When Max Scherzer unexpectedly walked off the mound in the sixth inning, it made Buck Showalter scramble. He had Adam Ottavino come in and he struck out the next batter to end the inning. With a doubleheader the day before, the Mets’ bullpen wasn’t the most rested it’s been all year, so Showalter sent Ottavino [...]
If you asked fans of all 30 MLB clubs what they thought of their bullpen, most probably wished it was better. So far under Buck Showalter, the Mets’ pen has been run much better than it has been in ages. It’s no exaggeration to say it’s better than it has been in at least a [...]
It would be a great thing if we could wave a magic wand and come up with a system that’s fair to players, owners and fans. Realistically, there’s no chance we’ll see anything that considers the fans at all. At best, anything that works in the favor of fans is an unintentional accident. But if [...]
Much has been made about Javier Baez’ recent patience at the plate. Allegedly, he’s been swinging at fewer pitches outside the strike zone and that’s driving his recent strong hitting. Baez has a .938 OPS with the Mets, after having a .775 OPS the beginning of the season with the Cubs. But that doesn’t even [...]
We all know about the Mets’ inability to produce with runners in scoring position. We can go to Baseball-Reference and in a couple of clicks find out that the team is 14th in the NL in OPS with RISP, with a .695 OPS. But that doesn’t tell the entire story. Because it seems like the [...]
Much like a batter never hits consistently throughout the season, a team is never the same through all 162 contests. When you play a team makes all of the difference in the world. The Mets are getting ready to face the Pirates in seven straight games surrounding the All-Star break. For most of the year, [...]
We’ve talked more than usual about the bullpen this year, in part because it’s been so much better than expected or feared. We still don’t have a great way to measure relievers, though. Typically, we want to have one number that we can point to and say – see! But, in my opinion, WAR doesn’t [...]
Jacob deGrom’s terrific start to 2021 has sparked a lot of talk about comparisons to Tom Seaver, long considered to be the best player in Mets history. The greybeards don’t want to hear it but this argument is over. Despite the advantages that Seaver enjoyed throughout his career, deGrom has surpassed him on a quality [...]
Through four games, it feels like the Mets have gotten great starting pitching, while the bullpen has been a disaster. That’s been true of both entities in three of the four games. But when dealing with tiny sample sizes, one game can have a pretty big impact. The end result is that the starters’ ERA [...]
A lot of people were down on David Peterson coming into the 2020 season. He was a former first-round draft pick who seemed more like a bust than a future rotation stalwart. In 2019 at Double-A, Peterson was 3-6 with a 4.19 ERA. At age 23, it’s not like he was young for the level, [...]
Juan Lagares was and is a better defensive player than Brandon Nimmo. And even though he’s no longer on the team, the specter of Lagares and his defensive play still hangs over us, both the fans and – it seems to me – the actual decision makers of the club. No one is suggesting that [...]
About this time last year, we were still reveling in the remarkable season that Rookie-of-the-Year Pete Alonso had, led by a remarkable barrage of 53 HR, which set a rookie record and led the major leagues. I decided to analyze each at bat leading to all 53 of Alonso’s home runs. Much to my surprise, [...]