213 Miles From Shea

Hello from the other side
So many teams called a thousand times
To Tell Martino you
Were traded for a prospect and
Maybe a major leaguer
But you’re still home

Yesterday was the trade deadline and shockingly Zack Wheeler is still a Met. While the Mets didn’t improve any of the weaknesses on the roster (defense, bullpen, depth) the Mets didn’t trade away an pieces that may be critical in a run (sans-Vargas? I don’t know anymore). On top of that, the Mets actually won yesterday! That’s six games in a row for the Mets and they go for the sweep of the White Sox today. The Mets still have a lot of work to do to even be in the wild card conversation but a win today wouldn’t hurt.

As the horrible parody earlier suggests, Wheeler is still here! And making a start today. On the season he is 7-6 over 20 starts and 124.1 innings with a 4.71 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.271 WHIP and 87 ERA+. Last time out was his first start since returning from the IL and he allowed 3 runs off 6 hits and no walks in 5.1 innings. He just ran out of gas in that 6th inning and would have had a clean sheet if he was taken out of the game in the 5th innings. Only three White Sox on the roster have faced him in a major league game, including pitcher Ivan Nova who I’m fairly confident won’t be taking an at bat against Wheeler tonight. Welington Castillo is 1-2 with a strikeout while Jon Jay has gone 0-3 with three strikeouts.

Rookie Dylan Cease will make his 5th major league start today against the Mets. The first two starters the Mets faced in this series were acquired in the Adam Eaton trade. Cease (with Eloy Jimenez) was acquired in the trade that sent Jose Quintana across town to the Cubs. The 23 year-old is 1-3 over 4 games and 21.0 innings with a 6.86 ERA, 5.56 FIP, 1.619 WHIP and 69 ERA+. In AAA Charlotte this year, Cease posted a 4.48 ERA and 1.566 WHIP over 68.1 innings. Over his career in the minors (where he has never been older than the average player in his league) he has a 3.02 ERA and 1.233 WHIP in 354.1 innings of work.

Let’s Go Mets!

There was still an open debate among Mets fans last night if Syndergaard was even going to start last night’s game with his name on the trading block. Noah Syndergaard ended up pitching one of the best games of his career carrying a no-hitter through about half the game and locking down hitters last night. But of course, this is 2019, and the Mets bullpen (Diaz this time) blew the save and the game went to extras. Unlike last week where the Mets lost 3 extra inning games against the Giants, the Mets bats were able to put a three spot on the scoreboard in the 11th inning and hold on for the win.

Tonight’s match-up would have been a regular match-up in an alternate universe. A couple of seasons ago the Nationals traded Lucas Giolito, their top pitching prospect and one of the top prospects in the league, to the White Sox for Adam Eaton. If that trade doesn’t happen, a Jacob deGrom vs Giolito game would be a regular occurrence.

Giolito is having a massive bounce back year from his first full season of major league baseball. Last year he went 10-13 over 32 starts and 173.1 innings with a 6.13 ERA, 5.56 FIP, 1.477 WHIP and 70 ERA+. He lead the league in both earned runs at 118 and walks at 90. This season he has pitched 20 starts and 117.1 innings with a 3.52 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.122 WHIP and 132 ERA+, enough to earn an All-Star roster spot. That being said, he is coming off of his worst start of the season against the Twins where he allowed 7 runs from 7 hits and 2 walks (4 homers) in 5.0 innings of work, raising his ERA from 3.12 to 3.52. The only Mets on the active roster who have faced him are Wilson Ramos (0-3, 2 K) and Adeiny Hechavarria (2-2, 3B).

Jacob deGrom is 6-7 over 21 starts and 129.0 innings with a 2.86 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 1.085 WHIP and 144 ERA+. In deGrom’s last 12 starts (77.0 innings) he has a 2.10 ERA with opponents getting on base at a .266 clip and hitting with a .593 OPS. In his last three starts he has allowed only 1 run over 19.0 innings from 13 hits and 7 walks while striking out 25. Only three players on the White Sox Roster have seen deGrom in a game before:

• Jon Jay 2-9, 2B, BB, K
• Jose Abreu 0-2, BB, 2 K
• James McCann 0-2, BB, K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets swept the Pirates this past weekend and then things got weird, even by Mets standards. The Mets traded Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson to the Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman. On its own, this is a solid move. It’s also a win now, win in 2020 move that doesn’t correlate with the possibility of trading Wheeler, Syndergaard etc. Then yesterday the Mets traded Vargas to the Phillies. As of 8:47 this morning, the Mets haven’t traded any additional pitchers away. If the Mets trade Wheeler (or worse, Syndergaard) now, we will have a rotation with Walker Lockett for the rest of the year and have to find a free agent starter next year. It’s all very murky because it doesn’t seem like the Mets have a plan.

Anyway, the Mets are still rolling out Noah Syndergaard tonight. Noah is 7-5 over 20 starts and 126.1 innings with a 4.33 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 1.263 WHIP and a 95 ERA+. In his last three starts he has tossed 21.0 innings allowing 7 runs, 6 earned, a 2.57 ERA with opponents getting on base at a .299 clip. The White Sox have the following numbers against Thor:

• Welington Castillo 1-5, BB, 2 K
• Jon Jay 3-3, 2B
• James McCann 1-3, 2 K
• Ryan GOins 0-2
• Jose Abreu 0-1

The Mets bats will get a look at Reynaldo Lopez who was part of the Lucas Giolito deal from the Nationals for Adam Eaton. Reynaldo is in 4th major league season, 2nd full one, and things are not going great for him this year. Last year in 32 starts and 188.2 innings he posted a 3.91 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 1.272 WHIP and 109 ERA+. This year in 21 starts and 119.0 innings he has a 5.52 ERA, 5.17 FIP, 1.445 WHIP and 84 ERA+. His last three starts though have been a completely different story. He has pitched 21.0 innings allowing 5 runs, 4 earned off 13 hits and 4 walks. Opponents during this stretch are getting on base at a .222 clip. This is not the first time this season he has three starts in a row like this either, so the Mets tonight will be tempting his streaky-ness. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Adeiny Hechavarria 0-3, K
• Seth Lugo 1-2
• Wilson Ramos 0-2
• Michael Conforto 0-0, BB

Let’s Go Mets!

During the 2015 Queens Baseball Convention Wally Backman raved about Steven Matz. It was before the 2015 season, Matz and Syndergaard had yet to make their debuts and while the buzz was about Noah, Backman wanted to focus on Matz.

Last night we finally saw that Matz. Steven Matz has always had the stuff, the general consensus has been that he can get in his head sometimes. Yesterday he tossed a 99-pitch complete game shutout, only the third time since 2006 that a Mets pitcher has tossed a complete game under 100 pitches (John Maine ’06, Johan Santana ’12).

And not to be lost in the pitching performance by Matz, Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis both hit bombs, both continuing to put together solid seasons. Conforto, who has oddly been heavily criticized by significant portions of Mets fans this season, is slashing .251/.356/.469 (.825 OPS) and J.D. Davis is slashing .297/.359/.483 (.842 OPS).

Today the Mets will look to complete the sweep of the Pirates on a sunny, hot day in Queens behind Jason Vargas, who like Wheeler and Syndergaard before him, may be making his last start in Queens today (although unlikely). He is 5-5 over 18 games and 17 starts with 88.2 innings of work posting a 3.96 ERA, 4.67 FIP, 1.252 WHIP and 104 ERA+. He’s coming off a strong start against the Padres, holding them scoreless over 6.0 innings from 1 hit and 4 walks while striking out 8. Last year he wasn’t so good against the Pirates, allowing 3 runs over 4.1 innings. The Pirates have the following stats against Vargas:

• Melky Cabrera 10-28, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 3 K
• Corey Dickerson 1-3
• Gregory Polanco 0-3, K
• Elias Diaz 2-2
• Josh Bell 0-1
• Adam Frazier 0-1
• Jung Ho Kang 0-1, K
• Starling Marte 1-1, 2B

The Mets get a look at Chris Archer today, which has a slight cosmic irony to it. If the Mets are are going to trade Syndergaard at the deadline, they are hoping for a deal better than the one the Pirates put together for Chris Archer last year. Chris has struggled this season. In 96.2 innings he has a 5.40 ERA, 5.66 FIP, 1.417 WHIP and a 81 ERA+. He leads the league in the juiced-ball era of homers allowed at 24. July has more or less been representative of his season as a whole, pitching 23.0 innings allowing 13 runs including 6 homers. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Robinson Cano 0-16, BB, 5 K
• Todd Frazier 2-10, BB, 4 K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 1-5, K
• Michael Conforto 0-3, 2 K
• Wilson Ramos 0-2, BB

Let’s Go Mets!
To get ready for the upcoming trade deadline, we checked in on how the players the Mets acquired in the 2017 and 2018 sell-offs are doing here.

As of 12:56 PM on 7/27 it is still unclear what the Mets are going to do at the deadline. They definitely are not buyers. They are looking to move some players but it is not certain if they will get the players they want in return (Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Edwin Diaz) or if any team actually wants the players (Todd Frazier, Adeiny Hechavarria, Wilson Ramos).

Over the last two seasons the Mets have been sellers at the deadline, and did it in the worst way possible. First, they never fully committed, so their most valuable players who could bring talent back in a trade (like Wheeler last year) weren’t moved. Second, they seemed to get weird returns (looking at Wahl and Toffey for Familia) which didn’t match other trades. Finally, the Mets acted mostly on salary relief, so even if they could demand more in a trade, they didn’t, got money back but then didn’t reinvest the money in the team.

So who did the Mets bring back?

Drew Smith – Out of all the relievers the Mets got in 2017 and 2018, Smith is probably the best one and was going to factor into the bullpen this year. Smith is currently out from TJ and was sorely missed as the bullpen fell apart in 2019. Last year he had a 3.54 ERA in 28.0 innings, more experienced than most other pitchers on this list in the majors.

AJ Ramos – The Mets in 2017 couldn’t even getting selling right, and acquired AJ Ramos to compete for the closer spot in 2018. He ended up performing terribly and is still a free agent

Jamie Callahan – Jamie was the first player traded for in 2017 to make his major league debut (same season!) and he posted a 4.05 ERA in a limited 6.2 innings of work. He was granted free agency last year and is currently with the Giants.

Gerson Bautista – Acquired in the same trade as Jamie and Stephen, Gerson threw the ball hard. But struggled with location. In a limited 4.1 innings with the Mets last year he posted a 12.46 ERA and a 3.000 WHIP. He was traded this past off season with Justin Dunn and Jared Kelenic. With the Mariners, Bautista has pitched 7.0 innings posting a 10.29 ERA and 2.429 WHIP.

Stephen Nogosek – The last part of the Addison Reed trade, Stephen finally made his major league debut this year. In limited work, he has a 10.80 ERA over 6.2 innings.

Ryder Ryan – There is hope for Ryder Ryan as he continues to chug along in the minors. Currently with Binghamton he has a 4.30 ERA and 1.330 WHIP in 29.1 innings of work. He was just reactivated to the roster.

Will Toffey – The third basemen acquired in the Familia trade and is still with the organization. He is currently hitting .226/.352/.346 (.698 OPS) with the Rumble Ponies in 70 games and 261 PA’s.

Bobby Wahl – The pitcher the Mets got in the Familia trade. He turned heads when Mets fans discovered he had thoracic outlet surgery, the same one that Matt Harvey had. His time with the Mets was limited as he was traded this off-season for Keon Broxton. Wahl immediately tore his ACL with his new team. Broxton was traded to the Orioles after a poor showing with the Mets for international slot money. The Mets also resigned Familia in the off-season. It was an odd trade to say the least.

Franklyn Kilome – The largest prospect name the Mets got last year was Kilome from the Phillies for Cabrera. Kilome had TJ last October so we’ll have to wait to see how he is after comes back.

The Mets look to take the series against the Pirates tonight while the ball club celebrates the 50th anniversary of humankind walking on the moon. On the baseball side, the Mets will try the astronomical feat of focusing on a baseball game while plethora of trade rumors rockets past Citi-Field. Will the Mets trade Syndergaard? Will they trade Wheeler? Does anyone actually want Frazier? Has Vargas’ mouth torpedoed his trade chances?

We don’t have to worry about our starting pitcher being pulled early today for #HugWatch! Steven Matz is 5-6 over 20 games and 18 starts logging 91.0 innings with a 4.75 ERA, 5.20 FIP, 1.462 WHIP and 86 ERA+. Since returning to the rotation he has pitched 10.0 innings allowing 4 runs from 11 hits and 2 walks and only one homer. He faced the Pirates twice last year and slightly above average in one start and slightly below average in the other leading to 7 ER overall between 13.0 innings of work from 9 hits and 2 walks. The Pirates have the following numbers against Matz:

• Gregory Polanco 2-7, HR, BB, 2 K
• Starling Marte 0-6, K
• Josh Bell 0-4, K
• Melky Cabrera 2-3
• Elias Diaz 1-3, 2B
• Jung Ho Kang 2-3

The Mets bats draw Trevor Williams who has started 14 games and pitched 81.2 innings this year with a 4.96 ERA, 4.47 FIP, 1.359 WHIP and 88 ERA+. Williams is coming off of a strong 2018 campaign where he posted a 3.11 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.178 WHIP and 127 ERA+ over 31 starts and his last time out he showed that version of himself, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned over 5.0 innings. He missed some time this year due to injury and since returning has allowing 26 runs, 25 earned, over 27.2 innings (and that includes his good start his last time out). His one start against the Mets last year was a good one, holding the Mets scoreless from 5 hits and 3 walks in 6.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 3-6, 2B, K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 1-3
• Jeff McNeil 1-2, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 0-3, 2 K
• Wilson Ramos 0-2
• Amed Rosario 0-2, BB, K

Let’s Go Mets!

It doesn’t matter if the Mets are winning or losing, Mets world is always busy. The Mets took the series against the Padres yesterday behind a strong performance by Jacob deGrom (7 innings, no runs) and a strong first inning by the Mets bats. But that’s only a fraction of what’s going on. Wheeler makes what could be his last start in a Mets uniform tonight (more on that in a bit), Edwin Diaz was brought into a non-save situation yesterday and took a come-backer off his foot (X-rays negative), and Todd Frazier went after a reporter on Twitter yesterday. And, of course, the Mets welcome the fading Pirates to town.

Zack Wheeler is making his return from the IL. He was placed there due to dead arm / arm fatigue, that may or may not have been due to the Mets rushing him out twice before the All-Star break to raise his trade value. Now with a tanked trade value, who knows what the Mets will do. Do they extend him and trade Syndegaard? Do they trade him, get a minimal return and resign him? Do they do nothing? Anyway he is 6-6 over 19 games and 119.0 innings with a 4.69 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 1.277 WHIP and 87 ERA+. His last start before the All-Star break was tough, allowing 6 runs over 5.0 innings from 8 hits and 2 walks. Before that he had a strong stretch of 3 starts allowing 4 runs in 19.1 innings. Wheeler was tremendous against the Pirates last year tossing 13.0 innings of scoreless baseball with 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 14. The Pirates have the following stats against him:

• Gregory Polanco 5-8, BB, 2 Kd
• Josh Bell 1-6
• Elias Diaz 0-6, 2 K
• Adam Frazier 0-6, K
• Colin Moran 2-5, BB
• Starling Marte 0-3

The Mets bats draw rookie Dario Agrazal, who is 2-0 over 5 starts and 28.0 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 5.15 FIP, 1.214 WHIP and 196 ERA+. Dario is coming off back to back starts allowing 1 run over 6.0 innings. Before getting called up, the right handed pitcher was 5-4 over 14 games across AA and AAA with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.100 WHIP. This will be Dario’s first start against the Mets. The Mets play the Pirates again next week so maybe we’ll see him again soon.

Let’s Go Mets!

Despite the Mets having 10 men on base last night from 5 hits and 5 walks, they only mustered 2 runs and fell to the Padres 7-2. The game felt like the same old story for the Mets who made defensive misplays, had starting pitching that flashed brilliance but couldn’t execute at times, an offense that couldn’t push runs across the plate despite being on base and a bullpen that made everything worse. That being said, the Met will try to persist and move forward this afternoon in the rubber game of series and an unusual noon start time.

Jacob deGrom closes things out for the Mets today. He is 5-7 over 20 games and 122.0 innings with a 3.02 ERA, 3.05 FIP, 1.107 WHIP and 136 ERA+. In the month of July he has pitched 19.0 innings over three starts allowing 3 runs from 12 hits and 9 walks, a 1.42 ERA. Since May 22nd, he has started 11 games and tossed 70.0 innings with a 2.31 ERA. He did catch the Padres in San Diego back on May 6th and allowed 2 runs over 7.0 innings from 4 hits and a walk. The Padres have the following stats against deGrom:

• Wil Myers 4-19, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 8 K
• Eric Hosmer 4-12, BB, 3 K
• Manny Machado 4-12, BB, 3 K
• Austin Hedges 0-9, 2 BB, 3 K
• Greg Garcia 2-6, BB, K
• Manuel Margot 2-6, 2B, K
• Hunter Renfroe 3-6, 2B, 2 HR, K
• Ian Kinsler 0-3, 2 K

The Mets bats will try to find themselves against Eric Lauer today who is 5-7 over 18 starts and 96.0 innings with a 4.31 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.333 WHIP, and a 99 ERA+. He is coming off a rough start against the Cubs where he allowed 5 runs over 4.2 innings. Before that he was on a stretch of three starts in a row only allowing 1 earned run. That stretch lowered his season ERA from 4.60 to 4.04. He missed the Mets in 2019 but he did play against them in Citi last year allowing 6 runs from 6 hits and 3 walks in 4.0 innings. The only Mets on the roster today who have already faced Lauer are Amed Rosario (1-2, 3B, BB) and Michael Conforto (2-2, HR).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets try to take the series tonight from the Padres after last night’s historic game! Yesterday Robinson Cano hit three homers, essentially being the entirety of the Mets offense, to lead the Amazin’s 5-2 over Chris Paddack and the Padres. Paddack, who pitched well except to Cano, continued fanning the flames of a rivalry between himself and Alonso. Honestly it still feels like a one sided obsession.

Anyway, Noah Syndergaard gets the start today as rumors continue to swirl about trading him. The most likely scenario: the Mets keep him through the deadline. But there is a nonzero chance, albeit practically zero, today is Syndergaard’s last start as a Met. He has started 19 games and tossed 119.2 innings with a 4.36 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 1.228 WHIP with a 94 ERA+. In his last two starts Syndergaard has allowed only 3 runs over 14.0 innings from 11 hits and 1 walk while striking out 17. One of his worst starts this season was against the Padres where he allowed 5 runs, 4 earned over 6.0 innings from 9 hits and a walk. The Padres have the following numbers against Syndergaard:

• Eric Hosmer 2-11, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Ian Kinsler 4-9, 2 K
• Manny Machado 3-6, 2B, K
• Wil Myers 0-5, BB, K
• Francisco Mejia 1-3, K
• Hunter Renfroe 2-3, 2B, K

The Mets bats will get a look at Dinelson Lamet as he continues his road back from Tommy John surgery (April 2018). Lamet debuted in 2017 and tossed 21 games and 114.1 innings with a 4.57 ERA, 4.35 FIP, 1.242 WHIP, and a 93 ERA+. So far this year he has pitched 3 games and 14.0 innings with a 5.14 ERA, 5.73 FIP, 1.429 WHIP and 84 ERA+. The last time Lamet faced the Mets he was making his major league debut where he allowed 1 run over 5.0 innings from 3 hits and two walks. The only current Met who has seen Lamet in a major league game is Michael Conforto who struck out all three times against him.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have had a frustrating weekend. After winning four games in a row, the Mets dropped 3 of 4 games to the Giants with all three losses coming in extra innings. If we wanted to be serious about the Mets making a run at the post-season, they needed to win all of those games. Now it is still mathematically possible for the Mets to make a run, but extremely unlikely. Maybe the Mets make a bunch of trades in the next 7 days? Or maybe they don’t do anything and just let the season play out.

All of this makes Jason Vargas‘ start tonight interesting. Is he auditioning for another team tonight? Maybe. He is 4-5 over 17 games and 16 starts pitching 82.2 innings with a 4.25 ERA, 4.82 FIP, 1.282 WHIP and 97 ERA+. He’s coming off the definition of an average start, allowing 3 runs over 6.0 innings from 5 hits and a walk while striking out 4 against the Twins. Overall, the month of July hasn’t been too kind to Vargas who has posted a 6.61 ERA, .304 opponents OBP and .867 opponents OPS over 16.1 innings. The Padres have the following numbers against him:

• Ian Kinsler 25-67, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 3 BB, 2 K (1.050 OPS)
• Eric Hosmer 2-15, 3 BB, 3 K
• Manny Machado 4-15, K
• Wil Myers 1-10, 2B, 2 BB, 5 K
• Austin Hedges 1-2, K

The Mets bats draw the rookie tonight, Chris Paddack, who was on a tear in April, and pretty much right up until after he faced the Mets. When Alonso won the rookie of the month in April, Chris called him out by saying “I rather win Rookie of the Year”. Since then Chris hit a rough patch, was sent down the minors to conserve innings, and is now back up. On the season he is 6-4 over 16 games and 90.0 innings with a 2.70 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 0.867 WHIP and 156 ERA+.

When he faced the Mets last time he came into the game with a 1.91 ERA (and clearly was battling Alonso for rookie of the month in April). He then dominated the Mets allowing no runs over 7.2 innings from 4 hits and a walk while striking out 11, his first (and only) double digit strikeout game. Then over 5 games he allowed 20 runs, 16 earned, over 25.0 innings from 30 hits and 3 walks (8 homers), leading to his brief demotion. Since then he has dominated again, pitching 24.1 innings with a 1.48 ERA and opponents getting on base at a .193 clip. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Jeff McNeil 2-4, K
• Pete Alonso 0-3, 2 K
• Robinson Cano 0-2, BB
• Michael Conforto 0-3, 2 K
• Todd Frazier 1-3
• Adeiny Hechavarria 0-3, K
• Jacob deGrom 1-2, K (Obviously not playing tonight, included so you know who got the other hit)

Let’s Go Mets!