Mets should start Curtis Granderson over Michael Conforto… for now

For the last two games the Mets have faced a lefty. In both games Terry Collins opted to start Curtis Granderson over Michael Conforto. It has paid off for both Collins and the Mets, as Granderson has hit two home runs in those games.

Although there may be many fans bewildered with the Mets’ skipper deciding to start the statistically worse Granderson, he is making the right decision.

Entering the game Wednesday, Granderson was hitting .211, whereas Conforto was significantly better percentage wise, sitting at .280. However, as most Mets fans already know, Terry Collins is known to start players who are on hot streaks.

Terry Collins is being consistent with his method. Curtis Granderson hit a homer on Wednesday, so he opted to start him on Thursday too, and it paid off. With the Mets facing yet another lefty on Friday in Brad Brach, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Granderson to get a third straight start against a southpaw.

Shortly after he hit his second straight home run, Ron Darling and Gary Cohen were discussing an alternative reason as to why Granderson started, and it makes a lot of sense. They stated that because of his experience, Granderson is much more likely to overcome any hitless games. On the other hand, Conforto, who is playing in just his third year, perhaps has more trouble staying focused after a major slump.

In the process of making the decision of who to start against the lefty Rich Hill on Wednesday, Collins took into account that Conforto had an 0-20 stretch. Therefore, according to Cohen and Darling’s theory, Granderson started because he can mentally hade a slump more easily.

Furthermore, the SNY booth said that Collins’ decision to start Granderson was not reflective upon the whole year. Clearly Collins was making the right decisions because the Mets are in dire need of wins right now, and the only right moves to make would be playing the hot hitters who can produce offense in must win games.

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While the Mets currently are on a four-game losing streak, starting Granderson against the lefties is the right moves as he is doing everything in his power to contribute to the Mets offense in an attempt to snap out of their skid.