Memo to Brandon Nimmo: that’s not the way you’re supposed to play baseball up here.
Nimmo didn’t collect a hit in his big-league debut, but perhaps he just was trying to fit in with the rest of his new teammates. He played right field ably and showed a veteran’s eye for the strike zone, which was plenty for Day One. And he got to watch Bartolo Colon being his usual imperturbable self, showing no ill effects from taking a line drive off the thumb. Colon proved mortal only against the rejuvenated Freddie Freeman, whose first-inning homer set a dispiriting tone.
Bartolo was stingy, but other Mets were far too generous. We’ll call Logan Verrett‘s gopher ball to the irritating Adonis Garcia an error of execution, but Antonio Bastardo pitched horribly and didn’t think much more capably, making the baffling decision to fake a throw to first for an instant balk before letting Ender Inciarte basically walk to third. Rene Rivera struck out feebly in a key spot and failed to back up first base on a play where a ball eluded James Loney and went into the Braves’ dugout. I know it was hotter than blazes and a day game after a night game, but yeesh.
So the Mets end a long weekend of baseball having essentially spun their wheels against the invariably infuriating Braves. Their recent history shows them as 4-1 against the Pirates and Royals and 2-5 against Atlanta, so go figure. In Nimmo’s first two days of big-league duty he’s watched a game while wearing gaudy blue pajamas and played another in which several of his teammates appeared to be asleep. With the Nats and Cubs on tap, here’s devoutly hoping they wake up.
The Mets have been in a funk for two months now, and during this series with the Braves, they looked like they were totally unmotivated to play with any zest or desire to win. Did anyone else notice Cespedes & De Aza stroll the bases. Cespedes ran the Mets out of a possible `big’ inning (2 runs is big these days) by trotting towards 1st base and amping up to half speed on his way to 2nd base, just to get thrown out cause he can’t or won’t slide. I know its a long season, but you gotta pick spots to take it easy, not when your team is putting up 1 or 2 runs a night! Grandy makes a lollipop throw and the Braves show hustle and put up a cheap run to win the game. There seems to be no life to this team. What is Terry Collins doing except talking about how fortunate we are are to be this close with important games to play, and ‘we have a lot of work to do’. People pay good money to see a good portion of this team seemingly go through the motions of playing baseball. Been a Met’s fan since the mid-1960’s so I’ve seen more bad than good. I am only looking for a team that plays like it wants to win.
I’ve only gone back to 1990 at baseball reference.com but the Mets current batting averages with RISP, .207, and 2 outs RISP, .160, would be the lowest for a full season in both categories during the past 27 seasons and by decent margins. They are approximately 50 and 70 points respectively below the current league averages. I’m sure one could go back further in time before one finds a team worse in either category. We are looking at a historically inept situational hitting team here.
Early in the game, I thought Colon was on tap for one of his periodic poor starts, but he pulled it together. He’s 43 – frustrating to waste a strong Colon start.
Amend: He’s 43 with a 2.86 ERA – frustrating to waste a strong Colon start.
Antonio Bastardo is slowly becoming this year’s Alex Torres, Rich Rodriguez, Gene Walter, Tom Gorman or Mac Scarce….take your pick.
I nominate Wayne Twitchell for that list.
It was a Spring Training Game from Pt.St. Lucie in March and I noted that Bastardo was now on Mets. Oh-oh–why was I getting a feeling like when Mets got Luis Castillo & gave him Mookie’s number 1! (never to be mentioned again).
Mets were leading evil ones from Bronx when Bastardo came in in 9th inning and gave up 2 HRs to skankees. This ruined a perfect day (watching on MLB from LA)and I recall thinking–this ex-filthy is going to stink up our season…
Shit–sure wish I was wrong…
ARGH!
Met fan since Polo Grounds–
Let’s Go Mets!
Am I the only one who thought Collins should have left Colon in to hit for himself in the 8th Inning? Not that I thought that he was going to hit his 2nd HR of the season or anything, just that whatever pinch hitter they sent up was going to be a wasted AB anyway (I was right on that) and Colon was by far the best option to pitch the bottom of the 8th (and 9th too if it came to that). I was right on that too.
To paraphrase John Belushi. De Aza, Dead! Bastardo, Dead!.
Soon I hope.
I was out of town for a wedding but glad i missed this series….they could have easily lost all four games.
I know they will step up their intensity for gnats but i dont feel great about things right now. Luckily we are in striking distance
Sometimes the best move you can do until something better presents itself is to make an example out of underperformers. Bastardo and De Aza, you’re not getting it done, you’ve had your chance, rest of the team has to get the message that this is a pennant contender and you can’t hit .160 or you can’t have an ERA of 5.60 or whatever. Dispatch both of them the way we did with Mayberry last year and (although it took too long) Chris Young the year before that. Especially being that with every injury the Mets have to reach down to Vegas and pull up a Campbell or a Kelly, we can’t afford to also have chumps like this on the roster.
Of course, De Aza standing there with his thumb up his ass (also an Animal House reference, Ken K) when he popped up that bunt doesn’t help either. But if he was hitting .250 at least you could live with it if it just happened once. A .160 hitter can’t afford any mental mistakes.
Since the Mets are carrying an extra pitcher, they need to find a medical reason to put Bastardo on the DL. Even if he’s replaced on the active roster with a Ty Kelly, who will probably return to Vegas once Reyes is activated. Other than the one game where Bastardo came in with the bases loaded and nobody out and shut down the other team, he has shown me nothing.
yes, please make them go!
two of the bigger contracts…go figure!
amazing how unbearable this team has been to watch. i sincerely hope jose can shake things up
when he arrives.
let’s go mets already!!
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/121073/juan-lagares-set-to-begin-rehab-assignment-tuesday
Lagares can make a difference, too, if his thumb passes the rehab test.
What made De Aza’s pathetic bunt / baserunning even more of a fiasco was that when he slammed the bat down, he slammed it down on his own leg.
Then he limped the next few steps before sliding head first into first.
What a yutz.