Perspectives is a compilation of news, columns and team analysis
Eric Young, Jr. has been auditioning for a starting outfielder position since the 2014 season began. He was given this opportunity for two reasons; Terry Collins likes to have speed at the top of the order, and Chris Young was hurt. Young just started a rehab assignment in Las Vegas, where he promptly hit two home runs and drove in five on his way to a 5-5 night on Sunday, then added another two hits…
NEWSFLASH: so far, the Mets’ offense stinks. As a team, they’re hitting .218, good for dead last in the National League. Team slugging percentage is .333, also 15th. As far as hits go, they again bring up the rear with 97 – and none of their pitchers has a safety as yet. Team OBP is .292, next-to-last. Their OPS+ is 72. Not 172, just 72. NEWSFALSH: overall, their pitching hasn’t been much better. The Mets’…
The Mets’ 2014 season is a mere 11 games deep, and the team sits at five wins to their six losses. That’s hardly enough time to gauge where the team will end up at the end of the season, though topping out at 73 or 74 wins at their current pace is certainly within the realm of reason. The team could defy expectations and win 85 or more games or completely implode and win less…
Generally speaking, Interleague games are not my favorites. My preference is for a balanced schedule and you simply cannot have that with Interleague games. Be that as it may, the last two games against the Angels have been fun, even if they have both been four-hour affairs that required extra innings. There’s the joy of seeing Mike Trout, the chance to once again see Albert Pujols and even old friends Collin Cowgill and Joe Smith…
As it stands right now, the Mets have themselves a nice outfield that is producing in many different ways. With free-agent acquisition Curtis Granderson in right, uber-defensive specialist Juan Lagares in center and the speedy Eric Young Jr. in left field, the Mets have a quick, athletic and dynamic outfield. However, Chris Young—the odd man out in this equation—was not signed in the offseason (for a one-year deal worth $7.25 million) to rot on the…
The Mets’ signing of Kyle Farnsworth during the offseason came with little fanfare. It was a classic Sandy Alderson veteran player signing; bring in a veteran on a minor league contract and have him fight for a spot on the team. However, as spring training progressed, unlike last year’s signings of Marlon Byrd and Latroy Hawkins, Farnsworth appeared to be on the verge of the end of his career. He looked like a lot of…
Mets’ nine game road trip is off to a good start after they salvaged the rubber game of a three game series beating Atlanta 6-4. The bullpen was superb tallying nine scoreless innings versus the Braves, a stark difference from the opening series against the Nationals. While the bullpen’s season-long success is still very much unknown and hard to predict, the starting staff’s productivity appears to be reliable. Through nine games, the starters have pitched…
Over the past few years Mets fans have become accustomed to seeing perfectly good pitches not being swung at. It’s infuriating – but is it a real problem, or just impatient fans wanting more offensive production? Let’s take a look at Baseball-Reference’s advanced batting stats to get a better perspective. In this short season the Mets are looking at strikes (L/Str) 28.2% of the time, which is above the MLB average of 27%. Not great,…
The 2014 season is all of eight games old. The Mets are 3-5, having been humiliated at home by the presumptive NL East champ Nationals and gained a measure of redemption vs. the Reds. That homestand was marred by ineffective hitting and woefully sub-par bullpen work. These themes had already been beaten to death in the blogosphere and by the MSM alike by the time the team’s plane touched down in Atlanta for the inaugural…
Although he ended the Mets furious rally against Craig Kimbrel and the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night with a strikeout, it’s time we put aside our prejudices and applaud Ruben Tejada for providing solid play at shortstop out of the gate. Sure, Tejada is no world beater, but who said he had to be? It’s not like he’s been awful to start the season. After Wednesday night’s o-fer, Tejada is now batting .240 to go…
Everybody knows. Travis d’Arnaud is off to a slow start. It has been discussed at length on the SNY broadcasts, usually every time d’Arnaud comes up to bat. Last night he was able to get into the hit column for the first time in 2014. He added another hit later on, making him 2 for 19 to start the season. This is causing some panic among fans. d’Arnaud is seen as the player that could…
A week ago, Opening Day dawned 39 degrees and stinging rain. Eventually, the sun did come out and it warmed up considerably. The Mets tried to keep up, but ultimately failed. The temps then plunged again the rest of the week. Let’s face it: so far, early spring has been cold, damp and miserable. After six games, the Mets don’t even have it that good. A lot of us are feeling a stiff wind coming…
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