Tom Brennan - Baseball is a Series of Course Adjustments and Tweaks

Joe Pepitone is not available, so what other tweaks can the Mets make?  

I've got an idea...

I am writing this Tuesday AM for a Thursday AM article, as I may be out of pocket for a few days.  I know a lot can change in two days.

The Mets' roster is tweaked almost daily, and with the roster expansion to 28 on nearby Sept. 1, more tweaks lie ahead. 

Brett Baty gave us a “WHAT THE…” moment in his first MLB at bat, A HR IN ATLANTA AGAINST THE RED-HOT ATLANTA BRATS.

But he is 2 for 23 since.

Eduardo Escobar? .254, with a .508 slug % as  a righty hitter (fine) vs lefties. Just a paltry .199 against righties (for which he should be fined).

Can a roster tweak be made there? I say TWEAK LOGIC is needed, as follows:

1) Where would a team be benefited by a tweak?  Ans. When a tweak could improve the team.

2) When should a tweak be made? Ans. When it would benefit the team.

So…Escobar is a 3rd baseman who hits lefties well, but not righties.

So...of course, Baty normally hits righties very well, but he's never faced MLB pitching before. He barely faced AAA pitching before.  So, he struggles.

Me?  I'd consider another tweak.  Send Baty down, give Mark Vientos a shot.

Yep, like Escobar, he hits lefties better.  Not great, in terms of tweak logic, there.

But, through Sunday, he hit .404 in 12 August AAA games. .404 is FUEGO.  

"Tweak Logic" people can't look at his season stats to get a true picture.  Why?  

Because in April, in the barely thawing tundra of Syracuse, he hit a frozen .164 with 1 HR and 8 RBIs.  Looking at full season stats, then, is misleading, if you are interested in how good a AAA hitter he is over an extended period of time.

Since May 1, which still constitutes an extended period of time. he has crushed at .331 with 21 HRs and 58 RBIs in 68 games.  Not shabby. 

And all against AAA.  Baty's gaudy stats were almost all against weaker AA pitching.  AA and AAA pitchers are different. Ask Franke Alvarez...AAA is tougher.

My roster "tweak" (as I write this) would be to give Vientos a shot for a week in Baty's place.  He might hit, he might not. Then decide if either player is on the roster come Sept. 1.

Another reason I'd like to see Vientos called up now is, oblique injuries are tricky suckers.  What if Escobar goes down again with a relapse?  Then you've got Baty in the frying pan again.  If Vientos is hotter, he could have already had his toes dipped in major league waters, and get past the adjustment phase a bit.

I see that the Mets called up righty Connor Grey after calling up, and DFAing, the Banker.  The Mets, including Connor Grey (a not-so-fine 5-5, 5.52, 1.61 WHIP), have used 31 guys to pitch in 2022.  That's a lot of pitcher tweaks. 

Hey, if your mother-in-law wants to pitch in a game, have her give Billy Eppler a call.  He'll give her an inning, without a doubt.

I'm a screwball, so that alone should be enough to get me an inning at Citifield.

Anyway, I suggest one more tweak (if it hasn't happened already) - call up:

MARK VIENTOS, WHO EATS TWEAKS FOR BREAKFAST!

After all, my chief scout, Ralph Kramden, says Vientos hits 'em "to da moon!"

METS MINORS MISHEGOSH

MIGHTY MARK VIENTOS HAD 2 HITS AND AN RBI WEDNESDAY NIGHT. 

 - What part of "he's red hot" do you not understand?

Dom Smith 2 for 4.  Daniel Palka hits HR # 24.

Ronny Mauricio has plateaued at a very high error rate at SS:

2019, 106 games at SS, 23 errors.

2021, 95 games at SS, 22 errors.

2022, 93 games at SS, 24 errors.

Francisco Lindor? 122 games at SS, just 9 errors.

It seems clear - Ronny Mauricio is not a true SS when compared to a true SS.

Jake Mangum recently began rehab games, and in his last 4 games has 7 hits and 2 walks.

BROOKLYN:

Jose Peroza is scalding in August. .391 with a .500 on base % in 20 games.  Excellent fielding in 2022, also.  Promote him!

Stanley Consuegra and Sherveyn Newton both went 2 for 4 with a HR and 2 RBIs in Brooklyn's 5-4 win. 

Daison Acosta was 0-6.  Now, he's 5-6 after his win tonight.