Bartolo Colon pitched a quality start for the first time since May 5th and the Mets received home runs from Lucas Duda, Michael Cuddyer and Wilmer Flores to push past the lowly Phillies. I never get tired of saying “lowly Phillies”. Cuddyer and Flores in particular needed to step up to Terry Collins’ call-to-arms after Sunday’s brutal loss and sweep at the hands of the Pirates. They did so, helping provide the most run-support the Mets have had since the 14 runs they put up against the Brewers 10 days ago.
Not that a win against the Phillies is all that surprising, as the Mets are now 6-1 versus Philadelphia so far this season. In fact the Mets are doing well against the entire NL East. It’s the NL Central that is smacking New York around, winning 10 of 14 against the Metropolitans. Luckily the Mets stay home to face the Marlins after this series, so maybe good times are getting ready to roll. I’ll believe it if I see it again tomorrow, though.
Three homers make the strikeouts a little more palatable.
Glad to see a win. Hopefully we can string a few of these together.
It’s understandable why Flores is a pillar of attention, but his WAR is 13th among all SS.
Understand, last year Cuddyer had a 1.4 WAR in less than 1/3 of the season. This year, he is on pace for less than 1.0 WAR. The second problematic area is not Lagares. Even hurt he’s more valuable than the next closest guy is healthy. The next proematic area is the combination of Tejada/Mayberry/Kirkkk/Plawecki/Campbell. These guys have done nothing with the bat and so if a player were to go into a dry spell, there is no safety net. The jury is out in Muno/Monell/Ceciliani but the early returns have been depressing.
To clarify my point above, check out these numbers from “the bench”:
Recker 35 ab, 0.2 WAR
Tejada 52 , 0.1
Campbell 98, 0.1
Herrera 37, 0.0
Muno 10, -0.1
Ceciliani 12, -0.1
Mayberry 49, -0.1
Plawecki 85, -0.2
Monell 17, -0.3
Kirkkk 40, -0.5
That is 435 ab, or 32% of the non pitchers 1372 ab. Think about it: 32% of the total at bats have gone to these players – which is way too high a percentage – and the results have been a big zero. Combine that with Cuddyer’s 168 at bats, and that almost 50%!
BTW, back in November, 2012, Mike and I debated Wilmer at 3B — and trading Wright — over at 2 Guys. Some of it still resonates today. Or maybe even moreso. Not sure if it’s okay to post links to dead blogs, but I’ll try it here for your edification only.
http://2guystalkingmetsbaseball.com/two-guys-talking-wilmer-flores-future-third-baseman/
I made predictions after opening day as to how the first three months should shake out.
Looking at the opponents — and not banking on any massive winning streaks or collapses thereafter — I came up with this…
For April, I predicted they’d go 14-9. They went 15-8.
For May, I predicted 15-13. They’ll need to go 5-0 to get there.
For June, I see 17-10. Can they do it?
That would make them 47-31 heading into the Glorious Fourth. Pretty good shape, you’d think, no?
Sorry Charlie but this cursed ownership will not be reaching your goals. The met’s will be 10-13 for May and June will be just the same as Harvey starts to show fatigue from not having pitched in 18 months.
Just wait until the Met’s go on road and play the Western Division teams. The. Dodgers, Giants and Padres are going to be tough. Arizona is starting to come around and playing better as of late.
During the recent series with St. Louis, there was a lot of talk about the Cardinals system, the coaching, everything about them.
The will to win comes from the top with club, and then it pervades.
Most recently, when Taveres died — this was the guy who was going to be their superstar for the next 10 years — the Cardinals mourned and then went out and got Heywood. Because that’s how they roll.
It’s what winning organizations do.
Sandy talks about how hard it is to trade this time of year at the exact same moment when it looks like the Giants, another winning organization, is trading for a 3B with the Braves, another winning organization.
When things go wrong, they do stuff.
Muno is not a major leaguer. Nor is Campbell. Ceciliani might, maybe, possibly, be a useful 5th outfielder. It’s not even probable.
The Mets GM can’t sit out another season in semi-retirement.
James and Pete, the trade with the Braves is a foolish move by the Giants, just like the Heyward trade is starting to already be questioned regarding the Cardinals. One year for Heyward has proven to be a costly loss for the Cardinals as Shelby Miller has been outstanding, has several years of control, and the Cardinals gave up another good young pitcher.
If the Giants actually do make a trade for Callaspo, then they also aren’t willing to meet the price any longer. Maybe they once did, but three World Series titles later they are a franchise that has succeeded. Look at the player they are acquiring and his recent history, and explain to me how he will get better in orange and black? The Angels gave him away for nothing, the Braves have pre-announced his departure, and the Giants are happy to have him? LOL!
How is Callaspo different from Tejada?
Dead on James.
So they can lament the loss of Shelby Miller for Heyward, but the Cardinal FO is completely confident they have the system depth at all levels to absorb the loss. Furthermore, dont forget, they also lost Wainwright. How has this impacted the Cards: Theyre in first place, the best team in the NL, backed by great pitching. Alderson has become a hoarder largely because I dont think he really knows who or what this team is. Its harder to make trades without a solid direction. Were a pitching team and he brings in the walls, twice. He brings in a few homer centric batters, which dont work out, and yet laments all the Ks. Defense is a third level after thought, but we hear complaints about playing better in the field. The Cards say, we need a right fielder, and boom make a plan and get one. If it doesnt work out for this rental player, then there is a new solution coming. We dont have that luxury.
Why not? All he has to say the replacements are already here. You have to be patient and injuries are part of the game. And no I am not a fan of Alderson or Collins. But yes James winning organizations Do something about it. Wannabes talk about doing something.
Gus I don’t know what to make of the Giants. I guess McGehee was washed up, But is Callaspo an “upgrade”? The Giants don’t have anyone in their farm they trust to bring up? Scratching my head trying to comprehend that move. Then again the Giants do have 3 WS The Cards had to do something to replace Tavares. Heyward may still prove you wrong. As bad as the Giants have been they’re not that far from first place
Neither the Giants nor the Cards appear will to sit around and watch a season do down the drain, even if it means sacrificing “team control” of a player down the road.
They have confidence in their system, their ability to come up with new players.
Mostly, the point is that they do something. They act in the present, for the current season. As far how “foolish” it might be to trade for Callaspo, we currently don’t know the price or their intentions for the player, so it’s impossible to judge. I do think that three World Championships earns them the benefit of the doubt. Amazingly, they want another one. I admire the attitude.
When you trade with short-term concerns, you rarely ever “win” a trade. But sometimes you win the season, and that’s what it’s all about.
As for the Giants, I don’t know their full plans regarding 3B. Duffy is over there now, hitting over .300. To be a great team is never a matter of not making mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. The admirable thing is that they recognized the mistake, deemed the results unsatisfactory, and have quickly decided to move forward.
James, while I will not dispute anything you write, I would offer additions:
– As fans, we would not approve of what the Cards paid for Heyward. Can you imagine if we gave away a player like Miller in deGrom or Wheeler for one year of control in a very up/down player like Heyward?
– Or, if Alderson made an announcement today that we were acquiring Callaspo, how do you think the fan base would respond?
– While every Mets fan wants to add a big bat, the problem with the Mets is $$$. Even Tulo is not that expensive, but even the Mets fan has been conditioned to cry about spending money.
The Mets have won two World Championships. We all remember those teams well. They last appeared in the World Series in 2000.
I firmly believe that people who reach for the brass ring are not counting up projected WAR stats or crunching the long-term cost.
With the Cards, Miller is a good pitcher. They had excess at the time. They still seem to be doing fine in that department. They needed a RF and they got one. He’ll be a free agent in a year. So what. If they like him, they’ll sign him; if they think they can do better by going in a different direction, they’ll do that. But Heywood made them better, right now, this year.
The issue here for the Mets is that this is an organization with too much pitching. More than the team can effectively use. Matz is still down in AAA, wasting bullets; Montero is hurt, but there was no role for him, the pitcher with the best K-ratio on the roster. They are going to a stupid & pointless 6-man rotation for reasons they won’t even admit out loud. Yet somehow the GM has not moved a muscle to use that strength to bolster obvious weaknesses on the team.
There’s not enough hitting, or speed, or defense.
At a certain point, don’t you need to do something about it?
James, you and Chris both touched on the main problem: The lack of decisiveness and the courage to make a move. It’s hard to know how much latitude Alderson has to improve this team so let’s just call it an organizational problem, because I cannot accept that this organization suddenly is “all in” on winning.
Could it be they’re afraid of Harvey being shelved for 2 months because of arm fatigue? So much for the arrogance of SA. Harvey hasn’t pitched in a live game in what 18 months? Was Alderson and his wishful thinking that MH could make 32 starts unscathed? I do recall here at Met’s 360 how many of us suggested that maybe it would be prudent for the FO to skip a start every now and then. But the pressure of telling the fans and the media that 2015 was the turnaround season has backed SA into a corner. Sorry but I don’t feel sorry for any of them
James you mean not like the Met’s who are experts at sitting on their hands.
Gus you can afford to make a mistake and live with it if you’re the Cardinals. They average over 3.2 million fans every year. They are willing to take a chance unlike Alderson who knows payroll is always going to be an issue for the foreseeable future. Just remember Cuddyer will be 37 next year and I don’t think the NL is adopting the DH any time soon.
Gus 2015 is on Alderson. This is His team. These are the players He signed. No bench. No surprise? No infield defense. No surprise? A pitching oriented team that has liabilities in almost every position on the field. And yet the met’s are still above .500. Wait until the play the teams in the West and the Met’s fall to third place. As everyone has written off the Braves they are only 2 games behind the Met’s. Can’t play the Phillies and Marlins all the time.