Mets medical as usual is a joke. I had my ACL fixed a few years back after I tore it playing tennis. Waited a few days for the swelling to go down. They took the MRI of the knee. Doc sits me down, shows me the pics. Torn ACL, lax PCL, a few little spurs and some cartilage fringe. NO worries, he says when I go in to fix the ACL I'll clean up all the rest too. Rehab should be typical 6 weeks and go easy on it until you gain your confidence back, listen to your body....
12 weeks later I was back to full speed although going easy on the knee for say another month and I haven't thought about it since. WTF is going on with this guy, or the doctors? This should have been fixed and done.
hope that doesn't become a theme if he keeps hitting.
I'm worried that if he starts games and keeps hitting then Brodie will trade him for a rental starter in 2-3 weeks. We might be better off with him getting only part-time duty this year.
he's got some movement on the ball and a few different pitches in his arsenal. Most of the other young guys the last several years have just thrown hard. The cutter, the change up, the slider all looked like usable pitches with the 95mph fb mixed in.
And the thing that sucks is basically every Mets offensive player has underperformed for the first 12% of the season..
They aren't bad..they have just played poorly outside of 2 games in Fenway.
In a normal year, no reason to panic. But this year?? Need a couple guys to get hot and get this offense going...
The talk about a very good player not being a good player, or them not being improved as a team... Those are silly statements at this point in time.
Second coming of Ollie Perez, who also had one great year
Sticking with this guy cost the Mets last year and will again
Difference was Ollie went from throwing 99 to 92..and then still found a way to salvage a career and perform... Diaz is all still there physically, it really doesn't make sense
Second coming of Ollie Perez, who also had one great year
Sticking with this guy cost the Mets last year and will again
They clearly need to re-evaluate his status. He's got a big arm but they propped him up off an outlier season. He reminds me a lot of Hansel Robles, though certainly more talented. He doesn't have enough of a repertoire or know how to pitch enough to dominate when he's off.
I know I'm a broken record but give Familia the next closing opp and take it from there. If they don't start doing better with their situational hitting against mediocre relievers who are throwing 30+ pitches per inning and on the ropes, it won't matter much though.
Second coming of Ollie Perez, who also had one great year
Sticking with this guy cost the Mets last year and will again
They clearly need to re-evaluate his status. He's got a big arm but they propped him up off an outlier season. He reminds me a lot of Hansel Robles, though certainly more talented. He doesn't have enough of a repertoire or know how to pitch enough to dominate when he's off.
I know I'm a broken record but give Familia the next closing opp and take it from there. If they don't start doing better with their situational hitting against mediocre relievers who are throwing 30+ pitches per inning and on the ropes, it won't matter much though.
I was about to post that Robles was a better comp for baffling that a guy with great stuff could drop off without loss of physical ability..good call.
the Mets have NOT improved from last year and it's not close.
You replaced Syndergaard and Wheeler with Porcello and Wacha.
It's not silly to feel they are worse.
They can't afford to lose deGrom starts like yesterday.
I think I agree. I said earlier at best they were the same and I think that's probably true. At their best they'll be about the same as last year. But that's at their best.
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Diaz is a simple minded thrower and has no plan other than slinging the ball and hoping it finds the plate. He couldn’t hit his spot or any other if his life depended on it.
Thin SP and a closer that had to be better for them to succeed. By all appearances he’s still a lost soul that doesn’t belong on the mound in a big spot.
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
Pitching is about locating. Diaz has zero ability to locate. Against Ozuna if he throws that pitch an inch higher it’s a harmless fly all. But Diaz has no ability to spot the ball like that. He just throws it up there and counts on his movement to make guys miss. Sometimes it does but too often he just loses the plate. He just hit a guy twice with the bases loaded.
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Sure, and I'm no more an expert than anyone else, but I see Diaz pitch and I feel his results should be better.
I don't know how to fix him, but I know the Mets need him.
I never watched Hansel Robles pitch and felt like his results should have been better. I felt like he was pretty mediocre with good velocity.
the biggest reasons they are struggling are the BP and defense
Wilson, Diaz, and Lugo have all blown games now. But if the BP gets on track they will be better than last year.
Eventually the bats will get hot.
The defense has had issues and I guess you have to hope McNeil is just shaking off rust at a new position because usually he's been one of their better defenders wherever he plays.
Diaz has to be removed from late innings at this point
Outside of deGrom, who do people not want to face?
Even with Stroman in there, he's kind of a finesse guy. Syndergaard and Wheeler have upper 90's heat and good off-speed stuff. Porcello is a batting practice pitcher. Matz is a bottom of the rotation pitcher.
Need to see Wacha again.
This team has the potential to go on a long losing streak.
And sure the bats have been quiet, but the Braves won 2 - 1 today, you shouldn't have to score 5 runs to win.
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Sure, and I'm no more an expert than anyone else, but I see Diaz pitch and I feel his results should be better.
I don't know how to fix him, but I know the Mets need him.
I never watched Hansel Robles pitch and felt like his results should have been better. I felt like he was pretty mediocre with good velocity.
I see it same as Vanzetti - I see great velocity and not much more. Location and movement are 2 things both he and Robles lacked. He's got a little extra velocity and movement over Robles when he's right and when his slider is on it translates to being a much nastier pitch, but both seemed to get very straight in bigger moments and lose the ability to locate. And had problems with the long ball.
Robles went on to the Angels after we dfa'd him and had a pretty nice season last year. 97 mph avg. FB. I could see Diaz similarly bounce back as soon as he goes somewhere lower profile and has less expectations on him. The best thing the Mets could do for him is take some pressure off and let him rebuild his confidence and figure out how to pitch.
Im so sick of it. Nimmo gets on base time after time and we have to have the worst hitter on the team follow him? Enough already!!!!!
Rosario seems to start the season slowly. He will get it going. I think you are just pissed
Rosario is a POS and Conforto isn't a good player... Lol.. idk what I was watching last July through September, must have been my imagination... These 7 games under unusual circumstances clearly more indicative of reality
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Sure, and I'm no more an expert than anyone else, but I see Diaz pitch and I feel his results should be better.
I don't know how to fix him, but I know the Mets need him.
I never watched Hansel Robles pitch and felt like his results should have been better. I felt like he was pretty mediocre with good velocity.
I see it same as Vanzetti - I see great velocity and not much more. Location and movement are 2 things both he and Robles lacked. He's got a little extra velocity and movement over Robles when he's right and when his slider is on it translates to being a much nastier pitch, but both seemed to get very straight in bigger moments and lose the ability to locate. And had problems with the long ball.
Robles went on to the Angels after we dfa'd him and had a pretty nice season last year. 97 mph avg. FB. I could see Diaz similarly bounce back as soon as he goes somewhere lower profile and has less expectations on him. The best thing the Mets could do for him is take some pressure off and let him rebuild his confidence and figure out how to pitch.
You would really have to believe someone is more than mentally weak to struggle to pitch "in NY" this season when there are literally no fans in the stands.
Pressure of a baseball situation will exists anywhere, but not sure it has to do with the NY - at least not this year.
I do think it's mechanics and probably confidence.
Brent Maguire
@bmags94
·
13m
Hansel Robles averaged 97.2 mph on his fastball last season. He has not thrown a single fastball that hard so far this season. #Angels
is what we've witnessed from Diaz in his short tenure. He's struggled mightily and his problems clearly can't be fixed overnight whether it be physical or mental. What his role will be going forward is going to be very telling. The organization can no longer afford to pretend he's a different pitcher in 2020.
plenty of stadiums sell out all over the country and aren't the pressure cooker that NY is. It is much more to do with the amount of media and the tenacity of the media (which is a proxy for the tenacity of fans who have high expectations). Everyone loves their intro press conference with 10x the number of reporters they've had at any other press conference they've been apart of, until they fail and they have all of those same people tearing them apart and waiting at their locker instead of kissing their ass.
Other places both the fans and media are a lot less intense in general, a lot more laid back, and the players are able to just sort of play the game. Here that's just never been the vibe whether it's the Mets or Yankees or Rangers/Knicks/Jets/Giants and for players who come from the other environment there is almost always a learning curve.
Now imagine a 24 year old kid who came in with the expectations of basically Mariano Rivera off 1 big season and with a short track record that included getting replaced as closer once before in Seattle at a position known for extreme volatility. He is failing and failing very publicly. There is a reason there has only been 1 Mariano.
I think that's more of a fan/media creation than a real thing.
Especially with many of the Latino players. I think the fans and media feel like they put this pressure on themselves, but I'm not convinced it's a real thing for the players.
disagree - too many high profile pickups struggled initially
upon arriving in NY to ignore it. Even with the Yankees. Though obviously there are levels of disappointment and free agency in general tends to generate disappointment and overpays in all sports. But that said:
Alomar, Bay, even Beltran year #1, K-Rod, Carl Pavano, Sony gray. There is a long list of baseball players who have gone from all stars and key offseason additions to goats, with some even being effective again as soon as they left (sony gray last year in Cincy). Or once there's less pressure on them like Beltran once they added Delgado and others. In this town the rare exceptions have been Piazza/Cespedes who stepped into the spotlight and thrived pretty much right away.
jmo (and I think I said this to a degree when the trade happened) but Diaz at age 24, having already shown volatility, never having pitched in a playoff atmosphere, and entering a very pressure filled situation shouldn't have been handed the closing spot exclusively from day 1 and hyped up like he was Mariano Rivera. He would have been better served being made to compete for it (as he should right now too).
RE: disagree - too many high profile pickups struggled initially
upon arriving in NY to ignore it. Even with the Yankees. Though obviously there are levels of disappointment and free agency in general tends to generate disappointment and overpays in all sports. But that said:
Alomar, Bay, even Beltran year #1, K-Rod, Carl Pavano, Sony gray. There is a long list of baseball players who have gone from all stars and key offseason additions to goats, with some even being effective again as soon as they left (sony gray last year in Cincy). Or once there's less pressure on them like Beltran once they added Delgado and others. In this town the rare exceptions have been Piazza/Cespedes who stepped into the spotlight and thrived pretty much right away.
jmo (and I think I said this to a degree when the trade happened) but Diaz at age 24, having already shown volatility, never having pitched in a playoff atmosphere, and entering a very pressure filled situation shouldn't have been handed the closing spot exclusively from day 1 and hyped up like he was Mariano Rivera. He would have been better served being made to compete for it (as he should right now too).
It seems like you're projecting the way you think he should feel on him as a way to explain his poor performance. Just as an example, Bay came from Boston, if anything that's more of a pressure cooker than the Mets. Again, I think you're using your own narrative to explain poor results.
You have no idea if it's real, though to be fair either do I, but I'm not making the claim.
there's a combination of factors - Bay was 29 when he went to Boston
and it was a midseason trade, which can help to a degree because if you are a hitter in a groove you can hopefully just continue the momentum of your successful season vs. making a big adjustment. When Bay and Alomar came to the Mets their regressing skills at their ages was likely as big of a contributing factor as anything. But clearly there was also an element of pressing and losing confidence under the relentless criticism once things started going bad.
Diaz actually started last year pretty well if you remember and this year he's throwing nearly 100mph. His problems aren't physical - for a rookie manager in his first week Rojas impressively articulated it after yesterday's game that he Diaz looked like a totally different pitcher yesterday and needs to learn how to better handle his emotions. I don't think it's projection to agree with that assessment as dead on. Btw I don't think this only would have happened to Diaz in NY, I think he would have had similar issues on any major market contender. LAD, BOS, etc.
Sony Gray is sort of the perfect recent example of a similar recent player who was acquired with just too much expectation and folded under the pressure. And has since resumed his career elsewhere where the expectations were a lot lower. Not everyone is made to be Mariano Rivera or even Chapman regardless of how hard they throw.
Stroman supposedly threw 4 innings in a simulated game and Rojas said he was "full go" so hopefully he'll be ready to replace whoever our worst SP is over the next few turns. With Stroman back I'd imagine Lugo will be able to remain in the BP.
Thor posted a video of him and JT Ginn playing catch in their rehabs. Pretty cool experience for the kid to get to rehab with one of the best pitchers in baseball.
It sounds like Rojas will be re-evaluating the closer role going forward. Great sign. If Mickey was still here it would have taken at minimum a 10 game losing streak to publicly consider a change like that.
Thursday, July 30, 7:07 p.m.
LHP Martín Pérez (0-1, 7.20)
Rosario SS
Alonso 1B
McNeil 3B
J.D. Davis LF
Conforto RF
Céspedes DH
Dozier 2B
Ramos C
Nimmo CF
Matz LHP (0-0, 1.50)
2B has to be the position of least need in the entire organization.
Please God never start Rene Rivera again. He makes Nido look like Johnny Bench.
I hope the team comes out fired up tonight. Win the series and I’m more than good.
Z....didn't they score a bunch of runs against a lefty last week ?? Which game was it ??
Z....didn't they score a bunch of runs against a lefty last week ?? Which game was it ??
Yes, actually both of the first two games of this series.
12 weeks later I was back to full speed although going easy on the knee for say another month and I haven't thought about it since. WTF is going on with this guy, or the doctors? This should have been fixed and done.
I'm worried that if he starts games and keeps hitting then Brodie will trade him for a rental starter in 2-3 weeks. We might be better off with him getting only part-time duty this year.
- Witch from Conan
2-1
Also so ridiculous about Lowrie...chump for not just being upfront about it. No respect for the dude.
That’s one
he's got some movement on the ball and a few different pitches in his arsenal. Most of the other young guys the last several years have just thrown hard. The cutter, the change up, the slider all looked like usable pitches with the 95mph fb mixed in.
Meanwhile, only three freakin' hits tonight....
Grrr....
lead off runners stranded, men on 3rd with less than 2 outs stranded.
pitching doesn't matter if you can't score.
Well, that's a dumb statement. He's a fine player. Shitty AB there, but he's a good player
lead off runners stranded, men on 3rd with less than 2 outs stranded.
pitching doesn't matter if you can't score.
This team strikes out waaaaaaaaaaay to much. It would be OK if they hit as many HR as the Yankees do. But they don't, so it's not.
Lol..what?
I hope they cancel the season once the Mets get into last place in the league.
they need to hit rock bottom before they can get better.
#1 pick, new ownership group, Syndergaard back.
reset the whole thing.
Sticking with this guy cost the Mets last year and will again
They aren't bad..they have just played poorly outside of 2 games in Fenway.
In a normal year, no reason to panic. But this year?? Need a couple guys to get hot and get this offense going...
The talk about a very good player not being a good player, or them not being improved as a team... Those are silly statements at this point in time.
Sticking with this guy cost the Mets last year and will again
Difference was Ollie went from throwing 99 to 92..and then still found a way to salvage a career and perform... Diaz is all still there physically, it really doesn't make sense
You replaced Syndergaard and Wheeler with Porcello and Wacha.
It's not silly to feel they are worse.
They can't afford to lose deGrom starts like yesterday.
Sticking with this guy cost the Mets last year and will again
They clearly need to re-evaluate his status. He's got a big arm but they propped him up off an outlier season. He reminds me a lot of Hansel Robles, though certainly more talented. He doesn't have enough of a repertoire or know how to pitch enough to dominate when he's off.
I know I'm a broken record but give Familia the next closing opp and take it from there. If they don't start doing better with their situational hitting against mediocre relievers who are throwing 30+ pitches per inning and on the ropes, it won't matter much though.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
You replaced Syndergaard and Wheeler with Porcello and Wacha.
It's not silly to feel they are worse.
They can't afford to lose deGrom starts like yesterday.
Fair..but this stretch has been on the offense.....and Diaz.
Believe me...I despise our GM.. but this team could easily be 5-1 going into this game
Quote:
Second coming of Ollie Perez, who also had one great year
Sticking with this guy cost the Mets last year and will again
They clearly need to re-evaluate his status. He's got a big arm but they propped him up off an outlier season. He reminds me a lot of Hansel Robles, though certainly more talented. He doesn't have enough of a repertoire or know how to pitch enough to dominate when he's off.
I know I'm a broken record but give Familia the next closing opp and take it from there. If they don't start doing better with their situational hitting against mediocre relievers who are throwing 30+ pitches per inning and on the ropes, it won't matter much though.
I was about to post that Robles was a better comp for baffling that a guy with great stuff could drop off without loss of physical ability..good call.
You replaced Syndergaard and Wheeler with Porcello and Wacha.
It's not silly to feel they are worse.
They can't afford to lose deGrom starts like yesterday.
I think I agree. I said earlier at best they were the same and I think that's probably true. At their best they'll be about the same as last year. But that's at their best.
Quote:
the Mets have NOT improved from last year and it's not close.
You replaced Syndergaard and Wheeler with Porcello and Wacha.
It's not silly to feel they are worse.
They can't afford to lose deGrom starts like yesterday.
Fair..but this stretch has been on the offense.....and Diaz.
Believe me...I despise our GM.. but this team could easily be 5-1 going into this game
Lugo blew it yesterday.
Diaz didn't even pitch.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Thin SP and a closer that had to be better for them to succeed. By all appearances he’s still a lost soul that doesn’t belong on the mound in a big spot.
Quote:
In comment 14941356 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
the Mets have NOT improved from last year and it's not close.
You replaced Syndergaard and Wheeler with Porcello and Wacha.
It's not silly to feel they are worse.
They can't afford to lose deGrom starts like yesterday.
Fair..but this stretch has been on the offense.....and Diaz.
Believe me...I despise our GM.. but this team could easily be 5-1 going into this game
Lugo blew it yesterday.
Diaz didn't even pitch.
We should have won the game AFTER Lugo blew it...
Diaz blew game 2 of the season, that's the one I was referring to
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
Pitching is about locating. Diaz has zero ability to locate. Against Ozuna if he throws that pitch an inch higher it’s a harmless fly all. But Diaz has no ability to spot the ball like that. He just throws it up there and counts on his movement to make guys miss. Sometimes it does but too often he just loses the plate. He just hit a guy twice with the bases loaded.
Quote:
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Sure, and I'm no more an expert than anyone else, but I see Diaz pitch and I feel his results should be better.
I don't know how to fix him, but I know the Mets need him.
I never watched Hansel Robles pitch and felt like his results should have been better. I felt like he was pretty mediocre with good velocity.
Eventually the bats will get hot.
The defense has had issues and I guess you have to hope McNeil is just shaking off rust at a new position because usually he's been one of their better defenders wherever he plays.
Outside of deGrom, who do people not want to face?
Even with Stroman in there, he's kind of a finesse guy. Syndergaard and Wheeler have upper 90's heat and good off-speed stuff. Porcello is a batting practice pitcher. Matz is a bottom of the rotation pitcher.
Need to see Wacha again.
This team has the potential to go on a long losing streak.
And sure the bats have been quiet, but the Braves won 2 - 1 today, you shouldn't have to score 5 runs to win.
Quote:
In comment 14941358 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Sure, and I'm no more an expert than anyone else, but I see Diaz pitch and I feel his results should be better.
I don't know how to fix him, but I know the Mets need him.
I never watched Hansel Robles pitch and felt like his results should have been better. I felt like he was pretty mediocre with good velocity.
I see it same as Vanzetti - I see great velocity and not much more. Location and movement are 2 things both he and Robles lacked. He's got a little extra velocity and movement over Robles when he's right and when his slider is on it translates to being a much nastier pitch, but both seemed to get very straight in bigger moments and lose the ability to locate. And had problems with the long ball.
Robles went on to the Angels after we dfa'd him and had a pretty nice season last year. 97 mph avg. FB. I could see Diaz similarly bounce back as soon as he goes somewhere lower profile and has less expectations on him. The best thing the Mets could do for him is take some pressure off and let him rebuild his confidence and figure out how to pitch.
Rosario seems to start the season slowly. He will get it going. I think you are just pissed
Guys might be pressing with the short season
Quote:
Im so sick of it. Nimmo gets on base time after time and we have to have the worst hitter on the team follow him? Enough already!!!!!
Rosario seems to start the season slowly. He will get it going. I think you are just pissed
Rosario is a POS and Conforto isn't a good player... Lol.. idk what I was watching last July through September, must have been my imagination... These 7 games under unusual circumstances clearly more indicative of reality
Quote:
Im so sick of it. Nimmo gets on base time after time and we have to have the worst hitter on the team follow him? Enough already!!!!!
Rosario seems to start the season slowly. He will get it going. I think you are just pissed
It literally has nothing to do with him!! I like Rosario (the young promising player). Him batting leadoff over Nimmo is fucking catastrophe.
Quote:
In comment 14941373 ZGiants98 said:
Quote:
Im so sick of it. Nimmo gets on base time after time and we have to have the worst hitter on the team follow him? Enough already!!!!!
Rosario seems to start the season slowly. He will get it going. I think you are just pissed
It literally has nothing to do with him!! I like Rosario (the young promising player). Him batting leadoff over Nimmo is fucking catastrophe.
If you were to create the perfect leadoff hitter, nimmo is pretty damn close. I agree with its awful to have rosario there
Shitty situation for Smith, but he's being wasted on this team.
Quote:
In comment 14941364 Eric on Li said:
Quote:
In comment 14941358 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
has insane stuff, he needs coaching or a veteran catcher or a sports psychologist or something.
He doesn't trust his stuff.
99 mph fastball backed up by an 89 mph slider. He should get better results.
There is a long list of guys who have had great stuff but couldn't hack it as closers in this (or other comparable) market. They bought their own hype off 1 great season that didn't matter all that much because his team wasn't even really in playoff contention.
Sure, and I'm no more an expert than anyone else, but I see Diaz pitch and I feel his results should be better.
I don't know how to fix him, but I know the Mets need him.
I never watched Hansel Robles pitch and felt like his results should have been better. I felt like he was pretty mediocre with good velocity.
I see it same as Vanzetti - I see great velocity and not much more. Location and movement are 2 things both he and Robles lacked. He's got a little extra velocity and movement over Robles when he's right and when his slider is on it translates to being a much nastier pitch, but both seemed to get very straight in bigger moments and lose the ability to locate. And had problems with the long ball.
Robles went on to the Angels after we dfa'd him and had a pretty nice season last year. 97 mph avg. FB. I could see Diaz similarly bounce back as soon as he goes somewhere lower profile and has less expectations on him. The best thing the Mets could do for him is take some pressure off and let him rebuild his confidence and figure out how to pitch.
You would really have to believe someone is more than mentally weak to struggle to pitch "in NY" this season when there are literally no fans in the stands.
Pressure of a baseball situation will exists anywhere, but not sure it has to do with the NY - at least not this year.
I do think it's mechanics and probably confidence.
@bmags94
·
13m
Hansel Robles averaged 97.2 mph on his fastball last season. He has not thrown a single fastball that hard so far this season. #Angels
The Mets clearly are not acting like he's a different pitcher.
Other places both the fans and media are a lot less intense in general, a lot more laid back, and the players are able to just sort of play the game. Here that's just never been the vibe whether it's the Mets or Yankees or Rangers/Knicks/Jets/Giants and for players who come from the other environment there is almost always a learning curve.
Now imagine a 24 year old kid who came in with the expectations of basically Mariano Rivera off 1 big season and with a short track record that included getting replaced as closer once before in Seattle at a position known for extreme volatility. He is failing and failing very publicly. There is a reason there has only been 1 Mariano.
Especially with many of the Latino players. I think the fans and media feel like they put this pressure on themselves, but I'm not convinced it's a real thing for the players.
Alomar, Bay, even Beltran year #1, K-Rod, Carl Pavano, Sony gray. There is a long list of baseball players who have gone from all stars and key offseason additions to goats, with some even being effective again as soon as they left (sony gray last year in Cincy). Or once there's less pressure on them like Beltran once they added Delgado and others. In this town the rare exceptions have been Piazza/Cespedes who stepped into the spotlight and thrived pretty much right away.
jmo (and I think I said this to a degree when the trade happened) but Diaz at age 24, having already shown volatility, never having pitched in a playoff atmosphere, and entering a very pressure filled situation shouldn't have been handed the closing spot exclusively from day 1 and hyped up like he was Mariano Rivera. He would have been better served being made to compete for it (as he should right now too).
Alomar, Bay, even Beltran year #1, K-Rod, Carl Pavano, Sony gray. There is a long list of baseball players who have gone from all stars and key offseason additions to goats, with some even being effective again as soon as they left (sony gray last year in Cincy). Or once there's less pressure on them like Beltran once they added Delgado and others. In this town the rare exceptions have been Piazza/Cespedes who stepped into the spotlight and thrived pretty much right away.
jmo (and I think I said this to a degree when the trade happened) but Diaz at age 24, having already shown volatility, never having pitched in a playoff atmosphere, and entering a very pressure filled situation shouldn't have been handed the closing spot exclusively from day 1 and hyped up like he was Mariano Rivera. He would have been better served being made to compete for it (as he should right now too).
It seems like you're projecting the way you think he should feel on him as a way to explain his poor performance. Just as an example, Bay came from Boston, if anything that's more of a pressure cooker than the Mets. Again, I think you're using your own narrative to explain poor results.
You have no idea if it's real, though to be fair either do I, but I'm not making the claim.
Diaz actually started last year pretty well if you remember and this year he's throwing nearly 100mph. His problems aren't physical - for a rookie manager in his first week Rojas impressively articulated it after yesterday's game that he Diaz looked like a totally different pitcher yesterday and needs to learn how to better handle his emotions. I don't think it's projection to agree with that assessment as dead on. Btw I don't think this only would have happened to Diaz in NY, I think he would have had similar issues on any major market contender. LAD, BOS, etc.
Sony Gray is sort of the perfect recent example of a similar recent player who was acquired with just too much expectation and folded under the pressure. And has since resumed his career elsewhere where the expectations were a lot lower. Not everyone is made to be Mariano Rivera or even Chapman regardless of how hard they throw.
Thor posted a video of him and JT Ginn playing catch in their rehabs. Pretty cool experience for the kid to get to rehab with one of the best pitchers in baseball.
It sounds like Rojas will be re-evaluating the closer role going forward. Great sign. If Mickey was still here it would have taken at minimum a 10 game losing streak to publicly consider a change like that.