From formidable to downright scary awful, the New York Mets offense has sunk to a new low at the worst time: the 2015 World Series.
By Aniello Piro
After being defeated by the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 of the World Series, the biggest question surrounding the New York Mets is their offense.
Coming into the Fall Classic the Mets were scoring runs at will against teams with solid pitching staffs in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, and now against a pitching staff that has no legitimate ace, they draw blank.
As a team they have gone silent with no sense of urgency at the plate. No one has stepped up and everyone is acting like the club getting to this point in the season is a downright fluke.
Following the loss I opened up to Twitter and asked fans to give their reaction to the loss:
@aniello_piro @EliteSportsNY We’ve seen the Mets go cold a few times this season. I was kinda hoping it wouldn’t happen in the postseason.
— Wilbert Lively (@Wilboito) October 29, 2015
Mets bats are dead again like the beginning of the season. — Manny Rivera (@MannyX1287) October 29, 2015
@aniello_piro @EliteSportsNY felt like watching a little kid getting bullied with no one coming in to break it up — Metropolitans (@WeAreMetsNation) October 29, 2015
These were just a select few of the reactions from Mets fans in the Twitter world.
The Mets offense has struggled all series long and seems to be going through a cold streak. As a team, the Mets have managed to score five runs in the series. The five runs have come on an infield single, a solo home run, a sac fly, an error, and a single. Not very impressive for a team with the best offense in the National League since the trade deadline.
Oh and it gets worse…
The solo shot hit by Curtis Granderson in game one was the Mets only extra base hit of the series. One extra base hit in twenty three innings played. Disgraceful.
Believe it or not, it gets even worse!
Following game one when the Mets went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, it was thought things could not get any worse. Well they did. In game two of the series the Mets only hits of the game came off the bat of Lucas Duda who managed to break the shift hitting two weak balls to the left side. Aside from the two hits by Duda, the Mets were 0-for-25 in game two.
So what exactly is the problem with the Mets offense in the World Series?
Its simple, too many players are either getting caught out in front of pitches or are getting smoked. In the NLDS and NLCS the Mets would grind out at bats, working counts finding ways to get on base. In the Fall Classic the lack of drive and plate discipline have been more relevant then ever. Players like Cespedes, Conforto, and Wright to name a few have all been caught numerous times chasing balls out of the strike zone. The idea of being aggressive and wanting to hit is good, however, the Mets have to be smart with their pitch selection and plate discipline moving forward. With that said, the Mets have to attack good pitches early in the count to avoid falling behind being forced to swing at junk.
My personal theory is that after facing and having success against Kershaw, Greinke, Lester, and Arrieta the Mets are trying to hit balls out of the ballpark with the decrease of velocity and effectiveness of pitches the Royals staff presents. It has completely backfired on them and the results have been evident.
So whats next?
Well, the team flies back to New York for Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary). The team will need to make adjustments and learn how and when to attack the Royals pitchers. The Mets will most likely work on timing as well as swinging early in the count when the best pitches are presented.
In order for the Mets to have a chance to comeback in the series, they’ll have to get the bats going. The pitching has been good enough to win ,but the bats have been awful.
The Mets are currently down 0-2 in the series. One positive thing to keep in mind is that the ’86 team was down 0-2 and we all know what happened that year.
Believe Mets fans. This one isn’t over yet.
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