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July 2, 2013 Mets 2013 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 80: Win Over Diamondbacks

Mets 9 Diamondbacks 1

Might Bud Selig move the Mets into the NL West?

Mets Game Notes

I’m serious. If BeelzeBud can move the Milwaukee Brewers from the AL East to the NL Central, and force the Astros out of a real baseball league and into an Adulterated League, why can’t he move the Mets into the NL West? He already gave them a once-secret loan, a GM, and an All-Star Game, so why not move the franchise into a division where they have half a chance of competing for first place?

Wow, if the Diamondbacks are the best of the NL West, then Selig has succeeded in his master plan of creating parity via watered-down talent pool. Hey, I’m all for parity — I think it’s essential to keeping interest in the game, and any sports league should be set up in such a way that every team has a legitimate shot at the championship. But, as we see one weak team after another play the Mets, it’s become clear that “Major League” doesn’t mean what it used to. Or maybe I’m getting old and cranky. If it were up to me, MLB would be cut down to 26 or 24 teams, and we’d truly see the best of the best. Instead, we’re paying big-league prices to watch minor-league baseball. I feel a little cheated.

In any case, the Mets win in a laugher, scoring more than five runs for the first time since George Theodore was storking around the outfield in Flushing. OK, maybe not THAT long, but it’s been a while since the Mets plated that many men in front of the home crowd.

Who does Josh Satin think he is? And how in the world is Ike Davis — he of the .992 OPS in the PCL supposed to come back and reclaim 1B while Satin is hitting like Ted Williams?

And while we’re on the subject of men playing above their heads, what’s with Jeremy Hefner? He who allowed only six baserunners in seven solid innings. Is Hefner this good, or the teams he’s facing that bad? Or a combination? Or does it have something to do with BeelzeBud’s newfangled schedule, where teams only play each other a handful of times? In other words, will Hefner be able to keep this pace once he faces opponents three or four times? Then again, will he have to worry about such things, considering that he’ll likely only see NL East teams more than once?

I don’t know what to make of this game. We saw a lineup that had Juan Lagares in the two-hole, Marlon Byrd batting cleanup, Satin fifth, and the offense led by Anthony Recker and Omar Quintanilla. And this was NOT a AAA contest. Yeah, guess I am getting old and cranky. But the games were much more interesting when I was walking uphill both ways to watch them on a black and white TV with rabbit ears covered in tin foil.

Next Mets Game

Game three has Matt Harvey going against Randall Delgado in an unusual 7:00 p.m. start time.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Joe July 3, 2013 at 12:25 am
    Hefner has been pitching well for awhile now. Just pitches against what is out there. Gee is pitching well now, but — now it is partially a matter of poor competition — there is some room to argue Hefner has been the second most consistent (BIG drop-off) Mets starter this year after Harvey. He did pitch last year. The teams that faced him saw him before. He also played against many of them more than once. Might have a weaker second half. Still doing well especially since he started as a #6.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/players/9162/game_log.html

    • Hobie July 3, 2013 at 8:10 am
      3 teams is “many”?
  2. DaveSchneck July 3, 2013 at 10:40 am
    Joe,
    Mets would be in good striking position if this was the 1973 NL East. Bud doesn’t need to move the Mets, he just needs to put the Braves back in the west. I am not one to ascribe to contraction meaning better baseball. The talent pool is greater than ever, and more money and attention are spent on player development than ever. There have always been lousy teams, the Yankees built a franchise beating up the outmanned Kansas City like minor league teams for decades. I think that the current technology allows fans to pick apart every aspect of the game, exposing and focusing on mistakes. Additionally, I think the average modern player, with the big salary, is much less intimidated by management, and as a result doesn’t worry about the finer points of the game as much. That said, there is no excuse for the eroded caliber of play, and there should definitely be less mistakes. This presents a good “moneyball” opportunity for management. The OBP thing is out of the bag, as is the focus on defensive metrics. The two areas of opportunity are injury prevention, and finding a way for the modern player to make less mistakes. The teams that take the lead on those two fronts will have an edge over the others.