Official 2014 New York Mets Thread

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Speaking of SS...looks like the Mets still have no interest in Stephen Drew...admittedly, coughing up the draft pick is a steep price, but it seems like it's only going to be a matter of time before Quintanilla takes the job away from Tejada (read:  very bad):

 

http://nesn.com/2014/04/report-stephen-drew-new-york-mets-have-no-momentum-toward-contract/

['7']

At this point I just hope Flores starts hitting in Vegas so we can just hand him the job. I'm sure his range is terrible and all, but I think the guy will ultimately be a good major league hitter.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Flores has already made five errors.  Sadly he's not going to be the answer, even if he does hit more (and it's hard to know how much more offense he'll provide).  This team can't afford shaky play and a lot of Es at the SS position...they don't hit enough to overcome extra outs and runs against.  I think it's going to be a repeat of 2013 (big surprise) very soon...Quintanilla takes the job away from Tejada (who the organization clearly doesn't support) and unless Passive makes a move, he'll be the stopgap for another year. 

Edited April 26, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[nmigliore]

Mike Puma is at it again. Made a disparaging, unprofessional comment/joke in regards to Colon saying, "I bet if the umps searched him they'd find peanut butter behind his neck." (Referencing the Pineda incident).

 

Mets players refused to speak to the media until he left the clubhouse last night. Awesome job sticking up for a teammate.

 

Mike Puma is a fvcking hack. He probably packs peanut butter up his fat fvcking ass crack for when he wants a snack.

 

Edited April 26, 2014 by nmigliore

['7']

I dont understand how somebody who looks like that can comment on anybody elses weight. That's ridiculous.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Abreu!  Damn...smoked that one.

 

Re:  Puma...typical sportswriter...an dorky unathletic wanna-be who was never good enough to play himself and spent his childhood being the last one picked, so now he writes about people he wishes he could be like.  For the New York Post no less.  Loser.   

['7']

The fvck was that in the 6th inning? How do you blow 5-1 to those pieces of garbage?

 

Mejia was really cruising too

Edited April 27, 2014 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Mejia comes apart in the 6th.  Torres gives up the go-ahead double.  Even though the starting pitching has been pretty good, these guys have to start getting into the seventh inning and beyond more often than they do.

 

 

The fvck was that in the 6th inning? How do you blow 5-1 to those pieces of garbage?

 

The Mets aren't exactly awesome themselves. 

 

And wow, Mejia's ERA went from 1.99 to 3.49.  Early season can really be a bitch from that standpoint.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[nmigliore]

Here comes Familia. Well, hopefully we win the series tomorrow.

['7']

heh, the Marlins are just that eternal thorn in the side that never leaves

 

I realize the Mets aren't really good either, but at 5-1 and Mejia cruising I was (foolishly apparently) hoping for a game where they go quietly into the night

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Me too '7'.  Didn't really see that 6th coming either, but sh!t happens, especially to a team that's been pretty lucky so far.  At least the game's still winnable.

 

Familia gets out of it. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

fvcking Granderson.  Jesus Christ.

[nmigliore]

1 hit since the 3rd inning. Of course.

[nmigliore]

And there it is. Hey look a catcher who can homeruns!

[NJDevs4978]

So guess Dice-K's closing by early next week lol

['7']

Not that the Mets would've won anyway, but you can't have these clown umps invent new strike zones because they want to get out of town. They have to be fair to the Mets in the bottom of the 10th, simple as that.

 

David Wright has to hit a god damn home run already

Edited April 27, 2014 by '7'

[nmigliore]

Nimmo is really off to a terrific start for St. Lucie: 1.019 OPS, 22 walks to 19 strikeouts, 5-for-7 in stolen bases. He got off to a hot start in 2013 too before tapering off, so word of caution about the sample size, but really couldn't ask for a better first month.

Edited April 27, 2014 by nmigliore

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

One HR and two doubles for David Wright so far, through 24 GP.

 

It's still early and it's a small sample, but the only number that has been good for him so far is his RBI total (14).  Everything else is pretty bad (and is being made worse by this recent slump):  only seven walks (against 26 K), .330 OB%, .327 SLG% (?!), .657 OB+SLG.  Hard to fathom that Wright is going to finish the season with 14 doubles and 7 dingers though...those numbers will improve, but it all goes back to the same thing...as long as the Mets treat Wright like he's some kind of cornerstone player (and his contract is as high as the Mets are willing to go), they're never going to be an upper-half offensive team.  Wright being their best hitter is not a good thing. 

 

re:  Nimmo, saw that he's off to a good start. St. Lucie is a long way from NY though...wish he was closer.

 

Updated Vegas numbers for the "big three":

 

deGrom (last two starts):  10 IP, 13 H, 5 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 8 K

Montero (last two starts):  10 IP, 12 H, 7 ER, 2 HR, 5 BB, 9 K

Syndergaard (last two starts):  9 IP, 12 H, 7 ER, 2 HR, 5 BB, 9 K

 

Speaking of Vegas...they're 18-5, and though they're currently sixth in ERA, their gaudy W-L record is more based on offense...167 RS, 30 more than the next-highest team.  Unfortunately, there isn't really anyone currently on that roster that screams "Get him up here, this guy will be a huge help!"  For one, for a team that doesn't score much, the Mets are pretty set at most positions.  Granderson's contract ensures that he's not getting benched anytime soon.  EY is doing just enough to stay in the lineup (in the Mets' eyes, anyway).  Wright, Murphy, and d'Arnaud are locks.  Duda is going to get an extended look, and though I'm clearly not a Duda guy, in fairness to him, some of his numbers are pretty good.  Lagares will be back in the lineup before too much longer, and Chris Young is making a decent chunk of change on team that doesn't spend money, so he's going to play.  The only real spot open is SS, and there's no one at Vegas who can help.  Flores isn't really hitting and can't field the position anyway.  Eric Campbell (27 years old) is hitting and has played two games at short this season...the only two games of his pro career there (he's played more games at 1B than anywhere else, though he's played a number of positions in the minors). 

 

Basically, and ironically, there's not much opportunity for anyone to come up and steal a job right now...unfortunately, the Vegas team is loaded with a lot of older hitters who aren't prospects anyway.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

Man are we looking like absolute fool for not giving Nelson Cruz a 1 year deal and going for Chris Young

[nmigliore]

Mets can't get a break today. Duda doubled but it went into the crowd and cost them a run; they couldn't score with a runner on 3rd and no out; EY bounced a ball up the middle that hit the mound which prevented it from being a 2-run single.

Edited April 27, 2014 by nmigliore

['7']

Wright finally gets the extra base hit...good to be up 4-0 now since we're getting close to the Gee meltdown inning

[nmigliore]

Nice to see the Mets take 2 of 3. Absolutely cannot have asked for a better start given the schedule.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Nice last few starts for Gee...just 2 ER in 21 IP.  Only 12 H and 6 BB in that time. 

 

Yeah, is there a Met fan alive that wouldn't have signed up for 14-11 to start the season, given the schedule?  And it's not like everything hasn't gone the way we thought it would...the starting pitching has been good overall (we thought it would be), the offense has been pretty weak (they've managed to score a decent amount of runs for a team that doesn't do one thing well at the plate), and the bullpen has been better lately, but spotty in general. 

 

And David Wright has four extra-base hits through 24 GP.  Slugging .333, which is pretty awful (noted power hitters Quintanilla and Murphy are at .333 and .340, respectively).  Glad the Mets have overcome the lousy individual (and team) offensive performances to date. 

Edited April 27, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

Nice last few starts for Gee...just 2 ER in 21 IP.  Only 12 H and 6 BB in that time. 

 

Yeah, is there a Met fan alive that wouldn't have signed up for 14-11 to start the season, given the schedule?  And it's not like everything hasn't gone the way we thought it would...the starting pitching has been good overall (we thought it would be), the offense has been pretty weak (they've managed to score a decent amount of runs for a team that doesn't do one thing well at the plate), and the bullpen has been better lately, but spotty in general. 

 

And David Wright has four extra-base hits through 24 GP.  Slugging .333, which is pretty awful (noted power hitters Quintanilla and Murphy are at .333 and .340, respectively).  Glad the Mets have overcome the lousy individual (and team) offensive performances to date. 

 

We all knew the strikeouts would be sky high, but I thought combined you could pencil Wright + Granderson in for 50 home runs this year. 25 from each was not unreasonable...or 27-23...some combination. The fact that they have a combined 2 through 25 games and this team is three OVER .500 is astounding.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Yeah, it's kind of funny...none of the numbers (except the starting pitching, really) point to the Mets deserving to be three games over .500.  If you looked at the offensive output of most the players, you'd probably assume three UNDER at best.

 

If you look at it, Passive has really dodged a bullet so far...his big offseason moves (with the exception of Colon), which all had serious downside potential, have not only not really paid off, but have pretty much been worst-case.  Granderson is a trainwreck, and CYoung (in a small sample) is looking like what most fans were expecting (not much).  Take out Colon's one awful start, and he's got a 2.33 ERA in the other four starts.  Four QS in five games...can't argue the guy hasn't done a pretty good job overall.  I'll take 3 ER or less in four out of five starts from him. 

 

Wright has gone through power slumps before, but I've got to think he'll put up at least 30 2B and 20 HR (with a few triples) if he plays in 155+ games.  At least he's driven in runs.   

 

 

EDIT:  At first glance, the Met team offense looks pretty bad:

25 GP, 100 RS, .218 BA, .296 OB%, .318 SLG%, .614 OB+SLG

 

But here's the NL averages to date:

25 GP, 101 RS, .248 BA, .308 OB%, .380 SLG%, .689 OB+SLG 

 

Even though they're below-average in a number of areas (including dead-last in SLG% in the majors), they're actually 7th in RPG in the NL (4.00).  The only NL team that's really doing much offensively is (surprise!) Colorado, and their numbers are inflating the league averages. 

Edited April 28, 2014 by Colorado Rockies 1976