When Mets' season was ruined and Yankees' lefty hitters dominating lefty pitchers

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00:00Joel Sherman with three things. Forgive bad hair day going with the Brooklyn Dodger hat.

00:05Let's start number one. I just want to isolate a moment in time for the Mets.

00:10Sixth inning, June 12th, one out. A ground ball is hit to Pete Alonzo.

00:16He makes a high throw. It's been a problem for Alonzo, especially this year.

00:19Bad throws on the 3-1 play. High throw, Kodai, Senga, leaps for it, comes down,

00:26actually tags the bag, gets a ground ball by C.J. Abrams. He records an out,

00:30but he injures his right hamstring, goes right down in a heap. He's taken out of a game.

00:35At that moment, freeze frame, the Mets are winning a game 4-0 in the sixth inning on June 12th.

00:40They have the best record in the major leagues. They have the best starting pitching ERA.

00:43They have the best overall ERA. They do hold on. Maybe it's foreshadowing.

00:47They hold on. The Nationals score the next three runs in the game. Mets hold on to win the game.

00:52Since then, though, right, the Mets, 35-52. It's the fourth-worst record in the majors.

00:59And they have, among the five worst, bullpen ERAs, starting ERAs, and overall ERAs.

01:06Senga came back and made nine starts. In those nine starts, he has a high-five ERA.

01:13It was so bad, he accepted the minor league assignment, didn't pitch well down there.

01:19Sometime in Florida, over the next few days, he's going to try to throw live batting practice

01:26to see if there's something they could recapture.

01:28But how would you even trust that moving forward for the Mets this last week?

01:32And if they are able to get into October?

01:35And then you have, this is an off-season question, but you have a question about who Kota Isenga is

01:39moving forward physically, mentally from what's going on here.

01:43But I have the bigger questions about the Mets.

01:46Do I believe one starting pitching injury derailed them?

01:50I don't, but it's such an obvious starting point and a reminder.

01:54Like, the Yankees didn't have Garrett Cole all year, and they lost Clark Schmidt.

02:00They're going back to the playoffs.

02:02The Phillies, in August, lost their ace, Zach Wheeler.

02:06They have the best record in the sport since they lost him, and they sealed the NL East

02:12during that time.

02:14Their success, the Mets' failures.

02:16The Padres clinched the playoffs last night.

02:19Joe Musgrove never pitched an inning this year.

02:21Only 14 starts out of Hugh Darvish and Michael King.

02:25Dylan Seas had a poor season, and the Padres did it.

02:28Good teams overcome.

02:30And the Mets, from that moment forward, have yet to overcome a week left to do something

02:36about it, and I do find it interesting.

02:39They're starting David Peterson tonight against the Cubs.

02:42They have not announced another starting pitcher.

02:45They are in a scramble this week to try to decide who to use and how it is the core of their

02:52problem.

02:53The trickle down of not great starting pitching leading to a lot of burden on not great relief

02:59pitching.

03:00The team that's, for number two, the team that's mirrored the Mets this, for the last

03:04two years, is the Tigers.

03:06Think, both last year, bad starts.

03:08Then they made spectacular runs, both to get into the playoffs.

03:14This year, the first few months, both teams were really, really good.

03:18And then both teams have fallen apart, where you could ask the question, whose collapse would

03:23be worse if both, if either or both missed the playoffs?

03:27Since July 9th, the Tigers are 26-37.

03:31The Mets are 27-37.

03:32There's a lot of mirroring going on.

03:35The Tigers led the AL Central by 12.5 games on August 25th.

03:40They led by 10 games on September 3rd.

03:43No team has blown more than a seven-game lead in September.

03:48The Mets are one of those teams.

03:49In 2007, unfortunately, Mets fans will remember, right?

03:52Seven games in 17 days.

03:5517 games to the Phillies.

03:58They blew that lead.

04:00But no one's ever blown 10 in September.

04:03It's a one-game lead going into tonight against the Guardians, who the team won game back.

04:10It's a three-game series.

04:11You hate to say it's a must-game when it's not an elimination game, but the Tigers are

04:17using Tarek Skubel, their ace.

04:19They're defending AL Cy Young award winner, a guy who might actually win it again this year.

04:24And if I was looking for a similarity between the two teams, I would start there.

04:29The Tigers have Skubel, but they are like the Mets.

04:33They have been very, very willing.

04:35And this was very successful late last season, where they were in a scramble, and they just

04:38use, like, tournament pitching down the stretch and into the playoffs.

04:42I just wonder if you could do it for 162 games, where you're constantly, as quick as you can,

04:47get the starter out, or you're doing openers, and you're asking a lot of pitchers to be

04:52really good.

04:54You're going through.

04:55There's a lot of injuries, etc.

04:57I do wonder if both teams share that commonality of trying to make it through 162 games, where

05:03you're so quick to go into the bullpen.

05:06And again, I never think there's one reason for anything, but I do think that that is

05:12some cause and effect there.

05:14Let's do number three.

05:15On Sunday, the Yankees won a game, plus Ben Rice hit a grand slam, Jazz Chisholm hit a

05:20homer.

05:20They were both off Orioles lefty Keegan Aikens.

05:24It gave the Yankees 33 left-on-left homers this season.

05:28The actual leader in that is the Phillies.

05:31They have 35, but 22 of them are by Kyle Schwarber.

05:36It actually ties Matt Olsen of the Braves.

05:392021 also had 22 for the most ever left-on-left in the history of the game.

05:44The Yankees are one homer shy of their record left-on-left, which was 1977.

05:49The Yankees won some blasts from the past, literally blasts from the past.

05:53Reggie Jackson, 13 left-on-left homers.

05:55Greg Nettles, 11.

05:56Chris Chambliss, 8.

05:57Those were the ones who led the way.

06:00I would point out, though, the Yankees have been very democratic in this.

06:03They have five guys, five lefty hitters who have hit at least six homers off of left-handed

06:08pitching this year.

06:09Eight by Bellinger.

06:10Seven by Rice.

06:12Six by Grisham, Wells, and Chisholm.

06:15The only other team in history, and you're going to like some of these names, Yankee fans.

06:19You're not going to like some of these names, Yankee fans.

06:21The only other team in history to have five guys hit at least six left-on-left homers in

06:26the season, would you believe the 2019 Rangers ready for the names?

06:29Ronnet Odor, remember him, Yankee fans.

06:32Joey Gallo, you definitely remember him, Yankee fans.

06:34Willie Calhoun, brief period with the Yankees.

06:38They also had Shinsen Chu and Nomar Mazzaro.

06:43So that's the group the Yankees are in for most left-on-left.

06:47One more will tie in for the team record.

06:50Something to watch for.

06:52A little thing to follow as the Yankees try to clinch playoff spot, wild card, top seed,

06:57and maybe even make a run at the Blue Jays this last week.

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