The Official 2015 Mets Thread

[Deepster]

No credit to the Nationals staff? I thought the back to back 1-0's were more Nats pitching than lack of Mets hitting.

They're in a quirky little spot on the schedule. Interleague teams, 2 game series, Montero spot starting, some injuries still lingering. Hopefully that smooths out and they get back into a little more of a routine.

 

[mets1090]

Valid point Deep. It's funny... everyone knew the Mets wouldn't keep up the hot 15 game start. Everyone knew the Nationals wouldn't be as bad as they were in their first 15 games. Yet when they meet each other and things balance out, everyone's ready to jump off a cliff.

I think hope will be restored if they come out and take 2 out of 3 from Baltimore. We knew the slump had to come. Now it's just a matter of how quickly they can get out of it and play consistent 88 to 90 win type baseball.

 

[8893]

Nats are solid, no doubt.

We only play two against Baltimore.

I think the next four series after that should give us a better indication of where we stand. We've got to take care of business against the low hanging fruit like the Phils and Brewers, and we've got to see how we stack up against other top teams like the Cards and the Cubs.

 

[mets1090]

Interesting that they play 2 against Baltimore. Odd to have a Monday and Thursday off in the same week. They go about 3 weeks after that without a day off. That's going to be a grind and I wouldn't be surprised if they went with a 6 man rotation.

 

[Alum86]

The hitting is woeful. Everyone knew and knows we need a SS.
Tejada is an auto out and Flores, for such a big boy, cannot hit for power or even avg. Can we release Recker? Kirk? 2 more auto outs.
Pitching is carrying us, but can only go so far.

 

[Deepster]

20-11 and 3.5 games up over the Nats in the division. The entire starting rotation is contributing and now Thor makes his big league debut tomorrow. If he comes up and tosses a gem, does Gee hit the bullpen?

 

[mets1090]

Thor has already spent more time at AAA than most Top 25 prospects do. If he pitches well it's going to be tough to send him down. I could see them going with a 6 man rotation during this stretch of 20 games in 20 days and reassessing the situation then.

I don't know what the Mets bullpen numbers actually are but I can tell you that outside of Familia I'm not overly confident in any of them even if they've had good results. It would be nice to plug a guy like Gee in there for when the starter can't make it through the 6th inning. Those starts have been few and far between so far this year but it's inevitable.

 

[Alum86]

I liked the Bartolo Colon acquire last yr.
And though expensive he has been worth every penny we paid over 2 years. Dude is an innings eater and has been money. Throws strikes.

 

[Deepster]

Any concern over DeGrom? Bryant and Rizzo absolutely devoured his fastball last night. He hasn't gotten past the 5th inning in 3 of his last 4 starts. With Gee getting hurt, we're extra lucky Colon has been so good. Hopefully Syndergaard injects a little life into them today.

 

[8893]

Any concern over DeGrom? Bryant and Rizzo absolutely devoured his fastball last night. He hasn't gotten past the 5th inning in 3 of his last 4 starts.

Yes, I'm concerned that something is off with him. For a guy who usually brushes stuff off and has no problem with confidence, he doesn't appear confident to me of late. It's to the point where I'm concerned about his starts and penciling them in as question marks or probable losses, instead of probable wins like I used to expect from him, and which I still expect from Harvey and Colon.

One thing I'm absolutely thrilled about though is Cuddyer. What a great pickup he was for us. I'm almost afraid for David Wright's return, because I like the tone that Cuddyer has been able to set with his leadership in Wright's absence and I hope it doesn't cramp his style once Wright is back in the lineup.

And I think d'Arnaud is going to have to find a new position, because Plawecki ain't going anywhere.

 

[Deepster]

Yes, I'm concerned that something is off with him. For a guy who usually brushes stuff off and has no problem with confidence, he doesn't appear confident to me of late. It's to the point where I'm concerned about his starts and penciling them in as question marks or probable losses, instead of probable wins like I used to expect from him, and which I still expect from Harvey and Colon.

One thing I'm absolutely thrilled about though is Cuddyer. What a great pickup he was for us. I'm almost afraid for David Wright's return, because I like the tone that Cuddyer has been able to set with his leadership in Wright's absence and I hope it doesn't cramp his style once Wright is back in the lineup.

And I think d'Arnaud is going to have to find a new position, because Plawecki ain't going anywhere.

On Cuddyer, with him and Wright being good friends, I would think it will work out fine with a good "clubhouse" instead of just one lead guy. No?

 

[8893]

On Cuddyer, with him and Wright being good friends, I would think it will work out fine with a good "clubhouse" instead of just one lead guy. No?

That's my hope. It's probably just the baggage of the Mets' lackluster performance during Wright's tenure, but I just feel like he's cursed, and it's been a bit of a breath of fresh air to be freed from the lofty expectations that always seem to ride on his shoulders, and which he never seems to meet. I can't blame him given what he's had to deal with during that time, but I got tired of the broken record responses and he was the face of the organization for that period.

They both appear to be great attitude guys and I don't expect any friction or anything like that, but New York is New York, and if the Mets start to slide after he returns and he is not keeping up his numbers, I can see it becoming an uncomfortable back page storyline for him.

 

[mets1090]

d'Arnaud is a better player than Plawecki is right now with a longer MLB track record (he's basically an .800 OPS player since this time last year). I'd have no problem kicking Recker to the curb and having Plawecki and d'Arnaud do an even split.

Catchers don't play every day so I would think that argument isn't as applicable as it is with a guy like Herrera. On that front, they have a decision to make when Wright comes back. Do you trade Murphy? Do you send Dilson back down to play every day in AAA? Do you give him a shot at Shortstop (doubtful)? I would trade Murphy if they could get anything of value back but I don't see that happening.

 

[mets1090]

That's my hope. It's probably just the baggage of the Mets' lackluster performance during Wright's tenure, but I just feel like he's cursed, and it's been a bit of a breath of fresh air to be freed from the lofty expectations that always seem to ride on his shoulders, and which he never seems to meet. I can't blame him given what he's had to deal with during that time, but I got tired of the broken record responses and he was the face of the organization for that period.

They both appear to be great attitude guys and I don't expect any friction or anything like that, but New York is New York, and if the Mets start to slide after he returns and he is not keeping up his numbers, I can see it becoming an uncomfortable back page storyline for him.

With the exception of last year when he played through a shoulder injury for half the season, his performance has never been a problem. He just needs to stay on the field. When it was two unrelated injuries (hamstring and then shoulder), I was able to write it off as bad luck. But now with a repeat hamstring and an additional back problem, it's definitely starting to look more like injury prone/breaking down. Might be at a point where you just hope he plays 100 games and puts up his usual stellar numbers to make up for it and be a solid contributor. Example: 2 seasons ago he only played 112 games but he had a .904 OPS. I'd take that every year for the rest of his contract and just fill in the blanks with for the other 50 games.

 

[UConnMike04]

Wright will be fine with Cuddyer around. Getting Wright back will only help the team. Also, Plaw will be sent down when TDA is up. He's not going to sit on the bench, and neither is TDA. Both are starting catchers, and will not split time. That'd devalue both and one will most likely be gone if not July then this summer. I think Murphy will be gone or a "super sub" spelling Wright at 3rd, Dilson at 2nd and even Duda at 1st on day games after night games, long stretches, etc. With Thor up I think we may have seen the end of Gee as a starter as well.

 

[8893]

My point about Wright is not his numbers, just that I associate him with the most disappointing stretch of my Mets fandom because he has been the face of the franchise during that period. As such, he was always the one forced to give the platitudinous responses when we all knew things weren't going to change for the better.

This season has seemed like we're finally turning the page, and obviously I want Wright to be part of it. But I'm still having a hard time shaking the perception that he's part of the chapter that I want to turn past, too.

As for Plawecki, it will be interesting to see what they do with him. I just really like what I've seen and heard from him. Simply put, he seems like a solid ballplayer.

Looking forward to seeing Snydergaard's stuff tonight.

 

[mets1090]

Well Syndergaard pitched pretty well for the first 5 innings (aside from the inning where Murphy took his sweet time lollipopped that throw). Made a couple of mistakes in the 6th and got punished. Welcome to the big leagues. Overall though it was an encouraging performance. Have to like his willingness to throw any of his 3 pitches at any time.

They're still 7 games over and they're 5-5 in their last 10, but it feels way worse than that. Tonight is another one of those games where it feels like a must win (as much as a game can be at this point in the season). The season will probably ride a lot on Harvey's ability to win these types of games.


p.s. While the Brewers hold a terrible 12-22 record, they are 6-4 over their last 10 so you can't take those games for granted this weekend. This team needs to get healthy in a hurry.

 

[Deepster]

Agreed. He looked really good through 5 and threw a couple changes/curves down in the count that caught attention. He did look flustered or shaken up after the Murph miscue and it was the 3rd time around the lineup, right? Big league hitters make in-game adjustments. He needs to stay up though. Gee has got to be bullpen bound. Too much promise from the start and he's clearly ready.

 

[8893]

Tough wasted outing by Harvey last night. I don't really blame Collins for pulling him at 100 pitches given where we are in the season, and I know it's conventional wisdom not to bring in your closer to start the ninth in a tie game on the road, but I didn't have faith in the rest of our pen and felt it was almost conceding the game not to start Familia there.

I think we're getting a lot more realistic look at our season prospects now. Nats look like the better team at this point imo.

 

[mets1090]

Nats are undoubtedly the better team and I don't think anyone could have reasonably claimed otherwise despite the first 15-20 games of the season.

The bullpen has taken way too many injuries - Parnell, Edgin, Blevins, Montero, Carlyle, Parnell, plus the Mejia suspension. That's an entire functional bullpen as it is. There's no question it is going to cost this team games. The only thing that can mask it is that the starters have gone 6-8 innings virtually every game. Once a couple come back we should start to see things come around.

The real issue is we're seeing just how thin the offense is. When it's not 100% healthy there are going to be long stretches where they just can't score. This is the main reason I would have given up a lot to get Tulo. We'll see if they can have a stretch where the under achievers (Murph/Grandy/Cuddyer) get hot and they go on another 10-2 type stretch.

 

[Deepster]

This is the main reason I would have given up a lot to get Tulo.

After seeing his first start, would you give up Syndergaard for Tulo? I sure as hell wouldn't.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Tulo is a disaster waiting to happen. We already have Wright and his 100M+ contract combine him with Tulo you're asking for trouble. We'd be lucky if both of them could combine for 162 games a season.

Tulo also hasn't been amazing, his OPS is around .750 and scouts are saying he's not long for SS. That doesn't solve any of the Mets issues.

A more better option would be to get Reyes back if the Jays are out of the race but realistically none of these types of moves are in the realm of possibility for the Mets as long as the Coupons are the owners.

 

[mets1090]

If you aren't willing to spend more than $100M per year, you will never keep any of your top players past arbitration. A borderline All Star commands close to $20 million per year at this point.

I'm not disagreeing with you with regards to these things being impossible with the Wilpons owning the team. I'm just saying the franchise will never get turned around if a 6 year/$120M contract is out of the question. It's going to be fun watching Harvey pitch for the Yankees in 2019

 

[8893]

Death spiral watch is on. We're on track to be out of first place and below .500 before the end of the month.

Brutal.

 

[UConnMike04]

Well that 10 run inning was way overdue!