Mets' Citi Field Woes: Psychology to Blame?

It's no secret that the Mets have increasingly struggled at home over the years. One can easily tell based on the number of articles and media comments about it. What's not clear is what's causing the club's continued Citi Field woes.

Another way to present the team's at-home issues is to illustrate their lack of at-home hitting. If you compare the Mets' yearly home and away batting averages, you'll immediately notice the alarming differences (see right). 

Even more worrisome and befuddling about the data is their trends; while the Mets' away batting average has stayed consistent their home batting average has gone way down. That fact discredits the possibility of the team having a general lack of hitting as opposed to a localized one. 

The notion of "home field advantage" is based on the idea that things like fans cheering, ballpark familiarity, batting in bottom half of innings, and overall comfort will give the home team a better chance. Therefore, it is logically sound to conclude that one of those things is missing, and it's pretty clear the "fans cheering" aspect is missing. The Mets have practically been begging fans to come to home games with their recent promotions and heavily decreased prices. However, Citi Field per-game attendance averages are actually up from last year, which means it can't be solely responsible (Baseball Reference). Without comparing the quality of the 2013 Mets to this year's roster, it wouldn't completely explain the significant decrease in the team's home batting average. 

Decreased attendance and support aren't entirely responsible, but play into what I think is--pressure. Pressure would most intensely be felt at home with fans visibly watching and New York media in full attendance. Currently for the Mets a home game means a half-empty stadium, boos, and intense media all to remind them when they mess up. As young and sub-par the current Mets are, they can't handle the pressure of playing in New York unsuccessfully, turning the whole thing into a cycle. 

Converging evidence for pressure's responsibility is the Mets' stats this year in high-pressure situations. This year with the bases loaded the team is batting a horrid .136 which puts them third-last in the league (MLB.com). They're average with runners in scoring position and two outs isn't great either at .190 (MLB.com). At this level, opportunities like those are the ones which need to be taken advantage of, and also subsequently the ones with the greatest pressure to perform. 

The goal of this post is not to make excuses for these professional baseball players, but merely to delve-into a baffling trend us fans are seeing. The Mets need to become a professional baseball team once again and learn how to deal with playing in New York. After all, it's where they will always play 81 games a year. If current management is unfit to see that through then their jobs need to be given to more capable individuals. We're almost at a point where that becomes a necessity, judging by fans' (warranted) frustrations and poor on-field performances. In simpler words, should these trends continue Terry Collins will need to be fired and Sandy Alderson may even have to join him. 

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#FreeLagares: The Gist of the Situation

If you're a Mets fan on Twitter, or you follow at least one, you may have noticed that the hashtag "FreeLagares" has been trending nationally since this afternoon. The trend started when Terry Collins decided not to start young phenom Juan Lagares and instead put 40-year-old Bobby Abreu in the outfield for tonight's game in Washington. This will be the fourth time in the last five games that Lagares will sit. 

So far this season he's batting .296 (the best of any Mets outfielder) and his glove and arm have both been stellar as usual. He's by far the best-fielding and best-hitting outfielder on the club; the only reason Collins has given to explain the decision is Lagares' cold bat in this past series against the Yankees.

Collins apparently sees 4 sub-par games as a good reason to bench the Mets' most promising young position player. With those sub-par games he's still one of the hottest Mets hitters this season and for sure one of the Mets with the greatest potential. Kevin Burkhardt of SNY has hinted at the existence of some promise that Chris Young would get playing time this season, but that still doesn't explain why Abreu--who's hitting .217 this season and can't run at all--would get the nod over Lagares.

Though it's not the first time, many Mets fans have taken to Twitter calling for Collins' firing, and if he continues to make these incomprehensible decisions I will have to join that group. The only way to ensure Lagares' continued development into a star and franchise player is to give him the playing time he deserves.

Opinion: Faith Completely Lost in Mets Management

As a Mets fan I am no longer able to trust team management. For me Bobby Parnell's injury was the last straw and finally did-away with all the trust I had in the likes of Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins.

What was particularly egregious about the Parnell situation was the clear dishonesty coming from the Mets front office. When a pitcher who normally throws triple-digits is sitting at ninety miles-per-hour he is clearly not healthy or "fine"despite the fans being told so. After Parnell blew a save opportunity in his first outing with such a performance, it "became clear" that he had a ligament tear in his right and pitching elbow. He has since been placed on the 15-day disabled list (MetsBlog). 

In telling fans Parnell was healthy, what Collins and Alderson did was eliminate any form of trust that fans had in them. Saying he was fine told us to have no more faith in what management tells us. The blatant lies have ruined my optimistic view that this team management had the club in the right direction--and have only added to the list of cases displaying their inability to handle injuries effectively. 

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David Wright as the New Face of Baseball

Legendary Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter announced yesterday that he will retire after the 2014 season. The announcement wasn't unexpected, yet it still sent shockwaves through the baseball community. Jeter has been the unofficial face of the MLB for many years. Plenty of people who barely know of the sport will recognize the shortstop's name or even bring-it-up themselves. Jeter's exit will leave New York and the World with the need a new ambassador to baseball, and I believe David Wright is qualified. 

credit: The Star-Ledger

The first thing any baseball ambassador will need is the skills to play the game. At 31 years old, Wright is already a 7-time MLB All-Star, has won multiple Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, and holds the Mets career records for hits, total bases, doubles, RBIs, and (by a long-shot) runs created. Should you wonder about his speed, rest assured--he is also a member of the 30-30 club (Baseball Reference). Those who question Wright's overall baseball prowess should look at his career statistics and see how well-rounded a player he is. 

Character is also (as it should be) a factor in the conversation, and Wright definitely passes this section of the test. The Mets Captain is known for his bright and giving personality. Not only does he have his own charitable foundation, but he has attended multiple charity events and even turned his on-field performance into philanthropy (Sports Illustrated). 

Another endearing quality of David's is one particularly valued in New York--his loyalty. It's this trait specifically which often draws comparisons between him and Jeter. The third basemen recently signed a contract before his looming free agency good until 2021 (right after fans were torn apart by the exit of Jose Reyes). The final year of that contract would be Wright's 18th with the club--also the length of his entire career. He recently said the following:

"From the very beginning, I wanted to help this franchise turn around, I want to be one of the building blocks in helping us get back to the playoffs. Has it been an easy road? Of course not. We've taken some lumps and have had some rough seasons. But at the end of the day, I'm exactly where I wanted to be."

credit: Getty Images

Being in the world view, however, requires poise and David's performance in the World Baseball Classic of last year solidified his ability to lead and steal headlines. His ridiculous end-of-tournament statistics were a batting average of .438, on-base percentage of .526 and slugging percentage of .750--the latter two giving him an OPS of 1.276. In addition, he had 10 RBIs compared to the tournament MVP's 6. The all-around incredible performance briefly earned him the nickname "Captain America".

Though obviously there's no real process for choosing an MLB "ambassador", if the unofficial title goes to anyone else I'll be very upset. Hopefully this coming season, the Mets' revamped squad can win some games and get Wright the attention and stardom he deserves.

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Baseball is Back!

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I can finally say those words: "baseball is back." After many cold and uninteresting months the world's best sport is back-in-town (or wherever your team decides to take refuge from mother nature). Pretty soon the snow will melt, the mitts will come off the shelves and fingers will once-again grace those wonderful red seams.

Spring Training has begun with teams holding practices for players and invitees in the sunny states of Florida and Arizona. Mets pitchers and catchers will be officially required to report on February 15th but most of them are already there. As for the position players--who aren't required to report until the 20th--many players including Josh Satin, Ike Davis and David Wright have already arrived. Though there are still 2 1/2 months until the season will really begin, the fact that there are baseballs being thrown by professional players wearing professional team gear has got me excited.

I believe that die-hard baseball fans experience their own form of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Web MD describes the disorder as "a type of depression that affects a person at the same time each year. If you get depressed in the winter but feel much better in spring and summer, you may have SAD." First of all, it sounds like the acronym for this disorder was created by a five-year-old, but second, I think we baseball fans can learn something here.

I think that a particular "strand" of SAD exists out there and it should be called "BSAD" or "Baseball Seasonal Affective Disorder". Regardless of treatment options, (suggestions: Mets Classics re-runs on SNY or lashing out at other fans on Twitter) the struggle is real but it will soon be gone. Have faith, fans--baseball is back!

Why the Mets Should NOT Put Duda in the Outfield

Earlier today Adam Rubin of ESPN reportedly spoke with GM Sandy Alderson, who told Rubin he expects Lucas Duda to continue getting playing-time in the outfield (ESPN New York). Duda played 58 games in the outfield last year--all in left field (Baseball Reference).

I, for one, am shocked they would put him there; Duda doesn't play well in the outfield and has expressed his distaste for the position in the past. The lefty's fielding percentage has been consistently lower in the outfield throughout his time in the majors. Plus, it has been below average there and on-par with MLB positional averages at first base.

credit: Newsday

According to Baseball Reference, Duda's "Rdrs/yr" has been severely below average in the outfield and right around average at first base. They explain the statistic to measure "the number of runs above or below average the fielder was worth per 1,200 innings (approximately 135 games)."Duda's career Rdrs/yr in the outfield stands at -27 while its at 1 when he's on first. For anyone who watches him play, looks at his stats or even listens to him, it's obvious he shouldn't be playing the outfield.

Much debate has ensued this winter about who should play first for the Mets, i.e. Duda or Ike Davis. GM Alderson clearly preferred to hand Duda the job after attempting to trade Davis all offseason. After no deal could be reached, the trade talks stopped and consensus is Davis will be at Spring Training (competing with Duda for first-base).

I don't see any good reason to keep Duda on the club if he won't play first base. Alderson's comments concern me because it is clear he doesn't perform well or comfortably in the outfield. If Davis will have the starting job in April, the two productive things to do with Duda options would be either to demote or trade him. If he doesn't get the job and the Mets could get something good for him--like a backup infielder or reliever--then they will have every reason to do it.


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10 Reasons to be Excited about the Mets Future

1. Two words: Curtis Granderson. 

   

   credit: AP

2. The top catching prospect in the MLB is our own Travis d'Arnaud (MLB.com). (Plus, Kevin Plawecki was apparently close to also cracking the MLB.com's top 10). 

   

   d'Arnaud (credit: USA TODAY)

3. 18-year-old Dominic Smith has been ranked the number two first base prospect in all of the MLB.  

   

   credit: Getty Images

4. When Matt Harvey returns from injury next year he will still only be 25. 

   

   credit: USA TODAY

5. 23-year-old pitcher Zack Wheeler is expected to have a very bright future. 

   

   credit: Getty Images

6. The Mets number one prospect is 21-year-old, lefty pitcher Noah Syndergaard, whom the club has invited to spring training this year. As put by MLB.com the hurler has a "future as a frontline starter." 
   
7. The Mets' starting pitching depth has greatly expanded. Guys like Bartolo Colon, Jenrry Mejia, and the aforementioned Wheeler and Syndergaard (along with rising prospect Rafael Montero) will help keep rotation spots competitive this season.  

   

   credit: Getty Images

8. Fireballer Bobby Parnell is healthy and ready to be our closer again--here's to hoping he stays that way. 

   

   credit: USA TODAY

9. Captain David Wright is still only 31. 

   

   credit: Getty Images

10. Mets fans will always be classier than Yankees fans as Harvey can tell you first-hand: (NJ.com).

    @MattHarvey33 You have what? NINETEEN career wins? Why on Earth do you think you can act like you're in the Hall of Fame?
    — Nick DeBabylon (@NickDeBabylon) January 13, 2014