The New York Mets have been struggling to score runs.This is not a secret. Their offensive woes have been well documented throughout the blogging world. This inability to offer consistent run support for their starting pitching has been extremely frustrating to fans, media and players alike.
It’s been a major question since the season began and, quite honestly, the lengthy win streak the team had in April did not conceal this deficiency. Even still, this is a team that, despite this weakness, is battling for first place in their division all season thus far.
How bad has this offense been? The old saying goes “numbers don’t lie”. Out of fifteen teams in the National League, the Mets rank thirteenth in Runs (219), Hits (465), double (84) and AVG (.240). They also rank eighth in home runs (52) and strikeouts (455), fourteenth in total bases (715) and extra base hits (141), eleventh in stolen bases (23), ninth in walks (160) and first in grounding into double plays (57).
In addition to this, their leader in AVG (.283) and RBI (29), Daniel Murphy, is on the DL for a while, their best pure hitter, David Wright, is not showing signs of returning from the DL anytime soon and their veterans are not playing up to form, for the most part. As a whole, the team strikes out too much, walks too little and leaves too many runners stranded.
It’s easy to dissect a team’s weaknesses and complain about them. It’s far more difficult to fix these issues. The team recognizes them and wants to address them. Recent trade rumors report the team was looking to trade with Milwaukee for a bat, though they openly stated that Aramis Ramirez is not what they want. In addition, they had a chance to trade for Juan Uribe of the Dodgers but passed on it.
While a trade makes sense due to wealth of starting pitching in the system and the lack of starting pitching depth across the league, making a trade just for the sake of making one, isn’t a good idea. The team could end up with a huge bust and less trading commodities to show for their efforts. Another option would be to promote hitting talent from within. While this, also, seems like a good idea, they lack seasoning. Matt Reynolds is most likely ready for the show but it’s unlikely their major offensive prospects are yet.
What, then, is the answer? Perhaps the road to success lies in the word “patience”. As previously mentioned, the team is not drawing a lot of walks. This can be the key to turning this offense around. They are letting the opposing pitchers control the game rather than letting the game come to them. Pitchers have to hit their spots. It’s doesn’t help when the team is free swinging and not making the pitcher earn it.
The Mets have had far too many one, two, three innings with ten or less pitches seen. It’s an alarming trend. They must show patience. They have to put the pitcher in a position where they have to give in and throw a manageable pitch. There’s nothing wrong with taking a few pitches, fouling off close pitches and working the count until the pitcher makes a mistake.
Mistakes happen far too infrequently in the Major Leagues to let a pitcher mow through your lineup without testing him and getting him to throw that mistake pitch. It’s one thing to face a pitcher that is just unhittable on a particular night (Tuesday night vs the Giants) but it’s a far different and more troublesome scenario to let a pitcher that is struggling or without his best stuff look like Nolan Ryan.
Unfortunately, the Mets offense has done the latter much more frequently this year. If hitting coach Kevin Long preaches this approach along with an aggressive hitting approach in the strike zone (hittable pitches in hitter’s counts), this offense could open up more, even with their injuries.
In addition, patience is a key for the rest of us too. It’s naturally understandable to be frustrated with the lack of run support, especially when the team loses a 2-1 game to a bad team or gets swept on the road to a team that was struggling. As fans, we wear our hearts on our sleeves for the team that we love. We bleed Mets blue and orange. It’s easy to let the frustration get the better of us, but we, too, must be patient.
We are the same fan base that watched this franchise build their farm system to what it is today in anticipation of this moment. We’ve been waiting for the pitching to dominate the league like they have. We just never anticipated the offense being so lackluster. One important thing to remember in all of this is that baseball, like life, is a marathon. It’s a test of endurance. There are 162 chances to get it right every season.
This team is not far from the promised land this season. They are in contention and are capable of getting hot just as much as any other team, perhaps more. They’ve done it before and know how to win. They have figured out how to beat divisional rivals and win at home; both were hindrances to this team in the past few years. This is stepping stone that is paramount to success this season and beyond. They could make a move or two before the July trade deadline or they could get hot or both.
It’s baseball. Anything can happen and has before. It can again. It’s a long way until October.
Mets have too many guys who swing at too many pitches out of the strike zone and take too many pitches in the strike zone. Tuesday was a classic example. I don’t think Kevin Long teaches this approach so maybe the veterans need to set an example.
This team just needs to be flipped upside down. They need to make moves and we have all seen to many wasted pitching performances this year. I was rooting for Flores but I have to say he is not a Shortstop. Cuddyer has played a lot of games at third in his career, so why not. If Confronto keeps tearing it up do you leave him down? The only reason he got cold in A ball was that they stopped pitching to him. Why isn’t Reynolds getting a shot? Tejada is a name I am sick of seeing. I have to say it’s all cheap owners. They don’t want to pay a guy more money or open the wallets yet the team is right there to start building a division lead. If they took a salary dump or two it could work but to go day in and day out with the same players hoping it will get better is ridiculous. And why is MAyberry on the team? Release him and go for Sizemore.
They won’t eat Mayberry’s $1.5M to take on Sizemore’s $2M for what amounts to not much of an upgrade if any.
Two things Frank, The Met’s probably lead the league in LOB as well. The reason they lead the NL in hitting into DP’s is because our intellectually underwhelming manager does not believe in the hit and run. Thus the team plays station to station. The best news is things will not get better as the season goes on as TC will wear down Cuddyer and Granderson with no David Wright in sight.
PS. Can someone ask TDA if he can take a stroll to the mound after a hitter crushes a Harvey 2 strike pitch for a home run and remind Harvey to occasionally throw a high and tight fastball under someones chin? Or better yet the next at-bat drill the guy between the numbers? The great ones like Gibson, Seaver and Ryan didn’t have a problem doing it. It’s just a reminder to the hitter.
No offense, but the idea that fans should show patience seems insane to me. This team has not finished over .500 since this front office took over in 2010.
Everybody has waited long enough, and many Mets fans have died waiting for another above average team. The remaining of us have every right to be angry and frustrated that the ownership and front office show no urgency.
Next year will be the same Michael. Mediocre offense with young arms learning how to pitch at the major league level. No manager and no future for the Met fan base.
You get that feeling too. Will end up with our commitment to win and still have Granderson at leadoff and expecting Tejada to save the day and we hope Wright gets healthy and lets not forget Murphy is gone as a free agent. All with a Rotation of Harvey, Thor, DeGrom, Matz, Wheeler and Montero. But will probably see Gee or Niese in there for some unknown reason. Do you realize how close this team is to being f’ing awesome with a few good moves and some salary addition.
True. This team has a shot at the division but won’t make a significant move to get it done. They’re waiting on Conforto but stuck with Granderson. Granderson’s contract has hamstrung them in making a significant move. Still don’t understand the signing.
Especially when the Mets want Curtis Granderson to play like Aoki.
Or do they want him to hit home runs.
Listening to Collins and Curtis, it’s confusing.
Think about Eric. The Met’s are waiting for a kid who has never played at the major league level to put them over the hump and into the playoffs? How’s that for wishful think! It’s far too much pressure and not fair to Conforto to put that type of expectation on a player let alone someone who has yet to play a single game at the big leagues Add Cuddyer to the outfield and where is Conforto going to play?
I am sorry, but the whole walking thing, while not complete bullsh*t, has become so overstated that it’s ridiculous.
Yes, upon a time, astute folks determined that hitters actually play a role in the process of a walk. But pitchers — and game situations — still matter the most. The notion that you can roll out an inferior lineup and ask them not to swing so much is not exactly a recipe for victory.
It’s also about as boring as you can get.
Travis d’Arnaud doesn’t walk. He’s not built that way. Over time, years, he will walk more, a little. But if you try to turn him into something he’s not, you’ll get the guy who first showed up at Citi, head all messed up by Hudgens and his goofy charts. Now he goes up there ripping. So does Murphy. It’s great when you’ve got a Bobby Abreu in his prime, but it isn’t a magical recipe you can impose on most players. Now Nimmo seems to be a guy who naturally approaches the plate this way. Selective, I guess you’d call it. I’ll probably find myself wishing he was more aggressive. We’ll see.
I think Flores will walk more when he hits more, because pitchers will start to fear him. It’s a complex inter-connectedness.
Also, the walk philosophy falls apart completely against better pitchers. All it does is get you behind in the count and halfway into the dugout.
Better hitters hit more, and eventually walk more, too, because pitchers begin to respect the bat.
+1, were on a Vulcan mind meld James.
I think the imposed hitting philosophy espoused by this FO, along with imposing fines for violating it, is from some place outside a functioning baseball world. The number of watching strikes and swinging at balls in desperation shows in the fantastically abysmal offensive numbers we see every year.
I can’t see Conforto coming up till mid-season next year at which point Cuddyer is on the way out. Conforto could be an injury replacement at some point considering Cuddyer’s and Granderson’s ages. Not sure this puts undue pressure on the kid to be the savior.
Conforto is our best hitting outfielder and he’s ready to contribute now.
He’s not a Faberge egg. Let him play. If it doesn’t work out, send him down. He won’t be ruined.
The other reason not to be patient is be patient for what? There is an opportunity now, look at the state of the NL East. It is not going to take much to make the playoffs in 2015, and the team is still in the hunt.
Wright, Cuddyer, and Granderson are not going to improve over time, Duda is already 30, and every report says Murphy is gone at the end of the year. And other than Michael Conforto and Cecchini (and please, let it be real) there is nothing much to look forward to. Sure, Matz, I guess, as I have heard he can hit.
It’s clear by now, and has been for years that there is no real plan in place for any sustained success. That would take money that appears to never be coming. The real plan is to cobble a team together every year and hope that one year we get lucky. Well, we are getting lucky, our competition is in a bad state and we get to play them all 19 times.
2015 could very well be our best chance to make the playoffs this decade.
You are right. The division is for the taking. We all expected Wright to be his old self Cuddlyer to be a batting champ again and d’Arnard to breakout. Sometimes things don’t happen as planned. But the oh well 2016 is our year BS and do nothing is rough. I truly believe its all 100% about payroll. They do not want to increase a dime. Granderson was good idea at time but not for four years. Two would have been perfect.
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Just a thought. Think of all the players who changed hands the past few years the Mets could have made an effort for. Wil Myers, Prince Fielder, Matt Kemp and Ryan Braun could be had. Probably a few more obvious missing but you never even heard a rumor about it.
Michael would you be shocked if the Met’s did nothing? I can see Alderson saying to the beat reporters that other teams were demanding too much (Matz or Thor). I also see him saying instead of a trade he sees Wright, Mejia, and a few other key Met’s returning to the line up from the DL as internal upgrades which costs the team nothing.
The goal has never been to make the playoffs. That would be gravy. The goal was to shed payroll and spin it by telling the fan base that the team was going to rebuild the depleted farm thus cost cutting measures were a necessary evil. I keep saying 2 million. That’s the Wilpon goal every year. Average cost of tickets in Citi? About 50 dollars? Multiply by 2 million and wow, amazing you get a 100 million dollar payroll. The 50 million from the new national television contracts goes to daily operations and to their restructured debt. No things are not going to be any different next season.
Patient? Frank, seriously. The time for patience has long ago lapsed.
I would like to see the Mets become a small-ball team. Players like Granderson, Herrera, and Lagares should be stealing bases, and the amount of double plays the team has hit into is ridiculous. Why not hit and run more? Granted there are a lot of swing-and-miss players, but the team has to make the most of its opportunities.
If winning is not management’s priority, Met fans are being screwed, period. SA has done a good job trading for young talent but not so good at bringing in ML talent. Seems to me he’s putting all his marbles on MiL development, waiting for Conforto, Cecchini, Nimmo, etc.