☀️ Good Morning:
If you’re a loyal reader, you knew this day was coming.
We spent plenty of time talking about it during the offseason.
When you take a pitching staff that relies on ground balls to get outs and put a suspect infield defense behind them, you are eventually going to have problems.
Sure enough, the Mets have some problems.
Sloppy defense turned a winnable series into a losing one. Pete Alonso essentially giving the rubber game away with a throw that would make Zach Wilson blush.
A weekend that was supposed to galvanize the Mets’ free-agent prize only found disappointment, fittingly ending with a series-clinching home run landing just over his head.
Yankee fans were creative, turning their backs to their mercenary star when he took his position in right field, serenading him with a medley of jeers. Instead of igniting a fire in the Mets’ $765+ million man, sparking a signature moment with his new team, Soto played along as the villain unable to overcome Gotham’s new heroes.
📉 Less than one month ago, the Mets had swept the Phillies during a seven-game winning streak to build a five-game lead in the NL East. They have played .500 baseball since then (11–11) to see their first-place lead shrink to 1/2 game.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia has won 15 of 20, completing a sweep of the Pirates over the weekend with Mick Abel outdueling Paul Skenes in his MLB debut, a 1–0 win.
The Amazins take a step forward by leaving New York for only three days of a 25-day stretch that has them quickly returning home for a nine-game homestand against the very best (Dodgers) and very worst (White Sox and Rockies) their schedule has to offer.
It’s never fun losing to the Yankees, and my New England-based readers will tense up over these next few days, but the big picture remains in place.
The Mets are tied with the Dodgers for the best record in the National League, despite both teams playing mediocre of late. Nobody expected the Mets to run away with the division. Buckle up for a competitive summer.
☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!
🤺 In-defense-ible
If we rewind the tape to the beginning of last year, we are reminded the Mets initially decided to roster Brett Baty over Mark Vientos mainly because of defense.
After Baty struggled to hit major-league pitching and Vientos turned into one of the most dangerous right-handed hitters in the National League last season, the equation flipped. As long as Vientos could hold his own at the hot corner, he deserved the spot.
Now, with Jesse Winker on the IL, we are seeing the benefits of both players on the roster at the same time, and it’s becoming clear as day that Baty deserves to be anchored at third.
This point was accentuated over the weekend with Vientos hurting his starting pitcher with poor defense on both Friday and Sunday, while Baty put on a show in the Mets’ lone win of the series.
The plays Vientos couldn’t make:
Were precisely the plays Baty did make, both barehanded:
And with the glove:
Manager Carlos Mendoza believes Baty’s time at second has actually translated into improved footwork at third. Whatever the reasons, the Mets are a better team with the left-hander manning the hot corner and Vientos swinging his bat from the DH spot.
The Mets faced two left-handed starters this weekend, pushing Baty to the bench in favor of Vientos at third and Starling Marte at DH. The way Marte is hitting, there’s no reason to make that trade-off. Mendoza would be better off shoring up his defense with Baty, regardless of who is on the mound.
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