The Morning Report 9.1.2015 | Conforto Continues to Shine, Duda Not Ready for Activation, Addison Reed Ready to Secure the 7th, Nationals in Free-Fall

Anthony McCarron | NY Daily News- Michael Conforto had an eventful night in the Mets' 3-1 victory over Philadelphia Monday, from homering to open the scoring to more of his trademark patient at-bats to a play that served as reminder that the technology age is changing the game. He finished the night 2-for-2 with a walk and is now batting .293 with a .928 OPS and has reached base in 13 consecutive games. "We continue to very quietly talk about what a good player this guy has a chance to become," Mets' manager Terry Collins said after the game. "He's an outstanding hitter. He's got a great swing."

(Chris Soto: After seeing Conforto in Binghamton a few I had no doubts that he could hit around .250ish with some pop immediately, however, I could have never imagined him just fitting right in and crushing the way he has so far. A .293 AVG?? I thought that was his peak! A .928 OPS, Nope....never would've pegged him for that either. How about the good defense he has displayed? Hah...we were all told he was a below average defender and yet he's posted a +3 DRS so far which across a full season equals a +20.3 defensive UZR. A mark only the most elite of OF'ers even sniff.)

Mike Puma | New York Post- The Mets’ first-base shuffle might continue longer than the club originally anticipated. Lucas Duda’s stiff lower back hasn’t progressed as quickly as the Mets would have hoped, leaving it unclear if he will be in position to return from the disabled list Sunday when he is eligible. “We don’t have any day in mind, be he hasn’t hit — he is still tracking [pitches],” manager Terry Collins said. “I don’t know how close he is. I know he gets his therapy inside and goes out and he’s doing what he should be doing. He’s played catch, so that was a good sign. He played catch [Monday] and tracked another 250 balls off the machines so he is doing stuff, he just hasn’t swung the bat.”

(Chris Soto: This is one of the view pieces of bad news the Mets have been dealing with during the 2nd half of the season. Yea....the team is doing well right now. However, if the club is going to continue to succeed and push into the playoffs, they are going to NEED Lucas Duda's power in the middle of this line-up. Having Duda hitting behind a guy like Cespedes or Wright will make pitcher's think twice about working around them as they certainly don't want men on base with Duda's 30 HR power behind them.)

Anthony DiComo | Mets.com-  Addison Reed stepped into a Mets uniform for the first time on Monday. Bobby Parnell should return from the disabled list on Tuesday. With those two, and with Jeurys Familia and Tyler Clippard in tow, the Mets will spend September with four relievers boasting significant closing experience. If the bullpen was a significant concern for the Mets during the second half of August, manager Terry Collins is convinced it no longer is. "They're very good, all of them," Collins said. "When Bobby's healthy, he's dynamic. So it's going to make a big difference for us as we move into September, and we've got a lot of options and a lot of mixing and matching we can do with some quality relievers."

(Chris Soto: I'm not sure if I would go as far as saying it's no longer a concern....but Addison Reed certainly makes me feel a little better about the 7th inning. Reed struggled mightily in the month of June and ended up losing his closer's job to Brad Ziegler, but it wasn't that long again when he was considered one of the top young emerging closers in baseball. The stuff is certainly still there, in fact it seems almost seems normal since throughout his entire career he has always struggled in June. Hopefully the Mets have found lightning in a bottle here.)

David Schoenfield | ESPN Sweetspot- There's a time to recognize that baseball is a long, six-month grind and as a manager you have to be aware not to burn out your bullpen. Then there's a time to play with a little more urgency. That time is now for the Washington Nationals. When Ryan Zimmerman hit a three-run home run off St. Louis Cardinals reliever Kevin Siegrist in the top of the seventh to give the Nationals a 5-3 lead, the Mets had already won to momentarily increase their lead. This is the kind of game the Nationals had to win, just to keep pace. Piscotty singled. Peralta singled. Score tied. Both batters had two strikes on them but Janssen couldn't put them away. Williams watched his bullpen implode because he didn't want his eighth-inning guy to get four outs. It's bad baseball. It's bad managing. And yes, it was bad relief pitching. 

(Chris Soto: Boy are the Nationals in trouble! The magic number continues to dwindle, the bullpen is fading, the dream rotation isn't getting it done, and the media continues to turn on them. Bryce Harper isn't worried though... Well, he certainly should be! The Nats are now 6.5 Games Behind the Mets and with the Cubs and Pirates running away with the wild cards spots, they need to wake up and start playing better or else they'll be left out of the playoffs completely.)