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Monday, 16 April 2018 20:46

Mets Are Quick Out Of The Gate But Questions Remain

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Did anyone really think the Mets would go 161-1? So they finally lost a game to the Brewers but bounced right back to win the series in dramatic fashion thanks to, who else? Wilmer Flores and another walk off home run.

And in the midst of running off nine straight wins, they just happened to sweep a three-game series from the Nationals in their home ballpark in Washington last week. Now with the Nationals coming in to CitiField, it will be interesting to see if the Mets can keep the momentum going, or this train gets de-railed.

 

 

The Mets are not running on all cylinders. Other then Asdrubal Cabrera and Brandon Nimmo (who was temporarily demoted), the team is not hitting, not as expected anyway, as they strike out at an alarming rate, much like the rest of Major League Baseball.

The starting pitching has not been dominating, it certainly has not reached its potential, although it is getting by on less than stellar stuff. It will be quite interesting to see how Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard will be once they are their usual dominating selves. And we recently got to see, for the very first time, the Fab Five all together at the same time in the starting rotation. Zack Wheeler came back from his temporary demotion and threw a seven-inning masterpiece. Steven Matz and Matt Harvey, each saddled with one of the two Mets losses, have shown signs of brilliance, only to have it fall apart somewhat. Harvey especially has shown that he can’t seem to get past five innings, which leads to Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo. Gsellman and Lugo would be in the starting rotation of any other team, yet they are “relegated” to being middle innings relievers. But it seems that the role they are playing has brought out the dominance in both of them. They have flourished seemingly because they can concentrate on their top two pitches instead of worrying about a full arsenal. Starting pitchers can’t be two-pitch pitchers, not for very long anyway. Which brings us back to Harvey. Everyone is bickering over who should be the one to be taken out of the rotation when Jason Vargas returns from the DL. Well…Harvey just might benefit from playing the same role that Gsellman and Lugo are thriving in. He obviously is not the Harvey of old. But he seems to have that inning or two of dominance. So why not at least try it temporarily?

The bullpen, thanks to Gsellman and Lugo, is probably the strongest its been in many, many years. The fact that the two of them have been able to come in and pitch multiple innings…multiple innings effectively…has truly been a key to the success of the pen. Jerry Blevins has done a magnificent job in his lefty specialist role and Jeurys Familia has, thus far, looked like the one-time dominant closer. Even Hansel Robles has looked better since he was briefly banished to Triple A Las Vegas.

You have to be happy about the Mets being 12-2 at this point. Who would have thought they would be 10 games over .500 fourteen games into the season? Even playing at .500 the rest of the way would put them at 86 wins, a few wins over what most thought they would have at season’s end.

But you can see where the team is a bit flawed. Right off the bat the injury bug hit the team yet again. Not one, but both “starting” catchers hit the DL, Kevin Plawecki for a few weeks and Travis d’Arnaud for the year. While neither had gotten off to a great start, especially defensively, it is a devastating blow. There is no depth at all at the catching position. That could pose to be a major problem especially when you consider a lot has to do with handling the pitching staff. And now that both Plawecki and d’Arnaud are gone, the Mets starting pitchers are no longer hitting in the eighth spot in the lineup…because they are now no longer the weakest hitters in the lineup. So it stands to reason that the front office has to shore up the catching position somehow, some way.

The team’s overall defense has been subpar…although Yoenis Cespedes still has that bazooka in left field and Adrian Gonzalez has shown some of his old defensive prowess at first base. Amed Rosario has made some spectacular plays and then looks lost on some of the more routine plays, yet he looks like he will emerge into a tremendous everyday major league shortstop.

The energy that the team brings to the field everyday is something that hasn’t been seen in a very long time…not since David Wright and Jose Reyes were youngsters. Bringing in Todd Frazier and bringing back Jay Bruce and Jose Reyes have made for an upbeat clubhouse, salt and pepper shakers aside. That has covered up for some of the flaws but how far will that carry the team?

So far it’s been a lot of fun watching this team come out of the gate. But it will be interesting to see how things emerge like: 1) When will Cespedes and Frazier unleash the power?; 2) How will the starting rotation actually and eventually fill out?; 3) What will happen with the  catching position?; 4) Will the bullpen maintain its present state and continue its effectiveness?; 5) Will the defense, or seemingly lack thereof, come back to haunt the pitcher staff?; 6) How can two of the Mets’ best hitters – Brandon Nimmo and Wilmer Flores not be in the starting lineup?

Read 2098 times Last modified on Thursday, 19 May 2022 23:52
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Alan Karmin is an award-winning journalist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and spent most of his life growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Alan's family were avid Brooklyn Dodgers fans and when the Dodgers moved west, the Mets became the team to root for. The Mets have always been a true focal point, Alan even wrote a term paper in high school to analyze what was wrong with the Mets. While at the University of Miami, Alan honed his craft covering the, gulp, Yankees during spring trainings in Fort Lauderdale for a local NBC affiliate, as well as the Associated Press and UPI. He broadcasted baseball games for the University of Miami, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. New York Mets Mania is a forum for Alan to write about his favorite team and for baseball fans to chime in and provide their thoughts and ideas about New York's Amazin' Mets.