New York’s night in Miami got off to a rocky start long before first pitch, when starting pitcher Jacob deGrom had to be scratched late due to a family emergency. In his place, young Corey Oswalt made his first Major League start and, to put it lightly, it did not go well.

Oswalt kept the Marlins off the board in each of the first two innings, but ran into immediate problems in the third. Miami center fielder Lewis Brinson led off the frame with a long home run, and while Oswalt got the pitcher to lightly ground out afterwards, he was far from out of the woods. Leadoff man Derek Dietrich then walked and moved to second on a base hit from Brian Anderson, and a single from J.T. Realmuto suddenly doubled the Marlins’ lead to 2-0. Two batters later, Starlin Castro extended the advantage to 3-0 with an RBI single of his own, and then one swing from J.T. Riddle took this from a bad inning to a nightmarish one. The three-run homer knocked Oswalt out of the game, and with the perpetual struggles of the Mets’ offense, being down 6-0 in the third basically meant game over.

Devin Mesoraco did put New York on the board in the road fourth with an RBI double to left, but with two on and two out, pinch-hitter Dom Smith grounded out to end that threat.

The 6-1 score held until the bottom of the seventh when Cameron Maybin plated Brinson with a two-out single off rookie reliever Tyler Bashlor, sending this game to the eighth at 7-1. New York immediately put themselves in position to get back into the contest, putting the first three hitters on base with nobody out. Wilmer Flores then unfortunately bounced into a run scoring 6-4-3 double play, but the Marlins were more than thrilled to trade the run for two outs. In the bottom of the inning, Miami got the run right back anyway on a sac fly from Miguel Rojas, and that would be the final run scoring play in the 8-2 final.

Really the only two positive takeaways for the Mets in this one were the performances of Jerry Blevins and Amed Rosario.

Blevins, New York’s struggling lefty specialist, faced four batters and retired them all, including a strikeout against the right handed hitting Anderson.

Rosario, meanwhile, had drawn only eight walks all season prior to Friday night, the primary reason his on-base percentage has been underwhelming. He recently sat for a few days to work on plate discipline and it apparently paid off, as he looked good at the plate, tracking the ball well en route to drawing three walks in a game for the first time in his career.

Up next the Mets will send deGrom to the hill on Saturday afternoon, provided everything is okay with the familial situation he dealt with.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from covering Collins over the last two seasons, it’s that he doesn’t change his ingrained habits. Nori Aoki, Jose Reyes, and Asdrubal Cabrera led off for the Mets. Cabrera is the youngest of those players at 31. Meanwhile, Dom Smith and Amed Rosario are “protected” from getting an additional developmental at-bat by hitting in the bottom of the order. Gavin Cecchini may not fit in the Mets’ future, but Collins won’t even give him a chance. Just like we saw with Michael Conforto, Collins is unwilling to play the rookies. Ironically, the one thing Collins did well his last year in Anaheim was play 22-year old Troy Glaus every day.

Seth Lugo pitched four innings and 76 pitches before getting pulled for a pinch hitter. Lugo had some command issues, but he didn’t walk anybody and only gave up two runs. Then we saw Collins’ typical bullpen management. Chasen Bradford came in for the fifth. Josh Smoker got two outs, hit a batter, and Collins turned to Paul Sewald to get a righty. Sewald struck out Makiel Franco, sat down for half an inning, then came back for the seventh. Naturally he wasn’t as sharp, getting a strikeout then walking the next three batters. Collins has developed a bad habit of using a second reliever for part of an inning, sitting that pitcher down, then calling that pitcher back up for more work.

At a certain point, most Mets fans probably just want the season to end, Unfortunately, the Mets couldn’t even get that right on Saturday, Rookie callup Jamie Callahan came in for Sewald with the bases loaded, one out and a 4-2 lead. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Aaron Altherr and then a hard single to Rhys Hoskins, trying the game at four. Both the Mets and Phillies went to some of their best relievers, and A.J. Ramos was actually able to throw a 1-2-3 inning. Hoskins drove a ball to deep left-center in the tenth but couldn’t get it out of the park with the wind blowing in. Reyes came up with two on in the 11th but swung at every 3-2 pitch out of the zone until he missed one. Finally Cabrera, hit a three-run homer to put more runs on the board and Jeurys Familia threw a 1-2-3 inning for the save.

Media Meltdown, Continued

Sandy Alderson met with reporters before Saturday’s game to take responsibility for what he called a breakdown of the team’s professional culture, saying, “I’m the leader of this group. I feel responsible for every aspect of this operation, particularly in those areas where they fall short.” However, Alderson did not deny Marc Carig’s reporting that owner Fred Wilpon prevented the front office from firing Collins. Alderson was probably smart to avoid directly commenting on Collins’ bullpen use, since Collins continued to make the same mistakes against yesterday. More than anything else, Alderson seemed upset that someone would talk to a beat reporter about the club’s many obvious problems.

The Mets will play their last game of the season today. Noah Syndergaard will throw 20-25 pitches. Then the Mets’ taxed bullpen will go one final game and every Mets fan will wait on Twitter to see if (when) Collins is officially told he won’t get a new contract.

Photo credit: Eric Hartline – USA Today Sports

In the latest installment of Mets-ian injury luck, Jacob deGrom was pushed back from his Friday night start against the Nationals with a stomach ailment. Instead, Robert Gsellman took the mound against the NL East champions. Gsellman had a great start in Atlanta his last time out, but has been very disappointing after a promising rookie cameo at the end of 2016. For the Nationals, Edwin Jackson and his 6.38 FIP took the mound. They also left literally every position player of note on the bench, running out what was very clearly a post-clinching lineup as they coast into a matchup with the Cubs in the NLDS.

Suffice to say that this series is far from what we all expected and hoped for at the start of the season. This could’ve been a high stakes, tension filled fight for the division late in the season, with both sides matching aces (think back to that three-game series where this happened on Sunday Night Baseball) as they attempt to lock up the division. Instead, rather than struggling to keep our heads on straight and our hearts in our chest for three games, we’ll have to struggle for reasons to watch.

2015 feels so far away, doesn’t it?

Game Recap

Gsellman got off to a good start against the Nationals’ reserve lineup, setting them down in order in the first inning with a strikeout. He lost his control in the second however, as two walks and a HBP (with a wild pitch mixed in) loaded the bases with nobody out. In one of the better displays of composure we’ve seen from a Mets pitcher of late, Gsellman bounced back to work out of it, inducing pop ups from Adrian Sanchez and Pedro Severino before striking out Edwin Jackson to leave the bases loaded.

Perhaps encouraged by their starter’s effort, the Mets got on the board immediately afterwards. Travis d’Arnaud lead off with the bottom of the second by yanking a fastball up around his shoulders down the left field line for a solo home run. Dom Smith followed with a single, but the bottom third of the Mets’ order couldn’t do anything with that baserunner. Nevertheless, the Mets had a 1-0 going to the third.

Unfortunately, Gsellman’s troubles returned in the third. With one out, former Met Alejandro de Aza lined a ball to center field that Juan Lagares misjudged, and it rolled to the wall for a triple. Gsellman then hit Howie Kendrick to put two runners on for Adam Lind, who launched a down-and-in fastball over the right-center field wall for a three-run home run. In a flash, a 1-0 lead was a 3-1 deficit.

The Mets put together a small rally in the bottom of the third as they were seemingly ready to respond. Nori Aoki singled on a bunt ground ball and stole second, and a walk to Asdrubal Cabrera two batters late put runners on first and second with one out. This is the 2017 Mets though, so of course Brandon Nimmo hit a ball hard to de Aza that was caught on the fly and turned into an inning-ending double play.

Gsellman bounced back after the home run, striking out two in a 1-2-3 top of the fourth. He pitched well in the fifth as well, but was undone by some poor defense and worse umpiring. de Aza reached on a fielding error by Amed Rosario with one out, and after a blatantly missed strike three call to Howie Kendrick, the Washington second baseman drove an RBI double to right-center field to stretch the lead to 4-1. Adam Lind was walked intentionally to give a righty-righty matchup against Victor Robles, but he launched a two run triple to left-center, increasing the deficit to 6-1. In an inning that should have been over in three batters, the Nationals scored three runs.

After this rally by the Nats, the Mets managed to answer. Lagares laid down a very nice bunt single, stole second, then scored on a single from Aoki. Jose Reyes and Cabrera followed with singles of their own, pushing another run across the plate and putting men at first and second with one out. Brandon Nimmo worked a six pitch at bat (shocking) but struck out, bringing Travis d’Arnaud to the plate. d’Arnaud got another fastball up in the zone from Jackson that he liked, and he lined a three-run home run to left-center to tie the game at six.

Chasen Bradford replaced Gsellman in the sixth and struck out one in a scoreless inning. In the bottom half, the Mets took the lead against Joe Blanton. Juan Lagares doubled to left with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch. Nori Aoki drove him in with a double to deep right-center over Victor Robles, who was playing quite shallow against the typically slappy outfielder. Lagares’s run gave the Mets a 7-6 advantage at the end of the sixth.

Paul Sewald replaced Chasen Bradford with 1.2 scoreless innings of work (with some help from Lagares on a diving catch), striking out one, and Jerry Blevins finished the eighth by inducing a fly out from Daniel Murphy. That set the stage for A.J. Ramos, making his first appearance since blowing a three-run lead in Miami on Tuesday. This outing didn’t start much better, as Ramos walked Wilmer Difo and gave up a hard line drive to de Aza. Aoki made his latest impressive contribution to the Mets to help out, making a fantastic diving catch to turn that line drive into an out.

Ramos wasn’t as lucky to Howie Kenrick, who dinked a single in front of Aoki to put runners on first and third with one out. That led Terry Collins to yank his struggling closer for Josh Smoker. Smoker did his job, inducing a pop up from Adam Lind for the second out, setting the stage for Jeurys Familia’s first save opportunity since returning from the disabled list. Familia did his job, striking out the only batter he faced to secure the win.

Thoughts from the Game

Victor Robles is really, really fast. Like, Billy Hamilton fast. I know that last tidbit is probably not true, but it certainly feels like it watching him fly around the bases.

I remain confident that the A.J. Ramos trade is a move the Mets will regret. Ramos is in line for about $10 million dollars next season, and he simply isn’t worth that much. His consistent issues with control have prevented him from registering an elite or even particularly good cFIP as a reliever over the last couple seasons, and his ERA has risen to match. Add in that the Mets gave up a pitcher who was probably better than any player they received in their “hard sell” and things look even worse.

The clear benefit to Ramos is that he is a one-year commitment, amtching the current front office’s long standing disdain for handing out long term contracts to relievers. When building a team for the long haul, this is a good strategy, as relievers are volatile and unreliable in addition to not being a huge chunk of value compared to other spots on the roster. This Mets team is headed for a downturn, however, and the Mets should be doling out big contracts to actually elite relievers, since the long term consequences don’t matter – the team is going to be bad in two or three years anyway.

But no, the Mets will continue to be cheap and delusional about their place on the win curve, and we’ll be stuck having a heart attack anytime Ramos enters the game.

Other Met News

Whisperings from Jon Heyman and elsewhere over the past week have hinted heavily that Terry Collins will not be back next season. Some with the team are convinced he wants to retire, while others simply won’t make any comments about his job security (never a good sign for any manager, let alone one with an expiring contract).

Needless to say, every Met fans should have Handel’s Messiah going off at 120 decibels in their head. Collins has managed the most games of any Mets manager and won the second most games, leading the team to two consecutive playoff appearances in 2015 and 2016 for only the second time in team history. Despite those credentials, Collins has been a detriment to the team more often than not, constructing questionable lineups, refusing to play young players, and making horrendous decisions with his pitchers. Any comments with regard to his ability to manage a clubhouse well seems moot as well given some of the issue the Mets have had (such as with Asdrubal Cabrera).

Where the Mets turn for their next manager is an open question. Smart money is with the usual suspects that have long been rumored to be next in line, such as Bob Geren, Chip Hale, and Dick Scott. Recent reports have suggested the front office wants to bring in someone more familiar with analytics, though bringing up Mike Matheny as an example of such a manager is concerning (Matheny consistently makes many of the same mistakes Terry does). Pedro Lopez has long been considered another internal candidate as a coach who has done well with Mets prospects at multiple levels of the minor leagues. Unfortunately, those of us hoping for a more new age, out-of-the-box hire (oh what I would do to make John Baker the manager for 2018) are probably not going to get our wish, but at the very least we should get an upgrade over Terry Collins’ particular brand of ineptitude.

In other news that I have less to rant about, Noah Syndergaard is scheduled to make a one inning start today, after which Matt Harvey will take over. It’ll be Thor’s first appearance since tearing his lat on April 30. Throwing him out there for an inning is about as low risk as things can get, so if it has a positive psychological impact, there’s very limited drawback.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

It can’t get any worse than last night, that’s for sure.

A day after Matt Harvey (with some help from the bullpen) got slapped around by the Marlins en route to a 13-1 loss, the Mets went back to work in Miami. Seth Lugo and his barely intact UCL faced off against Odrisamer Despaigne, a pitcher with a K/BB of less than one this season who has nevertheless given the Mets fits in the past (he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning while with the Padres in 2014). Phil Evans made his first MLB start at second base, and that that’s a highlight for the primer of this game tells you just how far we’ve sunk.

Game Recap

Jose Reyes got the Mets off to a fast start, dropping a solo home run into the right center field seats with one out in the first. That would be all the offense they managed for the first five innings, as Dom Smith left two men on in the third and the Mets went in order in the second, fourth, and fifth.

Seth Lugo made that lead stand up at first. He worked around a walk to Giancarlo Stanton in the first (one of many unintentional-intentional free passes the Mets have doled out to the prodigious slugger this season) by inducing a reviewed double play from Christian Yelich. He induced another double play in the second, working around a single from Justin Bour and a double from Derek Dietrich. Things were quieter in the third, when Lugo set the Marlins down in order.

Miami finally broke through in the fourth, when Yelich launched his 18th homer of the season to left center. J.T. Realmuto followed with a two out double, but Lugo struck out Dietrich to keep the game tied at one. Lugo bounced back in the fifth with another 1-2-3 inning, but that would end his evening. The right-hander tossed five innings of one run ball, striking out three and walking one. The outing lowered his ERA to 5.03.

Though Lugo departed a tie game, the Mets worked to get him in line for the win. In the top of the sixth, Reyes led off with a single before both Asdrubal Cabrera and Dom Smith lined out. With two outs, Travis d’Arnaud stepped to the plate, and he blasted a two-run home run to center field to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Brandon Nimmo followed that up by lining a first-pitch single (a very uncharacteristic move) to left, but he was stranded when Juan Lagares flew out to end the inning.

Josh Smoker entered for the bottom of the sixth and worked a scoreless inning, working around yet another walk to Giancarlo Stanton as well as a wild pitch. After a quiet top of the seventh, Jeurys Familia relieved Smoker, striking out two and walking one in a scoreless inning. It was one of Familia’s better outings since returning from the disabled list with blood clots in his throwing shoulder, as he looks to work himself back into closer shape going into the 2018 season.

The Mets put together another threat in the top of the eighth, when Cabrera singled with one out. Smith followed with a strikeout before d’Arnaud singled and Nimmo walked to load the bases with two outs. Lagares then had a ten-pitch battle with Junichi Tazawa, including five straight foul balls. Unfortunately, when Lagares finally got around on a ball, he lined it directly to second baseman Derek Dietrich to end the threat.

After working around yet another walk to Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the eighth, the Mets managed to push across an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Phil Evans lead off with a line drive single to center, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Matt Reynolds, then to third on a ground out from Nori Aoki. Reyes drove him in with a single, stretching the lead to 4-1.

That run would prove to be important, as A.J. Ramos made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Justin Bour lead off the inning by golfing a pitching that was practically lying on home plate for a solo home run. J.T. Realmuto then singled on a slow ground ball to short, and Brian Anderson made things even dicier with a single to put runners on first and third with one out two batters later. Ramos pulled within one out of the save before A.J. Ellis pushed a ground ball through the right side of the infield to cut the Marlins deficit to one run. Ichiro Suzuki followed with a line drive single just over the glove of Reyes, driving in Anderson to tie the game at four.

At this point, most of us were probably just rooting for the Mets to complete the implosion and lose the game. Instead, Paul Sewald entered (after Ramos walked Stanton for the fourth time this game) and struck out Christian Yelich, forcing the game into extra innings. Mercifully, things ended quickly. A leadoff single from Smith was wasted, and J.T. Realmuto lined a walkoff solo home run off of Sewald in the bottom of the 10th.

The loss drops the Mets to 65-86, keeping them in the fifth spot in the reverse standings. Another painful loss, but at least they didn’t drag things out too long.

Thoughts from the Game

I’d use this game as an excuse to bring up my doubts about A.J. Ramos (and my corresponding dislike of the trade to acquire him), but judging relievers on a one-game sample is silly and pointless. This could also be a chance to rant about Terry Collins failing to recognize when a reliever has nothing, but basically every major league manager does this with his closer. Perhaps another chance to complain about Jose Reyes still being on this team, but he went 4-for-5 with a home run.

No, there’s just nothing worth mustering up the energy to complain about at this juncture in the season. We’re just playing out the string here folks, even in the recap section.

Other Met News

Amed Rosario missed a second straight game with gastroenteritis, with the Mets describing him as violently sick. Rosario had a bout of the stomach flu earlier this season, missing a week or so of action while with Las Vegas. The young shortstop visited the hospital but spent the night in the team hotel, and has been instructed to stay there while resting up in order to get back to game shape. With the Mets season already long over and Rosario having received a decent sampling of MLB pitching, there’s no reason to rush him back at this point.

Photo credit: Jason Vinlove – USA Today Sports

Of course, 2017 hasn’t worked anything like the Mets had hoped. Those hapless Braves have a better record than the should-have-been-a-contender Mets. Jacob deGrom has been an ace, but he’s been the only healthy ace. Brandon Nimmo and replacement level pickup Nori Aoki were fueling the offense. Nonetheless, Saturday’s big win reminded fans of what could have been instead of a team just playing out the stretch while booking tee times.

deGrom dominates: Jacob deGrom scattered five hits over seven strong innings as, once again, the Mets’ ace relied on command and attacking the strike zone. Of course it’s easier to rely on command when you can throw the ball past people at 95 miles per hour, but deGrom hasn’t pitched this efficiently throughout the entire season. He racked up the walks trying to blow everyone away in May, and his walks have crept up again over three disappointing starts. On Saturday, deGrom recommitted himself to efficiency and overpowered the thin Braves lineup.

Offense strikes quickly: The Mets got to former ace R.A. Dickey in a hurry. Juan Lagares singled past second baseman Ozzie Albies and Dom Smith motored around from second to score in the second inning. Gavin Cecchini drove in Travis d’Arnaud to get his first of three hits. Aoki, Nimmo, and Asdrubal Cabrera hit consecutive doubles in the third to score two more runs. Cecchini singled in another run in the fourth and Smith capped the Mets’ offense with a two-out double in the seventh.

Bullpen hangs on: After a week of bad losses, Terry Collins turned to Jeurys Familia and A.J. Ramos to give them some work. Familia looked rusty as the Braves put the first three pitches in to play. A.J. Ramos started worse, walking leadoff batter Kurt Suzuki. He followed up with a wild pitch and collided with Smith going for a pop up. Ramos dug a bigger hole looking for the perfect game ending pitch against Jace Peterson, going to a full count, and giving up a single on a fastball over the middle. Ramos looked for another perfect pitch and gave up a two-run single. Once Dan Warthen came out and told Ramos to throw strikes, he was finally able to get the last out.

Yesterday’s Terry Collins headscratcher: After scoring two runs off Dickey, the Mets had runners on the corners with one out. Collins asked deGrom to put down a suicide squeeze bunt. Against the knuckleballer! DeGrom missed the sign and pulled the bat back, leaving Lagares hung out to dry.

What’s Next? Julio Teheran makes his fifth start against the Mets in 2017. Even in a down year, the Braves’ most established pitcher has been effectively wild against the Mets, limiting hitters to a .596 OPS.

Photo credit: Adam Hagy – USA Today Sports

On a night Noah Syndergaard pitched a rehab assignment with the Brooklyn Cyclones in the final game of their dismal season (two innings, three runs allowed on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts), Mets fans will be forgiven for thinking the most compelling baseball in the Mets universe was not being played in Flushing. And when Ron Darling starts waxing about US Open results not even a third of the way through the game, you know that no matter how professional broadcasters can be, there is very little for anyone to care for in the remains of this season, even when a paycheck is involved.

The Mets returned to their winning ways against the Reds, with a solid offensive showing behind the undoubted star of the game Brandon Nimmo having a night, with two home runs and a double, driving in three runs. He also made a terrific running catch in left field to lead off the ninth inning.

A weird moment came in the bottom of the third with two outs, as Asdrubal Cabrera hit a ball that caromed pretty clearly off the top of the wall but was called a home run by rookie third base umpire Shane Livensparger; while an umpire review quickly called it back to a double, Terry Collins forced a needless video replay. Cabrera would leave the game early after tweaking what appeared to be his back while making a nifty barehand play.

Trailing by a run, the Mets took the lead for good in the fourth; after a leadoff walk to Dominic Smith, Kevin Plawecki doubled to right field, putting two runners in scoring position with no outs; Reds rookie Tyler Mahle struck out Matt Reynolds and Matt Harvey, but Jose Reyes poked a ground ball through the right side to score both runners and put the Mets ahead, 3-2. In the fifth, Brandon Nimmo and Juan Lagares led off with back-to-back home runs.

Matt Harvey lasted five innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs with one strikeout after 74 pitches. Josh Smoker entered the game in relief in the bottom of the fifth, and promptly struck out the side. Jeurys Familia pitched an uneventful seventh and eighth and A.J. Ramos finished off the ninth.

The Mets and Reds face off again tonight at 7:10 p.m., with Seth Lugo (5-4, 5.00) facing Amir Garrett (3-6, 7.41).

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

While there are myriad Mets games this year that would make anyone say “WTF?” out loud many times, this game was a WTF game in a different way. It’s the type of WTF game where you realize that Kevin Plawecki and Rafael Montero are genuinely two of the Mets’ best players right now. Yes, that’s actually a sentence that was written.

But the WTF-ness of this game really all started with the lineup:

Take a peek at tonight’s lineup. #LGM pic.twitter.com/xnAOca86NN

— New York Mets (@Mets) August 30, 2017

Look at that thing. Kevin Plawecki batting fifth. Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera in the same lineup, and conisting of two-thirds of the top of the order. Matt Reynolds starting in left field because he’s actually the best option. Kevin Plawecki batting fifth. Wilmer Flores hitting cleanup against a right-handed pitcher. Kevin Plawecki batting fifth. Reyes batting over Brandon Nimmo. KEVIN PLAWECKI BATTING FIFTH.

Now, to be fair, Plawecki has been very good since his recall and looks the best he has in his MLB career, but it’s only 25 PAs over the course of two weeks. That’s not your usual grounds for a promotion. The promotion really just comes from the rest of the team being just that bad.

And last night, Plawecki teamed with Wilmer Flores to provide the only offense for the Mets on the night, when they both doubled home a run in the first inning. Flores doubled home Reyes, and then Plawecki doubled home Flores to put the Mets up 2-0, and that was all they needed behind the phenomenal exploits of Rafael Montero.

Yes, the phenomenal exploits of Rafael Montero is another sentence that has actually been written unironically.

It was the morning of April 21, 2017. A young, uninspired college student needed a reason to procrastinate studying for finals. And then Rafael Montero was demoted in favor of Jeurys Familia, who was returning from suspension. This spunky, handsome writer saw this, and saw it as not just a baseball transaction, but an inspiration for an article. Surely this was an article worth writing, and one that would withstand the test of time. And so this now-inspired college student feverishly went to work, and lightning shot out of his fingers as he typed the #content he knew readers would so crave and so need:

Whoops.

Montero was recalled 14 days later. He would be sent back down again after that, but was recalled again in June, and has not seen the minor leagues since.

And last night, Montero put on a pitching exploit the likes of which we have never seen before from him: 8.1 innings, 0 runs, three hits, eight strikeouts. This was a Rafael Montero that we had never seen before. He was efficient, he was effective, and he looked legitimately like a staff ace. Sure, his control still wavered at time—he walked four on the night—but seriously, WTF. The Montero we saw last night looked like he was possessed by the ghost of 2013 Matt Harvey.

It’s not even like you can asterik the performance based on the competition, because the Reds are a fairly good-hitting team. They’ve scored the 11th-most runs in all of baseball, and they just put up a 14-spot on the Mets the day prior. This team can hit, and Montero shut them down for nine innings. W.T.F.

Of course, it wasn’t easy towards the end. With his pitch count creeping over 110 pitches, Montero ran into trouble in the ninth, allowing a single and a double, and then intentionally walking Joey Votto to load the bases. But A.J. Ramos came on in relief with one out, and struck out the next two batters to escape the jam without allowing a run, sealing the win for the Mets. Montero has pitched to a 2.08 ERA and has earned two of his three career wins in his last four starts. WTF.

By the way, in the conclusion of that April 21 article, I mentioned that Montero being a bust was fine, because not all pitching prospects work out, and at least we have Noah Syndergaard. Nine days later, Syndergaard exited his start against the Nationals with a torn lat muscle.

what the f

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY:

The Mets’ series against the Astros this weekend will in fact be played in Houston. It was thought the series would be moved to Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay St. Petersburg due to the conditions in Houston following Hurricane Harvey, but the Astros will instead postpone Friday’s game to Saturday, and host a doubleheader there, with Sunday’s game happening as scheduled.

Matt Harvey will start the first game of that double header on Saturday. It will be his first start since June 14. He will be limited to around 80 pitches.

Noah Syndergaard will also begin a rehab assignment on Saturday for the GCL Mets. He will throw one inning.

TODAY:

The Mets face the Reds in the intense rubber game of their crucial three-game series. Jacob deGrom takes the hill against Robert Stephenson at 12:35 p.m.

Photo credit: David Kohl – USA Today Sports

You could say none of the Mets’ games really matter at this point, since there’s no way the team can make the playoffs. All we’d really hope for is avoiding injuries that could carry over into next season, like Michael Conforto’s shoulder injury. Cespedes has had issues with both legs, but it was his left hamstring that kept him out earlier this season. After the game, Sandy Alderson said the hamstring injuries are comparable in location and severity, so Cespedes is headed to the disabled list.

In some ways, Friday’s 4-2 win against the Nationals feels beside the point. The Nationals have such a big league in the division that they could afford to play a B lineup after arriving in Washington at 5 a.m. The Mets played all their healthy players and it still looked like a spring training game in August. Brandon Nimmo, Juan Lagares, and Matt Reynolds patrolled the outfield, batting 1-2-3. Asdrubal Cabrera hit cleanup.

Once Cespedes got hurt, he immediately limped to the dugout. You know it’s bad when he doesn’t talk his way in to staying in the game. Cole had allowed four of the first five runners to reach base, so he got to have a nice long chat with his catcher and pitching coach. From this point, Cole dominated the depleted Mets, allowing only three more baserunners while striking out seven.

Jacob deGrom probably knew he’d have to carry more of the load. Early on he was throwing 99 mph – more velocity than he’d shown at any other point this year. He went right after Washington’s less than intimidating lineup, with first pitch strikes to 21 of 29 batters. The Mets’ ace got two outs in the eighth with a 3-0 lead before giving up a double to Andrew Stevenson and an RBI single to Adrian Sanchez. Jerry Blevins came in to strike out Daniel Murphy as the potential tying run. In the top of the ninth, Nimmo singled with two outs, stole second and came around to score an insurance run on a Lagares single. Then Lagares caught Jose Lobaton napping, stealing two more bases but ending stranded at third.

Jeurys Familia came off the disabled list today, but Terry Collins called on newly established closer A.J. Ramos for the save. Ramos pitched like he doesn’t want to be the Mets closer next year. Adam Lind homered on the first pitch. Wilmer Difo doubled. Michael Taylor made the first out, but then Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters pinch walked to load the bases. Howie Kendrick hit a sharp liner to right, but Nimmo was able to come up with a game-saving grab. Then Ramos finally got a bit of command, striking out Stevenson to end the game.

Roster Updates:

The Mets entered Friday’s game with only 11 position players on the 25 man roster. Familia took Conforto’s spot. Reynolds had to fill in for Cespedes since there was no outfielder on the bench. The only minor league outfielder on the 40-man roster is Wuilmer Becerra, a 22-year-old struggling in his second season at high-A ball. They will probably have to add someone to the roster.

With Seth Lugo and Tommy Milone scheduled to pitch two of the three games over the weekend, it’s understandable that the Mets may want to carry an extra pitcher. However, only having 11 bats is pushing it and 10 certainly doesn’t work. Let’s see if anyone can fly from Las Vegas to Washington for an early afternoon start.

Photo credit: Brad Mills – USA Today Sports

Nevertheless, as we continue to say goodbye to some of the veterans on this ballclub, the Mets still had a game to play last night. Hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first game of a four-game set, the Amazins dropped the effort by a score of 3-2 in 10 innings. At 54-69, the Mets staggered back to a whopping 20.5 games behind the division leading Nationals and 13 games out of the second Wild Card spot. Here’s what you need to know from Monday’s matchup.

Gsellman Shines

2017 has seemingly been a lost year for Robert Gsellman. His recent efforts have been mired in struggles which makes his performance tonight all the more encouraging. Against a solid Diamondbacks team that could very well be playoff bound, Gsellman posted a quality start effort. The right-hander surrendered one earned run in 6.1 innings, while striking out three. If Gsellman can pitch well throughout the remainder of the season, he has the chance to carve at a role on this pitching staff for what should be a competitive 2018.

Cespedes Finding His Rhythm

Like any player that spends a significant time on the disabled list, you can expect that their regular season numbers will not reflect their true value. Yoenis Cespedes has missed 46 of the Mets’ 123 games in 2017 and, at this point, we’re just looking for signs of life. Last night was a good reminder of how important he is to the ball club, notching three hits singles in five at-bats. Cespedes also drove in the game-tying run after knocking a bases loaded single to left. It very well could have been the go-ahead run, but David Peralta made a great throw to plate, nailing Asdrubal Cabrera on play that was challenged and upheld. Cespedes has already committing to switching up his offseason training program and becoming more flexible, so all we can hope for is for him to spend the next six weeks grinding out at-bats, notching hits, and continuing to make adjustments and get better.

A Franchise Player Right Under Our Noses

Yes, Dom Smith and Amed Rosario are on the Mets, so the future is now. But, I think we are guilty of the same mistake. While Rosario and Smith will hopefully be All-Stars one day, the next franchise player has been right under our noses the whole time. I have said this many times in prior recaps, but it’s amazing that Michael Conforto almost didn’t end up on the Opening Day roster. He has performed well beyond expectations and reaffirmed his status as a key building block in this organization’s future. Things looked pretty grim after he struggled so mightily in 2016, but he’s managed to find success as both a leadoff hitter and a middle of the order bat in 2017. Conforto notched his 27th home run tonight after a solo blast in the tenth. When you consider that he’s launched 27 bombs and driven in 66 runs in only 367 at-bats, it really makes you wonder what he has the potential to do over the course of a typical 600 at-bat season. With all that being said, he’s managed to transform himself into a remarkable defender, giving the Mets the opportunity to bring in another corner outfielder to bolster their lineup in the offseason. It’s very early to say, but Michael Conforto could very well succeed David Wright as the face of this franchise.

The Young Guns Struggle, But Not To Worry

As I mentioned right above this, with Rosario and Smith in the majors, the future is now. The problem is that the two young bucks have struggled out of the gate. Rosario and Smith both notched singles last night, raising their batting averages to .243 and .158 respectively. Some may panic, seeing these alarmingly low numbers, but the important thing is for these two guys to play every day. If the Mets want to compete in 2018, then Rosario and Smith need to get comfortable in the majors more than anything. Getting used to the big league stage and preparing for 2018 is the number one priority.

A Stellar Bullpen Performance (Can Only Last So Long)

Following a solid effort from their starter tonight, the Mets’ bullpen put forth a great effort to keep the game close and eventually tied. The problem is that they were just one inning too late to pull out a victory. Jerry Blevins, Paul Sewald, and A.J. Ramos combined for 2.2 scoreless frames with four strikeouts, sending the game tied into the 10th. Unfortunately, Erik Goeddel surrendered a go-ahead two-run homer to A.J. Pollock. It’s even more unfortunately, because Conforto homered to lead off the bottom of the inning, which presumably could have been a walkoff had the game remained tied. Putting aside Goeddel’s mistake, it’s great to see Blevins, Sewald, and Ramos pitch well as they all have the chance to be key pieces in the pen next season.

What’s Next?

The Mets will play the second game of a four-game set against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Patrick Corbin faces off against the recently recalled Tommy Milone in a battle of left-handed starters at Citi Field at 7:10 p.m.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

The Mets!

WHAT HAPPENED, SUNDAY WHO:

Going into yesterday, the Mets had a six-game Sunday losing streak, made worse by a -69 run differential. Despite a first inning two-run homer by Michael Conforto, the Mets initially looked like they would continue this trend. The bottom half of the first featured a bases-loaded, no-out spot for Chris Flexen to face new Philadelphia Phillie Rhys Hoskins. But, just like we all predicted, Flexen was able to work out of the jam. He induced a groundout and two fly outs, surrendering just one run in the process.

This pretty much set the tone for Flexen’s outing. Guys on, work out of the jam. In fact, it wasn’t his only bases loaded, no-out scenario to start an inning. In the fifth, Freddy Galvis, Odubel Herrera, and Rhys Hoskins reached base with Nick Williams coming to the plate. Unlike the first inning, the process to get to out number three was quite unconventional. Flexen was able to work out of the tough spot an odd Odubel Herrera TOOTBLAN, in which he apparently though Galvis would tried for the plate on a shallow fly ball to Conforto in center. Surely an unconventional double play, but a double play nonetheless. So, with runners at the corners and two outs, Flexen was poised (again) to skirt major trouble.

Maybe Flexen’s subconscious felt that he deserved more runs than his ledger possessed, but the second pitch to the very next batter was a curveball that scooted away from Travis d’Arnaud and brought home Galvis for the second Philly run of the game. Though Flexen was able to get the batter, Maikel Franco, to groundout and end the inning, his day would be done. All-in-all a weird day. Flexen wasn’t great, but he was able to work out of trouble all day long and keep the Phillies off the board. Basically, Chris Flexen wanted to offer his best Rafael Montero impression before the man, the myth, the legend takes the mound against the Yankees tonight.

This is about where the Phillies offense ended on Sunday, as well, as the Mets bullpen nearly worked four perfect frames. The only man to budge, Jerry Blevins, gave up a leadoff double to Cesar Hernandez and walked Rhys Hoskins in the seventh inning. Chasen Bradford, Paul Sewald, and A.J. Ramos put up 1-2-3 innings, which is always nice to see.

WHAT HAPPENED, THE GRANDY MAN CAN:

If Curtis Granderson is trying to play himself into a playoff race, this would be the way do it. The 36-year old lefty was 3-5 with a double and a homerun. The Mets have hinted that they are still interested in trading some of their players, so it will be interesting to see if this performance will spark a Grandy hot-streak. Even if it does, the more interesting aspect might be whether he will get moved.

Maybe he has a fit with the Washington Nationals due to the Bryce Harper injury. maybe the renewed AL Wild Card race creates a potential landing spot.

Also, I mentioned it earlier, but Michael Conforto hit a dinger. Michael Conforto is good. There is plenty of ways to say it and ways to show it, but the best way is just to call a spade a spade. You don’t need to see his nearly-.968 OPS. You don’t need to see the highlight-reel throws. You don’t need to see the abundant power (though it’s hard to miss). Nope, all you need to know is these tried-and-true words: Michael Conforto is good.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

The Mets broke a long Sunday losing streak, though at times it got sketchy. Chris Flexen allowed just two runs in five innings, but the outcome was certainly not indicative of the process. The bullpen looked great, Conforto and Grandy homered, and the Mets took three of four from the Phillies. But, as the kids say, It Is Always Sunnier In Philadelphia.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Subway Series gets underway as the Mets look to play spoiler against their American League counterpart, keeping their two-game losing streak alive. Rafael Montero squares off against Luis Cessa, which is truly a slate for the ages.

Photo credit: Eric Hartline – USA Today Sports