Jose Reyes
Last night, the Yankees brought on Aroldis Chapman to close out a Yankees three run lead. After Wilmer Flores struck out to begin the inning, Dominic Smith strode up to the plate in what would be the rookie’s biggest test in his brief major league career. Seeing how he hit an opposite field homer earlier in the game, and Rafael Devers hit a huge home run against Chapman in Chapman’s last save attempt, this was promising to be a very interesting match-up.
Sorry, no, the match-up never happened. Instead, Terry Collins pinch hit for Smith with Jose Reyes.
This is not the first time we have seen this play with Collins. During Michael Conforto‘s first two years with the Mets, Collins did not let his young left-handed hitter face left-handed pitching. Instead, he would bat Michael Cuddyer, Juan Lagares, Justin Ruggiano, Ty Kelly, or really any warm body on the bench to prevent Conforto from facing a left-handed pitcher.
The end result of Collins’ refusal to play Conforto against left-handed pitching was Conforto actually struggling against left-handed pitching. Over his first two big league seasons, Conforto hit .129/.191/.145 with just one extra-base hit, a double, in the 68 at-bats he did get against left-handed pitching.
However, there was no reason to sit Conforto against left-handed pitching. His hitting coach, Kevin Long, found the notion that Conforto can’t hit left-handed pitching absurd. Conforto hit left-handed pitching in both his collegiate and brief minor league career. Still, despite Conforto’s ability to hit left-handed pitching everywhere else, Collins decided to sit him against left-handed pitching.
When pressed on it, Collins said, “We’re in a situation where we’re trying to win games. This is not a time to develop players.” (Barbara Barker, Newsday).
Assuming Collins is correct that you shirk the responsibility of developing young players because you have designs on winning a World Series, why is he now repeating the same tactics with Smith?
Currently, the Mets are 10 games under .500. The team has to win 62% of their remaining games just to get to .500. The team has already traded away Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Addison Reed, and Neil Walker. If an opportunity presents itself, Asdrubal Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, and Rene Rivera will find new homes before the end of the month. Put more succinctly, this team is not in a position where they are trying to win games – this is a time to develop players.
Pinch hitting for Smith the very first opportunity he gets to face a left-handed pitcher in the majors does nothing to accomplish that goal.
Overall, unless Collins is facing some delusions of grandeur, there is no reason to believe the Mets are winning anything in 2017. Smith is ticketed to be the Mets starting first baseman in 2018. To that end, the rest of the regular season should be dedicated to helping him best prepare for the 2018 season. Sitting him against left-handed pitching only hinders his development.
Maybe, just maybe Collins was never truly concerned with player development. Maybe in his mind young left-handed batters are just incapable of hitting left-handed pitching. It is likely the reason why he previously sat Conforto against left-handed pitching, and it is the reason why he’s doing it with Smith now.
It’s poor managing, and it has had a tangible effect on player development. Collins might have had his excuse with Conforto, but he doesn’t have that excuse with Smith now. If Collins shields Smith from a left-handed pitcher just one more time, the Mets are going to have to find someone else to manage. Simply put, you cannot permit Collins to hinder Smith’s development to win some meaningless games.
This wasn’t the best of Subway Series games for Mets fans.
Jacob deGrom was good but not great.
The Yankees first got to him in the third when Ronald Torreyes hit a lead-off double that Yoenis Cespedes couldn’t even be bothered to hustle to field. His lack of hustle was all the more damning when Torreyes made it to second with ease despite slipping on the first base bag.
Of course, Cespedes would hustle on two infield singles in the game.
The Yankees then took a 1-0 on an Aaron Hicks RBI single.
That lead grew to 4-0 on a pair of homers. The first was a two run Yankee Stadium special off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury in the fourth. The Gary Sanchez solo shot in the sixth would’ve been out anywhere.
Even with the four runs, deGrom was largely effective. His final line was 7.1 innings, nine hits, five runs, five earned, two walks, and four strike outs.
deGrom would get the loss because Sonny Gray dominated the Mets for six innings. He had only allowed one walk and four hits while striking out five.
Dominic Smith knocked him out of the game with his first career homer in the seventh:
One more look at Dominic Smith's first career home run, a 373-foot, opposite-field shot to left. #Mets pic.twitter.com/IRtpdnsF6K
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 16, 2017
It was an opposite field shot just past Hicks’ glove. The homer brought the Mets to within 4-2, bit the Mets wouldn’t get closer.
One reason why was home plate umpire. Dellin Betances began to get wild after getting two quick outs to start the eighth. Betances then walked Cespedes, and he found himself down 3-1 to Michael Conforto.
The 3-1 pitch was certainly a strike, but the 3-2 pitch was low. Even if it was technically a strike, it was not called a strike all night.
That was the Mets last chance to tie the game.
The Yankees expanded the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth. Aaron Judge led off with a double by just beating out Cespedes throw to second. It became runners on the corners after Didi Gregorious fought off a pitch and blooped it just over the head of Wilmer Flores.
It was a bad situation that could have been worse if not for Juan Lagares. Sanchez hit a ball to the deepest part of the park. Instead of it going for extra bases, a shallow playing Lagares not only ranged all the way back, but he also got into good throwing position. This kept Gregorious at first.
Jerry Blevins and Chasen Bradford got out of the inning keeping the score at 5-2. Unfortunately, that insurance run would loom large with the Mets challenging Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.
It started with Terry Collins pinch hitting Jose Reyes for Smith because Collins is apparently the only person on the planet who doesn’t know Rafael Devers hit a home run off Chapman.
Reyes got the infield hit, but who cares? The rest of this season is about player development, and the Mets gain nothing from pinch hitting for Smith against a tough lefty.
It’s complete and utter nonsense. It’s the same nonsense that held up Conforto’s development.
If this is the way Collins manages from here on out, it’s time to get rid of him.
That said, Amed Rosario made things interesting with an opposite field two run homer to bring the Mets to within 5-4.
Gregorious would make a nice play taking a base hit away from Travis d’Arnaud, and Lagares would ground out to end the game.
It was a frustrating loss not just because deGrom wasn’t at his best, but also because Collins continued the same poor managing.
Game Notes: This is the first time Smith and Rosario homered in the same game.
If you weren’t aware the Phillies were a much worse team than the Mets, you became aware of that fact today. Who else loses to the Mets during a Sunday day game?
The reason why the Phillies are so bad was put right there on display in the bottom of the fifth.
The Phillies had the bases loaded and no outs against Mets starter Chris Flexen. This was the moment to take advantage of a young pitcher, and not only tie the game, but also take the lead.
Nick Williams hit a fly ball to center fielder Michael Conforto. Rather than challenge Conforto’s arm, Freddy Galvis stayed put at third. Only problem was Odubel Herrera didn’t. He took off for third, and he was out.
Even with a Flexen subsequent wild pitch, this was a back breaker. Instead of a lead or tie game, Flexen got out of the inning allowing just one run. It would allow him to depart in line for the win.
Flexen battled most of the day throwing 98 pitches in five innings. He twice faced bases loaded situations, and both times he limited the damage allowing just one run. His final line was five innings, six hits, two runs, two earned, four walks, and five strikeouts.
He got the win because the Mets bats were alive.
Curtis Granderson, back in his familiar lead-off spot, set the table for a Mets offense that scored six runs on the day. For his part, Granderson finished a triple short of the cycle, and he would leave Citizens Bank Park with the crown.
Granderson leadoff the game with a double off Phillies starter Zach Eflin, and he came home to score on Conforto’s 26th home run of the season.
In the fifth, it was Granderson taking on Conforto’s role. His 17th home run of the season would score Jose Reyes, who hit a one out double.
Granderson brought Reyes home again in the seventh. Aftet Reyes hit a one out single, he stole second putting himself in scoring position. Granderson delivered with an RBI single. Granderson then scored on a Wilmer Flores RBI single making it 6-2.
The Flores RBI single was an important one. It wasn’t important in terms of the final score. The game wasn’t in doubt. No, the RBI was important because with the Neil Walker trade, the Mets have announced he’s getting more playing time. Put another way, he’s getting another chance to prove he can be an everyday player.
Today, he helped himself going 2-5 with an RBI.
Also helping themselves was the bullpen, who combined to pitch four scoreless innings to close out the game. Specifically, Chasen Bradford and Paul Sewald bolstered their cases why they should be a part of the Mets next year.
To that end, so did Granderson. He’s shaken off a horrendous April to be a good hitter since that point. He’s a great clubhouse presence who can play all three outfield positions. The Mets need him in the clubhouse again, and based on the injury history, they may soon need him in the field.
For now, the Mets won. More than that, we got to see the young kids continuing to grow.
Game Notes: Kevin McGowan was called up to take Walker’s spot on the roster.
Don’t read too much into tonight’s game. The game started off on a strange foot when Neil Walker was pulled off the field (and his being removed from the lineup) during batting practice with his reportedly being dealt to the Brewers.
There was also the matter of Aaron Nola, who has been pitching like a Cy Young contender of late. Including tonight’s start, Nola now has a 10 start streak with him pitching at least seven innings while allowing two or fewer runs.
Tonight, that one run came off a Yoenis Cespedes fourth inning homer that briefly gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. There’s the argument it should have been a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Amed Rosario hit a one out double. He found himself on third when Brandon Nimmo struck out on a wild pitch. The wild pitch allowed Nimmo to reach first instead of the inning ending.
Rosario and Nimmo then attempted a double steal. Cameron Rupp threw through. Seeing this Rosario took off. With Nimmo seemingly having the base, Freddy Galvis didn’t hesitate coming off the bag to meet the throw and go home nailing Rosario.
That play would loom large during a two run fifth inning.
Up until that point, Steven Matz was cruising. He had four no-hit innings, which ended with the Phillies hitting back-to-back singles to start the fifth. Matz was so close to getting out of this jam.
First, Rupp popped out, and then Nola laid down a sac bunt. Matz couldn’t get the big out yielding a game tying single to Cesar Hernandez. Galvis then hit a seeing eye single that was just past Jose Reyes giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Ultimately, that was the game-winning hit.
Nola continued to shut down the Mets. His final line was seven innings, two hits, one run, one earned, one walk, and eight strikeouts. This made Ricardo Pinto a welcome sight in the eighth.
Curtis Granderson and Reyes each walked setting up two on and two out for Cespedes. Pinto would strike out Cespedes on three straight pitches to end the rally.
From there, the Phillies would add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth off Erik Goeddel giving them a 3-1 lead.
Ultimately, the Mets lost a difficult game. They lost a teammate, and they faced a tough pitcher. With that said, they did the right thing and played some young guys. More than that Matz progressed from where he has been.
Given how the Mets are constituted, they’re going to lose a lot of games. That’s understandable. The only thing you can reasonably ask is when they lose, it’s a good game, and the young players are getting their feet wet. That happened today, so all-in-all, that’s not too bad a day.
Game Notes: Michael Conforto started the game in center, and Nimmo played right. Reyes wasn’t initially supposed to be in the lineup, but took over for Walker in the lineup and played second. Asdrubal Cabrera played second.
Entering tonight, Jacob deGrom had never lost to the Phillies. With the Phillies being one of the few teams in baseball actually worse than the Mets, it wasn’t about to happen tonight.
deGrom dominated the Phillies over his 6.2 shutout innings allowing just four hits while walking none and striking out nine. The only way the Phillies could take him out of the game would be a Nick Williams line drive off deGrom with two outs in the seventh.
Terry Collins did the right thing pulling deGrom from the game. With the Mets going nowhere, there’s no need to risk anything. There’s less of a reason with the Mets being up 7-0.
One thing we have learned over the years is the Mets have always loved hitting at Citizens Bank Park. In fact, the Mets have homered there more than any other opponent. Tonight, the festivities began with a Wilmer Flores first inning three run homer off starter Vince Velasquez.
Velasquez wouldn’t last more than an inning. The Phillies would then bring in Al Leiter‘s nephew Mark Leiter.
He’d fare much better than Velasquez with the lone run against him coming off a Neil Walker solo shot in the third.
It was interesting to see Walker at third again tonight, especially with the Yankees reportedly having interest in him. I’m sure there will be a team to step in to offer a low rated Single-A reliever to prevent that deal from happening.
The Mets didn’t score again until Michael Conforto hit a three run shot in the seventh off Phillies reliever Jesen Therrien.
Conforto got the home run from the clean-up spot. Now that the Mets have traded Jay Bruce, Collins has re-inserted Curtis Granderson in the lead-off spot for the foreseeable future. Collins also promises to keep Conforto in the middle of the lineup as preparation for next year.
Speaking of Granderson, he hit a two run homer in the ninth to give the Mets a 9-0 lead.
That 9-0 lead became 10-0 with a Jose Reyes RBI groundout.
Overall, the Mets annihilated the Phillies. Flores was a triple short of the cycle. Every position player but Travis d’Arnaud reached base. He and Amed Rosario were the only two Mets without a hit.
The Mets needed more games like this during the 2017 season. In fact, this is just the Mets fourth shut out on the season. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way. Still, we should enjoy them whenever they come.
Game Notes: Dominic Smith will join the Mets tomorrow.
Today’s Mets game was scheduled at 12:10 because it was Camp Day at Citi Field. Apparently, the Mets aren’t much interested in generating new baseball fans because the team played one of their typical dreary day games. With today’s loss, the Mets are now an MLB worst 10-23 in day games.
This loss was one of the worst. It wasn’t the worst because the Mets were blown out. The 5-1 score dictate otherwise. Rather, it was a dreary day when the Mets gave you very little reason to cheer.
Rangers starter Martin Perez allowed just three hits over eight innings to the Mets with Wilmer Flores‘ fifth inning homer being the lone run scored. Perez was so good on the mound that he was able to stick around long enough to earn a golden sombrero.
One pitcher who did not last very long was Rafael Montero. His good stretch of pitching is now long forgotten, and he’s back to being the very bad pitcher that would drive Mets fans crazy. Just to put it in perspective, the first run of the game scored on a Montero balk, and he followed that up by allowing a three run homer to Joey Gallo, who has just worn out the Mets in this short two game series.
The run in the second inning was maddening. Elvis Andrus would steal consecutive bases off of the combination of Montero and Rene Rivera, and then he would score just ahead of Jose Reyes‘ throw home. It was a bad job blocking the plate by Rivera. The only thing worse than that was Collins failure to challenge the play at second on the first stolen base. Replays would show Andrus was actually out.
Montero’s final line would be 3.0 innings, five hits, four runs, four earned, three walks, and five strikeouts.
From there, Terry Collins played his favorite stretch everyone out in the bullpen game. Josh Smoker would pitch two innings, but he couldn’t get through that third. He would load the bases with no outs. Hansel Robles came on, walked a batter, got out of the jam, and he would pitch three innings. This for a reliever that just said he couldn’t feel his fingers the other day.
Chasen Bradford pitched a scoreless ninth to at least give the Mets a chance to win the game in the ninth. They didn’t.
Really, the one highlight other than Flores’ homer was Amed Rosario making a terrific diving play:
An amazin' play by Amed Rosario!#BigAppletite #Amazin #Mets pic.twitter.com/84AWuWMTx0
— ? BIG APPLE METS ⚾️ (@BigAppleNYM) August 9, 2017
We are now at the point where Rosario and Michael Conforto are really the other two reasons to watch this team. Hopefully, the Mets will call-up Dominic Smith to give us a third reason.
GAME NOTES: Neil Walker started the game at third base making him the 164th third baseman in Mets history.
Look, we can all agree the Dodgers are a much better team than the Mets. There are several reasons why this is the case, and there is another time to re-evaluate how the Mets have gone from beating the Dodgers in the 2015 NLDS to being completely over-matched in a three game series where Clayton Kershaw didn’t even pitch.
Teams have bad series all the time. Even when the Mets are good, we see clunkers like this from time to time. However, this series seemed more than that. This was a team thoroughly out-classed on the field. It makes you shudder when you consider the Mets had Jacob deGrom and Seth Lugo going.
At this point, it’s time to press the reset button. We all know the Mets aren’t going to the postseason. With each passing day, even getting to .500 is a pipe dream. For what it’s worth, getting to .500 is detrimental. The Mets need to lose as many games as they can to get the best possible draft pick they can in the 2018 draft. You want the Mets to be able to go and draft the next Michael Conforto.
No matter what happens, we know the Mets are going to continue to lose a number of games to close out the season. That’s fine. We’ve all accepted it. What we cannot accept is turning on the game and watching a team lose without any purpose whatsoever.
What is the team accomplishing by playing Wilmer Flores and Jay Bruce at first base? Neither one of them are going to be the first baseman next year. That job is going to Dominic Smith. With each game Flores and Bruce play first, and Smith remains in the minors, the Mets have accomplished absolutely nothing.
What does playing Curtis Granderson everyday accomplish? He’s been a good Met and an even better man. He’s also accepted a role as the team’s fourth outfielder. It’s likely he will be gone after the 2017 season. With each game he plays, you learn nothing about him. All the while, Brandon Nimmo sits languishing on your bench not even getting at-bats in Triple-A to help him improve as a player.
For that matter, why is Gavin Cecchini in Triple-A? Do we really need to learn more about Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera? Isn’t one or two of them likely gone after the season? If not, aren’t their roles going to be much different in 2018? Reyes should be firmly on the bench in 2018, and Cabrera has shown he should be at third base. If that is the case, why isn’t Cecchini playing second base over these two?
Ultimately, you can justify playing any of the aforementioned veterans you want. Certainly, you want Neil Walker to showcase himself to teams after a lengthy disabled list stint. However, the aforementioned veterans have already been showcased and teams have passed on them for a variety of reasons. Playing them everyday serves this Mets team no purposes. That is unless the Mets are going to have a huge push to celebrate Bruce passing Carlos Beltran and Todd Hundley for the Mets single season home run record like they pushed Reyes winning the Mets first ever batting title. Note, Reyes’ batting title didn’t exactly draw fans to the park.
Calling up Amed Rosario was a step in the right direction. Seeing Paul Sewald pitch in some high leverage situations is another step. Taking a chance on Chris Flexen was inspired. However, it’s simply not enough. Sooner or later, Mets fans are going to tune out these games . . . if they haven’t already.
To that end, it’s time to get Smith and Cecchini up here and play them everyday or close to it. Fans would rather see them work through some growing pains at the major league level than watch Bruce, Cabrera, Granderson, Reyes, and Walker lose in lackluster fashion.
It’s time to turn the page if for no other reason than it’s time to give fans a reason to watch what has become a dreadful team.
With the way the Mets season has progressed, you would think when a pitcher says, “Hey! I can’t feel my fingers!” they’d pull him from the game.
Nope.
The Mets decided to keep Hansel Robles in the game. Actually, his physical problems were much worse than that:
Robles had numbness in fingers pitching the ninth. In the eighth he landed awkwardly and pinched his genitals, prompting Ray Ramirez visit.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 3, 2017
So, with all of that going on, Terry Collins kept Robles in a tie 4-4 game in the ninth. Here’s what transpired:
- Jonathan Lucroy HBP
- Pat Valaika sac bunt
- Charlie Blackmon IBB
- DJ LeMahieu BB
- Nolan Arenado BB
Game Over.
The last pitch of the Arenado at-bat wasn’t even close. The 3-2 pitch was a solid foot over the strike zone. Travis d’Arnaud helplessly leaped because there was nothing much more for him to do, but not even he could have framed that pitch.
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/893239961545302016
The shame of Collins gambling with both the game and Robles’ health was the fact the Mets continuously fought back in this game.
Rafael Montero struggled, but he kept the Mets in the game. Over 5.2 innings, he allowed 10 hits, four runs, four earned, and one walk with six strikeouts.
More than anything, Montero just couldn’t hold a lead.
The Mets rallied from a 2-0 third inning deficit by scoring runs in three consecutive innings. Yoenis Cespedes got things started with a homer off Rockies starter German Marquez:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/893202101811257344
The following inning, Amed Rosario got things started by become the first Met to hit two triples in his first three games. He did more than just set Mets records on the triple:
Amed Rosario just laid down the #Mets fastest home-to-3rd time tracked by #Statcast since 2015. Got to 3rd in just 11.32 secs on his 3B. pic.twitter.com/jNhZd2RqWy
— Matt Kelly (@mattkellyMLB) August 3, 2017
He then scored on a Montero RBI single. His first career RBI.
After his single tied the game, he gave the Rockies the lead back by yielding a solo homer to Charlie Blackmon.
Curtis Granderson, who was 1-2 with two walks, got the sixth inning off to a good start by earning a lead-off walk. After a pair of groundouts, it seemed as if he’d be stranded out at third, but Rene Rivera came through with the two out RBI single.
Sure enough, Montero allowed the Rockies to take the lead again. This time it was a Mark Reynolds home run. After that homer, the Rockies would put runners at first and second with two outs. Josh Smoker, who has pitched much better of late, came in and struck out Alexi Amarista to end the inning.
The Mets then beat up on Pat Neshek in the seventh inning. Consider for a moment that Neshek has allowed just seven earned runs all year, and the Mets have scored four of them. The fourth came in this game.
Michael Conforto singled to lead-off the inning, and he scored from first on an Asdrubal Cabrera from center field. Despite there being no outs and the middle of the order coming up, the Mets couldn’t push across that last run.
With the Mets sticking with a reliever who couldn’t feel himself grip the ball, they lost the game. It was the second time the Mets lost 5-4 on a Rockies walk-off against Robles.
Game Notes: Jose Reyes started at second base for the first time with the Mets since 2004. At that time, Kaz Matsui was the Mets rookie shortstop.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Mets play in a real Coors Field game, but the stage was set with Chris Flexen and Tyler Chatwood being the starters for tonight’s game.
Flexen was getting hit hard all night, but he dodged a number of bullets thanks to some good defense from Amed Rosario and Yoenis Cespedes throwing out a runner at the plate.
The floodgates would eventually happen in a five run third punctuated by a Carlos Gonzalez two run homer to dead center.
After that Flexen was done having thrown 64 pitches in the three innings. He might’ve been coming out anyway, but his developing a blister on the index finger of his pitching hand essentially sealed the deal.
Normally, you’d expect for this game to be over, especially with this Mets bullpen. Then again, this is Coors Field.
Michael Conforto and Asdrubal Cabrera got things started in the fourth hitting back-to-back singles to set up first and third with no outs. The rally sputtered a bit with Cespedes hitting into a double play allowing Conforto to score. The Mets would pull to within 5-2 on a Jay Bruce solo shot:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/892932832791801856
In the fifth, Curtis Granderson got things started by ripping a ball past Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds. The play was scored as an error. Granderson would then score on a Rosario ground rule triple. Yes, you read that correctly.
Rosario hit a call down the third base line. As Rosario was beginning to round second, a fan touched it before Gerardo Parra would get to it. This was Rosario’s first extra-base hit and RBI.
Travis d’Arnaud was then robbed of a base hit by Trevor Story. Instead of an RBI single, d’Arnaud had an RBI groundout, and the Mets pulled themselves within one.
It’s in the sixth then the Mets offense really broke out.
The sixth started with Cespedes doubling home Cabrera tying the game. . Bruce followed with a walk. After Brandon Nimmo hit into a force play, it was runners at the corners with one out for Granderson. Granderson untied the game:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/892944145559539712
The rally wouldn’t end there. d’Arnaud, Jose Reyes, and Conforto hit consecutive singles making it 9-5. A Cabrera RBI ground rule double made it 10-5.
In that inning, the Mets batted around scoring six runs.
What is truly remarkable about this game wasn’t the rally. It was the Mets bullpen keeping the Rockies at bay:
- Chasen Bradford 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2K
- Fernando Salas IP, H, 0R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
- Paul Sewald 2.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
The Sewald outing was particularly informative for a player who may still yet be an important part of the Mets bullpen next year.
After a clean seventh, he was called to pitch another inning. He then worked around a Reynolds double. This is the latest example we’ve seen with Sewald where he’s comfortable pitching when there’s pressure. Better yet, he typically works his way out of if.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramosaj01.shtml
The good bullpen work carried forward to the ninth with AJ Ramos.
This was all part of pitchers making the adjustments they need to make to succeed. Wins and losses don’t matter much when the Met is going nowhere. Rather, you’d like to see them improve at their role. At least for tonight, we saw them successful in both fashions.
Game Notes: Josh Edgin cleared waivers and was sent down to Triple-A. This was Bradford’s first career win.
All season long, Mets fans have been clamoring for the team to call-up top prospect Amed Rosario. It was more than just wanting hope for a season the Mets have mostly squandered. It was because Rosario addressed specific deficiencies this team has had all year.
Throughout this entire season, the left side of the Mets infield has been abysmal. Mets shortstops accounted for a -19 DRS, which is the worst in the majors. Mets third baseman also rank last in the majors with a -14 DRS. It should then come as no surprise the Mets left side of the infield accounted for a -33, which is by far the worst in the majors.
It should also come as no surprise the Mets pitching staff has yielded a league high .321 BABIP. This has been the under-reported part of the Mets pitching staff’s troubles. Certainly, it had a profound affect on a ground ball pitcher like Robert Gsellman who had .331 BABIP and a 6.16 ERA. We have recently seen some issues on that front with Steven Matz. The overriding point here is the pitching has been affected by the inability of the left side of the infield to make the plays that need to be played.
There’s also the matter of how the Mets run the bases. The Mets rank dead last in BsR, which is a stat designed to take into account all the different aspects of base running. For many fans, we don’t need a fancy stat to tell us what we already know. This team doesn’t steal bases. They don’t take the extra base. They’re thrown out on seemingly ever close play. In sum, they’re a bad base running team.
When you’re bad defensively and bad base runners chances are you are bad team. The Mets 48-55 record confirms as much.
Would Rosario have solved all of these issues? No, nor would he have prevented so many of the Mets from going on the Disabled List throughout the season. However, Rosario would have had a profound impact on this team.
Consider the defense for a second. The Mets have the worst defensive shortstop play, and Rosario is seen as a player who could be a Gold Glover at the position. Even assuming he has growing pains and is just worth a 2 DRS. This year, that’s the difference between having Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Reyes at shortstop and having Brandon Crawford at shortstop. The separation between those two is vast, which would tell you how much better the defense would be.
There’s also the matter of Rosario continuously proving this year he’s ready. In 94 games, Rosario has hit .328/.367/.466 with 19 doubles, seven triples, seven homers, 58 RBI, and 19 stolen bases. He was also the starting shortstop in the Triple-A All Star Game and the Future’s Game.
All season long, Rosario has shown the skill set the Mets desperately needed all year. Now, with the team having sold off Addison Reed and Lucas Duda, and the team sitting with a 48-55 record, we are finally going to see the type of impact Rosario could have on this Mets team. It is more than likely it is too late to save the 2017 season. It is also impossible to tell if this is the right time or not.
Maybe if he’s called up in May, he struggles. Maybe he would have been the great player he has been. After all, this is a prospect that seems undaunted.
No matter what the case, the Mets promise to be a much better team for the rest of the 2017 season. Even if it doesn’t translate to wins and losses, there is now reason to watch because we get to see Rosario play. At this point in the season, that’s all we can ask.