Media Goon's Mets Media Musings 5/11/18

Man Up and Play Better

From The NY POST

“I think they generally have the right pieces,” a major league talent evaluator said. “They just have to play better.”
The list of underachievers begins with Michael Conforto, who emerged as the team’s only All-Star last season. The 25-year-old, who was dropped to seventh in the batting order in the Mets’ loss to the Reds on Wednesday, is just 3-for-26 (.115) in May, with one homer and one RBI. Overall he has a slash line of .191/.330/.303 in his return from shoulder surgery that cost him the final month of last season and most of his offseason.
Adding to the lineup woes, Todd Frazier was placed on the disabled list this week with a strained left hamstring, and the Mets still are trying to find production at catcher — where Devin Mesoraco has become the starter, after arriving in a trade with the Reds for Matt Harvey.
And for this weekend the Mets will be without Bruce, who will be placed on paternity leave as he awaits the birth of his second child. Another important piece, Yoenis Cespedes, is battling discomfort in his right quadriceps that is slowing him in the outfield.

Read more here 

MG- Hey @metspolice. I think I still have some Man Up and Play Better shirts we can send the Mets.

SOUL CRUSHING

From the NY Post

Finding creative ways to crush our souls is nothing new for the Amazin’s. It starts with false hope: a new manager, a stable of healthy arms, a roaring 12-2 start. Hope is the worst. You thought you learned your lesson last year, but nothing sucks you back in like hope. Two weeks ago, I was counting down the magic number to a playoff spot. Now, they’re in fourth place and barely clinging to .500.
The first season I can really remember following the Mets was 1977, when they traded “The Franchise,” Tom Seaver, after Daily News columnist Dick Young goaded Seaver into demanding a trade. That kicked off seven years in the wilderness.
But at least those teams were just bad; later generations of Mets fans have been baptized with agonizing September and October collapses (1987-88, 2006-08), disastrous and anti-social big-money free-agent signings, generations of injuries to stellar pitching prospects (from the mid-1990s “Generation K” to the current rotation), mid-career departures and flameouts by the franchise’s best talents.

Read more here. 

MG- Did Thanos come down to visit the Mets with the Shoul Stone?


Mets figure out how to unleash Rosario?

From the NY Post

Manager Mickey Callaway cited the fact Rosario, batting behind the pitcher and ahead of the leadoff hitter, sees better pitches when hitting ninth.
“He has done a great job, and the numbers are really showing that he isn’t chasing as much as he did last year,” Callaway said. “All those things that he has been working on have definitely improved. He still has some growing to do, but I think that nine-hole is giving him a chance to do those things and still develop at the big-league level.”
In his past eight games, Rosario is 8-for-25 (.325) with two doubles, two RBIs and one stolen base.

Read more here.

MG- How about you tell him to steal more? The dude has wheels... Make him run.


Ease up on Callaway because roster is flawed?

From the NY Daily News.

Callaway came in and said the right things about leading men, loving and caring for the players and bridging the gap between analytics and players, but none of that can fill the holes in a poorly constructed roster. Simply changing faces of the on-field coaching staff was not going to instantly change the years of problems with a player development system and poor drafts.
This should not really be a surprise. A lineup that has very little speed and is constructed around power-hitters is going to go through slumps. Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes are streaky hitters, they go through peaks and valleys over the course of the season. Without the ability to manufacture runs, the Mets' offense is going to go through slumps, too.
Maybe a little more surprising is that the pitching has not lived up to the hype that has always surrounded it. We are seeing with the Mets giving up on Matt Harvey that maybe it never will.
Yes, Callaway came into this job with a reputation of something of a pitching guru, having coached the Cleveland pitchers into an elite staff. Dave Eiland came to the job of pitching coach as a two-time World Series champion.

Read more here.

MG- Are fans running Mickey out of town? I'm not one of them. Let's look at "6" the hitting coach. What's going on there with the players?

Yo and his Quads

From the NY Daily News.

 Yoenis Cespedes rested his aching right quad Wednesday. Battling tightness since Sunday, Mickey Callaway gave the left fielder the day off to get him off his feet for two straight days.
Cespedes said Wednesday the leg was still sore, but he was hopeful that the time off would help.

Read more here.

 MG- Told you guys it was his quad and not his hip...