TONG TRIUMPHANT!!
TONG WAS GREAT.
TERRIFIC, ACTUALLY.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT DOUBTING DOUGIES OR NITPICKING NELLIES SAY.
Yeah, yeah, he gave up a 3 run HR on a grooved fastball, but that hitter had a few prior swings in that at bat that could have resulted in outs. They didn’t. That’s baseball.
Heck, MLB hitters have already surrendered 5,000 homers this year, just for a little perspective. Homers happen.
It was ONE bad pitch. He weathered that sudden storm and did great. He got the W. He fanned 7 and walked one in 5 innings.
By comparison, respected Miami starter Eury Perez, a good hurler, sucked.
So should Perez be condemned for a bad start? No. And Tong was GOOD.
In career losses, Sandy Koufax was 0-87, with a 5.15 ERA. HE SUCKS, the Queens fans would be screaming. Even Sandy had off days.
The Citi Fools would have booed Sandy out of Queens early in his career when he wasn’t yet Superman.
Remember that before you start nitpicking Jonah Tong. It was a GOOD start.
I am very much looking forward to Tong’s next successful start.
And his jointing the Mets rotation in 2027.
I just hoping he stops looking like a 17 year old kid in interviews.
Lastly, back to my point the other day…the Mets were SO SMART to have Tong make that initial start on the road.
Can you imagine the booing Queens idiots getting on Tong in Citi Field after he gave up that 3 run homer?
Braying like brainless mules.
AND…
OTHER CHEWY CHUNKS!
Moving On…Elsewhere in the Mets Kingdom on Sunday:
St Lucie rallied in the 12th on Sunday to win 11-10, with Lucie hitters walking 11 times, fanning 18 times, and racking up just 7 hits.
Eleven runs, eleven walks. There was one more “eleven”:
St Lucie used 11 pitchers. Yes. Eleven.
The other team used “only” nine pitchers.
TWENTY PITCHERS USED IN ONE GAME?
YEAH, SO?? NOT A RECORD…
Guinness Book noted the following:
“The record for the most pitchers used by a single team in a Major League Baseball game is 13, while the record for a combined game is 24 pitchers.”
But it was simply too many pitchers used by St Lucie and their opponent. The second game of what was supposed to be their season-ending doubleheader was canceled, due to lack of pitchers, no doubt.
Four St Lucie pitchers made their final day pro debuts - Petrovic (6th round), McNeillie (5), Koenig (8), and Guidry (16) - they nicely combined for 1 run on 2 hits, 2 walks, and 7 Ks.
A fifth drafted pitcher pitched, Mr. Crochfelt (14),th round), somehow was in his 3rd pro one-inning outing. In those 3 outings, 9 up, 9 down, 4 Ks.
NICE.
Elsewhere, Calvin Ziegler started for Brooklyn in the last game of their season on Sunday. I am guessing he was on a 10-pitch limit LOL.
Inning was 1-2-3, 10 pitches, 7 for strikes. Done for the day.
Baby steps.
Jefferson Rojas had a 4 hit game Sunday in AA, including a HR. Impressed.
- First 26 J Ro Binghamton games, 9 HRs, 29 RBIs? Wow.
In Syracuse on Sunday, D’Andre Smith had a double, HR, and 2 RBIs.
In AAA, in a late-season super storm surge after an injury-filled, unproductive previous 37 games at lower levels, Smith has crushed his way onto the radar screen:
21 AAA games, .344/.425/.578! A slash line Juan Soto would like.
On Tuesday, in just his 26th game in the Mets organization, Billy Amick has an amazing 13 HRs and 33 RBIs in just 95 at bats!
WHAT?! WOW!
NY METS CHUNKS:
On Saturday, in Queens, the Mets’ Brett Baty hit a ball off the top edge of the left field wall that stayed in play for a double.
On Sunday, he pinch hit a short HR to the same spot in left. It went a mere 360 feet, perhaps catchable for a 6’2” outfielder.
Fortunately, 5’8” (in his cleats) LF Drew Gilbert came up “short” on his leap attempt.
I love short players…especially when they are on opposing teams.
More…
Bo Bichette? Just .210/.273/.297 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs through May 18.
The dreaded “Citi Slump” greeted his arrival.
From May 19 thru September 7, however, he added 14 HRs, 57 RBIs, and season-wise is up to .266/.314/.401.
He is a hitting pro. Like, in fact, a former Met…
Cleon Jones, a similar hitter, got off to a dreadful start well into his 1968 season, but he turned it around sharply in late May 1968 and finished strong at .297, one of baseball’s best batting averages in the so-called Year of the Pitcher.
The next year, in 1969, Jones killed it at .340. Hopefully that 1969 outburst will mirror what Bo produces for the Mets in 2027.
On Tuesday…
Sean Manaea (5-7) proved he is a 5 inning pitcher, with 5 perfect innings, and just 52 pitches. He went from 5 innings no runner, to 5 straight runners on base.
Then, he allowed a dinky 110 foot bloop floater to break up the perfecto, then imploded as he gave up 4 more straight hits and got pulled.
Mets win 7-5, with gutsy relief pitching. Nate Lavender earned his NINTH HOLD, and extended his career scoreless streak to 14 innings! Kodai Senga finished off a tight save' his 7th, with 10 straight ghost fork pitches. HRs by Lindor, Soto, and Baty.
BUT…a moment of reality to ponder…as the Mets head to another sub .500 season, the Yankees on Tuesday night secured a winning record…
FOR THE THIRTY FOURTH STRAIGHT SEASON! UNREAL!
CAREER GROWTH - IN THE NICK OF TIME
Nick Morabito flopped in his early season MLB debut: 0-11, 9 Ks. Ouch.
But, through Monday, THE SECOND ACT OF NICK has gone much better:
Since being called back up, 4 for 12, 4 RBIs, 2 walks, 1 steal, and just 1 K.
I like the 2nd act of Nick the Quick myself. It will be a long-running show.
The real Nick quickly showed up.
15 comments:
Tong is ready
He is much more battle-tested.
Very pleased that he did well. After last season's implosion game, he needed to have a good start for his confidence. It all gets a little easier from here.
Team still needs a 2027 ace
Manaea is our 5 inning ace LOL
Seriously, you don’t think McLean is an ace? We could always use a second one, of course. Not named Peralta.
Manaea has given up 31 runs in 28 sixth and seventh innings. His first 5, he’s been good. Five and done.
You mean, like five inning Freddie? Did y’all see Peralta’s start the other night? He was ridiculous.
Freddy has figured it out in time for his contract drive. It helps that he is 52 months younger than the overpaid Samoan.
One at bat for Morabito that was an out was a hot line drive that would have landed on the warning track if not gloved. He isn’t arriving anywhere making very good contact,
His defense and base stealing ability makes him a valuable player. If he hits, he could be a starter based upon what we have seen so far.
DJ, the operative words for Suero are “if he hits”. Last year, Suero was at Brooklyn a majority of the season, but he was also at the AA level, which I consider to also include Arizona Fall ball,
.
Suero was in 56 games at that level in 2025 hit .240 in 196 at bats. This year, in 400 AA at bats, just .200. And 139 Ks in 110 games. That has to dramatically improve for him to have a chance in the big leagues.
Agree with all of the comments. I hope everyone has noticed that Tong's release point is significantly different than last year. Some of the mannesms -- like the head movement -- remain . All the pitches react differenntly and that what was going on in addition to his developing new pitches.
I would point out that work still needs to be done. I'll point out two things. 1st, the head movement should go and likely will in time. The reason: the eye angle created by that movement was part and parcel of the original release point and was needed given the amount of side bend he had before. So the two pieces fit together which is relevant as the eyes provide a lot of information that goes into the brain and contributes to the way the body organizes the body to create the motion. That combination was 'accurate' . It is a different combination and is no longer accurate. This may well be part of what has contributed to his increase in walks throughout most of the year.
Whether related or not, in my way of thinking, it must be related at least to some extent, did you notice how many more of his change-ups finished not just over the plate but in the middle of it. The new arm angle had a very postive impact on the horizontal movement of the change up, but also reduced the vertical movement. The eye position may well have provided misinformation to the brain (how could it not) relative to the past and different release point and that could impact the vertical appearance to him of the change-up. He will have to get the change up a bit lower in the zone more regularly than he did on Monday.
But otherwise it was great day for him and the Mets. He has dramatically reduced the likelihood of lower back pain and injury. he has horizontal pitch movement on both his fastball and his change up and he has a cutter and at some point will have a curve with horizontal movement as well.
Lots to like
Tong, importantly, “released” a win. Absent the one home run pitch, he was awesome.
Compare him to two well established arms - Sandy Alcatara and Eudy Perez. Those two went 8 1/3 innings, and allowed 17 hits, 14 runs, 7 walks, and 3 HRs. If those two were Mets, we’d be burying them.
Tong sure sucked a lot less than them.
Not disputing that. I am very happy for him and for the Mets. He has made incredible progress. I hat Perez' body language as a pitcher. Love the body language of every Mets starter, especially the young guys of which there are now 4.
I am just pointing out something that still needs work as part of his transition from the over the top delivery.
Remember, I was the guy who wanted to trade him high last year if he was going to insist on that delivery pattern. I hated it. He was a walking potential injury.
Then we he changed it, whether because he realized it would limit the number of pitches he could throw or whether it was going to be a source of injury or both, I was the one who defended giving him time while others were urging him to go back to his original delivery and screaming at the Mets for trying to change him and screwing with something that worked.
Well it didn't work and it wouldn't have worked long term as a potential starter. He had to change.
And now I am just cautioning folks that while he has come a long way the transition is not complete. Changing movement patterns can take real time; and I watched him pitch closely and saw two things that may be related or may not be but both of which should probably be worked on to complete the transition: The head movement always creates an eye alignment effect. And eyes are a great source of information to the brain which creates the intention that organizes the body. Could impact control; High degree of confidence that I am right about that. Second it could be providing information that is impacting his change up which fooled hitters a lot on Monday because of its movement into right handers, not because of its downward movement. Just like Senga's ghost fork. It has to look like a strike but drop out of the zone to RH hitters, even though it can just look like a strike to LH batters but move horizontally off the plate. More weapons; more usage the better. I don't know that the eye alighnment contributes to it landing above the knees every time. My confidence on that is LOW.
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