3 UP
1. deGrom Being deGrom
Lets face it. Each and every time Jacob deGrom takes the mound, he has to be at least part of the first up.
With this start, he now has five straight starts of seven plus innings and two earned or less allowed. In this stretch, he’s struck out at least seven batters.
Simply put, deGrom is the best pitcher in the National League, and he’s neck-and-neck with Justin Verlander in the conversation of who has been the best pitcher in baseball this year.
More than that, he’s been an amazing teammate talking about the thing he can do better (as if his performance is remotely an issue) that he can do to help his team win.
2. Callaway Still Fighting
Like the rest of us, Mickey Callaway has seen enough, and he finally snapped.
In Monday’s game, when it was ruled Brandon Nimmo had to return to the batter’s box for not even attempting to move out of the way of the pitch, Callaway gave the umpire an earful and was quickly tossed.
Callaway stood up for his player, and for a moment, it seemed to energize his team as they rallied. Of course, a fluke double play later and that momentum quickly evaporated.
Overall, despite some people wanting to dump on a manager who has to decide between inserting either the bad, the injured, or the completely inept player into the game, Callaway is growing on the job.
He hasn’t been afraid to upset the status quo, like moving Brandon Nimmo to third in the lineup, to find ways to jump start this team.
Overall, if you’re looking for a real positive impact look at the starting pitching. During the Month of June, Mets starters have the second best ERA in baseball (2.64). That’s all the more impressive when you consider you the Mets are a terrible defensive team, and this pitching staff has not had the benefit of facing this Mets offense.
3. Smith Looked Pretty Good
When Dominic Smith started his first game of the season for the Mets, one thing that immediately stood out to you was he has kept the weight off. For a team that has questioned his ability to stay fit as well as his maturity, Smith’s staying in shape is a positive sign he’s turned a corner in his career.
During the two game set, he held his own with him going 1-5 with a walk over the course of the two games. Considering where the Mets are right now offensively, that makes him one of the team’s better hitters.
He has also flashed the leather a few times in the two game set reminding everyone that he is a good defender over at first base.
Overall, this may not be enough for him to keep Peter Alonso from eventually taking this job away from him. However, in the end, it is enough for the Mets to justify keeping him in the starting lineup as they head to Arizona.
3 DOWN
1. Historically Inept
Rather than go piece by under-performing piece of this Mets lineup, it’s better to let Elias sum up just how bad the Mets offense has been lately.
The 2018 Mets are the first ever baseball team to score fewer than 15 runs and accumulate fewer than 50 hits over an 11 game stretch.
It gets better.
Since 1913, the year ERA became an official stat, the Mets have accumulated the fewest wins (2) over a 10 game stretch where their starter had an ERA of at least 0.87 over that stretch.
What this team is doing to deGrom is criminal, and recently they’re hitting like deGrom is pitching everyday.
2. Surprised, Not Ready
We are all well aware of how terrible Jay Bruce has been. Asdrubal Cabrera is too injured to play since the end of April. Michael Conforto has not been the same since last year’s shoulder surgery. We have no idea when or if Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes will return.
We are all aware of these things and many other issues with this Mets tream. Right now, these issues are providing cover for Amed Rosario regressing yet again.
In June, Rosario is hitting .133/.188/.133 with a 21.8 percent strike out rate. He’s walked just twice in 32 plate appearances. His WAR is down to a -0.6.
You could argue there are more pressing issues with this team, but maybe there isn’t. Rosario was one of the top rated prospects in all of baseball, and he was supposed to be a fixture at shortstop for the next decade.
Rosario is still young, and it’s still very early in his career. However, it is at least disconcerting we are having the same conversations about him we did last year because there has been no appreciable growth in his game over the past year.
3. Mets Are Losers, Baby
Yesterday, as the Mets were blowing another deGrom gem, we had a moment which perfectly encapsulates everything that is wrong with this Mets team. The New York Mets picked up former Chicago White Sox reliever Chris Beck off waivers.
Beck is a right-handed reliever with a career 5.94 ERA, 1.705 WHIP, and a 1.23 K/BB ratio. But don’t worry, he’s been better this year with a 4.18 ERA, 1.479 WHIP, and a 1.45 K/BB ratio. In fact, things are so great with him, he was just released by the third worst team in all of baseball.
Remember, Sandy Alderson spent all of last trade deadline spinning Bruce, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed, and Neil Walker into salary relief. Sorry, seven right-handed relievers.
Jamie Callahan may be done for the season with shoulder surgery. Gerson Bautista has been less than impressive in his brief Major League appearances. Jacob Rhame has seen more red eyes than a Southern diner.
Despite all that, the Mets have Drew Smith is pitching well in the Pacific Coast League with a 2.67 ERA, 1.111 WHIP, and a 9.0 K/9.
But no, Smith doesn’t get the call. Instead, the Mets would rather go with a bad veteran over letting a young player get a chance and prove himself. Considering how things have fallen apart with this Mets team, you would think that just for a moment, this team would change the way it thinks. They haven’t.
Frankly, it’s shocking we have yet to see this Mets team sign Hanley Ramirez. Maybe we should give it a week or so because we know if the Mets need to add another infielder, the chances are it’s going to be Hanley and not Jeff McNeil.
