Dominic Smith

Mets Return And Still Can’t Hit With RISP

After a Mets player and coach tested positive for COVID19, they haven’t played since Thursday. They came back to play today, and they didn’t figure out how to hit with RISP during their time off.

In the second, Jeff McNeil and Amed Rosario flew out with runners on first and second.

In third, Michael Conforto flew out and Pete Alonso grounded out with J.D. Davis on second. At least this time, Davis didn’t get picked off of second like he did in the first.

In the fourth, Rosario grounded out with runners on first and second.

In the fifth, Robinson Cano grounded out with runners on first and second.

In the seventh, Brandon Nimmo led off the inning with a double. Davis grounded out. Conforto reached on an error. Cano lined out.

0-for-10.

That was it. No, not because the Mets didn’t do anything afterwards. It’s because doubleheaders are only seven innings now. Mostly, it’s because Rob Manfred apparently hates baseball.

The Mets ultimately lost 4-0 because of their complete inability to hit with RISP. It also doesn’t help Rick Porcello struggled.

The Marlins got to him for three runs in the second. All three runs were scored with two outs. The key difference in the game was the Mets went 0-for-10 with RISP while Lewis Brinson and Miguel Rojas had two out RBI singles.

Porcello allowed another run in the third. It would be his last inning as he’d be pulled after a rain delay of over an hour. He was replaced by Corey Oswalt, who was the Mets bright spot of the game.

Oswalt allowed just one hit over the final four innings while striking out three. He’d also get some help from Dominic Smith.

Overall, this was a flat out bad loss by the Mets. They need to be better than this. Hopefully, they will in the second part of the doubleheader.

Game Notes: Andres Gimenez and Tomas Nido were put on the 10 day IL for “undisclosed reasons.” Juan Lagares and Patrick Mazeika were called up. Ali Sanchez was the 29th man for the doubleheader. McNeil batted eighth.

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Mets Bullpen Almost Negates Guillorme And deGrom Brilliance

After an inexplicable hiatus, Luis Guillorme was back in the lineup, and he picked up offensively and defensively. The beneficiary of his great play was Jacob deGrom who has been unaccustomed to Mets players stepping up their games when he’s on the mound.

For starters, deGrom was his usual brilliant self and showed no ill effects of his neck issue. The Marlins only had five base runners against deGrom and one of those was courtesy of a J.D. Davis error.

While that wasn’t surprising, deGrom getting support was mildly surprising. After being inexplicably benched a few games, Guillorme was back in the lineup, and he delivered almost immediately with an almost literal cue shot double.

The double moved Pete Alonso to third. He’d score on a Wilson Ramos sacrifice fly. That double is not all Guillorme did to provide support to deGrom. He was also his sterling self at second:

deGrom would also get some defensive help from Alonso. Good defense and a lead is a rare experience for deGrom.

Overall, deGrom pitched six shutout innings striking out seven. At 92 pitches, Luis Rojas pulled him even with Seth Lugo unavailable to pitch.

When the Mets went to the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh, the Mets had a 2-0 lead. The second run came in the top of the seventh when Guillorme singled home Dominic Smith, who had doubled earlier in the inning.

The bottom of the seventh didn’t get off to a great start with Jeurys Familia walked Francisco Cervelli. After a fielder’s choice, Davis wasn’t able to get a throw off after diving after a Logan Forsythe grounder.

With Jonathan Villar entering as a pinch hitter, Rojas brought in Justin Wilson. Wilson would do his job, but Ramos wouldn’t.

After a Villar groundout, Wilson would throw a pitch in the dirt. Instead of getting in front of it, Ramos missed on the backhand. The pitch went to the backstop as a run scored.

The Mets would get that run back in the top of the eighth when Smith doubled in Conforto. Unfortunately, the two run lead was not enough for Dellin Betances.

The Marlins loaded the bases with two outs against Betances. Instead of going to the bullpen for another reliever, Rojas let Betances pitch to Eddy Alvarez. With his second pitch of the at-bat, Betances hit Alvarez to force in a run.

Rojas then made a very curious decision. Edwin Diaz has a history of bouts of wildness. Bases loaded with the tying run at third was probably a better situation for Brad Brach who has better control and also has closing experience.

Diaz walked Forsythe on five pitches with none of them all that close. After blowing the save, Diaz rebounded to strike out Villar.

At that point, deGrom’s brilliance was wasted. It seemed Guillorme’s efforts were all for naught. At this point, the hope was the Mets would not fall apart and lose a game they should’ve won.

That didn’t happen, and that’s because Michael Conforto had another clutch ninth inning hit.

That two run homer gave the Mets a 5-3 lead. That was enough for Diaz who struck out the side in the ninth to vulture the win.

With the win, the Mets pull themselves to within two games of .500. They also are close to completing their first series sweep of the season.

Game Notes: Lugo was unavailable as he will start the series finale against the Marlins. He will be taking over Steven Matz‘s spot in the rotation with Matz moving to the bullpen.

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Roadsario Re-Emerges In Win Over Marlins

Around many corners, many were wondering if this was it for Amed Rosario. The one time uber prospect was struggling while Luis Guillorme and Andres Gimenez seemed to be forming an all-time great Mets middle infield.

That’s what small sample sizes will do to you. That’s also what the urgency of the 60 game season will do.

To their credit, the Mets haven’t given up on Rosario’s talent. Last night, they were rewarded.

It started as an ominous day. That was because in typical Mets fashion David Peterson‘s shoulder injury being worse than originally advertised. That led to Peterson being placed on the IL, and Corey Oswalt being recalled to make the emergency start.

Oswalt acquitted himself well. He threw three scoreless before getting into trouble in the fourth. In that inning, Jesus Aguilar hit an RBI double and come in to score on a Brian Anderson RBI single. That Marlins rally narrowed the score to 3-2.

The first two Mets runs came via solo homers off Marlins starter Humberto Mejia. The first of which was a Brandon Nimmo third inning shot which has continued his impressive stretch of extra base hits.

The Mets rallied in the fourth with another solo homer. After that Michael Conforto walked, and Pete Alonso hit a one out single. Dominic Smith would drive in the Mets third run with a ground rule double.

That put Oswalt in position for the win, but he would fall just short. Overall, his final line was 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. He’d also have a pick-off.

Magneuris Sierra led off the fifth with a single, and he would steal second. With the Mets holding a one run lead and the tying run in scoring position, Luis Rojas brought in Justin Wilson to relieve Oswalt with one out in the fifth.

Wilson got out of the jam, and he’d pitch 1.1 scoreless. He’d pick up the win as he’d combine with Jared Hughes, Dellin Betances, and Edwin Diaz to shut out the Marlins over the final 4.2 innings.

They’d maintain the lead and see it grow as Rosario began to put on a show. In addition to making diving stops in the infield, we’d see his bat come back to life. We first saw that with a no doubter in the seventh.

He wasn’t done. In the eighth, the Mets loaded the bases, and Smith drew a wall forcing home a run. Then, Rosario came up and delivered an opposite field two RBI single effectively ending the game.

Nimmo delivered the final RBI with a single to increase the Mets lead to 8-2. In addition to Rosario, Nimmo had a huge game as well going 3-for-5 with a run, triple, homer, and three RBI.

Going back to Rosario, he was 2-for-5 with a run, homer, and three RBI. Perhaps more than any Met, he needed this one. Maybe, he just needed to get away from Citi Field as he’s been a MUCH better hitter on the road.

Whatever the case, he put together a big game with Guillorme and Gimenez seriously vying for playing time. He helped a Mets team desperately trying to right the ship. They’re now 11-14 and three games behind the Braves.

Game Notes: Wilson picked up the win on his birthday. Jacob deGrom appears set to start the series finale against the Marlins.

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Alonso And Cano At Homer In Miami

The Mets fell down 1-0 when Robert Gsellman struggled in the top of the first. When Dominic Smith hit a bases loaded double off Jordan Yamamoto in the second, the Mets took a 2-1 lead. After that, the Mets offense exploded with nearly everyone destroying the baseball:

  1. Brandon Nimmo 1-4, R, 3B, 2 BB
  2. Jeff McNeil 1-4, R, BB, K
  3. J.D. Davis 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K, HBP
  4. Michael Conforto 1-3, R, 2B, BB, K, HBP
  5. Robinson Cano 3-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, K, 2 HR
  6. Pete Alonso 3-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 HR
  7. Dominic Smith 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HBP
  8. Wilson Ramos 1-5, K, 2B
  9. Amed Rosario 2-5, R, RBI, 2 K, 2B

The story of the night was Cano and Alonso. For Cano, he continues his great hitting in 2020. For Alonso, that’s eluded him this year, and he’s struggled to the point he was dropped in the lineup to the sixth for the first time in his career. He responded with a two home run game.

If you are looking for a negative from this game, it was Gsellman who struggled. Even staked to a 3-1 lead, he couldn’t get through the second. He was a bit wild leading Luis Rojas to lift him earlier than he would’ve wanted.

While there was some disappointment in Gsellman not taking a step forward after being reinserted into the rotation, there should be genuine excitement in Chasen Shreve, who was again excellent.

Shreve struck out five while pitching 2.1 scoreless and hitless innings. He led the charge of a bullpen which allowed one run over the final 7.1 innings.

Of note, Franklyn Kilome came in to pitch the final three innings picking up his first career save. He was wild walking five allowing two runs, but he was also lighting up the gun at 96 MPH. He struck out four.

Ultimately, Kilome didn’t do much to make a case for him to replace Gsellman. Still, he helped the bullpen while showing he’s still not ready to pitch at this level.

Things got so bad for the Marlins in their 11-4 loss, Logan Forsythe was the sacrificial lamb. He was the position player who pitched the ninth.

Overall, the Mets outclassed the Marlins. This is what we expect from this Mets team. Hopefully, this will prove to be a turning point of the season.

Game Notes: Jacob deGrom threw a bullpen and showed no ill effects. He’s in line to make his next start.

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Mets 2020 Roster Without Brodie Van Wagenen

For all his bravado, Brodie Van Wagenen has not only stripped the farm system down, but he did it while impinging the Major League roster’s ability to compete for a World Series. To put it in perspective, let’s just look at what the Mets roster would look like right now if Van Wagenen only kept the Mets players in the organization had he not taken the job, or, if he did nothing.

Some caveats here. This assumes free agents were re-signed. Without the Robinson Cano deal, that would’ve been possible. Also, it assumes the same players who are injured for the season would remain injured. Finally, this will eliminate those players not on active 28 man rosters. With that in mind, here’s what the 2020 Mets would’ve looked like.

Lineup

C Travis d’Arnaud

1B Dominic Smith

2B Jeff McNeil

3B Todd Frazier

SS Amed Rosario

LF Brandon Nimmo

CF Juan Lagares

RF Michael Conforto

DH Pete Alonso

Bench

C Kevin Plawecki

INF Wilmer Flores

1B/OF Jay Bruce

INF Luis Guillorme

Starting Rotation

RHP Jacob deGrom

RHP Zack Wheeler

LHP Steven Matz

LHP Anthony Kay

LHP David Peterson

Bullpen

RHP Seth Lugo

RHP Rafael Montero

RHP Justin Dunn

RHP Robert Gsellman

RHP Drew Smith

LHP Blake Taylor

RHP Bobby Wahl

LHP Daniel Zamora

RHP Paul Sewald

RHP Franklyn Kilome

This isn’t set in stone. The Mets could’ve opted for one fewer reliever for Andres Gimenez. On the subject of top 100 prospects, the Mets also would’ve still had Jarred Kelenic.

Looking at the team overall, the starting pitching is vastly superior as is the team defense. The bullpen may not be as deep, but they certainly have the arms.

Overall, this non-Van Wagenen impacted roster would’ve certainly been better than the 9-14 team his Mets roster is. This just goes to show you how bad of a GM Van Wagenen is.

He’s made the Mets worse in 2020, and he’s made the Mets future less promising. You could not have done a worse job than Van Wagenen has done.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Season Falling Off The Wheeler

The Mets went into Philadelphia with a chance to make a statement. On the bright side, they made that statement. On the downside, it wasn’t the statement we wanted them to make.

1. This series only further cemented Brodie Van Wagenen as the worst GM in baseball.

2. It was poetic justice that after Van Wagenen chided Zack Wheeler when he signed with the Phillies, Wheeler not only beat the Mets, but he also beat Rick Porcello in the process.

3. Remember when Van Wagenen said the Mets had the deepest rotation in baseball? With Jacob deGrom dealing with a neck injury, Porcello and his 5.76 is now the Mets staff ace.

4. Oh, and Walker Lockett (career 8.66 ERA) and Robert Gsellman (last threw 5+ innings in September 2017) are now locked into the rotation.

5. Steven Matz had three good enough starts to begin the season before pitching terribly in his last three starts. Fortunately for him, the Mets don’t have other options to replace him in the rotation.

6. It’s easy to point fingers at Jeremy Hefner but even a pitching coach with a magic lamp would still be stuck with two incapable starters.

7. On the topic of Van Wagenen’s incompetence, Wilson Ramos has been beyond terrible this year. Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, he completely whiffed on a tag allowing the game winning run to score.

8. Van Wagenen preached accountability and media access when he took the job. The Mets made Ramos unavailable after that lame tag attempt, and the Mets made every player who would rebut their fabricated version of events when Yoenis Cespedes opted out.

9. There’s a lot wrong with the Mets, but Luis Rojas isn’t one of them. The Mets are not losing games because of him. They’re losing because the GM is horrendous.

10. Knowing that and seeing all that has transpired since, everyone owes Mickey Callaway an apology for how he was maligned.

11. The weekend wasn’t totally lost as Dominic Smith and Luis Guillorme continue to play great.

12. Way too much was made of Drew Smith being optioned. The Mets bullpen has depth at the MLB level, and there were legitimate options in Brooklyn.

13. No, Smith didn’t deserve to be optioned as he pitched well, and yes, Brian Dozier had been terrible, but the Mets have nothing in reserve on terms of MLB caliber hitters.

14. Speaking of the Brooklyn site, the Mets added Francisco Alvarez and Matthew Allan which means they can now be traded.

15. We should be afraid they’ll be traded for pennies on the dollar with that being the defining characteristic of Van Wagenen’s tenure.

16. On the bright side, Van Wagenen is getting exposed, and the Wilpons will sell the team without winning a World Series as majority owners.

17. Mets fans deserve better. Hopefully, we’ll get that instead of getting Alex Rodriguez.

18. The St. Louis Cardinals have played eight games. The Miami Marlins are playing catch-up and have only played 15 games. The Cincinnati Reds aren’t playing games. Naturally, MLB’s response is to loosen COVID19 return to play restrictions.

19. Good for the Cleveland Indians for optioning Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger to the alternate site after breaking COVID19 protocols. It’s good to see someone in baseball take this pandemic seriously.

20. It’s the centennial of the Negro Leagues, and MLB did not do nearly enough to honor it. That goes double in a year where COVID19 prevented them from honoring Jackie Robinson. Shame on MLB.

Game Recaps

Wilson Ramos Cannot Be Allowed To Cost The Mets Another Game

Mets Lose Same Way They Have All Season

Zack Wheeler Comfirms Brodie Van Wagenen Is Worst GM In Pro Sports

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Zack Wheeler Confirms Brodie Van Wagenen Is Professional Sports Worst GM

When Zack Wheeler signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, after asking the Mets to make an offer and not receiving one in return, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said, “Our health and performance department, our coaches all contributed and helped him parlay two good half-seasons over the last five years into $118 million.”

Put another way, Brodie didn’t think Wheeler was worth the money he received from the Phillies. Today, Wheeler beat the Mets after allowing two earned over seven while walking one and striking out four.

The losing pitcher? Well, that was Rick Porcello, the same guy who took over Wheeler’s spot in the rotation. Porcello took the loss after allowing four earned over six.

The loss dropped Porcello to 1-3 with a 5.76 ERA. The win improved Wheeler to 3-0 with a 2.86 ERA.

To be fair the disparity in the salaries allowed the Mets to also sign Michael Wacha. So far this year, Wacha is 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA. Right now, Wacha has a shoulder injury, and no one knows when he can pitch again.

All in all, the Mets lost 6-2. They’re 9-14. That’s the worst record in the NL East with the third worst winning percentage in the National League. By winning percentage, the Mets are the seventh worst team in baseball.

But hey, the Mets didn’t need Wheeler, and as Van Wagenen said, “I think that we’re probably the deepest starting pitching rotation in baseball.”

Again, the Mets are 9-14, and entering this loss, the Mets had the eight worst starting staff ERA. Mind you, that’s with Jacob deGrom, who has a 2.45 ERA.

Long story, short here is Brodie Van Wagenen is not only a terrible GM, he’s also the worst in professional sports. With each move he makes, he actually harms the Mets chances of winning, and he starts pushing himself toward the conversation of worst GMs in history.

Game Notes: Dominic Smith‘s streak of homering in four straight games was snapped. He did extend his hitting streak to five games. J.D. Davis now has an error in two of his last three games.

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Mets Lose Same Way They Have All Season

Steven Matz was pitching very well until he imploded in the fifth, and it all started because Amed Rosario couldn’t get Didi Gregorius on his swinging bunt against the shift.

If you blinked, you missed a 1-0 deficit turning into an insurmountable 6-0 hole. Things would’ve been worse had Jeurys Familia got two big outs to get the Mets out of the inning.

It was insurmountable partially because Aaron Nola was really good. It was mostly insurmountable because the Mets can’t hit with runners on. Today, they were 0-for-3 with RISP.

One important note here is the Phillies bullpen is a train wreck. That’s the nice way of putting it. Citizen’s Bank Park is a launching pad. Yet, for the season straight night, the Mets did next nothing against them.

If not for Dominic Smith‘s two run homer in the ninth, the Mets would’ve been shut out. It was the fourth straight game Smith homered.

While talking about Mets prospects the team cheated of a real chance, Luis Guillorme was good again going 1-for-3.

But the Mets don’t realize who are and who are not their best players. Case-in-point, Andres Gimenez sat to force feed Rosario and J.D Davis into the lineup.

But we’ve known for a while now, it’s not about what gives the Mets the best chance to win. It’s about Brodie Van Wagenen. It was last night, and it was tonight with the Mets losing 6-2. We’ll probably see it again tomorrow.

Game Notes: Top prospects Matthew Allan and Francisco Alvarez were added to the 60 player pool now making them eligible to be traded.

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Wilson Ramos Cannot Be Allowed To Cost The Mets Another Game

There’s many reasons to pinpoint why the Mets lost this game in excruciating fashion to the Phillies. That’s the way excruciatingly losses go.

There’s having to start Walker Lockett because Jacob deGrom was scratched from today’s start with a neck issue. Lockett then made one of his better MLB starts, which was still bad.

There was the Mets going 2-for-16 with RISP leaving 10 runners on base.

There was Billy Hamilton‘s TOOBLAN off all TOOBLANs when he cleanly stole second, took off for third, and was easily thrown out.

Despite all that, it was tied 5-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Seth Lugo, who hadn’t pitched in five days, wasn’t sharp allowing the first two to reach.

Bryce Harper singled, and Michael Conforto made a perfect throw home. It was well in advance of Roman Quinn.

What ensued was the absolute worst attempt at a tag. Seriously, Wilson Ramos should be embarrassed, and frankly, he owes his teammates an apology for costing the game. It was that bad.

You don’t want to accuse someone of not trying. However, you really should question what Ramos was doing there. You should also ask why the apparent lack of a sense of urgency.

While we’re asking questions about the catcher who went 1-for-5 with a GIDP, we also need to ask what should the Mets do with him? Clearly, it seems it’s time for a switch to Tomas Nido. We know the Mets won’t do that, so we’re stuck with the awful play of Ramos.

It’s at that point where it’s overshadowing some truly terrific performances from his teammates.

Dominic Smith was 2-for-4 with a run, walk, homer, and two RBI. He also made a nice play in the field.

Robson Cano returned from the IL to go 2-for-5 with a run, homer, and two RBI. That includes a two RBI.

The biggest story right now remains Luis Guillorme. In addition to playing Gold Glove caliber second base, he’s hitting .474. With this being a shortened season, we may be having a Ted Williams discussion at some point.

However, none of this matters as Ramos continues to be terrible. It’s now at the point it’s costing the Mets games. Sooner or later, the Mets are going to be forced into making a decision on him.

Game Notes: With Cano activated, Drew Smith was sent to the alternate site. Amed Rosario returned to the lineup after battling a stomach bug. Andres Gimenez another base and is 6-for-6 on the season.

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Mets With A Nido Win

Bases loaded, no outs, Juan Soto at the plate. Rookie pitcher David Peterson on the mound for the Mets, and the Nationals starting Austin Voth with his 1.80 ERA.

That’s how the Mets day game against the Nationals began. That’s how the game began. Seeing that, you probably didn’t expect the Mets to not just win, but win big.

The reason? Tomas Nido.

Peterson got ahead of Soto 0-2 before getting a REALLY low pitch for a called strike three. Part of that was another day of poor umpiring. To put how bad it was, Stephen Strasburg was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. He was seated in the stands.

The other reason is Nido is a terrific pitch framer adept at getting the low strike called. That call changed the complexity of that inning and the game. After that strikeout, the only run the Nationals would score that inning was off a Howie Kendrick RBI groundout.

One of the reasons the scoring ended there was Jeff McNeil absolutely robbed Asdrubal Cabrera of an extra base hit. McNeil would hurt himself on the play and would have to be taken off the field via stretcher.

That Nationals lead was very short lived because Dominic Smith hit his fourth homer of the season:

After that it was the Nido show. In successive innings, Nido would homer. In the fourth, it was a two run shot off Voth. In the fifth, it was his first career grand slam off Seth Romero:

That second homer put him in some very exclusive Mets territory with the two homers and six RBI:

When you’re in a group with Mike Piazza and Gary Carter, you know you had an absolutely phenomenal day.

Lost in this insane day was the fact Peterson carried a no hitter into the fifth. His final line was 5.0 IP, H, R, ER, 2 BB, 3 K. He’d leave after 74 pitches due to some shoulder soreness. According to Peterson, it’s not serious.

From there, the teams would score one more run apiece in the Mets 8-2 victory. It was a complete team victory.

With the exception of J.D. Davis, every starter who received a PA had at least one hit. That includes Luis Guillorme who had another strong day at the plate going 2-for-4.

Overall, the Mets split the series with the Nationals. In doing so, they learned how this defense first lineup is their path to victory.

Game Notes: Billy Hamilton replaced McNeil and batted third. He finally got his first hit after going hitless in his first 15 Mets at-bats. Davis is hitless in his last 10 at-bats with six strikeouts. Andres Gimenez is tied for the MLB lead with five stolen bases.

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