Jose Reyes

Mets Look Like the Real Deal

In case you forgot why the Mets went on a run last August, you were reminded of it tonight. The Mets got dominant pitching from Noah Syndergaard, a home run from Yoenis Cespedes, and completely dominating an inferior team in a 12-1 victory. 

Overall, Syndergaard seems to be back in a groove after struggling while adapting to pitching with bone spurs. He only made one mistake to Freddy Galvis in the third giving the Phillies a very short lived 1-0 lead. 

Syndergaard would shake it off and dominate the Phillies from there on out. His final line was seven innings, two hits, one run, one earned, two walks, and seven strikeouts.  He is now 12-7 with a 2.55 ERA and close to getting himself back in the Cy Young race. 

He would get a lead in the bottom of the third on an Asdrubal Cabrera two run homer:

It was the first of four Mets homers on the night, and it was another huge game for Cabrera. He was 3-4 with two runs, two RBI, one walk, and the aforementioned homer. 

The Mets next homer would come from Cespedes – who else?  

The three run shot scored Syndergaard and  Jose Reyes, who did his job setting the table tonight going 3-5 with two runs. 

The Mets then blew the doors open in the seventh scoring six runs. Alejandro De Aza hit a two RBI bases loaded double off the center field wall and  just past the leaping Odubel Herrera. Kelly Johnson then hit a pinch hit grand slam to make it 11-1. 

New dad Neil Walker then hit his 23rd homer on the season in the eight to make it 12-0. The home run ties his career high. 

With that, the Mets are flexing their muscles again, and they are taking advantage of bad baseball teams to beef up their record. Tomorrow the Mets go for the sweep. 

Game Notes: Jay Bruce was given what was called a mental day off. His injure leg had nothing to do with it. Curtis Granderson continued his struggles going 0-4 with a run, walk, and a strikeout. 

Pennant Race: The Nationals lost to the Rockies 9-4. The Cardinals lost to the Athletics 3-2. 

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Asdrubal Cabrera Was Golden (Haired)

Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera let everyone know right off the bat the Mets were not going to take a second division club lightly by hitting back-to-back homers to start the bottom of the first.

They also brought their gloves. After Cabrera made a nice play in the fourth, Reyes followed up with a better one:

At the time, it preserved a Bartolo Colon no-hitter. Colon would lose it in the fifth on an Odubel Herrera hustle double. Herrera scored after the Mets gamble of intentionally walking Peter Bourjos, who is hitting .179 in the second half, to get to the pitcher Adam Morgan. Morgan hit an RBI single to close the gap to 2-1. That’s as close as the Phillies would get. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Wilmer Flores made it 6-1 with a grand slam off Morgan:

Once again both Flores and this iteration of the Mets lineup just crushes lefties.  

In the sixth, the Mets would put the game out of reach off Phillies reliever Frank Herrmann. Travis d’Arnaud hit an RBI double, and he would come around to score on Cabrera’s second home run of the game. It was the first time he homered from both sides of the plate. It gave the Mets a 9-1 lead effectively ending the game. 

The Phillies would touch up Colon a bit in the eighth to close the gap to 9-4, but in reality it was just putting lipstick on a pig. Colon was terrific in every way tonight starting with a quick defensive reaction in the first:

He didn’t just help himself in the field, he helped himself at the plate going 2-3 with two runs and a double . . . yes, a double. 

His final line was seven innings, six hits, four runs, four earned, two walks, and six strikeouts. 

On what was a terrific day for the Mets, Cabrera put the capper on the night with a terrific defensive play in the eighth. Reyes tried to bare-hand a ball at third, and he missed it. Cabrera backed him up, and dive to tag out Aaron Altherr. 

  
After a second lackluster appearance by Sean Gilmartin and his bleeding thumb, Terry Collins wasted no time in bringing in Jeurys Familia even though it wasn’t a save situation. Familia got out of the first and second no out jam to preserve the Mets 9-4 win. 

Game Notes: Neil Walker was activated from the paternity list, and he went 1-3 with a run and a walk. T.J. Rivera was sent back down. Jay Bruce returned to the lineup as well, and he went 0-4 with the golden sombrero. Curtis Granderson sat against the left-handed again. 

Pennant Race: The Nationals beat the Rockies 8-5. The Marlins are losing to the Padres 6-3 in the ninth. The Pirates are leading the Brewers 5-4 in the sixth. The Cardinals lead the Athletics 3-1 in the seventh. 

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Left-Handed Pitchers Beware

One of the long forgotten storylines of the early part of the season was the Mets couldn’t hit left-handed pitching.  For their careers, Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda have mostly struggled against them.  That effectively neutralizes two of the best bats in the lineup.  Terry Collins ices a third when he refuses to play Michael Conforto against lefties.

With the Mets injuries and Sandy Alderson remaking the roster on the fly, the Mets now destroy left-handed pitching.

It starts with new (and old) leadoff hitter Jose Reyes.  In his career, Reyes has always been a slightly better right-hand hitter than he was a left-hand hitter, but this year the splits are even more pronounced.  In 25 games against righties, he is hitting .254/.289/.408.  However, in the 17 games against lefties, he is destroying them hitting .342/.419/.605.  Each and every game, he sets the pace.

Usually playing across the diamond from Reyes is Wilmer Flores who suddenly turns into Babe Ruth when a lefty is on the mound.  Flores has played 44 games against lefties, and he is hitting an astounding .344/.392/.678 with three doubles, nine homers, and 22 RBI.  Flores OPS+ against lefties is 176.  To put how good that is in perspective, that 176 is better than Paul Goldschmidt‘s and Jose Altuve‘s.  Goldschmidt and Altuve currently led their respective leagues in those categories.

Rounding out the infield is Neil Walker who has been a completely different hitter against lefties this season.  Walker entered the year hitting .260/.317/.338 against lefties.  This year, he is hitting .327/.383/.612 against them.  He has more than doubled his homers against lefties this year.

In the outfield, with Juan Lagares going down with injury, the Mets eventually replaced him with Justin Ruggiano.  He has been the Mets center fielder when a left-handed pitcher starts a game.  In his seven games against lefties, Ruggiano has hit .400/.471/.867, and he had a monster home run against Jaime Garcia:

It’s not a fluke for him either.  In his eight year career, Ruggiano is hitting .276/.340/.530 against lefties.

When you add these bats to a lineup that already has Yoenis Cespedes, you have a team that mashes lefties.  You have a team that knocks Madison Bumgarner out after five innings.  You have an offense that can do anything no matter who is on the mound.  You have an offense you believe can go the postseason as the second Wild Card.

 

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De Aza Saves the Mets Season – Yes, that De Aza

As if the Cardinals weren’t evil enough, they sent Adam Wainwright of all people to the mound to end the Mets season. Fortunately for the Mets, they had the better right-handed with a terrific curveball on the mound. 

That’s right. In the most important game of the season, the 2011 34th round draft pick Seth Lugo took to the mound, and once again he was terrific. His final line was 5.0 innings, two hits, no runs, none earned, three walks, and five strikeouts. He only lasted five innings as he left the game with a cramp in what was a hot and humid day. 

Lugo was never supposed to be in this spot, but there he is. Better yet, much like Jacob deGrom in 2014, he’s taken advantage of an unexpected opportunity. 

The Mets offense took advantage of a struggling Wainwright and a bad Cardinals defense. 

In the fourth, with the Mets already up 1-0, Curtis Granderson would reach on a Jhonny Peralta error. He’d go to third on a Wilmer Flores double. Both would then score on an Alejandro De Aza RBI single expanding the Mets lead to 3-0. Flores, De Aza, and the Cardinals defense would conspire again in the fifth to blow the game open. 

The Mets had Yoenis Cespedes and James Loney on with two out, and Wainwright seemingly induced Flores to hit an inning ending ground out. Instead, second baseman Greg Garcia booted it allowing Flores to reach and Cespedes to score. De Aza would then really make the Cardinals pay:

Just like that it was 7-0 Mets. 

Wainwright’s final line was five innings, nine hits, seven runs, two earned, two walks and three strikeouts. 

The story of the night, aside from Lugo, was Flores and De Aza. Flores was the surprise starter with a right-handed on the mound and Neil Walker on paternity leave. De Aza got the start with Jay Bruce dealing with some type of leg injury. 
Flores would go 2-4 with three runs and sac fly RBI. De Aza would go 2-4 with two runs, five RBI, one walk, and a homer. 

De Aza would also rob Matt Carpenter of a homer on the Cardinals first at bat of the game. 

  
The Mets offense just exploded in the night. Everyone but Jose Reyes, Cespedes, and Granderson got at least two hits. However, even they reached base two times a piece. Reyes and Cespedes also drew a walk, and Granderson reached on the error. 

The 10 runs the Mets put up made up for some ugly bullpen work. Jim Henderson, Josh Smoker, and Sean Gilmartin combined to allow six earned runs. 

Fortunately, the Mets offense put up 10 runs to win the game 10-6. With that, the Mets took two out of three from the Cardinals bringing them back to 3.5 games behind them for the second Wild Card. It also allowed Lugo to earn his first major league win. 

Game Notes: Loney hit cleanup and went 3-5 with three runs snapping his August cold streak. Asdrubal Cabrera was 2-5 with an RBI double. Rene Rivera was 2-4 with two RBI, a double, and a walk. His two RBI came on a single that went to the wall. 

Pennant Race:  The Pirates are tied with the Brewers 2-2 in the eighth. The Nationals beat the Orioles 4-0. The Marlins lost to the Royals 5-2. 

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Winning Formula: Seven Pitchers & Seven Runs Scored

For some reason or other, the Mets went with an injured and bad Jon Niese over a healthy and ready Robert Gsellman. One thing was for certain, no matter who started, the Mets needed an early lead and hold on. 

The Mets just did that. Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera led off the game with back-to-back singles, and then they pulled off a double steal. Cleanup hitter Wilmer Flores then hit a three run homer to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. 

Niese would give it right back even with Ron Darling saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger, but Niese is 55-3 with a three run lead.”

Niese allowed three of the first batters to reach base narrowing the lead to 3-1. Then his knee became too much for him. Terry Collins then went to Gsellman with one out and runners on first and second. Gsellman was greeted by a Yadier Molina game tying RBI double. 

Gsellman would escape the first without allowing another run. Gsellman would be in trouble most of the night, but he would bend but not break. He was really helped by some terrific Mets defense.

Even with the struggles, Gsellman would earn his first win in his first ever game. His final line was 3.2 innings, two hits, no runs, none earned, three walks, and two strikeouts. 

Gsellman was in line for the win as the Mets offense responded immediately to losing the lead. Travis d’Arnaud would hit a one out single and move to second on a Gsellman sacrifice bunt. Reyes then singled him home as it seems every time d’Arnaud finda his way into scoring position, Reyes singles him home. Cabrera then doubled home Reyes to make it a 5-3 game. 

Justin Ruggiano effectively closed the book on Cardinals Jaime Garcia with a monster home run:

Garcia only lasted four innings himself in taking the loss allowing seven hits, six runs, six earned, and one walk with six strikeouts. 

Things calmed down once it became a battle of the bullpens. Alexander Reyes flashed his dominant stuff shutting the Mets down over 2.1 innings. 

Josh Smoker pitched two tension filled innings, but he only allowed one run on a monster Randal Grichuk solo homer in the sixth. There wouldn’t be another as Yoenis Cespedes robbed Stephen Piscotty of a homer:

It was an even bigger play when you consider Cespedes seemingly tweaked his quad chasing down a liner in the first. 

In the seventh, Jerry Blevins and his tight firearm left a runner on with one out. Jim Henderson would then make his first appearance since coming off the DL. He got the Mets out of the inning, and he punctuated it by striking out Jedd Gyorko looking to end the inning. 

Like every other Mets pitcher, Addison Reed pitched into trouble, but he got out of it unscathed. Jeurys Familia was the only one of the Mets seven pitchers to have a 1-2-3 inning in recording his 42nd save. 

At least for one night, the Mets and Cardinals switched places. The Cardinals were 2-10 with RISP leaving 11 men on base. The Mets were 5-10 with RISP including a James Loney ninth inning RBI single to make it 7-4. 

The Mets have finally won three in a row since the All Star Break. The Mets are now 3.5 games back of the Cardinals in the race for the second Wild Card. 

Game Notes: Neil Walker missed the game as he is on paternity leave. His wife gave birth to a baby girl, Nora Vail Walker. T.J. Rivera is taking his spot until he returns. Curtis Granderson didn’t start with the lefty starter. Jay Bruce would go 0-5 with two strikeouts. He is now two for his last 22. 

Pennant Race: The Marlins lost to the Royals 1-0. The Nationals lost to the Orioles 8-1. The Pirates beat the Astros 7-1. 

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Cespedes Is Back!

Hopefully, all the suddenly (if relatively) healthy Mets needed to get going was to get one game under their belts. It certainly seemed to be the case as the August 2015 Yoenis Cespedes returned:

Cespedes powered the Mets offense to nine runs by going 3-5 with two runs, a double, two homers, and three RBI. He was just one of the Mets to tee off on Matt Moore and Jake Peavy. Even more amazing was the fact that the Mets were 5-9 with runners in scoring position. 

Like it once did a decade ago, it all started with Jose Reyes, who doubled to leadoff the game en route to going 1-4 with two runs, a walk, a double, and a stolen base. He was the only Met to score in a first inning that saw the first four Mets get on base with two of the Mets hitting doubles. 

The reason for the one run was partially a TOOTBLAN from Asdrubal Cabrera and his Ryanochte hair dye trying to go to second on what really didn’t amount to a wild pitch. At the time, the out loomed large. However, he’d make up for it with a third inning sacrifice fly scoring Reyes and his overall solid day at the plate going 2-4 with an RBI. 

Soon to be dad, Neil Walker, was 2-4 with two runs, one walk, and one double. Justin Ruggiano was 2-3 with a run, a walk, and an RBI. Ruggiano needed a good day at the plate as he had some miscues in the field as he is apparently learning how to play alongside Cespedes. 

The icing on the cake was an Alejandro De Aza three run sixth inning homer which capped off a four run inning. At the time, it put the Mets up 7-2, and they seemed to be in control. 

It certainly was enough for Bartolo Colon, continued his good start, bad start pattern with a good one with a final line of 6.1 innings, nine hits, two runs, two earned, one walk, and five strikeouts. He departed with a runner on first. Josh Smoker came on and got Colon out of the inning. 

While the lead was safe for Colon, it initially seemed the lead wasn’t safe for the bullpen.  Hansel Robles was brought in to pitch the eighth, and he sandwiched walks to Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford around a Buster Olney line out. Even with the big lead, Collins was right to move to get the recently slumping Robles out of the game. However, Collins went to Addison Reed as Collins is the only one who doesn’t know Reed struggles with inherited runners. 

Reed would allow both inherited runners to score on an Eduardo Nunez two RBI double. Reed would allow another run to score before getting out of the inning. Reed would settle in in the ninth shutting the Giants down ensuring the Mets 9-5 win. 

Game Notes: Jim Henderson was activated off the disabled list but did not pitch. Erik Goeddel was sent down in his place. Slumping Jay Bruce sat against the lefty Moore. It was classified as day to get himself going than a benching. 

Despite Travis d’Arnaud catching, there were no stolen base attempts once again showing there are more forces at work in a stolen base other than a catcher’s arm. 

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Seth Lugo Terrific, Mets Not So Much

Seth Lugo was the surprise starter tonight as Steven Matz couldn’t go due to a shoulder injury (shocking, I know). Lugo would be terrific and efficient. 

Lugo’s final line was 6.2 innings, seven hits, three runs, three earned, one walk, and three strikeouts. The line would’ve looked better had it not been for Collins’ managing. Overall, Lugo only needed 69 pitches. Not bad for a guy that Mets were hoping could provide five serviceable innings. 

One area that Lugo wouldn’t help himself was on the basepaths. After failing to lay down a sac bunt, he found himself in the basepaths and hilarity would ensue on a Kelly Johnson two out single. 

On the single, Tim Teufel first didn’t give a sign, and then threw up the stop sign after Lugo put his head down as Hunter Pence made a good throw home. Lugo saw this, and he headed back to third. Only issue was Jose Reyes broke for third when Lugo broke for home. 

The Giants first got Reyes into a run down. As this was happening, Lugo had pretty much no choice but to break for home as there were two outs. As Brandon Crawford was seemingly the player paying attention in the fifth inning, he caught Lugo trying to sneak home. Lugo would be thrown out in the ensuing rundown. 

The Giants returned the favor in the bottom of the fifth. Pence dropped a “double” between the rangeless Asdrubal Cabrera and centerfielder for the day Granderson. Eduardo Nunez then hit a line drive right at Granderson while Pence took off for home. Easy double play. 

Just to make sure the fifth inning would set back baseball 50 years, James Loney booted a Joe Panik grounder. Lugo would the get the opposing pitcher, Johnny Cueto, out to put an end to the nonsense. 

Still, Lugo would take the loss as the only run support he received was a Granderson second inning homer into McCovey Cove. 

In the seventh, Lugo was lifted after the Giants announced Gregor Blanco as a pinch hitter. Terry Collins countered with LOOGY Jerry Blevins. Bruce Bochy, being a vastly superior manager, countered with the switch hitting Ehire Adrianza. Both he and Denard Span hit RBI singles making it a 3-1 game. 

The Mets rallied in the eighth starting with a Reyes one out single. It was another terrific night at the plate for Reyes going 4-4 with a double. However, despite him getting to second as Brandon Belt threw one into his back on a Johnson pinch hit. Hr wouldn’t score as Jay Bruce hit into an inning ending double play. 

Josh Smoker made his major league debut in the bottom of the inning. He’d get charged with two runs as Jeurys Familia, with some help from a Ryan Lochte neon yellow haired Cabrera made an error, couldn’t get out of the inning.  Erik Goeddel relieved Familia and was greeted with a Conor Gillaspie two run homer making it 8-1. 
With that, the Mets have lost three in a row and are now two games under .500. 

Game Notes: Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes returned from the DL with the Mets sending down Ty Kelly and T.J. Rivera.  

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Is the Mets Window Closing?

Right now, the Mets are four games out of a Wild Card spot, and they are desperately hoping with Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera coming off the disabled list this week that the team goes on a run that will bring them back into the postseason.  Whether or not that works, it is fair to ask if this is the Mets last chance to win the World Series.

The foundation of this team is its starting pitching.  Matt Harvey has gone from Opening Day starter to question mark with his season ending surgery to address his thoracic outlet syndrome.  There is no telling how effective he will be if he is able to come back.

Zack Wheeler was supposed to be back by the All Star Break.  Now, it appears that he will miss his second consecutive season.  While rehabbing from the surgery, Wheeler has had to have a second surgery to deal with forearm irritation caused by stitches, sensory nerve irritation, and now a flexor strain.  He had been treated by Dr. Dave Altchek, and he sought a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews.  We are continuously assured there are no structural issues, and yet, time and again there is a new excuse why he can’t pitch.  At the end of the day, it does not matter if he is unable to pitch due to his elbow or for other reasons.  Who knows when he can return or how effective he will be when returning.

There are more question marks in the rotation.  Steven Matz has yet to have a healthy season in the majors.  Bartolo Colon will be 44 years old next year meaning there is no guarantee that he pitches beyond this year.  Even if he does, there is no guarantee he will be this effective.  Logan Verrett has shown he is not capable of being a member of the starting rotation.  Sean Gilmartin‘s season ended early with shoulder problems.  The Mets aren’t going to pick up Jon Niese‘s option, and even if they did bring him back, you should probably expect more of the same from him.

The Mets other options are Gabriel Ynoa and Robert Gsellman, both of whom are probably not ready to start in the majors.  Even if they are, both realistically project to be middle to back of the rotation starters.  That certainly helps, but that also a huge drop off from someone like Harvey.

As if the starting pitching wasn’t a big enough issue, there is the issue of the Mets offense.

As we saw this year, you cannot rely upon David Wright at all.  The Mets have no internal options to replace his bat in the lineup.  Worse yet, there is a lack of very good options on the free agent market choices available even if the Mets were so inclined to add a bat.  Keep in mind, they may also have to replace Lucas Duda at first base.  In 2015, Duda had a disc issue.  This year, Duda will miss almost the entire season with a stress fracture in his back.  There is a very real chance that he is a non-tender candidate.  The Mets do not have a first base option in the minors who is on track to play in the majors next year, and again, the free agent market is less than promising.  That means James Loney can once again be the Mets best option, and as we have seen, he is not a terribly good everyday option.

This isn’t even the Mets biggest problem, not by a long shot.

Cespedes can opt out of his contract at the end of the season, and he will easily become the best free agent available.  The narrative coming out of last offseason was how much Cespedes wanted to be a Met, and that is why he returned.  That’s the hope why he will stay.  However, it’s more narrative than fact.

The fact is Cespedes didn’t get a fair market value offer on the free agent market.  Judging from the free agent contracts handed out, teams placed a higher value on Jason Heyward and Justin Upton.  The teams you would think would be interested in Cespedes gave the money to somebody else.  The Nationals were interested, but due to budgetary constraints, they only offered Cespedes a largely backloaded deal. It is possible that after another postseason berth, and Jonathan Papelbon‘s salary off the books, the Nationals could make another run at Cespedes in the offseason.  It is also possible that the Giants, Dodgers, Rangers and/or the Angels could emerge as suitors for Cespedes.  There’s always the phantom mystery team that could join the bidding.

It is certainly plausible the Mets get outbid from Cespedes, or they simply move on from him.  Keep in mind, there were rumblings all over that the Jay Bruce trade was made, in part, as insurance for Cespedes leaving in the offseason.  If that is the case, the Mets outfield will yet again be left without a true center fielder.

The main task may first fall to Curtis Granderson, who has struggled mightily this year and should not be counted on to rebound in 2017.  The Mets could go with a Juan Lagares/Brandon Nimmo platoon in center, but that would leave no room for Michael Conforto to play everyday.

Speaking of Conforto, there is another major issue with this Mets team.  Both Conforto and Travis d’Arnaud have regressed this year.  Certainly, Conforto’s wrist and d’Arnaud’s shoulder are factors, but the fact remains, they have regressed.  Couple that with Kevin Plawecki not progressing at all, there is a major issue.  Either the Mets young talent is not as good as anticipated, or there are impediments at the major league level that is preventing them from reaching their full potential.  In order for the Mets to remain contenders, they will need their young players to step up.

Between the aforementioned free agent market and lack of major league ready prospects, the Mets only real hopes of improving the roster is on the trade front.  The problem there is the cupboard is getting bare.  The Mets have already moved big pieces in Michael Fulmer and Dilson Herrera.  They’re not willing to move Amed Rosario, and they are really unlikely to move Dominic Smith.  The Mets could move Nimmo, but that depletes from their depth for next season, and as we have seen, the Mets need all the depth they can get.

Keep in mind that over the past two seasons, the Mets have also moved Robert Whalen, Luis Cessa, John Gant, Akeel Morris, and Casey Meisner.  They lost Matthew Bowman and Dario Alvarez without getting anything in return.  Their departures leaves a gap of mid-tier prospects the Mets could move for upgrades.

Yes, the Mets can field a very competitive baseball team next year.  As long as you have pitchers like Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, you are going to have a chance to compete.  With another year of Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia, it is a seven inning game for the Mets.  It’ll become a six inning game if Hansel Robles takes the next step.  But after that?

You’re counting on Neil Walker returning, which is not a guarantee.  You’re counting on Asdrubal Cabrera developing more range at shortstop while hitting better than .255/.308/.410.  He was a .249/.307/.405 hitter from 2013 – 2015.  You’re counting on Jose Reyes to hit better than his .250/.302/.466 and be healthy all of next year.  Reyes hit .274/.310/.378 while hitting in two of the best hitter’s parks last year.  You’re counting on Wilmer Flores being able to learn to hit righties.  You’re counting on the Mets not having to rely on the Eric Campbells and Ty Kellys on the world for prolonged stretches of time over the next season.  It’s all possible, but it’s not likely.

As things look right now, the Mets better start winning some ballgames and make a run because there is no guarantee that the Mets window to contend will remain open past this season.

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Syndergaard Sparks the Offense as the Mets Hold On

After Noah Syndergaard allowed a fourth inning laser homerun to Yasmany Tomas, it looked like Syndergaard was going to have to take matters into his own hands if the Mets were going to win the game. He did:

The home run was Syndergaard’s third of the year tying him with Tom Seaver and Walt Terrell for the Mets single season home run record. Syndergaard’s homer was a no doubter homer scoring him and Alejandro De Aza giving the Mets a 3-1 lead.

De Aza was on second because Michael Bourn absolutely robbed Rene Rivera of an extra base hit. With runners on second and third, it turned into a sacrifice fly scoring T.J. Rivera. It was part of a huge inning the Mets had off Braden Shiply that saw the Mets bat around scoring four runs.

That Syndergaard home run did more than give the Mets the lead, it sparked the offense.  Later on that inning, Jose Reyes tripled and scored on a Curtis Granderson sacrifice fly.  In the fifth, Kelly Johnson would lead off the inning with a solo home run.  Rivera would then single and score on a De Aza double.  De Aza would then come home on a two out RBI infield single by Reyes.   Just like that it was 7-1 Mets through the first five and a half innings.

However, it wasn’t a laugher.  Nothing is that easy with the Mets.

The Diamondbacks sixth inning rally started on a Rivera “throwing error” allowing Jake Lamb to reach.  It wasn’t a great throw, but it was another example of James Loney not making a full stretch at first base.  Lamb and Wellington Castillo would score on a Mitch Haniger triple.  Haniger would come in to score on a Rivera two out fielding error (that one was on him).  Overall, while Syndergaard started the game out strong, he would up struggling again.  He pitched 5.2 innings allowing seven hits, four runs, two earned, and two walks with eight strikeouts.  He was fortunately bailed out by Jerry Blevins to end the sixth.

In the seventh, Hansel Robles continued his recent shaky play giving up a leadoff double to Paul Goldschmidt and issuing a two out walk to Castillo.  Terry Collins would then go to Addison Reed as he is the only person on the planet that does not know the Reed isn’t good with inherited runners.  Reed was welcomed with a Haniger (him again) double scoring Goldschmidt.  Just like that it was 7-5 Mets, and they were in for a fight.

Fortunately, Reed would settle down in the eighth with a 1-2-3 innings, and Jeurys Familia would slam the door shut in the ninth.  With that, the Mets are now a game over .500 again, and they kept pace in the Wild Card race.

Game Notes: Rivera was a surprise late replacement for Neil Walker who had to sit out the game with a sore back.  Rivera had the two errors, but he had a strong day at the plate going 4-4 with two runs.  Reyes seems closer to his old self going 2-4 with a run, RBI, and a triple.  Jay Bruce had his best day as a Met going 2-4 with a walk.

Pennant Race: The Dodgers beat the Phillies 15-5.  The Reds beat the Marlins 6-3.  The Cardinals beat the Astros 8-5.  The Rockies beat the Nationals 6-2.  The Pirates beat the Dodgers 4-3.  The Mets are in third place in the NL East 10.5 games out, and they are 3 games out of the final Wild Card spot behind the Cardinals, Pirates, and Marlins.

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The Real Curtis Granderson Problem

The Mets have a serious problem with Curtis Granderson.  He is looking every bit of his 35 years of age hitting .226/.317/.420, and it is getting worse as the season progresses.  Since the All Star Break, a time when players can rest up and get rejuvenated, Granderson has been hitting .186/.250/.304 while striking out in 21% of his plate appearances.  When he does hit the ball, he is hitting an excessive number of grounders into the shift.  It’s a major problem as Granderson has the lowest batting average on groundballs among active players.  Keep in mind that list includes players like David Ortiz and James Loney, both of whom could lose a race to Sid Bream.

Even worse for Granderson is while he was a finalist for the Gold Glove in right field last year, he has taken a real step backwards defensively.  Granderson’s defensive metrics in right field have dropped considerably with him having a -4.9 UZR and a 0 DRS this season. Fortunately, Granderson isn’t the Mets right fielder anymore . . . he’s their center fielder.

More than anything else, that is the issue with Granderson.  He is the team’s best option in center field meaning he has to play everyday despite the fact he has stopped hitting and despite the fact he is no longer a good fielder.

The Mets got to this point for a number of reasons.  The first is injuries.  Yoenis Cespedes was supposed to be the everyday center fielder.  However, with his quad injury, he will be unable to play center for the rest of the season.  The Mets platoon option against lefties, Juan Lagares, is on the disabled list after needing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left thumb.  The recently imported Justin Ruggiano played only three games with the Mets before needing to go on the disabled list himself.  With the injuries, that leaves the following options on the roster to play center field:

  1. Alejandro De Aza
  2. Jay Bruce
  3. Ty Kelly
  4. T.J. Rivera

With respect to De Aza, he has come crashing back to Earth after a torrid July.  So far in the month of August, De Aza is hitting .088/.244/.176.  As bad as things have been with Granderson, he hasn’t been that bad.

With respect to Bruce, he’s miscast as a right fielder.  After two bad years in Cincinnati where he averaged a -5.2 UZR and a 0 DRS, he is at a -13.2 UZR and a -13 DRS this year.  Honestly, the Mets should be looking for a way to take him out of the outfield and put him at first base rather than put him at a position he is ill equipped to play and last played eight years ago.

That leaves Kelly and Rivera neither of whom are center fielders.  However, they are the Mets next best option as the team decided both should be in the majors over Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo.  While you can certainly make the argument that one of them should be on the roster with the need for another third base option with Asdrubal Cabrera on the disabled list moving Jose Reyes to shortstop, it is unfathomable why both of them are on the 25 man roster.  It’s unfathomable to have them both on the roster when you consider Conforto and Nimmo are better hitters than either one of them despite their struggles in the majors this year.

The rationale is the outfield is too left-handed with Granderson, De Aza, and Bruce is quite poor reasoning.  Granderson is a career .224/.296/.398 hitter against lefties, and that hasn’t stopped Collins from playing Granderson against lefties.  Yet somehow, Collins decides that Conforto and Nimmo, two players who have hit lefties in the minors, cannot possibly hit lefties.  The end result may very well have been that Collins is right as his refusal to play either against lefties may have created a mental issue with them.

Regardless, the Mets only options right now in center field are Granderson and De Aza.  While Granderson has struggled mightily this year, he is currently the Mets best option in center field.  With that in mind, Granderson simply has to play every day.  He has to play every day despite his slump.  He has to play against lefties despite him hitting .225/.290/.392 off of them this year.  He has to play in center because the Mets have no other options.

Ultimately, that is the real Granderson problem.  It’s not that he’s struggling.  It’s that the Mets don’t have a better option than him right now – especially since the team decided Kelly and Rivera were better than Conforto and Nimmo.

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