Game of the Week: September 18: NYM @ MIA

[Commissioner Erick]

New York Mets (95-55) @ Miami Marlins (68-81)


NYM: Matt Harvey (11-6, 3.54)
MIA: Edison Volquez (10-11, 5.15)



Despite an unsuccessful season that won't culminate with a playoff berth, Miami has played out the string rather well, winning 16 of their last 23 games. That includes a series win against the Nationals.

They'll look to continue their spoiler role tonight as the Miami Marlins take on the New York Mets.

Weirdly, Miami has gone 3-7 against Philadelphia during this stretch and 14-2 against everybody else. Nonetheless, they're playing well and playing hard down the stretch, a testament to their strong clubhouse. Even if there's no playoffs, Miami has learned some things about their team.

They're learned, for example, that Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto are building blocks. Yelich is hitting .283, with 19 home runs, 23 steals, and a 9.3 zone rating. He hits for average, hits for power, runs the bases and plays the field. Only 25 years old, Yelich will be very good for years to come.

Realmuto is also a keeper. He combined a .292 average with double digit home runs and steals, plus scouts love his tools and his leadership. Only 26, he still has room to grow and could be the Miami catcher for a long time.

Finally, they've learned that Derek Dietrich's bat will play. Dietrich has 19 home runs and 33 doubles to give him an .812 OPS as a second baseman. His defense is still questionable, but despite it, he's put up a 3.1 WAR season.

However, they don't have a superstar offensive masher, and their rotation has been ineffective all season. Edison Volquez goes tonight. He has a 10-11 record, and a 5.15 ERA. He's kept the ball on the ground and in the park for the most part, but an unseemly 80 walks to 137 strikeouts has doomed him. Those 80 walks are the second most in the NL, and hurt Volquez' ability to be a reliable starter. Volquez is owed 13 million dollars next year, so he's under pressure to perform.

He'll be facing a Mets team that is almost certainly going to be the number two seed heading into the postseason. Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker are hurt, so health is the most important thing for the Mets.

The Mets have numerous infield options so they make up for Walker with numbers. Aside from starters Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Reyes, David Wright has a .341 OBP, Wilmer Flores has a .351 average, and T.J. Rivera had a.315 average and 15 home runs in Triple A. Those three can be mixed and matched depending on what Nigel Laverick is feeling.

Cespedes is a tougher man to replace as his offense has been so special. The All-Star has 34 home runs and 81 RBI's, numbers that will be tough to replace. Juan Lagares can play the outfield and is an excellent defender, but the offense will suffer until Cespedes is healthy and ready to go.


Questions for the GMs:


For Nigel Laverick, with Cespedes and Walker banged up, how will you configure your lineup to compensate?

Is there a young player you'll try to get some playing time the rest of the way?

Your starter tonight is the fourth best starter on your team, maybe the fifth. Will anything he do tonight factor in to whether you start him in the playoffs or not?

For Ben Vincent, you've had a lot of success in your minor leagues. What do you owe that to?

Edison Volquez has been disappointing this year. What are your plans for him next year?

Justin Bour has 26 home runs, but rates poorly in WAR thanks to his defense and lack of offense aside from those homers. Is he part of your future?

[Ben_Dodgers]

I we think we have a lot of talent in throughout the minor leagues, and this year we've seen a lot of guys make big strides in their development. That's a testament to the long hours put in by the minor league coaches.

As you mentioned, Volquez's walk rate has been a big problem. I think he'd be the first one to tell you he's been disappointed with his performance this season. But we can't lay it all at his feet. His FIP is 4.68 vs an ERA of 5.15. We need to make some improvements on defense to help pick up the pitching staff. That said, several of our highest paid players were also some of our least consistent performers this year. Our projected payroll next season is quite a bit higher than we'd like, so we'll be looking to make some moves in the offseason.

With Bour, it's really a tale of two seasons. He was hitting .199 at the end of June. Remember he injured his knee in April, too. In retrospect, we may have brought him back too quickly from the injury. Anyway, since July 1 he's hit .314 with 14 HR, 48 R, and 53 RBI, and his strikeout rate dropped from 22% to 14%. If he sustains that kind of production over the season, any team would be happy to have him.

[Commissioner Erick]

Very good point on Bour, one I did not know.

[NYMets_Nige]

Sorry, a bit late to the party but I did answer these before I downloaded the result.


For Nigel Laverick, with Cespedes and Walker banged up, how will you configure your lineup to compensate?


With Mets already on 95 wins I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to give some of our hardest workers a brief rest before the Post Season. Not too many though ! I'm still targeting 101 wins that would be the highest total in franchise history. With that in mind Juan Lagares will start in left to give him some much needed AB's, he has only 53 starts on the year, and young Brandon Nimmo has been called up to provide the outfield backup. Meanwhile at second we have gone with 32-yr-old Alden Carrithers, up from LV, as our man at second. We felt that TJ (Rivera) just wasn't swinging the bat well enough at this moment in time so although Carrithers certainly isn't part of our future plans his defensive capabilities at several infield positions would be of greater help to us. 

Duda will still hit in the DH role after Wilmer Flores is producing standout work at first but his team future is back in doubt after rejecting the one-year deal which he had initially accepted. He is now pressing for a second year to be included which the franchise is reluctant to give as the plan is for Smith to be the first base/DH of 2019


Is there a young player you'll try to get some playing time the rest of the way?


Still aiming for those 101 wins but mindful of fatigue we have decided to call up two young(ish) pitchers from LV to give a few of our starting pitchers a small rest down the final stretch. 27-yr-old Sean Gilmartin has already had two injury replacement spells up in New York, going 5-4, 3.62 in 13 starts while 26-yr-old Rafael Montero who has an 11-6, 5,51 ERA record from 28 starts in LV comes in for his first look in the big club this year. Noah & Zach will take a week off this week and we'll look to spell two more in the final week.


Your starter tonight is the fourth best starter on your team, maybe the fifth. Will anything he do tonight factor in to whether you start him in the playoffs or not?

The alterations to our rotation means that Matt will start tomorrow not today while Sean will go up against Volquez. He has faced Miami already at their place, although he lost he was in a slump he went six strong innings and gave up just two earned runs. My only real decision about the Post Season rotation is whether to go with a lefty or not? Steven Matz has been disappointing, in as much as somebody who still has a chance of double digit wins can be, but we probably do need a lefty somewhere.

[NYMets_Nige]

Ooops ! My bad, I of course forgot the 108 win effort in 1986. Still 101 wins would be the second best in history, 100 wins tied for second with '88 & '69. This streak of the consecutive Post Season appearances is the best in Mets history beating 1999 & 2000 and, of course, extending 2015 & 2016

[Commissioner Erick]

Marlins 9 - Mets 3


WP: E. Volquez (11-11)
LP: S. Gilmartin (5-5



The Miami Marlins will have to make up their minds on which players entering their prime will be a part of Miami's future. Marcell Ozuna laid a stake to his claim by blasting some pitches all over Marlins Park.

Marcell Ozuna smashed two home runs, Edison Volquez pitched 7 strong innings, and the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 9-3.

The Mets, with little to play for, called up Sean Gilmartin to rest the staff a little bit. Gilmartin had some success earlier in the year, but not tonight. He gave up a laser beam of a triple to Christian Yelich three batters into the game before Marcell Ozuna took an outside fastball and tucked it inside the right field foul pole to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead.

While Yelich is an excellent hitter and Ozuna crushes mistakes, Gilmartin's second inning was disappointing. With two out and a man on first, he gave up a single to Adeiny Hechavarria, who had an OBP under .300 coming into the game. He then walked the light-hitting Abraham Almonte, who spent most of this season in Triple-A Columbus for Cleveland. With the bases full, he threw four straight balls to J.T. Realmuto to bring in one run, before plunking Christian Yelich with a pitch to bring in another. Two ground ball singles, two walks, and a hit batsman and the Marlins were up 4-0.

The Mets cut some of that down in the third. T.J. Rivera singled, Rene Rivera walked, and Alden Carrithers, making his major league debut, slapped a doubled down the left field line to get the Mets on the board. A passed ball and a ground out teamed to bring Rivers and Carrithers home to make it 4-3. It's as far as the Mets would get.

Yelich led off the fifth inning by slapping a ground ball through the left side. He then stole second base and scored on another hit from a left-hander when Justin Bour singled him home. That knocked Gilmartin out of the game. Gilmartin worked 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, walking two, and striking out five.

New York's middle relievers kept the team in the game. Ben Rowen went 1.2 shutout innings, allowing only a walk and striking out one. Josh Edgin got an out on three pitches to follow. Still, the Mets couldn't get anything off Edison Volquez. He came into the game trailing only Jared Cosart in walk rate, but allowed only two free passes over 7 innings of work. That allowed him to work effectively. He fanned six, and allowed just six hits and the three runs in the third.

Eventually, the Marlins blew the game open against the Mets' pen. Adam Wilk's first batter was Marcell Ozuna who blasted a double with one out in the seventh. He got Bour to fly out before plunking Derek Dietrich. Mike Ford and Martin Prado both singled before a Hechavarria hit knocked Wilk out of the game.

Addison Reed put out the fire, but allowed Christian Yelich's third hit, and Marcell Ozuna's third extra base hit—and second home run—in the eighth inning, making the score 9-3 Miami.

From there the game was a formality, except for one piece of history. Carrithers, again in his first major league game, slashed a double with two outs in the ninth of Kyle Barraclough. The double was Carrithers' third of the game, a New York Mets record.


Questions for the GMs:


For Nigel Laverick, you talked up Carrithers' for his defense. He just set your PBA team record for doubles in a year. How did you feel seeing him hit his third double?

Gilmartin had a rough game, but he's been strong for you before this. Does the poor outing jeopardize any chances he has of being on the playoff roster?

Your team managed only two walks off Volquez, and none of Kyle Barraclough. Did the team's lack of patience concern you?

For Ben Vincent, talk about Marcell Ozuna. Earlier in the year, you noted that if he cut down on his strikeouts he'd take a leap. He has cut down his strikeouts a little bit, from 39% in April, to under 30% in May, to 26% in June, July, and August combined. It's 22% in September after this game. Did the improved approach contribute to his three extra base hits?

You had Abraham Almonte in the lineup. He had a rough game offensively. How does he fit in your team's pecking order though.

No Cespedes and no Duda in the Mets lineup. Did Volquez pitch more aggressively in the zone with the Mets having fewer power hitters in the order?