Mets Matters: You Are What Your Record Says You Are?
There’s this long held tradition in Major League Baseball that Memorial Day marks the moment that we all start peeking at the standings every morning and engaging in scoreboard watching during games… Especially if your team is leading the division or at the very least is well within striking distance of first place or a wild card spot.
It’s a time for introspection and evaluation… A time to separate the wheat from the chaff… the contenders from the pretenders.
Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine always used to say, “you are what your record says you are,” a line that was undoubtedly borrowed from former Giants head coach Bill Parcells.
As I see the Mets sitting in third place at 26-27, one game under .500, two thoughts immediately come to mind. One, at least we’re not the Washington Nationals. And two, it’s sink or swim time for the Mets.
If this team wants to make a serious push for a playoff spot, they’re going to have to move beyond these trash heap signings of the last few weeks, and make a real move that can significantly impact this ho-hum, lackluster roster starving for more punch, more consistency, and more relevance in the NL East.
Mets starting pitching, which was supposed to be a team strength this season, ranks 11th in the National League with a 4.52 ERA. And even worse they rank last in their own division – a division it shares with the worst team in the majors – the Miami Marlins. When you look at more important metrics like FIP and groundball rate, they’re a little bit better, but still in the bottom half.
We pretty much knew that the bullpen could be problematic even with the additions of Edwin Diaz, Justin Wilson and Jeurys Familia. And while Diaz has been every bit as good as advertised (1.07 WHIP, 14.7 K/9), Familia has only deepened the bullpen’s woes with a disappointing 1.74 WHIP, 5.87 ERA and a whopping .856 opposing OPS in 21 appearances. Our 10 blown saves are second only to the Chicago Cubs who have 11 blown saves.
Truth be told, as far as the Mets are concerned the choice shouldn’t be Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimbrel, they need to sign both of them. But we don’t live in Neverland and our reality is under siege by an inept ownership that is content with mediocrity and an unwillingness to do what it takes to secure another championship. So instead of targeting impact players that are not past their expiration dates, we settle for the Keon Broxtons, Rajai Davis‘s and Wilmer Fonts of the world. Come get us.
Quick Hits
HOT SEAT: ESPN’s Buster Olney says it’s conceivable that the first three managers to lose their jobs will all come from the NL East: Mickey Callaway, Dave Martinez and Don Mattingly. If things don’t change soon for the Mets and they continue to fall deeper behind the Braves and Phillies, I could see Brodie Van Wagenen seeing Callaway out the door after the All Star break. Callaway was never Brodie’s choice, he was gifted to him by Jeff.
THE BELL TOLLS: When Cody Bellinger came to bat in the bottom of the eighth last night, Dodger Stadium erupted with a raucous crowd of 47,816 chanting: “MVP! MVP! MVP!” They may be right. Bellinger was a one-man wrecking crew against the Mets on Monday, with a colossal 440-foot, 111.6-mph homer in the third, his 19th, and two unbelievable throws to nail Michael Conforto at the plate in the first, and Carlos Gomez at third base in the eighth to thwart two Mets rallies.
REMEMBERING BUCK: Sad day in the baseball world as we were stunned to learn that Bill Buckner passed away on Monday at the young age of 69. While most Mets fans will remember him mostly for that fateful Game 6 misplay in the 1986 World Series, Buckner should be remembered for an incredible major league career. Among his 2,715 hits he had 489 doubles and 179 home runs while driving in 1,208 runs. One of the game’s best contact hitters with a great eye at the plate, Buckner never struck out more than 39 times in a season. Think about that. Rest in peace, Buck.