Stearns talks Mets' walks issue, Vientos' 'continued growth'

NEW YORK -- The Mets are 6-9 since the day after the July 30 Trade Deadline, and they are just one game behind the Braves for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.

New York has run into some good pitching -- see the Mariners series -- and it hasn’t been good with runners in scoring position. But the Mets’ biggest problem is that the pitching staff can’t seem to throw enough strikes. In fact, the staff leads the NL in walks with 470. That is only 17 walks fewer than the Major League high held by the White Sox.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns addressed the media about the problem and he believes it’s a combination of things.

“At times, [it’s] trying to be a little too perfect. At times, it‘s that 50-50 call that is not going your way,” Stearns said Friday afternoon. “Regardless of the reasons, we can’t walk that many guys. You can’t consistently win baseball games with that many free passes. We know that. We can work to address it, but we need to be better.”

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If the Mets want to curtail the walks, they have to start executing pitches and throwing strikes, Stearns said. Manager Carlos Mendoza said some of the pitchers in the rotation are nibbling and not attacking hitters instead of trusting their stuff and allowing the defense behind them to work their magic. Stearns believes framing from the catchers is not an issue.

“A lot of times, we are getting behind in counts -- 1-0, 2-0, 3-1. That’s dangerous. When we do get ahead, then we start nibbling and before you know it, it’s 3-2 or ball four,” Mendoza said.

There wasn’t any nibbling against the Marlins in a 7-3 victory on Friday night at Citi Field. Left-hander Sean Manaea went seven innings and allowed three runs, issuing just one walk.

“He was really good. He threw strikes. He attacked hitters,” Mendoza said. “When they were aggressive on his fastball, he went to the changeup. I thought his changeup was his pitch today.”

Stearns also touched on the fact that he is pleased with the progress of third baseman Mark Vientos, who has become one of the team’s best hitters. Entering Friday, Vientos was second behind Francisco Lindor in bWAR with a 2.3 mark, and he has a slash line of .275/.338/.555 with an .893 OPS.

Entering Spring Training, a lot of baseball people saw Vientos as a designated hitter because of his below-average defensive skills. As the exhibition season was winding down, the Mets were looking for a more experienced DH and acquired J.D. Martinez. It meant Vientos was the odd man out and he was sent back to Triple-A Syracuse.

Vientos, however, worked his way back to the Majors for good by mid-May, replacing the slumping Brett Baty at third. You will not hear Stearns complain about Vientos’ defensive skills or plate discipline.

“What has continued to be great to see from Mark is the adjustments he has been able to make throughout the season, and that’s on both sides of the ball,” Stearns said. “He came in and went to Triple-A with the emphasis on defense and he has been able to improve it.

“I think offensively, you have seen continued growth and adjustments as he is understanding how Major League pitchers are going to attack him. Mark is still a very young player. He is not going to be perfect. I don’t expect him to be perfect, but this continued progress that we see this year is very encouraging.”

Will the Mets make changes any time soon? Stearns said he believes in the current roster they have constructed.

“I think we have a roster of talented players. We have demonstrated that. We know, to get to the playoffs, we have to play better than we have done in this recent stretch,” he said.