Robert Gsellman‘s struggles on the mound continued, as the righty lasted just four innings, coughing up four runs to put the Mets in an early hole. The Mets’ bullpen didn’t help matters, allowing the Cubs to tack on four additional runs. The parade of also rans and recent pickups that Terry Collins trotted out in relief might have looked even more ineffective if not for being juxtaposed with Gsellman’s latest pitiful performance.
Gsellman seems to have lost faith in his fastball, instead relying on a mix of off speed pitches and flat sliders. The one fastball he threw for a strike got hit into the stratosphere by Kris Bryant for a soul crushing three-run home run. What really made this outing particularly terrible though was not the moon shot or the measly four inning start, but that he managed to walk five batters and nearly two others. Big league pitchers need to throw strikes and trust their fastball. Whatever’s eating this kid, he’d better figure it out soon or he’s not going to figure into next season’s plans.
Nothing much to report from the Mets offense other than Asdrubal Cabrera getting three hits and Amed Rosario two.
Oh well, what’s another loss in a lost season? There’s always tomorrow and another chance for Matt Harvey to prove he still belongs. Let’s…go…Mets…
Gsellman’s poor outings should remove him from the 2018 rotation discussion. He has been inconsistent all year and his high water mark for the season was an ERA of 4.95 way back on June 10th. He will need to work this out in Las Vegas in 2018. At least his arm is healthy.
The post all star game statistics are very revealing.
Third baseman Cabrera, 298/355/449/804
Second baseman Reyes, 285/355/457/812
It is not the offense that has failed the Mets, it is the starting pitching.
Amazing that Gsellman has been lapped by Montero.
That’s how far he’s fallen.
Not seeing any grit in this guy.
I think your point, Matt, about him “losing faith” in the fastball is an important one.
Still interested in seeing Gsellman in pen, going 20-30 pitches, maybe adding 2 MPH to his FB. Think he could get it up to 97 MPH. Needs the fastball to make the sinker — which darts out of the zone — effective. So hard to be a sinkerball pitcher because it is a pitch that is almost never a called strike. Not a pitch you want to get up in the zone. So it’s essential that you can throw a fastball for a strike to set up the sinker. Once hitters respect that, then they will chase the ball below the knees.
I always felt that way to attack Familia was to make him throw strikes. If you don’t chase, if you force him to come up, you’ve got a good shot. If you go up there hacking, you are toast.
JimmyP you’re absolutely right. A sinker that falls in for a strike is a hittable pitch. The one that drops out of the zone is an out pitch, but only if it’s swung at. I don’t think Gsellman is a lost cause. He’s got a nice repertoire, but he needs to get his command back and learn to trust his fastball again. I’m actually more worried about Familia as he plays a more important role. Maybe it’s time he learns a cutter and tries to be like Kenley Jansen. That sinker/splitter (I’d love to see a close up of his grip) is inconsistent and he’s never had great control on the 4 seamer.
I’m still a .200 hitter in 2-0 and 3-1 counts… you cannot survive pitching to Major Leaguers in Hitter’s Counts
Boy, Gsellman was really, really bad last night. The few strikes he did throw were mostly flat sliders that were somehow missed on numerous occasions. The worst pitch he threw, I believe, was the one to Quintana. One out, runner on third, he had to have (ummmm should have) known the squeeze was very much in play. A high slider (or any slider) in that spot was a mortal sin.
It seems to me the art of playing the game is becoming more and more lost each passing day. As if Gsellman’s sin was evidence enough, Baez’s at bat immediately preceding it was absolutely disgusting. No one out, tying run at third, pitcher on deck — in a pennant race, no less — and he’s up there swinging like a wild man looking to hit one into Lake Michigan. A ground ball anywhere or any decent fly ball and the game is tied. Nope, down he goes on strikes. One of the worst at bats I have ever seen.