Jose Quintana was very good. But it didn’t matter because he was done in by shaky fielding, an unspectacular pen and a non-existent offense. The end result was a 2-0 setback to the Orioles Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. The Mets have now lost six in a row since the trade deadline, showing almost no heart whatsoever.
Quintana showed what the Mets were missing while he was on the shelf and how things might have been different if he was healthy all season. He tossed four shutout innings until his defense did him in during the fifth. With one out, the batter hit a ball to center field that Rafael Ortega decided to make a sideways dive to get. He missed, the ball got by him and only because the batter didn’t run right away was this one not an inside-the-park home run. Instead, it was a triple. Next batter up hits a ground ball to third base that Mark Vientos bobbles, taking away a play at the plate. No errors on either play, Vientos got the out at first, but a run that shouldn’t have scored.
The other run Quintana allowed was an inherited runner that scored with a bullpen pitcher in the game.
Meanwhile, the offense – all we can say is, ugh. Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Alvarez and Starling Marte were not in the starting lineup. Not that Marte’s absence was a bad thing. But it just looked threadbare and performed that way, too. They managed four hits. In the last five games, the Mets’ offense has tallied eight runs on 29 hits.
It’s a tough way to win games. With the team seemingly having quit and 51 games remaining, Mets fans shouldn’t be surprised with a 90-loss season.
This team has a 3B problem. No news here. It’s been a problem for more than 5 years. It was awesome to believe Baty was the long term answer, but thats looking less and less likely. Vientos will not be the answer. It’s a good thing 3B is not a hard position to play, we should be able to snap our fingers and make one out of thin air.
The pervasive issue we seem to have on offense is pitch recognition. It’s like none of these people have ever seen a major league pitcher. As Brian mentioned, the number of 0-1, 0-2, 1-2 counts is shocking. Typical AB: watch strike one. Swing out of zone for strike 2. Foul off next pitch, then theres a fork in the road. Option A, the most obvious, is swing out of zone low/away or up/in for a K; Option B, weak contact for a 6-3 or 4-3 ground out *or* pop fly. If a runner is on base, then Option A always kicks in for a double play. In any event, this team makes mostly very weak contact.
As far as field the ball goes, and adding throwing to the mix, well thats for another comment!
Pitch recognition is a huge problem and no one in the organization seems equipped to deal with it in any way. Peterson and Megill are lousy, they go back to Triple-A and we hear about things they’re working on to correct the problem.
But every single hitter flails helplessly at pitches they can’t possibly hit. Lindor chases high pitches, Alonso chases low pitches, Marte chases pitches two feet out of the strike zone. And nothing ever changes. My god, it was some international crisis when Chili Davis was let go – even though the hitters in early 2021 stunk. But we’ve got seemingly a collective yawn both inside and outside the organization about this massive failure happening daily right before our eyes.
I don’t know what the answer is. My fear is that the organization not only doesn’t know what the answer is – but they haven’t even identified the problem. Very early on, Chris and I disagreed on what the biggest problem was. He said it was the pitchers, I said it was the hitters. Maybe we were both right. Regardless, I can’t believe that four-plus months into the season, McNeil doesn’t have a plan on what to do when pitchers pound him inside.
They constantly talk about how it’s a game of adjustments. I’d like to hear a list of all of the adjustments our hitters have done this year.
“Maybe we were both right.”
Sadly, I believe this is correct.
It will be a tough return to Flushing for our heroes and I don’t think the fans will be understanding. This is one time that I don’t blame the fans. These guys are professionals but do not show it in their approach. I wish the Mets can get rid of the AAAA players in a lost year like Ortega, Mendick and Stewart. Stewart is palatable but not by much.
It’s NY and all, and I get that. Im a surly as the next person when it comes to this team. But, following on the comments Gary made about the Phillies fans giving Trey Turner a standing ovation the other day during his slump after which he hit the cover off the ball, perhaps we should all do our best to welcome the team home after a defeating trade deadline and flatline response. Im not at all happy, but some positive reinforcement might really help them. And hell, it wont hurt!
It continues to be baffling how bad the offense is as they make each opposing pitcher look much better than their stat line. Not surprised getting swept by the O’s in Baltimore, but they could show some life at the plate. Vientos should try LF, the easiest position on the field to play, as he clearly doesn’t have the hands or poise to play third or first (remember his missed tag?). And Baty has regressed in the field as well and stopped looking adequate at the plate. Blame is on hitters and pitchers but then those coaching positions should be conned as it’s now August and they haven’t figured how to correct obvious mechanical issues. It’s crazy that seasoned veterans appear lost at the plate. After 101 wins this season is particularly hard to take. No longer checking who our pitchers are for upcoming series as it no longer matters. It’s a sad season for Met fans.
Hey,there are a lot of problems with this team but I think hitting is the biggest one. A#5 hitter to bat behind Pete is the biggest hole. Bounce back seasons from McNeil and Marte would be big. Alonso and Lindor need to be better.
Gut Reaction: another shutout. Poor hitting. Poor defense. Another loss.
Was Pham and Canha the heart of the offense? I don’t think so.
Alonso is the only regular above 800 OPS. There are more holes in this offense that we didn’t realize. The same players in 2022 failed the team in 2023. Are they going to hope that they bounce back next year? After all hope is not a strategy.
Indeed, Metsense, hope is *not* a strategy.
Well played for bringing that back here!
I really dislike it when a team has no heart or pride. I dont care if they are as bad as the A’s, they should be battling to the end. Showalter is to blame on this one. He is the one who needs to fire them up.
You guys are awesome at identifying big issues that seem to be overlooked by the coaches. The hitting coach needs to go.
An interesting read on Baty in today’s NY Post and his struggles.
https://nypost.com/2023/08/06/brett-batys-growing-struggles-presenting-mets-with-new-dilemma/
Thanks Gus.
My take is that it’s better to send Baty to the minors now than at the start of 2024. He goes to the minors now and comes back to the majors for the end of the season. The minor league season goes deep into September, so you can’t keep him there until the end. But you send him down now and, providing he starts to hit, bring him back on 9/1
What cant you park Baty in AAA until the end of the season. He has so many holes to fill offensively and defensively that he needs more than 3 weeks to fix.
Well, you certainly can do that.
I look at it not a whole lot different from a guy coming back from an injury. You want him to return before the end of the year and experience some success so he knows he’s past the injury. Maybe 9/1 isn’t the date. Maybe it’s 9/5 or 9/12. But I hope Baty gets right in the minors, experiences success there, then is able to come up and experience some in the majors this year, too.
Baty, as difficult as it would be, should be demoted. Vientos should be the starting third baseman. It isn’t ideal but I would rather see Vientos playing than Mendick or Guillorme.
Baty optioned to AAA.
Full roster moves:
INF Brett Baty has been optioned to Triple-A.
OF Starling Marte has been placed on the 10-Day IL, retroactive to August 6, with a right groin strain.
INF Jonathan Araúz has been recalled from Triple-A.
OF Abraham Almonte has been selected from Triple-A.