After starting the series with two straight wins, the Mets lost the third of a four game series by the score of 11 to 7. For the seventh straight game, the Mets offense put up six runs or more, but tonight their pitching could not control the game. Jason Vargas only managed to get one out, as he was pulled from the game after giving up four runs. The last Met to get pulled from a game after only recording a single out was Jason Vargas. The Mets managed to tie the game at 4 runs apiece, however Corey Oswalt gave it right back up.

Jeff McNeil continued his hot hitting of late, he owns a .333 batting average in his major league career. Brandon Nimmo contributed with an RBI single, a sign that he can be turning things around from his early slump. All five Mets pitchers gave up a run tonight, as the conversation of Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel will undoubtedly continue to heat up. My Gut Reaction is that Jason Vargas is on a very short leash, as Brodie VanWagenen has shown a propensity of ridding the team of the previous regime’s added talent. Dominic Smith is quietly hitting .471 in 17 at bats as he has appeared in all 14 games this year. The Mets aim to win the series tomorrow night as Jacob deGrom looks to rebound from his subpar performance.

19 comments on “Gut Reaction: Braves 11, Mets 7 (4/13/19)

  • Jos

    Wow, I was so certain that Vargas was going to have a great outing, which would conclusively prove the prescience of those who warn us about avoiding fool’s gold by signing Keuchel.

    OK, despite not being hampered by the absence of “sarcasm” font, I suppose I shouldn’t be a rude jackass. After all, one start by Varge is too small a sample from which to draw a valid conclusion… except that we have plenty of his starts from which we can decide that Varge is Garb… age

    Fine, I won’t say anything else about Keuchel. I have no doubt that my knowledge of baseball pales compared to nearly everyone who contributes here regularly. I feel no shame, because it’s clear that you guys think much harder about baseball than I do. As Barbie famously said, “Thinking hurts” (if she didn’t say that, she should have)

    Perhaps someone who is more qualified can make a better case about why we desperately need Keuchel

    • José

      Oops! I thought I accidentally deleted my post, the first one above, and I had no regrets. But, doi!

      I’m glad no one seems to have taken offense

  • Michael

    So glad Vargas was able to avoid the loss. Oswalt wasn’t much better but at least he gave us some innings. BVW should demote Vargas to the minors and bring him up after the All Star break and see if he can work his second half magic.

    On a serious note, my prayers and wishes that Ron comes through his surgery with great results and is back in the booth before we know it.

    • David Klein

      Lol second half magic. Dude should be dfa’d he’s been a horrendous Met and he stunk in the second half of 2017

  • MattyMets

    You can’t win em all. As far as losses go, I’ll take this one:
    A) we didn’t have to use any of our top 4 relievers so Diaz, Familia, Lugo and Wilson will all be rested and ready to help us win the series tomorrow.
    B) we knocked Newcomb, a good lefty and Atlanta’s #2, out of the game in the 2nd inning!
    C) nobody got hurt.
    D) we still scored plenty.
    E) Gsellman looked better

    • David Klein

      Lol second half magic. Dude should be dfa’d he’s been a horrendous Met and he stunk in the second half of 2017

  • Eraff

    i don’t believe Vargas or Oswalt have the pitches to get mlb hitters out. The Bat Breaking Fastballs that Oswalt threw may be a glimmer of hope, but he’s not going to learn success at the big league level.

    Vargas was tightly squeezed from the outset. I don’t believe it would make a difference, but I’m ready for automated Balls and Strikes!!! That said, I don’t see how he gets MLB hitters out, at this point.

    Is Kluber a solid 3…. maybe in the mold of Arrieta? Will he sign a 1 year Pitch and Prove it deal? He did 200 AL innings last year at a 3.7 ERA….. that’s very useful if repeatable.

  • Metsense

    Gut Reaction: Corey Oswalt blew a golden opportunity to get into the rotation.
    The offense looked good and the comeback shows the determination and fight that this team has.
    Skip Vargas again and then give him another start. If the Mets want to upgrade then sign Keuchel . Otherwise, the 5th starter will be a problem all year long.
    The deGromintator will get us a series win tonight.

    • TexasGusCC

      You have to give him another start, especially if he was squeezed. Even by the law of averages he should be better.

      What does it mean when a player says that they were “confused” when being asked a question about what happened during a game? I’ve never heard that before. Kind of makes me think that Vargas was shocked by the results and hadn’t been able to process what happened. It sounds like Callaway is ready to give up on him already. So if you’re giving up after two starts, why was he out there to begin with?

      Also, I’m seeing TDA as a problem. He isn’t good defensively and his location confounds me. For example, after busting Acuna in several times and having him defensive, TDA calls a curve over the plate that Acuna can just drop the barrel on and rifle it into left field. I thought that was terrible.

      • David Klein

        Are you Vargas’ agent? He’s been a hideous Met and no he was not squeezed if so he must have been squeezed in every Mets start. Travis getting blamed for this start is pathetic.

    • David Klein

      Vargas has gotten way too much rope already dfa’d him and move Lugo to the rotation

  • Mike Walczak

    Time to call 1-800-Bartolo. Ha

  • Chris F

    SP depth has been an issue for some time. That depth problem extends to starters 2-4 as well as 4-8 for different reasons. In the former, the team needs more outs from Noah, Wheeler, and Matz. The 5 and change affairs simply leverage too much from the pen to manage the second issue: starters 5-8 have no business in the big league. Again this puts extraordinary leverage on a pen already having to log 3-4 innings a game. Add games where relievers are expected to get 18 outs, and what you have is a pen in disarray. This happened in early April last year on the great early run, where the best starters were throwing 95 pitches to get through 5 and change and were carried by the pen for the wins, but that took a heavy toll and exhausted the pen by May. Right now the pen is already wobbly, and overuse in April will have projectable consequences.

    Looking at the glaring holes, we can look to Alderson again, and BVW/ownership needs to realize Vargas and Frazier no longer figure into the configuration as players and need to be released. The money is a loss on both. Then they need to sign a legit starter somehow, either by cash or trade. I think Gus is correct, TdA is an issue. I still cannot understand keeping him over Mesoraco. We all understand he’s been gone a year, but his defensive lapses are significant. He relies far too much on lazy backhanding pitches in the dirt instead of blocking, his pitch framing is not good, and the arm is nowhere near MLB ready. We have a solid hitting main line catcher, and need a solid defensive guy to fill in. Id rather have Rene Rivera.

  • Aging Bull

    I have been a supporter of TDA mostly because I think he will be a strong hitter, but after two starts, a pattern is emerging. DeGrom took the loss in his first start with multiple streaks ending, And then last night’s pitching disaster. Does he value as a trade chip? Ramos has been sensational and now I think all they need is a defensive stalwart who can manage the pitching staff. They have two, in Mesoraco and Rivera, assuming that they still have rights to the former. Either is better for the team.

  • MattyMets

    Vargas had four things working against him:
    1- TDA behind the plate
    2- an umpire who missed several strike calls
    3- a few seeing eye singles
    4- a mechanical issue. He’s planting off to the first base side and coming across his body too much. He need to open up just a bit more. Eiland, who’se so familiar with Vargas, will spot it too and they’ll correct.

    I think Vargas gets some bullpen work in moouo duty while he works out the kinks and could surprise us in his next start.

    • David Klein

      Travis was the starting catcher in 2015-2016 and the staff was great the excuse making for Vargas is embarrassing.

      • Chris F

        TdA is not the same as he was 3-4 years ago. I agree, you cant blame TdA for the Vargas embarrassment; that was self earned. It doesnt excuse that TdA is terrible on his own accord however. Hes a back up and needs to bring stability behind the plate with defensive strength. He’s a singles hitter with poor defensive skills. He may be better with a daily job, but thats not happening any time soon.

      • Aging Bull

        My comment on TDA is hardly an excuse for Vargas.

  • Mike Walczak

    Vargas is so bad that he has no value. With all of the injuries, the Yankees could use Frazier.

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