5/19/14

Morning Report – May 19th - The Abyss



        Coming Later Today –

                 9 30 am -  Mid Month Stat Check - Starters

                 11 am -  Mid-May Stat Check - Relievers

                 Noon –  Craig Mitchell -- Let Them Play!

                3 pm -  Top 12 OF in 2014 MLB Draft - revised 5-19-14

                6 pm –  Forest Wall, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Wilson, Tyler Kolek, Tyler Beede, Jeremy Vasquez



Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.
                                Lou Mannheim


I knew I’d be writing this column sometime this year. I just didn’t expect it to be in May (written on evening of 5-16).

Pitchers like Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom were still supposed to waiting on their ‘Super 2’ release date and thoughts of Jenrry Mejia returning to the bullpen was supposed to still be a pipe dream.

We also knew deep down in our hearts that we were never going to be truly happy with who Sandy Alderson signed during the off-season. Things went badly right from the beginning when he underestimated the value of 1B Mike Napoli. It continued with just turning his back to RP Latroy Hawkins and culminated with the complete Stephen Drew debacle.

What we wound up with was SP Bartolo Colon, and outfielders Curtis Granderson, Chris Young, and Bobby Abreu, none of which have produced to the levels all of us hoped they would.

I can’t fault any of these guys for picking up a pen and signing the contract the Mets placed in front of them. It’s not like any other team was bidding for their service at the time Alderson offered them their current deal.

It looks like the Mets will once again be burdened with two more long term Alderson-clunker deals. Remember Frank Francisco (2-yr, $12mil)? Why does it always seems the minute after Alderson closes a multiple year deal, we’re writing about what we can get for them during the next all-star break trading season?

I sit and listen to Terry Collins talk during his pre-game press conference on Friday that the reason he’s sitting out the player that is leading the team in hitting (Juan Lagares) is because he’s trying to put the emphasis on offense rather than defensive skills.

I also hear Collins say that the reason Lagares hasn’t hit well in the last 25 at-bats was because he had expanded his hitting zone, and yet I then read a column prepared by ESPN that says that isn’t true. He actually expanded it less.

I close my eyes and think of Drew leading off and playing next to David Wright, with Napoli in the four hole and I can’t even imagine what the offense would be producing these days.

I don’t understand what’s going on right now. Why is Terry Collins operating like a little Napoleon and why is his boss letting him get away with it?

Are we all missing something when it comes to Eric Young Jr.? He does play baseball like a little sparkplug but he just doesn’t get on base enough to be taking away the job from either Chris Young or Lagares.

Also, are we also supposed to believe that our ‘starting shortstop’. Wilmer Flores, is still sitting on the crapper for three days? Wouldn’t he qualify for one of those ‘bats’ Terry is supposedly looking for?

And just how fucking stupid can you treat both the fans and beat press by keep saying that Lagares and Flores are your ‘starters’. Oh yeah… did I mention he tells the players this too?

Folks, anybody that knows anybody on or anything about this team would tell you that the only reason TC got this job was that he was a nice guy, was cheap, that players like to play for him, and he does what he’s told to do. All of these are wonderful attributes but none of them mean a thing in the sixth inning when you’re standing in the dugout up by one, the leadoff hitter of your opponent just hit a double, and your starter’s pitch count in already 90. Being nice isn’t going to do you shit here.

I’m sort of lost right now both as a follower and a writer of this team. I’ve never thought they would operate at more than .500, but I also didn’t expect to see some of the young prospect pitchers this early.
Now they have to go on a tear to get back to .500. That’s not playing .500 ball.

How many times have I written… put together a rotation that gives up three or less runs for the first seven innings and you will win enough baseball games to make the playoffs.

I believe that the Mets, in general, and Terry Collins, in particular, is entering a critical time that will take place over the next 20 games played. Those of you that I consider the ‘regulars’ follow every inning of this team all season long. You know how thin this team is in talent regardless of which player your General Manager choses to play. But you also know the constant juggling of players in and out of the lineup is just a mind fuck that will eventually translate to the field.

I wrote earlier that I questioned the timing of the Montero and deGrom promotions by Alderson? Is this a sign that he was out of answers and the only direction to go was to Las Vegas for some new blood?

I think it is. And, I also think we are all beginning to see the beginning of Alderson leaving Collins out to dry.

I agree with most of the people who know Collins. The players love him, yes, he was cheap, he’s loyal as a brown lab, and he’ll do anything he’s told to do when the ‘bat phone’ rings in his office.

The problem is I’m not sure he’s going to be able to survive that day when Alderson begins to realize that the rest of the Mets World figure out it was him that came up with all these bad decisions, not Collins.

That’s when you look into the abyss and nothing stares back at you. 

26 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Will they sign Drew in a few? Or say the dollars to do so are too few to sign Drew (same as it was with Choo). Who knew? We do.

We just got two excellent pitchers added - heck, maybe Edgin is the third. Making it time to tinker: 1) have your starting SS (Flores) actually start - a novel idea...2) If Lucas does not pick up the hitting pace very soon, work Campbell in for more at bats - at a minimum, Campbell is a FAR better hitter vs. lefties than Duda, so NEVER let Duda start vs. lefty while Eric is around...3) Lagares should sit once every two weeks, to give the legs a blow - then, let the other 3 OF work out their at bats...4) All I ever hear is Andrew Brown is AAAA - well, his .360 average, .700 slug and 8 HRs since demoted warrant a close watch.

If Chris Young continues to hit a powerless .220, and if Brown continues that sort of torrid hitting, cut Young and replace him with Brown as your 4th OF. I think a very good case can be made that Brown is as good or better than Young....5th, I'd give the same mid June timeframe to watch both d'Arnaud and Plawecki. if a month from now, Plaw is still killing it, and d'Arnaud is still not hitting, send him down for a dose of Las Vegas sunshine and bring Plawecki up. Dude can hit.

Plawecki and Campbell (and also Flores) have not been infected with the dreaded Mets' strikeout disease (8.8 per game average - that's a winning stat!!), so maybe three hombres who strike out little can help a lot soon

TP said...

Mack,
I have given Collins the benefit of doubt, and held Alderson accountable for the shortcomings of the big league roster, but Terry really hurt his credibility in the fan base this week. Sitting his best player, yes, Lagares has been their best player so far this year, and burying Flores on the bench both are total head scratchers. Sure, we don't have access to know what is going on behind the scenes, and I'm sure there are things going on there, but this is not pretty and makes no sense.

These young arms are quite exciting, but the team is still a total mess. for that Alderson and Collins share blame. We can allocate the percentage to each as we see fit.

IBfromWhitePlains said...

Great post Mack. I turned on the game yesterday, saw Tejada was starting again, ranted for a few seconds and turned it off. The fan base has seen enough of the Alderson/Collins shuffling and bullshit. There's a real window here for gaining a market share against the not so hot Yankees. I figure they'll blow it.

Dallas said...

If you like that WAR stat, Lagares is first on the team and 12th in the league (ESPN) all while playing about half the games with his injury and TC benching him all the time. Its hard to buy into TC's slump reason for benching him when most of your roster barely hits above .200 and Granderson was hitting .120 a short time ago. I also dont understand why Tejada deserved to start all of a sudden because of a few defensive plays and one walk off single. He has been atrocious overall and cost us a lot more games than a walk off single can make up for.

Unknown said...

Great job Mack. My Twitter timeline exploded all weekend, and 90% of it was venom directed at Collins. TC is what he is, but the casual fan is very naive in thinking he is the only problem.

Reese Kaplan said...

Far be it from me to ever grant Collins any leniency, but I read a Daily News piece that said Lagares was dealing with a death in the family and this is part of why he wasn't playing. If so, Collins screwed it up a different way by NOT saying, "We're giving Juan Lagares a few days to deal with a death in his family." No need to divulge details. People would have simply backed off. Instead, he tries to make himself into a martyr by taking all the heat. That's just dumb.

As far as Duda and Campbell go, remember there's another guy at 1B in AAA -- Allan Dykstra -- who is currently hitting .304 with 7 HRs, 39 RBIs!!! and (music to Hudgens/Alderson) a .458 OBP.

bgreg98180 said...

Unfortunately this has been the status quo for the past few years.
From the owners, to the general manager, and to the manager.
The words said, do not match the actions taken.

Like slippery eels however, each decision maker always seems to be excused to different degrees, by reporters, bloggers, and followers as the real blame is placed on the other decision maker.
"it's not the coaches fault, the gm is really making all the decisions"
or
"its not the gm's fault, the owner keeps limiting the $ available"
or
"Its not the owners fault, there is actually plenty of money to spend, the payroll will be bigger than last year...etc"
My heart hurts as my brain tries to understand what my eyes observe after hearing what my ears hear.

Mack Ade said...

TP -

The moves you say were made by TC are actually decisions made by Alderson and it's TC's job to defend them

Mack Ade said...

To all of you -

Thank you for your kind comments today.

The point I tried to make is the fact that Sandy Alderson is the person that makes the FINAL DECISION on who is on this team, who plays, and who doesn't.

It is then Terry Collins' job to execute them and make the adjustments during the game. He also has to field the questions from a more hostile beat press every day.

I'm not defending Collins. Anything that happens WITHIN a game is his doing. I just want everyone to understand that Alderson is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of all the fans on this issue.

bgreg98180 said...

I fully believe you Mack.

It hurts though, to watch this team for the past few years, not seriously trying to enter seasons or evolve during the season, with a plan to seriously capture their division's top spot.

Unknown said...

Hopefully Lagares is in to stay, they have to do the same with Flores. We need people that can hit and he is our best option at SS to do that.
Give Duda another week and if he doesn't up his game bring up Dykstra. He can be a below average hitter just like Duda has been, but I feel he is a more prominent hitter and is our best in house option available.

Reese Kaplan said...

News story confirms what I'd read about Lagares and the death in his family:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/86977/lagares-to-d-r-but-expected-back-tuesday

Steve from Norfolk said...

Alderson's day is coming already, Mack. The fans know who is making what f****ups. My personal opinion on Flores is he's supposed to get just enough exposure to make him look decent in a trade.

Steve from Norfolk said...

Sorry... didn't finish my thought

" My personal opinion on Flores is he's supposed to get just enough exposure to make him look decent in a trade."

Without revealing his shortcomings

Mack Ade said...

Bob -

I disagree.

Sandy had a plan... Granderson, Eric Young, and Bartolo Colon

It's not turning out the be the right plan but it WAS a plan.

Mack Ade said...

I'm told the Mets (i.e.Sandy) has decided to leave Tejada out there as the SS and NOT play Flores with any regularity.

bgreg98180 said...

Why would anyone, experienced or unexperienced believe as a gm it is a good idea to take a 22yr old player that can hit, and not let him play regularly to gain more hitting experience?
If Flores is not allowed to play regularly in NY then atleast let him get more at bats in LasVegas

TP said...

I'm not giving Collins a pass on the Lagares situation now because we know now he had a death in the family. And, even if I did, it has no bearing on the SS situation, which is a complete joke. Terry says Tejada is hitting better, meanwhile his average is dreadful overall AND recently, and his defense hurt the team once again yesterday. I'd rather see Q sit on the big league bench than Flores. That makes absolutely no sense given what we know and can see.

Tom Brennan said...

Tejada might have been Alderson's plan, and it might have looked OK if he even started hitting .250, but it looks more inexcusable by the day as he hits a useless .185. Flores has to be the plan now. Tejada is not major league starter caliber, and may no longer be major league caliber.

Flores was a hitting and RBI machine for months in AAA last year. Adding his bat will only help take pressure off everyone else. Mets' 7-8-9 in the order must be hitting .150 this entire year - it is unprecedented in baseball history and has to stop.

Mack Ade said...

Thomas and Reese -

The problem with this team is the lack of established talent.

We're never waiting for someone to return and immediately bring the team back to a successful level. We're always clutching at straws in hopes of the the replacement player turns out someday to be successful.

Tom Brennan said...

Well put, Mack. My brother Steve always reminds me bluntly that offensively, this is a thinly talented bunch. Results bear it out. I am the straw-grasper.

James Preller said...

Great post, Mack. One wonders why they bothered to cut Omar Quintanilla. After last week's series of moves, Mets fans felt new interest and enthusiasm. An uptick, at least. But Terry Collins have proven himself to be totally tone deaf to the fans -- absolutely out of touch -- and he's done a lot to destroy the good feeling. I agree that Sandy Alderson should have the bullseye on his back. But I don't think he'll become a target until Collins is removed. The usual process, fire the hitting coach, etc. Alderson needs to go; they all need to go.

Unknown said...

They clearly wanted to get Q more playing time

Mack Ade said...

Again, I'm not defending Terry Collins or the decisions he makes within the games.

There are three things wrong with this team.

1. Sandy Alderson is putting the chess pieces out on the field.

2. Terry Collins is then asked to play the pieces

3. The pieces are nowhere near the value of other team's chess pieces.

And, the game keeps changing... the "shift" is the latest epidemic... look at the play that Wright had to turn a DP at second and threw it wide. That was the winning run.

This isn't the Dodgers outfield where you still have a very talented player left on the bench. The players in the starting lineup are mostly batting below .250 and the subs have a minimal amount of bats warranting any belief they could make a difference.

Except starting pitching...

And, when Gee returns, the team goes back to a dominant rotation, even if you keep Colon in the rotation.

You leave either deGrom or Montero in the rotation... you put the other in the pen as the long man... and you build the back with Mejia and Familia... and you just may be back to a -4.00 ERA for the remainder of the season.

You still don't have enough talent on the field to win, but you have enough pitching to answer the phone.

Mack Ade said...

But NOTHING HAS CHANGED SINCE LAST SEASON ENDED...

you still need a shortstop and a real outfielder or two

John Looby said...

Mack,

Unfortunately the moves Sandy made in the off season have been a disaster. They've spent on Granderson and he has shown nothing. Clearly CY was signed in the hope that we could flip him and then promote Puello. Neither is looking likely any time soon.

If Grandy and CY had fired it could have masked the abyss that is SS and 1B.