3 UP
1. Bruce Still Playing Well
While the Mets are struggling nearly across the board, Jay Bruce has continued to hit well. In the two game set against the Braves, he was 3-6 with with two walks. He’s about the only guy hitting in the lineup right now as he’s about one of the few healthy guys left on the team.
More than that, Bruce has played a much better first base than anyone could have expected even with yesterday’s bobble. He’s certainly been better than James Loney was last year.
2. Rosario Chatter
There are two reasons why you hear people clamoring for Amed Rosario. The first is how poor the Mets are playing. The biggest reason is he is playing really well. Through his first 19 games, he is hitting .397/.442/.462 with three doubles, a triple, eight RBI, and six stolen bases. He’s reached base in 19 of the 20 games he has played this season. Combine that with his playing a good shortstop, getting some exposure to third base, and his overall attitude, and you have a player knocking loudly at the door. While the Mets may wait until mid-June before making a move like that, it is good to know he is doing all he can to force the Mets hands.
3. Reyes Warming Up
Jose Reyes reached base five times in the series including his first home run of the season off R.A. Dickey on Thursday. He has now reached base safely in four straight games and has a hit in three straight. Doesn’t seem like much, but that sounds like a hot streak for someone slashing only .137/.232/.205 for the season.
3 DOWN
1. Cespedes Is Hurt
When he had a leg injury last year, Yoenis Cespedes was just a shadow of himself. You think the Mets would have learned their lesson from that with their most important hitter. Of course, they didn’t. Instead, they opted to tempt fate to win some April games. It’s unconscionable.
After limping into second with a fourth inning double, Cespedes had to be helped off the field. For the Mets refusal to put him on the disabled list, they got 13 innings out of Cespedes. If you thought things were bad offensively with the Mets playing Curtis Granderson and Jose Reyes everyday, wait until you see this offense with Juan Lagares playing everyday instead of Cespedes.
2. Mechanical Issues and a Bicep
Supposedly, the Mets said it was a miscommunication that the team was going to skip Robert Gsellman‘s start. The truth eventually came out that Noah Syndergaard wasn’t pushed up in the rotation because he has tightness or tendinitis in his bicep. Given the Mets history of handing of their pitchers and injuries in general, feel free to panic. It is well justified.
The pitching issues goes deeper than Thor. Gsellman reported “mechanical problems” in his start where the Braves tattooed him. If memory serves, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Steven Matz all complained about “mechanical problems” before they had season ending surgery. It’s frightening to think, but the Mets are this close to having Sean Gilmartin and Rafael Montero in the rotation.
What’s also frightening to think is Harvey has become one of the healthier pitchers. Already twice this season, he has had to make an unscheduled start because someone couldn’t go. This is the same Harvey who has had season ending injuries two of the past four seasons.
3. Fans Are Angry
Dating back to the last series against the Nationals, Citi Field has looked awfully empty. It could be the weather. It could be the starting times. It could be the team constantly lying to the fans about the severity of the injuries. Mostly, it is how poor this team is performing in almost every facet of the game. Understandably, fans are upset and frustrated. You hear it on sports talk radio. It’s all over Twitter. You’ll see it in the comments to this and many other articles. The fans are unhappy, and it starting to show with a largely empty Citi Field. This should provide the Mets with their biggest impetus to fix everything that needs fixing.
This was a two game sweep where just about everything went wrong with the Mets. They have lost Cespedes and potentially Syndergaard for a long period of time. Just when you think things can’t get any worse, the team is now traveling to Washington to take on the Nationals.
