Jacob deGrom
You knew it was going to be a long day when Jon Niese dominated the Mets in game one of the doubleheader.
Niesepitched seven scoreless innings allowing two walks while striking out two. This unrecognizable man even recovered shrugged off an error turning a Steven Matz double into a triple by getting the next couple of batters out to escape the jam. For his part, Matz battled through five innings allowing eight hits, two earned, and two walks while striking out eight.
It wasn’t a good outing for Matz, but he fought through it and limited the damage as much as he could. The problem is he got no help. The Mets didn’t score until Curtis Granderson hit an eighth inning homerun. Before that homer, Granderson was 2-53 as a Met against the Pirates (not an exaggeration). Granderson’s homerun was too little too late what would be a 3-1 loss.
The nightcap was more of the same with another 3-1 loss.
Terry Collins trotted out the same lineup as the first game, with the exception of the requisite swap of starting catchers, hoping for a change. Instead he got more of the same. It was made all the worse by the loss coming against a Juan Nicasio whose 4.75 ERA does not appear long for the Pirates rotation, especially with Jameson Taillon‘s much anticipated major league debut tomorrow.
Overall, Nicasio pitched five innings allowing three hits and one earned with two walks and seven strikeouts over five innings. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he pulled off a successful butcher boy in the fifth setting up the third run of the game. Nicasio pulled the bunt back and singled off the glove of Jacob deGrom. The play moved Chris Stewart to third. He later scored on a John Jaso double.
Like Matz, deGrom didn’t have his best stuff, but he mostly kept the Pirates at bay. He pitched six innings allowing six hits and three runs with no walks and no strikeouts. Like Matz, the Mets offense abandoned him. The only run scored was on a Kevin Plawecki RBI single scoring Michael Conforto in the fifth.
There’s just no sugar coating it. The Mets offense was, and has been, putrid. They played 18 innings, and they only collected nine hits while scoring two runs. They went down 1-2-3 in nine of the 18 innings.
Asdrubal Cabrera was 0-8, and he hasn’t had a hit in last 14 at bats. Yoenis Cespedes was 0-7, and he’s 3-36 in his last 11 games. Michael Conforto was 1-6, and he’s been hitting .160 since the end of April. These are three important bats in the lineup. Even without the Mets injuries, the Mets still need these guys to hit. They’re not, and their struggles are magnified because the Mets need them more than usual.
Simply put, if they’re not hitting the Mets aren’t winning. They didn’t hit today, and the Mets were swept in both ends of the doubleheader.
Notes: About the only good thing that happened today was Neil Walker got loud ovations before his first at bat of both ends of the doubleheader. It was a classy move for a classy player. Eric Campbell was the 26th man in the second game of the doubleheader. He didn’t play.
In 2012, Major League Baseball enacted the 26th Man Rule to help teams deal with their pitching issues created by doubleheaders. The rule states that if a team has a doubleheader they can call-up a player from their 40 man roster to be available to play in both ends of the doubleheader if the doubleheader was scheduled at least 48 hours in advance. In the event that the doubleheader was not scheduled at least 48 hours in advance, a team can call-up a player from the minor leagues, but that player would only be available in the second game of the doubleheader.
Now, since this is the Mets only trip to Pittsburgh, there were only two possible dates to schedule the doubleheader. The first was today, June 7th, and the second was Wednesday, June 8th. Considering the fact that the first game of a doubleheader is going to start at 4:05 P.M. today, it was practically impossible for the teams to schedule this doubleheader 48 hours in advance. Basically, both the Mets and the Pirates were prevented from having a 26th man on their roster for both ends of the doubleheader because the schedule only has the Mets going to Pittsburgh one time this season. In essence, Major League Baseball has created a rule that is not in conformity with its schedule.
Accordingly, the Mets are going to have to pitch Steven Matz and Jacob deGrom today and try to figure out what they are going to do over the weekend. It’s likely that they are going to have to start Logan Verrett this weekend because they are not going to want to start Matz or deGrom on three days rest. The Mets could avoid this situation by having Verrett start today. It’s feasible, especially considering that Verrett last pitched on June 1st. He’s well rested, and if he’s going to have to make a start, why not make it now? The reason is that because this is a doubleheader, the Mets are going to need each and every single one of their bullpen pieces.
Alternatively, the Mets could call-up a starter from AAA to make the spot start in the second game. However, this situation isn’t feasible for a number of reasons. First, the likely starter, Sean Gilmartin, last pitched on June 3rd meaning he would have to make a start on short rest and after a cross-country flight. The Mets could go with Gabriel Ynoa in the second game since it is his turn in the rotation. However, the Mets may not want Ynoa to make his major league debut after a cross country flight, and they may not want to complicate their AAA rotation thereby pushing a young pitcher past the point they realistically should pitch. Finally, the Mets might not feel Ynoa is ready to pitch in the big leagues yet.
Realistically, the Mets don’t have a viable pitching option. Accordingly, the Mets are going to go the position player route. It’s not a bad decision either. You don’t want Yoenis Cespedes playing both games on a sore hip. Juan Lagares isn’t available to hit today with a torn ligament in his thumb. As much as the Mets may need another pitcher, they also need another position player. Accordingly, Eric Campbell is going to be that guy. Campbell will be available to play first, second, third, left, right, or pinch hit. Knowing Terry Collins, he just might have Campbell do all of the above in the second game since there is going to be a lefty starting in the second game of the doubleheader.
However, he’s not going to be able to do any of that in the first game as he’s unavailable to be used. Apparently, Major League Baseball believes you only need a 26th man on the roster when you have time to plan out how you are going to use your roster and not when you are pressed into making quick decisions. The 26th Man limitations are without merit, and they need to be removed immediately.
Lost in all the offensive struggles is the fact that this Mets team is built upon pitching. As a franchise, the Mets always have and always will be built upon pitching. It started with Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Jon Matlack in the late 60’s. It was continued in the 80’s with Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and David Cone. The mantle was supposed to be picked up this year by the Mets young rotation.
However, the rotation has had some struggles. Matt Harvey struggled mightily going 2-4 in May with a 5.91 ERA. To a lesser extent, Jacob deGrom struggled in May going 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. The concern with deGrom was not so much the results but the seemingly precipitous drop in velocity. These were to the two aces the Mets road all last year and into the postseason. These were supposed to be the two aces this year leading the team while the younger starters developed. Instead, the reverse has been true.
Noah Syndergaard has taken the next step this year. He is 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA and a 0.958 WHIP. He is throwing fastballs up and over 100 MPH, and more impressively, he is throwing sliders around 95 MPH. He is as dominant a pitcher as there is in baseball right now.
Steven Matz was named the National League Rookie of the Month for the Month of May. It was a well deserved honor after going 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA and a 0.757 WHIP. In fact, if you take away his first nightmare of a start, a start he made after a long period of inactivity, Matz is 7-0 with a 1.51 ERA and a 0.932 WHIP. Matz has been the pitcher everyone has imagined he would be and more since he burst onto the scene last year beating the Reds from the mound at the plate.
Overall, Syndergaard and Matz have taken the next step. On almost any other rotation, they would be the unquestioned ace. That was the same thing that has been said for Harvey and deGrom. On that front, there is some great news as well. In Harvey’s last start, he went seven innings allowing only two hits, no runs, and one walk with striking out six. In deGrom’s last start, he went seven innings allowing five hits, one run, and two walks while striking out 10. More importantly, deGrom’s velocity is returning with him getting his fastball up to 96 MPH.
So yes, it appears like the 2016 Mets are continuing the franchise’s legacy of having great pitching. With Syndergaard and Matz being ahead of schedule in their development coupled with Harvey and deGrom starting to return to last year’s form, the Mets rotation is stacked with four aces. If you’re a baseball player or a poker player, you know four aces is next to impossible to beat no matter whatever else you have in your hand . . . even if that hand contains the deuce that the Mets offense was over the month of May.
The narrative going into the game was Noah Syndergaard‘s golf trip would have a negative impact on his start. It seemed to be the case when Syndergaard allowed a first inning solo homerun to Marcell Ozuna.
Instead of struggling from that point forward, Syndergaard did what he’s done all year. He dominated. Syndergaard pitched seven innings allowing six hits, two earned, and one walk with nine strikeouts. All Syndergaard needed was some run support.
Fortunately for Syndergaard, the Mets provided him with more than one run of support. That was the main difference between this game and Jacob deGrom‘s start on Wednesday. The main reason was Wilmer Flores started at third instead of Ty Kelly. In the fourth, Flores broke a 1-1 tie by getting a two out broken bat bloop RBI single scoring Yoenis Cespedes.
Unfortunately, Syndergaard would relinquish the lead in the sixth. The rally was built upon a Christian Yelich double to shortstop. Yes, shortstop. Asdrubal Cabrera, who hit a fourth inning homerun, dove and got a piece of the ball. It was just enough to slow it down so Yelich could get to second and Martin Prado could go to third. Prado would subsequently score on a Ozuna’s sacrifice fly. The Mets would need Flores to get things started again. He did.
In the seventh, Flores got a rally started by drawing a leadoff walk in the seventh. The Marlins then pulled starter Tom Koehler and brought in the lefty, Mike Dunn, to face James Loney. Loney made the Marlins pay by hitting the first pitch he saw for a homerun. It was Loney’s first homerun for the Mets and his 100th career homerun. The homerun broke a 2-2 tie.
Just for good measure, Flores got another rally started with a leadoff double in the ninth. He moved to third on a long fly ball from Loney to center. He JUST MISSED another homerun. Rene Rivera, on the other hand, didn’t. He hit an absolute bomb to left center giving the Mets a 6-2 lead. It gave the Mets a big enough lead to let them relax after losing two straight games in which they had a lead in what were tight scoring games.
Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth because that’s what he does. The four run lead allowed Jim Henderson to pitch a scoreless ninth thereby allowing Jeurys Familia a night off.
This was a great game for the Mets and Flores in particular. He finished the night 2-3 with two runs, one RBI, one walk, and one double. With David Wright‘s most recent injury, the Mets need Flores to step up and take over third base. He did that tonight. If he continues playing like this the Mets will be able to weather not just this storm, but also anything else that comes their way in 2016.
Game Notes: The struggling Michael Conforto was dropped from third to sixth in the lineup. He was 0-4 with two strikeouts dropping his average to .246.
The Mets walked 13 times . . . THIRTEEN . . . and only scored one run in a 13 inning game they lost 2-1.
The Mets once again trotted out an ugly lineup reminiscent of July 2015. David Wright is still unavailable with the neck injection, so Terry Collins decided to go with Ty Kelly over Wilmer Flores. Yoenis Cespedes was out of the lineup as he informed Terry Collins he needed a day off. It was an ugly lineup reminiscent of a July 2015 lineup. It doesn’t help that Michael Conforto is still struggling. With today’s 0-6 with the golden sombrero, Conforto is now one for his last 21. With that said, the Mets had to win the 2015 way. They needed deGrom to be dominant. He was, but it wasn’t enough.
Jacob deGrom‘s velocity continued to tick up a bit with him getting it back up to the 95 MPH range on occasion. He had a season high 10 strikeouts. He had allowed only three hits and no runs over six, and he was at 92 pitches, and due up to lead off in the seventh inning. Terry Collins let him go back out there.
For the second day in a row, Todd Frazier hit a homerun. He tied the score at 1-1.
That matched the Mets offensive output. James Loney got a second inning rally started by walking. He moved to second on a Juan Lagares sacrifice bunt (really looked more like a bunt for a base hit, but that’s official scoring for you). Rene Rivera then came up and hit a one out RBI single to make the score 1-0. It was the first time Loney reached base and scored a run as a Met.
The Mets tore through their bullpen, including but not limited to, an injury to Hansel Robles. Logan Verrett came in, and he eventually gave up the winning run in the 13th in a rally started by a double hit by Matt Albers, an American League relief pitcher.
It was a bad loss capping off a poor 2-4 home stand. The Mets bench is inexcusably bad even with the injuries. The Mets need to make some moves.
Game Notes: Don Draper took his hatred of the Mets to the next level by sending Roger out there to interfere with Melky Cabrera resulting in interference being called costing Loney a chance at bat. It is the four year anniversary of Johan Santana’s no-hitter.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Dark Knight emerged as not only the protector of Gotham, but also as a figure that gave people hope. After eliminating Gotham of the evils of villains like Ra’s al Ghul, the Falcone crime family, and the Joker, the Dark Knight found his body weary from the constant battles. He took a back seat as other emerged, Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent, to fight the good fight.
A new villain emerged that neither Gordon, Dent, or really anyone could handle. Bane. Initially, the Dark Knight sought to take on Bane in his own. He was a shell of himself. Bane quickly dispatched of him while breaking his back in the process. The Dark Knight is then left battered and beaten in the Pit prison. No one ever escapes this Pit. In reality, once you’re here, you’re gone forever. It seems like the Dark Knight we all knew and loved was gone forever.
Instead, he chose to fight on. He got stronger. He did the impossible and made his way out of the Pit and back to Gotham. Some of his old friends were gone, but he still had Gordon. He also had John Blake and Selina Kyle. They fought back, and against all odds, they were victorious. The Dark Knight had returned just when Gotham needed it most.
Looking at all of this, yes, Matt Harvey is the Dark Knight.
In 2013, Harvey arrived and gave us all hope that the Mets could win another World Series. In 2015, he pushed his body to the limits no one has ever pushed themselves post-Tommy John surgery. He, along with Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Jeurys Familia, pitched the Mets into the World Series.
Whether it was the innings, the bladder problems, or his dietary issues, Harvey isn’t the same. This year he’s 3-7 with a 6.08 ERA and a 1.688 WHIP. He’s getting beat up by hitters, the media, and his Captain. Harvey seems broken. He appears to be at the bottom of a Pit that he has no means to escape.
Harvey can and will fight back as only the true Dark Knight can. In the interim, deGrom and Syndergaard will continue the good fight. They’re now joined by Steven Matz. In the end, we know the Mets will be victorious. We know Harvey will once again be Harvey. Just remember how this script goes. In the end . . .
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!
Its astounding how much 2016 is paralleling 2015. This year, like last year, 46 games into the season, they trail the Nationals in the division. Interestingly enough, this is not where the parallels end.
Catcher
Last year and this year, Travis d’Arnaud had a significant injury forcing him to miss a significant period of time. This pressed Kevin Plawecki into assuming the starting catcher’s job, and he struggled. However, Plawecki kept on catching because his backup was a good defensive poor hitting catcher. Last year was Anthony Recker. This year it’s Rene Rivera.
Back Issues
Last year, the Mets faced the prospect of not knowing when or if David Wright could return due to his back problems. As a result, Eric Campbell played many more games than the Mets ever anticipated he would. The same thing is happening now as a result of Lucas Duda‘s stress fracture in his lower back.
Minor Leaguers Not Ready for the Majors
With the rash injuries last year, the Mets trotted out the likes of Daniel Muno and Darrell Ceciliani to try to fill in the gaps. It didn’t work. This year the Mets have pressed Matt Reynolds and Ty Kelly into action. Reynolds and Kelly are having similar difficulties.
Rotation Issues
Last year, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee were having the worst years of their careers thereby putting the pressure on the other starters. The Mets were stuck in a holding pattern about making a change as the obvious replacement, Noah Syndergaard, still needed a little more time. This year it is Matt Harvey struggling while the obvious replacement in the rotation, Zack Wheeler, still needs more time to get ready to pitch in the majors.
Colon Dependability
At this point last year, Bartolo Colon was 7-3 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.20 This year Colon is 4-3 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. This year and last year the Mets have been able to count on Colon to take the ball every fifth day and give them a chance to win.
Mid 30’s Corner Outfielder
Through May 25th last year, Michael Cuddyer was hitting .250/.328/.372. This year Curtis Granderson is hitting .204/.304/.413. Like Cuddyer last year, the Mets are relying heavily on Granderson, and unfortunately, they are not getting the production they need from them.
Second Year Starter Stepping Up
Last year, Jacob deGrom went from Rookie of the Year to All Star. He emerged as the ace of the staff. This year that honor belongs to Syndergaard. Syndergaard has been dominating on the mound like deGrom did last year. He’s a likely All Star, and he’s quickly become the staff’s ace. Honorable mention should go to Steven Matz here as well.
Call for the AA Prospect to Get Called Up
Last year with a rash of injuries and offensive ineptitude, Mets fans shouted from the rooftops that Michael Conforto should be called up to the majors from AA. This year the fans have begun the same with Dominic Smith due to Duda’s injury and Campbell playing there everyday.
Jeurys Familia
Last year, Famila was as dominant as anyone at the end of the game. He started the year a perfect 13/13 in save chances. This year Familia is back to his dominant form. He’s a perfect 16/16 in save chances. As in 2015, Familia is going to slam the door shut.
The Two Team Race
Last year the Braves were the upstarts that faltered. This year will be the Phillies. However, when the dust clears, this is really a two team race between the Mets and the Nationals for the NL East.
Just remember that no matter how bad things got last year, the Mets still won the division by seven games. This year the Mets have a much better team across the board. We may sometimes forget this when the Mets slump or have a couple of injuries. However, this is a much better Mets team that can win the division. This is still a World Series contender. That’s the overriding lesson from 2015.
Today, my family gathered together to celebrate my younger brother’s birthday. With my son, family gatherings usually involve every fawning over him while he’s mostly interested in playing with Cosmo:
It also means that I get to watch a Mets game with my Dad, brother, and son. My Yankee fan uncle was also there. We get to have all those little conversations about each and every player and what the Mets should or shouldn’t do in each situation. Some major points of discussion:
- Why was Jacob deGrom getting pulled after only 100 pitches?
- How good is Yoenis Cespedes?
- Do you think David Wright‘s career is effectively over?
- Why is Eric Campbell on the team?
- Should Kevin Plawecki or Matt Reynolds bunt?
It was fun having these and other little discussions during the game. It was also fun being in a room of people that universally agreed Daniel Murphy is a better baseball player than Neil Walker. Admittedly, some of these discussions were a bit disjointed with a two year old chasing a puppy and asking questions about the game.
It was great to watch a Mets game with my family the way I grew up watching a games. Sure, we have these discussions over texts during games, but it’s much better having these conversations in person. It’s even better when a game ends with Wright setting a club record with his eighth walk-off hit and ninth walk-off RBI:
The look of a #WalkOff. pic.twitter.com/Q1kE6Gq9A5
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2016
After the game was over, it was time for some cake and ice cream to celebrate a birthday . . . and a Mets win.
Happy Birthday Uncle Pat!
Due to Wilmer Flores’ injury and David Wright’s spinal stenosis, Eric Campbell has played in 21 games so far this year. Believe it or not, that’s the least amount of games by anyone on the team who is not on the DL.
It may not feel that way because Campbell had played much more frequently. While he appeared in 10 games in April, he did not start one game. In May, he’s already played 11 games, and he has started in nine of them. Here’s the strangest thing of all with Campbell – he’s actually playing fairly well.
In May, where Campbell has received the bulk of his playing time, he’s hitting .231/.375/.269. Yes, his batting average and slugging percentage is quite low, but as evidenced by his OBP, Campbell is getting on base. Also, he’s playing good defense at first and third base. We have already seen him make diving stops to stop extra base hits. Overall, Campbell is playing very well for the guy at the end of your bench.
That’s the issue. Campbell isn’t at the end of the bench anymore.
No, with Flores on the DL, Campbell has overtaken Flores’ super utility role. Campbell has also outperformed Flores. Before Flores went on the DL, he was hitting a paltry .180/.255/.280. Flores has also struggled with his throws from second and third. Accordingly, Campbell has been a better bench option than Flores.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, it should be noted Campbell is out performing some of the regulars. In May, Campbell’s .375 OBP is tops amongst infielders and second on the team to Yoenis Cespedes. He’s out slugging Neil Walker . In sum, right now, Campbell is not the Mets worst option either in the field or at the plate.
This goes a long way to explaining the Mets troubles scoring runs. The Mets have averaged 2.74 runs per game in May. Opponents have out scored them by 18 runs. The Mets are 8-11 so far this month. Therefore, while there are problems like with Matt Harvey’s struggles on the mound and Jacob deGrom’s velocity, the biggest problem right now is the struggling Mets offense that isn’t getting on base enough and isn’t scoring runs.
The Mets starters need to get better . . . at least better than Eric Campbell as there should never be no point in the season where you can say Campbell has been one of the Mets better offensive players.