Fielding blunders vex Mets — seven errors in two games
Errors or mental lapses, whichever they may be, the New York Mets must start playing better defense sooner rather than later.
Over the past two games alone, the Mets have committed seven errors in the field. The club has amassed 10 errors overall in their seven exhibition games.
“The last two days have been tough,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “I think right away we got to recognize that we hurt ourselves. … You want to say that it’s early in camp and we have room. But we need to do it right now.”
In one of their latest defensive blunders Monday, J.D. Davis was in the shift between first and second when knocked a grounder right at him. Davis scooped the ball but threw behind first baseman Mark Vientos. Rojas said Davis was in position and he rushed the play. It was only the fourth inning, but Davis’ fielding error cost the Mets their third unearned run of the afternoon.
The Mets’ 9-5 loss to the Nationals on Monday was just the fourth game Davis has played this spring. As he manned the hot corner at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Davis blamed the frequent shifting — four times in that costly fourth inning — and the constant shuffling of his feet.
“That was more of a mental lapse,” Davis said. “I fielded the ball, but my legs were just absolutely dead.”
Davis figures to be the Mets’ starting third baseman with added depth from Luis Guillorme and Jonathan Villar when needed. Rojas said Jeff McNeil will see most of his reps at second base and in left field after his threeerror day at third base on Sunday. Davis knows he needs to be on his toes and improve his footwork; teammate Francisco Lindor told him as much.
“My problem is never my hands, it’s always just the footwork and being able to create angles and work through balls,” Davis said. “Especially at the hot corner, you always gotta try and move your feet.”
ELSEWHERE
Nationals: Joe Ross
● hasn’t pitched in a meaningful game since the 2019 World Series, so after opting out of last season because of the coronavirus pandemic, his first spring training start was a key step back for the Washington right-hander. “I guess I wasn’t as jittery, to be honest, as I was expecting myself to be,” Ross said after retiring five of the seven batters he faced, three via strikeouts, and throwing 39 pitches on a windy afternoon in a 9-5 win over the Mets. Ross is considered the leading candidate to earn the role as Washington’s fifth starter.
Rangers: Kohei
●
Arihara bounced back from a shaky spring training debut for Texas, pitching three solid innings against the Chicago Cubs. Arihara, who signed a $6.2 million, two-year contract after six seasons in Japan, retired his final seven batters, setting down Ian Happ, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant to end his outing. Overall, he allowed a run on two singles without a strikeout or walk.
Cubs: Zach Davies
● walked one over three hitless innings for the Cubs as five pitchers combined on a two-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Rangers.
Javy Baez had a three-run home run, and Joc Pederson had two singles to drive two.
Indians: Andres
●
Gimenez, who will likely be Cleveland’s starting shortstop, hit an insidethe-park homer in a 1-0 rout of the Mariners. Gimenez’s drive to deep center in the fifth inning hit the wall and was trapped by Mariners outfielder Taylor Trammell, who couldn’t convince umpires he made the catch. Gimenez came to the Indians this winter in the Francisco Lindor trade with the Mets. Yu
Chang hit his third homer this spring for Cleveland and catcher Ryan Lavarnway hit a three-run, pinch-hit shot.
Giants: Evan Longoria
● hit his first homer of the spring in the seventh inning for San Francisco in a 2-2 tie with the Diamondbacks. Logan Webb
fanned three of his seven hitters in the start.
Diamondbacks:
●
Caleb Smith struck out three and walked a batter in the three-inning start for Arizona.
Dodgers: Julio Urias
●
retired nine in a row to start, David Price followed with a perfect inning and five Dodger pitchers combined on a three-hitter in an 8-0 win over the White Sox. Corey Seager hit his first home run of the spring with two on in the second inning.
Anthony Wint is still hitting people — just not with his shoulder pads at the moment.
Wint, a former star linebacker at FIU who played two games for the 2018 New York Jets, is 1-0 as a Mixed Martial Arts amateur. In a Premier Fight League bout on Feb. 6 in Miami, he defeated Kache Palacio via a third-round technical knockout.
James Llorens, president of the Premier
Fight League, said Wint has made an incredibly fast transition from football to MMA in just four months.
“He is like a sponge,” Llorens said, “and he’s very athletic.
“In Florida, you need five amateur fights before you can turn pro, and we’re going to continue to give him tough opponents.”
Wint’s next fight is April 10 in Miami against Jose “The Cuban Drago” Gonzalez.
But Wint, who has a bachelor’s degree from FIU, said he has not given up on football. Before his next fight arrives, Wint will compete at FIU’s Pro Day on March 29. FIU coach Butch Davis is allowing ex-Panthers to compete in the pro day along with seniors from the 2020 season, and Wint is thrilled.
“Football is still my baby,” said Wint, who majored in communications and minored in marketing. “With the 24 hours I get each day, I’m still pursuing football as much as possible, training for both sports.”
Wint’s first FIU Pro Day was in the spring of 2018, when he ran a 4.85 in the 40-yard dash, lifted 225 pounds 17 times in the bench press and soared 35 inches in the vertical leap.
“I can do a heck of a lot better now,” Wint said of the numbers he promises to put on later this month.
Wint, who is 5-11 and 235 pounds, said his body is “jacked” now that he is training in MMA.
Before he arrived at FIU, he finished second in the state as a wrestler at Homestead High.
He chose FIU over other offers, including Syracuse, and became a Panthers starter as a freshman. He ended up with 336 career tackles, which ranks second in FIU history.
Wint signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent and earned a spot on the practice squad. He made his NFL debut on Dec. 23, 2018 against the Green Bay Packers, and on his first play he was flagged for a block in the back on special teams.
Jets special teams coach Brant Boyer let Wint have it, telling him that one more mistake would cost him his job. On his next play, though, Wint forced a fumble.
Unfortunately for Wint, his NFL career lasted just one more game. He was released on Aug. 31, 2019.
“After I got cut, no team called me,” Wint said. “It was demeaning, but it shows the window of opportunity is slim.
“A first-round pick can make more mistakes. As an undrafted free agent, you can’t make many, and since there’s money at stake, it’s more intense than college.”
Wint’s agency, First Round Management, had always told him that if football didn’t work out, MMA would be an option.
For his fighting debut, Wint said he was nervous.
“I had more than 100 family members and friends there,” Wint said. “I didn’t want to get knocked out or embarrassed.
“My strong suit is on the ground [wrestling]. My hands [as a boxer] are still amateur. The guy in my first fight, his hands were better than mine. But I won because I took him down three times and started punching.”