3 Up, 3 Down: Mets Make Fish Filet of Lowly Marlins
3 UP
1. Marlins Real Owner
If you ask Major League Baseball, they’ll tell you Derek Jeter owns the Miami Marlins. They’re wrong. Michael Conforto owns the Marlins.
In the two game series, Conforto was 5-for-6 with two walks, a HBP, two homers, and three RBI. In five games against the Marlins, he’s hitting .588/.696/1.000 off of the Marlins. Long story short, he’s completely owned Marlins pitching.
One important side note here is for all the talk of Conforto slumping, and the nitpicking over him, he’s now the team leader with a 2.0 WAR. That ranks him as the sixth best player in the National League.
2. Things MAY Be Better
After a terrible March/April with people wondering if the team needed to make a switch, Amed Rosario has been a markedly improved player in May.
He’s had a hit in eight of the nine games he’s played, and he currently has a seven game hitting streak. He went from a 97 wRC+ in March/April to a 111 wRC+ in May.
We’ve also seen things quiet down a bit defensively. He’s showing a bit more range and confidence. Hopefully, that will begin to show in his defensive stats.
3. deGrom Found His Catcher
With Jacob deGrom winning the Cy Young last year, many would overstate the importance of Devin Mesoraco. That continued when deGrom had a rough patch this year at a time when he had a stretch of rain delayed starts and his heading to the IL.
In two of deGrom’s last three starts, he’s had Tomas Nido behind the plate. In those two starts, he has allowed just one earned over 14.0 innings while striking out 14. While Nido is not the sole reason for deGrom’s success, it certainly helps the Mets ace by having a very good catcher behind the plate.
On another note, Nido is starting to pull his weight at the plate. Over his last three games, he is 4-for-11 with a homer and RBI.
3 DOWN
1. Backpack Policy
Major League Baseball is trying to figure out why attendance is dropping. So far this year, the Mets have their own attendance issues with the Mets drawing better on the road than at home.
Of course, with this team being run the way it is, they have identified the problem – backpacks!
This is the personification of how ineptly this franchise is run. Many people bring backpacks from work to attend weekday games. Families load up the backpacks to bring their kids to the game. Now, they can’t.
But don’t worry, the Mets have a solution! You can pay to put your stuff in a locker because, you know, it’s not expensive enough to attend a game.
2. Roster Mismanagement
The Mets made Friday a target for Jed Lowrie to come off the Injured List to make his Mets debut. He’d then sit out a game in Syracuse with no explanation, and his rehab stint was extended indefinitely. The front office gave Mickey Callaway no information about Lowrie despite knowing he’d be the one who would be left to answer the questions.
We also saw Wilmer Font make a start in Steven Matz‘s place partially because the team didn’t want to put Matz on the IL and call up a starter. The Mets would then decide to reverse course and put Matz on the IL to call up Dominic Smith after the team’s lack of a left-handed bat on the bench was completely exposed on their road trip.
After the team decided Justin Wilson didn’t need a rehab stint, Wilson would make one relief appearance after coming off the IL before landing back on the IL with the same injury.
Fortunately, Brodie Van Wagenen has learned his lesson here, and he plans on activating Jeurys Familia off the IL soon without first sending him for a rehab stint.
3. Winning Streak Delayed
The Mets sure got healthy against a getting Marlins team outscoring them 15-3 and pulling within a game of .500. Unfortunately, with Sunday’s game being postponed, the team will have to wait another day before getting to .500.
That will come against the Nationals in D.C. with a struggling Noah Syndergaard on the mound. In six career starts in Nationals Park, Syndergaard is 0-3 with a 5.86 ERA and a 1.568 WHIP.