Lindor: "I'm Working as Hard as I Can"
Mets' shortstop acknowledges he's been "extremely inconsistent" at the plate
The clouds have begun to part. Well, sort of. The forecast is still overcast but it looks as if the worst of the storm has passed.
No, we’re not talking about this Memorial Day weekend washout. The New York Mets are slowly but surely becoming whole again.
Ahead of Saturday’s evening soiree with Atlanta, manager Luis Rojas informed the team’s media corps that a few of the team’s more important cogs are making their way toward a return to action.
There’s a “big chance” Pete Alonso, on the shelf since May 21 with a right-hand sprain, could return without going on a rehab assignment and has been taking swings off the pitching machine and via coaches’ pitches, per Rojas.
Also according to Rojas, Seth Lugo, sidelined since early spring training after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow, is set to be activated off the injured list on Monday.
And certified bad-ass Kevin Pillar (multiple nasal fractures) has been active and trying on protective masks in an attempt to return to work.
Piece by piece, this puzzle is coming together. Again.
As for Saturday, another integral piece made his return from sickbay. Taijuan Walker (left-side tightness) made his first start since May 17.
A damp and windy 50 degrees in the dusk of May probably weren’t the ideal conditions for Walker’s return to action.
But considering the start the right-hander got off to this season (2.05 ERA, 41 strikeouts, 18 walks in 44 innings), it’s fair to assume he’d be fine with pitching in a freezer as long as he’s back in the saddle.
Not that the Mets’ pitching has lacked at any point this season, but having an effective starter like Walker back in the fold will only reinforce that bottom line moving forward.
The offense is where the Mets’ have been hamstrung. I swear the pun wasn’t intentional until I read it back and decided to leave it.
Francisco Lindor spoke with the media on Saturday afternoon, acknowledging that the shockingly subpar start to his tenure in Flushing hasn’t been easy on anyone — himself, the team, or the fans.
Issues with his follow-through have admittedly been a hindrance, but the 27-year-old certainly seems dead-set on doing all he can to regain the stroke that earned him this dozen-year-or-so stay in Queens.
“In order to be successful in life, you gotta believe in the process,” Lindor said. “You gotta understand that with ups there come downs, and with downs there come ups. So it is what it is.'‘
“I feel like my season has been extremely inconsistent when it comes to the offensive side of the game,” he said. “But I’m working as hard as I can, doing everything I can.“
“There’s not a day I come to the field and I say, ‘I want to strike out today three times or four times,” Lindor said. “I’m working. I’m working extremely hard and I can’t wait to have results.”
Heading into Saturday night with a .185/.290/.268 line, .203 BABIP, 66 wRC+, and 0.1 wins above replacement… yeah, same bro.
We’ll be back after the game with a quick recap. Keep it locked.
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