Jonathan Villar

The Billy McKinney Game On Jose Peraza Day

In the first half of the doubleheader, we had two good starters going head-to-head. In the second half, well, it was more readily apparent these are two poor hitting teams.

Case-in–point was the first inning. Joey Lucchesi walked the first two batters, and with two outs, the Colorado Rockies pulled off a double steal. Still, the Rockies wouldn’t score. Part of that was Billy McKinney making a running catch down the line taking away an extra base hit from Brendan Rodgers:

In the bottom of the first, Jonathan Villar drew a lead-off walk and went first to third on a Francisco Lindor single. McKinney came up, and he’d hit into a double play. Villar scored on the play.

It seemed like this would be another 1-0 game. After that first, Lucchesi settled in for a bit, and he actually no-hit the Rockies through three.

Of course, this would be another lesson in a pitcher is dealing until he’s not. The Rockies immediately jumped on Lucchesi in the fourth.

After Ryan McMahon led off the inning with a single and was picked off/caught stealing, C.J. Cron singled. A wild pitch moved Cron to second, and Lucchesi would walk Yonathan Daza to put runners on first and second with two outs.

Even with the threat of Charlie Blackmon coming in to pinch hit, Luis Rojas brought in Drew Smith. Surprisingly, the Rockies stuck with Connor Joe. It proved to be the right move as Joe hit a game tying RBI single.

The Rockies threatened to take the lead on what appeared to be an Elias Diaz hit, but Diaz was robbed on a sliding catch by McKinney to get out of the inning.

McKinney made the big catch, and then in the bottom of the fourth he hit a one out double off Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela. From there, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs, and Jose Peraza delivered the go-ahead RBI single giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.

That wasn’t the last rally featuring McKinney and Peraza.

McKinney led off the sixth with a walk against Jordan Sheffield. After a James McCann double and Patrick Mazeika hit by pitch, the Mets had the bases loaded with one out. Peraza would drive home another run by drawing a four pitch walk.

Then, we saw Cameron Maybin is the unluckiest man alive. He was robbed of a hit in the third by Trevor Story. Even with Story out of the game due to injury, the shortstop would again rob him of a hit.

Maybin smoked a ball off the drawn-in infield. The ball would deflect off the diving third baseman McMahon to the shortstop Rodgers. Rodgers then threw home getting McCann on the force out.

Brandon Drury pinch hit for Jeurys Familia, who pitched a scoreless sixth, and in a tough at-bat, he drew a bases loaded walk to increase the Mets lead to 4-1. It was also the Mets first RBI of the day by someone other than Peraza.

The Rockies pulled Sheffield, and Yency Almonte struck out Villar to end the jam. That meant it was a 4-1 game meaning it was still a save situation. Before the rally, it appeared Familia was going to go for the sixth out save.

Rojas was forced to pivot. With Edwin Diaz getting the save in the first half, Robert Gsellman got the save opportunity. He didn’t get it.

Blackmon was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a defensive indifference, and then scored on a Raimel Tapia two out RBI single pulling the Rockies to with 4-2. Rojas then brought in Jacob Barnes. Barnes retired McMahon to pick up the save.

With that, the Mets swept the doubleheader and took three out of four from the Rockies. Sure, the Rockies are bad, but this injury depleted team did what it needed to do.

Game Notes: Maybin tied a record with by starting his Mets career by going 0-for-26. The Mets have drawn nine bases loaded walks this season by nine different players.

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How MLB Can Stop Calling Overslides As Out On Replay

It happened against twice last night. Jacob deGrom had what appeared to be a hustle double. Jonathan Villar appeared to have third stolen.

However, upon replay, both players were called out. Villar came off the bag during the slide. deGrom came off the bag when he popped up.

Whenever, this happens there is consternation. Many voice they do not believe that is the purpose of replay. They’d rather it be for the “egregious” call and not the “technicality.”

Honestly, that position is more sour grapes than anything, and it’s a distortion of the real purpose of replay. The real purpose of replay is to get the calls right. The replay in both instances did its job by correcting a wrong call on the field.

Like it or not, both deGrom and Villar should’ve been ruled out. Replay did its job, and the Colorado Rockies were not victimized by a bad call.

Maybe.

The one unintended side effect we see with replays is a transition to how players are tagged on these plays. It used to be a quick snap tag to lead the umpire to believe you got him.

Now, fielders are taught to hold the tag. Essentially, they’re waiting for that split second (or more) the runner comes off the bag to get the out call. However, it’s a little more than that.

Look at that deGrom play again. Trevor Story appears to nudge deGrom, and you can see deGrom stumble a bit and come off the bag. That might’ve been what led to deGrom coming off the bag.

What’s interesting is there is no per se rule which prevents this. A fielder cannot inhibit a runner from running between bases. Catchers are limited in how they block the plate. However, there’s nothing that states a fielder can’t use a tag to push the runner off the base.

Therein lies the problem.

Between the replay rules and the lack of clarification on obstruction, fielders are not just incentivized to hold a tag on the runner. They’re also rewarded for nudging or downright pushing or knocking an otherwise safe runner from the base.

With the trouble scoring runs and producing offense, MLB should be addressing this very issue. It’s an easy fix too.

Since you can’t review “judgment calls,” there needs to be a clear-cut rule. For replays, it should be:

If a runner was called safe on the field, and upon replay it was determined the runner came off the base, the runner shall be deemed safe if a fielder kept contact with the runner for the duration of the separation from the base.

Put another way, fielders can no longer weaponize the tag. They can’t use it to make safe runners out. By doing that, you eliminate the portion of replay which causes derision amongst fans and teams.

By doing this, players who actually should be out are out. That is, unless, their ability to stay on the bag was interfered with by the fielder.

Going back to last night, deGrom would be called safe. Villar probably would be as well. That is, unless, they were initially called out on the field.

We can debate whether that’s preferable course of action. However, it does seem to be a much better course of action than letting runners be knocked off the base and penalized for it.

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Mets Get A Nido Win

Jacob deGrom came off the IL to pitch which meant dominance from deGrom and little to no run support. Of course, the Mets injury destroyed lineup does that too.

Shockingly, deGrom did actually get a modicum of run support. Jonathan Villar and Francisco Lindor reached, and they executed a double steal. That allowed Villar to score on the predictable James McCann groundout.

What wasn’t predictable was the Ryan McMahon game tying homer off deGrom in the second. It was the only run off deGrom and just one of three hits.

The Mets only allowed deGrom to go five. He struck out nine, and he came within a replay review of a hustle double. To no one’s surprise, he walked off the mound with a no decision.

It wasn’t the only reply to bite the Mets. In the third, Villar appeared to have third stolen. However, upon review, he came off the bag.

In the sixth, it only took the umpires convening and not replay to get a call right.

Dominic Smith hit a one out single, and then he looked to score from first on what was initially ruled a double by Tomas Nido. It was, in fact, a two run homer:

This was more than enough support for the Mets bullpen. Miguel Castro pitched two scoreless to pick up the win. Trevor May pitched a scoreless eighth, and Edwin Diaz earned the save.

For a day, things seemed normal for the Mets. deGrom was dominant with little run support. The bullpen was great. The Mets won at home.

Game Notes: Noah Syndergaard left a rehab start after one inning with elbow discomfort. Taijuan Walker threw live batting practice. Johneshwy Fargas appears headed to the IL.

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At Least James McCann Was Good

David Peterson was rather pedestrian allowing three earned over six innings. That included homers by Ryan McMahon and Elias Diaz in the second.

Honestly, the game was over at that point. The Mets have a Four-A lineup out there, and things went from bad to worse when Johneshwy Fargas injured himself trying to track down a Garrett Hampson RBI triple in the fourth.

Fargas initially stayed in the game, but that collision into the wall was just too much. He’d eventually leave the game with an AC joint injury.

For a while, it looked like Austin Gomber would no-hit the Mets. That made the Jonathan Villar fourth inning single a relief. That relief turned to angst again when Francisco Lindor followed with a GIDP.

In these situations, we can dwell on the negative, or look for the positives. Well, there was a real positive today.

Due to the injuries, James McCann was pressed to play first base despite not playing there in his professional or collegiate career. Frankly, he was great.

McCann looked like he’s been there for years. He didn’t just make all the routine plays. He made highlight ones as well:

We’d also see him homer. This was easily his best game as a Met, and hopefully, this is the type of game which can jump start his season.

To do that, Tomas Nido may have to relent. While he was hitless, he was good behind the plate, and he made a great play on a wild pitch.

In the end, with Brandon Drury homering in the ninth, this was a 3-2 Mets loss. At this point, we just need to remember the Mets are still in first place, and Jacob deGrom returns tomorrow.

Game Notes: Brodie Van Wagenen was in attendance. Rockies had the worst road record in the majors.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Get Marlins Slip Through Their Grasp

The New York Mets had a chance to put further distance between themselves and the rest of the NL East. Instead, they lost a tough series:

1. Of course, Jordan Yamamoto got hurt because there can’t be a Mets game without an injury.

2. The same fans who wanted Joey Lucchesi pitch the fifth are the same ones who wanted everyone warming when David Peterson last pitched.

3. Johneshwy Fargas belongs.

4. If you wanted proof Baseball is a cruel sport, look no further than Jake Hager being designated for assignment the day after celebrating his first MLB hit.

5. Marcus Stroman cheering on Miguel Castro after Castro blew Stroman’s win speaks volumes about Stroman as a person and teammate.

6. At this rate, and after his strong rehab start, Noah Syndergaard may be the first person back from the IL. Okay, it’s really going to be Jacob deGrom, but you get the point.

7. Tomas Nido gave an inch in this series with the dropped ball, but James McCann again showed no reason why he should play over Nido right now.

8. The Mets are really banged up, but there has to be better options available than Brandon Drury and Cameron Maybin . . . right?

9. Jonathan Villar has been abysmal of late.

10. There’s literally no point in complaining about the lineups right now because there are zero good choices to put out there.

11. Dominic Smith really is a terrific defensive first baseman. Hopefully, his getting time where he’s most comfortable can get him swinging better.

12. Well, except for clutch situations. He’s as good as gold in those situations right now.

13. With Robert Gsellman and Sean Reid-Foley, the Mets have been getting phenomenal performances from the long men in the bullpen.

14. Really, the bullpen has been great from top to bottom. You just have to wonder how much longer they can withstand this usage rate.

15. Luis Rojas and Jeremy Hefner aren’t getting nearly enough credit.

16. Mets need more from Francisco Lindor. They’ll get it eventually. Until that time, just enjoy the great defense and the hugs.

17. The game winning hit was fun and all, but Khalil Lee is completely and utterly overmatched at the plate right now.

18. It’s awesome to see MSG rocking for Knicks playoff basketball. It’s been so desperately missed.

19. The last time the Knicks and Mets made the playoffs in the same year was 2000 when the Mets lost the World Series, and the Knicks lost to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

20. The Colorado Rockies are coming to Citi Field at a time the Mets weakened roster needs a truly putrid team they can beat.

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Khalil Lee And Johneshwy Fargas – Just Like They Drew It Up

Miguel Castro came into the seventh of a game the New York Mets led 3-2, and he surrendered a game tying solo homer to Garrett Cooper. Of course, this is the 2021 Mets, so it was a crazy game.

The double guessing of Luis Rojas started as he pulled Marcus Stroman after six even with a tired bullpen. Stroman might’ve gotten the no decision, but he gave Castro a big hug.

We’d all need a big hug after this emotional roller coaster.

Trevor May, who has been struggling of late, got himself into a bases loaded two out jam in the eighth. Worse yet, he fell behind 3-1 in the count. May would rally back, strike out Cooper, and help keep this game tied.

Jeurys Familia had two on and no outs in the ninth, and he battled back to send the game into extras.

In the 10th, we’d see one of the craziest things of all with Wilfredo Tovar getting a base hit. Of course, Tovar is one of many pressed into action no one thought would even be contemplated to play for the Mets this year.

That hit was Tovar’ first Mets hit since 2013. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough to score Tomas Nido, and the Mets would somehow squander that opportunity.

For his part, Nido got yet another start, and he again proved he deserves the job. In fact, it was his third inning RBI double which increased the then Mets lead to 3-1. He also had two caught stealings including a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play:

Fast-forward to the 11th, and the Mets had a golden opportunity with Jonathan Villar starting the inning at second. At the plate was Francisco Lindor, who opened the scoring in the first with an RBI double scoring Villar.

Lindor got the hit, but Villar stopped at third. That proved costly when Villar was PICKED OFF OF THIRD?!?!?!?

That’s a horrid job by Villar, but you do wonder where third base coach Gary Disarcina was. On that note, it was another terrible job by Disarcina tonight with his getting two runners caught at the plate. One of those was Nido in the fourth. Nido wasn’t even close.

After Drew Smith navigated his way through the 11th, the Mets would not be denied in the 12th. It was just how the Mets drew it up in Spring Training.

Dominic Smith was the runner on second (because Rob Manfred hates baseball), and he moved to third when Jake Hager had his first career hit. He wasn’t the only one.

Khalil Lee came up to the plate despite literally striking out in literally all of his career plate appearances. He’d hit a go-ahead double.

This wasn’t good enough. Johneshwy Fargas would hit a two run RBI triple to give the Mets a 6-3 lead. It was 6-3 partially because Fargas went for the inside the park homer but was nailed at the plate.

Initially, it was up to Aaron Loup to earn the save. It didn’t go too well with his allowing back-to-back singles to start the inning pulling the Marlins to 6-4. That’s when Lindor bailed out Loop with a big double play:

Better than the heads up play by Lindor was the Smith pick at first. Yes, a run score, but the Mets were that much closer to winning. They’d get that win with Rojas going to Jacob Barnes.

When Barnes recorded the final out, the Mets had a very hard fought 6-5 win in 12. They’re down 16 players, and they have Triple-A talent out there. Despite all that, they’re 21-17 and in first place.

Game Notes: Pete Alonso was placed on the IL. Brandon Drury was called up to take his place, and Daniel Zamora was designated for assignment. Tommy Hunter was also placed on the IL.

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20/20 Hindsight: M*E*T*S* Nearly Sweep Braves

The New York Mets have been an injury a minute, and somehow, they went to Atlanta and took two out of three from the Braves:

1. If Tomas Nido keeps this up, the discussion may shift from whether he should be the everyday catcher to whether he’s one of the best catchers in the game.

2. Khalil Lee can keep striking out if he is going to continue to make outstanding game saving catches in right field.

3. Kudos to Edwin Diaz to taking that significant step in his career where you can rely on him on consecutive days.

4. The front office people who told Diaz to put on more weight deserves a raise. The same goes to Jeremy Hefner, who is getting all you can out of Diaz and the entire bullpen.

5. The same goes for the people designing the Mets shifts. They’re shifting nearly more than everyone, and they’re doing it better than almost everyone.

6. Seeing how the Mets played this series and the improvements he seems to be making, Luis Rojas should be getting more credit than he is.

7. Jonathan Villar is a guy with poor numbers across the board, and yet, he just finds a way to have an impact in nearly every game.

8. Kevin Pillar suffered the worst HBP this side of Ray Chapman. It’s miraculous he didn’t suffer more than multiple nasal fractures.

9. Pillar certainly made himself more fans with his play and his talking about how it’s breaking his heart he can’t be out there when his team needs him.

10. That should serve as a reminder we shouldn’t be rushing to judgment to players after a week. Remember, there were plenty of very vocal fans who were convinced Pillar would do nothing this year.

11. It’s not hyperbole to say the Mets play a game and someone else turns up injured. It’s so bad we find out Pete Alonso suddenly has a wrist issue and can’t play.

12. It looks like Dominic Smith could supplant Alonso as the first baseman for now. Hopefully, that helps get him going.

13. For as much as the Mets didn’t want to give Jordan Yamamoto a real chance, they have no choice now. Oh, and we’re probably going to see Thomas Szapucki soon.

14. There’s joy, and then there’s Tommy Hunter, a 14 year MLB veteran, getting his first career hit.

15. Good job by the Chicago Cubs honoring their commitment to Cameron Maybin by trading him to the Mets for $1.

16. It wasn’t that long ago Brodie Van Wagenen and Jeff Wilpon didn’t honor their agreement to Devin Mesoraco. That led to Mesoraco retuning, rushing to activate Travis d’Arnaud, and then rage cutting d’Arnaud.

17. If you’re looking for a comp for David Peterson, it’s Mike Pelfrey. Both were sinkerball first rounders rushed to the majors from Double-A, and the team didn’t let them go back and develop after the initial panic call-up.

18. If you’re even being competitive with a Maybin-Johneshwy Fargas-Lee outfield, you’re doing something right. Seriously, what the Mets did in this series was beyond impressive.

19. Think of everything that has gone wrong with this team. They’re still over .500 and in first place.

20. Sometimes teams just have one of those special seasons. So far, this is shaping up to be one of them.

Game Recaps

Mets Win Game And Lose Two More

Tomas Nido Wins It

Mets Bullpen Too Exhausted To Hold On

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Mets Bullpen Too Exhausted To Hold On

For a while, it seemed like David Peterson was going to have to make a 1-0 lead last. After all, this is a depleted offensive team. However, it’s about as resilient a team as we’ve ever seen.

The Mets had a 1-0 lead due to Jonathan Villar hitting a solo homer off of Charlie Morton in the fourth.

At that point, Peterson was completely and utterly dominating the Braves. He had struck out five and faced the minimum through four.

Unfortunately, it unraveled for him in the fifth, and it happened rather unexpectedly. Austin Riley had hit a one out double, but he then got Dansby Swanson to ground out.

Peterson then plunked William Contreras. Guillermo Heredia hit an RBI single tying the score. The opposing pitcher, Morton, gave the Braves a 2-1 lead with an RBI single. Ronald Acuña then drew a walk.

The walk should’ve loaded the bases except it got away from James McCann. It was ruled a wild pitch, but McCann should’ve had it. Braves had a 3-1 lead.

Surprisingly, that wasn’t the final straw. The final straw was a Freddie Freeman who singled to load the bases.

Drew Smith came on to relieve Peterson, and he got the Mets out of the inning. Smith would give a fatigued Mets bullpen 1.1 shut out innings.

One key moment in that sixth inning was the Braves pinch hit for Morton. That meant he was out of the game, and A.J. Minter was entering the game. Minter is wild and always primed to implode.

After two quick outs, Minter threw one away on what should’ve been scored a Dominic Smith infield single. Whatever the case, he was on second with two outs.

Minter then completely lost the strike zone walking McCann on four straight pitches. After falling behind 1-0, he tried a get me over fastball which Jose Peraza drilled for an RBI double.

The Mets went to Tomas Nido to pinch hit for Smith, and the Braves went to Luke Jackson. Nido got the better of Jackson with a go-ahead two RBI single giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.

It’s important to remember this bullpen is on fumes with all the bullpen games and short starts. In the seventh that meant a tired Miguel Castro. Castro got through the inning unscathed with the help of another phenomenal defensive play in right by Lee.

Unfortunately, there was no magic in the eighth for Aaron Loup in the eighth. Loup allowed three straight hits tying the score at 4-4. Luis Rojas then went to Jacob Barnes to try to get out of the jam.

Barnes entered with runners on first and second with no outs. Heredia couldn’t get the bunt down and then struck out.

Swanson tried to steal third, and he was gunned down by McCann. Barnes then completed the Houdini act when he struck out Ehire Adrianza to end the inning.

For a brief moment, it seemed for the second straight night the Mets would have some ninth inning magic.

Cameron Maybin, in his Mets debut, reached on a wild strike three, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch. He was there with only one out. He’d stay there as McCann popped out, and Peraza hit a weak line out to end the inning.

Somewhat surprisingly, Trevor May was warming, but Rojas opted for Barnes for a second inning over May on a third straight day. Acuña had gone hitless in the series, but he hit the first pitch he saw from Barnes for a walk-off homer.

The Mets showed a lot of heart and magic to pull out two wins in this series. The fact they were even this close to a sweep speaks highly of everyone on this team.

Game Notes: Khalil Lee has begun his career with seven straight strikeouts.

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Tomas Nido Wins It

With all the New York Mets injuries, they’re at a point where they need everything to go right to win games. Well, tonight, Luis Rojas was pushing the right buttons.

With this being a bullpen game, Tommy Hunter was second up. Not only did he pitch two scoreless innings, but he’d hit a one out single against Tucker Davidson. That meant he’d score the first run of the game when Jonathan Villar hit a two run homer.

We’d also get some big time defensive plays. In the fourth, Jose Peraza picked Freddie Freeman off the base paths.

We’d see some more big plays later, both offensive and defensive.

After the Braves pulled themselves to within 2-1 when Austin Riley homered off Robert Gsellman in the fifth. The Mets would get that run back.

Leading off the sixth, Francisco Lindor hit a ground rule double. He’d eventually score on a Pete Alonso sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game.

The Braves responded with a Freddie Freeman homer off Trevor May. The Mets then used their defense to try to desperately hold onto the 3-2 lead.

Khalil Lee make his first real impression in the majors with a diving catch robbing Ozzie Albies of an extra base hit.

In the eighth, Ehire Adrianza doubled off Aaron Loup. Adrianza made a phenomenal slide to avoid the tag after Johneshwy Fargas made a phenomenal throw.

Jeurys Familia entered the game and walked Ronald Acuña. That’s when Lindor pulled off a phenomenal double play tagging out Ozuna, and then beating Freeman at first.

On the play, Adrianza went to third. That meant he was in place to score when Marcell Ozuna hit an RBI single. With that, all the Mets did to grab and hold a lead was gone.

However, the Mets weren’t done. There was one trick up their sleeve. That was Tomas Nido.

With the way he’s been playing, the Mets have been shifting towards using him more. His play coupled with James McCann‘s troubles led to Nido starting a second straight game and his batting in the ninth:

Nido’s go-ahead homer off Will Smith gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save.

After a tough weekend in Tampa, the very depleted Mets are in Atlanta making a statement. Even without their best players, the Mets are a better team, and they’re suddenly making a case they’re the best team in baseball.

Game Notes: The Mets acquired Cameron Maybin for cash from the Chicago Cubs.

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Mets Need J.D. Davis Back

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Looking at the New York Mets injury situation, which hit a nadir when Kevin Pillar was hit in the face, they need all the help they can get.

Honestly, looking at things, they need J.D. Davis back.

Part of the reason is Jonathan Villar‘s struggles. Yes, he is in fact struggling. So far this year, Villar has an 87 wRC+ at the plate, and at third base, he has a -2 DRS and -1 OAA.

There’s also the current pinch hitting options. Patrick Mazeika is a feel good story, but he has a 76.1 exit velocity, and that’s even with the homer.

Now, Mazeika’s presence has allowed the Mets to go to James McCann and Tomas Nido as pinch hitters. While McCann delivered last night, he’s struggled mightily at the plate.

Also, for what little it’s worth, Nido has not been a good pinch hitter in his career. That said, he probably should get more time behind that plate, but that’s a discussion for another day.

The Mets are getting something from Jose Peraza right now, but he’s still not putting up great numbers. There should be very genuine interest in Johneshwy Fargas and Khalil Lee, but it’s apparent the Mets don’t believe either is truly ready.

Breaking it all down, the Mets need help. Yes, Davis is the worst defender in the majors. Yes, his offensive production to date has been nearly entirely BABIP and juiced ball reliant.

Taking all that into account, he’s needed at the moment. He can at least stand at third and in left. He will give you an honest at-bat. Where the Mets are right now, that is sorely needed (pun intended).

Hopefully, Davis’ rehab game goes well permitting the Mets to active him sooner rather than later. At this point, with the way things are going, we can only imagine who else gets injured between now and the later.

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