Mark Vientos has been one of the scuffling, sputtering strugglers
I have been rough on this site recently on Jake deGrom. Mea culpa.
Truth is, and I am most times objective and most times have no trouble admitting it, a big part of his career problem has been beyond his control…a lack of Mets scoring.
Simply, in games the Mets score 3 or more for him, he is 74-17 (still with a too-high 53 no-decisions, due mostly to limp early bats and bad pen work).
In 66 starts where the Mets scored 2 or less, he is just 8-40, despite an ERA of 2.91.
66 starts where the Mutts scored 2 or fewer? That is nearly a third of his career starts!
On the other side, a Hall of Fame pitcher who ALWAYS pitched for strong hitting teams, Mike Mussina, was in “2 or fewer” 25% of the time, and won 25 of those (twice the rate of Jake), despite a higher ERA in those games, which tells me that Jake had far fewer 2 runs in a game support than Mussina (easier to win if given 2 runs to work with, rather than one or none, clearly).
If Jake pitched for the Big Red Machine, he’d have been inducted into the Hall of Fame BEFORE he retired, he’d have won so many games.
If I was Jake, I’d want to go somewhere with a team (like Atlanta) that scores more. So I could win more. I’d want to know what it is like to win 20 games. But I digress. Moving on...
There is a term called The Thin Blue Line. Wikipedia defines it thusly:
The "thin blue line" is a term that typically refers to the concept of the police as the line which keeps society from descending into violent chaos.
With the Mets this year (and frankly in many, many prior seasons too), they are sabotaged by the Thin BAT Line.
Meaning this: the Mets’ offense has been pretty strong in 2022 almost entirely due to the wondrous offensive exploits of Alonso, Lindor, Marte, McNeil, Canha, and Nimmo. And, lately, Escobar.
Then Marte got hurt. The red hot Marte got hurt. The team went from red to blue, just like that.
And that was enough to cross the Mets over to the bad side of the Thin Bat Line.
I’ve long said, good hitting is contagious, and bad hitting is, too.
Bad hitting is an anchor. “Your Anchor Banker, he understands.”
Over the last 30 days, going into Sunday’s game, Canha, Naquin, Guillorme, Ruf, Vientos, McCann, Gore, Alvarez, and Marrero went a combined 51 for 277 (.184), with a mere 3 HRs and 17 RBIs.
That’s thin offense indeed, making many fans blue. McNeil has hit .381 since late July, but it has not been enough to offset an offensive blackout in 6 thru 9 in the batting order.
The less used of those scuffling players…Ruf, Vientos, Alvarez, Gore and Marrero…were a mysteriously bad 7 for 70 with 3 RBIs thru Sunday.
How do you fend off the Braves with that?
How does Jake beat the Braves WITH THAT?
Crossing the Thin Blue Line can make Mets fans blue, too.
Hitters need to hit - after all, that's what they are handsomely paid to do.
8 comments:
Spot on as usual Tom. I'm not sure what makes me madder not calling up Alverez sooner or the time wasted on McCan't. Look I still haven't gotten over TC's insistence on playing verterans over rookies and younger players but I'll give him a pass because I know it came from higher up during the Wilpon error but if I heard it once about Alvy I heard it a thousand times: he needs to work on his defense. YO WE NEED OFFENSE BADLY and anything is better than the non production from the DH position so why they didn't try him earlier and instead made one of the worst deals I can remember and stayed with it way too long. We all know the loss of Marte was what cost us the division title but playing McCan't at all had to cost us some games and last night, as well as all season, his AB's were embarrassing and with Nido showing great improvement at the plate there's no reason he should even make the playoff roster anyone else would be an improvement.
Gary, it bugs me to see a smiling McCann on the Mets website as a candidate for the Roberto Clemente award. Humanitarian endeavors are excellent but if a guy is hitting half of what Clemente did, he should not be considered.
Alvarez is dangerous, he can catch, he can throw, he can DH. That's all I need to know. McCann is 32 and 32 for a catcher can often be the end of the line. Not always, of course, but you need to evaluate your veterans. He had not hit well, I believe, since July 2021. He has devolved into Anthony Recker. I'd keep him around for the spring, to see if there is a renaissance, but if not, buh bye.
Last note, and probably little-known: McCann had 41 AA plate appearances in his rehab assignments - and fanned 17 times. WOW. Flashing red light there.
I agree that Alvarez would have been better served with a call-up earlier than the Atlanta series. Granted he was recovering from injury, but he did get thrown to the lions. On Sunday night, he fouled off a "just missed it" pitch and a smile came across his face - like he was saying to himself, "I got this." A few days later he hits one 439 feet into the Citi Field stands and he is on his way.
Unfortunately, there was another miscalculation. Alvarez was not on the Mets' 40-man roster on August 31st making him ineligible for the post season unless the commissioner's office grants permission for an injury replacement. He can't help the dismal DH situation the way I understand the MLB rules.
On Starling Marte. Electrical stimulation therapy for such finger fracture healing. Look it up online. Until then, more punch with Daniel Palka. 26 homeruns for 2022 with Syracuse. .263 BA. Has the look. The problem right now, is that these Mets have sort of acquired duplicate type outfielders for left field, and that without Starling Marte they may need one more power bat for left. Not certain on this type roster move though for the playoffs.
Big time KUDOS out to this 2022 NYM team, from top to bottom. Everyone. It is truly the "getting back up" that is so crucial, and "teamwork" is this team's true strength.
They took a hard sweeping from Atlanta. True. But sometimes things happen for a very good reason. It really did serve to energize these NYM back up whole again, and as a great team in which it is. Makes all us fans so proud to see.
The Atlanta Braves struggled the first game with the lowly Marlins (Monday) and lost it. It was ugly. Looked almost Bad News Bears-ish. Atlanta was just flat as pancakes after their big series with the Mets. And then in last nights game, they struggled once more, finally winning it by shutting down Miami with bases loaded in the ninth. My point here to remember is that the Braves are a really good YOUNG team, one which can be at times inconsistent and beaten just as this NY Mets team had done prior in this season. They are in no way automatic.
My only possible slight concern right now with these NY Mets, is with their top three starting pitchers. I would suggest rest for all three the remainder of this season. There is no reason, that I can think of, to pitch them really. All three have looked somewhat overworked as of late. If they need to pitch bullpen sessions, then fine. But rest makes a lot more sense right now.
Mets could use pitchers like Drew Smith, who has pitched very well and sharp as of late, and still (to my eyes) is all upside with his arsenal from here. After him, perhaps start two from the David Peterson, Steven Nogosek, and Tylor Megill list. And get relievers like Lugo and May some serious innings as well. In other words, fine tuning.
Captain Nimmo and "The Battling Francisco Bros." How great was that!
Let's Go Mets! Bring it home!
I am hoping that Mets batting Coach Eric Chavez works a little harder with James McCann and gets him back whole offensively. I simply don't get it with him. He has what it takes to bat .275 15-20 HR's a season. McCann has had some hitting success with CHW and is a career .242 BA over nine seasons, and is unarguably an excellent backstop with all the skillset. Maybe he is banged up a bit this season? Not sure. We'll see.
The potential problem with bringing in a brand new catcher, like the Mets Francisco Alvarez who is excellent, is that the pitchers already know the game McCann calls and Francisco is new. This does not mean that Alvarez cannot be just as good and solid quickly. But rather that he is brand new here, and it often takes time to gel with all the pitchers.
With Tomas Nido firing on all cylinders at present, I might roster chance carrying all three catchers into the playoffs. Since Alvarez can obviously bomb the ball out, he would serve well especially in later innings of tight playoff games.
I'd suggest having Francisco Alvarez catch a decent amount of innings left in the season, to sort of cement and ready him in for the playoffs. The more he catches now, the more adjusted and normal this will all become for the Mets pitchers. And it should not take a very long time to do, I don't think.
The last three games for the Mets, I'd go with a lot of substitutes for purpose of tuning up players to get ready. The win/loss thing is of little consequence now.
It's all about the 2022 Playoffs.
We don't have 3 games; we have ONE (today) if it doesn't rain.
And while I like Alvarez and love his apparent future, let's not forget that he was hitting under .180 in AAA until his bat heated up in September. Should we have called him up September 1st, instead of Dom, who was hitting close to .300?
Only in hindsight.
Good point.
Alvarez could be Piazza II for us. Add him.
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