Wednesday catch-all thread (5/14/25)
Please use this thread all week to discuss any Mets-specific topic you wish.
Last week, there was an article here that checked in on the best and worst streaks of at least 10 games for the players with the most playing time. Pete Alonso was the outlier, as his “worst” streak came with a .909 OPS. That’s because he had been hitting all year, thanks to a new approach that had him swinging at fewer pitches far outside of the strike zone. That approach led him to having more walks than strikeouts.
It appears that jinxed Alonso. While it’s not yet 10 games, he’s been going thru a really bad patch here lately. In his last seven games and 31 PA, Alonso is just 4-29. His slash line is .138/.161/.207 for a .368 OPS. Absolutely no one goes all year with their worst stretch of at least 10 games resulting in a .909 OPS, so to see these ugly results from Alonso isn’t a surprise.
But what’s disappointing is that he has1 BB and 14 Ks in his last seven games. That’s a huge spread between walks and strikeouts, as well as a 45.2 K%. And when Alonso came to the plate last night, Gary Cohen ran down all of his year-long stats, completely ignoring how he had performed recently. Alonso went 0-4 with two strikeouts Tuesday night.
It’s not that we should focus on the negative. But if we don’t have a problem with saying how Player X is turning it on after a slow start, we should also be willing to say that Player Y is scuffling after a great beginning. And right now, Alonso is scuffling.
Just because things are going bad in his last seven games doesn’t mean he’s destined to be in a lengthy slump. Alonso could go 2-2 with a homer and two walks in tonight’s game and it wouldn’t be a surprise. However, the takeaway should be that if he got off to a great start because of his plate discipline, it’s worth a mention when the strikeouts far outpace the walks in any stretch of more than 2-3 games.
Here’s hoping Alonso’s recent struggles end tonight.
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While he didn’t have enough playing time to merit an entry in last week’s piece, here are the best and worst stretches of at least 10 games for Brett Baty:
Best: 39 PA, 1.223 OPS
Worst: 27 PA, .259 OPS
While Baty is not going to hit 5 HR in 19 PA again for any stretch the remainder of the year, perhaps he won’t go thru another span where he goes 3-27 with 0 BB and 11 Ks, either.
So glad to see all the comments about Vientos' glove. The most astonishing thing was that he did not replace it. Also, in the off season I wanted Cody Bellinger or Robert Jr to play CF. Bellinger is hitting .229 with a .686 OPS and Robert Jr is hitting .179 with a .597 OPS. I am not a Jose Azocar fan but even he is hitting .294 with an OPS of .627. Glad they saved the money. Do we think that Nimmo's feet are just too sore to sometimes play CF and put McNeil in left? Seems this is a spot we can fill as we go. Not every one is going to hit every night.
There has been a lot of talk about the Mets having tradeable assets once Sean Manaea is back but I'm wondering (beyond maybe a reliever) where the immediate need would be. My first impulse was to look at centerfield, but I don't know that it's that big of an issue with Jose Siri recovering and Drew Gilbert looking good enough to be a platoon partner by year's end. With Luisangel Acuna, Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil all contributing reasonably well I'm not exactly sure who are targets are.