Cuse Game Recap - Syracuse drops series finale at Rochester, 8-3, on Sunday afternoon

Rochester, NY – The Syracuse Mets lost the final game of a six-game series against the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A Washington Nationals) on Sunday afternoon, 8-3. The Red Wings clinched a series victory with the win, taking four of the six games in the week-long series.  

  

Syracuse (8-15) got right to work at the plate on Sunday afternoon, plating two runs in the top of the first. Wyatt Young and Nick Plummer both singled to start the inning, moving to third base and second base respectively on a groundout by Daniel Palka. Patrick Mazeika then brought home Young on an RBI groundout to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, followed by Plummer scoring when Carlos Cortes smacked a single into center field as Syracuse took a 2-0 advantage. The Mets scored first in five of the six games this past week in Rochester.  

  

After that, Rochester (13-11) began to run away with the game. The Red Wings plated five runs on five hits in the bottom of the second inning to claim a 5-2 edge. The frame was highlighted by a two-run triple from Tres Barrera. Rochester’s catcher had a very productive week at the plate. Barrera finished the series 5-for-9 with a double, a triple, a home run, four walks, and five runs driven in. 

  

Rochester scored two more times in the fourth. First, Nick Banks hit a solo home run with one out to extend their lead to four, 6-2. Then Dee Strange-Gordon followed win an RBI double later in the inning that plated Andrew Stevenson, who had singled earlier in the frame to make it a 7-2 game. The homer from Banks just continued a week of power at the plate for the Red Wings. They racked up 19 extra-base hits in the six games, including nine home runs.  

  

Syracuse got a run back in the top of the sixth via some aggressive baserunning. Plummer doubled to lead off the inning and was standing at second base with one out when a pitch bounced in the dirt. As the ball skittered away from the catcher, Plummer took off for third, which forced a bad throw down the left-field line and allowed Plummer to race home to pull the Mets within four, 7-3. The former first-round pick had an excellent day at the plate, finishing the afternoon 3-for-4 with two runs scored.  

  

The Mets now trailed 7-3 and had their chances late in the ballgame to get even closer. Syracuse put two runners on base in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, yet left them all on base in each inning. The seventh was particularly frustrating. Consecutive two-out singles from Plummer and Young fostered dreams of a two-out rally, but Palka then struck out and ended the threat. Syracuse finished the day 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left ten runners on base. 

  

Rochester manufactured its final run of the game in the eighth. Andrew Stevenson walked leading off the inning, swiping second and third base to move 90 feet away from scoring. He would do just that when Barerra lined a drive deep enough into right field to score Stevenson via a sacrifice fly. Stevenson finished the game 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk, an RBI, two stolen bases, and two runs scored.   

  

Despite the loss, Wyatt Young provided a bright spot at the plate, rapping out four hits in five at-bats. The Hawaii native finished the series 9-for-24 and is batting .375 (18-for-48) since joining Syracuse on April 16th. The four hits today are a career high for Young who also had a three-hit game on Friday night in Rochester.  

  

Syracuse returns home to NBT Bank Stadium, beginning a series with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A Philadelphia Phillies) on Tuesday night. First pitch of the series opener is set for 6:35 p.m.  

Lucy Game Recap - Mets cruise to 9-2 win over Tortugas in series finale

                         (Alex Ramirez -  PC: Mets Insider)
 

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (May 1, 2022) – The St. Lucie Mets won a laugher 9-2 over the Daytona Tortugas in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Clover Park.

 

The Mets won five out of six games in the series and improved to 10-2 at home. They are also 7-2 against Daytona this season.

 

Alex Ramirez got the scoring started in the third inning when he pummeled a three-run homer off Jose Franco. It was Ramirez’s first home run of the season.

 

Shervyen Newton bashed a two-run homer in the fifth inning to extend the Mets lead to 5-1. It was Newton’s second home run in as many games and his third long ball of the series.

 

The Mets put the game out of reach with a four-run sixth inning. Ramirez hit a run-scoring ground out, Newton belted a RBI single and Carlos Dominguez hit a two-run single to make it 9-1.

 

Mets starter Dominic Hamel limited the Tortugas to one run over 5.0 innings to get his first win. Hamel gave up just two hits, walked five and struck out six.

 

The Mets defense helped the cause by turning three double plays, including one with the bases loaded in the fourth inning when the lead was only 3-1.

 

Relievers Dan Goggin, Daniel Juarez and Brendan Hardy combined to limit Daytona to one run over the final four innings.

 

The Mets offense pounded out 14 hits. Newton led the charge by going 3 for 5. Dominguez, Stanley Consuegra, William Lugo, Raul Beracierta and Kevin Villavicencio had two hits each.

 

The Mets (14-7) are off on Monday. They return to the diamond on Tuesday when they begin a six-game road series at the Palm Beach Cardinals. First pitch from Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Tuesday is 6:30 p.m.

Reese Kaplan -- Time for Roster Shrinkage and It's Been Nice Knowing You...

By the time this piece is read the Mets will have made their roster adjustments for the month of May when the team must revert to 26 players instead of 28.  Everyone has their own ideas about what they should be doing but it's ultimately in the hands of Billy Eppler with input from Sandy Alderson and Steve Cohen as to what will actually take place.

A great many people advocate the disposal of Robinson Cano as one of these two moves, but it's very early in the season to write off an April slump to the tune of $40 million lost by the previous regime headed up by former agent extraordinaire Brodie Van Wagenen.  He traded for his former client in a deal that rocked the Mets world both good and bad as the primary prospect sent packing towards Seattle was slugger Jared Kelenic who can indeed hit the long ball when he connects with anything.  

I recently penned an article in which it appears at this point the Mets got the better end of that deal, though the way Cano is playing you could make the case that it's time to wish the 39 year old goodbye.

Granted, he's not hitting for power and barely making contact at all, but he's always been a slow starter in cold weather.  It's hard to believe that the front office would say that 3 bad weeks in April is worth $40 million, particularly when they have the recent arm woes of Sean Reid-Foley making his stint on the IL an easy way to use up one of those two necessary moves.  

That brings the Mets to the second one of these moves and while it looks as if it should be another pitcher it likely won't happen that way.  Right now if we assume Reid-Foley is a goner through cutting or IL-stint, they still have on their pitching roster XX names, including Max Scherzer, Tylor Megill, Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco in the starting rotation.  

Then you have bullpen arms consisting of Joely Rodriguez, Chasen Shreve, Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, Drew Smith, Trevor May, Trevor Williams and Edwin Diaz.  Leaving out Reid-Foley, that's eight relievers plus five starters -- 13 pitchers in total which is right at the 13-pitcher maximum for this second phase of roster construction.   

That means the other player to leave would come from the offensive side of the ledger to join Reid-Foley.  Right now there are a few little used players who are possibilities.  J.D. Davis and Dom Smith are not doing any better with the bat than Cano.  

Luis Guillorme has an option remaining and Eduardo Escobar could handle emergency duty at shortstop should Francisco Lindor need a day off but he is hitting .259.  Travis Jankowski has been a pleasant surprise with his bat, defense and speed (despite a few boneheaded running decisions), but he has no options which means the Mets would likely lose him to another team since they can't put him directly on Syracuse's roster.  

Now not matter how your slice it the decision (if not Cano) comes down to Davis vs. Smith.  Davis is recuperating from a hit-by-pitch to the ankle area.  Smith is often inserted as a late inning defensive replacement for Pete Alonso.  On paper it would seem that it makes more sense to part with Davis than Smith which means Smith is likely the one to go.  

As much as Cano is dragging the team down with a .195 average, Smith has been even worse at .167.  It is easier to eat a few plane tickets for Smith than it is to choke on a $40 million loss in Cano no matter how much the fans and media would like to see that happen.  As a betting man I'm thinking Guillorme or Smith are the ones to accompany Reid-Foley at this time.  

None of these decisions will make anyone happy but something needs to be done.  Come Monday morning let's see how accurate my prognostications turn out to be.

Mike's Mets - The Mets' Fast Start Seems Legit

 

By Mike Steffanos

A mediocre team can fool you for a while, but this New York Mets club is for real.

Despite Wednesday afternoon's clunker in St. Louis, the New York Mets are flying pretty high these days. Their total of 14 wins is tops in all of Major League Baseball. More notably, this year, they pass the eye and smell tests as a genuine contender. That's important, because we've seen the Mets tease their fans in previous seasons with fast starts before dropping like tech stocks at the end of the last century.

There's an awful lot for a Mets fan to like about the team this season. Sure, the Mets are running the second-largest payroll in MLB, which definitely matters. This past winter, GM Billy Eppler was allowed to shop in the luxury aisle by Steve Cohen, which previous GMs in the Wilpon era could only dream about. But Mets fans who have been around for a while understand only too well that your team could spend a bundle and still really suck.

But the new Mets front office went a different route. They made the big-ticket purchase when they unexpectedly signed starting pitcher Max Scherzer, but the other additions were more of the meat and potatoes variety rather than gourmet dining. Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha, and Starling Marte were all solid major league ballplayers, but they weren't the sexiest names out there.

When the Mets traded for starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, I looked him up to see exactly what sort of pitcher he was. I'm sure I never spent a minute of my life contemplating Bassitt before he became a Met, but he's become one of my favorite guys on the team. Bassitt doesn't light up radar guns, but he's an excellent pitcher and a great competitor. Chris is the right guy at the right time for the Mets' pitching staff, even if his paycheck is only about a fifth of Scherzer's.

There was a lot of noise in both the media and Mets Twitter for the team to deal away second baseman Jeff McNeil in the offseason. Instead, the club seemed to bank on McNeil's .319/.383/.501 combined batting line from 2018-2020 as more indicative of the type of hitter Jeff could be. At least through the club's first 20 games, McNeil is making that decision look like a smart one. Jeff is slashing .328/.388/.492, playing both 2B and LF. He's scored 11 runs and driven in 7. McNeil seems to have given up trying to be a home run hitter, which is the right decision, but he's still accumulated 7 extra-base hits — 5 2B, 1 3B, and 1 HR. When the talk of trading McNeil was constant, I figured we Mets fans would be looking at the next Justin Turner or Travis d'Arnaud — players whose careers flourished after leaving the Mets. Instead, we can hope that McNeil's renaissance season continues here in New York.

To finish reading this article on Mike's Mets, please click here.

Open Thread - Is the Dead Ball Era Making a Comeback?

 

Through Thursday, if I can still accurately add up a column of numbers in my head, there have been 503 MLB HRs, an average of 16.7 per team, over an average of 19 games played per team.  That would seem to work out to about 145 over a full season, per team. 

In 20 games, the Mets have hit just 17 and allowed just 13 in 20 games. 

So it seems (unscientifically) that the balls have been de-juiced.  

Are the 2022 baseballs both more slippery and less lively?

Ramifications?

Thoughts, comments?  

Mack - Random Thoughts - High School Baseball

 

Morning.

Got my cane, headache power, and wooden chair out (can’t climb those steps anymore), had my granddaughter pick me up, and went out to see her boyfriend pitch in a good time ole high school game. Brought back a bunch of memories from my amateur scouting days about covering HS games, so I though I would jot down some things I came to learn doing this,

 

1. High school games are greatly determined by the manager who doubles as pitching coach. In my opinion, most of them don’t give a hoot about the pitch counts and pitch mixes their starters throw. This is what I feel is the real culprit for all the TJS candidates that turn out later on in these young man’s careers. College coaches may be no better…but HS managers are the worst when it comes to this.

 

2. I asked someone, with knowledge, if my granddaughter’s boyfriend’s team does well. He said, “only when he pitchers”. There’s good and bad news here. The good is that the kid may have some talent that, if brought along properly by the right staff, in the right school, could be, at least, successful in college. The bad news is he may be playing for a sub-par team, possibly also playing in a sub-par league.

 This happens a lot in small, rural, communities where the greater amount of the student base concentrate more on sports like football and basketball. The managers literally are nothing more than one of the parents of the “starters”.

 Case in point… back in the early 2000s, I was asked by a coach to come see his ‘star pitcher” that was leading their league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. There was no other scout or writer there, which was the first troubling sight. The next was, yes, he had talent, but my radar gun only had his fastball topping in the mid-80 range, which quickly dropped to the low 80s as the game went on. But the real problem was the complete lack of talent the team he played had.

 This was a private Christian school that players in a private Christian league, in general not being a good sign to a scout. The team he pitched against was so bad, they threw the white flag out and called the game at 10-0 at the end of the third inning.

 I talked to the “star pitcher” at the end of the game (he had the 6-4 height) and he asked me if he could sit down with me “confidentially” to discuss something. I said sure and told him to meet me at a local lunch joint after he finishes up.

 I met him at the hash house and he made me swear I wouldn’t tell anybody about what we were going to discuss. I did. He went on to tell that his pitching arm has been killing him, but (being a senior) his coach told him the only way a college was going to offer him a free ride was to “pitch through” the pain and make it to the end of the season.

 He showed me where the pain was and, to me, it screamed on a TJS problem. 

I didn't know if his coach gave this kind of advise, but I gave him the proper advise… go see a doctor and ask for an MRI.

 I did some research on his team and I found that his coach had recruited the best of the home school talent in the area. This was a no-no for public schools but his school could do this. 

The world was new to Home Schooling then and this coach came up with this idea. There were around five great players on that team which created a team that had won the Conference Championship for four straight years.

 It didn’t make them a great team. It only made them great against poor teams.

 I lost track of that player but ran into his parents in a restaurant a few years later. They told me their son finished his high school senior team’s season, got a college to offer his a ride, but never pitched for them because he had arm surgery before his freshman season was going to start. He wound up quitting both the team and college, and was then working locally in some manufacturer plant doing something.

 He was good, not great, in a bad program, facing baseball hitters that probably should have taken up knitting instead, and playing for a coach that just wanted another trophy on his shelf.

 

 3. There is a solution here if the player has talent, but it is going to cost the parents new money as well as isolation from their son. They would need to try out for an “Academy” school that is well known for the talent on their team. A top example of one is the IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Florida. (there are many other great academy schools… check Google). 

Here’s the rub. The cost to attend IMG ranges from $66,400 to $88,900 a year. The range includes boarding costs, but varies on the age of the student that attends.

 There are many cheaper versions of this kind of academy, but this approach is the best way to go if you want a future in professional baseball.

 4. The next step would be to check with your parents. If they say look into it, do the research and pick three of these academies to try and be accepted there. They all have a different approach here but you are going to have to tryout for them. If they like what they see and offer you a spot on their roster, tell your parents to pay the tab, pack your bags, and kiss your girlfriend adieu.

5.     You may be excited, but your girlfriend won’t be.

Lucy Game Notes - Osborn's Big Night Leads Mets Past Tortugas, 6-3

 

                                                                 (SP Carson Seymour)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (April 30, 2022) – St. Lucie catcher Drake Osborn had a career game to the lead the Mets past the Daytona Tortugas 6-3 on Saturday night at Clover Park.

 

Osborn went 3 for 4 with a home run and five RBI. He launched a three-run homer, his second of the season, with two outs in the second inning to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.

 

In the sixth inning Osborn ripped a two-run single to extend the Mets lead to 5-0.

 

Shervyen Newton blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-1 lead.

 

Osborn and the rest of the lineup provided plenty of run support for starter Carson Seymour. Seymour cruised for 6.0 scoreless innings. He scattered four hits, did not walk a batter and struck out two.

 

Seymour has now tossed 15.0 scoreless innings to start the season.

 

Nate Jones pitched the final 1.1 innings to get the save. He got the tying run Michel Triana to fly out to right field to end the game.

 

The Mets six-eight hitters in the lineup – Raul Beracierta, Omar De Los Santos and Osborn – combined to go 8 for 11. Beracierta went 3 for 4 and De Los Santos was 2 for 3.

 

The Mets (13-6) and Tortugas (9-11) play their series finale at Clover Park on Sunday at 12:10 p.m.

B-Mets Game Recap: SeaWolves Rally Past Ponies in Saturday Matinee

 

                                                    (Jake Magnum   PC - Canady)

SeaWolves Rally Past Ponies in Saturday Matinee

BINGHAMTON, NY – The Erie SeaWolves (12-8) used a three-run seventh inning to defeat the Binghamton Rumble Ponies 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Mirabito Stadium.

In the seventh, with the Ponies ahead 1-0, Daniel Cabrera hit a one out double followed by an infield hit from Jon Rosoff off RHP Justin Lasko (0-1). Pinch-hitter Andre Lipcius then tied the game on an RBI double. After an intentional walk to Kerry Carpenter to load the bases, Dillon Dingler hit a two-run double off the right center field wall to put Erie up 3-1.

Erie reliever Bubba Derby came on in the seventh with two on and two out to strike out Francisco Alvarez swinging to end the inning. Derby pitched a scoreless eighth and Gerson Moreno closed out the ninth for his first save of the year.

Chance Kirby (2-0) got the win in relief after pitching three and two thirds innings giving up two hits while walking three and striking out four batters.

Binghamton starter Mitch Ragan pitched four scoreless innings giving up three hits and walking two while striking out five and earning a no decision.

The Ponies got on the board first in the second. With runners on the corners and one out, Zach Ashford hit into a fielder’s choice that drove home Ronny Mauricio from third. In the top half of the frame, with Erie threatening with runners on the corners and two out, Ashford had a splendid diving catch in left field robbing Rosoff of a base hit.

The Rumble Ponies will conclude their series against Erie on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF and 92.1 FM with pregame coverage getting underway at 12:50 PM.

POSTGAME NOTES: Jake Mangum and Matt Winaker each reached base twice…Dingler now has four RBI in the series.

Cuse Game Notes - Syracuse rallies back to split Saturday doubleheader at Rochester

 

Travis Blankenhorn hit a two-run home run on Saturday afternoon and has four homers this season (Rick Nelson).

Rochester, NY – The Syracuse Mets split a doubleheader at the Rochester Red Wings on Saturday afternoon, winning the second game, 4-2, after dropping the first game, 3-0. The Mets have won two of the first five games of the series and have the chance to split the six-game series with a win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.  

  

Game one of the doubleheader was headlined by sterling pitching and timely hitting for the Rochester Red Wings. Rochester starting pitcher Cade Cavalli kept Syracuse batters off balance all afternoon. The top prospect in the Nationals system did not allow a hit in his five and one-third scoreless innings, scattering three walks with one strikeout. Cavalli ceded the scene to Jordan Weems after that, who took it the rest of the way for the Red Wings. The right-handed reliever pitched the final 1 and two-thirds innings, not allowing a run on just one hit with three strikeouts.  

  

On the other side, Félix Peña turned in a quality start himself for the Mets. The right-hander allowed just one unearned run in the top of the first when two singles plus an error allowed Jake Noll to cross home plate for Rochester. Peña struck out two on just three hits. He attacked the strike zone, throwing 38 of his 52 pitches for strikes. 

  

The first game remained a 1-0 ballgame until the bottom of the sixth, when the Red Wings pulled away for good. First, Luis García reached on a one-out error, moving to second base on a single by Noll. Then, Josh Palacios sliced a double down the left-field line, plating both García and Noll and completing the scoring in game one of the doubleheader for a 3-0 Red Wings win. Palacios finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs driven in and has driven in six runs so far in the series.  

  

Game two of the doubleheader followed an eerily similar pattern, but the Mets took advantage of quality pitching and timely hitting this time. Syracuse roared out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Wyatt Young led off the game with his first Triple-A home run. Young had a great plate appearance – on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, he lined a laser-beam shot over the right-field wall after several foul balls earlier in his plate appearance.  

  

The fourth inning brought more runs home for the Mets, again via the long ball. After a one-out single from Carlos Rincon, Travis Blankenhorn blasted the first pitch he saw over the fence in right-center field for a two-run shot and a 3-0 Syracuse lead.  

  

Rob Zastryzny started the second game of the doubleheader for the Mets and began his outing in excellent fashion. The native Texan started with three scoreless innings, dancing out of danger in the bottom of the third. The Red Wings had runners on first and third with nobody out, but Zastryzny wiggled his way out of the jam, inducing a strikeout, a pop out, and another strikeout to avoid damage in the third. 

  

However, Zastryzny could not avoid damage in the fourth. A one-out solo home run from Joey Meneses made it a 3-1 game, followed by a Donovan Casey double that later led to Zastryzny being lifted from the game. Antonio Santos came on with Casey on second and two outs, promptly allowing an RBI double to Andrew Young that made it a 3-2 game. Santos walked Alfredo Rodriguez to extend the inning, then finally ended it when Matt Lipka grounded out to shortstop.  

  

Syracuse was now in need of insurance, and they would get it in the top of the sixth. Carlos Cortes doubled with one out, hustling his way to second on a line drive into the gap in right-center field. Cortes moved to third after a Blankenhorn groundout, then got the chance to hustle home when Mark Vientos blooped a double down the right-field line. The two-bagger for Vientos made the game 4-2 and completed the day’s scoring.  

  

Given a late 4-2 lead, the Syracuse bullpen wouldn’t let it go to waste. Stephen Nogosek tossed the final two innings of the game in scoreless fashion, stranding two baserunners in the sixth and one more in the seventh to secure the victory. It marked the first save of the season for the former Oregon Duck.  

  

Syracuse finishes its six-game series at the Rochester Red Wings with a game on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Mike Montgomery is slated to start for the Mets, opposed by right-hander Luis Reyes for the Red Wings. First pitch of the first game of the doubleheader is set for 1:05 p.m.