Remember the August 3rd game against the San Francisco Giants, when Terry Collins decided to rest Lucas Duda and Daniel Murphy against Madison Bumgarner? The offense only mustered two hits for the game, and scored zero runs. With Murphy going down with a calf injury, it seemed that the offense would struggle to put together some runs.
Throughout a five-game spanning from August 26th to the 30th, the most runs the offense produced was four runs against the Phillies. Ever since then, the offense has scored four or more runs in five of the last six games. This includes the game against Cincinnati when five homeruns led to 14 runs scored, which was their biggest offensive output of the season. During the past week, there have been some solid performances that have helped put runs on the board.
With shortstop and left field being two areas of concern for the Mets, Wilmer Flores and Matt den Dekker have begun to put together some consistency at the plate. Flores hit .333 (12 for 36), with two homers and three runs driven in throughout his last ten games. One of his home runs was a second-decker moonshot against Reds. Although Flores has mostly been batting 8th in the lineup, his production at the spot has not gone unnoticed.
den Dekker has been doing a solid job of getting on base and scoring runs in the past ten games. Out of 39 plate appearances, Matt has gotten on 18 times, which is about a 46% success rate. This statistic could make the left fielder a possible contender for the leadoff spot. It has been a small sample size, but there are some positives that can be drawn from den Dekker’s recent streak.
One position on the field that will not be a question mark heading into next year is catcher. Travis d’Arnaud continues to rake throughout the second half of the season, and his .395 average in the past ten games may enable him to bring his average for the season up to .250. The 25-year-old backstop is tied for 4th amongst NL catchers with 13 homers. d’Arnaud has been a huge piece of the offense, and his promotion in the lineup shows the trust Collins has in his catcher. Hopefully Travis can put a lasting stamp on this season in the next few weeks.
Lagares has put together a six-game hit streak and has stolen five bases in the last eight games. It also never hurts having a game where you go 4 for 4 and score three runs. Not a bad streak for the leadoff hitter.
Last but not least, the 20-year-old second basemen Dilson Herrera has been a pleasant surprise since getting called up. Hitting .267 and belting two homers while driving in seven runs in eight games will make a lasting impression on the organization. It is no secret that Herrera can hit, and due to his recent success, the Mets may want to see more of Herrera, even when Murphy comes back. Driving in runs has been Herrera’s specialty, as he has maintained the offensive production level at second base.
Even though the main offensive cogs such as Duda, Curtis Granderson and David Wright struggling to put the ball in play, there have been players picking up the pieces and enabling the Mets to stay competitive so far in September. With 33 runs in five September games, something is clicking for the Mets offense, and it should enable the Mets to be successful spoilers in the next few weeks.
That kind of supporting cast is what separates the teams that win from the ones that don’t. When the stars aren’t hitting, the rest need to be good enough to pick up the slack and help the team win. For many years the Mets have not had this. The recent stretch that you noted is encouraging because it is coming from young players (although den Dekker doesn’t really qualify as young anymore) who figure to be a part of the team in the near future. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Joe,
It’s nice to have the supporting cast step up, but the Mets need to have a 3, 4, 5 that will do the job. We can’t be expecting the supporting cast to carry the team. While it is nice to think of den Dekker or Niewenheis and Campbell as one productive player, but the truth is that Granderson will give you that production and will be playing because he got $15MM for the next three years. So, rather than have two such players, let’s improve the other spot next year because the Mets will once again be weak in their offense.
What is better:
Lagares, Murphy, Wright, Duda, TDA, Granderson, Flores, MDD, or
Lagares, Murphy, Kemp/Bautista, Duda, Wright, TDA, Granderson, Flores
Hey TexasGusCC,
Couldn’t agree more with your point. There are going to be times throughout the season when the star power will struggle and the role players are going to produce. For a successful team, it shouldn’t happen all too much, but you’re correct. Granderson will hopefully turn it around next year, and maybe the Mets get Bautista. Not too big on Kemp, but Bautista would be intriguing. Thanks for the read!
I think you can do better by making a play for Alex Gordon; plus we match up with the Royals well.
Give them the ace they will need to replace Shields, and a couple of potential bats from LV/Bing they can control cheaply.
They can let Lorenzo Cain take Gordon’s spot. You just need to be able to say yes when they come calling for Jake DeGrom.
There is still 19 games left to evaluate the supporting cast but what I have seen so far, it appears that the Mets should upgrade at a corner outfield position and shortstop if they seriously want to compete for a playoff spot in 2015.
Based on just the last 30 days, Flores has only a .639 OPS, which translates to me as better than Tejada because of his power but still a backup middle infielder or AAA injury insurance. MDD has a very nice OBP of .370 but without the pop. He is better than EY Jr but he has to beat out Kirk, who is a similar roster spot player and who is also showing adaption to the role of bench player.
Herrera is the one player that looks more like a starting player (but such a small sample size) because he is actually hitting in the majors at a very young age. He also has an incumbent all star second baseman ahead of him. This won’t happen, but I would keep playing the Dilson the majority of the time when Murphy comes off the disabled list just for evaluation purposes in this lost season.
Except for possibly Herrera who is blocked, the supporting cast is just that, bench players. The Mets can hope that the Wright and Granderson seasons are outliers but they would be planning foolish to expect them to rebound to their career numbers. The Mets need upgrades at a corner outfield position and shortstop.
Yeah. And don’t forget, we need to find time for Collins’ fave Bobby Abreu. Remember, this isn’t tryout time, he’s got wins to get, and making sure vets who really understand the game will need to be in there. How refreshing it will be to see Abreu up there hacking again.
It’s interesting that you would start Herrera over Murphy when he comes back from injury. Do you think it would be a smart decision to try Herrera out at SS when Murphy comes back? Flores may not pan out as a starter, but he could be a nice utility man off the bench.
With regards to the OF, Kirk and MDD are going to be battling for a spot, but EY Jr probably won’t be going anywhere. His speed off the bench will help throughout the season.
Shortstop and LF are the positions the Mets need to improve on if they’re going to compete. Maybe some money will be spent on those spots to get us back in contention.
Herrera is a second baseman, and for what it is worth, the SAL managers voted him the leagues best defensive second baseman in 2013.
Next year, if Murphy is not traded, then Dilson can get his feet wet at AAA SS if the organization desires. Now is free evaluation time so that is why I would look at Herrera over Murphy, den Decker over Kirk, Flores over Tejada, Kirk mixed in with Lagares and Granderson, Campbell spelling Duda/Wright. All show as potential bench players. Of course in games that are with playoff consequences for the other teams you play an “a” team. I realize that others don’t agree with my thinking here. If the veterans get mad well I can paraphrase the Branch Rickey line to Ralph Kiner, ” We finished in 4th place with you, We can finish in 4th place without you.” I’m looking for improvement in 2015 and that can begin with 2014 September evaluations.
I believe EY Jr will be making too much next year for his limited role and will be non tendered.
With a GG for lagares on the line, a 12 game hit streak alive, and overall bad-assery going on by Lagares, I would not sit him for a single minute. Id platoon mdd and kn in left, giving grandy a couple games off to play both at same time
I agree that MDD and KN are being evaluated as more of bench roles, but I am optimistic that Flores’ production means he can be a nice solution at SS. I understand his range is lacking and that his offensive will have to make up the difference. But he’s just now being given the reigns. He has the rest of the season to improve defensively, as well as the winter and spring. Alderson would be foolish not to look around for other options, but as discussed previously, those are few and far between. Flores might be the guy we see at SS in 2015, and for now, I’m ok with that.