The 2021 campaign did not go according to plan for Carlos Carrasco and the Mets. Carrasco was a key piece of an off-season trade in which the Mets also acquired Francisco Lindor. However, due to injuries, Carrasco’s Mets debut did not occur until July 30, and he never looked quite right on the mound. The 2022 season, though, has been a completely different story for Cookie. Carrasco’s...
When the Mets acquired Edwin Diaz along with Robinson Cano from the Seattle Mariners in December 2018, there were a lot of fans that were frustrated with the package of prospects sent to Seattle, but at the same time excited about the potential Diaz brought to the back-end of the Mets bullpen. He had an incredible 2018 season in Seattle, when he led the league with 57 saves while also posting a...
Sliders are all the rage nowadays. We have Rob Friedman to thank for that. Friedman, more commonly known by his Twitter handle Pitching Ninja, has made a name for himself by posting GIFs of physics-defying pitches during the last couple of seasons. On his account, he’s highlighted certain hurlers that he’s found interesting. Chaz Roe owes Friedman a bottle of wine. Roe, a reliever...
Sunday, July 26, 2020 • 7:08 p.m. Citi Field • Flushing, NY LHP Sean Newcomb (2019: 6-3, 3.16) vs. RHP Rick Porcello (2019: 14-12, 5.52) ESPN • WCBS 880 AM • WQBU 92.7 FM We are only a few days into the new season and I’m going to offer my controversial Hot Take from yesterday: I think Díaz threw a good pitch, and sometimes you get beat. It’s hard saying that in the backdrop of what...
Let’s try something a little different this week and look at who the top Mets pitchers are not in ERA or WHIP, but FIP. FIP or Fielding Independent Pitching Measures what a player’s ERA would look like over a given period of time if the pitcher were to have experienced league average results on balls in play to put a pitcher’s performance on a level playing field for purposes of a fair...
Last week, I unveiled the 2020 ATC projections for New York Mets hitters. I am the creator of the Average Total Cost (ATC) Projection system, which has appeared on FanGraphs since 2017. As a quick refresher, ATC is a “smart” aggregation model of other projection systems – a methodology similar to what Nate Silver does with his presidential forecasting at www.fivethirtyeight.com. The Average...
In the first half of 2019, Steven Matz struggled with 4.89 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. The underlying metrics also reflected poor results, as his 5.40 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) ranked second worst in the National League among pitchers with at least 80 innings pitched. But something suddenly clicked for Matz in the second half. Once he returned from a temporary bullpen stint, the southpaw turned...
In a year where the Mets bullpen was mostly in shambles, there remained one constant breath of stability: Seth Lugo. New York ranked fifth worst in all of baseball with a bullpen ERA of 4.99, 12th worst with a FIP of 4.71, eighth worst with an xFIP of 4.75 and seventh worst with 0.7 fWAR. However, Lugo was worth 2.2 fWAR, had an ERA and FIP of 2.70 and an xFIP of 3.24 through 61 games (80.0...
Well, here we are. There are no more regular season games to be played in 2019; the numbers are set in stone. Pitchers can no longer help their case with a strong start, or hurt their chances with a blow-up. What’s done is done, so let’s take a look at the best pitchers in the National League, and how likely they each are to earn the NL Cy Young Award. Jacob deGrom – 11-8, 32...
Fresh off some clubhouse controversy, Jason Vargas made his first start since the unfortunate events that occurred at Wrigley Field on Sunday. The elder statesman of the starting rotation showed no signs of letting the behind the scenes issues get to him as he continues his strong string of starts for the Metropolitans before the bullpen gave it all away, yet again. Vargas, 36, put forth...
An MMO Fan Shot by @kengiffyjr Everyone knows Bullpens are extremely important. But I set out to determine HOW important, and whether there was any correlation between a team’s Bullpen WAR and the overall team’s wins. This offseason Brodie had a tall task, improving the offense, its depth, and more. But one of the boxes he needed to check on the top of his To Do list from the get go – completely...
Despite being the center of trade rumors this winter, it appears that Noah Syndergaard will be a Met come Spring Training. It makes no sense for the Mets to be all-in and trade Syndergaard. Pitchers with Syndergaard’s stuff and his results do not just grow on trees. Since debuting in 2015, Syndergaard has the second lowest FIP in baseball. It is very important to remember that he is only...
