Juan Lagares
In baseball lingo, a quality start is defined as a start in which a pitcher allows three earned or less in at least six innings pitched. With that said, Steven Matz did indeed have a quality start today allowing six hits, three earned, and four walks with five strike outs over seven innings. Unfortunately, with a Mets offense without Yoenis Cespedes, a quality start isn’t enough.
No, the Mets needed the Matz that existed prior to the one we saw prior to everyone knowing about him being bothered by bone spurs in his elbow. From April 17th to June 7th, Matz was 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.006 WHIP. He was throwing a 94 MPH fastball 62% of the time, an 84 MPH change 11% of the time, an 88 MPH slider, 13% of the time, and a 78 MPH curve 14% of the time.
Since that game we saw him rubbing his elbow, Matz has maintained his velocity. However, he’s almost completely stopped using his slider. He now only throws it 3% of the time. Since he’s stopped throwing the slider, Matz has gone 0-3 with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.430 WHIP. Those numbers include today’s loss.
While Matz was pitching better than he has in over a month, the Cespedesless Mets offense continued to sputter. The only offensive support came in the form of two Jose Reyes solo homers, including his Mets all-time leading 17th home run to leadoff a game. That broke the tie he had with current teammate Curtis Granderson. Reyes was the only Met with a multi-hig game one a day where the Mets only managed four hits. Juan Lagares and Asdrubal Cabrera got the other two hits.
While the Mets were starved for offense, Daniel Murphy continued to try to make the Mets rue the day they decided not to re-sign him. Murphy hit a two run homer in the first inning. The other run was scored off a Wilson Ramos RBI single in the third. Two of the Nationals’ Mets killers did it again.
Somewhat fittingly, it was De Aza who made the last out of the game for the Mets. The Mets lost 3-2 and fell six behind the Nationals after losing three out of four and six out of seven. At the very least, the Mets are still in playoff position as the second Wild Card heading into the All Star Break.
Game Notes: Alejandro De Aza started over Brandon Nimmo with the Nationals starting the lefty Gio Gonzalez.
The only thing that matters about tonight’s game is the fact that Yoenis Cespedes left the game with a strained quad in the third and Noah Syndergaard left the game in the fifth with an apparent injury. It’s worth noting that Syndergaard’s last two fastballs were 93 and 91 MPH. He throws offspeed pitches faster than that.
These injuries came on the heels of Matt Harvey announcing he was electing to have season ending surgery to address his thoracic outlet syndrome. With Cespedes and Syndergaard leaving the game, Harvey’s season being over, and tonight’s 3-1 loss to the Nationals, the Mets would suffer four losses tonight.
In the game tonight, Stephen Strasburg was awesome. He had a no-hitter going until Asdrubal Cabrera homered off of him in the fifth. Strasburg’s final line was seven innings, two hits, one earned, three walks, and nine strikeouts.
Strasburg was able to win because the Nationals’ Mets killers showed up again. Clint Robinson hit a two run homer in the second, and Daniel Murphy, of course, hit an RBI double in the third.
The Mets tried to muster a rally in the eighth beginning with a Wilmer Flores double off Nationals reliever Shawn Kelley. Jose Reyes followed with an infield single that Murphy stopped from going into the outfield while rolling over 2-3 times. It was first and third with no outs, and Reyes would just stay there. He stayed there while Oliver Perez got Curtis Granderson to pop out to short. He stayed there when Juan Lagares, who came in for the injured Cespedes, hit into the inning ending 4-6-3 double play. That double play ended the Mets best shot to tie the game.
If you want to take something positive from the day allowing you to smile like you’re Brandon Nimmo, Seth Lugo had another impressive performance. Lugo pitched two scoreless and hitless innings. Given Harvey’s injury and Syndergaard leaving tonight’s game, Lugo is making a case for himself to join the rotation.
Game Notes: The Mets announced Syndergaard left the game due to arm fatigue and not due to issues related to his bone spurs. That’s not all that comforting either.
To put it as succinctly as possible, Alejandro De Aza has not been a good baseball player this year. He rarely plays, and when he does play, he has only served as a detriment. In 52 games, he has hit .169/.221/.247 with a 28 OPS+. To put it in perspective, everyone’s least favorite Met, Eric Campbell, is hitting .159/.270/.222 with a 37 OPS+. When you are incapable of outplaying Campbell, who is currently playing in AAA, you must question what purpose it serves having De Aza on the major league roster.
Initially, Terry Collins wanted De Aza to suceed. It was less than a month ago that Collins said he wanted to get De Aza more playing time so he could get going and put up the numbers he once did. Collins stayed true to his word as De Aza has played more in June than any other month. De Aza has played in a season high 20 games and received a season high 42 plate appearances. He has rewarded Collins by having his worst month of the season hitting .128/.171/.205. Slowly, Collins realized that whatever the reason, this wasn’t working out, and he began to look elsewhere for outfield options in the wake of Juan Lagares on the disabled list and Yoenis Cespedes being a bit nicked up. It has gotten to the point where Collins put Matt Reynolds in left for a game despite Reynolds never having played a game in the outfield as a professional.
Still, De Aza got some starts and at bats as he was the only completely healthy center fielder on the roster. However, at this point, Collins may have had enough of De Aza.
On Satuday, the Mets were locked in a scoreless game in the top of the tenth. De Aza was sent up there to bunt Wilmer Flores over to second base in the hopes that the Mets could FINALLY push a run across the plate. De Aza then popped the bunt in the air and made zero effort to get to first. This led to Braves’ pitcher Jim Johnson astutely letting it drop and completing the double play. Collins was incensed and laid into De Aza. After the game, he said, “I’ve seen [De Aza] play, and the one thing he is known for is how hard he plays. But it goes to show you — everybody gets frustrated when they don’t do the job.” (New York Post). It seems that Collins had finally had enough.
Yesterday, Collins decided to put rookie Brandon Nimmo in right field, a position he has only played 32 times in six minor league seasons and Kelly Johnson in left field. After Saturday, it is no surprise that De Aza was on the bench. In fact, the only surprise would have been if De Aza received any consideration to start.
What is even more surprising is De Aza’s presence on the major league roster. We can all agree De Aza is a much better player he has shown on the Mets, but so did John Mayberry last year. For whatever reason, it hasn’t worked for either player during their time with the Mets. The Mets were wise to cut bait with Mayberry last year, and they should do the same with De Aza this year. In his stead, the Mets have a few good options in the minors that could easily replicate, if not improve, what De Aza has given the Mets this year.
First, there is Travis Taijeron. He is currently hitting .306/.392/.568 in AAA right now. He has shown powers at each level he plays, and he should be able to hit for some power in the big leagues. He is a good defensive corner outfielder that may not be able to handle center that well. However, with Nimmo on the roster, finding a backup center fielder is not as big a priority right now.
If the Mets wanted to go with a true back up center fielder and a player with big league experience, they could go with Roger Bernadina. Bernadina has played a steady center field over his major league career. Over his last three major league seasons, he averaged a -0.2 UZR and a 0.7 DRS in center fielder. These are unspectacular numbers, but it goes to show you he will not hurt the Mets if he is needed to play center field.
At the plate, he is a .236/.307/.354 major league hitter. However, Bernadina played in the minor leagues all of last year. Given what De Aza has done this year you’d be hard pressed to say Bernadina’s career numbers wouldn’t be an improvement. In AAA, he has hit .298/.384/.466, which coincidentally, is very similar to the .276/.383/.466 he put up in the Pacific Coast League last year. At a minimum, you can say that Bernadina is not a player in decline like Mayberry was last year and De Aza seems to be this year.
Given the Mets current World Series aspirations, they can ill afford to wait for De Aza especially since he looks dejected out there. He is forcing the Mets hands to make a move similar to how the Mets made a move on Mayberry last year. With Taijeron and Bernadina in the minors, the Mets can and should release De Aza and call-up a player who promises to put up better production.
The Mets were scratching and clawing their way to beat the worst team in baseball after last weekend’s humiliation at the hands of the Braves.
They actually got production from Alejandro De Aza, who had to start in place of the injured Yoenis Cespedes. He would go 2-4 with an RBI double while playing a good center field.
Matt Harvey had a decent start allowing eight hits, two earned, and no walks with three strikeouts over six innings. His night would’ve gone a lot better had he not faced A.J. Pierzynski, who is proving to be the anti-Bryce Harper. Whereas Harper can’t buy a hit off Harvey, Pierzynski is 8-12 against Harvey including his 2-3 two RBI performance off Harvey tonight.
Neil Walker was 2-2 with a walk, sac fly and two RBI.
Michael Conforto had not one . . .
Reckless Abandon, @mconforto8.
He even left the wall a parting gift. pic.twitter.com/v4x7S6Orbx— New York Mets (@Mets) June 24, 2016
. . . but two great defensive plays:
Michael Conforto getting it done with the glove and the arm today #Mets pic.twitter.com/ivKlB1YMzJ
— Dan Lagnado (@dlag1995) June 24, 2016
Travis d’Arnaud made that amazing block of home plate and was able to throw out a base stealer.
None of it mattered as Addison Reed threw an 0-2 fastball over the heart of the plate to Adonis Garcia who hit an opposite field home run to give the Braves a 4-3 lead.
Not having Cespedes is not an excuse. The Braves are that bad even with them winning seven of their last eight. Like all three games last weekend, this was an inexcusable loss. The Mets have now lost four in a row to a Braves team they should not have lost four games in total to this year.
Seriously, Alejandro De Aza is not as bad a player as he has seemed in his limited time with the Mets. Up until this season, De Aza was a .267/.337/.405 hitter with a 101 career OPS+. Essentially, he was an average major league baseball player. You don’t necessarily want that in your starting lineup day in and day out the way it once appeared he was going to be. However, a player like that could be a vital and important piece for your bench.
Unfortunately, it has not turned out that way.
It is quite possible this all started when the Mets signed Yoenis Cespedes in the offseason. At the time the Mets signed De Aza two things were fairly evident: (1) the Mets didn’t have the stomach or money to give Cespedes a contract like the one he was expected to receive in free agency; and (2) he was going to be part of a center field platoon with Juan Lagares. As it turns out, the Mets got very lucky. No one really offered Cespedes a fair market value free agent contract allowing him to return to the Mets for what was effectively a one-year deal. By extension the Mets seemed to be extremely deep in the outfield as their fourth and fifth outfielders, De Aza and Lagares, were major league quality everyday players in some capacity. It was great on paper. However, De Aza has clearly suffered from the lack of playing time – playing time he reasonably expected when he signed with the Mets as a free agent.
So far this year, De Aza is only hitting .165/.224/.241 with a 27 OPS+. He has gone hitless in his last 20 at bats. In his limited starts (13 games), he is hitting .128/.180/.213. Keep in mind those stats are inflated due to a 3-4 game he had in a start against the Indians in May. Other than that De Aza has been flat out terrible. Things have gotten so bad for him that Terry Collins is starting Matt Reynolds over him in games, and Reynolds had never played a game in the outfield as a professional. His stats are in Ty Kelly and Eric Campbell territory, and as we’ve seen with him, he’s a much better player than either of these players. Overall, it is fair to say that De Aza has been affected by the lack of playing time.
As it turns out, De Aza might get a chance to leave an impression on the Mets and turn his season around. Yesterday, Cespedes had to leave the game with what turned out to be a sprained wrist. Right now, Cespedes is day-to-day, and in reality, De Aza is the only person on the roster right now who can play center field on a regular basis. As a result, Collins has no choice but to put De Aza in the lineup until Cespedes is ready to return to the lineup. As fortune would have it, the Mets are about to begin a four game series against the Atlanta Braves, who despite sweeping the Mets last weekend, are the absolute worst team in baseball. There really is no excuse for De Aza not to seize this opportunity and start playing better.
Right now, there are some offensive issues overall with the Mets. One of them is bench production, and De Aza is a large part of that. Hopefully, De Aza is able to use these starts to turn his season around and help improve the Mets bench. Both the Mets and De Aza need him to have a big weekend.
In 2012, Major League Baseball enacted the 26th Man Rule to help teams deal with their pitching issues created by doubleheaders. The rule states that if a team has a doubleheader they can call-up a player from their 40 man roster to be available to play in both ends of the doubleheader if the doubleheader was scheduled at least 48 hours in advance. In the event that the doubleheader was not scheduled at least 48 hours in advance, a team can call-up a player from the minor leagues, but that player would only be available in the second game of the doubleheader.
Now, since this is the Mets only trip to Pittsburgh, there were only two possible dates to schedule the doubleheader. The first was today, June 7th, and the second was Wednesday, June 8th. Considering the fact that the first game of a doubleheader is going to start at 4:05 P.M. today, it was practically impossible for the teams to schedule this doubleheader 48 hours in advance. Basically, both the Mets and the Pirates were prevented from having a 26th man on their roster for both ends of the doubleheader because the schedule only has the Mets going to Pittsburgh one time this season. In essence, Major League Baseball has created a rule that is not in conformity with its schedule.
Accordingly, the Mets are going to have to pitch Steven Matz and Jacob deGrom today and try to figure out what they are going to do over the weekend. It’s likely that they are going to have to start Logan Verrett this weekend because they are not going to want to start Matz or deGrom on three days rest. The Mets could avoid this situation by having Verrett start today. It’s feasible, especially considering that Verrett last pitched on June 1st. He’s well rested, and if he’s going to have to make a start, why not make it now? The reason is that because this is a doubleheader, the Mets are going to need each and every single one of their bullpen pieces.
Alternatively, the Mets could call-up a starter from AAA to make the spot start in the second game. However, this situation isn’t feasible for a number of reasons. First, the likely starter, Sean Gilmartin, last pitched on June 3rd meaning he would have to make a start on short rest and after a cross-country flight. The Mets could go with Gabriel Ynoa in the second game since it is his turn in the rotation. However, the Mets may not want Ynoa to make his major league debut after a cross country flight, and they may not want to complicate their AAA rotation thereby pushing a young pitcher past the point they realistically should pitch. Finally, the Mets might not feel Ynoa is ready to pitch in the big leagues yet.
Realistically, the Mets don’t have a viable pitching option. Accordingly, the Mets are going to go the position player route. It’s not a bad decision either. You don’t want Yoenis Cespedes playing both games on a sore hip. Juan Lagares isn’t available to hit today with a torn ligament in his thumb. As much as the Mets may need another pitcher, they also need another position player. Accordingly, Eric Campbell is going to be that guy. Campbell will be available to play first, second, third, left, right, or pinch hit. Knowing Terry Collins, he just might have Campbell do all of the above in the second game since there is going to be a lefty starting in the second game of the doubleheader.
However, he’s not going to be able to do any of that in the first game as he’s unavailable to be used. Apparently, Major League Baseball believes you only need a 26th man on the roster when you have time to plan out how you are going to use your roster and not when you are pressed into making quick decisions. The 26th Man limitations are without merit, and they need to be removed immediately.
You’re not going 162-0. It’s simply not going to happen. Even the 108 win 86 Mets lost 54 times. Your only hope is that when the Mets lose they can provide you with something positive.
Matt Harvey did that.
Harvey did take the loss, but he lost 1-0 against Jose Fernandez, a great pitcher in his own right. Harvey was good again today. He pitched seven innings allowing only four hits, one earned, and no walks with three strikeouts. He was averaging 96 MPH with his fastball. Harvey built upon his last start. This is a other sign the Harvey of old is coming back:
Since 1913, most games allowing one run or fewer by starting pitcher in first 77 starts:
Dwight Gooden: 38
Matt Harvey: 35— New York Mets Stats (@NYMStats) June 5, 2016
Ultimately, no one wants to see the Mets lose. However, this loss is more acceptable than most as Harvey took another step forward. Getting Harvey back to form is more important than the outcome of any game.
The Mets just had to tip their caps to Fernandez, who was awesome against the overmatched Mets backups:
José Fernández led the Marlins to a win over the Mets with 14 K. Here's a look inside his dominant performance: pic.twitter.com/OslZ22sCTb
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 5, 2016
Fernandez is difficult for any lineup. It’s even worse for a lineup without David Wright (DL – neck), Travis d’Arnaud (DL – shoulder), Yoenis Cespedes (DTD – hip), and yes, even Juan Lagares (DTD – presumed sprained thumb). About the only positive from the game from an offensive standpoint was Michael Conforto and James Loney going 1-3. Both hitters got hits in what has been a good series for both.
The Mets now travel to Pittsburgh where Neil Walker gets to face his old team. Making the matchup all the more interesting is the fact that old friend Jon Niese takes the mound.
Game Notes: Harvey recorded his 500th career strikeout in this game. Harvey fell to 1-18 in his career when the Mets give him two runs or less of run support. In those games, he has a 2.53 ERA in such games.
David Wright is gone for who knows how long. Yoenis Cespedes was scratched right before the game with a hip issue. When you don’t have the big bats in your lineup, you’re doing to need everyone to pitch in to try to help secure the victory.
As usual, Juan Lagares provided Gold Glove defense:
Sorry, the gap's closed today: https://t.co/ZAOFAXw8FG #Juanderfulhttps://t.co/hr1USxY5HI
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2016
It was an important catch as the game was 3-2, and that hit could’ve put the game out of reach. Instead, the Meys got new life.
That’s when James Loney made his contribution. Loney led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a passed ball. Loney then scored on an RBI single by surprise starter Michael Conforto. Conforto has been struggling badly of late, but today he was 1-3 with a run scored, a walk, and two RBI. Conforto later scored on an RBI pinch hit single from Matt Reynolds. Reynolds had to pinch hit for Lagares, who left the game with an apparent injury, which may or may not have been related to that amazing catch.
Seemingly every Met contributed to this 6-4 win. Wilmer Flores was 3-4 with a run and a walk. Neil Walker scored two runs, and Asdrubal Cabrera scored one as well. He also stayed in a game where everyone seemed to get knicked up a bit. Bartolo Colon pitched in and out of trouble allowing only one run over five. Jerry Blevins, with a little help from Lagares, bailed out Hansel Robles in the sixth. Jim Henderson pitched a scoreless 0.1 innings, and Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth. Alejandro De Aza had a two out, two run double in the the ninth. Jeurys Familia recorded his 18th save. As you can see, pretty much everyone contributed to this win, save Kevin Plawecki.
He has an error in the second when he took a throw from Flores and couldn’t find homeplate with his foot or tag the runner. In the top of the third, he hit a double and was immediately picked off second. In the eighth, he couldn’t get down a sacrifice bunt. It was a tough say for him on what was a terrific day for his teammates.
So long as the Mets role players and lesser starts keep stepping up like this, this is going to be a special season.