In his return to where he is from, Michael Conforto shined. He had his fourth career multiple home run game, blasting two solo shots in his return. The more important of the two probably being the one that tied the game in the eighth for the Mets, as a rally that inning lead them to a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners. The offense was lead by a balanced attack of both power and clutch batting. The game started off with a bang, with Jay Bruce clubbing his 26th home run over the wall in the first inning, a two-run shot. Asdrubal Cabrera also contributed three hits tonight, and Jose Reyes a double. My Gut Reaction is that this series will be a special one for Conforto, as he is back home and excited to show off his abilities.
On the mound, Rafael Montero showed his inconsistent ways. Looking to build off a strong start in his last outing, Montero did nothing but disappoint. Over 4.2 pitched, Montero surrendered five earned runs over three hits. While that may seem like a weird combination, it was Montero’s lack of control that added fuel to the fire. Montero gave up five walks last night, which makes it very hard to operate on the mound. After Montero left the game though, the bullpen came in and delivered. A combination of Josh Edgin, Hansel Robles, Jerry Blevins, and Paul Sewald came into the game and didn’t surrender an earned run. Addison Reed earned the save in the ninth, and Blevins got the win, his fifth of the season.
The Mets are back in action again against the Mariners as Jacob deGrom takes the hill at 4:10.
Conforto has emerged as a star player and it was good to see Walker back and contributing with a clutch hit. Conforto, Cespedes, Bruce and Walker make a strong core and should be kept together in 2018.
Montero reverted to form and could not get the final out in the 5th for the win even though TC gave him every opportunity to do so. Montero had this game gift wrapped for him and he imploded. Career suicide.
The AJ Ramos trade came out of nowhere. Familia, Reed, Ramos and Blevins would lock down the late innings in 2018. Take a page out of the Cashman play book and resign Reed if they trade him.
Metsense – I like Walker as well but the only way I see him coming back is if a) he’s willing to play third as Rivera and Flores are much better at second and b) we can get him on a reasonable 2-year deal. His injury history and streakiness aren’t suited to a big contract. If he gets one from another team, good for him.
Matt, you did not say Rivera and Flores are much better at 2B than Walker. Thats preposterous.
Id keep Walker at 2B as a vet anchor in the middle of the diamond. Its gonna be hard enough to see Rosario take this job on without putting possible terrible DP partners on the right side.
I like where you are at Metsense. I can see Ces, Conforto, Bruce left to right next year. Or Ces, insert name here, and Conforto left to right, moving Brice to 1B. Im warming to your idea. In the infield, I would be happy with Smith, Walker, 3B, and Rosario. I see a need for a 3B of stature, a front line catcher, and pitching (being the #1 thing to address). If you move Bruce to 1B, trade Smith for a decent 3B prospect or player.
On the bench you can carry TJ and Gump (but Id trade him if anyone will have him) for the IF and Lags (+ Nimmo) for OF and TdA as back up C.
Good bye to Reyes, Droobs, Duda, R Rivera, Granny
Montero looked pretty good the first 3 innings for once. Nice to see Walker back.
On the Ramos acquisition from some articles I have read:
Merandy Gonzalez posted an 8.40 K/9 and a 1.68 BB/9 to go with a 1.55 ERA in 69.2 innings for Single-A Columbia, and his numbers in St. Lucie were still good, but the K’s were about 6 per 9 innings and the walks about 2.5 per innings. Ricardo Cespedes likely doesn’t have the bat speed necessary to catch up to elite velocity and his OPS in Brooklyn is .524. Also, Gonzalez will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason, meaning the Mets needed to add him to the 40 man roster to protect him from the draft.
They didn’t give away the farm on this deal.
You’ve got to give up something to get something and Ramos has a track record as a successful late-inning guy. Hopefully they’ve talked to him about being the setup man for Familia next year. As we’ve seen with Cabrera, ego can pop up at any time, especially when future contracts are at stake. Not everyone handles a move away from closer and maintains effectiveness.
Your point about Gonzalez and Rule 5 is noted.
However, I think you’re underselling Gonzalez. He moved up a level and has a 2.23 ERA and a 1.128 WHIP, He’s successfully pitched around his strikeout drop which is something Church was unable to do last year. And his last outing made his K/9 drop a full strikeout.
Gonzalez pitched twice against the Marlins affiliate in the FSL and in 12.2 IP he allowed 7 H, 0 ER, 2 BB and 10 Ks.
I’m only writing what I wrote. I like Gonzalez too, but based in the circumstances, can live with it.