A Long Island native with lifelong ties to the orange and blue, the 51-year-old endeared himself to the fan base during New York’s pennant-winning 2015 season when his selfie-style video reactions to the Mets’ daily fortunes became popular on social media. Rather than watch the action from a suite like many celebrities prefer, Breuer can often be seen cheering amongst the crowds at Citi Field.

While his energetic and offbeat style makes him an ideal fit for the stage, the “SNL” alum is just as comfortable discussing the history of his favorite baseball team. A follower of the Amazins since 1973, Breuer reflected on Mets third baseman David Wright and what the team captain meant to him personally over the course of a storied career.

“He was the guy, you know? I’ve only went through two cycles of players where I got to watch them come out of the system,” Breuer said during a recent phone interview. “Watching him come through the system and then become that Met guy was really awesome because there really hasn’t been once since the ’80s.”

Drafted by the Mets 38th overall in 2001, Wright was the longest-tenured active player to spend his career with the same team. Until returning to action last Friday night as a pinch-hitter, the seven-time All-Star had missed almost two and a half years with debilitating back, neck and shoulder injuries. The franchise leader in hits, RBIs, runs, extra-base hits, walks and a few other offensive categories, Wright played in his last major league game on Saturday in front of 43,828 emotional supporters whom he addressed in a brief on-field ceremony following the last out.

Currently on the road performing stand-up and touring with Metallica, Breuer planned to watch the night play out backstage on his iPad as he prepared for a private show in San Francisco. Wright’s 2-year-old and infant daughters were in the ballpark, however, to witness him play for the first time in the 35-year-old’s big league career.

“I always say God has you out there for the right reasons. For all you know, he needs to be home with his little girls. He needs to be taking care of his body for something deeper that may happen down the road, so in the end it doesn’t even matter if his kids saw him play,” Breuer said. “My kids have no clue that I did TV and stuff. They just care that you’re a dad. My wife just cares that I’m a husband, and maybe at this point in his life it’ll be a little more important for him and he can relax and give his body a rest and know that he gave it his all and he was one of the all-time greatest.”

Wright provided many memorable moments since first appearing as a fresh faced 21-year-old from Virginia, but one in particular that stands out for Breuer came in a key game down the stretch in 2015 against division-rival Washington.

“That summed up a career and his life as a Met. As a Met fan I felt like one of my children just felt that all-time, lifetime moment,” Breuer recalled. “I believe it was against the Nationals and they were coming to the final stretch and there was a play at the plate and he slid in and he got up and he did the big fist pump down, and you see that clip a bunch of times now. I’ve been seeing it more and more. I remember watching that moment and seeing the excitement in his face, and that thrill and the passion. For me that’s the moment I’m going to remember (from) him forever. The passion he had as a Met. The thrill of feeling that we can win this. We can beat these guys. We can take it all.”

Wright’s enthusiastic reaction after sliding in safely with an important run late in that game was both exciting and also somewhat out of character for the typically-reserved Mets captain. In fact, Breuer wasn’t convinced early on that Wright had what it took to be a leader based on his calm demeanor. That all changed when the third baseman stepped in after separate incidents where two of the club’s young pitchers behaved in a manner he thought was unbefitting of a major leaguer.

“There was a long time where people would say he needs to be the leader, he needs to be the captain, and he’s got such a soft, I don’t know the exact word, clean-ish personality. And I went, I don’t know, is he really the captain?” Breuer said. “But I have to say, you’d see little examples which made me respect him so much more. He looked like a timid guy and he seems to be the guy that, I wouldn’t say is a pushover, but can easily be like, ‘ahh, just let it go, it’s all good.’ But there were a couple moments where Noah Syndergaard came up and I believe he stepped up and said something to Noah.”

Breuer added: “And then that whole thing with Matt Harvey. I remember that moment too, when Matt was walking in the outfield (during batting practice) and they showed it and David Wright kind of gave that ‘You just disrespected the team, bro. You put yourself ahead of the team.’ look. That was a powerful moment for me as a fan, not so much against Matt but I saw that full-blown respect like, ‘hey, David’s in charge here and he sets a tone on how you’re supposed to be as a player and as a gentleman.’ It almost goes up there with, I got to say, like a Gary Carter but without the high intensity.”

Jose Reyes, Wright’s partner on the left side of the infield for many years, took his usual place at shortstop for Saturday night’s sendoff and shared several laughs and embraces with his old buddy throughout the evening. A former batting champion who led the NL in stolen bases three consecutive years, Reyes batted just .189 this season and his career may also be coming to a close, a fact not lost on Breuer.

“I say he was one of the most exciting Mets that I’ve ever watched and rooted for in my whole life. I love Jose Reyes,” Breuer said of the former shortstop who was brought back to the Mets in 2016 after his domestic violence suspension ended. “I loved him from the moment he showed up. I was absolutely heartbroken when he left. When he came back I know he wasn’t the same player. I don’t care. It’s like having an old family member. He gave me the greatest thrills for the longest time as a Met fan. I adore Jose Reyes and he’ll always have a special place for me in my heart as a Met fan. He’s one of my all-time favorites. Everything about him. That smile, the years when he would just get on base and be a menace to society. He’d hit one in the gap and before you blink he was on third and it was over.”

Wright has stated that he’d like to stay involved with the club in some capacity, a development that could provide some consolation to Breuer and his fellow Mets fanatics.

“I hope he stays in the organization forever. That would mean so much to me as a Mets fan, to see David Wright always be a Met,” Breuer hoped. “I feel better as a Met fan moving forward knowing that he’s going to be somewhere in the organization and I hope Jose Reyes is, too.”

Photo credit: Brad Penner – USA Today Sports

In what will be at most the second wettest game at Citi Field this week – fan tears on Saturday for David Wright’s final game will be a flood – Noah Syndergaard took the mound against the Braves. Atlanta, having already clinched the NL East, is fighting for home field advantage with Touki Toussaint, one of their bevy of young arms, on the mound.

The Mets, meanwhile, are playing out the string with Austin Jackson in center, Jay Bruce at first, and Peter Alonso at home. Maybe there’s a lesson there.

Game Recap

Noah Syndergaard, looking like he just got out of the shower, was shaky coming out of the gate. The right-hander worked around a Freddie Freeman double and a walk in the first, then a leadoff walk to Kurt Suzuki in the second. Thor finally managed a clean inning in the third, and the Mets offense promptly rewarded him.

After the Mets managed no decent contact against Touki Toussaint the first time through the order, Amed Rosario led off with a hard fly ball to center. That was an out, but the next three Mets all hit the ball hard as well. Jeff McNeil singled up the middle, Michael Conforto missed a home run by about an inch and settled for an RBI double and Jay Bruce ripped a single through the shift for an RBI single. In a three batter stretch, the Mets had built a 2-0 lead.

With the weather drying out and the Mets on top, Syndergaard settled in. He induced a double play in the fourth to erase a single, put the Braves down in order in the fifth and navigated a single from Ender Inciarte in the sixth to finish his outing. Syndergaard tossed six shutout innings, striking out five, walking two and giving up three hits. It wasn’t quite the dominant version of Thor we’ve seen in years past, but it was one of his better outings of the year, especially considering that Mickey Callaway said postgame that Syndergaard was sick and almost didn’t pitch. It also put he in line for his seventh straight win at Citi Field, which had never been done, as well as his first career win against the Braves.

A sacrifice fly from Tomas Nido stretched the Met lead to 3-0. This is the Mets, however, and starting pitchers aren’t allowed to get wins. Robert Gsellman – with the help of a dropped fly ball from Austin Jackson, who is still inexplicably employed by the Mets – gave up a run, recorded one out and left with the bases loaded. Drew Smith entered, threw a wild pitch, then gave up a two-run single to Ronald Acuña.

It seems fitting to mention here that the Mets have the worst winning percentage in the National League when leading after six innings. True to form, the Mets squandered scoring opportunities in the seventh, let the Braves blow things open in the eighth, then went quietly to their 84th loss of the season.

Thoughts from the Game

This game fits an irritatingly common pattern for the season. A starter pitches excellently for six or seven innings, departs with a narrow lead or with the game tied, then immediately watches as the bullpen blows the lead and the offense does nothing to help. It’s extremely frustrating to watch as a fan and must be even more maddening for Jacob deGrom. Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler. It also highlights the most glaring needs on this Met team: at least two and preferably three high quality bullpen arms need to be acquired in the offseason, and the offense must be improved by addressing holes at catcher, center field, and first base.

Given all that, get ready for the Mets to re-sign Devin Mesoraco and Austin Jackson, bring in Brad Brach and call it an offseason.

Other Met News

David Wright is back, making this a very bittersweet week for us all. He most likely will not appear in this series against the Braves, as they still fight for home field advantage in the playoffs. For now, we’ll just have to enjoy seeing him in the dugout again and look forward to his farewell game on Saturday.

This was a very listless September game. For losing teams, games in the month of September have a knack for being, um, not exactly must-see television. And look, it’s probably my job to spice up bad games and find narratives to talk about somewhere. It’s probably poor form for me to just tell you this game was boring and sucked and leave it at that.

But this game was boring and sucked.

Noah Syndergaard wasn’t his best self. He was out of sync from the start, and only last four innings after throwing 89 pitches, walking three and allowing three runs on four hits and two home runs. He struck out six, but that was about the only positive for Syndergaard last night.

On offense, the Mets couldn’t figure out Zack Eflin, or any of five relievers Gabe Kapler sent out there after he was done. The team mustered six hits all night, and three of them came from Amed Rosario, who raised his wRC+ to a respectable 88 on the season and has already turned into a very useful player.

Jerry Blevins gave up a run in an inning of relief, and he was followed by Paul Sewald and Tim Peterson, who both handled the last three innings and did not allow any more damage.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

The Mets announced that Zack Wheeler will be shut down, which is probably for the best. At 182.1 innings for the season, Wheeler has thrown 96 more innings than he did last year, and obviously has not thrown this many innings since his 2014 season. Pumping the breaks is probably a good decision.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Mets will try to help Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young case when they head to DC to take on Max Scherzer and the Nationals on Friday night. Scherzer gets the ball against Jason Vargas at 7:10 p.m.

Syndergaard went seven scoreless innings, holding baseball’s best team to only three hits, and the visitors were able to take the series opener 8-0.

The Mets offensive attack got off to a fast start in the top of the first, as Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce rocketed back-to-back two out doubles against William Cuevas to hand Syndergaard a lead before he even took the mound; he never let go of it.

In the top of the it, after New York’s starter had retired the first six Boston hitters, the offense came alive again to extend the lead. Scorching hot Amed Rosario led off with an infield single that chased Cuevas from the game in favor of southpaw Robbie Scott, a move that did not pay dividends for Boston manager Alex Cora. Scott was able to get Jeff McNeil to fly out, but he then hit Conforto and allowed Bruce to launch a three-run homer to right to push the lead to 4-0. McNeil would add a homer of his own against Brian Johnson the next inning, and the way Syndergaard was cruising through the Red Sox lineup (even picking a baserunner off first base!) you got the impression this one might be over.

The Mets added some icing in the 8th inning when Austin Jackson and Rosario both launched long home runs over the green monster against struggling righty Tyler Thornburg, and at 8-0 the rout was officially on. Jerry Blevins and Tyler Bashlor tossed a scoreless inning each to complete the victory and get the Mets to within nine games of .500.

Today, New York will send Corey Oswalt to the bump in hopes of securing an exciting series victory against an incredibly good team.

Photo credit: Greg M. Cooper – USA Today Sports

Thor allowed 12 hits and walked more (5) than he struck out (4) in almost seven innings of work. It was no matter though, as the offense exploded for 10 runs off Phillies pitching in just eight innings. Once and future prospect Tomas Nido started the scoring with a bases-clearing double in the second off Philadelphia starter Zach Eflin.

It didn’t get much better for Eflin in the third, as Todd Frazier continued his annual late-season surge with a three-run homer to really break things open. The Phillies used seven relief pitchers on the evening, but the game wasn’t as close as the final score may indicate.

Jay Bruce reached base in every one of his four plate appearances, showing what he may be still capable of when actually healthy. There’s no doubt the Mets would like the contract back, but Bruce played through a multitude of injuries earlier in the season and surely isn’t as bad when completely healthy. He’s likely going to enter 2019 as the starting first baseman, though Peter Alonso may (read: should) steal the starting gig before the end of June.

Jeff McNeil did Jeff McNeil things, picking up three hits in five at-bats to raise his average up to .329. He’s been a breakout star in the organization this season and looks primed to begin 2019 as the starter at second. While the .329 average is likely to decline, the home run rate (and extra-base hit rate) should increase in the near future. It’s those power changes that have improved McNeil’s outlook drastically from prior seasons.

Syndergaard was hit around on Saturday, but he’s having a strong season that has somehow been underwhelming for a pitcher of Thor’s stature. He’s admitted that his stuff should be leading to better results, but he’s doing an above-average job at preventing runs despite the command issues. Pending future health, the Mets 2019 starting rotation projects as one of the best in all of baseball, as long as Zack Wheeler’s improvements are for real.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

The Mets, but on the West coast

WHAT HAPPENED, THE NOAH SYNDERGAARD SHOW:

Sunday featured some interesting storylines. Michael Conforto homered. Jeff McNeil and Todd Frazier recorded a pair of hits. Most important? Noah Syndergaard was freaking good. It’s no secret that August was a rough month for Syndergaard, whose 2018 has been lukewarm at best. As I’ve written in earlier recaps, it isn’t that a 3.51 ERA was all that bad. It’s just that we’ve been spoiled by what Noah Syndergaard can be. On Sunday, Syndergaard returned to pre-2018 form.

Allowing just one run, Syndergaard struck out 11 batters in the first complete game of his career. It was magnificent. It was beautiful. It was a reminder that the true form of the God of Thunder is still in there, fighting back from what has been about a year and a half of various injuries. When Thor throws 89 strikes in 114 pitches (about 78%), garnering 22 whiffs in 69 swings (about 32 percent of the time), you know it was a great day. Sure, his velocity was some of the best we’ve seen from him this year. Sure, his curveball and slider were fantastic. But his changeup? It was in another dimension. Throwing it 24 times, Syndergaard garnered 16 (!!!) swings and nine whiffs, good enough for a 56% whiff/swing rate. It was absolutely unhittable.

So, what worked for Syndergaard? Literally everything. His entire repertoire didn’t just border on untouchable, it was astounding. With the exception of an error in the seventh, not a single Giants batter reached base past the fourth inning. It was a truly dominant outing for Syndergaard, one of the best performances we’ve seen from him in nearly two years. Maybe an abrupt turnaround from his final outing of August means that the power righty has finally solved his woes, though only time will tell.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

/Lucy places an ample looking football on the ground

Syndergaard finally joined what has been a resurgent starting rotation. Coming into Sunday, the Mets have posted a 2.75 ERA over the past month — good enough for the third-lowest in the National League. Sure, they’ve been carried by Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler, but it’s easy to sleep on Steven Matz and Jason Vargas. Looking at the season overall, it’s probably well deserved. But it’s hard not to recognize the string of solid outings they’ve put together, with Syndergaard now looking to join them before September ends.

/Charlie Brown eagerly readies to kick the football

Maybe the Mets have finally realized the potential of their rotation, and maybe they can carry the momentum into 2019?

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets wrap up the west coast portion of their roadtrip with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team in the midst of an absolutely thrilling NL West race. The Dodgers have gotten hot at the right time and will look to keep it that way. They’ll send Alex Wood to square off against Jacob deGrom, who is about six starts away from being named the National League Cy Young award winner (editor’s note: just because you say it forcefully doesn’t make it so, Shawn).

Photo credit: D. Ross Cameron – USA Today Sports

The Mets’ offense was present, knocking Jon Lester out of the game after six ‘eh’ innings pitched and keeping the pressure on the Cubs’ bullpen throughout the game. However, it was not enough to make up for the combination of Thor and Jerry Blevins’ poor performances.

New York started off the scoring with an Austin Jackson RBI single where Amed Rosario crossed the plate for the first run of this game. I will say it until I’m blue in the face – Rosario needs to be a 35-40 stolen base guy as he advances his game. He is a key cog in the machine. Obviously, the promising shortstop needs to improve his eye but the stolen bases appear to be coming. (A rare occasion) I commend Mickey Callaway for sending Rosario more on the basepaths.

Of course, professional hitter Daniel Murphy led off the game with a hit and eventually scored on an Anthony Rizzo double. In the third, Michael Conforto then answered with one of the loudest home runs ever hit, followed by a Rosario RBI single later in the inning.

Following the theme of up-and-down, the Cubs scored three in the bottom of the frame including a 2-RBI single from none other than one of the worst hitters in MLB history, Lester himself.

In the seventh inning, Kevin Plawecki homered to tie the game at four. While I don’t like him as a player, Plawecki should be playing everyday games at catcher considering Devin Mesoraco should not be a Met next year. Whoever the general manager is next year should grab a veteran catcher, but that likely will not happen.

The full momentum shift to Chicago came in the bottom of the seventh when Blevins, who had not allowed a run in August, gave up two without recording an out.

The Mets did threaten in the ninth with bases loaded, but Jesse Chavez was able to clean up the mess made by Pedro Strop and Justin Wilson, strikimg out Rosario and Jackson to close the book on an exciting contest.

In his postgame interview, Syndergaard was noticeably disappointed in how batters have been able to get to him; the Texan allowed nine hits and three walks in six innings pitched. There is clear frustration from the should-be ace who knows he is good enough to get anyone out, but is not executing as of late. Look for some mechanical adjustments to be made and the ball to be located higher in the strike zone his next time out.

The Mets should be looking forward to the Sept. 1 roster expansion as a look to the future, but who knows how they will handle it.

FINAL

NYM – 4
CHC – 7

Photo credit:  Patrick Gorsk – USA Today Sports

McNeil’s two hits last night were in his first two at-bats of the game, which extended his consecutive hits streak to eight straight plate appearances, which was only one shy of a franchise record.

And yes, it’s probably not fair to go crazy over McNeil so early in his career; perspective is necessary here, too. But at this point, he is the biggest talking point on the team — at least on the days when Jacob deGrom doesn’t pitch. You never want to do the rest of the team a disservice by understating their contributions to the game as well, but McNeil looking like an actual star right now is probably the most important non-deGrom thing going on with the Mets, so it deserves to be highlighted and discussed as such.

And sure, Dom Smith homered last night too, and that’s cool! But everyone knows he almost certainly has no future on the team at this point. In fact, with Jay Bruce set to come off the DL as soon as this weekend, Smith’s roster spot may not even last the week. Todd Frazier homered and doubled in a run as well, which is also cool, but he’s probably locked into third base going into next year no matter what and him raising his season wRC+ from 94 to 98 isn’t particularly notable. He is what he is.

And Noah Syndergaard also is what he is, and that’s what he has been for a while: A very good, top-end pitcher with wipeout stuff, who is seemingly only ever undone by his defense and his own inability to hold runners. Last night, though, was more about the defense than anything else. Syndergard tossed six very solid innings while striking out six and walking only one. His velocity was back to around 100 mph and his sinker was looking very good. He allowed two runs, both of which came in the third inning, and both of which probably could have been avoided with better defense. He yielded two singles to start the frame, which then allowed the pitcher to bunt them over. The next hitter, Steven Duggar, hit a sharp ground ball to third, and the runner broke from third. There was a clear play at the plate, but Frazier couldn’t get the ball out of his glove. So he went to first, and the run scored. Then a seeing-eye single by the next hitter bounced just past a diving McNeil and scored another run. McNeil isn’t exactly known for his range, so you’d be inclined to think a plus defensive second baseman would get to that ball.

And that’s the story of Noah Syndergaard. His 3.38 ERA on the year is fine, but that’s it; just fine. It always feels like he should pitch better than he actually does. And it’s not just because of his stuff, but because it feels like all of the BABIP luck goes against him (his .340 BABIP backs up that feeling). It’s truly an odd thing.

In the end, the Mets won the game last night, 5-3. Paul Sewald got the save. The Mets now have a winning record (24-23) since the beginning of July, which pretty much serves as a reminder that there was the framework for a decent team this year; the pieces were there. But when you give 600 plate appearances to Jay Bruce, Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Reyes in the Year of Our Lord 2018, this is what happens. And given that the NL East is not exactly a dogfight right now, this was a team that could have easily competed for the division if it was correctly built and properly utilized.

Oh well.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Mets finish off this series with the Giants with a getaway day matinee this afternoon. Jacob deGrom and Madison Bumgarner face off in what should be a great pitcher’s duel at 1:10 p.m.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Matched up against Philadelphia ace Aaron Nola it was clear Syndergaard would have to be at his best, as Nola easily struck out the side in the road first to open the game. Trouble unfortunately found Syndergaard from the outset of his outing.

Cesar Hernandez led off the Philly first with a single and advanced to second base when Rhys Hoskins walked. Up stepped our old friend Asdrubal Cabrera, who sent a sinking line drive past a diving Jack Reinheimer into the left field corner to open the scoring and put two more Phillies in scoring position. Nick Williams then lined a shot up the middle to plate Hoskins and chase Cabrera to third, giving the home team a 2-0 lead. Syndergaard was fortunate to get a double play ground ball from Carlos Santana for his first two outs of the night, but Cabrera was able to walk home on the play to put the Phillies ahead 3-0.

That score would hold into the fourth, when the Mets used hits from Jeff McNeil and Austin Jackson to set up a sacrifice fly off the bat of Todd Frazier to get on the board. Philadelphia would immediately answer in their half of the frame though, as Roman Quinn led off with a triple and scored on a hit from Jorge Alfaro. Alfaro then stole second base which further exacerbated a main storyline in this game.

Syndergaard had shown flashes of getting better at limiting the running game earlier this season, but since returning from his brief bout with hand, foot and mouth disease, opposing teams have been running wild on him. Last night, Alfaro swiped the first two bases of his career, and slow footed runners like Santana and Maikel Franco were able to steal bases. All told, Philadelphia successfully stole five bases in 5.2 innings against Syndergaard, a trend that just can’t continue.

Following Syndergaard’s departure the Mets were able to get 1.1 scoreless innings from Daniel Zamora in his Major League debut, but on the other side of the field, Nola was showing no signs of letting New York get back in the game. Leaving after successfully registering a 1-2-3 seventh inning, Nola finished his outing with only one run and three hits allowed, while punching out 11 Mets batters.

In the eighth, New York was able to get one back against the Philly bullpen when the white hot Jackson scored McNeil with a two-out RBI hit. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Mets would come to making this a competitive contest.

Up next the Mets will send their Cy Young and MVP candidate Jacob deGrom to the mound this afternoon against Philadelphia’s Jake Arrieta.

Photo credit: Bill Streicher – USA Today Sports

The Mets, who apparently win series now.

WHAT HAPPENED, ON JOSE REYES:

On Sunday, Jose Reyes recorded his third home run of August. However, it should also be noted that Jose Reyes is bad. I could list all the reasons why this is true, but you’re reading the game recap of the 49-66 New York Mets. Suffice to say, you’re not ignorant of the countless reasons why Reyes should not be on this club. You’re not an idiot. You’re not management.
What is troubling is what is looming. A hot end to 2017 served as justification for re-signing Reyes during this past offseason, a re-signing which afforded him the opportunity to challenge for the crown of worst player the league has to offer. Comments about the FO’s loyalty to Reyes also lead one to believe that they’ve dug their heels in until Reyes is ready to call it quits. Either that, or they see admitting Reyes is bad and cutting bait as an admission that they were wrong — effectively viewing it as a sign of weakness.

One home run doesn’t matter. Two home runs don’t matter. Jose Reyes is still bad at baseball. In addition to that, his constant platform as a leader in the clubhouse, despite his DV past, is past the point of being just problematic. It is deeply ingrained into how Jose Reyes ended up back here in the first place. It is flat-out wrong.

Maybe this comes off as holier-than-thou, or maybe it comes off as grandstanding on a clearly bad player. But consider how fanbases really work. The better you play, the more you’re liked. All can be forgiven, so long as you can produce. This is why it is so awful for Reyes to still be here. The opportunity to play his way into ‘redemption’ narratives is the only real purpose Reyes has left. Every good outing gives the fanbase, which gave Reyes an ovation upon returning from his DV suspension, greater reason to rally behind him.

The issue isn’t just that every win where Jose Reyes is prominently featured feels problematic. It isn’t that Reyes can’t perform above his current level. The issue is that Jose Reyes becomes normalized with every positive PA. His very real and very consequential decision has been reduced to an ability to hit over the Mendoza line. An ability to present a respectable OPS, or play decent enough defense. And with every opportunity he is presented by the Mets, this issue has a chance to grow.

I fully expect Reyes to get hot again. It always seems to happen that way when Reyes is close to the chopping-block. But it really doesn’t matter how well he plays. It distracts from the real issues at hand: that Jose Reyes should not have the opportunity to fix his credibility by swinging a hot bat. That Jose Reyes should not be on this team, nor should he have ever been allowed a chance at a second stint (considering the context).

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

So, yeah, Jose Reyes wasn’t the only good thing to come out of Sunday’s action against the Miami Marlins. Noah Syndergaard pitched well, Michael Conforto homered and Seth Lugo recorded his first save. The Mets won their second consecutive series! There were other positives that could’ve drawn the focus of the game, but the Reyes issue cannot possibly be addressed enough. Especially when he appears to be on the precipice of a hot streak.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets stay in the New York area to make up a rainout against the Yankees. It’ll be a battle of aces as Jacob deGrom squares off against Luis Severino. After a two-game mid-week series against the Baltimore Orioles, the Mets go up against the Philadelphia Phillies five times. In facing the Phillies, the fifth game of that series will be the MLB Little League Classic, which takes place in Williamsport, PA.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell – USA Today Sports