Peter Alonso

Clutch Conforto

The New York Mets responded to the loss and Jose Alvarado‘s disrespect by jumping out to a 4-0 lead. It all started with a Francisco Lindor HBP, and there were big RBI doubles by Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso.

The Mets had a chance to build from there, but James McCann grounded into a double play. That hurt because Zack Wheeler was pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies. You get what you can get in the first because he’s much stingy later in the game.

That was the case here. After that first inning, Wheeler shut down the Mets over the next six innings. That gave the Phillies a chance to get back into the game.

Now, Taijuan Walker pitched well but not quite well enough.

The Phillies jumped on him in the second. After a Nick Marton double, there were runners and second and third with no outs. The first run scored on an Andrew Knapp RBI groundout. Walker was close to getting out of the inning further unscathed, but Wheeler helped his own cause.

Walker went on cruise control after that allowing just a walk heading into the sixth. That’s when the Phillies started going through the third time through the lineup. It came to bite him and the Mets when Alec Bohm hit a game tying two run homer.

From there, two things happened. First, the Mets bullpen stepped up again and pitched well. Aaron Loup and Trevor May pitched a scoreless inning apiece to ensure the game was tied heading into the ninth.

In addition to the bullpen stepping up, the game went haywire. It wasn’t haywire in the way it went with Alvarado throwing at people and trash talking. Rather, it all hell broke loose.

In the seventh, Brandon Nimmo swung at a pitch, missed, and he came out of the game with an injury. He’d be replaced by Kevin Pillar. Pillar’s strikeout was attributable to Nimmo. Nimmo wasn’t the only Met to leave the game with a hand injury.

Loup was double switched into the game with Jonathan Villar taking over at third. There wasn’t an obvious play which caused it, but he left the game with a sprained hand.

In that inning, we’d see an absurdly bad umpire call. Matt Joyce hit a grounder towards Lindor, who went to tag Andrew McCutchen, and missed. It didn’t matter as the umpire ruled it was a double play.

McCutchen was ruled to have run outside the baseline. He didn’t, but it’s not reviewable because the replay system is completely broken.

Bryce Harper, who couldn’t play because he was hit in the face by a Genesis Cabrera pitch, was thrown out of the game.

In any event, Hector Neris entered the game for the Phillies in the ninth. On the second pitch he threw, Conforto hit a go-ahead homer:

With the Mets ahead 5-4, Edwin Diaz entered the game looking for his third save of the season. Now, this is a spot where Diaz had issues in the past. Not tonight. He mowed down the Phillies in order to preserve the win.

This was a big response to the loss and disrespect last night. It was a big win with Conforto getting a huge hit, his second homer of the season. Now, they need to make this stick by winning tomorrow.

Game Notes: Luis Guillorme landed on the IL, and Jose Peraza was called up in his place. Nimmo was diagnosed with a left index finger contusion.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Get Red Sox Knocked Off

The New York Mets had not lost a home series or been swept once this season. That was until the Boston Red Sox came to town:

1. The best way to sum up Jacob deGrom‘s greatness is a bad start is one run over six innings.

2. In four starts, deGrom is 2-2 with a 0.51 ERA. That’s beyond absurd.

3. The long story short is if deGrom doesn’t shut ’em out and hit one out, he’s going to lose the game.

4. That may not be a deGrom thing anymore. The Mets offense has been that bad lately.

5. This isn’t exactly by chance. The Mets are following the pattern of teams who previously retained Chili Davis as hitting coach.

6. As noted and will continue to be noted, Francisco Lindor is a slow starter. If you’re booing him over that, you’re an idiot.

7. Also, imagine booing him when he makes a great play to turn an unassisted double play.

8. Speaking of defense, Pete Alonso has been great at first. While we note the diving play, that stretch on the James McCann throw was excellent.

9. With the Mets offense the way it is, making bad pitching look great, they need all the great defense and pitching they can get. Fortunately, the pitching has been great leading the league in FIP.

10. Keep in mind, this is before Carlos Carrasco, Seth Lugo, and Noah Syndergaard come off the IL. That’s how good the pitching has been.

11. Mets really need to navigate this Brandon Nimmo hip issue because he’s the one consistent bat in this lineup. He’s also playing well in center.

12. Jeff McNeil homered and was dropped in the lineup. It’ll be interesting to find out what Sandy Alderson comes up with to bench McNeil again and/or drop him in the lineup again.

13. Mets held the best offensive team in 2021 to three runs TOTAL over two games. Somehow, the Mets were swept over the two game set.

14. With the Mets pitching and hitting this way, it’s reminiscent of the summer of 2015. The only difference is these Mets are healthy and the other batted Eric Campbell and John Mayberry in the heart of the lineup. These Mets are healthy.

15. It’s way too soon to panic or overreact, but the Mets problems have gone from bad to worse. That said, there is still plenty of time to turn things around.

16. The at-bats by Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis at the end of the second game where literally as bad as you can get. They were swinging at pitches in the dirt.

17. Jeurys Familia and Trevor May have been nearly unstoppable since their struggles in their first appearances. Miguel Castro has been unstoppable all year.

18. Jerry Blevins seemed to be a casualty of the dumb three batter rule when he announced his retirement. Same goes for former Met Oliver Perez who was designated for assignment by the Indians despite pitching well.

19. As Joe Girardi was rightfully flipping out over Genesis Cabrera hitting Bryce Harper in the face and Didi Gregorius in the ribs, he has no issue putting Jose Alvarado on the mound who threw consecutive dangerous up and in pitches to Conforto. If you’re going to be upset about hard throwers with zero control endangering batters, don’t put one on the mound yourself.

20. Despite what people want to tell you, the Mets are going to be fine. They’ll finish April near or at first, and they’re primed for a big May.

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Mets Now Not Hitting Bad Pitching

Garrett Richards made four starts in 2021 averaging under 5.0 innings per start. He’s allowed 14 runs over 16.2 innings while walking more than he’s struck out.

Naturally, he dominated the New York Mets over 7.0 innings. In fact, he struck out 10 batters, which nearly matched his 2021 total. He picked up the win after allowing one run on seven hits with no walks.

Now, every now and then, every pitcher has a great game. Perhaps, that was just that for Richards. It’s also possible this is just the Mets continuing their season long offensive struggles.

On the night, the Mets only run scored on a Jeff McNeil second inning homer. At the time, that gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

The problem is that was just one of two Mets extra base hits on the day. The other was Michael Conforto in the fourth, but in what doesn’t remotely come as a shock, he was stranded there.

James McCann had tried to get his own extra base hit in the fifth, but he was thrown out by J.D. Martinez.

Conforto was the only Mets player with multiple hits. Francisco Lindor was the only Mets player not to strike out, but he went hitless. Pete Alonso had the golden sombrero. Both of those players did come to play defensively.

They needed it too because with the way the Mets were hitting, they needed to keep it close. David Peterson did that, and he’d be the hard luck loser for his efforts.

Peterson had kept the Red Sox at bay until the third. Right after the Mets gained the lead with the McNeil homer, Peterson gave that lead right back when Bobby Dalbec homered off of him.

The Red Sox didn’t get anything going until the sixth. Enrique Hernandez led off the inning with a double. He then scored on a Rafael Devers RBI single. That was the scoring in the game.

Peterson rebounded, and he got out of the sixth. That was partially due to Lindor turning a double play. That wouldn’t be his best one of the day.

With the Mets trailing 2-1 heading into the seventh, Jeurys Familia relieved Peterson. Familia allowed a one out double to Hunter Renfroe, and Marwin Gonzalez hit a liner up the middle which Lindor turned into an unassisted double play:

This was an amazing defensive play. However, it wasn’t enough for the Mets fans in the ballpark who had the temerity to boo Lindor. You’d think early season offensive struggles caused by a number of factors would be excused for Lindor, but the people at Citi Field are morons.

The bigger problem than the idiots booing was the loss. The final 10 batters of the game failed to reach.

When that happens, you really can’t win games. The Mets didn’t here, and they fell back to .500.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo was held out of the lineup with a hip impingement. Lindor went hitless. Stephen Tarpley was sent down to the alternate site, and Jose Peraza was called-up. Lindor batted lead-off.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Finally Take Series From Nationals

Well, after the first series of the season was canceled due to COVID19, the Washington Nationals and New York Mets finally got to play in a series. The Mets would win yet another home series and stay above .500:

1. Jacob deGrom is already the second best pitcher in Mets history, and in short order, we will consider him the second best Mets player to ever wear a Mets uniform. In fact, he may already be there.

2. To put in context just how great deGrom is, he’s set the record for most strikeouts to start a season, and he has passed Tom Seaver in Mets ERA and ERA+. Yes, he has been so great he has put himself in Seaver territory.

3. Seeing deGrom hit, you are reminded pitchers can actually hit and help themselves at the plate. The fact other pitchers don’t do it is their own failing, and it is not a good argument for the universal DH.

4. deGrom has driven in and scored more earned runs than he has allowed.

5. Marcus Stroman had one bad day. There is nothing more that should be read into it.

6. We saw Robert Gsellman step up, and he has looks ready to be a solid contributor to the bullpen. Overall, the bullpen has picked it up across the board, and they seem to be outperforming the early season expectations. In some ways, this could be attributable to Jeremy Hefner who had a similar effect in Minnesota as an assistant pitching coach.

7. Once again, Taijuan Walker was really good, and he appears to be the steal of the offseason for the Mets. Notably, when starters are going deep into games, that also helps the bullpen.

8. Michael Conforto‘s defense is still worrisome, especially his arm, but he appears to be getting going at the plate. We saw him hit his first homer of the season, and we saw him get extra base hits on back-to-back days for the first time all season.

9. For reasons that defy expectation, this Mets front office seem to believe more in J.D. Davis than Jeff McNeil. Davis can cost Mets consecutive games with his glove, and they give him on brief rest, but McNeil has some struggles at the plate, and they refuse to try to put him where he thrives in the lineup or let him work through it.

10. Albert Almora doesn’t play much, but when he does, he makes an impact. He scored from first in a pinch running opportunity earlier in the season, and he robbed Kyle Schawarber of an extra base hit as we have only seen Juan Lagares do previously.

11. Jonathan Villar has contributed quite well in the games he has played, and he has earned his playing time. It is really curious why the Mets won’t sit Davis for him, but they will sit McNeil. It’s also curious what Luis Guillorme has to do to get into the lineup.

12. The Mets sat Dominic Smith against a left-handed pitcher again despite his being one of their best hitters against left-handed pitching. Again, better players sit so Davis can be force fed into the lineup.

13. While Sunday was a really good game defensively, the Mets defense continues to be atrocious, second worst in the National League by DRS, and the Mets show little to no interest in playing their best defensive players.

14. It needs to be mentioned again. Jacob deGrom is doing things we haven’t seen since Seaver, and we may never get to see greatness of this level in a Mets uniform again for quite some time, if ever. He is that good, and he is going to be the player we tell our children and grandchildren about for years to come.

15. The Mets better not fail deGrom the way they did Mike Piazza and David Wright. They need to make sure he wins a World Series in a Mets uniform.

16. Brandon Nimmo is very quietly emerging as one of the best players in baseball. He is an on-base machine, and we see his defense steadily improving. This is someone using all the information at his disposal to be better. He should be an All-Star, and at some point, we may need to have serious MVP discussions about him. Then again, that award should go to deGrom.

17. The state of umpiring in the majors may be at its worst. We see calls routinely blown, especially by the home plate umpire. Needless to say, if Nimmo takes a pitch, it’s a ball.

18. Pete Alonso is really heating up at the plate, and we have seen him just demolish homers.

19. Put aside the offense, the work James McCann and Tomas Nido have done behind the plate has been nothing short of phenomenal. They are getting their pitcher the calls they need, and they are playing all around great defense. If McCann can start hitting like we know he can, watch out. Hopefully, that RBI single on Sunday for McCann was a start.

20. Listening to the game on the radio really makes you miss Josh Lewin. No one really wants to hear Francisco Lindor needs to run out foul balls or Nimmo is swinging at pitches because he’s finally confident at the plate. The Mets can and should do better than that, but in some ways, that’s an allegory for their season so far.

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Taijuan Walker Gets Some Help

The New York Mets sent Taijuan Walker to the mound to take the series against the Washington Nationals. He did everything the Mets could possibly ask of him, and we saw his team step up around him.

We got a sense of what type of day this was going to be when Josh Harrison reached on a lead-off single. However, he was not there for long when Walker, who has an excellent move, picked Harrison off of first:

Long story short, Walker and the Mets were going to make this a long afternoon for the Nationals offense. That topsy turvey first inning would end for the Nationals when Jonathan Villar robbed Josh Bell of a hit:

We saw this again in the third when Victor Robles got greedy. Robles had hit a ball to the right center field wall where Michael Conforto fielded it. Now, to Robles’ credit, Conforto’s arm hasn’t been good at all this year. However, on this play, he was perfect with a relay to Jonathan Villar, who nailed Robles at third:

Here’s what is so fascinating. The first two hits by the Nationals off of Walker were IMMEDIATELY erased off the basepaths. That’s a real problem when you are trying to score runs. That’s an even bigger problem when you get all of three hits off of Walker over his seven scoreless innings.

Of course, a very large part of that was the way the Mets played defense in this game. There was perhaps no bigger defensive play in this game or even the season than what we saw from Albert Almora in the sixth.

In the sixth, Walker had issued a one out walk to Yadier Hernandez and then hit Trea Turner with a pitch. After a fielder’s choice by Bell, there were runners at the corners with Kyle Schwarber at the plate. Schwarber would give one a ride which Almora tracked down in Juan Lagares fashion:

There was literally nothing the Nationals could do to crack what was seemingly an impenetrable Mets defense. What was odd about that is the Mets defense was the second worst in the National League coming into this game with a -7 DRS. However, this still made the plays when it counted, and they would put Walker in a position to win.

One of the reasons why is the Nationals started Patrick Corbin, who is not only just a shell of himself so far this year, but he also struggles against the Mets hitter. Chief among them is J.D. Davis and Michael Conforto. It should come as little surprise both had a good day at the plate.

Davis was 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs, a homer, and two RBI. We also saw Conforto go 1-for-4 with a double, but he deserved a better fate. In the bottom of the fifth, Conforto had hit what was originally ruled a sacrifice fly. However, upon reply, Francisco Lindor missed touching home plate making that a double play and not an RBI:

Honestly, it was just one of those weird days for the Mets offense, and home plate umpire Doug Eddings just had one of those really bad days. Case-in-point, in the fourth inning, the Mets had already scored a run on a James McCann RBI single. They had loaded the bases thereafter with two outs with Brandon Nimmo coming to the plate.

As is usually the case, Nimmo worked the count full. The last pitch was further outside than a pitch already called a ball in the at-bat, and frankly, it was well off the plate and towards the opposite batter’s box. As Nimmo started sprinting towards first, Eddings rang him up.

What really hurt about that was not only was that going to be another run to make it a 4-0 game, but Pete Alonso was going to come up with the bases loaded. Instead, with the game 3-0, Alonso would lead off the fifth, and he would make it 4-0 all on his own:

The Mets offense wouldn’t do much from that point, but it didn’t matter as the pitching and defense carried them the rest of the way. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t any drama.

Miguel Castro relieved Walker to start the eighth, and the Nationals offense seemed to come alive. Andrew Stevenson and Yadiel Hernandez book ended a Harrison striking out to put two on and one out. Castro responded by striking out Ryan Zimmerman, who was pinch hitting for Turner after he had been hit by a pitch earlier in the game, and Bell to end the jam.

Edwin Diaz came on for the ninth, and he pitched a perfect inning. With that, the Mets are once again above .500, and they have won two out of the three series at home (tying the other). In the end, we see the Mets taking care of business at home, which is a recipe for a good season.

Game Notes: This marks the first time the Mets have played consecutive series all season without a postponement. Nimmo has reached base safely in 15 out of the 16 games he has played. Jeff McNeil did not start for the fourth time this season.

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Marcus Stroman Will Be Fine, Michael Conforto?

It was just one of those days for Marcus Stroman. You got that sense from the jump.

Josh Harrison singled to start the game, and he’d go to third on a Michael Conforto error. Yes, the ball took a strange almost non-hop, but you have to keep that ball in front of you. Instead, Harrison was on third, and he’d score on a Yadiel Hernandez sacrifice fly.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last Conforto misstep. In the second, Stroman got himself into some trouble. He issued a pair of one out walks before striking out Andrew Stevenson. To get out of the inning, he needed to retire Joe Ross.

Ross singled, and there could have been a play at the plate. However, in what is a dangerous pattern early in the season, Conforto made a really poor throw home. As a result, the Nationals led 2-0.

The issue with Stroman on the day was he was leaving the pitches over the plate, and as a result, he was getting hit fairly hard. The movement was there, but the location wasn’t. When all was said and done, he lasted just four innings after allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks.

The Mets should’ve had a chance to get Stroman off the hook, but it was more of the same. Conforto had the two defensive miscues, and he lined out hard to end the first with runners on first and second.

There was some measure of redemption for Conforto in the bottom of the fourth when he hit his first homer of the season:

It was 5-1 entering the top of the fifth. No matter how much the Mets offense has struggled, that’s not an onerous lead with Ross and the Nationals bullpen.

The problem is Stephen Tarpley wasn’t great, and that’s being kind. He walked two, allowed a hit to Kyle Schwarber, and then he hit Alex Avila to force home a run. At that point, it was 6-1, and Luis Rojas went to Robert Gsellman.

Gsellman did all he could to get out of the jam, but he still allowed a run. That was on a Stevenson fielder’s choice. Still, it was impressive for Gsellman to limit the damage to one run.

This was a positive step after Gsellman’s rough appearance against the Cubs. In fact, it was a really important appearance for Gsellman. Not only did he limit the damage in the inning, but he also pitched three scoreless innings.

That was an indication as to what Gsellman could do to help this team. It also saved the bullpen, which was all the more important after Mets starters failed to pitch more than four innings in Chicago.

On the bright side, aside from Tarpley, the bullpen was really good. Gsellman (3.0), Jacob Barnes (1.0), and Jeurys Familia combined to shut out the Nationals over five innings while allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out three.

The larger issue was Conforto. After that homer, he went back to struggling again.

After Pete Alonso was hit by a pitch to start the sixth, Conforto hit into a double play. In the eighth, runners were on first and second with two outs, and Conforto struck out looking on a pitch over the middle.

Now, Conforto should not be solely blamed for the loss. The Mets had six total hits with Conforto’s homer being one of them. That said his defense continues to be a problem, and he’s leaving small villages on the basepaths.

In the end, the Mets aren’t playing well. Given all that’s happened, it’s understandable. The fact that they’re struggling, and they’re .500 is a phenomenal sign. Just imagine how much better they’ll be when Conforto picks things up again.

Game Notes: Dellin Betances was transferred to the 60 day IL. With Stroman losing, he was unable to keep pace with Steven Matz, who is now the Major League wins leader.

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Luis Rojas Luck Ran Out In Mets Loss

New York Mets manager Luis Rojas rolled the dice a number of times in the game against the Chicago Cubs, and he kept getting lucky. Really, it was a number of just interesting, weird, and outright wrong decisions.

With J.D. Davis incapable of playing third, the Mets finally relented and put him on the bench. The Mets also sat Jeff McNeil. That led to Luis Guillorme at third and Jonathan Villar at second, instead of the reverse, which would’ve been the better defensive alignment.

So, naturally, right off the bat, Rojas’ (or front offices’) decision looked genius when Guillorme robbed Ian Happ:

This helped Joey Lucchesi get through the first two innings unscathed. Unfortunately, the Cubs would get to him in the third.

After walking two with one out, Lucchesi was on the verge of escaping the inning unscathed after a Happ flyout. Lucchesi had some bad luck with he got hit by a Willson Contreras comebacker driving in a run.

Kris Bryant then hit a two run double giving the Cubs an early 3-0 lead. That would prove to be it for Lucchesi as he would be lifted in the fourth for a pinch hitter.

The Mets responded in the fourth immediately. Dominic Smith doubled, and then Pete Alonso followed with yet another homer to pull the Mets to within 3-2.

The Mets would have a chance to build on this but couldn’t. Michael Conforto would double, and Villar drew a walk. That was it as neither Kevin Pillar nor Nimmo, who pinch hit for Lucchesi, could drive home the tying run.

At the time, Lucchesi had only thrown 60 pitches, and the Mets bullpen had been worked hard the past few nights. Rather than err on the side of caution, Rojas went to recently called up Sean Reid-Foley.

Reid-Foley was phenomenal pitching three scoreless. A pitcher who has struggled all of his career with control walked none and struck out four.

In the seventh, Rojas got lucky again. With one out and one on, Rojas tapped Davis to pinch hit over McNeil against Ryan Terpera. It worked as Davis hit a game tying RBI double, which should’ve been a triple as the ball got away from Jake Marisnick.

After a scoreless seventh by Trevor May, Rojas made the very curious decision of having Aaron Loup start the inning with the first Cubs LHP due up sixth.

The decision looked like an immediate disaster with Marisnick hitting a lead-off triple. Loup bore down getting Austin Romine to pop out, and Happ to strike out.

Rojas then went to Miguel Castro. Why Castro didn’t start the inning is anyone’s guess. Castro came up big striking out Contreras to end the inning.

Rojas then made yet another curious move. He only used Castro for the one batter. He would wind up double switching Edwin Diaz into the game which was setting the stage for Diaz to pitch two innings.

Notably, Diaz is not accustomed to two innings, and he’s not great with runners on base. With his being set up to pitch the 10th, and there being the ridiculous runner on second rule, that’s an important consideration.

The Mets got to the 10th partially because James McCann threw out another runner. On the play, Bryant had the bag stolen, but he came off the bag for a nanosecond. McNeil, who was double switched into the game with Diaz, kept the tag on leading to Bryant being called out.

In the 10th, Villar started the inning on second because Rob Manfred hates baseball. He’d quickly be on third due to a wild pitch. After McNeil struck out, Guillorme and Francisco Lindor walked loading the bases with one out.

Dominic Smith had the chance to deliver a huge hit. He hit the ball hard, but right at the second baseman David Bote, who started the inning ending 4-6-3 double play.

The Mets would not get another opportunity as Rojas’ luck finally ran out.

Diaz started the 10th, which meant a runner on second. His first pitch of the inning hit Matt Duffy. Bote would lay down the sacrifice. On the bunt, Alonso had a play at third, but he’d slip leaving only the out at first.

Rojas ordered the intentional walk to load the bases, and Jason Heyward came up as a pinch hitter. Diaz would throw one down the middle, and Heyward ripped a game winning single.

With that, the Mets suffered their first sweep of the season. They lost to a bad Cubs team and really looked bad in the process. At least, they are still .500 and in first place.

Game Notes: Trevor Hildenberger was sent down to make room for Reid-Foley. Mets were 1-for-8 with RISP stranding seven.

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Mets Need To Stop Playing J.D. Davis At Third Base

For two nights in a row, J.D. Davis made errors which cost the New York Mets dearly. In back-to-back nights, his defense was a direct cause of Taijuan Walker and David Peterson being unable to navigate through five innings.

The problems with Davis at third are multi-faceted. He sometimes has difficulty hitting balls hit right at him. He doesn’t have range. While he has a strong arm, he seemingly has the yips where he is taking multiple steps before releasing the ball.

Honestly, this is a player who is crossed up right now, and it is an adventure when he is out there. Right now, his play is on par with Todd Hundley in left field or Mike Piazza at first base. Put another way, the Mets are putting a player in a position to fail, and despite Davis’ best efforts, he’s failing miserably.

This is not a direct reflection on the effort. We all saw the reports of Davis working with Gary Disarcina and Francisco Lindor. There is really nothing to doubt the effort. That said, there is every reason to doubt he can play third base or any position.

Since joining the Mets in 2019, Davis has a -19 DRS at third base. That is the worst at the position by a significant margin. In fact, on just his play at third base alone, he’s the fifth worst defender in the majors. When you include his -9 DRS in left field, he surpasses Jurickson Profar as the worst fielder in all the majors.

The Mets were attempting to hide him at third, and they thought putting him next to Lindor would help. Seeing him in action this year and over the past three years, it’s not working. It can’t work.

Also, keep in mind, the Mets are not just trying to hide Davis’ glove. Because they refused to make the hard decisions, they put Pete Alonso at first pushing Dominic Smith to left field. That put Brandon Nimmo to center. Of all those moves, Nimmo in center seems to be the only one working well. That’s the Mets getting lucky.

The Smith in left field is another factor. The Mets left side defense is atrocious. He and Davis combined are working to neutralize Lindor. Honestly, what is the point of getting Lindor if you’re going to surround him by terrible defenders? That’s like putting a great sound system in a Ford Pinto.

The bigger problem is the Mets pitching staff. We saw it with Walker and Peterson, and we will see it with Marcus Stroman. In fact, we will also see it with Jacob deGrom. The Mets have a ground ball pitching staff. That issue will further compound it self when Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard return from the IL.

Overall, the Mets have built a team based on ground ball pitching. That is why you could believe you can get away with Smith in left and Nimmo in left. That’s all well and good. However, you can’t assemble a ground ball staff and put literally take the worst defensive third baseman in the majors and make him the starter.

The Mets decision is compounded by the fact they have Luis Guillorme, who is a great defender. We also see Guillorme is hitting to start the season. He’s a grinder who is just never going to give up. Case-in-point is Guillorme’s at-bat last night. The Mets were down 12 with two outs in the ninth, and he got a base hit after battling in a seven pitch at-bat.

Overall, when you look at how the Mets built this team, Davis cannot start. When you look at how mightily, he’s struggling, Davis cannot start. When you see his numbers over the past three years, Davis cannot start. When you see the other options available, Davis cannot start.

Yes, this is getting redundant, but then again, so is the Mets insistence on trying to make Davis an everyday player. They tried. Davis tried. It’s not working, and they are putting an entire season at risk by doing so. It’s time to make Davis the strong bench player he was always meant to be and allow Guillorme and/or Jonathan Villar play in his stead.

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J.D. Davis Blames Pete Alonso For His Error

In the Mets 3-1 loss against the Chicago Cubs, J.D. Davis was a disaster in the field again. That should be no surprise as he’s literally been the worst defender in the Majors since he joined the New York Mets in 2019.

What was interesting about the two errors was he didn’t seem bothered by it, and he didn’t take ownership of it. In fact, on the second throw, he thought he did nothing wrong.

According to Davis, he doesn’t know what happened there because he “delivered a strike.” That’s another way of saying Pete Alonso was the reason for the error.

Seeing how Davis doesn’t believe he was at fault, let’s take another look at the play:

There can be no other conclusion here than Davis is delusional. Actually, that’s a charitable explanation. There are others which don’t reflect well on Davis’ character, but even with his involvement with the Houston Astros and the aftermath, we won’t go there.

First, Davis makes no effort to charge or get in front of the ball. Arguably, backhanding it like he did allowed him to be in a better throwing position.

After that, Davis took about three to four steps before he threw the ball. This has become a pattern, and it’s becoming a problem. With each passing day, it becomes apparent Davis has the yips at third.

This is no laughing matter. It’s a serious one which we saw rob Mackey Sasser of what was a promising career. It was also something which helped bring an end to that Mets run. It’s a sad moment for both the team and the player.

After the steps, the problem is Davis didn’t throw a strike. Rather, he threw it high. Between the steps and the high throw, Alonso was forced to make a stretch for the ball he otherwise shouldn’t have needed to make.

Now, Alonso’s foot did seemingly come off the bag, and yes, Kris Bryant did not touch first base himself. Bryant is a red herring here. The issue is Davis’ throw and steps effectively forced Alonso off the bag.

Davis not being able to field his position is a real problem for the Mets. His compounding it with the yips is all the more alarming. However, for some reason, they don’t have a problem with that.

They should have a problem with Davis blaming a teammate and not taking accountability. That’s a real problem, and it should be unacceptable. We’ll see just how much the Mets deem it as such in the coming days and weeks.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets On Rocky Mountain High

The New York Mets flew into Colorado, and they were greeted with snow. That meant another postponement and another doubleheader to the schedule. It just seems like this is the way 2021 is going to go:

1. Marcus Stroman has been nothing short of phenomenal. He’s fielding his position better than anyone, and he’s 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA. He’s been better than expected, which is saying something.

2. As great as Stroman has been, Jacob deGrom is still the best pitcher on the planet. His striking out 14 and nine in a row once again put him on the precipice of Tom Seaver‘s level. That’s a testament to how great he is.

3. One remarkable thing is through the first seven years of their careers, deGrom has a better ERA+ than Seaver, and seeing the way he has started this year, it will continue through their first eight seasons. Of course, Seaver threw a lot more innings.

4. It was nice to see deGrom get picked up by his offense for once. It was also great to see Francisco Lindor deliver his first game winning RBI as a member of the Mets. Certainly, it will be the first of many.

5. Lindor’s enthusiasm out there is only matched by Stroman’s. When you have these two players out there, it makes the Mets not just more likeable but more exciting to watch.

6. While Lindor and James McCann have not hit yet the way we expect them to hit, their defense has been terrific. Case in point was McCann gunning down Trevor Story to end the game with an exceptional tag from Lindor.

7. The defense still hasn’t been there from Michael Conforto who has had a misplay and a poor throw on Saturday. On the bright side, he has started hitting again.

8. Pete Alonso has started picking it up. He has been hitting it hard all year, and at least in Coors Field, his rockets were finding holes.

9. The best way to describe how great Brandon Nimmo has been to start the season is a 1-for-4 day is an off-day. After all, it was the first time all season he only reached base fewer than two times.

10. It looks like it just might be one of those hard luck years for Jeff McNeil as not matter how much he hits it hard, it is just going to find someone.

11. While we can expect the bat to turn around, we don’t know when his glove will. He made an error which almost cost the Mets the win. While it is still early, he is at a -1 OAA. He’s generally better than that, so it is still too early to be concerned.

12. That said, the Mets best defensive alignment is still with McNeil at third and Luis Guillorme at second. That is something to keep in mind when the Mets continue to run out ground ball pitcher after ground ball pitcher.

13. Speaking of Guillorme, despite his playing very well to start the season, it appears with J.D. Davis activated off the IL, he’ll never play again. That is all the more baffling considering the Mets have all of these ground ball pitchers, and Guillorme is a flat out better player.

14. There was far too much of an overreaction to Luis Rojas going to Robert Gsellman and Jacob Barnes in the second game of the doubleheader. The Mets simply cannot keep going to Trevor May and Miguel Castro every day. They are going to burn out, and then you’re stuck with Barnes trying to hold leads.

15. The bigger issue was Barnes making the roster in the first place. The Mets had better options, and they eschewed them to carry him on the roster. Case-in-point, it appears Joey Lucchesi is probably better suited to the bullpen, which would have allowed them to carry Jordan Yamamoto.

16. Speaking of Mets pitching decisions, Steven Matz has been phenomenal to start the season. Trading him was a completely unforced error. Hopefully, it will not cost them at some point this season. And yes, he would have been successful with the Mets this year.

17. Seeing all that has transpired, it is hard to believe Sandy Alderson still has a job with the Mets. Perhaps, Steve Cohen is allowing the organizational review to complete before taking action. Until that time, Cohen at least deserves the benefit of the doubt.

18. On that topic, we are three weeks into the season, and Mickey Callaway is still employed by the Los Angeles Angels.

19. So far, Edwin Diaz has been really good. If so, that is great news for the Mets and their chances of winning the division.

20. Jonathan Villar hitting a pinch hit RBI double driving home pinch runner Albert Almora speaks to the depth the Mets have built. If they continue getting contributions from their entire roster like the way they are right now, this is going to be a truly special season.

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