Dreaming of a Better Outcome

I had to go to bed before I listened to a single pitch last night. I was hoping for similar alerts on my phone to when I woke up yesterday morning, most of them focused on Michael Conforto's game-winning grand slam. Unfortunately, the first alert I saw before the At Bat ones showed me the blown game was a friend of mine in LA texting, "nice finish by LA." Other fans really know how to push Mets fan's buttons, that's for sure. I texted back, "Terrible text to wake up to."

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Photo via northjersey.com

I cannot make absolute statements, however, that Edwin Diaz is just another bum closer and the Mets lost the trade. Yes, Cano has left a lot to be desired, but Diaz has been pretty lights out up until last night, give or take a couple home runs during tie games. It is a symptom of the reactionary social media environment, as well as the Mets track record, that we would make definitive statements about the legacy of certain players, or even seasons, before anything has actually run its course. Robbie Alomar was a letdown, we know that now. The 2005-2008 Mets stretch was a great disappointment, we also know that now. Jason Bay didn't pan out, that is for sure. No matter how well Jared Kellenic is doing in single-A, however, and no matter how poor we think the players we got back are performing, nothing is definitive as of yet. We do ourselves a disservice by making such statements before everything has played itself out, as far as I'm concerned. I'm guilty as much as the next, but I'm trying to train myself wherever possible to remember the words, "So far."

This stretch will continue to be a big test for this team, and so far, they have unfortunately fallen flat when they had a chance to gain a lot of goodwill last night. We're only 3 games into it, and though it will not feel like a lot have progress has been made if they don't come out of this over .500, we have to remember you're supposed to go .500 on the road, win at home. They've been so bad on the road, if they can go .500 on this stretch, that will certainly be progress. Maybe I'm settling for mediocrity, but you have to start somewhere.

Considering I am having trouble in my personal life this week staying optimistic, color that progress for me to even stay this optimistic about the Mets.

I'm going to be talking to Gil Hodges, Jr. about his father's Hall of Fame candidacy at 12pm ET on my Bedford & Sullivan podcast today. That's certainly something to be optimistic about. Please, take a listen when you have a chance.

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Starter & The Defender

It was yet another disappointing weekend for the New York Metsies. So far, on Saturdays and Sundays in 2019, the Mets are 1-5. Sue me for the #SmallSampleSizing. For a fanbase busting their butts Monday through Friday (and sometimes through the weekend, like in my case where the most money I can make as a Lyft driver are those party days), our favorite baseball team has been anything but a respite from the work grind. Watching them has been as difficult as any job we do.

Getty Images
Photo via nypost.com

Do I sensationalize much? You betcha, but drama is the name of the game in this day and age, and as much as I personally work towards scaling it back some, my nature can only be suppressed to a point.  When my favorite baseball team's supposed 2nd starter has an ERA pushing 6 (at 5.90) you're going to be in a heightened state as a fan.

Syndergaard has not been able to hone in on finesse yet. It's power, power, power (including a homer created by Dexter Fowler's best Jose Canseco impression), but the control is not there at a WHIP of 1.28 (according to mets.com.) Seven walks in 29 innings, which means he's giving up a base on balls close to a quarter of the time he is facing batters, while also giving up just over a hit an inning. Noah (notice how I have yet to use the word, "Thor" in this post?) needs to figure out what kind of pitcher he is, because outside of his fantastic 2015 and 2016 seasons,  he has been pretty inconsistent when he has been able to stay on the mound. With a slider in the 90's and a fastball pushing 100, if he can hone in the control and consistency, the dream could seriously be reality.

Noah, however, has not gotten much help behind him these days. I'd like to hone in on one particular player whose elite defense has not come to fruition. Amed Rosario, while trying to figure out consistency at the plate, has left much to be desired with his defense up the middle. Mike, Rich and I discussed this on last week's episode of A Metsian Podcast, wondering when we were going to see the range we have been looking for out of our young shortstop. He followed that conversation up with 2 errors behind Noah yesterday. In 1826.1 innings fielded in the majors, according to Fangraphs, 20 runs have scored because of his defense. That is a far cry from the bill of goods sold to us. We have wanted him to come around offensively, but I will take a .250 avg if he can tighten up that defense ASAP.

Our "superhero" starter may be leaving much to be desired, but players like Amed Rosario are not giving him the best chance with a lack of defensive prowess behind him. They both need to tighten up considerably, but if the latter can do so sooner than later, Noah's success may follow as well.

There was a lot of concern to be had from the weekend series in St. Louis (outside of the continuing power prowess by Pete Alonso), but one of the more disappointing moments was Robinson Cano's HBP wrist injury (I'm not embedding any of these because most of them are eye-roll inducing, outside of Alonso's homer yesterday. Click at your own risk.) We'll see how it ends up affecting Cano, but he was JUST starting to hit his offensive stride. It is too cliché from a Metsian standpoint for a heralded acquisition to finally be coming around only to go down in throbbing pain.

The Mets stumble home for a weekday series against their Turnpike rivals, the Phillies. I wish I could say they desperately need some of that home cooking, but home has given them plenty of food poisoning over the years.

TIGHTEN. UP. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Let's Talk About Pete, Bay-bee

(Firstly, Happy Passover to my Jewish brethren, and a Happy Easter to all reading who celebrate.)

Though the 800-pound gorilla in the room is Jacob deGrom's elbow, I will address this more once we have info after the MRI. Clearly not the headline we wanted to see yesterday afternoon, but we're almost numb to headlines of this nature at this point so let's all take a breath, hope for the best (try not to expect the worst) and focus on the recent win at hand.

I don't want to talk about Jason Vargas, who was serviceable albeit not very trusted to give quality longevity, as he was taken out after 4 innings of work.

I do want to talk about Robinson Cano, who I believe was the offensive star of this game but was overshadowed, like last Thursday in Atlanta in the case of Amed Rosario, by one swing, which we'll get to shortly. Cano showed off why Brodie Van Wagenen wasn't hesitant to accept that contract in the trade with Seattle focused on closer Edwin Diaz. That sweet swing was on full display as Cano collected 3 hits, scoring once and driving one in as well, getting his average up to .218 in the early part of this season. He was driving the ball soundly and thoroughly, which hopefully are good signs of great things to come.

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
Photo via washingtonpost.com

Once more, however, Pete Alonso, who collected 2 hits and scored twice in 4 turns at bat, is all anyone is talking about. He hit yet another straight-away center field home run, this time onto the grass in Busch Stadium in St. Louis. What is so impressive is the way he went down to get it and drove the barrel so far through the ball, I'm amazed it even survived to make its way out there. When a ballplayer can drive the ball from spots on the plate as you'll see below. That is a hard thing to formulate a pitching plan against.

That's RIDICULOUS strength. How in the hell, with such a swing, did he get ANY power behind that?! It is the type of swing that cuts the gap, or falls in for a single. NOT a straight-away center field 432 footer!

Color me massively impressed by what we have seen so far from this rookie sensation. He will have to continue to work as hard as he has to adjust to whatever the league throws his way, but the signs all point to him not being just an April wonder. Keep powering through, Polar Bear.

Meanwhile, the Mets struggled to keep the lead as wide as it was initially, but they hung on, with runners on the corners, no less, in the bottom of the 9th to pull out a much-needed 1-run 5-4 victory. It is always sweet to beat Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina (who was the last out) and those red-bird Cards (and I had started the day actually seeing a real-live cardinal in far-north Jersey. I had worried it was a bad omen like the other day but maybe it was actually a good omen after all...gotta win the series first, though.)

And MASSIVE props to Jeff McNeil, who just keeps impressing more and more at 3rd base. Also, he always seems to be even sharper with his defense at the most crucial moments of these games. Keep collecting those acorns, Squirrel.

BEAT. THOSE. RED. BIRDS.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Comeback That Twasn't

I desperately wish I had more time to take in every aspect of the Mets I possibly can right now. It is such a welcome distraction, even when they lose. 

Even when they lose, I can take solace in the fact it isn't taxes, or bills overdue, or my dad's pancreatic cancer. My dad and I didn't religiously watch baseball together after I left the Yankees behind, but he was never a die-hard to begin with. As I said in the opening post of this blog, he was a die-hard fan of me and my passion for baseball, which led him to fan the budding flame in my bar mitzvah year of life, age 13. Last year, after his Whipple surgery fell apart when it was discovered cancer cells had metastasized on his abdomen, rendering the surgery moot, one of my favorite memories I have was watching the Mets blow a game. I obviously wasn't happy that they blew the lead and subsequently the season, but just like his cancer, my dad and I were able to shake our heads and laugh it off, wondering just how much Mrs. Lincoln liked the play before her husband, Abraham's, head was blown off.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Photo via https://www.federalbaseball.com

So, my intake of the Mets failed comeback attempt in yesterday's series losing loss to the Nationals was taken in as such before and during my driving Lyft: 0-0, 5-1, 12-2 then the final of 12-9 after Michelle Ioannou, my former Rising Apple colleague, informed me of the failed comeback via the following tweets:

yup, mets lost, but damn they went down fighting

— Michelle Ioannou (@mnioannou) April 7, 2019

There are many concerns of what we are seeing here. Zack Wheeler reverting back to post-last-year's-second-half form, the bullpen overall not performing well, (insert usual Mets concerns here), etc, etc....but the offense is not currently one of them. There may be isolated concerns in regards to the latter, like Brandon Nimmo's bat disappearing or Robinson Cano's overall slow start, but so far, Chili Davis's affect is being immediately felt with player's like Jeff McNeil, who we had faith would continue to perform as he did last year, Pete Alonso, who is absolutely crushing it in his first go-round that appears much more sustainable than any Jeff Francoeur-type hot start, and JD Davis, who may just be hitting himself into a sustained bench role when players like Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie come back from the...ugh, I'm going to write it this way, aren't I?...the Injured List (It still feels like the disabled list in my head but I'm trying to train myself not to be a crusty old man about everything these days.)

Life may pile on hard, but at least we can laugh, love and live with the Mets, win or lose.

LIFE. GOES. ON. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Homer Happy for a Day

When I woke up on Saturday, the game against the Nationals was already about a half hour in. The trendy topic of note on #MetsTwitter was how awful of a decision it was by Mickey Callaway to hit JD Davis, the Mets' new infielder brought in from Houston, in the four spot. He was after Robinson Cano but ahead of both Wilson Ramos and Michael Conforto. It did seem rather perplexing, but with southpaw Patrick Corbin on the mound for the Nats, the logic was that JD Davis hits lefties well. It didn't stop a solid amount of tweets in my feed to be the latest outrage trend sweeping Mets nation. And everybody was thrilled to eat their words.

Photo: Andy Marlin - USA Today Sports
Photo via northjersey.com

JD Davis not only hit the first Citi Field home run of the year for the Mets, it was the first run of the young season at home for the team, and the hardest hit homer in the Major Leagues so far this year according to statcast. He wasn't done, hitting another one to make it 2-1 after the Nationals tied it, and in the same inning that Michael Conforto crushed a goner as well.

Of concern, however, is and was the bullpen, who could not hold the lead for Steven Matz (who had an uneven 5 innings but kept the runs off the board.) Both Robert Gsellman and Jeurys Familia struggled mightily, the latter giving the lead over to the Nationals in the 8th inning. The homer brigade wasn't over, however, as Pete Alonso crushed a solo shot to center in the bottom half with Robinson Cano following to tie the game with a no-doubt-about-it bridge blast that was his first big moment in front of the hometown fans, and the Citi went nuts. Up until that point, the Mets had 4 homers to their credit, more than doubling that number with 5 yesterday. I don't think it was a coincidence that on the first day of the season temperatures soared close to 70 that the ball flew a little easier out of the offensive-soul-sucking Citi Field ballpark. Going from the sun of St. Lucie to the early spring chill is probably a big reason why it is being reported that the cold bug has been going around the clubhouse, but those affects were not felt by the team yesterday.

What was so nice about this game was how the offensive contributions were spread around, including the game-winning opposite field single by Keon Broxton, another Brodie Van Wagenen complimentary pick up from the offseason. Now, if only we can figure out what is wrong with the prolifically striking out Brandon Nimmo...

It's still so early, and whether it's 1978 or 2012 or 2018, we all know how important it is to take an early hot start with a grain of salt. Still, I like what I see (though the bullpen DOES need to Tighten Up like Archie Bell and the Drells...)and with the roster turning over the way it has as well as it being just the first few games of the Brodie Effect, it was important for the Mets to look as good as they have. They've just got to sustain it past the 13th game of the season this time.

BEAT. DEM. NATS. UP.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Cano, Dontcha know?

When I woke up this morning, I readied myself to write a post titled, "Shoulders Shrug, but So Long, LaTroy," in response to the middle reliever Hawkins signing with the Colorado Rockies for $2.25 million to be their closer, something he wasn't going to be with the Mets next year.

Well, apparently, in the middle of the night, a couple hours after I had fallen asleep, a story broke via the NY Post that Robinson Cano's reps (which include Jay-Z) met with Jeff Wilpon, Sandy Alderson and John Ricco for dinner last night, at the behest of the reps.

Let the dreaming begin, eh?

After so much focus on Sandy Alderson stating that it is unlikely he would want to have two players with 9-figure salary (one which includes David Wright) the likelihood he would change his stance remains slim. HOWEVER, let's think about this for a second....Cano could be the player to conceivably change that stance. When asked about the whole $100 million player, the question was in reference to much more flawed players like Sin Shoo Choo. So, maybe, just maybe, this could happen....

Whoa. I'm buying into the modern-day Hot Stove hype machine. This has to be just fanning the Yankee flames, right? Jeff, Sandy and John took the meeting...they didn't HAVE to take the meeting....they too want the conversation to change, and from a public relations standpoint, this is good stuff for both sides....AHHHHH in the same paragraph where I gave myself crap for buying into the machine, I got back into BUYING INTO THE MACHINE!!!!

You know what we need? We need Nothing.

ROBBIE. CANO...

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

...And The Chickens Didn't Buckle Under the Knuckle.

Well, that didn't turn out the way we hope it would be. It seemed all the Yankees needed to throw Dickey and the Mets off their trajectory was a misplayed ball at 1st by the pitcher, and his control was never the same. Miguel Batista gave up Cano's 2nd home run is as many plate appearances against him, as the Mets' grit could not compensate for the bad bullpen. They lose 5-6, but weather a rough 22-game stretch with an 11-11 record, entering the two weeks leading up to the All-Star Break in prime position to make a run at the top.

This one took me a while to get over. Here I am writing over 12 hours after the last pitch and I'm still not over the fact Miguel Batista faced Robinson Cano AGAIN. My friend made the point to me that Cano could have hit that home run off anybody and Terry was trying to save his bullpen, but it didn't feel right seeing Batista there for another inning.  Terry was trying to get through the game as opposed to WIN the game. As far as I'm concerned, same lefty lefty rules that you've been following since the beginning of the year and beyond should be followed in this situation. At least go down with the one who gives you the best chance to get a lefty out, even if that lefty is Robinson Cano. The offense can only give you so many big hits. They cannot always compensate for this shoddy bullpen that owned 5 losses in this past stretch's 11.

Something got thrown off when Dickey stumbled over to 1st on Mark Teixiera's weak grounder. Every ounce of control was gone, and he gutted through 6 innings of work, including a single and scoring a very-much needed run. I have been wondering where the pitch was that Swisher hit, but I don't dare watch the video right now. I just can't yet. And when was it deemed classy to point and mock opposition's fans when the game is over? Apparently, that's cool if you're Nick Swisher, and if you're some Yankee fans. Look, I didn't always like when Reyes did his little dances, but he never openly mocked, pointed and laughed at the other teams or their fans. How 'bout some class, man? And speaking of classless (and I'm not calling every Yankee fan classless here, just pointing out one), when Swisher hit the home run off Dickey, this Yankee fan in front of us turned around, pointed with every one of his fingers at each and every one of us, and flicked us off under his chin, before turning back around and clapping. Hey. Douche bag. I don't come in your stadium and flip you off. This is baseball. We're all in this together, only on different sides of the spectrum. I didn't go into Colorado to point and mock when the Rockies lost two games to us. And at no point were any of those fans not gracious to any of us. I guess 27 rings doesn't buy class. But thank you for coming to our ballpark and giving us your money. We appreciate your coin. 

I'm so happy I'm a Mets fan.

The Mets travel to Chicago, where Johan Santana aims to pick up his comrades against the Cubs' Travis Wood. The next 13 games leading up to the All-Star Game include 6 against the Baby Bears, 3 against the Phils and 4 at Los Angeles. The majority of the games are against sub-par teams, but we should not underestimate them. If we don't take anything for granted and keep playing hard, there's a possibility we could finally be double-digits over .500 by the break. I like that Ruben Tejada's back. I like the fight we put up. Put up the same one, bullpen. Come on, Metsies.

LET'S DO THIS.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Converted Mets Fan is now on Twitter. Follow me @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

...And The Chicken Lays An Egg

I was very surprised to wake up Friday morning and hear, after radio silence from mid-evening Thursday to when I woke up, that Frank Francisco had called the Yankees chicken and said he couldn't wait to strike the whole side out. "Are you kidding me,?!" I said. "Well, that was stupid." Frank Francisco, at his realistic talent level, had no place calling the Yankees chicken. But hey, he's got quite the personality, and if he wants to throw that into a pot (that could use being downsized to a 2-home-game-four-game-series), then as a competitor it is his right to do so. And while he made it interesting with some spotty control, he gutted a save out (with some help from Andres Torres) and, for the moment, did not look like the creature he called those Grey-shirted fowl. The Mets weathered 3 Yankee bombs and rode a 5-run 1st inning into a 6-4 win.

Jon Niese knows he needs to step it up.  What we hopefully have for the remainder of the season at the front of the rotation would be so well complemented by a Niese doing what we all know he is capable of doing. He was pretty solid last night but by no means dominant. There were some control issues at certain parts that led to many base runners and a couple of solo shots. And yes, he got around those base runners, but let us remember that the Yankees haven't been, well, the Yankees when it comes to getting those base runners home this year. Jon Niese, I believe, could one day look like a Cy Young candidate, but it probably won't be as a 25-year-old. Why am I complaining, though? For the most part, he has been a perfect 3rd starter, and he gives us a chance to win most of the time he takes the mound.

How is it that the Mets have instilled so much confidence in us when it comes to runners on base with 2 out? It has been something that separates the good teams from the mediocre teams, and the Mets keep proving to us that they are not that mediocre team. Justin Turner keeps doing what he has done best since being called up last year, and that's get big hits like the one he got in the 1st inning last night. And you gotta give credit to Terry Collins for the way he scattered the righties throughout the lineup against the southpaw Andy Pettitte.

After taking forever to hit a home run in Citi Field this year, and then doing so in dramatic fashion with a Grand Slam, last night's home run to make it 5-0 was one of the sweetest moments all year. We had yet to see one that mimicked a Yankee Stadium fly ball drop-in, and to occur off of Nick Swisher's glove 16 feet farther than the Yankee Stadium right field corner was pure, unadulterated awesomeness.

I had recorded the game so I could see Brave with my family since it was the only time all of them could get together. On my way out of the theatre and back to Queens I avoided all peripheral bar windows that came my way so I could make it home with no knowledge of the game. The 1st inning for me did not begin till 9:30, and even then I discovered a 54-minute American Dad rain delay I had to fast forward. By 9:48, I had made it to the 1st pitch. By the 8th inning, I had the couch to myself and was enjoying it in a very comfortable, sprawled out position, not even thinking I would fall asleep. Miguel Batista lets up a single on a relatively well-pitched sequence to Mark Teixeira. I watched Alex Rodriguez strike out swinging, then, before I knew it, Justin Turner was on 2nd and the Yankees had closed the gap to what ended up being the final score. I didn't know how the 3rd and 4th runs were scored until listening to Evan Roberts on the FAN this morning, when he said that Robinson Cano's homer was an absolute bomb. I just watched it. I'm glad the only time I saw it was after the Mets had locked down the win. I wouldn't have thought it was as awesome as I think it is had I seen it live last night.

The Mets aim to lock down the series tonight when the righty Chris Young takes on Ivan Nova, another righty, at 7:15PM on Fox. Why not set it up for Dickey to go for the sweep tomorrow night? I'm certainly fine with that. Lock it down, Mr. Young.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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