Gut Reaction: Cubs 4, Mets 2 (5/24/23)

Marcus Stroman had his sinker working to perfection, making the Mets pound the ball into the ground again and again and again. The end result was a 4-2 Cubs win Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. * Coming off his best start of the year, Kodai Senga allowed 5 BB and 6 H in 5 IP. [...]

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The Mets need to determine if they’re willing to trade better prospects than they did a season ago

Earlier today, Chris Dial wrote a piece about the Mets addressing their known weaknesses sooner rather than later. My take is they definitely should get the bullpen help that they refused to get in the offseason, instead opting for an “options” strategy, over a “talent” strategy. We always think of addressing needs as an active [...]

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Mets sweep the Guardians (5/21/23)

The Mets had their aces – Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander – pitching in the doubleheader and both came thru with top-notch efforts, leading the Mets to a sweep of the day/might twinbill Sunday versus the Guardians. The victories give the Mets a five-game winning streak. Verlander bounced back nicely after a tough outing last [...]

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The real reason fans should be miffed with Billy Eppler

Billy Eppler has taken some criticism for how he’s handled both initial deployment and promotions for the four talented rookies on the Mets. Without a doubt, he deserves some flack here. Yet, we’re not even at the end of May and three of those four rookies are in the majors. It hasn’t been perfect – [...]

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Gut Reaction: Mets 10, Guardians 9 (10 INN) 5/19/23

For the second time in three days, the Mets rallied to tie the game and force extra innings. And just like that previous time, the Mets allowed two runs in the top of the 10th. And just like before, the Mets scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to earn the walk-off win. [...]

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Mets decide Ronny Mauricio is no Gary Sanchez

When the Mets added Gary Sanchez 10 days ago, David Groveman reached out to me and was supportive of the move, figuring that the Mets weren’t using Francisco Alvarez properly and that they could send him back down and install Sanchez as the club’s primary catcher. My response then was that Buck Showalter was using [...]

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Gut Reaction: Mets 3, Rays 2 (5/18/23)

Tommy Pham has been hitting the ball hard all year with very little to show for it. Today he dribbled a ball up the third-base line, one that Statcast had at 55.6 mph, the lowest exit velocity in the game. But what it lacked in sock was made up for in importance, as it drove [...]

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The denouement of Pete Alonso’s yearly slumps

A few days ago, we noted how Pete Alonso goes thru a slump on a yearly basis that tends to last around 80 PA. If you missed it, here were the gory details: 2019: 7/12-8/1 – 82 PA, .125/.305/.313 2020: 7/24-8/11 – 79 PA, .197/.329/.303 2021: 5/5-6/6 – 78 PA, .197/.308/.303 2022: 8/15-9/6 – 87 [...]

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Gut Reaction: Mets 8, Rays 7 (10 INN) 5/17/23

What a difference a day makes! After the extreme disappointment of Justin Verlander laying an egg in the series opener against the Rays, the Mets earned their first walkoff win of the season thanks to a 3-run homer by Pete Alonso, which lifted the Mets to an 8-7 win in 10 innings Wednesday night at [...]

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Gut Reaction: Rays 8, Mets 5 (5/16/23)

It looked like a good omen when the Mets finally didn’t give up a run in the first inning. That euphoria was short lived, as the Rays scored in five different innings en route to an 8-5 win over the Mets Tuesday night in Citi Field. Justin Verlander’s initial home debut for the Mets did [...]

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