Last night, the Braves became the first NL team to clinch a 2018 division title. Braves fans interested in a look back on the season and some of the biggest contributing factors to the club’s surprising season might consider giving this piece by Mark Bowman of MLB.com a read. Atlanta officially eliminated the division-rival Phillies from the NL East race with its best starter, Mike Foltynewicz, on the mound; Bowman describes Folty as the Braves’ “most significant acquisition made within the first year of the rebuild”. “It was very different knowing what’s at stake, but at the same time you can’t get overhyped, like I tended to do in the past with bigger games,” Foltynewicz said of his performance. “To be able to do it in front of our home crowd was pretty special.” The soon-to-be 27-year-old right-hander was acquired as part of the January 2015 trade that sent Evan Gattis to the Astros. The resume of his breakout season includes 178 innings of 2.88 ERA ball, 193 punchouts and a 1.11 WHIP.
While the Braves prepare for the playoffs, here are a few notes regarding the NL East teams looking towards 2019…
- A poor start to the 2018 season for Mets free agent signee Jay Bruce manifested itself in a .212/.292/.321 batting line with just three home runs through the middle of June. But since coming off the disabled list on August 24th, he’s looked a lot more like his old self. As Tim Britton notes in a piece for The Athletic, Bruce is hitting .256/.347/.523 with six blasts in 98 plate appearances, which more closely resembles the 2017 season that he considers the best of his career. Britton believes that Bruce will be an integral part of the 2019 Mets plans, whether as their everyday first baseman or right fielder, but suggests that the Bruce signing ought to be a “learning experience” for the organization. That’s because one of the risks of signing players in their 30’s is that even those with largely healthy track records, like Bruce and teammate Todd Frazier, come with increased injury risk.
- Bruce’s late-season performance extending into 2019 is one thing the Mets will be counting on if they hope to contend next season; Joel Sherman of the New York Post breaks down a laundry list of other things that need to go right for the club in order for to support those hopes. In fact, Sherman believes that the Amazins don’t necessarily need to rebuild, and have a shot to contend again right away if they play their cards right. He posits that the Mets should be willing to listen to trade offers on their starters, but also lists a host of potential free agent targets that could shore up the roster. That list includes lefty reliever Zach Britton, versatile infielder Eduardo Escobar, and catcher Wilson Ramos.
- Have quick hooks in late-season games by rookie Phillies skipper Gabe Kapler cost Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez valuable development opportunities? That’s a question Matt Gelb attempts to answer in an article for The Athletic. Pivetta, for instance, faced just 20 batters in his Friday start, and has faced an average of just 21 batters in each of his 10 starts since August 1st. “You know, the way that the game has been going and the way that Gabe has been coaching, at the end of the day the most I can do is just go as long as I can,” Pivetta said. “It’s up to him when he takes us out.” Velasquez has been yanked even sooner in many cases, including being plucked from his Thursday starts after just three innings during which he allowed three unearned runs. The quick hooks, Gelb opines, make it more difficult to judge Pivetta and Velasquez ahead of 2019, and cost them valuable experience that could come in handy down the road. Perhaps it’s worth noting that the Phillies’ bullpen allowed 10 runs combined in those two contests while taking the loss in each against the division-rival Braves.
Isn’t Joel Sherman too old to wear a Mr. Mets costume and parade around Chiti Field for 81 home games. We know that he can’t make much money pontificating his nonsense, however there have got to be better second jobs!
The Braves do have The Freeze and WSH the Race of the Presidents.
The Phanatic and Marlins Man!
Enjoy your one game playoff game Michael! Then both the Mets and Yankees can get back to their golf schedules
I thought that golf was banned last year by the Mets when their scratch golfers were scratched from the lineup to go on the DL so they could become better golfers.
So you’ve been waiting since ‘86 Mr Wiseguy and Flushing (pun intended) your $$ down the toilet for what 22!years now as the Wilpon’s dangle a half committed, half assed approach to team management?
I would have thought that you would have considered a different life by now rather than continual disappointment, disbursed with what a BIG two “almost world championships?”
The Mets are certain to yank (pun intended) your chain just enough with false promises to be as good as the Yankees, only in a typical season to be out of contention by the ASG.
I can tell someone’s nervous about losing a one game playoff in Oakland
I bet he “Yanks” it to his picture of judge while wearing nothing but his Aaron judge licensed judges robe. All Rise….. (I used two puns, I’m cooler than the other dood)
Oh I agree, you were cooler..Well, until you called him a “dood” lol…
With how much winning the Yankee fans think their team does, you’d think you’d be a little less angry and bitter.
Mets need to sign a set up man and a closer. also absolutely need to sign Wilson Ramos. They do not need to sign a utility infielder. save the money for the pen or someone like Donaldson.
If the Mets were able to sign Donaldson, Andrew Miller, another SU/CL type, and Wilson Ramos yeah, as a Braves fan, I’d definitely be worried about the Mets heading into the 2019 season…
They really just need one impact bat to anchor their line-up, and that same anchor needs to be a leader in their locker room, someone this team can rally around. That’s why I really believe Josh Donaldson would fit extremely well with this Mets team. Then, they definitely need Ramos, a guy that can handle the staff, call a quality game, but he will also add another impact bat that can help bridge together the middle and back-end of their line-up. He is your perfect #6 kind of guy, and would do very well helping their overall, offensive depth.
More importantly though, if they can sure up the back end of their pen with 2 impact relievers, then that could do wonders helping keep some stress off of their starters..A typically good pen will have a reliable closer, one hard throwing set up man that’s capable of getting out LHHs and RHH’s, a LHP that’s capable of shutting down LHH’s…Then, they’ll have a guy that’s a groundball specialist to bring in with runners on, to induce a DP…Finally, you need an effective reliever that’s frequently capable of going an inning or two, and one that’s also able to get out LHH’s as well as RHH’s effectively.. (Andrew Miller, Josh Hader, or to a lesser degree, but still extremely effective a Jesse Biddle type)..If the Mets are going to contend in 2019, these are the roles they most need to fill in their pen..That’s at least a combination of 4-5 relief pitchers they are going to need to identify within or possibly add, in order to really close out and secure wins for their excellent starters..
Their only other question mark would be DeGrom, Syndergaard, and Wheeler all being able to stay healthy over the course of a full season..But, as always, that’s a big question mark..
But yeah, I wholeheartedly have to agree, there’s no need for this team to rebuild from scratch. With their solid rotation, their pitching talent and pieces like Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, Alonso, McNeil, and Flores, all you need is another bat or two, solid defense, and a couple of reliable options in the pen, and you have the makings of a team that’s able to make and sustain a legit playoff push..Definitely an interesting and talented team, especially if they only add Donaldson and Miller or Kimbrel..
I hate to say it, but if they add Donaldson and Kimbrel/Miller, then I’d actually be secretly rooting for the Mets…Never over my beloved Baby Braves, but they’d be my second favorite team to watch going forward, if they added those two to their young core…
Kapler has been exposed. It’s possible that he doesn’t know how to utilize the analytics at his disposal. As Terry Francona once explained to the Red Sox management during his interview for manager, his time with the Phillies should be considered as his mulligan. Maybe Kapler can use that line later in his career.
GO BRAVES!!
Im sorry I really don’t like Kapler
^^^^^ This but with an extra “really” and !!!!! at the end
Kapler should win manager of the year
I would love to know how you came to that conclusion? The Phillies have been bad since the All star break. I’m hoping that is sarcasm.
They weren’t supposed to be contending this year. They were supposed to be rebuilding, and he came and gave them a fighting chance.
I might be bias but I think Snitker is a much better choice for NL manager of the year. I’ll give kapler nl rookie manager of the year :/
Signing Bruce to a contract for 2018 was not the worst decision. Signing him for 3 years was. At least with Frazier you could make the case that there wasn’t anyone obvious to play 3rd base (which turned out to be accurate given Wright finally deciding to pack it in.
I think the first thing the Mets should do is sign Joel Sherman as GM, since he knows how to fix the Mets with his magic wand.