Man, the Torpedos

Hello hello hello. It’s a Free Monday. Consider getting a paid sub? That way you get The Mets Newsletter every single day, including weekends. Then you won’t be missing a thing and will be considered the intellectual at every future cocktail party.

So, the Mets had a super rare day off on a Sunday. They weren’t the only team told to take a breather yesterday, but it sure felt that way. Poor us had to watch the rest of Major League Baseball and hear more about the “torpedo bats” they’re using in The Bronx that superficially sounds super shady. Brewers closer Trevor Megill, Tylor’s brother, made headlines when he said that because it’s the Yankees doing it, MLB will “let it slide.” Of course, the fact of the matter is if the Yankees are truly getting a big competitive advantage putting more mass in some players’ sweet spots, they would have kept quiet about it. Because the Yankees scored a metric ton of runs this weekend, there will be plenty of imitators, including on the Mets. Let’s just say the hitting lab has a long way to go before it becomes the favorite son over the pitching lab. 

Jacob deGrom had a vintage deGromian performance for the Texas Rangers. Five innings, two hits, zero earned runs, two walks, six strikeouts, and a no-decision because his team only scored one run for him while he was pitching. SEE? IT’S NOT US, IT’S YOU, JAKE.

Technically there was a professional baseball game played yesterday that was affiliated with the Mets. Triple-A Syracuse faced the Worcester Red Sox. Brandon Sproat the GOAT was the starter and was decidedly not GOAT-y. He only lasted two plus innings, allowing three hits, four earned runs, walking three and striking out three. He had a shaky first, seemingly settled down in the second when he struck out the side, and then lost control of things in the third. Only 32 of his 57 pitches were for strikes. This spring he was praised by Carlos Mendoza and other coaches for pounding the strike zone - that was something he was working on. Didn’t happen in his first Triple-A start of the season. Some folks will give him a pass because it was 41 degrees in Worcester, Mass. 

Dedniel Núñez struck out two in the 4th inning. He came back out for the 5th, allowing a bloop single to top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer, and was taken out. Because Mayer would later score, Núñez unfairly had an earned run charged against him. He topped out at 97 mph and threw 12 sliders. 18 of his 23 pitches were for strikes. Hopefully Sproat was watching from the clubhouse (after a nice shower.) 

Strangely enough, the WooSox placed Michael Fulmer on the mound. Yep, the big prospect the Mets reluctantly traded for Yoenis Céspedes at the 2015 trade deadline. He’s trying to get back to the majors after undergoing elbow surgery and missing all of 2024.

Justin Hagenman, who was supposed to start on Saturday but the game was rained out, got shelled in three innings of mop-up duty, allowing five earned runs and serving up three home runs. I suppose not every pitching project is going to end with some Cy Young awards. The S-Mets lost 12-0.

The updated Syracuse Mets pitch counter:

Jeff McNeil is hitting off a tee. Mendoza would not put a timetable on the squirrel's return. They’re waiting to get to the part when McNeil is taking batting practice and fully committing to his swings before doing that.

Fantastic Max Kranick continues to be your new favorite Met. He handled the Astros’ top two hitters in five pitches the other day in his first MLB appearance in three years. Kranick told Tim Healey of Newsday of his career: “It’s been a lot. Lots of ups and downs — mostly downs, if I’m being honest. I’m proud of where I’m at and where I’ve come from. But I feel like truly this is just the beginning of my career. There’s a lot ahead.”  

Speaking of the bullpen, they’ve thrown 9.2 scoreless innings to start the season. The Mets record in scoreless bullpen innings to start a year was 12.2, set by the…uh oh…2007 edition of the club. 

A reminder: this is the Mets bullpen pitch counter:

Back on Opening Day, Terry Collins and Noah Syndergaard went to Mets House and invited some folks who were there (perhaps everyone who was there at the time) to the viewing party at Blue Haven South. They even took a bus ride with TC and Thor. Syndergaard let Collins lead the way, figuratively and literally, which was cute and weird. 

Alexander Canario is still floating in outer space (on the waiver wire). The White Sox might be interested in him. Players are on waivers for three business days, so this saga that keeps me up at night should end shortly. 

Fun with numbers: Atlanta is 0-4 to start the year. How cute. Try going 0-5 and reaching the NLCS. (Do not try that.)

About 75 different things have to happen for Steve Cohen to get his casino near Citi Field. One of those occurred yesterday. 

About a week and a half ago I wrote about all of the Mets games I wish I could go back in time to attend that weren’t played at Shea Stadium or Citi Field. Well since we have some time here, today I thought I’d share some of the home games I would use my time machine for. Like last time, I tried to avoid the obvious ones:

April 13, 1967 Mets 3, Pirates 2 

Tom Seaver’s MLB debut: Changed the entire trajectory of the Mets franchise. 5.1 IP 2 ER 4 BB 8 K. Not bad. He got a no-decision. Chuck Hiller’s RBI double in the 8th broke the 2-2 tie. Sounds exciting!

October 6, 1969 Mets 7, Atlanta 4

The Mets clinched the pennant by finishing up the first NLCS in history. Hank Aaron hit a two-run homer, and since it didn’t end up mattering that would have been really cool to see in person. There is not much video of it, certainly not the whole game like with the World Series games. 

June 16, 1977 Mets 4, Astros 3

The first game after the Midnight Massacre that took Tom Seaver away from the only team he had ever known. There would be a lot of pain to follow. But inexplicably, the Mets won that night. The result is beside the point - I would have loved to have been there so I can say I was there for absolute rock bottom. The truest true Met fan possible.

May 6, 1983 Mets 7, Reds 4 (13 innings)

A certifiably nutty Friday night affair. The Mets scored two runs in the bottom of the 9th (a Dave Kingman homer) and a run in the 10th (Hubie Brooks dinger) to keep the party going. Finally, in the 13th, George Foster sent everybody home happy with a three-run walk-off. Oh, and it was Darryl Strawberry’s MLB debut. The game is on YouTube if you’re so inclined.

September 17, 1986 Mets 4, Cubs 2

An unimaginable event nine years prior: the Mets clinch the NL East title. Would I have rushed the field like seemingly everybody else? Probably., I’m susceptible to peer pressure!

September 13, 1997 Mets 9, Expos 6 (11 innings)

The greatest game nobody but Greg Prince seems to ever talk about. It was a late Saturday afternoon start, just over 24,000 in the yard. The Mets were still technically in the Wild Card hunt, but were down 6-0 going into the 9th. Dustin Hermanson was looking for a complete game one-hit shutout. He actually got two outs, but with runners on second and third, he allowed a Roberto Petagine single to score two. Expos manager Felipe Alou for some reason brought in Shayne Bennett to face one batter, Luis López, who singled, before bringing in his closer Ugueth Urbina. A Matt Franco single loaded the bases for Carl Everett, who, son of a gun, hit a grand slam to tie it. Inevitably, Bernard Gilkey hit a three-run homer to finish Montreal off in the 11th. The ‘97 Mets were known for their epic comebacks, but that one was a doozy. 

I’ll finish my time machine list next off day.

Four years ago today, Francisco Lindor signed a 10-year, $341 million contract extension with the Mets, ensuring he would be the highest paid player on the team for…a couple of years. The acquisition of Lindor from Cleveland and the extension was Steve Cohen showing the league and the fans that he isn’t messing around.

On March 31, 2001, the Mets beat the Pirates in an exhibition game by the score of 4-3. It was the first game ever played at PNC Park. 

On this day in 1998, the Mets and Phillies played the longest scoreless Opening Day game in National League history. Catcher Alberto Castillo mercifully ended everyone’s suffering in the bottom of the 14th with a pinch-hit walk-off single. I distinctly remember listening to the game on the subway ride home from school on my Walkman that had AM/FM. 

Ten years later, Johan Santana made his Mets debut, striking out eight and only allowing two earned runs in seven innings of work against the Marlins.

And tonight, the Mets play the Marlins again. Miami is 3-1, winning all three of their games so far this season on walk-offs. David Peterson will (finally) start for the Mets, Cal Quantrill for the Fishies. First pitch is 6:40pm eastern and the game will be on SNY.