Tagged: MLB Playoffs
Mets And Yoenis Cespedes Agree To Deal
It is being reported by FOX Sports baseball insider Ken Rosenthal that the New York Mets have come to terms on a deal with free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. The deal is reportedly going to be the biggest free agent deal in Mets history.The reported specifics detail Cespedes receiving a four-year $110 million deal. The deal will pan out to an average of $27.5 million dollars a year for the 31-year old slugger. While the amount isn’t as nearly as surprising, the length of the contract certainly is. It was being widely reported that Cespedes was looking for a five-year contract on the open market and teams such as the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals were lurking in the background. Cespedes will receive full no-trade protection and is only behind Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera in terms of annual average salary for a position player in MLB history. Cespedes will however hold the top annual average salary ever for any outfielder with this deal.
It is a big get for Sandy Alderson and company as they look to return to the World Series after last year’s Wild Card round elimination. The Mets have not had an impactful bat in their lineup since Carlos Beltran, and Cespedes has proven to be that and more over his season and a half with the team. He has fully embraced New York and New York has fully embraced him. In 189 games played for the Mets since coming over during the 2015 MLB Trade Deadline Cespedes has hit .282 with 48 home runs and 130 RBI’s.
Now that this deal has been completed, the Mets can focus their attention in other directions in regards to improving the roster. Jay Bruce is highly likely to be traded after this signing and it will be interesting to see what the Mets will want in return. There had already been speculation earlier this month that both the Blue Jays and Mets were talking about a deal involving the 29-year old outfielder. The hot stove is getting hotter with the Winter Meetings around the corner, and the Mets for the first time in quite some time dug deep in their pockets to get their guy.
Final Recap: Giants 3 – Mets 0
The San Francisco Giants defeated the New York Mets in the NL Wild Card game by the final score of 3-0 to advance to the NLDS. For a full postgame recap follow the link below…
http://m.mlb.com/gameday/giants-vs-mets/2016/10/05/487596?#game=487596,game_state=final,game_tab=box
Game Notes:
- Jeurys Familia gave up a go-ahead homer in the top of the 9th inning with a 3-run shot off the bat of third baseman Conor Gillaspie.
- Noah Syndergaard was absolutely dominant tonight going 7 scoreless innings, while only allowing 2 hits, 3 walks, and 10 strikeouts.
- The Mets were only able to muster 4 hits off of Giants starter Madison Bumgarner who went the distance tonight.
- The Mets were 0-4 with runners in scoring position tonight.
Well for the second straight season the Mets are watching another team celebrate a postseason clinching victory on their own home field. It doesn’t get much more heartbreaking than putting the saves leader in Major League Baseball on the mound in the top of the ninth of a scoreless game, to only get taken deep by an unheralded player who has never hit more than seven home runs in his career more than once. As a Mets fan as I saw Gillaspie round the bases, I could only go back to 2006 when Yadier Molina went deep and left me with my jaw on the floor. It is a truly disappointing ending to what was a truly remarkable season for a team that battled tooth and nail to get where they were tonight. It will definitely take me some time to get over tonight’s loss, but at the end of the day this team’s resiliency will not go unnoticed by fans everywhere after tonight’s wounds heal.
Speaking of going unnoticed, Noah Syndergaard’s performance tonight should not go unnoticed despite tonight’s loss. Thor mowed through the Giants lineup with ease by pumping his upper 90’s fastball and mid 90’s slider to hitters, keeping them off balance for seven innings. The only wish you could have, is you wish he could’ve lasted longer than seven tonight with how dominant he was. Syndgergaard has taken a huge step forward this season, as he has entrenched himself as the Mets top starter, and as long as he stays healthy he will be one of the best pitchers in baseball for a long long time. It’s unfortunate we were unable to give him the run support he deserved as he put on a hell of a show, but when you are opposing the best postseason pitcher of our era it certainly can become an understandably tall mountain to climb.
I eventually will have a recap of the Mets season, as I among many Mets fans will reflect heavily over the coming days on tonight’s loss. During that time I am also going to reflect on the successful season the Mets have had despite all the adversity they faced. Tonight hurts. There is no other way to say it. However I hope the Mets are able to carry the past two heartbreaking postseasons into next season as a prime source of motivation. They should also take into next season the fact that they played as a team when it mattered most. Curtis Granderson’s crashing catch at the wall in the sixth inning that stranded Denard Span at second base is a perfect example of that. Granderson has been playing center field for the Mets out of need since the beginning of August and has done as good of a job as anybody could’ve asked.
There are plenty of offseason questions that will surround this team, including the multi-million dollar Yoenis Cespedes question. But those questions can wait, at least for now.
Lineups: San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets 8:09 pm et.
2016 National League Wild Card Game:
San Francisco Giants (87-75):
1. Denard Span (L) CF
2. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
3. Buster Posey (R) C
4. Hunter Pence (R) RF
5. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
6. Angel Pagan (S) LF
7. Joe Panik (L) 2B
8. Conor Gillaspie (L) 3B
9. Madison Bumgarner (R) P
SP: Madison Bumgarner LHP (15-9, 2.74 ERA)
New York Mets (87-75):
1. Jose Reyes (S) 3B
2. Asdrubal Cabrera (S) SS
3. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF
4. Curtis Granderson (L) CF
5. T.J. Rivera (R) 2B
6. Jay Bruce (L) RF
7. Rene Rivera (R) C
8. James Loney (L) 1B
9. Noah Syndergaard (L) P
SP: Noah Syndergaard RHP (14-9, 2.60 ERA)
Tonight’s game can be seen on ESPN.
Mets Wild Card Postseason Roster
The Mets released their Wild Card Postseason Roster for tonight’s game. The roster can be seen below. A couple of notable names left off the roster include first baseman Lucas Duda and starting pitcher Seth Lugo.
Pitchers (9)
Jerry Blevins
Bartolo Colon
Josh Edgin
Jeurys Familia
Robert Gsellman
Addison Reed
Hansel Robles
Fernando Salas
Noah Syndergaard (Starting Pitcher)
Catchers (3)
Travis d’Arnaud
Kevin Plawecki
Rene Rivera
Infielders (7)
Asdrubal Cabrera
Eric Campbell
Kelly Johnson
Ty Kelly
James Loney
Jose Reyes
T.J. Rivera
Outfielders (6)
Jay Bruce
Yoenis Cespedes
Michael Conforto
Alejandro De Aza
Curtis Granderson
Juan Lagares
Resiliency Is Why The Mets Are Postseason Bound
What an incredible run it has been the past two seasons for the New York Mets. Last season this team behind strong starting pitching went on to shock the world and make it all the way to the World Series. This season the Mets had an even more remarkable run to October, as they fought their way through every possible injury imaginable to have a seat at the table to defend their National League crown. I have never seen a team in all of my years watching the Mets as resilient as this season’s team. Names such as Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, James Loney, T.J. Rivera, among others have replicated the production of who they were replacing in the starting lineup or starting rotation this season. This is only the second time in franchise history they have made the playoffs in back to back seasons, and Manager Terry Collins should be commended for the job he has done in keeping this team together through all the adversity they faced this season.
You can’t help but also be happy for our very own homegrown third baseman Jose Reyes, who is getting another shot at the postseason for the first time since 2006. Since the Mets acquired Reyes, he has changed the dynamic of this team with his presence at the top of the lineup, as well with the leadership and energy he has brought along with him. Many people left Reyes out to dry including his former team the Colorado Rockies after his off the field incident, but I have never seen an athlete in that unimaginable position handle his situation with such class. His acquisition has been one of the reasons the Mets will be playing Wednesday night.
Jay Bruce has also gotten red-hot at the right time for the Mets. We have seen him carry the Cincinnati Reds before, and his recent revival will be huge if the Mets want to make a deep run. Bruce has homered four times in his last seven games while driving in eight, and hitting .478 during that stretch. This is the Jay Bruce we all thought we were getting when we acquired him at the Trade Deadline, and there is no underestimating the impact he can provide with Yoenis Cespedes in the middle of the lineup.
The Mets will send Noah Syndergaard to the mound Wednesday night at Citi Field to face either the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets will certainly be scoreboard watching this afternoon to determine if they will be facing Madison Bumgarner or Carlos Martinez on the mound. Regardless of who they face, you always want to be playing your best baseball at the end of the season and the Mets are certainly doing that. Since August 20 the Mets have the best winning percentage (.692) in baseball while posting a 27-12 record. The Mets 43 road victories this season are also the most since 2011, which proves this team can go on the road and win if they need to. The Mets have also won at least one postseason series in each of the last four years they have qualified for the playoffs (2015, 2006, 2000 and 1999), which bodes well for their postseason history.
We can no longer look the other way at this team’s will to win. The Mets will have plenty of postseason experience behind them after last season’s run, and they believe they have unfinished business to take care of. It’s been an us against the world mentality all season since Opening Night in Kansas City and the Mets will have another chance on the big stage to get the job done. Our journey begins Wednesday night and we know this season’s theme has been all 25 men hands on deck. This team has won collectively as a team in the regular season utilizing every player on the roster, and that theme will look to continue Wednesday night. Let’s go Mets and lets go out there and shock the world!
Above The Mendoza 