SAVAGE VIEWS – REALITY BITES

 

April 27, 2023

Here we are a month into the season and things are not looking good.  Pre-season, I suggested that the Mets are not a play-off caliber team.   Little has happened to change my mind.  We had a relatively easy schedule in April and yet are only 14-11.   The one really good team we faced, the Brewers, whipped our butts.  As I write this, we are currently on a four-game losing streak having been beat convincingly by two non-contending teams with AAAA rosters.

No one could have predicted that our starting rotation would be in shambles.  Unfortunately, neither Peterson nor MeGill have shown the ability to step up.  In their recent outings they look more like BP pitchers than legitimate major leaguers.  Lucchesi looked sharp in his debut but it’s too early to tell if he’s going to work out long term.  Senga has been mostly a disappointment.  He seems to have an aversion to the strike zone.    Even when we get Verlander and Scherzer back our rotation does not seem to be strong enough to overcome the deficiencies of this team.

We continue to perform poorly against left-handed pitching.  This is a continuing problem that has not been adequately addressed over the past several years.  It’s common knowledge that any lefty is going to give us a hard time.  Our roster is riddled with underperformers such as Pham, Nido, Escobar and Canha.  

There seems to be this love affair with Volgelbach that I don’t understand.  Ok, he has an OBP over .400 but generally is not a feared bat in the lineup. He’s a liability in the five or seven holes. We will be a better team when we move on from this group of five.

I really am surprised by Nido’s lack of production.  I thought he was a better player than he has shown thus far.  It’s time to accept the fact that we are a team in transition and younger players such as Baty, Alvarez and eventually Vientos and Mauricio need to be slotted into the lineup, sooner rather than later.   Let’s stop the platoon and make Baty and Alvarez our regulars.  

Look what the Yankees are doing with the 21-year-old Volpe.  We need to recognize that true talent will eventually manifest itself.  We are a team on the path to mediocrity.  Unless things are turned around quickly not only will we not make the playoffs but will have trouble winning more than 81 games.

Buck Showalter is well regarded as a manager, but it’s hard to envision him being retained if we do miss the playoffs.  In his defense, he can only play the cards he is dealt and this roster has major flaws.  The bullpen is a mess and losing Diaz certainly complicated matters.  Even with a healthy Diaz, the bullpen would not have been a strength.  While Robertson and Ottavino are solid, there is little else in the pen.  In this era of starters having trouble lasting six innings, a strong pen is a necessity.  I admire the Yankees who always seem to find diamonds in the rough.

I wonder whether Billy Eppler is the right choice as GM.  Seems a lot of money has been spent on a team of underachievers.  This may go down as the worst team money can buy.

Ray