The way Francisco Alvarez’s at-bat started against Miguel Castro, you would have never guessed that it would have ended the way it did. Miguel Castro bore two sinkers in on Alvarez, and he got a check swing foul ball on one and a sword on the other. Alvarez was down 0-2 with one out in the 7th in a tie game.
It was then that Alvarez showed you what he’s learned in his first full season in the majors. Castro tried like hell to get him out with sinkers away, but Alvarez fouled three of them off while in protection mode. Then Castro threw a changeup that earlier in the season might have swallowed Alvarez whole. But Francisco took it for a 1-2 count. It was then that Castro probably thought “what the hell do I do now?” Alvarez fouled off the sinkers, and the changeup didn’t fool him. So Castro went with the fastball, and at that point he landed in Alvarez’s web.
Francisco Alvarez. 😳
That ball had a family. pic.twitter.com/iTIaZq7Fqp
— MLB (@MLB) July 4, 2023
If Castro’s intent was to fool him after five sinkers and a changeup, well God bless. Francisco was merely fighting off the good pitches to get the one he wanted. With his pitch recognition skills being off the charts on that at-bat, he was able to take a fastball and drive it 467 feet for a 6-4 lead, bumping the Mets win probability 30% but more importantly taking a game that Max Scherzer tried to give away multiple times by the throat and put it firmly in the Mets’ pockets for their first three game winning streak since the sweep of the Phillies that ended May and started the horrible month known as June. (The Mets are undefeated in July, by the way.)
Of course, it couldn’t all be roses as Drew Smith and David Robertson nearly coughed up a four run ninth inning lead and gave everyone some horrible flashbacks of … well, pick any blown lead in the last 61 years of Mets baseball. But Robertson was able to get an out and retire Lourdes Gurriel with the bases loaded as the winning run, cementing Alvarez’s blast as the seminal moment of this game, and probably this three game streak. Maybe it will wind up being the seminal moment of the season, maybe not. But it does give us a glimpse into what we can expect from Alvarez in the next 7-10 years.
***
Since I’ve missed the last week, I just wanted to touch on the trade the Mets made while I was gone.
The Mets traded Zach Muckenhirn for reliever Trevor Gott and, speaking of former Mets, Chris Flexen. Flexen was 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA, which answers the question: “How bad does one have to be for a team starved for pitching of all varieties for that team to say ‘nah, we’re good?'” Instead of finding a spot for him, the Mets bought him out like he was looking to sign with the Lakers for a playoff run.
Trevor Gott could certainly help, especially if Smith continues to pitch with a constant fear that umpires are going to eject him for smelling like sandalwood. But it gives you a glimpse of Steve Cohen’s wealth. A few days after saying that a high payroll with minimal results wasn’t sustainable, he decides to pay Flexen two million bucks to sit on his couch for the opportunity to trade Muckenhirn for Trevor Gott, a clear upgrade. This was a trade that Jeff Wilpon would have made, except Seattle would still be paying Flexen to be the Mets’ third starter, and they would have gotten Jeff McNeil back instead of Muckenhirn.
The Mets might be a little ripe right now, but I’m still so thankful to be on this timeline instead of the one where Scott Kazmir was traded for Victor Zambrano, who Rick Peterson still hasn’t fixed yet. Never forget.
Sorry, Chris.
Today’s Hate List
- June
- Christian Walker
- Nick Ahmed
- Corbin Carroll
- Alek Thomas
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