Boats Against the Current

Someone had better
start bailing

I'm heading into the hospital for surgery tomorrow, so you probably won't be hearing from me for a few days. But, I won't be going silent by myself. The New York Mets bats have preceded me into quietude. It seems only fair. In 4 of their last 8 games, I have driven in exactly as many runs as the Mets hitters being paid to perform that important task. What's even more irksome about the Mets' four shutout losses is that merely scoring 11 well-timed runs combined in those games could have secured four victories for the club. It's one thing to come up against a great pitcher and lose a tough one here and there. It's quite another to see your club slumber through one winnable game after another.

Time for the Bats to Show Up

No, not that bat

The New York Mets are inching closer to having their Opening Day lineup back. Jeff McNeil will be back today while Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto are doing minor league rehabs. Oh, and Albert Almora has also returned, though it's hard to imagine his bat contributing very much to the cause. It would be nice to make some sort of declaration that the days of scratching for runs against mediocre pitchers are over. Maybe that will happen eventually, but these guys coming back weren't hitting all that well before they left. I'm sure they'll have some rust to shake off, too.

Wisdom From the Captain

We have it on excellent authority that the current main concern of New York Mets fans is the health of Jacob deGrom. While we at MikesMets.com would never reveal a confidential source, let's just say that he looks an awful lot like the guy on the right. Our source also revealed that human beings need oxygen to function properly, although he didn't offer any data to back up that assertion. As far as the deGrom revelation, that was pretty much a given when Jake exited last night's game against the Cubs after the third inning. While it's fair to say that the news that the MRI on his shoulder came back clean was welcome, it's also fair to note that the unexplained nature of deGrom's physical problems this season is becoming a story in and of itself.

Gratitude

The New York Mets are 58 games into the season. If this was 2020, we would almost be at the end of the regular season. In 2021, as in so many other seasons past, there are still 104 games left to play. My purpose in noting this is not to show off my second grade math skills. It just drives home once again how very different 2020 baseball was from what a baseball season is supposed to be.

Getting a Grip

The news that MLB finally plans to take steps to police the use of super-sticky substances by some pitchers is welcome. Still, as in just about everything else MLB has done under Commissioner Rob Manfred, their plan going forward doesn't seem to be well thought out. By instituting this crackdown effort 2-1/2 months into an ongoing season, there will be unintended consequences that could have been avoided by taking these steps before the start of the season.

A Third of the Way Home

When the New York Mets began play in June, I was cautiously optimistic but nonetheless worried about their chances. June has been a harsh month for the Mets in recent years, and the club was embarking on a difficult part of the schedule with a still quite depleted roster. They've survived the first third of the month pretty well with their 5-4 road trip. That they were able to come back and win the last two against the San Diego Padres was particularly gratifying.

The New York Media's Awful Coverage of Jarred Kelenic

As you probably already know, Seattle Mariners' top prospect Jarred Kelenic failed in his first attempt to establish himself as a Major League ballplayer. An 0-39 stretch was the final nail in his coffin. He'll now try to regroup in Triple-A. Most experts still expect Kelenic to become a very good player in MLB; it's just going to take a bit longer. Not every young player will become an instant star.

Pardon the Interruption

Just a quick update for you regular readers of this site. I found out yesterday that I will need not one but two operations this year — one on my back and one on my neck. I had an operation on a disk in my back last year, so this is becoming somewhat of a regular thing, unfortunately.

Solving the Strikeout Epidemic

One of the biggest stories in Major League Baseball this season is the dominance of pitchers over hitters. Through yesterday's games, MLB hitters have combined to slash .236/.312/.395. This is the kind of offense you might expect from a slick-fielding utility man. The average runs per game for all teams is 4.37. Teams have struck out an average of 8.95 times per game. The numbers are worse for the New York Mets. Mets hitters have slashed .233/.312/.364 over 51 games, though they are striking out a teensy bit less often than the MLB average, about 8.6 times per game.

Why This June Is Different

The New York Mets opened their month of June with a bad loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. As I was wallowing a bit in the disappointment of the loss, the thought crossed my mind "this reminds me so much of awful losses from previous Junes." When you're talking, writing, or even thinking about the baseball club you root for, it's often tempting to lean on simplistic narratives like that one.

The Challenge of Surviving June

Since I last posted here, the New York Mets managed to play one of their three scheduled games against the Atlanta Braves this past weekend and the first game of the Arizona Diamondbacks series last night. Putting aside the uncharacteristic offensive explosion Saturday night, it was still going to be difficult for them to win games against Atlanta with a Triple-A offense. I guess we can hope that the Mets are in better shape to play these games later on, but the number of doubleheaders they'll be playing in June and July is going to be tough, also. This year was supposed to be the year that we at least made progress towards returning to a normal baseball season, but the injuries and postponements have got in the way of that journey. Last year's extreme abnormal pandemic season has given way to the year of endless injuries.