The Mets actually put a run on the board in the top of the first before their ace even took the mound. Amed Rosario led off the ballgame with a double and later scored on Jay Bruce hit, giving the road team the early 1-0 lead. After mowing the Nationals down 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the first, deGrom did run into a little bit of a speed bump in the second, however.

After uncharacteristically walking Anthony Rendon to begin the frame, deGrom allowed a single to Washington rookie sensation Juan Soto, placing men on the corners with no out. Ryan Zimmerman then lifted a fly ball to center field to score the tying run via a sac fly.

New York responded right away the next inning though, which was really nice to see. With one out, Michael Conforto and Bruce doubled consecutively to reestablish the Mets lead, but they were far from done in the frame. Dom Smith singled home Bruce with a third run, and after Rendon committed an error on a Todd Frazier ground ball, the inning was prolonged for Devin Mesoraco. The Mets catcher, playing in his first game in almost three weeks, pounded a double to plate Smith, and while Frazier was waved home, he was gunned down the end the inning, with the Mets up 4-1.

That would prove to be all deGrom would need as he simply took it to another level after that. The right-hander retired 15 of the next 17 Nationals batters, completing his seven-inning outing with eight strikeouts and just three hits allowed. At only 98 pitches, it was somewhat surprising New York didn’t send him back out for the eighth, instead summoning Seth Lugo for a consecutive day. While the righty did allow a pair of Washington baserunners he was ultimately able to navigate through the inning unscathed, and when the Mets failed to add an insurance run in the ninth, it was Robert Gsellman time.

The final inning was a little nerve-wrecking for the visitors dugout, when Trea Turner led off with a double, and Bryce Harper nearly got the home team within one on a long fly ball to the opposite field that ultimately fell a couple feet short of the fence and into the waiting glove of Conforto. The Mets were not out of the woods though, as Rendon came up next and promptly singled into center, scoring Turner and getting the tying run to the plate. Gsellman stepped up though, striking out Soto and getting Zimmerman to fly out to end the game.

The victory evened deGrom’s record on the season at 9-9 and lowered his Major League best ERA to 1.77. If the Cy Young race isn’t over, it honestly probably should be.

Up next New York will send Corey Oswalt to the bump opposite Tanner Roark as they look to take a thirrd consecutive contest from their rivals in the nation’s capital.

The other team. I think their socks are red, or something.

WHAT HAPPENED, SUNDAY-GROM:

Another day, another good start by Jacob deGrom. As the soon-to-be National League Cy Young winner has done all season, deGrom truly put the Mets in the best position to win. Without the third inning, deGrom really doesn’t have any messes to escape from. A walk here, a two-out runner there. Never having to deal with multiple runners on. But, alas, the third inning did happen.
It looked like deGrom had a clear path out of trouble, though. Rafael Devers and Christian Vazquez singled with one out in the third, putting runners at the corners for deGrom. His first baserunners of a game which, to that point, had seen him match Chris Sale punch-for-punch. Even after a Mookie Betts sac fly to center field scored Devers, two outs to the red-hot Brock Holt seemed preferable. Of course, even preferable scenarios can end badly. Jumping on a fastball deGrom left over the heart of the plate, Holt smashed a ball to right-field for a two-run homer. Given just how…let’s say inept…the Mets have been in deGrom-started games this year, that appeared like it could be enough.

Despite this, however, deGrom quickly returned to form. Against a lineup known for its ability to not strike out — specifically against right-handers — deGrom recorded 12 strikeouts across seven innings. And this time, he was even rewarded for keeping the Mets within reach! What a concept! Even if the game was ultimately decided with Seth Lugo on the mound, deGrom held the Red Sox long enough for the Mets to tie things up in the seventh inning.

For those keeping track at home, this was also deGrom’s 10th start in 2018 with double-digit strikeouts. It was also his fifth 12+ strikeout game. Sunday also saw deGrom extend his career-high season-strikeout total to 250, and gives him 982 career strikeouts. Translation? Jacob deGrom, the 2018 National League Cy Young award winner, has been really freaking good.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

This week doesn’t feature an offense portion because, well, not much happened at the plate. Jay Bruce got caught stealing. Michael Conforto recorded a multi-hit game for the sixth time this month, and has generally been on fire. Given Conforto’s weird overall season, it’s pretty incredible that he’s clawing his way back to the .800 OPS mark. After Sunday, Conforto owns a .776 OPS with two weeks left to play. Largely enough, the same can be said for the other guy who recorded two hits on Sunday — Amed Rosario. It’s probably fair to say he’ll eclipse the .700 OPS mark before the season ends (currently .693) and he has shown flashes of what could (eventually) be a usefully hitter down the stretch.

Even if Sale kicked off a bullpen game for the Red Sox, their bullpen proved insurmountable in the end. The Mets fought hard to tie it up, and Lugo surrendering one extra-base hit proved to be all it took for the Red Sox to put it away. The positive, sort of? This series was the first the Mets have lost all month, as they have played much better down the stretch. Maybe it’s fool’s gold going into 2019. Well, no maybe. It is fool’s gold. But it keeps us going. You can feel free to decide if that’s a good or bad thing.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

The Mets square off against the Philadelphia Phillies in their penultimate road series of the year. Zack Wheeler will face Jake Arrieta, as the Mets look to end things on a high-note leading up to the final week of the 2018 regular season.

Photo credit: Winslow Townson – USA Today Sports

The Mets, who are suddenly good

WHAT HAPPENED, WE’VE GOT CONFORTOOOO, ON A CLOUDY DAY:

Michael Conforto is good again, and this is reason to rejoice. The lefty outfielder drove in four runs on Sunday, made some phenomenal plays on defense, and beat out a groundball to first. These are happy times — no, the best of times. To properly honor his resurgence, a song is in order. I give you ‘My Girl’ by the Temptations, but Michael Conforto.

[We’ve] got sunshine on a cloudy day
When it’s cold outside [we’ve] got the month [before] May
Well I guess you’d say
What can make [us] feel this way?
Mi-chael (Mi-chael, Mi-chael)
Talkin’ ’bout Mi-chael (Mi-chael)

[He’s] got so much [talent, opposing teams] envy [us]
[There’s no] sweeter song than the [crack of his bat]

Well I guess you’d say
What can make [us] feel this way?
Mi-chael (Mi-chael, Mi-chael)
Talkin’ ’bout Mi-chael (Mi-chael ooh)
Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Ooh yeah

[We] don’t need no [Yelich], [Harper] or [Lorenzo Cain] (well…yes we do)
[We’ve] got all the riches baby one [fanbase] can claim (oh yes [we] do)

I guess you’d say
What can make [us] feel this way?
Mi-chael (Mi-chael, Mi-chael)
Talkin’ ’bout Mi-chael (Mi-chael)

[We’ve] got sunshine on a cloudy day
With Mi-chael (Mi-chael)
(Talkin’ ’bout Mi-chael Mi-chael) I’ve even got the month of May
With Mi-chael (Mi-chael, woah)
[He’s] all [we] can think (Mi-chael)
(Talkin’ ’bout Mi-chael Mi-chael)
Talkin’ ’bout, talkin’ ’bout Mi-chael (Mi-chael, woah)

WHAT HAPPENED, SETH LUGO (MOSTLY) SLAMS THE DOOR:

Over the past few weeks, Seth Lugo really proven that his July woes are in the rearview mirror. Coming into Sunday, Lugo hadn’t allowed a run since August 21; over that time span, we’ve seen his fastball velocity consistently improve, a pitch which he is upping the usage of. That development really played into Sunday’s action, as the righty threw 13 fastballs over two innings of work, recording a whiff on four of the seven swings he was able to garner.

We know the Statcast darling generates a healthy number of swings-and-misses, but his ability to create them with his heater increases the potency of his curveball. It’s a great sign moving forward, and is certainly an area to watch moving forward. Will Lugo touch 100 mph next season? Probably not. But his move to the bullpen gives him an ability to sit in the upper 90s far more consistently, so it’s not unthinkable to see him sit 97 mph in the near future.

As for his actual performance? Lugo was lights out. He was tasked with a two-inning close, and was able to wrap things up in seven batters. The only blemish? A solo home run to Carlos Santana with one out in the ninth. Though not ideal, it certainly is acceptable when you finish with five strikeouts en route to maintaining the lead that closes out another series win.

WHAT HAPPENED, YESTERDAY:

Michael Conforto reminded us why we can maintain just enough optimism about 2019 to keep going. A healthy outfield featuring Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Yoenis Cespedes should not be slept on, to say the least. Seth Lugo slammed the door, and Corey Oswalt had…a start. Which, of course, is the typical Corey Oswalt start. In the end, it’s another series win for a team that now…wins all their series? It’s a wild game, this baseball.

WHAT HAPPENS, TODAY:

Barring rain, we hope to see another installment of The Jacob deGrom Show. He’ll be going on an extra day of rest, thanks to the drizzly Sunday afternoon that was the Mets-Phillies finally. I’m sure he’ll be delighted by the trade, though, as the Mets will square off against the Miami Marlins and Jeff Brigham.

Photo credit: Gregory J. Fisher – USA Today Sports

Well…..

At least six of the Mets’ hits were bloopers. And I don’t mean lightly-hit base hits that fell in front of the outfielders, either. I mean legitimate duck snorts. You know, the pop-ups with awful launch angles and even worse exit velos that just found grass. The Mets scored a run on a sac fly where the throw home beat the runner by 10 feet, but Yasmani Grandal dropped the ball. They scored a run on a ball deflected off the pitcher into no-man’s land. They scored a run on a wild pitch. They hit no home runs, and only one extra base hit the entire game.

The Mets aren’t usually associated with good fortune, but sometimes, the BABIP Fairy is just smiling down upon you.

But seriously what the hell was that?

Anyway, Zack Wheeler had another solid outing, tossing seven innings of three-run ball while walking two and striking out nine. The gopher ball was Wheeler’s main enemy tonight, as he only yielded the runs via the long ball. Max Muncy got him in the fourth inning for a two-run home run, and Cody Bellinger hit a towering solo shot to right in the seventh, his fourth home run off Wheeler in his career.

Nobody on offense really stood out much since the Mets were just hitting 145-foot Texas-Leaguers the whole game and somehow kept scoring runs. It was something out of Little League. Anyway, Jeff McNeil got two more hits, as did Michael Conforto. Kevin Plawecki had the only double in the game, before he was removed from the game after a hit-by-pitch.

After Wheeler, Relief Ace Seth Lugo locked down the last two innings with nary an issue, and the Mets won 7-3 to suprisingly take the series from the Dodgers. This is probably the best team the Mets have taken a series from all season long.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

Both Wheeler and Plawecki will undergo CT scans for injuries suffered in last night’s affair. Wheeler took a ball off his chest, while Plawecki had the aforementioned hit-by-pitch to the ribs.

WHAT’S NEXT

The still-David-Wrightless Mets return home to take on the Phillies tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. Cy-Young runner-up Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies against Steven Matz for the Mets.

Photo credit: Kelvin Kuo – USA Today Sports

The former top prospect has battled injuries in his brief career, clearing the 20-start plateau only once since making his debut in 2015. He hasn’t escaped the usual nicks and dings in 2018, but he’s avoided major injury and looks primed to set a career high in innings.

Matz showed what he’s fully capable of Saturday, allowing just four base runners on the afternoon while striking out 11. He was efficient too, walking just one Giant and using only 93 pitches to get through seven. Health in the rotation is always a question mark for this organization and 2019 figures to be no different. A healthy Matz is almost a must, as the internal starting pitching depth looks pretty thin at this point.

Old friend Tomas Nido collected his first two hits since being recalled from Binghamton last week. He went 2-4 on the afternoon, including an RBI double that scored Brandon Nimmo to tie things up at one apiece. Nido will compete for the backup job in spring training but it’d admittedly be a mild surprise if he were to begin the 2019 season on the Opening Day roster.

Swiss Army Pitching Knife Seth Lugo gave the orange and blue two scoreless innings to force extras in San Francisco. His 2019 role is to be determined — by whom I’m unsure —  but he could fill a variety of different roles depending on how the offseason goes. I’m still of the belief that he belongs in the rotation, but I’ll acknowledge that there’s an argument to be made that he remain in the pen.

Jerry Blevins, a free agent to be, picked up his second win of the season. He was a candidate to be traded before the waiver deadline, but the Mets decided against it for an unknown reason. Daniel Zamora will likely fill the Blevins role in the bullpen next year unless the Mets decide to re-sign the lefty, in which I could then envision a scenario where Zamora is DFA’d off the 40-man instead.

After pledging to use his proven relievers less in an effort to get a look at the new guys, Mickey Callaway instead turned to Robert Gsellman for a second straight day. There’s no good reason to overwork a reliever who figures to begin 2019 as the closer, especially in a lost season, but a master of strategy Callaway is not. With Tyler Bashlor, Drew Smith and now Eric Hanhold in the bullpen, it’s time for Callaway to experiment with the young guys.

Photo credit: Neville E. Guard – USA Today Sports

Jacob deGrom versus a red-hot, newly-acquired, long-time Met rival Cole Hamels is a pretty juicy matchup. It’s too bad one of these teams is competently run and has maintained its status as a National League powerhouse since ascending in 2015 while the other has crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. So it goes.

Brandon Nimmo is back off the DL and in the lineup. Jeff McNeil is also out there, and Jay Bruce is starting at first.

Game Recap

If you watched the top of the first inning, you got a pretty good idea of what the Mets offense was going to do in this game. Amed Rosario led off with a double and moved to third on a groundout, and an Austin Jackson walk put runners at the corners with one out. The prime scoring chance was squandered, as both Michael Conforto and Todd Frazier struck out swinging to get Cole Hamels out of the first inning unharmed.

It was the first of what seemed like an endless number of missed opportunities for the Mets, who put three more runners on in the third with a single, error and a walk, but a caught stealing and another strikeout by Conforto ended the threat. Two singles, one a hussle infield single from deGrom, along with a walk loaded the bases in the fifth, but Conforto struck out once again. Consistently, Hamels put runners on base for the Mets, and every time they were wasted.

Of course, this is par for the course with deGrom, and the most deserving Cy Young candidate did his part to keep his team in the game. Over the first five innings, deGrom was brilliant, striking out seven and holding a potent Cubs offense off the board. There was a scary moment in the fourth when deGrom seemed to tweak something after slipping while trying to field an infield dribbler off the bat of Javier Baez, but he showed no ill effects, escaping the inning and promptly beating out the aforementioned infield single in his next at bat.

Sick of his teammates failing him, deGrom took offensive matters into his own hands in the top of the sixth. Former National Brandon Kintzler replaced Cole Hamels, and the first two Mets reached on an infield single and a walk. The next two batters couldn’t push a run across, and a walk to Brandon Nimmo loaded the bases for deGrom with two out. deGrom came through, as he always seems to, placing a groundball perfectly on the left side of the infield for his second hit of the day and his fourth RBI of the year, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.

After navigating an leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth, the Mets had a chance to add some insurance in the seventh after McNeil led off with a triple. Predictably, they failed to do even that, with two hard line outs and a strike out stranding McNeil at third. The Cubs immediately made the Mets pay for their failure, rallying with two singles and a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one in the bottom of the seventh. The run should arguably have been unearned, as Bruce missed a relatively routine play at first base to give the Cubs their second hit of the game, but so it goes for deGrom.

A visibly pissed off deGrom worked around a leadoff single and a walk in the bottom of the eighth, finishing his outing with a strikeout and a double play. The Mets then failed to score for him in the top of the ninth, dooming the best pitcher in baseball to yet another no decision. Some quick stats on deGrom’s season after this latest gem, an eight-inning, 10-strikeout, one-walk, one-run performance:

• 24th consecutive start with three or fewer runs, tying Doc Gooden’s major league record
• 6th start allowing one run or less in which deGrom has received a no decision
• 9th time the Met offense has scored one run or less with deGrom on the mound
• 8th time deGom has gone seven or more innings and allowed one or zero runs but did not earn a win, tying a live-ball era record by Roger Craig on the 1963 Mets

Seth Lugo replaced deGrom and tossed a scoreless ninth, sending the game to extra innings. Mother Earth had other plans, and after Steve Cishek threw two balls to Conforto, the game was suspended. Thirteen hours later, the at-bat resumed, and Conforto worked a leadoff walk. He was erased on a double play when Bruce struck out two batters later, and Nimmo was doubled off on a line drive to waste another potential baserunner in the 11th, continuing the Mets’ absolute refusal to score runs for deGrom, even with the ace out of the game.

Mercifully, the Cubs ended things in the 11th before the Met offense could embarrass themselves any further. Paul Sewald continued to be bad, walking Javier Baez to lead off the inning, then throwing the ball away on a bunt to put runner son second and third with no outs. Kyle Schwarber was intentionally walked, Sewald struck out Albert Almora, and Daniel Zamora entered to face Ben Zobrist. Zamora got the ground ball he needed, but Zobrist placed it perfectly up the middle, and Rosario couldn’t get to it. The Cubs walked off with a 2-1 victory.

Thoughts from the Game

Watching pissed off deGrom’s body language on the mound is always fun, because it’s so clear he’s tired of everyone’s bullshit. At this point, he literally cannot carry this team any more than he already is, and it has to be beyond frustrating to see the team still fail so miserably. More relevantly at this point, if there is any writer or analyst who professes to be a baseball expert and doesn’t vote for deGrom in the Cy Young because of pitcher wins, that should be grounds for immediate firing. He’s the best pitcher in the National League, and it isn’t particularly close.

Other Mets News

There are two infuriating bits of Met news to discuss, so let’s start with the more common one. The Mets say they will not call up Peter Alonso this season, despite him racking up 33 home runs and 111 RBI this season between Double-A and Triple-A. Supposedly, this is because the Mets are still concerned about his defense and limited playing time with Jay Bruce, Wilmer Flores and Dominic Smith on the roster. That’s nonsense, of course — all of those options are somewhere between terrible and mediocre, and none of them are particularly good defenders. This is a very obvious service time manipulation ploy, a ridiculous tactic to claw back the age-31 season of a R/R first baseman in a totally lost season.

At least that’s a wrong the rest of baseball commits as well, however. The other bit of Mets news could originate only from an organization as deeply defined by dysfunction an ineptitude as this one; the Mets want insurance to continue to pay David Wright’s salary. As a refresher, the Mets get 75% of Wright’s salary back in insurance while he’s on the disabled list. Of course, they don’t reinvest this money, counting Wright’s full salary AND the premium on the insurance against club payroll. If Wright is activated and later needs to go back on the DL, the team does not receive payments until 60 days after the DL stint begins (likely combined between 2018 and 2019), and they can save roughly $2.4 million of Wright’s $3.2 million due over the rest of the season by keeping him on the disabled list.

This latest news takes things to a whole new level of scummy, deplorable and disgusting, even for the Mets. Wright is the greatest Met position player in history. He stuck with this team through some dark years, toiling away in his prime on teams that couldn’t even crack .500. He’s now spent two years working his hardest to overcome a debilitating, chronic back injury, one that has spawned shoulder and neck problems to boot. And now that he finally, finally has a chance to step onto a major league field for the first time since 2016, the team seems to be angling to classify him as permanently disabled against his wishes.

For full disclosure, I’ve never been as much of a fan of Wright as some others. Jose Reyes was always my favorite player when I was little (which has aged….not well), and I thought he should have been shipped out when the Mets started their rebuild. Nevertheless, Wright was on track for a first-ballot HOF career, and I struggle to find words to describe the depths the Mets have sunk to here. Disrespectful, abjectly cruel and disgraceful come to mind.

Photo credit: Patrick Gorski – USA Today Sports

Vargas held the free-falling Washington Nationals scoreless over six impressive frames on Friday night, allowing only three hits and punching out a season high eight hitters as the Mets took the series opener from their D.C. rivals, 3-0.

After Vargas had retired the Nats’ in order in the top of the first, the Mets offense got off to a fast start against Gio Gonzalez in the bottom half of the frame. Amed Rosario led off with a single and then stole second base, and two batters later the speedy shortstop scored on a Wilmer Flores single. In the second, Vargas got himself into immediate trouble when Ryan Zimmerman and Juan Soto singled to start the inning, but the southpaw wiggled out of the jam by retiring the next three Washington hitters.

New York threatened in the home 2nd but couldn’t push a run across, and after an uneventful third inning, the game went to the fourth with the Mets still up 1-0. It was here where Vargas delivered arguably his most impressive frame of 2018, striking out Bryce Harper, Zimmerman and Soto consecutively. The Mets got a two-out rally started in the bottom of the inning when Jose Bautista was hit by a pitch and Kevin Plawecki doubled, but Vargas himself struck out to end the frame.

In the fifth and sixth innings, Vargas retired six of seven hitters to end his outing, but New York was unable to extend their lead against Gonzalez despite getting runners in almost every frame all night.

The Mets turned the game over to Seth Lugo in the seventh, and Amazins’ dynamic bullpen weapon retired all six hitters he faced over two frames, striking out three. In the bottom of the eighth, with Gonzalez out of the game, New York was finally able to push across some insurance runs to put the game out of reach. Cult hero Jeff McNeil led off with a walk and reached second on a stolen base. The next two New York hitters were retired by righty Koda Glover, but Nationals manager Davey Martinez then summoned southpaw Tim Collins into the ballgame to face fresh-from-the-DL Jay Bruce. The left-handed slugger promptly deposited a fly ball over the right center field fence to extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0, which felt like an insurmountable sum with the lifelessness of the Washington offense.

Robert Gsellman came on to record the final three outs of the game to close out his eighth save of the season, and the home team was officially back in the New York groove.

Tonight Zack Wheeler will take the ball for New York opposing Washington righty Tanner Roark.

Photo credit: Andy Marlin – USA Today Sports

Looking at this game, what’s the hook? Why should you, the viewer, care about a bad team playing a mediocre team with two nondescript starters on the mound? These are the sort of questions I spend 15 minutes staring at a blank document debating at this point in the season.

Anyway, Steven Matz got the start against Chris Stratton. Matz is still on a pitch count after his stint on the disabled list and the Mets burned most of their bullpen Monday in their 13-inning loss, so that has the potential to be a disaster. At least it can’t get any worse then a dropped pop up that drives in the game-deciding run.

Game Recap

Matz’s evening did not get off to a stellar start. Andrew McCutchen walked to lead off the game and Evan Longoria launched a ball into the left field seats two batters later to give the Giants a quick 2-0 lead. Matz rebounded very nicely, however, setting down the next 12 Giants before allowing a one-out double to Gorkys Hernandez in the top of the fifth. Hernandez didn’t get any further, inducing a ground out and striking out Chris Stratton. It was an excellent, albeit short start, as Matz struck out five and allowed only two hits and one walk.

As has become tradition at this point, the Mets simply refused to score for their starter. Jeff McNeil and Wilmer Flores had singles in the bottom of the first, but a double play off the bat of Michael Conforto ended that threat. The Mets didn’t manage another hit until the fourth, on another McNeil single, and he was thrown out trying to steal second. Corey Oswalt, pitching in relief of Matz, didn’t get any help either, as the Mets again went down in order in the bottom of the sixth.

McNeil came through again in the seventh with another single, and this time the rest of the lineup got their act together. A double, sacrifice fly and an RBI single later, and the game was tied at two. In the eighth, McNeil struck again with an RBI double to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. After an intentional walk to Flores, Conforto lined an opposite field, three-run home run to put the game out of reach. Oswalt, who was brilliant in three innings of relief after being booted from the starting rotation, was rewarded, and Matz was off the hook.

Seth Lugo entered for the ninth and worked around singles from Evan Longoria and Austin Slater (the latter of which clanked off of Jose Bautista’s glove and should’ve been an error) to close out a 6-3 win. Fittingly, the final out was a ground ball to McNeil, who was very easily the start of the game. The win improves the Mets to 55-70 on the season, and Noah Syndergaard will take the mound tonight.

Thoughts from the Game

McNeil is incredible and should 100% be the starting second baseman for the Mets next season. He’s now batting .318/.381/.455 on the season with two home runs in 99 PA, consistently making good contact and rarely swinging and missing. I’m not the first to make this comp, but he resembles an early-career Daniel Murphy in many ways, except McNeil is an actually competent second baseman. Every time he loses a start to Jose Reyes down the stretch is an insult to the team.

We got another extended rant from GKR about the shift in this one, after Zack Wheeler complained about a shift leading to a run-scoring bloop single in last night’s game. This time around, Ron kept talking about how “feel for the game” should change the shift at certain times, while also admitting to understanding and supporting the idea of playing the percentages. It’s an impressive bit of cognitive dissonance in order to get in a “back in my day” bit.

Other Mets News

Not much happening in Met land right now. David Wright finally broke through with two hits yesterday and had another hit today as he continues to rehab in St. Lucie. Jay Bruce has three hits of his own, and is probably pretty close to a return.

Photo credit: Noah K. Murray – 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

This series, however, was only two games, so only two of those types of games could fit into this series. And since the Mets are not good enough to even hold a lead over Washington, let alone beat them in an inspiring manner, that means these two games could only reflect the first two types of games mentioned there: the blowout and the frustrating loss. Tuesday night was the blowout, and yesterday, Gio Gonzalez didn’t pitch, but the Mets were still frustratingly shut-down by *checks notes* Tommy Milone.

Yes, that Tommy Milone.

The Mets mustered just one run on three hits in seven innings against literally Tommy Milone. He somehow struck out nine, which was the most batters he had struck out in a game since May 1, 2013. His game score of 76 was also his best since July 19, 2016.

And that one run the Mets scored against him was, of course, a solo home run hit by new Staff Ace Jose Reyes. It was his first of two homers on the day, raising his OPS all the way up to .549. His .191 batting average is now the closest it’s been to the Mendoza line all season, and I wish I was kidding. I’m not. This is the highest that both his OPS and average have been all season.

On the mound, Noah Syndergaard returned from hand, foot and mouth disease and struggled out of the gate, giving up a run in the bottom of the first, and then two more in the third on an Anthony Rendon homer. But Syndergaard settled down from there, retiring the next 12 hitters he faced and getting through the seventh without allowing any more runs to cross. The strikeout stuff wasn’t there — he only fanned four — but the velocity was back, which is a great sign that everything is back to normal and Syndergaard is free of the gross kiddie germs.

Not much else happened in this game worth discussing. Seth Lugo is still the only good reliever left on the team. Juan Soto aided Wilmer Flores into a home run. Austin Jackson looks like a waste.

It’s not gonna get any prettier, folks.

OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY

Steven Matz is experiencing the proverbial “forearm tightness.” Whooaa boy.

Tim Peterson was optioned for Noah Syndergaard’s spot on the roster.

WHAT’S NEXT

If you still care, the Mets return home and welcome in the Braves tonight for a four-game set at 7:10 p.m. ET. Jason Vargas goes against Mike Foltynewicz. Hey, both guys have been All-Stars in the last two years.

Photo credit: Brad Mills – USA Today Sports