How Francisco Alvarez has made Mets’ pitching staff better: ‘Love this kid’
NY Post
The Francisco Alvarez Effect has been real.
The Mets are 29-13 in games in which their precocious young catcher plays and 17-32 without him.
Sure, the upgrade with the bat — his .852 OPS began play Wednesday as third-best among catchers with at least 100 plate appearances — has been significant.
But Alvarez’s influence on the pitching staff has been nearly as stark.
Consider the fact that with Alvarez squatting behind home plate, Mets pitchers brought a 3.25 ERA into the Mets’ 6-2 win over the Nationals at Citi Field.
The Mets’ team ERA entered play an entire run higher — 4.25 — and only four primary catchers in all of MLB brought better marks than Alvarez’s into play (Atlanta’s Sean Murphy at 2.55, Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto at 2.86, Boston’s Reese McGuire at 3.01 and Seattle’s Cal Raleigh at 3.25).
The Jets were quiet on Day 2 of free agency after adding a new quarterback Monday.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Brett Berard has displayed both a fiery passion and an admirable patience in the last six months of his hockey career, which reached the NHL level for the first time at the end of November.
PORT ST. LUCIE — The baseball calendar says the Mets have about two weeks until Opening Day, but Francisco Lindor’s mind is on another timetable as these dog days of spring training pass.
The man with the best nickname on the team is one of the few Knicks who has made it this far relatively unscathed in the court of public opinion.
For a guy who seemingly is always headed out the door, Darius Slayton has a way of never leaving.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Rangers stood by their defensive structure in the immediate aftermath of their Weekend of Missed Opportunities, in which they had two chances to capture the top wild-card spot in the East and failed to do so in such disappointing fashion.
PORT ST. LUCIE — Luis Torrens helped inject life into the Mets’ season last year but now faces even larger responsibilities with the team.
The Jets are having a Fields Day.
SACRAMENTO — P.J. Tucker understands his reputation as a hard-nosed player who is willing to vocalize displeasure.
The Yankees have insurance on Gerrit Cole, which is a positive thing in a very worrisome situation.
Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, oh, the Rangers might’ve had a weekend if they had only buckled down after taking a 3-1 lead into the final 10 minutes in Ottawa on Saturday.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers’ last two steps to a championship were eliminating the New York teams last October, and it is hard to miss how much of a better February and March Los Angeles is having as well.
The Jets kicked off free agency by keeping one of their own.