Logan Verrett
The Mets chance was in the top of the sixth. Yusmeiro Petit walked Neil Walker to load the bases with one out. Dusty Baker then summoned Oliver Perez from the bullpen. The very same Oliver Perez Mets fans love to hate.
After Ollie struck out James Loney and got Wilmer Flores to meekly pop out to center to end the threats hereby earning the win, Mets fans hate him all the more now. In fact, there’s a short list of things Mets fans hate more than him. About the only thing that really comes to mind is the Mets offense, especially after they got shut out tonight.
If you didn’t expect the Mets to have a low offensive output, you didn’t realize Matt Harvey was starting. In Harvey’s 81 career starts, the Mets have scored two runs or less for him 35 times. That’s 43% of the time. It’s absurd.
Like the other 34 times, you can’t pin this one on Harvey. He had allowed one earned on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He was only pulled due to a length rain delay that lasted over an hour and a half.
After the rain delay, Terry Collins initially went to Erik Goeddel. After Goeddel walked Danny Espinosa, Collins brought Jerry Blevins into the game do face the left-handed pinch hitter Clint Robinson. Naturally, when you have to go deep in your bullpen tonight and have Logan Verrett making a spot start tomorrow, you want to play the match-up game in the fourth inning.
Blevins would get out of the inning unscathed, but Bryce Harper would launch a two run home run in the fifth to make it a 3-0 game. The Nationals would stretch the lead to a 5-0 game in the seventh when Mets killer Wilson Ramos hit a two run double off of Hansel Robles to make it a 5-0 game. The Mets intentionally walked Daniel Murphy to get to Ramos. To add insult to injury, Robles would have to leave the game after a Ryan Zimmerman got him on the knee.
It was a tough night all around. Harvey took the loss dropping him to 4-10 on the season. The Mets also lost another game in the division and remain in third place.
Game Notes: Alejandro De Aza e texted the game in the fourth as Curtis Granderson had trouble getting loose after the rain delay. De Aza was 0-2. Brandon Nimmo had another good game going 1-4. Nationals rookie Lucas Giolito pitched four scoreless in his major league debut.
To their credit, the Mets have built an organization deep with pitching talent. When you do that, you are eventually going to be faced with a difficult decision over who to keep and who to trade, who to promote and who to keep down, and who to protect and who to expose in the Rule 5 Draft. These are difficult and challenging decisions. With that said, this is why the front office is paid the money that they are paid. This past year the Mets had a choice between protecting Matthew Bowman or Jeff Walters in the Rule 5 Draft.
Bowman was a 2012 13th round selection out of Princeton University. He is a four pitch pitcher with no real outstanding out pitch. He was projected as a back of the rotation starter for a Mets organization that is deep in pitching talent. Therefore, if Bowman was ever going to make it to the majors, he was going to have to make it in the bullpen as a swing guy like a Logan Verrett or a Sean Gilmartin. With that in mind, the Mets decided to protect the player who had already had success in the bullpen.
That was their 2010 seventh round selection out off the University of Georgia, Jeff Walters. Walters possessed a 95+ MPH fastball with a hard slider he had difficulty controlling. In 2013, he had a breakout season in AA going 4-3 with a 2.01 ERA and a 1.017 WHIP. In 2014, he was promoted to AAA, and he struggled mightily. As it turned out, Walters needed Tommy John surgery costing him the end of the 2014 season and the beginning of the 2015 season. When he returned, he started working his way back up the Mets minor league system starting with Savannah. He ended the year in AA where he went 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP in 18 innings.
Now, it was likely that either Bowman or Walters were going to be picked in the Rule 5 draft given their repertoire and success in the minor leagues. You could’ve easily made a case for either player. The Mets chose Bowman. Unfortunately, the Mets chose wrong.
With the Cardinals this year, Bowman has been pitching well out of the bullpen. In his 19 appearances, he is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.080WHIP. Batters are only hitting .232/.286/.347. To put it in perspective, current Mets reliever Jim Henderson is a 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.348 WHIP. Batters are hitting .221/.313/.384 against him. So overall, Bowman has not only pitched well this year, but he has also pitched well enough to be considered for the current Mets bullpen, which has been good all year.
Walters, on the other hand, has not been very good. Walters reported to AAA where he has pitched in 26 games going 0-2 with a 9.22 ERA and a 2.268 WHIP. Due to the Mets current roster crunch with the various injuries at the major league level, Walters was the natural choice to remove from the 40 man roster. Unfortunately, Walters hasn’t rewarded the Mets faith in him when they selected him over Bowman.
This predicament only serves to highlight the fact that the Mets have a strong minor league system. Hopefully, Walters will rebound and return to the form the Mets had seen from him in AA. In the meantime, Bowman continues to have success for the Cardinals. Fortunately, the Mets decision to keep Walters over Bowman hasn’t served to come back and bite them. Hopefully, it never will.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsminors.net
The Mets and Logan Verrett were in a difficult spot. With the doubleheader, some questionable bullpen management during the week, and Jim Henderson‘s torn nail, Verrett was going to have to go past the point he was probably comfortable going.
Verrett’s last appearance was June 7th. His last start was May 14th. He had not thrown more than 75 pitches since April 19th. This was not a recipe for success. It was exacerbated by Verrett going up against a good Brewers offense in a hitter’s park. The results were not good.
Verrett lasted four innings throwing 87 pitches. He was victimized by the walk and the longball. He allowed four walks and three homeruns. The homeruns to Chris Carter and Ryan Braun could be reasonably anticipated. The homerun to opposing pitcher Wily Peralta, even if Verret was absolutely spent, was just plain ponderous. It was an absolute no doubter to dead center.
.@WilyPeralta38 just wanted to remind everyone that #PitchersRake! https://t.co/iFkDx4McUo pic.twitter.com/T2M3TVF0vc
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 11, 2016
Verrett finished the inning, but he could go no further. Hansel Robles came in and pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth. Antonio Bastardo pitched the final two innings making sure to put the game out of reach along the way allowing three runs on two homers.
This means the Mets bullpen is down three pitchers tomorrow. It could be four depending on Henderson’s finger nail. Addison Reed has pitched three innings over the last three days. Same goes for Jeurys Familia. The Mets are in need of a fresh arm. To do that, someone has to go down.
Robles and Verrett are the only two players with options. Robles threw far fewer pitches, and he has shown the ability to recover fast in his young career. Therefore, the choice is Verrett. However, the problem isn’t who to send down, it’s who to call up.
The Mets could call up Erik Goeddel who was good with the Mets last year with a 2.43 ERA and a 0.990 WHIP. However, he’s struggling in AAA last year. Josh Edgin has not allowed a run this year, but he’s still coming back from Tommy John surgery. Rafael Montero and Sean Gilmartin could go multiple innings, but they will not be available with each having made a start the past two nights.
It’s a tough position to be in, but it’s no tougher than scoring three runs in five innings against a truly terrible pitcher:
Blame Verrett all you want but the Mets did nothing against a pitcher who entered the game with a 6.79 ERA & a 1.934 WHIP
— Mets Daddy (@MetsDaddy2013) June 11, 2016
It’s frustrating to watch even with Curtis Granderson having a great game:
Granderson just became the 3rd Met with a single, triple, homer & stolen base in the same game, joining @20Hojo (8/4/89) & Reyes (6/23/10).
— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) June 11, 2016
It’s still not as frustrating as watching the Mets constantly playing short-handed. It’ll continue with Neil Walker leaving the game with back problems. It’ll continue with a spent and somewhat injured bullpen. The Mets could solve one problem by sending down Verrett and caling someone else up.
They won’t. It’s frustrating, even more frustrating than watching the Mets not take advantage of a very bad pitcher.
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.
For the first five innings Steven Matz was cruising. He had only allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three. His scoreless inning steak reached 19 innings. He was showing why he’s getting strong All Star consideration and is a leading Rookie of the Year candidate.
That’s the thing. Seeing how composed and dominant he’s been, it’s easy to forget he’s a rookie who has never thrown more than 140.0 innings in a season. We were reminded he was a rookie in the sixth inning. He was touched up for three runs off five hits, one walk, and a Todd Frazier homerun. Matz was pulled with two outs. His final line was five innings, seven hits, three earned, two walks, and three strikeouts.
Matz was bailed out by a double play and Jim Henderson. The 4-3 lead was preserved, and the Mets bullpen went to work starting with Noah Syndergaard:
Noah Syndergaard in the seventh inning by MPH: 100, 101, 101, 94, 101, 94, 100, 101, 95, 101, 94, 101, 99, 100, 99, 92, 92.
— D.J. Short (@djshort) June 1, 2016
The 94s were sliders, and the 92s were changeups. Syndergaard appeared in the game as Terry Collins wanted to get him some work after Sunday’s ejection.
The Mets had scored the first two runs off not one but two – TWO! – sacrifice flies. The first was by Yoenis Cespedes in the first. The second was by Curtis Granderson in the third. Granderson has gotten hot of late. Over his last nine games, he’s 10-32 with six walks, a double, triple, and two homers. Speaking of homers, Neil Walker hit his 13th homer of the year for the third and fourth runs of the game.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The Mets bullpen struggled again. Hansel Robles lost the lead in the eighth after allowing a two run homerun to Melky Cabrera. He left two runners on when he gave way to Jerry Blevins. Blevins allowed a walk to Adam Eaton. Logan Verrett relieved him, and allowed an RBI single to Brett Lawrie. Robles took the loss pitching 0.2 innings allowing one hit, three earned, and two walks with one strikeout.
The natural question is why Collins didn’t let Syndergaard pitch two innings. It’s a fair question, but the Mets bullpen has been great all year. You should expect them to get the job done, but they didn’t, and the Mets lost 6-4.
Game Notes: It was James Loney‘s Mets debut. As a left-hand batting contact hitter forced into action at first base due to injuries, he was given the number 28. He was 0-4.
Once again, Major League Baseball showed its umpires are terrible:
That’s right. Noah Syndergaard got tossed for that. No warnings. Nothing. The umpire went from zero to ejection. Best part? It was a minor league umpire:
Adam Hamari, the ejector of Syndergaard, is listed as a "Minor League Call-Up Umpire" in MLB's 2016 Umpire Media Guide.
— Tim Heiman (@TimHeiman) May 29, 2016
Anytime you can have a minor league umpire behind home plate for a nationally televised game, you gave to do it, right? It’s always a good thing to have a minor league umpire effectively decide the outcome of a major league game. At least Terry Collins came out and got his money’s worth before getting ejected:
Retaliation? Noah Syndergaard threw behind Chase Utley & was ejected.
Terry Collins was livid & got tossed too.https://t.co/LqL4Qax0YS
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 29, 2016
Believe it or not the rest of the game ensued after that #umpshow.
It should come as no surprise that with an injured David Wright (didn’t start due to neck issues which may or may not be related to the spinal stenosis) and the Mets ace being ejected, the Mets were behind the eight ball. It’s not that Mets fans accept a loss, it’s just that they would’ve understood at least until Chase Utley homered off of Logan Verrett in the sixth to break the 0-0 tie.
He then hit a grand slam off of Hansel Robles the following inning after Antonio Bastardo loaded the bases with only one out to make it 6-0.
Now, normally, when you get buzzed, you’re uncomfortable at the plate. Not Utley. Why? BECAUSE THE UMPIRES PROTECTED UTLEY! Because the umpires announced the Mets were not allowed to pitch him inside lest they be ejected. It was a joke. But hey, he wasn’t suspended or even called out when he broke another player’s leg for a clearly illegal play:
The Mets lost 9-1. The entire night was ruined.
It was supposed to be a night when the fans celebrated the greatness of the 1986 Mets. It was supposed to be a night where we remembered their swagger and how they always won the battle whether we were referring to the game or the brawl. That wasn’t what happened tonight.
Instead, we were left with the same bitter taste in our mouths that we had in 1988.
The only thing that will make me angrier about the ejection and the final score will be when that hack Joe Torre suspends or fines Syndergaard.
Game Notes: The Mets had a funny take on the Thor pitch:
The ball gets away from @Noahsyndergaard, he is asked to leave. @lverrett4 will enter with one out in the 3rd. #Mets pic.twitter.com/SFmeM3hv5M
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 29, 2016
So it looks like Carlos Torres finally get his revenge against Terry Collins for abusing his arm all these years.
In the third inning, the Rockies had already played a run extending their lead to 3-1. Tony Wolters swung and missed at strike three making it two outs with the pitcher coming up. Logan Verrett had minimized the damage. Nope, Home Plate Umpire Carlos Torres (no relation to the former Mets relief pitcher) called a pitch Wolters clearly swung and missed a foul tip. No strikeout. Here’s the replay.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tGbNNFfTx9g
Apparently, Wolters at bat was extended to prevent Curtis Granderson from assassinating Queen Elizabeth II.
In any event, Wolters at bat was extended, and he hit a two run double to make it 5-1. Terry Collins was tossed. The Rockies put a five spot up the inning. Verrett was eventually chase after throwing 75 pitches in 2.2 innings. In total, he allowed 10 hits, seven earned, and three walks with no strikeouts.
Verrett wasn’t good all night, BUT his outing would’ve been drastically different had the umpire actually made the correct call.
The Mets did show some character in the game despite being down 7-1. Neil Walker snapped out of his cold spell with a solo homer in the fourth. Lucas Duda singled home Yoenis Cespedes, who had a lead off triple, in the sixth. Duda later scored when Asdrubal Cabrera grounded into a double play. The sixth inning rally was ended when D.J. LeMahieu robbed Granderson of a base hit. LeMahieu had a terrific game in the field robbing the Mets of a few hits.
The Mets couldn’t muster another rally. They did fight, but it was all for naught. They lost 7-4.
On the bright side, the Mets bullpen was terrific. They went 5.1 innings allowing no runs, two hits, a hit by pitch, and no walks while striking out three. Sean Gilmartin deserves special mention for going two innings after pitching three innings on Thursday.
With that said, the Mets still lost. The loss guaranteed a losing road trip. It guaranteed the Mets lost their first series since the April 11 -13 series against the Marlins. The Mets dropped to third place in the NL East. But remember, it’s still just May, and it’s the end of a long West coast trip.
The Mets will be fine, and they’ll start winning games and series again. Avoiding a sweep by winning tomorrow will be a good start before heading home for a big series against the Nationals.
Game Notes: Ron Darling went into full Keith Hernandez mode. In the fifth inning, he sent Nate from the production crew behind home plate to get some guy to stop continuously waving. When the Mets were rallying in the sixth, he referred to the game as a Coors Light type of game. In the seventh, he referred to a mound visit between Wolters and Gonzalez Germen before a pitch was thrown as an embarrassment to the game.
Simply put, it was that kind of night for the Mets:
For a long time, it appeared that Colin Rea was going to pitch the first no-hitter in Padres history. He was mostly shutting down the Mets. The only Met who really hit him well was Curtis Granderson, who was robbed not once (as you can see above), but twice. However, with two outs in the seventh, Yoenis Cespedes singled putting an end to the no-hit bid.
In the ninth, Granderson lead off the ninth with a homerun to dead center. Jay wasn’t getting to that one. The homer knocked Rea out of the game. Up until that point, Rea had only allowed two hits and one walk with five strikeouts.
Rea was relieved by Brad Hand. He would allow a two run homer to Cespedes. What was a 5-0 cruise control win turned into a 5-3 lead necessitating the Padres closer, Fernando Rodney enter the game. Rodney would shut the door on the Mets rally and earn the save.
Rea was the real star of the game going 9+ innings allowing three hits, one earned, and one walk with five strikeouts.
Rea’s battery mate, Mets killer Derek Norris, helped Rea get the victory. Despite coming into the game with a .138 average, he teed off against the Mets’ pitching. He would go 3-3 with a walk, double, homerun, two runs scored and an RBI. He was hitting like there was a one hour rain delay and Terry Collins left Jeurys Familia out there.
In truth, the Padres all teed off on the Mets pitching. They would score five runs on 11 hits. Six of those eleven hits would go for extra bases. The two homers were hit by Norris and Wil Myers.
Most of the damage was done against Jacob deGrom, who was once again in the 93 MPH range with his fastball. He pitched five innings allowing eight hits, three earned, and one walk with only two strikeouts. He wasn’t missing bats, and he was getting hit hard. Logan Verrett came in and helped the bullpen a bit by throwing two innings of relief. While Verrett was luckier than deGrom, he got hit hard as well. His final line was two innings, three hits, two runs (one earned), no walks, and three strikeouts.
Most will point to the long flight as the reason for the Mets loss. Maybe. It’s also possible they ran into a pitcher that had everything working. It’s just time to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow night’s game, or tonight’s game for those Mets fans on the East coast.
Game Notes: While the Padres are the only MLB team without a no-hitter, the Mets are still the franchise with the most games played before pitching their first no-hitter.
Today is Star Wars Day (May the Fourth – get it?). In celebration of the day, here are the Mets alter egos from Episode VII: The Force Awakens:
Yoenis Cespedes – Poe Dameron
- Both Poe and Cespedes were renown for their incredible air power (Cespedes- HR, Poe – pilot). Both were thought to be gone only to return to the joy of everyone. We now know victory is certain.
Matt Harvey – Kylo Ren
- Both were once the most powerful apprentices only to have a younger one with long hair and more powers usurp them. Despite their most recent losses, they will be heard from again.
Noah Syndergaard – Rey
- Both were lost in the desert (Thor – Vegas, Rey – Jakku). Neither knew when they were going to be able to find their next lunch. Both are extremely powerful and are only now starting to realize it.
Michael Conforto – Finn
- Neither were supposed to be here. Neither were supposed to show any signs of greatness. Instead, they broke the mold and carved out a new path for themselves.
Curtis Granderson – Han Solo
- They’ve been around a long time, but they are still as cool as ever. It may be surprising, but they are in the thick of things like they always were. The only problem is there are some young upstarts (Granderson – Conforto, Han – Kylo Ren), who may push them aside. However, before that time comes, they will be heard from again.
Bartolo Colon – Chewbacca
- All these years later, they may be a step slow, but they still are large and in charge. One moment you’re questioning what something so old can do to you. The next, you’re getting your arm or bat taken from you.
Captain David Wright – General Leia Organa
- Years ago, they thought they had accomplished it all as the young, brash good looking people they were. Unfortunately, they didn’t. There’s still more work to be done. The difference is now they have to be the leaders and show a new generation how it’s done.
Logan Verrett – BB8
- Both are taking over for someone else’s role (Verrett – Sean Gilmartin, BB8 – R2D2), and they are performing admirably.
Zack Wheeler – R2D2
- Both are sitting around, shut down, but both still have a very important role to play.
Jacob deGrom – C3PO
- Both have problems with their arms (deGrom – decreased velocity, C3PO – it’s red) and no one knows how it happened. No worries. They’re back and better than ever.
Dan Warthen – Maz Kanata
- Both seem to have the secrets needed to unlock people’s secret powers and lead them on the path to greatness. Plus they kinda look alike.
Terry Collins – Admiral Ackbar
- Both seem like this has all passed them by, but they have returned. They came back and led their people to great victories (Collins – NL, Ackbar – blowing up the Starkiller Base). Now if only Collins had screamed, “It’s a trap!” in Game 5 of the World Series . . . .
Lucas Duda – Captain Phasma
- Their roles are relatively overlooked. Both are large and intimidating presences that can destroy you in the blink of an eye.
Juan Lagares – Snap Wexley
- Both have been here since the new generation’s fight began, but they’ve been pushed aside by Poe/Cespedes who gets all the focus and glory.
Mike Piazza – Luke Skywalker
- The time has come where their greatness has now become the stuff of legends. They are now at the shrines where it all began (Piazza – Cooperstown, Luke – first Jedi temple)
Note, there are no Mets compared to Supreme Leader Snoke or General Hux as they just seem pure evil with no chance for hope. With that said, I think there’s enough room here for one more:
Chase Utley – General Hux
- Their sole intent is to destroy everything for their victory regardless of the consequences. Actually, that’s not true. The more amoral pain and violence inflicted the better. The good news is that no matter what they do, they will ultimately fail.