Paul Articulates – Where do we go from here?

This year has been a tough one for Mets fans, and this week’s “thumbs down” debacle brought it all to a head.  It has been a long time since I have seen such frustration from Mets fans that I know.  We’re used to plenty of adversity, but it just seems that this year and this incident has created more angst and more “I’m done!” texts than ever before.  There were understandably big expectations for the team with the way new ownership went after some talent and upgraded the analytics capability.  Those expectations were not realized after a summer filled with injuries and an underperforming offense.  

The raw emotions have calmed down a bit now.  We saw apologies from Lindor and Baez (at least one of the two was sincere), a four game winning streak (though one is in the books for April 11^th), and another rainout which gives time to cool off the remaining boo-birds.  Here are my thoughts on what comes next and what should happen for the remaining 31 games this season.

First, expect a good run.  The next 10 games are against the Marlins and Nationals, two teams going nowhere.  Then they play three against the resurgent Yankees and three against the mediocre Cardinals.  Although there will be plenty of opportunities to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, I believe that the players will come out of their Sandy Alderson scolding with the motivation to either put up some numbers or list their house for sale in the offseason.  So an 11-5 streak will gain just enough ground on the Braves and Phillies to get our expectations back up.  Those expectations will be crushed like a grape when the opponents are the Brewers, Phillies, and Braves unless there are some fundamental changes in approach.  So if I was the Mets’ coaching staff, here’s what I would do:

1)     1) Set a less volatile lineup so the hitters know their role.  Lead with high OBP (Nimmo), follow with guys that make contact and can hit to all fields to move runners (McNeil, Lindor), then bring the power (Alonzo, Baez).  Don’t re-order every time someone gets a day off.

2)     2) Play more small ball.  There is some good speed in NY but it’s not being put to good use.  Lindor, Baez, and Villar want to run; Nimmo, Conforto, Pillar, and even the squirrel can run.  If you can’t produce hits with RISP, then challenge the other team to throw you out taking an extra base or scoring from first on a ball in the gap.  In the worst case you still end up at the bottom in runs/game but at least it will be the most exciting brand of baseball on the market.  Tell DiSarcina to “SEND ‘EM”!

3)     3) Ride the starters just a little longer.  There’s nothing more demoralizing than heading into the stretch with a chance and an exhausted bullpen.  Luis Rojas has been way too conservative, pulling starters in middle innings with pitch counts in the 70s and 80s which requires several bullpen arms each day.  Ask Taijuan Walker about it.

4)     4) Resist the urge to substitute for effect. Luis Rojas seems compelled to make late game substitutions to create the impression he is actively managing.  With a lefty on the mound, Rojas brought in a left-handed hitting catcher batting .203 to replace a left-handed hitting catcher batting .200.  Really?  The comment above also applies to a recent game in San Francisco – he pulled Walker after 74 pitches with 2 hits and no runs to create a left vs left matchup.  The result was a 2-run double on the first pitch, and the Mets burn two additional relievers in a 3-2 loss to the Giants.