Just Mets

The Mets just completed a a grueling 20-game stretch without an off-day, during which they went 9-11.

During the last three weeks the club lost three more players to the disabled list (Dillon Gee, Dilson Herrera and Buddy Carlyle).

Here is a breakdown of their record against their opponents during this span of games:

• Phillies: 5-1
• Cubs: 0-4
• Brewers: 2-1
• Cardinals: 2-2
• Pirates: 0-3

Here’s how the offense fared during this stretch:

• The team hit .241 with a .678 OPS with 22 doubles and 22 home runs.
• They scored 71 runs, an average of 3.55 per game.
• They struck out 171 times (8.55 per game) and walked only 53 times (2.65 per game).
• They left 123 runners on base (6.15 per game), grounded into 25 double plays, and hit .236 (30-for-127) with runners in scoring position.
• The Mets scored three runs or less in 12 games, and scored one run or less in seven games.
• Wilmer Flores hit .257/.274/.457 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 74 plate appearances.
• Lucas Duda hit .328/.430/.687 with six doubles, six home runs and 11 RBI in 79 plate appearances.
• Michael Cuddyer hit .299/.365/.403 with two home runs and ten RBI in 74 plate appearances.
• Daniel Murphy hit .375/.430/.472 with four doubles, a home run and seven RBI in 79 plate appearances.
• Curtis Granderson hit .233/.313/.384 with two doubles, three home runs and eight walks with 21 strikeouts in 83 plate appearances.
• Juan Lagares hit .177/.239/.226 with one extra-base hit in 67 plate appearances.

Here’s how the pitching fared during this stretch:

• The team had a .384 ERA and allowed 4.2 runs per game. They allowed 84 runs, 76 of which were earned.
• They allowed 30 percent of opposing hitters to reach base 11.2 percent of which scored.
• Mets starting pitchers had a 4.49 ERA and averaged just over six innings per start.
• The Mets bullpen had a 2.53 ERA, averaging 2.85 innings per game.
• The Mets struck out 8.23 batters per nine innings and walked 2.47 batters per nine innings during this stretch.

Thank you, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.

Seven of their nine wins in the last three weeks came against the Phillies and Brewers, and that saved them from having a horrific stretch during this time.

The Mets lost 10 of 14 against everyone else they played (all of which were in the National League Central), and didn’t seem competitive or energetic in a lot of those losses, which was really worrisome. They seemed mismatched against the Pirates, outplayed against the Cubs, and were just not in two of the four games they played against the Cardinals.

That maybe the view of a cynic or a skeptic, but it’s worth mentioning the teams they struggled against are all over .500 – the Mets need to be able to beat those kinds of clubs if they expect to stay in the mix down the stretch.

The starting pitching was inconsistent.

The Mets got some really strong outings and some really ineffective outings from the starting pitching. There were eight games in which the starters allowed four earned runs or more, three in which they allowed seven earned runs or more. Granted, Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon were responsible for a lot of that, but Matt Harvey had a throw away game in there as well, marking the worst start of his career.

The club is counting on, and quite frankly riding the success of their starting pitching. If they’re knocked out of games, the team goes with them as they just don’t have the top-to-bottom offense to claw back in such games.

The offense was weird.

There were a lot of good ndividual performances, but their situational hitting was poor, they struck out way too much, couldn’t execute textbook bunt plays, and grounded into a ton of double plays, especially late in this 20-game period.

In the end, they were shutout twice, scored one run five times, two runs twice, and three runs twice.

That’s just not enough offense.

They came alive over the last three games thanks in part to having faced mediocre pitching at best courtesy of the Philadelphia Phillies. But for the most part, their situational hitting was dismal over the last three weeks, and despite 22 home runs, they didn’t hit for much extra-base power outside of that which left them station-to-station and dependent upon the home run, which this team can’t really do.

The one consistent force remained consistent.

Despite the injuries, the constant shifting of roles, changing of players, and guys being overworked and overexposed, the Mets bullpen was fantastic during this 20 game stretch. There were a couple of blips at some inopportune times, but they were great and have been great all year long.

It will be interesting to see if and how the dynamic changes with Vic Black closing in on returning and Bobby Parnell not too far behind them. They’re going to have to make some difficult decisions on who to cut, as all of them have performed exceptionally well for the most part in their absence.