We want things to be a meritocracy, where playing time is handed out to those who deserve it, rather than who’s getting paid the most or who does/doesn’t have an option remaining. The Mets have a lot of work to do in this regard with their pitching staff. But they’re making pretty good strides in this respect with their hitters. Here’s everyone on the club to have amassed at least 50 PA this season:
| Name | Age | PA | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Vientos | 24 | 70 | 203 |
| J.D. Martinez | 36 | 142 | 131 |
| Pete Alonso | 29 | 262 | 128 |
| Brandon Nimmo* | 31 | 254 | 118 |
| Starling Marte | 35 | 228 | 117 |
| DJ Stewart* | 30 | 127 | 106 |
| Francisco Lindor# | 30 | 273 | 105 |
| Harrison Bader | 30 | 185 | 103 |
| Francisco Alvarez (10-day IL) | 22 | 59 | 91 |
| Brett Baty* (40-man) | 24 | 169 | 86 |
| Jeff McNeil* | 32 | 224 | 82 |
| Tomas Nido | 30 | 90 | 82 |
| Tyrone Taylor | 30 | 121 | 75 |
| Omar Narvaez* (DFA) | 32 | 69 | 12 |
Look at the bottom of this list, which is sorted by OPS+”
Narvaez – released
Taylor – in the last 15 G he has 20 PA
Nido – club purchased a player the manager likes to challenge Nido for a spot
McNeil – team finally added a backup middle infielder, who has started three times in the last five games over McNeil
Baty – sent to the minors
It’s too bad that the club didn’t sit McNeil at home, where he has a .433 OPS, rather than the road, where he has an .831 OPS. And to a lesser extent it’s too bad they gave Baty 169 PA before sending him down. But it’s good to see these moves as a group.
Now to apply the same principle to the pitchers.
It’s very fashionable to rag McNeil, and his performance speaks for itself. But, I’m holding out. Good hitters don’t just suck for no reason. I believe Mendoza when he says that McNeil is working through some things, clearing his head, and I’m hoping to see a butterfly come out of the cocoon.
As long as we are open threading, I read a great article on The Athletic about Rob Thomson and how he won over his team over when he took over for Joe Girardi. Girardi was very suffocating and giving his players the respect of trust was the factor that turned their fortunes for Thomson. I like how Mendoza handles the hitters, but he is feeling his way through the relievers and how to use them.
Im not so sure things functioning as a meritocracy is really what everyone wants. no one is gonna pay a huge sum for a player and not give them a looooong off ramp before doing something about it. We also know a lot of players are streaky, and just because someone is trapped doesn’t mean it’s time to sit them. Of course when looking at the McNeil’s and Baty’s etc the time has indeed come and the proper actions are now in place. But they aren’t gonna bench Lindor or Pete. As far as pitchers go. Yikes, it’s not so easy to see how all this goes down. A couple weeks ago, Garrett was the Belle of the Ball, and today he cant find home plate with a GPS. What to do? What about Ottavino?
McNeil’s biggest issue is between the ears. So I am gonna disagree with you Gus. He seems uniquely capable of forgetting all about hitting. In a recent game, Brian and I were chatting and Keith came on and said he had a recent talk with McNeil about hitting and told him he needed to be the gap to gap line drive (“doubles”) hitter which he can be very successful at. Meanwhile McNeil responded that he needed to be a ground ball hitter, like hes somehow gonna make a living in the 5.5 hole like Tony Gwynn did. I mean come on Jeff.
I can’t believe he said that. Wow! Either sarcastic and just kidding, or totally disrespecting and not want to hear Hernandez’ opinion. Also, Hernandez should not have said that openly. That doesn’t help.
Cohen asked for 3-5 years to turn the team around. We just got teased by a team that won 101 games and we thought we were much farther ahead of the game. The most prominent fact that jumped out to me from the chart above was how old the Mets are. Their pitching staff is ancient. Hoping that Miguel, Peterson, Butto and Lucchessi Become the rotation of the future. Part of me is not ready to give up on McNeil and part of me, given his age, and his inconsistent performance, wouldn’t mind moving him at the trade deadline, especially since he is under contract for another year for the team receiving him. Keep moving forward.
Via the NYPost, the Marlins are preparing to cut Avisail Garcia. “For his career, Garcia is a .263 hitter with a .733 OPS and a 2017 All-Star selection with the White Sox.”
The Braves are looking for a right handed hitting outfielder to replace Acuna, and supposedly inquired about Sterling Marte. Tell me this guy won’t be picked up by them and become healthy and be a stud?
Iglesias has a career OPS of .762 vs RHP so there is a reason to him and McNeil. This platoon can stay until McNeil surpasses Iglesias OPS this year. McNeil can only blame himself for the situation.
Baty had improved defensively but Vientos is playing so much better a than him. Baty should remain in AAA, at least until Martinez or Alonso are traded.
Nido finally has broken 600 OPS but it is a little to late. Torrens has a career advantage of .079 OPS better. He is 2 years younger and has one more year of control than Nido. Torrens is the better ball player. When Alvarez get back should he needs to improve his offense to be at least average.
Taylor needs more playing time but Bader earned his playing time. Taylor’s role is a 4th outfielder and he has a career OPS+ of 99. The Mets can live with his slump especially when he isn’t a FA until 2027.
The pitching needs to be addressed also. Any FA pitcher , starting or relieving, should be moved before the trading deadline so that Scott, Butto and Nunez could be promoted.
It is so hard to believe that there are so many above average position players and pitchers (based on OPS+ and ERA+) that they are under .500 ! I guess timing is everything.
Correction: Iglesia has a 762 0PS vs LHP not RHP.
Quick update from the city across the pond (London)
-Mets fans have not traveled well for this series. I’d estimate that 80-90% of the jerseys and Americans i see are Phillies fans. I know their team is playing well and the Mets are not but wasn’t quite expecting this differential. Unless local Londoners are pro-Mets, the games will be decisively partisan for the Phils.
-Lackluster effort by team management too. In a pre-event on Friday, the Phils were able to convince Utley, Howard, and Victorino to rep for the Phils. The Mets had Daniel Murphy and …. Dellin Betances (i had to look up and remind myself he only pitched 12.1 IP for the Mets) Supposedly Wright and Piazza are in town but they didn’t come to this event. Were they not able to convince another homegrown guy like Ike Davis or Lucas Duda to come? Or even a cult hero like Mike Baxter? Just seemed like a poor effort to throw Betances there, they might as well have gone with no one rather than him.
Well done Name!! Awesome you could make it there for the games. Dellin Betances?? He was a Met? I understand Mets fans not making the trip all things considered, but it’s too bad. Hope you can extend the trip for a fill vacation. I love London!
My favorite guy in the upcoming draft
Perhaps I’m bitter because the Mets suck this year
Well, I am compelled to reject that notion because I’m justifiably non-delusional and/or not into believing my own hype.
Which brings me to my point. In case it’s not abundantly obvious, the two other places on the internets where I peruse BB… well, let’s call them E and F.
What I’m finding more and more intolerable these days is how writers @ E and F just can’t help but
gush¹
about – what I’d consider – the most unremarkable facts/stats/occurrences
Now, I realize that some/most/all of yous think I’m being somewhat/mostly/totally vague/incomprehensible/unhinged
But I don’t know what anyone expects of my arguments in written form
Have I mentioned I’m not a professional writer?
OK, so I have to justify my thesis… I’m mean thesis of this here post
And maybe, with your kindness/indulgence/therapy, I’ll be able to better formulate… my so-called thoughts.
Here’s a vague example. I began looking at some articles from 2020 @ E and/or F
And some of the topics were preposterous, specifically adulation about some player being the second coming of BB messiah
And then said player not even making through the 2020 season – and, in fact, never playing professionally in subsequent years, and not due to some devastating injury
Mostly because they ended up… succulent², in stark contrast to previously lavished adulation
And, you must admit – due to the recent downturn in the number of posts at Mets360 – at least I’m providing (what some might consider) entertainment
More coming in the future
1. Um, since the capitalization czar objects to anyone abusing their shift key for emphasis, can someone explain how I might italicize or boldify here at Mets360?
2. I had another word in mind, but I truly want this site to be where your children and/or evangelical spinster aunts would want to read
Yous thought I was deranged!
Found an article at E or F titled
“You Can Dream on Dylan Bundy Again”
And the article contained the following blurb:
“We’re only talking about four starts, but you’d be forgiven if you didn’t expect to see Bundy leading the majors in WAR at any point this season, regardless of sample size.”
Well, it’s true that Dylan appeared on BR’s leaderboards in various categories, like 9th in pitcher WAR and ERA
But 2020 was his only season where he was more than slightly better than good, that is, with ERA+ > 107
And it’s hard to get excited about stats from that season which was only 37% of an actual season
But according to the author, we can dream on Bundy, which he proceeds to do with charts, graphs, tables, and so forth.
And I’m thinking
WTF ever happened to Dylan? Who was he? Is he related to Al & Peggy Bundy?
And then!
I saw that the Mets signed Dylan for the 2023 season! Surely Brian would know about him
But I still can’t remember who TF he was. I’m sure I’d never heard of him
Then I observed that in 6 starts and 25 IPs and ERA 10.08 at Syracuse, his career ended when he was released by NYM on 7/24/23
Well, I did actually dream on Dylan Bundy, but I don’t remember because I was completely unconscious