"Well, We Ain't Got a Barrel
of...Money", by Tom Brennan
Do any of remember that
line from the old song Side By Side? That song may well be true in many
of our lives.
Boy, would we love to take that tropical vacation in Bora Bora in a 5 star hotel, fly first class, the whole bit.
Some who ain't got a barrel of money, or a boatload of cash, or a piggybank stocked with nickels and dimes do it anyway. Live for today. Have a blast. THEN the credit card bill comes. "How am I gonna pay THIS sucker!?" is what they think, as they feel slightly nauseous.
What makes it worse is sometimes, those people get to Bora Bora on their credit card binge trip and on day 3, it rains...and on days 4 through 10 it pours...or they pick up an intestinal bug and paradise becomes paradise lost. Spent all that moolah and very little good to show for it...but the bills roll in anyhow.
Mack mentioned the other day that the LA Dollars (err, I mean Dodgers) owe 6 of their 25-man guys $600 million, much of it to be paid in their twilight years. So the Dodgers had a big party, got to the playoffs, it rained, party ruined, bills coming.
Now they may well party again in 2015, but the rainy season is coming sooner rather than later with all those contracts.
The Mets, by contrast, have
gone on short, expension vacations, going to such exotic locales as Santana
Beach, San Pedro Island, Jason Bay Resorts, Granderson Cove, and Ollie Ville,
and even overnighted in Youngstown...they sure have bad luck with weather on
those luxury trips don't they? Stay home and go to McDonalds!
They're also wondering if their extended trip to the home of the Wright Brothers may have a lot of rain in the forecast. For a very long time. Or perhaps just lots of clouds and why oh why did I bring 3 bottles of sun screen? The sun ain’t shinin’ like I thought it would, but those bills glow in the dark!
Maybe the Mets' owners have been mostly right all along...cheap trips, stay at home, weekend trips in a Motel 6, put the vay-cay money into the kids instead. Sure, the Metfan family will moan and groan when they don't go on lots of expensive junkets, but the owners are the ones who get the credit card bills in the mail.
They have some great - and cheap - talent in the pipeline. Plenty of pitching (Mack rates the starter stock at A+). Nimmo and Conforto and Plawecki just over the horizon. And guys like the lightly regarded den Dekker and Flores, each of whom may just look like one heckuva bargain as 2015 unfolds.
Owners could stand pat and just party with the kids at home, order in pizza, and really have a blast - no expensive hotel, no expensive flights - just party hardy, and look, Ma, no bills!!
Or maybe they do travel, but use some of their mileage credits (like Rafael Montero) to do time share swaps.
They're also wondering if their extended trip to the home of the Wright Brothers may have a lot of rain in the forecast. For a very long time. Or perhaps just lots of clouds and why oh why did I bring 3 bottles of sun screen? The sun ain’t shinin’ like I thought it would, but those bills glow in the dark!
Maybe the Mets' owners have been mostly right all along...cheap trips, stay at home, weekend trips in a Motel 6, put the vay-cay money into the kids instead. Sure, the Metfan family will moan and groan when they don't go on lots of expensive junkets, but the owners are the ones who get the credit card bills in the mail.
They have some great - and cheap - talent in the pipeline. Plenty of pitching (Mack rates the starter stock at A+). Nimmo and Conforto and Plawecki just over the horizon. And guys like the lightly regarded den Dekker and Flores, each of whom may just look like one heckuva bargain as 2015 unfolds.
Owners could stand pat and just party with the kids at home, order in pizza, and really have a blast - no expensive hotel, no expensive flights - just party hardy, and look, Ma, no bills!!
Or maybe they do travel, but use some of their mileage credits (like Rafael Montero) to do time share swaps.
So, while we kvetch and
complain, Met owners stand pat like slivers of butter. Stand pat and a few
shrewd prospect deals, and we may just have a REAL good team on our
doorstep. REAL good. And the LA Dollars have the credit card bills
staring them right in the face.
As “Anonymous has written” (is that anything like "Confucious say”?), building a cheap, sustainable model of a playoff contender, rather than high stakes gambling on big contracts now, may be the smartest route. Because the cheap Harvey contracts of today may be REAL expensive in a few years and mess with the party...so we may need to stay on the lookout for cheap party joints. We may have to manage away from those big contracts as the years roll on to keep the party time rolling.
So let's see whether the "cheap party" foundation these owner guys are laying can be sustained for several years. ‘Cause they sure to make big mistakes when they do splurge.
I do, of course, have a personal preference in vacation spots...not TOO roomy please. I like cozy. So move the fences in correctly, you party planners in Queens, and let's REALLY party!
Have a great day...and bring the kielbase. Hey dude, let’s party!
As “Anonymous has written” (is that anything like "Confucious say”?), building a cheap, sustainable model of a playoff contender, rather than high stakes gambling on big contracts now, may be the smartest route. Because the cheap Harvey contracts of today may be REAL expensive in a few years and mess with the party...so we may need to stay on the lookout for cheap party joints. We may have to manage away from those big contracts as the years roll on to keep the party time rolling.
So let's see whether the "cheap party" foundation these owner guys are laying can be sustained for several years. ‘Cause they sure to make big mistakes when they do splurge.
I do, of course, have a personal preference in vacation spots...not TOO roomy please. I like cozy. So move the fences in correctly, you party planners in Queens, and let's REALLY party!
Have a great day...and bring the kielbase. Hey dude, let’s party!
Thomas -
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.
I change like the wind over how much money the Mets should spend this off-season. It seems to me that the arbitration process alone is going to push the team to over $90mil.
Right now, as of today:
1. I'm giving SS to Wilmer Flores for, at least, the first half of the season. I would keep trying to find a blue chip kid, like Addison Russell, but it looks like the Mets are going to have to solve their shortstop problem internally.
2. I would keep Ruben Tejada around... for now
3. I would continue to market Daniel Murphy, but my plan would be to bring him back at 2B and send Dilson Herrera to AAA for more grooming.
4. Find a LF for one year... someone like Alex Rios at $8-9mil
5. Find a home for Bartolo Colon... most of the money saved here would pay for Rios
This is just me... today
You change by the day, Mack...I change by the hour!
ReplyDeleteI still think moving Tejada will be a breath of fresh air for fans. I do remember when the fans felt that way a bit similarly, though....Angel Pagan. He did all right after he left. Quite and most definitely all right whenever he stays healthy.
But Tejada's mediocre downside may be a little more of a sure thing if, say,Flores got hurt, than tossing Reynolds or someone else out there under the Citi Glare, where they might wilt.
But I may change on that in an hour or so, so stay tuned!
That last "anonymous" post was from Tom, Mack, not sure how it came up Anonymous
ReplyDeleteQuick question. How much would Drew cost on a 1 year deal? I'd non-tender Ruben and sign Drew on a 1 year contract for no more than $3M. I think he was really affected by not signing until well into the season. I think he'd be a good alternative to Flores and he's a lefty.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for moving Colon and using the savings on Cuddyer/Rios.
I'd probably call it an offseason at that point and start working on some contract extensions to buy out the arb & some free agent years for Lagares & Duda.
I'd still be looking at potential Niese, Gee, Montero or Thor deals to try and continuously improve this team.
If I had the keys to the team, I think I'd go ahead and non-tender Tejada and try to resign him at a lower cost. If we can't resign him, just go with Tovar as our late-inning defensive middle infielder. Flores deserves the first half, at least, to keep proving himself over a more long-term period. Even if Flores doesn't make it as our full time SS, he's still a great guy to have on the bench.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to think, Steve, that there is not a single team that would step in if we non-tendered the Ruben Cube. But I do want Flores in there everyday.
DeleteKevin
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your thoughts.
You ought to be the GM. Great ideas. You never know what the market for Drew could be after his miserable year. If $3MM, I'd do it over Tejada for sure.
You have to give to get, so I'm not sure how much Gee and Niese would pull in, but if we'd get reasonable value, go for it. I'd like to keep Monty and the god of Thunder unless someone wants to blow us away with a great, ready offensive prospect.
I still think Colon without eating some $ will be tough, because sooner or later the fountain of youth dries up. No reason to think he can't have another year in the tank. But I thought the same about Steve Carlton until the wheels suddenly fell off. Sandy should try to wield his magic wand there, as Colon being homer-prone in a downsized park is scary to think about.
Murphy should stay unless the talent evaluators think Herrera is ready to rock without a little more game experience down under.
Drew just might be available in the $3mil range and, yes, I would sign him if I had the opportunity... but his agent will step in and fuck the whole thing up with Alderson
ReplyDeleteHey, Mack
ReplyDeleteDon't Boras us with the details! Yuk yuk.
I'm sure Boras will want 4/$40 million for Drew as his opening gambit. That is as low as he goes for any of his clients, alive or dead. He'll eventually go to $3.25 million for 1 year, and Sandy will want to go $2 tops and that will be that.
The reality is that we're back to SS's not hitting much....and it's always been a reality that you don;tg just LET GO of 24 year old ACTUAL MLB Short Stops.
ReplyDeleteFor all the hope (and HYPE?0 of flores---he's a sub 700 ops who MIGHT be a major league bat, civen time. He CANNOT play SS, no matter how much you hate Tejada.
Flores is only a good player if he hits at a 750 or above ops as a SS....at that, Maybe he's a 2nd baseman.
I'm a fan of Wilmer, but this is a Left Fielder/Tejada or a SS (named Castro) and a Patch in Left away from 86-90 wins.
That assumes an 85% "return to baseball card" for Wright and Grandy.
I don't like Alderson....but he's not dumb---Tejada Stays---he has value.
If Sandy can get Castro without donating the sun, moon and stars to the folks in Windy City, I am all ears. But I don't feel Tejada is worth the $$ vs. Reynolds, Muno and Tovar. Not better enough, if at all. You'll get your back up out of those 3 for a half mill, as one of them will stand out come spring. Just my opinion.
ReplyDelete