Coast Guard: Mets Drop Series Finale
The Mets were mediocre in the month of May
With the month of May being just about over — and the Mets having an off day tomorrow — there’s always narratives to follow as a baseball season rolls along. There’s always a page to turn. There’s always expectations which many feel should be met. Unfairly, or not.
Memorial Day was the first gauge of a real roadmap to consider as the Mets season progresses. It’s never going to be perfect — as many plans, and players, end up being.
The Mets just wrapped up their three-game series with the Chicago White Sox — winning the first two games, while dropping the finale 9-4.
No matter how bad or good the White Sox end up finishing; (41-121 in 2024) they’re 18-38 now and were 15-41 at this time last year. Naturally, fans may gravitate towards the idea of not sweeping such a team. Maybe they’ll remember the loss more the two wins themselves. Heck, baseball still talks how the Yankees lost 12-2 to such a team last year. That’s baseball. One of a lucky 41. For the Mets, winning series matters.
One could say the Mets have been coasting. While winning? Absolutely.
That’s why it’s always important to never take your foot off the gas.
Someone who has been slowly coming back around from taking their foot off the proverbial gas was Pete Alonso. He currently has a five-game hitting streak and snapped the longest homer-less drought of his career (16 games, 65 at-bats) this past Sunday against the Dodgers.
Alonso followed it up with a home run in the second game of the White Sox series. He’s five home runs away from tying David Wright (242) and 15 away from tying Darryl Strawberry (252) for the Mets’ franchise record.
Regarding Juan Soto — he’s 0 for his last 17.
There is no doubt he should be preforming better. By the same token, if one blindly asked if a .745 OPS, 116 wRC+, and a 118 OPS+ was not worth it — you’d have to further consider the six other Mets who have a worse OPS, as well. It’s a team game.
It’s also important to note the difference between his wOBA (weighted on-base average) and his xwOBA (account exit velocity and launch angle) of 0.90. While it doesn’t sound significant, it is. It shows that Juan Soto has been very unlucky.
To hammer this idea home further, Juan Soto has a very red Baseball Savant page — a very good thing. The same applies to what Juan Soto has always done well. He doesn’t chase, with a 15.0 Chase % in the 100th percentile. He has been pulling off the ball with an increased ground-ball rate, as well.
With that being said, his Sweet-Spot % coupled with his launch angles of batted balls have had a recipe for a mediocre outlook from the public of a $765 million man.
Many knew that this season would bring various highs and lows for Juan Soto based on his price tag. Naturally. It was a general consensus around baseball, and sports, that it’s difficult to ever live up to such contract. When you have Shohei Ohtani in the same sport, who is essentially two players — it’s a very difficult bar to surpass.
Especially contractually and financially. Juan Soto’s contract was always an owner’s one. It wasn’t necessarily meant to age well. That still does not excuse his performance of late. He’s just too good of a hitter to see this many people counting him out.
It also doesn’t excuse the whole team, either. The Mets are 5th-worst in leaving RISP.
“If this is us struggling, and we’re winning games, imagine when we’re not. I don’t think the whole season is going to be like this…. that’s baseball. You’re always waiting for that hot streak, and I know that’s coming for us… we’re struggling and we’re winning games.” — Mark Vientos
The Mark Vientos and Brett Baty conversation has been extremely compelling one for the past year and change. As of now, Brett Baty should be considered the starter. Mark Vientos homering in the finale against the White Sox is a reminder of his power as a DH — while his glove continues to be a reminder of why he’s losing reps.
Mark Vientos’ bat in general hasn’t helped him either; with a simple .273 AVG and .745 OPS for Brett Baty v. .188 AVG and a .583 OPS split for Vientos between the two.
The difference defensively is stark. The Mets have gotten a pitching staff who continues to induce ground balls. With some shaky starts, the pitching continues to not be the Mets’ problem.
Back to the common theme though — the Mets have been struggling, but winning.
Team Runners Left in Scoring Position per Game
New York Yankees (4.02)
Chicago Cubs (3.96)
Toronto Blue Jays (3.96)
Philadelphia Phillies (3.89)
New York Mets (3.84)
In fairness, it does take a sense of having some semblance of a good offense in order to leave runners stranded; as evidence by the Cubs, Phillies, and both New York teams. The Mets as a unit have not been clicking consistently — for reasons unknown to all.
The Mets are winning games. They’re 12 games over a .500 record. Even though the Mets no longer lead the NL East, they’re right in the thick of it. Sure, everybody wants to win every game. The losses are the reasons the wins hold meaning.
Many thought the NL East would be one of the more competitive divisions in baseball — and they were right. It could continue to be a two-team race between the Mets and Phillies, but it’s malpractice to count out Atlanta this early.
The Mets could have had a better showing in the Subway Series and against Boston — both series in which they lost 2/3. The Mets bounce back and take 2/3 from the Dodgers in a rematch of last year’s NLCS. This, plus winning a series against a team in the White Sox, as expected.
Players such as Ronny Mauricio, Drew Gilbert, and Brandon Sproat will have their moments in Queens. All in due time.
It’s best to believe everything will take care of itself — as the Mets generally have all year.