Please use this thread to comment on any Mets-specific topic you wish.

So much was made at the time when the Mets were in Las Vegas how if a player came down with an injury that there wasn’t time to get a player to replace him, forcing the squad to play down a man. If last night’s game hadn’t been rained out, that’s exactly what would have happened with the Jacob deGrom injury. There were a handful of reasons to prefer to leave Las Vegas but that one always got way more recognition than it deserved, like it was guaranteed to happen or that it wouldn’t happen with an affiliate in the same time zone. Woops.

Speaking of deGrom, perhaps this setback will make possible a matchup with Matt Harvey when the Orioles come to town for a two-game series next week. Harvey made more than his share of bad decisions but no one can argue that he didn’t have either the stuff or the desire to be a star. It’s hard to imagine that he hasn’t been humbled quite a bit since the Mets cut ties with him. But he seems to be reasonably healthy now. And while he’ll never be able to blow guys away like he once did, he’s 3-1 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.290 WHIP, his best pitching since 2015.

The days of a 10.6 K/9 are long gone. Instead, Harvey has to limit walks and keep the ball in the park. He’s been doing a solid job of that and his 3.50 FIP indicates he’s been a bit unlucky so far this year.

MLB history is filled with stories of guys who had great stuff, were injured and never were able to make it back to previous heights. There are fewer stories of guys who came back with reduced stuff and were able to have a long career anyway. Frank Tanana immediately jumps to mind. And you can even say Dwight Gooden after his rotator cuff surgery, too.

This is Harvey’s age-32 season and if he can keep these results over a full year, it’s easy to imagine him pitching several more years in the majors. That’s something that would’ve been an extreme longshot based on what he did the past two seasons, when he combined for a 7.82 ERA and a 1.738 WHIP with the Angels and Royals. Harvey allowed 19 HR in 71.1 IP in 2019-20 and it’s tough to win when you do that. After recording a 2.4 HR/9 in the previous two years, Harvey sports a 0.6 mark this year, as he’s allowed just 2 HR in 31 IP.

14 comments on “Wednesday catch-all thread (5/5/21)

  • TexasGusCC

    Ready for a twinbill today. Mets caught a break when the Cardinals prematurely cancelled last night.

    Great to see the good starts of all the top hitting prospects on minor league opening day except for Jared Palmer, who stuck out three times, and Khalil Lee, who still can’t buy a hit.

    • Brian Joura

      Where’s old man Mazeika? I didn’t see his name in the lineup of any of the affiliates

      • TexasGusCC

        I looked also. Was disappointed to see the guy won’t be able to play everyday. While Mazeika is on the 40 man and has a “Minors” designation, we know players on the taxi squad aren’t put on a minor league team. So, Mazeika is in the purgatory of “the next best” which makes his place on the taxi squad important, but won’t let him see any action – unless…

  • Wobbit

    I might be old-school, but I love the 7-inning twin bill. Two games and it doesn’t take all day… what’s better than that?

    • Brian Joura

      Why is preferring 7-inning double headers “old school?” It’s not something that used to happen awhile ago. According to Elias, from 1900-2019, it happened once in MLB history.

  • JimO

    I sort of like the 7-inning doubleheaders as well.

    Any thoughts regarding the hitting coach situation?

    • Mr_Math

      Yeah, why didn’t they can Rojas and make Chili the mgr? Or maybe make Rojas the assistant mgr, so we’d have Chili con Rojas…

    • Brian Joura

      I’ve got a crackpot theory for you.

      The Mets wanted to get rid of Davis because he didn’t fit their philosophy but they knew he was well-liked by the players. But when one his biggest proponents – Alonso – talked about Donnie Stevenson, they used the moment when someone besides Davis was getting credit to get rid of him.

      On a more serious note – this was a pretty good article about the dismissal
      https://nypost.com/2021/05/04/inside-mets-chili-davis-firing-and-the-origin-of-donnie-stevenson/

      • Bob P

        The Donnie Stevenson thing may be a little crackpot, but I agree they never wanted Davis. Maybe they thought that after having such a good offensive season last year it was harder to justify firing him? Once this year started so poorly it gave them the opportunity.

  • TJ

    Some catch-all positivity –

    – Hooray for the return of minor league baseball.
    – Kudos to Loup, May, Gsellman, and Familia…so far.
    – Kudos to signing Tijuan over Paxton and Odorizzi.
    – Lindor’s OPS+ of 42 (oh boy) isn’t that far behind Andres Giminez’s 52 or Amed Rosario’s 59
    – More high quality pitching is on the way

  • Wobbit

    I meant, Brian, that while I might indeed be old-school, I seem to like some of the new rules (which maybe means I’m not old school). I was, of course, unaware of the ancient 7-inning history, but I also like the extra-inning runner on second, and the 3-man mandatory for relievers. Some of these games are interminable, and old guys like me don’t have that much sand left in the hourglass.

  • JimO

    I am not in favor of the the extra-inning runner on second initiative. But if you have to do something in that regard, I think it might be a bit “fairer” to open up with a man on first.

  • Bob P

    I absolutely despise the runner on 2nd in extras. It’s not baseball. A runner earns their way on base. I love a long extra inning game. Extras can be exciting and nail biting. I also don’t think the game is too long. If I don’t want to watch the whole thing, I’ll watch part and check in here and there. The runner on second sounds more like some kind of video game mode.

    • MikeW

      I do not like the man on second. I’d rather have them play 3 extra innings if no one wins in the extras, it is a tie.

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