Yoenis Cespedes

Cespedes Revives the Mets

Sometimes it’s just looks like it’s not going to be your night. Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud were out with injuries. Reds starter Brandon Finnegan showed why he’s a highly rated prospect. Bartolo Colon didn’t have the mojo working:

No, after the Ivan DeJesus two run homer in the third to make the score 3-0, it looked like it wasn’t going to be the Mets night. Even when the Mets could get rallies going, this would happen:

No, the Reds were in control and about to snap their nine game losing streak against the Mets. Then the Reds got greedy. They tried to push Finnegan through the seventh inning. 

Juan Lagares had a one out single followed by a Kevin Plawecki walk. The Reds could’ve pulled Finnegan there. He just got out of a jam unscathed in the sixth. Instead, the Reds let him face Cespedes, who was pinch hitting for Logan Verrett. First pitch Cespedes saw:

Tie game. 

Finnegan was gone after six brilliant innings (and one tough inning). We then got a glimpse of why the Reds were loathe to go to their bullpen. 

Tony Cingrani entered the game. He was greeted by Curtis Granderson with a triple. Granderson would later score on a David Wright RBI single. It was a nightmare night for Wright at that point having gone 0-3 with two strikeouts at that point. It was emblematic of his recent struggles. In a brief moment, it was forgotten with that single making it 4-3. It was remembered again when he was picked off of first base (technically a caught stealing). 

This gave Verrett the win. He was terrific. He came on in the sixth inning, and he threw two shutout innings. He showed both his versatility and his value. He deserved this win. 

For the second straight night, Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia locked down the eighth and ninth. They preserved the Mets first come from behind win. It’ll be one of many. 

Game Notes: With the Cespedes injury, Michael Conforto hit cleanup against the lefty Finnegan. He went 2-4. Before the game, d’Arnaud was placed on the 15 day DL. Lucas Duda sat against the lefty but came on in the ninth for defense. 

page top

Mets Depth Already Getting Tested

Last year, the Mets saw lengthy absences from David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud. Daniel Murphy and Michael Cuddyer were nicked up most of the year. Other Mets players got bumps and bruises along the way. The Mets depth got tested early and often in 2015, and it was ugly. 

Dilson Herrera and Kevin Plawecki showed they weren’t ready to hit major league pitching. For his part, Plawecki had to stay in the lineup because Anthony Recker and Johnny Monell weren’t either. Eric Campbell and John Mayberry, Jr. showed why they weren’t everyday players, let alone middle of the order bats. There were other forgettable debuts from players like Darrell Ceciliani and Danny Muno. In 2015, the Mets bet against their farm system, and it nearly cost them the season. 

In the offseason, the Mets made sure to build a deeper roster. They moved Wilmer Flores to a utility role. Alejandro De Aza is here as a fifth outfielder. Juan Lagares is a part time player who will start against lefties and come on as a late defensive replacement. Herrera is back in AAA where he belongs for now. Campbell and Plawecki are on the 25 man roster, but they are asked to do much less. Hypothetically, it’s a much deeper team. 

Well, that hypothesis is now being put to the test. 

Yoenis Cespedes has been dealing with a thigh issue due to his jumping in the stands and an awkward slide. As for now, he’s not DL bound. Yesterday, d’Arnaud left the game early with pain in his throwing shoulder. While he may not have been the best at throwing out would be base stealers, his throws were uncharacteristically poor. He will be examined today before a DL decision is made. Whether it will be one day, one week, one month, or more, the Mets will miss Cespedes and d’Arnaud. 

No matter how much time if will be, this Mets team is better built to sustain these losses. Having a De Aza/Lagares platoon is a much better option than Ceciliani.  Plawecki has another year of development under his belt. Hopefully, this translates to him having a better year at the plate. 

The Mets better hope so. The Nationals look like a different team than they were a year ago. The Mets aren’t going to be able to coast for two – three months with subpar players. This is a new year. Fortunately, this is a new Mets team that’s built for just these types of situations. 

page top

Matz-terful Performance 

When Steven Matz first cracked into the majors with his grandfather jumping up and down, we expected him to do the Jerry Koosman each start. For the uninitiated, Koosman said his job as a pitcher was to shut them out and hit one out. Essentially, a pitcher should be a threat on the mound and at the plate. By the way, Koosman might’ve said that, but he was a terrible hitter. 

Tonight, Matz had one of those Koosman dictated games. Matz pitched 6.1 innings allowing nine hits, two earned, two walks, and eight strikeouts.   He got touched up was the third when noted Mets killer, Freddie Freeman, hit an RBI double. In the seventh, he ran out of gas, but Hansel Robles came in and got out of the jam. At the plate, Matz went 1-2. Terrible Braves team or not, Matz had a terrific night. 

At the plate, the Mets had some firsts. In the first inning, Lucas Duda hit the Mets first sacrifice fly of the year scoring Curtis Granderson, who led off the game with a single and moved to third on a Michael Conforto single. Speaking of Conforto, he would have his first career stolen base in the third inning. After Duda hit his sacrifice fly, Neil Walker walked for the first time this year. Don’t worry, he would add a homerun in the eighth. The second run scored in the first would later score on an error. Sarcastic Mets fans would tell you this is the first time all year the Mets manufactured a run. 

In any event, this game was what you would expect, or rather, what we should expect from Braves-Mets games this year. The Mets pitching and offense dominated. Every Mets starter, including Matz, reached base at least once. The Third Baseman Formerly Known as David Wright (RIP Prince) hit two doubles. He was 2-5 with one run, two RBI, and two strikeouts. Once again tales of his demise were greatly exaggerated. 

Somewhat surprisingly, Juan Lagares got the start in center for an ailing Yoenis Cespedes. It was surprising because Jhoulys Chacin, who is a right handed pitcher. Before Cespedes was signed, it was presumed there was going to be a centerfield platoon with Alejandro De Aza facing the eighties. 

Other than the Lagares -De Aza decision, nothing about tonight was surprising was the Mets domination. Once all was said and done, the Mets won 8-2. They need to dominate teams like this.  They need to sweep teams like this. The Mets are in the process of doing that. They’re getting back on track. 

page top

Mets Powered by Grandy Slam

Before the game, Matt Harvey declared he figured out his mechanical problems, and that he was back. He took no chances as the Mets ore the traditional road grays instead of the blue alternates he prefers. The Mets need him to be back because he has not resembled the Matt Harvey we’ve seen:

First inning, Harvey came out guns blazing. He got three quick outs, including one strikeout. After the first, it was a struggle. It could’ve been the same problems he’s had all year. It could’ve been the delay due to the need to change home plate umpires due to the home plate umpire getting injured on a foul tip. In any event, Harvey’s pitches were up. His velocity was generally down (about 1-2 MPH), and the Braves were making solid contact.

Fortunately, the Braves were only able to score runs in the second. The first was an RBI single by old friend Kelly Johnson. Another run would score off an RBI double by Mallex Smith. Harvey would be in trouble most of the night. He would’ve allowed more runs in the fifth but for Yoenis Cespedes’ arm:

Keith Hernandez was right. He missed the cut-off man, but it was a near perfect throw that got the runner. It reminded me of Major League when Lou Brown essentially said to Willie Mays Hayes to never do it again.
Cespedes also left his impression at the plate with his seventh game with an extra-base hit. In the seventh, he hit an RBI double to score David Wright, who hit an opposite field one out double himself. Cespedes came up gingerly after sliding awkwardly into second. It should’ve been a standup double, but he didn’t break it out of the box presumably thinking it was a homerun. A noticeably uncomfortable Cespedes stayed in the game despite the a Mets having a 6-2 lead. He would eventually have to be pulled:

Curtis Granderson was responsible for the other five. In the second, Granderson hit his first grand slam as a Met. In his very next at bat, he hit a solo shot off of Braves’ starter Bud Norris. Granderson looks to be rounding into his 2015 form after a tough start.

The Mets’ bullpen would come through to get Harvey his first win of the year. Antonio Bastardo pitched 1.2 innings before needing to be pulled with runners on first and second. Jim Henderson only faced one batter – it was the seventh after all- and he allowed an RBI single to Adonis Garcia. Jerry Blevins came on and ended the rally by striking out A.J. Pierzynski. Blevins was the only one to get Pierzynski out all night.

After about an hour rain delay, Addison Reed came on to pitch the eighth. Originally, it was supposed to be Blevins, but the rain eliminate that option. Reed pitched a scoreless eighth despite a throwing error from Asdrubal Cabrera.
Jeurys Familia had a save opportunity in the ninth because God has a good sense of humor. With Cespedes out if the game, Terry Collins allowed Michael Conforto hit against Eric O’Flaherty. Conforto hit a soft liner to the shortstop, and Juan Lagares was doubled off of second for the inning ending double play. It didn’t matter. Familia pitch a scoreless ninth to preserve the 6-3 win.

In any event, Harvey struggled. He only pitched five innings allowing seven hits, two earned, one walk and five strikeouts. He fought through it. He still had work to do, but at least he has a win under his belt.

Game Notes: Freddie Freeman got his first hit in 20 at bats against Bastardo, who Collins was trying to pitch for two innings. While Harvey was struggling, Travis d’Arnaud tried talking to Harvey in the dugout. A visibly frustrated Harvey wanted none of it.

On another note, Ricky Bones was the pitching coach. Dan Warthen missed the game because he was attending his mother’s funeral. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Warthen family at this time.

page top

Cespedes Is Streaky Just Like Duda. 

As we’ve seen with Lucas Duda, fans can use streakiness as a perjorative to hide their contempt for a particular player. However, when fans love a player, like Yoenis Cespedes, they talk about how he carries a team or wins the NL East. 

Make no mistake about it, Cespedes is just as streaky as Duda. 

Cespedes was a superstar when he came to the Mets, or so it seemed. In his first 10 games as a Met, he hit .262/.279/.333 with no homers, five RBI, and seven strikeouts. Then Cespedes went off on an absolute tear starting with the last game the Mets played in Colorado. Starting from that point, Cespedes had a 31 game streak like none other. He hit .323/.379/.805 with 17 homers and 37 RBI. It was incredible. After that streak?  Cespedes finished the season hitting .280/.345/.320 with no homeruns and two RBI in eight games. 

Cespedes cold snap would carry into the postseason. In the postseason, he hit .222/.232/.352 with two homeruns and eight RBI in 14 games. Yes, Cespedes dealt with hand and shoulder injuries, but it’s also true Duda dealt with back problems. It doesn’t make either player anymore or any less streaky. 

So far this year, Cespedes has continued the streaky play. In the first eight games, he hit .233/.324/.333 with no homeruns, three RBI, and 11 strikeouts. In the six games since, starting with a trip to Cleveland, Cespedes is hitting .360/.429/1.000 with four homeruns and 10 RBI. 

Fact is Yoenis Cespedes is both streaky and beloved by the fan base.  He bunches his homeruns together during his hot streaks.  He’s capable of carrying a team on his back for long stretches of time without a moment’s notice. Therefore, next time you knock a player for being streaky, just remember the guy you put on a pedestal as being able to carry a team is just as streaky. 

Personally, I’ll take a Duda or Cespedes hot streak whenever they come. 

page top

Mets Gave This Game Away

These are the games that can be the difference between winning the division and the Wild Card. These games are the difference between making the postseason and playing golf. There’s no excuse why the Mets are 3-3 through six games against the Phillies. There’s no excuse why the Mets couldn’t hit a terrible Phillies bullpen. 

This Mets offense hit 12 home runs in three games. The problem was they didn’t hit one after the fifth, and they struck out 17 times. 

The Mets hit back-to-back home runs in three consecutive games. That was the first time it happened in Mets history. Lucas Duda was involved all three times.  That’s another way of saying Duda hit a homer in three consecutive games.  In essence, the Mets got hot, and their offense is working as intended. 

It’s gotten so absurd that the Mets were scoring runs on plays that appeared to be homeruns. The first run came off of what was originally ruled a three run homerun off the bat of Asdrubal Cabrera. Upon review, we had a Todd Zeile situation crossed with a Jeffrey Meier situation. It was changed to a groundrule double scoring one run. The next run would score on a wild pitch from Jeremy Hellickson. 

Bartolo Colon would relinquish the 2-0 first inning lead in the second allowing a two run homerun homerun to Freddy Galvis. The Mets fell behind 3-2 when David Lough hit a sac fly in the fourth. You know it was a deep fly because it scored Ryan Howard. Overall, Colon would pitch six innings allowing three earned, one walk, and four strikeouts. 

Colon had a chance to get the win because Yoenis Cespedes and Duda hit back-to-back homeruns in the fifth.  Colon didn’t get the win because the Mets bullpen blew the lead in the seventh. 

Jerry Blevins started the inning, and he allowed a one out double to Lough.  Addison Reed then came in and allowed Peter Bourjos to hit the game tying RBI single. After allowing the inherited runner to score, Reed got out of the inning. Antonio Bastardo came on and pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth. Terry Collins tabbed Jim Henderson after Bastardo even though it wasn’t the seventh inning. Henderson was able to navigate around a leadoff single. 

Hansel Robles pitched the eleventh, and he would take the hard luck loss. He allowed a leadoff double to Galvis. He would advance to third on a wild pitch. It was a wild pitch, but it should be noted it hit d’Arnaud in the pocket of his mitt before popping out. In any event, Robles appeared like he would get out of it. He survived a suicide squeeze due to a foul tip. He got to two outs. He got Bourjos to pop it up foul. Wright made his way over and he missed it. Wright had to contend with the wall, but he had room, and he missed it. Later in the at bat, Bourjos hit a ball down the line, which Wright fielded. However, Wright doesn’t even throw out someone with Bourjos’ speed even before spinal stenosis. 

Plain and simple, the Mets gave this game away. They need to do better against these second division clubs. The Nationals certainly are. The Mets will get their chance this weekend as they travel to Atlanta. 

Game Notes:  This was the Mets first extra inning game of the year.  David Wright might need the day off on Thursday after getting the Golden Sombrero today. It was the first time all year Wright hasn’t reached base.  He went 0-6.  Travis d’Arnaud seems to have put the early season nightmares behind him going 2-5 with two doubles. 

page top

Unsurprisingly the Mets Are Built on the Homerun

When Sandy Alderson, J.P. Riccardi, and Paul DePodesta were first hired by the Mets, everyone assumed the Mets were going to be recreated in the image of the high OBP Scott Hatteberg Oakland Athletics teams. 

However, upon reflection of what the Alderson regime has done here, the team has been more focused upon power than they’ve been on OBP. That philosophy was on display last year when Yoenis Cespedes came aboard, and it’s on display again this year:

Over the offseason, the Mets brought in three players to play everyday. There was the aforementioned Cespedes with his career .320 OBP. Cespedes also hit 35 homeruns last year while slugging .612 as a Met. Neil Walker has a career .336 OBP, but he averages 16 homeruns per year. He led all Major League second basemen in homeruns last year. Asdrubal Cabrera was signed to be the new shortstop. He has a career .329 OBP, but he did hit 15 homeruns last year. 

That’s not to suggest the Mets do not value OBP. This is the same team that did choose Lucas Duda over Ike Davis, in part because Duda got on base more frequently. Rather, it shows the Mets put more emphasis on homerun power than OBP. The Mets aren’t looking to clog the bases and manufacture runs. Rather, they are looking for players that can change an inning or a game with one swing of the bat. 

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. 

Let’s re-examine that fabled 2002 Oakland Athletics Moneyball team. As we know, they actively sought out players like Hatteberg because they were undervalued and could get on base. That year, the Athletics ranked fourth in the AL and seventh in the majors in OBP. The same year, the Athletics ranked fourth in the majors (and the AL) in homeruns. While the Athletics no longer had Jason Giambi, one through nine, their lineup still had players that could hit the longball. The OBP got the headlines because it was a shift in how people viewed baseball, but the homeruns are what powered that Athletics offense. 

The Athletics being powered by the longball wasn’t anything new or groundbreaking. It was what powered the Athletics when Alderson was the GM. From 1988 – 1990, the Athletics went to three World Series winning one. In 1988, the Athletics were ranked second in the majors and the AL in homeruns. Their rankings slipped in 1989 to seventh in the AL and eleventh in the majors, in part due to injuries like Jose Canseco‘s wrist, but the Athletics rose back up the ranks in 1989. In 1989, the Athletics were ranked third in the AL and fourth in the majors in homeruns. 

Overall, Sandy Alderson, J.P. Riccardi, and Paul DePodesta have built teams that hit homeruns. Even if everyone expected different, this regime is doing what they’ve always done, and that’s building an offense based on their batters hitting homeruns. By the way, when they’ve successfully accomplished this goal, they’ve won a lot of games and went to the postseason. 

page top

Citizen’s Bank is Homer Sweet Homer for the Mets

Thank goodness for PIP (picture in picture) technology. Because of that, I was able to watch both the Mets-Phillies game and Game Three between the Rangers and Penguins. By the way, if not for my wife and the Declaration of Independence, I’d propose getting rid of Pennsylvania a together. 

In any event, the Mets did all people who were both Mets and Rangers fans a huge favor tonight by blowing out the Phillies and giving Rangers fans something to cheer about. 

While the Phillies have terrific young starting pitching, we were reminded of the perils of relying on young pitching. While Vincent Velasquez has pitched incredibly well this season (including a terrific game against the Mets), he struggled against the Mets. The Mets jumped on him right away when Michael Conforto hit a two run homer in the first. It was not a good start for Velasquez who only lasted 4.1 innings allowing five hits, five runs (two earned), no walks, and four strikeouts. With the Phillies bullpen, the game was over once Yoenis Cespedes did this:

This was more than enough for Logan Verrett, who once again had a terrific spot start. Verrett would go six innings allowing six hits, no runs, one walk, and four strikeouts. He seemingly had someone on every inning, but he navigated how way through all the trouble. 

Overall, it was the type of night you expected from a World Series contender against a team that’s expected to contend for the first pick in the draft. The Mets offense went off hitting six homeruns. Aside from the aforementioned homeruns, the Mets got homeruns from Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, and two from Neil Walker. Walker gave one a ride in the ninth but fell just short of a three homerun game. All told, the Mets would score 11 runs. 

Things went so well, there was even a Rafael Montero sighting. Keep in mind, that was only after Terry Collins pitched Jim Henderson of an inning to protect the then 9-0 lead. As always, the seventh inning belongs to Henderson. 

Montero wasn’t good. He allowed two hits, one earned, one walk, and two strikeouts. It would’ve been much worse if not for a Gold Glove play by Juan Lagares, who came into the game after the blowout started, robbing Maikel Franco of a homerun:

Naturally, Collins gave the ball to Hansel Robles in the ninth to preserve the 11-1 victory rather than letting the long man Montero, who will soon be sent back to Triple-A, finish the game. 

Right now, the Mets are beginning to get in a rhythm and are beating up on bad teams.  It’s what they did very successfully last year. It’s what they’ll need to do in order to return to the postseason. 

Game Notes: The Mets are back over .500 at 7-6. Every Mets starter got a hit, including Verrett, who had his first career hit. Verrett has not allowed a run in 12 innings as a starter. Travis d’Arnaud returned to the lineup after getting hit on the elbow on Saturday. The referees are still calling the Rangers-Penguins one-sided even as Sidney Crosby asks for the Rangers to get a game misconduct for giving him a mean look. Rangers trail the Penguins 2-1 in the series. 

* photo from the Mets Twitter account

page top

Thor, Wright, and Duda Had a Whale of a Game

So far this season, two of the positive story lines, even when the team was really struggling was David Wright playing like the David Wright of old, and the continued development of Noah Syndergaard. Both were on display tonight. 

Just like when Wright first came off the DL last year, he homered tonight in his first at bat in Citizen’s Bank Ballpark:

He also made a nice bare-handed play in the field:

The Mets needed Wright because once again runs were hard to come by against a Phillies starter. The Phillies young starters are very underrated. Tonight, it was Jerad Eickhoff. Once again, he showed a filthy 12-6 curveball. He would pitch seven innings allowing five hits, two earned, three walks, and nine strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 1.89. 

In the sixth, the Mets broke a 1-1 tie with a two out rally. Yoenis Cespedes would hit a triple, and he would score on a Lucas Duda RBI single. With Duda is struggling this year, he is hitting 4-10 with RISP. It was not the last time we would hear from Duda. For his part, Cespedes showed no ill effects from the bruised leg in the field on the basepaths. 

The real mystery from tonight was how in the world the Phillies scored the one run. Syndergaard was throwing fastballs that appeared to be 101.9 MPH. His fastball was hovering around 100 MPH all night. His slider was hovering around 95 MPH all night. His change was around 90, and his curveball, or Thor’s hammer, was around 85 MPH. His stuff was once again practically unhittable. 

Overall, Syndergaard pitched seven innings allowing five hits, one earned, two walks, and eight strikeouts. This actually raised his ERA to 0.90. 

Once Eickhoff left the game, the Mets began to tee off against a terrible Phillies bullpen. In the eighth, Duda hit a laser to right field for his first homerun of the season. 

Neil Walker would go back-to-back with an opposite field homerun to left. It was his fourth of the year. In the ninth, Wright would hit his second homerun of the game. Both were opposite field shots. They turned a tight 2-1 pitcher’s duel into a comfortable 5-1 win. 

Antonio Bastardo pitched a scoreless eighth. Jeurys Familia came into a non-save situation. On the one hand, it could’ve been your typical closer struggling in a non-save situation. It also could’ve part of what has been, at least for him, a tough start to the season. Familia let up a single and double before settling down. He got the next three out, but not before allowing a run to score on a fielder’s choice. Fortunately, Familia finally shut the door before allowing a run preserving the 5-2 win. 

The Mets are back to .500, and with a soft part of their schedule this week, the Mets look to be ready to take off. 
Game Notes: The Mets hitters continue to strike out a lot. Tonight, they struck out 11 times. Mets have hit 23 homeruns in their last 11 games at Citizen’s Bank. Travis d’Arnaud missed the game with the bruised elbow. In the eighth, Juan Lagares was double switched into the game forcing Michael Conforto to the bench. The Mets allowed three stolen bases including two when Syndergaard was on the mound.  It’s the one thing he doesn’t do well. In the fourth, when Duda popped out, a whale appeared on the screen:

 
I guess the parakeet’s and the raccoon’s days are numbered. 

page top

For Four’s Sake

Tonight’s start by Noah Syndergaard was good. Why do I describe it as good?  Because no matter what adjective you would pick to describe his start would be grossly underselling it, so you might as well just go with good. Too bad the Mets offense can’t even be described as putrid. Otherwise, Syndergaard and the Mets might’ve gotten the win tonight. 

Syndergaard just dominated the Marlins like he did the Royals – like he’s going to do to the rest of baseball this year. Syndergaard went seven innings allowing seven hits, one earned, one walk, and 12 strikeouts. His ERA actually increased to 0.69. 

However, as good as Syndergaard was, he still needed some help. Derek Dietrich would start the inning with a leadoff double, and he would wind up running the Marlins out of the inning. After a ground out and line out, Ichiro Suzuki singled to short, and Dietrich did a poor Eric Hosmer impersonation. Lucas Duda nailed him easily at the plate. Even if Ichiro would’ve been ruled out on replay, it was good to see Duda get some measure of redemption. 

However, despite Syndergaard’s domination, the Mets still lost. They lost because the Mets still are not hitting or scoring runs. 

The only run was scored on a Duda first inning RBI single. After that, it was pretty much nothing. At least tonight, they had the excuse of a dominant Jose Fernandez for five innings. Yoenis Cespedes gave one a ride in the third, but it was knocked down by the 29+ MPH winds blowing in from left field. 

The turning point was Dee Gordon‘s eighth inning sixteen pitch at bat against Jim Henderson.  Gordon would single to left. Henderson would walk two of the next three to leave the bases loaded. Henderson just lost his control, and he almost hit Giancarlo Stanton in the head. Jerry Blevins came into the game, and Don Mattingly used Martin Prado to pinch hit. Prado would get the game winning sac fly, and the Marlins would win 2-1. 

The Mets have now lost four in a row and are 1-4 at home. 

Game Notes: Terry Collins allowed Michael Conforto to hit against a lefty with runners on first and second with one out in the sixth. He grounded into an inning ending double play. Cespedes had another good night at the plate going 1-3 with a walk. Collins ignored the fact that Henderson is playing his first full season since shoulder surgery:

page top