Curtis Granderson

Latest Mets Trade Rumors

With the trade deadline Monday, there are going to be a number of rumors involving the Mets as the Mets were very active in the trade market last year, and they are in the thick of the Wild Card race.  Now, with the Marlins making the first big deadline trade acquiring Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea, Fox Sports Jon Morosi believes it will get the ball rolling with a number of teams, like the Mets, making a number of deals.

The Jonathan Lucroy Sweepstakes

According to ESPN’s Jerry Krasnick, the Tigers are out on the Jonathan Lucroy Sweepstakes.  This might be one of the reasons the Brewers have re-engaged the Mets on Lucroy.  As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal’s Tom Haudricourt reported, the Brewers aren’t getting the offers they thought they would receive in exchange for Lucroy, and they also want to make sure they canvass the area to make sure they get the best possible return they can get for the catcher.

Lucroy would be a huge upgrade over what Travis d’Arnaud has provided the Mets this season.  So far this year, d’Arnaud is hitting .246/.299/.333 with five doubles, two homers, and 10 RBI.  Additionally, d’Arnaud has already had a stint on the disabled list.  Lucroy has been the second best catcher in baseball this season hitting .300/.361/.486 with 17 doubles, three triples, 13 homers, and 50 RBI.  It is not much of a surprise that the Brewers already rejected a straight up deal of Lucroy for d’Arnaud.  According to Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers informed the Mets that they want some high end prospects in addition to d’Arnaud in exchange for Lucroy.  In order to get those prospects, Haudricourt says the Brewers would consider bundling Lucroy with one or two of their coveted relievers, which include Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith.

The Mets will have to get creative as, according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin, the Mets do not anticipate either Amed Rosario or Dominic Smith.  Further complicating matters is, as MMO and Mets Minors own Michael Mayer reports, Dilson Herrera has been dealing with a sore shoulder causing him to miss the last four games.

Trade With the Tampa Bay Rays

According to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, the Rays will trade Steve Pearce prior to the trade deadline, and it appears that Matt Moore is the pitcher they will most likely be willing to trade.

According to Crasnick, the Mets are very interested in Rays’ Steve Pearce.  In his career, Pearce has predominantly played first base and outfield.  However, the Rays have not played him in the outfield this year.  Instead, he has played mostly first base with some time at second, third, an DH.

Pearce would certainly fulfill a need for the Mets as he is hitting .312/.384/.528 with 11 doubles, one triple, 10 homers, and 29 RBI on the year.  He has hit a respectable .288/.348/.452 against righties, but he is flat out mashing lefties hitting .377/.476/.736 against lefties.  The Mets could desperately use him given some of the splits we have seen with the Mets starters against lefties:

This does not even include Neil Walker who is hitting lefties well this year, but is still a career .262/.320/.357 career hitter against lefties.  Given the injuries to Jose Reyes and Yoenis Cespedes as well as Juan Lagares again being put on the disabled list with the torn ligament in his left thumb, the Mets are going to have to play two or more of the aforementioned players against lefties.

The Mets could also have some interest in Matt Moore, who is 7-7 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.269 WHIP in 21 starts.  Moore would be an upgrade over Logan Verrett, and he could be insurance against Steven Matz and the bone spurs in his left elbow.

However, the chances of the Mets acquiring either player is not particularly good at the moment as the Rays intend to drive a hard bargain.  According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Rays asked for Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto in exchange for Moore and Jake Odorizzi.

Relief Help

The Mets were earlier linked briefly to Jon Niese given Matt Harvey‘s season ending surgery.  However, it does not appear as if those talks have gotten anywhere beyond the preliminary stages at this point.  Now, the struggling Niese is in the bullpen alongside Pirates closer Mark Melancon. Melancon is having another strong year as the Pirates closer going 1-1 with a 1.51 ERA and a 0.960 WHIP while recording 30 saves.

According to Rosenthal, the Nationals have been in active trade discussion with the Pirates about Melancon after Jonathan Papelbon has had a rough stretch to the season.  Rosenthal further reports trading the pending free agent Melancon would not signal the team is waiving the white flag.  Instead, the Pirates remain active on the trade market themselves, and they intend to replace Melancon with either Tony Watson or former Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz.

Frankly, it wouldn’t be a trade deadline unless the Nationals were trying to displace their closer.   According to Rosenthal, the Nationals are also in on Royals closer Wade Davis, who is having another great year recording 21 saves while recording a 1.60 ERA and a 1.099 WHIP.

Neither Melancon nor Davis have been linked to the Mets.

The Final Cost

As we see with the ask for Lucroy, the prices are going to be steep at the trading deadline.  In reality, the only thing that helps the Mets chances there is the fact that the Mets are not on Lucroy’s no trade list.    Perhaps the most discouraging sign of all is Passan’s latest report that the Phillies could obtain three to four prospects in exchange for Jeremy Hellickson.

Editor’s Note: this was first published on Mets Merized Online

page top

RISP Is the Difference 

Logan Verrett did his job tonight with his quality start. Verrett allowed five hits, three earned, and three walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. 

The Cardinals scored all three runs in the third beginning with Verrett issuing a lead off walk to the opposing pitcher Adam Wainwright. Lead off walks are bad, but lead off walks to the opposing pitcher are worse. Wainwright would come along to score on a Matt Holliday two RBI double. By the way, remember when the Mets thought Jason Bay was a better option in free agency?  Holliday would come around to score on a Matt Adams double. 

For a while, it seemed as if the Mets were going to lose this game 3-1 as they were leaving everyone on base:

From the first until the seventh, the Mets were 1-11 with the usual culprits failing to deliver. The only hit was a first inning RBI single off the bat of Neil Walker scoring James Loney. It really seemed that the Mets would need a miracle to score another run. 

The miracle happened in the bottom of the seventh. Alejandro De Aza would hit a pinch hit single, and Travis d’Arnaud, who led off the inning with a single, would go from first to third. Naturally, as there were runners in scoring position, Curtis Granderson and Asdrubal Cabrera would strike out. Cabrera struck out looking on a pitch inside that might’ve been a ball, but it was too close to take. 

At this point, the Mets had runners at the corners with Yoenis Cespedes at the plate. If something was going to happen, you knew it would be with Cespedes at the plate. First, it was a wild pitch getting past Yadier Molina allowing d’Arnaud to score and allow De Aza to get to second. For what it’s worth, three years ago, Molina stops that ball. He really is a shell of hseof behind the plate. 

The Mets were down 3-2 and still needed Cespedes to deliver. He would work out a 3-2 count, and he would foul off three straight pitch. Then on the ninth pitch: 

Just like that it was 4-3. There was extra satisfaction that Cespedes gif the big hit. There was even more with Wainwright having the meltdown. From there, Addison Reed locked down the eighth putting the Mets and Verrett to win the game. 

Then it finally happened Jeurys Familia blew a save. He had saved 36 straight to start the year and 52 straight dating back to last year. He would issue a one out walk to Jedd Gyorko, who after yesterday, is becoming a Mets killer. He would score from first off a Molina RBI double to deep center past defensive replacement Juan Lagares. 

Familia was so close to getting out of it. There were two outs after a Jeremy Hazelbaker fielder’s choice led to Familia nailing Molina at third. Mike Matheny would pinch run Kolten Wong. Wong stole second ahead of d’Arnaud’s throw. He would score on an Aledyms Diaz bloop double. 5-4 Cardinals. 

In this game, you saw the big difference between these two teams. The Mets cannot hit with runners in scoring position, and as such, they need homers and wild pitches to score runs. The Cardinals are the best team in baseball with runners in scoring position. They were 3-9 with runners in scoring position, and they scored four of their five runs with two outs. 

It’s the slimmest of margins between these teams, and the Cardinals ability to hit with runners in scoring position that put them ahead tonight and ahead of the Mets by a half game now in the Wild Card standings. 

Game Notes: The Mets just had six straight games against the Marlins and Cardinals, who are two of their main competitors in the Wild Card race. The Mets went 3-3 in that stretch. Jose Reyes missed tonight’s game with an intercostal strain. He’s expecting to miss the next few games. Walker woke up a bit at the plate going 3-3 with a walk and an RBI. 

page top

A Bizarre Split Doubleheader 

You knew it was going to be a strange day when Keith Hernandez showed up during the first end of the doubleheader wearing an Underdog shirt:

  

We would then see Noah Syndergaard give up an unearned run in the second when Syndergaard made an errant throw allowing Yadier Molina to score. The Cardinals scored a run that inning without a ball leaving the infield. Perhaps stranger than that was seeking Jedd Gyorko hit a two run bomb to left the following inning to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. For the day, Syndergaard would pitch six innings allowing three runs, two earned, and three walks with eight strikeouts. 

Of course, all of the Mets offense would come off a Rene Rivera two run homer in the fourth. After that hilarity would ensue. 

There was Curtis Granderson of all people throwing out a runner at the plate (with the really throw from Kelly Johnson). It’s bizarre that the Cardinals sent Matt Adams, who just might be slower than James Loney. It’s even stranger when you consider that earlier in the game the human windmill Tim Teufel held Jose Reyes at third when he could’ve scored off a Yoenis Cespedes two out double. 

Speaking of Cespedes, he had quite the juggling act in the outfield in the sixth: 

Then there were the curious decisions like Terry Collins keeping Wilmer Flores on the bench while sending James Loney and Johnson up to bat in the eighth against Cardinals lefty Kevin Siegrist. They weren’t able to muster a rally. 

The Mets would start a rally in the ninth with a Granderson leadoff single off new Cardinals closer Seung-hwan Oh. That rally would end when Granderson tagged up on Cardinals center fielder Tommy Pham after a deep Cespedes fly out:

After a Loney fly out, the Mets lost 3-2. The second game of the doubleheader would be much calmer, but it would still nevertheless be strange. 

For starters, the spark plug of the Mets offense in the game was Alejandro De Aza. De Aza would go 1-1 with a double, a walk with two runs. Even more bizarre is that he would be driven in both times by Asdrubal Cabrera. 

In the third, Cabrera followed a De Aza double with a double of his own striking an 0 for his last 697,597,475,491 streak (actually, it was 0-32). In the fifth, Cabrera would hit a sac fly to score De Aza from third. 

The other run would score when Loney hit into a fourth inning double play scoring Flores. Flores was on third because he hit a leadoff double, and he moved to third when Randal Grichuk flat out dropped a ball in right field off the bat of Neil Walker. Considering how he’s been playing lately, it’s just about the only way Walker can reach base. He would go 0-2 with a walk on the night. 

These three runs were enough for Bartolo Colon who was terrific tonight after pitching to a 7.36 ERA and allowing batters to hit .338/.386/.662 against him over his last three starts. Naturally, on this night, Colon only allowed one earned on three hits with no walks and eighth strikeouts. Of course, he would out pitch Syndergaard tonight in the Mets 3-1 win. 

Finally, in the sixth inning, things began to calm down. Collins made a curious decision to allow Colon to bat in the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs. Collins eschewed the chance to blow the game open. 

Then in the eighth and ninth, Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia shut down the Cardinals to preserve the win. 

After all that craziness, the Mets and Cardinals split the doubleheader. The end result was nothing changed between them in the Wild Card standings. The Mets stayed a half game up on the Cardinals with the runner game tomorrow. 

Game Notes: Josh Smoker was called up to be the 26th man in the second game of the doubleheader. He would not make an appearance. 

page top

Great Day to Be a Mets Fan

On a typical Sunday, I’ll catch the first few innings on the car radio. Not today. We got out of the house earlier than usual to ensure we’d be home in time for my son and I to watch not only the Mets game, but also Mike Piazza‘s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Everywhere we went, Mets were talking about how excited they were for both an important game against the Marlins, but also to see Piazza join Tom Seaver as the only Mets players in the Hall of Fame. My son got caught up in the excitement as well singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “Meet the Mets.”  However, he was most excited when he got his lemonade. Check that, he took my peach jalapeño sticking me with the Strawberry one. 

  
It’s a big Mets day, I’ll call it my Darryl Strawberry one. 

Naturally, we started with the Mets game as Piazza wasn’t at the podium. By the way, God bless whoever created picture-in-picture. The Mets game got off to a great start with Michael Conforto showing that he just might be able to play well in center field:

Then, in the third, Jose Reyes would hit a two out RBI triple scoring Conforto, who was actually in scoring position. The Mets had a 1-0 lead, and soon it would be time to tune in to watch Piazza officially become a Hall of Famer:

  
His speech was perfect. 

He touched on everything you would want him to touch upon.  He spoke glowingly about his boyhood idol Mike Schmidt and how Johnny Bench was the standard bearer at the position.  He thanked everyone on the Dodgers including Tommy LaSorda, Eric Karros, and Tom Candiotti. He talks about how great it was growing up as a Dodger before talking poignantly about what it meant to him to be a Met. 

He talked about how John Franco welcomed him into his home and gave him his #31. He talked about his on and off the field relationship with Al Leiter. He spoke about how clutch Edgardo Alfonzo was making it easier for him to do what he did, which was hit big homers including the post 9/11 home run. 

But like the most of the speech, Piazza deflected the attention away from himself. Instead, he talked about the real heroes were those that gave their lives on 9/11. Much like the moment he hit that home run, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house – Cooperstown, yours, and mine. 

His acknowledgment of Mets fans was also touching. It’s something that’s not always seen in Hall of Fame speeches. It was touching to hear he loved us as we loved him.

All while this was happening, Steven Matz was back in form, and he was mowing down the Marlins. I barely noticed him pitching six innings allowing four runs, none earned, and two walks with six strikeouts. By the time, I was fully re-engaged in the game I mostly ignored in the picture-in-picture, Hansel Robles was on the mound. 

Robles did what he has done for most of the year and shut down the opposition. He seems to have been given the seventh inning job, and he has it locked down. 

In the top of the eighth, the Mets finally got some insurance. Yoenis Cespedes singled home Alejandro De Aza, who had reached base on a wild pitch by Kyle Barraclough after striking out. Seriously, how else would De Aza reach base?  James Loney singled home Curtis Granderson. The Mets seemed poised for more after a Kelly Johnson walk. However, Asdrubal Cabrera hit into a force out with Cespedes out at home (initially ruled safe, but it was overturned on replay) making him 0-32 in his last 32 at bats with runners in scoring position. Juan Lagares then lined out to end the rally. 

Lagares had come on for defense in place of Conforto in the seventh. Conforto has played well before the seventh showing he could be a viable option going forward. He also had a nice day at the plate going 2-2 with a run scored. 

After eight, it was 3-0 Mets which was a lot more support than Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia needed. Reed and Familia shut the door giving the Mets a 3-0 win putting them a half-game behind the Marlins. It was Familia’s 34th straight save this year and 51 straight dating back to last year. 

It put the end to what was a great day to be a Mets fan. 

page top

Stanton Owns deGrom

Fun fact: Giancarlo Stanton absolutely crushes Jacob deGrom:

How do you hit the scoreboard in that park?  It’s bigger than Yosemite. That ball travelled 441 feet, and it gave the Marlins a 3-2 lead. 

Stanton would follow with an RBI single in the fourth expanding the lead to 4-2. On the year, Stanton is 5-5 with three homers against deGrom this year. 

It was part of a night that saw deGrom get chased early from the game.  In his prior starts, his velocity seemed to be increasing, but in the fourth inning it dropped to the 90-91 MPH range. After he departed in the fourth, Seth Lugo would walk Marcell Ozuna and Derek Dietrich back-to-back thereby walking in a run which was charged to deGrom. deGrom’s final line would be 3.2 innings, 10 hits, five earned, one walk, and five strike outs. This outing would raise deGrom’s ERA from 2.38 to 2.76. 

For his part, Lugo would finally allow his first earned run in the majors when Prado hit a fifth inning RBI single scoring Adeiny Hechavarria. 

It should be noted Lugo was double-switched into the game along with Alejandro De Aza as Terry Collins seems to be the only person remaining who has faith in De Aza. De Aza took over for Juan Lagares, who started the game despite the Marlins starting the right-hander Jose Fernandez. Lagares was presumably starting as Yoenis Cespedes is still dealing with the quad, and the Mets didn’t want to see Curtis Granderson in center again. 

Eventually, the game got out of hand. As a result, we got to see Antonio Bastardo pitch two innings only allowing a run (minor miracle). It got out of hand enough for Collins to put Michael Conforto in center in the bottom of the sixth. He would get only one chance catching an Ozuna pop out with aplomb. 

Conforto getting an opportunity in center was about the only good thing that happened on the night. Jose Reyes continued his struggles against righties going 1-5. Asdrubal Cabrera channeled his inner Gregg Jefferies going 0-2 with runners in scoring position stretching his streak to 0-31 (Jefferies was 0-37). Neil Walker continued to be Neil Walker. All that combined, and you get a 7-2 loss. 

Game Notes: The Mets two runs came off a Cespedes third inning RBI single followed by a James Loney sacrifice fly. 

page top

Vintage Miami Reyes

When the Mets brought back Jose Reyes, they were hoping his being back I his old haunts would bring out the best in him. It turns out the Mets theory was right, but the location was wrong. He just needed to go back to Marlins Park instead of Citi Field. 

Right from the first at bat of the game, it was vintage Reyes. He led off with a double off Marlins starter Adam Conley. After stealing third, he would score on a Yoenis Cespedes sacrifice fly. Before Logan Verrett would throw a pitch, it was 1-0 Mets. 

In the fourth, the Mets would rally with Travis d’Arnaud and Juan Lagares each getting a base hit. With two outs, it seemed like Conley was going to wriggle his way out of it until Reyes hit a chopper over the head of the third baseman Miguel Rojas scoring d’Arnaud to make it 2-0. With how well Verrett was pitching, it seemed like that would be enough. 

Coming into tonight’s game, Verrett had only allowed one earned run against the Marlins in 13 innings. Heading into the sixth inning, that streak went to 18 innings. The streak ended there when Christian Yelich hit a game tying two run home run. He would be lifted for Hansel Robles, who would of course get out of the inning further unscathed. Verrett’s final line would be 5.1 innings, four hits, two earned, one walk, and three strikeouts. 

Reyes would get back to work in the seventh with a leadoff single. He then went from first to third on a Curtis Granderson single. Reyes scored again on another Cespedes sacrifice fly. It gave the Mets a 3-2 lead, and it would give Robles his fifth win of the year after he pitched 1.2 scoreless innings. 

James Loney provided some insurance runs with a two run ninth inning home run off Fernando Rodney to give the Mets a 5-2 lead. Loney had come on for defense for Wilmer Flores in the eighth. It turned out to be avoid move. With the Mets bullpen, that would be the final score. 
Naturally, Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth, and Jeurys Familia would earn the save. It was his 34th straight save this season, and his 50th straight save dating back to last year. It was interesting as Cespedes lost one in the lights, and Familia walked Giancarlo Stanton to make it two on and no out. Familia struck out the next two before Martin Prado‘s RBI single making it 5-3. Adeiny Hechavarria would then ground out to end the game. 

Overall, the story of the night was Reyes. On the night, he was 3-5 with two runs, a double, an RBI, and a stolen base. He was terrific in the field even atoning for a fourth inning throwing error by starting the 5-4-3 double play. 

Game Notes: Even when Alejandro De Aza does something right, he falters. After drawing a walk, he was then thrown out trying to steal second. It should be noted at that time, Terry Collins had pretty much every left-handed batter at his disposal, and he still went with De Aza in a one run game. 

page top

The RISP Issue

Time and time again, we have all seen the Mets fail to get a base hit with a runner in scoring position.  It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Mets woeful .207 team batting average with runners in scoring position is the worst in all of Major League Baseball.  It is 53 points lower than the .260 league average and 89 points lower than the St. Louis Cardinals .296 team batting average with runners in scoring position.  It gets worse.  The Mets have a .288 team OPB with runners in scoring position, which is again the worst in the Major Leagues.  This is 49 points lower than the league average .337 OBP with runners in scoring position, and it is 90 points lower than the St. Louis Cardinals league leading .378 team OBP with runners in scoring position.

At this point, what usually follows is a debate between traditional fans and fans that follow more of a stats based approach.  Traditional fans believe hitting with runners in scoring position is a real skill set, and if a team is unable to hit with runners in scoring position, a team will be unable to score runs.  Stat based fans will tell you hitting with runners in scoring position isn’t an actual skill, and like anything else, everything tends to regress to the mean.  Regardless of your point-of-view, all fans tend to subscribe to the back of the baseball card concept wherein players tend to play to their seasonal averages on a year-in and year-out basis.  With that common ground in mind, here are how the current Mets players have fared with runners in scoring position along with the amount of times they have come up this year with a runner in scoring position:

Player PA 2016 Career
Asdrubal Cabrera 70 .180 .256
Eric Campbell 19 .125 .168
Yoenis Cespedes 70 .254 .301
Michael Conforto 56 .250 .256
Travis d’Arnaud 24 .182 .224
Alejandro De Aza 23 .050 .294
Lucas Duda 34 .185 .235
Wilmer Flores 41 .297 .270
Curtis Granderson 73 .274 .242
Kelly Johnson 50 .214 .261
Ty Kelly 10 .111 .111
Juan Lagares 21 .158 .271
James Loney 37 .281 .302
Brandon Nimmo 11 .200 .200
Kevin Plawecki 30 .240 .274
Jose Reyes 8 .167 .285
Matt Reynolds 12 .250 .250
Rene Rivera 31 .259 .235
Neil Walker 75 .254 .276
David Wright 38 .226 .293

* Kelly Johnson’s stats includes his 2016 stats from his 49 games with the Braves this year

While much of the ills of the season has been pinned on Campbell, Kelly, and Reynolds, the three of them have combine for only 41 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.  To that end, another scapegoat, De Aza, has not hit whatsoever with runners in scoring position.  These four batters have combined for 63 plate appearances which is still less than the plate appearances the either Cabrera, Cespedes, Granderson, or Walker have had individually this year.

Of that group, Granderson is the only batter who is hitting well with runners in scoring position.  In fact, he is the only one who is hitting higher than his career average with runners in scoring position.  Considering the fact that Cabrera has not gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position since April, it should be no surprise that he is the biggest culprit of the group.

The one encouraging sign is that most of these Mets players are underachieving with runners in scoring position. If these players finish the rest of the year producing at the rate they have done throughout their careers, this Mets team will start to score many more runs. 

 

page top

Mets Lost a Game They Had No Business Winning

One of the Mets hottest hitters, Asdrubal Cabrera, and the Mets best hitter, Yoenis Cespedes, got a day off with the Mets playing a day game after a night game. Kelly Johnson was getting his first start since July 1st. Wilmer Flores and James Loney were the number three and four hitters in the lineup going up against Kyle Hendricks, who has only allowed three earned runs over his last 31 innings pitched. The Mets sent Bartolo Colon to the mound on a hot and humid day at Wrigley. Long story, short, the Mets had no business winning this game. 

They didn’t. 

It started in the first with Colon issuing consecutive two out walks. Both runners would then score on an Addison Russell bases clearing double. Anthony Rizzo would then hit a homer in the third (solo) and the fifth (two run) shot. Following that home run, the Cubs put two on with one out chasing Colon from the game. 

Antonio Bastardo came on and allowed an inherited runner to score on a Javier Baez RBI single. That closed the books on Colon who allowed eight hits, six earned, and two walks with one strikeout in what was an ugly outing. Bastardo only allowed that one hit in 1.2 innings meaning this could very well be the best game he’s pitched as a Met. 
The Mets did have their chances. In the second, the Mets threatened in the second. Travis d’Arnaud hit a double that would have scored anyone but the slower than Sid Bream Loney. After a Johnson walk, Juan Lagares hit into an inning ending 5-4-3 double play, which was nowhere near as impressive as the one the Mets turned last night.

Loney’s speed prevented the Mets from scoring another run in the fourth. With two outs and Loney on second, Johnson singled to center. Human windmill Tim Teufel sent Loney who was gunned down at home by Jayson Heyward. Ironically, the one time the Mets get a hit with a runner in scoring position, it’s Loney at second, and the runner still doesn’t score. 

As usual, the Mets didn’t score until a home run was hit. In the eighth, Flores hit a two run homer off Cubs reliever Travis Wood. It made the score 6-2, but it was too little too late. The Mets lost two of three to the Cubs, but they still won the season series against them 5-2. 

Game Notes: Johnson was a perfect 4-4. Michael Conforto got his first extra base hit in his return with a fifth inning double. He was 1-4 on the day with a strikeout. With Lagares playing today, he was back in left, and Curtis Granderson was back in right. 

page top

That Was a Great Game

That was just a good baseball game. It featured a pitcher’s duel between the Cubs ace Jake Arrieta and one of the Mets aces Noah Syndergaard. 

The Cubs struck first in the third when Syndergaard threw a wild pitch, which probably should have been smothered by Rene Rivera who made a backhand stab at the ball, allowing Willson Contreras to score. The Cubs were primed to score again in the following inning. Arrieta led off with a double, and he tried to score on a Tommy La Stella single. However, he would be mowed down by the new right fielder Michael Conforto:

As the replay would show, Rivera made a great tag. 

Syndergaard gutted his way through 5.2 innings throwing 105 pitches. He allowed seven hits, one unearned run, and two walks. He would strike out eight batters including his 300th career strike out. Jerry Blevins took over and would combine with Hansel Robles (two innings), and Jeurys Familia (33rd save) to win a 2-1 game. 

The loss was no fault of Arrieta, who was terrific. He pitched seven innings, one run, and one walk with eight strikeouts. For a while, it appeared like the Mets wouldn’t score that run, and that the Mets would lose 1-0. Then Jose Reyes did what he used to do best, what he was brought back to do. He hit his 100th triple as a Met and gave the Mets a chance to build a run off his speed. 

He would score off a Curtis Granderson sacrifice fly. The Mets tried to build another rally in the seventh. There were runners on first and second and Blevins was due up. For some reason, Terry Collins went to Alejandro De Aza instead of Kelly Johnson. Apparently, Collins was the only person who thought De Aza would come through in that spot. He didn’t. 

In the ninth, there would be no De Aza or Arrieta standing in the Mets way. Neil Walker hit into a fielder’s choice after a James Loney leadoff single. Initially, it was ruled a double play, but replay would overturn the call. Walker was safe, and it wasn’t particularly close. Walker moved to second on an Asdrubal Cabrera single. After a Conforto strikeout, it appeared the Mets would fail to score a runner in scoring position again. 

Instead, Rivera would hit a bloop single off Pedro Strop scoring Walker making it a 2-1 game. If that was the end of the game, it would have been a terrific game. However, it was what happened in the bottom of the ninth that made this a great game. 

Familia walked Addison Russell and Miguel Montero to start the inning. Javier Baez then laid down a terrific bunt that he beat out. It was bases loaded with no outs. That’s a problem for mere mortal closers. It wasn’t an issue for Familia and his bowling ball sinker. 

With the infield drawn-in, Matt Szczur to hit a ground ball to Loney, who threw out Russell at home. That brought up Kris Bryant to the plate, who could be the most dangerous hitter in the Cubs. Familia got him to ground into a game ending 5-4-3 double play. 

It was a great instinctive move for new third baseman Reyes to go did the double play instead of the force out, and it was an incredible turn by Walker, who took a slightly offline throw with the runner bearing down on him to get the last out of the game at first. 

This was easily the most exciting game of the year, and it was a great win. 

Game Notes: Granderson started in center, and he was shaky out there. It is supposed to be temporary until Conforto is ready to take over. In his first full game back from AAA, Conforto was 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Yoenis Cespedes really looked hobbled out there. 

page top

Maybe Conforto in CF Isn’t a Crazy Idea

One thing that gets lost in the shuffle is that in Yoenis Cespedes‘ first game with the Mets is Terry Collins started him in left and put Curtis Granderson in center.

Heading into that game, Granderson was the more experienced center fielder having played 12 seasons in center field. Up until 2012, he was an average to very good center fielder who had averaged a 2.0 UZR and a 4 DRS in his first six full seasons as a major leaguer.

In 2011, he took a step back with a -5.1 UZR and a -2 DRS. Granderson would show he was no longer capable of being a center fielder the following year when he posted a -18.1 UZR and a -7 DRS. The Yankees moved him to right fielder where he has played so well that he was a National League Finalist for the Gold Glove. In reality, Granderson belongs in right considering his diminished range and weak arm.

For whatever reason, Cespedes became the main center fielder from his second game with the Mets through this year. The Mets turned to Cespedes who had averaged a -3.1 UZR and a -4 DRS in his three years of limited duty as a center fielder for the Oakland Athletics. Last year with the Mets, he posted a -3.2 UZR and a -4 DRS in roughly two months of duty.

The Mets dealt with Cespedes’ relatively poor play in center as he was mashing the ball. The Mets did it as a means to get his, Granderson’s, and Michael Conforto‘s bat in the lineup. It is the same reason why the Mets have accepted Cespedes playing a poor center field this year with his -10.1 UZR and -5 DRS. Strangely enough Cespedes is on pace to put up similar or worse numbers than those that forced Granderson out of center. In some ways, it is safe to say Cespedes isn’t a center fielder.

With Cespedes’ injured right quad he is now both literally and figuratively not a center fielder. The injury is hampering him at the plate and in the field, and as he stated, “I’d rather play left field because I feel more comfortable. And also it’s less work on my leg.” (ESPN.com). With that in mind, Cespedes wants to remain in left field, his Gold Glove position, for the rest of the year.

Even with Cespedes being a poor center fielder, his inability to play center creates a dilemma for the Mets. Granderson has established he can no longer play center. Juan Lagares is back to his Gold Glove form, but he can’t hit righties. His one-time platoon partner, Alejandro De Aza, can’t hit anybody. In some ways, it’s incredible that the Mets have four outfielders with center field experience.  In other ways, it’s astounding that none of them are a viable center field option for the rest of the reason.

With that in mind, Collins has stated he’s considering using Conforto in center despite Conforto not having worked out in center since college and him not having played the position since presumably Little League. Given the limitations of the other four options, this idea may not be as crazy as it once may have sounded.

Putting Conforto in center allows the Mets to keep him, Granderson, and Cespedes in the same lineup. Furthermore, Conforto has shown the tools to play an adequate center field. He has good range, takes good routes to balls, and has a strong and accurate arm. He’s a player who has shown himself to not only be a hard worker, but also open to coaching.

It’s important to keep in mind that Conforto was once the player who scouts believed couldn’t handle left field.  When he was called up to the majors last year, he showed he was a very good left fielder.  Given his natural instincts and athleticism, it’s not absurd to think he could handle the position even if it is just for the short term.  Given the other options before the Mets, it is certainly worth a try especially since the Mets need his bat in the lineup.  In all seriousness, it is not like he would be worse than what Granderson and Cespedes were there.  So, to that end, Conforto may actually wind up an improvement.

Really, it’s not crazy to think this could work.

page top