5/27/14

Morning Report – May 27th – Draft Day, Singles Hitters, Perception




        Coming Later Today –

                10 am -  Herb G - Minor League Report

                12 noon – Stephen Guilbert – The Skinny on Draft Prospect OF Michael Conforto

                  2 00 pm - Top 26 Projected Draft Picks In The 2015 Draft

                4 00 pm - 2015 Draft Profile -  RHP  -  Mike Matuella  -  Duke University

                6 pm - Isiah Gilliam, Sean Newcomb, Justin Smith, Ben Smith, Alex Destino, Aaron Mizell





Noah Syndergaard         @Noahsyndergaard -    Not exactly how I pictured my trip to New York this summer to be, but no need to worry folks. I'll be just fine. Thank you everyone!




We’re getting closer to the draft every day. The plan here is simple.

        I am going to post up on June 4th the top ten players in the draft, by position.

        Stephen Guilbert will have an open thread up all day on Day One and Day Two (June 5th and 6th) to discuss what’s going on and who was picked.

        I will follow up each draft pick chosen by the Mets with a brief history of the draft pick.

Let me know if you want any other info those first two days.




I keep having to go back and re-write this because it seems like something changes about this team every ten minutes. Is this what they call 'fluid'?  I call it leaking like a sieve.


First of all, Las Vegas is going to have to make some decisions about their rotation. Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom are in Queens, and Noah Syndergaard is on the DL and getting an MRI in NYC. This leaves Logan Verrett (4.37), Dana Everland (3.95), the recently converted reliever Giancarlo Alvarado (6.17) and Greg Peavey (2-starts, 12.96). My guess is sometime today Darin Gorski will be announced as joining the staff (after his 2-hit CG shoutout yesterday. Gorski is 9-starts, 4-2, 2.22, 1.01 for Binghamton and there really isn't much more for him to do there. Plus, we sure could use a 6-4 lefty in the wings.



Most of us that do this for a living (sic) use Twitter as our main source of information. I follow all the Mets beat reporters as well as at least 50 other Mets writers throughout the journalistic world. The one thing that seems to becoming the norm is the complete lack of writing anything positive about this team, the owners, the management, or the manager. 

There were a few left, but even they seem to have vanished.

Some, like Mike Silva and Mark Healey, have just become one dimensional. Others, like Ed Ryan, have just disappeared. Go ahead, try doing this every day for a team that can’t produce more than a couple of runs every game.

Brian Magnon left this on Twitter right after Lucas Duda hit into a doubleplay with the bases loaded on Sunday:

Brian Mangan @brianpmangan  -  Oh, stop bitching #metstwitter and writers. You act like every AB is the end of the world or like you've never seen a ball game before.

You all are going to have to start living with the fact that, once again, this team does not have enough to compete with the rest of their division, no less the National League. The young pitching is turning out to be as advertised, but the everyday players on this team are simply singles hitters that now don’t seem to have any confidence in each other in the field.

We have spoken many times that you can win close games if you pitch well and play excellent defense; however, losing games by one run due to a defensive mistake seems to be the norm lately. First it’s David Wright, than (who else) Wilmer Flores, and Sunday it’s Daniel Murphy. This could have resulted in a three win swing that would make things look an awful lot better right now.

For me, the arrival of both Rafael Montero and Jake deGrom have been a good thing. Neither one is getting any offensive support but welcome to the club.

Yesterday's outing by deGrom did prove to have some control issues, but let's not forget that rookie pitchers get different strike zones from home plate umps.

Regardless, both Montero and deGrom have proven they were ready and probably left too long at the AAA level.

The spot start of Daisuke Matsuzaka Sunday could result in a number of moves and marketing plans. Michael Scannell pointed out in a comment earlier this week that the reason our fearless leader might have quietly released both Montero and deGrom to any ‘Super 2’ strangle hold was because they both could be the first pitchers  marketed for out of town. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense, not because I want either of them to leave, but because this sounds so Sandy-like in the way he operates.

Remember… the 2015 rotation, on paper, will be Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard (hopefully there is no long term problem from yesterday's placement on the DL), Zack Wheeler, the lefty (Jon Niese), and the contract (Bartolo Colon).

This leaves Dice-K, Dillon Gee, Montero, and deGrom to still find a home for.

Matsuzaka isn’t under any long term contract, but he can’t be marketed at the all-star break unless you first can show other teams that he can still effectively start. He’s also cheap as hell for another team to pick up what remains of the 2014 contract.

Forget about 2014… I just listed nine starters. There’s plenty of guys to find a rotation to end this year with, but there’s at least 2-3 players that could go to other teams and still leave the Mets with a very talented rotation.

Is Colon marketable? Well, his contract isn’t and, if the Mets won’t spend this kind of money for someone to play for them, why would they eat this kind of money for someone to pitch against them? No, Colon will either be in your 2015 rotation, or the highest paid long man in baseball.

The last question is, if the Mets have 2-3 starters they can move for everyday players, why can’t Sandy seem to get that started in the right direction… but that’s another post.



Let me try and explain what’s going on in another way.

Perception is reality.

If you like Coca-Cola and I like Pepsi, we’re both right.

I’ve worked the clubhouse and interviewed pitchers after a game.

Let’s say, in Game 1, a pitcher goes seven innings, giving up four runs, three of which came in the last inning he pitched, but the team won the game, 7-4.

Then, in Game 2, a pitcher goes the same seven innings, gives up only two earned runs on one hit and an error, but the team loses 2-1.

These are two completely two different interviews with two completely different mindsets by the pitcher. The final feelings are always depended upon the results, so Game One would have a positive ring (even though this pitcher gave up 4 runs vs. only 2 runs by the other pitcher), both to the reporter and the pitcher. You might approach him with a ‘did you find yourself becoming tired at the end’ approach, but the conversation always ends with a team victory and the pitcher talking about what he did well. You will never write a story that says someone ‘rallied’ from 7-1 to 7-4 to still lose the game.

Now, the other pitcher just had his back broken with that loss and your first inclination is to just leave him alone with his thoughts in front of his locker. He knows he did his job and he also knows it was the team that lost the game, though you will never hear him utter these words. My approach here would be to target into the ‘stuff’ he had in the outing and lead the interview away from the final results.

This is, what I assume, is what’s going through the minds of the Mets pitchers right now. The team is not supporting a very talented pitching staff and management doesn’t seem to want to do anything about it also.
They also have one other big problem. They have no one on their side. Every Mets write, be them either bloggers or beat reporters are coming up with every way to negatively represent this team.

I can’t understand why any Mets player would have a Twitter account.

It’s like that Ricky Gervais Audi commercial.





15 comments:

Steve from Norfolk said...

Mack,

I was just reading on Bleacher Report that Asdrubal Cabrera may be in play as early as June. Do you think he might be a trade target for Sandy?

Mack Ade said...

I hope it's only one of many things that will be in play.

Steve, I've been a General Manager and have had to execute a policy that just didn't work. Sometimes you have to walk into your boss' office and tell the owner that (in this case) a payroll under $90mil isn't going to hack it, especially when $30mil of it is tied into 3 players that haven't panned out, Grandy, Colon, and C Young.

This currently is a team playing very badly and needs more than a new pitching coach who, by the way, believes the same approach to hitting is what Sandy wants.

Anyway, back to your question... trades need trade targets. Who do the Mets have to offer right now?

That Adam Smith said...

Is it just me, or do yesterday's firings smell a lot like an owner (rather than the GM) throwing a hissy fit? Hudgens, in particular, is an Alderson guy. Getting rid of the closer AND the hitting coach in one fell swoop? Within moments of the end of the game? Sounds a lot like Jeffy was watching the game with Alderson and demanded the firings on the spot. It wouldn't be the worst move Jeffy ever made - but as bad as some of Alderson's (apparent) decisions have been, its worrisome anytime the owner's kid starts asserting himself. And the downward spiral of this team at the moment seems like exactly the kind of vacuum that guys like him seek to fill.

Steve from Norfolk said...

Mack,

From what I've picked up on Cleveland (did a little reading after I saw that report) they are not happy with Justin Masterson, between his drop in velocity and his contract demands (about $4 mil higher than the Indians offer). They are looking for at least one starter. I think this may be a good place to send Montero or Degrom, with a couple of prospects. If Gorski goes to Vegas as you suggest, maybe even Niese or Gee, but alone - no prospects. Id rather send one od Montero or DeGrom, and one or two prospects to be discussed. Think it's a good idea?

bgreg98180 said...

Does anybody remember, who was the baseball "expert" that before the season started, went on record as saying Chris Young was going to have a bounce-back year and prove Alderson right?
I doubted his expertise then, and now would hope he seriously re-thinks his profession.

Mack Ade said...

Adam -

Well, not to feed your fire, but Hudgens thanked everyone BUT the owners.

He's on Francesca today at 3pm so we'll hopefully hear more on this later.

Mack Ade said...

Steve From Norfolk -

There are no bad ideas right now.

Montero and deGrom are obviously your two biggest trade chips right now but the fans (what little they have left) would burn down the stadium with either move. I don't think the Mets need any starters. They can get through 2014 with what they have and have a dominant rotation in 2015.

They need one more solid member of the pen... and here I go beating the same stone again... he's already on this team... Rafael Montero.

Put Montero on the back end of the pen with Mejia and Familia and move everyone up.

Replace Montero with Dice-K until Gee returns

This showcases Dice for a trade also.

Reese Kaplan said...

Murphy will be traded before the pitchers will. He's getting too rich for the Wilpons' blood and would be marketable. Of course, moving Flores to 2B would re-open the hole at SS.

TP said...

I agree with the comment above that this move has Jeffy's fingerprints on it, whether that is actually the case or not. The team is playing brutally, the fan negativity is at its peak, and Collins is just having a dreadful year with game management which is not helping the cause. This is and was all very predictable, given the holes that once again were not addressed properly. What to do now is the bigger question. The farm is performing very well, which is great, but it has yet to translate into wins at the major league level. A deal for the sense of dealing is not a good thing, but the acquisition of a player at SS, 1B, or RF/LF that can help in 2014 and beyond would certainly be a starting point for changing the fan (aka customer) sentiment. Alderson desperately needs to add a big league player that brings energy and actually succeeds, this could rub off on the rest of the players currently frustrated and/or lacking confidence, especially at home.

bgreg98180 said...

TP
You are absolutely correct. Fan Negativity IS at its peak. This should not be a surprise though.
I ranted about this earlier, before the season started. Alderson/Wilpons have been stringing the fan base along for the last few years. Be patient. Just wait. TRUST us.....

I'm sorry to inform Alderson & the Wilpons, but..... the Mets are supposed to be part of the PROFESSIONAL major league of baseball. Time for patience is and should be limited at this level. patience belongs in amateur leagues and in the minor league players of an organization.

Patience (to the level the Mets have required) is not and should not be something that is expected by fans.

This organization has requested patience for years, and for the most part the fans have given it in faith of a plan being in place and an end date was set.

Time & patience has simply run out
sorry Sandy, Jeff, Fred

Tom Brennan said...

Maybe by the time, Reese, that Murph the Surf would be traded and Flores to 2nd, they try out Matt Reynolds. If not, they can trade Reynolds to the Yanks and John Sterling can have his nightly Reynolds Wrap.

We can take A Rod back for the major league minimum...Yanks eat the rest. The Mets started with a circus in the parking lot in 2014 - with A Rod, we can have another one in 2015. Sounds nuts, but we'd pack out the Subway Series. A money maker. Mets need a few of those.

We'd just have to leave the circus tent for A Rod, which he wanted when the Mets first passed on him.

Steve from Norfolk said...

TP,

I'm not that familiar with Cabrera, but he seems to fit your description of what we need in a player. He's coming off a bad couple of years (still hitting better than most of our team!), just entering his prime. He's got to have a good work ethic to pull off what he has already done. He's a very good fielder that can hit with power. He hit 25 HR in his best season, and ought to be good for 10-20 with no problem. I agree with Mack that Montero would be great in our pen, but we do have other pitchers to put there - Socolovitch comes to mind. the only problem - would the Mets take on his contract - $10 mil this year, then FA. Maybe we keep him and sign him to an extension, maybe we use him this season and hit the trade market this winter. We sure could use him.

Steve from Norfolk said...

Reese -

Just what we need. Flores at 2nd and Tejada at SS. They'd probably move EY to 2nd and leave Flores at short.

TP said...

Steve,
I haven't seen much of Cabrera besides his statistics. The issue is that while Alderson needs to deal for some legit positions players - SS, 1B, LF, two of which can handle leading off and hitting cleanup - he absolutely cannot deal one of those young arms for a player that is not controllable beyond 2014. If they could negotiate and extend a guy like Cabrera, great, but likely he will need to find a partner to deliver a controllable SS, 1B, or LF for some legit controllable pitching. However, these don't grow on trees, everyone overvalues their own prospects, and he has yet to find a partner to dance with. Now, in July, with the lure of playoff baseball, offers the best opportunity to find a GM in a moment of irrational exhuberance. Hopefully, Collins and the Mets can right the ship, get the offense serviceable, and get close to .500 ball by the all-star break. And, really hopefully, Colon can find his way and interest a GM willing to take on that $11 million next year, money that needs to be allocated to position players.

Steve from Norfolk said...

TP,

TP,

I got excited about filling the SS black hole and wasn't thinking straight on the contract issues. I guess if SA wanted to do that deal we'd have to work a deal like we did with Johan and get a negotiation window, and I don't know how that would work during the season. Guess it's back to praying for Trea Turner!