Make the fucking playoffs more than twice in 20 years, then talk.
A Fucking Mets fan talking shit? Hilarious.
When I typed the post I knew you were going to respond just like you did. I hate to disappoint you, but I have no dog in the MLB fight. I dont watch it but follow it very loosely on the Internet and whatever I pick up on sports radio. The Yankees are only down 2-1. Its not over.
The primary news is the GM search, but I have bad news..
Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
RE: The primary news is the GM search, but I have bad news..
Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
The Scottsdale team has a few Metsies on the roster. Gimenez, Alonzo. My wife & I are planning on going on a long weekend trip from Las Vegas to see a couple of games.
Is putting it mildly. Its every retread name in the business being thrown around; with countless stories about anyone up and coming being not interested because of Jeff.
I mean we all know this so its frustrating to read, but also there are only 30 of these jobs, someone has to be willing to take it who isnt utterly desperate.
Rookie maximums for at-bats (130), games pitched (30) or innings (50) in the major leagues"
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) 21/31- 68%
like it will be Gary Laroque... claim to fame is drafting Wright, his time running the Mets farm/draft overall was awful, 66 years old, zero experience making trades/signings... close with Fred... weeeeeee
Supposedly Fred wont sit in the interviews but has final say... Jeff and Ricco will do the interviewing. Such a bizarre process, no wonder no one wants the job.
Is putting it mildly. Its every retread name in the business being thrown around; with countless stories about anyone up and coming being not interested because of Jeff.
I mean we all know this so its frustrating to read, but also there are only 30 of these jobs, someone has to be willing to take it who isnt utterly desperate.
Truly embarrassing, nobody even wants the job, pathetic!
The Scottsdale team has a few Metsies on the roster. Gimenez, Alonzo. My wife & I are planning on going on a long weekend trip from Las Vegas to see a couple of games.
I hope you and Mrs Boca have a good time. Please let us know how Gimenez and Alonzo do.
replaced an injured Hanhold. Amazing how the "deadline darlings" from last year... mostly ALL sucked or were hurt this year. Crazy.
Literally. The entire point of last year was so that thisoffseason no time, money or effort would need to be spent on the BP. Shuttle them this year, save arms and let their earn their stripes for 2019. Now we head into the offseason with more BP questions than answers. Great strategy that just didnt work out (yet?)
this is an unscientific anecdotal opinion, but it seems to me the better strategy to working young guys into the major leagues is letting them learn a few things in middle innings and over time take on bigger roles (and workloads) later in games as they earn them. To do that you have to have a solid back end of the BP so they aren't thrust into those roles too quickly - which is where the Mets have failed this current crop the past 2 years. It's also hard to juggle so many mediocre young guys at the same time. There's probably still some hope for a few of them and getting even 1 reliable middle reliever out of that whole deadline would be a good outcome, but they need to do better bringing young relievers along in low leverage to figure out how to pitch in the big leagues. And to do that you need to have a solid BP of veterans who can handle the innings you don't want to thrust young guys into.
RE: they may all suck but the Mets don't do young relievers favors w usage
this is an unscientific anecdotal opinion, but it seems to me the better strategy to working young guys into the major leagues is letting them learn a few things in middle innings and over time take on bigger roles (and workloads) later in games as they earn them. To do that you have to have a solid back end of the BP so they aren't thrust into those roles too quickly - which is where the Mets have failed this current crop the past 2 years. It's also hard to juggle so many mediocre young guys at the same time. There's probably still some hope for a few of them and getting even 1 reliable middle reliever out of that whole deadline would be a good outcome, but they need to do better bringing young relievers along in low leverage to figure out how to pitch in the big leagues. And to do that you need to have a solid BP of veterans who can handle the innings you don't want to thrust young guys into.
To be clear I said they SUCKED or were injured. I'm not closing the door on the entire lot but performance wise... disastrous as a group.
Some like Ryder Ryan were extremely raw and had barely even pitched before. We were never going to know what we had in a little over a year and I agree, that in a terrible market, the hope was probably if you hit on one or two of the gambles the whole strategy becomes a success.
That said, you wont see me defending any Mets pen this offseason. Its arguably the biggest need on the team. Needs major work.
Some like Ryder Ryan were extremely raw and had barely even pitched before. We were never going to know what we had in a little over a year and I agree, that in a terrible market, the hope was probably if you hit on one or two of the gambles the whole strategy becomes a success.
That said, you wont see me defending any Mets pen this offseason. Its arguably the biggest need on the team. Needs major work.
Nogosek was a disaster, Bautista was a disaster, Hanhold was disappointing etc etc. It was more than just being raw arms struggling. Heck, Hanhold is 25 next month, Nogosek 24 in January, Callahan is 24... Bautista and Ryan were viewed as raw. The others were expected to be fast movers with the majority being late 2018 options or opening day 2019 candidates.
My point wasn't to take issue with any of their performance to date, it was simply that the Mets don't do any of these guys any favors with their usage. They should have 5-6 established veterans (3 or more of very high quality) in the BP and 1-2 slots they use to rotate kids based on earning the opportunity. The young guys should mostly pitch low leverage until they earn bigger opportunities. Part of the problem (IMO) has been having such a thin stable of veterans that we are forced to use the young guys in bigger spots than they are ready for and they get shelled. Sometimes you will get guys like Robles who just can't handle big moments but hopefully 1 of these guys actually pans out.
My point wasn't to take issue with any of their performance to date, it was simply that the Mets don't do any of these guys any favors with their usage. They should have 5-6 established veterans (3 or more of very high quality) in the BP and 1-2 slots they use to rotate kids based on earning the opportunity. The young guys should mostly pitch low leverage until they earn bigger opportunities. Part of the problem (IMO) has been having such a thin stable of veterans that we are forced to use the young guys in bigger spots than they are ready for and they get shelled. Sometimes you will get guys like Robles who just can't handle big moments but hopefully 1 of these guys actually pans out.
Eric,
I was mostly talking about the minor leaguers to be honest. Bautista was rushed. He was said to be raw, started hot and got some buzz and they rushed him through but the minor leaguers by and large were a disaster. I still think guys like Bashlor can be solid big leaguers but he really pretty much stunk for a soon to be 26 year old RP. 5.44 FIP. Yikes
Just have to commit to it. They have the numbers, which is ha.f the battle.
A good offseason cN change everything quickly, and for the next 5+ years. To be honest, Im not confident though Ive already established my astonishment that they have essentially wasted the past four months. First on the lack of PT for some young guys. Secondly, and more importantly, was how poorly they screwed up the non player side of the franchise. Instead of a jump start on rebuilding it,he instead put more severe cracks in the foundation. Media started to touch on it,but quickly got distracted by Yankee playoffs. Hopefully if/when Yankee news fades, Fred takes a shit ton of heat because he will listen...
RE: RE: Good news. They werent the most embarrassing ...
I still remember the first day walking by the fields and seeing Bautista having a catch. His raw a i,its just completely jumped off the field. I didnt recognize him, since Id never seen him before. But he so effortlessly just whipped the ball, it was really something beautiful to watch. I couldnt wait to see him actually pitch. Well, he could still develop, but I just dont see it happening. A shuttle arm, sure. But thats all I see. But can always dream on his natural talent just clicking somehow one day.
Bashlor. I always wanted to fall in love with him. Always heard such incredible things about him. Hes got the makeup part down. The mental part to be a closer. The attitude. But I just never see the same thing everyone else sees. Usually Im patient when everyone else sees something I dont (and Im usually the wrong one), so I hope Im wrong once again. Just strikes me as a good who will. Look good,look like hes about to break through. But instead breaks your heart. Then has a good to dom8nant season, gets overpaid, and disappears. Hope Im wrong as Usual
Hanhold was pitching well before the injury. Ryan was decent all things considered. Smith doesnt have huge K numbers but had a good year overall. I dont think its fair to only look at what these guys did in their last stops. Some had success and then struggled upon being promoted which is pretty normal I think. Not high on Rhame, Callahan, or Bautista but they throw hard and could conceivably improve their secondary offerings (again not likely to happen overnight). Thats pretty much what you want from fliers/gambles. Big arms that maybe can improve. Better than a bunch of Dillon Gee types.
I also think Zamora will find a place in the 2019 pen although he wasnt a deadline deal last year.
Offer the Rockies Bruce, who may do well in the mile high with his skill set. Id let them pick the return package. McGee, Shaw, Davis. Send us any one, two or three of them. Depends on how much salary the Rockies want to dump going into the offseason.
Then call the Twins and bad mouth Buxton. Offer them a fully paid By us Legares + something g theyd want.
Cleared up the OF.
Added vet arms to the pen, perhaps by eating money.
Most of the good middle relievers are converted starters like Lugo and Gsellman
Looks like they got a good loogy in Zamora. Maybe Bautista gains command and lives up to his stuff. Thats really all we should have expected from the deadline darlings, some of whom, like Rhame, would not have been put on their original teams 40.
Offer the Rockies Bruce, who may do well in the mile high with his skill set. Id let them pick the return package. McGee, Shaw, Davis. Send us any one, two or three of them. Depends on how much salary the Rockies want to dump going into the offseason.
Then call the Twins and bad mouth Buxton. Offer them a fully paid By us Legares + something g theyd want.
Cleared up the OF.
Added vet arms to the pen, perhaps by eating money.
Here's a question for all - if the "something they want" is Alonso do you do it? I don't particularly love Buxton's hitting profile (too swing and miss) but I do think those are the types of trades that could make sense if they are going to deal Alonso. An AL team light hitting at 1b & DH with a high upside CF.
Sandy needed to go. Did the job he was brought into do by cleaning up Omars mess. He just stayed too long. New blood will help. Both Omar and Sandy were good in the beginnng. I expect the same from new GM
Starting rotation is top 5 in baseball . Starting pitching is still the most valuable commodity in baseball. Just look at the teams moving on in the playoffs.
Bullpen Needs depth. But Lugo and Gsellman
Are very solid and workhorses
Lineup: you just have to hope guys evolve. If the young guys evolve, lineup could be good. If not, they will struggle. But the potential is there. And quite honestly the Mets way has always been to develop young talent. Yankees try and buy pennants. As a lifelong Mets fan, Ill take way more pleasure in winning it with young players from the organization
On the market you can get away with just a swap for a McGee/Shaw as the second piece. Or you probably have to sign an additional vet in liu of that swap. We have enough with Swarzak, Lugo, Smith, Zamora, and Gsellman to round out the pen IMO. You then can always add another piece later.
My order of importance is still
1.) RH hitting middle of the order bat(established player)
2.) Closer
3.) SU option
4.) Catcher
The Mets have trouble developing positional talent, unlike the Yankees of this decade.
I agree
What development are we talking about? Not since Reyes and Wright has the team made a decent core of home grown young talent. Most has been a hodgepodge of one hit wonders or one dimensional players like Murphy. And even then they got rid of him in his peak prime.
Pitching development...outside of degrom none of them have panned out as to this day in time. You can argue that maybe next year is the year but I still hold my breath to just sit and rely on a top 5 rotation. We have heard that sales pitch plenty the last 5 years
RE: RE: The primary news is the GM search, but I have bad news..
Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
Sorry bro but the Wilpons have beaten me to a pulp. Its tough to stay positive.
The Mets have trouble developing positional talent, unlike the Yankees of this decade.
I agree
What development are we talking about? Not since Reyes and Wright has the team made a decent core of home grown young talent. Most has been a hodgepodge of one hit wonders or one dimensional players like Murphy. And even then they got rid of him in his peak prime.
Pitching development...outside of degrom none of them have panned out as to this day in time. You can argue that maybe next year is the year but I still hold my breath to just sit and rely on a top 5 rotation. We have heard that sales pitch plenty the last 5 years
You can win in MLB with a core of Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, McNeil deGrom, Thor, Wheeler, Matz, Lugo, Gsellman,etc. duplicate the SF Giants model, they won 3 WS without a 30 HR hitter. I think their 3 WS had maybe 2 players max with over an .850 OPS.
The Mets have trouble developing positional talent, unlike the Yankees of this decade.
I agree
What development are we talking about? Not since Reyes and Wright has the team made a decent core of home grown young talent. Most has been a hodgepodge of one hit wonders or one dimensional players like Murphy. And even then they got rid of him in his peak prime.
Pitching development...outside of degrom none of them have panned out as to this day in time. You can argue that maybe next year is the year but I still hold my breath to just sit and rely on a top 5 rotation. We have heard that sales pitch plenty the last 5 years
You can win in MLB with a core of Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, McNeil deGrom, Thor, Wheeler, Matz, Lugo, Gsellman,etc. duplicate the SF Giants model, they won 3 WS without a 30 HR hitter. I think their 3 WS had maybe 2 players max with over an .850 OPS.
I like our core but it needs more. It needs more depth and needs 2-3 legitimate stars. We lose a few key players for crucial stretches every year. Nimmo and Conforto are really good young players but you gotta take the pressure off them. Cespedes was supposed to be that guy but he's finished. You cant give up and let this window pass us by because the key pieces still ARE in place. We really need to make a run at Machado and closer.
Im really hoping we wrap this GM thing quick because its going to take time to evaluate the roster, get up to speed, and come up with a gameplan. Im pretty sure the Wilpons would sign off on it if it's what the new GM wanted.
RE: RE: RE: The primary news is the GM search, but I have bad news..
Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
Sorry bro but the Wilpons have beaten me to a pulp. Its tough to stay positive.
Its been a tough couple of seasons but I think we ended on a pretty positive note. We have a pretty nice roster heading into 2019. Just need a couple more pieces. Hope all is good bud.
when I think about how good this team could have been without Harvey and Cespedes getting hurt and deteriorating. Can you imagine this team with a peak Harvey and Cespedes on it? For all the flack the Wilpons and Sandy are getting, this roster theoretically should have been incredible. Shit happens but I doubt too many teams lose players of that caliber (arguably best pitcher and hitter at their peaks) and just go skipping right along. And that's before we even get into the million other shit show injuries we've gone through also (2017 especially).
Oh well. Cant give up. Luckily, Sandy was pretty prudent when it came to long term deals and we are still in a position to add some pieces.
the biggest thing I hope the new GM does is change the style
Defense doesn't really slump and we are already a pitching first org, so I'd look to add some top level defenders up the middle to mix in with the already improved young guys we've called up in the last couple years. I'd personally look to emulate the Royals every day lineup from a few years ago as much as possible. Rosario can be a better version of Escobar. Mcneil as Zobrist is optimistic, but maybe. Conforto and Nimmo are kind of like our versions of Hosmer + Moustakas. Bruce + Frazier are the flawed but productive vets kind of like Gordon + Morales.
The 2 huge missing pieces are the top two way CF and top two way C. Those are the 2 needs i'd look to aggressively fill this offseason. So that's how i'd attack this roster going forward and I'd be willing to shake things up via trade if it meant getting a top CF or C. That's where someone like Buxton is intriguing, albeit risky. Or a Grandal as a FA.
And aside from the lineup they also had a lights out BP, so need to spend the $ to improve there as well.
RE: RE: RE: RE: The primary news is the GM search, but I have bad news..
Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
Sorry bro but the Wilpons have beaten me to a pulp. Its tough to stay positive.
Its been a tough couple of seasons but I think we ended on a pretty positive note. We have a pretty nice roster heading into 2019. Just need a couple more pieces. Hope all is good bud.
Thanks! You too!
There really aren't true two way players in the game anymore though
If there are any they generally end up MVP type players in todays game. Everybody always says they want defense until a guy goes 0-for a week and then they are booing said player off the field. Lagares might be the best defensive CF in baseball but 9 out of 10 Mets fans would trade him for a bag of peanuts, injury history or not. This team cant sustain lineup slumps so my strategy would be to load the lineup up with as many quality bats as possible. Im sick of losing a couple of guys to injury then having things compound by a few slumps and suddenly 3 weeks go by and we've scored 5 runs total. It literally destroyed our 2018.
Offense gets you to the postseason and starting pitching brings home the ring IMO. We have the pitching. Lets get back to the postseason.
I don't think the core I mentioned above can contend with garbage, but it doesn't HAVE to be Machado and I think the Mets can still contend and I've said this before if they add:
1. 2 Legit bullpen pieces. I'm thinking Kimbrel and Familia or Miller or two like that.
2. Fix the D to the extent it can be fixed (jettison Bruce or put him on the bench and get a 1B)
3. Add a starter like Kuechel or Morton or a FA starter.
those three moves I think make the Mets a contender.
however if they do sign machado I think it will obviously be a good thing. My only point is they don't have to.
I agree they dont necessarily have to sign Machado
I also dont disagree with your plan but you can keep Kuechel or Morton for me. They are going to cost a ton and the Mets already had the best SP staff in the league last year. Its unnecessary. We have much bigger holes. Id look to still add offense either through a Realmuto trade or some other avenue.
I don't think the core I mentioned above can contend with garbage, but it doesn't HAVE to be Machado and I think the Mets can still contend and I've said this before if they add:
1. 2 Legit bullpen pieces. I'm thinking Kimbrel and Familia or Miller or two like that.
2. Fix the D to the extent it can be fixed (jettison Bruce or put him on the bench and get a 1B)
3. Add a starter like Kuechel or Morton or a FA starter.
those three moves I think make the Mets a contender.
however if they do sign machado I think it will obviously be a good thing. My only point is they don't have to.
piled up 100 wins but they are clearly a SP or two short and are completely useless in the postseason without it.
Severino and Tanaka are better than DeGrom. And Wheeler wont even crack our postseason rotation
Literally just over two months ago. Ten weeks...
LOL. Ive been thinking about that constantly but am trying not to rub it in. NO WAY YOU GET Torres for deGrom. NO WAY. SONNY GRAY is better than WHEELER!! I wouldnt want him for free!
RE: There really aren't true two way players in the game anymore though
If there are any they generally end up MVP type players in todays game. Everybody always says they want defense until a guy goes 0-for a week and then they are booing said player off the field. Lagares might be the best defensive CF in baseball but 9 out of 10 Mets fans would trade him for a bag of peanuts, injury history or not. This team cant sustain lineup slumps so my strategy would be to load the lineup up with as many quality bats as possible. Im sick of losing a couple of guys to injury then having things compound by a few slumps and suddenly 3 weeks go by and we've scored 5 runs total. It literally destroyed our 2018.
Offense gets you to the postseason and starting pitching brings home the ring IMO. We have the pitching. Lets get back to the postseason.
Met fans would trade Lagares for peanuts because the skin of the peanuts is more durable than he is. And I disagree that there aren't 2 way players out there, there are just few of them and they have a premium cost. We've chosen the discount bin of 1 dimensional players bc of the coupons and an irrational ignorance of the value of defense.
If they wanted Grandal this offseason they could get him. Or Ramos. And that's not a big expectation. Pollock wouldn't make up for choosing Bruce over Cain last year but he is the CF on the best d in baseball. On the trade market I'd imagine the Royals would be willing to listen on Perez. Maybe theres a way to pry JBJ out of fenway. Or you roll the dice on a boom or bust guy like Buxton. Options are out there if they are willing to spend.
I don't think the core I mentioned above can contend with garbage, but it doesn't HAVE to be Machado and I think the Mets can still contend and I've said this before if they add:
1. 2 Legit bullpen pieces. I'm thinking Kimbrel and Familia or Miller or two like that.
2. Fix the D to the extent it can be fixed (jettison Bruce or put him on the bench and get a 1B)
3. Add a starter like Kuechel or Morton or a FA starter.
those three moves I think make the Mets a contender.
however if they do sign machado I think it will obviously be a good thing. My only point is they don't have to.
Agree across the board. Signing one of the top D catchers would go a long way to helping D, along with a highly athletic CF to preempt the next Lagares injury. Machado would be an unbelievable luxury but not a necessity.
RE: I agree they dont necessarily have to sign Machado
I also dont disagree with your plan but you can keep Kuechel or Morton for me. They are going to cost a ton and the Mets already had the best SP staff in the league last year. Its unnecessary. We have much bigger holes. Id look to still add offense either through a Realmuto trade or some other avenue.
adding a starter protects the strength. Morton is 35? he'd get a 1 or 2 year deal for not a ton of money. Keuchel lost some bloom off his rose too, yes he'll get paid, but IMO it's worth it to the Mets.
Heck, I'd pursue Kershaw if he surprisingly opts out (unlikely).
Depending on the Wright and Cespedes dispositions and if the Mets can unload Bruce and possibly Lagares - they'd easily be able to afford my plan with little or slight increase in payroll.
If they do unload Bruce then the Mets would have literally $0 contracts after next year (besides Wright and Cespedes -and it's both of their final years - and 2020 is Bruce's final year if they can't unload him).
If Cespedes was healthy, sure. But he's not. Need a big bat. Im sick and tired of watching these pitchers battle their asses off and come away with nothing. Our second half offense was much improved with McNeil, etc and it was still a grind most nights. deGrom couldn't buy a win. Enough is enough. (speaking generally of course)
Believe it or not Vargas after his first three starts where he missed ST.. was rushed back and was literally pitching behind a net to get ready for those games pitched exactly like what we expected him to. He's not a bad 5th starter IMO. You can also pull Lugo to the rotation if the pen is addressed. Id rather save my dollars for a deGrom extension and a Wheeler mega deal next offseason than blow my wad on a Kuechel. Dunn, Kilome, etc might all be depth options by the all star break. It's just not a need IMO.
RE: RE: There really aren't true two way players in the game anymore though
If there are any they generally end up MVP type players in todays game. Everybody always says they want defense until a guy goes 0-for a week and then they are booing said player off the field. Lagares might be the best defensive CF in baseball but 9 out of 10 Mets fans would trade him for a bag of peanuts, injury history or not. This team cant sustain lineup slumps so my strategy would be to load the lineup up with as many quality bats as possible. Im sick of losing a couple of guys to injury then having things compound by a few slumps and suddenly 3 weeks go by and we've scored 5 runs total. It literally destroyed our 2018.
Offense gets you to the postseason and starting pitching brings home the ring IMO. We have the pitching. Lets get back to the postseason.
Met fans would trade Lagares for peanuts because the skin of the peanuts is more durable than he is. And I disagree that there aren't 2 way players out there, there are just few of them and they have a premium cost. We've chosen the discount bin of 1 dimensional players bc of the coupons and an irrational ignorance of the value of defense.
If they wanted Grandal this offseason they could get him. Or Ramos. And that's not a big expectation. Pollock wouldn't make up for choosing Bruce over Cain last year but he is the CF on the best d in baseball. On the trade market I'd imagine the Royals would be willing to listen on Perez. Maybe theres a way to pry JBJ out of fenway. Or you roll the dice on a boom or bust guy like Buxton. Options are out there if they are willing to spend.
Before Lagares started with the injuries he was being viewed as a late inning replacement 4th/5th OF guy. Nobody wanted him starting. Most of the guys you mentioned aren't much better than Bruce types IMO. None are super stars or guys that can carry a team. Mostly older guys with warts you might be able to snag on a short term deal. Pollock is an injury prone deteriorating player and his D in CF is no longer good. Grandal probably offers the most in overall value but again... the bat isnt "special". You can compound that maybe with a few similar pieces and then you might have something but I honestly dont think thats a huge difference from what we did last year. We were banking on 304 players to supplement a roster but a lot was riding on Cespedes and the younger players developing.
even with all of the other injury calamities and managerial incompetence. They were 1 of only 3 teams with a negative fwar in the BP. A league average BP would have been worth almost 5 more wins on the season and given them 82 wins. And that's just league average. A top 5 pen would have meant 85 wins.
Fixing the BP with at least 2 of the top FA options and a few extra proven veterans for depth is an absolute must and that alone will put them far ahead of where they were entering last season.
Finding a "difference maker" would help to be sure but they are almost impossible to find. Machado and Harper are extremely unlikely but by all means I'm for the Wilpons writing a blank check. They passed on the chance to go after Stanton/Yelich/Cain last year. Only a handful of those guys exist and even fewer change teams. Incremental upgrades don't seem like a big deal until they pass a tipping point of being good at things vs. being bad at them (like defense, or relief pitching). Those are 2 particular areas we have been very bad at for a long time - which makes no sense given we are building around starting pitching and both hurt the results of our starts. See JDG.
pinching pennies leads to bargain shopping for flawed players. They haven't even taken a meeting with top free agent from another team in almost a decade.
RE: If they fixed the BP last year they'd have competed for wild card
even with all of the other injury calamities and managerial incompetence. They were 1 of only 3 teams with a negative fwar in the BP. A league average BP would have been worth almost 5 more wins on the season and given them 82 wins. And that's just league average. A top 5 pen would have meant 85 wins.
Fixing the BP with at least 2 of the top FA options and a few extra proven veterans for depth is an absolute must and that alone will put them far ahead of where they were entering last season.
Finding a "difference maker" would help to be sure but they are almost impossible to find. Machado and Harper are extremely unlikely but by all means I'm for the Wilpons writing a blank check. They passed on the chance to go after Stanton/Yelich/Cain last year. Only a handful of those guys exist and even fewer change teams. Incremental upgrades don't seem like a big deal until they pass a tipping point of being good at things vs. being bad at them (like defense, or relief pitching). Those are 2 particular areas we have been very bad at for a long time - which makes no sense given we are building around starting pitching and both hurt the results of our starts. See JDG.
Part of the reason our bullpen was "awful" was that Familia was out/injured during our most crucial losing streak stretch... and then traded (He ended up finishing very strong in Oakland). Our two highly paid setup options both missed almost the entire season to injury. The one ELITE setup option we had in Seth Lugo was also pulled from the pen and moved to the rotation to replace Thor at the exact same time all hell was breaking loose but a further strain on the pen. The pen clearly needs work but give me a break with last year. 4 out of our 5 backend guys weren't even on the field. Further, just about every relief pitcher people wanted (Shaw, McGee... were absolutely terrible. Even your boy Addison Reed was a disaster.
then why is Sandy paying him $9,000,000? Clearly he thought Lagares could be in the mix to start at some point.
It really is a shame we have over $20,000,000 committed to guys like Lagares and Bruce next year. We couldve used that money to get someone good.
Unforced errors. Happy well have a new GM.
It was based off his rookie year and there were many notable posters here screaming for a Lagares extension right away. It was a bad deal and Sandy basically pulled the plug on Lagares in 2015 when he acquired Cespedes. Lagares was still fairly healthy at that point. He just didn't hit enough.
RE: RE: If they fixed the BP last year they'd have competed for wild card
even with all of the other injury calamities and managerial incompetence. They were 1 of only 3 teams with a negative fwar in the BP. A league average BP would have been worth almost 5 more wins on the season and given them 82 wins. And that's just league average. A top 5 pen would have meant 85 wins.
Fixing the BP with at least 2 of the top FA options and a few extra proven veterans for depth is an absolute must and that alone will put them far ahead of where they were entering last season.
Finding a "difference maker" would help to be sure but they are almost impossible to find. Machado and Harper are extremely unlikely but by all means I'm for the Wilpons writing a blank check. They passed on the chance to go after Stanton/Yelich/Cain last year. Only a handful of those guys exist and even fewer change teams. Incremental upgrades don't seem like a big deal until they pass a tipping point of being good at things vs. being bad at them (like defense, or relief pitching). Those are 2 particular areas we have been very bad at for a long time - which makes no sense given we are building around starting pitching and both hurt the results of our starts. See JDG.
Part of the reason our bullpen was "awful" was that Familia was out/injured during our most crucial losing streak stretch... and then traded (He ended up finishing very strong in Oakland). Our two highly paid setup options both missed almost the entire season to injury. The one ELITE setup option we had in Seth Lugo was also pulled from the pen and moved to the rotation to replace Thor at the exact same time all hell was breaking loose but a further strain on the pen. The pen clearly needs work but give me a break with last year. 4 out of our 5 backend guys weren't even on the field. Further, just about every relief pitcher people wanted (Shaw, McGee... were absolutely terrible. Even your boy Addison Reed was a disaster.
Btw. I completely agree with your last paragraph. Sorry if that came off harsh.
Familia was consistently among the top 10 relievers all year
and has been for the last 5 years running. But it doesn't matter, their overall BP ranking was just as bad with him as without this year so if anything his stats skewed the Met #'s up, not down.
The reasons the Met BP was terrible this past year was not a 1 year thing. It's from multiple years of neglect and poor pickups, literally from Frank Francisco to Bastardo to Ramos and Swarzak this past year. Year after year they ignored the top of the market in FA, settled for the bargain bin or nothing at all, and then had to bargain hunt for guys like Clippard, O'Flaherty, and Salas in season. Reed/Blevins were the only moves they ever made that worked out and yes I would have still preferred they brought Reed back vs. most of the moves they made last offseason.
Like the defense the issue is so far beyond 1 or 2 signings that could have been different. It was a complete systemic failure to build up a satisfactory unit over multiple seasons. From poor evaluation internally (Oday) and externally, to poor resource allocation, to poor development.
season wouldn't effected our bullpen ranking in 2018? Of course it would have. It would have been much better. The intention wasn't to be out of it and for us to trade him. And why the hell are we talking about Frank Fracisco? He was a placeholder during our rebuilding years ions ago to sell a few tickets. He wasn't supposed to lead us to the playoffs. lol. Some of the guys you mentioned like Salas were literally added for free.
Sorry man. Appreciate your perspective but I completely disagree. Sounds like a lot of revisionist history to me. You did want Reed last year badly but it wouldnt have worked out any differently. Might have worked out worse actually.
The stats simply tell a much different story.
The Met had the 7th best pen in 2015 and the 2nd best pen in the league in 2016. In 2017/2018 they were without their closer both times and as I mentioned most of their setup pieces as well. You cant have an effective pen without a closer.
A bullpen debate as far as 2019. Familia is gone. Ramos is gone. Blevins is likely gone. We need a closer and at least a second piece IMO. I think we are all in agreement this year.
fans came onto Met threads during the run-up to the trade deadline and told us that DeGrom wasn't that good, and that packages of middling prospects was the most that they'd give up for him. Even worse was the Wheeler discussions about how we heard he couldn't even crack the Yankees rotation and that we couldn't even get a washed prospect like Frazier for him.
Seems like they would've used a few stud arms and maybe they could've been celebrating rather than watching Boston celebrate on their field.
Oh well. I'm glad we'll have our big 3 to try and make a playoff run next year. I think Yankees are third or fourth best team in the AL and I don't see a clear path forward for them to get past BOS or HOU.
"How many teams can say they are getting a Jennry Mejia back?"
/Omar
But really, as smarter baseball minds than me have said in here, there is a clear path forward --
Fix the bullpen
Add a Bopper
Upgrade catcher (sorry, Shecky, I just don't think MVPlaw really has the talent and durability to be a 130 start guy on a good team).
Lots of good pieces in place -- the second half was really fun, actually, and as much as Callaway baffled me early at times, I really was impressed that he didn't lose this team in adversity -- it was actually a very TC-esque perfromance (2013, 2014) - calamity struck and Callaway kept the team dialed in.
Simply put, we have the best top 3 in baseball - deGrom, Thor, Wheeler -- we just need to give them better support from the offensive end and the BP,
Id actually be pretty shocked if Mejia didnt make the team. He was already reinstated and even pitched in a few minor league games this year as part of his terms. Hell 100% be invited to ST and I think he is out of options. And no that should in no way effect our offseason strategy.
season wouldn't effected our bullpen ranking in 2018? Of course it would have. It would have been much better. The intention wasn't to be out of it and for us to trade him. And why the hell are we talking about Frank Fracisco? He was a placeholder during our rebuilding years ions ago to sell a few tickets. He wasn't supposed to lead us to the playoffs. lol. Some of the guys you mentioned like Salas were literally added for free.
Sorry man. Appreciate your perspective but I completely disagree. Sounds like a lot of revisionist history to me. You did want Reed last year badly but it wouldnt have worked out any differently. Might have worked out worse actually.
The stats simply tell a much different story.
The Met had the 7th best pen in 2015 and the 2nd best pen in the league in 2016. In 2017/2018 they were without their closer both times and as I mentioned most of their setup pieces as well. You cant have an effective pen without a closer.
Revisionist history is acting like the bullpen hasn't been a weakness for the entire decade. The Mets are dead last in fwar from their bullpen 2010-2018. The Yankees are #1 btw. Btw if you change the time frame to post-rebuild 2015 - 2018 they only move up 6 spots to 7th worst BP. 2016 was an aberration.
And with Familia in the 1st half last year Mets BP was 2nd last in fwar (-1.4). Between Robles (19 ip / 5 era / 7 fip), Swarzak (26 ip / 6.1 era / 5.7 fip), Rhame (32 ip /5.8 era / 5.5 fip), Peterson (27 ip / 6.2 era / 5.8 fip), and Ramos (19 ip / 6.4 era / 5.2 fip) you had 120 innings of negative impact relievers in just the first half. That's almost 2 innings per game.
Familia has been 1 of the best closers in baseball for 5 years and they did a terrible job building up a bullpen around him. End of story. Worst BP in baseball 2010-2018 - ( New Window )
to run the Mets looks like a home run on its face. Build up a strong analytics department around him, as well as letting him bring in his own people, and it'd be hard not to be optimistic.
Thanks for the info Eric. Dead last in bullpen fWar over the Alderson era is a damning stat. He consistently failed to build a good bullpen here and his bullpen free agent signings more often than not were busts. The good news is that bullpen is maybe the "easiest" to fix (as opposed to a starting rotation or lineup), so if we can a good GM in here, we can hope to improve rapidly in that area with one big offseason.
RE: Hiring the Cardinals director of player development
to run the Mets looks like a home run on its face. Build up a strong analytics department around him, as well as letting him bring in his own people, and it'd be hard not to be optimistic.
Thanks for the info Eric. Dead last in bullpen fWar over the Alderson era is a damning stat. He consistently failed to build a good bullpen here and his bullpen free agent signings more often than not were busts. The good news is that bullpen is maybe the "easiest" to fix (as opposed to a starting rotation or lineup), so if we can a good GM in here, we can hope to improve rapidly in that area with one big offseason.
Agree on the BP improvement - for the most part BP is pretty directly correlated with $ invested. It's just highly volatile year to year outside of the top closers/setup men. Reed/Swarzak are typical examples of guys that flash for a few years when something clicks but fizzle quick vs. someone like Familia whose stuff has been top tier. Need to start competing for more guys like him, Miller, Herrera, etc again.
RE: RE: So you think having Familia on our roster all
season wouldn't effected our bullpen ranking in 2018? Of course it would have. It would have been much better. The intention wasn't to be out of it and for us to trade him. And why the hell are we talking about Frank Fracisco? He was a placeholder during our rebuilding years ions ago to sell a few tickets. He wasn't supposed to lead us to the playoffs. lol. Some of the guys you mentioned like Salas were literally added for free.
Sorry man. Appreciate your perspective but I completely disagree. Sounds like a lot of revisionist history to me. You did want Reed last year badly but it wouldnt have worked out any differently. Might have worked out worse actually.
The stats simply tell a much different story.
The Met had the 7th best pen in 2015 and the 2nd best pen in the league in 2016. In 2017/2018 they were without their closer both times and as I mentioned most of their setup pieces as well. You cant have an effective pen without a closer.
Revisionist history is acting like the bullpen hasn't been a weakness for the entire decade. The Mets are dead last in fwar from their bullpen 2010-2018. The Yankees are #1 btw. Btw if you change the time frame to post-rebuild 2015 - 2018 they only move up 6 spots to 7th worst BP. 2016 was an aberration.
And with Familia in the 1st half last year Mets BP was 2nd last in fwar (-1.4). Between Robles (19 ip / 5 era / 7 fip), Swarzak (26 ip / 6.1 era / 5.7 fip), Rhame (32 ip /5.8 era / 5.5 fip), Peterson (27 ip / 6.2 era / 5.8 fip), and Ramos (19 ip / 6.4 era / 5.2 fip) you had 120 innings of negative impact relievers in just the first half. That's almost 2 innings per game.
Familia has been 1 of the best closers in baseball for 5 years and they did a terrible job building up a bullpen around him. End of story. Worst BP in baseball 2010-2018 - ( New Window )
2010? What in the world? Lol. We arent talking about rebuilding years. We werent competing or even close to competing until 2015. Most of the samples you cite are either extremely small or skewed to make up whatever argument your trying to make. The pen was good to great in 2015/2016. Virtually the exact same pen was ravaged by injuries or key pieces were traded away when we were out of it (Reed/Familia) which obviously effected its end results.
Rookie maximums for at-bats (130), games pitched (30) or innings (50) in the major leagues"
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
@NYPost_Mets
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The Mets have interviewed Chaim Bloom, the Rays senior VP of baseball operations, for their GM opening. Bloom, 35, has spent the last 14 years with the Rays.
Mike Puma @NYPost_Mets
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The Mets have interviewed Chaim Bloom, the Rays senior VP of baseball operations, for their GM opening. Bloom, 35, has spent the last 14 years with the Rays.
fans came onto Met threads during the run-up to the trade deadline and told us that DeGrom wasn't that good, and that packages of middling prospects was the most that they'd give up for him. Even worse was the Wheeler discussions about how we heard he couldn't even crack the Yankees rotation and that we couldn't even get a washed prospect like Frazier for him.
Seems like they would've used a few stud arms and maybe they could've been celebrating rather than watching Boston celebrate on their field.
Oh well. I'm glad we'll have our big 3 to try and make a playoff run next year. I think Yankees are third or fourth best team in the AL and I don't see a clear path forward for them to get past BOS or HOU.
These talks always cracked me up. If I was the Yankees I would have blown the Mets away with a package- Torres/ Andujar... whatever it took. Make it hard for them to say no. If I was the Mets, I still would have said no.
to take my mind off my beloved Yankees - should've known they'd be getting raked over the coals here too haha. I can't imagine more than one or two clowns think deGrom is anything but a dominant pitcher - I thought at the time the Yankees could overwhelm the Mets with quantity (as opposed to Gleyber as the main piece), but it was never realistic. Fun to debate those scenarios though. Both teams are going back to the drawing board now.
to take my mind off my beloved Yankees - should've known they'd be getting raked over the coals here too haha. I can't imagine more than one or two clowns think deGrom is anything but a dominant pitcher - I thought at the time the Yankees could overwhelm the Mets with quantity (as opposed to Gleyber as the main piece), but it was never realistic. Fun to debate those scenarios though. Both teams are going back to the drawing board now.
bc - you are in friendly territory my friend. I know last night stung but it was playoff baseball and the last 2 years your team has played beyond 162.
Hopefully the Mets next GM will have authority to make decisions and maybe there is a trade to be made. Who knows. I am getting soft. As a Ranger fan I wrote a very complimentary Islander post this week too. My man arcarsenal has taught me to embrace the other side : )
Wendle= 3.7 fWAR, Smith 3.4 fWAR, Pham 2.5 fWAR (39 games), Duffy 2.4, Cron 2.1... all trades. Entire league RAVED about the Archer trade. Daniel Robertson 2.4 fWAR (trade), Adames 1.3 fwar in half a season (trade), Choi 1.0 fWAR in only 49 games.
DO it.
Fred reportedly complains about the Yankees... if you aren't going to spend like them... complain about the Rays and A's... "How do they do it?!?"
Welcome, but trust me any and allyankee bashing around here is in good fun. I dont know a single Mets fan that isnt truly, deep down inside, insanely jealous of the Yankees. Not for their past, but their future. Anytime you are feeling down on the Yankees, just glance at a Mets thread and you will instant,y feel better. Congrats on a great season
Welcome, but trust me any and allyankee bashing around here is in good fun. I dont know a single Mets fan that isnt truly, deep down inside, insanely jealous of the Yankees. Not for their past, but their future. Anytime you are feeling down on the Yankees, just glance at a Mets thread and you will instant,y feel better. Congrats on a great season
I don't hate the Yankees, not even a little (since my brother and father are diehard Yankees fans) other than when they play the Mets. Living in Boston metro the only team I legit hate other than NL East teams is the Red Sox.
However, I have never been and am not now even a little bit jealous of the Yankees.
My personal preference is to overhaul from top to bottom. The original Sandy model. You hire a veteran BASEBALL guy to rebuild the organization top to bottom. The traditional GM is probably not the best model moving forward.
if they could do some combination of analytics/baseball guy.
Name Laroque the President of Baseball Operations and name Kim Ng the GM. I would love that IMO, keep the trio of JP, Riccardi, and Omar and we have a pretty diverse brain trust.
Welcome, but trust me any and allyankee bashing around here is in good fun. I dont know a single Mets fan that isnt truly, deep down inside, insanely jealous of the Yankees. Not for their past, but their future. Anytime you are feeling down on the Yankees, just glance at a Mets thread and you will instant,y feel better. Congrats on a great season
I don't hate the Yankees, not even a little (since my brother and father are diehard Yankees fans) other than when they play the Mets. Living in Boston metro the only team I legit hate other than NL East teams is the Red Sox.
However, I have never been and am not now even a little bit jealous of the Yankees.
Fuck the Yankees and their Fans. Benedict Arc at the top of the list.
And just immediately skip his posts? Dude was always level headed but I cant help but think how 2 more years of this and another eagles Super Bowl he is going to be on an eagles board talking about how great wentz is.
We are getting someone with an Omar/Fred relationship almost 100%. I'd be truly stunned otherwise so Josh Byrnes, Gary LaRocque and Doug Melvin all are high odds guys. Byrnes and Melvin having hired Omar previously, LaRocque with a personal friendship with Fred. This is why Omar being so involved is absurd.
And turn the page. This is a crucial offseason and I want whoever it is to be prepared for it. I think whoever is hired is going to end up leaning on the fab 3 regardless. I think anybody could look at our roster and see what our obvious needs are actually but the sooner we get them in here the better.
Im going to be irate if we piss away a season that will feature a deGrom, Wheeler, Thor three headed monster.
We are getting someone with an Omar/Fred relationship almost 100%. I'd be truly stunned otherwise so Josh Byrnes, Gary LaRocque and Doug Melvin all are high odds guys. Byrnes and Melvin having hired Omar previously, LaRocque with a personal friendship with Fred. This is why Omar being so involved is absurd.
We'll see Dan. I'm still optimistic. They are interviewing a bunch of really interesting and promising candidates.
It would be incredibly demoralizing to get 9 years of Alderson only to hire a retread Wilpon crony to follow him up. I think they know that and want to make a good hire here and we'll be happy with how it turns out.
RE: Really excited to simply just get a GM in place
And turn the page. This is a crucial offseason and I want whoever it is to be prepared for it. I think whoever is hired is going to end up leaning on the fab 3 regardless. I think anybody could look at our roster and see what our obvious needs are actually but the sooner we get them in here the better.
Im going to be irate if we piss away a season that will feature a deGrom, Wheeler, Thor three headed monster.
I'm not I understand where you're coming from here. Did i misread this, or are you basically saying you're going to be happy no matter who they hire, so long as they do it fast?
is people complain, but Sandy and Omar couldn't be more opposite but had practically the same result.
Both built winning teams, but failed to seal the deal and failed to sustain the success, for different reasons.
Under Omar, the Mets had their best success since the 2000 WS debacle. a flair hit away from the world series and then a couple devastating collapses.
Under Sandy, the Mets built another solid team and had the lead in the 8th inning in 4 games of the World Series, losing 3 of them. A variety of issues did in Sandy too.
But the bottom line for both is, the opposite approaches were both successful, but for "Mets reasons" neither success was sustained.
is people complain, but Sandy and Omar couldn't be more opposite but had practically the same result.
Both built winning teams, but failed to seal the deal and failed to sustain the success, for different reasons.
Under Omar, the Mets had their best success since the 2000 WS debacle. a flair hit away from the world series and then a couple devastating collapses.
Under Sandy, the Mets built another solid team and had the lead in the 8th inning in 4 games of the World Series, losing 3 of them. A variety of issues did in Sandy too.
But the bottom line for both is, the opposite approaches were both successful, but for "Mets reasons" neither success was sustained.
The common denominator for "mets'ing" is ownership. Though I'd contend Omar has enjoyed carte blanche with this ownership more than anyone else.
I don't trust the Mets at all to figure out the right way to split up responsibilities, but I wouldn't hate the idea of young new school GM and a slightly more old school president to help manage Fred. As much as I want a young GM with fresh ideas helping change the organization up and down, I think Fred/Jeff will swallow up an inexperienced executive.
is people complain, but Sandy and Omar couldn't be more opposite but had practically the same result.
Both built winning teams, but failed to seal the deal and failed to sustain the success, for different reasons.
Under Omar, the Mets had their best success since the 2000 WS debacle. a flair hit away from the world series and then a couple devastating collapses.
Under Sandy, the Mets built another solid team and had the lead in the 8th inning in 4 games of the World Series, losing 3 of them. A variety of issues did in Sandy too.
But the bottom line for both is, the opposite approaches were both successful, but for "Mets reasons" neither success was sustained.
The common denominator for "mets'ing" is ownership. Though I'd contend Omar has enjoyed carte blanche with this ownership more than anyone else.
I don't trust the Mets at all to figure out the right way to split up responsibilities, but I wouldn't hate the idea of young new school GM and a slightly more old school president to help manage Fred. As much as I want a young GM with fresh ideas helping change the organization up and down, I think Fred/Jeff will swallow up an inexperienced executive.
2 things
1) In a successful setup the president would be the one hiring this "new fresh GM" not 2 independant hires. Bringing in 2 different people is setting them up for disaster. Who says they share any of the same philosophies or that their communication style even works?
2) This "split roles" idea might "work" if you didn't have... Fred, Jeff, Ricco, Omar, Collins, Ricciardi all already here with different levels of power. Now add.. 2 more? So we will have 2 owners involved, 4 assistant GM's (all loyal to the Wilpons having been here a long, long time) and THEN a president... and then a GM?
3) What's being suggested by Heyman is pretty clearly not a president/GM situation. It's some Mets only "multi-person" GM.
and find him to be inconsistently accurate but I don't doubt that the wilpons will f this up. I think i've been the most skeptical person re: front office prospects for improving since they brought back Omar last year.
RE: that was 3 things and I agree with all of them
and find him to be inconsistently accurate but I don't doubt that the wilpons will f this up. I think i've been the most skeptical person re: front office prospects for improving since they brought back Omar last year.
Heyman per Michael Mayer said the Mets are considering breaking up GM duties into multiple people doing different things...
also would love to know what went into rejecting Sandy wanting to bring in Cherington but being okay with Omar other than Omar being a Wilpon schill? I find it hard to believe the salary was the issue and if it was... sheesh.
if Omar can get Fred to spend, I'm fine with him in "some" role.
But it wasn't just Omar. the Mets, when Omar took over, had a top 5 payroll (Under Duquette and most of Phillips tenure they were top 5 as well).
Omar maybe nudged it up a couple years to #2, but it wasn't dramatically different).
Mets need to craft a team built for long-term success. And it's not easy, not many MLB teams experience consistent success.
Right, the spending wasn't all Omar it was in part just the Wilpons having more money pre-madoff. Omar getting Fred to spend bigger was both a blessing (Beltran, Santana) and a curse because so much dead money crippled the franchise for a few years (Castillo, Bay, Alou, Perez, K Rod, etc). My biggest knock on Omar is that he was not good at running the organization or the farm system, and despite having resources he never focused on those areas. Sandy was bad at spending the little FA money he got but I think his regime developed and drafted a lot better, so I'd hate to see regression in those areas.
also would love to know what went into rejecting Sandy wanting to bring in Cherington but being okay with Omar other than Omar being a Wilpon schill? I find it hard to believe the salary was the issue and if it was... sheesh.
I think what went into it is Fred likes Omar and wanted to bring back his buddy. Remember when Sandy blew off Omar's intro announcement? I don't think it's a big stretch to connect all the dots now that Cherington refused to even interview. Had this season not been an out and out disaster Omar would probably have been named GM already.
RE: RE: that was 3 things and I agree with all of them
until we see what happens that's all speculation and noise.
once it happens I'll criticize it, but I won't waste time criticizing Heyman rumors (even if well sourced).
That's fair like I said I find Heyman highly inconsistent, but in the spirit of "hope for the best expect the worst" I am mentally prepared for the Mets to do something bizarre here regardless of what Heyman says.
The media bashes the shit out of the Mets for this. Fred WILL listen. He wont get involved until he HAS to. Guess who has the keys and is doing donuts with daddys new lambs lol
My personal preference is to overhaul from top to bottom. The original Sandy model. You hire a veteran BASEBALL guy to rebuild the organization top to bottom. The traditional GM is probably not the best model moving forward.
The media bashes the shit out of the Mets for this. Fred WILL listen. He wont get involved until he HAS to. Guess who has the keys and is doing donuts with daddys new lambs lol
This 100%.
The media has to get on them about this. But, so do the fans! Fans have more power than ever these days with twitter. If the fans sit back and just accept the status quo, nothing changes. The fans and media putting pressure on ownership might lead to a better outcome.
They finally have good news yesterday and its immediately followed up by this nonsense today.
I am not sure everyone really appreciates how bad Omar was at being a GM. Let him do international scouting, building up the academies, but for the love of everything sacred keep him away from team decisions. I am trying to think which was the worst Omar move. Alou 2 weeks before arb deadline so we gave up a 1st was pretty bad, trading for that settle reliever without medical checks was also brutal, never going above slot in drafts and crippling farm as a result and obviously Ollie Perez. But I think my absolute least favorite move was Castillo for 4 effing years.
Dude was leaps better with drafting rounds 3-10 but outside of that he was an utter disaster compared to Sandy.
to speak with John Byrnes (VP of baseball operations for LAD).
I understand the skepticism but they are certainly trying to speak with a lot of promising candidates. I'm going to be optimistic here.
Josh Byrnes is NOT promising. He was a disaster in both Arizona and SD and is being interviewed in large part because... he hired Omar in SD. What's promising about a 2 time failure?
He's only 48 and was a baby in GM terms when with Arizona. I think people can learn from mistakes and being an integral part of one of the best run operations in MLB means a lot to me. High up assistant execs on successful organizations are guys the Mets should absolutely be talking to.
He's only 48 and was a baby in GM terms when with Arizona. I think people can learn from mistakes and being an integral part of one of the best run operations in MLB means a lot to me. High up assistant execs on successful organizations are guys the Mets should absolutely be talking to.
The Dodgers have Friedman in charge (who helped build the Rays) as well as Farhan Zaidi, one of the smartest men in the game... + the #1 most full-time analytical staffers and a monster payroll. There is little evidence to suggest Byrnes deserves a large part of their credit at very best he's third on the totem pole.
He's only 48 and was a baby in GM terms when with Arizona. I think people can learn from mistakes and being an integral part of one of the best run operations in MLB means a lot to me. High up assistant execs on successful organizations are guys the Mets should absolutely be talking to.
So then what was the excuse in SD? He might be smart but he has had zero success as a GM. He has Omar ties. Great. Here is what Keith Law said about Byrnes after he was fired by SD
"The San Diego Padres' decision to relieve Josh Byrnes of his duties as general manager is unsurprising, and was probably overdue, given the team's poor performance at the major league level and lack of production from young players, especially those acquired in trades or handed long-term contracts. The move, by itself, solves no problem, however. The Padres need to hire the right successor, a GM who has experience in scouting and player development, because there is no way a team with the Padres' low payroll can succeed without a productive farm system and coming out even or ahead in trades."
Arnold would be an inspiring hire. Young, smart, highly thought of. Stearns (who used to be with the Mets and is a Mets fan) speaks extremely highly of him. No opinion of this weird rumor of hiring an MLB agent. No way to judge them. Chernoff would be a get, but sounds unlikely, Forst the same deal.
They just wind up keeping this 3 headed fail GM for next year?
I mean the team did get stable after alderson left.
Maybe 3 failures can combine to make Vultron..,the ultimate GM
Transitioning from Sandy to the three execs had literally nothing to do with Conforto rebounding in the second half, McNeil busting on the scene, and a few players coming back from injury (Bruce).
Players are asked to select the single player in the Major Leagues they most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.
Quote:
Jose Reyes New York Mets
In his 16th season, Jose earned the respect of his teammates with the professionalism he demonstrated in transitioning from everyday player to role player. He took on the responsibility of mentoring young players, including the Mets' promising young shortstop Amed Rosario.
Players are asked to select the single player in the Major Leagues they most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.
Quote:
Jose Reyes New York Mets
In his 16th season, Jose earned the respect of his teammates with the professionalism he demonstrated in transitioning from everyday player to role player. He took on the responsibility of mentoring young players, including the Mets' promising young shortstop Amed Rosario.
Link - ( New Window )
Sure, pick the wife beater over the nicest, happiest guy in all of baseball...
Rookie maximums for at-bats (130), games pitched (30) or innings (50) in the major leagues"
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) AA 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) Kingsport 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) A+ 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
9) Thomas Szapucki (LHP) A 18/32-56%
10) Shervyen Newton (SS) Kingsport 12/30-40%, Run-off with Anthony Kay 17/33-52%
11) Anthony Kay (LHP) AA 18/26-69%
Mike Chernoff has turned down a chance to speak to the Mets.. not good.
I feel like it doesn't tell us a lot about hitters. Pitchers in that league are often gassed or not high quality and the ball flies off the bat in Arizona.
I think the AFL May provide you more about prospects throughout the game better than anywhere at anytime. Not the stats necessarily. But clearly Im in the minority by a large degree, so I get it.
Mets ownership has promised autonomy before, but no one has ever left a Mets front-office job saying the head of baseball operations actually has unfettered power. Instead, they describe a situation in which, at best, the recommendations of the baseball head are followed but not until regardless of the size of the issue both owners are consulted (usually separately). As one former employee said, Those are not two- or five-minute phone calls.
Translation: Those in charge get worn down and use a lot of the workday clock with this setup.
Quote:
....But how does being too analytical jibe with what Jeff said in that end-of-year media briefing, that Alderson recommended not enlarging one of the smallest analytic departments in the majors? How can you be too analytical and yet have a tiny analytics department? And, by the way, dont you think some good candidates noticed that Jeff put this on Aldersons plate and also said his regime did not want to spend heavily on free agents?
Lack of appreciation/accountability from ownership also is not going to draw the best and brightest. Alderson brought stability and a strong public face at the worst of times for these owners (think Madoff), steered the Mets to an NL title, did not leave the cupboards bare of talent and for goodness sake is battling cancer. Do you think this ingratitude is not a talking point within the game?
So is the disconnect of what the Mets want and how they seem to be getting there, with Minaya and Terry Collins offering the old-school whispers Fred longs to hear while Ricco and Jeff canvass a wider field during interviews. What will emerge?....
of course whoever they go with deserves a chance, but if they don't spend money this winter and blow this hire on a retread that may finally be the end of paying attention until the wilpons are gone.
Rookie maximums for at-bats (130), games pitched (30) or innings (50) in the major leagues"
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) AA 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) Kingsport 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) A+ 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
9) Thomas Szapucki (LHP) A 18/32-56%
10) Shervyen Newton (SS) Kingsport 12/30-40%, Run-off with Anthony Kay 17/33-52%
11) Anthony Kay (LHP) AA 18/26-69%
12) Simeon Woods-Richardson (RHP) Kingsport 12/30-40%
13) Luis Santana (2B) 15/26-58%
on Andres Gimenez? He seems like a talented kid, but I'm very underwhelmed by him being the best prospect that the Mets have. That's not the sign of a good system IMO.
He's 20 years old and hit for zero power in limited time in AA. It's not like he really crushed A ball either. Guys like Acuna and Soto, both in our division, are the same age or younger and already raking in MLB.
Looks like he's a good defender who you hope can be an average offensive bat. Fine prospect but far from an elite one.
on Andres Gimenez? He seems like a talented kid, but I'm very underwhelmed by him being the best prospect that the Mets have. That's not the sign of a good system IMO.
He's 20 years old and hit for zero power in limited time in AA. It's not like he really crushed A ball either. Guys like Acuna and Soto, both in our division, are the same age or younger and already raking in MLB.
Looks like he's a good defender who you hope can be an average offensive bat. Fine prospect but far from an elite one.
Please convince me I'm wrong.
He's very polished, above average speed, should hit for some average. Hate to bring his name up but if Ruben Tejada had a more pop and actually gave a shit he would have had a 10 year career as a starting MI. Gimenez is likely not a future star but could be a 280+ 10+ 20+ MI
on Andres Gimenez? He seems like a talented kid, but I'm very underwhelmed by him being the best prospect that the Mets have. That's not the sign of a good system IMO.
He's 20 years old and hit for zero power in limited time in AA. It's not like he really crushed A ball either. Guys like Acuna and Soto, both in our division, are the same age or younger and already raking in MLB.
Looks like he's a good defender who you hope can be an average offensive bat. Fine prospect but far from an elite one.
Please convince me I'm wrong.
Thats like wondering why a SP prospect doesnt have a lot of saves in the minors... if Kelenic and Mauricio are a teams 3/4 prospect, thats not too shabby ;). Theres depth and youth in our top prospects. Thats a damn good thing whether youre looking to promote them or promote them.
Gimenez is nowhere near the prospect those 2 are/were. Not a knock, just not that caliber of talent. Those are are more talented than anyone the Mets have produced since Wright and quite frankly both have the potential to be as good, or even better than the captain. They are special. Vlad might be better than them both.. yikes.
Has all of the ability to be one of the greatest bats of all time. Its that scary good. I just wonder how he holds up over time, that Im not nearly as confident about. But that bat is so insanely rare, it cant be described.
Acuna and Soto are phenoms - so that's a misguided expectation
of any minor leaguer. It's like saying "Trout was in the majors at 19".
Here's what to like about Gimenez - he has advanced through the system quicker and been a more consistent player than Rosario - who was at 1 point a unanimous top 10 prospect in all of baseball. His overall athleticism isn't quite as flashy but as Dan said he has shown a lot of polish in the way he's consistently produced. Also it's not like he's a try hard david eckstein without talent, this past year he was voted to have the best glove and speed in all of A+. I believe he may have even had the best hit tool also but I can't find the article.
And for added context - he's held his own in AA despite being just 10 months older than Kelenic who is still in rookie ball. Gimenez may not be in the phenom category like Acuna or Soto, but he is 1 of the top minor league SS prospects and he's not that far away. He's also the type of player we've all been begging the team to add more of - good hitter, lots of XBH, doesn't strike out a ton, speed, defense, hustle, etc.
on Gimenez guys. I think I'm still more excited about Alonso, but hopefully Gimenez can be a long term piece for us.
Would the long term plan be to trade or more Rosario to second? It looks like Gimenez is a better defender? Rosario's bat will really need to take a step forward next year for that plan to be viable. He definitely showed flashes and I think the kid can do it, but his bat barely played at SS, so we need him to really keep developing at the plate.
on Gimenez guys. I think I'm still more excited about Alonso, but hopefully Gimenez can be a long term piece for us.
Would the long term plan be to trade or more Rosario to second? It looks like Gimenez is a better defender? Rosario's bat will really need to take a step forward next year for that plan to be viable. He definitely showed flashes and I think the kid can do it, but his bat barely played at SS, so we need him to really keep developing at the plate.
Depends on how Rosario and Mcneil do this year. Rosario has athleticism but has yet to grade out well at SS. Maybe he moves to 3rd. If Mcneil doesn't entrench himself at 2nd, Gimenez would seemingly fit at 2nd (and I believe has played there some in the minors). If all of them look great, that's a good problem to have so there's no bad outcome.
SAL fan
2:44 is there any concern with Kelenic that he may have a Rutherfordish trajectory? I recall Blake being a pretty polished old-for-his class bat that did very well in the Appy, and then struggled since.
Kiley McDaniel
2:45 Rutherford was a tweener guy that lost a step and became a corner guy and Kelenic is a CF that could possibly lose a step, but seems less likely to do that given his build. He's also not as old as BR was and was generally seen as having a slightly superior combo of tools and performance, but they are in the same ballpark
2:46 I also think Kelenic has a little better game power potential in his swing than Rutherford does even now
looks great. 25 year agreement. State and local going to throw in significant money to upgrade the stadium. It looks a bit like Citi Field in the mockups. Definitely a long overdue move as the Vegas situation was a disgrace.
is some belief because the Mets own the Syracuse team they may actually try and put out an okay roster. Hopefully that doesn't mean older guys playing over prospects.
rumors that the Mets were looking to move the AAA Syracuse team to other places (New Jersey was mentioned.) I guess that made the local government step up to keep them.
is some belief because the Mets own the Syracuse team they may actually try and put out an okay roster. Hopefully that doesn't mean older guys playing over prospects.
While I get your point, building a stronger AAA roster will be a good thing IMO.
If the "older guys" are good AAA players, it means they would
likely be better emergency call-ups than lots of the garbage this organization has resorted to during the Alderson era.
is some belief because the Mets own the Syracuse team they may actually try and put out an okay roster. Hopefully that doesn't mean older guys playing over prospects.
While I get your point, building a stronger AAA roster will be a good thing IMO.
If the "older guys" are good AAA players, it means they would
likely be better emergency call-ups than lots of the garbage this organization has resorted to during the Alderson era.
You say that and yet they didn't give guys like Brentz or Michael a look, so they bolted. Really strange decision making sometimes.
that I'd trade Alonso this off-season, especially if he's top 50 in the pre-season prospect ratings (not sure when they come out, and I'm pretty sure fans put more stock in them than teams do, but it doesn't hurt).
I feel like as prodigious as his bat may be, he'll wind up yet another Met to have a playable bat, but no "real" position.
I'd look to move him (not give him a way), but move him for players who better fit my vision for the roster of the Mets.
that I'd trade Alonso this off-season, especially if he's top 50 in the pre-season prospect ratings (not sure when they come out, and I'm pretty sure fans put more stock in them than teams do, but it doesn't hurt).
I feel like as prodigious as his bat may be, he'll wind up yet another Met to have a playable bat, but no "real" position.
I'd look to move him (not give him a way), but move him for players who better fit my vision for the roster of the Mets.
I'm OK with trading anyone if the return is right, but 1B is a huge hole for the Mets. I don't see another realistic scenario to fill the position without Alonso.
Bruce is an inconsistent hitter and an even worse fielder than Alonso and 1B isn't his natural position. Smith doesn't look like an MLB starter. Flores could maybe breakout but we've seen a lot of him and he has a chronic condition now.
MLB.com lists the following 1B free agents:
Steve Pearce
Joe Mauer
Matt Adams
Lucas Duda
Hanley Ramirez
Mark Reynolds
That's an awful list. Alonso at 1B for the Mets looks like the best option available.
is an issue for us. A huge one. But, scoring runs is an issue too.
The best way to improve the defense IMO is to sign a real CF and put Bruce's ass on the bench. Nimmo and Conforto can both play a solid corner OF but are barely treading water as a CF, and carrying dead weight Bruce makes it worse.
It'd be great if they can sign a free agent CF (Pollock!), platoon Lagares vs lefties in CF for the few weeks before he gets hurt, and let Bruce be opening day 1B until the Mets are done playing service time games with Alonso.
How Alonso gets ignored throughout the league because of his defense.
Yet the two Phelps this year, Acura And Soto were terrible while being hidden in LF. And Hoskins might be historically bad in LF. Yet no one ever talks about that lol
Murphy at 1st for 2-3 years wouldn't suck depending on price
I'd be willing to trade Alonso but it would have to be for a player that's worth it (duh). Even though he's a 1B/DH he seems to be in the same tier of prospect as the best prospects that changed teams last year for a range of very good players under good contracts, so just need to hope there are a few sellers like Miami.
The Royals are a team that has nothing at 1B and should be selling. S. Perez for Alonso seems like something that would be tempting but painful for both sides, not sure if I'd rather do something like that or just sign Grandal even though he's obviously got some flaws.
How Alonso gets ignored throughout the league because of his defense.
Yet the two Phelps this year, Acura And Soto were terrible while being hidden in LF. And Hoskins might be historically bad in LF. Yet no one ever talks about that lol
part of the difference is that the Mets publicly knocked his defense which only feeds the media narrative. Most teams do the opposite.
How Alonso gets ignored throughout the league because of his defense.
Yet the two Phelps this year, Acura And Soto were terrible while being hidden in LF. And Hoskins might be historically bad in LF. Yet no one ever talks about that lol
too many scouts say his glove is not "passable" at 1B. There is nowhere left to move him off 1B. It's the place you move people to who can't play anywhere else.
and those are very rare. Forget defense for a second, Hoskins and Bellinger both had huge offensive impacts from day 1. Even if his defense is Mike Piazza bad at 1B, trading that type of bat would be a disaster unless you bring back a really good player under team control for 3+ years.
RE: the doubt I have trading Alonso is he projects as legit cleanup hitter
and those are very rare. Forget defense for a second, Hoskins and Bellinger both had huge offensive impacts from day 1. Even if his defense is Mike Piazza bad at 1B, trading that type of bat would be a disaster unless you bring back a really good player under team control for 3+ years.
In fairness Hoskins was far more impressive than Alonso at AAA. 166 wRC+ 13.5 BB/15.3 K vs. Alonso 139 with a 25.9 K rate. Hoskins was an absolute monster before coming up.
Alonso is legit. And free. You dont have to sign him. You dont have trade for him. You dont even have to pay him!! You put him and Dom at first and leave them alone for the year.
1.1mm allocated to 1B
Which allows you to trade Bruce for someone elses overpaid RP (Jake McGee) filling a second whole while not touching payroll.
The zero dollars allocated to payroll. And zero trade chips allocated to acquiring a 1B. Allow the front office to fill a third and fourth hole with those dollars and chips.
Conversely. Trading Alonso, whatdoou really think youre getting back in return? Seriously, what are you getting back, and dont tell me you will package him. For him and him alone.
You then have to keep Bruce, unless Dom has won you over at 1B? Wilmer you say? Please - hes gone, not offensive,y
Reductive at 1B and terrible defensively also. So you are relying on Dom, but will Hve to keep Bruce and/Or Flores as a backup - not allowing another hole to be filled.
Or run with Alonso/Dom. Improve 1B dramatically. While filling multiple other holes. Sorry for long post/rant - Ill step out and let the thread go back to normal lol
I wont roll around in the mud with you and stats, because youll ALWAYS win that battle. And not picking AAA vs AAA. It I would assume AA compare favorably to each other? Or more importantly, I would assume their entire ML careers compare somewhat to each other!
Or how about I just completely give in and say hes the better hitter. Would anyone here take a drop below Abreu or Hoskins at 1B, at league min $$?
step out of the thread and let it return to "normal" whatever that means.
I'm in the minority here and it's really just the way I'm approaching the off-season.
I want a very specific roster configuration to salvage the remaining year(s) of elite (potentially) starting pitching, which IMO is the hardest part of team building.
I want to fix the bullpen with two legit BP arms. Not dumpster dives, not settling, the best two bullpen pieces.
I want to add a starter. I've named names before, nothing crazy, but again not a Vargas either.
and I want to fix the defense where it's fixable (1B is the glaring spot)
I'd welcome a Machado and think he fits well with my plan and others thirst for a middle of the order bat, and I think the Mets should make a concerted effort to sign him, but I doubt they will.
If the Mets play the season with Alonso/Dom/Bruce/Flores at 1B it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I would trade Alonso straight up and I'd expect a similarly rated player in return (a top 50 prospect) at a position of need for the Mets. So if they get a 3B back great, a starting pitching prospect great, but I think an AL team would value Alonso more than the Mets.
IF, big IF, his defense is as bad as scouts say.
Shecky - I know Reds don't need Alonso but as an example
would u deal him straight up for Senzel? If there was a team that matched up better with a similar CF/3B prospect and a need at 1B, I'd consider. Same with Salvador Perez. If you told me I could get 3 years of a GG catcher with decent RH power of his own for Alonso, I'd have to consider knowing there are other options at 1B (albeit with less upside). Dom, Frazier, Bruce, Flores are all in house options that would likely outproduce any true rookie, unless Alonso does step in as a stud from day 1 - which is why I found it ridiculous the Mets didn't give him a 2 month look when they had the chance.
I tend to agree with your overall plan in an ideal world, the challenge is that the FA market is pretty bare in terms of big upgrades at the other open positions of need (mainly CF). If Lorenzo Cain was available again I'd agree - save the money at 1st and splurge on CF/RP. But we missed that boat.
K rate is worrisome for Alonso while it was stellar for Hoskins. That alone makes a world of difference. 15.3% k rate for a slugger is outstanding.
Alonso's K rate was good (<18%) for 3.5 years up until Vegas. Not sure if the 300 abs in Vegas is first warning sign or random anomaly. His power spiked higher in vegas and his overall contact lower, could have just been selling out a little bit.
will be no minor league updates from me next season if this is the direction they go.
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Dave Littlefield, who presided over seven consecutive losing seasons in Pittsburgh during his only prior stint as a general manager, has interviewed for the Mets' GM job, per @MarcCarig. Littlefield is 58.
to make comparison between hitters like Alonso and Abreu/Hoskins. He could be better, he could be worse. AAA sample size is only 67 games. I think a lot of those strikeouts if I recall were of the looking rather than swinging, which could indicate him trying to feel out the strikezone
Hoskins, just as an FYI, also had a 22% K rate in AA in '16, and has maintained that rate in his time in MLB. So I don't think you can make any definitive conclusions about Alonso's k rate. If the difference is 3% points, which is about 15ks more in a full season, I don't know how big the impact is. That's probably a loss of 5 hits based on BABIP averages. So it's not a huge impact.
is what Tim Dierkes said when the Pirates fired Littlefield-
"The reign of terror is over the Pirates have fired GM Dave Littlefield."
442-581 record
The Pirates were 139 games
below .500 during his tenure and were 67-95 each of the last two
full seasons.
And the Tigers (his current team) have a below average farm system despite being awful. Would be a comical hire. Enough where I'm legit taking a break.
RE: Shecky - I know Reds don't need Alonso but as an example
when your teams number 1 fan is threatening to quit over a GM hire.
It's almost as if they want the worst possible hires to be known to have interviewed... Hmmm
believe LaRoque is the next GM and has been since day once ala Gettleman. I do NOT want him but Littlefield almost seems like someone they dangle so a LaRoque hire seems like a smart one.
GM Dave Littlefield spent those savings and much more six weeks later, when he dealt two prospects to the Giants for veteran starter Matt Morris. Everyone in baseball could see the fork sticking out of Morris right arm everyone but Littlefield, who agreed to pick up the $15 million remaining on Morris contract. Morris made 16 starts for the Pirates and had an ERA over 7 before being released the following April.
By then, Littlefield had been fired with cause. New GM Neal Huntington has spent the past four years trying to rebuild the Pirates the way they should have been rebuilt all along with patience. Every veteran player not nailed down was sent packing for prospects. The Pirates started to spend more money in the draft and in signing amateur talent from Latin America. The organization seemed headed in the right direction for the first time in two decades.
Malcolm Hamilton
Bonifay and Littlefield represent a very dark period of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. Their tenure, 1993-2007, netted zero playoff appearances and zero winning seasons. They were recently lumped together on a list of the all time worst GMs and placed sixth.
as GM, but I'm not sure I'd give a 35 year old first time GM full autonomy.
Theo didn't have full autonomy and I'm not sure who does.
I don't even think Cashman has full autonomy now.
Maybe someone can define full autonomy for me, because I don't know many GM's who have it. John Henry has to authorize long-term contracts for Dombrowski in Boston and had to approve the Sale trade.
"I'm 63 years old, and I've been doing this for 20 years," said Melvin, who was GM of the Texas Rangers from 1994-2001 before joining Milwaukee at the end of the 2002 season. "My gut feeling tells me it's time to give Mark the opportunity to look over the next generation of general managers."
People care, but they dont care... Dan, youre rightfully outraged. And the media has picked up on it a little bit. But not nearly enough to get the right attention, which is really a shame. Once you e lost your hardcore fans, its tough to ever come back from that.
Well, theres always minor league baseball, but who cares about that if you dont care about the big club?
Some if it isnt half bad. 25 years ago, this would be a good major league staff. This is a HS rotation. ONE SCHOOL.
A senior who tops 90. Nothing special, but pretty good for a HS kid.
But heres the rest of their rotation.
Three juniors hitting 90, one a lefty.
Two other juniors hitting 86/88.
Yep, imagine being a junior in high school. Throwing mid to upper 80s. And you cant even crack your teams starting rotation...
And I know velocity isnt everything, obviously. Big deal, their top six all throwupper 80s and up... these kids are learning how to actually pitch. Committed to Vandy, Stanford, etc absolutely. INSANE. High School...
ach of the six known interviewees brings questions, as anyone would. Kim Ng, Chaim Bloom, De Jon Watson are impressive in different ways, but have never done the job. Dave Littlefield's record in Pittsburgh was uninspiring at best. Doug Melvin is not exactly new school, though his reputation as a "great guy, and open minded," in the words of one baseball official makes him intriguing in this field.
I've been asking executives around the league for opinions on these people for weeks, and Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque has easily raised the most questions among those who have worked with or around him.
Larocque's record in player development for the Cardinals is strong, and the Mets need help in that area. But the truth is, multiple people who worked with him in the Mets front office in the late '90s and early 2000s are concerned that he is using the Mets to leverage the Cardinals into a contract extension.
"He was like a used car salesman and a bad office politician," said one former colleague. When I pointed out that the phrasing was harsh, the source joked, "Hey, Bud Selig was a used car salesman!" Link - ( New Window )
so far the only names even the slightest bit intriguing are Ng and Bloom, and both are admittedly very risky. Really wish Sandy was making the hire and just moving up to a more hands off role - that would have been the ideal transition vs. the clownshow ownership embarrass themselves, but that ship sailed when they chose Omar over Cherrington last offseason. That was the beginning of the end for Sandy.
at least if Donaldson was at 1B, and not 3B (though not sure of Donaldson's D at this stage). Also I don't need Ramos.
Michael Mayer
@mikemayerMMO
9m9 minutes ago
How would Mets fans feel about this offseason?
Catcher - Wilson Ramos
Third Base - Josh Donaldson
Starter - Nathan Eovaldi
Reliever - Greg Holland
Reliever - Jorge De La Rosa
Reliever - Shawn Kelley
be blown away if the Mets spend that much this off-season.
Same here. But think about it, if they can unload Bruce and Lagares (just saying) plus save Wright and Cespedes contracts - and they have no one under contract in 2021 it makes sense they spend, even a moderate amount, this year.
be blown away if the Mets spend that much this off-season.
Same here. But think about it, if they can unload Bruce and Lagares (just saying) plus save Wright and Cespedes contracts - and they have no one under contract in 2021 it makes sense they spend, even a moderate amount, this year.
If they "unload" Bruce and Lagares it will almost certainly be for similar players contract wise. I think Eovaldi is getting more than people think and that Ramos will get paid. Hard to say what Donaldson gets. Also have MAJOR doubts they are putting 15 million on the bench in Wilmer/Frazier.
gets the top job as president or something and they bring is Bloom as the GM? Wouldn't be ideal but could be a lot worse right?
I'd take that in one second. I expect it to be LaRoque or Melvin. Again Melvin is ON record saying he's too old for this and it's a young mans game... 3 years ago!
In giving up my Mets Fan card if thats the offseason
I have no problem with it, not the players I suggested but the positions (other than catcher) are almost spot-on to my post about how I'd handle this off-season.
NY Daily News Sports
Verified account @NYDNSports
Doug Melvin could be the ideal GM candidate to bridge baseball's old- and new-school divide and take on the tall task of righting this #Mets ship, writes @Ackert_Kristie: https://nydn.us/2yRiIBc
For those that are in favor of the previously mentioned offseason. Not arguing the lpayers, or their ability. But what are your guesses on the contracts each guy will land?
Catcher - Wilson Ramos
Third Base - Josh Donaldson
Starter - Nathan Eovaldi
Reliever - Greg Holland
Reliever - Jorge De La Rosa
Reliever - Shawn Kelley
I work in analytics, not in baseball, but you don't need the GM to be some analytics wiz, you need the analytics people to be under someone. Feeding them information. The GM job, needs leadership, needs to understand relationships, needs to be smart about selling and buying, they are more a day trader than a data scientist. Think about the movie the big short - you had Ryan Gosling's character and his quant...Gosling's character was the trader, he was buying, he was bringing people together on a deal. We need that guy. Dan, tell me how i'm wrong?
any feelings of hope are probably futile but this seems encouraging
No fewer than seven candidates interviewed in the first round. Of those, at least four -- Chaim Bloom, Doug Melvin, Kim Ng and Brodie Van Wagenen -- remain in realistic contention.
Out of the running are Gary LaRocque and De Jon Watson, who will not receive second interviews. A source expressed skepticism that another interviewee, Dave Littlefield, will receive a call-back, though his status was not completely clear as of Friday night.
Bloom and Ng are probably the 2 most intriguing candidates. Melvin I'd hope would be more of a senior position to manage the wilpons and hire/advise a younger GM a la stearns. Would prefer to not try to convert an agent to a GM, but i'm not super familiar with Van Wagenen. 1st-round GM interviews end; at least 4 in running - ( New Window )
whoops looks like that was oldish news - re: sheckys question
that offseason would be a failure for the bullpen alone.
Eovoldi should get close to Cobb money (4/50m+). Ramos I'd guess 2 years with a 3rd year option. Holland 1 year. Donaldson no idea. I wouldn't mind him on a big 1 year prove it deal.
Guesstimates say the Mets would spend $60/$65mm for 2019??? And may or may not be improving the ball club? And thats a good offseason?
It's a generic offseason without strategy. So I wouldn't call it a good offseason but "very mets". I feel like it wouldnt be hard to go back 12 months and find a tweet that says "if the mets resign bruce, add an IF like Frazier, a depth starter + a reliever similar to Reed would that be a good offseason?". They check off shopping list needs in the discount aisle vs. finding the right guys - which is probably the biggest shift in thinking I hope results from a new gm.
hindsight is 20/20 but had they splurged most of what they'd spent last year on just Cain and better relievers and just filled in cheaply with internal options at 3B/SP (Flores/Lugo?) they'd have put themselves in a much better position for wherever this current "run" goes during JDG's prime.
Swing for the fences and get both Machado and Harper
Bruce for someones overpaid reliever
Frazier/Flores for RP and backup catcher.
Move Wheeler if opportunity presents itself, keep if not.
DG, Thor, Wheeler, Matz Vargas/Gsellman
Mix and match the pen from above and holdovers
Great, balanced lineup
Unreal SP
Potential holes in pen, but easiest place to plug in offseason. Or deadl8ne.
Younger. Faster. More athletic. Built to win now
And for several years. Didnt touch the future!! Most importantly, tons of flexibility moving forward.
I work in analytics, not in baseball, but you don't need the GM to be some analytics wiz, you need the analytics people to be under someone. Feeding them information. The GM job, needs leadership, needs to understand relationships, needs to be smart about selling and buying, they are more a day trader than a data scientist. Think about the movie the big short - you had Ryan Gosling's character and his quant...Gosling's character was the trader, he was buying, he was bringing people together on a deal. We need that guy. Dan, tell me how i'm wrong?
You would advocate a 66 year old ON RECORD as admitting the game has likely passed him by? That sounds ideal to you? His age isn't the issue.
"The job had just grown to a point that it's more suited for somebody who's younger than me."
Now you give me a defense of hiring him given that quote
He also said this-
Melvin has continued to work in player development with the Brewers, but hes also taken more time for himself. Its like the difference between a coach and a manager. When youre a coach, you have your certain responsibilities. Youre available. But when youre the manager, you feel responsible to 25 players, plus the coaches and the trainers and everybody, says Melvin. As a GM, he says, [you feel a total responsibility. Pro scouting, amateur scouting, international scouting, player development, the Major League team theres always something to think about.
Now I ask again... 3 seasons ago he said these things... does THIS sound like the guy you want to hire? With the fire in his belly? With the energy?
At season's end, he transitioned to be senior advisor to a new GM less than half his age, David Stearns.
"You do sleep better," Melvin said.
He's done more than sleep. With Stearns and new assistant GM Matt Arnold in charge, Melvin has returned to his player-development roots. Ray Montgomery, amateur scouting director, invited Melvin to Houston for four days of meetings with the team's scouts. Melvin also spent five days in Phoenix at the Brewers' instructional league and the Arizona Fall League. He only briefly attended the GM Meetings in November to receive a 20-year service award. At the Winter Meetings in December, he had time to catch up with old friends in the lobby.
He's also had more time for real life. This past fall he spent a full week in Tampa, Fla., where son Cory, a Brewers scout, was married. He's enjoyed several weeks at the family's second home in Park City, Utah, where he reads and goes snowshoeing. He visited his parents in Ontario. In Milwaukee he has attended Bucks games with their GM, John Hammond, a good friend.
Melvin still occupies the same office at Miller Park but keeps a more flexible schedule, and he summed up his role like this: "I'm there when they need me."
Swing for the fences and get both Machado and Harper
Bruce for someones overpaid reliever
Frazier/Flores for RP and backup catcher.
Move Wheeler if opportunity presents itself, keep if not.
DG, Thor, Wheeler, Matz Vargas/Gsellman
Mix and match the pen from above and holdovers
Great, balanced lineup
Unreal SP
Potential holes in pen, but easiest place to plug in offseason. Or deadl8ne.
Younger. Faster. More athletic. Built to win now
And for several years. Didnt touch the future!! Most importantly, tons of flexibility moving forward.
Rookie maximums for at-bats (130), games pitched (30) or innings (50) in the major leagues"
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) AA 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) Kingsport 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) A+ 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
9) Thomas Szapucki (LHP) A 18/32-56%
10) Shervyen Newton (SS) Kingsport 12/30-40%, Run-off with Anthony Kay 17/33-52%
11) Anthony Kay (LHP) AA 18/26-69%
12) Simeon Woods-Richardson (RHP) Kingsport 12/30-40%
13) Luis Santana (2B) 15/26-58%
14) Will Toffey (3B) 10/29-34%, run-off with Cecchini 15/27-56%
15) Gavin Cecchini (2b) 14/26-46%
16) Francisco Alvarez (C) 9/26-35%
to let the candidates speak to the press, I think Brodie is a very very charismatic guy. I just think he oozes it. And the players will love him because he understands their side of the deal.
I wont pull a bitch move and root for the Yankees because Grandma liked them, however Id probably just stop watching altogether. Im close as it is anyway.
This is such a Mets type of move. Lets take a guy who publicly admitted he sucks and doesnt want to do it, and make this guy one of our top choices. Hell, senile Fred Wilpon is probably trying to talk Melvin into it.
This franchise is such a joke. This really is the last straw for me.
Extremely highly thought of throughout the game. It's a risk but he's run a successful business and knows the game. I want Bloom but if they go BVG I'm on board.
With the help of an analytics firm in Chicago, (Cespedes agents) came up with a dollar figure for the impact Cespedes had on the field, social media, team television revenues, and ticket and merchandise sale. They even put a figure, $3.2 million, on the value of the approximately 50 tabloid back pages that had featured Cespedes over the course of 2016. Cespedes playing with flair, Cespedes hitting game-changing home runs, Cespedes driving exotic cars in spring training, Cespedes arriving for a workout on horseback.
The only guy I have confidence can convice the Coupons to listen to him is Omar.
At this point, just make Omar the freaking GM. I wasn't much of a fan of the job he did last time out, but he at least convinced the Coupons to spend money on free agents, something I have no confidence anybody else can do.
RE: honest question - are there examples of agent turned gms succeeding?
Make the fucking playoffs more than twice in 20 years, then talk.
A Fucking Mets fan talking shit? Hilarious.
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... MLB team from NYC tonight.
Make the fucking playoffs more than twice in 20 years, then talk.
A Fucking Mets fan talking shit? Hilarious.
When I typed the post I knew you were going to respond just like you did. I hate to disappoint you, but I have no dog in the MLB fight. I dont watch it but follow it very loosely on the Internet and whatever I pick up on sports radio. The Yankees are only down 2-1. Its not over.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
He turned down multiple teams.
I mean we all know this so its frustrating to read, but also there are only 30 of these jobs, someone has to be willing to take it who isnt utterly desperate.
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) 21/31- 68%
I mean we all know this so its frustrating to read, but also there are only 30 of these jobs, someone has to be willing to take it who isnt utterly desperate.
Truly embarrassing, nobody even wants the job, pathetic!
I hope you and Mrs Boca have a good time. Please let us know how Gimenez and Alonzo do.
Literally. The entire point of last year was so that thisoffseason no time, money or effort would need to be spent on the BP. Shuttle them this year, save arms and let their earn their stripes for 2019. Now we head into the offseason with more BP questions than answers. Great strategy that just didnt work out (yet?)
To be clear I said they SUCKED or were injured. I'm not closing the door on the entire lot but performance wise... disastrous as a group.
That said, you wont see me defending any Mets pen this offseason. Its arguably the biggest need on the team. Needs major work.
That said, you wont see me defending any Mets pen this offseason. Its arguably the biggest need on the team. Needs major work.
Nogosek was a disaster, Bautista was a disaster, Hanhold was disappointing etc etc. It was more than just being raw arms struggling. Heck, Hanhold is 25 next month, Nogosek 24 in January, Callahan is 24... Bautista and Ryan were viewed as raw. The others were expected to be fast movers with the majority being late 2018 options or opening day 2019 candidates.
Eric,
I was mostly talking about the minor leaguers to be honest. Bautista was rushed. He was said to be raw, started hot and got some buzz and they rushed him through but the minor leaguers by and large were a disaster. I still think guys like Bashlor can be solid big leaguers but he really pretty much stunk for a soon to be 26 year old RP. 5.44 FIP. Yikes
A good offseason cN change everything quickly, and for the next 5+ years. To be honest, Im not confident though Ive already established my astonishment that they have essentially wasted the past four months. First on the lack of PT for some young guys. Secondly, and more importantly, was how poorly they screwed up the non player side of the franchise. Instead of a jump start on rebuilding it,he instead put more severe cracks in the foundation. Media started to touch on it,but quickly got distracted by Yankee playoffs. Hopefully if/when Yankee news fades, Fred takes a shit ton of heat because he will listen...
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... MLB team from NYC tonight.
Make the fucking playoffs more than twice in 20 years, then talk.
A Fucking Mets fan talking shit? Hilarious.
I don't really see how that's talking shit, it seemed self-deprecating to me.
and it's only October 9th.
Bashlor. I always wanted to fall in love with him. Always heard such incredible things about him. Hes got the makeup part down. The mental part to be a closer. The attitude. But I just never see the same thing everyone else sees. Usually Im patient when everyone else sees something I dont (and Im usually the wrong one), so I hope Im wrong once again. Just strikes me as a good who will. Look good,look like hes about to break through. But instead breaks your heart. Then has a good to dom8nant season, gets overpaid, and disappears. Hope Im wrong as Usual
and it's only October 9th.
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I also think Zamora will find a place in the 2019 pen although he wasnt a deadline deal last year.
Thanks.
From the looks of these comments, nothing has happened I missed it side of the typical Coupon ownership fails.
Holding out faith this is the year they decide to go all in again
Perfect fit for this team in every way. Dude can mash and can play all over the field.
Good player, great fit, will get paid WAY more $$ than anyone expects
Then call the Twins and bad mouth Buxton. Offer them a fully paid By us Legares + something g theyd want.
Cleared up the OF.
Added vet arms to the pen, perhaps by eating money.
Looks like they got a good loogy in Zamora. Maybe Bautista gains command and lives up to his stuff. Thats really all we should have expected from the deadline darlings, some of whom, like Rhame, would not have been put on their original teams 40.
Then call the Twins and bad mouth Buxton. Offer them a fully paid By us Legares + something g theyd want.
Cleared up the OF.
Added vet arms to the pen, perhaps by eating money.
Here's a question for all - if the "something they want" is Alonso do you do it? I don't particularly love Buxton's hitting profile (too swing and miss) but I do think those are the types of trades that could make sense if they are going to deal Alonso. An AL team light hitting at 1b & DH with a high upside CF.
Starting rotation is top 5 in baseball . Starting pitching is still the most valuable commodity in baseball. Just look at the teams moving on in the playoffs.
Bullpen Needs depth. But Lugo and Gsellman
Are very solid and workhorses
Lineup: you just have to hope guys evolve. If the young guys evolve, lineup could be good. If not, they will struggle. But the potential is there. And quite honestly the Mets way has always been to develop young talent. Yankees try and buy pennants. As a lifelong Mets fan, Ill take way more pleasure in winning it with young players from the organization
My order of importance is still
1.) RH hitting middle of the order bat(established player)
2.) Closer
3.) SU option
4.) Catcher
I agree
What development are we talking about? Not since Reyes and Wright has the team made a decent core of home grown young talent. Most has been a hodgepodge of one hit wonders or one dimensional players like Murphy. And even then they got rid of him in his peak prime.
Pitching development...outside of degrom none of them have panned out as to this day in time. You can argue that maybe next year is the year but I still hold my breath to just sit and rely on a top 5 rotation. We have heard that sales pitch plenty the last 5 years
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Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
Sorry bro but the Wilpons have beaten me to a pulp. Its tough to stay positive.
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The Mets have trouble developing positional talent, unlike the Yankees of this decade.
I agree
What development are we talking about? Not since Reyes and Wright has the team made a decent core of home grown young talent. Most has been a hodgepodge of one hit wonders or one dimensional players like Murphy. And even then they got rid of him in his peak prime.
Pitching development...outside of degrom none of them have panned out as to this day in time. You can argue that maybe next year is the year but I still hold my breath to just sit and rely on a top 5 rotation. We have heard that sales pitch plenty the last 5 years
You can win in MLB with a core of Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, McNeil deGrom, Thor, Wheeler, Matz, Lugo, Gsellman,etc. duplicate the SF Giants model, they won 3 WS without a 30 HR hitter. I think their 3 WS had maybe 2 players max with over an .850 OPS.
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In comment 14115810 spike said:
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The Mets have trouble developing positional talent, unlike the Yankees of this decade.
I agree
What development are we talking about? Not since Reyes and Wright has the team made a decent core of home grown young talent. Most has been a hodgepodge of one hit wonders or one dimensional players like Murphy. And even then they got rid of him in his peak prime.
Pitching development...outside of degrom none of them have panned out as to this day in time. You can argue that maybe next year is the year but I still hold my breath to just sit and rely on a top 5 rotation. We have heard that sales pitch plenty the last 5 years
You can win in MLB with a core of Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, McNeil deGrom, Thor, Wheeler, Matz, Lugo, Gsellman,etc. duplicate the SF Giants model, they won 3 WS without a 30 HR hitter. I think their 3 WS had maybe 2 players max with over an .850 OPS.
I like our core but it needs more. It needs more depth and needs 2-3 legitimate stars. We lose a few key players for crucial stretches every year. Nimmo and Conforto are really good young players but you gotta take the pressure off them. Cespedes was supposed to be that guy but he's finished. You cant give up and let this window pass us by because the key pieces still ARE in place. We really need to make a run at Machado and closer.
Im really hoping we wrap this GM thing quick because its going to take time to evaluate the roster, get up to speed, and come up with a gameplan. Im pretty sure the Wilpons would sign off on it if it's what the new GM wanted.
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In comment 14115117 NyquistX3 said:
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Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
Sorry bro but the Wilpons have beaten me to a pulp. Its tough to stay positive.
Its been a tough couple of seasons but I think we ended on a pretty positive note. We have a pretty nice roster heading into 2019. Just need a couple more pieces. Hope all is good bud.
Oh well. Cant give up. Luckily, Sandy was pretty prudent when it came to long term deals and we are still in a position to add some pieces.
The 2 huge missing pieces are the top two way CF and top two way C. Those are the 2 needs i'd look to aggressively fill this offseason. So that's how i'd attack this roster going forward and I'd be willing to shake things up via trade if it meant getting a top CF or C. That's where someone like Buxton is intriguing, albeit risky. Or a Grandal as a FA.
And aside from the lineup they also had a lights out BP, so need to spend the $ to improve there as well.
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In comment 14115120 ZGiants98 said:
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In comment 14115117 NyquistX3 said:
Quote:
Jeff Coupon is the team's head of baseball operations and the GM search is a farce as Coupon has final say on every baseball move. So nothing will really change with a new GM or front office, as Jeff Coupon is horribly unqualified to be a baseball executive.
Also, the "hot stove" is going to probably be cold. Expect the Coupons to sign no impact free agents and instead market the health of the starting pitchers and better play in the second half as reasons to not improve the roster.
Jesus. Aren't you a joy. What the hell happened to you man?
Sorry bro but the Wilpons have beaten me to a pulp. Its tough to stay positive.
Its been a tough couple of seasons but I think we ended on a pretty positive note. We have a pretty nice roster heading into 2019. Just need a couple more pieces. Hope all is good bud.
Thanks! You too!
Offense gets you to the postseason and starting pitching brings home the ring IMO. We have the pitching. Lets get back to the postseason.
1. 2 Legit bullpen pieces. I'm thinking Kimbrel and Familia or Miller or two like that.
2. Fix the D to the extent it can be fixed (jettison Bruce or put him on the bench and get a 1B)
3. Add a starter like Kuechel or Morton or a FA starter.
those three moves I think make the Mets a contender.
however if they do sign machado I think it will obviously be a good thing. My only point is they don't have to.
1. 2 Legit bullpen pieces. I'm thinking Kimbrel and Familia or Miller or two like that.
2. Fix the D to the extent it can be fixed (jettison Bruce or put him on the bench and get a 1B)
3. Add a starter like Kuechel or Morton or a FA starter.
those three moves I think make the Mets a contender.
however if they do sign machado I think it will obviously be a good thing. My only point is they don't have to.
you know it wont happen. $$$
Severino and Tanaka are better than DeGrom. And Wheeler wont even crack our postseason rotation
Literally just over two months ago. Ten weeks...
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piled up 100 wins but they are clearly a SP or two short and are completely useless in the postseason without it.
Severino and Tanaka are better than DeGrom. And Wheeler wont even crack our postseason rotation
Literally just over two months ago. Ten weeks...
LOL. Ive been thinking about that constantly but am trying not to rub it in. NO WAY YOU GET Torres for deGrom. NO WAY. SONNY GRAY is better than WHEELER!! I wouldnt want him for free!
Offense gets you to the postseason and starting pitching brings home the ring IMO. We have the pitching. Lets get back to the postseason.
Met fans would trade Lagares for peanuts because the skin of the peanuts is more durable than he is. And I disagree that there aren't 2 way players out there, there are just few of them and they have a premium cost. We've chosen the discount bin of 1 dimensional players bc of the coupons and an irrational ignorance of the value of defense.
If they wanted Grandal this offseason they could get him. Or Ramos. And that's not a big expectation. Pollock wouldn't make up for choosing Bruce over Cain last year but he is the CF on the best d in baseball. On the trade market I'd imagine the Royals would be willing to listen on Perez. Maybe theres a way to pry JBJ out of fenway. Or you roll the dice on a boom or bust guy like Buxton. Options are out there if they are willing to spend.
1. 2 Legit bullpen pieces. I'm thinking Kimbrel and Familia or Miller or two like that.
2. Fix the D to the extent it can be fixed (jettison Bruce or put him on the bench and get a 1B)
3. Add a starter like Kuechel or Morton or a FA starter.
those three moves I think make the Mets a contender.
however if they do sign machado I think it will obviously be a good thing. My only point is they don't have to.
Agree across the board. Signing one of the top D catchers would go a long way to helping D, along with a highly athletic CF to preempt the next Lagares injury. Machado would be an unbelievable luxury but not a necessity.
adding a starter protects the strength. Morton is 35? he'd get a 1 or 2 year deal for not a ton of money. Keuchel lost some bloom off his rose too, yes he'll get paid, but IMO it's worth it to the Mets.
Heck, I'd pursue Kershaw if he surprisingly opts out (unlikely).
Depending on the Wright and Cespedes dispositions and if the Mets can unload Bruce and possibly Lagares - they'd easily be able to afford my plan with little or slight increase in payroll.
If they do unload Bruce then the Mets would have literally $0 contracts after next year (besides Wright and Cespedes -and it's both of their final years - and 2020 is Bruce's final year if they can't unload him).
Believe it or not Vargas after his first three starts where he missed ST.. was rushed back and was literally pitching behind a net to get ready for those games pitched exactly like what we expected him to. He's not a bad 5th starter IMO. You can also pull Lugo to the rotation if the pen is addressed. Id rather save my dollars for a deGrom extension and a Wheeler mega deal next offseason than blow my wad on a Kuechel. Dunn, Kilome, etc might all be depth options by the all star break. It's just not a need IMO.
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If there are any they generally end up MVP type players in todays game. Everybody always says they want defense until a guy goes 0-for a week and then they are booing said player off the field. Lagares might be the best defensive CF in baseball but 9 out of 10 Mets fans would trade him for a bag of peanuts, injury history or not. This team cant sustain lineup slumps so my strategy would be to load the lineup up with as many quality bats as possible. Im sick of losing a couple of guys to injury then having things compound by a few slumps and suddenly 3 weeks go by and we've scored 5 runs total. It literally destroyed our 2018.
Offense gets you to the postseason and starting pitching brings home the ring IMO. We have the pitching. Lets get back to the postseason.
Met fans would trade Lagares for peanuts because the skin of the peanuts is more durable than he is. And I disagree that there aren't 2 way players out there, there are just few of them and they have a premium cost. We've chosen the discount bin of 1 dimensional players bc of the coupons and an irrational ignorance of the value of defense.
If they wanted Grandal this offseason they could get him. Or Ramos. And that's not a big expectation. Pollock wouldn't make up for choosing Bruce over Cain last year but he is the CF on the best d in baseball. On the trade market I'd imagine the Royals would be willing to listen on Perez. Maybe theres a way to pry JBJ out of fenway. Or you roll the dice on a boom or bust guy like Buxton. Options are out there if they are willing to spend.
Before Lagares started with the injuries he was being viewed as a late inning replacement 4th/5th OF guy. Nobody wanted him starting. Most of the guys you mentioned aren't much better than Bruce types IMO. None are super stars or guys that can carry a team. Mostly older guys with warts you might be able to snag on a short term deal. Pollock is an injury prone deteriorating player and his D in CF is no longer good. Grandal probably offers the most in overall value but again... the bat isnt "special". You can compound that maybe with a few similar pieces and then you might have something but I honestly dont think thats a huge difference from what we did last year. We were banking on 304 players to supplement a roster but a lot was riding on Cespedes and the younger players developing.
Fixing the BP with at least 2 of the top FA options and a few extra proven veterans for depth is an absolute must and that alone will put them far ahead of where they were entering last season.
Finding a "difference maker" would help to be sure but they are almost impossible to find. Machado and Harper are extremely unlikely but by all means I'm for the Wilpons writing a blank check. They passed on the chance to go after Stanton/Yelich/Cain last year. Only a handful of those guys exist and even fewer change teams. Incremental upgrades don't seem like a big deal until they pass a tipping point of being good at things vs. being bad at them (like defense, or relief pitching). Those are 2 particular areas we have been very bad at for a long time - which makes no sense given we are building around starting pitching and both hurt the results of our starts. See JDG.
It really is a shame we have over $20,000,000 committed to guys like Lagares and Bruce next year. We couldve used that money to get someone good.
Unforced errors. Happy well have a new GM.
Fixing the BP with at least 2 of the top FA options and a few extra proven veterans for depth is an absolute must and that alone will put them far ahead of where they were entering last season.
Finding a "difference maker" would help to be sure but they are almost impossible to find. Machado and Harper are extremely unlikely but by all means I'm for the Wilpons writing a blank check. They passed on the chance to go after Stanton/Yelich/Cain last year. Only a handful of those guys exist and even fewer change teams. Incremental upgrades don't seem like a big deal until they pass a tipping point of being good at things vs. being bad at them (like defense, or relief pitching). Those are 2 particular areas we have been very bad at for a long time - which makes no sense given we are building around starting pitching and both hurt the results of our starts. See JDG.
Part of the reason our bullpen was "awful" was that Familia was out/injured during our most crucial losing streak stretch... and then traded (He ended up finishing very strong in Oakland). Our two highly paid setup options both missed almost the entire season to injury. The one ELITE setup option we had in Seth Lugo was also pulled from the pen and moved to the rotation to replace Thor at the exact same time all hell was breaking loose but a further strain on the pen. The pen clearly needs work but give me a break with last year. 4 out of our 5 backend guys weren't even on the field. Further, just about every relief pitcher people wanted (Shaw, McGee... were absolutely terrible. Even your boy Addison Reed was a disaster.
It really is a shame we have over $20,000,000 committed to guys like Lagares and Bruce next year. We couldve used that money to get someone good.
Unforced errors. Happy well have a new GM.
It was based off his rookie year and there were many notable posters here screaming for a Lagares extension right away. It was a bad deal and Sandy basically pulled the plug on Lagares in 2015 when he acquired Cespedes. Lagares was still fairly healthy at that point. He just didn't hit enough.
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even with all of the other injury calamities and managerial incompetence. They were 1 of only 3 teams with a negative fwar in the BP. A league average BP would have been worth almost 5 more wins on the season and given them 82 wins. And that's just league average. A top 5 pen would have meant 85 wins.
Fixing the BP with at least 2 of the top FA options and a few extra proven veterans for depth is an absolute must and that alone will put them far ahead of where they were entering last season.
Finding a "difference maker" would help to be sure but they are almost impossible to find. Machado and Harper are extremely unlikely but by all means I'm for the Wilpons writing a blank check. They passed on the chance to go after Stanton/Yelich/Cain last year. Only a handful of those guys exist and even fewer change teams. Incremental upgrades don't seem like a big deal until they pass a tipping point of being good at things vs. being bad at them (like defense, or relief pitching). Those are 2 particular areas we have been very bad at for a long time - which makes no sense given we are building around starting pitching and both hurt the results of our starts. See JDG.
Part of the reason our bullpen was "awful" was that Familia was out/injured during our most crucial losing streak stretch... and then traded (He ended up finishing very strong in Oakland). Our two highly paid setup options both missed almost the entire season to injury. The one ELITE setup option we had in Seth Lugo was also pulled from the pen and moved to the rotation to replace Thor at the exact same time all hell was breaking loose but a further strain on the pen. The pen clearly needs work but give me a break with last year. 4 out of our 5 backend guys weren't even on the field. Further, just about every relief pitcher people wanted (Shaw, McGee... were absolutely terrible. Even your boy Addison Reed was a disaster.
Btw. I completely agree with your last paragraph. Sorry if that came off harsh.
The reasons the Met BP was terrible this past year was not a 1 year thing. It's from multiple years of neglect and poor pickups, literally from Frank Francisco to Bastardo to Ramos and Swarzak this past year. Year after year they ignored the top of the market in FA, settled for the bargain bin or nothing at all, and then had to bargain hunt for guys like Clippard, O'Flaherty, and Salas in season. Reed/Blevins were the only moves they ever made that worked out and yes I would have still preferred they brought Reed back vs. most of the moves they made last offseason.
Like the defense the issue is so far beyond 1 or 2 signings that could have been different. It was a complete systemic failure to build up a satisfactory unit over multiple seasons. From poor evaluation internally (Oday) and externally, to poor resource allocation, to poor development.
Sorry man. Appreciate your perspective but I completely disagree. Sounds like a lot of revisionist history to me. You did want Reed last year badly but it wouldnt have worked out any differently. Might have worked out worse actually.
The stats simply tell a much different story.
The Met had the 7th best pen in 2015 and the 2nd best pen in the league in 2016. In 2017/2018 they were without their closer both times and as I mentioned most of their setup pieces as well. You cant have an effective pen without a closer.
Seems like they would've used a few stud arms and maybe they could've been celebrating rather than watching Boston celebrate on their field.
Oh well. I'm glad we'll have our big 3 to try and make a playoff run next year. I think Yankees are third or fourth best team in the AL and I don't see a clear path forward for them to get past BOS or HOU.
/Omar
But really, as smarter baseball minds than me have said in here, there is a clear path forward --
Fix the bullpen
Add a Bopper
Upgrade catcher (sorry, Shecky, I just don't think MVPlaw really has the talent and durability to be a 130 start guy on a good team).
Lots of good pieces in place -- the second half was really fun, actually, and as much as Callaway baffled me early at times, I really was impressed that he didn't lose this team in adversity -- it was actually a very TC-esque perfromance (2013, 2014) - calamity struck and Callaway kept the team dialed in.
Simply put, we have the best top 3 in baseball - deGrom, Thor, Wheeler -- we just need to give them better support from the offensive end and the BP,
Team is very close tho, in my opinion.
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Sorry man. Appreciate your perspective but I completely disagree. Sounds like a lot of revisionist history to me. You did want Reed last year badly but it wouldnt have worked out any differently. Might have worked out worse actually.
The stats simply tell a much different story.
The Met had the 7th best pen in 2015 and the 2nd best pen in the league in 2016. In 2017/2018 they were without their closer both times and as I mentioned most of their setup pieces as well. You cant have an effective pen without a closer.
Revisionist history is acting like the bullpen hasn't been a weakness for the entire decade. The Mets are dead last in fwar from their bullpen 2010-2018. The Yankees are #1 btw. Btw if you change the time frame to post-rebuild 2015 - 2018 they only move up 6 spots to 7th worst BP. 2016 was an aberration.
And with Familia in the 1st half last year Mets BP was 2nd last in fwar (-1.4). Between Robles (19 ip / 5 era / 7 fip), Swarzak (26 ip / 6.1 era / 5.7 fip), Rhame (32 ip /5.8 era / 5.5 fip), Peterson (27 ip / 6.2 era / 5.8 fip), and Ramos (19 ip / 6.4 era / 5.2 fip) you had 120 innings of negative impact relievers in just the first half. That's almost 2 innings per game.
Familia has been 1 of the best closers in baseball for 5 years and they did a terrible job building up a bullpen around him. End of story.
Worst BP in baseball 2010-2018 - ( New Window )
he certainly tested out that theory when he passed over larocque to hire dave stewart (who bombed) in AZ.
Thanks for the info Eric. Dead last in bullpen fWar over the Alderson era is a damning stat. He consistently failed to build a good bullpen here and his bullpen free agent signings more often than not were busts. The good news is that bullpen is maybe the "easiest" to fix (as opposed to a starting rotation or lineup), so if we can a good GM in here, we can hope to improve rapidly in that area with one big offseason.
Thanks for the info Eric. Dead last in bullpen fWar over the Alderson era is a damning stat. He consistently failed to build a good bullpen here and his bullpen free agent signings more often than not were busts. The good news is that bullpen is maybe the "easiest" to fix (as opposed to a starting rotation or lineup), so if we can a good GM in here, we can hope to improve rapidly in that area with one big offseason.
Agree on the BP improvement - for the most part BP is pretty directly correlated with $ invested. It's just highly volatile year to year outside of the top closers/setup men. Reed/Swarzak are typical examples of guys that flash for a few years when something clicks but fizzle quick vs. someone like Familia whose stuff has been top tier. Need to start competing for more guys like him, Miller, Herrera, etc again.
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season wouldn't effected our bullpen ranking in 2018? Of course it would have. It would have been much better. The intention wasn't to be out of it and for us to trade him. And why the hell are we talking about Frank Fracisco? He was a placeholder during our rebuilding years ions ago to sell a few tickets. He wasn't supposed to lead us to the playoffs. lol. Some of the guys you mentioned like Salas were literally added for free.
Sorry man. Appreciate your perspective but I completely disagree. Sounds like a lot of revisionist history to me. You did want Reed last year badly but it wouldnt have worked out any differently. Might have worked out worse actually.
The stats simply tell a much different story.
The Met had the 7th best pen in 2015 and the 2nd best pen in the league in 2016. In 2017/2018 they were without their closer both times and as I mentioned most of their setup pieces as well. You cant have an effective pen without a closer.
Revisionist history is acting like the bullpen hasn't been a weakness for the entire decade. The Mets are dead last in fwar from their bullpen 2010-2018. The Yankees are #1 btw. Btw if you change the time frame to post-rebuild 2015 - 2018 they only move up 6 spots to 7th worst BP. 2016 was an aberration.
And with Familia in the 1st half last year Mets BP was 2nd last in fwar (-1.4). Between Robles (19 ip / 5 era / 7 fip), Swarzak (26 ip / 6.1 era / 5.7 fip), Rhame (32 ip /5.8 era / 5.5 fip), Peterson (27 ip / 6.2 era / 5.8 fip), and Ramos (19 ip / 6.4 era / 5.2 fip) you had 120 innings of negative impact relievers in just the first half. That's almost 2 innings per game.
Familia has been 1 of the best closers in baseball for 5 years and they did a terrible job building up a bullpen around him. End of story. Worst BP in baseball 2010-2018 - ( New Window )
2010? What in the world? Lol. We arent talking about rebuilding years. We werent competing or even close to competing until 2015. Most of the samples you cite are either extremely small or skewed to make up whatever argument your trying to make. The pen was good to great in 2015/2016. Virtually the exact same pen was ravaged by injuries or key pieces were traded away when we were out of it (Reed/Familia) which obviously effected its end results.
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
I like the gamble for the Nats, down year and all
Verified account
@NYPost_Mets
4m4 minutes ago
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The Mets have interviewed Chaim Bloom, the Rays senior VP of baseball operations, for their GM opening. Bloom, 35, has spent the last 14 years with the Rays.
Mike Puma @NYPost_Mets
42s
The Mets have interviewed Chaim Bloom, the Rays senior VP of baseball operations, for their GM opening. Bloom, 35, has spent the last 14 years with the Rays.
Seems like they would've used a few stud arms and maybe they could've been celebrating rather than watching Boston celebrate on their field.
Oh well. I'm glad we'll have our big 3 to try and make a playoff run next year. I think Yankees are third or fourth best team in the AL and I don't see a clear path forward for them to get past BOS or HOU.
These talks always cracked me up. If I was the Yankees I would have blown the Mets away with a package- Torres/ Andujar... whatever it took. Make it hard for them to say no. If I was the Mets, I still would have said no.
bc - you are in friendly territory my friend. I know last night stung but it was playoff baseball and the last 2 years your team has played beyond 162.
Hopefully the Mets next GM will have authority to make decisions and maybe there is a trade to be made. Who knows. I am getting soft. As a Ranger fan I wrote a very complimentary Islander post this week too. My man arcarsenal has taught me to embrace the other side : )
DO it.
Fred reportedly complains about the Yankees... if you aren't going to spend like them... complain about the Rays and A's... "How do they do it?!?"
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Kyle Barraclough traded from the Marlins to the Nats for international pool money.
I like the gamble for the Nats, down year and all
I wish the Mets would have made that gamble
I wish the Mets would have made that gamble
Be nice if we had a GM already...
I don't hate the Yankees, not even a little (since my brother and father are diehard Yankees fans) other than when they play the Mets. Living in Boston metro the only team I legit hate other than NL East teams is the Red Sox.
However, I have never been and am not now even a little bit jealous of the Yankees.
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I wish the Mets would have made that gamble
Be nice if we had a GM already...
Sounds like things are starting to heat up there. Anyone you're preferring at this point?
Name Laroque the President of Baseball Operations and name Kim Ng the GM. I would love that IMO, keep the trio of JP, Riccardi, and Omar and we have a pretty diverse brain trust.
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Welcome, but trust me any and allyankee bashing around here is in good fun. I dont know a single Mets fan that isnt truly, deep down inside, insanely jealous of the Yankees. Not for their past, but their future. Anytime you are feeling down on the Yankees, just glance at a Mets thread and you will instant,y feel better. Congrats on a great season
I don't hate the Yankees, not even a little (since my brother and father are diehard Yankees fans) other than when they play the Mets. Living in Boston metro the only team I legit hate other than NL East teams is the Red Sox.
However, I have never been and am not now even a little bit jealous of the Yankees.
Fuck the Yankees and their Fans. Benedict Arc at the top of the list.
Im going to be irate if we piss away a season that will feature a deGrom, Wheeler, Thor three headed monster.
We'll see Dan. I'm still optimistic. They are interviewing a bunch of really interesting and promising candidates.
It would be incredibly demoralizing to get 9 years of Alderson only to hire a retread Wilpon crony to follow him up. I think they know that and want to make a good hire here and we'll be happy with how it turns out.
Im going to be irate if we piss away a season that will feature a deGrom, Wheeler, Thor three headed monster.
I'm not I understand where you're coming from here. Did i misread this, or are you basically saying you're going to be happy no matter who they hire, so long as they do it fast?
Both built winning teams, but failed to seal the deal and failed to sustain the success, for different reasons.
Under Omar, the Mets had their best success since the 2000 WS debacle. a flair hit away from the world series and then a couple devastating collapses.
Under Sandy, the Mets built another solid team and had the lead in the 8th inning in 4 games of the World Series, losing 3 of them. A variety of issues did in Sandy too.
But the bottom line for both is, the opposite approaches were both successful, but for "Mets reasons" neither success was sustained.
I dont expect that to happen
King- Fred
Acting boss- Jeff
and THEN
Omar (long term Wilpon chrony), JP Ricciardi, Terry Collins
and THEN
the GM
It's a really awful setup
Both these guys can build winners with small payrolls and can probably do even better with the top 8-13 payroll the Mets will likely end up having.
IMO, either would be a HR hire and I'd be really excited.
Both these guys can build winners with small payrolls and can probably do even better with the top 8-13 payroll the Mets will likely end up having.
IMO, either would be a HR hire and I'd be really excited.
and yet
Michael Mayer
@mikemayerMMO
27s28 seconds ago
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Jon Heyman is reporting on WFAN that Mets are talking about splitting up the responsibilities of the GM.
One person's focus could solely be the 40-man roster.
Both built winning teams, but failed to seal the deal and failed to sustain the success, for different reasons.
Under Omar, the Mets had their best success since the 2000 WS debacle. a flair hit away from the world series and then a couple devastating collapses.
Under Sandy, the Mets built another solid team and had the lead in the 8th inning in 4 games of the World Series, losing 3 of them. A variety of issues did in Sandy too.
But the bottom line for both is, the opposite approaches were both successful, but for "Mets reasons" neither success was sustained.
The common denominator for "mets'ing" is ownership. Though I'd contend Omar has enjoyed carte blanche with this ownership more than anyone else.
I don't trust the Mets at all to figure out the right way to split up responsibilities, but I wouldn't hate the idea of young new school GM and a slightly more old school president to help manage Fred. As much as I want a young GM with fresh ideas helping change the organization up and down, I think Fred/Jeff will swallow up an inexperienced executive.
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is people complain, but Sandy and Omar couldn't be more opposite but had practically the same result.
Both built winning teams, but failed to seal the deal and failed to sustain the success, for different reasons.
Under Omar, the Mets had their best success since the 2000 WS debacle. a flair hit away from the world series and then a couple devastating collapses.
Under Sandy, the Mets built another solid team and had the lead in the 8th inning in 4 games of the World Series, losing 3 of them. A variety of issues did in Sandy too.
But the bottom line for both is, the opposite approaches were both successful, but for "Mets reasons" neither success was sustained.
The common denominator for "mets'ing" is ownership. Though I'd contend Omar has enjoyed carte blanche with this ownership more than anyone else.
I don't trust the Mets at all to figure out the right way to split up responsibilities, but I wouldn't hate the idea of young new school GM and a slightly more old school president to help manage Fred. As much as I want a young GM with fresh ideas helping change the organization up and down, I think Fred/Jeff will swallow up an inexperienced executive.
2 things
1) In a successful setup the president would be the one hiring this "new fresh GM" not 2 independant hires. Bringing in 2 different people is setting them up for disaster. Who says they share any of the same philosophies or that their communication style even works?
2) This "split roles" idea might "work" if you didn't have... Fred, Jeff, Ricco, Omar, Collins, Ricciardi all already here with different levels of power. Now add.. 2 more? So we will have 2 owners involved, 4 assistant GM's (all loyal to the Wilpons having been here a long, long time) and THEN a president... and then a GM?
3) What's being suggested by Heyman is pretty clearly not a president/GM situation. It's some Mets only "multi-person" GM.
But it wasn't just Omar. the Mets, when Omar took over, had a top 5 payroll (Under Duquette and most of Phillips tenure they were top 5 as well).
Omar maybe nudged it up a couple years to #2, but it wasn't dramatically different).
Mets need to craft a team built for long-term success. And it's not easy, not many MLB teams experience consistent success.
until we see what happens that's all speculation and noise.
once it happens I'll criticize it, but I won't waste time criticizing Heyman rumors (even if well sourced).
Heyman per Michael Mayer said the Mets are considering breaking up GM duties into multiple people doing different things...
And here is Dans point number three, from the other day...
But it wasn't just Omar. the Mets, when Omar took over, had a top 5 payroll (Under Duquette and most of Phillips tenure they were top 5 as well).
Omar maybe nudged it up a couple years to #2, but it wasn't dramatically different).
Mets need to craft a team built for long-term success. And it's not easy, not many MLB teams experience consistent success.
Right, the spending wasn't all Omar it was in part just the Wilpons having more money pre-madoff. Omar getting Fred to spend bigger was both a blessing (Beltran, Santana) and a curse because so much dead money crippled the franchise for a few years (Castillo, Bay, Alou, Perez, K Rod, etc). My biggest knock on Omar is that he was not good at running the organization or the farm system, and despite having resources he never focused on those areas. Sandy was bad at spending the little FA money he got but I think his regime developed and drafted a lot better, so I'd hate to see regression in those areas.
I think what went into it is Fred likes Omar and wanted to bring back his buddy. Remember when Sandy blew off Omar's intro announcement? I don't think it's a big stretch to connect all the dots now that Cherington refused to even interview. Had this season not been an out and out disaster Omar would probably have been named GM already.
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until we see what happens that's all speculation and noise.
once it happens I'll criticize it, but I won't waste time criticizing Heyman rumors (even if well sourced).
That's fair like I said I find Heyman highly inconsistent, but in the spirit of "hope for the best expect the worst" I am mentally prepared for the Mets to do something bizarre here regardless of what Heyman says.
This 100%.
The media has to get on them about this. But, so do the fans! Fans have more power than ever these days with twitter. If the fans sit back and just accept the status quo, nothing changes. The fans and media putting pressure on ownership might lead to a better outcome.
I am not sure everyone really appreciates how bad Omar was at being a GM. Let him do international scouting, building up the academies, but for the love of everything sacred keep him away from team decisions. I am trying to think which was the worst Omar move. Alou 2 weeks before arb deadline so we gave up a 1st was pretty bad, trading for that settle reliever without medical checks was also brutal, never going above slot in drafts and crippling farm as a result and obviously Ollie Perez. But I think my absolute least favorite move was Castillo for 4 effing years.
Dude was leaps better with drafting rounds 3-10 but outside of that he was an utter disaster compared to Sandy.
I understand the skepticism but they are certainly trying to speak with a lot of promising candidates. I'm going to be optimistic here.
I understand the skepticism but they are certainly trying to speak with a lot of promising candidates. I'm going to be optimistic here.
Josh Byrnes is NOT promising. He was a disaster in both Arizona and SD and is being interviewed in large part because... he hired Omar in SD. What's promising about a 2 time failure?
77 wins, 76 wins, 90 wins, 82 wins, 70 wins, 65 wins.. his 6 seasons as GM
SD
Lasted 2.5 seasons as GM
76 wins, 76 wins 77 wins
He's only 48 and was a baby in GM terms when with Arizona. I think people can learn from mistakes and being an integral part of one of the best run operations in MLB means a lot to me. High up assistant execs on successful organizations are guys the Mets should absolutely be talking to.
He's only 48 and was a baby in GM terms when with Arizona. I think people can learn from mistakes and being an integral part of one of the best run operations in MLB means a lot to me. High up assistant execs on successful organizations are guys the Mets should absolutely be talking to.
The Dodgers have Friedman in charge (who helped build the Rays) as well as Farhan Zaidi, one of the smartest men in the game... + the #1 most full-time analytical staffers and a monster payroll. There is little evidence to suggest Byrnes deserves a large part of their credit at very best he's third on the totem pole.
He's only 48 and was a baby in GM terms when with Arizona. I think people can learn from mistakes and being an integral part of one of the best run operations in MLB means a lot to me. High up assistant execs on successful organizations are guys the Mets should absolutely be talking to.
So then what was the excuse in SD? He might be smart but he has had zero success as a GM. He has Omar ties. Great. Here is what Keith Law said about Byrnes after he was fired by SD
"The San Diego Padres' decision to relieve Josh Byrnes of his duties as general manager is unsurprising, and was probably overdue, given the team's poor performance at the major league level and lack of production from young players, especially those acquired in trades or handed long-term contracts. The move, by itself, solves no problem, however. The Padres need to hire the right successor, a GM who has experience in scouting and player development, because there is no way a team with the Padres' low payroll can succeed without a productive farm system and coming out even or ahead in trades."
PASS.
I just really want them to nail this hire and am looking for positive signs.
If we only had a GM...
I mean the team did get stable after alderson left.
Maybe 3 failures can combine to make Vultron..,the ultimate GM
Alonso is 7 for 12 in three games. Gimenez I believe only played 1 so far and is .250 with a HR.
I mean the team did get stable after alderson left.
Maybe 3 failures can combine to make Vultron..,the ultimate GM
Transitioning from Sandy to the three execs had literally nothing to do with Conforto rebounding in the second half, McNeil busting on the scene, and a few players coming back from injury (Bruce).
In his 16th season, Jose earned the respect of his teammates with the professionalism he demonstrated in transitioning from everyday player to role player. He took on the responsibility of mentoring young players, including the Mets' promising young shortstop Amed Rosario.
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Jose Reyes New York Mets
In his 16th season, Jose earned the respect of his teammates with the professionalism he demonstrated in transitioning from everyday player to role player. He took on the responsibility of mentoring young players, including the Mets' promising young shortstop Amed Rosario.
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Sure, pick the wife beater over the nicest, happiest guy in all of baseball...
Dan, any chance you can do your daily minor league reports?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhOVdpFJlrA - ( New Window )
2 for 4 with 2 solo HR's.
Alonso now 8 for 16 with a 1.3 OPS.
Vlad Guerrero Jr, batting a robust .643 (9 for 14) to lead the AFL.
Alonso is 5th.
Gimenez still has only played 1 game. not sure why.
Zanghi and Bautista have pitched, Zanghi hasn't allowed a run, Bautista 1 in 3 innings.
Thanks. I most enjoyed the inside the park homer.
Dan, any chance you can do your daily minor league reports?
I find the AFL to be somewhat tedious/doesn't tell us much but you got it.
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) AA 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) Kingsport 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) A+ 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
9) Thomas Szapucki (LHP) A 18/32-56%
10) Shervyen Newton (SS) Kingsport 12/30-40%, Run-off with Anthony Kay 17/33-52%
11) Anthony Kay (LHP) AA 18/26-69%
Mike Chernoff has turned down a chance to speak to the Mets.. not good.
some highlights:
Translation: Those in charge get worn down and use a lot of the workday clock with this setup.
Lack of appreciation/accountability from ownership also is not going to draw the best and brightest. Alderson brought stability and a strong public face at the worst of times for these owners (think Madoff), steered the Mets to an NL title, did not leave the cupboards bare of talent and for goodness sake is battling cancer. Do you think this ingratitude is not a talking point within the game?
So is the disconnect of what the Mets want and how they seem to be getting there, with Minaya and Terry Collins offering the old-school whispers Fred longs to hear while Ricco and Jeff canvass a wider field during interviews. What will emerge?....
Link - ( New Window )
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) AA 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) Kingsport 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) A+ 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
9) Thomas Szapucki (LHP) A 18/32-56%
10) Shervyen Newton (SS) Kingsport 12/30-40%, Run-off with Anthony Kay 17/33-52%
11) Anthony Kay (LHP) AA 18/26-69%
12) Simeon Woods-Richardson (RHP) Kingsport 12/30-40%
13) Luis Santana (2B) 15/26-58%
He's 20 years old and hit for zero power in limited time in AA. It's not like he really crushed A ball either. Guys like Acuna and Soto, both in our division, are the same age or younger and already raking in MLB.
Looks like he's a good defender who you hope can be an average offensive bat. Fine prospect but far from an elite one.
Please convince me I'm wrong.
He's 20 years old and hit for zero power in limited time in AA. It's not like he really crushed A ball either. Guys like Acuna and Soto, both in our division, are the same age or younger and already raking in MLB.
Looks like he's a good defender who you hope can be an average offensive bat. Fine prospect but far from an elite one.
Please convince me I'm wrong.
He's very polished, above average speed, should hit for some average. Hate to bring his name up but if Ruben Tejada had a more pop and actually gave a shit he would have had a 10 year career as a starting MI. Gimenez is likely not a future star but could be a 280+ 10+ 20+ MI
He's 20 years old and hit for zero power in limited time in AA. It's not like he really crushed A ball either. Guys like Acuna and Soto, both in our division, are the same age or younger and already raking in MLB.
Looks like he's a good defender who you hope can be an average offensive bat. Fine prospect but far from an elite one.
Please convince me I'm wrong.
Thats like wondering why a SP prospect doesnt have a lot of saves in the minors... if Kelenic and Mauricio are a teams 3/4 prospect, thats not too shabby ;). Theres depth and youth in our top prospects. Thats a damn good thing whether youre looking to promote them or promote them.
[quote]
Cant say you werent warned about this when the season was wrapping up and that when its all said and done it will start to make more sense
Here's what to like about Gimenez - he has advanced through the system quicker and been a more consistent player than Rosario - who was at 1 point a unanimous top 10 prospect in all of baseball. His overall athleticism isn't quite as flashy but as Dan said he has shown a lot of polish in the way he's consistently produced. Also it's not like he's a try hard david eckstein without talent, this past year he was voted to have the best glove and speed in all of A+. I believe he may have even had the best hit tool also but I can't find the article.
And for added context - he's held his own in AA despite being just 10 months older than Kelenic who is still in rookie ball. Gimenez may not be in the phenom category like Acuna or Soto, but he is 1 of the top minor league SS prospects and he's not that far away. He's also the type of player we've all been begging the team to add more of - good hitter, lots of XBH, doesn't strike out a ton, speed, defense, hustle, etc.
Would the long term plan be to trade or more Rosario to second? It looks like Gimenez is a better defender? Rosario's bat will really need to take a step forward next year for that plan to be viable. He definitely showed flashes and I think the kid can do it, but his bat barely played at SS, so we need him to really keep developing at the plate.
Would the long term plan be to trade or more Rosario to second? It looks like Gimenez is a better defender? Rosario's bat will really need to take a step forward next year for that plan to be viable. He definitely showed flashes and I think the kid can do it, but his bat barely played at SS, so we need him to really keep developing at the plate.
Depends on how Rosario and Mcneil do this year. Rosario has athleticism but has yet to grade out well at SS. Maybe he moves to 3rd. If Mcneil doesn't entrench himself at 2nd, Gimenez would seemingly fit at 2nd (and I believe has played there some in the minors). If all of them look great, that's a good problem to have so there's no bad outcome.
2:44 is there any concern with Kelenic that he may have a Rutherfordish trajectory? I recall Blake being a pretty polished old-for-his class bat that did very well in the Appy, and then struggled since.
Kiley McDaniel
2:45 Rutherford was a tweener guy that lost a step and became a corner guy and Kelenic is a CF that could possibly lose a step, but seems less likely to do that given his build. He's also not as old as BR was and was generally seen as having a slightly superior combo of tools and performance, but they are in the same ballpark
2:46 I also think Kelenic has a little better game power potential in his swing than Rutherford does even now
Alonso HR and 2b, poor marks at 1b.
Stadium mocks at the bottom of link
https://www.syracuse.com/expo/sports/erry-2018/10/ccbc0879c07886/check-out-syracuse-mets-new-lo.html - ( New Window )
While I get your point, building a stronger AAA roster will be a good thing IMO.
If the "older guys" are good AAA players, it means they would
likely be better emergency call-ups than lots of the garbage this organization has resorted to during the Alderson era.
Quote:
is some belief because the Mets own the Syracuse team they may actually try and put out an okay roster. Hopefully that doesn't mean older guys playing over prospects.
While I get your point, building a stronger AAA roster will be a good thing IMO.
If the "older guys" are good AAA players, it means they would
likely be better emergency call-ups than lots of the garbage this organization has resorted to during the Alderson era.
You say that and yet they didn't give guys like Brentz or Michael a look, so they bolted. Really strange decision making sometimes.
I feel like as prodigious as his bat may be, he'll wind up yet another Met to have a playable bat, but no "real" position.
I'd look to move him (not give him a way), but move him for players who better fit my vision for the roster of the Mets.
Alonso = Justin Bour floor. Josh Bell/Jose Abreu.
What would he net in a trade? Not worth it.
Let him and Dom lose the job to Bruce instead (sarcasm)
I feel like as prodigious as his bat may be, he'll wind up yet another Met to have a playable bat, but no "real" position.
I'd look to move him (not give him a way), but move him for players who better fit my vision for the roster of the Mets.
I'm OK with trading anyone if the return is right, but 1B is a huge hole for the Mets. I don't see another realistic scenario to fill the position without Alonso.
Bruce is an inconsistent hitter and an even worse fielder than Alonso and 1B isn't his natural position. Smith doesn't look like an MLB starter. Flores could maybe breakout but we've seen a lot of him and he has a chronic condition now.
MLB.com lists the following 1B free agents:
Steve Pearce
Joe Mauer
Matt Adams
Lucas Duda
Hanley Ramirez
Mark Reynolds
That's an awful list. Alonso at 1B for the Mets looks like the best option available.
The best way to improve the defense IMO is to sign a real CF and put Bruce's ass on the bench. Nimmo and Conforto can both play a solid corner OF but are barely treading water as a CF, and carrying dead weight Bruce makes it worse.
It'd be great if they can sign a free agent CF (Pollock!), platoon Lagares vs lefties in CF for the few weeks before he gets hurt, and let Bruce be opening day 1B until the Mets are done playing service time games with Alonso.
Yet the two Phelps this year, Acura And Soto were terrible while being hidden in LF. And Hoskins might be historically bad in LF. Yet no one ever talks about that lol
The Royals are a team that has nothing at 1B and should be selling. S. Perez for Alonso seems like something that would be tempting but painful for both sides, not sure if I'd rather do something like that or just sign Grandal even though he's obviously got some flaws.
Yet the two Phelps this year, Acura And Soto were terrible while being hidden in LF. And Hoskins might be historically bad in LF. Yet no one ever talks about that lol
part of the difference is that the Mets publicly knocked his defense which only feeds the media narrative. Most teams do the opposite.
Yet the two Phelps this year, Acura And Soto were terrible while being hidden in LF. And Hoskins might be historically bad in LF. Yet no one ever talks about that lol
too many scouts say his glove is not "passable" at 1B. There is nowhere left to move him off 1B. It's the place you move people to who can't play anywhere else.
I wont argue Acuna. Defensive flaws or not, who wouldnt love to have him on their team?
Even if he hits OK, he might be a defensive improvement ;)
versus trading him and getting a legit 1B who hits ok.
I prefer the latter.
the only doubts I have are scouts suck at projecting defense IMO. Dom Smith was supposed to be a plus defender according to scouts.
At league minimum for a while
Least of this teams problems...
In fairness Hoskins was far more impressive than Alonso at AAA. 166 wRC+ 13.5 BB/15.3 K vs. Alonso 139 with a 25.9 K rate. Hoskins was an absolute monster before coming up.
build to their strength, starting pitching, and IMO defense helps it more than a big bat.
I continually bring up the Giants teams that won 3 WS in 5 years. They never even lost more than 5 games in any of those post-seasons.
They had no prodigious middle of the order bat. It's not a big a must have as some fans seem to believe.
1.1mm allocated to 1B
Which allows you to trade Bruce for someone elses overpaid RP (Jake McGee) filling a second whole while not touching payroll.
The zero dollars allocated to payroll. And zero trade chips allocated to acquiring a 1B. Allow the front office to fill a third and fourth hole with those dollars and chips.
Conversely. Trading Alonso, whatdoou really think youre getting back in return? Seriously, what are you getting back, and dont tell me you will package him. For him and him alone.
You then have to keep Bruce, unless Dom has won you over at 1B? Wilmer you say? Please - hes gone, not offensive,y
Reductive at 1B and terrible defensively also. So you are relying on Dom, but will Hve to keep Bruce and/Or Flores as a backup - not allowing another hole to be filled.
Or run with Alonso/Dom. Improve 1B dramatically. While filling multiple other holes. Sorry for long post/rant - Ill step out and let the thread go back to normal lol
Or how about I just completely give in and say hes the better hitter. Would anyone here take a drop below Abreu or Hoskins at 1B, at league min $$?
Hoskins 12/21 bb/k with a 159 wrc+
Alonso 16/18 bb/k with a 180 wrc+
Ill still give you benefit of the doubt and call Hoskins the better hitter because he has proven it in the ML
Hoskins 12/21 bb/k with a 159 wrc+
Alonso 16/18 bb/k with a 180 wrc+
Ill still give you benefit of the doubt and call Hoskins the better hitter because he has proven it in the ML
Not typing it out, but to beat you to the punch Hoskins and Alonso comparable bb/k at A ball, but Hoskins better wrc+
I'm in the minority here and it's really just the way I'm approaching the off-season.
I want a very specific roster configuration to salvage the remaining year(s) of elite (potentially) starting pitching, which IMO is the hardest part of team building.
I want to fix the bullpen with two legit BP arms. Not dumpster dives, not settling, the best two bullpen pieces.
I want to add a starter. I've named names before, nothing crazy, but again not a Vargas either.
and I want to fix the defense where it's fixable (1B is the glaring spot)
I'd welcome a Machado and think he fits well with my plan and others thirst for a middle of the order bat, and I think the Mets should make a concerted effort to sign him, but I doubt they will.
If the Mets play the season with Alonso/Dom/Bruce/Flores at 1B it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I would trade Alonso straight up and I'd expect a similarly rated player in return (a top 50 prospect) at a position of need for the Mets. So if they get a 3B back great, a starting pitching prospect great, but I think an AL team would value Alonso more than the Mets.
IF, big IF, his defense is as bad as scouts say.
I tend to agree with your overall plan in an ideal world, the challenge is that the FA market is pretty bare in terms of big upgrades at the other open positions of need (mainly CF). If Lorenzo Cain was available again I'd agree - save the money at 1st and splurge on CF/RP. But we missed that boat.
Alonso's K rate was good (<18%) for 3.5 years up until Vegas. Not sure if the 300 abs in Vegas is first warning sign or random anomaly. His power spiked higher in vegas and his overall contact lower, could have just been selling out a little bit.
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Dave Littlefield, who presided over seven consecutive losing seasons in Pittsburgh during his only prior stint as a general manager, has interviewed for the Mets' GM job, per @MarcCarig. Littlefield is 58.
Hoskins, just as an FYI, also had a 22% K rate in AA in '16, and has maintained that rate in his time in MLB. So I don't think you can make any definitive conclusions about Alonso's k rate. If the difference is 3% points, which is about 15ks more in a full season, I don't know how big the impact is. That's probably a loss of 5 hits based on BABIP averages. So it's not a huge impact.
"The reign of terror is over the Pirates have fired GM Dave Littlefield."
442-581 record
The Pirates were 139 games
below .500 during his tenure and were 67-95 each of the last two
full seasons.
And the Tigers (his current team) have a below average farm system despite being awful. Would be a comical hire. Enough where I'm legit taking a break.
That a question to ME??? You know my feelings on Senzel...
It's almost as if they want the worst possible hires to be known to have interviewed... Hmmm
By then, Littlefield had been fired with cause. New GM Neal Huntington has spent the past four years trying to rebuild the Pirates the way they should have been rebuilt all along with patience. Every veteran player not nailed down was sent packing for prospects. The Pirates started to spend more money in the draft and in signing amateur talent from Latin America. The organization seemed headed in the right direction for the first time in two decades.
Malcolm Hamilton
Bonifay and Littlefield represent a very dark period of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. Their tenure, 1993-2007, netted zero playoff appearances and zero winning seasons. They were recently lumped together on a list of the all time worst GMs and placed sixth.
Link - ( New Window )
If they hire Littlefield I'll probably change my BBI moniker.
I can't see them hiring him though. The media and fan reaction would just be too savage.
Theo didn't have full autonomy and I'm not sure who does.
I don't even think Cashman has full autonomy now.
Maybe someone can define full autonomy for me, because I don't know many GM's who have it. John Henry has to authorize long-term contracts for Dombrowski in Boston and had to approve the Sale trade.
"I'm 63 years old, and I've been doing this for 20 years," said Melvin, who was GM of the Texas Rangers from 1994-2001 before joining Milwaukee at the end of the 2002 season. "My gut feeling tells me it's time to give Mark the opportunity to look over the next generation of general managers."
again... 3 years ago.
Well, theres always minor league baseball, but who cares about that if you dont care about the big club?
A senior who tops 90. Nothing special, but pretty good for a HS kid.
But heres the rest of their rotation.
Three juniors hitting 90, one a lefty.
Two other juniors hitting 86/88.
Yep, imagine being a junior in high school. Throwing mid to upper 80s. And you cant even crack your teams starting rotation...
And I know velocity isnt everything, obviously. Big deal, their top six all throwupper 80s and up... these kids are learning how to actually pitch. Committed to Vandy, Stanford, etc absolutely. INSANE. High School...
I've been asking executives around the league for opinions on these people for weeks, and Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque has easily raised the most questions among those who have worked with or around him.
Larocque's record in player development for the Cardinals is strong, and the Mets need help in that area. But the truth is, multiple people who worked with him in the Mets front office in the late '90s and early 2000s are concerned that he is using the Mets to leverage the Cardinals into a contract extension.
"He was like a used car salesman and a bad office politician," said one former colleague. When I pointed out that the phrasing was harsh, the source joked, "Hey, Bud Selig was a used car salesman!"
Link - ( New Window )
Michael Mayer
@mikemayerMMO
3s3 seconds ago
Mets offensive prospects in AFL action so far:
Peter Alonso .385/.484/.692, 2 HR, 2 2B, 2 SB, 7 RBI, 8 R
Desmond Lindsay 4-for-8, 2 HR, 2B, BB, 3 R, 1.931 OPS
Andres Gimenez 2-for-9, HR, 2B, 3 BB, 2 RBI, 3 R, 1.083 OPS
Ali Sanchez 0-for-8, 2 BB, R
Michael Mayer
@mikemayerMMO
9m9 minutes ago
How would Mets fans feel about this offseason?
Catcher - Wilson Ramos
Third Base - Josh Donaldson
Starter - Nathan Eovaldi
Reliever - Greg Holland
Reliever - Jorge De La Rosa
Reliever - Shawn Kelley
Same here. But think about it, if they can unload Bruce and Lagares (just saying) plus save Wright and Cespedes contracts - and they have no one under contract in 2021 it makes sense they spend, even a moderate amount, this year.
Quote:
be blown away if the Mets spend that much this off-season.
Same here. But think about it, if they can unload Bruce and Lagares (just saying) plus save Wright and Cespedes contracts - and they have no one under contract in 2021 it makes sense they spend, even a moderate amount, this year.
If they "unload" Bruce and Lagares it will almost certainly be for similar players contract wise. I think Eovaldi is getting more than people think and that Ramos will get paid. Hard to say what Donaldson gets. Also have MAJOR doubts they are putting 15 million on the bench in Wilmer/Frazier.
and in my plan Frazier isn't on the bench, they suffer through another year with the "toddfather".
and in my plan Frazier isn't on the bench, they suffer through another year with the "toddfather".
Wilmer likely will be but I think they will look at Wilmer/Frazier at 15+ million on the bench in 2 players and that's not very Mets-like.
I'd take that in one second. I expect it to be LaRoque or Melvin. Again Melvin is ON record saying he's too old for this and it's a young mans game... 3 years ago!
I have no problem with it, not the players I suggested but the positions (other than catcher) are almost spot-on to my post about how I'd handle this off-season.
So 2 more down and then you can breathe easier? Littlefield and Melvin?
Looks like Melvin, Bloom and Ng remain
Melvin... 3 years ago. "The job had just grown to a point that it's more suited for somebody who's younger than me." #Mets
NY Daily News Sports
Verified account @NYDNSports
Doug Melvin could be the ideal GM candidate to bridge baseball's old- and new-school divide and take on the tall task of righting this #Mets ship, writes @Ackert_Kristie: https://nydn.us/2yRiIBc
He's out per Carig
Looks like Melvin, Bloom and Ng remain
Good one.
Catcher - Wilson Ramos
Third Base - Josh Donaldson
Starter - Nathan Eovaldi
Reliever - Greg Holland
Reliever - Jorge De La Rosa
Reliever - Shawn Kelley
Donaldson - 4 years 72 million
De La Rosa - 1 year 3.5 million
Kelly - 2 year 12 million
Holland - 1 year 5 million
Out of the running are Gary LaRocque and De Jon Watson, who will not receive second interviews. A source expressed skepticism that another interviewee, Dave Littlefield, will receive a call-back, though his status was not completely clear as of Friday night.
Bloom and Ng are probably the 2 most intriguing candidates. Melvin I'd hope would be more of a senior position to manage the wilpons and hire/advise a younger GM a la stearns. Would prefer to not try to convert an agent to a GM, but i'm not super familiar with Van Wagenen.
1st-round GM interviews end; at least 4 in running - ( New Window )
Eovoldi should get close to Cobb money (4/50m+). Ramos I'd guess 2 years with a 3rd year option. Holland 1 year. Donaldson no idea. I wouldn't mind him on a big 1 year prove it deal.
It's a generic offseason without strategy. So I wouldn't call it a good offseason but "very mets". I feel like it wouldnt be hard to go back 12 months and find a tweet that says "if the mets resign bruce, add an IF like Frazier, a depth starter + a reliever similar to Reed would that be a good offseason?". They check off shopping list needs in the discount aisle vs. finding the right guys - which is probably the biggest shift in thinking I hope results from a new gm.
hindsight is 20/20 but had they splurged most of what they'd spent last year on just Cain and better relievers and just filled in cheaply with internal options at 3B/SP (Flores/Lugo?) they'd have put themselves in a much better position for wherever this current "run" goes during JDG's prime.
Bruce for someones overpaid reliever
Frazier/Flores for RP and backup catcher.
Move Wheeler if opportunity presents itself, keep if not.
DG, Thor, Wheeler, Matz Vargas/Gsellman
Mix and match the pen from above and holdovers
Nimmo, McNeil, Machado, Harper, Alonso, Conforto, Rosario, Plawecki
Great, balanced lineup
Unreal SP
Potential holes in pen, but easiest place to plug in offseason. Or deadl8ne.
Younger. Faster. More athletic. Built to win now
And for several years. Didnt touch the future!! Most importantly, tons of flexibility moving forward.
You would advocate a 66 year old ON RECORD as admitting the game has likely passed him by? That sounds ideal to you? His age isn't the issue.
Now you give me a defense of hiring him given that quote
He also said this-
Melvin has continued to work in player development with the Brewers, but hes also taken more time for himself. Its like the difference between a coach and a manager. When youre a coach, you have your certain responsibilities. Youre available. But when youre the manager, you feel responsible to 25 players, plus the coaches and the trainers and everybody, says Melvin. As a GM, he says, [you feel a total responsibility. Pro scouting, amateur scouting, international scouting, player development, the Major League team theres always something to think about.
Now I ask again... 3 seasons ago he said these things... does THIS sound like the guy you want to hire? With the fire in his belly? With the energy?
At season's end, he transitioned to be senior advisor to a new GM less than half his age, David Stearns.
"You do sleep better," Melvin said.
He's done more than sleep. With Stearns and new assistant GM Matt Arnold in charge, Melvin has returned to his player-development roots. Ray Montgomery, amateur scouting director, invited Melvin to Houston for four days of meetings with the team's scouts. Melvin also spent five days in Phoenix at the Brewers' instructional league and the Arizona Fall League. He only briefly attended the GM Meetings in November to receive a 20-year service award. At the Winter Meetings in December, he had time to catch up with old friends in the lobby.
He's also had more time for real life. This past fall he spent a full week in Tampa, Fla., where son Cory, a Brewers scout, was married. He's enjoyed several weeks at the family's second home in Park City, Utah, where he reads and goes snowshoeing. He visited his parents in Ontario. In Milwaukee he has attended Bucks games with their GM, John Hammond, a good friend.
Melvin still occupies the same office at Miller Park but keeps a more flexible schedule, and he summed up his role like this: "I'm there when they need me."
Bruce for someones overpaid reliever
Frazier/Flores for RP and backup catcher.
Move Wheeler if opportunity presents itself, keep if not.
DG, Thor, Wheeler, Matz Vargas/Gsellman
Mix and match the pen from above and holdovers
Nimmo, McNeil, Machado, Harper, Alonso, Conforto, Rosario, Plawecki
Great, balanced lineup
Unreal SP
Potential holes in pen, but easiest place to plug in offseason. Or deadl8ne.
Younger. Faster. More athletic. Built to win now
And for several years. Didnt touch the future!! Most importantly, tons of flexibility moving forward.
I'll take 2 of whatever he's having.
If the 2 leaders are within 5% of each other, or the leader has less than 35% there will be a run-off between the top 2. If a run-off results in a tie the tiebreaker will be vote total in the previous poll, we will continue to "go back" in the polls until there is a clear leader.
*Jeff McNeil is ineligible
*Chris Flexen is ineligible
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) AA 19/37 votes- 51%
2) Peter Alonso (1B) AAA 24/36 votes- 67%
3) Jarred Kelenic (CF) Kingsport 31/36-86%
4) Ronny Mauricio (SS) Kingsport 12/33-36%
5) Justin Dunn (RHP) AA 10/37-27%, Run-off with Mark Vientos 17/30-57%
6) Mark Vientos (3b) Kingsport 16/31-52%
7) David Peterson (LHP) A+ 21/31- 68%
8) Franklyn Kilome (RHP) AA 20/33-61%
9) Thomas Szapucki (LHP) A 18/32-56%
10) Shervyen Newton (SS) Kingsport 12/30-40%, Run-off with Anthony Kay 17/33-52%
11) Anthony Kay (LHP) AA 18/26-69%
12) Simeon Woods-Richardson (RHP) Kingsport 12/30-40%
13) Luis Santana (2B) 15/26-58%
14) Will Toffey (3B) 10/29-34%, run-off with Cecchini 15/27-56%
15) Gavin Cecchini (2b) 14/26-46%
16) Francisco Alvarez (C) 9/26-35%
This is such a Mets type of move. Lets take a guy who publicly admitted he sucks and doesnt want to do it, and make this guy one of our top choices. Hell, senile Fred Wilpon is probably trying to talk Melvin into it.
This franchise is such a joke. This really is the last straw for me.
Shecky here is last years list
1) Andres Gimenez (SS) 12/27 votes-44%
2) David Peterson (LHP) 12/24 votes-50%
3) Mark Vientos (SS/3B) 13/24 votes-54%
4) Peter Alonso (1B) 21/28 votes-75%
5) Thomas Szapucki (LHP) 10/22-45%
6) Justin Dunn (RHP) 4/20-20%, runoff with Lindsay/Guillorme/Kay 9/22-41%
7) Desmond Lindsay (OF) 12/26-46%
8) Luis Guillorme (SS) 8/25-32%, run-off with Kay 11/22-50%, advances due to more votes in previous poll
9) Anthony Kay (LHP) 9/24-38%, run-off with Bashlor 10/20-50%, advances due to more votes in previous poll
10) Tyler Bashlor (RHP) 11/16-69%
11) Tomas Nido (C) 6/24-25%, run-off with Molina and Oswalt 12/20 60%
12) Marcos Molina (RHP) 6/20-30%, run-off with Evans 13/20-65%
13) Ronny Mauricio (SS) 6/17-35%
14) Gavin Cecchini (2B) 6/23-26%, run-off with Mazeika 12/15-80%
15) Chris Flexen (RHP) 8/26-31%, run-off with Mazeika/Thompson 8/11-73%
16) Patrick Mazeika (C) 6/22-27%, run-off with Thompson 8/14-57%
17) Corey Oswalt (RHP) 6/21-29%, run-off with Thompson 10/18-56%
18) David Thompson (3B) 8/21-38%
19) Jordan Humphreys (RHP) 9/16-56%
20) Kevin Kaczmarski (OF) 5/14-36%
21)Gerson Bautista (RHP) 5/24-21%, run-off with Evans 11/19-58%
22) Phil Evans (UTIL) 6/17-35%
23) Juan Uriarte (C) 6/19-32%
24) Drew Smith (RHP) 6/21-29%, run-off with Uceta 11/18-61%
25) Adonis Uceta (RHP) 9/20-45%
26) Jamie Callahan (RHP) 3/14-21%, Runoff with Holderman/Conlon 9/16-56%
27) PJ Conlon 6/16-38%
28) Nabil Crismatt 4/14-29%, Runoff with Holderman 10/17-59%
29) Colin Holderman 3/14-21%, Runoff with Blackham 7/13-54%
30) Matt Blackham 5/18 28%, Runoff with Becerra 9/13-69%
31) Steven Villines 3/15-20%, runoff with Becerra/James/Brodey 6/15-40%
32) Adrian Hernandez 3/17-18%, Run off with Becerra/James/Brodey 4/11-36%
33) Jhoan Urena (1b/3B) 3/16-19%, runoff with James 6/11-55%
34) Christian James (RHP) 4/16-25%, runoff with Nogosek 7/12-58%
35) Stephen Nogosek 8/17-47%
36) Jacob Rhame 4/16-27%
37) Quinn Brodey (OF) 5/20-25%, runoff with McNeil/Becerra 6/14-43%
38) Jeff McNeil (UTIL) 4/17-24%, runoff with Becerra/McGeorge 6/15-40%
39) Austin McGeorge (RHP) 6/13-46%
40) Cameron Planck (RHP) 5/16-31%
41) Mickey Jannis (RHP) 3/17-18%, runoff with Pobereyko and Becerra 9/15-60%
42) Matt Pobereyko (RHP) 6/14 43%
43) Bryce Hutchinson (RHP) 6/16-38%
44) Michael Paez (SS) 4/15-27%, Runoff with Becerra 9/16-56%
45) Harol Gonzalez (RHP) 5/14-36%
46) Warner Lagrange (OF) 7/14-50%
47) Wuilmer Becerra (OF) 7/17-41%
48) Chris Viall (RHP)
49) Blake Tiberi (3B)
50) Jayce Boyd (DH)
HM-
Ali Sanchez (C)
Matt Winaker (1b)
Gregory Guerrero (SS)
Hansel Moreno (SS)
Eric Hanhold (RHP)
Luis Carpio (SS)
Ryder Ryan (RHP)
Extremely highly thought of throughout the game. It's a risk but he's run a successful business and knows the game. I want Bloom but if they go BVG I'm on board.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/04/sports/baseball/yoenis-cespedes-stat-back-page.html?_r=0&login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock - ( New Window )
https://paullebowitz.wordpress.com/2018/10/20/why-brodie-van-wagenen-might-succeed-as-mets-gm/ - ( New Window )
The only guy I have confidence can convice the Coupons to listen to him is Omar.
At this point, just make Omar the freaking GM. I wasn't much of a fan of the job he did last time out, but he at least convinced the Coupons to spend money on free agents, something I have no confidence anybody else can do.
Different sport, but Bob Myers--the Warriors' GM--is an agent turned GM who has had incredible success.
Quote:
I cant think of any recently and it goes without saying there aren't many examples of the mets org forging new terrain effectively.
Different sport, but Bob Myers--the Warriors' GM--is an agent turned GM who has had incredible success.
Of course, Myers doesn't have two imbecile owners meddling in basketball operations, however.
Ben Badler
@BenBadler
3h3 hours ago
Victor Victor and Victor Mesa Jr. are signing with the Marlins today.
They spoke with me in depth about their decision, their names, baseball in Cuba and their future in Miami: