3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Mauled By Cubs

3 UP

Reinforcements Coming 

It was a shot in the arm to get Trevor May and Luis Guillorme back in this series. It will be an even bigger shot in the arm to get some of the other players off the IL.

Max Scherzer had a strong rehab start and appears poised to come off the IL as soon as his IL stint is completed. Drew Smith will appear in back-to-back games over the weekend, and if all goes well, he is set to come off the IL next week.

Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi are also set to pitch multiple innings over the weekend. This moves both pitchers closer to rejoining the Mets before the end of the season. If they are truly set to go, the postseason bullpen will be as tough as they come.

Williams to the Rescue Again

Once again, the New York Mets called upon Trevor Williams. Once again, Williams stepped up, and he gave the Mets exactly what they needed.

After David Peterson was terrible, Williams stepped in and pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing just one run. At one point, he struck out five straight batters, and he would strike out eight overall. Ultimately, he would keep the Mets in the game and give them a chance to tie or win it (they didn’t).

On the season, Williams has pitched in a variety of roles and has been successful in each role. He has been a vital part of this team, and as we look to the postseason, the Mets might want to start looking for a way to get him involved in the later innings as he is probably the non-Edwin Diaz bullpen arm the Mets can rely upon most right now.

Still in First Place

The Mets need to send the San Francisco Giants a gift basket right now because the Mets survived this embarrassment in first place because of them. The Mets were inexcusably and inexplicably swept by the Chicago Cubs. The Giants did the Mets a favor by taking two out of three from the Atlanta Braves.

It’s getting old to say, but the Mets have the easiest September schedule which still proverbially puts them in the driver’s seat. Thanks to the Giants, they are still in first, tied in the loss column, and are about to start a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

3 DOWN

DH Apparently Not Fixed

This has become overly redundant and tiresome to discuss. First, the problem was Robinson Cano. Then, it was the combination of J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith. At the trade deadline, the Mets had the genius idea to solve their DH problem with a platoon system at DH.

It started well at first, but recently, it has been a disaster. Daniel Vogelbach is batting .130/.259/.196 over his last 17 games. Ruf has a 14 wRC+ since joining the Mets. Vientos finally got called up with at least a chance to knock Ruf out of the lineup, but he has started his Major League career going 0-for-10.

For some reason, Showalter seems to have a rule the DH must bat fifth, and so there is zero production behind Alonso in the lineup. While he seemed to at least start to look to get out of it with two homers in this series, he has struggled since the All-Star Break (for him). It’s now September, and the Mets have run out of options on how to fix this situation.

Disappointing Stretch

The Mets are 6-7 this month against a ridiculously easy schedule. That includes getting swept by the Cubs at home; the first time the Mets have been swept all season.

No one is saying Buck Showalter should be fired, but he is escaping criticism other Mets managers in the past would have faced.

Players like Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor are obviously tired with Lindor saying as much. Showalter never gave them a breather. It has been oft-discussed where Showalter looks to sit Lindor for a game or an inning, but Lindor fights to stay in the lineup.

There have been the curious bullpen choices over the past few weeks.

Mostly, this is a team visibly frustrated on the field losing games they should be winning. We hear from Gary, Keith, and Ron about how they’re all gripping the bat too tightly. We can see the pressure getting to them. It’s at the point where they are getting beaten badly by teams the Mets should beat easily.

That is with the obvious caveat Starling Marte is hurt and a bigger loss than anyone could’ve realized even with all the purported depth the Mets have.

Overall, this is where they needed and wanted Showalter to be the difference. He supposedly had the experience and moxie to make this team different. That said, there is still plenty of time for him to right this ship and guide the Mets to the World Series.

Starting Pitching Struggles

Chris Bassitt arguably had his worst start of the season. Jacob deGrom followed with his worst start of the season. Remarkably, the Cubs were able to touch up both for homers. It was shocking to see, but when you take a step back, you realize both will be alright in the long run, so there is no need to worry about them.

Peterson was flat-out bad for a second straight outing. While he has been very good for the Mets for most of the season, he is faltering at a crucial time for him and for the team.

This isn’t about winning the division for Peterson and the Mets. It is about who is going to be on the postseason roster. Looking at the way Peterson is pitching at the moment, you just don’t know how the Mets could include him on the roster. Maybe the Mets need to just move him to the bullpen to see how he pitches there.