Try to act surprised – the Mets lost on a day that ends in “y.” For the 16th time in the last 21 games the Mets took one on the chin, losing Monday night to the Brewers, 2-1.
Justin Verlander needed 27 pitches to get out of the first inning and that high pitch count meant another early exit. However, he left with a 1-0 lead.
But Drew Smith, in his first game since being activated from the suspended list, gave up a two-run homer and that was all she wrote.
One day after Buck Showalter said he couldn’t keep pitching the same guys over and over again, he used all four of his alleged “A” relievers in this game. A loss.
The Mets managed just three hits and a walk in this game. Officially, they were 0-0 with RISP. Their only run scored on a sac fly. The Brewers were 0-11 with RiSP. As weird as it seems, this game could have been even worse.
There used to be a beer commercial many years ago (Old Milwaukee) where the tagline was, “It just doesn’t get any better than this!” But while there may be a cap on good times, the 2023 Mets are here to remind us that things can always get worse.
Gut Reaction: Good pitching, awful hitting, fading fast for the playoffs.
Verlander was pitching in trouble all night. He was pitching a shutout and leading 1-0. The Boogeyman 100 pitch count haunted Showalter. Verlander should have in the 6th inning until he cough up a run. His arm wasn’t going to fall off. Instead Showalter used all of his Tier 1 relief pitchers. Now they are facing six games before a day off. Maybe one more inning out of Verlander could have saved one of the Tier 1 relievers for another day.
Bottom line is we didn’t hit tonight. You need to win games when your pitchers only give up a two spot. Time to be a seller and retool for the future. Get a jump start on the trade deadline. The Astros did a tear down and lost a hundred games a few times, I believe. Now they are are perennial playoff contenders with a few WS rings in the last five years. We are no where like that. There has to me a market for Marte and Canha and Narvaez for teams looking to add a piece to push them over the top. It’s not so much about dumping salary as it is retooling with high level prospects. Last year the players did their part and Buck looked like a genius, even down to all the appeals of bad calls that the pitch clock makes difficult to do this season. And Verlander questions the number warm up throws and gets hit for a delay and they call ball one for the batter. What has this game turned into? What If you only had 20 seconds between hikes of a football – would you be penalized 5 yards for going over? How about shortening the shot clock in the NBA or making a tripping penalty in the NHL 30 seconds or conversely 5 minutes? How would these changes impact the outcome of the game? How many stolen bases are there because that stupid extension glove gives you another 5 inches closer to the bag? And there is no set rule on how long that mitt can be. So many rule changes, so little positives except games are shorter. I guess if we were 5-10 games over .500 instead of free falling toward last place, none of us would be whining. Well this felt good to rant on a Tuesday morning. Thanks.
We again see the Mets playing to the level of the immediate game. Another 1 run loss, but as usual, it didnt seem anywhere near as nail biting as a 1 run difference. It felt mor like a 4-1 loss, and as Brian wrote should have been. the Mets get good pitching and like pushing a button the batters go to sleep. Our pitchers struggle and give up 8 runs, yet the Mets manage to score 7. It’s so maddening.
As crazy positive as the record we have when pitchers throw 6+ (lets just say have a QS), we have the pendulum swinging to the other side when we score a lot of runs we lose a lot. Because the former is uncommon and the latter is more common, we get a losing record.
Im with 6986 who advocates for selling. Look we all know there are only a few parts on the car without rust and dents, but time to move them on, accept our lot in love for 23, and work like hell to make 24 and beyond better. Pham is certainly dealable as is Robertson and possibly Ottavino. Every contender needs a hitter on a streak and decent relief help. You might get Canha bringing back a lower ranked pitching prospect. Possible Marte could get a little something, but obviously not much. I’d love to imagine either or both Verlander and Scherzer would waive the NT clauses and be willing to move to a contender, but who would take them????
In exchange the team needs to break the old insane adage that you cant rebuild in NY. Unfortunately, this teams has to because it’s wildly out of balance in age structure. Besides, is “going for it” and winning 75 games gonna feel that much better than rebuilding and winning 70? I think not. I’d rather watch a bunch of kids learning the trade to see if they have it than watching a zillion dollar team of “has beens” lose every day.
And I hate to say it, but it’s clear Buck needs to move on. The pen management and the post game pressers have reached a limit. The 7-6 loss the other night, not putting in your best reliever as a stopper with a 3 run lead and then last night throwing the entire quality pen in the game when you are behind and only mustered 3 hits shows an insane lack of perception of what has to happen. The Phillies fired Girardi last year and went on a run with a guy Ive never heard of. It’s time to bring a new vision to the top step and promote Chavez. This team is not hearing a strong message from the dugout — and certainly we aren’t as fans.
I’ll end my rant with the place I usually do. Let’s forget the creatures that make up the Island of Misfit Toys out in the bull pen and focus on the fact that the starting pitching, all getting huge sums of money to get regular QSs have again fallen on their face. The pen, no matter how good, will eventually melt under having to pitch 4 innings ever single game. I want to see Scherzer, Verlander, Senga, and Carrasco pitch 105-110 pitches every game. I dont care how bad they are pitching. It will be better than throwing out another guy wearing a jersey number in the 60s and up who is not ready. These guys are being paid a fortune and that requires real sustained effort. Buck simply cannot pull a starter after 80 pitches. That practice is utterly shameful.
All that said, I really like Joey Cora as 3B coach. He runs a tight shop over there.
Beltran yields Wheeler. RA Dickey and his CYA yields Syndergaard and TDA. Do the Mets really want to trade Alonso ? He would get a hual in prospects. Max and Verlander would get a decent prospect, now that would be an overhaul, not Pham, Canha and the other pending free agents on the Mets. Otherwise, Bieber would been a good target. An overhaul is not appealing but an overworking is.
You are what your record says you are. I heard that somewhere lol. I can’t imagine any rational scenario where the Mets should be buyers, which in turn means they should be sellers.
Buck hasn’t had a good season but he isn’t pitching, hitting, or fielding. 3 hits last night to start a home stand, and Drew without sticky fingers. That turned out to be another losing ticket as 2023 fades away.
I am worried about 2024, as I am not sure how Cohen will react to a season that may wind up being embarrassing, no less disappointing. The mayor of P C has many valid points above. The question is how to proceed assembling a team that belongs on the same field as the Braves. There are prices to work with, but I don’t see the solution including a huge commitment to Ohtani, even assuming he wants to come.