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May 24, 2014 Mets 2014 Games Joe Janish

Mets Game 47: Loss To Diamondbacks

Diamondbacks 3 Mets 2

Mets pitching harkens back to their efforts from the 1970s. Unfortunately, so did Mets hitting.

Mets Game Notes

Zack Wheeler gave the Mets a strong effort, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing 3 runs — 2 earned — on 6 hits and a walk, striking out 7 through 118 pitches. But allowing three runs is usually one too many when the offense supporting you is the 2014 New York Mets.

Though Wheeler’s results were acceptable, the process has me concerned. He’s still slowing down his motion when he throws his curve, so most batters will know it’s coming. The slight drop in velocity — from about 95-96 MPH (touching 97) in the first frame down to 92-93 by the fifth/sixth, indicates some kind of issue, which I believe could be due to mechanical flaws causing him to fatigue prematurely. And finally, there are those mechanical flaws — specifically, that his throwing arm is usually far behind the rest of his body. One indication of the arm behind was the number of pitches that wound up up and away from the lefthanded hitters / up and in to the righties.

I’m not going into details about the rest of the game. Let’s just sum it up thusly: the Mets had several opportunities to score, and blew them. In other words, the big hit never arrived.

Next Mets Game

The Mets and Diamondbacks hook up on Sunday afternoon for a doubleheader. Game one’s matchup is Rafael Montero vs. Bronson Arroyo, and game two pits Daisuke Matsuzaka and Zeke Spruill.

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. david May 25, 2014 at 12:19 am
    The good – Wheeler battled to give the team a quality start; DW hit a HR; Grandy man continues to stay hot; the bad – Duda watching 2 balls down the pipe with the bases loaded in the 1st inning, then whiffing on a high fastball out of the strike zone and CY whiffing with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out; the Ugly – Mets now 1-9 in their last 10 games (not the Manager”s fault, just some tough luck). A thought – is this ‘hunting strikes’ theory bad for the viewers? Seems to result in painfully long at bats for Mets hitters, drama builds, and then ppfffff. See it, hit it?