August has been a freefall though the current bad run goes back to June. The team had problems before then. This fan didn't worry since no other NL East team seemed to want to challenge them. Well, now the Braves are on fire, the Phils had a bit of a run (though also struggled of late), and the Mets can't handle their old just enough over .500 to do it ways.
Injuries continue. RIGHT after I saw a "hopeful" report on their primary catcher (their back-up on the 10 Day IL), he is put on the IL. We can basically sign off on deGrom (who once upon a time seemed to be ready to win the Cy Young again) coming back. Plus, even bit players (like bullpen arm Jake Reed, who seemed to have just got here) keep on getting hurt.
The Mets lost 10 games in the standing this month. They are now six games back from the Braves. The Phils are two games ahead of the Mets, which is saying something too. The Phils have won three of their last ten and recently were basically as bad as the Mets (they were swept, e.g., by the Diamondbacks). My "don't trust" them sentiments hold.
(One story in baseball at the moment are the struggles of the San Diego Padres, who looked like a safe bet for one of the wild cards. They went 2-8 and are now tied with the Reds for the second spot. The odds here say the Reds have a much better shot at the playoffs now. The Mets odds there are ... rather low.)
After my last long post on the Mets, the Nats series came, and it looked a bit better for them. But, that was before the West Coast trip, that is going about as expected (the Mets have struggles versus the Dodgers in general in recent years). They have two more games versus the Dodgers (I still think they can manage to win at least one game) and then three at home versus the Giants. Their September is mixed, with some real opponents mixed in.
Bill Madden compares the Mets and Yanks since the trading deadline here. The Yanks had have much more success with a mixture of good trades and pick-ups that have turned out surprisingly well. The Mets barely were active at the trading deadline with Baez being a very dubious pick-up and Rick Hill a good spare part that is not enough. So, very well, they might need a better GM or whoever in charge of player development etc.
Baez is simply not what they need, down to his injury history. It almost seems like they got another flashy move, maybe partially since star player Lindor is friends with the guy. Now, they both can spend time on the IL together. Baez's defense is not what the team needs -- McNeil and company did a reasonable job. They need a good role player who can get on base. An occasional home run will not address their constant ability to get on base and/or (much more depressing) score those on base.
(With all the injuries, Villar is the regular shortstop now. Villar is a bench player. But, he is perfectly fine at that position, and is regularly good for some offense and even an occasional home run. Occasionally, Baez could make a play -- though even he is not perfect -- better. But, net I doubt if that will be a positive. The team needs more players like him.)
The team seemed to benefit from various bench players ("the bench mob") filling in for stars. Such players cannot take over for the long term, but they can give a team life and provide some offense. Drury always seemed to get on base when he was told to pinch hit. A fill-in outfielder has repeatedly burned the Mets now on the Dodgers. And, not bench, but look at how good Megill is doing. A winning team has a bunch of good parts.
The bullpen continues -- take that 12th inning game -- to shine though they have burnt them some too. This is partially probably from overuse, partially with so many injuries. It has been pointed out that the Mets injuries is not just "all teams have injuries" (though they do & repeatedly they have managed to win). They have more. It's a problem.
Bill Madden notes that no manager on teams who freefalled from first place (though the Mets first place slot was not as secure) in historic fashion lost their jobs. I think Luis Rojas should. I respected him some as the team seemed to stick together thru adversity. But, to the degree that is true, the buck also stops there now. And, it just might be that the praise was a bit overblown, if basic problems were not really addressed.
(We hear tell of a "process," which is unclear, but apparently in some fashion includes a style of hitting. Whatever this "process" is, they are not hitting. Their lack of hitting or clutch hitting is ridiculous. This was shown last night -- a 3-2 loss -- again. They basically got a gift run on a wild pitch and a ball that hit Alonso's foot, which shouldn't have counted. A bad third strike call -- if not horrible -- was mixed in there.)
The question of manager stressed me out last night. Rojas is only there because Beltran's involvement in the Astros cheating scandal made him verboten. But, since then, we had new ownership. A "safe" management choice was not needed. I firmly think the team needs an older more experienced manager who has had experience on a playoff/World Series caliber organization. The manager of the Phils (and ex-Yank) could not be the only possibility.
(Terry Collins, for instance, I think was a good manager for the rebuilding team existing for much of his tenure. Old hand that could lead the players. He also had a reassuring public face, including his passion for the game.)
Six games back with forty games to play is not an impossible hill to overcome. But, it's an uphill battle for a number of reasons, especially without deGrom. For instance, the standings here provide a metric on "expected record" and basically the Mets have overachieved while the Braves had underachieved. The Braves 9-1 like run isn't going to hold. But, the pre-August mediocrity very well should be enough unless the Mets (without deGrom) themselves go on a run.
The Mets are for me not a team I really want to watch right now. It's just too tiresome with all these issues. They really shouldn't be this bad. They seem always to be missing that little bit of extra you need to win. This is seen in game after game versus the elite of the NL. And, part of this at least, is management. Deja vu.
Finally, Madden tosses a "fu" to the Orioles, who are laughingstocks at the moment. Sixteen losses in a row. They lost 3-0 to the Braves last night, and that is almost a win. They have to win sometime and I still think it could be this weekend. The Nats did manage to beat them once. Anyway, that is some negative accomplishment for a team that at the very start of the season actually looked credible. Hard to keep up spirits when you are bad for years, but you do manage to win a game here or there.
ETA: Are we talking about next season already. Well, we are here, and it leads with bringing back Stroman. Stroman does have a good ERA and spirit. OTOH, even he had a share of the disappointment. He has around ten games where he pitched five or less innings.
This is especially the case since June though he has a great Reds start there and another seven inning affair that was a quality start. But, he also had -- when the team needed length -- game after game of five inning games.
If he was solely the third starter (behind deGrom and Carrasco) he was expected to be, a mediocre stretch might be more forgivable. But, that was not to be, and he was paid 18M with the QO and the article speaks of an expensive long term contract.
[After weekend games.] The Braves continued to win, though the Orioles actually had a one run game that turned on the ninth inning. The Padres had a must win (followed by a loss) after tying the game when the Phils starter was one out away from a complete game. They won in the 10th.
And, the Mets managed to win one game [still seven games back] with what amounts as a laughter (if not stress free, since it was 3-2 until the seventh) 7-2 win, Stroman pitching six/two runs. Good karma alert is Baez coming back and getting two hits/scoring one run. But, others like Davis (who needed it) joined the fun. A mixture of good starting pitching, relief work, and hitting is how the Mets need to win these games.
Plus, after facing scrubs, the Braves have to face the Yankees. Both teams have nine game winning streaks with today's Yanks game rained out. The Yanks had some tougher competition mixed in to boot. The Mets do have the Giants. But, hey, they ended the 2-5 trip on a good foot.
==
A quick word on football. The Jets have a new rookie QB and we will try again with Daniel Jones for the Giants. If their main QB is healthy, figure Dallas should be favorites in that division. And, remember, we have an extra game (17) while one less preseason (3) games.
It has been fairly hard to get into NY/NJ football in recent times, especially once Eli Manning retired, and you didn't even have sentiment. Both teams have been rather bad. "Here we go again" for the Jets, I guess, with some major injury (not familiar with the person) happening to hurt them too. Guess that allows fans to watch them without expecting much while the Giants might have just enough talent to actually believe a bit more.
Whatever. The Bills should continue to be the NY team to watch. As to the extra game, profits, of course. We surely didn't need a longer season.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your .02!