Peter Alonso
The first round in the Citi Bracket and the first round of the tournament are complete. There was no surprise with David Wright and Jacob deGrom advancing, but there were still some significant upsets at least as far as seeding is concerned.
The biggest upset of the tournament so far was Wilmer Flores over Jose Reyes. That made Flores the lowest seed to advance. That is likely due to a combination of Flores love of the Mets as well as Reyes’ domestic violence. The other upset was Pete Alonso over Noah Syndergaard, but that was likely driven by Alonso’s all-time great rookie season coupled with his off the field actions.
The second round of the Citi Bracket will feature 2015 postseason heroes deGrom and Curtis Granderson. We will also see Alonso and Carlos Beltran face off. They are 1-2 in the Mets single season home run totals.
Starting tomorrow, there will be the second round of the tournament which brings us back to the Miracle Bracket with Tom Seaver facing off against Rusty Staub.
With the universal DH coming in 2020 (to the extent there even is a 2020), the common refrain is the Mets are one of the few NL teams well situated for this. After all, J.D. Davis is a positionless player who was terrible at third and LF last yearRo, Yoenis Cespedes is coming off double heel surgery and a broken ankle,and Robinson Cano is 37 years old. They also have a player like Dominic Smith who may well be an everyday first baseman for many Major League teams.
While we hear those names in the mix, one name we don’t hear as a DH possibility in 2020 is Pete Alonso. While the possibility is ignored, it shouldn’t.
Looking at Alonso’s rookie season, he was much better than he had been advertised in some circles. Before his rookie season, some gave the impression Alonso could little more than just stand a first base. Truth be told, Alonso put in a lot of work on his defense, and he made very clear strides. As a result, we saw him make many highlight defensive plays in 2020:
This caused many to question those scouting reports and just how much those scouts knew. However, when you peel back the highlights, while Alonso is FAR from the inept defensive player he was portrayed in some circles, he was still not a good defensive player.
On the year, he was a -3 DRS and a -7 OAA. That had Alonso ranked as the third worst defensive first baseman in the game by DRS and the worst defensive first baseman by OAA. In the end, even with the defensive gems, Alonso was just not good at first base in 2019.
On the other hand, Smith was very good at first base. In his limited attempts there, Smith had a 1 DRS and 1 OAA. Both marks put Smith in the top 20 out of the 84 players who played first base in the majors last year. With Smith, his defensive reputation in the minors proved true as he played a good defensive first base.
Just looking at Alonso and Smith, if you are going to put one in the field and one at DH, wouldn’t it make sense to put the far superior player in the field? There really isn’t an argument on how playing Alonso at first base with Smith at DH helps the team win more than by putting the vastly superior defender in the field.
Admittedly, there are caveats to this.
With the Mets selecting Alonso as their first baseman of now and the future, you can understand the impetus to keep Alonso at first. After all, why would you sacrifice one year of development for Alonso at first for the sake of trying to win in 2020?
There is also the Cespedes factor. At the moment, no one knows if he can play at all in 2020. If he can play, no one is quite sure what he can contribute. However, if he can hit, we have seen they type of dynamic game changing bat he can be, and it is going to be difficult to keep him out of the lineup, especially when you can certainly play Alonso at first.
Even if Cespedes can play the field and play it at a near facsimile to how well he played it in his career, he is still likely going to need his days off. In the end, if Cespedes can play and hit, he is the obvious and probably the best choice for DH.
If he can’t the Mets are likely juggling between a group of first basemen and designated hitters on their team. While many see this as a possibility to load the Mets lineup with bats, the reality is this should be a way for the Mets to be able to put a very good defensive team on the field and surround them with very good bats.
With that being the case, the Mets ideally should have Alonso at DH, Jake Marisnick in CF, and Smith at first base. They can certainly move that around as needed based on match-ups and to give players like Cano a day off here and there. Certainly, injuries are going to play a factor. However, in the end this is the Mets best lineup to try to win the 2020 World Series . . . assuming the 2020 season ever gets played.
At this moment, MLB and the MLBPA are negotiating on ways baseball can be played safely in 2020. Part of the proposals in the 67 page document were social distancing measures. Those measures included keeping players apart in the dugout and utilizing the empty stands to do that. There was also the suggestion fielders “retreat several steps away from the baserunner.” (ESPN). That suggestion is well founded.
The CDC has strongly recommended social distancing measures which include keeping six feet away from people. That is both indoors (like a clubhouse) and outdoors (like a baseball diamond). The reasoning is “COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact (within about 6 feet) for a prolonged period.”
The stolen base and the threat of the stolen base prevents that six foot separation from occurring.
Now, as detailed in a 2015 Grantland article, even the shortest of leads is over nine feet. In and of itself, those leads provide sufficient social distancing measures. However, that’s only part of the problem.
Periodically, a pitcher will throw over to first. The amount of times a pitcher throws over increases when there’s a fast runner, i.e. stolen base threat, like Ronald Acuna Jr. or Billy Hamilton at first.
On those plays, the base runner dives back into first as the first baseman lunges down to apply the tag. The other situation is the base runner gets back without sliding, and he’s now standing almost face-to-face with the first baseman.
Right there, you have a violation of the CDC social distancing guidelines and MLB’s request fielders position themselves several steps away from the base runner.
There’s also the matter of MLB wanting balls touched by multiple players be thrown out. That means on every throw over, a ball needs to be discarded. Basically, a pitcher throws over, a first baseman applies a tag, and then timeout is called so he can discard the ball.
Assuming the base runner isn’t deterred, his taking off for second creates another series of issues.
First and foremost, he’s now well within six feet of the second baseman or shortstop. That means in all likelihood the base runner has been with six feet of the catcher during his AB, the first baseman on the pickoff attempt, and now the middle infielder on the stolen base attempt.
This means the plans to keep players separated go completely kaput once a runner reaches first.
We then get back to the matter of the ball. On a standard stolen base attempt, three people touch the ball – pitcher, catcher, and middle infielder. If there’s a run-down created by a pick-off or stolen base attempt, all hell breaks loose.
Looking at it, MLB wants players to keep distance as much as possible, and they want as few people as possible touching the ball. That’s simply not possible in a game where players reach base and can advance on a stolen base.
The question for MLB is how they choose to address it.
If the goal was safety and social distancing, perhaps, it’s time MLB prevents players from stealing bases in 2020.
Sure, it seems drastic and draconian. It’s also a major rule change, which impacts the way the game is played. The same can be said for the rules MLB already has implemented in 2020. That includes a universal DH and radical realignment. Those changes also take the game and makes it look much different from the way it looked and was played in 2019 and all of baseball history.
While eliminating stolen bases is a radical change, it’s not as impactful as you might imagine. In the 1980s when Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, and Vince Coleman were running wild, this would have completely changed the game. Now, not so much.
In 2019, there were 2,280 stolen bases. Over 2,430 games, that’s fewer than a stolen base per game. With attempts, this may push it to one stolen base attempt per game. While we know the impact that one stolen base may have (Dave Roberts Game 4 2004 ALCS), on the whole, the lack of that attempt is not dramatically impacting the game.
Looking at it, this is again about health and finding ways for players to safely play the games. Taking out the constant close contact between a first baseman and base runner does that. In lieu of that, there can be a designated spot where runners may take their lead, and first baseman can be permitted to play back on every play.
Is this ideal? No, not in the least. Really, no one wants to see baseball eliminate the stolen base much in the same way National League fans don’t want to see a DH (which is still absurd for many reasons). However, what people want even less is seeing players get infected with COVID19. As a Mets fan, I don’t want any situation wherein Pete Alonso even has a 1% chance of getting COVID19. As a human being, I don’t want to see that happen to any player.
With that in mind, the safest possible course is to eliminate the stolen base in 2020.
When Pete Alonso scored in the fourth, the Mets were tied at 1-1. With Jacob deGrom on the mound, the expectation was the Mets were in for a close game.
Unfortunately, in the seventh, deGrom allowed an RBI single to Ildemaro Vargas. With two outs and two on in the inning, Luis Rojas lifted deGrom for Robert Gsellman.
Gsellman allowed both inherited runners to score. The Diamondbacks would add insurance runs to win this game 6-1.
(6) Noah Syndergaard – As a rookie helped Mets win 2015 pennant. Pitched perfect inning in Game 5 of NLDS, won Game 2 of NLCS, and told the Royals he was 60’6″ away. First pitcher to win a World Series game at Citi Field. Was so great during his first year, he had Pedro Martinez screaming “THOR!” in honor of him. Beat the Royals again in the second game of the 2016 season featuring a nearly unhittable slider. Had two home run game against the Dodgers. Threw at Chase Utley. One of the few reasons Mets were able to claim top Wild Card spot in 2016 and out-pitched Madison Bumgarner for seven innings. Despite subsequent injuries remains in the top 10 in FIP among MLB pitchers. Fourth best Mets starter of all-time by FIP. Has had exceptional control with second best K/9 in team history and fourth best K/BB.
(11) Pete Alonso – Had rookie season so great people are already envisioning him as the next captain of the Mets. Near unanimous NL Rookie of the Year. Set Mets and MLB rookie record for homers. Also set Mets single-season record for total bases and extra base hits. Won the 2019 Home Run Derby and provided portion of winnings to charity. When MLB once again denied the Mets request to wear the first resopnders’ caps, he took it upon himself to get cleats honoring the first responders.
In the top of the third inning, the Mets fell behind 1-0. In the bottom half, they’d take the lead for good on a Pete Alonso two run homer:
That third inning run was the only run Michael Wacha would give up in his five innings of work. The Mets bullpen did him one better by following with four scoreless innings.
The Mets 2-1 lead expanded to 4-1 when Brandon Nimmo hit a two run homer of his own.
In the game, Wacha would pick up the win, and with a scoreless ninth, Edwin Diaz was credited with a save.
Yesterday, the Mets could only muster a run against the Pirates. When Michael Conforto hit a two run homer in the first, the Mets surpassed that total. They also provided Steven Matz with more than enough run support.
Matz picked up the win after allowing just one run over 5.2 innings.
Wilson Ramos also homered. Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil also delivered runs in the Mets 6-1 win.
The Mets just couldn’t complete the sweep of the Pirates. Marcus Stroman didn’t last five even though he allowed just three runs.
The Mets could only muster a Pete Alonso RBI single in the third which then gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. The Mets couldn’t muster another run as they lost 5-1.
Most teams don’t have a chance against Jacob deGrom. That goes double for a team as bad as the Pittsburgh Pirates. When deGrom gets run support, things turn ugly for the other team.
When Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto went back-to-back in the first to give the Mets a 3-0 lead, it was all over. In addition to his first inning homer, Alonso would hit another.
From there, deGrom allowed just one run over 6.1 as the Mets were on to route the Pirates 9-1.
This was a terrific pitcher’s duel started by Zac Gallen and Steven Matz with neither going very deep into the game and both pitchers taking a no decision in this tight game.
MLB The Show 20: Mets vs Diamondbacks, Game 42 https://t.co/ORb9vpDVA1
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 13, 2020
The Mets had a 1-0 lead when Yoenis Cespedes singles home Pete Alonso in the third. The Diamondbacks tied it on the fifth on a Domingo Leyba sacrifice fly.
The game was tied into the bottom of the eighth when David Peralta hit a homer off of Brad Brach with two outs. The Mets couldn’t come back and would lose 2-1.