Gotta Break Some Eggs to Make an Omelet
Maybe Mets just felt the need to scramble things up a bit
Oh, baby, we’ve got a lot to unpack. Let’s go.
The Mets’ two-game turnaround was stopped in its tracks on Monday night in St. Louis, losing 6-5 to the Cardinals.
Joey Lucchesi got the call as Jacob deGrom’s start was pushed back to Tuesday. His first time through the order, things were moving right along for the most part.
A leadoff triple in the first via Tommy Edman quickly resulted in a 1-0 lead for the Cards on Dylan Carlson’s sacrifice fly in the next at-bat.
Adam Wainwright’s minor meltdown in the bottom half of the frame, plunking in a run with the bases loaded and walking in another, gave the Mets a short-lived lead before Harrison Bader’s 450-foot solo shot in the second tied the game at two.
The Mets reclaimed that advantage in the third. But, again, it was fleeting. Michael Conforto walked to start the inning, Pete Alonso followed with his second double in as many at-bats, and the Mets went ahead 3-2 on Dominic Smith’s RBI groundout.
The suddenly on-fire Kevin Pillar (5-for-his-last-9 with two home runs) stretched that lead even further with a two-run shot later in the frame, but things fell apart soon thereafter.
Lucchesi, who’s shown throughout his career that his effectiveness wanes once opposing hitters get a good look at him, fell victim to a similar scenario in the third. He wouldn't escape the frame.
With two outs to his credit already and with the heart of the Cardinals’ batting order coming up, Carlson and Paul Goldschmidt singled to bring Nolan Arenado to the plate.
At this point, prudence may have called for Mets manager Luis Rojas to call upon a right-hander to face the right-handed-hitting Arenado. Unfortunately, the Mets had no one warming in the bullpen so Lucchesi had his work cut out for him.
And he almost got him, too.
A foul-tip third strike kept the at-bat alive — a very, very close play that Arenado sold terrifically to the umpire, even giving him an approving pat on the ribs afterward — and, following a well-struck foul ball, the former Rockies All-Star absolutely cranked one to tie the game at five.
One would assume that would be all for Lucchesi. Alas, the sequence only necessitated a mound visit from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, which was most likely only orchestrated to give Robert Gsellman time to warm up.
Very questionable game management, to say the least.
Paul DeJong and Tyler O’Neill delivered the knockout blows with consecutive doubles, chasing Lucchesi and putting the Cards ahead for good, 6-5.
The Mets had their chances to turn things around, putting runners on the basepaths in five of the final six innings (went down in order in the eighth). Unfortunately, that big hit never came.
Naturally, that brings us to Francisco Lindor.
The 27-year-old dynamo has struggled so far this season. Mightily. Amidst an 0-for-21 streak that began in the eighth inning of last Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Red Sox, Lindor’s batting line is down to a dreadful .163/.284/.209 on the year.
Yes, the optics of signing a franchise-record $341 million deal just before the season commenced then falling into arguably the most unproductive stretch of his seven-year MLB career are not good. Can’t argue there.
Though, for a player who’s been worth 29 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) over his career with a .282/.344/.480 slash, the level of concern that Steve Cohen and the Mets were bamboozled by Lindor should be very low.
Lindor is clearly pressing at the plate. And, as evidenced by the aforementioned dozen-plus ducks he’s left on the pond over the last week, it’s hitting the Mets where it hurts.
The pressure that comes along with signing a mega-deal in New York isn’t new. It takes time to adjust. Not only to the expectations but to this new, extremely passionate environment.
Many associate Carlos Beltran’s first season in Queens with the chorus of boos he consistently received while hitting just 16 home runs for the Mets in 2005 after slugging 38 during his contract year with Kansas City and Houston in 2004.
And you think Lindor’s 23 games have been bad. Oof.
There weren’t many decrying the struggles of Jeff McNeil, who started the season on a rotten foot, hitting .186/.294/.322 over his first 68 plate appearances. Know why? Because he’s proven beyond a doubt that he’s an elite baseball player.
In Lindor’s case — even more so considering he’s done it for three times the duration of McNeil — that same logic should be applied.
And yes, the dynamic changes once elite-level salary is involved in the equation. But it doesn’t change the fact that for six-plus seasons, Lindor’s exhibited All-World levels of talent. That doesn’t just disappear overnight.
The Mets clearly took notice of Lindor’s, as well as the team’s offensive deficiencies over the first month of the season in deciding to ax the team’s hitting coaches Chili Davis and Tom Slater on Monday night in St. Louis.
It’s only slightly puzzling that the decision to make a change was arrived at after the Mets appeared to have turned a corner offensively, but this shouldn’t come as a shock.
Changes have to be made sometimes. It's the nature of the game. We don’t know what happens behind those clubhouse doors. Nor should we.
Donnie Stevenson’s “arrival” coinciding with the team showing signs of life likely made for a bit of an awkward situation. But that might not have been the case at all.
Maybe Davis’ effectiveness had simply run its course. The offense performed well in 2019 and 2020 (fifth in MLB, by wRC+), but disconnects in the pipeline occur.
Heck, maybe the organization just felt the need to shake things up. Either scenario is perfectly acceptable. Gotta break some eggs to make an omelet, right? LFGM.
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Lindor's leadership and defense have been terrific, and I believe he'll turn it around at the plate. That said, he's definitely pressing, and McNeil didn't get the same slack because it was less time, he was still hitting the ball well, and he had that clutch HR on his birthday. Again, I think Lindor will pull out of it, but Mets fans are understandably skeptical.