A healthy Cespedes is second to none
Unlike his predecessor Terry Collins, who had a penchant for colorful phrases like “Cripes” and “Stinkin’,” Mets rookie manager Mickey Callaway was evenkeeled and fairly vanilla with his quotes following his first victory in Flushing.
But hey, Mets fans will take a win any way they get it — flair or no flair.
“Obviously, you want to get all the firsts out of the way — getting on base, getting the hit, the good walk — we did kind of all of that,” said Callaway after the 9-4 Mets’ Opening Day win. “I’m sure the guys are going to go home happy tonight, enjoy the off day and be ready to go (Saturday).”
As far as debuts go, Callaway couldn’t have asked for a more solid contribution by all of his players, including six strong innings from starter Noah Syndergaard, timely hitting by shortstop Amed Rosario in the nine hole and smart base running, which Callaway stressed during spring training as a baseball staple to success.
Rosario, the Mets’ much-hyped rookie who played in 46 games last year after getting called up, went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Callaway said there were no guarantees that Rosario would stay in the No. 9 spot the rest of the season, but for one game, the plan worked impeccably.
“I think it takes the pressure off of (Rosario) to hit behind the pitcher. He gets to do some damage too,” said Callaway, who put Syndergaard in the eighth spot. “We bunted guys to second and third (in the fifth inning), two outs, to bring up Rosario, our nine-hole hitter. The kid can hit. His approach has been tremendous. He didn’t chase a pitch all (game).”
Rosario came up with runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth and whacked a two-run single to left. The Mets scored five runs in that frame.
Callaway got rousing cheers from the sold-out crowd of 44,189 during the pregame introductions, and the Mets manager said he took some time in the early morning Thursday to sneak a peek at Citi Field as it started to fill with fans.
“What a ballpark. All of us coaches were sitting there going, ‘Man, this is something special.’ This is a different place than most,” said Callaway, who spent the previous five seasons with Cleveland as their pitching coach. “I was out there about an hour before the game. It came alive.”
For six weeks, Callaway said, he spent spring training getting to know his new clubhouse and talent, and slowly fashioning his Opening Day lineup, one that notched him his first win as a majorleague manager. Only 161 more games to go.
“It took all of spring training to try and figure that one out,” he said. “I don’t have that much time on the next (lineup card). I just wanted to make sure that guys were in a good position to succeed.”
After a spring training in which he was bothered by right wrist pain — which necessitated a cortisone shot — and right shoulder discomfort, Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes was in the starting lineup for Thursday’s 2018 opener.
Cespedes batted in the No. 2 spot and after striking out against St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez in the bottom of the first, the $110 million left fielder delivered a two-run single in the second, after falling behind 0-2 in the count.
“I just have to focus when I have two strikes. Mostly when I have runners on base, I have to focus more,” said Cespedes through a translator.
Cespedes, 32, is in the second year of his four-year, $110 million contract, and the team’s hopes of getting back to the postseason, after a year’s hiatus, will depend in part on whether Cespedes can stay healthy and regain his 2015 hitting form. He only played in 81 games last year due to nagging hamstring injuries in both legs.
In Thursday’s 9-4 win, Cespedes went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two strikeouts. He stroked a run-scoring single in the fifth. When Cespedes arrived in 2015, he seemed to hit a home run every game, and he helped propel the team to an unlikely World Series appearance.
But new Mets manager Mickey Callaway and hitting coach Pat Roessler are not expecting “La Potencia” and the other Mets batters to “swing for the fences” every at-bat this season. Small ball is just as good as the long ball.
“Cespedes came up to bat a lot of times with runners on and runners in scoring position. That’s what we want,” said Callaway. “I think the main thing is, we want Cespedes to take as many at-bats as possible. I can’t guarantee he’s always going to hit second. It worked out tonight. Pat wants all of our guys to be an all-around hitter, not just be a onefacet guy. Go up there and swing for the fences is not going to work, especially in today’s game with the way strikeouts are.”
FINDING NIMMO
Brandon Nimmo, who will likely patrol center field until Michael Conforto returns, had a stellar 2018 debut, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one walk. Nimmo scored the team’s first run of 2018. After getting plunked to lead off the bottom of the first, Nimmo moved to second when Jay Bruce drew a walk. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a fielder’s choice to first, but Jose Martinez air-mailed a throw to second and Nimmo cruised home. “That first inning was pretty incredible for me,” said Nimmo. “My hair was standing on the back of my neck. It was awesome to cross home plate (in the first), the crowd erupted. You want to get the firsts out of the way.”
ROSY BEGINNING
Shortstop Amed Rosario went 2-for-4, had two RBI and scored two runs in his 2018 debut. Not bad for the much-hyped infielder who was called up last season. Even more impressive was that Rosario did his damage from the No. 9 spot. He batted behind starter Noah Syndergaard, who had a successful sacrifice bunt in the fifth that advanced runners to second and third. Rosario followed with a two-out, two-run single. “The kid can hit,” Callaway said of Rosario.
CONFORTO COMING
The Mets left Conforto behind in Port St. Lucie to continue his rehab from shoulder surgery. There he can continue to play in minor league spring training games, but that ends on April 5, the same day the Mets’ AllStar outfielder is eligible to come off the disabled list. The Mets are weighing whether he needs to make rehab starts in minor league regular season games before they activate him. “We’ll make a decision about that in a couple of days,” Mets GM Sandy Alderson said. “The minor league season doesn’t start until then. When the team breaks in Florida, we may have to make a decision as to where he goes. That’s a decision we’ll make over the next couple of days.” Conforto was eager to return on the first possible date, which is the beginning of a series against the Nationals. He expects to be back at least by the next series, which is conveniently in Miami — a short two-hour drive from Port St. Lucie.
VARGAS UPDATE
Jason Vargas expects to have the stitches taken out of his right hand early next week. The lefthander continues to throw, and he expects to throw a regular bullpen on Saturday, but isn’t sure when his right hand, on which he had surgery to remove a fractured hamate bone, will be healed enough for him to play in a game.
“Even after (the stitches) come out, I am not sure when I will be able to catch,” Vargas said Thursday morning. “So, it will be a waitand-see kind of thing.” Vargas was hit on the hand with a line drive during a minor league spring training game. He is expected to miss two starts, which Seth Lugo will make. The Mets signed Vargas to a two-year, $16 million deal in February as insurance for their injuryprone rotation.