A Bad April For the Mets

Author: Steven Chase

Editor: Brian Symons

April 2021 saw its ups and downs for the orange and blue. We saw the breakouts of players such as Brandon Nimmo, JD Davis, Marcus Stroman, Miguel Castro, and others. We also saw Jacob deGrom continue to show why he is the best pitcher in baseball. But, we saw players such as Francisco Lindor, Joey Lucchesi, and a few others struggle. The Mets finished April 9-11, amidst a three-game losing streak. To sum up April for the Mets, the best term is inconsistency; let’s get into it.

Firstly, let’s start off the good. Jacob deGrom comes to mind before anyone else. The April Pitcher of the Month posted a 0.51 ERA, 0.82 FIP, 0.57 WHIP, 1.38 SIERA, and a 1.48 xERA for this timespan. With the exception of possibly Corbin Burnes, nobody was particularly close to deGrom this month. This was to be expected by the 2 time Cy Young, and will most likely continue throughout the rest of the season. Additionally, the resurgence of Pete Alonso was seen to start off in 2021. Through May 3rd, Alonso has a 142 wRC+, .382 xWOBA, .578 xSLG, along with a few absolute moon shots. We have not seen this production from Alonso since the 2019 season, and I hope to see it continue throughout the rest of the season. In addition to Alonso, JD Davis and Brandon Nimmo have been electric to start off the season. Nimmo (148 wRC+) and Davis (198 wRC+) have been the Mets only hitters with above a .300 batting average, and have been a key part in all Met wins. To add on, Michael Conforto, who had an OPS under .600 to start the season, has brought his wRC+ back up to 118 to close out April.

Conforto, who bats third in the lineup, will need to keep this up for the Mets to win. On the pitching end, the bullpen has been electric. As of April 27th, the Mets had a 3.16 SIERA (2nd), 74 xFIP- (1st), 66 FIP- (1st), and 29.7 K% (2nd). A few stand-out performers throughout this span have been Aaron Loup (1.64 SIERA), Miguel Castro (1.69 SIERA), Trevor May (2.01 SIERA), and of course Edwin Diaz (3.62 SIERA). Diaz had a couple of rough outings in between some elite outings, which heavily raised his numbers. Evidently, even without Seth Lugo, the Mets bullpen has been elite. The bullpen feeds right into the starting pitching, which is good but not quite as good. Marcus Stroman (1.84 ERA, 3.51 SIERA, and 3.22 xFIP) has been very solid to start off the season. Considering that by summer, the Mets will have both Syndergaard and Carrasco back, Stroman is a great 4th starter. Following Stroman, Peterson has bounced back from a rough start in Philly to end April with a 2.85 xFIP and 3.22 SIERA. Although he has been overshadowed by deGrom and Stroman, Peterson has proved that he deserves the fifth spot in the rotation when fully healthy.

Now for the bad. The Mets have a .240 team BA, which is alright, but the concerns come from the teams .209 BA with RISP. This has been a large concern for the Mets since the start of 2019. Although he hasn’t been particularly bad, Taijuan Walker has had a confusing start to the season. Although he has a respectable 3.00 ERA, he has ranked towards the bottom of the league in hard-hit metrics; A 5.06 xERA and 4.33 xFIP shows that Walker has been somewhat lucky to be where he is to start the season. He should be in long relief once Syndergaard and Carrasco come back, as David Peterson has better metrics to start the year.

On the other hand, Jeff McNeil has been pretty unlucky to start the year. McNeil has a .235 batting average so far, which is unlike him as he came into this year with a .319 lifetime batting average. McNeil is middle of the back in max exit velo (59th percentile), but below average in barrels (21st percentile). He has a .335 xWOBA and a 105 wRC+, but things are trending up for McNeil as he had a 4 hit night in Philadelphia. Although things are looking up for McNeil, this is not the case for Francisco Lindor. The 341 million dollar man has not been comfortable in the box to start off 2021. Amidst an 0 for 21 stretch, Lindor has a .163/.284/.209 slash line along with a 51 wRC+ and .311 xWOBA. Obviously, the power has been non-existent for Lindor, and he has not been getting on base much either. Lindor has a 7.1 UZR/150, so his offense has not impacted his defense. But, the offensive numbers have not been pretty for Lindor. Personally, I am not very worried, as Lindor has gotten out of slumps like this before in Cleveland. But for now, it's ugly. Additionally, James McCann has also been a failed contract so far (3 years for 37 million dollars) as he has posted a 55 OPS+. Although he has portrayed a strong arm, he has done nothing at the plate. Finally, we will examine Joey Lucchesi.

Lucchesi has given up a great deal of hard contact and finds himself with a 4.30 xFIP along with a 10.13 ERA. Obviously, it's hard for a team to win if they have a pitcher giving up over 10 runs per 9 innings, and hopefully, Luccehessi will improve going into May and June.

To conclude, the Mets have had their good and bad moments in 2021. Even though the first 20 games have seen them 2 games below .500 they have one of the best rosters in the MLB, and things will improve once the team is fully healthy and Lindor’s bat comes around.

METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Resurgence of the New York Knicks

Author: Patrick Sullivan

Editor: Brian Symons

The New York Knicks are currently 36-28 thus far in the 2020-2021 NBA season as their 9 game win streak came to an end against the Phoenix Suns. Although the Knicks lost to the Suns, they were in the lead for the first 35 minutes of the game and stayed close the entire time. Outside of some incredible shooting for the SUns and some help from the referees, the Knicks truly could have won this game. Regardless, the Knicks have proven yet again that they can hang around with the elite teams of the NBA and truly compete with any team.

Before this loss, the Knicks truly proved themselves to the league as not only a surprise this season, but a legitimate playoff team granted they remain in the playoff picture with 10 games remaining which seems very likely. Likewise, prior to the 9 game win streak, the Knicks were hovering around as a 500 team and no fan was truly sure if the Knicks were actually a good team. The 9 game win streak and the level of competition they are providing to the best teams in the NBA, prove that they are no doubt a good basketball team which no one has been able to say about the Knicks since 2013.

It's safe to say that this is finally the resurgence of the Knicks and fans have hope and excitement about the team for the first time in a long time. Coach Tom Thibodeau has the team playing together and great on both sides of the ball. IT truly shows how coaching can have a major impact on the performance of a team granted the Knicks have the lowest payroll in the NBA showing how they are doing more with less which is just a testament to Thibodeau’s great coaching. Furthermore, as most of the Knicks players are contributing, it is important to point out the great play of Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Derrick Rose as of late. They are truly leading the Knicks to the first playoff berth in 8 years. However, it wouldn't be right to not point out the great play that Immanuel QUickley, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel, and Reggie Bullock are bringing to the table as well. The play of all these guys and others is great to watch as a Knick fan and it’s making the Garden an electric place to be once again.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, the Knicks will most definitely need to keep up their level of defensive play to have a chance in a series with any playoff team and will also need to be more consistent on the offensive end as they have been during the 9 game win streak. To be completely honest and fair, it is hard to see the Knicks go deep into the playoffs considering they don;t have the stars that some playoff teams have, but its sports and anything can happen at any time. Nevertheless, the Knicks are back and the fans are ecstatic to see their team playing good basketball once again.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

NBA Stars Are Gearing Up For the NBA Play-In

Author: Raul Martinez

Editor: Brian Symons

As the NBA season nears its conclusion, the playoffs are right around the corner. Though this year it's changed, with the short-season the NBA will have a play-in tournament. With a new playoff format, we need to know how it works and who will be in the tournament.

What exactly is the play-in tournament and how does it work?

The play-in tournament is a new form of competition to determine who is the seventh and eighth seed in each conference. As of right now, the seventh and eighth seed will battle it out to settle who is the seventh seed in the playoffs. As this is going on, the ninth and tenth seed still have a chance to make it in the tournament by playing each other. Whoever wins gets to play the loser from the seventh and eighth seed. These matchups will happen for both conferences to ultimately determine who makes the playoffs and who doesn't.

When is the play-in tournament?

The tournament will take place from May 18-21. After the play-in is over the playoffs will begin right away on May 22.

Who could be in the tournament?

At this point in the seasons, it's hard to tell who is going to be in the play-in. However based on the NBA standings right now we can expect a few teams to appear in the play-in.

Eastern Conference

As of right now both the seventh seed Heat and the sixth seed Celtics have the same record. Below Miami are the Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers looking to stay where they are if not higher. The Wizards are looking to say something by stealing the ninth spot with the help of their dynamic duo, Bradley Beal and Russel Westbrook. Each team still has a chance to get into the play-in though it all depends on themselves.

Western Conference

The Western Conference has a much tighter race as the defending champions Lakers, are looking to avoid a play-in. After losing twice to the Mavericks, the Lakers gave other teams life to make it into the tournament. The tenth seed red hot Warriors led by Stephen Curry look to make a push, though need to depend on teams such as the Spurs and Grizzlies to lose. By May we should know more details about who is safe from the play-in and who looks to be in the play-in.

This new tournament adds excitement to the game showing that no one is safe. Just losing two games could put you in danger of losing your spot in the play-in. It should be an entertaining tournament to watch to see which teams are real or which teams are pretenders.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE