An MMO Fan Shot by Chris

Time to assess where the 2019 Mets are after the first three weeks of the season. They head home after a long, tough road trip, so here are my three ups and three downs so far this season:

Down No. 1: The defense is bad

The team seems to get worse every day! Wilson Ramos and Amed Rosario can now be called bad defenders, and they are at the two most important positions, defensively. Fortunately, this is a problem that can be corrected with Travis d’Arnaud and Jed Lowrie, who aren’t Gold Gloves, but are upgrades over this. Will Mickey Callaway bench Rosario for Lowrie everyday? Probably not, but at least you’ll have that option, without having to make a trade.

Down No. 2: Where’s the pitching?

It’s been hard to find anyone who has pitched really well, who’s name is not Edwin Diaz (and he says he can be much better). When Steven Matz is your most consistent starter, you’ve got some serious issues to address.

I’m not as worried about this because I’ve seen all five starters pitch well for stretches, at some point, so they all can do it. Hitters usually start the season off faster than pitchers, but the difference usually isn’t this stark.

I believe by Memorial Day, the pitching will turn it around, overall. They won’t be the worst pitching team in baseball for the 2019 season. They’re just off to a bad start.

Down No. 3: Callaway isn’t the answer

I’d like to enter Evidence Item No. 265 that Mickey is not the leader of champions. This came from the last Vargas start. Vargas actually pitches well, gives you four solid innings at somewhere around 80 pitches, and is up 4-1. He has gone through the order twice, but he is not even allowed to start the fifth inning, and is removed for Seth Lugo.

Callaway proceeds to burn through every good bullpen arm the Mets have, playing this game like it is the seventh game of the World Series. He also neglected to field ONE decent pitcher in the game the next afternoon, losing in a 10-2 rout.

This is what a rookie manager in Double-A ball would do, or if a fan ran the team, for one night. However, this is a marathon, not a sprint, and this mismanagement not only destroyed any chance in the next game, but it undermined any confidence Vargas could gain from the good start.

He now knows you really don’t respect his game, and you think he can’t protect a three-run lead for one inning. You wouldn’t even give him the chance to start the inning, and try for the win. You just told him he didn’t deserve a chance at the win, when he threw his best game of the season.

A better manager would’ve had Lugo warming behind him, and told Vargas “Go get ’em, but if two guys get on, I’m coming for you.” Up 4-3, you can make the argument that pulling him was the right move. Up three runs, starting off a new inning, with a bullpen you should know you’ll need tomorrow, you need innings that night, and Mickey simply didn’t think ahead. You have a three-run lead. Use it to your advantage, and stop playing with a losing attitude, like you’re a run behind, Mickey!

Vargas gave Mickey his best. For once, Callaway should give his players the same. I hope that wasn’t it, or else this team is doomed!

Up No. 1: Mets still above .500

The Mets 21-game start was simply the toughest in baseball this season. Only five home games and 16 games on the road. To finish that only one game behind first place is quite an accomplishment! They won’t feel like it on the flight back to LGA, but they did a good job.

Their closing three weeks of the season balance out their schedule, as 17 of 23 are at home. This will be a huge advantage in September, when gunning for a playoff spot, provided they learn how to win home games.

Up No. 2: Believe the hype

No, not in “Hype Harper,” as Black Dynamite likes to say, but the hype behind Pete Alonso, who is as good as advertised. Not only is he hitting well over .300, with a team-leading eight home runs and 19 RBI in just 21 games, but he’s also playing a very solid first base defensively overall. You can make the argument he has been one of the best infield defenders for the Mets this season, which is quite an achievement for someone considered a defensive project a year ago. Hard work pays off.

Up No. 3: This offense is no longer offensive!

The Mets offense has gone from rags to riches, scoring more runs than any Mets team in history, though their first 20 games. If last year’s offense returned, behind the pitching and defense we’ve seen so far, they might be in a hole so deep they’d never climb out of it.

Jeff McNeil has proven that last year was no fluke, and he should be the lead off hitter for the foreseeable future, just based on OBP alone. Amed Rosario has made up for some of his defensive woes with timely hitting. Same goes for Wilson Ramos. And Michael Conforto looks like he is ready to live up to expectations, after a year of injury and recovery.

Eventually, Robinson Cano and Brandon Nimmo will join this offense, and maybe even a Yoenis Cespedes addition this summer?

In closing, your offense gets you to October, and this team has proven it has enough offense to make it there. Last season, every playoff team scored at least 750 runs and this 2019 Mets team is well ahead of that pace.

Yes, their offense will not score six runs for the next five and a half months, but their pitching won’t be the worst in baseball for that duration, either. By Memorial Day, I am hoping the team will settle into a groove and show what they can do, in all facets of the game.

Not every one has hit the ground running in 2019, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Ya Gotta Believe! #LGM!

* * * * * * * * *

This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO community member and die-hard Mets fan Chris. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Send your article to [email protected] or use this Contact Form. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.