3 UP

1. Rosario Can Flash The Leather

With just six games under his belt, there are not many defensive metrics available to quantify how well Amed Rosario is playing at shortstop.  The best we have is range factor, which is imperfect.  And yet, his 5.61 range factor per nine innings truly stands out.  As a point of reference, Brandon Crawford won the Gold Glove last year with a 4.40 range factor per nine last year.

However, it is more than just advanced stats.  We actually got to see how impactful Amed has been on the field, or as Keith Hernandez put it, “He passes the eye test.”

Only 21, Rosario is making plays we have not seen from a Mets shortstop since the heyday of Rey Ordonez. It’s pretty exciting to see him range so widely to his left and right with such ease, and we also got a few glimpses at how strong his arm is this weekend.  So far, Rosario has been everything we thought he could be, and he just might be more.

2. Goeddel’s Scoreless Streak

Erik Goeddel is currently on a seven outing and 4.2 inning scoreless streak.  Over the course of this streak, Goeddel has struck out more batters (6) than he has allowed batters to reach base (three hits, zero walks).  Right now, positions for the 2018 Mets bullpen is up for grabs.  There was a time Goeddel was considered a pitcher who could be a part of the Mets bullpen.  Over this current streak, he is beginning to look like that pitcher again.

3.  Syndergaard Made An Appearance On Sunday Night

If you are a fan of Game of Thrones, you got to see Noah Syndergaard make a cameo in Sunday’s episode.  If you have been following him on Twitter and other social media outlets, you will know both Syndergaard and Michael Conforto, are big Game of Thrones fans.  Certainly, this was a big deal for the Mets pitcher.

“It’s a dream come true. I think it’s the greatest TV show of all time, so just to be able to say I was in Game of Thrones is an unbelievable feeling,” Syndergaard told Sports Illustrated.

Syndergaard was cast as a soldier in the heat of battle, tossing a spear at the enemy just before a fire-breathing dragon swooped in and burned his battalion to a crisp. Hot stuff…

3 DOWN

1.  What Happened?

Two years ago, the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win an epic NLDS. This year, the Dodgers completed the first ever season series sweep in the 55 year history of this rivalry.

In the season series, the Dodgers outscored the Mets 54-14, and they out-homered the Mets 24-6.

What was once a close match-up with the Mets seemingly being the team in the rise has resulted in the Dodgers becoming a vastly superior team.

There’s many reasons why including Mets injury issues and the Dodgers willingness to spend what it takes. These aren’t all of the reasons, but they certainly highlight the areas which frustrate Mets fans most.

Whatever the reasons, the Mets need to do some serious soul searching and figure out how exactly it’s gotten to this point so they can fix this.

2. Is Matz Broken?

Steven Matz began the season with such promising results.  He was 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA and a 1.029 WHIP.  Lost in that start was Matz getting by with a career low in strikeout rate and strikeout to walk ratio.  It overshadowed his decision to abandon his slider and reducing his change-up rate to mostly become a two pitch pitcher.  However, it appears the opposition has caught on to Matz’s strategy and now he’s paying for it.

We’ve seen evidence of this as teams have jumped all over Matz in the first inning, scoring at least one run in five of his last six starts with multiple runs being scored in three of those games.  He’s averaged 26 pitches in the first innings of those starts, preventing him from pitching deep into games.

The latest example was his poor start against the Dodgers this weekend.  Yes, it was a good slide by Justin Turner that prolonged the first inning, but it was Matz who followed that up with a walk and three straight hits to make it 3-0.

Something is wrong with Matz whether it is mechanical, mental, or physical.  Whatever the case, the Mets and Matz have to figure out what is wrong and fix it.

3.  Bruce Ailing

Jay Bruce has sat out the last two games with a stiff neck.  His absence from the lineup limits the Mets ability to showcase him at first base in an attempt to trade him to a contender.

If Bruce is unable to play, it’s tough to sell him in an already tough market for power hitters, making it a moot point whether or not he would waive his limited no-trade clause.  It also makes all the time they’ve delayed calling up Dominic Smith to the majors fruitless.