Yoenis Cespedes
There is no sugar coating it. Travis d’Arnaud has had a bad year. Blame his shoulder. Blame the hex the Mets have seemingly been under this year. Blame whatever you want. The simple fact remains d’Arnaud has had a horrible year. You can even say he has regressed offensively.
However, behind the plate, he is the same guy he has always been. He is still a terrific pitch framer that helps his staff by helping ensure that strikes are called strikes and by occasionally getting a ball called a strike. He allows very few passed balls. When there is a play at the plate, d’Arnaud is not only adept at fielding a throw, but he does a great job blocking the plate within the terms of the new rules. As seen last night, he goes a great job in making sure he gets the tag on the runner before they have a chance to touch the plate.
He is slightly below average in throwing out base stealers when there is a pitcher on the mound that bothers holding on runners. When the pitcher doesn’t hold runners on, like most catcher’s he virtually has no chance to throw out the base runner. Generally speaking, he seems to call a good game, and there have never been any public complaints from any of his pitchers about his abilities behind the plate.
The reason is on the average d’Arnaud is a good defensive catcher. While it was anticipated that d’Arnaud’s value would be in his bat, the truth is, as a major leaguer so far, his real value is as a receiver.
With all that said, it seems d’Arnaud has been the scapegoat for this entire 2016 season. With the Mets struggling offensively, the team sought to upgrade the position by aggressively pursuing Jonathan Lucroy. Apparently, James Loney and his 86 OPS+ wasn’t hurting the team. When someone steals a base, it is on him. Nevermind the fact that Rene Rivera also has a supbar caught stealing percentage (28.6%) or that Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz don’t bother holding on base runners. On a team where no one is hitting well, he is the guy slated to hit eighth. Seemingly, d’Arnaud has been blamed for everything. It is a shock no one has pinned Yoenis Cespedes injuring his quad on d’Arnaud.
Even with that in mind Nelon Figueroa took blaming d’Arnaud to a new level. After the game, Figureoa pinned part of the blame for Jacob deGrom’s poor outing on d’Arnaud. Figueroa took issue with d’Arnaud not going out to the mound to calm down deGrom (frankly, a lost art in the game that few catchers do), and with his pitch selection saying d’Arnaud failed to call inside pitchers. Only that’s not what happened.
According to deGrom, it was on him saying, “It’s hard to get results when you throw everything right down the middle. That’s what it is. I’m missing down the middle and these are big-league hitters and that’s what they do.” (New York Post).
There is no amount of pitch calling, pitch framing, or pep talks that can cure a starting pitcher who has just been completely missing his spots for two days now. There are very fair and valid criticisms of d’Arnaud. As noted, he doesn’t throw base runners out. Furthermore, he is having a terrible offensive season. That’s all on him. However, things are going overboard with people now blaming him for other player’s poor performance.
In the Bergen County Record, Bob Klapisch had this gem regarding whether or not Yoenis Cespedes will exercise his opt out clause after the season:
When asked by The Record’s Matt Ehalt if he intended to honor all three years of his current $75 million contract, without opting out, Cespedes flatly said, “Yes.”
In what has been a trying year for the Mets and Mets fans, this is a brief respite that should give each and every Mets fan reason for joy. However, it is hard to believe Cespedes.
As it stands now, Cespedes stands to be the top free agent on the market this offseason. If he opts-in, he could potentially be losing $100 million, possibly more. There should be several big market teams who want more offense that could offer Cespedes more money than the Mets are able or are willing to offer him.
Remember, Cespedes is a man who missed out on a chance of a lifetime. When Cespedes left Cuba, he left behind his mother, his son, and many more friends and relatives. Instead of going back to Cuba to see his loved ones, he stayed in the United States because he was “a free agent seeking a huge multiyear deal and essentially [had] to attend to business.” (New York Times). Quite possibly, Cespedes missed his last chance to ever see his mother and son again because getting a big multiyear deal was that important to him. This is not to be critical to Cespedes. Rather, it is to show how important the financial security, and yes, being in the right place is to him.
Remember, it’s easy to say you’re staying when it is August and your team is in the thick of the Wild Card chase. It is another thing all together when it’s just you and your agent, and you have a life altering decision to be made. An off-hand comment is not the same thing as purposefully walking away from at least $100 million. Even if he were so inclined. His agent wouldn’t let him. It’s probably why within 24 hours the story changed.
Now, when asked if he made up his mind about staying with the Mets past this season, Cespedes said, “Nope. My focus is just to play baseball and help the team win, hopefully make it to the playoffs. I let my agents worry about all that.” (New York Post).
Cespedes would also say he wants to remain a Met for the reason of his career. I believe Cespedes when he says that. He has seemingly found a home with the Mets. He seems to enjoy it here. He has become a much better player with the team. These are all terrific and very valid reasons why he wants to stay.
However, there are going to be over $100 million reasons that will help him make his decision where he winds up next year and the next few years past that.
He was really focused on that deal last offseason. It meant enough for him to miss seeing his loved ones. It will be just as, if not more important, this offseason.
He’s going to opt out.
For some reason or other, the Mets went with an injured and bad Jon Niese over a healthy and ready Robert Gsellman. One thing was for certain, no matter who started, the Mets needed an early lead and hold on.
The Mets just did that. Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera led off the game with back-to-back singles, and then they pulled off a double steal. Cleanup hitter Wilmer Flores then hit a three run homer to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.
Niese would give it right back even with Ron Darling saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger, but Niese is 55-3 with a three run lead.”
Niese allowed three of the first batters to reach base narrowing the lead to 3-1. Then his knee became too much for him. Terry Collins then went to Gsellman with one out and runners on first and second. Gsellman was greeted by a Yadier Molina game tying RBI double.
Gsellman would escape the first without allowing another run. Gsellman would be in trouble most of the night, but he would bend but not break. He was really helped by some terrific Mets defense.
Asdrubal is a vacuum. #LGM #Mets 6-3 | End 4 pic.twitter.com/ttHR8efTAK
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 24, 2016
Even with the struggles, Gsellman would earn his first win in his first ever game. His final line was 3.2 innings, two hits, no runs, none earned, three walks, and two strikeouts.
Gsellman was in line for the win as the Mets offense responded immediately to losing the lead. Travis d’Arnaud would hit a one out single and move to second on a Gsellman sacrifice bunt. Reyes then singled him home as it seems every time d’Arnaud finda his way into scoring position, Reyes singles him home. Cabrera then doubled home Reyes to make it a 5-3 game.
Justin Ruggiano effectively closed the book on Cardinals Jaime Garcia with a monster home run:
Garcia only lasted four innings himself in taking the loss allowing seven hits, six runs, six earned, and one walk with six strikeouts.
Things calmed down once it became a battle of the bullpens. Alexander Reyes flashed his dominant stuff shutting the Mets down over 2.1 innings.
Josh Smoker pitched two tension filled innings, but he only allowed one run on a monster Randal Grichuk solo homer in the sixth. There wouldn’t be another as Yoenis Cespedes robbed Stephen Piscotty of a homer:
It was an even bigger play when you consider Cespedes seemingly tweaked his quad chasing down a liner in the first.
In the seventh, Jerry Blevins and his tight firearm left a runner on with one out. Jim Henderson would then make his first appearance since coming off the DL. He got the Mets out of the inning, and he punctuated it by striking out Jedd Gyorko looking to end the inning.
Like every other Mets pitcher, Addison Reed pitched into trouble, but he got out of it unscathed. Jeurys Familia was the only one of the Mets seven pitchers to have a 1-2-3 inning in recording his 42nd save.
At least for one night, the Mets and Cardinals switched places. The Cardinals were 2-10 with RISP leaving 11 men on base. The Mets were 5-10 with RISP including a James Loney ninth inning RBI single to make it 7-4.
The Mets have finally won three in a row since the All Star Break. The Mets are now 3.5 games back of the Cardinals in the race for the second Wild Card.
Game Notes: Neil Walker missed the game as he is on paternity leave. His wife gave birth to a baby girl, Nora Vail Walker. T.J. Rivera is taking his spot until he returns. Curtis Granderson didn’t start with the lefty starter. Jay Bruce would go 0-5 with two strikeouts. He is now two for his last 22.
Pennant Race: The Marlins lost to the Royals 1-0. The Nationals lost to the Orioles 8-1. The Pirates beat the Astros 7-1.
Currently, the Mets outfielders are Jay Bruce, Yoenis Cespedes, Alejandro De Aza, Curtis Granderson, and Justin Ruggiano. Not on this list is Michael Conforto as the Mets have no intention of calling him up until September 1st.
Conforto is absolutely raking in AAA. In the 10 games since his demotion, Conforto is 22-40 with four doubles, four homers, eight RBI, and two walks. That is a .550/.581/.950 batting line. Offensive statistics in the Pacific Coast League are typically inflated, but they aren’t that inflated.
Better yet, over his two stints in the minors this year, Conforto is hitting .500/.559/.633 with a double, a homer, and seven RBI in 30 at bats.
No, the Mets have no interest in that production right now even with them playing in a crucial three game set against the Cardinals that will have a dramatic impact upon their chances of winning the Wild Card. Instead, the Mets want to go with the following:
- Bruce who is hitting .169/.263/.282 in 19 games as a Met
- De Aza who is hitting .192/.287/.308 on the season and .133/.264/.311 in August
- Granderson who is hitting .224/.312/.428 on the year and .186/.240/.347 since the All Star Break
- Ruggiano who was released from the Rangers while he was in AAA and is a career .258/.322/.438 hitter
Overall, the only player who deserves to be in the lineup day-in and day-out is Cespedes. After that, the Mets have to pick two other outfielders who are playing best to man center and right. Looking at the Mets 40 man roster, it is hard to believe that Conforto isn’t one of those players right now.
Hopefully, the Mets will sweep the Cardinals and get terrific production from their center and right fielders. If not, we will all be left asking why were the Mets willing to field their best possible team and best possible lineup in the most important series of the year.
Ahead of a huge three game set against the St. Louis Cardinals, the 61-61 New York Mets are at .500 and are 4.5 games back of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot. Even with a good series here, nothing is guaranteed as the Mets are one of four teams currently withing five games of the last Wild Card spot. Here is where they all stand:
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are currently the second Wild Card with a 66-57 record. The team is hot having gone 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Cardinals hot streak is surprising given the fact that they are without Matt Adams, Aledmys Diaz, Matt Holliday, Michael Wacha, Seth Maness, and Trevor Rosenthal. The current Cardinals streak is a testament to their depth, resiliency, and the managing ability of Mike Matheny. Either that or it is a random hot streak, and the Mets are in prime position to take them down.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins are at 65-59 and are 1.5 games back of the Cardinals. Over their last 10 games, the Marlins are playing .500 ball. Worse yet for the team, they are starting to deal with some major injury problems. The team is most likely without Giancarlo Stanton and Wei-Yin Chen for the rest of the season. The team is currently without Adam Conley, and they have the prospect of having to shut down Jose Fernandez at some point in the season. Andrew Cashner was supposed to help alleviate some of these issues, but he has remained the same pitcher he was with the Padres. Offensively, first baseman Justin Bour has been on the disabled list for quite a while, but no one quite knows when he will return.
Over the course of the season, the Marlins have been a pleasant surprise (if you’re not a Mets fan). Ichiro Suzuki seems rejuvenated and got his 3,000 hit. Don Mattingly and Barry Bonds have changed the culture while helping young players like Christian Yelich reach their potential. However, now that they are no longer healthy, there is real doubt that they can stay in the race.
Pittsburgh Pirates
As we have seen with the Pirates the past few seasons, the Pirates a second half team. They are currently 62-59, three games back, and have a favorable schedule from here on out.
The Pirates are turning things around by turning over their rotation. They have traded away struggling and underperforming pieces in Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese and have replaced them with top prospect Jameson Taillon and former Yankee Ivan Nova. Nova seems to be the type of pitcher pitching coach Ray Searage thrives with, and it certainly hasn’t hurt him being reunited with his old catcher Francisco Cervelli.
Part of the reason the Pirates are in this position is not just their rotation, but it was also due to the struggles of Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen is having a big second half. Coupled with Starling Marte‘s terrific season, and the Pirates suddenly have a potent lineup.
In the end, the big question is if the young Pirates rotation and a bullpen without Mark Melancon can continue a second half charge to claim the second Wild Card spot.
New York Mets
The Mets have been a mess since April. Most of their players were hurt, stopped hitting, or both. However, now, the team is healthy, or as healthy as they can possibly be. Seeing Yoenis Cespedes in the lineup reminds you of the difference maker he is in the Mets lineup, and it is a reminder of the type of run the Mets are capable of making. For that to happen, the Mets are going to need more of the same from Jacob deGrom, and they are going to need Noah Syndergaard to keep pitching the way he did yesterday. The Mets will also need their other pitchers to step up especially if Steven Matz is going to be out for the season like Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler are.
In the end, if the Mets are goign to run, they have to start with them taking the Cardinals down a few pegs in this three game set starting tomorrow. If the Mets are not able to at least win two out of three, it is going to be an even steeper hill to climb to make it back to the postseason.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on Mets Merized Online.
Both Noah Syndergaard and Jeff Samardzjia had no hit type stuff tonight. Syndergaard would lose the no-hitter first after an Eduardo Nunez infield single hit at Asdrubal Cabrera in the fourth. However, it was Syndergaard who would keep the shut out.
Curtis Granderson finally broke through for the Mets with a leadoff double just past the outstretched arms of Gregor Blanco. The next batter was Yoenis Cespedes, who did this:
Neon sleeve? Loud.
This swing? LOUDER.
Yo is at it again: https://t.co/JGjM3iKgMnhttps://t.co/skaXA6XljY
— MLB (@MLB) August 22, 2016
Just like that it went from a no-hitter to 2-0 Mets. Yet again, Cespedes showed everyone why no one can count this Mets team out while he’s healthy and producing.
Those were really the only two mistakes by Samardzjia who was the hard luck loser with a final line of seven innings, three hits, two runs, two earned, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
Speaking of reasons to believe, Syndergaard pitched into the eighth inning since June 15th. Syndergaard’s final line was eight innings, two hits, no runs, two walks, and six strikeouts.
Even better, no one got past first. In the third Bruce Bochy ordered a hit-and-run with Samardzjia up due to how hard Jose Reyes and James Loney were charging in on the sacrifice bunt attempt. Samardzjia swung over the pitch, and Rene Rivera nailed Trevor Brown at second.
Again, Rivera threw out the speedy Nunez trying to swipe second in the fourth. Rivera was a perfect 2/2 in throwing out base stealers. It was the first time all year multiple base stealers were thrown out in a Syndergaard start.
Finally, in the seventh, Brandon Belt was erased as Brandon Crawford hit into an inning ending 4-6-3 double play. It was the second double play the Mets turned on the night.
Jeurys Familia recorded his 41st save after pitching a scoreless ninth.
The Mets earned a split in San Francisco bringing them back to .500 and leaving them 4.5 games back of the Cardinals as they travel to St. Louis for a huge three game set.
Game Notes: Neil Walker is expected to fly home to be with his wife who is expecting with their first child. It is unknown when he will return. Jay Bruce continued his struggles with the Mets going 0-3 with a HBP.
Pennant Race: The Dodgers beat the Reds 4-0. The Marlins beat the Pirates 3-2. The Cardinals beat the Phillies 9-0. The Nationals lost to the Braves 7-6 in 10 innings.
Seth Lugo was the surprise starter tonight as Steven Matz couldn’t go due to a shoulder injury (shocking, I know). Lugo would be terrific and efficient.
Lugo’s final line was 6.2 innings, seven hits, three runs, three earned, one walk, and three strikeouts. The line would’ve looked better had it not been for Collins’ managing. Overall, Lugo only needed 69 pitches. Not bad for a guy that Mets were hoping could provide five serviceable innings.
One area that Lugo wouldn’t help himself was on the basepaths. After failing to lay down a sac bunt, he found himself in the basepaths and hilarity would ensue on a Kelly Johnson two out single.
On the single, Tim Teufel first didn’t give a sign, and then threw up the stop sign after Lugo put his head down as Hunter Pence made a good throw home. Lugo saw this, and he headed back to third. Only issue was Jose Reyes broke for third when Lugo broke for home.
The Giants first got Reyes into a run down. As this was happening, Lugo had pretty much no choice but to break for home as there were two outs. As Brandon Crawford was seemingly the player paying attention in the fifth inning, he caught Lugo trying to sneak home. Lugo would be thrown out in the ensuing rundown.
The Giants returned the favor in the bottom of the fifth. Pence dropped a “double” between the rangeless Asdrubal Cabrera and centerfielder for the day Granderson. Eduardo Nunez then hit a line drive right at Granderson while Pence took off for home. Easy double play.
Just to make sure the fifth inning would set back baseball 50 years, James Loney booted a Joe Panik grounder. Lugo would the get the opposing pitcher, Johnny Cueto, out to put an end to the nonsense.
Still, Lugo would take the loss as the only run support he received was a Granderson second inning homer into McCovey Cove.
In the seventh, Lugo was lifted after the Giants announced Gregor Blanco as a pinch hitter. Terry Collins countered with LOOGY Jerry Blevins. Bruce Bochy, being a vastly superior manager, countered with the switch hitting Ehire Adrianza. Both he and Denard Span hit RBI singles making it a 3-1 game.
The Mets rallied in the eighth starting with a Reyes one out single. It was another terrific night at the plate for Reyes going 4-4 with a double. However, despite him getting to second as Brandon Belt threw one into his back on a Johnson pinch hit. Hr wouldn’t score as Jay Bruce hit into an inning ending double play.
Josh Smoker made his major league debut in the bottom of the inning. He’d get charged with two runs as Jeurys Familia, with some help from a Ryan Lochte neon yellow haired Cabrera made an error, couldn’t get out of the inning. Erik Goeddel relieved Familia and was greeted with a Conor Gillaspie two run homer making it 8-1.
With that, the Mets have lost three in a row and are now two games under .500.
Game Notes: Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes returned from the DL with the Mets sending down Ty Kelly and T.J. Rivera.
With Travis d’Arnaud missing time with a shoulder injury and struggling at the plate all season, the Mets were all but forced to inquire about Jonathan Lucroy.
The Mets interest in Lucroy was understandable as the team needed another bat in the lineup with Lucas Duda and David Wright being gone for the season, Yoenis Cespedes being hobbled with a quad injury, and Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, and yes, d’Arnaud having down seasons. The Mets needed another bat, and Lucroy seemed to be the answer with him hitting .299/.359/.482 with 17 doubles, three triples, 13 homers, and 50 RBI. That was the type of production the Mets were hoping to add at the trade deadline.
For whatever reason, the Mets were not able to swing a trade for Lucroy at the trade deadline. However, they were able to get Lucroy’s production.
Since the trade deadline passed, d’Arnaud is hitting .311/.354/.444 with two homers and three RBI. It is exactly what the Mets were hoping to get from him after a season in which d’Arnaud hit .268/.340/.485 with 14 doubles, one triple, 12 homers, and 41 RBI in 67 games last year. It seems that d’Arnaud has turned his season around.
It could be that his shoulder is feeling better. It could be a mechanical adjustment he has made at the plate. It could also be that he is able to just relax and go out there and hit now that the trade deadline has passed. Whatever the case may be, the important thing from the Mets perspective is they seem to have d’Arnaud back.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on Mets Merized Online
Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera are supposed to come off the disabled list, but that doesn’t mean that the Mets are getting healthy for the stretch run. Not in the least. Seth Lugo will make his first career start as Steven Matz is going to miss tonight’s start due to his bone spurs. Sorry, he is going to miss the start due to shoulder discomfort.
Matz started feeling shoulder discomfort the day after his last start. Matz felt this shoulder discomfort after having gone 7.1 innings in his prior start and throwing 120 pitches over six innings the start before that. In his last start, Matz had all but scrapped his slider, and he started relying more on his curveball as a weapon to get batters out.
It is important to note the Mets pitched Matz because they believed there was no structural damage. As Sandy Alderson said, “Continuing to pitch will not cause any structural damage. We will continue to monitor his situation, but at this point it’s a function of if he can tolerate the discomfort while continuing to pitch.” (New York Post). It should also be noted that, according to Jon Heyman, the Mets talked Matz out of getting surgery to remove the bone spur. Instead, the Mets decided it was best to have their young lefty try to pitch through the pain and help the Mets win another World Series.
One thing that stood out in Matz’s last start was how everyone seemed to believe he turned a corner. Not just this season, but possibly his career. Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez talked a few times about how important it was for young players to learn the ability to pitch while being hurt, while having pain. As Darling would say, pitchers always have pain, and therefore, they need to learn how to deal with it if they are going to take that next step.
That begs the question – was Matz pitching through pain or was he pitching through injury? Matz is going to miss this start, and according to Terry Collins, he may very well miss his next start as well. What if Matz pitching with the bone spurs led to his shoulder injury? There will be many theories bandied about, but at the end of the day, no one knows quite for sure. However, what we do know is that the Mets best chances to win both this year and the years going forward is keeping their starting pitchers healthy. They haven’t been healthy this year.
For what it’s worth, after his last start, Matz didn’t feel there was an issue saying, “My arm’s been feeling great. I have no complaints there.” (Newsday). Except, now he does, and we don’t know why. The only thing we do know is that the Mets pressured him into pitching with an injury in his elbow, and now, they are sitting him with a shoulder injury.