N.Y. Mets: Command and Control, the Comeback, and The Closer

From the desk: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

After Friday Blizzard Mets Split 

Saturday Twin Bill at Coors Field

Teammates Rally Together in Support of Jacob deGrom's Near Record Effort

Making his third start of this young season, Jacob deGrom puts forth something more than just another dominating effort.  In facing 23 Colorado batters, he hurls 99 pitches with 67.6% going for strikes.  His line reads three unearned runs on three hits and just one walk with 14 strikeouts through six innings pitched.  It marks his second straight start with 14 strikeouts.  But this performance against the Rockies is so much more special than that.  

Jacob registers his first strikeout to end the first, then fans the side in the second.  He again strikes out the side in the third and yet again in the fourth, giving him nine consecutive strikeouts, eight of which are of the swing-and-miss variety.  Jacob now lay within one strikeout of matching Tom Seaver's 51-year old year record of ten consecutive strikeouts set on April 22, 1970, against the San Diego Padres.  

But Colorado third baseman Josh Fuentes has other ideas when he grounds to second leading off the fifth and reaches safely on Jeff McNeil's errant throw to first.  And wouldn't you know, Jacob strikes out the next batter he faces.  Afterwhich, trouble comes knocking at the door.  Catcher Dom Nunez triples off the right-field wall scoring Fuentes, and pinch-hitter Yonathan Daza's sacrifice fly to right field scores, Nunez.  Left fielder Raimel Tapia then homers, giving the Rockies a 3-1 lead.  Jacob finally fans second baseman Ryan McMahon to retire the side.

Pete Alonso who back in the third inning drove home Jacob deGrom with the game's first run, homers leading off the top of the sixth, cutting the Mets deficit to one.  Jacob deGrom, in his final inning of work, retires the Rockies in order with two more strikeouts.  In the top half of the seventh, runs batted in by Jonathan Villar and Francisco Lindor put Jacob deGrom back on the winning side of the game.

Edwin Diaz then slams the door shut on the Colorado Rockies, needing just 13 pitches to strike out the side, all swinging.  While earning his first save of the season, Diaz likewise locks down deGrom's first victory in three tries.  The deGrominator evens his record at 1-1 with a glistening 0.45 ERA through 20 innings pitched to date.

The results of game two at Coors Field on Saturday do not escape me.  The fact they were a mere 2 for 23 at the plate with just two walks and six strikeouts albeit against a representative German Marquez is more than I care to know.  Otherwise, Joey Lucchesi's second appearance and first start for the Mets proved troublesome as did that of reliever Jacob Barnes.  The Rockies struck for three runs in the first inning and the rest is, as they say, 

... you know, Metsian.

N.Y. Mets: On the Bullpen's Three Game Trend

From the desk: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

TRUCKING UP I-95 ON THE LAST LEG HOME

OPENING DAY

Marlins

vs.

Mets

FROM

ROOSEVELT AVENUE GROUNDS

Flushing, Queens

Edwin Diaz Coming to a Ballpark Near You

If you follow me, you're familiar with one of my rules of thumb: once is an event, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend.  

Insofar as trending, there is the micro and the macro.  For the moment, we have a three-game series at Philadelphia to speak of.  By mid-April, we will have three series to compare and contrast.  

The point being, I apply equal importance to early-season games as I would to any in June or September.  I believe in getting off to good starts with the idea that you cannot win pennants in April, but you can certainly lose them.

Therefore, with great angst, I say the Mets will go as far as their bullpen carries them.  I'm not breaking new ground here.  That is just the modern condition of baseball.  

In the first three games alone, the Mets relievers relinquished a lead, upheld a lead in game two, then played a rather inconsequential role in Wednesday afternoon's loss against the Phillies.

Manager Luis Rojas called upon three relievers in each of the first three games.  In games one and two,  Miguel Castro and Trevor May were joined by Aaron Loup and Jeurys Familia.  On Wednesday, Jacob Barnes, Dellin Betances, and Joey Lucchesi each made their season debut. 

Overall, the bullpen has accounted for 36% of the Mets 25 total innings pitched.  Seven different relievers have joined together to throw 194 pitches, with 118 (60.8%) going for strikes.  They've yielded six earned runs on 13 hits and three walks through nine innings for a 6.00 ERA and 1.77 WHiP with eleven strikeouts.  Still slated to be a starter, Joey Lucchesi distinguished himself by allowing one lone hit with three strikeouts through two innings pitched. 

Despite David Peterson lasting just four innings Wednesday against the Phillies, the Mets' first three starters, in turn, accounted for 64% of all innings pitched.  By midsummer, I expect the starting rotation to account for at least 68% of innings pitched.  In the meantime, Peterson's abbreviated start raised the bullpen's average usage up to three innings per game.

On Thursday, the Mets host the Miami Marlins for Opening Day at Citi Field.  Edwin Diaz is likely to make his season debut at home, assuming the Mets own a late-inning lead.  Lest we forget, last year the Marlins qualified for the post-season, and the Mets did not.  

Robert Gsellman is also yet to make his first appearance.

I eagerly await to see the next trios of relievers Luis Rojas deploys against the Marlins because that's how he's trending. 

Grapefruit League Preview, Sky King, and "Ya Gotta Believe" on Another Metsian Podcast

From the desk: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

with SAM, RICH & MIKE

Opening Day in the Grapefruit League

Mets Roster Projections 

Bullpen - Third Base - Luis Rojas

Pete Alonso > Social Media < Steve Cohen

The 1973 National League Champion New York Mets

and so much more!

ninety-five minutes

#LGM

N.Y. Mets: David Peterson's Battle To Keep Spot In Rotation Begins Now

From the desk: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

PITCHERS & CATCHERS

• Off-Season: Like a Nor'Easter Over Flushing Bay
• Pitchers & Catchers: deGrominator Rising
• Pitchers & Catchers: Pressure on Marcus Stroman to Form One-Two Punch
• Pitchers & Catchers: Difference Between Good And Great Could Be Carlos Carrasco
  
• A Metsian Podcast: Reporting to Camp with Baseball Writer & Analyst Ernest Dove
  

Can David Peterson Pick Up Where He Left Off?

After just 247.2 innings worth of experience at the minor league level, David Peterson made his MLB debut last season.  The Mets 2017 first-round draft pick (20th overall) was called up in late July and finished out the season with ten appearances and nine starts.  He yielded just 36 hits and fanned 40 batters in 49.2 innings pitched but allowed an untidy 4.3 walks per nine innings pitched.  Peterson otherwise posted a 3.44 ERA and 1.208 WHiP, while his slightly elevated 4.52 FIP was offset by a fine .233 BABIP and .202 average against.

He averaged 5.1 innings per start but finished stronger than that.  In his penultimate start of the season, he went six full while striking out ten Atlanta Braves, then in his season finale allowed one run on just four hits over seven full in a victory over Washington.

Not bad for a rookie ... 

David Peterson retains his eligibility by a hair; the rookie cut-off is 50 innings pitched, and he did not spend more than 45 days on the pre-expanded 25-man roster.  With any luck, he circumvents baseball's mysterious sophomore jinx and can pick up where he left off.

His repertoire consists of the new-age traditional fastball/slider/change, which is based on deception and keeping hitters off-balance, of which I'm not a huge fan.  I prefer an accurately placed fastball, location in the zone, and a curveball that falls off the table.  Be that as it may, Peterson's fastball and slider come in at 92.6mph and 92.2mph, respectively, and he offsets that with an 84mph change-up.

Peterson went from a pre-camp rotation surety to suddenly being faced with stiff competition for a spot amongst the starting five.  It's safe to say the latest free-agent acquisition, Taijuan Walker, is certain to occupy the fourth rotation spot.  That leaves a three-way battle for the number five spot between fellow acquisitions Jordan Yamamoto, Joey Lucchesi, and the homegrown David Peterson. 

One factor out of Peterson's control is management's manipulation of options.  Lucchesi has one option remaining, Yamamoto has two, and Peterson, the freshest of the bunch, has three.  All three can expect to see time this season both at Syracuse and Flushing.  The only question is when. 

Jordan Yamamoto projects as a power pitcher but still lacks requisite control.  Instead, the onus is on Joey Lucchesi and David Peterson to distinguish themselves over the next five weeks.  The winner moves on to start the season as the rotation's lone southpaw.

N.Y. Mets: Like a Nor'Easter Over Flushing Bay

From the desk: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Pitchers & Catchers report in two more days when finally the Mets can again set about the business of playing baseball.

After one of the most comprehensively altering off-seasons in Mets history, Flushing begins digging out from a winter Nor'Easter marked by hype, controversy, and transformative acquisitions.   

Once his Mets' purchase was finalized by Major League Baseball, Steve Cohen officially arrived on the scene in November.  At long last, the Wilpon Era was over.  Replete with a Twitter account at the ready, Cohen, in an instant single-handed revived the spirits of New York City's increasingly despondent National League fan base.

Already a minority shareholder in the team, Cohen and Sandy Alderson were by no means strangers to one another.  However, I still wonder why Cohen acted so quickly in hiring Alderson to be his President of Baseball Operations.  With Steve Cohen in place, being a Mets executive instantly became one of the most sought after positions in all of baseball.  Why not wait and play the field or see who makes themselves available?  Instead, Cohen wasted little time in recruiting Sandy Alderson back into the Mets fold.  In turn, Alderson wiped out all vestiges of Brodie Van Wagenen's front office, all except "the survivor" John Ricco, that is.

Before hiring a general manager, Sandy Alderson's skeleton crew moved quickly in signing free-agents Brian McCann and Trevor May and executing the mega-deal for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco.  Not till a week after the big trade was Jared Porter hired as general manager.  All of this taking place in December.  

Flushing goes on to revel in one of the happiest New Year's holidays of recent history, pandemic withstanding.  But then a major controversy came crashing the party.  Roughly one year after hiring Carlos Beltran as manager then immediately having to let him go when it was discovered he participated in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, the Mets, after less than forty days on the job are forced to fire Jared Porter post-haste after it was revealed he texted numerous unsolicited lewd pictures to a female reporter.

Kicking off the month of February, news comes down of similar behavior involving former manager Mickey Callaway.  In what is being called the "worst kept secret in sports," several female members of the media claim Callaway's harassing behavior spanned five years, covering his time in Cleveland, New York, and Anaheim.  

As one who hired both, these incidents put Sandy Alderson's hiring practices squarely under the spotlight.  When a reporter questioned if he ever consulted with a woman at any point during his vetting of Porter, Sandy Alderson said no.  Therefore, it's now up to him to decipher whether his practices are fundamentally flawed, self-serving, or otherwise.

Then came the GameStop and supposed stock manipulation uproar that caused Steve Cohen's professional life as an investor to bleed over into his endeavors as Mets owner.  He suspended his Twitter account at once, and you might say the honeymoon period ended with it.

Meanwhile, free agency was not as cooperative as Mets fans anticipated.  However, for the first time in a long time, spending power was not a primary issue.  It certainly appears as if George Springer and Trevor Bauer never once contemplated playing in New York.  Instead, each used the Mets to facilitate an agreeable contract elsewhere, for it takes two to set a market ... just ask Baurer's agent.  I am actually very agreeable to missing out on both.  Just because they were the best available doesn't necessarily make them worthy of premium dollars.

This month's second wave of transactions saw the trading away of Steven Matz to Toronto for three prospects, one of which the Mets parlayed into Kansas City's eighth-ranked prospect, outfielder Khalil Lee.  Alderson and interim general manager Zack Scott also traded for pitchers Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto.  From the free-agent market, they signed outfielder Albert Amora Jr, pitcher Aaron Loup, and infielder Jonathan Villar.

And that was only in the first one hundred days of the Cohen Era.

The Mets still have several outstanding issues entering Spring Training.

Major League Baseball will not be implementing a universal DH this season.  As rules go, I'm happy about it, but it's problematic for the Mets.  The likely alignment when the Mets are not playing American League teams is Dom Smith playing left and Pete Alonso at first.  Otherwise, Dom Smith will DH and make the occasional start at first - not an optimal situation.

Albert Almora Jr. brings a potential platoon into the center field equation.  This is, of course, the backup plan after having missed out on George Springer.  Brandon Nimmo looks to be the starter heading into the season.  In fact, I welcome Nimmo and his career .838 OPS.  At the very least, Albert Almora Jr. should become the customary late-inning replacement.

The situation at third base remains fluid.  The job belongs to JD Davis until notified otherwise.  No one is questioning his bat.  However, his glovework leaves much to be desired.  Thus the Mets seem more than interested in making another move.

Meanwhile, Francisco Lindor and Michael Conforto have pressing contract concerns that require the Mets address.

Lastly, on the premise simmering in pockets of Metsville, that because the Mets have a billionaire owner, their inability to secure JT Realmuto, Brad Hand, George Springer, Trevor Baurer, James Paxton, D.J. LeMahieu, Cory Kluber, Nolan Arenado, et al, constitutes a failed off-season.

To all of it, I say, nonsense.

A Metsian Podcast: Men, Manners, Mets and Other Life's Minutiae with Anna Brice

From the desk: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

With SAM, RICH & MIKE

We Welcome Back New York Native/Jersey Girl, 

Current Arizona Resident, and Life-Long Mets Fan

Anna Brice

110-minutes

We were intent on having Anna Brice join us to provide a woman's perspective with regards to the Jared Porter incident.  Otherwise, where do we go from here ... no George Springer, but Mets trade for Joey Lucchesi, and what about Trevor Bauer ... we discuss it all.  We also talk Mets baseball circa 1971, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and a Gil Hodges/HOF rant, and more on this episode of A Metsian Podcast.

#LGM