N.Y. Mets: Talking Chop

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Diving Off Bridge Prohibited.

New York Mets: Diced, Sliced, Minced, and Chopped.

The Mets may as well have been facing Johnny Vander Meer.  They did everything just shy of getting no-hit on consecutive nights.

In Game Two of their now concluded series against Atlanta, the Braves held the Mets without a hit from the third through eighth innings.  And in Thursday's series finale, Atlanta starter Julio Teheran carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Said another way, the Mets failed to hit safely in 59.2% of 27 innings played against the Braves.  In suffering through their first series sweep of the season, they were outscored by a distressing 2-21 margin, and out-hit by an equally troubling 15-41 deficit.

There's plenty of blame for everyone, though, as the pitching allowed Atlanta an average of seven runs per game

There's no wondering why the Mets now trail the Braves in the N.L. East standings by 1.5 games.  After jumping out to that 11-2 start, the Mets have gone 6-11 since.

Youth became a topic of discussion during this last series against the Braves - the "young Braves" as they were being described.  A glance at Baseball Reference does not necessarily reveal a great disparity in ages.  The Atlanta Braves show their pitchers average 28.4 years of age, and their batters averaged 28 years old.

The New York Mets meanwhile show their pitchers average 28.2  years old, and their position players at 29.4 years old.  However, the eye test says the Mets are bogged down with older veterans at left field, right field, third base, second base, and first base.

I'll be tackling that issue and more in my next post ...