Jeff McNeil left the game with stomach issues and the rest of us got them once the relievers came into the game, as the Blue Jays took the rubber game of the series with a 7-3 win. After an off day on Monday, the Mets will resume action in a major league city, as they take on the Phillies in Philadelphia.
David Peterson took the loss but was much better than his last time out. He gave up a two-run homer for the only runs he allowed in five innings. The Blue Jays did most of their damage in the sixth inning, when they opened the inning with four consecutive walks and ended up scoring five runs in the frame.
The Mets banged out 12 hits, including eight off starter Hyun-Jin Ryu but they were only able to cash one run against the Toronto ace. Four different hitters tallied two hits apiece for the Mets, including the team’s 3-4-5 hitters. Ordinarily that would result in more runs but the sequencing just wasn’t good today.
Erasmo Ramirez threw two shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 0.90 in 10 innings pitched.
Ok, let’s start taking stock of what is good for next year and what needs fixing. There is enough good, but the bad seems to be very bad. The entire bullpen situation needs looking at and sorting through; how a reliever with pretty good control walks three in a row, and what’s the story with so many situations of a Mets reliever walking his first batter; then they need starting pitching, at least two; Ann’s them find a catcher. Start with that and then the rest. This season is lost.
I agree with you Gus. What a waste to get Frazier and Chirinos. Would like to get Realmuto, but don’t want to overpay or give him too many years. Would rather offer him more money per year for 2-3 years rather than him being an overpaid old catcher on a five year deal.
Looks like deGrom, Lugo and yes, Peterson. Need two more good starters. Bauer would be nice. Please, no more experiments from the bargain basement like Wacha and Porcello.
Bullpen needs help.
Shortstop will be interesting. Would love to get Lindor, only if he extends.
Let’s hope our saviour Cohen is bold in a smart way. I think we all say from our couches good riddance to BVW.
Rojas pulled Peterson one inning too soon and you can’t tell me Smith couldn’t do better than Hughes and Brach but he never gets used then gets shipped to the alternative site. Frazier and Chirinos were great pick ups note the sarcasm
Hopefully McNeil is ok, but I can see how watching this team play can give someone stomach issues. I didn’t hear any postgame, but all I’ve heard from Rojas is that the starters are now stretched out and can give length. Unless something was wrong with Peterson, there is no excuse pulling him after 5 and 81 pitches to get 12 outs from a shaky pen in must win games.
Trying to avoid complete negativity, Brodie’s trade acquisition Chirinos is outhitting Brodie’s acquisition Billy Hamilton, so far. Luis Guillorme, with his short stature, thick midsection, and lumberjack beard, may be one of the most non-baseball player looking guys I’ve seen in a long time. He also may be the most fundamentally sound players the Mets have produced since Y2K. He is a pleasure to watch, even in a supporting role.
Gut Reaction : I would like to have Luis Rojas as my boss.
To wit: Start at work at 9 AM leave at 3 PM just like 5 innings and 81 pitches.
Or I produce exceptionally good work he would give me four days off just like a reliever with a 1.50 ERA.
Rojas is sucessful and innovative with his lineups but doesn’t meet the standards of pitching management. He pulls the starters too soon and overuses some relievers and ignores others.
At some point they will need to direct themselves to “defining” some of their Next Year Stuff. There are just a few Unknowns at this point
Peterson: get a few more starts…maybe push him deeper, without risking health. It would be noce to define him as a young rotation piece.
Giminez and Rosario… Find a way to play both every day. Get a better feel for what they are
Matz: I don’t believe there’s a Next Step for Matz, as a Starter. He has a Fastball that impresses the Radar Gun, and a Curve and Changeup that he cannot locate. I already know that He’s a #4 or 5 starter on a good staff. I’d like to know what he looks like as a reliever. He’s arb eligible for next year and a FA in ’22. Next Year cannot be an experimantal year for him. His first change of location should be the Bullpen. Pour Gas…..use two pitches…shut off his brain.
Guillorme: figure out if he’s a real bench piece…get him AB’s. I’ve never been a Fan, but guys who control Pitch Count and AB’s can be late developers with the rest of the Hit Game. He is In AB’s at the MLB level…maybe there’s more there?
As a further note…. you don’t need to be fast to be a good baserunner— Hernandez and Rusty were exceptional baserunners. The Mets missed Scoring and Advancement opportunities on Pass Balls (Alonzo), and they Gave Away outs and innings with poor decisions (Frazier, Rosario, Hamilton) in recent Games.
This is yet Another illustration of the Need for a Bonehead Stat—“The Danny” (after Dan Murphy) is a stat that I’ve suggested that would capture the implications of things like 2nd Basemen Charging Sacrifice Bunts instead of Covering First Base— and World Class Sprinters needlessly getting thrown out at Third Base, when they can score on Any Hit From Second Base.
Baserunning is more about trained and fast Brains, versus Speedy Legs. Vince Coleman was the worst baserunner I’ve ever seen…like Hamilton, one of the Fastest. Pete Rose had Average Speed, and a Fast, Trained baseball mind…similar to Hernandez and Rusty.
Rojas will get canned, and He grades an incomplete. BVW will get Canned and won’t get another shot…grasping at straws near the top of a sticky house of cards is a perilous job.
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The Mets routinely play with the emotions of a fan base so desperate to cheer and celebrate wins and dream about post-season play annually, and yet only show up as a tease. Rarely is the team more than mediocre, but the fading light of “almost” keeps us all on tenterhooks, figuring out how to close the gap every season with stop-gap measures that forfeit young talent for collecting ancient stars.
Because the team mistakenly believes its always “in it” with the dream of a wild card spot followed by “anything can happen in October” mindset, it regularly means its impossible to cultivate younger players to see what talent is in play regardless of wins or losses. That is not “tanking” – it is essential to cultivate younger players, and even better if consequences are less huge.
I don’t think you can say they have lack of young player development… they have some young and cheap under control pieces
The big fails are obviously the “team finishing moves” in free agency and trade….: begin with the two rotation pieces they added as Free Agents—- they are not competitive in games pitched by those guys, generally.
It’s a harsh and strange evaluation of a 60 or so game season—- but they’ve failed