Jacob deGrom
Entering this week, MLB.com did their weekly Power Rankings. In those rankings, the San Diego Padres were ranked third, and the New York Mets were ranked 12th.
That was despite the Mets going to San Diego and splitting a four game series. That was despite the Mets pitchers leading the league in fWAR, second in ERA, and leading the majors in FIP.
This is a decimated team, and they’re getting big time pitching, good defense, and good managing from Luis Rojas. They’re in first place with the largest division lead in the NL.
Well, the Mets team that is somehow worse beat the Padres last night behind the best pitcher in baseball. Actually, at this point, we should probably just call Jacob deGrom the best baseball player, especially given how he has more RBI than earned runs allowed.
Today, Marcus Stroman allowed one earned over 6.1 innings while striking out eight. Francisco Lindor and Jonathan Villar homered.
2-Run HOME RUN! @Lindor12BC pic.twitter.com/lgCkB93HYI
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
Seth Lugo looks healthy, and once again, he looks like the best reliever in baseball. Behind him, Edwin Diaz once again slammed the door shut to earn the save.
With that the Mets took the first two of this three game set with the Padres. They’ve also won four of the six games between these teams, and they’ve already taken the season series. Not too bad for a team not close to being in the same league as the Padres.
MLB and whoever else can keep under estimating this Mets team all they want. The Mets are still going to win games and the division. They’re still going to have deGrom lead them into the postseason. As we know these Power Rankings are jokes, and the joke is on the rest of baseball.
Jacob deGrom was the difference in this game for the New York Mets more ways than one. The only thing which could stop deGrom was himself.
For the first 4.1 innings, deGrom was simply unhittable, and were once again on the perfect game watch. That was until Wil Myers dribbled one against the shift for a hit.
Myers thought he could steal a base, but James McCann gunned him down. With that caught stealing, deGrom would face the minimum through six. Given how dominant he was even that seemed like a batter or two too many.
These pitches just ain't fair. ?
Eight Ks through 4 IP for deGrom. #LGM pic.twitter.com/A6nCLHCkN6
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
Of course, deGrom set all kinds of records. His 0.56 ERA though 10 starts is the lowest ever. He needed just 61.2 innings to reach 100 strikeouts which is the fewest innings to reach that mark. Oh, and by the way, he’s hitting .400 with an .840 OPS.
He went out there and beat the Padres every way imaginable. He allowed just the one hit over 6.0 innings walking none and striking out 10. He’d get the win because he actually got run support.
At first, it didn’t seem that would happen. Blake Snell, who was great his last game against the Mets, had a strong start to this game.
The Mets didn’t get a threat against him until the fourth. It started with a Jonathan Villar single. It’s not a stretch to say at that point in the game it seemed Villar was the only guy who was going to get a hit.
Villar was on second with one out after he stole second, and Francisco Lindor lined out. Snell completely lost the strike zone walking the bases loaded.
That’s when Dominic Smith has a terrible at-bat. Despite Snell losing the zone, he went to attack a tough slider out of the zone. He checked his swing leading to the inning ending 1-2-3 double play.
It was a really tough game for Smith. He was 0-for-4 with two GIDP. He’s slumping as he’s in a 1-for-13 funk.
This wasn’t the Mets last chance. Rather, it was them starting to get to Snell.
Kevin Pillar led off the fifth with a hustle double. His beating out Tommy Pham‘s throw proved serendipitous as Billy McKinney ripped a double down the first base line to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Jose Peraza drew a walk, and then Snell would balk to put runners on second and third. deGrom would deliver with a two RBI single giving the Mets a 3-0 lead.
? M-V-P pic.twitter.com/Y2wDMCabhS
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
For deGrom, that was more than enough support. However, deGrom would only go six because the flexor tendon in his elbow was bothering him leading him to take himself out of the game.
Perhaps it was deGrom out of the game. It could’ve also been Miguel Castro dealing with a neck issue which would knock him out of this game, but the Padres looked energized.
Jake Cronenworth hit a two run homer pulling the Padres within 3-2. After Castro walked Manny Machado, Luis Rojas pulled his ailing reliever for Seth Lugo.
To the surprise of no one, Lugo did the job retiring the next two to get out of the inning. What was a surprise was that was it for Lugo.
Aaron Loup started the eighth for the Mets. He’d exit the game with one on and two out. That’s when Rojas tabbed Edwin Diaz for the four out save. Jorge Mateo immediately stole second, but it was of little consequence as Pham flew out to end the inning.
Things got interesting in the ninth. Machado hit a two out single putting the tying run on base. Eric Hosmer pinch hit for Myers, and he put a scare into the crowd as he pulled a ball just foul. After that, Diaz got Hosmer to pop out to end the game.
The Mets are now a season high seven games over .500. However, it’s not too much celebrating as there’s reason for concern for deGrom and to a lesser extent Castro.
Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was activates off the IL, and Travis Blankenhorn was sent to Triple-A. The Mets claimed Nick Tropeano off waivers and sent him to Syracuse. Tommy Hunter was transferred to the 60 day IL.
One moment, you’re a player whose career is on the verge of ending before it really began. The next, you find yourself in the right situation, and you’re fulfilling your full potential.
That was the story with players like Jose Bautista and Justin Turner. However, it’s not a story we really see happen favorably to the New York Mets.
Enter Billy McKinney.
McKinney was the Oakland Athletics 2013 first round pick. While a prospect, he was involved in two high profile trade deadline moves. First, he was sent to the Chicago Cubs as part of the Jeff Samardzija trade. Then, he was part of the Aroldis Chapman trade.
Some of the shine came off McKinney’s prospects, and he dealt with a shoulder injury. With his being buried deep on the Yankees organizational outfield depth chart, he was included in the J.A. Happ trade.
McKinney struggles with the Blue Jays, and he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays late last season. McKinney was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers. He lasted all of 40 games before the underperforming outfielder was designated for assignment.
Make no mistake. This wasn’t necessarily the case of the Mets seeing something. Rather, with Michael Conforto down and Mets outfielders dropping like flies, the Mets had no other option than to obtain McKinney.
McKinney has been far better than the Mets ever could’ve imagined. Over 12 games, McKinney is hitting .275/.341/.700 with three doubles, a triple, four homers, and 11 RBI.
No, he’s not this good. No one is. However, we do see some positives from his Baseball Savant data. While he’s making a good amount of contact with increased exit velocities, it’s far too soon to adjudge if he can be the player many thought he could be when he was a top 100 prospect.
Right now, the only thing we can be assured of is he can field. Through it all, McKinney has shown himself to be quite a good fielder. If he can hit, his career is about to take off.
Fortunately for McKinney, he’s going to get the time to prove himself. Both Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are on the IL and aren’t returning soon. That allows McKinney to play everyday and to finally establish himself as a Major Leaguer.
On that note, it’s important to note he’s 26 and on the verge of the prime of his career. If he breaks out, that makes him a tremendous asset to a team as he’s under team control through 2024.
The Mets could use that. Aside from the fact this isn’t an organization deep in outfield talent, the Mets need to figure out their outfield past the 2021 season.
After this season, Conforto will be a free agent. In all honesty, he’s going to be extraordinarily difficult to sign. He’s represented by Scott Boras, and he’s basically the only All-Star caliber outfielder available in free agency. For that matter, he may be the only everyday outfielder available.
We can and should expect the Mets to do everything they can to keep Conforto. That said, we learned this past offseason with players like George Springer, the Mets have their limits, and they will walk away if they don’t believe a deal makes sense for them.
There are other factors like re-signing Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard. The Mets also have to try to figure out third base while preparing themselves for the eventual Jacob deGrom opt out.
This is all a long winded way of saying re-signing Conforto is complicated, and the Mets need a viable alternative. It’s possible that could be McKinney. Still, it’s only been 12 games.
A week or month from now, we may be begging for Conforto and Nimmo as McKinney implodes. We may also be even more excited as McKinney continues his breakout. We just don’t know.
The only thing we do know is McKinney has a chance. If he continues playing well, he’ll continue to play. If that happens, he will continue to get his chance to replace Conforto on a more permanent basis.
Time will tell.
Stop being an idiot. It doesn’t exist. Many have pointed to the spin on Jacob deGrom‘s pitches have been fairly static throughout his career.
His current catchers, Tomas Nido and James McCann responded to the false accusations by not only definitively saying he didn’t, but by also pondering what would happen if he did.
We saw similar support of deGrom from Marcus Stroman, Trevor May, Taijuan Walker, and others. The best response came from Kevin Pillar who said he’d bet his paycheck deGrom wasn’t. He then upped the ante by bringing it to Steve Cohen’s attention.
I’d bet my paycheck on it that he doesn’t use anything. He might be from a different planet though ? cc: @StevenACohen2
— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) June 7, 2021
Look, we know what accusations deGrom is cheating really are. It’s trying to deflect from other pitchers. It’s attention seeking behavior, and overall, it’s plain old sour grapes.
Fact is deGrom is the best pitcher on the planet, and he’s doing things only the greatest of the greats have done. In fact, he’s beating their records. Instead of trying to diminish it, we should all be appreciating his greatness.
Each and every time Jacob deGrom takes the mound, he does something special. Then, there are nights like tonight where he was just on another level.
We saw it with everything including his defense. He took what would normally be a weak infield single, and he turned it into an unassisted out.
That was nothing compared to what he did in the fourth.
Jake Cronenworth hit a one out single. It was a very nice play by Billy McKinney sprinting in the gap to keep Cronenworth at first. Cronenworth did get to second when Francisco Lindor bobbled a Fernando Tatis, Jr. grounder.
Then, we got the biggest play of the game. Eric Hosmer blooped a ball which landed in front of Dominic Smith. Cronenworth got crossed up thereby preventing him of any chance of scoring. As a result, the bases were loaded with one out.
That meant deGrom had them right where he wanted them. He made very quick work of Wil Myers striking him out on four pitches. Tucupita Marcano battled, but he’d strike out on a 3-2 slider to end the inning.
Right there was the Padres chance, and as we know when you fail against deGrom, you’re not going to get another opportunity. The Padres wouldn’t. The question really was whether deGrom would get run support.
After back-to-back nights where the Padres flirted with no-hitters, they threw Joe Musgrove, the only pitcher in Padres history to throw a no-hitter.
Ironically, Musgrove didn’t flirt with the no-hitter. That ended when McKinney led off the game with a double. To the shock of no one, the Mets failed to score.
Entering this game, the Mets hadn’t had a hit with RISP in this series. As such, you had to believe the Mets needed to homer to score.
That happened twice in the fifth as Jose Peraza and Lindor each hit a solo homer giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.
José Peraza puts us on the board. #LGM pic.twitter.com/w06Hu1f5F0
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
It's outta here! @Lindor12BC pic.twitter.com/ZBnzYg1wwe
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
As impressive as these homers were, there was the miracle in the sixth. Kevin Pillar and Tomas Nido began that inning with consecutive singles. That’s when Jonathan Villar, who has been on the bench with a hamstring issue pinch hit for Trevor Blankenhorn.
Villar came up big with the Mets first hit with RISP in the series. Villar drove home Pillar to increase the Mets lead to 3-0.
That was more than enough for deGrom, who was absolutely brilliant. He pitched seven scoreless allowing three hits and one walk while striking out 11. His season ERA is now 0.62. That’s the lowest ERA a pitcher has ever had through his first nine starts.
If someone says there is a pitcher better than Jacob deGrom, you can slap them. ? pic.twitter.com/9uRRVWXibj
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
Now, with deGrom recently off the IL, this was supposed to be no restrictions. Maybe that was the case, and maybe it wasn’t, but we saw deGrom lifted despite throwing just 77 pitches.
While the decision seemed curious, the Mets had Seth Lugo for the eighth and Edwin Diaz for the ninth all lined up. After a scoreless eighth for Lugo, the Mets tacked on an insurance run.
Former Mets prospect Nabil Crismatt was pitching his second inning of relief. Lindor led off the 9th with a lead-off double. After Smith drew a one out walk, Pillar drove home Lindor to increase the lead to 4-0.
The Mets threatened for more, but didn’t deliver. Not even with the bases loaded. This meant it was not a save situation for Diaz.
In years past that was an issue for Diaz. Not tonight. He pitched a scoreless inning preserving the Mets 4-0 win and snap the Padres 12 game home winning streak.
This win was made possible by deGrom who was brilliant. He keeps setting new records and further establishes himself as the best pitcher in the game.
Game Notes: In the game, deGrom passed Sid Fernandez for fourth all-time on the Mets strikeout list. deGrom has given up just 10 hits with the bases loaded in his career over 58 plate appearances.
The New York Mets went to the desert, and it was the Arizona Diamondbacks who came up dry. While the Diamondbacks did push the Mets, the Mets took this series:
1. The fact Bob Brenly is still employed after what he said about Marcus Stroman is an embarrassment to the Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Seriously, why hasn’t Rob Manfred stepped in here?
2. Brenly should forever keep Tom Seaver‘s name out of his mouth. He should not be sullying the name of a great man and best right handed pitcher in the post World War II era.
3. Luis Rojas going to the well with Trevor May was really bizarre. May has been struggling, and he was very fatigued.
4. Holding back Seth Lugo from a save opportunity when you’ve already used Edwin Diaz and Miguel Castro because you want to ease him back from his injury is all well and good. However, you just can’t follow that up by trying to throw him two innings in his first appearance back. That’s a contradictory and dumb position.
5. Diaz is just a different pitcher than he has ever been. He’s able to go back-to-back days now with no issue. He’s shaking off blown saves. He’s having consecutive good years. There is not enough superlatives you can throw his way right now. He really deserves credit for how much he’s improved.
6. On that note, Jeurys Familia resurrecting his career has been perhaps the biggest key to this bullpen being this good.
7. It looks like that stint at first base was great for James McCann. He’s continued hitting well, and as we’re seeing, he seems to thrive on the platoon role. Fortunately for the Mets, Tomas Nido has taken his game to a new level to make this a tenable plan.
8. Between McCann hitting again and Francisco Lindor having figured things out, perhaps we can stop passing judgments on two months. Clearly, these two needed to settle into a new city with a new coaching staff. And yes, it helps them and everyone that the team replaced Chili Davis.
9. For those who haven’t noticed, Lindor is a truly great player. Look at what he’s doing. He’s top five in the majors in OAA, and over the past month, he has a .758 OPS. Remember, that includes a period when he was in a deep slump. By September, we’re all going to laugh at the panic some people showed over his start.
10. This team is clicking with the return of Pete Alonso. His presence in the lineup seems to have taken pressure off of everyone, and frankly, it helps that he returned to the lineup in peak Alonso form.
11. There is no one tougher than Kevin Pillar. Not only did he return from that fastball to the face and surgery to replace multiple facial fractures, but he’s picked right up where he left off.
12. The Mets have had a number of injuries, but if the hamstring lingers, none might be more impactful than Jonathan Villar. Villar has been able to hold down third base with all the injuries, and while his numbers and propensity to get picked off leave something to be desired, he does find a way to have an impact on games. The Mets are going to miss him.
13. The J.D. Davis injury is getting increasingly worrisome. It seems like he just has set back after set back. You really just have to wonder if the Mets are really missing a significant injury here.
14. The fact the Mets have a 4.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves, the largest in baseball, is impressive. The fact the Mets have that lead allows them to hold their cards and wait for Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo to return at their own pace. Of course, the pitching being so dominant allows that as well.
15. At some point, Jacob deGrom gets a no-hitter, right? Sure, Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux didn’t, but you have to believe deGrom eventually gets one.
16. Because baseball is stupid, you have to guess Joey Lucchesi or David Peterson gets one before deGrom even though neither pitcher really belongs in the starting rotation right now. Injuries have really helped keep them here.
17. The Mets really need to decide if they want Peterson to be Mike Pelfrey, or if they want to try to give someone else a shot while he goes to Syracuse to develop like he needs.
18. For those saying the Mets need Pelfrey, the team can certainly figure it out. After all, they have Lugo, Robert Gsellman, and Sean Reid-Foley who can give you multiple innings consistently out of the bullpen. They also have Jerad Eickhoff, Corey Oswalt, and Thomas Szapucki to plug into the rotation. Really, there are options, and they need to do something.
19. Speaking of Gsellman, those 3.2 innings were phenomenal, and it speaks to his being back to being the pitcher the Mets thought he was when he was first called up in 2016.
20. May was right. That game winning hit by Josh Reddick was foul. Really, this just highlights the absurdity of the replay system where there aren’t cameras down the lines to ensure we get calls like that absolutely correct. Then again, this is baseball under Manfred, so why should we expect any different?
GAME RECAPS
Joe Musgove. Carlos Rodon. John Means. Wade Miley. Spencer Turnbull. Corey Kluber.
It just doesn’t make and sense. Somehow, these six have no-hitters, and yet, with one out in the fifth, Carson Kelly hit a single off Jacob deGrom.
Regardless of the inane scoring when Billy McKinney dropped a Josh Reddick line drive, that’s all the Arizona Diamondbacks could muster off deGrom through six. He had no-hit stuff (as usual), and the Diamondbacks were his victims.
All told, deGrom’s final line was 6.0 innings, two hits, zero runs, zero walks, and eight strikeouts.
As is the case, deGrom drove in more than he allowed. In the fourth, Jose Peraza hit a one out double, and Merrill Kelly intentionally walked Mason Williams to get to deGrom.
Kelly and the Diamondbacks paid for that mistake when deGrom hit an RBI single. With that hit, he’s driven in as many runs as he’s allowed this year. Honestly, there was nothing unusual about that.
What was unusual was the run support. A big part of that was the return of Pete Alonso to the lineup.
In the third, Alonso came up with the bases loaded and two outs, and in his second at-bat since coming off the IL, he hit a two RBI single giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. Alonso got two more RBI when he hit a two run homer in the seventh.
A Polar Bear visits the desert and exits the yard. #LGM pic.twitter.com/ymFUbGRc8c
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 1, 2021
At that point, the Mets were in control. That’s when Luis Rojas went to the bullpen. Between the 5-0 lead and deGrom’s recent IL stint, you understood the move.
The problem is Trevor May struggled. Eduardo Escobar homered off of him to lead off the inning.
After two quick outs, Pavin Smith singled off May and then took second on a wild pitch. He then scored on a Reddick RBI single. Miguel Castro relieved May and got the Mets out of the inning further unscathed.
Well, it wasn’t so much Castro as it was Williams. The call-up singled in his first at-bat, and he’d make a big play to get the Mets out of the seventh up 5-2.
Mason Williams with the great grab to get out of the 7th!
(Reminder we don't control the away camera feeds, Arizona must've wanted to see Miguel Castro's face idk) pic.twitter.com/jRAgoK7Tyy
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 1, 2021
Castro would give the Mets another inning, and with the help of another fine Jonathan Villar play, it was a scoreless eighth. Even with the scoreless inning, he did not give the ball off for a save situation.
The reason for that was Billy McKinney hitting his second homer in as many games. This one gave the Mets a 6-2 lead.
Lefty on lefty matchup? @billy_mckinney doesn't care. ☄️ pic.twitter.com/6ACDbgz8be
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 1, 2021
With the four run lead, Jeurys Familia came on to finish the game. Familia retired the first two quickly, but the second batter, Smith, hit one off Familia’s hand.
Familia shook everyone off, but there was some concern after a Reddick bloop double. Whatever concern that might’ve been, Familia put it to rest striking out Domingo Leyba.
Game Notes: In addition to Alonso, Kevin Pillar and Seth Lugo were activated off the IL. Sean Reid-Foley, Khalil Lee, and Patrick Mazeika were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Sam McWilliams and Cameron Maybin were designated for assignment. The Mets had 13 hits with James McCann being the only starter without a hit.
With the weather, the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves only played one game of the weekend series. With the Mets winning, they swept all the games they did play:
1. You just can’t beat the Mets at Citi Field. So far, they’re 15-5, and that’s even with a Triple-A roster.
2. The Braves are an incredibly flawed team, and there’s only so much Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuña can do.
3. The Mets are starting to get healthy with Taijuan Walker back. They also have Seth Lugo and Pete Alonso ready to be activated any day now.
4. Lugo presents an interesting dilemma for the Mets as they robbed Peter to pay Paul by opening up roster spots. Lugo coming off the 60 day IL means someone has to come off the 40 man roster.
5. In past years, the Mets really didn’t have enough players for an everyday lineup, and now, we’re worrying about the backups to the backups. Things really are different.
6. Walker picked right up where he left off, which is to say, he was very good.
7. Mets were cautious with both Walker and Jacob deGrom in their returns from the IL. Again, it’s nice to see things are different around here.
8. One of the biggest changes we see are rain outs. Steve Cohen is making the calls sooner preventing fans from having to unnecessarily make the trek.
9. A side point here is we’ve seen Mets players get injured and seasons get turned sideways with players playing in poor conditions as the Wilpons push to get another gate.
10. James McCann needs to be commended. He got pushed to first due to his own play, Tomas Nido‘s play, and injuries. He responded to the challenge by playing great.
11. Seeing McCann at first, and seeing his bat come alive again, you do wonder if he can play third. After all, it is a shift Todd Zeile (permanently) and Gary Carter (as a sub) have successfully made.
12. Seeing how McCann has played of late, there’s nothing wrong with the McCann/Nido platoon. In fact, it’s a good plan to get the most out of them and the starters.
13. Its a very small sample size, but Billy McKinney looks really good. He could well be someone who more than adequately fills in that 4th/5th OF role.
14. It’ll be something people overlook when they talk about how disappointing Dominic Smith has been, and he has, but he’s been playing hurt at a time when the Mets needed him.
15. Maybe it’s due to overwork, regression to the mean, or something else, but Miguel Castro is starting to look like the enigma he was with the Baltimore Orioles again.
16. Jason Bay got a much longer leash than Francisco Lindor has when it’s come to the booing.
17. On Lindor, this team is winning with pitching and defense, and he’s on the forefront of that. It’s something to remember when the Mets are healthy and debating putting in the full can’t field lineup.
18. By every objective measure, Jonathan Villar has been a below average player, but man, he finds a way to make an impact on a game.
19. The fact Kevin Pillar is going to be one of the first players back is a minor miracle given the injury he suffered and a testament to how tough he is.
20. The May games are over, and the Mets are in first place. They have the largest division lead while they’re getting healthy. Let’s hope this is enough to stave off the usual June swoon.
Sometimes, when you watch a player, you just see they are better than just everyone at something, and it’s pure magic. You see it when Jacob deGrom toes the rubber. You see it when Mike Trout steps to the plate. You also see it when a ball is put in play, and Marcus Stroman has the ability to make a play.
In many ways, that was Stroman’s introduction to the Mets. In his first ever inning, he made a great play to nail a Pittsburgh Pirates runner at the plate. Each and every time Stroman pitches, you realize that any ball hit near him is a play that he can make. That includes the plays no one else can make.
We saw that in the game between the Mets and the Rockies in the first end of the doubleheader. On balls hit to catcher turned first baseman James McCann, Stroman sprung into action directing McCann. The result was an inexperienced first baseman being able to pull off what was somewhat difficult 3-1 putouts.
If that was it, it was enough. However, this is Stroman, a uniquely athletic pitcher who plays the position defensively like he is a shortstop. With the Mets up 1-o in the fifth inning of a seven inning game, the speedy Garrett Hampson tried to get on to start the inning by laying down a bunt. It was a great bunt, but a better play by Stroman.
.@STR0 makes this play look routine. #LGM pic.twitter.com/KM2QZtgmPx
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 27, 2021
That play as well as Stroman’s other plays in this game stood out, and it allowed the depleted Mets to beat a very good pitcher in German Marquez 1-0. The Mets needed everything they could muster to beat Marquez with this lineup. They got that from Stroman with his pitching and his defense. Looking at Stroman, he has been great in both aspect of his game all year.
Going through Mets history, Storman is just on another level defensively. Seeing him play defense as a pitcher is like seeing Keith Hernandez play first, Rey Ordonez play shortstop, or Juan Lagares play center. His defense is so special he even earned real praise from Howie Rose who has been a Mets fan from the beginning. Stroman’s defensive play has caused Rose to remark he would pay just to see Stroman play defense.
When you are receiving that level of praise from the great Howie Rose, and you are doing all you can do to help this depleted Mets roster win games, this is obviously the Mets Neon Moment of the Week!
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