It had appeared that the Mets were righting the listing ship when they started winning some games and approaching a season do-over when they hit the .500 mark. Some folks like Pete Alonso, Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez were hitting. The ones that weren’t had good enough track records to assume their early weeks slumps were merely temporary.
Then came the Kansas City Royals loss on Saturday which suggested that without precise and dominant pitching, the offense isn’t quite capable enough to push enough runs over the plate when the hurlers are giving up 11 runs. Pitching like hitting goes through hot and cold streaks. Unfortunately, there are other issues the club needs to address in order to walk the tightrope towards the upper half of the division standings.
One truly ugly thing to watch thus far in 2024 is the way the club plays defense. I’m not talking about highlight reel plays that you want to watch again and again. I’m referencing the judgment errors that lead to physical ones like Starling Marte on Saturday. If you drop a ball for a three-base error you have to wonder about the thinking process, the preparatory effort and how you make back what you just gave up.
Unfortunately, he’s not alone experiencing defensive doldrums. Opposing teams are as of this writing a perfect 24-24 in stolen bases against mostly Francisco Alvarez who has a terrific arm but isn’t yet poised on how to position himself behind the plate so he’s not giving away precious seconds going from his leg down defense to get into a standing position rather than adopting a more traditional crouch.
Surprisingly, Brett Baty has stunned naysayers with both is bat and his glove thus far this year. He’s looked surprisingly comfortable fielding at 3rd base and he’s driving the ball with authority. It makes a potential Mark Vientos appearance more closely tied to J.D. Martinez’ bad back than poor output from the hot corner.
The other stunning surprise with the bat is the normally below offensive par Harrison Bader who is sporting an April .283 average. Based upon his long career this hot streak is not sustainable but there are many of us fans and media types who are not cringing nearly as much as they expected to do so when they saw the Gold Glove man stride to the plate.
A few recent RBIs from D.J. Stewart are surprising and welcome, but unless you’re planning to bench Bader, Marte, Nimmo, McNeil or Taylor then there is no room for him defensively when the offensive contributions are still well below the Mendoza line.
As much as many would like to see what Mark Vientos can do with his bat during the Martinez back healing interval, the fact is that when Martinez is deemed ready to go it may be Stewart heading to the unemployment line or to the Syracuse locker room.
No one was quite sure what to make of this alleged new approach based upon fielding and pitching. Thus far the jury is still out on definitive conclusions. Let’s just say that there’s certainly room for improvement in both areas as well as in starting pitching and overall offense. Still, some faint signs of life have been appearing and they are indeed most welcome.
4 comments:
I think the hitting has arrived. That will lift all boats. Where, oh where, though, is Uber-slugger JD Martinez?
Yes the D has been D-isappointing, especially when there's no one on the team who is rated poor, or below-average in that category, except Baty and Stewart, who don't have a single E between them.
The biggest problem with D in behind the plate, where both of our Catchers are rated very high on the D scale, and that's very much part of the SB situation.
Is it because the pitchers are allowing the runners to get jumps, causing the catchers to rush throws, or simply because the catchers themselves are doing a poor job? That's my question.
I am particularly surprised by Marte. Not only did he take a poor approach to getting under that ball that he dropped for a 3-base error, but he also failed to sprint after a ball that caromed off the fence a few games earlier that led to a "triple" that could have been a double and a 9-5 putout.
Last year as he was recovering from abdominal surgery, I gave Marte a pass when it was clear he was not giving 100% to get to some balls. This year there is no excuse. If he is going to choose when to hustle, he is a bad example for the many young players on their way up. Right now I would take a hungry player with a lesser skill set over what I am seeing in RF.
Paul, if Marte underperforms, Tyrone Taylor and his stellar offense would happily absorb more playing time.
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