6/11/22

Tom Brennan - normalcy returns - and that's GOOD!


Drew Smith was one of the relievers who aided a return to normalcy.

Filling in for the incomparable Reese Kaplan this Saturday AM.

Win or lose tonight, normalcy returned. Tylor Megill is back pitching for the Mets, and that is a sign that the cavalry is coming and that this long rough slog with injuries to pictures is coming to an end.

Not a moment too soon, either. Atlanta and Philly both won again.

Megill only went 64 normalizing pitches as he stretches back out, but it was enough.  Peterson (3-0) got the win in relief, 4 other relievers pitched well, and the Mets had 13 hits (everyone had at least one) and 4 walks and won 7-3 over the reeling Angels. Iron Man Pete returned, played the whole game, and had a hit AND a steal (well, that's not so normal).

Normalcy returns. Me? I like normalcy.

In the minors, as compared to the Mets, there are greater levels of surprise and variability in player performance, which is one of the reasons I love to follow the minors. 

Out of nowhere, a Wyatt Young and a Junior Tilien show up to delight and surprise. 

You wonder stuff like which aspect of Carlos Dominguez’s game will win out, the profusion of homers or the too-steady stream of strikeouts. You fondly hope for the former to triumph since after Carlos Beltran and Delgado, we need a fierce Carlos again.

And speaking of strikeouts, wondering when guys strike out too much, it makes me wonder why they don’t completely scrap their approach and try something decidedly different to cut down the Ks and survive. Guys like Brodey and Winaker who puzzlingly are hitting a collective .130 in AA in the middle of June with 56 Ks in 138 AA at bats.   Quinny has 147 Ks in 372 ABs in 2021 and 2022 and a .165 average.  Adjustments are necessary.

Jaylen Palmer had a HR and single Saturday night, but he and Swish Newton combined for 5 more Ks in 8 ABs and 110 combined Ks in 221 official Brooklyn ABs.  And a combined .172.  Adjustments are necessary.  

Makes me want to apologize to Ivan Wilson (.209) for being too hard on him for his strikeouts as a former Mets farmhand.

And you'll pitchers like Mike Vasil demonstrating competence and, likely, some mound brilliance. Calvin Ziegler, too.

Relievers like Daniel Juarez and Eric Orze fanning the universe.

So, anyway, it’s all baseball. And it’s all good.  

9 comments:

SteveM said...

What is better than having your grandson stopping by on a Friday evening? How about, him with his buddies stopping by. A few of their thoughts.
It is the month of June. The Mets are leading the division. Has Atlanta lost this month? Has Philly lost since the manager got fired? "Grandpa, lets see where things stand at the All Star game."
As you mentioned today, they mentioned last night. Strike outs. The strike out rates for the Mets big five prospects are on the higher side. What will it be like once they move up to the majors? "Grandpa, you cannot score runs if the ball is in the other team's glove."
What will the 2024 lineup look like? Will all five of the big five prospects be there? Along with Alonso. Marte,Nimmo, and Lindor? They argued that only two will be future Mets
Boy they like to give me a hard time (and I love it)

Tom Brennan said...

SteveM, smart grandson. Strikeouts are a hitter’s worst enemy. And he might be right about 2. If you cannot help, rather than hinder, a playoff-expectant team, you must go elsewhere.

Gary Seagren said...

Gotta believe we see Alvarez sometime after the All-Star break as that bat's too good but a brutal night down on the farm and again they have to do something about those K's. We all figured the June West coast trip would be a good test and it has been but surviving both Alonso and Marte's injuries w/o IL stint's is hugh and Megill's return help's as well. Look the Phils and Braves seem to have won every game this month and we're still 6.5 games up and coming home so I'll take it because in past years West coast trips have crushed us many times. Now we get Jake and Max back in that dugout and we should be good to go so LGM's!

Anonymous said...

Brodey and Winnaker have degrees from Stanford, I think they should put them to use

Tom Brennan said...

Gary…normal in the 2022 sense.

Tom Brennan said...

Degrees in advanced aerodynamics

TexasGusCC said...

My star of the night in the minor league system was Mike Vasil. Through six innings, eight K’s, 1 BB, 1 R. Then to start the seventh inning, two guys got on and they took him out. Both inherited runners scored. Otherwise, the organization was swept, as was Syracuse in a double header. Sad.

Tom Brennan said...

Wins are few in the minors

Anonymous said...

I just read an article stating that he Mets will explore adding late-inning relievers such as David Robertson, Andrew Chafin and Trevor Rosenthal to the roster.

Robertson at 37-year-old has been one of the few bright spots on a rebuilding Chicago Cubs team. Robertson, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with Chicago in the offseason, has posted a stellar 1.66 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 30 strikeouts and seven saves across 19 appearances.

I think the one thing that would really cement him on the Mets roster is more come. Robertson stated that there can never be enough come and if necessary another man should be brought in to create more come so the experience is better for everyone involved. That being said I think the amount of K's we have seen from him definitely deserve lots and lots of come. Can the rest of the Mets produce enough come to make Robertson happy? We might have to bring in some of the young guys from AAA to produce some huge loads to really make everyone happy. This is just my opinion.

Eddie