3 Up, 3 Down: Once Bitten, Twice Won
Credit: USA TODAY
3 UP
1. Franchise Unveiled
The Mets presented the Tom Seaver Statue to the fans in an emotional ceremony. The ceremony and statue were befitting of the greatest Met in Franchise history.
This Mets team continues to honor him with phenomenal starting pitching. As noted by MMO‘s own Michael Mayer, Mets starters have a 1.07 ERA, the best ten-start stretch since the inception of the stat.
It’s impressive that Jacob deGrom hasn’t thrown a pitch, and Max Scherzer hasn’t found his groove.
2. Windor
Superstars haven’t always sprinted out of the gate after arriving in Queens. Mike Piazza was booed in 1998, and in 1999, he was a clutch and beloved player. Later on, Carlos Beltran was bad in 2005, and he should’ve won the MVP in 2006.
Now, Francisco Lindor is so far following that path.
Over the first ten games, Lindor is hitting .273/.442/.606 with two doubles, three homers, and seven RBI. He’s walked nine times while only striking out five.
Lindor looks like the player the Mets traded for and gave the record-setting extension. He may even be better.
3. Easy E
Eduardo Escobar has been a perfect addition to this Mets team. He gave an inspirational speech to minor leaguers about his story and how to make it.
He’s also been a clutch hitter who has been very good defensively. But, unfortunately, since David Wright was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, the Mets’ third base position has been a mess.
Escobar is stabilizing it. He’s been a driving force behind why this Mets team looks like it will be memorable.
3 DOWN
1. COVID
No masks or vaccine mandates are in effect for Citi Field as the 2022 season begins. But unfortunately, that does not mean we are past COVID-19 impacting this season.
Before the home opener, Mark Canha and Brandon Nimmo both tested positive for COVID. As a result, they missed the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and will likely miss the series against the San Francisco Giants.
As we saw with Michael Conforto (who is still a free agent) and Mika Zibanejad last season, there’s no telling what the long terms effects of COVID will be.
2. We Don’t Talk about Lugo
Since Seth Lugo returned from elbow surgery, he hasn’t quite been the same pitcher. The biggest issue has been his control.
That manifests itself not just with his increased walk rate. It is also evident in Lugo leaving pitches out over the plate.
He’s become inconsistent at times instead of being the best reliever in baseball. For example, he became a liability when he surrendered a go-ahead homer to a poor hitting Sergio Alcantara.
The good news is Lugo is typically a slow starter, and he still has good spin on his pitches. So ultimately, he should be fine.
3. Catch, Not Hit
James McCann and Tomas Nido can’t hit anything right now. The duo has combined 5-for-32 (.156) with no extra-base hits, one RBI, one walk, and eight strikeouts. That’s even worse than what even the most pessimistic Mets fan expected.
However, this has been offset by their framing. McCann’s has rebounded to be even better than in Chicago, and Nido is as good as ever. So long as they’re leading the pitching staff the way they are, we can accept whatever they do at the plate.
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