TODD CAN’T HELP THEM NOW
Frazier’s return fails to resurrect morbid offense
GLENN Sherlock is the loneliest man in baseball.
Sherlock is the Mets thirdbase coach and he rarely sees any of his players during the game. Once in a great while he gets the chance to wave one home.
If you are at the Mets game Wednesday against the Orioles at Citi Field, give him a wave just to let him know he is not alone.
On Tuesday night the Mets were beaten 2-1 by the dreadful Orioles. It was just the 18th win of the season for Baltimore. Another night of solid pitching by the Mets was flushed down the drain because the offense is nowhere to be found.
The highlight for the Mets was that they snapped a 21-inning scoreless streak when Jose Bautista slapped a sacrifice fly to left in the fifth inning against winner Alex Cobb, who entered the game 1-7 with a 6.80 ERA.
The Mets have lost 10-of-12, including five straight overall and seven straight at home.
In those five straight losses, all at home, they have scored seven runs. Yoenis Cespedes tested his injured hip in a simulated game before the Mets tried to put together a simulated offense against the Orioles and the word from manager Mickey Callaway is that Cespedes is “in a good spot.’’ He’s the only Mets hitter who is in a good spot.
The top four hitters in the Mets lineup went a combined 0-for-16, as for the second straight game, the Mets managed all of three hits. Batting coach Pat Roessler is trying everything to get the Mets going, but there is nothing there and he is feeling the heat.
The Mets offense has really fallen into the abyss at home. They have the lowest home OPS in the National League with a .653 mark and the second fewest home runs (23).
Every night is another wake at Citi Field. The Mets announced a crowd of 25,342 Tuesday night. They never made a peep.
Asked about the home struggles, Callaway had no answers. Todd Frazier returned to the lineup, but was hitless.
It’s gotten to the point Callaway said, “We’ve got to try to create some runs like [Brandon] Nimmo did [with a bunt] to try and put some pressure on them. We have to do some of those small things. When the ball is in the dirt and if it gets away from the catcher we have to be on second.”
A more athletic approach would help but you can’t steal first base.
When runners do get on second and third base, hits must follow. The Mets were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Sounds familiar. In their previous game, Sunday, a 2-0 loss to the Cubs, not only did the Mets only pick up those three hits, they were 0-for-4 with RISP. Same tired act. The Mets are 12-18 at home. After Nimmo reached first on a throwing error on his bunt in the eighth to put runners on first and second, Asdrubal Cabrera promptly hit into a double play.
“You want to create some energy for the ballpark and the fans and score some runs for them so they are out there having a good time,’’ Callaway said.
No one is having a good time at Citi Field unless you are a fan of the visiting team and come this week- end when the Yankees are here to play the Mets it could get incredibly embarrassing for the home team.
GMs don’t fire themselves and you have to figure at some point Sandy Alderson might make a move to shake up the club but certainly the opportunity to get Cespedes back into the lineup has to come first.
Jay Bruce, who picked up two of the Mets’ three hits, is searching for answers as well.
“I don’t think we just forgot how to play baseball or forgot how to hit,’’ Bruce offered in the tomb of the Mets clubhouse. “We have to weather the storm. That’s not what people wanted to hear but the bottom line is that we had a good team [with the 11-1 start]. We have shown how capable we are.’’
That seems like ages ago.