Dominic Smith

Cubs Walk All Over Mets

Well, if you watched last night’s game, you got the jist of what was going to happen tonight. The Cubs dominated the Mets, and you were left looking for bright spots. 

Certainly, one was and continues to be Juan Lagares and his defense in center:

Not seen there was Lagares making the throw. His throw lead to a run not scoring on a double base running gaffe by Ian Happ and Willson Contreras. Happ’ was trying to go to third with two outs, and Contreras’ was not hustling home while watching the horror unfold. 

At the time, the play kept the game tied at 2-2. 

The Mets runs had come off a Jose Reyes keynote address off Jon Lester, and a Matt Harvey safety squeeze plating Amed Rosario. No, it didn’t make up for what happened yesterday. 
Speaking of Harvey, the best thing you can say about his start is he left under his own power.

The velocity was there, but his location wasn’t.  When he wasn’t leaving pitches in the hitting zone, he wasn’t throwing strikes. When he was pulled with one out in the fourth, he allowed seven hits, two runs (both earned), and four walks with just two strikeouts. He also left the bases loaded. 

He left them loaded for Hansel Robles, who is having a nightmare of a season. That became evident when he issued a bases loaded walk to Anthony Rizzo and then a two RBI single to Contreras.  Just like that, it was 5-2 Cubs on the way to becoming a 10-2 lead. 

But hey, Robles had a sparking stat line. His was 1.2 innings, one hit, no runs, one walk, and two strikeouts. 

He was the only pitcher with a good stat line. Chasen Bradford allowed four runs in an inning of work. He certainly wasn’t helped out when Asdrubal Cabrera let one go through the wickets. Javier Baez homered off Kevin McGowan in McGowan’s lone inning of work. Jacob Rhame surrendered 

One of the runs Rhame allowed was off a Rivera double. The former Met had quite an evening himself. Despite coming off the bench, he was 2-2 with a run, double, and two RBI. 

Jamie Callahan then had a sinilsr outing to Robles. He relieved Rhame with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth. Just like Robles, he issued a bases loaded walk to Rizzo. Albert Almora then hit a bases leading triple. Unlike Robles, he’d get hit with a charged run. 
With all the frustrations, the Mets showed some fight in the eighth. Rosario scored on a Rene Rivera passed ball. Later in the inning, Dominic Smith hit a two run homer to pull the Mets within 10-5. 

All said and done, it was a hard to watch 13-5 loss featuring Mets pitchers issuing 11 walks. It’s quite the metaphor for a team that everyone not named the Reds or Phillies have walked all over. 

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo dat for a second straight game against a left-handed pitcher while Nori Aoki got the start in both games. 

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Mets Uniform Assignments A Small But Interesting Issue

With the Binghamton Rumble Ponies season over, the New York Mets have called up top catching prospect Tomas Nido to serve as the team’s third catcher for the final few weeks of the season. Once he arrived in the clubhouse, he was issued the number 77. 

Now, it’s possible Nido selected the number himself as “his” number 7 was unavailable because it’s already being worn by Jose Reyes. However, the assignment of the number follows an odd pattern where the Mets typically have used number assignments to distinguish between top prospects and others. 

The most recent example was Phillip Evans being assigned 72. His number in the minors was 13, which is currently occupied by Asdrubal Cabrera. There’s a large chasm between those two numbers. 

That’s not the case for Amed Rosario (#1) or Dominic Smith (#22). They had the benefit of their Las Vegas numbers being available, and as such, they were given their numbers.

This is unlike former Mets first round pick Brandon Nimmo. Like Nido, he wore 7 in the minors. When Nimmo was called up last year, Travis d’Arnaud wore the number. Unlike, Nido or Evans, he didn’t get a number in the 70s. Instead, he was assigned 9. 

Later that season, Seth Lugo couldn’t wear 27 because of Jeurys Familia. He was given 67. The fact Lugo was removed from the Las Vegas rotation earlier that year was certainly of consequence. 

Robert Gsellman wore 24, a number mostly out of circulation to honor Willie Mays. The pitcher rushed to the majors was given 65. Chris Flexen had a similar rise this year. His 33 in St. Lucie wasn’t available due to Matt Harvey and his Binghamton 46 was worn by Chasen Bradford. Flexen was given 65. 
By the way Flexen was given that number because his 29 was already worn by Tommy Milone. 

Bradford’s Las Vegas teammate Paul Sewald is wearing 51 because the Mets have taken Keith Hernandez‘s 17 out of circulation. 

Now, this isn’t to say Sewald should wear 17, or that he didn’t select 51. Same goes for players like Bradford whose preferred number is being worn by a Major Leaguer. 

However, again, there is a real difference between saying no to 13 and assigning the number 72. It isn’t something the team did to Nimmo, but then again, he’s a well regarded prospect. 

The really own exception to this is  Travis Taijeron and his switch from 18 to 28. 

And Taijeron really is an anomaly unless you believe T.J. Rivera (#3) and Ty Kelly (#11) really wanted to wear 54 and 56 because Curtis Granderson and third base coach Tim Teufel already had their uniform numbers.  Really, it’s not likely. 

No, the truth of the matter is the Mets are really only inclined to allow a prospect to pick their own number upon a call up to the majors unless they’ve already been deemed a top prospect. 

Look, we know Rosario is a better prospect than Rivera ever was. Likely, Rosario will be a much better player. Still, that does not mean Rosario gets to pick a number, but Rivera shouldn’t. They’re both New York Mets. They should be treated as such. 

Overall, this is far from the biggest issue with this team, but it is an issue nevertheless. It shows why certain players get chance after chance after chance while those that produce have to continue to reprove themselves. The reason is because the Mets seek confirmation bias rather than results. 

Want to know which players are which?  Just look at the uniform numbers. 

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No 15th Win for deGrom

In case you forgot why the Mets are in the position they’re in right now, Terry Collins and the bullpen were more than happy to oblige in another classic Sunday afternoon debacle.  

Keep in mind, the Mets are so bad on Sundays that not even the Day Man, Jacob deGrom, can get a win on a Sunday day game. 

After a rough first when he allowed two runs, it looked like deGrom may not get that win. After walking Tucker Barnhart to start the second, deGrom had issued three walks in one plus innings. There was legitimate issue how much longer he would last in the game. 

As it turned out, it was his last walk of the game, and he would be much better from that point forward. In fact, he’d only allows just one more hit, and he’d strike out eight batters. 

His final line was six innings, three hits, two runs, two earned, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. He was in line for a career best 15th win of the season. 

He was in line thanks to some help from his offense. That includes Dominic Smith. Smith was 2-5 with a run, homer, and two RBI. His third inning RBI single tied the score at 2-2. His lead-off homer in the sixth gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. 

After the Smith homer, the Mets would go ahead 5-2 off a Jose Reyes two RBI double. Reyes would give those runs away in the field. 

Paul Sewald was first in line to protect the lead. After allowing that first two to get on, he seemed to reblund striking out Patrick Kivlehan and getting Jose Peraza to ground into what could’ve been an inning ending double play. 

Amed Rosario, who was in his first game back in about a week after suffering a finger injury, made the flip to Reyes to get the out at second. However, Reyes made an errant throw allowing Peraza to reach safely. After that, Zack Cozart tied it. 
https://twitter.com/reds/status/906994459044278272

Jeurys Familia couldn’t keep the game tied. This was in part due to Travis d’Arnaud not getting a tag down. It was a rare transgression for him, but nevertheless,there was  one here. 
https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/906980545942433793

Still, even if that tag does get down, the Reds still take the lead on the play. It was a lead they were not giving up. 

Throw in a Burnhart three run homer off Hansel Robles in the ninth, and you have a 10-5 final score, and a Jacob deGrom no decision. 

Of course with competent defense and manager, this could all turn around.  That’s not happening this year.

Game Recap: Reyes continues to pack the back of his baseball. 

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Montero & Plawecki Lead Mets to Victory (Not a Joke)

If you had the duo of Rafael Montero and Kevin Plawecki powering the Mets to victory, one of three things are probably true:

  1. You’ve been in a coma since 2014;
  2. You’re a much better gambler than Craig Carton; or
  3. You just started watching baseball this September. 

Seriously, Montero and Plawecki have been much improved players at a time where it seemed even the Mets were beginning to give up on both of them. Finally, the Mets faith in both seems to be rewarded. Tonight was the latest example. 

Plawecki has been much improved at the plate.  It’s not just batting average or OBP, it’s his hitting for power. 

His two run shot in the second inning was a no doubter. It was the second of the season and sixth of his career. It gave the Mets a 2-1 lead, and the team didn’t look back. 

For the first five innings that was because of Montero. Except for a 1-2-3 first, he was in trouble all night long. Part of that was the re-emergence of his walks problem with Montero allowing five walks in five innings. 

Still, while the walks re-emerged, the meltdowns didn’t. He made the pitches he needed to get out of jams and innings. 

He then handed the call to Chasen Bradford, who has rebounded well from his one poor outing against these Reds at the end of August. In that outing, he gave up four runs without recording an out tonight. He got redemption pitching 1.2 scoreless striking out four. 

He not only kept the lead, but he allowed the Mets to blow it open for their fourth win in a row. 

The Mets got a little breathing room with a Dominic Smith two out sixth inning RBI single scoring Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera had led off the inning with a double. 

Cabrera’s next double plated Nori Aoki in the seventh. This followed Aoki singling home Matt Reynolds and Jacob deGrom. Reynolds was hit by a pitch, deGrom pinch hit for Josh Smoker, and both advanced on a Jose Reyes sac bunt. 
With the Mets having a 6-1 lead, it was an easy game for rookie Jamie Callahan to put to rest. It might’ve been the reps or the five run lead, but he looked more relaxed and composed. All the Mets look that way with the team playing much better of late. 

Game Notes: Amed Rosario is feeling better, and he may play tomorrow v

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Nimmo Has Us Smiling

Whenever you see Brandon Nimmo, you see him grinning ear to ear. Well, tonight he gave Mets fans reason to smile. 

In a surprise decision, Terry Collins made Nimmo the clean-up hitter tonight. Despite, Nimmo not hitting for much power in the minors, he looked every bit the clean-up hitter tonight.  

It was a career night for Nimmo who went 3-4 with three runs, a double, two homers, and three RBI. Oh, and of course, he drew a walk. 

One of those homers was the start of back-to-back homers with Juan Lagares: 

The Nimmo performance and Lagares homer was part of what was a terrific night for the Mets. Now, it wasn’t just terrific because the Mets won 7-2; it was terrific because of who contributed to the win. 

That started with Matt Harvey. 

Harvey, starting on normal rest, took a step in the right direction. He pitched five innings allowing two runs on five hits. It was far from a perfect performance, but it was an improved one. 

We saw his slider get a little sharper as the game progressed. After allowing runs in consecutive innings to start the game, he allowed just one hit from the third inning through the fifth. Had he not been on a pitch limit, it’s likely he would have pitched the sixth. 

Once Harvey left, the Mets bullpen was very good. Josh Smoker struck out the side in the sixth. Jeurys Familia had his best outing of the year pitching two scoreless. While not a save situation, AJ Ramos closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.

At this point of the season, it’s really not about wins and losses inasmuch as its about how the Mets are playing. Tonight, the Mets won getting key contributions from important people. That made this a night that gave you reason to smile. 

Game Notes: Jose Reyes gave the Mets the lead for good singling home Dominic Smith and Kevin Plawecki in the fourth. 

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When deGrom Can’t Beat The Phillies, All Is Lost 

This is a season where you can pretty much pick your nadir. Tonight might have been that night because when Jacob deGrom can’t beat the Phillies, the Mets really have no hopes of winning games. 

Coming into tonight, deGrom was 6-0 with a 2.10 ERA, 0.917 WHIP, and a 9.5 K/9 against the Phillies. He was 22-14 with a 2.17 ERA, 1.033 WHIP, and a 10.2 K/9. 

Tonight, deGrom allowed nine runs (six earned) off 10 hits and two walks while striking out five. 

With this poor start, deGrom has allowed five plus earned runs in three of his last five starts. Given how dominant we have seen him at times this year, and how this Mets season has gone, you’re just waiting for the Mets to announce he’s injured.

It certainly doesn’t help his team let him down once again. Dominic Smith made a second inning error allowing the first run to score in a three run inning. With the game at 5-1, Nori Aoki made a throwing error on an Odubel Herrera RBI single, which made it 6-1. The error let the other runners get into scoring position, which helped facilitate the six run inning. 

At the end of the day, the Mets lost 9-1. 

If you’re looking for a positive, Jacob Rhame got himself into a bases loaded jam, and he worked his way out of it without allowing a run. Kevin McGowan also pitched a scoreless inning. 

But really, we’re just grasping at straws looking for the positive. In the end, a bad team looked bad against another bad team. That’s it. 

Game Notes: The Mets lone run came on a first inning Travis d’Arnaud RBI double scoring Aoki. 

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The 2017 Mets Summed Up As Why The Hell Not

Since he was first called-up to the majors, Dominic Smith has been benched and pinch hit for against left-handed pitching. As a result, when Smith was allowed to face the left-handed Francisco Liriano and swing away 3-0, reporters rightfully ask about it. Collins answer was startling:

With rumors already swirling Collins won’t be back next year, it sure seems like he’s checked out. 

He’s that guy who gives his two we notice and shows up to work everyday in a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and flip flops. He takes two hour plus lunches, and leaves before 4:00. 

It’s why the top of his lineup is now locked in as Jose Reyes–Nori Aoki–Asdrubal Cabrera. 

He disagrees and really doesn’t know how long Amed Rosario has dealt with a finger issue. 

Brandon Nimmo won’t hit leadoff anymore. 
Odd and inconsistent use of his relievers will continue. 

Injured players will continue to play well after they shouldn’t. To that end, just wait for what we know is Wilmer Flores‘ imminent return. 

The marginalization of young players for underperforming to not performing vets will continue. 

Bad decision making will continue. 

Why will all this continue?  Why the hell not. 

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Mets Lose Game And Opportunities 

When you watch Mets games now, you’re not really looking for wins and losses. Mostly, that’s because you’re really only going to see losses. 

No, you’re looking for important or exciting moments. It’s even better when it comes from a player  who has a possibility of being a part of the 2018 Mets doing something important. 

Of course, that is difficult with Terry Collins as the manager. For consecutive games, Collins has set forth Jose Reyes, Nori Aoki, and Asdrubal Cabrera as the top three hitters. Of course, that’s more productive than seeing Brandon Nimmo atop the lineup. 

We can dwell a bit by bit how a 4-0 lead turned into an 8-6 loss, but frankly we shouldn’t care all that much. The team has a manager more interested in stopping a 90 or maybe a 100 loss season than doing the right thing and playing the young players. 

Collins can’t ignore the veterans, and the front office doesn’t care. Worse yet, they handed him Aoki to only further fuel his wants and needs. 

Despite the Mets focus on declining vets, it doesn’t mean we all have to focus on them.  To that end, here’s what we need to know from this Mets loss to the Astros:

  • Dominic Smith continued hitting well going 2-5 with a double and an RBI single in the first. 
  • Nimmo continued showing off his patience at the plate drawing three walks. One of them was with the bases loaded. 
  • Chris Flexen fell apart in the third blowing a three run lead. He threw 79 pitches and didn’t get into the fifth inning. 
  • Amed Rosario was 0-3 and was forced to leave the game with a finger issue. 
  • Juan Lagares continued hitting well at the plate going 1-3 with a walk and an RBI single. That and he continues to amaze in the field:

So, yes, the Mets lost. Of the young players who actually got to play, Smith was the standout. Oh, and Rosario got hurt because that’s what happens to Mets players. 

Game Notes: Aoki was 3-4 with two runs, a double, two RBI, and a stolen base. Reyes stole two bases. 

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Doubleheader A Microcosm Of Mets Season 

Well, we finally have the moment that perfectly encapsulates the Mets 2017 season. We just had to wait for the 135th game of the season and the second game of today’s doubleheader:

That’s right, Wilmer Flores fouled a ball off his face and had to leave the game. 

That moment right there is the Mets season. In fact, the whole double header was the Mets season. 

In the first game, Matt Harvey was rocked in his first game back from the DL. Yes, you did get the sense Houston seemed to relish teeing off on Harvey. More than anything, they just seemed relieved to be playing baseball. 

Harvey only lasted two innings throwing 70 pitches. His final line was two innings, eight hits, seven runs, seven earned, no walks, and three strikeouts. 

Harvey had some velocity hitting 94 MPH, but he didn’t have much else. Again, like he’s done many times in the past, he said there were mechanical issues. As history repeats itself, we know Dan Warthen lacks answers. 

After that, we got the Major League debuts of Jacob Rhame and Jamie Callahan. Rhame had the more successful debut of the two, but still, both threw some serious heat. Like Harvey, Callahan was abandoned by his defense, but he didn’t pitch well enough to make it an issue. 

The shame of Callahan’s tough outing was the Mets made a game of it after a poor Harvey start and bad Tommy Milone relief appearance (2.2 IP, 3 ER). 

Dominic Smith hit a two run fourth inning homer to cut the deficit to 7-2. In the seventh, Flores hit a grand slam to make it a 10-7 game. 
With Callahan’s poor outing, it would end at 12-8. 

Of course, with the doubleheader, we got fun with Collins making lineups. 

Despite Brandon Nimmo starting both ends of the doubleheader, he didn’t lead off once because the Mets have Jose Reyes and now have Aoki. Also, we were blessed to see Cabrera play in both ends of the doubleheader. 

The Mets were much more competitive in the second game of the doubleheader. Note, competitive, not good. 

The main problem was the Mets offense was not doing anything against Brad Peacock. In fact, when the Mets got to him in the sixth, they didn’t really get to him but to George Springer. 

Juan Lagares led off the sixth with a triple to right-center. Lagares busted it out of the box, and he appeared to have a shot at the inside-the-park home run. However, Glenn Sherlock held him up at third. 
For a moment, it seemed as if the Mets wouldn’t score. Amed Rosario, who came on for Flores, struck out, and Asdrubal Cabrera walked. The Astros then brought in Francisco Liriano to face Smith. 

To the surprise of everyone, Terry Collins didn’t PH for Smith. Perhaps that is because Flores was already out of the game. 

Smith lined a ball to Springer, which might have been deep enough to score Lagares. It didn’t matter as Springer misplayed it into a double. Because Cabrera is slower than Sid Bream right now, he didn’t score on the play. 

It wound up biting the Mets because the horrors of this season continue to repeat themselves. 

Seth Lugo cruised through five innings keeping the Astros scoreless. In the sixth, the Astros began going through the lineup for the third time, and they began teeing off on Lugo. 
The first three reached against Lugo with the Astros tying the game on a Josh Reddick RBI single. They then took the lead taking advantage of new Met Nori Aoki‘s bad arm. 

Astros third base and outfield coach Gary Pettis sent Jose Altuve. With Aoki’s throw up the line, he didn’t give Kevin Plawecki much of a chance to make the tag. Just like that, the lead was gone. 

Later, Matt Reynolds got gun shy with a shot to nail the runner at home. He took the sure out at first. With the shift being on, his being far off third allowed Marwin Gonzalez to go to third setting up his scoring on a sac fly. 

As if the indignity wasn’t enough, Reynolds lost a ball that was literally lost in the roof. The ball would drop right in front of him just out of his reach. 

Of course because baseball is cruel, a ball would once again go into the rafters:

After the rough half inning was over, the Mets were down 4-1 with all four runs being charged to Lugo. 

In the end, the Mets were swept in the doubleheader by a MUCH better team. They lost to a team representing a city who needed this distraction. Hopefully, those who are still suffering were able to take some time and enjoy these games. 

As Mets fans, we’re hard-pressed to enjoy any of this. The veterans are still playing over the prospects. The players are still getting hurt. The pitchers are still struggling. 

Game Notes: Reports indicate once the Rumble Ponies season is over, Tomas Nido will get called up to the majors. Former Met Carlos Beltran did not appear in either end of the doubleheader. He is dealing with a foot injury. 

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Wilmer Flores Is Not A Third Baseman, He’s A Second Baseman

Long before the two errors Wilmer Flores made last night, he had already established he is not a Major League third baseman.  What is most troublesome is there is not just one thing you can pinpoint as the main reason why he struggles there.  It is also why he’s probably not redeemable there.

First and foremost, people will point to his throwing.  In his career, Flores has played 1,007.2 innings at third base.  In those innings, he has made a total of 16 errors; 12 of which were throwing errors.  This doesn’t even account for the numerous times he’s thrown offline preventing the team from turning a double play, or his inability to throw out speedy base runners on bunt plays and slow rollers.

However, it’s more than that.  Looking at the advanced metrics, Flores’ play at third base is just unacceptable.  He has a -17 DRS and a -3.5 UZR at the position.  He converts just 93.6% of routine plays at the position.

No matter the statistic you choose, Flores just cannot handle the position.  That’s not his fault.  Different players are ill-suited to different positions.  That was made clear when Jose Reyes, a player who seemingly had the range and arm strength to excel at third base, struggled there this season.

So no, Flores isn’t to blame.  The people to blame are the Mets for continuously trotting him out there this year.

On the surface, it is fine to play Flores everyday to let him prove he is capable of being an everyday player at the Major League level.  However, if you are really interested in seeing him succeed, you need to give him a fair shot at a position he can actually play.

Flores’ best defensive position is first base, but he is blocked there by Dominic Smith‘s presence.  His next best position is second base.  As Flores has shown in his career, he can actually handle that position.

In 667.0 innings at second, Flores has a -7 DRS and a 0.3 UZR.  In his time there, he has only committed four errors (two fielding, two throwing).  He has converted 99% of routine plays at the position.

Despite second being Flores best opportunity to be an everyday player, the Mets refuse to play him there.  If the team was giving a shot to Gavin Cecchini, it would be understandable.  However, Cecchini’s been stapled to the bench.  Rather, the Mets continue to trot Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera out to second base.

Therefore, rather than letting Flores show himself to be what he’s worth, the Mets would rather play two players who played large roles in torpedoing this season at second.  The Mets would rather Flores fail to see two players who should not be considered major contributors in 2018 get playing time.  It makes no sense.

Yes, we know Flores will never be a Gold Glover.  The hope always has been and continues to be he will hit enough to justify playing him everyday.  However, that scenario only works if Flores is playing a position he can actually play.  We already know he can’t play third.  It’s time to stop playing him there and move him to second base.

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