SAVAGE VIEWS – Four Games In

 

NOW WE’RE FOUR GAMES IN

I’m going to deviate from the topic I had planned to write this Thursday.  Currently four games have been played and the season looks to be over even before it’s begun.  Lindor, Nimmo, McNeil and Stewart have collected a grand total of three hits in 51at bats.  That works out to an average of less than .06 for this group. This may be the worst start ever in MLB history for four starting players.

This start follows a dismal spring training where the Mets were the least productive offensive team in the majors. I know, I know I can hear from those claiming spring training stats are meaningless.  In my previous post, I wondered if the team would be able to turn the switch on when the season began - clearly the answer is no. 

It’s rather early to point fingers but this was a team with no real openings to the starting roster.  Stewart is only in the lineup until JDM is ready to contribute.  However, Mendoza and his staff have failed to get this team ready for the opening bell. On the other side of the river, the Yanks are off to a 5-1 start, although Judge, Rizzo and Stanton have been unproductive. Who could have expected Volpe and Cabrerra to be carrying this team.

Is Mendoza the culprit behind determining the batting order for each game or is he following orders from above.. Four regulars have had decent starts to the season. I wonder why Marte, Alonso, Alvarez and Baty do not follow each other. Stewart seems to have claimed the fifth spot in the order taking over the role of Vogelbach. Makes you wish to have Vogie back. At best Stewart should be batting no higher than seventh in the order.

In Monday’s game against the Tigers, the Mets made a number of changes following the ninth inning. I was surprised to see Wendle still on the field. I expected Jeff to take over at second with Taylor in CF.  That did not happen and Wendle failed to make a routine play to keep the game scoreless.  

So far, the Mets have been an atrocious fielding team.  Failure to control the running game, errors galore, catcher’s interference, etc. all have contributed to the poor start. One game was lost because Marte failed to catch a ball hit by Chourio. Too often a walk was followed by a stolen base and then a clutch hit to produce a run. What’s interesting is that Baty is fielding his position really good in the early going.

The madness continues.  If Scott is your best pitching prospect how come he has not started any of the first three games for Syracuse.  Also, why is Trayce Thompson on the team and Carlos Cortes on the bench.    

Funny, but I forecast the Mets would average around 5 runs per game. Well, we are slightly behind and have a lot of ground to make up.  Pre-season I predicted the Mets would make the playoffs. It’s way too early to back off that prediction.  We are a veteran team and it’s a matter of time before we turn things around.

Ray

April 4, 2024