Monday night's game was something out of the pre-season script book for the New York Mets. They went up against a perennial contender with ace starting pitcher Max Scherzer on the mound. In true multi Cy Young Award fashion, Scherzer held then almost scoreless for eight innings, only allowing a single run to cross the plate.
On the offensive side of the ledger, the $341 million man, Francisco Lindor, started to play like 2022 all over again. By game's end he had driven in 5 runs to reach the 50 RBI plateau less than halfway through the season. He was joined by big DH Daniel Vogelbach who contributed a dinger and two run single of his own as well as multi hit games from others throughout the lineup.
Could it be that the Mets can both pitch and hit their way into contention? Or was it a single game exception from the struggles they have received on both sides of the game since the year began? Either way, hey, we Mets fans will take it and for once in quite awhile actually feel good about their team.
Of course, having recently penned the Monday morning column that now is the time to sell and work towards the future, I stand by that assessment. In my mind, all Max Scherzer just did was to increase his trade value. Ditto Daniel Vogelbach.
However, for a moment, let's try to ascertain what needs to go right to get the Mets back into contention. If you're not a fan of sweat, grunting and a lot of heavy lifting then this rumination is not going to set well with you.
Veteran starting pitcher Jose Quintana is not that far away from his rookie debut in a Mets uniform. When he arrives, it forces Tylor Megill out of the fifth spot in the rotation and likely back in an Uber to Syracuse. That's not necessarily a bad thing as Megill, Peterson, Luchessi and Butto were thought of as support when needed for the main starting rotation and not regular pieces of it.
The fact that Quintana is a southpaw gives the Mets a different look form the passel of righties they've trotted out there since David Peterson took a well earned express ride north from Queens.
In the bullpen there isn't a whole lot of in-house work that can be done, but given the poor work turned in by a number of relievers, there's really nowhere for them to go but up.
If David Robertson pitches like David Robertson, if Adam Ottavino recalls what worked so well last season, if Drew Smith can keep phantom sticky stuff off his normally very reliable fingers, if Brooks Raley keeps making Billy Eppler look good for having signed him, if many of the lesser known options can keep pitching the way Grant Hartwig did on Monday, well, hell, maybe the starting pitchers will be buying them quite a few filet mignons after the upcoming games to congratulate them for jobs well done.
Hitting
Everyone well knows how capable both Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor are when it comes to producing long balls and RBIs. Both are on paces for well over 30 HRs and well over 100 RBIs despite plebian batting averages. Imagine how much higher those numbers would be if the batting averages increased well north of .250 for both of them.
Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo are not north of .300 where each were earlier in the 2023 season, but they are not quite at the plateau where both are capable of residing. Getting on base more regularly with more hits will only help in the run production of the batters that follow whereas sometimes getting baserunners to cross home plate has been quite a struggle.
Oddly, the real keys to contention are squarely in the hands of veteran Starling Marte who last season showed what a force he could be with his bat, his legs and his glove. Slowly he's starting to turn on the bat and glove while he is on the pace to perhaps exceed 40 steals for the season. Think a minute what it would be like if the 2022 Starling Marte pre season-ending injury was a regular part of the lineup today!
Then there are the rookies, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty. Both have had numerous moments in the highlight reel, but as of right now it's far more often for the catcher than for the 3rd baseman. Once Baty starts heating up and as Alvarez continues learning major league pitching against him, look out. All of the sudden the lineup is left without any Mendoza line wannabes and the wins will start piling up.
It's a lot of what ifs and maybes that stand in the team's road to contention. Having punted away 2.5 months of the season it is possible for the club to become respectable but it is highly unlikely.
If they do start winning regularly then the trade deadline pitch will be to find the next Darin Ruf or the next Tyler Naquin instead of finding difference makers for 2024 and beyond. That would be mighty short sighted and demonstrating a strong loss of rationality for what's right for the team's long term future.
5 comments:
As I said, they are far from alright.
No, you were right the first time, the Mets are all wrong.
Breaking up is hard to do, but BREAK UP THE METS. THE ALWAYS DISAPPOINTING METS.
Next 3 series hot Phils Brew crew and hot Giants will probably end any hope of contending but doesn't mean of course stupid deadline deals to give the fan base false hope. Stevie wants a team built to last so please hold on to the kids and trade the vets. Do Eppy and Buck make it if we don't make the WC? Should they?
Gary,
No on Eppy.
Eppy's future is tied to two things. First, his affiliation with Shohei Ohtani is something the club likely wants to see. How strong is it? Can Ohtani help solve both hitting and pitching problems here for the league's first $500 million contract?
Second, the club has been courting the David Stearns types and Eppler is hanging on by the Ohtani thread. At year's end the Mets will likely explore other GM options and when they swing and miss on Ohtani then Eppler is likely sayonara.
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