Can this season be saved?
The Mets won 101 games last season and expected similar, perhaps even better, results in 2023. So far it hasn't worked out
TOP OF THE FIRST
Elizabeth Gibbons RIP
My sister passed away on July 3. She was 64.
We had a difficult relationship and had been estranged for years.
Still, I was sorry to hear the news, and I hope that she has found peace.
HEART OF THE ORDER
Costly mistakes
Despite a record payroll, the Mets may have played themselves out of the postseason by the end of June. Beginning July with a winning streak is a good start.
If there was one thing the Mets excelled at in the first months of the season, it was caught stealing. Or rather avoiding being caught stealing.
It was June 30 and the Mets had not been caught while trying to swipe a base since early May and led MLB in the fewest times caught stealing with six.
Trailing by a run with one out in the bottom of the ninth, pinch-runner Starling Marte took off for second. Catcher Patrick Bailey —who had hit a three-run homer in the eighth to put the Giants ahead 5-4 — threw a strike to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who applied the tag on Marte.
On the next pitch, Camilo Doval struck out Brandon Nimmo to end the ballgame.
The TV cameras showed Mets fans dazed and confused. The reason was Nimmo had one strike against him when Marte took off, and Doval’s second pitch was a strike. In the excitement, the scoreboard operator forgot to update the count and fans lost track. So fans thought Nimmo should have one more strike.
Mets fans already had to be reeling from the performance of their team through the first three months of the season. A team that won 101 games in 2022, finished the month with a 36-46 record after going 7-19 in June.
The swoon
The Mets played eight series in June and lost seven and split the other.
One of those series was a three-game sweep by the Braves in Atlanta. The NL East-leading Braves have won five out of six from the Mets this season. That is a disturbing trend after the Mets six of seven to the Braves in the finals weeks of last season.
However, the Mets’ inability to beat the Braves may be less relevant at this point.
An NL East division title looks like a pipe dream for the Mets, but a spot in the playoffs seems reachable.
After 81 games — the true halfway point in the season — the Mets were on pace to go 72-90.
Big money, small results
So what went wrong?
The Mets certainly committed to improving in the off-season. Owner Steve Cohen and the front office added Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, David Robertson, and Jose Quintana and retained Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, and Adam Ottavino.
Their projected player payroll for opening day was $330.7 million, up from the season-ending payroll of $299.8 million.
For all that, the Mets ranked 23rd in team ERA (4.50) through the end of June, 12th in runs allowed, 19th in team OPS (.712), and 18th in run scored. While they ended the month tied for the fewest time caught stealing (7), they were 12th in stolen bases.
Punchless lineup
Every regular veteran in the Mets’ lineup was hitting below his career OPS as the month came to a close.
Particularly vexing was Pete Alonso, whose batting average and on-base percentage collapsed, though he still hit 24 homers. Alonso compiled a .217/.308/.507 for a .815 OPS in the first three months.
Starling Marte, who has a .790 career OPS, had a .634 OPS at the end of June. Jeff McNeil, a career .300 hitter, was batting .259.
Though his glovework has remained strong and he has hit 17 homers, Francisco Lindor, a .273 lifetime hitter, was almost 50 points below that mark (.225) at the end of June.
Former All-Star Eduardo Escobar was .236/.286./409/ and .695 OPS through 40 games impaired the Mets to trade him to the Angels.
Reserve outfielder Tommy Pham, in his age 36 season, was the only hitter exceeding expectations, outperforming his career average in batting average, on-base, slugging ( .284/.352/.511), and OPS (.863).
Mound men
The pitching, though below average, hasn’t looked as bleak.
The Mets lost All-Star Taijuan Walker, who declined a player option and signed with the Phillies. He ended June on a high note, having won five straight decisions. Walker has tended to fade in the second half, but he might have helped the Mets in June.
Oft-injured but brilliant Jacob deGrom left for the Texas Rangers. He injured his arm in late April and underwent Tommy John surgery.
Though ace Max Scherzer hasn’t looked great, he took a 7-2 record into July to go with a 3.87 ERA.
Verlander, now 40, didn’t take the mound until May 4. He ended June with a 4.11 ERA.
Senga, the Mets’ other major starting pitching addition, ended June with a 3.53 ERA and a 6-5 record. The Japanese star, who spent his career pitching once a week, is not used to the workload of MLB starting pitchers and is starting about once every six days instead of five. With his ghost forkball, Senga is averaging 11.8 strikeouts per game but is among the MLB leaders in walks.
The bullpen has been shaky times, ranking 21st in MLB in ERA. Closer Edwin Díaz tore his patellar tendon in a celebration at the World Baseball Classic. He is expected to miss the entire season.
While Roberts has filled the closer’s role admirably, Diaz’s injury took a toll n the bullpen’s depth.
On June 25 in Philadelphia, Manager Buck Showalter, fearing he was wearing out his top relievers, didn’t use Ottavino and Brooks Raley or Roberts with a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth. The Phillies scored four times and won 7-6.
Even the Mets TV announcers went after Showalter following the loss.
ven the Mets TV announcers went after Showalter following the loss.
All this led to Steve Cohen holding a press conference a few days later to give a vote of confidence for Showalter and GM Billy Eppler, saying their jobs were in no danger — for now. That should make everyone feel secure.
Nothing succeeds like success
The Mets and their fans may look back on June 30 as the low point of their season.
They won their next four games.
It’s late, but perhaps not too late.
The team still has a ton of talent. And there have been some great late-season comebacks in baseball history.
With three wildcard spots available the Mets might sneak in again and then who knows?
BONUS FRAMES
Jackson Holiday, No. 1 pick, No. 1 prospect
First let me say I thought Jackson Holliday was a little overrated, that part of his appeal was because his father is former MLB star Matt Holliday.
And maybe I didn’t believe the hype because he has the face of a kewpie doll.
I was dead wrong.
The Orioles took him as the top pick in the draft last summer, and so far, he looks like the real deal.
MLB.com ranks him as the top prospect in the game.
After tearing up the Florida Complex League in an eight-game stint last summer (.409/.576/.591), he was promoted to Delmarva in the Class A Carolina League. He was less impressive there (.238 /.439/.333) in a dozen games. He hit the ground running in 2023. He won the Carolina Player of the Week award for the week of April 23rd and was promoted to the High A Aberdeen Iron Birds the next day.
He won the South Atlantic League Player of the Month. Through July 2, he was hitting .295 with 5 homers and an OPS of .912.
A high school shortstop, he has played some second base and started one game at third base for Aberdeen. He has been selected to play for the American League team in the Futures Game.
This is one reason I am not a scout.
A 24-run blowout finishes in under 3 hours
The Angels set a club record for the most runs in a game on Saturday, June 24 in a 25-1 win over the Rockies. The team also set a club record for hits in a game with 28.
Mickey Moniak and Hunter Renfroe both went 5-for-5. Moniak hit three doubles and a homer, tying a record for extra-base hits by an Angel.
But perhaps the most impressive stat was the game finished in 2 hours and 53 minutes.
When Angels TV play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian mentioned the game’s relative brevity to his announcing partner Mark Gubicza exclaimed: “I love the new rules.”
That is ten minutes faster than the average nine-inning game in 2022, and a half-hour shorter than the game it was being compared to: The Rangers’ 30-3 win over the Orioles in 2007.
There are still plenty of complaints about the new rules that ended the seemingly endless rituals of pitchers and hitters gathering themselves and adjusting equipment between pitches. A lot of players don’t like the changes, a lot of former players don’t like the changes, and a lot of media types don’t like the changes.
But MLB finally is getting the idea: This game is supposed to be entertaining.
I have already read several “What if the World Series ends on a pitch clock violation?” pieces. And I think we will be treated to a few more when we near the postseason.
My answer to that it is would be less than ideal.
Same as it would be if the Super Bowl ended because a team couldn’t get the snap off before the play clock expired.
Or the NBA Finals ended on a traveling violation. (Oh who am I kidding? A traveling call in the NBA?)
We’d all like to see the World Series end with a game-winning homer or game-saving catch in Game 7. But hey, that seldom happens.
The players and managers know the rules. And they have to play within them.
And if we make the game more fun to watch — at least for those of us who never relished the spectacle of Kenley Jansen taking about 50 seconds before rousing himself into throwing another pitch — then a less-than-ideal ending is worth the price.
L
Bama AD played a role
Greg Byrne may not want it, but he deserves a little credit for LSU’s recent College World Series title.
When the Alabama AD was running the show at the University of Arizona, Byrne took a chance hired Jay Johnson as the baseball coach.
Johnson didn’t have a great pedigree and was a true outside-the-box hire.
He played and was an assistant coach at Point Loma Nazarene. He spent one year there as head coach, then moved on to the University of San Diego, which has a solid Divison I program, as an assistant. After eight seasons he was hired as head coach at Nevada.
In his second season, Johnson led Nevada to the Mountain West Conference regular season title. The Wolfpack did not win the conference tournament and missed the NCAA Tournament.
Byrne saw something in Johnson and hired him to coach the Wildcats, a much bigger program. In his first season, Johnson’s team made it to the CWS title series. He led Arizona back to Omaha in 2021, and LSU AD Scott Woodward snapped him up to replace Paul Mainieri, who was retiring.
Two years later, LSU sits atop the college baseball world. Johnson became the first college coach to win an NCAA title before his third season at a school. He was named Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association on July 2.