have not hit yet the way we expect them to hit, their defense has been terrific. Case in point was McCann gunning down Trevor Story to end the game with an exceptional tag from Lindor.

7. The defense still hasn’t been there from Michael Conforto who has had a misplay and a poor throw on Saturday. On the bright side, he has started hitting again.

8. Pete Alonso has started picking it up. He has been hitting it hard all year, and at least in Coors Field, his rockets were finding holes.

9. The best way to describe how great Brandon Nimmo has been to start the season is a 1-for-4 day is an off-day. After all, it was the first time all season he only reached base fewer than two times.

10. It looks like it just might be one of those hard luck years for Jeff McNeil as not matter how much he hits it hard, it is just going to find someone.

11. While we can expect the bat to turn around, we don’t know when his glove will. He made an error which almost cost the Mets the win. While it is still early, he is at a -1 OAA. He’s generally better than that, so it is still too early to be concerned.

12. That said, the Mets best defensive alignment is still with McNeil at third and Luis Guillorme at second. That is something to keep in mind when the Mets continue to run out ground ball pitcher after ground ball pitcher.

13. Speaking of Guillorme, despite his playing very well to start the season, it appears with J.D. Davis activated off the IL, he’ll never play again. That is all the more baffling considering the Mets have all of these ground ball pitchers, and Guillorme is a flat out better player.

14. There was far too much of an overreaction to Luis Rojas going to Robert Gsellman and Jacob Barnes in the second game of the doubleheader. The Mets simply cannot keep going to Trevor May and Miguel Castro every day. They are going to burn out, and then you’re stuck with Barnes trying to hold leads.

15. The bigger issue was Barnes making the roster in the first place. The Mets had better options, and they eschewed them to carry him on the roster. Case-in-point, it appears Joey Lucchesi is probably better suited to the bullpen, which would have allowed them to carry Jordan Yamamoto.

16. Speaking of Mets pitching decisions, Steven Matz has been phenomenal to start the season. Trading him was a completely unforced error. Hopefully, it will not cost them at some point this season. And yes, he would have been successful with the Mets this year.

17. Seeing all that has transpired, it is hard to believe Sandy Alderson still has a job with the Mets. Perhaps, Steve Cohen is allowing the organizational review to complete before taking action. Until that time, Cohen at least deserves the benefit of the doubt.

18. On that topic, we are three weeks into the season, and Mickey Callaway is still employed by the Los Angeles Angels.

19. So far, Edwin Diaz has been really good. If so, that is great news for the Mets and their chances of winning the division.

20. Jonathan Villar hitting a pinch hit RBI double driving home pinch runner Albert Almora speaks to the depth the Mets have built. If they continue getting contributions from their entire roster like the way they are right now, this is going to be a truly special season.

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Marcus Stroman Great On Mound And With Glove In Win

If you want to be the great team the New York Mets want to be, you have to win rubber games against the Colorado Rockies. Marcus Stroman made sure they wouldn’t lose.

Stroman was brilliant on that mound. That includes not just his pitching. It was his Gold Glove defense as well. Because of that the Rockies couldn’t get anything going.

In the first, Stroman got Ryan McMahon to hit into a double play. In the third, the opposing pitcher, Antonio Senzatela, tried to get down a sacrifice bunt, but Stroman pounced off the mound.

Stroman got the lead runner, and Francisco Lindor got a superstar call. While it seemed he didn’t quite catch it, the umpire ruled it was dropped on the transfer.

Stroman would just completely shut down the Rockies offense. After that third inning walk which came before that bunt play, no Rockie would reach base again until the seventh.

Stroman needed to be that good too because the Mets offense was again not clicking. In fact, things were so bad, Brandon Nimmo didn’t reach base until the eighth inning. Fortunately, the Mets did just enough to score the runs they needed.

In the second, after a Pete Alonso leadoff single, Michael Conforto had just his second extra base hit of the season with a double. Jeff McNeil hit an RBI groundout scoring Alonso giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, the Mets offense did nothing from there stranding Conforto at third. He wouldn’t be stranded there in the fourth.

Conforto hit a two out single, and he went first to third when a McNeil grounder went through CJ Cron‘s legs. J.D. Davis hit an RBI single increasingly the Mets lead to 2-0.

After that, the Mets wouldn’t score another run. In fact, the Mets wouldn’t get another runner into scoring position until the eighth.

In the eighth, Nimmo finally reached with a lead-off single. He’d steal second with no outs, and he’d move to third when Mychal Givens threw a wild pitch. He’d be stranded there.

In the ninth, McNeil got too aggressive. He hit a ball in the right field corner. However, Charlie Blackmon made a strong relay to McMahon, who nailed McNeil trying to stretch a double into a triple.

That put all the pressure on the Mets pitching. Stroman and Edwin Diaz were up to the task.

In the seventh, the Rockies finally got to Stroman when Trevor Story hit a one out double against Stroman. He’d come home to score on a Blackmon RBI single. Stroman responded to this adversity by striking out Cron and Garret Hampson to end the inning.

As great as that all was, Stroman saved his best for last. In the eighth, Josh Fuentes hit one up the middle. Stroman moved bsckwards, caught it behind his back, and got the ball to first in time.

As an aside, that was a very good stretch by Alonso to ensure Fuentes was out.

Stroman would last eight innings, which is the deepest any Mets pitcher would go in a game this year. He’d allowed just one win on three hits and one walk. He’d strike out five.

Stroman earned his third win of the season. That’s because of his dominance and Diaz conveying the save . . . or was it James McCann?

After Diaz retired the first two Rockies, Story would single. He would then try to steal second to put himself in scoring position for Blackmon. He wouldn’t get there:

The Rockies asked for replay, but Story was out. With that, the Mets earned the win in the rubber game and moved back to three games over .500. They now head to Chicago where they try to avoid weather delays again.

Game Notes: This was the first game all year Nimmo did not reach base twice. This was just their second nine inning game over a six game span.

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