Adam Rubin | ESPN New York- The Kansas City Royals produced four runs in the fifth inning against ace Jacob deGrom and beat the Mets 7-1 on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium. That dropped the Amazin’s into an 0-2 series hole. Said deGrom: “I felt like my stuff was good. I just wasn’t locating very well. I wasn’t really surprised by it because we kind of knew that going in. Early on, my pitch count was staying pretty low because I knew they were going to be attacking early.”
(Chris Soto: This is the same story we have been telling almost all month on deGrom. His fastball command has just flat out disappeared during the playoffs. In my opinion.....he's just flat out gassed out for the season as his workload is now 40 IP over his previous career high. More concerning than that is the fact that his shoulder and release point is dropping quickly as the postseason continues on. During the season, deGrom's vertical release point was in the 5.83 ft range....during the playoffs though....that release point has been on a steady decline down to 5.61 ft last night. It may not sound like a major difference, but, an unrecognized change in release point can put strain on a shoulder and open a guy up for injury.)
(Chris Soto: This is the same story we have been telling almost all month on deGrom. His fastball command has just flat out disappeared during the playoffs. In my opinion.....he's just flat out gassed out for the season as his workload is now 40 IP over his previous career high. More concerning than that is the fact that his shoulder and release point is dropping quickly as the postseason continues on. During the season, deGrom's vertical release point was in the 5.83 ft range....during the playoffs though....that release point has been on a steady decline down to 5.61 ft last night. It may not sound like a major difference, but, an unrecognized change in release point can put strain on a shoulder and open a guy up for injury.)
John Harper | NY Daily News- As relentless as advertised, the Royals have negated the Mets’ most lethal weapon, one that has carried them through the postseason. That is, they don’t strike out. They rarely even swing and miss. And for a team that is built around power arms accustomed to blowing hitters away at will, there is bound to be something of a psychological impact at some point for the entire ballclub when they can’t do it. Terry Collins admitted the obvious: “We win because we ride our starting pitching," he said. “When they struggle we’re going to struggle, and that’s what’s happened."
(Chris Soto: This was my MAJOR concern heading into this series. Unlike the Cubs, the Royals just flat out....dont strike out. A huge strength of the Mets just completely mitigated by a team philosophy on 100% attack attack attack. That said though, as good as the Royals are at hitting 95+ mph fastballs, in my opinion....the Mets are deviating too far away from what makes these young arms so good. 43.6 % non-fastballs from deGrom last night, 62.5% non fastballs from Harvey in Game 1....this is not how we got here. These are power arms! Not finesse pitchers. Rather than trying to work around the Royals strength....its time to man the hell up and put your strength up against there's.)
(Chris Soto: This was my MAJOR concern heading into this series. Unlike the Cubs, the Royals just flat out....dont strike out. A huge strength of the Mets just completely mitigated by a team philosophy on 100% attack attack attack. That said though, as good as the Royals are at hitting 95+ mph fastballs, in my opinion....the Mets are deviating too far away from what makes these young arms so good. 43.6 % non-fastballs from deGrom last night, 62.5% non fastballs from Harvey in Game 1....this is not how we got here. These are power arms! Not finesse pitchers. Rather than trying to work around the Royals strength....its time to man the hell up and put your strength up against there's.)
Kevin Kernan | New York Post- Thor is ready, make no mistake about that. The Mets are down 0-2 in the World Series after Wednesday night’s 7-1 wipeout at the hands of the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. “I’m really excited about Friday’s start,’’ he told The Post in the quiet of the Mets clubhouse. Then his next comment said all you needed to know about his approach: “It’s just another game.’’ “He’s throwing the ball as well as anybody in the playoffs,’’ said Wright, who slogged through an 0-for-4 night. “I think when you have that type of stuff and the command he has shown especially in the playoffs, you should have a lot of confidence. “Just look at him, he’s ready to roll.’’
(Chris Soto: Of the 3 big arms the Mets have....Syndergaard has the most power behind his arm. The Mets need Thor to step up big time tomorrow as no team has ever come back from down 0-3 in a World Series. I'm going to be looking for Syndergaard to go up their and just rear back and blow 100 mph fastballs past these Royals hitters. Still mix it up of course....but stick with what has made you a stud so far this season.)
(Chris Soto: Of the 3 big arms the Mets have....Syndergaard has the most power behind his arm. The Mets need Thor to step up big time tomorrow as no team has ever come back from down 0-3 in a World Series. I'm going to be looking for Syndergaard to go up their and just rear back and blow 100 mph fastballs past these Royals hitters. Still mix it up of course....but stick with what has made you a stud so far this season.)
The Royals are as advertised. And they're taking full advantage of every Mets pitching and defensive mistakes. And since they know that Grandy and Lagares can't throw they're using their speed accordingly.
ReplyDeleteAll Mets can do is regroup and win at home. I have confidence in Syndergaard.
DeGrom is pooped. But if the Mets don't win at least one of the next 3, he'll have the whole winter to rest.
ReplyDeleteDavid Wright's slip is showing. He is signed for 5 more years.
Nice catch at the wall by Cespedes.
Duda made a very bad play in the 4th, as he should have left it for Murphy. On a night where deGrom needed real economy of pitches, that was the start of Jake's eventual failure.
Wright may just be gased and is never going to fill the tank again. The basic pitch plan does not work. Everything is put into play and the defense is not that great and outfield arms are bad. Cespedes needs a big game to light a fire
ReplyDeleteMorning -
ReplyDeleteI have a post coming up that will outline my thoughts on Game 2.
The Mets slip is showing and there finest dress is their 'Big Three'.
Lest you think this is another pointless "Bash Collins" post, allow me to outline some facts about the game:
ReplyDeleteWhen deGrom was obviously losing it, Collins stood there and did absolutely nothing as hit after hit after hit rained down upon them. Some speculated that he was using deGrom because the bullpen was depleted despite having both Gilmartin (a multiple-innings reliever with a 2.67 ERA for the season) and Robles fresh out there. My choice would have been Gilmartin, a soft tossing lefty giving them a different "look" than what had not been working.
So then the next inning starts and I’m trying to follow the man’s logic – making deGrom take one for the team in order to preserve the bullpen – and no, he goes to Robles, another right handed power pitcher. He escaped unscathed but there were some balls driven to the fence.
Then he decides the best course of action is to use Jon Niese who’d given him multiple innings the day before in a role as a reliever he’s never before done in his entire career. When that didn't work he went to Reed. Finally in the 9th inning out of desperation he turns to Gilmartin already down by 6 runs and he gets two easy outs to end the inning.
It’s this type of managing that made me call for his head since year one.
Of course, the way Cueto was pitching it didn’t really matter. However, you’d think at some point when you’ve only got 2 hits you might try to encourage people to take walks, bunt the ball or DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
Ridiculous again, Reese.
ReplyDeleteTwo hits. Two. Both of them weak, like whispers, to the opposite field off Duda's bat.
And your focus is on Collins.
Look at the players -- on both sides.
This was a team-wide failure.
James Preller
Apparently you skipped the last paragraph, James. I said that Cueto was dominant and the hitters did nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't change the fact that unless he has Cespedes or Murphy making him look like a genius, the emperor has no clothes.
Reese, I think it's fair to say you're a bit obsessed. Perhaps Terry has made some less-than-perfect decisions in the WS so far, but that is not the reason the Mets are down 2-0. It's not even in the top 5 reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets players have to start hitting, fielding and pitching better. It's not on Collins.
Hopefully Noah can get us back on track tomorrow.
Alex
As to those 2 hits off Cueto, I wonder how he'd have made out pitching to the Royals' hitters. He was good, for sure, but my guess is 3 runs and 8 hits - he was not the pre-Mets Pedro by a long shot.
ReplyDeleteSo these guys need to wake up with the bats. Quickly.
Ambush them like Fox kept on repeating about the Royald doing to the Mets
ReplyDeleteI have a few 2 cent opinions to share before I run around with family for the day............
ReplyDeleteMets pitchers find themselves facing a lineup of 9 Justin Turners/daniel Murphys and they need to adjust somehow.
Their hitting philosophy of taking pitches and building pitch counts is utterly useless in the playoffs, especially against a top bullpen anyway so STOP TAKING MEATBALLS DOWN MIDDLE OF PLATE. I noticed Mets worked a bunch of 3-2 counts off Cueto. How'd that work out?
Regardless of all this the Mets are one poorly placed Familia pitch away from a 1-1 series and happy Mets fans...........
Oh and speaking
Of Familia, maybe he should stop with quick pitch. Its not working for him and his command/accuracy/success against the Royals perhaps Because tthey're an attacking offense by nature so faster pace doesn't matter to them.
Hitters need to show up, and show up early, or this will be a very short series.
ReplyDelete