The streak continues at five. That’ right, Mets fans, I have watched every single Mets game this season. (Alright, it’s not that big of an accomplishment.) I’m not sure I should have taken the time out of my Monday afternoon to watch the Mets get mangled, 10-0, by The Brew Crew in Milwaukee’s home opener but here I am to tell about it.
I spent Monday morning catching up with Sunday’s action between the Mets and Marlins, which was highlighted by the Mets debut of starting pitcher Kodai Senga and New York taking 3-out-of 4 versus a Miami team that is criminally inept in the field. The Marlins have Jazz Chisholm Jr., Joey Wendel and free agent addition Jean Segura playing out of position and then watching left fielder Jesus Sanchez catch a fly ball is a trip to WTF?ville.
Body Time Clock Violation
I lose a period of time every week. It starts on Saturday night and continues into Monday – and is the result of working Saturday night and then returning to the scene of the crime at 11:00 am. I’m the mop-up reliever on Saturday night at a bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts — The New Republik — where we wrap up the mopping and cleaning around 3:30 am. I then transform myself through a mixture of caffeine and moxie into the Sunday morning starting pitcher for The New Republik – first drink can be poured at 11:00 am.
After working between 16 and 17 hours in 23 hours, I am pretty much a useless piece of ectoplasm until some point on Tuesday. My brain is scrambled, my sleep is more recovery than restorative, and I am chronically dehydrated. It’s a laid back way to make a buck.
Having time to rest and once again locate what exists of my brain, let’s get up to speed with where I see the Mets after five games:
The New Republik’s All-Star East Coast -West Coast Battery
Big Bat(y) Need Apply
In the offseason, Mets owner Steve Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler spent a ton of cash on pitching. The Mets added three starting pitchers and a host of relievers. The Mets have already witnessed injuries knocking out both Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana from the starting rotation to start the season. Verlander and Quintana have been replaced by “depth” starters David Peterson and Tyler Megill. The relief corps suffered what appears most likely to be a season-ending injury to All-World closer Edwin Diaz.
Nothing about this is good. In fact, it’s a lot of no bueno for April, but all teams have to overcome injuries to pitchers throughout the course of a 162-game regular season.
We’ll see if the Mets have constructed a top tier pitching staff as the season continues, but it’s not the pitching that concerns me. It’s the offense.
The Mets are a good hitting ball club, but they are missing a vital component. This team needs an elite hitter. A hitter who is a constant threat to break games open by going yard or spitting out line drives into the gaps. If you want to argue that first baseman Pete Alonso is that guy, I’m not going to argue that strenuously against you. My issue is with Francisco Lindor hitting third in manager Buck Showalter’s batting order. This Met, who appears in the most commercials and has the 40,000 watt electric smile, is not consistent enough to hit third. In 2022, Lindor hit .270, pounded out 26 home runs and set a career-mark with 107 RBI.
The real issue is that Lindor struck out 133 times and Alonso struck out 128 times in 2022. For whatever reason, the Mets top of the lineup always seems to be missing something. In an ideal world, I would like to see Lindor hitting fifth behind Alonso.
Who would be hitting third? An elite hitter. That’s the missing piece in this Mets offense. A Freddy Freeman type of cat. An Austin Riley. Or maybe it’s not that Francisco Lindor isn’t an elite hitter — it’s that the Mets desperately need another bat to go far in the fall. The failed signing of Carlos Correa was an indication that the Mets feel the same way about their offensive needs.
All signs are pointing to minor league third baseman Brett Baty eventually being promoted from Syracuse to give the Mets lineup another legitimate bat. Saturday in Worcester versus the Red Sox Triple A affiliate Woo Sox, Baty went 4-for-5 with two dingers — a grand slam and a solo shot — and 5 RBI.
Baty is on his way. He is going to be in Flushing when the weather warms up or to replace a player placed on the IL. This could be the Mets answer to the Braves’ Austin Riley.
Sure, there are questions marks regarding the durability of an older pitching staff, but the talent is there to go far in October. The offense definitely needs some tinkering.
Bug in a Rug, Bloop or Blast!
In his Sunday MLB debut, Kodai Senga was plagued by first-inning nerves and a severe case of trying to do way too much. Facing the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 1st, Senga was saved by astute defensive positioning by the Mets analytics department and Starling Marte making a nifty running catch on a rope down the right field line off the bat of Marlins third baseman Josh Berti. Senga settled down and rode his ghost forkball (split finger) to 8 strikeouts and the win.
Starting in center field for Brendan Nimmo on Sunday, Tommy Pham showed out (3-for-4, HR, Double, 3 RBI). Pham is a gamer. Mets fans are going to love this guy.
Tim Locastro gets hit by pitches at a higher rate than Mark Canha. You didn’t think that was possible, right?
In his first start of the 2022 campaign, Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco was hit with a pitch clock violation before he even threw a pitch. He then experienced a pitch com malfunction. Cookie’s velocity had plummeted by the 4th inning. He was gone by the 5th after staking the Brewers to a 5-run lead.
Replacing Cookie on the Brew Crew bump, Tommy Hunter also gave up a 5-spot in 2 innings.
Mets utility infielder Luis Guillorme took the mound for the 8th and surrendered one hit and no runs.
Milwaukee’s rookie center fielder, Garrett Mitchell, is crazy kind of fast.
Good to see Mets fan favorite, Jesse Winker, has found a home in Milwaukee. Seattle couldn’t wait to unload him.
toughdsheridan 