Yoenis Cespedes
The last we saw the Mets Dominic Smith was hitting a walk-off extra inning homer against the Braves. So much has happened since then, including but not limited to a pandemic. About nine months later, the Mets and Braves were back squaring off at Citi Field.
With this matchup it seemed like the Mets picked up where they left off. That was the case with Jacob deGrom who pitched like his Cy Young self.
deGrom began the game just throwing 100 MPH with ease. The Braves just could not put up much of a fight against him. Even when Marcell Ozuna, a good MLB hitter, got up 3-0 in the count, deGrom still dispatched him with ease.
Overall, deGrom was limited to just five innings because it’s the first start after the revamp of the season. He’d allow just one hit and one walk while striking out eight. Of course, with this being deGrom, he had a no decision.
Part of the reason was Mike Soroka started for the Braves. Soroka emerged as a future ace in his rookie year last year. Soroka was good . . . and lucky.
In the first two innings, the Mets got the lead-off hitter on only for the runner to be erased on a double play. Ender Inciarte robbed both J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil of potential RBI extra base hits. There was also a bad McNeil base running gaffe.
While the Mets offense was getting shut down, the combination of deGrom and Seth Lugo was doing the same to the Braves.
Lugo mowed down the Braves in the sixth, but he’d have to come up big in the seventh. Ozuna hit it sharp to left. With a better defender, it might’ve been a single, but the Mets don’t care about defense.
After his one out double, Ozuna took third when Wilson Ramos, who had not caught in a week due to his attending to personal issues, whiffed on a pitch.
The Mets brought the infield in, and we saw one of the most unique plays you’ll ever see. Matt Adams, who was recently released by the Mets, was the Braves DH. He hit a sharp grounder to the right side. McNeil, who flipped from third to second with the shift, fielded the ball and walked it to first for the extremely rare five unassisted at first.
After that unique play, Lugo struck out Austin Riley to get out of the jam. That put Lugo in line for the win in the event the Mets could score at least one run.
Enter Yoenis Cespedes.
Cespedes was back after double heel surgery and a wild boar attack. He was inserted in the lineup as the first ever DH Mets DH in a game between two NL teams. After a pop out and ground out against Soroka, he faced Chris Martin.
? YOOOOOO! #LGM pic.twitter.com/04dst7PbT9
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 24, 2020
Right there, the Mets were up 1-0 with a homer we honestly would’ve expected from Cespedes years ago. These were the moments he thrived, and at least today, he seemed primed to be that player again.
What’s fascinating is Cespedes became the first ever DH to record a hit, homer, and RBI in a game between two NL teams. Believe it or not, he has now homered in three straight games.
Cespedes' last three games:
May 13, 2018
July 20, 2018
July 24, 2020He homered in all three.
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) July 24, 2020
The Mets pitching, which was excellent, made that 1-0 lead hold up. Justin Wilson worked around a lead-off single in the eighth to pitch a scoreless inning.
Edwin Diaz issued a one out walk to Freddie Freeman in the ninth. In case you had fear this was going to be the same Diaz who imploded all of last year, he’d quash those concerns by striking out Ozuna and Adams on seven pitches to end the game.
The Mets pitching was phenomenal in this win. They combined to shut out the Braves allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out 15. The Braves had no chance today.
When the Mets pitching is at this level, they don’t need much. Last year, they don’t get that run. This year, they have Cespedes. That may be all they need.
Game Notes: The Mets won their first challenge of the season when McNeil was incorrectly ruled out when stretching a single to a double. The play caused Keith Hernandez to quip about the umpire, “Get an eye chart!” Matt Adams made MLB history by being the first DH to have a PA in a game between two NL teams. The Mets wore Black Lives Matter shirts (before the game but did not kneel for the anthem.
Marcus Stroman and Yoenis Cespedes are among the Mets wearing Black Lives Matter shirts during warmups @STR0 @ynscspds pic.twitter.com/sNitMLXBoD
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 24, 2020
Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo wore “Love Thy Neighbor” shirts instead of the Black Lives Matter shirts.
If you’ve been paying attention, Dominic Smith has been great in camp, and Luis Rojas has been talking about how the team needs to find him playing time. This being a conundrum for the Mets is almost comical.
Look, we all get Pete Alonso is the first baseman. Also due to a myriad of factors, Yoenis Cespedes is the DH. That does impact Smith’s playing time opportunities as he should be at first with Alonso at DH, but the Mets aren’t going to just write off Cespedes. It’s a justifiable stance.
That said, if the Mets actually paid attention to the numbers and respective talent levels, the answer as to where Smith should play is painstakingly obvious.
At the moment, the Mets have written in J.D. Davis as the starting left fielder in pen, wrote over it in Sharpee, and then laminated it. If you look at it, this is a mistake.
In 2019, Davis was terrible in left. He was a Major League worst -11 DRS out of any left fielder who played at least 500 innings. His -7 OAA ranked 138th in the Majors. His success rate of 78% was among the worst in baseball as well. It’s by no means hyperbole to suggest he is the worst defensive outfielder in all of baseball.
Now, Smith isn’t great in left by any means. Ideally speaking, he shouldn’t be out there everyday. That said, he’s a significantly better left field option than Davis.
In 2019, Smith was a -3 OAA. He had a 86% success rate. He also had a -2 DRS. Make no mistake here, Smith is not a good left fielder. However, even with his not being a good left fielder, he’s significantly better than Davis with a very comparable arm.
While it seems incredulous to say, Smith in left is a significantly better option than Davis. Of course, we know the Mets eschew defense for offense despite the data standing in direct opposition to that approach.
Last year, Davis had a 136 wRC+ and a 138 OPS+. Smith had a 133 wRC+ and a 134 OPS+. The difference between their offense production last year was negligible.
In total, Smith gives you the same level of offensive production as Davis, and he hit better in the clutch last year. He’s a significantly better defender in left field. Looking at this, the question needs to be asked how in the world are the Mets perplexed over how to get Smith more playing time?
Really, the answer is obvious to anyone who has bothered to check the numbers. It’s more obvious when you look at talent, age, and who gives you the best chance to win.
If the Mets need to figure out what to do with Smith, they should play him everyday in left field. It’s the only rational choice.
The Mets were bludgeoned by the Yankees over the two game exhibition set by the combined score of 15-3. The key word there was exhibition.
Neither of these two games counted, and they had all the weight and importance of a Spring Training game. That’s because it was Summer Camp, which was really Spring Training Part Deux.
Really, when you break it down, almost none of what happened the past two games matters. That’s even if you want to get bent out of shape about the Yankees homering off of Corey Oswalt, Drew Smith, and Chasen Shreve, i.e. bullpen bubble guys.
That’s not to say there weren’t some important takeaways. There absolutely were. It’s just the final score of home run barrage weren’t close to them.
The biggest takeaway was Yoenis Cespedes was able to play consecutive days, and he looked good running. He also only played three innings in left meaning he’s not quite in a spot to play the outfield just yet. Put another way, on a team of DHs, he’s the Mets DH.
Jed Lowrie still isn’t really playing, and the Mets have no idea when he can play. Basically, it’s 2019 all over again. To a certain extent, in this topsy turvy COVID19 world, it’s nice having some consistency.
It appears with Wilson Ramos missing these two games to attend to an undisclosed family matter and Rene Rivera being added to the 40 man roster, Tomas Nido might be the Mets Opening Day catcher. Somewhere the rehabbing Noah Syndergaard must be ripping his hair out.
On the topic of Opening Day, Jacob deGrom had a good bullpen session, and he appears set to go.
In that Opening Day lineup, all indications are Robinson Cano will start the year batting third . . . again. Of course, this once again means this wasn’t a Mickey Callaway decision, but rather a Brodie Van Wagenen one. That is, unless, you believe Luis Rojas independently reached the same decision, and Van Wagenen isn’t still trying to prop up his former client he used Jarred Kelenic to obtain.
More than any of this, it’s great having baseball back with Gary, Keith, and Ron calling games. Let’s all just cherish this, hope everyone stays safe, and the Mets got the work in they needed to start their path towards winning the 2020 World Series.
The Alex Rodriguez ownership group is taking a really odd route to push for buying the New York Mets. It starts with A-Rod, who made the bizarre, hypocritical, and partially retracted push for a salary cap.
It’s not just A-Rod. It’s the rest of his celebrity athlete potential ownership group who are making non-monetary pitches to buy the team.
We finally have a society paying attention to race, discrimination and injustice. And now that there’s a chance to sell the Mets to bidders of color, MLB wants to give instead to Steve Cohen — a billionaire with a long track record of shady dealings?https://t.co/fi2zL3ruuU
— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) July 17, 2020
Beal thinks an ownership group should get it due to racial composition. Then, there’s Mason Plumlee, who took to his blog to try to tell us they have the superior ownership group because they’re cooler.
It should be noted that post was taken down because he incorrectly asserted Nets owner Joseph Tsai would be part of the ownership group. He won’t.
Sorry Twitter, it is not true. I grew up as a Mets fan and I have a lot of respect for Alex and Jennifer. But I’m not involved in bidding for the Mets. Gotta focus on basketball. https://t.co/lX3C4sWnJk
— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) July 18, 2020
Going back to the deleted post, Plumlee pitched the ownership group as passionate fans, and from the player standpoint, Plumlee talked about things like having a good locker room and how they hate to lose. Note, he didn’t say spend what it takes to win.
He then made part of his pitch to the fan base on his group. Aside from this group of athletes (without much of a pedigree), he alluded to how much cooler and sexier his group is:
To be fair, he made a direct appeal to people who cheered Brodie Van Wagenen when the Mets were a complete failure at that point in the season. As for the rest of us, we just want ownership fully dedicated to winning, ownership who has the full capacity and willingness to build that winner.
To Mets fans, a really cool owner is the owner who delivers a World Series. It’s the owner who will stop at nothing to win. That’s why Nelson Doubleday, a literal book nerd, is the coolest owner in Mets history.
Doubleday bought the Mets, and he handed the keys to Frank Cashen. He was the man who basically told the Wilpons to shut up as he pushed Steve Phillips to trade for Mike Piazza. For fans, there’s nothing cooler than that.
A real Mets fan would rather sit next to a parent, spouse, child, sibling, and/or friend at a World Series game than sit next to an owner or GM for a bad Mets team.
They also want one who can get guys like Piazza. For his part, Plumlee isn’t off to a good start taking pot shots at Noah Syndergaard, Yoenis Cespedes, Ike Davis, and Matt Harvey. If you’ll notice, he also took a shot at Steve Cohen with his SEC troubles.
Of course, if we wanted, we could focus on A-Rod’s PED history, lying about it, and suing everyone to avoid culpability. We could focus on Mike Repole’s willingness to enter into business with people with a troubling racist and misogynistic track record.
We could dig deeper into this group to see all the positive or negative things they do, but that completely misses the point. The point is the Mets need ownership whose sole focus is winning. They need ownership who has the financial might and ability to make that happen.
With every utterance from A-Rod’s group, it becomes increasingly clear it’s not them. In fact, they only seem to confirm Steve Cohen is much better suited to leading the Mets to glory than they ever can be. In the end, that makes Cohen the right and cool choice.
Mets fans have had enough of the Wilpons and their half measures. It’s dragged down the franchise and cost them a real shot at long runs of being in contention. Everything the Wilpons do is the wrong way to run a New York baseball franchise.
It’s looking at David Wright and Jose Reyes as an either/or as opposed to a both/and. It’s signing Michael Cuddyer to be a big bat. It’s letting players like Daniel Murphy and Zack Wheeler walk. It’s trading for Robinson Cano and keeping Justin Dunn and Jarred Kelenic instead of signing Bryce Harper or Manny Machado.
New Mets ownership was supposed to prevent this and other nonsense. No forcing Pedro Martinez to pitch through an injury, or trying to deny Carlos Beltran or Yoenis Cespedes career saving surgery. Having a real analytics department. There’s just so much which could be different under new ownership, including but not limited to, the Mets’ mid market payroll.
For Mets fans, there’s just one litmus test. The next owner must be fully committed to winning, and they will do what they need to do to win.
That’s exactly why Alex Rodriguez disqualified himself today when he said:
“The only way it’s going to happen is if they get to the table and say the No. 1 goal, let’s get from $10 to $15 billion and then we’ll split the economics evenly,” he said Thursday during a conference call. “But that’s the type of conversation instead of fighting and fighting against each other because there’s too much competition out there right now.
(ESPN).
A-Rod later stressed he didn’t call for a salary cap, but that’s just backtracking. Truth be told, what he described was a salary cap. That’s where he lost each and every Mets fan.
Steve Cohen is out there ready to flex his financial might. There are other billionaires involved in the bidding. The Mets simply don’t need A-Rod and his cast of retired basketball players. No, they need someone who will do what it takes to win.
We’re already seeing exactly why A-Rod has been disqualified in Mets fans eyes. Hopefully, MLB feels the same way.
Jacob deGrom left after the first inning of an intrasquad game with a back issue. He has now undergone an MRI, and it was determined there was no structural damage.
This isn’t the first time deGrom had a back issue. Back in his first Cy Young season, he dealt with a back issue near the end of Spring Training. As we know, not only did he not miss a turn through the rotation because of it, deGrom would have an all-time great season en route to his first Cy Young.
If you’re an optimistic person, you could see this as a harbinger of good things to come. Even if you don’t try to grasp at straws to try to paint this as an induction of another great season for deGrom, hearing it’s “just” muscle tightness is a relief.
Well, at least it should be.
If we’re being honest, the Mets have a horrible track record on this. In April 2015 David Wright was only diagnosed with a hamstring injury. Pedro Martinez‘s toe in 2005 preceded a torn labrum in 2006.
Those problems still persistent. Much like with Carlos Beltran in 2010, the Mets initially insisted Yoenis Cespedes didn’t need career saving surgery before relenting. There’s also the matter of Jed Lowrie whose problems are still not fully known or addressed by the Mets.
On Lowrie, aside from making the biggest free agent blunder in team history, they’ve reached new standards in medical diagnosis and treatment. That’s something else.
Jed Lowrie is dealing with left knee soreness, Mets are limiting his activity.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) February 20, 2019
Brodie Van Wagenen said on @wcbs880 that Jed Lowrie’s MRI revealed no significant damage, and they’ll bring him along slowly. #Mets
— Wayne Randazzo (@WayneRandazzo) February 22, 2019
If you’ll notice, Lowrie’s MRI revealed “no significant damage.”
Soreness became no significant damage. That became soreness behind his knee. That became a capsule strain. After that, the Mets have all but given up on trying to pretend to know what Lowrie’s issue was and is. We just know he can’t play in games until he can play without a knee brace.
So yes, celebrate deGrom not suffering a significant injury. Breathe a sigh of relief. Picture that third Cy Young and World Series trophy. Its hard not to get carried away. After all, deGrom is the best pitcher in baseball, and he should dominate in 2020.
That’s if he can pitch. Considering the Mets history, we can’t be 100% sure. At least not yet. Sure, it’s a melodramatic way of looking at things, but this is the Mets. It’s also 2020 with all the crazy and bizarre things that have happened it’s difficult to trust some good news.
In the end, not trusting deGrom will be fine may be nothing more than paranoia. Well, justified paranoia.
In response to pointing out how significantly better the Mets outfield defense would be with Jake Marisnick, many still advocated for J.D. Davis. While the support for Davis is admirable, it’s misplaced.
It’s misplaced because defense matters.
Over the past three seasons, the Mets are the absolute worst defensive team in baseball with a -228 DRS. That leaves them as the only Major League team to crack the -200 mark. Over those three seasons, the Mets have failed to make the postseason.
The same can be said for the eight worst defensive teams over that timeframe. In fact, the Mets are only one of 10 teams to have a negative DRS over this time frame. Of those 10, only one franchise has reached the postseason.
Looking at the best defensive clubs, all of the top five have reached the postseason at least once over the last three seasons. Expanding it further, eight of the 11 best defensive clubs have made the postseason at least once.
There’s a correlation between defense and making the postseason. You could argue it’s not quite causation. However, it should be pointed out better defensive clubs help keep runs off the board which helps their teams win games.
On the Davis/Marisnick point, at a -49 DRS, the Mets only have the 24th worst outfield defense over this three year time frame. From the Mets on down, only one of the seven worst defensive outfields have made it to the postseason.
In fact, over the last three years, there have been 14 teams whose outfields registered a negative DRS. Only two of those teams have made the postseason. None of these 14 teams have won a division title.
Conversely, all of the top eight defensive outfields have made the postseason at least once. Twelve of the top 14 have made the postseason at least once over that time frame.
All-in-all, 13 of the 16 teams with a positive outfield DRS have made at least one postseason. That includes all three World Series winners and all six pennant winners.
Breaking it down, teams who play good defense win games and make the postseason. In an era of launch angle, teams with better defensive outfields perform better and not only make it to the postseason, but also have gone deep in the postseason.
With respect to the Mets, they made the postseason in consecutive seasons. Over 2015-2016, the Mets outfield had a 45 DRS which was the fifth best in the majors.
Their team DRS of 4 wasn’t as good as the outfield DRS, but it was still a net positive.
Looking at the Mets, when they’ve had a good defensive team, they’ve performed well and made the postseason. When they didn’t, they disappointed and mostly finished under .500.
Looking at everything, teams who play good defense win games. They make it to the postseason. In the era of the launch angle, we see a premium on outfield defense.
On that note, the 2020 Mets are already sacrificing defense for offense at catcher, first base, second base, and arguably shortstop. Theyre doing this desire then having a DH this season allowing them to bat Yoenis Cespedes even if he’s not ready to play in the field everyday. Cespedes bat should permit the Mets to play at least one player due to their defense prowess.
That begs the question – With what you see with respect to the importance of defense, especially outfield defense, why would you purposefully opt to go from a very good defensive outfield to a flat out bad one? That goes double when you consider the Mets have more than enough bats.
In the end, the Mets can do what they did the last three years, or they can do what they did in 2015-2016. They can choose to follow the path of well versed analytical teams who not only realize the value of defense, but also win with good defensive clubs. The Mets can be one of those teams if they so choose.
So, before you avow Davis, who was tied for the Major League worst -11 DRS in LF, should play over Marisnick, you need to explain why defense doesn’t matter. Considering the correlation and trends we’ve seen, it’s going to be an exceedingly tough task and that’s before you consider the 2020 Mets starting staff will pitch to more contact than the preceding years.
Really, when you break it down, defense matters, and if the Mets want to win, they’re going to need to put a good defensive team out there. Right now, their projected Opening Day lineup is not going to be one. Fortunately for the Mets, there are players on the roster who can completely transform this team defensively. The only thing preventing the Mets from playing those players is the Mets themselves.