New York Mets 2016 Season Thread

['7']

wow, talk about a lucky infield bleeder for Myers. I guess the Padres are pre ordained to get every lucky BS play against us in this ballpark.

[NJDevs4978]

And now droopy face is gonna blow this one.  I swear Reed does remind me of Aaron Heilman, neither were/are huge strikeout guys although Reed somehow gets +1 K per inning, both are reliable for stretches but just when you start to count on them they let you down.

Edited May 8, 2016 by NJDevs4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Henderson's been pretty good overall.  Not that much to complain about.  

Would've been nice if Harvey had gone deeper, but it's an old story with these guys so far.  Bullpen continues to get too much work.  

As for Harvey, good start, not going to get too excited about it yet.  

 

['7']

Let's see if Bastardo can earn his $

Man this is such a typical west coast trip.

 

[NJDevs4978]

Maybe now Bastardo'll get out of the doghouse once and for all.

['7']

One of the best relief outings I've seen from a Mets pitcher. 1 run lead bases loaded 0 out. Strikes out the side on 15 pitches.

No joke...incredible!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Suffice it to say that Bastardo did just that.  Major kudos.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Nice win!  Trip stabilized for the moment.  In first place.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Familia is looking more and more like the guy who did such a terrific job last season as the closer...sure, he's 10-for-10 this season in save opportunities, so it's not like he's sucked...but after allowing 13 hits and 4 walks in his first 9 IP (small sample stuff, but definitely not Familia-like at all), he's only allowed 3 hits in his last 6 IP, with no walks.  He's been pretty efficient from a pitch-count standpoint too (15 or less thrown in his last five appearances). 

And Cespedes...damn.  I'll admit it, I thought he'd be just OK this year at best, and was definitely concerned about him (and it's still very early), but this is now the second time since he's been a Met that he's gone on an insane RBI tear...averaging better than an RBI per game for extended stretches in MLB is tough, and Cespedes has managed to do it twice (he has 73 RBI in 82 regular season games as a Met)...and this year's Mets are only lower middle-of-the-pack in runs scored, so it's not like he's playing on a beastly offensive team this season.  I still think he's iffy against playoff pitching and I still think he can be pitched to and gotten out, but something about the Mets and him seem to agree...in his 82 regular season games here, he's put up an OB+SLG of .971.  For the rest of his career, it's only .790. 

The rotation mainstays (not including Verrett's two starts in this sample) have now made 28 starts on this still-young season.  Their combined numbers:

168 IP (exactly 6 IP per start), 168 H, 57 ER, 11 HR, 37 BB, 163 K, 1.22 WHIP, 3.05 ERA (four of the starters have ERAs of 2.83 or less...Harvey's 4.50 mark blows this up a bit).

Though most teams would happily take the above, and it's not remotely bad, it's not quite what we were expecting (good but not truly dominant)...Harvey's overall mediocrity has been the biggest surprise of all so far, but in general it's kind of surprising how many hits they've all given up (and how few innings they're providing).  Colon being hittable hasn't bloated the sample...I'd say he's actually exceeded expectations on that front.

If you're into glass-half-full with Harvey, the numbers over the last four starts look a little better in some categories, though far from great:  22.2 IP, 26 H, 9 ER, 3 HR, 6 BB, 26 K, 1.41 WHIP, 3.57 ERA.  If you want to go glass half-empty, it's ugly:  405 pitches thrown in these four starts (almost 18 per inning), continued troubles in the middle innings, and a lucky break yesterday that made yesterday's outing look a little better in the box score than it really was (though he at least was able to pitch a scoreless sixth).  Overall, he's been far closer to Zack Wheeler than Matt Harvey.   

[NJDevs4978]

14 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Nice win!  Trip stabilized for the moment.  In first place.

And salvaging the split AFTER deGrom and Thor losses to boot.

[nmigliore]

Can't believe Colon went deep. I didn't see like anything this weekend, but I can't stop watching that replay and that replay only. Holy smokes.

Looks like Harvey had a decent on-paper outing but I kind of take that with a grain of salt considering it was the Padres (and in PetCo to boot). Per PFX, it looks as if his FB was averaging 95 mph yesterday, though, which is a little bit encouraging.

Speaking of velocity, deGrom has pitched well so far, but has struggled to strike hitters out. I was thinking the dip in strikeouts had something to do with his down velocity, but I don't think so -- his contact rate against is only 74.6%, which is actually down from 2015, and his swinging strike rate is 12.5%, which is right in line with 2015 (12.7%). Seems like things should begin to even out for him in the strikeout department, although the dip in velocity still worries me some.

Edited May 9, 2016 by nmigliore

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

15 minutes ago, nmigliore said:

Can't believe Colon went deep. I didn't see like anything this weekend, but I can't stop watching that replay and that replay only. Holy smokes.

Looks like Harvey had a decent on-paper outing but I kind of take that with a grain of salt considering it was the Padres (and in PetCo to boot). Per PFX, it looks as if his FB was averaging 95 mph yesterday, though, which is a little bit encouraging.

102 pitches in 6 IP against the Padres, a massive HR allowed, and a VERY lucky play at the plate that the umps somehow got wrong even replays proved the guy was safe (led to one less run on Harvey's record).  A lot of luck in Harvey's favor yesterday for sure. 

Seeing Colon's HR live was hilarious.  All things considered...overall performance, his presence in the clubhouse, his durability...he's been a plus in his time here..  Even though you keep waiting for the clock to strike midnight, and for the implosion outings to become the norm, it just never happens.  He just keeps plugging away and doing his thing. 

Edited May 9, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[NJDevs4978]

Colon got co-NL player of the week along with Ben Zobrist

And Strausberg somewhat shockingly signs a 7-year $175 million deal BEFORE FA with a 3-4 year opt-out of course.  Thank goodness the Mets don't need pitching in the immediate future since the FA pitcher with the highest WAR now is...Colon.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

You wonder if the Mets will eventually do something like this.  They don't have to right now, although they could with Harvey.  I think Harvey eventually gets dealt myself (though not this season).

Good for Plaw in that he's starting to hit some.  It'd be really nice to see him hit enough for him to possibly keep the job.  Though I can't give up on TDA entirely, between the bad defense and inability to stay healthy, I just don't feel like he's the guy anymore.

Three more HRs allowed by Niese...that's now 10 in 40 IP.  He also has a 1.60 WHIP.  Ouch.  This last outing wasn't awful (the three HRs were all solo shots, and were the only runs scored off Niese), but when the Pirates took a 2-1 lead, the Reds promptly homered off Niese to tie it in the bottom of the inning, and then hit another one in the next inning to take the lead (this HR was pretty cheap, but it was still a HR nonetheless).  

Obviously small samples, but through 6 starts last season and this season, Matz's numbers for both are almost identical, even with that first awful 2016 start that probably wasn't even Matz's fault (10 days off).  His BABIP is a little higher this year, so he might be a little less lucky (hard to say with one start kind of screwing up the sample) but it's nice to see his early overall 12-start sample be reasonably consistent...and he's 9-1 to boot.

 

Edited May 10, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Pretty good game for Montero yesterday (0 ER in 5.2 IP), but he allowed three more walks...unfortunately, the beastly control that was such a terrific part of his AA-and-earlier professional career appears to be gone for good.  He's now made 39 starts for AAA, and he's given up 71 free passes in 200 IP, a rate of about 3.2 per 9 IP...that's not awful, but he had allowed only 46 BB in 276.2 IP at other levels (less than half his AAA-rate).  And it's worse in his limited major-league sample:  29 BB in 56.2 IP. 

Been over it before, but unless he goes on some kind of tear over the next few months (AND manages to stay healthy), more and more it looks like he's going to be a throw-in type in a deadline or offseason deal, who still has some appeal because he's 25 years old.  Sucks mostly in that his value has dropped so much...and that he's not doing much to dispel the fact that the Mets' pitching depth in the system remains suspect. 

Edited May 10, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[NJDevs4978]

Bora$ on Strausberg being signed before FA (referring of course to the infamous shutdown a few years ago):

Grant Paulsen
‏@granthpaulsen
... Scott Boras to @USAToday: “Their ownership and GM (Mike Rizzo) took care of him, and protected him, and now the Nationals are rewarded."

Well it was nice knowing ya Matt lol

Edited May 10, 2016 by NJDevs4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Oh fvck off Scott.  God every quote that comes out of that smug mouth of his makes me want to punch him right in his greedy face.  

One of the things I won't miss when Harvey is gone.  

And let's see how "rewarded" the Nats ultimately are.  Strasburg has exactly one 200+ IP season under his belt, and multiple trips to the DL.  

['7']

Boras has done his little tweaking routine for quite some time now, this time the Mets are in his crosshairs. He's a prick but yea...this is business. Scummy underhanded "business"

Yea Strasburg, for the off the wall hype (and yes his hype was like Crosby NHL level hype at times) he's mostly under-performed. Not that he's been bad but this guy was sold as an all time great. Not even close. 

['7']

Another worrisome start for deGrom as Utley and Seager greet him with back to back doubles and a sac fly by Gonzalez makes it 2-0. The jump on the fastball just isn't there.

['7']

Plawecki coming around with the bat finally...so encouraging to see.

I don't want to give up assets at the deadline to bring in a catcher here. In my mind d'Arnaud will likely need rotator cuff surgery and I don't expect him back until 2017. If Plawecki can look competent that would help so much.

Edited May 11, 2016 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Yeah, goes without saying it'd be great if Plaw could nail down the job.  He's cheap and he won't cost the Mets any assets.

And in a change of pace, Wright Ks with runners on. 

Nice job by deGrom to turn in 7 respectable innings.  

One of those games where the Mets offense is especially unwatchable.  

Edited May 11, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

Robles serves up a lot of hittable meatballs for all his swagger. Not sure why he thought this guy needed one grooved right down the middle there with two strikes on him

Hansel is not a very smart pitcher

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Not a killer loss, really...Nats lost too, and the Mets O was never going to score another run tonight...bullpen would've just logged more innings.  Lose the battle, hopefully win the war.

[NJDevs4978]

Matz to miss his next start with a sore elbow, going back to NY for tests...oh brother   Just when he was getting in a real groove and getting on the level of the big three (well right now a big two).

['7']

Ugh of course. And Wright is also dealing with a sore shoulder as well. But the Matz elbow issues could be potentially devastating. Naturally the Mets think it's just soreness so naturally it's probably much much worse.