The Mets had mixed success against the Cardinals early last week. On Tuesday, Jay Bruce made the headlines for his astonishing offensive performance. He mashed an early triple, bringing the Mets within two runs of the lead, and hit the go-ahead shot in extra innings. His heroics were overshadowed by Yoenis Cespedes’ ludicrous 453 foot game-tying homer in the ninth, but Bruce was undoubtedly the game-changer.
Despite Tuesday’s encouraging 6-5 victory, the Mets flailed through the rest of the series. Michael Wacha dominated them on Wednesday, as Kolten Wong, Jed Gyorko and Marcell Ozuna helped the Cards score nine times. Thursday’s contest was both more competitive and more discouraging as the Mets spoiled a excellent start by Noah Syndergaard, losing the 4-3 contest on a 10th inning walk-off single.
They won two out of three against the rebuilding Padres, finishing the week with a 17-9 record. deGrom continued his dominance with a seven-plus innings, eight strikeout performance on Friday, while Cespedes got hot over the weekend. One of his home runs even soared into a garbage can in the bullpen; it was insane — basically like playing a backyard game of KanJam, but with the target pushed back four hundred feet. Lawn game aficionados know what I mean.
There aren’t any huge takeaways from the Mets’ lukewarm 3-2 record this week. They weren’t swept by the Padres, which would elicit a grim reassessment of the young season, nor were they exceptionally good. But one trend seems worth pointing out: In 74 innings pitched, deGrom and Syndergaard have combined for a 2.43 ERA, 94 strikeouts, and 20 earned runs. The two righthanders, one with flowing locks and the other freshly shorn, have driven the Mets to stunning heights. Yet their excellence has largely obscured the awfulness of Steven Matz, Jason Vargas, Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey, who’ve allowed 23 more earned runs in 63 innings. This is an enormous disparity, and it has worrying implications for the rest of the season. Can our twin Atlases endure the weight of the world for 133 more games?
Injury Update
After a long slump, Cespedes was finally getting into a groove on Sunday afternoon. He had two hits in two at bats, scored twice, and was presumably still riding high from the KanJam homer. Then he injured his thumb trying to steal third. He isn’t expected to be out for long, but it’s still disappointing that such an inconsequential (dare I say unnecessary) play cost the Mets their best hitter.
The Catcher Situation
Last week, the Mets were seeking internal catcher replacements after D’Arnaud and Plawecki’s injuries. They settled on Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido, a pair of defense-first organizational prospects. “From a defensive standpoint they are doing a nice job,” said Sandy Alderson on Saturday. He added, “We would like to see a little more offense out of both of them…We continue to monitor the market.” It’s good that the Mets are realizing what they have in Lobaton and Nido — two catchers who won’t sniff d’Arnaud’s offensive output — and are seeking to address the situation.
Quick Hits
- An interesting article from Bloomberg News: “Mets Shares Are for Sale Six Years After Madoff Fraud
- Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo have earned plaudits for their strong bullpen performances. This New York Post article argues that Paul Sewald’s importance has been overlooked. He has a 2.13 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 11.2 innings, and he credits his changeup for improved results against left-handed batters.
- Jeurys Familia was out for Sunday’s game against the Padres due to the passing of his father-in-law, which explains why he pitched eighth inning of Saturday night’s blowout.
- Jay Bruce is preparing for game time at first base, where he played eleven games last season. He’s an outfielder by trade, but Nimmo, Conforto, Cespedes and Gonzalez have winnowed down the available at-bats.
- Video games may have contributed to Gsellman’s poor 2017 season. He told the New York Times that he spent much of his time hunched over his Xbox One, elbows on his knees, playing Fifa and Call of Duty. “I was sitting like that all the time,” he said. He thinks that his poor posture led to an inconsistent release point, throwing his whole kinetic chain off-balance.
- Next year, Ed Burns will release a documentary about Mets legend Tom Seaver. The film corresponds with the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Miracle Mets, when Tom Terrific tallied a league-leading twenty five wins.
- The Mets’ defense ranks second to last in defensive runs saved, with -12. The next worst team, the Nationals, have -4 DFS.
Photo credit: Jake Roth – USA Today Sports