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  • Mets bullpen upgrades David Stearns should consider

    Mets bullpen upgrades David Stearns should consider

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    When it comes to the bullpen, the Mets have to shift their priorities next season.

    Last year, the club made a flurry of waiver wire moves and some minor trades in November and December to stockpile a group of pitchers that could be sent up and down between Queens and Syracuse. Former general manager Billy Eppler wanted “optionable” arms in order to keep them fresh.

    On paper, it sounded like it could work. They intended to keep rolling with a young reliever on a hot streak and switch him out for another when he goes cold. But it proved to be a flawed system.

    Few could have foreseen the starting rotation falling apart the way it did, but it became apparent early on that the bullpen was going to have to pick up a lot of slack for the starters. Starters routinely failed to go seven innings and the Mets relied heavily on their veteran trio of left-hander Brooks Raley and right-handers David Robertson and Adam Ottavino.

    Maybe it would have been different if closer Edwin Diaz had been around, but the Mets still didn’t have the middle relief to get to Diaz on most nights. Those “optionable” arms didn’t really get hot and in the case of guys like Jeff Brigham, the team hesitated to even utilize those options.

    As it stands now, the Mets have a group of mostly fringe relievers on the 40-man roster in addition to Diaz and Raley. The club chose to tender a contract to right-hander Drew Smith even after a tough year. Smith might have more value in the middle innings than the late ones, which is fine considering the Mets need to add some depth to that area.

    It’s going to take a lot of work to overhaul the bullpen, but here are some things the Mets could do.

    FIND A LONG MAN

    Trevor Williams proved to be more important than the Mets realized last year. The right-hander made nine starts for the Mets in 2022 and regularly pitched multiple innings out of the bullpen. The Mets tried to use Stephen Nogosek and then Tommy Hunter in long-relief roles last year, but they mostly had to mop up and they were both cut by July. The Mets never found that versatile long reliever who could start games, finish them and pitch several innings in between.

    However, they already have two candidates for this role internally in left-hander Joey Lucchesi and right-hander Jose Butto. Lucchesi is comfortable working multiple innings in relief and has expressed a desire to take on the role should the Mets need him to. Butto has been primarily a starter but he’s pitched in relief at various levels, including at the major league level.

    The Mets could go out and look for someone to play this role in free agency or through a trade, but it’s worth giving one of these two a look.

    BRING IN A SETUP MAN

    Ottavino declined his player option to become a free agent, but that doesn’t mean the door is closed on a return to Queens.

    The Mets should prioritize pitchers with high-leverage experience, especially if they plan to use Raley how they did last year. This is where they can use free agency. They probably won’t try to add a marquee stopper like Josh Hader, but they could add guys like Ottavino, Matt Moore or Will Smith, who seems to be a good luck charm having been a part of the last three World Series-winning teams.

    The Mets could and should add more than one pitcher of this caliber. Smith is hopeful that he can play a bigger role next season, and eventually homegrown right-hander Grant Hartwig might as well, but right now, they’re still unproven.

    ADD DEPTH IN THE MIDDLE

    This is where David Stearns and his group can make their mark. Stearns is great at finding depth pieces on waivers, through trades or through international signings. The Mets have already made some transactions when it comes to middle relief and they figure to be a lot more aggressive over the next month in this area. They claimed Penn Murfee off waivers and lost him. They signed Cole Sulser to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.

    Currently, the Mets have Smith, Hartwig and right-handers Phil Bickford, Sean Reid-Foley and Reed Garrett. Reid-Foley has some promise but at this point, we know what Bickford and Garrett are, and they’re also out of options. The Mets might have to get creative here, but there is certainly room for creativity.

    ADD ANOTHER LEFT-HANDED OPTION

    The three-batter minimum has eliminated the need for a true situational left-hander, but with teams in the NL East fielding some powerful left-handed hitters like Bryce Harper and Matt Olson, Raley was often called on to face them in key innings.

    Raley is valuable because he can pitch in the seventh or the ninth. But if the Mets are going to use Raley to set up some, they might need another left-hander to handle left-handed power threats in the middle innings. Homegrown lefty Josh Walker could audition for this role if the Mets don’t bring in someone else this winter.

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    Abbey Mastracco

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  • Francisco Alvarez says new Mets new skipper Carlos Mendoza is the ‘talk of’ Venezuela

    Francisco Alvarez says new Mets new skipper Carlos Mendoza is the ‘talk of’ Venezuela

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    The Mets have some new fans thanks to the hiring of Carlos Mendoza.

    A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, the Mets made Mendoza only the second Major League manager to come out of the country when they hired him to replace Buck Showalter earlier this month. It’s been a popular hire in his home country, according to another native, catcher Francisco Alvarez, who said his friends and family have all started rooting for the Mets because of it.

    “It’s pretty much the talk of the country right now,” Alvarez said through translator Alan Suriel Friday at the Mets’ ninth annual Turkey Drive in the Bronx. “Everyone is turning into Mets fans over there. That’s all everyone talks about and they’re, honestly, solely fans of the Mets now because we have a Venezuelan manager. So, it’s obviously something that’s really big in the country.”

    Considering there have been 473 players from the country to reach the big leagues, it’s somewhat surprising that the only other manager on that list is Ozzie Guillen, who managed the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins but he hasn’t managed since 2012.

    Mendoza was never one of those players. He was a career minor leaguer before becoming a coach in the Yankees organization and working his way up to the bench coach role in 2020, which is often considered the second-highest position in a dugout. It was not an easy path or a linear path to the Majors for Mendoza, but it’s a path that has endeared him to Alvarez.

    “I’m super proud of the story, of his background, what it’s taken him to get to this point,” Alvarez said. “It feels really good and I’m really proud of it,” Alvarez said through Suriel. “It brings me a lot of pride and joy that he’s been given this opportunity. I think he’s one of those people that can open the doors for other Venezuelan potential managers in the future because of the skill sets that he has.”

    The two have yet to meet in person, but they have a phone conversation already. Mendoza wasted no time in calling up members of the Mets roster after agreeing to terms with the Mets on a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth. Alvarez characterized the conversations as positive with the two of them in the initial process of getting to know one another.

    Alvarez, who recently turned 22, has shifted his mindset this winter as he ended his first full big league season. He’s also healthy this winter, having undergone ankle surgery last fall after the Mets were eliminated from the playoffs, which gives him the chance to hone in on certain parts of his game, like defensive elements behind the plate.

    Alvarez had a prolific rookie season at the plate hitting 25 home runs, the most ever hit by a rookie backstop in club history. But behind it, he struggled. The Mets were happy with the strides he made in pitch framing and footwork, but he allowed 99 stolen bases and eight passed balls, throwing out only 15.

    It’s a point of emphasis for him moving forward.

    “My primary focus is obviously winning — going out there and winning each and every game that we can,” Alvarez said. “But also, when I’m on the play I want to be able to limit the damage that the other teams did. I’m really focused on that, and really focused on calling a better game so we don’t give up as many runs as we did.”

    Mendoza frequently lauded the Yankees team chefs for their abilities to make Venezuelan food while Alvarez’s teammates lauded him for making lasagna last season. However, for Alvarez’s first American Thanksgiving, he’s letting his mother handle the cooking, saying she’s a better cook than he is.

    The Mets handed out over 7,500 turkeys across the five boroughs, helping to feed more than 61,000 people, with Alvarez passing out birds with Mr. and Mrs. Met at Part of the Solution Community Center.

    “It feels good because you know that they’re gonna spend days with their families with the things that they need,” he said through Suriel. “To be able to be out here with the Mets, and to be able to help them, it feels good.”

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    Abbey Mastracco

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  • Mets arbitration candidates: Predicting who is safe, who is on the bubble and who is out

    Mets arbitration candidates: Predicting who is safe, who is on the bubble and who is out

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    The Mets roster, as it was constructed last season, lacked impactful depth. Billy Eppler constructed a roster that had elite talent at the top but not much in the middle.

    The drop-off from the stars to the role players and back-end options was steep. President of baseball operations David Stearns has a solid track record of finding quality depth pieces. He touched on it during his introductory press conference and credited his staff for helping him find and identify those depth players.

    There are several players under team control due for raises in arbitration this winter but it’s unlikely the Mets will tender contracts to all of them. Here’s a look at the arbitration-eligible players on the 40-man roster and our best guesses as to whether or not the Mets opt to keep them.

    Safe: 1B Pete Alonso, DH Daniel Vogelbach, RHP Drew Smith, LHP Joey Lucchesi, LHP David Peterson

    Stearns said he expects Pete Alonso will be the Mets’ Opening Day first baseman. Alonso, who has one more year of team control before becoming a free agent, recently switched agents and retained Scott Boras, who typically likes to take clients to free agency. He may end up right back with the team that drafted him and developed him after testing the free agent waters, but he continues to emphasize how much he loves New York and playing for the Mets, so negotiations could open up again.

    Daniel Vogelbach should be on the bubble. He didn’t produce when the Mets needed him to this year, despite Eppler’s insistence that he would. Maybe without Eppler, Vogelbach’s chances of returning might not be as high, but thanks to MLB Trade Rumors we have an idea of what he might make next year: $2.6 million, which is pretty cheap. The 30-year-old has familiarity with Stearns having played in Milwaukee, and he’s extremely well-liked in the clubhouse.

    In the end, Vogelbach managed to finish the season with a 104 OPS+, so between the cost-effective salary and his on-base skills, the Mets could be tempted to keep him around a little longer. However, this doesn’t mean he will be the primary DH next year.

    Left-handers David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi have value as depth options and will likely be around $2 million each. The Mets could use them as back-end starters or put them in the bullpen. The team churned through some long-relief options early in the season and none of them stuck. Peterson and Lucchesi could be options for that role.

    Drew Smith struggled this year with his breaking stuff, but the right-handed reliever still has minor-league options.

    On the bubble: RHP Trevor Gott, RHP Jeff Brigham, RHP John Curtiss, RHP Sam Coonrod, RHP Elieser Hernandez, OF DJ Stewart, INF Luis Guillorme, OF Tim Locastro

    Trevor Gott was good for the Mets at times, but also very bad at others. They paid a high price for him, sending left-hander Zack Muckenhirn to Seattle in exchange for the right-handed reliever and taking on the salary of right-hander Chris Flexen. Stearns acquired Gott once in Milwaukee, so he may be inclined to keep him around and use him in lower-leverage situations.

    Without Edwin Diaz last season, the Mets needed some of their “optionable” arms to step up. Jeff Brigham didn’t, even when the Mets continued to use him in important spots. Eventually, the club was forced to use that minor league option, demoting him to Triple-A when the situation became untenable and his nearly 20% home run rate caught up to him.

    Brigham is 31, so it’s not like he’s an emerging prospect who needs more development. The same can be said for John Curtiss (30) and Sam Coonrod (31), who both struggled with injuries this season. Both are out of minor league options, while Brigham has one left. Curtiss was already non-tendered by Stearns once, with the Brewers opting not to retain him while he rehabbed from his second Tommy John surgery in 2022.

    Luis Guillorme had his worst offensive season and was demoted to Triple-A. He also missed time with a calf injury. However, the 28-year-old is a homegrown defensive whiz who can play every infield position.

    The Mets have to figure out if DJ Stewart’s August performance was an aberration or whether it’s sustainable. He hit .303 with eight home runs and 16 RBI in August before getting injured and cooling off in September. He also didn’t hit left-handed pitching well, with an OPS of .595 in 49 plate appearances. Stewart, who will be 30 next month, could be useful as a bench option.

    Tim Locastro is an intriguing option with his speed, but the Mets weren’t able to utilize it with the outfielder spending most of the season on the injured list. The team will have to decide if the base-stealing is necessary or whether that roster spot can be utilized in another way.

    Non-tender: INF Danny Mendick, OF Rafael Ortega, C Michael Perez, OF Tim Locastro, RHP Elieser Hernandez 

    Danny Mendick can play a lot of positions, but he didn’t hit for the Mets in his first season after ACL surgery. Rafael Ortega had a few big hits, but not enough. Michael Perez is out of options and the Mets still have Tomas Nido in the organization, plus catchers Kevin Parada and Hayden Senger coming through the system.

    Elieser Hernandez couldn’t stay healthy and he’s also out of minor league options.

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    Abbey Mastracco

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  • Tylor Megill’s dominates as Mets take series-opener over Phillies

    Tylor Megill’s dominates as Mets take series-opener over Phillies

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    After a week of rain and rain-related storylines, the Mets were finally able to play a game without incident. Tylor Megill turned in a season-best performance with 7 1/3 innings and the Mets defeated the Phillies 4-3 in the opening game.

    It was a game that mattered little for both teams. The NL East was decided long ago with the Atlanta Braves clinching the title for the second year in a row, and the Phillies having clinched the top NL Wild Card playoff spot earlier in the week. They have a six-game lead over the Arizona Cardinals. The Mets, of course, were officially eliminated from playoff contention last week in Philadelphia.

    But finishing this weekend strong still means something for the Mets, and they beat up a pitcher who used to be one of their own in the matinee game. Taijuan Walker (15-6) was tagged for four earned runs in a seven-inning outing. The Mets scored three runs in the first inning and Omar Narvaez made it 4-0 in the second with a leadoff homer, only his second round-tripper of the season.

    Megill (9-18) was the star. In his final performance of the season, the right-hander went deeper than he had all year, carrying a scoreless outing into the eighth inning. Megill gave up back-to-back singles before getting the first out and being replaced by Brooks Raley.

    The expectations around Megill were high this season and he struggled to perform. He was even demoted to Triple-A at one point. All year, the Mets tried to figure out why Megill and his left-handed counterpart David Peterson had regressed.

    But Megill limited the Phillies to one earned run on four hits, walked two and struck out seven Saturday. He has worked to get his ERA under 5.00 and did exactly that, lowering it to 4.70.

    He came off the field to an ovation from the fans. Left-hander Raley allowed the inherited runner to score, cutting the Mets lead to 4-1.

    The Phillies threatened in the ninth, taking two runs off Adam Ottavino. Weston Wilson was advantageous on the basepaths, stealing second and third with only putting only one out. But Ottavino struck out Jake Cave and Christian Pache hit one right to Rafael Ortega in center field and Ottavino converted his 12th save.

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    Abbey Mastracco

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  • Mets rookies look to finish strong, build on MLB experience this offseason

    Mets rookies look to finish strong, build on MLB experience this offseason

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    PHILADELPHIA — Over the last few weeks, the Mets have put a heavy emphasis on finishing strong so their emerging rookies can build some confidence heading into the winter. But it’s less about stats and numbers and more about feeling good about the adjustments made and more about having a solid foundation to work on in the winter.

    The Mets want infielders Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos, catcher Francisco Alvarez and reliever Grant Hartwig to go into the offseason with the idea that they can compete at the big league level and that they do belong here.

    “What gets players is always the unknown,” manager Buck Showalter said Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. “We try to be open with them about the unknown. Now, these guys have got an idea of what’s ahead of them as they go through the offseason. There are some things you only can experience up here, like the first time you travel with a Major League team, the first time you take Major League batting practice, the first time you play in front of a third deck. Your depth perceptions are totally different and people don’t realize that.”

    For Baty, a 23-year-old third baseman, his rookie campaign has been anything but smooth sailing. He was brought up to the big leagues in April amid much fanfare and lived up to the hype in the early days. But like all rookies, he scuffled at times and he slumped big time late in the summer. So much so, that the Mets demoted him to Triple-A for a few weeks.

    But since he was called up on Sept. 1, he’s been solid on both sides of the ball. Friday night in Philadelphia, his ninth-inning theatrics tied the game and forced extra innings. The Mets have long been impressed by Baty’s ability to pick up on how pitchers have attacked him. His ability to pick up on the ride of Craig Kimbrel’s fastball on Thursday night and then hit that same fastball out of the park on Friday was impressive. He followed it up Saturday with a 2-for-4 performance.

    For the Mets’ first-round pick in 2019, the power numbers are good, but knowing he can navigate the highs and lows of the season is even better.

    AP Photo/Matt Slocum

    Brett Baty during the Mets’ game on Saturday in Philadelphia.

    “This game is so built on failure that you can’t will yourself to do anything,” Baty said. “You come to the field and be the same guy, be consistent and work really hard. Whatever the game gives you, the game gives you. That’s what I’ve been focusing on the last couple of weeks and it’s been good.”

    Hartwig came up to the Major Leagues with the intention of showing that he can get left-handed hitters out. A right-hander who works primarily off his sinker, Hartwig succeeded in that, holding lefties to a .154 average. But he might have put too much emphasis on lefties: Righties are hitting .306 with two home runs off him.

    “The biggest thing [for] me this season was having a lot of success against left-handed hitters,” Hartwig told the Daily News before the Mets played the Philadelphia Phillies in the third game of the series. “That was a big question mark when I got called up… But with the success against lefties, I need to have a little more success against righties. They’re having too much success off me and I think that’s in part to getting behind on righties and not executing.

    “I think I’ve allowed too many comfortable at-bats, getting behind in counts for hitters when the way that I throw, the way that I slow, and the way my stuff moves, there should be uncomfortable at-bats for righties.”

    This is where getting hit and learning to struggle has been important for an emerging young bullpen piece.

    “A dose of reality is good too,” Showalter said.

    Hartwig, who was planning on going to medical school before the Mets called him after college, attacks hitters with the precision of a doctor. He’s a cerebral pitcher who understands the nuance of a fickle sport. But even he isn’t immune to cliches.

    Taking it one game at a time and trying to string together a few games at a time is what the Baby Mets are after and they hope they’ll be better for it this winter.

    “I think it sounds cliche but it’s 100% true,” Hartwig said. “And it’s not just for young guys — everyone is trying to finish the season strong on a high note to create some momentum going into the offseason, and maybe for next year.”

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    Abbey Mastracco

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  • Jose Quintana has ‘tough day’ in soggy Philadelphia and Mets lose to Phillies, 7-5

    Jose Quintana has ‘tough day’ in soggy Philadelphia and Mets lose to Phillies, 7-5

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    PHILADELPHIA — Jose Quintana battled cold, wet, windy weather Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets picked him up to make it interesting but ultimately lost 7-5 to the Philadelphia Phillies in the third game of a four-game set.

    The Phillies (86-69) took the series with the win and need one more Sunday to finish off a four-game sweep. Sunday’s game is in danger with Tropical Storm Ophelia bringing heavy rain and winds to the area this weekend. The two teams were able to make it through Saturday without any delays, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant for anyone on the field.

    “It’s a tough day to play,” said manager Buck Showalter. “But it’s the same for both teams. They don’t change the weather conditions for one team. You’ve got a wet ball and you’ve got wind and every foul ball — you never know where it’s going to end up.”

    The Mets (71-84) took a 2-0 lead in the second when Phillies shortstop Trea Turner failed to stop a sharp ground ball by Brett Baty. But the defending NL champs would come right back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Bryce Harper led off with a home run and J.T. Realmuto reached on an error by Francisco Lindor. Nick Castellanos tripled to score Realmuto and tie the game.

    It was somewhere around the second inning that Quintana decided to pitch down instead of pitching up. Seeing the way the ball was flying, the veteran knew he had to change course. It wasn’t ideal, but it was necessary.

    “Right away I changed a little bit of my plan and said, ‘It’s a tough day to pitch up,’” Quintana said. “I started to throw a little more down and it changed my command over the plate a little bit, so I was going back and forth. Sometimes you get ground balls, sometimes my stuff played.”

    Phillies first baseman Alec Bohm led off the third with a home run and then defensive miscues would cost the Mets again in the fifth inning. With runners on second and third, Turner chopped one to Lindor and he threw home. Johan Rojas beat the tag to give the Phillies a 4-2 lead.

    With two outs, Harper pulled one down the right-field line and Pete Alonso deflected it into right field. Realmuto had a base hit to extend the inning and stole second.

    Finally, Castellanos struck out to end the inning.

    The Mets didn’t pin this one on Quintana.

    “Couldn’t have picked a better guy to pitch with the conditions we had today,” Showalter said. “We didn’t make three plays behind him. I know we only scored on an error, but three really hurt his cause.”

    Quintana (3-6) has been consistently good since starting his season in late July. But the veteran left-hander’s 12th start in a Mets uniform was maybe his roughest. He allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits over six innings, striking out 10.

    “It was a big challenge,” Quintana said. “A tough day.”

    The Mets made it interesting in the seventh scoring three to get within a run of tying the game. Rojas misread a fly ball by Brandon Nimmo in center field and it dropped for a two-run triple. Lindor drove Nimmo home with a fly ball to left field and Kyle Schwarber’s throw home was just a split-second late.

    The Mets succeeded in knocking out starter Zack Wheeler (13-6) with the three-run seventh. The former Mets right-hander pitched well enough to earn the win, holding the Mets to only three earned runs (five unearned) over seven innings.

    Right-hander Reed Garrett couldn’t lock things down, giving up a run in the seventh.

    Left-hander Jose Alvardo converted the save (10). The Mets are 2-4 on their final road trip of the season with one left to play and right-hander Jose Butto on the mound to face left-hander Christopher Sanchez.

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  • Mike Lupica: Don’t blame Buck Showalter and Aaron Boone for this lousy New York baseball season

    Mike Lupica: Don’t blame Buck Showalter and Aaron Boone for this lousy New York baseball season

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    The last time we had no October baseball in New York was 10 seasons ago, in 2014. In 2016, the last time the Yankees didn’t make it to the postseason but the Mets did, we got exactly one October game, even if it was a pretty dramatic Wild Card game between the Mets and the Giants, Noah Syndergaard going toe-to-toe with Madison Bumgarner that night until Jeurys Familia coughed up the Mets season in the 9th.

    Now we move up on another dark baseball October, really dark, because of belly flops involving two teams whose combined payroll is over $600 million. All that money, spent on two fourth-place teams. It’s enough wasted money by Steve Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner to make them feel almost as tortured owning local sports teams as the noted Las Vegas entrepreneur, James L. Dolan.

    Has there been bad luck for both of our teams? There has, starting even before the regular season began when Edwin Diaz, coming off as great a season as any New York closer ever had, tore up his knee in the World Baseball Classic. Then on the first Saturday night in June, big Aaron Judge injured his big toe running into an outfield wall at Dodger Stadium, and was gone for nearly two months.

    The Yankees were 10 games over .500 when Judge got hurt. Somehow they hung in there, and were still six games over .500, 54-48, when Judge returned to the lineup in Baltimore at the end of July. Through Thursday night, they were 23-28 since.

    Starting pitchers, big starting pitchers, ended up getting hurt for both teams. Domingo German, the imperfect young man who had pitched a perfect game for the Yankees, ended up in rehab. Anthony Rizzo, one of the good guys, got concussed, a situation that somehow hid in plain sight with the Yankees for a couple of months. Max (We Hardly Knew Ye) Scherzer and Kate Upton’s husband, Mr. Verlander, left town at the trade deadline. So did the immortal Tommy Pham. Pham is a guy now playing for his 8th team in 10 years, but that hasn’t stopped him from acting like the conscience of the 2023 Mets.

    What really happened on both sides of the place I started calling Baseball New York a long time ago? A lot. And hardly any of it was good.

    But you know who shouldn’t get blamed? The managers.

    Buck Showalter is a year removed from leading the Mets to 101 wins and winning manager of the year.

    If you really think you can lay all of what we have witnessed over the past six months on Buck Showalter and Aaron Boone, as thrilling as it is for some people to run with the crowd on that, you’ve simply been streaming the wrong movie.

    Start with Buck. He was coming off one of the best managing jobs you’ll ever see with the 2022 Mets, somehow taking his team to 101 victories, the same number the Braves won last season. He did that in a season when he ended up getting a total of 34 starts from Scherzer and Wing-and-a-Prayer DeGrom. Even with all that, Mets fans still have a right to wonder how last October would have gone for their team if Scherzer had managed to win the two games he was hired, at very big money, to win:

    His last regular-season start against the Braves.

    His Wild Card series start against the Padres.

    Scherzer most certainly did not. Had nothing in either game. So the Mets didn’t win the NL East. They ended up losing the Wild Card series to the Padres. This year Buck loses Diaz and does not have nearly enough bullpen behind him. Scherzer got hurt, and suspended for sticky fingers. Verlander started the season hurt. Ninety million tied up in two guys whose combined age is nearly 80. Neither one was a Met after Aug. 1 because Cohen and Billy Eppler, his general manager, waved the white flag at that point.

    Now we read and hear that David Stearns, Cohen’s heart’s desire for a while to be head of baseball ops at Citi Field, might want to bring in his own guy to manage the Mets, maybe even his guy Craig Counsell with the Brewers, suddenly discussed as if he’s Joe Torre. You tell me where Stearns is going to find a better one than Buck Showalter, who after last season was named Manager of the Year for the fourth time, in a fourth different decade.

    People love to whisper the narrative, just off-stage, that Buck is too old. Is Brian Snitker, who might win another World Series with the Braves after his 68th birthday, too old? Is 74-year old Dusty Baker, who won last year with the Astros, too old? Everybody sees the work Bruce Bochy has done with the Rangers this season. Bochy, who will turn 69 next spring, is a year older than Buck. Is Bruce Bochy too old? You know what all the boy-wonder executives like Stearns should do with great baseball men like these? They should try learning from them.

    Manager Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees makes a pitching change during the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on August 16, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
    Aaron Boone was dealt a bad hand from the start with this Yankees team.

    And Aaron Boone? Does any fair-minded person look at the construction of this Yankee team — and that means even before Steinbrenner had to pay more than $30 million to make Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson go away — and think this is somehow all his doing? The Yankees were hurt by injuries, absolutely, same as the Mets were. But they also came into the season with no left fielder and no viable third baseman and Rizzo being the only left-handed bat with any pop in it. In Yankee Stadium. With a right field wall so close batters feel as if they can touch it with the end of their bat.

    The Yankees came into the season with one player, the surpassing No. 99, that anybody really wanted to watch play baseball on a daily basis. They weren’t fast enough, young enough, athletic enough. If Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner try to talk themselves into believing that this season was some kind of outlier, they’re just kidding themselves. The Yankees nearly lost to the Guardians in the playoffs last season, got swept by Astros, and then made one significant addition: Carlos Rodon, who coming into the weekend had made 12 starts and had a 5.90 earned run average because of injuries.

    You know who Rodon might turn out to be, if he isn’t a lot better and a lot healthier next season? Another starting pitcher who turns out to have been a lot better somewhere else. If Steinbrenner really does try to blame this on Boone it is simply because he would be willing to blame anybody except his general manager for the current state of the Yankees. I love people pointing fingers at the Yankees analytics department as if all those people hired themselves.

    Plenty of bad luck to go around. Plenty of disappointments, on both teams. Plenty of blame to go around. Fixing these two teams is going to be hard. Putting this on Buck and Aaron Boone is way too easy.

    MIGHT WANT TO BLOCK MICAH, SALUTE TO SCHWARBER & TIME FOR BIG BLUE TO PLAY SOME DEFENSE …

    One of the more interesting aspects of last week’s Jets-Cowboys game was that Nathaniel Hackett, the Jets new offensive coordinator, seemed to be the only person watching that game who didn’t seem to identify the fact that Micah Parsons was running around the field like the second coming of LT.

    My pal Stanton always likes to be a glass-half-full guy, so he points out that when it comes to pro football, at least New York isn’t Chicago.

    So, to paraphrase Bill Murray in “Caddyshack,” we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.

    Do Mets fans ever look at the Wild Card race in the National League and find themselves wondering what might have happened if the Mets didn’t sell when they did.

    If you’re keeping score at home, the Red Sox are about to hire their fourth general manager since Theo Epstein.

    And two of them — Ben Cherington and Dave Dombrowski — won World Series at a place, Fenway, where executives don’t have the same kind of tenure as justices of the Supreme Court.

    By the way?

    After trading away Mookie Betts, one of the best all-around players in Boston baseball history, maybe the most boneheaded thing that Red Sox have done lately is letting Kyle Schwarber just walk out the door after he tried to help slug them back to the Series in 2021.

    If it sounds like I’m stuck on what Schwarber is doing for the Phillies, I am.

    Even with the under-.200 batting average Schwarber carried into this weekend series with the Mets, The Schwarb is one of the most valuable players in the sport.

    With an historic stat line that will eventually include 200 strikeouts, 100 runs scored, 100 RBI, and more walks through Thursday night (123) than hits (109), all of that going quite nicely with 45 home runs that might still end up being 50.

    Every time James Dolan does an interview he reminds you why he shouldn’t do interviews.

    The Giants have now given up 40 to the Cowboys, 28 to the Cardinals and 30 to the 49ers.

    If they can’t play better defense than this going forward, they are going to finish last in the NFC East.

    I’m so used to seeing Deion on television, I kept expecting him to do a walk-on during an old “West Wing” I was watching the other night.

    Seriously?

    Who thought the real headliner in those Aflac duck  commercials was going to end up being Deion and not Nick Saban?

    How’s that idiotic 10-year contract that Michigan State gave Mel Tucker after he won a few games looking now?

    If the Zach Wilson thing does go south, do we just give Joe Douglas a pass on that?

    Jets fans in the media really aren’t familiar with the whole concept of suffering in silence, are they?

    All these stories about Travis Kelce trying to get a date with Taylor Swift are already older than Rupert Murdoch.

    * * *

    Mike Lupica’s new thriller, “12 Months to Live,” co-authored with James Patterson, is on sale Monday.

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    Mike Lupica

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  • Mets lose to Reds again as both teams’ rookies leave their marks

    Mets lose to Reds again as both teams’ rookies leave their marks

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    Rookies for the Mets and Reds made their marks throughout Saturday night’s game, but it was a Cincinnati youngster who delivered the decisive blow.

    Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s two-run home run against Mets starter Tylor Megill proved to be the game-winner in the Reds’ 3-2 victory at Citi Field.

    The 23-year-old’s fourth-inning blast broke a 1-1 tie and spoiled an otherwise gritty performance by Megill, who entered the outing with a 2.20 ERA over his previous three starts.

    The right-hander wasn’t as sharp Saturday, allowing 11 baserunners over 5.2 innings, but he didn’t allow any earned runs beyond Encarnacion-Strand’s shot.

    “Didn’t have the greatest stuff today but was able to maneuver, make quality pitches, let the defense work and not let it snowball where past times before it would,” said Megill, who took the loss to fall to 8-8.

    Encarnacion-Strand was far from the only rookie to have a big night. Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz, the 21-year-old highlight machine who made his MLB debut in June, went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in his first-ever game against the Mets.

    For the Mets, 22-year-old Ronny Mauricio continued the strong start to his MLB career with two more hits, including a first-inning RBI single that gave his team a short-lived 1-0 lead. Mauricio is now batting .302 since making his MLB debut Sept. 1. Saturday marked the fourth multi-hit performance of his 12-game career.

    Francisco Alvarez, the Mets’ 21-year-old catcher, contributed an RBI double in the fourth inning, then extended a Mets rally attempt with a two-out single in the ninth. The next batter, Pete Alonso, grounded into a force out with the tying run at second base to end the game.

    Alvarez also made a throwing error in the second inning when his pickoff attempt sailed past Mauricio at third base, allowing Encarnacion-Strand to score the Reds’ first run. Saturday was the second time Mauricio, a natural shortstop who has primarily played second base with the Mets, started at third.

    “I talked to [Mauricio] two or three times about different situations, trying to remind him that at third base, the ball gets to you faster,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

    MLB Pipeline ranked Alvarez and De La Cruz among its top 10 prospects before the 2023 season. Encarnacion-Strand and Mauricio were both considered top 100 prospects before their second-half call-ups.

    “It’s big for them,” Showalter said of the rookies. “Cincinnati obviously is trying to contribute to getting into the playoffs, and our guys are continuing to try to build trust from everybody. That’s really what you’re trying to do: establish trust in people. Know what you’re going to bring.”

    Another touted rookie, 24-year-old pitcher Andrew Abbott, started Saturday for Cincinnati. The Mets got to him for two runs over 3.2 innings, but they failed to score against four Reds relievers over the final 5.1 frames.

    The Reds (78-72), who entered Saturday tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL Wild Card spot, also won Friday’s game against the Mets, with 2021 Rookie of the Year Jonathan India hitting a game-winning homer.

    The Mets (68-80) will attempt to avoid a three-game sweep Sunday afternoon, with left-hander Jose Quintana (2-5, 3.05 ERA) set to pitch against Reds lefty Brandon Williamson (4-4, 4.47 ERA).

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    Peter Sblendorio

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  • Reds’ Jonathan India’s 2-run homer sinks Grant Hartwig, Mets in series-opener

    Reds’ Jonathan India’s 2-run homer sinks Grant Hartwig, Mets in series-opener

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    Two rising NL pitchers dueled under lights on the Citi Field mound Friday night. They each gave up big home runs and let their bullpens take it away.

    In the end, neither one of them received a decision. Grant Hartwig (4-2) gave up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India in the seventh inning and the Mets lost 5-3 in the first game of a three-game set.

    Right-hander Hunter Greene no-hit the Mets through four innings with Jeff McNeil finally breaking it up with a double to lead off the fifth. The Reds gave him a 3-0 lead after Spencer Steer took a two-run shot off left-hander David Peterson in the sixth, but it was Pete Alonso’s big blow that tied the game in the bottom of the frame.

    Alonso’s 45th homer of the year puts him in sole possession of second place, six behind Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves and one ahead of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels.

    The excitement of the lead was short-lived, but the Mets should be somewhat excited about the performance that left-hander David Peterson turned in.

    “Pete presented himself in a very competitive outing and one we should have taken better advantage of,” said manager Buck Showalter.

    Peterson held the Reds to three runs (two earned) on six hits, walked two and struck out 10 to match his career-high mark over 5 2/3 innings. More length would have been preferable, but he’ll have a few more turns through the rotation to show some efficiency.

    Peterson went fastball-heavy, using his sinker and slider to finish off hitters. He got 15 swings and misses, much of them with the slider. His slider has always been his put-away pitch, but it wasn’t as effective earlier in the season. Now, the pitch looking and acting more like it used to.

    “It’s got a different shape to it,” Showalter said of Peterson’s slider. “A lot of times, when people are getting too technical they’ll try to throw the ball through the catcher instead of to him. The slider is finishing and he’s and he’s trying to get it to the zone instead of through the zone.”

    After seeing the results of some mechanical tweaks, Peterson has more confidence in the pitch now than he did earlier in the season.

    “I think the last couple starts, I’ve felt like I’ve been able to throw it whenever,” Peterson said. “The other pitches complementing it and setting it up have been helpful. I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

    The hope is that Peterson can be used as a back-end starter this season. He played that role this season, but not exceptionally well. He has shown improved command and a better ability to repeat his delivery since returning from Triple-A in August but he has yet to establish himself and solidify himself as a contender for a rotation spot next season.

    A few more good starts this year and he could have the team decision-makers looking at him in a different light this winter.

    “You want to finish strong and you want to go home with a very productive mindset as to how we finish the year,” Peterson said. “Obviously, things have not gone our way but you’ve got to look forward to what you’re doing personally, what we’re doing as a group and carry that into next year. There’s another year after this, so you’ve got to take the progress as much as you can into the offseason work and come back and be ready to fight.”

    Ronny Mauricio made his first Major League start at third base. He made an error that allowed an unearned run to score in the fifth but also made a very strong, accurate throw to get Tyler Stephenson at first in the eighth inning.

    The Mets threatened in the bottom of the inning putting two on with one out, but a familiar closer was called into the game early to keep them at bay. Alexis Diaz, the brother of injured Mets closer Edwin, sat down Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil to end the threat. Alexis remained in the game for the ninth, converting his 37th save of the season to put him in a tie for second.

    The brothers have combined for 252 big league saves, the second-highest total recorded by brothers since saves became official in 1969 (Todd and Tim Worrell have the record with 327).

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    Abbey Mastracco

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