Paul Articulates - Mets Musings

The all-star break came at a time when the Mets were hot, and the team was re-inventing everyone’s predictions about what will happen this season.  The break ended, and seemingly so did the hot streak as the Mets have now dropped 2 of 3 to the Marlins.   They have scored only 7 runs in those three games.  That is a far cry from the prolific offense that was demonstrated prior to the break.

That’s how it goes in baseball…sometimes the hits cascade and sometimes the ball just goes in the wrong direction.  Saturday’s 1-0 win could easily have been 7-0 as the Mets hitters were barreling many balls but hitting them right at the defense.  

Sunday’s game was not so much unlucky as it was unfortunate.  Poor Christian Scott has pitched very well every time he takes the mound for the team, and he has an 0-3 record.  It seems that he falls victim to “that one mistake” that costs him a multiple run homer in games that his team is not scoring as much.  That will change.  

I love what I am seeing from Scott, who as a rookie pitcher has shown control and poise in his outings.  His 1.20 WHIP is third best among all Met starting pitchers this year.  Only Luis Severino (1.18) and Jose Butto (1.05) have better, and Butto’s numbers have improved significantly since he has mastered the art of relief pitching.

Speaking of Butto, the Mets have experimented twice this year with converting starters to relievers and both have had tremendous success.  Adrian Houser was heading towards a DFA when he proved that he could give capable innings in long relief.  

Jose Butto was an up and down starter who has really put some impressive innings together in relief.  So I have to ask, why not give others a try?  There have been several articles posted on this site and others elsewhere that have implored the Mets leadership to put Tylor Megill and/or David Peterson in the pen.  Neither has taken on that role, and with the pending return of Kodai Senga which will require a six man rotation, I don’t see much of a chance that they do.  

Down in Syracuse there are a couple of high profile starting pitchers that are struggling this year – namely Mike Vasil and Dom Hamel – who might find at least a temporary niche as Mets relievers.

On the offensive side, everyone is enjoying Jose Iglesias’ hitting streak.  OMG he is batting .380 in July!  This is just so much fun to watch, but of course it is not going to last all season.  He is not the reincarnation of Ted Williams, he is just a guy that is having a couple of months that he gets to talk about for the rest of his life.  He has made baseball fun for this team as well, and that removes the pressure of trying to win every day.  If you are having fun, you are loose, and your instincts prevail which has a lot to do with the Mets’ run.

Another guy on a great run and it doesn’t seem temporary is Mark Vientos.  He is hitting .300 in July with a .821 OPS.  He hit .267 with a .887 OPS in June.  He hit .318 with a .918 OPS in May.  Before that he was in Syracuse!  Don’t send him back there – this guy has earned his time on the big club.

Vientos has a hard hit rate of 44.3 – which means that almost half the time he puts the ball in play it comes off his bat at 95mph or better.  So who does it better than that?  Pete Alonso maybe?  No, he is actually just behind Mark at 41.2%.  The team leader is Brandon Nimmo with an impressive 50.8% hard hit rate.  That is one reason he is leading the team with 63 RBI right now.  

As Iglesias would say, OMG!  Nimmo had a tough start to this season and everyone lamented the long term extension he signed.  Well, it was justified because just as before the extension, Nimmo finds a way to get better at something every year.  I am looking forward to the day he decides to get better at stealing bases!

That’s my Mets musings for the day – hope it made your Monday morning just a little bit better.  Let’s go Mets!