It’s only April. It’s only April. It’s only April. It’s only April…
That’s the mantra that Mets fans must adopt right now. Facing perennial Cy Young candidate Max Scherzer, the outmanned Mets went down to a series sweep against main NL East rival Washington. Knowing that the pitching matchup was going to be between Scherzer and the still-recovering Zack Wheeler, the question going into this game wasn’t whether or not the Mets would win, but by how much would they lose. The answer seemed to come quickly.
Adam Eaton led off for Washington and took the third pitch of the game off his right elbow pad. With a full count on the next hitter, Trea Turner, Eaton took off for second. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera ran to cover the bag as Turner hit a sharp grounder to his vacated position. Cabrera was able to make a nice play on the ball, but his throw to first was no match for the speedy Turner. The ever dangerous Bryce Harper then singled to right to load the bases. Wheeler struck out Ryan Zimmerman, but our ol’ friend Daniel Murphy sent a rocket over the wall in dead center and suddenly, depressingly, the Mets were in a 4-0 hole. For his part, Scherzer didn’t start off his usual, dominant self, surrendering an answering opposite field home run to Michael Conforto on his second pitch. In the third, Conforto led off with a base hit and after two outs, Neil Walker rocked a middling fastball into the right center field stands, bring the Mets back to 4-3. That’s where the game stopped. Wheeler and Scherzer matched zeroes through the seventh inning. But for one lousy inning, it was a heartening performance by Wheeler: seven innings, four hits, two walks, six strikeouts and those four first inning runs. Scherzer allowed another base knock by Conforto with one out in the fifth, but erased him on a 3-3-6 double play by Cabrera. He didn’t allow another base runner through the eighth. Josh Smoker came on to pitch the top of the eighth and looked solid for the first two batters, inducing popups from Eaton and Turner. Harper looped a base hit to left — a ball on which Conforto just missed making a great shoestring catch — and Zimmerman sent a non-sinking sinker into the first row of the left field grandstand. Jeurys Familia looked a lot stronger, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts. Ol’ friend Oliver Perez started the ninth for Washington by throwing exactly two pitches, giving up a base hit to Jay Bruce. New Nats closer Koda Glover quelled whatever uprising there might have been, however, striking out Walker in the process. Jose Reyes made the last out, but it should be noted that had Reyes reached, Yoenis Cespedes was ready to pinch hit for Kevin Plawecki. Unfortunately, it never came to that.
A welcome off-day tomorrow, one in which the likes of Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud can heal up a little. We hope.
Charlie, didn’t tune in until the third inning, but when I checked the line score and saw 4-3 and the Nats scored 4 in the first, I quickly went straight to Murphy’s name in the box score and wasn’t a bit surprised. This is going to a long three year contract.
Now we see the results had they not signed Cespedes.
Lastly, the Mets are a bunch of homerun happy pull hitters. They will always be a predictable offense with a bad batting average unless they get serious about just doing whatever it takes to win like they did for one month last year. Having their manager coddle them by saying, “well that who we are” like he did Saturday is as inexcusable as his Familia move on Friday night.
I watched the entire game yesterday.
Hint: It’s not the manager.
Jimmy, all teams will lose games and these last two losses were losses. They tried hard, but they lost. Also, I agree that the players aren’t having good luck as Bruce hit it on the screws Friday off Ollie Perez with the bases loaded but it found Harper’s glove. Too, Walker is looking for himself, as is the annual Granderson search, Cespedes ailment, and so on.
What bothers me is “the way” they lost certain games, like:
– Familia being brought back after a 30 pitch outing and not having a safety net for his second outing of the year, but rather letting him lose the game;
– Montero being used in extra innings without a safety net because he burned five relievers in three innings earlier;
– Continuous burning relievers in lefty-righty match ups when he realizes his starters won’t be going deep into games.
This team has only reacted to the pressure of the closing months these last two years and seemed uninterested in the meantime. Collins throws down the gauntlet that if they don’t start playing better “there’s a team full of players in Vegas that want these spots”, remember that one? But, they got swept at home by San Diego the next series after being swept by the Braves at home also, and looked terrible. Also, he continuously calls them a homerun hitting team and says that is what they are, but in September, all of a sudden players are being moved up with outs, players are hitting for average and they are winning! What happened then? Sure, there were homeruns too, but a homerun happens 3.3% of the time. A hit happens 28% of the time and when you’re hot can happen at least 30% of the time. What would you rather have? I’d rather have 0 homeruns and 200 more hits out of all of them! How many runs do you think a team of hitters with 250 hits per year each would have? Lots!!!!
Alderson prefers a homerun hitter, but has often said that he wants OBP and moving the chain: That means walk, hit, and keep it going. Collins continues to be contrary.
Is it 100% Collins? No. Is it a great percentage than “most” other managers have cost their team? A resounding yes. The pattern for this team is to have excuses, underachieve and play bad baseball until late August. How about a change to that? I think it would be nice.
Only two players in team history have ever produced 200 hits in a season so if somehow you think we’re going to produce a team where everyone gets 250 hits per year, you’re beyond dreaming.
Brian, I was merely saying that with a homerun being a 3.3% outcome and a base hit being about 28% outcome, I’ll take a player with 0 homeruns but adding 250 singles to his ledger than a player with 25HRs but hits for a .230 average. It’s not a realistic example but rather a point about the beauty of having lots more baserunners than the Mets currently get.
I don’t see that being anything close to a guarantee. The Marlins were 2nd in the NL in AVG last year and 13th in runs scored. Perhaps there were circumstances I’m not aware of, like the Mets’ RISP performance. But the Marlins were middle of the pack last year with RISP. I’m sure if they had their druthers, they’d want a full season out of Giancarlo Stanton and his HR bat more than anything.
Gus, it seems as if you think that Collins is playing 9 positions rather than manager. This team on average is not good. There is a hope to stay around .500 then have a great August. But Collins did not assemble this team or the philosophy behind it. Alderson did. Look Im no big fan of the Collins bullpen musical chairs, but thats not the reason the team is so poor at hitting a baseball; its not the reason our vaulted starting rotation cannot go more than 7 innings. I think most people here are sick of the matchy matchy bull pen, and would rather have any reliever take more than 1 or possibly 2 batters. This works when the amount of remaining outs in a game is small…but when we play this routine in the 5th or 6th, its utter disaster. And so while you can lay some of this at TC, the lack of being able to make a run is shameful, and the people on this team are only aiming for the fences, and the opposing pitchers know it.
Not saying a position player’s mistakes are Collins’ fault. Rather saying that Collins is more of a liability than he should be. Understand, last year Bleacher Report did a poll ranking managers. Collins ranked 23rd. That’s a top ten team manager ranking in the last ten. As I told Jimmy, he makes more mistakes than an overseer in his position should make – and he is simply an overseer but in doing his job you can see that he simply “doesn’t get it”.
And let me share with you, ex general manager after ex general manager, player after player, ex player after ex player *all* have the highest regard for Collins as a manager and absolutely excoriate the preposterous Mets fanbase. The amount of laughter that the chants for “Wally” created makes them cringe. What it says is there is a whole lot more to being a skipper than what any of us can determine from our living rooms.
Is Collins as good as Bochy? No. But very few are in that league.
Maybe the manager has a hand in a couple games per year, but the reason the Mets are so bad right now is because the players are so bad right now.
Didn’t he get fired twice, including a player revolt in both stops and then when he left both teams went to the World Series?
Didnt he skipper a team to the world series and now as manager for many years as a Met have the full respect and support of his team?
What I hear is that given the huge number of injuries the Mets have dealt with, his job as manager was more difficult than most, and under those circumstances managed to go to the WS and playoffs in succeeding years.
By the way, Im indifferent. If they fired him tonight I wouldnt shed a tear. Im also not gonna have a fit if he is the manager all season.
Managers are Hired to be Fired, so that’s no Scarlet Letter. …and Gus, have you seen any of what your write about here with the Mets????
It’s a weak and ridiculous comment…he’s been amazing with his players here in NY.
The Nats grabbed a four run lead in the first inning that no matter how much the Mets tried they could not surmount it. I hope that first inning does not forbear what the season will bring with this s-l-o-w April start and a large Nat lead.
It is not a time to panic but Noah should start the Braves series so that next Sunday he pitches against the Nats. Gsellman can slot in on Wednesday.
Last season, Cespedes came back early and aggravated the injury turning it into a two week DL stint and never fully healed. Very nervous about this.
TDA has bad luck. Smoker really needed to close the door but he didn’t. The pen should be well rested for Tuesday.
“It is not a time to panic but Noah should start the Braves series so that next Sunday he pitches against the Nats. Gsellman can slot in on Wednesday.”
That is precisely what I was about to post. A decision like that is up to the front office and it’s one that should be made. The Nats haven’t seen Thor yet, nor have they seen Cespedes. Next time we play them…cue the Rocky theme.
Batting averages from Mets lineup, hitters 4-8:
.206
.149
.104
.000
.111
Pick apart whatever you want, that dog don’t hunt.
I agree. And now after this run desperate swings are amplifying it. No one wants a base hit. While we have a bunch of HR, were near last in doubles. Its imbalanced and totally lifeless.
This.
Yep – and if Cespedes, d’Arnaud and Duda were healthy – three of those hitters wouldn’t be in the lineup. And some of us are trying to find a replacement for a fourth one but we’re dismissively told to wait.
What are you talking about? Reyes?
You are trying to find a replacement? Are you on the phones with other GMs? Or just another fan with an opinion?
On Reyes, there was a discussion. Some think the Mets should pull the plug now, others feel he should be given more time, days off, etc.
There’s nothing “dismissive” about it, and no reason to have hurt feelings.
This has become a hard place in which to have honest intellectual disagreement. You keep wanting to “win” every discussion and always need to have the last word.
When you bring honesty, you’re met with honesty.
It’s not hard at all to have civil disagreements here. I have them with Metsense, Chris F., Name, Gus and Eraff all of the time. There have been times in those disagreements when I was right and they were wrong. And there have been times when they were right and I was the person who was wrong. I have no problem admitting I was wrong. Anyone who brings opinions to the table every day is going to be wrong. And you’re going to be wrong, often. If you can’t accept that, life is going to be hard here.
I have no desire to win every discussion. I much prefer it when someone brings something to the table that changes my point of view, that adds to my knowledge. I’m not stuck thinking that everything I read in The Sporting News or Baseball Digest in 1973 is the ultimate truth. It’s just when someone says something that’s false, I’m not going to let that go.
The main take-away, from my perspective, was the good pitching effort by Wheeler. Yes, the first inning was rough. After that he looked in command. As one who has always been unhappy with Zack’s nibbling in the edges, I saw this game as a nice step forward. Hope it continues.
Agree. Wheeler was terrific. And even in the first inning, that hit by pitch was ridiculous. Too bad the umpires don’t call those intentional hits by the batters with the arm guards. And Wheeler handled Murphy well after the blast.
You cannot manage a win out of a lineup with 3-5 dead spots every night. Baseball Offense is at least as reliant on Sequence as it is on Stats, and Both are busted right now.
I was not upset about last night—they came back against a great pitcher—and Wheeler looked very, very good. BTW…that pitch that Murph Jacked was below the knees and running down and away…. tip my cap to Murph.
The Starting pitching is healthy… I believe that most of the Baseball Cards will return to their norm. Reyes?…. Zilch for a Bazillion on worn tires may mean the tires are Shot. I don’t see much to hope for there….and I Love, Love, Love Jose!!!!
On Collins:
* I believe it is legitimate to take issue with his “matchy-matchy” tendencies, and to wish that he was less singularly focused on the platoon advantage. He doesn’t appear to recognize reverse splits, and his approach tends to narrow and limit the development of young players (Conforto never getting a shot against LHP, for example). And yet, it could be argued that he optimizes the production of guys like Flores and Lagares. It’s complicated.
* But, and here’s the key for me, this is who he is as a manager. Every single game. For years. It’s built into his core belief system. So what’s the alternative now? To complain every single game when he pursues the platoon advantage? To make that the focus of every comment? After every loss, to make him the pivot point? I mean, I see that it happens all over the internet. (Note: Gil Hodges would have never survived the scrutiny of the internet.) But it always strikes me as a little crazy. It’s just so easy to complain about the bullpen, so obvious. The other day the Mets lost a game 3-1, the pen threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings to keep the Mets in the game — a game they needed to win — and yet this board was filled with complaints about how he achieved a perfect result. Tough crowd, tough job.
* With players — and with people in all walks of life — it’s so important to take “the whole man.” That’s one of my fundamental guiding principles in the workplace and in life. We all come with strengths and weaknesses. Look at players. They do this and that, but aren’t so good at X and Z. Are we going to complain that Lucas Duda can’t bunt? Every day? Be angry at Yoenis because he gives less than 100% on every play? TC pursues matchup advantages, like a robot at times, but that’s how he rolls. I’m not convinced he’s entirely wrong, though I’d love to see a little more flexibility.
* I don’t think TC is a great manager. But putting him under a microscope day after day leads to missing the bigger picture. He’s fine, in my opinion. Hey, we all watched Joe Madden basically almost give away the World Series with a series of increasingly bizarre bullpen moves — and he’s one of the best in the game. Someone recently complained that TC was like Pat Riley — this was a negative — and Pat Riley is only one of the most successful coaches in the history of basketball. You can’t please everyone, that’s for sure.
* Lastly, the devil you know theory. The idea that getting rid of TC will solve all the problems. Well, look at Sandy Alderson. Look at who he has fired, let go, and look at the managers he’s brought into the fold. Are we really confident that the next guy is going to be any better? There will come a time when change is necessary. The system needs a jolt, a shift. Often that’s a good thing. So maybe a new guy comes in and makes a difference. Okay, maybe. For the most part, I’ll be looking at the players, the roster, the moves made by the GM . . . rather than freaking out because the new guy just brought in a lefty to face Freddy Freeman.
Jimmy—I agree—you can’t hate “your Guys” for what they’re Not….Players..Managers…etc.
The team has been built around specifically talented and limited players…1 or two strong tools apiece, and in high redundancy. If you love blah speed and baserunning coupled with mneh gloves with good pop, these are your guys!…and that’s what Sandy likes and that’s what Sandy buys!
So… I like the players for what they are….add injuries and happenstance—and Sandy’s tendency to allow a short bench….