Season Record: 11-10, 2nd NL East
Week in the Review: (2-4) Series losses at Phillies and Cardinals
Dude of the week: Robinson Cano (.360 BA,4 2B, HR ; 4 RBI; 1.047 OPS)
Dud of the week: Steven Matz (0.0 IP, 8 R (6 ER), 0 K, BB vs Phillies)
Snapshot: The silver lining about last week was that Philadelphia lost 3 out of 4 to the Colorado Rockies, the Nationals lost 2 out of 3, and the Braves were swept by said Phillies all adding up to the Mets still in 2nd place. Steven Matz giving up 8 runs (6 ER) w/o retiring a batter is partially my fault. After I lauded him for his great start to the season and being among the best, the wheels fall off. My bad for feeling good about anyone not named deGrom or Syndergaard. Speaking of not feeling good. Just when he was looking like he was coming out of his slump, t Cano left Sunday night's game after getting hit on the hand. He was last seen in a cast so we'll see what comes of it. Wondering why I haven't talked about our $100 million pitcher? That's because along with "flu-like symptoms", he had some issues with his pitching arm resulting in him hitting the IL. ( Update: As of this blog writing, reports are that deGrom's MRI is negative and should make his next start after his IL stint ends.) The starters can't go more than 5 innings on average. The backend then gets taxed trying to hold leads, so that results in making closer Edwin Diaz a non-factor.
The offense is doing their part Jeff Mc Neil, Pete Alonso, and Michael Conforto are all contributing to an offense that ranks in MLB's top ten in team runs, hits, rbi's and batting average. Hopefully Cano's injury won't last long. Some good news is that Todd Frazier will becoming off the IL and will be making his season debut this week. Hopefully some home cooking will get the Mets back on track. It won't be easy as they welcome Bryce Harper and the Phillies, early NL MVP candidate Christian Yelich, and their first look at the newest Padre slugger Manny Machado.
Due up: 4/22-4/24 home vs Philadelphia; 4/26-4/28 home vs Milwaukee
What to Watch for : Mets maybe in the market for a couple of pitchers. We know about Dallas Keuchel, we know about Craig Kimbrel. Now news is that Gio Gonzales has been released from the New York Yankees and can be a viable back of the rotation option. Anything to get Jason Vargas out of the rotation!
Photo:Getty Images