Yoenis Cespedes

Mets Need to Clinch As Soon As Possible

With the Mets beating the Marlins, and the Reds beating the Cardinals, the Mets magic number to claim one of the two Wild Card spots is two. This means the Mets can claim a Wild Card spot as early as Friday or as late as Saturday. It would behoove the Mets to clinch as soon as possible for many reasons. 

For starters, there is the issue of their starting pitcher. As it stands right now, Noah Syndergaard is slated to pitch on the regular season finale. In the event the Mets have not wrapped up the Wild Card by then, Terry Collins will have little choice but to throw Syndergaard. You do not want the Mets to miss out on the postseason because you held your ace back for a game that was not yet guaranteed. If the Mets are forced to pitch Syndergaard on Sunday, the Mets choices for the Wild Card Game will be either Bartolo Colon, who has an injured tendon in his right foot, on short rest or the unproven rookies Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman. In reality, there is only one pitcher the Mets can trust right now in a winner-take-all game and that is Syndergaard.

Another important reason the Mets need to clinch early is some of their better players need some rest. Asdrubal Cabrera has been the best hitter in all of major league baseball in September.  He is also dealing with two knee problems.  He has really been dealing with a left knee issue all season and just the other day, he fouled a ball off his right knee.  As a result of these injuries, Cabrera has taken up the habit of sliding whenever possible to stop his momentum to keep pressure off his knees.  With that in mind, he can certainly use an extra couple of days off.  The Mets should want to get them for him too considering how well he has hit since coming off the disabled list.

There is also the issue of Yoenis Cespedes and his injured quad.  While he has been much healthier and hitting better than he was while he was hobbled, he has not been the same hot hitting Cespedes Mets fans have grown to love.  Since coming off the disabled list he is “only hitting” .269/.346/.522 with nine homers and 26 RBI.  These are for sure terrific numbers, but they are not the numbers the Mets have come to expect from Cespedes.  An extra couple of days should help him recuperate a little more and get some more of his power back.

The Mets bullpen can also use some time off as well.  Right now, Addison Reed has made the third most appearances in the major leagues.  The 77 appearances is already a career high for him as are the 74.2 innings pitched.  Jeurys Familia has pitched in more games and thrown more innings than any other closer in baseball.  Throw in Fernando Salas heavy September workload, and you have a tired 7-8-9 trio heading into the postseason.  A couple of days off will certainly do each of these pitchers a lot of good.

Additionally, clinching early will allow the Mets to give an older player like Curtis Granderson a few days of rest before the postseason.  It will also allow the Mets to see if Lucas Duda is ready to fully takeover for James Loney at first base.  Furthermore, it allows the Mets to play Michael Conforto to get him going to permit him to be as effective a pinch hitter off the bench as possible this postseason.

One or two days may not seem like much to accomplish all of these goals, but it really is. Those days permit the Mets to set up Syndergaard to be ready to pitch, and it gives Cabrera and Cespedes, the Mets two most important hitters right now, time off their feet to be as fresh as possible. As long as the Mets have that, they will not only have a good shot at winning the Wild Card Game, but it will also improve their chances of making a deep run in the postseason. 

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Mets Beat Up On the Marlins

After last night, the Mets needed to get things back on track lest they once again miss the playoffs due to them losing games to the Marlins. Things didn’t get off to a good start with Dee Gordon hitting a leadoff single, stealing second, and coming home on a Marcell Ozuna single.

Gordon’s stolen base would be the 48th stolen base against Noah Syndergaard. This was about as poor a start as you could expect. After that Syndergaard would get locked in. 

Syndergaard would go six innings allowing five hits, one earned, and no walks with eight strikeouts. It’s exactly the type of start both he and the Mets needed. 

The Mets quickly claimed the lead off Tom Koehler, who the Mets hit very well. In the second, Jay Bruce continued his hot hitting with a two run homer. He would go 2-5 with a run, two RBI, and a homer. 

In the third, Yoenis Cespedes hit a monster two run homer over the “Home Run Sculpture.”

This marked the first time both Bruce and Cespedes homered in the same game for the Mets. 

The Mets would have a 4-1 lead, and Don Mattingly would do all he could do to keep the Marlins in the game making seven pitching changes. It worked until the eighth inning. 

The Mets put a huge five spot on the board blowing the game wide open. After the Marlins intentionally walked Cespedes to load the bases, Curtis Granderson hit a two RBI single making it 6-1. 

Bruce then singled to reload the bases, and then with two outs, Lucas Duda got his biggest hit since being activated from the disabled list with a bases clearing double. Duda has been sharper than expected in his return, but this was his best game. On the night, he was 2-3 with three RBI, two walks (one intentional), and the double. 

As if things weren’t good enough with a 9– 1 lead, the Mets scored three in the top of the ninth to make it 12-1. The bases were again loaded. Michael Conforto hit an RBI force out, and Granderson hit a RBI double to deep center. It was a huge night for Granderson with him going 2-4 with two runs, three RBI, two walks, and a double. 

The final run was scored on a Juan Lagares sacrifice fly. It was the first time Lagares swung the bat at a pitch since returning from surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left thumb. 

Tonight, everything was clicking, and the Mets took care of business. Their magic number is now four. 

Game Notes: Syndergaard was 2-3 at the plate. Jose Reyes was 3-6 with two runs and a double. Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia each pitched an inning after not having pitched in four days. 

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Syndergaard Needs to Make This His Last Start of the Year

As we saw with the Mets last year, your chances of winning in the postseason are greatly enhanced when you are able to properly set your rotation.  With the Mets clinching in plenty of time, they were able to make sure Jacob deGrom went against Clayton Kershaw in Game One of the NLDS, and they were ready to make sure Matt Harvey started a pivotal Game Three.  The Mets were also able to start Noah Syndergaard in Game Two and have him ready for a lights out relief appearance in the clinching Game Five.  If the Mets were not able to set their rotation just like that, it is very possible the Mets don’t make it out of the NLDS let alone make it all the way to the World Series.

In many ways, that is what is on the line for Syndergaard in his start against the Marlins tonight.

As it stands right now, the Mets have a half game lead over the Giants for the first Wild Card.  With the Mets having won the season series against the Giants, all they need to do is just tie the Giants for the first Wild Card to play the Wild Card Game at Citi Field.  The Mets also have a 1.5 game lead over the Cardinals for one of the two Wild Card spots.  All told, the Mets magic number to get a Wild Card spot is five. That number goes down to four if Syndergaard goes out there and wins tonight.  It could go even lower with a Cardinals loss.

The Mets need to get to that clincher as soon as possible.  With Syndergaard pitching tonight, his next scheduled start will be on Sunday, which is the regular season finale.  If Syndergaard is forced to make this start, that means he will be unavailable to start in Wednesday’s Wild Card Game.  If Syndergaard has to start on Sunday, it means the Mets have to choose between Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman on normal rest or Bartolo Colon on short rest to make the biggest start of the season.  Simply put, Syndergaard is the Mets best pitcher, and he is the man the Mets want on the mound for the Wild Card Game.

The Mets also need a big start from Syndergaard because the Mets need to help move on from the emotion that swept them up last night.  Both Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud were crying on the field.  It was a hard game for the Mets to play.  From an outsider’s perspective, it appeared that the emotions of the night got the better of them.  That is certainly understandable, and it would be understandable if it happened again tonight.  No one expects the pain from losing Jose Fernandez to go away just because the Marlins won a big game last night.  Still, the Mets have to move on and get back to playing winning baseball.  Syndergaard shutting down the Marlins will go a long way towards helping the team get back on the winning track.

Finally, Syndergaard needs a big start for himself.  In his last outing, he threw 99 pitches, and he couldn’t get out of the fourth inning against a terrible Braves team.  In that game, he allowed eight hits and walked three while allowing five runs in just 3.2 innings.  That’s not Syndergaard.  He needs to get back on the mound tonight and get back to being Syndergaard.  If he doesn’t, the Mets have no shot at winning the Wild Card Game or in making a deep run in the postseason.

There is a lot on the line in tonight’s start.  Syndergaard has to help rejuventate not just the Mets but also himself.  He has to do all that is necessary to make sure this is his last start of the regular season.  It’s a lot to put on his broad shoulders.  However, as we have seen in his young career, he can certainly handle it.

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Mets Need to Move On and Get Back to Baseball

You understood the emotion from the Mets and the Marlins last night in the aftermath of Jose Fernandez‘s death.  From the beginning, you saw Giancarlo Stanton as the emotional leader of the clubhouse.  You saw Dee Gordon swinging from his shoe tops. On the other side, Yoenis Cespedes was crying while embracing the Marlins players.  Bartolo Colon just didn’t have it on a night he would later saw he wished it was Fernandez who got the win.  You heard Travis d’Arnaud talking about how he got choked up watching the Marlins, Gordon specifically, crying on the field.

You could understand the Mets not knowing how to deal with the moment.  No one ever truly knows how to deal with death, and even fewer people deal with it well.  That’s assuming you can ever truly deal with the loss of a friend, a family member, or a respected competitor.  Eventually however, you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and you need to get back to your normal routine.  For the Mets, that is not just going out there and playing baseball.  No, that is going out there and beating up on a emotionally distraught team .500 baseball team that is no longer realistically in the hunt for a Wild Card spot.

It may sound cruel.  It may sound callous.  It may even seen unfeeling and disrespectful.  However, at some point, the Mets need to move on, and they need to get back to business as usual.  One to two days may not seem like a fair or realistic turnaround, but keep in mind, no one is rescheduling these games for a time when the Mets are emotionally capable of playing the Marlins.

No, the Mets have to go out there and put forth a better effort.  The Mets have to process their emotions better and just stick to playing baseball.  Yes, it’s hard, but that is what they are paid to do.  Better yet, that is how they can best honor Fernandez.  Fernandez was a guy that lived to beat up on the Mets.  In eight career starts, he was 3-0 against the Mets with a lifetime (boy does that word seem cruel right now) 1.34 ERA, 0.979 WHIP, and an 11.3 K/9.  He was this good against the Mets because he wanted to show the world that while the Mets had the heralded rotation of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler, it was Fernandez that was the best pitcher in the NL East, perhaps all of baseball.

There wasn’t just a competitive drive to Fernandez.  There was a joy in the competition.  He didn’t just want to beat you; he wanted to beat you at your best.  The Mets weren’t at their best last night.  They need to be tonight.  They need to do it to win the Wild Card.  They need to do it to honor Fernandez.

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This Is How Braves Fans Must’ve Felt

Tonight, I got some sense of what it was like to be a Braves fan when Mike Piazza homered off Steve Karsay:

An emotional Dee Gordon, wearing a Jose Fernandez jersey just like the rest of his teammates, hit a leadoff home run off Bartolo Colon. As a fan of the game, you tip your cap, and you appreciate the moment. 

Starting with that home run, you got a sense the emotional Marlins team needed this game a little more, and they were meant to win it. 

Still, it was hard to watch as a Mets fan as the Mets have not yet clinched a Wild Card spot. It was hard to watch Colon throwing batting practice fastballs while seemingly getting squeezed by John Hirschbeck. I was hard to watch Ray Ramirez have to come visit him on the mound. That one was especially hard to watch. Thankfully, Colon brushed him off. 

All of Colon’s 2.1 innings were tough to watch. You had to question what Terry Collins was thinking leaving him out there to get knocked around to the tune of eight hits and seven runs. As Colon was fooling no one, he recorded no strikeouts. On the bright side, Gabriel Ynoa stabilized things for 1.2 innings before passing it off to Rafael Montero, who actually threw a scoreless inning. 

The Mets offense was a no show as well. They were shut down by Adam Conley, who pitched an emotional three innings before handing it off to the Marlins bullpen. Collectively, they down the Mets in the same way Fernandez, who was scheduled to pitch tonight, would have. 

The Mets had their chances. In the fifth, the Mets scored two runs on an Asdrubal Cabrera two RBI double. Who else would come through?  

In the sixth, the Mets loaded the bases with one out, but they would get nothing out of it. A Lucas Duda strikeout and Kelly Johnson ground out later, the Mets would come away happy. 

In the eighth, Duda did come through with a two out RBI single.  Alejandro De Aza would then strike out looking to end the rally. 

Ultimately, the Mets would lose 7-3 It was a hard night for all, including Yoenis Cespedes and the Mets:

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Even with the Mets fighting for the Wild Card, on this night, the Marlins just had a little more to play for:

Game Notes: Jay Bruce started over Michael Conforto. He was 1-4, and he misplayed a Justin Bour line drive into an RBI triple. 

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Jose Fernandez Was Supposed to Pitch Tonight

Sitting in Section 135, you get the opportunity to look into the Mets dugout.  While watching the game, I could only make out that the Mets had hung something up on the dugout wall.  As I would discover after the game, Yoenis Cespedes hung a Jose Fernandez Mets #16 jersey to honor his fellow countryman, defector, and baseball player:

His manager, Terry Collins was right there talking to his star while he hung something to honor a player who would die tragically at the age of 24.  It was just one of many Mets players who took time to express their grief over the loss over a competitor.

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All over baseball, people mourned the loss of a unique talent and incredible talent that was gone too soon.  However, it was not just his talent that makes the loss that great.  After his death, you heard stories about how active he was in the community.  You saw how beloved he was by his teammates, competitors, and people who covered the game.  It is a rare sight to see Keith Hernandez breaking down and losing the ability to speak when talking about anything.

Personally, I was left with a loss for words having re-heard the story of how he defected.  After three failed attempts, and having been imprisoned for those attempts, Fernandez and his family set to cross the Gulf of Mexico for their freedom.  En route, Fernandez’s mother would go overboard.  At 15 years old, Fernandez jumped into those rough waters, and he used that strong right arm to save his mother’s life.  Upon hearing the news, many were left wondering where Fernandez’s savior was when that boat crashed.

As if this wasn’t tragic enough, there was learning the news that Fernandez was set to become a father.  Someone in Florida a child is going to be born, and that child is never going to get to know their father.  That child is only going to get to see the highlights on TV and is going to meet people who will tell him/her just what an incredible person and pitcher Jose Fernandez was. Worse yet, this all happened before Fernandez got his big payday.  In a couple of years, that child was going to be set for life with Fernandez reaching free agency.  Now who knows how much of a struggle a single mother and her child is going to have.  Hopefully, someone will reach out and care for Fernandez’s child much in the same way he reached out and touched the lives of others in his community.

With the shock and sudden loss, the Marlins cancelled yesterday’s game.  However, they will play tonight against the Mets.  They will play on a night that Fernandez was supposed to be taking the rubber against Bartolo Colon.  As it stands right now, the Marlins haven’t announced a starter to take Fernandez’s place.  It just seems fitting because no one could ever take his place.  No one else can be the young ace that Fernandez was.  No no else could have the impact on the community Fernandez did.  No one else could garner the respect of all of baseball in the way Fernandez did.  No one could ever replace him as the father to his child.

That’s the backdrop to tonight’s meeting between the Mets and the Marlins.  A once meaningful September game now seems devoid of its meaning without Fernandez.  On a night that he was supposed to don his number 16 jersey and take the mound, the Mets and Marlins are left hanging up his jersey in honor and remembrance of him.

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Terry Collins Decision of the Game – He Had His Best Game of the Year

Normally in this spot, I’d point out something Terry Collins did to really hinder his chances of winning not just the previous game, but in some instances, things he did that hurt his team’s chances of winning a game. That didn’t happen yesterday. 

Collins was put in the tough spot of having to start Sean Gilmartin because Noah Syndergaard was too sick to pitch. If you’re arguing someone else should have started, it’s just blind Collins’ hatred.

Logan Verrett forfeited the opportunity to be a spot starter with some poor starts when he took Matt Harvey‘s spot in the rotation. Between those starts and his work Friday night, he established he shouldn’t get the start. 
Rafael Montero has also shown himself undeserving of a start. He’d prove he shouldn’t have started giving up five runs in 3.1 innings of work. 
Gilmartin was the reasonable choice. When the Phillies put up a five spot on him with only two outs in the first, it was reasonable to go to Montero. Given the state of the Mets bullpen, it was the right move to stick with Montero for 3.1 innings despite the Mets falling down 10-0 in the fourth. 

At that point, Collins made his best decision of the year.  After giving his regulars a shot to put some runs on the board in the fourth, he got them out if the game.  

It was a chance for Asdrubal Cabrera to rest both of his knees, and Yoenis Cespedes to rest his quad. It also allowed Curtis Granderson and Jose Reyes to get a bit of a breather. 

Collins would also keep the right people in the game. Both Lucas Duda and Michael Conforto need to get at bats to get them ready for the postseason. Also, you want to give Travis d’Arnaud, who is still the team’s best offensive catcher, a chance to get going. 

It also allowed the Mets to get two former first round picks, Gavin Cecchini and Brandon Nimmo, some playing time and some exposure to the pennant race. It also allowed the team to take an extended look at Ty Kelly and Eric Campbell, both of whom may be on the bubble for a postseason roster spot. 

As it turns out, this group wasn’t content on playing out the string. The bench players and future regulars did all they could do to tie the game with them falling mercilessly short. That speaks positive of both them and their manager. 

It’s bizarre to think Collins best game was in a game the Mets were down early 10-0. But that’s the thing about judging managers, you just want them to have the right process and let the chips fall where they may. The more often your manager has the right thought process, and puts his team in a position to succeed, you’re going to win games. 

Coincidentally, Collins managed this game extremely well, and as it turned out, the team almost pulled out a victory. More importantly, this team should be fresher and in a good position to win tomorrow afternoon.  

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The Las Vegas 51s Made This Fun

Look, even with the Mets remaining schedule, it was unrealistic to expect them to finish the year undefeated. They’re going to lose some games. Tonight was a game you’d expect with Sean Gilmartin, who hasn’t started a game in over a month, having to make the spot start because Noah Syndergaard has strep throat. 

Things went worse than expected. Right off the bat, the Phillies went up 3-0 off a Maikel Franco three run homer. Gilmartin then loaded the bases, including an intentional walk to the right place hitter Jorge Alfaro. Things were going so poorly for Gilmartin tonight, he couldn’t escape the jam. Opposing pitcher Alec Asher would hit a two RBI single chasing Gilmartin from the game. 

Terry Collins brought in Rafael Montero, who eventually  got out of the jam. Of course with him being Montero, he’d make things a lot worse. 

Under his watch, the Phillies lead would expand to 10-0. Given the state of the Mets bullpen, Collins did the smart thing and made Montero just get through it. Montero allowed five earned on 3.1 innings. Collins pulled him after 67 pitches. 

The bright side about going down 10-0 is Collins was able to pull his starters and give them some time off. Collins gave his starters to put a run on the board, but they didn’t. With that, Collins pulled Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes, and Curtis Granderson. He replaced them with T.J. Rivera, Gavin Cecchini, Ty Kelly, and Brandon Nimmo. 

Astutely, Collins also left in Travis d’Arnaud, Lucas Duda, and Michael Conforto. Each of these players need to get some reps if they are going to be the postseason contributors the Mets need them to be. 

This is the group of players that would make the game some fun. While the starters couldn’t hit Asher the backups could. 

Duda got the rally started by busting it out of the box and reaching on a Freddy Galvis error. After a d’Arnaud single, Franco would throw the ball away. Instead of a possible inning ending double play, Cecchini reached, and Duda scored. 

After a Rivera single, Nimmo would hit a double scoring Cecchini. Kelly then hit a sac fly scoring Nimmo. Collins then pinch hit James Loney who ruined everything by making an out. Being fair, he did hit the ball hard down the line, but still, it’s Loney. 

The 51s would then get two more in the sixth. Collins actually kept Conforto in against the left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez. Conforto got the rally started with a one out walk, and Duda followed with a single up the middle. After a d’Arnaud strikeout, Cecchini would get his first career hit with an RBI double to right-center. For some reason (oh right, he’s a bad third base coach), Tim Teufel held Duda who could’ve scored easily. Fortunately, it wouldn’t come back to bite the Mets as Rivera dribbled down the line for an RBI single. It’s a hard hit single in the box score. 

In an attempt to not go to anyone who will pitch in the playoffs, Collins tried to push Jim Henderson to a second inning. Normally, this would a really bad move, but all things considered, it was understandable. When Henderson got in trouble, Collins went to Josh Smoker to try to get the Mets out of the jam. 

With Cesar Hernandez reaching on a bunt single Smoker double clutched on, and A.J. Ellis swiping third when d’Arnaud tried to pick him off, it looked like the come back dream was dead. When Odubel Herrera lifted a fly ball to left, it was a foregone conclusion.  Except it wasn’t. Kelly would unleash a parabolic throw home that would beat Ellis by a mile to keep the score at 10-6. 

Kelly would then lead off the bottom of the seventh with a single. Alejandro De Aza pinch hit for Smoker and flied out to center.  Eric Campbell then hit into an inning ending double play. It seemed as is the Mets best chance of winning the game was over. You would be wrong. 

Phillies reliever Hector Neris would issue back-to-back one out walks to Duda and d’Arnaud. Cecchini would then hit his second career double, barely missing a home run, scoring Duda to make it 10-7. Finally, the Mets could bring the tying run to the plate. Unfortunately, Rivera flied out to shallow center, and Nimmo popped out. 

At this point, you were expecting the Mets to come back in the ninth to win it.

Things got so insane Jay Bruce hit a pinch hit no doubt home run against Phillies reliever Michael Mariot. Campbell then came back from 0-2 and worked out an 11 pitch walk.  That allowed the Mets to bring Conforto to the plate as the tying run with Duda behind him. Once Conforto walked, Duda came up as the go-ahead run. It was the first time all night, the Mets got the go-ahead run to the plate. 

Duda popped out leaving it to d’Arnaud. Sadly, d’Arnaud hit a come backer to end the game. There was some slight disappointment with that. However, the young players made this a fun game to watch. Instead of losing 10-0, we got a sense of what the future may look like. It looks like a group of gritty, never say die, talented players. 

Yes, the loss hurts, especially with the Cardinals having already won and the Giants winning. However, if you are going to lose, you might as well have your big guys get some rest and watch your young players thrive in the process. 

Final Score: Phillies 10 – 51s 8 – Mets 0

Game Notes: With Cecchini, Nimmo, and Conforto playing, the Mets had three of Sandy Alderson’s first round draft picks in the same lineup. With the loss, the Nationals clinched the NL East. 

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Seemingly Everyone Played and Contributed to this Win

It wasn’t too long ago that Terry Collins said he had no confidence in any of his right field options other than Jay Bruce. As Bruce struggled, the statement looked more and more ridiculous. Tonight, it looked downright absurd as most of Collins’ decisions of late are looking. 

Gabriel Ynoa had allowed two runs over two innings when his turn to bat came up in the bottom of the second. Simply put, Collins panicked at the early deficit, and he pinch hit Ty Kelly. 

Collins made this decision despite the bullpen throwing six innings yesterday. He did it with Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia unavailable. He did it with Sean Gilmartin having to pitch tomorrow with Noah Syndergaard unable to go tomorrow because he has strep throat. Collins surveyed the landscape and determined the only way the Mets win the game is it Kelly pinch hits there to knock in Travis d’Arnaud, who just hit an RBI double, to tie it up. That was worth going to his bullpen for seven innings. 

Collins, who was managing to win it, then went to Logan Verrett. Verrett went two innings, and the Mets were lucky he allowed just one run. 

That set the stage for a big fifth inning. 

The Mets quickly loaded the bases against Jeremy Hellickson, who was seemingly down 3-1 in the count to every Mets batter that inning. 

The first run would come off a Curtis Granderson RBI single. Kelly Johnson followed with an RBI single of his own. When Phillies right fielder Roman Quinn misplayed the Johnson single, Yoenis Cespedes came to score from second as well. Then with a base open, the Phillies opted to pitch to Michael Conforto:

The three run homer capped a six run inning and gave the Mets a 7-3 lead. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be a laugher or an easy game. 

Heading into the fifth, Collins removed d’Arnaud and replaced him with Rene Rivera as part of a double switch to try to get two innings from Josh Smoker. As usual, Smoker pitched well in his first inning. However, in his second inning of work, Darin Ruf would hit a two run home run off of him. This was the third time this year Collins tried to go a second inning with Smoker. All three times Smoker allowed a home run in his second inning of work. 

Just like that it was 7-5. In the top of the seventh, the lead appeared in jeopardy. The Pbillies rallied off Josh Edgin putting runners at the corners with one out. When the right-hand hitting Tommy Joseph was announced as the pinch hitter for Peter Bourjos, Collins countered with Hansel Robles. 

Joseph would pull a grounder right down the third base line. With Jose Reyes guarding the line, it turned into a 5-5-3 inning ending double play. 

The Mets then blew it open in the bottom of thr seventh.

Cespedes got things started with a lead off double, and Granderson followed with a walk. Collins then pinch hit Juan Lagares for Johnson to bunt. Lagares got down the bunt, and Cameron Rupp pounced on it. Rupp went to third to try to get the force, but he made a slightly offline throw that Maikel Franco could’ve made a play on, but didn’t. 

On the error, Cespedes scored, and the other two runners moved up a base. With the Phillies having the lefty, Patrick Schuster, on the mound, Collins pinch hit Eric Campbell for Conforto because Collins obviously had no confidence in Conforto’s ability to hit a lefty. Campbell would make Collins look good hitting a pinch hit RBI single.  T.J. Rivera then pinch hit for Lucas Duda, and he hit a sac fly scoring Lagares to make it 10-5 Mets. 

The bigger lead allowed the Mets to do a couple of things. First, it allowed Collins to bring in Matt Reynolds for Asdrubal Cabrera, who had earlier fouled a ball hard off his good knee. It also allowed the Mets to keep Robles in the game. 

Robles pitched 2.2 innings earning his first ever major league save. He did get some help with a vintage Lagares catch. It was fitting when you consider everyone contributed to this win. 

Game Notes: With Collins going deep into his bullpen, both Smoker and Robles got at bats. 

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Terry Collins Decision of the Game – James Loney Good Defender

It was just a little over 24 hours ago when James Loney had made two really poor plays in the field.  The first was his inability to stretch for a low pickoff throw from Bartolo Colon (imagine that a low pickoff throw by the base) that would send the speedy runner Mallex Smith to second base.  Fortunately, that wouldn’t cause any harm as Colon was quick on a come backer, and he would catch Smith straying too far off second base.

The second Loney play would help lead to a Mets loss.  Leading off the bottom of the eight, Ender Inciarte hit a groundball that went right through Loney’s glove and legs.  It was a pivotal play that saw the fast Inciarte reach and eventually score the tying run.  The Braves would also score a run in the top of the ninth, and Inciarte would be prominently featured again as he stole what could’ve been a walk-off three run homer from Yoenis Cespedes in the bottom of the ninth.

After the game, Collins acted surprised at the Loney error calling him a good defensive first baseman.  He is definitively not, and he hasn’t been in some time.

This year, Loney has a -2.8 UZR and a 0 DRS.  If Loney had enough innings to qualify, his UZR would rank 13th and his DRS would rank 10th in the majors.

Over the past three seasons, Loney has averaged a -2.2 UZR and a -1 DRS.  Those numbers ranks him as 14th in hte majors in DRS and UZR.  For what it’s worth Lucas Duda, who is still not fully back from his back injury, ranks ahead of Loney in both catergories (11th UZR and 6th DRS)

Looking over those numbers, Loney isn’t a terrible first baseman.  He is just a slightly below average one.  Even if you were not one that subscribes to the advanced defensive metrics, it is hard to overlook his unwillingness/inability to stretch for balls throw to first base as well as the errors he has made in the field.  Despite only playing 94 games at first base, Loney has eight errors, which is coincidentally gives him the lowest fielding percentage of any first baseman in the National League this season with a minimum of 700 innings played over there.

All of this is prelude to what happened last night.

With the Phillies starting the left-handed Adam Morgan, Collins elected to go with Eric Campbell at first base over Loney.  With the way Loney has hit in the second half and the way Loney has hit lefties his entire career, you’d be hard pressed to disagree with Collins over the decision to sit Loney.

In the sixth inning, the Phillies would bring on the right-handed pitcher Luis Garcia to pitch, and Collins would pinch hit Loney for Campbell.  Again, you’d be hard pressed to argue with Collins on this one as he’s removing Campbell from the game; a Campbell that was 0-2 with a strikeout on the night.  Understandably, Loney remained in the game.  Loney would again cost the Mets with his defense.

In the top of the eighth, and the Mets having a 4-3 lead, Odubel Herrera hit a sharp grounder up the middle that T.J. Rivera made an incredible diving stop to save a run with the speedy Cesar Hernandez on second base.  Rivera popped up, and threw to first base.  It was a close play, but Herrera was safe.  Look at Loney’s stretch on the play:

On what was a bang-bang play, Loney fully stretched.  If he did, there would have been two outs instead of one.  That might’ve completely changed Addison Reed‘s pitching sequence to Maikel Franco, who would hit a go-ahead three run homer.

Now, to be fair, Collins’ decision to leave Loney in the game was reasonable, as no one is quite sure right now whether Duda can physically play first base after having played there Sunday.  Overall, what is wrong with Collins is his mindset that Loney is a good defender.  He’s not, and he hasn’t been in a few year.  And if not for the heroics of Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera, Loney’s inability to stretch would have had a profound impact on what would have been another horrible Mets loss.

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