213 Miles From Shea

The Mets are finally playing at home with fans in the stadium today! It’s been a rocky road the last week or so, going from winding down spring training, to the “will he sign?” extension with Lindor (that had a happy ending) to the Mets finding out over the course of several days that not only was their season opening game cancelled, but the whole opening series was cancelled. Then the season got started and the Mets looked like a team that has a lot of talent – that also hasn’t played in a week.

And we will probably keep seeing that over the next couple of days. David Peterson‘s line from yesterday does not really reflect well on what happened. He struggled in the first inning, and gave up 4 runs (I’m biased and the first home he gave up that inning went only 362 feet and would have been an out in most ballparks). He then settled down for the next several innings. He got into trouble again at the end of his outing and Jacob Barmes came in, hasn’t pitched in a while, and immediately gave up a 3 run shot. Mets hitters left 13 batters on base yesterday as they continue to find rhythm. I believe that this is still due to not playing for a week and eventually the Mets will put it all together. Plus, it’s a long season.

Taijuan Walker will make his Mets debut today. A late signing in the off-season made to round out the rotation, the addition of Walker has become even more important now that Carlos Carrasco is injured to start off the year. Walker had a tale of two seasons last year. In 27.0 innings and 5 starts for the Mariners, he posted a 4.00 ERA, 4.97 FIP, 1.074 WHIP and 107 ERA+. He was then traded to the Blue Jays where he pitched 26.1 innings over 6 starts and posted a 1.37 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.253 WHIP and absurd 321 ERA+. Only a few Marlins have faced Walker in a major league game:

• Corey Dickerson 3-5, 3B, 2 HR, K
• Miguel Rojas 1-2, 2B
• Adam Duvall 0-3
• Brian Anderson 1-2, K

The Marlins, as of writing this, still have not announced their start for today. Marlins beat reporters were saying last night that it was going to be Nick Neidert or Paul Campbell. The Mets game notes were sent out with Nick Neidert listed as the starter, so we’ll go with that. Nick was one of many Marlins pitchers who made their major league debut in 2020. In 4 games last year he pitched 8.1 innings with a 5.40 ERA, 4.51 FIP, 1.440 WHIP and 87 ERA+. He pitched in 5 games this spring, totaling 12.2 innings with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.105 WHIP. This will be his first time facing the Mets in an official game.

Let’s Go Mets!

2021’s first rubber game of the year!

The Mets play the rare mid-week, mid-afternoon getaway game (usually these games are at 1 PM) today as the Mets try to take the series from the Phillies. After melting down during the 8th inning on Monday night, the Mets came roaring back last night thanks to a great start by Marcus Stroman and 4 run 7 inning.

Dominic Smith got the Mets started early, with a 2 run homer and in the 7th inning, they got Vince Velasquez to post one of the more insane pitching lines in history: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 4 ET, 4 BB, 4 K. The big inning (plus a 2 run shot by Pete Alonso in the 9th inning, part of this big night) ended up being critical as the Mets started to melt down again in the 9th inning. But they held on for the win!

On to this afternoon! David Peterson will look to pick up where he left off in his rookie season. In 10 games, 9 starts, David pitched 49.2 innings with a 3.44 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.208 WHIP and a 127 ERA+. He’s coming off a spring where he allowed 5 runs from 10 hits over 12.0 innings, leading to an ERA of 3.75 and a 1.083 WHIP. David’s one game against the Phillies last year was not a good one as he allowed 5 runs from 3 hits and 4 walks over 2.0 innings. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

• Rhys Hoskins 1-2, HR, K
• Jean Segura 1-2, 2B, K
• Bryce Harper 1-2
• J.T. Realmuto 0-0, 2 BB
• Andrew McCutchen 0-0, BB
• Alec Bohm 0-1
• Didi Gregorius 0-1, K

The Mets get to face a long time foe in Aaron Nola this afternoon, making his second start of the season. In his first start he allowed 2 runs over 6.2 innings from 6 hits and no walks while striking out 6. Last year he pitched 71.2 innings over 12 starts (and two complete games) with a 3.28 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 1.079 WHIP and a 135 ERA+. Nola faced the Mets three times last year totaling 17.2 innings here he allowed 11 runs, 8 earned from 16 hits and 8 walks while striking out 25 batters. The Mets have the following numbers against Nola:

• Pete Alonso 5-20, 3 HR, BB, 7 K
• Dominic Smith 8-27, 5 2B, HR, 10 K
• Jeff McNeil 6-22, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 6 K
• James McCann 1-3
• Michael Conforto 7-37, 3 2B, HR, 5 BB, 14 K
• Brandon Nimmo 4-21, 9 BB, 9 K
• Jonathan Villar 3-14, 2B, 3 BB, 3 K
• Luis Guillorme 1-4, K
• J.D. Davis 2-12, 2 BB, 6 K

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets looked like a team that hadn’t played in a week last night. They also haven’t played a real game in a week.

Let’s get the good out of the way first – deGrom was deGrom, which is to say, amazing. He coasted through 6 innings, throwing only 77 pitches and was taken out of the game earlier. Whether we agree with that or not (and I think the major consensus is – don’t do that, it’s deGrom!) I think we’ll see managers pulling pitchers early often this month as baseball revs back up after a short season. Jacob also had two hits on the night too. Just a normal legendary performance.

If you’re going to pull pitchers earlier then the bullpen has to hold it together. That was true for the Phillies. Not so much for the Mets who melted down in the 8th inning and allowed 5 runs. The Mets offense also looked rusty over the first few innings. I’m hoping that both the bullpen and the bats issue is a product of not playing for a week while the Phillies have already swept the Braves to start the season. We’ll find out tonight!

Marcus Stroman will make his first start since 2019 today. Stroman opted out of the 2020 season and was one of the first major signings for the Mets this off-season when he accepted the qualifying offer to come back on a one year deal. In 2019, Marcus pitched in 32 games and 184.1 innings with a 3.22 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.307 WHIP and a 137 ERA+. Over 5 games and 18.1 innings this spring he has posted a 3.44 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP. He did not have fun facing the Phillies in 2019, allowing 7 runs, 6 earned over 10.0 innings from 17 hits while striking out 12 batters. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

• Adam Haseley 2-4, 2B, BB
• Andrew McCutchen 1-2, 2B
• J.T. Realmuto 3-5, BB
• Didi Gregorius 8-31, 2 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 2 K
• Jean Segura 4-13, 3 K
• Rhys Hoskins 1-6, 2 K
• Bryce Harper 0-3, 2 K

For a second day in a row – the Mets will see a veteran starting pitcher make their Phillies debut. Chase Anderson made his debut with Arizona and pitched from 2014-15 for the Diamondbacks before being part of a trade to the Brewers. for (now teammate) Jean Segura. He was traded again a few years later to the Blue Jays. Chase Anderson has a career 4.06 ERA and 4.60 FIP. Last year was a tremendously off year of him posting a 7.20 ERA, 6.16 FIP, 1.634 WHIP and 61 ERA+ over 10 games and 33.2 innings. This includes a start against he Mets where he allowed 4 runs from 4 hits and 3 walks in 2.2 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Chase:

• Brandon Nimmo 3-6, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Michael Conforto 3-13, 3 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• Jeff McNeil 1-3, 2B, BB
• Kevin Pillar 2-8, 2 2B
• Albert Almora Jr. 3-17, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 4 K
• J.D. Davis 0-1, BB
• Dominic Smith 0-1, BB, K
• Francisco Lindor 0-2, BB, K
• Pete Alonso 0-4, BB, 2 K

Let’s Go Mets!

Let’s try that again!

The Mets look to finally get their season started tonight after a Covid-19 delay. Last Thursday, Mets fans woke up to amazing news. Overnight, Francisco Lindor agreed to a 10-year extension with the Mets. Everything was looking great! However, concern was starting to grow with the Nationals. The previous day they announced they had a positive case and 5 team members (4 players) who were deemed close contacts and couldn’t play. But they didn’t make any corresponding moves. By late morning on Thursday, rumors were flying that there were more positive tests and eventually the game was called off completely. The next day, the Nationals announced they had a full on outbreak and they whole series needed to be postponed.

Meanwhile, the Phillies, who the Mets will now open up their season against, are coming off of a three game sweep of the Atlanta Braves (who are facing at least one postponed game with the Nationals). So the Mets will have to shake off the rust today, playing their first game in a week, against a team that is on a roll.

With all that, it’s great to state: IT’S DEGROM DAY. Jacob deGrom takes the mound for the Mets. Last year in 12 starts and 68.0 innings, he posted a 2.38 ERA, 2.26 FIP, 0.959 WHIP and 183 ERA+. He also recorded a league leading 104 K’s for a second straight season. In two starts against the Phillies last year, deGrom allowed 4 runs over 9.0 innings while striking out 13 batters. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

• Andrew Knapp 4-9, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Ronald Torreyes 2-3, 2B
• Byrce Harper 11-38, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 13 K
• Rhys Hoskins 3-16, 2B, 4 BB, 6 K
• Andrew McCutchen 5-22, BB, 7 K
• Jean Segura 4-19, 2B, 5 K
• Matt Joyce 2-16, 2B, 3 BB, 9 K
• J.T. Realmuto 4-25, 2B, 9 K
• Didi Gregorius 3-19, 4 K

The Mets bats will get to see the Phillies debut of Matt Moore. The long time Ray was traded in 2016 to the Giants at the deadline and to the Rangers after the end of the 2017 season. He then signed a contract with the Tigers after the 2018 season was a free agent from the end of October 2019 until February when the Phillies picked him up. Matt Moore got off to a good start with the Tigers, pitching 10.0 scoreless innings over 2 starts but an injury knocked him out for the rest of the year (he was avoiding a comebacker which messed up his knee). Spring Training stats don’t mean much, but we don’t really have recent numbers on Moore. In Spring he pitched 15.2 innings over 5 outings with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.149 WHIP. The Mets have the following numbers against Moore:

• Jonathan Villar 3-5, 2B, HR, K
• Francisco Lindo 8-13, HR
• Michael Conforto 4-6, 2B, 2 K
• Albert Almora Jr. 1-6
• Kevin Pillar 1-11, 2 K
• J.D. Davis 0-2, K
• James McCann 0-5, 2 K

Let’s Go Mets!

Recapping Yesterday:
Saturday was a fun day for the Mets – yesterday not so much. Not a lot went right for the Mets yesterday in their final spring game against the Cardinals. The Mets were using yesterday as a final audition for Mike Montgomery to make the team and after a good spring he really hit a bump in the road yesterday. He allowed 5 runs from 6 hits and 2 walks over 2.2 innings. The Mets released him later in the day.

Yesterday was also the first bad day in a while for Familia, and the first time Miguel Castro allowed a run this spring, and the first time that Edwin Diaz struggled this spring – allowing three runs from 4 hits over an inning where he still struck out the side.

Not much was happing with the Mets bats yesterday. Nimmo hit a solo homer. Conforto had two hits at the plate including a double. Besides that, it was a lot of nothing.

What We are Looking For Today:
Typically the last spring training day we’ll some players get their last cuts in and early exits. We may see some players work on very specific things – and if they don’t talk about what they were working on after the game we just won’t really know that.

So the real thing we’ll look for today is how today’s starter, Taijuan Walker, performs. Taijuan was bumped from his last start to the B game so the Mets could get a better look at Corey Oswalt. Since the Carrasco injury, Walker has become the Mets 3rd start in the rotation. In his two games this spring he has pitched 6.0 innings allowing 3 hits and 2 runs while walking 3 and striking out 5.

Let’s Go Mets!

Recapping Yesterday:
Yesterday was a fun day to be a Mets fan. Dominic Smith continued his late spring heat up hitting two homers and at one point went back to back with Pete Alonso who also hit his 4th homer of the Spring. Francisco Lindor went 3-3 at the plate with a walk raising his OPS to 1.098 in Spring. Kevin Pillar also continued his strong spring with 2 hits. His OPS is sitting at .908. It was a good day to be a fan of the Mets bats.

The real story from yesterday’s game – the Mets were going to mess around with an Opener. Barnes opened the game for the Mets and pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts (his one bad outing was his first outing and now he hasn’t allowed a hit from his third spring outing onwards). Barnes was followed by Lucchesi who allowed a run off a homer, three hits total in 4.2 innings of work, lowering his Spring ERA to 2.77. Jerry Blevins also bounced back with a scoreless outing to close out the game. All around, fun times in Mets land.

What We’re Watching For Today:
We are almost at the regular season! This is the Mets second to last spring training game of the year and the roster is mostly set. Mike Montgomery was invited to Mets camp on an NRI and has an opt out of contract that he can activate starting today. Luis Rojas early this week talked about how Mike is still being evaluated as either a starter or a reliever. He remains one of the few question marks in camp (as in, having a role that isn’t fully determined yet) and when were looking at NRI’s at the start of spring, he did stand out as a veteran player with a strong chance of making the team if there were injuries else where.

So Mike is what we are watching for today. He does he do? Does he stay with the Mets after today? So far he has pitched 4.2 innings over 3 games this Spring allowing 4 hits, 1 unearned run, a walk and struck out 7. He has a small sample size 0.00 ERA and 1.071 WHIP.

Let’s Go Mets!

Recapping Yesterday:
Steve Cohen took to twitter yesterday to joke about signing Lindor to a long term deal – which feels like a good sign that something is moving on that front. That overshadowed the Mets game a bit. The good news from the game – David Peterson looked great. He allowed 2 runs from 4 hits and a walk over 6.0 innings. Gsellman and Tarpley behind him did not look great, which is why the Mets lost the game.

Jeff McNeil has had a tough spring. Two days ago he hit his second double of the spring. Last night he hit his third double of the spring. With the season right around the corner, what a time to start to heat up. Dominic Smith smacked a triple, McCann had two hits raising his batting average to .333 and Francisco Lindor had two hits raising his average to .348. Lots of things to be happy about.

What We Are Looking For Today:
The Mets have talked a lot about using an opener to start the game when Lucchesi is scheduled to pitch, and that’s exactly what the plan is today. Jacob Barnes had a terrible first outing this spring. Since then he’s been wonderful. Since his first start he has allowed 2 hits over 4.0 innings with 6 K’s. In his last three starts he has allowed no hits and recorded all of the strikeouts. Let’s see what he does today!

Joey Lucchesi gets his work in after Jacob. In 8.1 innings this year he has allowed 3 runs from 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 11. Small sample size warning – but his WHIP is 0.840 (career WHIP is 1.280). Also scheduled to pitch – Aaron Loup, Trevor May and Jerry Blevins. Loup and May have had terrific springs. Blevins is looking bounce back from a rough outing a couple of days ago.

Let’s Go Mets!

Recapping Wednesday:
The Mets had an off day yesterday and the day before that they lost to the Cardinals 3-0 on the road. For the most part, the Mets pitching was fine. Oswalt allowed 1 run off 2 hits in 4.0 innings while striking out 3, which was a great improvement from his time out before that where he allowed 5 runs in 2.2 innings. Familia and Betances came in after him allowing a walk each and striking out a player each. Familia’s ERA has dropped 1.50 (also has a lot of walks). Continuing his great spring, Castro allowed a hit and nothing else. Blevins hit a few bumps with 2 runs, 1 earned in his inning of work.

There wasn’t much going for the Mets at the plate as they scattered 4 hits. Lindor got on base twice, his spring OPS sitting at 1.059. McNeil got a double and McCann racked up another hit keeping his batting average above .300. Nimmo and Alonso had their first rough day in a while going a combined 0-7 with no walks.

What We Are Watching For Tonight:
David Peterson.

That’s what we’re watching tonight! This is David Peterson’s game as he continues to fight for a spot in the rotation. Time is running down with spring training games left. In two games Peterson has allowed 3 runs from 6 hits over 6.0 innings with two walks and a strikeout. With Yamamoto already announced to be in minors to start the season, Peterson’s spot looks safe for now. But the Mets may play around with the idea of an opener – maybe having Peterson and Montgomery/Gsellman combine for a start. And ultimately Peterson is really pitching right now to stick around once Carrasco and Syndgergaard come back.

So we are focusing on Peterson tonight!

Let’s Go Mets!

Recapping Yesterday:
The Mets got back in the win column yesterday with 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins. Francisco Lindor right now is playing for a massive contract extension – he smashed his 4th homer of the spring and added a single and a double at the plate for 7 total bases on the day – raising his OPS to 1.074. Also having a sneaky good spring at the plate has been Kevin Pillar who added two more hits, raising his batting average to .324 and OPS to .895.

Marcus Stoman was tagged for 3 runs off 9 hits in 5.0 innings (There was also a three run homer that was called back in the first inning). It was a weird day for umpiring. Anyway, he still looked good as he continues to get ready for the season. The bullpen behind him was fantastic. Barnes had another scoreless outing. His worst start in spring was his first one, he’s been great since then. Aaron Loup struck out the side. Trevor May allowed one walk and nothing else and Tommy Hunter finally put together a perfect inning of work. (The Mets need to decide if they are going to add Hunter to the active roster by Sunday).

What We Are Watching Today:
Originally Taijuan Walker was going to get the big start today with a tremendous starting lineup but instead he’ll be pitching in the B game at home. Corey Oswalt will get the start instead. In his first A game outing, Oswalt struck out 5 over 2.0 innings. In his second A game outing, he allowed 5 runs over 2.2 innings. So, a bit of a mixed back.

But today’s lineup. Amazing. With J.D. Davis in as the DH, this lineup looks a DH style Mets lineup with Nimmo and Lindor at top and McCann and Guillorme rounding things out at the end. Here are some spring OBP’s in today’s lineup:

• Nimmo- .452
• Lindor – .390
• Conforto – .361
• Alonso – .477

Outstanding! Let’s Go Mets!

Recapping Yesterday:
The fell behind in the 3rd inning yesterday and could never catch up. Joey Lucchesi held the Astros scoreless through the first two innings and then allowed 3 runs in the third, making it his worst outing of the spring. The Mets would claw back throughout the game but ultimately fell short.

The biggest offensive moment for the Mets came from Almora who hit a three run homer in the top of the 8th inning putting the Mets within in one run. Outside of that, Tovar was the only other player to have a tremendously positive day, picking of 2 hits. Jon Villar went 1-4 and got a walk, a .400 OBP that moved his OPS up just slightly to .435 (rough spring). Jose Peraza got an extended look with 4 trips to the plate but didn’t do anything with it, dropping his OPS to .374.

Eickhoff and Montgomery were also auditioning yesterday for an outside chance to make the rotation. Eickhoff allowed 2 runs, 1 earned over 2.0 innings, lowering his ERA to 11.25. Honestly, it should have been worse as he got someone to hit into a triple play. Montgomery continued to pitch well. He scattered 2 hits and 2 strikeouts in 2.0 innings, keeping his spring ERA at 0.

What We’re Watching For Today:
Were only a week and a half away from Opening Day! The big outing of the day belongs to Marcus Stroman. In 4 games and 13.1 innings this year, Stroman has allowed 4 runs from 9 hits while striking out 14. That translates into a 2.70 ERA and a 0.825 WHIP. We’re looking forward to another afternoon of watching Stroman pitch!

Lefty Aaron Loup is also scheduled to pitch today. In 5 games and 4.2 innings he has allowed 3 runs, 2 earned from 5 hits and no walks while striking out 6. Leading to an ERA of 3.86 and a WHIP of 1.071. The lefty situation for the Mets was a question mark most of the off-season as the Mets missed out on several lefties. As a nice surprise in camp, homegrown player Daniel Zamora has been terrific over 5 games and 4.2 innings allowing no runs from 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.

Let’s Go Mets!