The Mets guaranteed themselves the series win with an 8-2 beating of the Braves Saturday night in Atlanta.
- For everyone who complains about the offense being too home run reliant, the Mets scored six of their eight runs independent of a homer, including their first five runs of the contest.
- Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera made sure the night was not homer-free, however. They went yard back-to-back in the ninth inning.
- The offense pounded out 15 hits, including six that went for extra-bases. David Wright had two doubles (and three strikeouts.)
- Steven Matz had a strong outing, further distancing himself from his rotten season debut. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter in 6.1 IP.
Wright is weird. Sometimes he is making really nice plays in the field and sometimes his throws look terrible. Is Lagares too good to be a 4th OF? It really seems like some team would be trying to acquire him from us.
In the second inning, Wright did not throw out Franceur on a play he would have in the past. It was a “loopy” throw with an awkward and unnatural motion. Seeing the throw live and not on television, one realizes the stark contrast.
Turner Field did not post Matz pitch count.
A fun Met victory!
Wright still has an excellent glove and is one of the best in the league in charging balls. His throws leave a lot to be desired. However, he got a lot of mustard on that throw late in Saturday’s game when Mallex Smith pinch hit. If he could give us that throw all of the time, that would be great.
No doubt that Lagares would start for a lot of teams. He’s not one of the three best OFers on the Mets, though. Certainly if I was the GM of another team, I’d be asking the Mets about Lagares and Logan Verrett.
True, and I haven’t seen Wright double tap lately (but, then again, I haven’t seen all the recent games).
As for Lagares, I would definitely keep him. Other Mets outfielders will get injured (Cespedes already has), and Juan should be in NY if, and when, Cespedes leaves after this year, followed by Granderson the next year. Verrett is also a keeper for similar reasons, as well as being a great long reliever.
The Mets are shooting for the World Series. Teams like that don’t trade away useful players like Lagares, Cerrett, and Flores midseason.
They did, however, show a willingness to trade Wheeler last season. Though personally, I’m glad we still have him.
The Mets should be in “add on” mode by late July, to address perceived weakness. I would not be looking to discard valuable pieces any time soon.
No, they don’t.
The ’86 Mets — I have them in mind, someone bought me Darling’s book — had a future MVP and a future home run leader, both playing part time; their fifth starter was good enough to hang in the league for fourteen seasons after that one, usually as his team’s starter.
With Walker playing out of his head and Cabrera playing well, I’m at a loss to see what weakness the team might need to address. Unless Wright falters that is. And still, all they have may not be enough to catch the Nats.
Flores is the guy to watch, for me. Will he do the job? And do you add a defensive specialist to the infield mix?
And of course, bullpens can always benefit from a shot in the arm.