Fun Mets Games? In This Economy?
Notes, quotes, and thoughts from the Metsies sweep over the Fish
Image credit: Chris Simon
Who says you can’t have fun once eliminated? The Mets played their 14th doubleheader of the season on Tuesday, taking two from the Marlins and mostly enjoying a nice day at the office.
Marcus Stroman made his league-leading 33rd start of the season, going five strong in Game 1 with two runs on his ledger, increasing his earned run average to 3.02 on the year, good for ninth in MLB among starting pitchers.
Following the game, Stroman spoke about his progress and performance after not pitching at all in 2020 (COVID opt-out).
“It’s extremely gratifying,” he said. “It’s just a testament to the work I put in during the offseason. I think it’s a testament to my trainer, my family, everyone around me, the staff here with the Mets, it’s a collective effort.”
A few more StroStats with MLB ranks following his 10th win of the season: 6.3% barrel rate is ninth, 0.85 home runs per nine innings are eighth, 6.0% walk rate is 18th, 1.15 WHIP is 20th, and 34.6% O-Swing rate (swings outside the strike zone) is tied for 11th.
Solid year.
The Mets welcomed Noah Syndergaard back to the bump in Game 2, getting a perfect inning with two strikeouts out of the 29-year-old, making his first MLB appearance in nearly two years.
“You know, I was walking out of the dugout, hearing the fans, I almost shed a little tear,” Syndergaard said after the game. “I’m not really an emotional guy but it definitely got to me.”
“I felt great,” he added. “[I tried to] knock the rust off, get my feet underneath me, and have a clean inning. Felt amazing to get back out there, feel the rush of the Mets faithful, and to step on that mound again.”
UCL surgery ahead of the 2020 season, including setbacks, slowed Noah to the point that only now, with just a week left in the season, are the Mets and any other potential suitors for Syndergaard’s services this winter getting a look at where he stands heading into free agency.
“It was definitely a crazy journey [back to the mound]. Murphy’s Law. Anything that could happen did happen,” Syndergaard said. “It just seemed like things were up against me and I wasn’t gonna make it back this year. So I just feel like to get back out there and compete, even though it was only one inning, felt so amazing.”
Without the approved use of his breaking pitches (doctor’s orders!), Syndergaard relied solely on his fastballs (four-seam and sinker) and his changeup, which looked sharp as heck if we’re being honest.
Despite leaning on his slider considerably in the past, it appears Thor’s adapting quite well to his new, albeit possibly temporary restrictions.
“It’s kind of unfortunate that I wasn’t able to use my breaking balls at the end of this year,” he said. “But I’ve just got to trust the surgeons and their expertise. Next year, I’ll be full-go on all four, five pitches. I kind of like it. [It’s allowed] me to fine-tune those other pitches.”
With his contractual tenure in New York coming to a close at the season’s end, Syndergaard has been open regarding his wishes to remain with the Mets.
A qualifying offer from the Mets — expected to be in the $20 million range — is still presumably a possibility. Per Syndergaard, he’s in the same boat as most of the fan base hoping he receives MLB’s funky version of the franchise tag.
“I’m fairly confident that we can reach an agreement and I’ll be pitching here next year,” he said. “I’d love nothing more than that. New York has a special place in my heart and always will be.”
Syndergaard did note that there had been no formal discussions with the Mets as of yet, so this was admittedly based on his own speculation, but he did speak briefly on the possibility of a qualifying offer being extended.
“It would be something I’d be extremely grateful for,” he said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. It’s definitely something I’m hoping for.”
Since coming over from Toronto in the 2013 trade that sent reigning NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey north of the border, the hulking right-hander has enjoyed a number of peaks.
Extending a 60-foot six-inch invitation to Alcides Escobar in the 2015 World Series remains one of our personal favorites.
There have also been downtimes, whether it was injuries or inconsistency (or even hand-foot-and-mouth disease!), but there’s no denying the advantage Syndgaard affords his team when he’s right.
A 2.93 earned run average over his first 87 starts (including his seven-outing 2017 campaign; torn lateral muscle) justly kept the right-hander in the elite conversation throughout the early portion of his career. And justly so.
An eyesore-ish 2019 season (32 starts, 4.28 ERA, 1.09 home runs per nine innings compared to 0.49 HR/9 through the above-referenced timeframe) naturally sparked questions amongst the fans, writers, etc, about Thor’s longevity as a fireballer. But despite the on-surface downturn, there was still a lot to be excited about in Noah’s regard.
From 2018 through this season (yes, he still qualifies), Syndergaard’s 25.9% hard-hit rate (FanGraphs) is the lowest in the majors. Zack Wheeler’s 26.0% rate over that span trails by the thinnest of margins, but that’s still something.
As we saw on Tuesday, when paired with his dual-heater attack, Noah’s changeup is quite effective. Once the reins are removed on his breaking stuff (still clamoring for the “hook from hell” that Terry Collins referenced in PSL oh-so-many years ago), the sky could still be the limit.
Command will always trump velocity. Syndergaard’s 2.08 walks per nine through his career should be all the evidence needed to conclude that’s not an issue. Keeping Thor in Queens remains a high-reward possibility, in our opinion. Let the hammer fly.
Image credit: Roberto Carlo
Javier Báez continued his torrid stretch with a 3-for-5 day at the plate over both games on Tuesday. Since returning from the injured list on August 22 (134 PA), Báez is now slashing .353/.425/.597 with seven home runs, eight doubles, and 179 wRC+.
With his base on balls in Game 2, Báez has now drawn 13 walks in 173 plate appearances with the Mets (7.5% BB). Over 361 plate appearances with the Cubs before the trade, Báez walked 15 times (4.2%). Progress.
“I’m just really focused on my timing and seeing the ball better,” Báez said after the game. “I just feel really good today and these last few weeks. Just seeing the ball good.”
As for his future in Flushing, the Puerto Rico product knows this could be the end of his time here, but he appears to have quite a bit of faith in this team’s future.
“This group is special, you know,” he said. “I know they want to win. I don’t know if I’m going to be here or not, but they’re going to win soon. I can feel it. They really want it and they’ll work for it.”
Onward and upward, friends.
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