One can argue this should be the logo for the 2018 New York Mets
The beginning of every Major League Baseball season always has some storyline that everybody’s attention for various reasons. This season is no different, capitalized by the Boston Red Sox starting out with a 17-2 record, the best start in the franchise’s long history. The following day saw Boston become the victims of the Oakland Athletics and starting pitcher Sean Manaea, who threw the first no-hitter of 2018 against them. The Red Sox have not let that hot start get the best of them and, as of this post, they lead the majors with 41 victories. The same cannot be said for the two teams in the National League, the first team being the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona started out winning their first nine series and came close to becoming the second team ever to win their first ten, the first being the 1907 Chicago Cubs. Despite a major speed bump in May, the D-Backs are back in first place in the NL West. The other team that started off hot but has had a much more miserable season has been the New York Mets.
Some could it call tough luck, some could call it poor performance, some could call it instant karma. The Mets started their season off by going 11-1, the best start in their franchise history and were the toast of New York. That, coupled with the 7-7 record of the crosstown rival Yankees, it seemed like the Mets somehow got their mojo going and everything would be smooth sailing. After all, they are in the NL East, a division consisting of the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies. Then, the injuries started piling up and, as of this post, the Mets currently have 12 players on the disabled list due to a variety of injuries. Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes, Travis d’Arnaud, Wilmer Flores, Todd Frazier, Juan Lagares, Rafael Montero, AJ Ramos, T.J. Rivera, Anthony Swarzak, Dominic Smith, Noah Syndergaard, Jason Vargas, David Wright, Kevin Plawecki, and Jacob deGrom have all been placed on the disabled list at some point during the season, so there is some wiggle room for a cause behind this horrendous followup to such a blazing start.
One of the biggest problems for the Mets has undoubtably been their bullpen. Of all the pitchers the Mets have trotted out to the mound that are strictly relievers, the only one who has done a semi-decent job has been their closer Jeurys Familia, who has posted a 2.25 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 14 converted save opportunities. Compared to other closers in the league, those numbers are pretty decent, although batters are hitting .238 against Familia, so that leaves something to be desired. One can also make the argument that former starter turned long reliever Seth Lugo has also provided the bullpen with some desperately needed consistency, with a 2.21 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and batters are hitting .203 against him, the lowest against any Met who has pitched more than a game or two. Bonus points for Robert Gsellman, who leads the team with five wins but is okay everywhere else across the board. Unfortunately, those three are pretty much it when it comes to the highlights for the bullpen.
Jason Vargas, one of the main culprits behind the Mets’ pitching woes (Source: Getty Images)
The bullpen has not been the only area of weakness for New York. The Mets’ starting rotation, specifically the back-end of it, has been absolutely dreadful when it comes to helping the team win. Zack Wheeler has not been the same pitcher since his 2014 season, missing all of 2015 and 2016 and posting ERAs over 5.00 in 2017 and thus far in 2018. Meanwhile, free agent addition Jason Vargas, who made his first All-Star appearance last season and led the American League with 18 victories, has been a disaster for New York. He missed most of April with a fractured right hand and since coming off the disabled list, he has posted a putrid 8.53 ERA, a 1.83 WHIP and, perhaps the most alarming number, opposing batters are hitting .327 against Vargas. That is $8 million well spent, no? We all know the circus regarding former Met and current Cincinnati Red Matt Harvey, but in case anybody missed it, this should be a useful refresher.
The one main argument that can be made with regards to the struggles of the pitching staff can be that the Mets have virtually no offensive support and the numbers are not kind, to say the least. When it comes to the major statistical rankings for each National League team, the Mets are ranked near the bottom of every major offensive category. They have scored the second fewest runs, have the third fewest hits, tied for the third fewest home runs, have driven in the third fewest runs, and have the fifth worst team batting average. Granted, the Mets are tied with the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals for having played the second fewest amount of games among National League teams, but both Philadelphia and St. Louis have managed to win more game than the Mets. This past weekend for New York was a testament to their lack of an offense, as the starting pitchers had a collective 1.88 ERA yet the offense batted .143 as a team. The 8.47 ERA by the bullpen did help either.
Brandon Nimmo, one of the few bright spots for the Mets thus far (Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
That is not to say that it is all doom and gloom for New York. Jacob deGrom is somehow still leading the majors with a microscopic 1.49 ERA while allowing opponents to bat .203 against him. While the offense has struggled, second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera has been one of the few bright spots, leading the Mets with 10 homers, 34 RBI, and a .292 batting average while appearing in all but one game for New York. Also, while the countless injuries have hurt the Mets, they have also successfully opened the door for outfielder Brandon Nimmo to finally show the team what he has to offer. After starting the regular season either as a pinch-hitter, occasional spot starter, and even spending a few days in the minors, he has been one of the Mets’ main sources of offense these days. It will be interesting to see how Nimmo fits into the outfield once Cespedes returns from injury and reclaims his spot in the lineup back.
Yes, there are a lot of problems going on for New York right now, and there are plenty of injuries to take some of the blame off the team. That mindset can only last for so long, and the lack of run support coupled with the wildly inconsistent bullpen should be setting off some fire alarms for the organization. After all, this is a team that Sports Illustrated predicted would be a Wild Card team with 88 wins, so they have to figure out their issues in a hurry. I understand that there is still a lot of baseball left to be played, but New York is fourth in their division, with the only team behind being the Miami Marlins. That is not really saying a whole lot at this point in this season since everybody thought Miami would be abysmal this year.
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