Good morning, Mets fans!

Trey Mancini of the Orioles and Buster Posey of the Giants earned the Comeback Player of the Year award in their respective leagues on Monday.

Mancini posted a .255 batting average in 2021 after missing the 2020 season due to treatment of his stage three colon cancer.Posey earned his seventh All-Star appearance this past season after sitting out the 2020 season as his adopted twin girls were born prematurely.

Let’s get into this morning’s briefing.

Latest Mets News

Southpaw Steven Matz has “had a lot of interest” in rejoining the Mets in 2022, according to Joel Sherman of MLB Network. Sherman also says Matz is expected to make a decision on Wednesday.

Mets righty Tylor Megill helped distribute 5,000 turkeys to those in need with the Amazin’ Mets Foundation.

Mets pitcher Tylor Megill helped the Amazin' Mets Foundation distribute 5,000 turkeys last week to those in need. The project covered 11 community groups in all five boroughs. pic.twitter.com/1yupZxgCsM

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) November 22, 2021

Jeffery Paternostro and Jarrett Seidler of Baseball Prospectus list their top prospects from the New York Mets farm system.

Latest MLB News

The Red Sox announced they will exercise the 2023 and 2024 club option on manager Alex Cora on Monday. Cora led Boston to the ALCS after being suspended a year for his involvement in the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

The Yankees have traded Tyler Wade to the Angels in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Wade hit for a career-high .268 batting average in 103 games last season.

Giants hitting coordinator Michael Brdar has been hired by the Padres to become their hitting coach, per Robert Murray of FanSided. Brdar is a rising star in baseball coaching at just 27-years-old.

Latest on MMO

Michael Mayer breaks down the Mets’ current 40-man roster.

Meghan Kalenborn fills out her report card for righty Tylor Megill’s performance in 2021.

Matt Musico writes on how the Mets are about to take another page out of the Dodgers’ book.

On This Date in Mets History

1964: The Mets purchase eventual hall of fame lefty Warren Spahn from the Braves. Spahn would go 4-12 in 20 appearances for New York before finishing the 1965 season and his career in San Francisco.

Birthdays: Justin Turner (37), Ryan McGuire (50), Rich Sauveur (58) and Tom Hall (74).

Let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Posey, Mancini Earn Comeback Player of the Year appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

On May 7, 2021, there was an incident in the Mets dugout during the game. In real time, the SNY announcers assumed that there was a rodent in the dugout, which was the story that the Mets organization stuck with after the game. However, details have now surfaced suggesting that Francisco Lindor was choking Jeff McNeil in the tunnel over an argument about defensive field positioning, causing players and staff to run towards the scene. Nate Mendelson has more on this story.

Nate Mendelson writes about how Jacob deGrom’s Pittsburg MRI exacerbated his injury.

Dilip Sridhar discusses Kevin Gausman as a free agency target.

Michael Mayer highlights the eleven Mets entering free agency.

Nate Mendelson talks about the qualifying offer countdown for key Mets players.

The post Morning Briefing: Buster Posey To Announce Retirement Today appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

As the 50^th anniversary of the Summer Of Love swirled through the streets of San Francisco, the Giants were snubbed in a three-game sweep by a Mets team that’s been dealing with a heap of heartbreak of their own.

Mets starter Rafael Montero had a lot of lady luck in Las Vegas this season, but as a pitcher in the Big Leagues his dominance in Triple-A turned into major disappointment with a bloated 10.80 ERA in two starts.

Sunday, Montero showered manager Terry Collins with a series of signature change ups and sliders, fending off San Francisco for 5.2 innings with one run on five hits and two walks, striking out seven.

“That’s exactly what we were hoping to see,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I hope this is what we’re going to see from now on because his stuff’s good enough. His stuff plays. He’s got a good arm. I’m hoping that he’s grown up now and knows how to use it.”

After his up and down elevator ride back and forth to Nevada, this latest outing may have given Montero a little more rope to remain on the roster, possibly in the bullpen, with Wheeler’s imminent return to the rotation on Friday.

What was encouraging about Montero’s performance on Sunday was his ability to keep his composure in compromising situations.

Staked to a three-run lead he loaded the bases in the third on a pair of singles and a walk. The stage was set for his routine unraveling, but he limited Buster Posey to a sac fly to right. With runners on the corners and two outs, he got a little help from Rene Rivera who nabbed Hunter Pence trying to steal second with Brandon Belt clinging to a 3-2 count.

Rivera also had his righty’s back at the plate by slugging a pair of home runs to give New York the only runs they needed. Montero cruised the rest of the way, including striking out the side in the fourth, for his first win in three years.

It’s moments like these that you start to question whether or not the Mets can make some magic out of the mess they’ve gotten themselves into. They lost two prior series to two formidable teams then managed to sweep a mediocre ball club.

“You can see the players we’ve got here,” Rene Rivera said after yesterday’s game. “We want to do something good. We want to play hard. Coming from a bad series in L.A., to come here and sweep San Francisco, that shows a lot about the chemistry and the demeanor of this team.”

We’ve seen them do it in the past, that’s why we want to believe. If their pitching takes a miraculous turn, like we witnessed on Sunday with Montero, and the offense keeps clocking the ball – who knows? Stranger things have happened.

The post Montero And Rivera Propel Mets To Sweep Of Giants appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets got a taste of their own come from behind medicine when a botched double play put a damper on starter Tommy Milone’s stunning Citi Field debut.

Picked up on waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers, Milone (1-0, 6.43 ERA) made quite a statement, pitching five plus-innings of two-run ball, striking out five while giving up a two walks.

In failing to sweep the San Francisco Giants, New York falls back to one game below .500 in a painful 6-5 loss that was theirs for the taking.

Giants right-hander Matt Cain was on a mission to redeem himself after rocked for nine runs in his previous outing against the Cincinnati Reds.

Curtis Granderson got to him early in the first doubling home Jose Reyes from second after a walk and a stolen base.

Buster Posey, feeling right at home on the road in Flushing, tied it up in the top of the second, launching his third long ball in as many games.

In the bottom of the third Jay Bruce put the Mets back in the driver’s seat with a solo shot to right center for his 10th of the season.

Granderson reached first in the fourth on a gift from a fielding error off of Buster Posey’s glove. Wilmer Flores singled on a sharp ground ball to center field, proving he’s not just a left-handed pitching hitting wonder. And with two outs, Milone, who hadn’t batted much on the Brewers, belted an RBI base hit to extend the Mets lead 3-1.

Posey and Christian Arroyo, who had been hitless since coming to Queens, led off the sixth with back-to-back singles. Fernando Salas relieved Milone and immediately surrendered a base hit to Nick Hundley to load the bases.

Then Justin Ruggiano, one of the few successful batters during Milone’s reign, hit a sac fly to right, plating Posey to pull within one.

Giants reliever George Kontos replaced Cain in the bottom frame, and NY filled the bases on a Flores line drive to right, a beautiful bunt single by Juan Lagares, and a walk to Kevin Plawecki.

But Kontos was a Mets buzz kill striking out Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Reyes, swinging.

In the seventh Jay Bruce and Neil Walker tried to get something going with a single and a walk, only to return to the dugout empty handed after Granderson and Flores couldn’t convert.

Clinging to a one run lead in the top of the ninth, Jeurys Familia came in for the save and the sweep, but after getting Conor Gillaspie to line out to left, the inning took an ugly turn.

After Joe Panik walked on a 3-2 count Eduardo Nunez hit a would be double play ball to third base that Wilmer Flores through wide of second for an error.

Hunter Pence followed with a game tying single, Familia walked Posey, and then Christian Arroyo hit a bases clearing double into the gap for a three run lead.

The Mets, with enough drama to fill a season of “Law and Order,’ two runs in the bottom of the inning off of Flores’ double to redeem himself, but that’s as close as it came. So as they head into a day off on Thursday here’s hoping that Matt Harvey is not a head case come Friday.

The post Mets Let Sweep Of Giants Slip By In Ninth appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The New York Mets (16-17) couldn’t finish off the San Francisco Giants (12-23) in the ninth as they picked up a 6-5 loss Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field.

Pitching

Tommy Milone (1-0, 6.43 ERA) made his Mets debut after the team picked him up off waivers on Sunday. Milone made the most of his start as he went five-plus innings of two-run ball, giving up six hits and two walks while striking out five.

Fernando Salas came into the sixth inning after Milone put runners on first and second. He gave up an inherited run on a sac fly before getting out of the inning.

Josh Edgin was brought into the game in the seventh to get the lefty Joe Panik out. After doing so, Terry Collins replaced him with Hansel Robles who finished off the inning.

Addison Reed began the eighth and got two batters out before being replaced with Jerry Blevins with a runner on second. Blevins was able to finish the inning by getting Brandon Belt out on a fly ball to right center field.

Jeurys Familia came in for the save opportunity in the ninth and blew the save. He could have gotten out of the inning unscathed on a double play, but a Wilmer Flores bobble and throwing error resulted in no outs instead. Hunter Pence took advantage of the error by driving in Panik to tie the game with a base hit. After Familia loaded the bases by walking Buster Posey, Christian Arroyo cleared them with a double to give the Giants a 6-3 lead.

After Familia gave up four runs, Rafael Montero was called upon to get out of the inning. He did so on a groundout and a strikeout.

Offense

The Mets batters faced Matt Cain (2-1, 4.70 ERA) who came off a nine-run performance in his last start against the Cincinnati Reds on May 5. The Mets got on the board in the first inning as Curtis Granderson doubled to score Jose Reyes.

After Buster Posey tied things up with a solo shot in the top of the second, Jay Bruce responded in the bottom of  third with a solo shot of his own to put the Mets back up 2-1.

Starting pitcher Tommy Milone helped the cause in the bottom of the fourth as he drove in Granderson with a RBI single to right field.

After committing a pivotal error in the top of the ninth, Flores hit a two-run double in the bottom of the inning to make it a 6-5 game. Kevin Plawecki couldn’t tie the game however, as he grounded out softly to end the game.

On Deck

The Mets have an off day on Thursday before traveling to Miller Park to open a series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Matt Harvey (2-2, 5.14 ERA) will make his first start after his three-game suspension and will face Matt Garza (1-0, 2.55 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 PM ET.

The post Rapid Reaction: Familia Gives Up Four Runs, Mets Lose to Giants 6-5 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

October 25, 1986: Boston:

It took 68 years for the Red Sox to end the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ and they did it in historic fashion in front of a sold-out Fenway Park.

The heavily favored Mets, winners of 108 regular season games, turned to Bob Ojeda in hopes of forcing a game 7. Trailing by a run heading to the home half of the eighth, Boston tied the game at 3. The Mets seemed destined to win when they scored two in the top of the tenth for a commanding 5-3 lead.

However, the bullpen could not close it out. After Jesse Orosco retired the first two batters, Boston rallied for an unprecedented three runs in the bottom of the 10th. Several times Boston was down to their last strike but the Sox were amazin. Roger McDowell allowed the tying run to score on a pitch in the dirt that Gary Carter couldn’t handle.

Tied 5-5 and with the winning run on second base, centerfielder Dave Henderson hit a slow roller along the first base line. Somehow, the ball skipped below the glove of Keith Hernandez, and Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs raced home, hands atop his helmet in disbelief, and into the arms of his teammates.

In other Baseball news, Pirates young slugger Barry Bonds appears to be getting bigger…

Okay, okay, you’re all wondering what I’m smoking and where you can get some. I admit to taking some literary license and rewriting history. Or am I? Game 6 did not end this way. But it definitely could have had Bud Selig been commissioner back then.

Beginning in 2003, Commissioner Selig, along with approval from the Player’s Union, decided that the winner of the All-Star Game would have home field advantage in the World Series. And just like that the National Pastime’s two greatest institutions, the All-Star Game and the World Series, would be forever altered. Both had remained relatively untouched since their inceptions in 1933 and 1903 respectively. And then along came Bud.

The reason was simple. Viewership for the Midsummer Classic was down. Interest was waning. The powers-that-be believed the game should now carry significance. For seventy years the All-Star Game was by and large an exhibition put on for the fans. It gave us a chance to see the best and brightest from each league. Now that’s changed. And not for the better.

Since 2003, the league that won the All-Star Game has gone on to win the World Series 8 out of 12 times. In other words, an ‘exhibition game’ in July has direct influence over the Fall Classic in October. It also can–and has–changed the history of the game.

In 1986, the Mets returned to Shea where they rallied to win games 6 and 7. However, had Selig’s rule been in place then, it’s likely 1969 would be the Mets only championship season. The AL won the 1986 All-Star Game. Boston would have had home field advantage, not us.

In 2005, the White Sox won the Series in 5 games. It was their first championship since 1917 when they were led by guys named Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte and Buck Weaver. The victory, however, was bittersweet for Chicagoans. Had the home field advantage rule not been in place, the Sox would have been home for games 3, 4 and 5, not on the road. Their first championship would have—and should have—been in Chicago, not Houston.

Game 6 of the 2011 World Series was arguably the greatest post-season game ever played. Facing elimination, the Cardinals returned to STL needing 2 wins. They went to the HOME half of the 8^th inning of game 6 trailing 7-4. They scored 1 in the bottom of the frame, two more in the HOME half of the ninth, twice more in the HOME half of the 10^th and finally won it in the HOME half of the 11^th. The following day they won Game 7. Had the old format been retained and home field alternated year-to-year, Texas would have hosted games 6 and 7 and most likely would have won their first Championship in team history.

San Francisco fans waited more than half a century to see their Giants win it all. Yet, despite the fact their club has won 3 titles in the last 5 years, all series clinchers have come on the road. Once again, had the original alternating format been in place, the NL club was scheduled to host 4 of the 7 games in even years. The Giants would’ve won 2010 and 2012 at AT&T Park, not in Texas and Detroit.

The All-Star Game now carries major importance. Yet, it still maintains that Exhibition Game feel. If the point is to win—and it clearly is—why does every team need to be represented? Why does the manager need to stress about making sure every guy gets in as much as he stresses about winning? We are NL fans. We want the NL to win. Therefore, I want the best guys out there for 9 innings. I want to see Max Scherzer pitching to Buster Posey for all 27 outs. I want Paul Goldschmidt to have at least 4 AB’s.

Why should ONE game have such a huge bearing on the Fall Classic? Since there’s interleague games daily, why not just look at the best head-to head records throughout the season? Whichever league wins more over the course of 6 months, not one night, gets home field advantage. After all, as it stands now, how many of us really care when the AL Mariners play the NL Rockies?

As a kid growing up in the 70’s, watching the All-Star Game was one of my favorite times of the year. Being a NL fan, the biggest stars in the AL were just names in a box score. The Mid-Summer Classic gave me a chance to see my Baseball cards come to life. I could actually see a Nolan Ryan fastball rather than hearing about it. I could witness Harmon Killebrew uncoil from his crouch. I could watch Rod Carew change his stance on each pitch depending on the count. It was a wonderful thing.

Even before these recent changes, the luster of the ASG has diminished. MLB Network, ESPN, YouTube, etc…obviously weren’t around back then. Seeing Mike Trout every night on the highlight reel is nothing special. Seeing Al Kaline Saturday afternoon during an episode of “This Week in Baseball” was.

No shock here but the first player to ever go deep in an All-Star Game was Babe Ruth. When returning to the dugout, The Bambino said, “Let’s show these NL bums how we play.” From 1933 through the early 90’s, there was indeed a rivalry between the leagues. That, too, is now gone. Players have no qualms about switching teams, much less switching leagues. The biggest free agents last winter—Max Scherzer, Pablo Sandoval and James Shields—all changed leagues. And hey, if entire franchises can switch (Houston to the AL, Milwaukee to the NL), why shouldn’t players?

Ironically, despite the Commish’s best efforts to increase interest, it’s failed. The 2002 ASG, the final one without ‘meaning,’ was watched in 10 million homes. In 2013, just 7.5 million tuned in, a drop of 25%.

Keeping in mind I am a traditionalist, I feel it’s imperative that this ‘experiment’ be put to rest. Let’s have the All-Star Game mean exactly what it was designed for: a chance to take a breather for a few days, sit back and watch the best players in the game display their talent.

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The date is Tuesday, October 6, 2015 and we made it. Finally. After 8 draining tedious seasons, the Mets have returned to the post-season. 90 wins netted us the second wildcard spot. In order to face St. Louis in the LDS and avenge 2006 all we must do is win a one-game wild card elimination. Jacob deGrom (18-9 3.25 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (21-5, 2.73 ERA).

Kershaw seems to have finally shaken his post-season woes. That is, until the top of the 7th when Lucas Duda plants one beyond the RF wall knocking in Lagares and Wright. The Mets need just 9 more outs. But the 7th inning stretch galvanizes the capacity crowd. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins (of all people) notices the corner infielders playing back and legs out a perfectly executed bunt for a lead-off single. The fans get loud. Carl Crawford clobbers deGrom’s next offering. Curtis Granderson turns and runs, snagging the high fly against the wall for the first out. 27 year-old deGrom is rattled. He takes a deep breath, paces, tries to regroup and wipes the sweat from his brow as Yasiel Puig digs in. Puig splits two outfielders. A double. The Dodgers, trailing 3-0, have runners on second and third. The tying run, represented by Adrian Gonzalez (.279-32-118) steps to the plate.

Eight more stinkin’ outs. Mets fans are growing restless, anticipating the worst. 56,238 Dodgers fans rise to their feet in an attempt to unnerve the Mets starter. It’s all happened so quick that Terry Collins hasn’t had a chance to get someone loose. The Mets need to stall. DeGrom needs to calm down. Mets fans scream at the TV for Collins to go the mound and buy some time for the bullpen. Why isn’t Duda sharing some words of encouragement??? Why is David Wright, our captain, just standing there??? How come Travis d’Arnaud isn’t calling time and walking to the mound to calm down the young pitcher the way Gary Carter did with Doc Gooden? DeGrom, nervous, losing composure and about to blow it, is left all alone. What the hell is going on??? Is this the Twilight Zone??? Where’s Rod Serling???

Then we remember. “Oh, yea. We’ve used up our allotted time-outs.” Welcome to the Rob Manfred version of Major League Baseball. You know, the version where games took too darn long and needed to be sped up.

One of the countless aspects that make baseball the greatest game ever devised is the link from generation to generation. For well over a century the National Pastime has remained relatively unchanged. A .300 hitter means something, no matter if it’s me cheering Jose Reyes, my father cheering Jackie Robinson or my grandfather cheering Babe Herman. A 20-game winner is a 20-game winner, be it Doc Gooden, Tom Seaver or Christy Mathewson. 200 K’s means the same to Randy Johnson as it did to Walter Johnson. The only significant alteration to the rules occurred in 1973. And more than 40 years after one league installed the DH, fans are still divided.

The powers-that-be began tinkering with the Holy Grail of the game, the rule book, because of what transpired in Florida on May 25, 2011. On a play at home, Scott Cousins collided with Giants catcher Buster Posey. The defending Rookie of the Year suffered torn ligaments and a fractured fibula. For all intents and purposes, the Giants season was finished before Memorial Day. MLB felt, for whatever reason, changes needed to be made. And so began the descent down a perilous slope that could have a long lasting impact on the game we cherish.

There is nothing more exciting than witnessing a player rounding third and heading for home as the catcher plants his feet waiting for the relay throw. Nothing can bring an entire stadium to their feet quicker than anticipating a play at the plate. Both at the ballpark and watching from home our stomachs tighten. We hold our collective breath. Can the runner knock the ball free? Can the catcher apply the tag?

Beginning last year that thrilling aspect was removed. You could clearly see the confusion all season long. Runners were uncertain where their lane was. Catchers were tentative about where they were permitted to stand. Protecting a run became secondary to abiding to some silly rule. (As a side note, how many knew that the rule was amended during the season where catchers could NOT block the plate but position players COULD?)

Was Posey’s injury catastrophic? Absolutely. The 2011 Giants still managed to win 86 games, falling just 4 short of the wildcard. Surely, had Posey not been injured, he himself is worth 4 wins. However, MLB overreacted. Yes, catchers do get hurt. But that’s part of the game. And think about it. How often does that really occur? We see more injuries on routine plays. If MLB feels compelled to prevent injuries, what’s next?

More common is a batter pulling a hamstring sprinting down the 1B line trying to beat out a slow roller. How about a player rounding 2^nd and turning on the afterburners. (Jose Reyes anyone?) We see players jamming thumbs stealing a base. Perhaps MLB should create a Designated Runner. We have a Designated Hitter so why not? Every player could have one DR assigned to them. Rosters would increase to 50, the union would be happy and star players we pay admission to see would never get hurt.

Another way to prevent injuries could be prohibiting outfielders from crashing into the wall. Hey, we already have a warning track. Let’s put it to good use. If the outfielder can’t catch the ball before trespassing onto the warning track, that’s just too darn bad. (If such a rule existed twenty years ago, think of all those extra games Ken Griffey Jr. would not have missed. He’d probably be the HR King, not Barry Bonds.)

And pitchers? They are both the highest paid AND most often injured. Maybe MLB should outlaw the curve ball. And while they’re at it, they can outlaw the fast ball, too. After all, more batters are injured getting hit by a pitch than runners colliding at the plate. Perhaps we should reduce a strikeout to two strikes, a walk to three balls? How about extending the base paths from 90 feet to 110 feet. C’mon, let’s get the baseball thing over with in a hurry so we can all go back to seeing which Kardashian is pregnant this week.

Of course I’m being sarcastic. But based on recent changes, I’m not ruling out anything. In the Arizona Fall League MLB looked into methods to speed up the game. Some of the changes tested include:

• Batter’s box rule: Hitter required to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box throughout at-bat unless there is foul ball, wild pitch or passed ball — or if a pitch forces him out or the umpire grants “time.”

• No-pitch intentional walks

• 20-second rule: 20-second clock will be posted in each dugout, behind home plate and in outfield to prevent pitchers from taking too much time.

• 2:05 inning-break clock: Maximum time allowed between innings, and batters must be in box at 1:45 mark or umpire can call automatic strike. If pitcher throws pitch after 2:05, umpire may call ball.

• 2:30 pitching-change-break clock: Maximum amount of time allowed for pitching change.

• Three “timeout” limit: Teams limited to three trips to the mound by managers, coaches and catchers during game, except pitching changes.

Commissioner Manfred is also looking into outlawing defensive shifts, removing strategy from the most strategic game there is. That in and of itself is a mixed signal and demonstrates MLB is utterly clueless. On one hand they install policies to make games shorter. On the other hand, recent changes do just the opposite.

With the advent of a ‘challenge’ or ‘play under review,’ the game that supposedly already moves too slowly now comes to a grinding halt. Players on the field, fans in the stands and viewers at home now watch with baited breath as umpires stand in a circle wearing headsets conversing with some guy in a darkened chamber high above Manhattan like the mysterious shadowy “banker” in that Howie Mandel game show. During the course of a game this alone could add anywhere from 8-12 minutes. If they’re willing to delay a game to make sure the call is correct, isn’t it equally important to honor the history of the game itself and not mess around with lunacy such as pitch clocks?

Another contradiction from the incoming commissioner is his desire to bring offense back to the game. Outlawing defensive shifts will see the return of 9-7 slugfests instead of well-played 3-2 pitching duels. Yet, we all know a 9-7 game takes longer to play than a 3-2 game.

Making games shorter will not help ratings. Those who find Baseball “boring” and “slow-moving” will not suddenly become fans and purchase Mike Trout jerseys. And those of us who are purists will take umbrage to tinkering with the very essence of the game we treasure, the game taught to us by our dad or older brother. They need to stop mucking up the beauty of Baseball with hare-brained attempts to outdraw Football. Yes, 112 million TV sets were tuned into the Super Bowl last weekend while an average of just 13.8 million viewers watched the World Series last October.  But so what? Kanye West has sold more records than Jimi Hendrix. That doesn’t mean he’s better.

For more than 100 years Baseball has survived every conceivable transgression imaginable. Racists, bigots and anti-Semites have worn the uniform. But the game endured. Games have been fixed, an entire World Series was thrown. But the game endured. Some of the greatest players to ever walk on the field have been shamed and may never be enshrined in Cooperstown. But the game endured. Alcoholics, cocaine addicts and steroid users have played. But the game endured. Free agency, collusion, teams relocating, some franchises completely folded. But the game endured. Two World Wars and conflicts from Southeast Asia to Central America have taken place. But the game endured. On a Tuesday morning, terror came to New York City, Washington DC and western Pennsylvania. The game stopped. But after ten days, endured. Hopefully the game will be able to endure these potentially catastrophic changes.

“Baseball must be a great game. The owners haven’t found a way to kill it yet.”  — Bill Veeck

The date is Tuesday, October 6, 2015 and we made it. Finally. After 8 draining tedious seasons, the Mets have returned to the post-season.

It’s the top of the 9^th in Los Angeles. The Mets squandered a 3-0 lead and now trail 4-3. Closer Kenley Jansen is on the hill to close it out and send the Mets home on a long cross-country flight. After retiring the first 2 batters, 56,238 Dodgers fans are on their feet. They smell blood. Juan Lagares keeps  our hopes alive and bloops one over the outstretched glove of Jimmy Rollins. Daniel Murphy fights off a wicked 0-2 cut fastball and shoots one down the first base line, just beyond the reach of Adrian Gonzalez. Lagares motors around to 3B.

Trailing 4-3, tying run on third and potential winning run at first. David Wright, candidate for Comeback Player of the Year (302-26-107) digs in. After falling behind 0-2, he fights off pitch after pitch after pitch. He fouls off close pitches, lays off others just off the black and works the count to 3-2. The capacity crowd is going crazy. Fans in New York are pacing in their living rooms.

Don Mattingly on the top step of the Dodger dugout. Terry Collins and various Mets on the top step of the visiting dugout. The camera, shaking due to vibration of chaotic screaming fans, scans the crowd. There’s Tommy LaSorda in the owner’s box staring wide-eyed at the field. We catch a glimpse of Jerry Seinfeld sitting behind the Mets dugout, cap pulled down over his eyes, too nervous to watch. We get a quick shot of Keith Hernandez in the broadcast booth, his hands clutching an imaginary bat, willing himself on the field as if its 1986 all over again. Catcher A.J. Ellis puts down one finger, pats his left thigh. Fast Ball inside. Jensen checks the runners and sets. Wright grips the bat.

Suddenly, as the fire-balling closer is ready to deliver, a slight breeze kicks up and blows something into Wright’s eye. The entire season is on the line. But David isn’t allowed to step out or ask for time because the rules now prohibit that since we need to get done quickly. Jensen fires a 98 MPH heater. And our entire season comes down to a one-eyed David Wright.

Thanks a lot Rob Manfred.

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The New York Mets have seemingly struggled offensively over the last several years, prompting fans to call for better hitters, and more offense. I know I certainly have. The Mets front office has sometimes responded by signing free agent sluggers like Jason Bay and current Met Curtis Granderson. Two players that both had previously produced near MVP seasons before signing with the Mets. The results have been disappointing to say the least, if not disastrous in Bay’s case.

Why have these sluggers struggled to hit in a Mets uniform? Did they forget how to hold the bat? Have they forgotten to identify the little red dot that appears on the ball when the pitcher throws a slider? Did they lose their bat speed to the point they could no longer catch up to a fastball?

Most likely, it’s none of those particular factors that led to their rapid offensive decline. They both came from AL East teams that play the majority of their games in band boxes like Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, The Rogers Centre in Toronto, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards. And yes, switching leagues can oftentimes lead to some unfamiliarity among the opposing pitchers. But after taking a look at some of the current Mets road splits this season, it seems as though the problem with Granderson, at least, is the field which he calls home.

Granderson finished up his inaugural Mets season with some seemingly pedestrian numbers, batting .227 with a .326 on-base and .388 slugging percentage in 654 plate appearances. He was good for 27 doubles, 20 home runs and 66 RBI, but his .714 OPS was an 11-year career low, far below his .830 OPS average in his previous four seasons.

Although the lack of RBIs can be attributed to batting leadoff for the majority of the season. Believe it or not, Granderson’s season graded out as slightly above average with the league wide void of offense. The following numbers are very telling of the effects of Citi Field on Granderson in 2014

Home: .195 AVG, .290 OBP, .340 SLG, 16 2B, 7 HR, 26 RBI, .630 OPS

Road: .261 AVG, .360 OBP, .436 SLG, 11 2B, 13 HR, 40 RBI, .797 OPS

Quite a stark contrast on the road from the numbers he produced at home, and almost twice as many longballs.

No one in their right mind expected Granderson to put up the same gaudy power numbers that he posted in his former home park in the Bronx. A ballpark that even turned Eric Young Jr. into a power hitter for at least one night last May, when he blasted a ball several rows deep into the right field seats.

In a fair home park, it stands to reason that Grandy would’ve probably had between 25-30 home runs this season. His road numbers were actually really impressive compared to the rest of the NL that played a similar schedule away from their home park.

Granderson was a road warrior for the Mets. His 13 road home runs were good for 6th in the NL and tied with none other than Giancarlo Stanton. His 40 RBI, with most of his AB coming right after the pitchers spot, was in the top 15. And he also ranked 13th in runs scored with 42 and 3rd in walks with 45. Granderson was quite a different player on the road than what we saw from him at Citi Field this season.

Only five NL players had more homers on the road this season than Granderson, and one of those five was teammate Lucas Duda, who had more away home runs than all NL hitters with the exception of the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo.

Duda finished the 2014 season with 16 HR away from the unfriendly confines and was quite the road warrior as well, posting a .275/.365/.496 slash with 49 RBI and a .861 OPS.

Those numbers were good for second in home runs and RBI on the road. Considering his struggles against LHP in 2014, there are very few hitters in baseball that fared better versus right-handed pitching than Lucas Duda. Fortunately for the Mets, the big man can hit it out of any stadium, but it sure seems like he lost at least a handful of round trippers in the early part of the season with the wind blowing in at Citi Field in April, May and the early part of June, particularly in the vicinity of right and right-center.

Duda and Grandy weren’t the only hitters that had increased production away from Citi Field, as Daniel Murphy led the NL in hits on the road, and was the only player in the NL that topped the century mark with 103 base-knocks. Freddie Freeman and Buster Posey finished in a tie for second with 95. Here’s Murphy’s 2014 road stats which are quite impressive:

.322 AVG, .359 OBP, .447 SLG, 21 2B, 5 HR, 33 RBI, .805 OPS

Among all NL hitters with at least 200 road AB, only Buster Posey (.348), and Juan Uribe (.333) had a higher batting average, and only Jonathan Lucroy (34), Adrian Gonzalez (23), and Freddie Freeman (22) had more doubles than Murph.

That level of offensive production from second base, in the current offensive drought that the league is suffering through, is pretty close to irreplaceable. Murphy certainly looked much better defensively at third base, but that’s another story altogether. For yet another comparison, Robinson Cano slashed at .314/.382/.454 for the year.

Travis d’Arnaud (.757 OPS), Eric Campbell (.729), Anthony Recker and EYJ. all fared better on the road, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis (.975) and Dilson Herrera (1.060) absolutely crushed the ball on the road, albeit, in a limited number of AB. The difference is astounding however, as Kirk had an OPS of .643 at home, and Herrera had pitcher like offensive numbers at Citi with a .326 OPS, again, small sample size.

The 2014 Mets were second on the road, trailing only the star-studded Dodgers, in hits, runs, walks, batting average, and OBP.

They finished third in doubles and RBI behind the Dodgers, and likely NL Champion San Francisco Giants, 4th in OPS and SB, and 7th in HR and OBP on the road, finishing just one HR behind the Colorado Rockies. In short, the Mets were one of the best offensive teams in the National League on the road.

The aforementioned numbers also include some unsightly numbers that our pitchers contributed at the plate – numbers which were historically bad and almost unfathomable.

The Mets played the entire first month of the season without getting a single hit from a pitcher. Dillon Gee and Bartolo Colon combined to go 3-for-100 at the plate this season. That is not a typo. That’s right, they hit .030.

Mejia, Matsuzaka, Montero and Torres, unbelievably, were worse, as they contributed ZERO hits in 44 trips to the plate. That’s 3-for-144 (.021 Avg). Even for pitchers, that’s unheard of.

Conversely, the Mets hit .224 in their home park, easily worst in the NL, and only the wildly underachieving Braves and punchless Padres scored less runs than the Mets did at home.

So maybe bringing in the fences is a reasonably good idea. I think our current crop of hitters aren’t nearly as bad as the overall numbers suggest. It stands to reason that if the Mets were at or near the top of almost every offensive category on the road when compared to teams that played similar schedules and under similar conditions, that Citi Field is doing more damage to our offense than the opposing pitchers they are facing. The evidence suggests that bringing in the fences, specifically in right and right-center, is a no-brainer. Thanks for reading and Lets Go Mets.

The post Mets Road Splits Go To The Heart Of The Matter appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Night’s Still Young!

In what looked on paper to be a pitcher’s duel between Matt Harvey and Tim Lincecum, turned out to be an extra-inning duel between both bullpens.

Buster Posey struck first with a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Giants an early 2-0 lead. It took Harvey 50 pitches to get through the first two innings.

Lincecum took a no hitter into the fifth, but Marlon Byrd broke it up with a leadoff single. The Mets got on the board with a double by John Buck that drove in Byrd later that inning to cut the lead in half 2-1. The Mets looked to get more, but Omar Quintanilla struck out on a questionable call that had Terry Collins chirping from the dugout and Harvey grounded out to end the inning.

The Mets tacked on two more to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth after a Daniel Murphy single, a doubleplay groundout by Ike Davis that scored a run and some sub-par defense by the Giants’ outfield.

Harvey went out to pitch the seventh inning with 107 pitches under his belt and it cost the Mets. Harvey surrendered a leadoff triple to Hunter Pence on the first pitch and promptly gave up a single to Brandon Crawford to tie the game 3-3. With Harvey on pace to throw about 240 innings, it didn’t make a lot of sense to keep him out there. It would have been the perfect time to pull him and save him an inning pitched down the road.

The bullpen was stellar in this one. Carlos Torres came in to pitch a scoreless eighth and ninth. David Aardsma held the Giants scoreless again in the 10th and 11th. Greg Burke came on after that and held the Giants at bay in the 12th and 13th. Josh Edgin came in to pitch the 14th and 15th and surrendered no runs. After the Mets grabbed the lead in the 16th, Bobby Parnell shut the door to finally end the five-and-a-half hour marathon.

The Home (Team) Recker

The Mets had a chance in the 11th with two outs and runners in the corners. Byrd couldn’t leg out an infield single after Crawford made a great play to get him out and the game continued. They had another opportunity in the 12th after a leadoff single by Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Buck struck out and the inning was abruptly ended by a fine snag at third by Pablo Sandoval who doubled up Nieuwenhuis at first. The offense went ice cold till the 16th when Eric Young singled and eventually made it to third. After Wright was intentionally walked, Anthony Recker came in to pinch hit with runners in the corners and two outs. Recker grounded to Crawford who made an error that allowed Young to score, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead.

A move lost in the game was Collins’ decision to stick with Davis in the ninth to face left-handed Jeremy Affeldt instead of hot-hitting Josh Satin. Davis proceeded to pop out and Sergio Romo came on to get the last two outs. Seems like Collins is sticking to his guns when it comes to Davis.

All-in-all, good win for the Mets. It was worth the wait. Now, it’s my bedtime.

Stay tuned for the next two games against the Giants where I’ll be live tweeting from AT&T Park.

Note from Joe D.

This just in from Daniel, Collins said Jordany Valdespin would have pitched after Parnell if the game continued.

“Recker had hit,” Collins said. “I wasn’t going to bring in Dillon Gee with his issues with his arm.”

Also, Harvey has been pitching with a blister the last three weeks, but after the game, Harvey said he’s fine.

“It kind of started not the last start, but the start before,” Harvey said. “It’s no excuse for my poor pitching. And I feel fine with it. I just have to figure some things out and get back out there.”

Additionally, Collins said that Harvey might skip his next scheduled start against the Pirates. It would be the first time Harvey has ever skipped a start. Collins said it wouldn’t be because of the blister, but because of Harvey’s pending appearance in the All-Star Game. Collins said Harvey’s outing would either be shortened or he wouldn’t pitch at all in preparation for the All-Star Game.

Geez… What am I still doing up? I’m outta here… The Mets win!

The post Solid Bullpen And Tired Giants Defense Lead To Mets 4-3 Win appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

PLEASE DON’T LET THIS GUY BEAT DAVID WRIGHT…

The second National League All-Star update has been released and six-time All-Star David Wright is losing even more ground to Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants for starting third baseman.

With 1,473,381 votes, Wright now trails Sandoval by over 200,000 votes almost doubling the gap from the first ASG voting release a week ago.

Of course with attendance and interest waning at Citi Field, and the San Francisco Giants continuing to sellout almost every home game, the only shot Wright has at being selected as a starter would be through an aggressive online get out the vote campaign. But so far that doesn’t seem to be working.

Daniel Murphy has picked up some slack and moved up to the 5th spot among NL second basemen, but it’s unlikely he’ll even get close to the runaway leader Brando Phillips of the Reds.

John Buck remains third among catchers and has no chance to catch Buster Posey who is the leading the National League with 1,961,861 votes.

Former Met Carlos Beltran has made his way into the top three in the outfield and trails only Justin Upton and Bryce Harper.

You can vote for Wright, Murphy and the rest of your favorite Mets by clicking on the following banner…

The post Wright Losing More Ground To Sandoval In All Star Voting appeared first on Metsmerized Online.