For the second year in a row, Framber Valdez handcuffed the Mets over eight innings and while the Mets put up some offense late, they fell to the Astros by a 4-2 score Tuesday night in Houston.
Valdez was perfect thru 5.1 IP until Mark Canha ripped a clean single to right. But the next batter hit into a double play to end the inning. Valdez piled up the 6-3 grounders and strikeouts all game long.
The Mets finally broke thru in the eighth inning, where they got three hits and a sac fly to plate two runs. You knew it wasn’t the Mets’ night when they had two runners in scoring position, no outs, hit two line drives and the result was two outs and one run.
Justin Verlander had an interesting night. The good news is that he gave the Mets seven innings. The bad news was that he allowed four runs. The big blow was a 2-run homer on a 3-0 pitch. One night after seeing Max Scherzer have good results with his slider, we saw Verlander struggle with his. Verlander’s problem seemed to be location more so than stuff.
The hope is that a veteran can improve his location. Right now, it’s better to be Verlander than Carlos Carrasco.
The series finale is Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. with the Mets hoping to win a series for the first time in ages.
Not enough hits not enough runs and on to the next game. How many days until Giants football camp opens??
The situation is definitely code red. Not that there aren’t enough total games left, but the team has to position for the trade deadline, and the future. That decisions is now just weeks away.
The Mets suck in June, but this June *feels* worse than usual. We have not won a series in June (Phillies series had 2 wins in May), and with Megill on the bump and away in Houston, there isnt much to expect.
All this leads to the question: Buyers? Sellers? Hold?
It is hard to envision the Mets being buyers right now with virtually zero appetite to deal prospects (and at this point who would we even trade?) making “buying” seem unlikely. Who would the Mets sell off in a strategy to bail on 2023? I guess you can look at Pham but how much do you expect in return – perhaps a decent prospect. Canha? Escobar? Marte? McNeil?
Standing pat wont improve the team at all, while keeping in mind that the better teams will be in acquisition mode so getting better after the ASB, making the gulf to the Mets even bigger than it is presently.
The team is in a precarious place because it seems imaginable they could make a WC spot, but realistically, thats a total pipe-dream for a team that couldn’t fall into the water from a canoe. But the Mets are as close to the Nationals as they are to a WC spot and sitting 5 games under .500.
As we also begin to question the moves of Buck, it’s also time to really point fingers at Eppler, who is the architect of this mess. Bassitt? Stroman? Walker? All would have been better moves than banking on Peterson and Megill, neither of which are major leaguers.
I’d sell off any moving parts that aren’t the future and get what you can, which wont be much, if anything other than payroll relief. At the same time, I’d promote Mauricio and play all the rookies every day and give them the chance to learn and figure out of they are really meant to be big leaguers and let the record be what it is. Scherzer and Verlander frankly aren’t worth the bitching they will raise given how lousy they are – and at the very heart of this disaster.
Mets be Mets. Same as it ever was…
“Right now, it’s better to be Verlander than Carlos Carrasco.” Its almost always better to be Justin Verlander than just about anyone else, monster contract, a boatload of Cy Young awards, and a pretty cute wife to boot.
Oops, meant to post this comment of mine above in the piece about the Wednesday open discussion, sorry