Edwin Diaz

Mets Still Have Fight

Say what you want about these Mets, but they have fight.

After yet another brutal loss, they jump out to a 1-0 lead with a Michael Conforto RBI double scoring Jeff McNeil, who had a four hit night.

Noah Syndergaard would struggle over five walking three and giving up two homers. Of course, one was hit by Jay Bruce.

The Mets were down 3-1 and responded with a McNeil RBI single in the second. They’d fall behind 4-2, and Dominic Smith would hit an RBI double in the third.

It would be 4-3 with one out in the bottom of the fifth. That’s when Jake Arrieta would hit Todd Frazier. Frazier was hopping mad over it to the point he’d get tossed and the umpires would issue warnings.

After Smith hit his second double, Arrieta plunked Amed Rosario to load the bases. When Arrieta wasn’t ejected, Mickey Callaway argued and was then ejected. Of note here, Arrieta had hit three batters all year entering tonight, and he would double that total.

No, it wouldn’t be the umpire who knocked Arrieta out of the game. It would be Tomas Nido with a three run double giving the Mets a 6-4 lead.

From there, Justin Wilson, Robert Gsellman, Steven Matz, and Seth Lugo combined to allow one run over three innings.

It wasn’t easy. In the seventh, Gsellman hit Jean Segura and wasn’t tossed. This led to Matz coming into the game. He allowed two hits scoring an inherited run before getting Bruce out to end the inning.

Cesar Hernandez led off the eighth with an infield single, and Seth Lugo relieved Matz. This would look more like the Lugo we’re accustomed to seeing. He ended the rally and preserved the 6-5 lead.

Although the Phillies hit the ball hard off Edwin Diaz, he still recorded the save. It’s a positive step, and finally, it’s a win. Even better, the Mets can enter the Break with a series win if they can pull it out tomorrow.

Game Notes: Speaking of having fight, reports indicate Van Wagenen threw a chair while berating Callaway and the rest of the Mets coaching staff after yesterday’s loss.

page top

Boy The Mets Blew It Tonight

On Seinfeld Night, it’s only fitting this season, which has become about nothing, looks like a team run by Wilhelm.

The Mets had a 2-1 lead thanks to a Pete Alonso homer and RBI double. It wouldn’t last due to bad umpiring and the Mets bullpen.

Entering the top of the seventh, the only hit deGrom allowed was a homer to the first batter of the game Scott Kingery. After walking Rhys Hoskins to start the seventh, the second hit was a J.T. Realmuto double setting up second and third with no outs.

After a Jay Bruce groundout with the infield drawn in, Cesar Hernandez hit a slow roller to third. Todd Frazier did all he could do by going home. At first blush, Hoskins beat the Wilson Ramos tag. Upon further review, Hoskins didn’t touch the plate. Didn’t matter because the Mets lost a challenge earlier in the game:

We’ve seen plenty of times umpires initiate a crew chief review after being persuaded by a manager. Here, Mickey Callaway tried to get the review. In 99 times out of 100, there is a crew chief review, but on the night Brian Gorman was content with his incorrect and game alerting call.

The Mets entered the ninth tied 2-2. Edwin Diaz started the inning, yadda, yadda, yadda, Jeurys Familia came on and the Mets lost 7-2. Cue Kramer:

This game is like eating a Snickers bar with a fork. No one is around to take credit for this big salad. We can’t send Robinson Cano and Diaz back to the Mariners like an old man trying to send soup back in the deli. In this unspongeworthy season, each loss is real, and it’s spectacular.

Game Notes: Alonso set the Mets rookie record for most extra base hits surpassing Ty Wigginton. He also broke Jose Abreu‘s rookie record for most extra base hits in the first half. Mets are 16-30 over deGrom’s last 46 starts despite his having a 2.15 ERA.

page top

Mets Fans Have Reason Other Than Van Wagenen To Cheer

True to his word, Brodie Van Wagenen say with The 7 Line for today’s game against the Yankees. It was a bold move because this is a Mets team nine games under .500 with every move he made this offseason blowing up.

In fact, all the players Van Wagenen acquired this offseason have accumulated a -1.7 WAR. Meanwhile, by and large, the prospects they traded are performing well.

Given all of that, you’d think Van Wagenen could be booed. At a minimum, you’d think they wouldn’t celebrate him. You’d be wrong. Very wrong.

They cheered a man who acquired J.D. Davis. In the second, Davis threw to the wrong base on a Gleyber Torres RBI single allowing Edwin Encarnacion to go from first to third unchallenged.

Later that inning, opposing pitcher James Paxton came up with runners at the corners with one out, and he laid down the safety squeeze. It was an excellent bunt which hugged the third base line.

Wilson Ramos, a catcher Mets pitchers are increasingly demanding not to have behind the plate, and who was signed because Van Wagenen didn’t go the extra mile to get Yasmani Grandal, picked up the ball. He would spin and throw without looking Encarnacion back.

With Zack Wheeler slipping on the play, and Ramos failing to execute fundamentals, Encarnacion scored without a challenge.

It’s a shame for Wheeler because he was very good tonight. Those three singles were three of five hits he allowed all night. In total, he’d last 6.1 innings allowing just those two earned while walking one and striking out eight.

Despite pitching well, he wouldn’t get the win. It was no matter to Van Wagenen who loved every minute of the Mets losing 2-0.

In the second, Torres flat out robbed Michael Conforto of an RBI base hit instead starting an inning ending double play. Conforto wouldn’t be robbed when he ended a rally with another 4-6-3 double play. The latter ended a sixth inning rally.

For his part, Wheeler popped up two bunts hurting the Mets chances. Between that, the defense, and getting squeezed by the home plate umpire, it was not Wheeler’s night.

Still, he wouldn’t take the loss.

In the eighth, Pete Alonso hustled hard out of the box, and he was able to take advantage of a D.J. LeMahieu throwing error. Then, Davis was able to take advantage of Aaron Hicks playing well out of position in right center. Hicks got a great jump, but his dive wouldn’t be enough. Davis doubled scoring Alonso to tie the game.

After Robinson Cano was intentionally walked (your guess is as good as mine), Ramos singled to load the bases. The Yankees pulled Adam Ottavino to bring in Zack Britton to pitch to Conforto. There would be no inning ending double play this time as Conforto hit a two run double over Brett Gardner‘s head to give the Mets a 4-2 lead.

This put Seth Lugo in line for the win with Edwin Diaz coming in for the ninth for the save.

Things didn’t start well when Diaz was slow covering first and couldn’t catch an Alonso throw on what was a Didi Gregorius leadoff single. Fortunately, Diaz settled down to get the next three out to preserve the win.

Gardner foul tipped a ball after a long at-bat. It popped out of Ramos’ glove, and he caught it with his hand. It was the type of ending this bullpen deserves.

The Mets pulled out an unlikely win with their bullpen standing strong. They now have as many saves as blown saves on the season. They snapped the Yankees streak of 31 consecutive games with a homer. For one night at least, everything went according to plan.

Well, partially according to plan anyway. In the end, a win is a win, and you take them, especially with the season the Mets are having.

Game Notes: Steven Matz will be moved to the bullpen until the All Star Break. He will join Justin Wilson, Jeurys Familia, and Luis Avilan were all activated from the IL.

page top

Appearance On A Metsian Podcast

On Thursday, I had the honor and the privilege of being a guest on A Metsian Podcast. It was a lot of fun and cathartic, and I would hope you would all take a listen by clicking on the link provided.

I’m not sure if this is a reason to entice you to listen, but during the course of the podcast, I personally mentioned or discussed the following Mets players: Tom Seaver, Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Cliff Floyd, Nolan Ryan, Aaron Sele, Jason Vargas, Edwin Diaz, Robinson Cano, Roberto Alomar, Juan Samuel, Jim Fregosi, Bret Saberhagen, Vince Coleman, Noah Syndergaard, Chris Flexen, Paul Sewald, Sean Gilmartin, Darren Oliver, Pat Mahomes, Eric Hanhold, Steve Villines, Corey Oswalt, Jacob Rhame, Hansel Robles, Stephen Nogosek, Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, Darryl Strawberry, and others. This list is off the top of my head.

Looking at that list, maybe that’s why they haven’t brought me back after my last appearance three years ago when I went on a Daniel Murphy rant.

 

page top

20/20 Hindsight: Mets Bullpen Saved Someone’s Season

The Mets went to Philadelphia to take on a wounded Phillies team who was aboslutely reeling. You knew after this series one of these two teams would still be standing, and the other will look like their past offseason was all for naught. Well, the Mets bullpen would make sure that would happen:

1. As noted by Michael Mayer, the last time a team blew five games where they led by at least two runs was the 2011 Mets. No, not the last time the Mets did it – the last time anyone did it. The closer that year was Francisco Rodriguez with Pedro Beato, Bobby Parnell, and Jason Isringhausen serving as setup men. Prior to this season, no one was saying “Come get us!”

2. We can talk about different parts of this Mets team getting exposed, but no one was more exposed than Brodie Van Wagenen. He mismanaged the “crisis” with Mickey Callaway and Jason Vargas. The media reported his involvement in game decisions like removing Jacob deGrom from a game. There were reports it was more than that as well.

4. This debacle is reminiscent of the 1993 Mets with Vince Coleman throwing fireworks at fans and Bret Saberhagen dousing reporters in bleach. What’s the common denominator between those two Mets teams? The Wilpons.

5. It was good for the Wilpons to take nine years to finally do the right thing by honoring Tom Seaver. Of course, they waited so long Seaver is now suffering from dementia so he cannot travel for these honors, and he may also not have the mental faculties to enjoy the honors being bestowed upon him.

6. The article by Wallace Matthews of Yahoo is completely ridiculous. Not only does he call Vargas the team’s most reliable starter, but he gets a chance to speak with Jeff Wilpon. With that access, he talks about the incident with Tim Healey instead of literally anything else. Honestly, if Jeff wants to talk about that, don’t bother. It’s a waste of time.

7. Jeff Wilpon’s silence on the state of this team and the continual inept way it is run from a number of facets should be met by fans with silence. We could call to organize a boycott or something, but in reality, the team being this soul crushingly bad is going to keep the fans away anyway. When that happens, Jeff’s silence will be met with silence.

8. Worse than that, Jay Bruce gets a key pinch hit home run and a walk off double, Robinson Cano has multiple 0-for-5’s, and Edwin Diaz blows a save. Right there, his biggest move completely busted. Actually, that’s not fair, it was a bust long before that.

9. So much for scapegoating Dave Eiland and Chuck Hernandez because the Mets bullpen imploded in the four game set. Worse yet, these were games the Mets absolutely should have won:

10. What Dominic Smith has done this season has been nothing short of remarkable. This team needs to be smart and really look at him in left field for the rest of the year to determine if he can be a long term solution there. If nothing else, the Mets need as many cheap bats as they can get.

11. Amed Rosario has had a number of peaks and valleys, and recently, this has been a bit of a peak. Over his last 11 games, he is hitting .342/.366/.500 with four stolen bases in as many attempts. Ultimately, there still remains hope for him.

12. The Mets need to figure out what to do with Cano, and they need to figure it out sooner rather than later. Realistically speaking, he needs to be moved to a less demanding position like third base and get some days off. As each day passes, it’s clear he can’t play second everyday.

13. Moving Cano to third solves the problem there, and it allows the team to move Jeff McNeil back to second base. This should clear that spot for Smith and hopefully Brandon Nimmo if his injury proves to not be career altering.

14. Speaking of Nimmo, only the Mets could take a talented fan favorite player like him, have him get to an All Star level, and then do all they can to completely ruin him. It’s a not so fun pattern with this team.

15. Todd Frazier has done a lot to help this team and build his trade value. The problem is he’s still a rental who is not really getting you something in return. Really, if you want to make a difference at the deadline, you need to trade major pieces, but with the young talent so close, you can’t do that either.

16. Michael Conforto continues to show himself to be both a great and underappreciated player. He should be an All Star this season. If he isn’t, it’s because this team stinks, and the organization can’t be bothered to promote it’s most talented and perhaps best position player.

17. Chris Mazza getting called up at 29 years old is a feel good story. It’s a feel good story just like Tyler Pill and Drew Gagnon was before him. He should enjoy the moment, but we shouldn’t be expecting anything from him.

18. Chris Flexen looks like a real weapon in the bullpen. Brooks Pounders may become that as well. The optimistic Mets fans could look at them joining Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman in front of Diaz, who really cannot be this bad next year, to become a formidable bullpen. As Mets fans, we should know better than to hope.

19. Callaway does sound ridiculous when he says the Mets are so close, but he’s not wrong. This team continues to fight and play hard. If they had even a capable bullpen, they’d be in a much better position. If fact, this is the only team in baseball with more blown saves (20) than saves (18). If you just take back half of those blown saves, the Mets are 47-35, which puts them a game out of first place.

20. Short of honoring the 1969 Mets this weekend, and maybe sometime late in the season to see if Pete Alonso breaks some home run records, there is zero reason to go see the Mets at Citi Field other than your love of the Mets and baseball. The latter is why the Wilpons have us and will never sell the team.

page top

Phillies Got The Mets

After a very good outing by Zack Wheeler and good relief work by both Brooks Pounders and Chris Flexen, the Mets found themselves down 1-0 with one out in the ninth.

Michael Conforto gave the Mets some hope with a single off Phillies closer Hector Neris (who was working in his three straight day). It could’ve been a double, but he wisely stopped at first when Bryce Harper, who homered to provide the margin, cut the ball off and made a string throw to second. This would put the game and perhaps the season on Todd Frazier‘s bat. For a moment, he saved the season:

The Mets tacked on another run to take a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth. In this moment, Edwin Diaz had an opportunity to put the past behind him and to just go out there and lock down a big win.

Instead, he issued a leadoff walk to Cesar Hernandez before allowing a game tying homer to Maikel Franco. The homer seemed to have the same issue Jeff McNeil‘s double the other day only this time it was ruled a homer:

Diaz was not intent on just blowing the save. Oh no! He had grander plans.

After striking out J.T. Realmuto, he again walked a batter. This time it was Sean Rodriguez, who is apparently still playing, who entered the game with a career .300 OBP. Frazier couldn’t bail the Mets out again this time deflecting what would be ruled to be a Scott Kingery single. That set the stage for the soul crushing Jean Segura walk-off.

What’s left to say? The Mets have more blown saves than saves. The Phillies have the two ex-Mariners who are actually helping a team win a division.

As noted by Mike Mayer of MMO, the last MLB team to blow five consecutive games with a two plus run lead was the Mets in 2011. There’s much more to look at including the Mets odds to win those games:

In the end, this was a team who needed a good road trip, and they instead went 3-8. They are now a season worst eight games under. If you had hope, it’s fading very fast.

Game Notes: Before the game, the Mets revealed the new address to Citi Field (41 Seaver Way), and the announced plans for a Tom Seaver statue. This took about nine years too long to accomplish.

page top

Jay Bruce Walks It Off!!!!!

Tonight’s game against the Phillies and the 2019 season as a whole can be summed up like this:

In the 10th inning of a game the Mets once led 4-0, Jay Bruce hit a walk-off double against Stephen Nogosek.

That’s right. A player the Mets traded away got the game winning hit against a reliever who began the year in Double-A and was rushed up to the majors because the Mets had little other option.

Robinson Cano was 0-for-5, but it’s alright because Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth in what was a non-save situation. That’s certainly worth $100 million over five years plus Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn.

At the end of the day, the Mets got what was coming to them for all they did this past offseason. As a fan, you might as well laugh because if you don’t, you’re going to go crazy.

Game Recap: Chris Mazza was called up from Triple-A. To make room for him on the roster, Walker Lockett was sent down, and Ryan O’Rourke was designated for assignment. Dominic Smith homered in his third straight game.

page top

Jay Bruce Walks It Off!!!!!

Tonight’s game against the Phillies and the 2019 season as a whole can be summed up like this:

In the 10th inning of a game the Mets once led 4-0, Jay Bruce hit a walk-off double against Stephen Nogosek.

That’s right. A player the Mets traded away got the game winning hit against a reliever who began the year in Double-A and was rushed up to the majors because the Mets had little other option.

Robinson Cano was 0-for-5, but it’s alright because Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth in what was a non-save situation. That’s certainly worth $100 million over five years plus Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn.

At the end of the day, the Mets got what was coming to them for all they did this past offseason. As a fan, you might as well laugh because if you don’t, you’re going to go crazy.

Game Recap: Chris Mazza was called up from Triple-A. To make room for him on the roster, Walker Lockett was sent down, and Ryan O’Rourke was designated for assignment. Dominic Smith homered in his third straight game.

page top

No Point In Criticizing Callaway Anymore

Robinson Cano batted third which was inexcusable because he’s hitting .223/.270/.361, and his 70 OPS+ is the worst of the players in the starting lineup.

Walker Lockett batted for himself in the top of the sixth, didn’t sacrifice Amed Rosario over, and he was going to face the heart of the Phillies lineup a third time. He blew the lead.

Robert Gsellman was available, but the Mets went with Wilmer Font with the plan being for him to go directly to Edwin Diaz. That didn’t happen as he would lose the game because he allowed back-to-back homers. To put icing on the cake, he’d throw at a batter’s head.

Did you have an issue with any of these decisions?

Do you have any issues with any in-game decisions made this year?

Do you even like how this team is managed?

Chances are you’re not happy with the way this team is being managed. Whether it’s the starting lineup, the defensive alignments, the pinch hitters or relievers brought into the game, or something else entirely, Mets fans are going to pinpoint multiple things about how this team has been managed or run.

Typically, this is where you blame Mickey Callaway. After a poor first year as manager, you’d be more than justified demanding he be replaced. However, we now know he’s not making the decisions.

Each of these decisions are coming from Brodie Van Wagenen and his front office. Being the Mets, it’s entirely possible he’s getting orders from Jeff Wilpon which supersede the recommendations of the analytics department.

In the end, if you want to hate Callaway, go ahead. No one is stopping you. But at the end of the day, you should know his firing changes nothing because the next guy is just going to carry out the same ill conceived orders from a poorly assembled roster.

Let’s Go Mets!

page top

Jeff Wilpon Needs To Speak About What’s Going On With His Mets

The New York Mets are five games under .500, which is the lowest point they’ve been at any point this season. As with most teams under .500, everything seems in disarray. This is a pattern for the Mets franchise which exists even in good times. Still, things have been at a higher level of dysfunction lately.

Mickey Callaway didn’t take kindly to what appeared to be an innocuous comment from Newsday’s Tim Healey. The frustration coming from a tough loss, having to answer difficult questions, or whatever else is related to being the Mets manager came flying out. Callaway finally snapped and directed it at Healey, which he shouldn’t have done.

Things were heightened when Jason Vargas purportedly to knock out Healey, and he needed to be restrained by Carlos Gomez and an injured Noah Syndergaard.

This was an embarrassing course of events which were made all the more difficult when Callaway had to speak with reporters three times before getting the words which people wanted to hear from him out. As bad as you may want to characterize what Callaway did or did not say, it’s nowhere near are terse and sarcastic as what Vargas had to offer:

It should be noted here Callaway was at least man enough to speak with Healey personally and offer an apology. Nowhere was it reported Vargas did the same. Despite that, both were not suspended and were fined $10,000.

Of course, with this being the Mets, that’s not enough. During the game, we were reminded just how bad a job Brodie Van Wagenen has done as the General Manager. Jay Bruce would hit a pinch hit home run against Brooks Pounders, a scrap heap guy Van Wagenen had to obtain to try to piece together what was an incomplete bullpen to begin the year. That homer essentially put the game away for good.

In that game, there would be 20 runs scored and 34 hits. The only position player in either starting lineup not to register a hit? Robinson Cano. Cano was 0-for-5 dropping his stat line to .223/.270/.361. So far, he has a -0.8 WAR in year one of a five year $100 million obligation to the 36 year old second baseman.

At the same time, we have seen Edwin Diaz have the worst year of his career while Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn are progressing well in the Mariners system. According to MLB Pipeline, Kelenic is the 24th best prospect in all of baseball, and Dunn is the 67th best.

That means if Van Wagenen did not make the trade, right now, the Mets would have five top 100 prospects (Andres Gimenez, Ronny Mauricio, Anthony Kay) with more on the horizon. That means the Mets farm system would have been the envy of everyone, and the team could have sold REAL hope for an under .500 fourth place team.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mike Puma of the New York Post wrote an article alleging Van Wagenen called the Mets to instruct Callaway to remove Jacob deGrom from a game. The reporting has been confirmed many times over with the allegations going much further than this being an isolated event. On the topic, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post had this to say:

I asked the question to Brodie Van Wagenen this way, a few hours before the Mets would prove to be a splendid tonic for the reeling Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in serving as 13-7 patsies, a few minutes after he feigned ignorance at a subtler version of the inquiry:

“Do you tell Mickey what to do?”

*  *  *  *  *

So I asked. And this is what Van Wagenen said: “This organization is about teamwork and collaboration and the ability to trust the manager on an everyday basis.”

This is what he didn’t say: “No.”

It wouldn’t be until after the game Van Wagenen would seek to deny the reports. When he did, he would come across as less than convincing.

This is all coming off the heels of the team scapegoating both Dave Eiland and Chuck Hernandez while replacing them with an 82 year old Phil Regan and their bringing back Ricky Bones less than a year after he was removed from the position. We’ve also seen Travis d’Arnaud and Keon Broxton scapegoated this year.

On top of all of this, Brandon Nimmo went from neck pain we shouldn’t worry too much about to a bulging disc he tried to play through (both in the majors and in a rehab stint) to being shut down. Jed Lowrie has yet to play this season. Overall, the handling of the medical situations has continued to be inept, and the offseason acquisitions have mostly been a disaster.

At this point, no one has any credibility, and people have long since stopped wanting to hear what Callaway and Van Wagenen have to say.

The Mets have been embarrassed by the actions of his manager and fifth starter. There’s a potential scandal brewing with the General Manager allegedly violating MLB rules. There’s the continued problems with handling injuries, and the payroll remains an issue. Fans are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the team, and they’re staying away from the ballpark. Overall, the team is five games under .500, and they are closer to last place than the division or a Wild Card.

This is the exact time Jeff Wilpon needs to speak with the media. He needs to show everyone the team is not dysfunctional. He needs to support his embattled General Manager and manager. He needs to provide a vision for the future; one which can get the fans reengaged. In the end, this team is run by Jeff Wilpon, and he is the one who has to be accountable for the decisions made.

Speaking now is what a true leader would do. When put that way, we shouldn’t be holding our breath waiting for him to be accountable for the decisions made by him and the people he put in charge.

page top