Good Morning,
As we’re sending this out on Memorial Day, we want to first take a moment to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.
As for the Mets, it was a rain-filled weekend — and of course, the team leaves town just as the storm clouds are set to clear. But at least the squad is starting to get healthy, with Pete Alonso, Seth Lugo, and possibly Kevin Pillar ready to re-join the team in Arizona.
Despite playing with 17 players on the IL this past week, the Mets’ first place lead has now grown to 3.5 games on the second-place Braves. The Amazins are the only NL East team above .500.
With another rainout yesterday, we’ll shift our attention toward the Mets’ upcoming west coast trip, and offer our thoughts on Seth Lugo’s role on the team.
But first, let’s recap everything that happened over a rain-filled weekend.
⛈ WASHED OUT: The Mets had two more games washed out due to rain this weekend after Steve Cohen kept his word to announce postponements at least two hours before first pitch. That adds up to 11 games that have been rescheduled due to weather or COVID-19 considerations.
🌞 BRIGHT SIDE: Considering the Mets’ injuries and overused bullpen, the days off weren’t all bad, especially for a team that had been scheduled to play 17 straight days.
😃 FEELING GOOD: As mentioned earlier, Pete Alonso (sprained hand/wrist) and Seth Lugo (elbow surgery, bone spurs) are expected to be activated off the injured list, and amazingly, Kevin Pillar (facial fractures) could return to the team as early as today as well. With both Taijuan Walker and Jacob deGrom returning to the rotation, the Mets are finally starting to look like a major league team again (not that their string of injuries slowed them down much).
🔥 HOT BATS: Sandwiched in-between Friday and Sunday’s postponements, the Mets’ offense pounded out 13 hits (including six combined from James McCann and Francisco Lindor) to wipe out the Braves, 13-2. McCann went 4-4, finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Lindor was one of five Mets to hit a home run, along with Jonathan Villar, Billy McKinney, Brandon Drury, and McCann. And Taijuan Walker looked as good as he did before he went on the IL with side tightness, pitching five shoutout innings, striking out eight and walking only one.
◐ SPLIT TIME: With Alonso returning to the lineup, the Mets can no longer hide their $40 million catcher at first base. Rojas told reporters yesterday that McCann and Tomás Nido will “split time” behind the plate.
🍎 A NEW REGULAR: Luis Rojas says new acquisition Billy McKinney is “going to be in the lineup a lot” and will play all three outfield positions.
⛑ INJURY UPDATE: Brandon Nimmo still hasn’t started to swing the bat, as he continues to get treatment on his hand. And Dellin Betances is “week-to-week” with no rehab assignment planned.
📚 ON THIS DATE IN 1964: The New York Mets introduced Mr. Met, the first team mascot in professional baseball. Inside that big 'ol baseball head and pinstripes was ticket salesman, Dan Reilly. He made his first appearance before Game 2 of the doubleheader vs. the San Francisco Giants. [via Mets Rewind]
⏭ NEXT UP: Arizona Diamondbacks
🌴 LEFT COAST: The Mets start a seven-game west coast trip on Monday, playing three in Arizona, before traveling to San Diego for a four-game set against the Padres from Thursday through Sunday. The Amazins will miss the friendly environment of Citi Field, where they are 15-5 on the season, having won nine of their past 10 games at home.
📉 OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS: New York will face two extremes during this road trip, with the Diamondbacks in a free-fall to the worst record in the National League, while the sizzling Padres are tied with Tampa for the best record in baseball.
👎 LOSING STREAK: Arizona was a surprising 15-13 on May 2, only two games out of first place. They proceeded to lose 22 of their next 26, including a jaw-dropping 13-game losing streak that finally came to an end on Sunday (as Mets fans, count us relieved that the losing streak ended before the Mets came to town).
🍎 deGROM DAY: It’s always a good day when Jacob deGrom is on the mound for the Mets. He will face off against right-hander Merrill Kelly tonight. Kelly is 2-5 with a 4.84 ERA. He throws both a fastball and sinker, along with a curveball and occasional cutter. He uses a changeup to offset lefties.
💤 RESTED: Rainouts mean rest days for the bullpen. Obviously, everyone had a day off yesterday. And the back of the bullpen hasn’t pitched in several days. Trevor May last fired a fastball in game action on May 25. See our bullpen usage chart below:
The Lugo Conundrum: 2021 Edition
🧓 by Blake Zeff
With Seth Lugo returning to the team today, it’s time to pose the question no Mets season is complete without asking: Should Lugo be a starter or reliever?
Compared to previous seasons, the question has a new context this time. The first-place Mets find themselves with Noah Syndergaard out for at least two months, and Carlos Carrasco out indefinitely (insert your favorite "Cookie Crumbles" headlines here). All of which means that David Peterson (who's never thrown more than 128 innings in a season before, and threw just 49 a year ago) and Joey Lucchesi (who's struggled, but been much better lately) are no longer just temporary stopgaps to get you through until the cavalry returns.
The cavalry may not be returning.
At the same time, the Mets' bullpen has been shockingly, delightfully.... amazin'. Edwin Diaz — yes, Edwin Diaz — has shown he can handle the closer spot, converting all 9 of his save chances this year, and recording 13 straight dating back to last year. Trevor May has been as advertised, locking down the 8th inning. Add a combination of Aaron Loup and Jeurys Familia in the earlier innings, as well as the group we here at Mets Fix call the "multivitamins" (middle/long relievers like Sean Reid-Foley and Tommy Hunter who routinely go multiple innings and post zeros), and you've got the closest to a lock-down bullpen this franchise has had in years.
In a world where Jacob deGrom's health can't be counted on for every start, and Syndergaard and Carrasco can't be counted on to make any starts, the rotation starts to get thorny. Marcus Stroman has been a beast all season, but after him it's been bullpen days, Jordan Yamamoto (now on the 60 day IL), Lucchesi, and Peterson for more days than a first-place team can sustain. Taijuan Walker has been great when healthy, but just completed a stint on the IL himself.
So what does that mean for Lugo? It's no secret he prefers to start. And, while his record as a reliever has been more consistently excellent, he's had spurts of brilliance as a starter. Also, remember, while Lugo's been an elite reliever, his partially torn UCL renders him unable to relieve on consecutive days, effectively disqualifying him as a closer or regular 8th inning option. (Obviously, as a starter, the consecutive days problem is a non-issue.)
As a starter, he was a revelation in 2016, coming out of nowhere to help save the season when injuries to the rotation made the team desperate for innings during a playoff drive (sound familiar?). Some will recall that he had mixed results last year in the role; but remember, he was asked to stretch himself mid-season and extend from a reliever to starter in real time. He dominated at first, with a 1.54 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings over his first 3 starts. But two bad starts at the end of the short season left the statistics much more mixed.
In this case, he wouldn't be asked to change his plan mid-season after throwing as a reliever. The Mets could begin stretching him out now, with an eye towards entering as a 4-5 inning option every five days.
The unfortunate reality is that this rotation could get exposed sooner than later, and the Mets don't have many other options. Plus, while you never want to temp the gods of fate, the bullpen seems like it can thrive without him.
A rotation of deGrom, Stroman, Walker, Lugo and Peterson, can get you through a pennant chase.
But take away Lugo, and the potential back end starts to look like Jerry Blevins on a cleanse: definitely likable, but a little too thin for comfort.
⚾️ When the Mets arrived in Tampa on May 14, the Rays were 20-19 and in 4th place in the AL East. Since then, the Rays have gone on a 15-1 run to take over 1st place, beating the Phillies yesterday 6-2.
⚾️ The Yankees were swept by the struggling Tigers over the weekend, losing 6-2 on Sunday. They return home to host the Rays for a 4-game set in the Bronx.
⚾️ The Giants beat Clayton Kershaw 5-4 to take 3 out of 4 from the Dodgers. Starter Kevin Gausman improved to 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA.
🔗 Can Jacob deGrom actually top Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA?, by Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield, ESPN ($): “Through seven starts, New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom has a miniscule 0.80 ERA. To simply say it's the best in MLB so far this season doesn't quite do it justice. No qualifying starting pitcher in modern history has posted an ERA under 1.00 for a full season. Yes, we've only reached Memorial Day weekend, but not only is this the Year of the Pitcher, deGrom is a legit challenger -- a two-time Cy Young winner and arguably the best pitcher in the game. If he can stay healthy -- which, to be fair, has been an issue for him in 2021 -- who says he can't break Bob Gibson's record 1.12 ERA set more than 50 years ago?”
🔗 Mets still see big roles for Brandon Drury, Billy McKinney, by Greg Joyce, NY Post: “The reinforcements are starting to arrive for the Mets, but the replacements have been doing an admirable job while they wait. With Pete Alonso and Kevin Pillar about to be activated off the IL, the Mets will look more whole when they open their series with the Diamondbacks on Monday night. But guys like Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney have helped the Mets stay in first place in the NL East with the injured list seeming to grow longer every day.”
🔗 Francisco Lindor on busting slump: 'I'm working extremely hard', by Tim Healey, Newsday: “Francisco Lindor has cracked the code — not about his poor performance, but about persistent boos from the home crowd. ‘I think they’re booing because of the results,’ Lindor said, calling getting booed a ‘lonely feeling.’ ‘I don’t think it’s that they don’t like me. I think it’s because of the results, because when I come down to the dugout and I have a baseball in my hands, they all go crazy. It’s the same person that’s booing me. I’m starting to understand this. It’s a game. At the end of the day when I go home, I have a beautiful fiancee and a beautiful daughter that gives me full energy and impacts my life so much that the things that happen on the field, they stay at the field.’”
And … now that it’s getting safer to travel, it’s important to remember the importance of being comfortable when you fly:
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