213 Miles From Shea

Yesterday was a rough day for the Mets. Carlos Carrasco got tagged for three runs, two earned, over four innings due to two homers (his major weakness this spring). Joey Lucchesi, who could be competing for an expanded role with Quintana out, was tagged for three runs from three hits in one inning.

And then there were the injuries. Starling Marte left the game after getting hit in he head with a baseball. He passed a concussion check at the end of the game and the Mets said they would reevaluate him today. Montes de Oca, who was having a tremendous spring, left with the trainer after his velocity was just off in this outing.

The goal is simple for the Mets today – have a healthy Monday.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tylor Megill: Megill, Peterson and Lucchesi are all fighting for a rotation spot. Lucchesi is more likely going to be in the bullpen anyway, so this is really between Megill and Peterson. So far in two games and 4 1/3 innings, Megill has allowed one run from one hit and two walks this spring while striking out three. We are hoping to see a solid outing from Tylor today.
2. Ronny Mauricio: After a couple of tough days at the plate, Mauricio bounced back yesterday in a big way. Ronny hit his fourth homer of the spring raising his slugging to .870 over 13 games and 25 trips to the plate. It is still unlikely that he is up in the majors this season. He’s 21-years old and can use more time in the minors. If continues what he’s doing right now over the whole year, he’s going to force some interesting conversations next spring.
3. Eyes on the Backfield: Max Scherzer will make a start today as well, but in the Triple A game against the Marlins. We figured this was going to start sooner or later, especially with the amount of times the Marlins, Nationals and Mets all player each other on the east coast of Florida.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets play their first game after making first round of spring training cuts last night. There were no surprises in the first round of cuts – most of the players are prospects who the Mets just wanted to get an extended look at. Everyone involved in roster battles are still in Mets camp as the Mets play their 15th official spring training game this afternoon.

The Mets are coming off of a loss against the Nationals last night and the outcome of the game might be the least important aspect of that game. Brett Baty continued his excellent spring going 2-2 at the plate and stealing a base. Vientos continued to make noise playing first base while going 3-4 with a double. Mauricio went 0-3 with a walk and stole a base. The Mets put all of their infield talent on the field last night and shined.

Three Things To Watch For Today:

1. Nimmo’s Return: Brandon Nimmo is scheduled to finally play in a spring training game today! Nimmo has made it clear from the start of camp that he wanted to slow down spring this year. Nimmo has been one of the most important hitters in the Mets lineup, putting up a 145, 131 and 130 OPS+ over his last three seasons. His first season back in 2017 was the only season where he had an OPS+ under 100.
2. Start #3 For Cookie: Carlos Carrasco bounced back in his last start, and we are looking for him to continue that trend today. In his first start he allowed two runs from two hits over two innings. In his last start he allowed one run from four hits over three innings. Homeruns made the big difference for Carlos between his first two seasons, he gave them up at double the rate in 2021 compared to 2022. So far this spring he has allowed one homer in each start.
3. Darin Ruf: Over the last two days Mark Canha and Mark Vientos have both seen time at first base. Ruf gets another shot at first today. In official spring training games Ruf is 0-6 so far with four strikeouts. He’s also grounded into one double play. This was not a position battle we were anticipating but it’s starting to become one now.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets maintained their .500 winning percentage yesterday winning the first game of the day and losing the night cap. The more important game was the afternoon game where Verlander tossed 3 1/3 innings allowing one run from three hits while striking out five. Starling Marte made his spring debut going 2-2 with a double and a homer. The Mets learned the hard way last year how important Marte is to the lineup. A healthy Marte on Opening Day would be a huge boost.

A new story line might also be developing – Canha got reps at first base yesterday. The Mets are fairly thin at first after Alonso, with Ruf penciled in as one of the main alternates. But Ruf has struggled in his first week playing games. Could the Mets be testing out some ideas if they decide to cut or trade Ruf? This is something to keep an eye on for the next two weeks.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Senga’s Second Start: In Senga’s first start he allowed one run from a hit and two walks over two innings while striking out two. Looking at his game performance – he was probably a mixture of anxious/amped/nervous to start as he walked the first two batters of the game. With that first start out of the way, we are looking forward to see a more stretched out, relaxed Senga today – hopefully dicing through the Nationals lineup with his ghost forkball.
2. Let The Kids Play: Vientos, Mauricio and Baty will all be starting in the Mets infield tonight. Vientos will be starting at first. Right now his only path forward to break camp with the team is to usurp Ruf at DH. As stated earlier, this is something we want to keep an eye on for the next two weeks. Vientos and Mauricio also combined last night to 0-6 with three strikeouts and a walk – a rare off night this spring.
3. Get On Base By Any Means: Locastro will be leading off for the Mets for a second straight night. He is the only player on the Mets, and possibly in baseball, that gets hit by the pitch more often than Mark Canha. Last night he got hit by a pitch while going 2-3 with a double. He’s having a tremendous spring slashing .391/.500/.609 over 28 plate appearances. Will he get hit by his 5th pitch this spring tonight?

Let’s Go Mets!

We are eating good today! We woke up to some exciting World Baseball Classic games. We just had a Mets game in the early afternoon and we get another Mets game this evening!

This game will feature Elieser Hernández who the Mets acquired in trade back in November. The Marlins sent Hernández and Brigham to the Mets for Jake Mangum and Franklin Sanchez. Hernández in an interesting acquisition for the Mets who need starting pitching depth. Over his five year career, Hernández has pitched in 90 games and 287 2/3 innings with a 5.04 ERA, 5.51 FIP, 1.321 WHIP and an 83 ERA+. Last year was rough for Hernández who had a 6.35 ERA and 64 ERA+ over 62 1/3 innings. Hernández will be farther down the depth chart going into 2023, somewhere behind Megill, Peterson and Lucchesi. In his first two games this spring he has tossed four innings, allowing two runs from five hits and two walks while striking out three.

Outside of Hernández, this is the prospect game of the day with Álvarez, Vientos, Mauricio and Ramírez all getting the start.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Mark Vientos: Vientos has had made the most of his extended audition this spring. In 26 at bats he has eight hits including a pair of doubles and homers leading to .308/.308/.615 batting line. The Mets have a fairly major logjam on the right side of the infield with Lindor, Escobar, Baty Mauricio and Vientos. With all the time he’s getting right now, there are more teams than just the Mets paying attention.
2. Ronny Mauricio: Mauricio had a winter to remember. He hit .287/.335/.468 with five homers in 203 plate appearances winning LIDOM MVP honors. This was a huge improvement over his previous season where he hit .244/.277/.367. This spring he picked up right where he left off this winter with six hits in 16 trips to the plate including three homers. He’s not ready yet for the majors, but he’s making a lot of noise right now.
3. Francisco Álvarez: The most exciting prospect the Mets have in camp! He’s off to a slow start, collecting only one hit and one walk in 12 plate appearances so far, but he’s also finally getting lots of quality time catching Mets pitchers. He’s starting behind the plate again tonight and will continue to see an uptick of catching time while Omar Narváez and team Venezuela are playing in the World Baseball Classic.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets return to regularly scheduled spring training baseball twice today! First up is an early afternoon game against the Astros at home in St. Lucie.

The Mets in general have had an abnormal spring training week. Usually spring is a time for routine, workouts in the morning, games around 1 PM, games in the backfields, etc. Instead the Mets have had an off-day on Monday with their star players traveling to their respective national teams, a night exhibition game on Wednesday, another exhibition game yesterday and a 1 PM / 6 PM split squad set up today. What a week!

The best way to return to normal spring action is with one of the most exciting additions the Mets made this off-season: Justin Verlander!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Back to the new rules: On Wednesday the Mets and Nicaragua played for 2:45. Not too bad by last year’s standards except the Mets only recorded one hit. Yesterday the Mets and Venezuela played for three and a half hours. This was definite shift from the games earlier this spring with the pitch clock which are generally under two and half hours with a bunch of hits. Today the Mets return the pitch clock, the new throwing over to first rules and the new regulation size bases.
2. Justin Verlander: Verlander makes his second start in a Mets uniform today. Last week he pitched three innings allowing two hits and a run while striking out three. He tossed 35 pitches, 28 of them strikes. The Mets are now 20 days from Opening Day. I am curious to see how deep he goes today. Four innings? If he’s economical with his pitches does he push it to five?
3. 18 Innings: The Mets are playing a lot of baseball today with a depleted roster thanks to the World Baseball Classic. Starters in the afternoon and evening game should get a much longer look today. Who takes the advantage of the long look today?

Let’s Go Mets!

For the second straight day the Mets will take on a World Baseball Classic team getting ready for this weekend’s opening games. This time the Mets will take on a much stronger Venezuelan squad.

The good news for the Mets yesterday is the pitching looked strong. Max Scherzer looked good outside of a homer he gave up. Besides that he struck out nine batters in three innings. Nine batters. Three innings. Pretty great. After him Orze, Coonrod, Brigham, McFarland, Yacabonis and Walker all tossed scoreless innings. The problem for the Mets yesterday was their hitting – Mauricio recorded the only hit for the Mets.

Venezuela had a much more exciting game yesterday, beating the Astros 9-8. Escobar pinch hit and played third yesterday earning two walks in both trips to the plate. Omar Narváez recorded a hit and a walk in his two trips to the plate.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. José Butto: Butto will be pitching in his third game this spring. In his first outing he allowed one run from two walks, no hits over 1 2/3 innings. In his second outing he allowed one run from two hits in two innings. Overall he struck out seven batters over 3 2/3 innings. The Mets already have had their starting pitching depth tested early with an injury to Quintana – that makes every start Butto make so much more important as he rises up the depth chart.
2. You Look Familiar: Eduardo Escobar and Omar Narváez, are both on the roster for Venezuela. They are joined by former Mets Robinson Chirinos and Andrés Giménez. Since being traded from the Mets, Giménez has blossomed into a star. That trade may go down in history as an example with both teams coming out as winners.
3. What are the Rules? I love the World Baseball Classic. One valid criticism is the roll out of the rules for major league baseball and the WBC. The WBC is not using the pitch clock and the new bases. This means players in major league camp are going from new rules, to old rules back to new rules This applies to the exhibition games as well. Luckily for everyone in Mets camp, this issue will pass after today.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets play another evening game – this time against Nicaragua!

The World Baseball Classic started last night in Taiwan and the state side pools are gearing up for official play this weekend. In order to get ready, a bunch of World Baseball Classic teams are playing in exhibition games today and tomorrow and the Mets are playing hosts both days.

Today the Mets will play against Nicaragua. Mark Vientos was originally going to play for Nicaragua before bowing out of the tournament in early February. The goal for Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic is to not finish last. Nicaragua is in a tough group with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Israel. The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela are three of the better squads in the tournament. Israel made a surprising run in the last tournament. The last place team has to go back to the qualifying tournament, which is how Nicaragua earned their spot in this year’s tournament.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Just Another Day in the Office for Max: Today’s WBC exhibition matchup is just another day in the office for Max Scherzer. He’s made two starts totaling 4 2/3 innings this spring with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. A lot happened his last time out though. He got called for a balk. Then he tried to play games with the pitch clock again, and flew a little too close to the Sun. Rather than getting a double play, he got called for a pitch clock violation and then the inning just unraveled. We’re going to talk about the intensity match up a bit later but it’s safe to say no matter how anyone else on the Mets approaches this game, Max will be his normal, super intense self.
2. Old Friends: No current Mets are playing for Nicaragua, but several former Mets are. Erasmo Ramírez, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Kevin Gadea are all on the roster. Ramírez pitched for the Mets in 2020 and had a 0.63 ERA, 3.68 FIP over six games and 14 1/3 innings. Since then he has played for the Tigers and the Nationals.
3. Will The Game Be Intense? Hold Max Scherzer aside because he’s his own entity – how intense will today’s game be? For the Mets this is still a spring training game with guys trying to get their reps in. For Nicaragua this is a key tune up game as they play meaningful games in a couple of days. Energy is contagious and its possible the younger Mets will feed off of and replicate that energy.

Let’s Go Mets!

Hello! It’s been a while! Between the day off on Monday and the Mets playing the late game tonight, the Mets haven’t played baseball for some time.

Since the Mets last played we got news that José Quintana suffered a stress fracture in his rib cage earlier in the week. These types of injuries potentially take a long time (possibly months) to heal from. It’s a great thing the Mets didn’t trade Carlos Carrasco as his role just got even more important for this upcoming season. This also means the health David Peterson just got a lot more important.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Where Did Everyone Go? The Mets have nine major leaguers and five minor leaguers in the the WBC. With all countries playing in the first round of the tournament Mets camp just got a lot lighter. We should see a string of prospects getting an extended look for the rest of the week.
2. Cookie Keeps It In The Park: In his first start of the spring Carlos Carrasco allowed two runs from two hits including a homer while walking one and striking out a batter. Obviously this is a very small sample size. The major difference Carrasco had in 2021 vs 2022 was his HR/9. He went from a 2.0 to 1.0 between the two seasons, and it was the reason he was way more successful last season. So we are hoping to see no homers today.
3. The Return of Darin Ruf: The Mets traded four players, including J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki for Darin Ruf last season at the deadline. The plan was that Ruf and Vogelbach would become a DH super platoon. That did not happen. Ruf went from hitting .216/328/.373 with the Giants to hitting .152/.216/.197 with the Mets. The young kids this spring have been tearing the cover off of the ball – could Ruf be in a position battle?

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have the opportunity to improve to .500 this afternoon against the Cardinals! The Mets are coming off of a huge game against the Marlins yesterday where they racked up 16 hits and 15 runs thanks to five homers. Mark Vientos was the big start of the day going 3-4 at the plate with two homers and five RBI. With the World Baseball Classic coming up this week, we are only going to see more of Vientos, which is great!

Today the Mets will go back to Jupiter to take on their other home team – the Cardinals. Today is also the second day in a row that a big starting pitcher free agent signing will be making his Mets debut. Yesterday Justin Verlander had a great first game allowing one run from two hits and no walks while striking out three over three innings. Today we finally get to see Kodai Senga and his ghost forkball take on major league hitters in a real(ish) game!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. The Ghost Forkball: It’s worth noting that Senga does not call his signature pitch a ghost forkball. He says its probably a splitter because he doesn’t hold the ball the same way most forkball pitchers do. DiComo notes that the pitch grip is similar to the split-changeup that Carrasco throws. Due to how far back in his hand Senga throws the ball, and his motion, when done right, it takes on a different trajectory. The nickname comes from its ability to just disappear to hitters. All season we’ll be talking about the adjustment major league hitters will make to the pitch and the readjustments Senga will need to take.
2. Francisco Lindor: Over the first six games he’s played in Lindor has collected five hits and four walks in 19 plate appearances. He already has a .400/.526/.667 slash line in spring. First, a hot at the plate Lindor is great news for the World Baseball Classic next week. Second, if Lindor keeps this up in April the Mets are going to be unstoppable at the plate. Eventually this batting line is going to come back down to Earth, I just want to look at it a bit longer.
3. Have Fun Guys! Today is the last day that the World Baseball Classic players are in camp. So in addition to aforementioned Lindor, we’ll be watching Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, Eduardo Escobar, and Omar Narváez for the last time in a Mets starting lineup for a bit.

Let’s Go Mets!

Today is the day!

Justin Verlander makes his Mets debut today, starting the game against the Marlins in Jupiter. The Mets lost Jacob deGrom in free agency this off season and replaced him with the best possible option – the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.

Verlander and the Mets look to bounce back from yesterday’s bizarre loss where Max Scherzer had a third inning for the trivia books. He committed a balk (controversial call) and then had a pitch clock violation for the ages. He tossed the ball as time expired, resulting in an inning ending double play, but with the violation it turned into a ball – and then all hell broke lose. Ultimately the whole point of spring training is to try things out. In years past, that might have meant throwing a curveball over and over and over again to get a feel for the pitch. This year it means learning gamesmanship. The games do not matter so let’s learn away!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Justin Verlander: Verlander had a 1.75 ERA over 28 starts and 175 innings with a 2.49 FIP, 0.829 WHIP and 220 ERA+. He led the league last year in wins, winning percentage, ERA, WHIP, H/9, and ERA+. It was the type of Cy Young resume that would make old school and new school baseball heads swoon.
2. Francisco Lindor: Over the first five games he’s played in Lindor has collected five hits and four walks in 15 plate appearances. He already has a .455/.600/.727 slash line in spring. First, a hot at the plate Lindor is great news for the World Baseball Classic next week. Second, if Lindor keeps this up in April the Mets are going to be unstoppable at the plate. Eventually this batting line is going to come back down to Earth, I just want to look at it a bit longer.
3. Eric Orze: Orze is scheduled to pitch in his third spring game today. He’s a non-roster invitee in camp and we are getting closer to when some pitchers are going to get moved to minor league camp as starters get stretched to go deeper into games. In his first outing he allowed two hits and no runs while walking one and striking out two. Then in his second outing he allowed one hit and two walks while striking out one. Will today be the day he breaks his 3.000 WHIP?

Let’s Go Mets!