The Metropolitan: Best imaginary friend since Snuffleupagus
Will “Donnie Stevenson” turn the Mets’ season around?
Good Morning,
The New York Mets (the same team you’ve been suffering through with runners on base over the past two seasons) got a bunch of clutch hits and beat the Phillies two out of three this weekend.
It didn’t come without drama (which we will talk about in a bit), and it might not have come without the sudden emergence of Pete Alonso’s new buddy, “Donnie Stevenson,” but the Mets are finally scoring enough runs to win baseball games.
With that, let’s recap last night’s wild and crazy affair.
⚾️ IN SHORT: The Mets put up their first crooked number of the season. Edwin Díaz was then asked to pitch on consecutive days despite a four-run 9th inning lead. He surrendered a game-tying home run that was reviewed and overturned into a double. And the Mets held on to beat the Phillies 8-7 on Sunday night. [Box Score]
🔑 KEY MOMENT: Nursing a 8-5 lead, Edwin Díaz served up what looked like a game-tying three-run home run to Rhys Hoskins, but after replay review, it was ruled a double, holding the lead at 8-7, which Jeurys Familia was able to salvage by striking out Bryce Harper (after Díaz exited the game due to tightness in his back).
🍎 EARLY GAME-CHANGER: Before the offense catapulted the Mets to victory, David Peterson was struggling a bit in the 1st inning, until a miraculous double play executed by Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor got him out of the frame with only one run allowed. He quickly settled down after that for a solid start.
4 TAKEAWAYS
❶ GOING TO DIAZ: Edwin Díaz had been lights out this season. Entering last night, he had gone eight straight appearances without allowing an earned run, and he looked dominant in striking out two Phillies on way to a 1-2-3 save on Saturday. But manager Luis Rojas’s decision to bring him into a four-run game (after pitching the night before) left some fans scratching their heads and yelling on Twitter.
MORE CONTEXT: The Mets had a four-run lead and they don’t have an off day this week, so pitching Díaz again meant he would likely be unavailable to start the series against the Cardinals, including tonight’s game which may be a bullpen game.
SO WHY? Of course, the way baseball works, after Díaz nearly blew the game and was forced to leave with back tightness, it all looks like a terrible decision by the Mets’ manager. But it is important to keep in mind the options that were available. Rojas had already pitched Castro (6th), Barnes (7th), and May (8th). Aaron Loup had pitched the previous two days, so he was unavailable. That left Jeurys Familia, Robert Gsellman, Daniel Zamora, or Sean Reid-Foley to pitch the 9th. That’s not exactly a confidence-inspiring group to secure the final three outs in a big game in a hitters park.
BUT STILL: With a four-run lead, why not try one of those guys to save Díaz? Another counter is that today is a bullpen game, so whether it’s Lucchesi starting or someone else, they are going to need length from their middle relievers, so it was wise to save them. (Of course, they could have also used Diaz’s help to get through nine tonight.) At the same time, it’s also possible Díaz is never needed until later in the week, so why not use him when you can and secure the win (based on how he had been pitching)? What this all points to is: it was a complicated call.
❷ CLUTCH: Heading into Saturday’s game, the Mets had turned a league-worst 9% of their baserunners into runs scored. They were averaging 11.4 at-bats between RBIs (also league-worst), and then Donnie Stevenson (more on him below) came to the rescue. Over the past two games, the Mets are 9-21 (.429) with runners in scoring position. Maybe the awful numbers to start the season are starting to correct a bit.
❸ STARTER: Peterson had a brutal opening inning in his last start in Philly, and his command was off again last night to start the game. He served up a home run to Andrew McCutchen on a pitch he wanted low but sailed it over the middle of the plate. But… after escaping the inning thanks to the great double-play highlighted above, he found his four-seam fastball to be an effective weapon against a Phillies team he was facing for the third time in the past month. He got eight swinging strikes on his fastball, and five more with his slider, using that 1-2 combination with his sinker and change-up as secondary pitches to pitch 5 innings of 1-run ball with eight strikeouts and two walks.
❹ DEPTH: The Mets reaped the benefits of having a deeper bench last night. Jonathan Villar’s speed and heads-up aggressiveness on the basepaths helped steal a run and spark the rally in the 8th, when he scored from first on a single. He also added two hits at the plate. And Kevin Pillar (stuck in a month-long slump) connected for his first homer of the season and ended the night with three hits.
CRAZY? Villar says that when he returned to the dugout after his aggressive play, “They’ve never seen something like that. One of the guys, he told me, ‘Are you crazy?’ I said, ‘I don’t care.’ I’m not scared to play baseball.”
🧑🏫 SOUND SMART: Jose Peraza’s clutch single that scored Villar was his only at-bat as a Met, so he now has a 1.000 average, 1.000 OBP and 2.000 OPS. (His career numbers are a bit lower.)
⏭ NEXT UP: The Mets have a full week ahead of them as they flew to St. Louis after last night’s game for a four-game set with the Cardinals. They return home on Friday to face the Diamondbacks. New York hasn’t announced a starter yet for tonight’s game, which is likely to be filled by the bullpen. The Cardinals will send old nemesis Adam Wainwright (0-3, 4.08 ERA) to the hill.
🦸 DONNIE BASEBALL: What woke up the Mets’ bats on Saturday and last night? Was it the fireworks from Friday? Or was it a “special hire” named Donnie, whose origin seems to be Pete Alonso’s brain?
HELP HAS ARRIVED: “We just made a nice new hire, Donnie. He's nice,” Pete told reporters with a straight face after the game on Saturday. “He's a great hitting/approach coach. Donnie's been great helping the team. I think Luis forgot to mention Donnie. Donnie really helped us today.”
OWNER APPROVED:
POET: When asked about this mysterious hire, J.D. Davis told reporters, “You don't know Donnie yet? Donnie's the man. Donnie's all about elevatin’, celebratin’.”
HAVING FUN: While nothing has officially refuted the existence of this “Donnie Stevenson” character, it’s quite clear the Mets are having some fun, which is good to see on a team that was collectively struggling until Mr. Stevenson rode into town.
PERFECT: Since Donnie was “hired,” the Mets get big hits and are 2-0.
From the weekend…
🧯 GETTING HEATED: As you probably saw plenty of times over the weekend, there were some fireworks between the teams, reaching a climax in Friday night’s game. Phillies reliever José Alvarado was suspended three games by Major League Baseball for acting like an idiot (AKA running his mouth toward Dom Smith after striking him out, causing both benches to clear).
FINES: Both Dom Smith and Miguel Castro were fined for their parts in leading the benches to clear. Castro responded to the Alvarado/Smith incident by throwing two pitches way inside on Rhys Hoskins and then followed him to first base after walking him.
🍀 LUCK ON THEIR SIDE: The Mets benefited from some luck in Saturday’s game when second base umpire Jose Navas called baserunner Andrew McCutchen out at 2nd on a force play even though Francisco Lindor didn’t come close to tagging him, ruling that McCutchen was out of the baseline. Phillies manager Joe Girardi called it a “terrible call,” and he’s not wrong. It was another example of poor umpiring to start this season.
🏥 INJURY WARD: After battling through a hip injury, Brandon Nimmo jammed his left index finger on Friday, but the Mets didn’t place him on the Injured List. He showed up last night as a late-inning replacement. Meanwhile, J.D. Davis was forced out of Saturday’s game with a hand sprain, but is also expected back in the lineup sooner rather than later. There is no word yet on the seriousness of Edwin Díaz’s back injury that caused him to leave last night’s game.
📚 ON THIS DATE IN 1966: Tom Seaver selects the Mets in a lottery drawing and signs with the team for a reported $50,000 bonus. Seaver's father had threatened a lawsuit, necessitating the special draft, after his son's contract with Atlanta was voided by Commissioner William Eckert.
One-month report card: Conforto, Diaz, Lindor
🧓 by Jeffrey Bellone
We made it through the first month of the season. And I say “we made it” because it felt like a struggle. Not only did Opening Day get delayed for several days, there were rainouts and a choppy schedule that made it hard to settle into the usual routine that comes from start of the baseball season.
With hot takes running wild on Twitter, WFAN, and probably within your own group text messages, it feels like a good time to look at some of the players under the most scrutiny and see how much a small sample size of results has impacted the narrative surrounding them.
🔥 Michael Conforto
I guess Michael Conforto isn’t going to hit below the Mendoza line all season. After a dreadful start to the season that had some Mets fans feeling relieved the team didn’t reach an early extension with the right fielder, things are starting to click.
And no, he’s not just getting empty hits to prop up his numbers, Conforto is starting to carry the Mets offense. His home run in the top of the 9th on Friday proved the difference maker in a game they desperately needed to win. And after going three weeks through the end of April with only 1 RBI, he collected four this past weekend in Philadelphia.
Over his last 7 games, Conforto is hitting .346 with a .692 slugging percentage. If you prefer a wider window of games, he is slashing .314/.407/.529 over his past 15 contests.
How is Conforto finally getting it right?
“Maybe I gotta give credit to Donnie. He got my approach right,” Conforto joked after Saturday’s game.
🥶 Edwin Díaz
Look, Edwin Díaz might never have the full trust of Mets fans, no matter how impressive his numbers looked last season and to start his 2021 campaign. And, let’s face it, last night was brutal (and very 2019).
But generally speaking, he’s been pretty good this year.
To use a Mad Dogism, can you trust Díaz in a big spot? Well, how about Saturday night? The Mets had been reeling, they desperately needed a win after blowing a 4-0 first inning lead, Michael Conforto hit a clutch home run in the top of the 9th, so if there was a game you couldn’t afford to lose, it was this one. What did Díaz do? He struck out two of the three batters he faced.
Then, last night seemed to be the same old Diaz. Brought into a four-run game in the 9th, he did the unthinkable: allowed two walks, a triple, and what appeared to be the game-tying homer. Fortunately, the replay crew was able to do what Diaz was not: save the game for the Mets.
So where does that leave us? Prior to last night’s implosion, Díaz hadn’t allowed an earned run in his previous eight appearances, striking out 12 batters and walking only one in that span.
Hidden behind the headlines about the Mets’ starting pitching and woeful hitting, their bullpen has been unbelievably good. For Mr. Díaz, the jury is still out, especially after what happened last night. And with Seth Lugo set to return later this month, we could be looking at a familiar dilemma for Mets managers in recent years: who should be the closer, Diaz or Lugo?
🥶 Francisco Lindor
This one is hard to figure out. If you read this newsletter, you know we like to be rational instead of purely reactionary. Francisco Lindor has been a great baseball player his entire life, there’s no reason to believe he won’t continue to be a great baseball player just because he hasn’t hit over the past month. But a larger trend is starting to build.
Lindor had an off year last season, and everyone chalked it up to the strangeness of 2020. And so far as a Met, he’s not just in a slump, he’s totally lost at the plate. It’s quite possible that he will have another season in which his offensive numbers improve on April (because how could they not?), but don’t reach the level he has shown capable of earlier in his career.
Combining 2020 and 2021, Lindor is slashing a putrid .236/.322/.365 over his last 82 games, which is still only half of a real season, split over a pandemic-crazed schedule. But if you go a little farther back, he closed his 2019 campaign batting .218/.269/.436 over his final 26 games. He really hasn’t looked his best at the plate since July 2019, which feels like an eternity ago when you consider everything that has happened in this world since then.
Is there a book on how to pitch Lindor, that’s circulating around baseball? Probably. Now it’s up to the $341 million man to make the needed adjustments to render it moot.
⚾️ Oakland starter Jesus Luzardo suffered a broken pinkie while playing a video game (yes, you read that correctly). He pitched on Sunday with the injury, but an X-Ray after the game revealed the hairline fracture. He was placed on the 10-Day Injured List.
⚾️ Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani was drilled in the right elbow by a pitch last night against the Mariners. He was reportedly sore afterwards… then proceeded to steal second and third base.
⚾️ Nationals ace Max Scherzer was dominant on the mound yesterday, delivering nine K’s and allowing one run in a complete-game win over the Marlins. Then he rushed out of Nationals Park to be with wife for the birth of their third child.
🔗 What to make of Francisco Lindor's down first month with the Mets, by David Schoenfield, ESPN Insider: “Lindor wouldn’t be the first player to come to New York and get off to a cold start. When Carlos Beltran signed with the Mets in 2005, he had a .744 OPS his first season and then a .897 OPS the rest of his Mets career. Johan Santana had a 3.41 ERA and 12 home runs allowed in his first two months with the Mets in 2008.”
🔗 Decade later, ex-Mets recall night Osama bin Laden was killed, by Peter Botte, NY Post: “It’s definitely one I still get chills over when I think about it,” former Mets captain David Wright told The Post in a phone interview Sunday. “If you ask me what happened with the game that night, I wouldn’t even know, I’d have to take your word for it. The things that stick out that night obviously have nothing to do with baseball.”
And… watch Pete Alonso share some new updates on his mentor, confidant and kindred spirit Donnie Stevenson:
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I think this is what the minority among some fans who thought the Lindor trade & then massive extension were not the best idea. I think people loved the hype more than the player. It was pretty easy for you analyze the end of 2019 + 2020 and I'm sure the FO did the same.
The Mets could have waited until the offseason to negotiate but Twitter outrage & the blogs & media seemed to drive the decision more than thoughtful analysis. The sample size is certainly getting large with 98PA this season and him hitting about as well as most pitchers. We already had a very solid defensive shortstop but with better baserunning skills in Gimenez. He is not playing well either but has been more productive in 2/3 of the PA.
I genuinely hope this turns into a Beltran situation where he simply needs time to adjust to NY and we laugh about his early struggles. Really there is no where to go but up at this point. I think with his contract extension the fanbase also expects Trout/Soto/Acuna/Betts/Tatis like production and while he almost certainly is much better than the last half season of plate appearances I don't think the is that caliber of player. I hope to be proven wrong because him being a 2-3 WAR player this year vs the 5-7 WAR people expected will likely mean the difference in the playoffs or not.