New York Mets Bats Shy Away From National Spotlight

From the desk of: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

JEKYLL AND HYDE OFFENSE STRIKES AGAIN

Mets win series w/ Phillies 2-1

I - NYM 11; PHI 5

II - NYM 6; PHI 3

III - PHI 5; NYM 2

Fresh off Sunday night's ESPN prime time loss at Philadelphia, the Mets are 2-7 since sweeping the Cleveland Indians.  And now a whole nation knows it.

They're back at two games above .500, and from one moment to the next give the impression of a team either in the midst of something amazin' or a sputtering club running out of steam.  Tough to decipher; teams straddling .500 have a tendency of doing that.  That's the nature of mediocrity and hovering just above par.  And there's the rub: the Mets  players whom wield bats for a living have yet to distinguish themselves.  They continue squandering valuable opportunities sometimes seemingly without so much as a fight, instead appearing content to just fade away quietly into the night.

Like Sunday evening at Philadelphia ...

Sure we can wrangle over relievers Daniel Zamora and Jeurys Familia.  Zamora yields a lead-off hit to Bryce Harper in the bottom of the eighth.  Familia is then summoned from the bullpen and promptly walks Rhys Hoskins.  Both base runners advance on Brad Miller's sac-fly to center (and Brandon Nimmo's bad decision on the throw).  Second baseman Cesar Hernandez is intentionally walked loading the bases.  After which Familia surrenders a bases clearing double to left/center by shortstop Scott Kingery.

Game!

Of course this ruins an otherwise effective performance from Marcus Stroman.  He surrenders just two earned runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts through six innings.  Marcus faces 26 batters, throwing 98 pitches with 65 (66%) going for strikes. But he does not factor in the decision ... because the Mets offense is bi-polar.  Not to be confused with polar bears.

But truth be told, the Mets have been getting effective pitching ever since returning from the all-star break. Which is why I elect to keep my full focus on what has become a dysfunctional offense.  The Mets in game three against Philly post some very familiar offensive numbers that hearken back to their six game losing streak: just two runs on 4 for 19 (.138); another home run with no runners on base; and going another 0 for 3 with RiSP.

In their last seven losses the Mets are now 53 for 248 (.214), with 17 walks, and 54 strikeouts.  They're up to 48 runners LOB, and after Sunday are now 7 for 51 (.137) w/RiSP.

Compare that against their lone two victories (against the Phillies) in their last nine games.

• Game One: 12 for 39 (.308); four walks, nine strikeouts; six LOB; 4 for 10 (.400) w/RiSP; three home runs with five runners on base.
• Game Two: 13 for 41 (.317); three walks; six strikeouts; twelve LOB; 6 for 20 (.300) w/RiSP.

• TOTALS: 25 for 80 (.312), seven walks; 15 strikeouts; 18 LOB; 10 for 30 (.333) w/RiSP

So what's it gonna be?  Will the real Mets please stand up?  I sense we already know the answers to these questions.

NEXT

New York Mets @ Washington Nationals

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