2019 New York Mets Season Thread

[NJDevs4978]

I considered for a moment going cause it was an afternoon game on a long weekend, saw Vargas was pitching and said fvck it...but guess it was an entertaining game if you stayed for it.

[MadDog2020]

1 hour ago, NJDevs4978 said:

I considered for a moment going cause it was an afternoon game on a long weekend, saw Vargas was pitching and said fvck it...but guess it was an entertaining game if you stayed for it.

My mom’s co-worker has a partial ticket plan and couldn’t use his seats today, so he gave them to her. Great seats, field level. A kid three rows in front of me (decked out in Yankee gear, with her Met fan dad lol) caught a foul ball. It was a beautiful day too. Fun day at the ‘ol ballpark.

Edited May 26, 2019 by MadDog2020

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Nice MD2020...my father-in-law knew someone who had season tix on that side of the field, but much closer to the field....at Shea, he had front row (as in the field was only a few feet away), and at Citi, he was maybe 7-8 rows back.  He'd just give us tix 1-3 times year for free.  I haven't been to a game in about 4 years (getting in and out of that area can be such a nosebleed), but I think I may go to one this season...my daughter has no interest in baseball, but I'll probably go to a game with my best friend, and a couple of others.  Wouldn't mind one of those 4:00 Saturday games...plenty of time to tailgate, and still getting out at not-too-late an hour. 

Of course the Wilpons fvck everything up initially and can't figure out how to do anything properly until people tell them, but Citi has come a long way since it opened.  Shea still felt more home (in spite of the fact it clearly wasn't a particularly NICE ballpark), but at least Citi feels more like the Mets actually play there, as opposed to being some shrine to the fvcking Brooklyn Dodgers.

[NJDevs4978]

Wow they really crawled over the finish there.  Figures when Familia finally comes up big, Diaz darn near blows it - he's got a bit of K-Rod in him with the flying circus act.  

['7']

Tigers were a heck of a lot more pesky than I thought they would be. Watching Jacoby Jones who came into this series at .170 shred us was annoying as hell. Mets had to respond and battle back a lot. That Tiger team however bad they are have a ton of spark and energy. Granted we're not good ourselves but things are starting to turn...nice to see Conforto back

Things are about to go from 0 to 100 real quick as we trudge out west for our yearly shellacking. 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

18 hours ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Wow they really crawled over the finish there.  Figures when Familia finally comes up big, Diaz darn near blows it - he's got a bit of K-Rod in him with the flying circus act.  

He’s been allowing more baserunners than one would expect...his numbers aren’t terrible by any stretch, but not that many Clean innings as of late.

12 hours ago, '7' said:

Tigers were a heck of a lot more pesky than I thought they would be. Watching Jacoby Jones who came into this series at .170 shred us was annoying as hell. Mets had to respond and battle back a lot. That Tiger team however bad they are have a ton of spark and energy. Granted we're not good ourselves but things are starting to turn...nice to see Conforto back

Things are about to go from 0 to 100 real quick as we trudge out west for our yearly shellacking. 

On one hand, the Mets did what they needed to (we ALL would’ve signed up for a 6-1 homestand), but yeah, it was far from awe-inspriring.  I don’t see any magic coming, that’s for sure.  

['7']

Watching deGrom you can tell that he's just not himself out there right now. Something is off. And it's been off most of the season

['7']

A short outing by deGrom and out pen gets absolutely decimated

[NJDevs4978]

lol the Dodgers must really want to drive the nail into us, having Jansen try for a five-out save.  Not like they're in dire win-now mode the way we are (and we aren't allowed to pitch the closer more than an inning).

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

About what we should’ve expected, really...against legit contenders, this is how the Mets will often look.

And yeah, deGrom definitely doesn’t look like the 2018 version at all...or the guy who came flying out of the gate in his first two starts this year.  The real irony is that as we all knew, the Mets were under no obligation to extend deGrom...and though they initially would’ve been labeled the cheap tone-deaf same ol’ Mets had they not given deGrom a new deal, the fact is people right now would’ve been lauding them for waiting, based on Jake’s season to date.

What is just goes to show is that is truly feels like the Mets are destined to be screwed no matter what they do.  Even when they actually go and do something that makes a hell of a lot of sense...they literally cannot fvcking win.

['7']

That was an impressive, gutsy (rare for him) performance by Matz on the road against a very good hitting team.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Ordinarily I'd take a 3-4 trip, but it feels like the Mets have to go at least 4-3.  But at least this trip isn't already getting away from them in the early going.

Good news is that Mets have actually been pretty good against the East in the first third of the season...18-13 against them to date.  They're 5-3 vs the Marlins, 8-5 vs the Nats, 2-2 vs the Braves, and 3-3 against the Phils.  Obviously they're really going to have to find some way to do well against the Braves and Phils...don't know if they have that in them, really.  Would've been nice to have gone, say, 16-5 against the Marlins and Nats as opposed to 13-8, but the Mets are a heavily flawed team that's been beat up to boot.  No one can really expect them to dominate against anyone. 

There's a tough 11-game road trip coming up near the end of June (no off-days)...3 against the Braves, 4 against the Cubbies, and 4 against the Phils.  I'm guessing we'll know pretty conclusively by the end of that trip whether or not the whole idea of this Met team being an actual contender was a complete farce.  I bring this up because if the Mets are under .500 at that point, no BS, no talk of fighting back in 2019...not that I trust Jeffy and his assistant GM BVW not to completely screw up the deadline and the weeks leading up to it, but at least start moving some bodies for some pieces...I don't need to see Wheeler pitch well in garbage time and then leave for nothing.  I don't need to see the Mets play fairly well over the last two months just to struggle to 80 wins.   

Edited May 29, 2019 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

In case you needed a clear sign that it's truly time for Tebow's AAA Fantasy Camp to end:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/tim-tebow-struck-out-against-a-position-player-who-had-never-pitched-in-minors-before/ar-AAC3uUJ?li=BBnba9I&ocid=iehp

[NJDevs4978]

Any other actual prospect would have gotten sent back down to AA by now, I don’t get why Tebow has to be immune. Well okay I do, but still are Syracuse fans really gonna be that annoyed they don’t have 40-50 more games of Tebow batting .150?

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Any other actual prospect would have gotten sent back down to AA by now, I don’t get why Tebow has to be immune. Well okay I do, but still are Syracuse fans really gonna be that annoyed they don’t have 40-50 more games of Tebow batting .150?

With Tebow, his stories usually straddle that very fine line of endearing and annoying...for me it's usually more annoying, mostly because for a guy who really hasn't been very good at the professional level in TWO sports, he gets way more attention and fanfare than he really deserves, and there's always too many moving parts when it comes to how he's handled.

I fully get why a team like the Mets would take a flyer on him...he's obviously a genuinely good person (or sure as hell tries his very hardest to be one), and you know he'll give it his all on and off the field.  He'll represent your franchise in an incredibly positive manner (multiply by a factor of 10 for anyone who's as devoutly religious as he is)...and of course, mostly importantly for the Mets, he'll sell minor-league tickets and plenty of #15 T-shirts and jerseys, regardless of where he's actually playing. 

But of course, then the "moving parts" factor comes into play.  Tebow has flat-out gotten multiple promotions that he hasn't earned.  in 2017 he put up a slash line of .193/.295/.307 (with 40K) over his last 36 GP in A ball...you could really make the argument that this "experiment" could have been ended right there, but nope, he moves right up to A+.  Amazingly he got off to a good start there (.315/.400/.522 in his first 28 GP there, with a respectable 20 K), but it got plenty ugly after that...he slashed .169/.235/.234 over his final 33 GP in A+...so naturally, he gets promoted to AA to start 2018.

Now of course, in spite of everything (and that kind of sums up Tebow as a pro athlete, really), he did enjoy an overall respectable year in AA (though his peripherals heavily suggest that his success there was flukey...he struck out 103 times in 298 PA, and put up a .417 BABIP), and sick as it may sound, the best thing that happened to him was his getting injured, because regression never got a chance to rear its ugly head...had he kept playing, his quicker-glance AA numbers would very likely have dropped...but since that didn't happen, onto AAA he goes. 

Now the guy who seemingly pulls endless miracles out of his ass seems to be fresh out of them.  And what's funny is if the Mets demoted him (he won't enjoy the same level of success at AA that he did in 2018, count on it) or outright released him, his disciples (as they always do) would lose their collective sh!t...the problem with his fans is they are incapable of taking a forensic look at his numbers and results and strictly looking at his performance as an athlete.  They'd be all over the Mets for not sticking with him longer.  They'd jump up and down about how Tebow's a proven winner everywhere he goes, and how any minor league team should be thrilled to have him playing for them, and how he could absolutely make the majors someday if only someone would give him a fair chance (of course fully ignoring that the Mets have now given him almost TWO AND A HALF YEARS ACROSS MULTIPLE LEVELS OF THE MINOR LEAGUES, EVEN THOUGH HIS OVERALL NUMBERS ARE VERY LACKLUSTER AT BEST).

And it's his disciples that make what could be an endearing story so much more annoying.  Tebow should be cut.  This really should be over now.  And it won't be. 

Edited May 29, 2019 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[NJDevs4978]

And one of the moving parts you didn’t reference...the fact his agent is the GM of the team now.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, NJDevs4978 said:

And one of the moving parts you didn’t reference...the fact his agent is the GM of the team now.

Yep and that...ugh.

['7']

Wanted to chime in on an important part of Mets lore passing away. Bill Buckner. He's had to deal with a lot over the past 33 years. That error is perhaps the most famous recorded gaffe in sports history. And it ended up minimizing a truly great career. And it also gets blown a bit out of proportion since 1) Wilson would have beaten to him to the bag anyway 2) The game was already tied. If he makes that play the Mets may still win 3) It didn't end the World Series. There was Game 7 to play. A game Boston led 3-0 and let slip away. 

The moment almost became like a Mandela Effect thing. The casual fan & people who don't have much knowledge about the game but know of the error assume that the Mets won the World Series right then and there. And if Buckner ran it to the bag before Wilson, the Sox win.

And to be afflicted with Lewy Body Dementia...just horrible. Really feel for the guy

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Yeah, Buckner did get a lot of hate for that one, and like you said, it was just ONE thing that helped to contribute to a series loss for the Red Sox...but there were a hell of a lot of others that had NOTHING to do with Buckner.  But unfortunately he became the lightning rod everyone pointed to as to why the 1986 Red Sox lost the World Series. 

['7']

17 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yeah, Buckner did get a lot of hate for that one, and like you said, it was just ONE thing that helped to contribute to a series loss for the Red Sox...but there were a hell of a lot of others that had NOTHING to do with Buckner.  But unfortunately he became the lightning rod everyone pointed to as to why the 1986 Red Sox lost the World Series. 

Frankly they were lucky to be there. The Dave Henderson HR vs California to save them was miraculous

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Mets were clearly the better team too, but it's been fairly pointed out how badly both teams were managed during that World Series (Davey would've been destroyed for his team not winning).  Doc also had NOTHING by that time.  He got bombed in both of his WS starts...I think he mentioned in his book that he was completely gassed and simply worn out...he'd pitched 276.2 IP in 1985 and another 267 in 1986 before the World Series, and Davey often left him in for 130+ pitches...he'd also thrown 218 innings as a rookie in 1984, and 191 innings in his final full season of minor league ball.  One thing that Doc made clear is that he NEVER used during a start...he said he would've become so paranoid that he never could've functioned on the mound if he was under the influence.  He did struggle more and more with addiction during that offseason (obviously culminating in the suspension to start 1987), but it was actually much later that he truly and full derailed.   

[NJDevs4978]

I didn't realize Buckner was even ill...nor did I realize he and Bobby Valentine were so close (they were teammates in the minors).

My own pet peeve with the whole Buckner error is that people erroneously assume the Red Sox were going to win the game without the error when in fact Stanley's wild pitch during the Mookie AB had already tied the game.  I think people get confused because Mookie did come to the plate trailing but they weren't trailing when he hit the ball.

It's good that later on in life he got a bit of absolution although perhaps the Red Sox fan reaction to him is a bit overstated at times, given he got a standing ovation when he attempted a comeback in 1990 just a couple years after being let go.  Buckner himself claimed he was more annoyed at the media than the fans although obviously the ingrained Boston fatalism around that time just exacerbated things.  And yeah his actual career is unfortunately underrated, and probably would have been even better if he didn't seriously injure himself early on.

Edited May 29, 2019 by NJDevs4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

It was amazing that Mookie was even able to get out of the way of that pitch.  The Sox would've potentially been far better off had it just hit him. 

What was funny was, as far as Mitchell's AB went, apparently Mitchell and Schiraldi were roommates in the minors, and Mitchell asked Schiraldi how he'd pitch him.  Apparently Schiraldi pitched him EXACTLY that way in Game 6. 

Sox fans will tell you that the game was lost the minute the tying run scored.  Probably the same gloom and doom that we've felt about our Mets for years now, but they pretty much thought they were dead, as far as Game 6 went. 

 

Another Schiraldi tidbit...supposedly a lot of Mets couldn't stand him (he was on the team for brief stints in 1984 and 1985, before being dealt as part of the deal that brought Ojeda to the Mets before 1986)...basically they felt that he was this annoying dork who was always trying to get into card games that were already well underway, and just had a way of getting on people's nerves.  They also thought he was Charmin soft on the mound.

He had a pair of brutal back-to-back outings on 6/9 and 6/11 in 1985...check out these numbers over the two outings:  4.1 IP, 20 H (?!), 14 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 29.08 ERA.  Ouch.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

Don't know what to think regarding Syndergaard anymore. Maybe the juiced balls are effecting him more than others. Maybe he's just not cerebral enough on the mound...but he's really hurting this team and fooling nobody

['7']

Run out of words to describe what Alonso is doing. He absolutely annihilates the baseball. This is unreal. 19 home runs and we're in May!