3 UP

1. Tigers Catch a Beating

For most of the season, the discussion has been about how Wilson Ramos was the latest in a long line of Mets free agent busts. The one time slugger had become a ground ball machine. That is until recently.

In this series, Ramos was 6-for-12 with three homers and six RBI. His three homers in the series were more than the amount of homers he hit over his first 45 games.

Suddenly, he’s on fire, hitting .400 over his last 10 games with four extra base hits. That’s nearly half of his extra base hits this year.

On Saturday, he combined with Tomas Nido to hit three homers which accounted for all five of the Mets RBI in a 5-4 win in 13 innings.

2. Adeiny Way You Can

When Robinson Cano landed on the IL, the Mets were supposed to lose a slugging second baseman, not gain one. And yet, it’s been Adeiny Hechavarria who has been that slugger.

In the series against the Tigers, Hechavarria hit two homers and was 4-for-12 with a double.

It’s not just Hechavarria who surprisingly stepped it. As noted, Nido hit a walk-off homer. Hector Santiago has a win and three scoreless innings. Aaron Altherr homered in his first at-bat as a Met. Carlos Gomez had a great diving catch.

The list of contributions from players who were not even supposed to be a part of this team goes on and on. Hopefully, it continues.

3. Back to .500

On June 6, 1999, the Mets beat up Roger Clemens en route to a 7-2 victory and the Mets got back to .500. After that game, the team went 69-38 (.645) en route to winning the Wild Card.

On June 25, 2015, Jacob deGrom threw eight shut out innings to help the Mets get back to .500. After that game, the team went 53-35 (.602) en route to winning a pennant.

In August 21, 2016, Noah Syndergaard pitched eight shutout innings to help pull the Mets to .500. After that game, the Mets were 25-13 (.658) en route to hosting the Wild Card game.

Once you get back to .500, anything is possible. Perhaps after yesterday’s game where Todd Frazier bunted against the shift and Hechavarria homered, we’ll see this as the point where the Mets played over .600 ball to get back to the postseason.

3 DOWN

1. Mets Mishandling Nimmo

What should you do when the second best hitter in NL last year has neck problems severely hampering his performance? Naturally, you move him down in the lineup while continuing to trot him out there until he can play no longer.

If you think that’s asinine, you’re right, and yet, that’s exactly how the Mets handled Brandon Nimmo.

Nimmo, who was originally presumed to have just a stiff neck, has actually been dealing with a bulging disc in his neck and will be sidelined for the immediate future.

2. Thorny Issue

Noah Syndergaard has been mercurial of late, but overall, on the season, he has not been good.

His latest dud was allowing six earned on 10 hits and one walk in 5.1 innings against a Tigers team with the fourth worst offense in the majors (by wRC+). The two homers he allowed is more than he allowed last year, and his 1.3 HR/9 is the worst of his career.

It’s a sign of how he’s become more hittable. After all, he’s allowed the most hits in the league. There are a number of possible explanations why including bad luck and a poor defense behind him.

Perhaps the biggest issue is he’s increasingly becoming more of a two pitch pitcher as his slider has gone from weapon to liability.

As noted by MMO‘s Mathew Brownstein, Syndergaard has lost velocity on his slider leading to batters swinging and missing less frequently with a .346 wOBA.

This is all partially a function of the new ball. Syndergaard has struggled to grip it and throw HIS slider leading to a new grip and worse results, not just with the pitch but on the mound.

3. Got To Be Keon Me

When Keon Broxton was a Met, he received little playing time, and he struggled. Put another way, he wasn’t good and did nothing to earn playing time.

When there was finally playing time available, Broxton was designated for assignment so the Mets could call-up Carlos Gomez, who is hitting .167/.333/.333. The team also called up and designated Rajai Davis for assignment.

As bad as Broxton was with the Mets, Aaron Altherr had been worse going 1-for-30 before the Mets claimed him off waivers. He would homer in his first game as a Met, but he has gone hitless in his next five at-bats.

This highlights how the Broxtons and Altherrs of the world are always available, and as a result you don’t need to part with assets to get your version. Sure, the Mets can try to save face and point out how they at least got $500,000 in International bonus pool money.

That money is essentially worthless as it is for this signing period which expires on June 15. Anyone worth anything has already been signed. As bad as that looks, consider Broxton is 5-for-12 with a double, homer and three RBI with the Orioles.

That’s not to say Broxton does this with the Mets, or that they win with him the way they have with other outfielders.

Still, the Mets didn’t give him much of a chance after parting with assets to get him and got nothing in return as the Mets currently have a revolving door in the outfield.