ROLLER COASTER – Tom Brennan
What do you call a team that:
Loses a key starter and a reliever to Tommy John surgery in the spring...
Has 2 other key rehabbing bullpen guys where one is not ready for nearly a half season and the other, who the heck knows...
Has another key reliever and prior year closer not get into a game until game # 89 for medicinal reasons...
And another one who is great for 2 weeks until a line drive off the arm that earns him his living shuts him down perhaps for the rest of 2015...
Who has its cornerstone offensive 3B only play in 8 of its first 89 games due to injury, while leaving fans wondering if he'll ever play again...
And have his replacements hitting well under .200 thereafter...
And its would-be star catcher banged up twice and missing 70 of 89 games...
Its CF hobbled as his GOLDEN GLOVE cannon of an arm is cannonball-free due to elbow injury...
It's former batting champion free agent acquisition in 2015 hitting like other Met free agents before him (which is to say, not good)...
And its 1B start out like an All Star and then hit, well, like a Met free agent acquisition typically does, for the last several weeks...
And have its several key hitting reserves only manage 60 hits in their first 372 at bats through Saturday's game...
And calling up a phenom pitcher, a local hero, then having him pitch like one - and hit like the Babe - for 2 games, and of course get hurt like almost (it seems) everyone else on the team...
And after winning 11 straight to move to 13-3, losing a whole lot more games than they win over the next nearly 70 games because they hit so danged bad...
AND STILL BE 5 GAMES OVER.500 (47-42) AT THE ALL STAR BREAK, BECAUSE OF GREAT FIRST HALF PITCHING IN THOSE 89 GAMES, ESPECIALLY FROM DEGROM, HARVEY, THOR, COLON, NIESE, AND FAMILIA, AND...
MIRACULOUS STUFF - like pitchers hitting better than the team's hitting reserve players, and released and re-signed guys hitting 3 homers in a game, and as a team not hitting a homer in 10 games, then hitting 10 in a 3 game series?
So back to where I started – what do you call it?
If you haven't guessed yet, what you call it is the team that came from 9.5 games back in August to win a world series in 1969...And came from 10 games under .500 in September in 1973 to almost winning the world series that year...to being down to their last out in 1986, only to rebound from the dead and win it all in 1986.
It is....the NY METS...and all of the above roller coaster stuff is why we have an amazing love-hate relationship with this team.
Having said all that, let the 2015 ROLLER COASTER rise to new heights. Let's, in the immortal words of Bob Murphy, "WIN THE DAMN THING."
13 comments:
Does the mgr get any credit for this, or is he still just a "mental midget"?
I like TC.
1. I think he should have left deGrom out there in that one game.
2. I think he leaves pitchers in too long when they're getting bombed: Hervey's two 7 ER efforts, some of Colon's worst outings, etc.
3. And Carlos Torres never should've been given the 8th for a bunch of games earler this year.
But yeah, I think he deserves a ton of it (credit).
Terry Collins' IQ has gone up considerably since the new microchip was installed...and since Kirk, Tejada, and Harvey hit 5 homers over the weekend! Nothing like a bunch of long balls to raise a manager's IQ.
And I hope Collin's IQ is really, really high at season's end :)
Yes, he's damned if he leaves the SPs in too long while simultaneously burning out the RPs by overusing them. As for Torres, who else did he have while Mejia was still out and Parnell was still a question mark? Alex Torres is very shaky, Robles very promising but raw and still unproven.
Robles and Goeddel when he was healthy.
And Robles has since proven himself in big situations.
This isn't hindsight, either. I'd comment the morning of the game: "STOP USING C. TORRES IN THE 8TH" He'd put Torres in; things wouldn't go very well. He started using Robles in the 8th; things started going better.
It's not a big deal. He eventually started doing it—I just knew two weeks before he did (it's all dated and documented on this site). But no biggie. Like I said, I like TC.
Good call on Robles, Zach.
Thoughts on Carlos Torres? Is he worn out?
Thomas,
Thank you. Honestly Idk. He's definitely been getting more rest lately.
And I still like him in the 6th and 7th and going multiple innings in extra innings. But even at his best, Idk if he had the stuff to be in the 8th.
Robles's first game: bases loaded nobody out against the Yankees and he gets out of it—that's when I knew (or at least had an inclination).
For the record, Carlos T ranks 34th in the NL in game appearances, so the argument that he's been "overused" is questionable, especially given his reputation as a "rubber arm".
As for Robles, I really like what I've seen of him, and had a rather vigorous debate with Reese about him recently, when Reese felt Leather should've been kept instead of Hansel. But, like most rookies, he needs to establish himself before being rushed to pressure situations.He'll certainly be part of the mix, though, but with 3 closers now on the roster, plus Carlos, he won't be the 8th inning guy unless one of them falters or is injured. And the fact that we don't need to use him more says a lot about the quality of the pen overall.
Alex T, Gilmartin, and Robles as the middle-innings guys is a formidable combo.
I will reserve my comments on TC until after tonight's game. I had promised to withhold criticism until the All-Star break. :)
Metsiac,
Didn't you watch the team before this year? C. Torres was among the leaders in appearences the last two years—that's how he gained the reputation for having a "rubber arm." So when Thomas asks me "Is he worn out?" I believe he's referring to him being worn out from 2013 & 2014 (86.1 and 97 innings, respectively).
And I don't want Robles to be our 8th inning guy, either. I used to want him to be our 8th inning guy—when Parnell and Mejia were unavailable and C. Torres' rubber arm was no longer being very rubbery. Feel like you're missing the point?
"But, like most rookies, he needs to establish himself before being rushed to pressure situations."—does he? Because he seemed to already do that when TC finally started giving him the 8th over C. Torres? And in case you were still looking for it, that is kind of the point.
Zach,
Have you considered the possibility that Robles was so effective after replacing Torres because he was eased into the role? His ERA at the end of May was over SIX. He was better in the first half of June, then was scored on in 3 of his 5 outings between June 13 and 23. Since then he hasn't given up a run in 4 outings, but what did he do prior to that to be "Mr. 8th inning"?
Meanwhile, Carlos has been scored on once in his last 6 outings. Does that indicate tiredness?
It's possible. But meanwhile C. Torres was blowing games for two weeks while Robles was being eased. And I didn't say C. Torres was tired or not. Idk. And frankly, Idc. To be honest, Idk what we're even discussing anymore? Did you watch games from earlier this year? That's how you'd be able to look beyond ERA. Terry Collins left Torres in in the 8th a bunch of times and it cost us games. Idk what else you want? I'd track down the games for you (since apparently you weren't there), but I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so.
But I like Torres (as long as it's not in the 8th inning) and I like TC too. That said, I've never met anyone who is such a staunch supporter of both TC and Torres as you. Really a rare combination. It's good they both have someone in their corner.
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