Worries here

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Now I'm starting to get kind of worried.

[Zvon]

Not yet.
We are always gonna hit our share of bumps. I say get those bumps out of the way.
[fimg=200:wr3zv4n8]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tCkMkULKjGs/VgdrWaATpOI/AAAAAAAAf2Q/uI6wXj624NsYQYiainYclVD40SUQeMDbACCo/s411-Ic42/CELEBRATE%25212-z15.png[/fimg:wr3zv4n8]

[metirish]

Early doors yyybbb but I am worried, we look rubbish

[Frayed Knot]

A bit worried about Dabid's defense.

There has always been a segment of Met fans who've been trying to move Wright over to the other side of the diamond since shortly after his rookie season. And while I've never been one of them understand that this current stretch could just be a case of small sample size, he's costing his pitchers outs at this point, maybe 3 or 4 just this season so far as basically anything hit down to him lately that isn't routine has become a 50/50 proposition via wide throws, weak throws, double-clutching, or just slower reactions. Last night it was the 1st inning play vs Yellich which, although turned out to be about the only thing that didn't blow up in Matz's face, it did cost him another half=dozen or so pitches to put the inning to bed and putting guys on with 2-outs in front of Giancarlo is going to come back to bite someone eventually.

Like I said, maybe it's just SSS. Plus there's really no obvious solution, not now anyway. There's no opening across the diamond for him and we're not going to "Sandoval" him both because of the contract and because, unlike Panda, David can still hit and doesn't have a body shape where his belt breaks when he swings.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Wright seemed to miss a significant amount of spring games. I wonder if he's just a little behind.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Accidental double post.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

I think there's this over-thinking going on. That he has to change his motion in order to reduce stress on his back. But it's... what? Four throws a night? All this mechanical adjustment is doing is making him more self conscious in his execution.

We know from experience that Wright's throwing errors have come when he's had plenty of time to think, and now, the mechanical changes are just making him think more. Like that isn't going to make him tighter. It's like trying to teach José Reyes a new running motion as a grown-ass adult. Whose dumb idea was that?

Plus, Wright got a paucity of time during spring training to walk out his new motion in game situations.

Just let him throw.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Let's agree that Matz' awful pitching this spring is also a worry.

[Edgy MD]

I hope they have redundancy if Matz doesn't turn a corner — in Verrett and Gilmartin and ultimately, Wheeler. But yeah.

I worry about how long they'll ride him. I worry about how long they'll ride Grandy too.

And I hate watching these guys rip a pitch only to see it eaten up by the shift. I worry about this team's shift vulnerability, I do.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Let's agree that Matz' awful pitching this spring is also a worry.

let's give him more than 1 bad inning before we tack on how he looked in meaningless games.

I'd give much more credence to long lay offs, first real game, first cold game, and that sorta thing.

Also I've long said I don't think the Mets prepare their pitchers well enough in Spring in general, you could tack on Harvey's late-inning fatigue to this category as well, and they made a special point to take it slower this Spring thanks to pitching into November. Probably deGrom's soreness too.

[Guest cooby classic]

That's true. The winter was a month shorter

[Benjamin Grimm]

Going in to yesterday's game, Terry expressed apprehension about Matz's performance. I don't remember the exact quote, but anytime someone expresses something other than optimism and confidence in himself or his teammates, it kind of raises a red flag.

[soupcan]

I don't know - maybe its because I basically took a year off from the Mets that I'm now approaching them with a much calmer, more objective attitude, but I'm honestly not concerned.

Its a crappy start sure but the starting pitching is not going to just fall off the table and the offense will be fine. Cespedes has hit everywhere he's gone, Wright's bat looks fine, Walker looks like we expected, etc., etc.

Maybe they've got a little hangover from last season but they're a good team, the best team that we've seen in Queens in a long time, so while it wouldve been nice to be 5-0, 4-1, I'm cool and more than happy to give them some wiggle room for a while.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah I'm not even a little sold on Walker. He's okay, will probably finish the year with 15 dings, but I don;t think he's an adequate No. 5 hitter, he's not signed beyond this year, and we won;t want to pay him then anyway.

My plan, which I made up just now, is to trade Walker to the next team that has an injured second baseman, promote Herrera, make him the leadoff hitter, and refashion the lineup:
Herrera 2B
Grandy RF
Cespedes CF
Doodoo 1B
Wright 3B
Conforto LF
dArnaud C
Cabrera SS

Swapping Cespedes to RF vs. LHP & getting Lagares in CF, batting 2nd, vs. LHP.

This gives us a whole new sexy look. I know I'm jumping the gun on this and am more than willing to give Walker/Herrera 100 or 150 PAs first, but this is the future. I have foreseen it.

[seawolf17]

No worries. We've got this.

[Guest d'Kong76]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: My plan, which I made up just now, is to trade Walker to the next team that has an injured second baseman, promote Herrera, make him the leadoff hitter

Testify!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Ceetar wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Let's agree that Matz' awful pitching this spring is also a worry. let's give him more than 1 bad inning before we tack on how he looked in meaningless games. I'd give much more credence to long lay offs, first real game, first cold game, and that sorta thing. Also I've long said I don't think the Mets prepare their pitchers well enough in Spring in general, you could tack on Harvey's late-inning fatigue to this category as well, and they made a special point to take it slower this Spring thanks to pitching into November. Probably deGrom's soreness too.

Again, if Matz showed anything in ST, I'd be less worried but he didn't, so I am.

[ashie62]

Matz's last ST start was 5 clean innings I believe.

I am not getting worked up on 4/11. 5/11? Sure.

CBS's lead baseball story today is "What's wrong with the Mets?. WTF?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

He walked a buttload of guys though. I'm also worried that he's dating some weird country singer.

Not ready to throw Matz overboard by any means but he's hardly got the track record to consider a reliable kinda guy. He's been injured an awful lot. Give me a few acceptable outings in a row and I'll take him off DEFCON 3.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Of the Five Aces, Matz is the one I'm most skeptical of.

[Edgy MD]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Swapping Cespedes to RF vs. LHP & getting Lagares in CF, batting 2nd, vs. LHP.

The deference that keeps us from asking Cespedes to play right hurts my brain. It took Terry a week or two to ask him to play center, and he was all... OK!

Hey, everybody, fielding flies in right is easier than in left! Ask Roger Cedeño!

[Lefty Specialist]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Of the Five Aces, Matz is the one I'm most skeptical of.

This. He was positively Niese-esque in how he let that inning get away from him.

[Chad ochoseis]

Frayed Knot wrote: A bit worried about Dabid's defense. There has always been a segment of Met fans who've been trying to move Wright over to the other side of the diamond since shortly after his rookie season. And while I've never been one of them understand that this current stretch could just be a case of small sample size, he's costing his pitchers outs at this point, maybe 3 or 4 just this season so far as basically anything hit down to him lately that isn't routine has become a 50/50 proposition via wide throws, weak throws, double-clutching, or just slower reactions. Last night it was the 1st inning play vs Yellich which, although turned out to be about the only thing that didn't blow up in Matz's face, it did cost him another half=dozen or so pitches to put the inning to bed and putting guys on with 2-outs in front of Giancarlo is going to come back to bite someone eventually. Like I said, maybe it's just SSS. Plus there's really no obvious solution, not now anyway. There's no opening across the diamond for him and we're not going to "Sandoval" him both because of the contract and because, unlike Panda, David can still hit and doesn't have a body shape where his belt breaks when he swings.

Eh, it's this season, plus ST, plus the 2015 postseason, at least. The sample size isn't that small anymore. Dabidrye is officially my biggest worry.

We probably won't "Sandoval" him, and that's annoying. The contract is a sunk cost. He's hitting well enough for now, but if that changes, his salary shouldn't have any bearing on whether the team elects to keep running him out there, trade him or, hell, convince him to retire with a plum assignment in the org and groom him to be Terry's replacement. One advantage of being a large-market team is that we (in theory, if we've recovered from Madoff) can sign big money players as needed. Another should be that we can face up to it when a big contract isn't working out, and not let it dictate the decisions regarding who plays and who sits.

It's too early for panic, but I'm wondering if Walker can play 3B.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

You don't want Walker at third. It'd be Flores for any stretch I'd guess.

[Zvon]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: It's too early for panic, but I'm wondering if Walker can play 3B.

He has and he can. He came up as a third baseman in 2009 and split between 2nd & 3rd in 2010. After 2010 he played second base exclusively.

[Edgy MD]

The problem is that a good season for Walker is somewhere around what a bad season for Wright sits.

I'm in no hurry to move on from Wright. Nor am I blaming any small market mentality for any reluctance the team might have from doing so.

[Ceetar]

if the Mets really think David Wright can't field anymore (it's very very clear he can still hit) they should really push for the DH next season.

[Edgy MD]

If your kid can't hack the math, you should just push for the dumbing down of the math curriculum.

[Frayed Knot]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Like I said, maybe it's just SSS. Plus there's really no obvious solution, not now anyway. There's no opening across the diamond for him and we're not going to "Sandoval" him both because of the contract and because, unlike Panda, David can still hit and doesn't have a body shape where his belt breaks when he swings. Eh, it's this season, plus ST, plus the 2015 postseason, at least. The sample size isn't that small anymore. Dabidrye is officially my biggest worry.

I'm sticking with 'SSS' for now. Some NYM fans have been scheming to move him across the diamond since about 10 minutes after his ML debut under the thinking that finding a guy who can actually play the position is as easy as the nearest over-turned rock while seemingly being unaware that your 3B and/or SS are almost always going to lead the team in errors.
I was never in that camp but this opening week has been the first time he's ever looked sub-par to me. In just 5 starts there have been about a half-dozen '50/50' type of plays and he hasn't made any of them. Only one error I think, but a bunch of 'couldas' and maybe even 'shouldas' where the play has habitually been just a hair late. Should that continue it'll start adding up to a bunch of missed outs and lengthened innings for the staff and that would start to be a problem.

The offense I'm not so worried about. I understand the apprehension due to the back condition and who knows how he'll look longer term. But, since his return from the diagnosis, he's put up a line of .292/.389/.439 over just shy of 200 PAs (compared to his .286/.364/.451 from 2011-14). Not a huge sample -- although a lot bigger than the small one with the fielding woes that have me worried -- and it's also coming off what were essentially two separate months-long interruptions [Apr-Aug, then again Nov-Mar] and with limited spring training.

He's not going to be Panda'd because Sandoval hit like shit last year and then came into camp this spring looking even worse which led to him losing his job, despite the huge contract and still being under 30 y/o, to some 26 y/o, 9th round draft pick with 1/2 season under his belt.
As long as David can stay on the field and hit he'll play. But if he's going to be a net-negative defender for (IMO) the first time in his career, then he'll need to keep the hitting up in order to not be a drag on the roster. We're a long way from that yet.

[Ceetar]

What also feels like SSS is that there seem to be have been a ton of soft grounders to third.

These are HARD plays as they are, and David Wright made them better than just about anyone in his prime. He probably makes one or two more without the stiff back, but most 3B probably don't. I'm pretty sure none of Flores, Campbell, Walker, or anyone else on the team right now makes them. Cabrera or Lagares, maybe. maybe.