Years ago before the advent of the Internet and blogging the
perception of the current state of a sports franchise was the matter of banter
among co-workers or drinking buddies or families gathered around the radio or
TV during the broadcasts. Nowadays the
ease with which publishing a blog (though not necessarily running one),
commenting on what’s written and the anonymity the Internet provides creates
the perfect storm for increasingly heated discussion about every little facet
of all things Mets.
Generally there are the people who rely upon what they see
to form opinions, the stat-heads who use conventional and advanced metrics to
separate the wheat from the chaff, and the people who just form an irrational reaction
(positive or negative) about a given player with no basis in empirical or
statistic proof to back up said feelings.
Consequently, there are the positive and negative spins you
can put on just about any topic related to the Mets. For example:
Lucas Duda
Glass Half-Full (GHF):
“He had a breakout season. He’s
the slugger we’ve been needing. It’s a
shame we didn’t hand him the first base gig sooner. He’s a lock to repeat his 30/90 season!”
Glass Half-Empty (GHE):
“Ike Davis once hit 32 HRs and then what happened to him? Let’s see the guy show he can be at least a
.220 hitter against lefties before we order his plaque for Cooperstown. He can’t run a lick and, like Michael
Jackson, wears a glove on one of his hands for no apparent reason. He’s a DH for a bad team.”
Daniel Murphy
GHF: “Murph’s the
best pure hitter the farm system has produced since David Wright. He’s a doubles machine! He can wake up out of his sleep and get a
hit. He’s sneaky fast when it comes to
stealing bases. He’s our All-Star second
baseman! Extend his contract while you
have exclusive negotiating rights to him.”
GHE: “The only thing
he’ll ever lead the league in is boneheaded baserunning plays. No wonder no one wants him – he can’t field,
he has no power and on a good team he’d be a super utility player like Skip
Schumaker. Trade him now for a bag of
balls and let someone else pay his inflated salary.”
Wilmer Flores
GHF: “The guy has
done nothing but hit at every level.
Terry Collins jerked him around, but he came through in August when he
started playing regularly. Not only did
he handle all the routine plays easily, but had two 6-RBI games last year. He’s tearing it up in the winter leagues and
none of the shortstop choices out there have the health and potential to do any
better than Flores. Just give the guy a
chance!”
GHE: “The Mets are
going nowhere fast if they don’t upgrade at shortstop. I mean really, with Murphy and Flores as your
DP combo you might as well pencil in 1-2 unearned runs every single game. The guy only hit .240 for his major league
career and people are talking about him like he’s the next Derek Jeter.”
David Wright:
GHF: “Wright’s not
only the face of the franchise but the face of all of major league
baseball. He took a hometown discount to
stay here and when he’s healthy he’s the best in the game. He can run, hit and field at stellar levels
and that’s why he’s worth every penny he’s being paid.”
GHE: “Wright’s
inability to adjust to Citifield and to stay healthy enough to produce
demonstrates the folly of long term contracts.
Now he’s a financial albatross twice as bad as Jason Bay’s deal that
will cripple the franchise into the next decade. Instead of extending his contract, they
should have been honest with the fans about their financial limitations, traded
him for a boatload of prospects and had money to address other needs.”
Curtis Granderson:
GHF: “The man was
adjusting to a new league, a new set of pitchers and had to carry the weight of
the offense on his back when Wright was obviously hurting. Now that he’s been reunited with his former
hitting coach he’ll be back on track and be the kind of 40 HR threat he was for
the Yankees for 2 All-Star seasons in the Bronx!”
GHE: “Sandy Alderson
went dumpster diving again and hoped to pick up a bargain on a guy coming off
an injury plagued year which the Yankees wisely recognized as the beginning of
the end. We’re stuck with “Curtis Bay” for
another three years for more money per year than it would have cost to get Jose
Abreu or Nelson Cruz. All we kept
hearing from the Mets is how valuable it was to work the count and not strike
out then they get the 195 K/year poster child for whiffing. It’s like taking Bay or Matt Holliday all
over again.”
Michael Cuddyer
GHF: “At $10.5
million average salary for 2 years, he’s a bargain! He’s a professional hitter and will bridge
the gap until Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto are ready. He’s a buddy of David Wright and having him
around will make Wright more productive, too.
He could also play 1B against tough lefties to give Duda a break.”
GHE: “You gave up
your first draft pick for a guy who’s going to be 36 and averaged less than 95
games per season for the past three years?
What were you thinking? You don’t
build for the future around players in their twilight years no matter how good
they once were. Remember Moises
Alou? He was great the few weeks per
year he could stay on the field, too.”
Terry Collins
GHF: “The players
love him. They play hard for him. He was given a Triple A roster and expected
to compete. Look what he did last year –
finished with 79 wins, tied with the Braves for 2nd place. He’s the right man to lead the team into the
post-season.”
GHE: “The man is a
proven loser. He’s lost in every season.
He burns out his bullpen, playing every game like it’s the 7th game
of the World Series. He benches younger
players (even after great games) in order to give more time to underperforming
veterans. He gives countless ABs to
people who don’t get it done, somehow thinking they will magically rediscover
whatever mojo they once had 300 games ago.
He’s on record saying he’s not there to develop players. He doesn’t know how to do the basics like hit
and run or set up a rotation play in obvious bunting situations. His idiocy has cost the team at least 6 games
each season without even looking into his lineup selections.”
Sandy Alderson
GHF: “The plan is
working. The team is on the rise. The pitching staff is the envy of all of
baseball. Now that everyone is healthy,
it’s going to be just like adding new talent to the roster. He’s cleverly fleeced the Giants, Blue Jays
and Pirates in deals for veterans and he’s patiently waiting with his hook in
the water to see who bites next.”
GHE: “PAY YOUR PHONE
BILL! It’s the only obvious explanation
for why you’re unable to get anything done while every club around you is
improving its roster. You arrogantly sit
and expect people to give you the moon for very average pitchers when the whole
world knows you’re desperate to dump them.
Ditto Murphy. Why is it that the
Braves could move their expiring contracts with ease while you sit there like
some kind of pharaoh waiting for people to come crawling to you. Guess what, Sandy? It ain’t happening! Flush 2015 down the drain. It’s wait ‘til next year all over again.”
The truth in most cases is somewhere between these two
extreme reactions and there is some validity to each more radical
viewpoint. Fortunately for us the games
are not played in December, but come April we’ll find out which interpretation
is closer to reality. Of course, by then
it might be too late but that’s why they put games on the schedule.
7 comments:
Nice perspective. Here's one more:
RUBEN TEJADA:
Glass half full - stinks
Glass half empty - stinks
Kidding aside (I'll let you decide how much is "kidding"), it is absolutely true that some people are "half full" types and some are "half empty". I'm both, depends on which side of the bed I wake up on.
I plan to have a "glass full"
Christmas - life is too short to have it any other way.
Mr. Mazzilli's better be "glass empty" from now on, BTW.
Yeah, well, there's not much you can say about Honus Tejada except he does less harm when he doesn't swing. Hence I left he and a few others out of the examples.
I intend to contribute to Australia's economy by drinking fermented grape juice.
Tejada - GHF - not a bad back-up MI who is markedly better than we have trotted out in the past (Quintinilla anyone?)
GHE - He sucks, no matter what.
This is pretty fair assessment across the board - I think for the key players (Wright, Grandy and Duda), the GHF is the more likely outcome.
I say with Christmas spirit - actually Christmas spirits......
I'll give you a glass half full: Duda and Mayberry combine for 40 starting 1B homers in a strict platoon.
Reese thinks I sampled the fermented grapes on that one.
Half Empty---Half Full? I say There's rrom for More Vodka!
Same here---room for more players and more moves,
Watch what you say about Omar Quinanilla, Lew. He's from here in my adopted hometown of El Paso where he was treated like visiting royalty when the 51s came to play the Chihuahuas. :)
Lol - doesn't make him a good ML ball player
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