IGT 08/19 Mets at L.A.(N) - Building Momentum

[bmfc1]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Head up his ass

More on McNeil from Tim Britton in The Athletic today:

[bLOCKQUOTE]For McNeil individually, the pressure is about to amplify. Four hours before Thursday's game, Francisco Lindor and Javy Báez worked the middle infield together, preparing for returns that could come early next homestand. Rojas made clear that Báez would play second beside Lindor at short. That leaves third base and the corner outfield for McNeil — spots now occupied by J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith. The Mets need to ride the hot hands, and McNeil isn't one of them right now.

https://theathletic.com/2780903/2021/08/20/jeff-mcneils-struggles-are-a-proxy-for-the-mets-larger-approach-issues/?source=emp_shared_articlehttps://theathletic.com/2780903/2021/08/20/jeff-mcneils-struggles-are-a-proxy-for-the-mets-larger-approach-issues/?source=emp_shared_article

[/bLOCKQUOTE]

[Fman99]

Big ol yawn. Made it three innings in. Didn't miss much, apparently.

[bmfc1]

More from Tim Britton (citation above):

[bLOCKQUOTE]...The Mets have the eighth-highest chase rate in baseball.

That has created a double whammy: The Mets don't get into good hitters' counts often (they've had the fewest plate appearances in the National League that end with the batter ahead), and they don't capitalize on them when they do (they're 14th in the NL in OPS when ahead in the count).

No team in the NL has seen fewer 3-0 counts, and the Mets are hitting only .157 when they get them. It's not just that New York didn't get to a 3-0 count Thursday; it didn't even see a three-ball count against seven Los Angeles pitchers.

The Mets don't see a lot of pitches to begin with (3.80 per plate appearance this season, 14th in the NL), and they're seeing even fewer (3.75) in August.[/bLOCKQUOTE]

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I'm tellin yas, that punch-up back in May signaled there was something desperately wrong with the dynamic of this group related to how the org is pivoting behind Lindor (the shit performances do too).



Lindor is too singular and rewarded and permanent to not cast a different kind of shadow -- even if it winds up being counterproductive for himself and others.



I suspect Lindor when not fibbing about raccoons has expressed very strong opinions of McNeil as a teammate, the FO read him loud and clear, it intentionally or not activated McNeil's own vanities and doubts and COVID-like, infected the rest of the club. An online lip-reader last night interpreted Davis eff-you-ing Alonso following his throwing error.



The move to get Baez was like an empty cardboard box in the office you keep under your desk because you know you're going to get laid off soon.

[Benjamin Grimm]

http://potg.leaptoad.com/mets/images/schaefer17.jpg>



http://potg.leaptoad.com/mets/index.phpCast your vote!

[G-Fafif]

More from Tim Britton (citation above): [bLOCKQUOTE]...The Mets have the eighth-highest chase rate in baseball. That has created a double whammy: The Mets don't get into good hitters' counts often (they've had the fewest plate appearances in the National League that end with the batter ahead), and they don't capitalize on them when they do (they're 14th in the NL in OPS when ahead in the count). No team in the NL has seen fewer 3-0 counts, and the Mets are hitting only .157 when they get them. It's not just that New York didn't get to a 3-0 count Thursday; it didn't even see a three-ball count against seven Los Angeles pitchers. The Mets don't see a lot of pitches to begin with (3.80 per plate appearance this season, 14th in the NL), and they're seeing even fewer (3.75) in August.[/bLOCKQUOTE]

The Mets' individual batting averages when first-pitch swinging certainly seem gaudy.



https://www.baseball-reference.com/tools/split_stats_team.cgi?full=1&params=count%7CFirst%20Pitch%7CNYM%7C2021%7Cbat%7CAB%7Chttps://www.baseball-reference.com/tools/split_stats_team.cgi?full=1&params=count%7CFirst%20Pitch%7CNYM%7C2021%7Cbat%7CAB%7C

[Edgy MD]

It's amazing theater watching McNeil return to the bench following a failed at-bat. He makes distorted faces and jaws and jaws to nobody in particular and nobody wants to reply to him.



I love his skill set, but he sure seems to be his own worst enemy. I don't know what the future holds but he's under contract next season and Baez ain't. My thoughts on Baez contact rate and outmaking frequency don't need to be repeated.

[nymr83]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Head up his ass More on McNeil from Tim Britton in The Athletic today: [bLOCKQUOTE]For McNeil individually, the pressure is about to amplify. Four hours before Thursday's game, Francisco Lindor and Javy Báez worked the middle infield together, preparing for returns that could come early next homestand. Rojas made clear that Báez would play second beside Lindor at short. That leaves third base and the corner outfield for McNeil — spots now occupied by J.D. Davis, Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith. The Mets need to ride the hot hands, and McNeil isn't one of them right now. https://theathletic.com/2780903/2021/08/20/jeff-mcneils-struggles-are-a-proxy-for-the-mets-larger-approach-issues/?source=emp_shared_articlehttps://theathletic.com/2780903/2021/08/20/jeff-mcneils-struggles-are-a-proxy-for-the-mets-larger-approach-issues/?source=emp_shared_article [/bLOCKQUOTE]

McNeil is a better overall player than Davis and a better defender at 3B. McNeil should be able to play if he breaks out of the slump.

[Frayed Knot]

=nymr83 post_id=75048 time=1629480293 user_id=54]McNeil should be able to play if he breaks out of the slump.