Studious Metsimus Updates, Reports & Flashes (S.M.U.R.F.)

Greetings and salutations, loyal SMFs! Welcome to the first installment of our new feature that we may or may not feature again. In this feature, we will update you on what's going on with the Mets, report on those updates and give you quick news flashes on the orange and blue. Just like Yankee fans, we're not very creative so we couldn't come up with a better title for this feature other than "Studious Metsimus Updates, Reports & Flashes". If that's too long of a title, then feel free to shorten it to its initials.

Now, without further ado, it's time to get S.M.U.R.F.ed!



Updates:

This past weekend, the Studious Metsimus staff took a trip to Philadelphia to celebrate the birthday of Mets fan Ross Chapman (thanks to Sharon and Kevin Chapman for the invite and for the Amazin' Mets cake, as seen below) at Citizens Bank Park. Unfortunately, the Phillies decided to crash the party and R.A. Dickey's ERA. A five-run third inning, capped by a 1,000-foot home run by Raul Ibañez led to the earliest exit by Dickey this season.



Despite the limp Dickey performance, the Mets fought back in an effort to pick up a win, stomp of the Phillies and their Phanatics and give Ross a perfect birthday gift. But just like Willie Mays Hayes during one of his first attempts to slide into second base, they ended up just a little short.


Reports:

The Mets returned to Citi Field tonight, where they boast a 34-19 record (including tonight's 1-0 victory). However, since proclaiming to the world that they believe in home field advantage, the Mets have been rather ordinary at home, losing three of their last four series at home, including the embarrassing effort against the cellar-dwelling Arizona Diamondbacks. Now back at home against two more playoff contenders in the Rockies and Phillies, the Mets must reverse their recent misfortunes at home if they want to keep their fading postseason hopes alive. It's one thing to go 5-7 during a 12-game stretch on the road, but to do that at home, as the Mets have done since the beginning of July, coupled with the fact that the Mets still can't defeat anyone on the road (22-37 away from Citi Field), makes it look like the Mets will be playing meaningful games at the end of August against the Marlins...to see which team can stay out of fourth place.

Amazingly, the Mets have still not won a series on the road against a National League team this year. Their only two series victories away from Citi Field came in Baltimore and Cleveland during interleague play. The one time the Mets won more than one game in a road series was during their four-game split against the Washington Nationals during Independence Day weekend. Clearly, the Mets have played more like road worriers than road warriors this season.


Flashes:

The Mets lead the major leagues in shutouts with 16. It's the most shutouts they've had for a season since 1998, when they pitched 16 shutouts. It's also the most they've had at the 112-game mark of the season since 1988, when they had 16 of their 22 shutouts by their 112th game. While it's a commendable achievement to have pitched so many shutouts, it brings to light something more alarming.

The Mets have pitched 16 shutouts but are only a .500 team (56-56). Since shutting out an opponent guarantees a victory, that means the Mets are only 40-56 when they don't hold the opponent scoreless. The Mets' winning percentage of .417 when they give up at least one run is actually lower than their winning percentage for the entire 2009 season when they finished the year with a 70-92 record (.432 winning percentage). If the Mets don't show that they can win games when the pitching is less than perfect, then giving up something will continue to lead to nothing as far as October baseball is concerned.


LET'S GO METS! LET'S GO METS! LET'S GO METS! LET'S GO METS!


That's all for the first edition of S.M.U.R.F. Before we find something else to complain about, we'd like to remind you of the Citi Field Sit-Out, which is taking place on Wednesday, August 25 when the Mets host the Florida Marlins in a battle for the coveted third place spot in the National League East.

The Better Half of the Studious Metsimus/My Summer Family duo is encouraging Mets fans with tickets to that game to sit that one out to show ownership that the fans have had enough of mediocrity in a city where being so-so is a no-no. If you wish to attend the event by not attending, please follow the steps on the Facebook fan page (click HERE to be taken to the page).

We've had enough of ownership not giving Mets fans the best product on the field. So let them enjoy the game without us. Maybe Omar Minaya will finally get a chance to catch a foul ball. After all, if the Citi Field Sit-Out works, he won't have to fight other fans for it.

It's Not About Getting A Pitcher, It's About Doing This...

As Major League Baseball moves into its All-Star Break, it's time to reflect on the Mets and what they need to do to improve the team in the second half. Whereas many people have been clamoring for another starting pitcher before the trading deadline on July 31, I don't think that's the answer. In fact, I think the team just needs to improve some things internally, things that have nothing or very little to do with starting pitching.

The Mets enter the All-Star Break trailing the Braves by four games in the National League East. Upon doing some research, I noticed the following things that have contributed to the gap between the two rivals in the division.

The Mets are 19-28 in games decided by two runs or less (10-15 in one-run games; 9-13 in two-run games). At the same time, the Braves are 22-20 in those games (14-12 in one-run games; 8-8 in two-run games).

The Mets have held their opponent to one run or less 22 times this season. They're 22-0 in those games, meaning that they're 26-40 when they give up two runs or more. Meanwhile, the Braves are 13-1 when they give up one run or less but they're 39-35 when they allow two runs or more.

The Mets have won three games in walk-off fashion, while painfully losing ten games in the opponents' final at-bat. The Braves have been quite successful in games that end in a walk-off, winning eight games in a walk-off, while losing only four.

The Mets have come from behind to win 11 games this season, while blowing the lead in 18 of their losses. On the other hand, the Braves have registered 25 comeback wins this season, while only losing 16 games in which they had the lead.

Many teams can expect to have a winning record in games where they give up anywhere from 2 to 5 runs in a game. The Mets are 21-21 in those such games. What about the Braves? You guessed it. The Braves are 36-21 when they allow anywhere from 2 to 5 runs in a game.

Francisco Rodriguez has pitched in 42 games this year. In 33 of those appearances, he pitched exactly one inning. In 13 of those 33 appearances, he faced a minimum of five batters. That means he has allowed a minimum of two baserunners in almost 40% of his one-inning outings. What about those nine appearances in which he did not pitch exactly one inning? He's far worse in those outings. In six of those nine appearances (67%), he allowed two baserunners or more. That includes last week's debacle against the Nationals where he faced seven batters and only retired one of them.

K-Rod has faced the minimum in only 14 of his 42 appearances. As a result, he has thrown fewer than 10 pitches in only four of those 42 appearances (including today's eight-pitch save against the Braves), while throwing at least 20 pitches in 16 of those games.

So how can the Mets improve their team in the second half of the season? Looking at the information above, it's pretty simple.

The Mets have to be able to pull out the close games. There have been too many times this year when a starting pitcher's best efforts have been wasted because the offense remained dormant. At the same time, on days when the bullpen has been needed to keep games close, they have failed too many times, especially on the road (hence the unusually high number of walk-off losses). Scoring early and often will allow starting pitchers to pitch without having extra pressure attached to every pitch and will allow Jerry Manuel to use his bullpen sparingly, not having to overuse certain relievers.

Whenever the opposing team scores first, the Mets must respond quickly before the game gets out of hand. How many times have we seen the Mets fall behind by four or five runs, only to mount a late-inning comeback that eventually falls short (yet another reason for their less-than-stellar record in games decided by two runs or less)? If the Mets would start coming back as soon as they fall behind, they'd have more innings in which to mount their comeback, instead of having to do it in one big swoop. By starting rallies earlier in games, there is a better chance that these rallies come against a less effective middle reliever instead of the more effective set-up men, lefty specialists and closers.

Although Francisco Rodriguez pitched well today, more often than not, he has spiked the sales of Rolaids to levels not seen since Davey Johnson had them with every meal. Closers have to be able to pitch one-two-three innings. They are supposed to be the firemen of the squad, not the arsonists. Too many times this season, K-Rod has put the tying and go-ahead runs on base and of course, more often than we'd like, those runners have come around to score. Frankie will need to stop trying to throw his pitches through the catcher's mitt and start concentrating more on making pitches where they need to be pitched. At the same time, Jerry Manuel cannot be afraid to have another reliever warming up in the bullpen whenever Frankie puts men on base. Forget about damaging Frankie's ego by showing a lack of trust in his ability to pitch through the inning. What about damaging the Mets' chances for a victory by leaving him in the game on days when he doesn't have his "A" game?

Fixing these problems that have plagued the Mets throughout the first half of the season will go a long way towards determining where they finish in the division. A trade for a starting pitcher will not improve the Mets' ability to score runs in bunches, will not do anything to limit the number of walk-off losses and will not bring K-Rod's pitch count down. If they get a new starting pitcher, I will not complain. However, if they keep committing the same mistakes that led to so many unnecessary losses in the first half, don't expect to see October baseball in Flushing for a fourth consecutive season.