Noah Syndergaard
Tonight, there were only two Mets who played well in a huge series against the Washington Nationals – Asdrubal Cabrera and Noah Syndergaard. It wasn’t enough.
Cabrera homered off Nationals starter A.J. Cole in the fourth to narrow the gap to 2-1. Overall, Cabrera was 2-3 with the homer and a walk. Jay Bruce was the only other Met to get a hit off of Cole.
In reality, the Mets did nothing against a young pitcher who has struggled in his limited major league appearances. In his five major league appearances, he was 0-1 with a 5.32 ERA and a 1.318 WHIP. At 24 years old, he’s still just a prospect who could conceivably break out at any time. However, he’s really seen as a mid to back of the rotation guy. This was just another case of the disappearing Mets offense.
It is a shame too because it spoiled a very good Syndergaard start. Syndergaard’s final line was seven innings, three hits, two runs, two earned, one walk, and four strikeouts. Seeing that line, it begs the question – how did the Nationals score two runs with only four baserunners and no extra base hits.
Simple, Syndergaard cannot hold base runners.
In the first, Trea Turner led off the game with a single. He then proceeded to steal second AND third. No, Travis d’Arnaud wasn’t catching; it was Rene Rivera showing yet again the stolen base issue lies with the starting pitchers. Turner would then score on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly. Daniel Murphy would also steal a base in the inning, but he would not score.
In the fourth, Harper hit a one out double, and he stole third. That set up yet another sacrifice fly. This time it was Wilson Ramos.
Just like that, the Nationals “manufactured” both of their runs. They got the guys on, got them over, and got them in. It’s something the Mets offense has struggled with all year.
The Mets would have one chance to tie the game in the seventh.
Marc Rzepczynski (your guess is as good as mine as to whether that is spelled correctly) relieved Cole, and he made quick work of Curtis Granderson and Kelly Johnson. Rzepczynski would then issue a free pass to Rivera, and he would plunk d’Arnaud.
At that point, Terry Collins and Dusty Baker would go to their benches. Collins would tab Ty Kelly to pinch run for Rivera. Baker would bring in Koda Glover (definitely no relation to Danny or Donald) to pitch to Jose Reyes making sure Reyes was hitting from his much weaker side. Glover would blow a 98 MPH fastball past Reyes to end the inning.
But, hey, Reyes did this to a ball earlier in the game:
The game was then out if reach in the ninth before the Mets would bat. Jerry Blevins started the inning to face the left-handed Murphy and Harper. A single and a double later, and Collins turned to Hansel Robles. Robles immediately gave up a two RBI single to Anthony Rendon making it a 4-1 game.
What we all observed was the difference between the 2015 and 2016 Nationals. The Nationals have a manger that has a reputation in bringing out the best in his guys. They also gave a much better bullpen. During the stretch run last year, they had Jonathan Papelbon. This year it’s Mark Melancon.
It’s a huge difference. It’s the difference between losing the division by seven games and having a 10.5 game division lead. Well, that and having Murphy.
Game Notes: Even with the righty on the mound, James Loney would sit, and Wilmer Flores played first. Michael Conforto did not start, but he made a PH appearance in the ninth. Fernando Salas pitched another scoreless inning.
Pennant Race: The Pirates lost 1-0 to the Brewers. The Marlins are lost 6-2 to the Indians. The Cardinals lost 3-2 to the Reds.
There’s having a short bench due to injuries, and then there is what the Mets did last night.
With the Mets needing to skips Jacob deGrom start, the Mets needed to call up a starter to take his place in the rotation. The corollary to that is the Mets needed to send someone down to make room for Rafael Montero on the roster.
The obvious choice was Robert Gsellman. Gsellman had just started on Sunday meaning he was not slated to pitch until Friday. However, he wasn’t going to start on Friday. That start is going to go to Steven Matz, who by all accounts, will be ready to come off the disabled list. With Matz reclaiming his rotation spot, Gsellman was not needed.
Instead, the Mets sent down T.J. Rivera. They sent down T.J. Rivera even though Neil Walker has had to miss a few games with a lingering back injury. Rivera was sent down despite Asdrubal Cabrera having to leave Sunday’s game due to a re-aggravation of his knee injury. Rivera was sent down even though he was the only thing resembling healthy versatile infield depth on the Mets roster. Rivera being sent down meant the Mets had no margin of error on the infield. It was something that was almost a huge issue last night as A.J. Ramos fell on Jose Reyes‘ shoulder as Reyes scored on a wild pitch.
It also meant the Mets had a short bench last night. With Rafael Montero only being able to go five innings, Terry Collins had to use Jacob deGrom to pinch hit. In an effort to win the game with one swing, Collins burned Rene Rivera and then turned to Jay Bruce. When Bruce didn’t deliver, the Mets best pinch hitting option remaining was Noah Syndergaard. Fortunately, like he has done so many times in the past, Yoenis Cespedes bailed out the Mets with a tenth inning walk off home run.
Like it has most of the season, the Mets handling of the roster has been left a lot to be desired. It might not have cost them last night’s game, but it has cost them games this season. With only two more days before rosters expand, hopefully, the days of the Mets purposefully playing with a short roster are behind us.
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:
Asdrúbal's third homer in the last 24 hours. He has the power! ?#Mets 2-1 | Btm 3 pic.twitter.com/n3n5DJcZxg
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 28, 2016
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 Lion King walkup song is suiting him well. ? #LGM#Mets 5-1 as we play the 5th. pic.twitter.com/jlT5T1TZOE
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 28, 2016
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.
There are a multitude of reasons why the Mets are only a game over .500 and 3.5 games back of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card.
The most popular excuse is injuries. There is some validity there with Matt Harvey, Lucas Duda, and David Wright gone for the year. Yoenis Cespedes was hobbled by a quad injury before he was finally forced to go on the disabled list. Now that he’s back, he has a heel issue. Both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are dealing with bone spurs. Matz is also dealing with a shoulder issue that landed him on the disabled list. For what it’s worth, Jon Niese is also on the disabled list as he needs arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
That’s a litany of injuries, and that’s not all of them. However, that’s not the Mets biggest problem. The Mets biggest problem is they’re not beating the Mets they are supposed to beat.
Over the past two weeks, the Mets went 1-5 against the woeful Diamondbacks. TheDiamondbacks can’t best anyone as represented by their 53-75 record, which is a 93 loss pace.
The Padres are on the same 93 loss pace with a 53-74 record. On the season, the Mets could only muster a 4-3 record against them.
The Mets are 7-6 against the Braves this year. The Braves are well on their way to a 100 loss season with a 46-82 record.
The Mets are 5-4 against the Phillies. The Phillies are near a 90 less pace with a 59-68 record. With the Phillies rolling into town, the Mets can turn that 5-4 mark to an 8-4 mark.
Fact is the Mets need to do that if they have designs on getting back to the postseason. Keep in mind, beating teams like the Phillies and Braves powered the Mets run to a division title.
In 2015, the Mets were 90-72, which is 18 games over .500. Against the Phillies, Braves, and Marlins, three teams that lost over 90 games, the Mets were a combined 36-21. Against just those three terrible teams, the Mets went 15 games over .500. It goes a long way in explaining why the Mets were 18 games over .500 and won the division.
Currently, the Mets are 64-63. Against the aforementioned second division clubs, the Mets are 17-18, one game over .500. If the Mets played those 35 games at a similar clip than they did against the intradivision 90+ loss teams in 2015, the Mets would’ve gone 22-13. That would mean that the Mets would be a more respectable 69-58. That would’ve put them in a tie with the Giants for the first Wild Card and five games back in the division.
Now, if the Mets beat the aforementioned second division clubs at the same rate other teams beat them, their record against those teams would be be 21-14. This means the Mets record would be 68-59 giving them a half game lead for the second Wild Card and putting them a game behind the Giants for the first Wild Card.
Overall, people can point to injuries all they want, but the simple fact is even with those injuries, the Mets were still better than the Phillies, Braves, Diamondbacks, and Padres. They just didn’t play like it.
The Mets have a chance to reverse course. Of their remaining 35 games, 22 of them are against teams under .500. If the Mets truly want to win the Wild Card, they’ll need to destroy those opponents like they did in 2015. That begins tonight when the Mets begin their three game set against the Phillies.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on Mets Merized Online
There is no sugar coating it. Travis d’Arnaud has had a bad year. Blame his shoulder. Blame the hex the Mets have seemingly been under this year. Blame whatever you want. The simple fact remains d’Arnaud has had a horrible year. You can even say he has regressed offensively.
However, behind the plate, he is the same guy he has always been. He is still a terrific pitch framer that helps his staff by helping ensure that strikes are called strikes and by occasionally getting a ball called a strike. He allows very few passed balls. When there is a play at the plate, d’Arnaud is not only adept at fielding a throw, but he does a great job blocking the plate within the terms of the new rules. As seen last night, he goes a great job in making sure he gets the tag on the runner before they have a chance to touch the plate.
He is slightly below average in throwing out base stealers when there is a pitcher on the mound that bothers holding on runners. When the pitcher doesn’t hold runners on, like most catcher’s he virtually has no chance to throw out the base runner. Generally speaking, he seems to call a good game, and there have never been any public complaints from any of his pitchers about his abilities behind the plate.
The reason is on the average d’Arnaud is a good defensive catcher. While it was anticipated that d’Arnaud’s value would be in his bat, the truth is, as a major leaguer so far, his real value is as a receiver.
With all that said, it seems d’Arnaud has been the scapegoat for this entire 2016 season. With the Mets struggling offensively, the team sought to upgrade the position by aggressively pursuing Jonathan Lucroy. Apparently, James Loney and his 86 OPS+ wasn’t hurting the team. When someone steals a base, it is on him. Nevermind the fact that Rene Rivera also has a supbar caught stealing percentage (28.6%) or that Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz don’t bother holding on base runners. On a team where no one is hitting well, he is the guy slated to hit eighth. Seemingly, d’Arnaud has been blamed for everything. It is a shock no one has pinned Yoenis Cespedes injuring his quad on d’Arnaud.
Even with that in mind Nelon Figueroa took blaming d’Arnaud to a new level. After the game, Figureoa pinned part of the blame for Jacob deGrom’s poor outing on d’Arnaud. Figueroa took issue with d’Arnaud not going out to the mound to calm down deGrom (frankly, a lost art in the game that few catchers do), and with his pitch selection saying d’Arnaud failed to call inside pitchers. Only that’s not what happened.
According to deGrom, it was on him saying, “It’s hard to get results when you throw everything right down the middle. That’s what it is. I’m missing down the middle and these are big-league hitters and that’s what they do.” (New York Post).
There is no amount of pitch calling, pitch framing, or pep talks that can cure a starting pitcher who has just been completely missing his spots for two days now. There are very fair and valid criticisms of d’Arnaud. As noted, he doesn’t throw base runners out. Furthermore, he is having a terrible offensive season. That’s all on him. However, things are going overboard with people now blaming him for other player’s poor performance.
This will be the third time after the All Star Break that Jacob deGrom is pitching in an important game against a team in the thick of the playoff race. The first two times did not go well.
On July 23rd, the Mets were coming off a 5-3 victory against the Marlins. If the Mets were able to win consecutive games for the first time in almost a month, the Mets would’ve jumped a half game over the Marlins and claimed the second Wild Card spot. However, deGrom faltered in his first start after his career complete game shutout. He allowed five earned on 10 hits in only 3.2 innings in a game the Mets lost 7-2. Instead of being a half-game behind the Marlins, the Mets were 1.5 games back, and they have not yet caught up to the Marlins in the standings.
On August 18th, the Mets were at .500 after a terrible nine game stretch against two of the worst teams in baseball. The Mets sent deGrom to the mound in what was supposed to be a classic pitcher’s duel against Madison Bumgarner. Neither pitcher lived up to the billing. For his part, deGrom would only last five innings surrendering a career high 13 hits while allowing eight earned in the Mets 10-7 loss to the Giants. With the loss, the Mets would fall back under .500, and they would fall 4.5 games behind the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot.
The Mets have been playing much better of late having won three in a row. With last night’s win over the Cardinals, the Mets are a game over .500 and are 3.5 games behind the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot. With a win, the Mets will have won four in a row, pulled a game closer to the Cardinals, and they will have real momentum.
Tonight’s game won’t be easy. The Mets are going against Carlos Martinez, who has been the Cardinals’ best pitcher all season. That means deGrom is going to have to be at his best. He hasn’t been in these situations since the All Star Break.
However, to say he isn’t capable of going out there tonight and pitching a gem tonight is absurd. It was deGrom who started off the NLDS last year out-dueling Clayton Kershaw to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the series. In that game, deGrom struck out 13 Dodgers over seven shutout innings. In Game Five of that series, deGrom had nothing, but he outlasted Zack Greinke and kept the Mets in the game over six of the gutsiest innings you will ever see a Mets pitcher throw. In the NLCS, deGrom effectively ended the series with a dominant Game Three performance.
No matter how you slice or dice it, deGrom is a big game pitcher. Just because he has faltered in his two chances after the All Star Break doesn’t mean he won’t go out there tonight and shut down the Cardinals. While Noah Syndergaard could have the best stuff in all of baseball, deGrom is the Mets pitcher you trust most out there. He is the ace of the staff. He’s going to have a big game tonight.
With Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and now Robert Gsellman, the Mets feature a team with a number a players with long flowing locks:
Whose flow is best? Reply with who you think rules the #Mets hair game. #LGM pic.twitter.com/aC2Dgbz86S
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 23, 2016
None of that could prepare you for the Gary Cohen photo from college during the game last night:
Who knew Gary Cohen was a hippy? Heck, who knew he had hair?
At this point, seeing Gary Cohen, it’s fair to say none of the Mets will beat either this photo or this hair style.
Ahead of a huge three game set against the St. Louis Cardinals, the 61-61 New York Mets are at .500 and are 4.5 games back of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot. Even with a good series here, nothing is guaranteed as the Mets are one of four teams currently withing five games of the last Wild Card spot. Here is where they all stand:
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are currently the second Wild Card with a 66-57 record. The team is hot having gone 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Cardinals hot streak is surprising given the fact that they are without Matt Adams, Aledmys Diaz, Matt Holliday, Michael Wacha, Seth Maness, and Trevor Rosenthal. The current Cardinals streak is a testament to their depth, resiliency, and the managing ability of Mike Matheny. Either that or it is a random hot streak, and the Mets are in prime position to take them down.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins are at 65-59 and are 1.5 games back of the Cardinals. Over their last 10 games, the Marlins are playing .500 ball. Worse yet for the team, they are starting to deal with some major injury problems. The team is most likely without Giancarlo Stanton and Wei-Yin Chen for the rest of the season. The team is currently without Adam Conley, and they have the prospect of having to shut down Jose Fernandez at some point in the season. Andrew Cashner was supposed to help alleviate some of these issues, but he has remained the same pitcher he was with the Padres. Offensively, first baseman Justin Bour has been on the disabled list for quite a while, but no one quite knows when he will return.
Over the course of the season, the Marlins have been a pleasant surprise (if you’re not a Mets fan). Ichiro Suzuki seems rejuvenated and got his 3,000 hit. Don Mattingly and Barry Bonds have changed the culture while helping young players like Christian Yelich reach their potential. However, now that they are no longer healthy, there is real doubt that they can stay in the race.
Pittsburgh Pirates
As we have seen with the Pirates the past few seasons, the Pirates a second half team. They are currently 62-59, three games back, and have a favorable schedule from here on out.
The Pirates are turning things around by turning over their rotation. They have traded away struggling and underperforming pieces in Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese and have replaced them with top prospect Jameson Taillon and former Yankee Ivan Nova. Nova seems to be the type of pitcher pitching coach Ray Searage thrives with, and it certainly hasn’t hurt him being reunited with his old catcher Francisco Cervelli.
Part of the reason the Pirates are in this position is not just their rotation, but it was also due to the struggles of Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen is having a big second half. Coupled with Starling Marte‘s terrific season, and the Pirates suddenly have a potent lineup.
In the end, the big question is if the young Pirates rotation and a bullpen without Mark Melancon can continue a second half charge to claim the second Wild Card spot.
New York Mets
The Mets have been a mess since April. Most of their players were hurt, stopped hitting, or both. However, now, the team is healthy, or as healthy as they can possibly be. Seeing Yoenis Cespedes in the lineup reminds you of the difference maker he is in the Mets lineup, and it is a reminder of the type of run the Mets are capable of making. For that to happen, the Mets are going to need more of the same from Jacob deGrom, and they are going to need Noah Syndergaard to keep pitching the way he did yesterday. The Mets will also need their other pitchers to step up especially if Steven Matz is going to be out for the season like Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler are.
In the end, if the Mets are goign to run, they have to start with them taking the Cardinals down a few pegs in this three game set starting tomorrow. If the Mets are not able to at least win two out of three, it is going to be an even steeper hill to climb to make it back to the postseason.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on Mets Merized Online.
On August 22, 1973, the Mets won their second game in a row to raise the Mets record to 57-67 leaving them 6.0 games out in the National League East behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals.
From that point forward, the Mets would be the hottest team in baseball going 25-12 carrying them to an unlikely division championship. The Mets rode the hot streak to beat the Big Red Machine 3-2 in a best of five NLCS, and they came within a win of disrupting the Oakland A’s dynasty.
The popular story was the Mets were spurred by Tug McGraw screaming “Ya Gotta Believe!” after a M.Donald Grant “pep talk” in July. However, the truth is that team just got healthy at the right time, and when the team was at 100%, they were among the best teams in baseball.
During that year, the team was hampered by injuries. Jerry Grote, John Milner, Bud Harrelson, and Cleon Jones all missed significant time. Rusty Staub player through injuries all year. On top of that phenom Jon Matlack was having a down year a year removed from winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He was joined by Jerry Koosman in having a surprising down year. Willie Mays looked to be every bit of his 42 years of age. Young fill-ins like Don Hahn just were not producing. The Mets were forced to do anything they could do to improve the team like releasing dead weight like Jim Fregosi. About all that went right that season for the Mets was Tom Seaver; that and the fact that no one ran away with the division allowing the Mets to enter the postseason with an 82-79 record.
Isn’t that what this Mets season has been. With Matt Harvey, David Wright, Lucas Duda, Adrubal Cabrera, and Yoenis Cespedes, we have seen this Mets team be hampered time and again by injuries. We have seen countless Mets play through injuries like Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz with their bone spurs. We’ve seen replacements like Eric Campbell, Ty Kelly, and Matt Reynolds not play up to snuff. Players like Travis d’Arnaud and Michael Conforto had surprising down years. About the only thing that has gone right for the Mets this year is the fact that Jacob deGrom has continued to pitch like an ace, and the fact that no one has ran away with the second Wild Card spot.
Maybe, just maybe, this is 1973 all over again. That 1973 team was much further back in both the standings and more teams to leapfrog in the standings. All they needed to do was to get healthy and to get hot. Right now, with Cespedes back and hitting home runs for the Mets again, this team is healthy, and they are on the verge of getting hot. If that happens, the Mets can very well take that second Wild Card spot and get into the postseason.
As we saw in 1973 as well as last year, with great Mets pitching, the Mets can beat anyone in the postseason. They can shock the world. Anything is possible so long as they get hot and get into the postseason.