N.Y. Mets: No Fielding, No Pitching, No Dice

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Come Get Us!

Come get the fourth best team in the N.L. East!  Because for all Brodie Van Wagenen's maneuverings that's exactly what the Mets are.  As the summer solstice nears the Mets are closer to last place than first.  The all encompassing question is why?  We know the reasons are myriad, convoluted, and in certain instances uncommonly depressing.  Allow me then to merely scratch the surface with mention of three of the more glaring inefficiencies afflicting the 2019 Mets.


I - FIELDING

• Despite handling the National League's sixth least total chances, the Mets easily lead the circuit with 54 errors.  As such they rank last in fielding percentage (.980) and second to last (.678) in defensive efficiency ratio.
• Meanwhile base runners run circles around them.  The Mets allow the most stolen bases.  Opposing base runners are successful 86% of the time.  In turn they throw out the fourth least base runners.  Wilson Ramos has thrown out just eight would be base thieves versus 54 successful attempts for a rate of 13% which is less than half than league average (27.5%).  Tomas Nido is 0 for 5 in stolen base attempts.  However equal blame falls on the starting pitchers for their woeful inability to hold runners.
• Wilson Ramos has also allowed the second most passed balls (7), and is now just three away from his career high of ten.  Ramos (4) and Nido (2) account for six errors.  Pete Alonso (5) is tied for second most errors among first basemen.  Amed Rosario (11) is tied for most errors among shortstops.  Todd Frazier (6) and J.D. Davis (4) have combined on ten errors which ties Atlanta's Josh Donaldson (10) for most errors at third base.  That's four infield positions accounting for 59.2% of Mets errors.
• To a lesser extent the outfield has only seven errors to speak of spread among five players.  Three different players have joined for seven errors at second base; Robinson Cano has committed four.

II - PITCHING

As a team Mets pitchers have thrown the second most pitches in the National League and the seventh most in baseball.  They own the National League's third worst ERA (4.67), yield the fourth most hits (656), and own the fifth worst WHiP (1.36).  Slash wise, the Mets .256 average against is fourth worst/.326 OBP sixth worst/.433 slugging sixth worst/.760 opposing OPS fifth worst.

 A) THE BULLPEN

Twenty different pitchers have manned the Mets bullpen this season.  Collectively, they've thrown roughly 252 innings - which roughly accounts for 38% of all Mets innings pitched - in which they've yielded 155 runs for a 5.53 ERA.  Of the five relief pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched only Seth Lugo owns an ERA below three.

• Jeurys Familia - 27.2 inn; 7.81 ERA.
• Drew Gagnon - 20 inn; 7.65 ERA.
• Robert Gsellman - 39.1 inn; 4.81 ERA.
• Edwin Diaz - 28.2 inn; 3.77 ERA.
• Seth Lugo - 34.1 inn; 2.36 ERA.
• Wilmer Font and the Fearful Fourteen account for 102.2 innings and a 7.22 ERA.

• The Mets have had the third most (33) save opportunities but only converted 17 for tenth most.  Said another way they're blowing 49.5% of their save opportunities.

 B) THE STARTERS

On the positive side, the starting rotation has stayed relatively injury free.  Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz, and Jason Vargas, have combined to start 70 of the Mets 74 games to date.  Prior to Thursday's (terrible) start by Walter Lockett, only Justin Wilson and Wilmer Font were asked to make four spot starts.
Although Jacob deGrom hasn't necessarily picked up where he left off last year he's pitching very well nonetheless.  He seems to be battling himself more than anything, and throughout the season has appeared noticeably angry be it with himself or otherwise.  He is still the staff ace ace and the rotation stabilizer.  No issues here. 

Jason Vargas is easily the surprise performer of the season if not the Mets second best starter to date.  And there's the rub.  How is it that he should be outperforming Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, and Steven Matz?  Yet, he is doing just that with a 3.74 ERA through 12 appearances and 11 starts and a rotation best .240 batting average against. 

It's a good thing, too.  The Mets are still a team built around starting pitching.  And so far three of their top four starters have yet to fulfill expectations.

• Noah Syndergaard indeed possesses the talents of a Nordic god.  That's what makes him and his 4.55 ERA so damn frustrating.  The man lacks refinement, or more to the point, craftsmanship.  Instead, he continually looks to lower the hammer.  With 98-mph fastballs more a norm throughout baseball and no longer the exception, where then is the novelty of velocity without deception and effective situational application?  He's not fooling anyone.  Despite 93 strikeouts, he's allowed 91 hits (8.6 H/9) and eleven home runs through 95 innings.  The opposition is slashing .253/.304/.398/.703 against him.  He also leads the staff with 15 stolen bases against him.  Pencil him onto the list of team underachievers.

• Zack Wheeler is not having the type of walk season I nor perhaps he anticipated.  With health finally on his side, I predicted a great season ahead.  Through 15 starts and 94.2 innings pitched, Zack Wheeler's ERA this season has yet to dip below three.  He presently sports a staff high 4.94 ERA having yielded 14 home runs to date.  He has surrendered two home runs in a game five times.  The first time occurred in April.  The last four times have come in his last six starts.  Like Syndergaard, Wheeler isn't fooling anyone.  He is allowing more hits than innings pitched.  As such he has allowed a league high 52 earned runs.  Back in spring training Wheeler took a hard line against the Mets indicating his desire to test free agency and that his price would be firm.  The Mets publicly said they were willing to let the season play itself out and revisit the situation then.  There is much to appreciate about Zack Wheeler which will potentially make him the Mets main trading chip come deadline time ... or not.

• Steven Matz biggest problem remains between his ears.  It's all mental with this guy.  His lack of composure jumps out like a jack-in-the box.  His long ball woes are even greater than that of Wheeler's.  Matz who on average has 20 less innings pitched than Syndergaard, deGrom, and Wheeler, has surrendered a staff high 15 home runs in just 73 innings.  Matz likewise has yielded more hits than innings pitched.  After 14 starts he owns a 4.28 ERA with a rotation high 1.37 WHiP.

All this being said, Dave Eiland was relieved as pitching coach on Thursday.  Phil Regan now takes over while Rickey Bones returns for a second stint as bullpen coach.  That's fine and well, but what the Mets need is talent.  Brodie Van Wagenen can shuttle this present collection of pitchers back and forth between Syracuse and Flushing all he wants.  But nothing will change until he imports higher quality talent.  That in turn (like most things Mets) entails a discussion reserved for a future post  involving the team's COO.


III - POTHOLES and PITFALLS

The Mets are presently on an 11-game road trip.  They've already dropped two of three at Atlanta, and lost Thursday's series opener against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.  That drops their road record to 15-26 (.365) on the season.  They're also 12-13 in one run games.  Like kryptonite, the N.L. Central continues having a crippling effect on the Mets.  This has been going a few years now.  While the Mets own a 19-15 record against their division opponents, they are 5-13 against N.L. Central likes of the Brewers, Reds, Cardinals, and Cubs.  They're 7-9 against the N.L. West.

Of course this is merely the beginning.  The Mets have more problems than a math book.  For now, these are just some of the reasons why I believe the Mets presently find themselves five games under .500 through their first 75 games of the season.  My next round of reasons will include position players, Mickey Callaway, Brodie Van Wagenen, and you guessed it ... the Wilpons.  After which I'll delve into possible remedies for this sickness we call Mets baseball.

Stay tuned ...

#LGM