Morning.
I will occasionally… probably every other week… offer up my thoughts on the overall production of this team and its affiliates.
This is the first for games through this past Wednesday.
Offense -
The Mets may be walking their way to a playoff slot. They are currently tied with the Dodgers for the major league league… 92 in 19 games played. You do the math. That’s a lot of passes.
The Mets are 7th in the league in on-base percentage (.337). They do; however, trail division rivals Atlanta (5th, .345) and Philadelpha (6th, .340).
The Mets .227 batting average makes them only 24th in the league and dead last in the division.The good news is their bats did start to come back starting this past weekend. I’m especially happy to see Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo have turned around a slow start.
One caveat. We need to remember that the majority of the Mets wins so far this season have come against the Marlins and a team with worse pitching than the Long Island Ducks, the Athletics. Rumor has it that the website Athletic has petitioned the league to make the team change their name under The Bad Association Act of 1922 (I just made this up).
Defense - I can’t remember a year in which the Mets have played better defensively. The Mets have produced only four errors, ranking them as the best in the league. They also are ranked at the top of the league with a .994 fielding percentage.
Key players have been both Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor. Alonso continues to show that hard work can turnaround a negative portion of your game and Lindor is this year’s poster child for the SS Gold Glove race.
In addition, I can’t write about good defense and not recognize the vast improvement that Brett Baty is showing in this part of his game. We know his bat will eventually carry him, but if he continues to play like this defensively, Escobar might want to put his name on a permanent seat on the bench.
Strengths - Pete, timely walking, and the back end of the pen. Alonso is putting up Judge numbers so far this season. He’s easily on target for 60+ yard balls this year.
Again with Alonso and Lindor. According to Matt Musico of Elite Sports NY, Lindor’s tying 5th inning run Sunday night was the 22nd time since he joined the Mets that he either tied or gave his team a lead. That’s a whopping 44% clip when he came to bat in that position.
As for Alonso, do we really have to run the numbers? His 8th home run on Sunday was a shade under 38%.
Weaknesses - Everybody keeps telling me that Francisco Alvarez is the future Mike Piazza. So far after what he has done at the major league level both last season and this one, he looks more like Carmine Piazza, a goombah that used to sit outside the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club on 101st Avenue, in my old neighborhood of Ozone Park. Sure, he had two hits on Wednesday, but he finished the game far below the Mendoza line.
His defensive game seems to have improved which is important because the Mets other catcher prospect, Kevin Parada, can’t seem to throw out his grandmother trying to steal second. I will be much happier here when Frankie Goes Hollywood and shows what he can do with that stick in his hands.
I’m also quite disappointed in what David Peterson has put out so far this season. I never thought he was more than a middle rotation guy, but I didn’t expect him to give Carrasco a run for his money. Pitching to Freeman for his second homer on Monday was uncalled for. Right now, if both Max and Verlander come back healthy, there is a case for Jose Butto to replace both pitchers mentioned in this paragraph.
What’s next here? Lack of hitting? Health of pitchers? Cost of hot dogs?
Are Mets fans happy? Are they ever happy? Ask most fans on Twitter and they will tell you this team sucks this year. Bad pitching... tons of injuries... piss pour hitting.
Me?
Their .632 winning percentage currently ranks them as the 6th best team in the league.
I'll stop now.
7 comments:
Good Points Mack.
But really, all seasons start out with questions and concerns. It is a given actually. Part of any sport. But it's a big part of what pulls all us fans in to watch. Almost similar to watching a TV series that you love every single week, never missing an episode. It's the sheer mystery of the game and the unknown.
We want the players on our team all to do well. Sometimes, it does take some time though, it's natural. We have to be patient. There can be hurdles and roadblocks along the way. But it's fun to watch good things unfold with our team. It's the sheer lure of the game.
My ONLY serious concern with this 2023 version of the NYM, is specifically how management handles their AAA callups. Will they understand the perspective of that particular AAA player they just called up, in other words.
I think certain people here within this organization's hierarchy, think that the younger players are somewhat not automatically worthy of their "opportunity to stick" on the parent club. They must prove it and sometimes prove it again. It's always been like that here really.
But to call right-handed Syracuse starter Jose Butto up recently, let him pitch a very solid and impressive game, then immediately send him back down the next day to AAA, to me just sends an entirely wrong message. Maybe it's me. Not sure.
The manager stated, "I am very proud of the way Jose Butto pitched this game." He did pitch really well I thought too. It just made very little sense to not allow Jose another start afterwards. Sometimes success is built this way for an individual.
Personally, I think that this team will do quite well in 2023 (barring anymore serious injuries to key players) make the playoffs, set individual records, and probably have a similar result as the 2022 season. It's the way this organization thinks from this point, that will determine just how far it can go.
Max Scherzer
Is in MLB solitary confinement, leg shackles for ten games. Cannot touch anything even slightly sticky. Meals slid under the door. No ketchup allowed.
Baseball Officiating and Umpiring
Must be consistent with the rules of the game for everyone playing and umpiring. Otherwise, we have politics governing the game, oh my.
I believe Max. When you are innocent of any infraction, one tends to protest exactly the way Max did. When you are guilty, not so. Just a little resentment for getting caught normally surfaces.
Free Max Now!
Tonight, tonight!
Joey Lucchesi gets his first start for these NYM against Anthony DeSclafani (1-0) tonight. I am absolutely thrilled for Joey. I was beginning to see visions of Carl Pavano wearing Joey's uniform lately in my sleep I tell ya'.
I have been watching video on Joey, and he is absolutely ready to start now. Think about it. A lefty starter who throws pitches from 79 mph to 94 mph. Change up, Curve, Fastball. This is so good! The Mets so desperately need an anchor lefty starter, one they can count on. I am thinking that maybe this could be the start of something good here.
Go get them Joey!
My next lefty pitcher I want up just as soon, when he is ready, is the guy everyone else seems to have forgotten about.
Big man reliever Josh Walker. I am following him for the Mets pen addition.
Next: Lefty Trade Target Suggestion:
Toronto MiLB lefty starter: Ricky Tiedemann
If the Mets went after both (LSP) Randy Tiedemann and Japanese (RSP) Roki Sasaki, this would be sensational. As opposed say to spending a Treasure trough on big name Shohei Ohtani, and entering into a bidding hand-to-hand warfare situation with many other MLB teams, which makes no sense.
Then, the Mets could have soon (2024) a rotation that included: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Randy Tiedmann, Joey Lucchesi, and Roki Sasaki.
And the team that signed Shohei Ohtani would be a 500% team, because they could not afford the rest of a really good rotation to surround Shohei Ohtani.
Thinking is a good thing. I think.
A 4A guy or a ML backend starter. Might be very important not just for tonight but for the season,
Mr. Anonymous: bunch of interesting comments; could have made a nice column. maybe soon?
Post a Comment