I’m so sorry that most of you who are also Knicks fans had no reprieve last night! I’m just a Mets fan, and I was winding down to go to bed, until the 9th inning comeback. Unfortunately I have to wonder how the long rain delay impacted things, Canning was pitching well and stalwart Kershaw had like an 11.00 ERA. How much damage could they have done otherwise? Alas, This team has been so frustrating, even the bottom of the order wasn’t producing. Alvarez is hurting my heart. And the top of the order is still not freaking producing. Something has got to give. They better unload with like 10 runs in the top of the 1st today
I pretty much agree with all of your conclusions. Lindor will bounce. Soto may not. He may suffer (and make us suffer) through an entire season of unmet expectations. Alonso is regressing to his mean. Nimmo is a concern because of his long contract. I’ve become unsold on Alvarez. I think Vientos can recover, but he may have to do it from the DH spot if Baty keeps going. While Baty has been a bright spot, his OPS is 686 over the past 7 days even while its is 959 over the past 14. There’s not much that Mendoza can do when almost the entire lineup is slumping like this. I hope he can find a way to get McNeil, Torrens, and Taylor more ABs. They could use Winker right now and I am hoping the Mauricio forces a move on Acuna. Despite my “defense” of him earlier, he’s regressing to his mean too, which may mean a BABIP in the average range. With his wiffle ball bat, he’s looking more like Al Weis vs. Luis Guillorme.
I all seven players will turn it around but the extent of the turnaround will be different for each player. Soto and Lindor won't be this bad this the the rest of season and should rebound to their normal hitting. Alonso and Nimmo had trending downward in the last two seasons so we shouldn't expect them to rebound fully. Vientos had a very good season last year and he is going into his prime years. With Baty emergence and Marte on the roster he is going to lose some playing time. If he can persevere that, then he should be fine. Alvarez has been a fine but average young catcher. His problem is, right now, Torrens is playing better than him and you should lose playing time because of that. Acuna is not a major league starter. His problem is that he shouldn't play much but his speed is beneficial to the major league roster. He 23 yoa would benefit with more at bats in the minor leagues because he hasn't excelled in the Mets minor league system. I think that he will eventually be sent down though.
A Mauricio call-up is not imminent. He has barely started playing back-to-back games, and he is seldom playing a full 9 innings in most of them. (The one time he did was when he DHd). Stearns said in a presser last week that Mauricio has checked all of the boxes for medical health, but his conditioning is still not fully back to playing shape, and that could take another month. He expects to keep Mauricio in AAA until there is a need. How one defines need is subjective.
In the meanwhile, the Mets announced that they are calling up Waddell and Jared Young. (Cabrera and Azocar are being DFA'd to make room for them). These moves aren't exactly a rescue boat, but maybe they serve as a flotation device until more reinforcements arrive from the minors (Mauricio) and/or IL. Speculatively, Young could get some time in the OF to spell Nimmo, thus freeing up McNeil to play 2B regularly and relegate Acuna to a bench role, at least for now.
We can only speculate as to whether or how much Nimmo's various ailments may be affecting his performance. But he did say this spring that it was a factor in his performance last year. He is reportedly day-to-day for now. Perhaps Nimmo DH's 4-5 days a week for a couple of weeks in an attempt to help him recuperate and/or get back on track.
Absolutely no one who doesn't work in the Mets' front office has any clue when or if Mauricio will get promoted.
Right now, Mauricio has 47 PA in the minors, which is essentially what an MLB starter would have in Spring Training. Soto had 46, Lindor had 66, Vientos had 55 this year. He's played at three different levels and didn't hit at all in the first two. He's had a nice start in three games at Triple-A. I'm sure the Mets want to see him hit for more than three games before calling him up.
As for innings played in the field, it's not like he's playing three innings and coming out. In his last three starts in the field, he played 25 innings, twice not coming out in the field in the 9th inning when his team had the lead and it was unlikely he was going to hit again.
You told me that A.J. Minter wasn't going to start the season with the Mets because he didn't pitch in back-to-back games. But Minter made the Opening Day roster without clearing that alleged hurdle. I would view Mauricio's promotion in the same way. If he's proven to the club's satisfaction - whatever that standard may be - that he's ready to hit MLB pitching, they'll call him up.
I don't pretend to know what the club's standard for a Mauricio promotion is. But if he plays six games in the next week and gets 24 more PA - and most importantly hits well in that span - then I don't find it unreasonable that the clubs would promote him if there was some substantial playing time available because someone was hurt or under-performing.
It's entirely possible that the front office wants him to get 200 PA in the minors before a promotion. Or it's possible they will promote him at the first available time after he had a Spring Training's worth of playing time. There's a wide range of potential outcomes here and for anyone to pretend they know what's going to happen is simply foolish.
I expressed a hope that Mauricio would get the call. Not a prediction and not a proclamation.
Not a Knicks fan but rooting for them. Unfortunately both the New York Knicks as well as the Mets disappointed me. I am getting concerned about the Mets hitting but we will find out soon whether they will be able to hit or not because they are going to be playing the White Sox soon and if they cannot hit against them it is a problem. The starting pitching for LA is a future hall of famer and one of the very best. He pitched well last night. As far as the Mets were concerned they should have been able to get hits against the relievers
Bats are cold ("Hats for bats!" says Cerrano), no doubt. Doesn't help playing against the NL's second-best team while the Phillies are hot. But 6 upcoming games against the White Sox and Rockies ought to make things look brighter.
Ebbs and flows, it happens
I’m so sorry that most of you who are also Knicks fans had no reprieve last night! I’m just a Mets fan, and I was winding down to go to bed, until the 9th inning comeback. Unfortunately I have to wonder how the long rain delay impacted things, Canning was pitching well and stalwart Kershaw had like an 11.00 ERA. How much damage could they have done otherwise? Alas, This team has been so frustrating, even the bottom of the order wasn’t producing. Alvarez is hurting my heart. And the top of the order is still not freaking producing. Something has got to give. They better unload with like 10 runs in the top of the 1st today
I pretty much agree with all of your conclusions. Lindor will bounce. Soto may not. He may suffer (and make us suffer) through an entire season of unmet expectations. Alonso is regressing to his mean. Nimmo is a concern because of his long contract. I’ve become unsold on Alvarez. I think Vientos can recover, but he may have to do it from the DH spot if Baty keeps going. While Baty has been a bright spot, his OPS is 686 over the past 7 days even while its is 959 over the past 14. There’s not much that Mendoza can do when almost the entire lineup is slumping like this. I hope he can find a way to get McNeil, Torrens, and Taylor more ABs. They could use Winker right now and I am hoping the Mauricio forces a move on Acuna. Despite my “defense” of him earlier, he’s regressing to his mean too, which may mean a BABIP in the average range. With his wiffle ball bat, he’s looking more like Al Weis vs. Luis Guillorme.
I all seven players will turn it around but the extent of the turnaround will be different for each player. Soto and Lindor won't be this bad this the the rest of season and should rebound to their normal hitting. Alonso and Nimmo had trending downward in the last two seasons so we shouldn't expect them to rebound fully. Vientos had a very good season last year and he is going into his prime years. With Baty emergence and Marte on the roster he is going to lose some playing time. If he can persevere that, then he should be fine. Alvarez has been a fine but average young catcher. His problem is, right now, Torrens is playing better than him and you should lose playing time because of that. Acuna is not a major league starter. His problem is that he shouldn't play much but his speed is beneficial to the major league roster. He 23 yoa would benefit with more at bats in the minor leagues because he hasn't excelled in the Mets minor league system. I think that he will eventually be sent down though.
A Mauricio call-up is not imminent. He has barely started playing back-to-back games, and he is seldom playing a full 9 innings in most of them. (The one time he did was when he DHd). Stearns said in a presser last week that Mauricio has checked all of the boxes for medical health, but his conditioning is still not fully back to playing shape, and that could take another month. He expects to keep Mauricio in AAA until there is a need. How one defines need is subjective.
In the meanwhile, the Mets announced that they are calling up Waddell and Jared Young. (Cabrera and Azocar are being DFA'd to make room for them). These moves aren't exactly a rescue boat, but maybe they serve as a flotation device until more reinforcements arrive from the minors (Mauricio) and/or IL. Speculatively, Young could get some time in the OF to spell Nimmo, thus freeing up McNeil to play 2B regularly and relegate Acuna to a bench role, at least for now.
We can only speculate as to whether or how much Nimmo's various ailments may be affecting his performance. But he did say this spring that it was a factor in his performance last year. He is reportedly day-to-day for now. Perhaps Nimmo DH's 4-5 days a week for a couple of weeks in an attempt to help him recuperate and/or get back on track.
Absolutely no one who doesn't work in the Mets' front office has any clue when or if Mauricio will get promoted.
Right now, Mauricio has 47 PA in the minors, which is essentially what an MLB starter would have in Spring Training. Soto had 46, Lindor had 66, Vientos had 55 this year. He's played at three different levels and didn't hit at all in the first two. He's had a nice start in three games at Triple-A. I'm sure the Mets want to see him hit for more than three games before calling him up.
As for innings played in the field, it's not like he's playing three innings and coming out. In his last three starts in the field, he played 25 innings, twice not coming out in the field in the 9th inning when his team had the lead and it was unlikely he was going to hit again.
You told me that A.J. Minter wasn't going to start the season with the Mets because he didn't pitch in back-to-back games. But Minter made the Opening Day roster without clearing that alleged hurdle. I would view Mauricio's promotion in the same way. If he's proven to the club's satisfaction - whatever that standard may be - that he's ready to hit MLB pitching, they'll call him up.
I don't pretend to know what the club's standard for a Mauricio promotion is. But if he plays six games in the next week and gets 24 more PA - and most importantly hits well in that span - then I don't find it unreasonable that the clubs would promote him if there was some substantial playing time available because someone was hurt or under-performing.
It's entirely possible that the front office wants him to get 200 PA in the minors before a promotion. Or it's possible they will promote him at the first available time after he had a Spring Training's worth of playing time. There's a wide range of potential outcomes here and for anyone to pretend they know what's going to happen is simply foolish.
I expressed a hope that Mauricio would get the call. Not a prediction and not a proclamation.
Not a Knicks fan but rooting for them. Unfortunately both the New York Knicks as well as the Mets disappointed me. I am getting concerned about the Mets hitting but we will find out soon whether they will be able to hit or not because they are going to be playing the White Sox soon and if they cannot hit against them it is a problem. The starting pitching for LA is a future hall of famer and one of the very best. He pitched well last night. As far as the Mets were concerned they should have been able to get hits against the relievers
Bats are cold ("Hats for bats!" says Cerrano), no doubt. Doesn't help playing against the NL's second-best team while the Phillies are hot. But 6 upcoming games against the White Sox and Rockies ought to make things look brighter.