Internal Spats: Thor & The Buffalo.

Happiest of The Last remaining Warm Sundays everyone!

It's time for another Stellar edition of "Sunday Reading!"

Today, We're gonna discuss the Syndergaard/Ramos spat that was leaked to the Public.

Recently, Syndergaard went to manager Mickey Callaway and requested the use of a new catcher. When that didn't work, he went to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. While this was going on, this was all a Private conversation. Unfortunately for the Mets, Noah Syndergaard and Wilson Ramos, Someone leaked the private conversation to the public and beat writers all over the Mets spread the story like wild fire and the Fans are taking their anger out on Syndergaard. The fans are so angry with Syndergaard, they want him traded because he supposedly threw his teammate under the Bus. 

According to what was said, Syndergaard felt he wasn't clicking with Wilson Ramos and from a Statistical point, he isn't wrong. With Wilson Ramos as his catcher, he has a 5.09 ERA in 15 starts in 92 Innings and in the last 3 starts with Ramos, Syndergaard carries an 11.78 ERA.

Here's where I disagree with the Fans:

Had this Conversation remained private as it should have, We wouldn't have known about this conversation and wouldn't know Syndergaard's feelings on the matter. This wouldn't have been a topic of Discussion. Because someone in the Mets front office decided to leak the story to the Media, Syndergaard is painted as an aggressor and Ramos as a Victim so to speak.

We've seen this sort of similar situation before where pitchers don't click with the Starting catcher and typically work with the backup catcher. It isn't uncommon at all in the game of Baseball nowadays. Everyone else, Media included is blowing this out of proportion in such a ridiculous fashion! 

Some fans even think that Syndergaard is turning into Matt Harvey! I can tell you first hand that's ludicrous! Matt Harvey's issue was that he let the Fame go to his head and that his injuries ruined his Career! Syndergaard didn't have an Injury that crippled his career, he's had some issues with other catchers in terms of not "Clicking" with them, but to compare him to Matt Harvey over one bad year is ridiculous!

The demand to trade Syndergaard at seasons end is another ridiculous statement as well. With Zack Wheeler being a Free Agent at the end of this Season and Syndergaard a Free agent after 2 more seasons, if Wheeler doesn't re-sign and the Mets trade Syndergaard, The Mets will have shot themselves in the foot to appease the fan base. Keep this in mind as well, Syndergaard is having a bad year, pitching to a 4.22 ERA when he usually has an ERA between 2.67 and 3.03. It's obviously showing that he's struggling and it would be absolutely foolish to trade him! Unless the Mets are completely blown away by a Team's trade offer, He's staying put in a Mets Uniform! 

Remember in 2016 and for the limited time in 2017 when Syndergaard pitched? Who was his catcher for the Majority of both years? It wasn't Travis d'Arnaud, It wasn't Kevin Plawecki, It was Rene Rivera! During that time, Syndergaard (Along with other Mets pitchers) had trouble holding Runners on Base and needed someone who can throw runners out. When the Mets made the 2016 post season, it was Rene Rivera who was behind the dish catching Syndergaard while he threw 7 Scoreless Innings!

This season though, Syndergaard has thrown with Rivera behind the plate twice, One good outing and one bad. The First outing he threw 7 Scoreless Innings and the 2nd outing he threw 5.2 Innings while allowing 4 Runs in what was a come from behind win. It doesn't look good on Syndergaard's part that he wanted a personal catcher, got it and then had a bad outing.

Should Syndergaard adapt to pitching to Ramos like deGrom, Wheeler and Matz did? Yes he should, but it's easier said than done. Whatever the reason is, Whether it's not agreeing on pitches being called, Location, Framing etc, it's not working for Syndergaard. Again, this isn't uncommon and it shouldn't be an issue, however the Media is making it an issue as well as the Fans. Now, what Syndergaard should do is shut up and pitch rightfully so, However, The numbers with Rivera and other backup catcher Tomas Nido do backup Syndergaard's argument that his splits are better with them. Maybe not so much with Rivera, but that's just with 1 Start. 

Syndergaard's ERA with Tomas Nido in 10 starts this year is 2.45 in 66 Innings. It was revealed that Syndergaard himself requested to have Rene Rivera catch him in Colorado in what was the win, however as stated before, it didn't look good for him at all with the bad performance, allowing 10 hits and 4 Runs in 5.2 Innings of work. 

Keep this in Mind too: Ramos is more of an Offensive minded catcher while lacking the defensive presence. Ramos comes with a Powerful bat but at the same time, he lacks the defensive presence such as Blocking balls. Tomas Nido and Rene Rivera on the other hand, are Defensive minded catchers who think Defense first such as blocking balls in front of the plate and throwing runners out while not carrying a reliable bat. I've heard fans say that catchers should learn to hit. Well, my response to that is tell that to all the catchers who hit .250 or under. Spoiler Alert: A lot of catchers hit under .250, especially backup catchers!

Ramos recently came out and said this of the situation: "It's not like I would be mad with my teammate or that situation. It is what it is and I'm here to help and here to win." 

Ramos isn't taking exception to the situation and Syndergaard said after the story was leaked, that he was more upset that the private conversation was leaked. He claimed that there was no ill will towards Ramos. He respects him and wants to win. If anything, I think the Syndergaard pitch to Nido or Rivera for the remainder of the season. If the Mets get to the post season, then deal with it the catching situation then, but for now they should pair him up with Nido or Rivera.

If at seasons end Wheeler isn't re-signed and Syndergaard is traded, who's your rotation? deGrom, Matz, Stroman and who else? You can't use Lugo because he has the Partially torn UCL and the way he's being used, he can't go more than 2 Innings. There's Walker Lockett that they can use as a #4 starter and perhaps Drew Gagnon or even Ervin Santana but even those are long shots. Not having Syndergaard and Wheeler in the Rotation can severely cripple the Mets rotation. That's the realistic side of it! Unless you're getting a Major Haul that would be foolish to ignore, Syndergaard is staying put and the upmost importance is to re-sign Wheeler and keep Syndergaard in a Mets uniform despite what fans think!

In Conclusion, The Private conversation by Syndergaard and the Mets front office was supposed to remain private. Whomever leaked the conversation should be dealt with accordingly. Whether that's a Stern Talking to, a Demotion or even a Firing, They need to be dealt with and know that Private conversations Between Players, The manager and/or even Front Office Executives should never be leaked unless given permission by the Player himself!

That's all for Today my Friends!

Until the Next article,

LETS GO METS!!!