IT IS EASY TO BE EXCESSIVELY CRITICAL OF METS PLAYERS

Image of many an irate Mets fan.

This article is focused on Mets fans being overly critical of, even irate regarding regularly playing, core Mets players.  

I am not talking about the marginal 25 man roster guys, whom I myself have been quite critical of due to poor performance - with that criticism from me mostly aimed at management for year after year not shoring up the marginal contingent so the team would get a better result when it got past its core players.

Let's look at several of the criticized regulars:

Many fans have been critical of Noah Syndergaard this year.  A glance at MLB pitching stats for qualifying pitchers shows that, despite clearly having an off season for him so far, his 4.06 ERA is nonetheless 41st best of all qualifiers in baseball, not to mention his10-7 record.  May he finish 2019 with a flourish.

Zack Wheeler, same deal - he is 48th in ERA at 4.21, and 11-7.  

We might have wanted more, but those rankings put the two pitchers in perspective.

Steve Matz must be just short of the innings to be ranked, but in just under 140 innings, he is 9-8, 4.00.  The 4.00 ERA would have him ranked 36th overall.

How many of the runs in their ERAs are due to sub par defense or bad bullpen support is hard to decipher.

Jake deGrom, of course, does not get much criticism, but does hear it for being 2 games over .500 over 2 seasons from some fans (myself included).  

I recently ranked Jake below all-time great and Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in my perception of Seaver's ability to win more despite odds steepened by (in Seaver's case) poor offensive support.    

Nonetheless, Jake (with the same 9-8 record as Matz) is 5th in ERA (2.70), 4th in Ks (215) and 6th in WHIP (1.03).  

He is certainly a top 5 pitcher in today's game, my earlier comparison to Seaver (again, an all-time great) notwithstanding.  A sprint to the finish line in the NL by Jake, aided by Monday's gem against the D Backs, could in fact secure him a second straight Cy Young Award, as baseball's starters excelling the most all reside in the AL.

Edwin Diaz has surely had a bad season, but last season, he had a reliever's season for the ages.  And one fantasy league, that ranked top relievers into 5 Tiers coming into the season, had Diaz, Trainen, and Hader as their 3 Tier 1 guys.  

Fans forget that, and many want to crucify him for his blown saves and losses, and summarily dump him.  I want to keep him, in hopes in 2020 he'll be back as a Tier 1 guy...heck, I'd take Tier 3 or 4 from him. (BTW, Hader has had a strong 2019, but Trainen has been so-so).

Some fans complain about JD Davis' fielding, when the outfield is new to him, and even his IF fielding is knocked.  

His .303/.368/.508, though, has helped the Mets be tied (through Monday) for 8th in hitting (.259) and 15th in runs (693, 4.85 RPG), a huge leap over 2018, when the Mets hit a MLB worst .234 and were 23rd ranked in runs at the same 693 runs scored , but in 19 more games than it has taken so far in 2019.

Robby Cano was vilified, partly because of articles saying how bad the trade to get him was.  He, however, did not make the trade, and his issues were thought to be age-related, but were more injured-hand-related.  Since June 28, in 35 games, he has hit .325 with 8 homers.  Who's complaining now?  Probably a few Joe Panik fans.  Not me.

Personally, I think fans need to lighten up on all these key players, some more than others.  It is tough enough to play in NY.  I've heard a number of times how different it is for struggling players playing in St Louis.   I'd imagine fans being supportive during a player's time of struggles can only help and not hurt.

After all...the Mets are just 3 out with 18 to play, the Cubs show they are not juggernauts, Yelich is done for the season, severely damaging one Wild Card opponent's chances...this wild card can still be won.

P.S. A shout out of comfort and support to all those who have had family members dead or sickened due to the horrific events of 9/11/2001.  May we never forget.  

I won't - I left my office just 2 short blocks from the WTC Towers when I heard a radio report a few minutes after the second strike that said there was a 10 to 20 story hole in a tower, and headed with some co-workers to the Brooklyn Bridge.  One guy had been in the City in 1993 at the time of the first bombing, and said the subways would be quickly shut down.  So we planned to walk out of Manhattan over the bridge instead, which we got onto a minute or so before it was locked down.

I was with them at the top of the bridge span when we heard a loud crack, turned around, and saw the first tower collapse. Unforgettable.  Never again.