☀️ GOOD MORNING:
It was a week ago this morning when I wrote this:
The Mets can afford to play .500 baseball while everyone recovers, they can’t afford to lose every game they suit up. This is why it’s so important for the offense to wake up, and wake up soon. If they can win some games 7–6 in the coming weeks, the front office can hold their breath, cross their fingers and pray to the baseball gods the rotation will quickly get healthier and/or attractive options will become realistic on the trade market.
The Amazins have played better than .500 baseball since I typed that paragraph, winning four of six by the scores of 7–3, 3–2, 6–5, and 12–6. The offense has awoken, and the rotation is starting to get healthy.
If they can hold their breath for one more week, both Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea should be back, with Jesse Winker returning even sooner. The three-week crisis that felt like a blast back to the early-90s Mets clubs, survived.
If you were lucky enough to be at Citi Field this weekend, or watched with the volume turned up on your TVs, it was impossible not to catch the good vibes that have suddenly returned to this team.
Since Dave Mlicki toed the rubber and the Subway Series became a regular season occurrence, it has always been somewhat of a distraction from whatever else is happening at the time. For a few days in June or July, standings don’t matter. The cross-borough rivalry stole the spotlight, and Mets fans could pretend, just briefly, that it all meant something more. Of course, Yankees fans were always quick to remind them which team had the brighter future ahead, no matter who won the series.
This morning feels different. The Yankees needed every out to avoid a sweep on a day they sent their ace to the mound against a cast of DFA candidates. The Mets have seemingly found themselves while the Bombers are still looking for answers.
“They’ve been one of the toughest teams we’ve faced all year,” Aaron Judge said of the Mets. “Hopefully looking forward to seeing them down the road.”
☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!
🍎 GRAND NIMMO
When you have Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso, it’s easy to forget about Brandon Nimmo. I know people reading this newsletter never forget about him, and often debate his value on the roster, especially given his contract, but to the general baseball fan who might not follow the Mets closely, Nimmo is a bit of an enigma.
Oh yeah, that guy who walks a lot and sprints to first base when he does?
Yeah, and that guy who can now break open games with one swing.
Grand Slam: On Saturday, Nimmo became the first Met since Carlos Beltrán in 2006 to hit three grand slams in the same season, and became the only Met to hit two of them in four days.
🔹 NEW APPROACH: The recent power surge the reward of an evolving approach at the plate that has led to more power at the expense of his patented walk rate. Nimmo is balancing a career-low .314 on-base percentage with a career-best .474 slugging percentage.
The challenge for Nimmo is when hard-hit balls don’t clear the fence or find open grass, as was the case earlier in the season. That’s when the offsets of his new approach stick out like a sore thumb. His at-bats can feel less competitive as he is seeing less pitches per plate appearance and failing to turn over the lineup as frequently as he once did.
But when things are going well? You get what we’ve seen over the past 37 games heading into Sunday in which he has slashed .313/.365/.569 with 10 home runs, seven doubles, 25 RBIs and 22 runs scored.
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