The Official 2015 Mets Thread

[mets1090]

Pleasant surprise in LA this weekend. This 3 game set with SF is a sneaky make or break type series (as much as it can be in the first week of July). The Mets are locked in what amounts to a 3 team race for the second wild card spot with the Cubs and Giants. Losing the series is going to make the gap between the Giants/Cubs and the Mets feel like a chasm. On the flip side if they manage to take 2 or even all 3, a little bit of hope for the Wild Card is restored for the time being.

While the current roster has virtually no chance at making the playoffs, until they're 6 or 7 games back I won't start fully looking towards 2016. The problem is that could be the case by the time Thursday rolls around.

 

[UConnMike04]

We've gotta win tonight. SF played till late last night and didn't choose to fly from DC to SF this afternoon. They've gotta be exhausted and jet-lagged.

 

[mets1090]

Niese has pitched well in his last 5 starts. I would expect him to benefit the most from the extra rest that the 6 man rotation brings so it wouldn't surprise me if he started pitching more consistently.

Has anyone else noticed that any so called problems from the 6 man rotation seem to be vastly overblown? In the last 7 games the staff has allowed a total of 14 runs. Collins appears to generally be giving the pitchers 5-10 extra pitches per start when they are going well which relieves stress on the bullpen. So far there hasn't been much of a downside. Niese (shoulder) and Colon (age) can obviously use the extra day and Syndergaard/Matz have looked outstanding. deGrom and Harvey have had slight bumps in the road but if a 42 year old, a soft tossing lefty, and 2 kids can handle it, they shouldn't have a problem.

 

[Deepster]

The only negative comments I've seen are from Harvey and I take that more of his ego and bravado busting through as he struggles coming back to full strength.

 

[mets1090]

The only negative comments I've seen are from Harvey and I take that more of his ego and bravado busting through as he struggles coming back to full strength.

Yeah he hasn't looked sharp even in some of his 7 inning 1 run outings. I'll chalk it up to the surgery at this point.

During deGrom's start, Howie Rose was making a comment about the extra day of rest pretty much every time deGrom was in a 2 ball count. It was nauseating (and I love listening to Rose call games).

 

[UConnMike04]

Who the hell ever saw a 4-2 west coast trip coming??

 

[Deepster]

Who the hell ever saw a 4-2 west coast trip coming....with timely hits from Johnny Monell and Eric Campbell??

 

[8893]

Who the hell ever saw a 4-2 west coast trip coming??

Anyone who has rooted for this team for any period of time knows that there was no way we were getting off easily enough to write the season off now. No way. We've got at least three or four more gut kicks coming from the maddening flirtation with mediocrity that results from our swings between hopeful and hopeless moments.

We probably have the best pitching staff in MLB--certainly in price per pound--so we'll stay just competitive enough in the lackluster NL East and WC race to be frustrating even with a roster that is otherwise comprised of minor leaguers in large part.

 

[Deepster]

Hopefully we can go into a late September death roll just like the ol' days!

 

[pepband99]

Colon will start to peter out, just like he does every July-ish.

In short: he's still fat, and now it's hot. Not a good combo.

 

[8893]

Hopefully we can go into a late September death roll just like the ol' days!

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

 

[8893]

And here we go with the next swift kick to the nuts. You couldn't make this stuff up:

Mets' Steven Matz has partial lat tear, won't throw for 3 weeks

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/sto...rookie-steven-matz-miss-next-start-lat-injury

 

[mets1090]

It's remarkable that with the injuries they've had they're still in the playoff hunt, considering most wouldn't have predicted them doing any better than 88 wins. Just goes to show how deep the pitching really is.

 

[Dove]

And here we go with the next swift kick to the nuts. You couldn't make this stuff up:

Mets' Steven Matz has partial lat tear, won't throw for 3 weeks

An absolute kick to the 'nads.

 

[mets1090]

A sliver of positive news is that Montero is just about ready to throw a bullpen session so hopefully he's only a few weeks away.

Vic Black has also pitched in 9 games in AAA, though with poor results. A guy like him who has control issues probably needs a few weeks to fully get back into things so hopefully he can hammer out whatever issues he's having by the end of the month.

Other than that... things look pretty bleak. I'm going to continue assuming Wright doesn't play again this year. d'Arnaud is still wearing a brace. Blevins hasn't been cleared to throw. The worst part of all of this is that the logical part of me says they shouldn't buy at the deadline because there are just too many holes to fill this season. Zobrist isn't going to do it. They're better off keeping all of their major pieces and attempting to sign a couple free agent position players.

One thing I feel pretty confident in is that if they don't expand the payroll this off season, it's never going to happen. And I'm not even talking about ballooning to $150 million. A jump to like $115MM could be enough to get them over the "worst offense in baseball" hump. They know they have a top 5 pitching staff for dirt cheap. This off season is very obviously the time to go for it, which will make it hurt all the more when they don't.

 

[Rico444]

This young pitching we have is insane. Thor, Matz, deGrom, and Harvey...we already have two aces, and we've got the legitimate potential for TWO more...unbelievable.

 

[mauconnfan]

Need to make a major trade for a bat or 2 and one of those studs need to go. That lineup is dreadful.

 

[UConnMike04]

For all that's gone wrong injury wise we are only 2 back of the Nats, 1 from the 2nd WC and 5 over .500. These next 10 games will make or break our season in my opinion after the break.

 

[mets1090]

Yeah the next ~10 will dictate whether they should be looking to buy or sell at the deadline. If they come out strong after the ASB and can trade a couple of prospects not named Conforto or Nimmo for some major league help they should be able to remain relevant. If only d'Arnaud could catch a break and stay healthy for the final two months (if he even makes his way back in the next few weeks).

 

[UConnMike04]

Yeah the next ~10 will dictate whether they should be looking to buy or sell at the deadline. If they come out strong after the ASB and can trade a couple of prospects not named Conforto or Nimmo for some major league help they should be able to remain relevant. If only d'Arnaud could catch a break and stay healthy for the final two months (if he even makes his way back in the next few weeks).

TDA has caught some breaks. His hand and elbow! I know they have been fluke injuries, but he is always getting hurt. I love his bat, when he plays.

 

[mets1090]

TDA has caught some breaks. His hand and elbow! I know they have been fluke injuries, but he is always getting hurt. I love his bat, when he plays.

Yeah his injury history is puzzling. It's hard to give someone the injury prone label when they've been unfortunate things like getting your elbow plowed through on a tag, getting hit in the head on the backswing, and (I think) getting hit by a pitch on the hand. Those are things that are going to knock most people out of commission. Hopefully he can come back healthy and avoid those types of things.

The worst part is his bat could be great as a catcher but if he has to move start thinking about a move to 1B or LF to limit the physical wear, his bat is no longer a plus asset.

 

[Rico444]

Jacob deGrom just struck out the side on 10 pitches at the All-Star Game.

Wow.

 

[Deepster]

It's crazy. I am constantly flipping, by the week, who I think the stud ace of this staff will shake out to be. Prior to this season, I really didn't know. Harvey was coming off TJ, Wheeler (before he got hurt), a sophomore slump for deGrom. Thor matured quick, Matz was outstanding. It really is like any single one of them could put up a Cy Young type year at some point in the next 3-5 years. Insane. Let's hope the nice streak heading into the AS break, with a boost from deGrom's inning, some rest for the roster and the Mejia, Parnell, Familia trio can make the 2nd half a nice run.

 

[mets1090]

deGrom's first two years are shaping up to be slightly better than Harvey's first two. He's just quiet so it's taking people longer to anoint him "the ace." He's the best pitcher on the staff without question, given that Harvey is coming of surgery. Whether or not he returns to pre surgery form remains to be seen. The overall point is spot on though: 4 guys with legit ace potential.

 

[8893]

The overall point is spot on though: 4 guys with legit ace potential.

Which leads to the logical conclusion that we should be shopping one of them--any one, because it really is a crap shoot over the long haul--for a legitimate bat now, right?