Post Game: Thor Swings His Arm and Bat in Win

It was a beautiful day out today. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds were chirping and Noah Syndergaard’s fastball was working. Even from watching Syndergaard warm up it seemed like a really good day.

In the first inning Noah Syndergaard retired the side in order on three fly outs. He seemed ready to go, even from warm ups he seemed ready to go. The fact that he fired a 100 mph fastball in the first just confirmed that he was ready to go. Then in the bottom half of the first, Granderson and Lagares retired in order and in stepped Duda. Lucas Duda hit a 400 foot rocket that made the apple go up for his seventh homer of the season. Noah then went back out in the second and gave up a two out single before returning to the dugout. That didn’t stop Noah from cruising right along. 

In the third inning the Mets hung a crooked number on the scoreboard. Murphy singled in Duda to make it four nothing. Cuddyer then stepped in to blast the score open at four to nothing.

You knew that when this game started the game was going to be something special and Noah Syndergaard made sure of that. He stepped in the batters box, bat in his hand instead of the hammer, with one out and nobody on, Noah Syndergaard on a 1-1 count, launched the ball, landing the ball over the fence. He challenged Bartolo Colon and the rest of the pitching staff to see what they can do with the lumber as well as the baseball.

This 22 year old kid is something special to watch, swinging his arm as well as his bat. I like that when Syndergaard got in trouble with two on and nobody out, Plawecki went out to the mound to settle him down. I also liked that Syndergaard was kept in the game to try to work his way through that and with a 7-0 lead why not? He rewarded Terry Collin’s confidence by getting Odubel Herrera to ground out into a double play and getting Cameron Rupp to strike out looking, stranding a runner at third. Syndergaard then got the first out in the eighth inning and Gilmartin closed out the inning, with Goeddel closing out the game. The Mets won with ease today taking the day game, seven to nothing.

The player of today’s game has to be Noah Syndergaard, throwing 96 pitches through seven strong innings. He surrendered only six hits while striking out six. He was even 3-3, stunning Matt Harvey with a home run (and probably everyone besides himself).

Honorable mention will be given to Lucas Duda who went three for four with two home runs, leap frogging him over Wilmer Flores for the club lead in home runs.  Daniel Murphy also went three for four who also seems to be finding his stroke as well. 

I wonder if deGrom and Syndergaard can play other positions on their off days from pitching?

Let’s Go Mets!!!

News: Life Wright Now

David Wright has been on the disabled list since April 27th and there was some horrible news that he has spinal stenosis. Wright has been shut down for the next week and will make a trip to California to have his back examined. This could be a lingering issue for Wright. He might not be the player we thought he could be, the player we started to see before he went down with the hamstring injury. When I heard that, I thought, “What happens to the Mets if they don’t have him for an extended period of time? What would it be like if he wasn’t able to come back by, say the All-Star break?” I think there are a few options here, but let’s say there are no trades that will happen to fill this hole in the infield…

At first I thought of moving Daniel Murphy to third, Wilmer Flores to second, and calling up Matt Reynolds to play shortstop. But that’s too much. Fortunately, I have another solution for the Mets.

Wilmer Flores has proven that he can’t be the shortstop that they need, but he can be a bat they require. He needs to find a spot to play on the diamond, so why not shift him over to third base? When fills out, he is going to have the build of a third baseman. He doesn’t have much range for a shortstop but at third it’s more of a reaction. His arm is decent enough to be at third. He will still make errors, he’s not going to be Mike Schmidt at third base. A strong defensive middle infield is so key for a team that is trying to do what the San Francisco Giants do every other year since 2010. I’m not looking for Ozzie Smith at short either because well, there can only be one Wizard of Oz. 

Next, you bring up Matt Reynolds and play him at shortstop. He can play a good defensive shortstop and his bat isn’t too bad either. He also has seven stolen bases, while only being caught once, so far this season. He would be able to help out the lackluster defense that has plagued the Mets.

With the left side of the infield in place, the right side can stay with Daniel Murphy at second and Lucas Duda at first.

I think that Murphy is even more valuable now to the Mets. He can be a leader and chemistry guy for this clubhouse. That being said, I still think he gets traded in a package for hopefully a big bat, either at shortstop or left field. I still don’t know who, or even if, someone can be acquired without adding in Noah Syndergaard, Steve Matz or Jacob deGrom, (Do I really need to add Matt Harvey into this pool?) but there is a lot of time between now and the trade deadline. 

What do you think the Mets will do? Do you think the Mets will keep on having a rotating door at third base? How do you think Matt Reynolds could do at the big league level? Does anyone else miss the 1999 Mets infield and Rey Ordonez’s theatrics that seemed to always get it done?

deGrom Aces Cards

Jacob deGrom has looked great after a couple of bad starts against the Yankees and the Cubs. He looked very good last Saturday but this start won't be overshadowed by Noah Syndergaard's tomorrow. deGrom has pitched the Mets best game so far this season. He pitched eight innings giving up only a first inning single to Matt Carpenter, he then retired the following 23 until he was lifted for Familia. deGrom reminded us what he can do when he takes the bump in his past two starts. deGrom certainly helped the Mets split the series against the Cardinals.

Lucas Duda broke out today for two dingers while driving in four runs. The two homer's were both against lefties. One for 446 feet and the other for 427 feet. Almost a third of the way into the season and it is looking like Duda has made it a goal to hit lefties. With Curtis Granderson getting the day off, Juan Lagares was given a chance in the leadoff spot. He didn't get a hit but he did get two walks and that was one of the reason's why he wasn't put in the leadoff spot before. I thought that he should have tried stealing second after being walked to leadoff the game but instead Flores hit into one of the four Cardinals double plays.

Another bright spot in the lineup was Michael Cuddyer went 3-3. deGrom laid down a great sacrifice bunt in the third inning. deGrom raised his record to 5-4 while Duda raised his home run total to five knocking on the door of Flores's Mets leading total of six.

The Mets look to take on the Pittsburg Pirates tomorrow with Noah Syndergaard going up against Gerrit Cole. One future ace against a current ace. That has the making for a great matchup.

News: Trade Possibility's

To follow up on a question I received a little over a week ago from Kaity, trade talks are starting to heat up. The Dodgers have so many infielders and infielders that are hitting well. Juan Uribe, Justin Turner (former Met), Jimmy Rollins, and Alex Guerrero. Guerrero headlines that list of Dodgers, he's only 28 and has such a potent bat. He has been playing third base and left field but his bat can't be ignored. He could help out the Mets glaring bench problem. They have an average under .150 from players coming off the bench. If the Mets could somehow get Guerrero for someone inexpensive that could be a great find.

Another name that keeps coming up is Jean Segura. He hasn't been what the Brewers had hoped for but could benefit from a change of scenery. He could also bat leadoff and run a little atop the Mets lineup. Segura can play defense pretty well too. I would not like to see the Mets give up one of their high-level prospects. Maybe a Gabriel Ynoa and Hansel Robles with another lower level prospect.

Finally Troy Tulowitzki is the fish that keeps on swimming by that the Mets seem unable to catch. He can't stay on the field otherwise I'd be all for a trade for this guy even with the asking price as high at is (Syndergaard not included). Matz has looked really good. Imagine this pitching staff: Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. "Momentum is tomorrow's pitcher." and that pitching staff has some GREAT momentum.

Speaking of trades when a player that has missed an extended period of time due to injury and comes back, it kind of has the feeling of a acquiring a player. One player that the Mets have missed is definitely David Wright. He's a leader on and off the field. Another player that should be coming back soon is Travis d'Arnaud but then that leaves questions as what to do with Plawecki, which is for another post. Bobby Parnell and Jerry Blevins are also names that could be coming back to help the team. Hopefully Blevins returns to how he was before landing on the DL. Jenrry Mejia could be coming back as well and could help in the later innings.

Unfortunately a shortstop isn't on the Mets DL that could be provide some help (Jose Reyes could be getting off the DL later the month-who has played about the same number of games as Wright since the Mets let him walk). They do however have a guy named Matt Reynolds that could provide a hand to the defensive woes. Wilmer Flores made a really nice play last night but those nice plays are few and far between. Reynolds looks like Ozzie Smith compared to Flores and until Herrera comes back, could be the best option for the Mets if they can't make a deal for a shortstop (including the high priced Starlin Castro).

Pitching is greatly helped by good defense. Daniel Murphy's clubhouse presence can not be ignored either, he's a chemistry guy which sometimes goes further than the numbers on a stat sheet but unfortunately for him, there are some good players coming up through the pipelines. He would have brought back more last year though. The Mets might value Murphy more so on the team than what he could bring back in return.

This time is always exciting. It's exciting when everyone can play GM. We get to see what will happen in the upcoming months. I think what Sandy Alderson decides to do highly depends on what happens in the upcoming weeks and who comes back healthy coupled with how they perform. It ain't over til it's over. I look forward to making another post about who could be on the move. I hope it doesn't mess with the TEAM chemistry because it is so important while they continue to perform as a team instead of relying on one person.

Let's Go Mets!

Thor Strikes a Win!

From the second pitch of the game, Curtis Granderson seemed to have set the tone for the Mets with a leadoff dinger. With the lead Noah Syndergaard, making his Citi Field debut, seemed to be able to build off his good no-decision, last start against the Cubs. In the third inning Eric Campbell and Lucas Duda had back-to-back doubles to double the score 2-0. In the following inning Monell lead off the inning with a walk, Syndergaard’s strikeout was sandwiched by Lagares’s single, followed by Grandy’s strikeout. With two out and two on, Campbell singled in a run and then Duda walked. With two out and two on again, Cuddyer stepped up and singled in two runs to extend the lead 5-0. Hopefully that’s a sign of life from Cuddyer. Murphy grounded out to end the inning.

In the sixth inning there was a scary moment when Carlos Gomez was hit in the head by a 97 mph fastball. Noah Syndergaard seemed to be rattled out there and Terry Collins was smart for going out there to try to settle down the 22-year old rookie. The fastball hit Gomez in the helmet and luckily right in the flap of the helmet but he was taken out of the game to check more on him. Hopefully the ex-Met is okay. 

Syndergaard was able to get out the sixth inning but not before giving up a run. Before Syndergaard beamed Gomez, he was cruising not afraid to pitch inside which was a great thing because it seemed to help from last start when he didn’t really go inside. Syndergaard seemed like he was afraid to go back inside especially against Ryan Braun who seemed like he was try to just go to right field all day. All the pitches to Braun were away and Braun just went with the pitch to single in the Brewers first run. Syndergaard was able to get out of the sixth inning and strand runners on the corners.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Juan Lagares led off with a single. He then stole second base which was so great to see. Lagares now has three stolen bases, it’s great to see Lagares running, hopefully he steals more. He was stranded out at second base but it was good to see Lagares running.

Coming off a 14-1 win last night by the Mets, it was really great to see them follow that up with more offense (five runs). At the beginning of the game, I thought that it would have been more of a pitching match up because of Wily Peralta’s numbers against the Mets but early in the game it seemed like him and his catcher (another ex-Met Juan Centeno) were not on the same page. Peralta wanted to throw a slider but Centeno kept putting down fastball, eventually he threw the slider to lead off the inning for a strike. From that moment on Peralta just seemed upset.

Noah Syndergaard pitched six strong innings, giving up one run on three hits, striking out five to only one walk to earn his first big league win in his Citi Field debut. Hopefully Syndergaard isn’t afraid to pitch inside during his next start because he seemed so good when he does that. The hard stuff inside, sets up so many possibility’s. He looks like the real deal and could be very good. Familia also got some work in because he’s only pitched a few pitches this whole week.

The Mets took the rubber game of the series and wash away the bad taste from the road trip against the Cubs and five game losing streak.

Update: Gomez does not have a concussion. That’s some good news for the Brewers.This is an awesome picture taken by an amazing fan. Such a beautiful day too. Bluebird sky with the Mets logo on the jumbotron.

Thoughts on Noah Syndergaard

Noah Syndergaard's first outing wasn't as poetic as some of the other guys on the Mets pitching staff but he didn't have a poor outing. It's tough to judge him after just one start. I think he's going to do well. Syndergaard is a very big guy standing at 6'6" 240 pounds and he puts every bit of that behind the ball. He has a very nice and simple delivery. His fastball is upper 90's (he has a four seam and a two seam). His curveball and circle changeup are also plus pitches. He pitched five and a third inning giving up three runs. He seemed like he was relying on his fastball a little bit too much, it would be nice to see him throw his curveball a little bit more.

Noah Syndergaard versed the Cubs in his first outing and they are a young, up and coming team. Now that he has his feet wet, he will be versing the Brewers on Sunday for what should make for a great matinee game. Anyone going to that game is very lucky and should be seeing a great game with Noah Syndergaard on the bump. Citi Field will be vibrant. If you're going, soak it all in and watch how the ball explodes out of his hand. Noah has the ability to also get a hit so be on the look out for that too. If possible take some pictures and send them into me (fighttilwon27@gmail.com).

Noah really does look like Thor though so maybe if the pitching thing doesn't work, he can be a double for Thor but I have a feeling it could work out for Syndergaard, and work out pretty well too.

Let's Go Mets!

Mailbag Monday: Q&A

Dear Bryan, 

I've really been enjoying all of this excitement in the air! I can sleep peacefully at night knowing that the Mets have a 20-11 record and have secured their proper spot in 1st place. They are showing up everyday and playing like a true team (for the most part). Some sloppy mistakes here and there, but that's what being young is all about. Let them learn the hard way! We all know the Mets are rockin it this season, however, with talks of trade, I'm interested in your opinion. 

Ever since I was little, watching baseball with my mom and brothers, trading time always rubbed me the wrong way. The team is a family and losing a member, no matter how sucky or marketable they may be, is sad, especially mid- season.

What do you think about Plawecki? With d'Arnaud on his way back and Recker as a backup, will Plawecki be used as trade material? What are the Mets looking for in return? Seems like we finally have a handle on starting pitching, but maybe we could use a couple big bats in the lineup? Do you think they'll get rid of any of our starters? Maybe Dillion Gee? 

And of course we have our minor league squad... I'm not too savvy with that, but I'm hoping we start there before retouching the main roster at this point. This is strictly an opinion, but I'd love to see some more aggressive hitting, guys willing to run the bases, and someone who's not afraid to lay a bunt down. Is it me, or is it a lost art? 

Thanks in advanced for your response!

Let's go Mets, 

Kaity from Long Island 

Dear Kaity from Long Island,

First off let me just say I really like the way you constructed your questions. I'm so glad you're enjoying all this excitement in the air because I am certainly still soaking this all in. The Mets are in first place and I know there are a lot of games left for the Mets but it would be awesome to see them finish there as well. These questions have me thinking and brainstorming ideas of what could happen in the upcoming months. This is the month that questions start being asked about trades even though it's still a little early for trades to actually come together.

It really does stink when a trade occurs mid-season with a member or members of the parent ball club. Twenty-five guys, a manager and the coaches make up a team. The team spends at least 162 games on the field. Most teams try to host outside events to bring the team together and have them have a strong bond. Like a strong family the players know that the other players, managers and coaches have the other players back. It's a lot easier to relax at the plate with the bases loaded knowing that you don't have to hit it out of the park to get your teams approval, although it probably won't hurt. Sometimes the players put the most pressure on themselves and it's helpful when someone else is able to pick you up and say some encouraging words to you. Whether it's the pitcher in the following half inning that keeps the score the same or the next guy up that hits a single to give your team the lead. Players build friendships that last a lifetime while playing this game that we all enjoy watching. Great teams usually have great chemistry. Look at 1986 New York Mets. Sure, they would fight each other but in a weird way that brought them closer together and if anyone else was to fight one of them, they would fight that someone else. They had each others back and the players knew it.

Another example is of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. I remember in a spring training game, a Yankee slid into second base cleating the second baseman and before the player could stand up, Jonny Gomes had run in from right field to stand up for his player. That seemed to have brought the Rays together and bonded them for the year, all the way to the World Series which they unfortunately lost. 

Some teams like to just buy their players or trade all their young, up and coming players for older more established players, sometimes it works out but a lot of the time it doesn't work out. Look at the Marlins when they brought in all these high profile baseball players and couldn't find the glue to mold the team together so before the following year they did what they do best which is traded most of their team away and started over. 

The manager sometimes has a huge part in making the team click but there is only so much that he can do. Just to name a few of the managers that were able to help glue the team together are: Joe Maddon, Bruce Bochy and well just for fun, I'll throw Bobby Valentine in there too. The players have to gel together. Terry Collins has done a great job to be able to do that in the years that he's been with the Mets. This year though is a different test than the others, even though Zack Wheeler is out for the season and David Wright sidelined for a few weeks, Terry Collins can't continue to use the injury's as an excuse. They have the players in place to be able to win now. With a pitching staff like the one they have and one more bat, we could be feeling more excitement in the air.

Trades are always a way to find a missing piece for a ball club. Plawecki is an interesting case and ever since I heard d'Arnaud talk about him I've been even more excited for him to be on this team. d'Arnaud said that as soon as Plawecki got there he was asking Travis questions and listening to him while understanding the pitchers as best he can. Plawecki wants to give the Terry a hard time if he has to send him down which is great to see. Now, the sad part is he or d'Arnaud might be dangled out there for a trade. Here's the thing, being a catcher is a very demanding position and d'Arnaud has a track record of injuries, so Plawecki might be able to stay up here in a back-up role with Johnny Monell returning to AAA but I think Plawecki eventually returns to AAA to continue playing every day and work on his hitting but that decision is still a ways away. d'Arnaud is scheduled for an exam on Tuesday to see if the cast can come off and he can resume baseball activities. 

I think someone needs to make an outstanding offer in order for the Mets to trade Plawecki. It's great that Plawecki will be catching Noah Syndergaard's debut on Tuesday. If Noah does well, he could stay up here. He's scheduled to pitch against a young Cubs team that could be a little aggressive and with Plawecki here, someone that has caught Syndergaard, it could prove helpful. I think the trade bait still lies in the pitching. Dillon Gee and Rafael Montero leading the pack in trade bait. The Mets might be looking for a shortstop and one of the early names out there is Jean Segura of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers have not looked too good in the early going and their pitching isn't too good. This could lineup for the Mets as Jean also looks good out in the field. A strong middle infield only helps the pitching even more (that's why Dilson Herrera was brought up). Jon Niese is also another name that be getting a change of scenery but his contract is so team friendly that it might make more sense to just keep him. Bartolo Colon is another name that could be heard in the rumor mill, which might not be able to bring enough back for what he's able to do and continuing to remind everyone that age is only a number. I think the Mets look for a shortstop and a big bopper to help complement David Wright and Lucas Duda. I would like Daniel Murphy to be a Met come next year but he might be another name that is shopped around come June and July. Come the end of June, when the Mets are still in the playoff race, they will be looking to trade from their minor league instead of their major league club. The major league team tries to stay in tact as much as they can as not to disrupt that chemistry. 

As for the minor league squad, some of the players down there will be making their way up soon. They will need a spot to play, making it so a move has to be made. There are a few names that should be watched. Brandon Nimmo (OF), Matt Reynolds (SS), Steve Matz (LHP), Gavin Cecchini (SS) and Cesar Puello (OF) are just a few of the names that could be up here come 2016.

If a "major" trade is made, it will probably be for a middle infielder, a corner outfielder. The Mets could always add another bullpen arm (hopefully LHP Jerry Blevins comes back effective) but the offense is more of a concern for the Mets currently. With the Nationals seeming to find their stride the Mets are going to need to hit more consistently to being able to keep up with the Nationals. David Wright will hopefully provide some consistent offense for the lineup upon his return. It's still too early to determine the buyers from the sellers but it's always fun to pretend you're the GM. Just for fun, the Rockies are 11-17, 8 games back in the NL West currently, I bring up the Rockies because they have that guy that plays shortstop and hits the ball pretty well. You might have heard of him being tied to the Mets before, they call him Troy Tulowitzki. I'm sure this won't be the last time you hear his name.

I really like your last paragraph Kaity. Your last statement is what I've been saying for years now. They take the saying, "A walk is as good as a hit" to a whole new level. They might have heard the saying as, "A walk is better than a hit". I like the Mets having a good eye but it take four walks to score a run while it could take two hits to score a run. They need to be more aggressive at the plate. I'd really like to see Duda being more aggressive, he has great power, and with great power comes great responsibility's. He's the main power bat in this lineup. It was great to see Juan Lagares get his first home run of the season, but he's someone I'd like to see swiping bases. 

The Mets are going to need to be able to manufacture runs in a more productive fashion. A stolen base is such an important part of the game. It puts the runner in scoring position, 90 feet closer to scoring a run and could rattle a pitcher. That's why Jose Reyes was such a catalyst and important part of this team while he was here (yeah it hurt me too to even just say his name but now I try to have him on my fantasy team's to help ease the pain). Swiping a bag is arguably what won the Red Sox the World Series in 2004. It helped the Royals reach the World Series in 2014. Stealing bases is such an exciting thing to watch and I would really like to see Terry Collins and Tom Goodwin try to push stealing bases more onto the players. The running shouldn't stop there, taking the extra base helps too. Going from first to third can be huge and going from second to home, that can be huge. Again I bring up the 2014 Royals, they were great at taking that extra base and they were able to run all the way to the World Series. The Mets can be helped by being aggressive in the batters box as well as the basepaths.

The bunting. Oh Kaity, don't get me started on the bunting. It has been awful early on this year! Mets pitcher's have been great on the bump but not so much in the batters box when called upon to bunt. If you're a pitcher in the NL, you're going to need to know how to, at the very least, be able to bunt. I've seen so many failed bunt attempts in this early season. Everyone in the ballpark knows a sacrifice bunt is coming. The pitcher sets and the batter squares his shoulders to the pitcher and slides his hand up on the bat to get ready for the pitch but instead of trying to catch the ball with the bat, the batter stabs at the pitch causing the pitch to be popped up and usually caught. I miss the days that more often than not a Mets pitcher could lay down a bunt to move over a player, even Al Leiter, not a hitter by any means, could lay down a bunt when called upon to. Hopefully Kevin Long could work with the pitchers to become better at bunting. But not just the pitchers should know, all the players on the team should know how to because every player on the team should know how to lay down a bunt successfully. Lagares could try to bunt for a hit while Duda could lay down a bunt down the left side of the field when they put the shift on, just to show the teams, that hey, I can do that if you're going to put the shift on me. The Royals and the Giants know how to bunt, is it any coincidence that they were in the World Series last year? It's the little things that will win you a tight game.

For the most part, unless you're the 1962 Mets, you're going to win 60 games and you're going to lose 60 games, it's what you do with the other 62 games that's going to make the difference and define your team. Doing the little things could make those final 62 games into 31 wins or you could lose 31 games if you don't do them. A trade could help propel your team to be better (ie- Mike Piazza) for years to come or a trade could haunt your ball club (ie- Nolan Ryan) and set you back for years to come. So Sandy Alderson has some tough decisions coming his way in the upcoming months.

Thank You for your question Kaity, I hope to hear back from you. Hopefully my response to your question didn't find you yawning mid-scroll. If anyone else would like to ask me a question please feel free to ask me a question by e-mailing me at: fighttilwon27@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing all your questions and will answer them in a timely fashion.

As always thank you all for your support because as much as I enjoy writing about the Mets I really enjoy the support from the fans that watch the same games as I do.

Let's Go Mets!

-Bryan

Post Game: 5/1

On paper Bartolo Colon might be the ace of the staff but in our hearts we all know that the guy who pitched the third game and dawns number 33 is the ace of this staff. His name is Matthew Edward Harvey, but you can call him Matt Harvey or The Dark Knight if you'd like.

An ace of the pitching staff is someone who can go out there and put a stop to losing streaks. He is someone that won't let losing streaks get past him no matter who he is versing. Remember when the Mets had long losing streaks even in the beginning of the year? It basically took the fans out of the game for the season. I guess this Dark Knight is just what the Mets and the fans need at just the right time.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Michael Cuddyer stepped into the box and launched Max Sherzers pitch over the center field fence to put the Mets on the board. Matt Harvey cruised along to the tune of seven innings with three strikeouts and one walk while surrendering five hits. It was a great performance by Harvey in beating out Max Scherzer for the win tonight. In the eighth inning Familia came on to get the last two outs. In the bottom of the eighth Daniel Murphy, with the bases loaded, cleared the bases with a double and with a little help from Jayson Werth. Werth took a step in on Murphy's ball and it flew over his head. It gave Familia four runs to work in the ninth and trying for a five out save, more runs the better. Familia did his job in the bottom of the ninth retiring them in order. "PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!"

In the fifth inning Flores had another error at shortstop. It was a throwing error, a physical error. The Mets are trying to better their middle infield defense that's why they brought up Dilson Herrera. It doesn't hurt that he was hitting the cover off the ball in Las Vegas. Herrera looked really good at second base. His fielding was overshadowed by a Juan Lagares catch. The Mets seem to be making some nice moves to help out this defense.

Matt Harvey put the Mets losing streak to rest, has continued his winning streak, extending it to five games, and more importantly has started a new winning streak.

The Mets have been real fun to watch this year. Yes they will lose, the only team to go 162-0 was my team in Ken Griffey Jr's Sluggfest. Now is not the time to lose faith in this years Mets, they have the Dark Knight on their side.