Decisions, Decisions: Starting Pitchers

The failure during the Wilpon era to institute long-term strategies has forced Billy Eppler and the Mets to face a coming offseason of countless decisions.

The Mets had a tough 2-game series in Houston this week. It was particularly galling for older Mets fans like myself, whose disdain for that club long predates their blatant cheating scandal. And, of course, the Atlanta Braves continue to close the gap between the two clubs. It was down to 4 games after the Braves' win over San Francisco Thursday.

Winning Choices

The 2022 Mets make far fewer mistakes than previous Mets clubs, and it's adding up to many more wins.

As I watch the 2022 edition of the New York Mets, I am constantly reminded of how different this team is from the teams that preceded them. It started with owner Steve Cohen endowing new Mets GM Billy Eppler with an amount of cash that earlier Mets GMs could only dream about. But the direction Eppler chose to take while spending Cohen's money was interesting. I'm not sure that any of the three players that Eppler signed to open the Mets' spending — Starling Marte, Mark Canha, or Eduardo Escobar — were the types of players the Mets would have pursued previously.

This Kid May Have Something

Although he didn't receive much fanfare before this season, Mets prospect Junior Tilien is making himself someone to watch going forward.

I don't normally write about prospects at this site. It's not that I don't care. I actually spend as much time as I can following the exploits of New York Mets prospects. I'm checking daily to keep up with the latest exploits of Mets farmhands like Francisco Álvarez, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio. I look forward to the day when top pitching prospect Matt Allan returns after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2021.

Believing in the 2022 Mets

Things have really gone the way of the Braves and Phillies lately, but I still love the Mets' chances to come out on top.

It's been a tough stretch for the New York Mets. Although they had a respectable road trip out west against the Dodgers, Padres, and Angels, breaking even for the ten-game swing, it came at a time when the Braves and Phillies were winning almost every game they played. Since dropping the first two games of a road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Braves have run off 12 straight wins against second-rate opponents. Meanwhile, the Phillies have won 9 of 10. Their opponents have been stronger than Atlanta's, but they were fortunate to catch the Brewers and Angels amid long losing streaks.

Growing Your Own

One key to their success going forward will be the Mets' ability to develop arms for their bullpen.

There's a really good piece in The Athletic (subscription required) about New York Mets relief pitchers Colin Holderman and Stephen Nogosek using the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown to reinvent themselves as pitchers. It's paying off for the Mets this year, as both young men have contributed to the Mets bullpen this season.

Living in the Land of Plenty

Being a Mets fan no longer means sadly watching the fans of other teams get nice stuff that you can't have.

I was browsing through some of my early posts when I revived this blog in March 2020. I came across this post, written at a time when Steve Cohen had apparently backed off from buying the Mets. It was disappointing — not because I was convinced back then that Steve Cohen would be an ideal owner, but rather it meant that Fred and Jeff Wilpon would linger on the scene for a while longer. As I noted in that post, the Wilpons were "like guests that you were never all that excited about in the first place who have seriously outlived their welcome."

Still Work to Be Done with the Mets

While much has been accomplished this season to improve the Mets' roster, there still remains work to do.

Over their first 52 games, the New York Mets gave us many reasons to believe that they've come a long way towards the goal of being a legitimate contender. Then they traveled west to Los Angeles. While apparently dealing with the pervasive smell of "rat urine" in the visitor facilities, they've also spent a couple of games learning that they still have some distance to go if they hope to compete with the best teams this fall.

Better Than Magic

It's not a "magical season." This year's Mets team doesn't need magic to win.

Decades of incompetence and mismanagement of the Mets franchise under the previous owners have conditioned New York Mets fans to a generally pessimistic view of their team's chances. The formula was pretty basic. In the rare years that the Mets seemed like they had a chance to contend, they could do so only by overcoming the obstacles put in place by an organization that simply wasn't built on competence and a can-do attitude. Even when the Wilpons were willing to spend some money in the pre-Madoff days, that money wasn't always utilized in ways needed to build a club primed for sustained success. Particularly since the turn of this century, good Mets seasons were rarely followed by others. Making the playoffs twice in succession only happened in 1999 and 2000 and 2015 and 2016 — with that second one being a one-and-done wildcard game in 2016.

The Mets Can't Just Cross Their Fingers Waiting for McCann to Return

James McCann's wrist injury means the Mets just took a hit at their most vulnerable position.

The Mets have just suffered a serious injury setback with the news that catcher James McCann suffered a fractured hamate bone in his left wrist and will miss around 6 weeks. The lack of depth at catcher has been a concern since the spring, and 6 weeks is a large chunk of the baseball season. McCann wasn't producing much offensively but seemed to be coming around a bit before this injury.

The 0.2 Percent Solution

The Mets' win against the Phillies Thursday night was one for the ages. It reminded me of a win from almost 50 years earlier.

The New York Mets coming back from a 6-run deficit heading into the ninth was a truly historic victory. They matched a feat the club has only accomplished three times since it came into existence. The last time it happened was in 1997. Those Mets only managed to tie the game. It would take another couple of innings before they won the damn thing. They were the home team that night, so a Bernard Gilkey 3-run homer in the 11th was a walk-off game-winner.