Good
morning.
All Mets
fans have tried to come up with some logical reason that the Mets front office
will pay a combined $9.75mil per year to a part time outfielder (that can’t
field his primary position) and a relief pitcher that will throw, at tops, 40
innings.
You take
this same money, add the $12.5mil you saved when Michael
Cuddyer retired and you now have over $22mil to pay the kind of quality
#3 or #4 hitter readers like Bob Gregory have
been calling for all off season.
But, maybe
there is a method to this madness. Maybe Mets officials are looking ahead to
the arbitration process that is about to begin this off season.
Here’s some
of the names they are going to have to deal with:
2016 – SP Matt
Harvey, CL Jeurys Familia
2017 – SP Jacob
deGrom, SP Zack Wheeler, C Travis d’Arnaud, IF Wilmer
Flores
2018 – SP Noah
Syndergaard
In 2016
alone, Harvey’s salary is projected to go to $4.7mil in his first arbitration
year. That’s an increase of $4.086mil over last season. All six others of these
guys have the potential to generate the same level of demands based on their
return. That’s a projected increase in 2018 of over $56mil that they are being
paid now!
Team salaries
is estimated in 2016 to reach $115mil, up from $101mil in 2015, and $85mil in
2014. Sure, it’s not LA Dodger money, but does represent a positive direction
at a time when ticket, merchandising and playoff revenue have all gone up for
the first time in years. It could easily turn into $170mil in 2018 just with
the team they have under their control now.
The signing
of 2B-3B Daniel Murphy by the Washington
Nationals is just something that Mets fans that were loyal to Murphy are going
to have to live with. The Mets did the right thing by offering Murphy a
one-year qualified offer and it was Murphy that turned the Mets down, not visa
versa. It still surprises me that Murphy didn’t take the one year bloated deal
which have proven out to be far more than his services were worth on the open
market.
What we, as
Mets fans, are left with is, is a simple question. Was one year or Murphy worth
more than one year of Neil Walker plus a top 50
2016 draft pick?
I’ll miss
Murphy and I sure don’t wish him well playing for the Nats, but Walker and a
top 50 draft pick is more than a fair return for someone
Mrs.
Mack and I
continued our annual trip to the movies this Christmas and saw the excellent Wil Smith movie, ‘Concussion’, the story of Dr. Bennet Omalu and the work he did trying to expose
the football industry, in general, and the National Football League, in
particular, on the adverse effects of head-to head contact that have been linked
to the disorder chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
How does
this relate to baseball and the New York Mets?
Well, you
may remember the multiple times I’ve written about how Pop
Warner coaches were directing their talent and top baseball talent to
the mounds these days, not like the bat rack back in my day. It doesn’t take a
genius to realize that the prototype pitcher of this game is 6-4 or taller and
throws a fastball over 94-mph.
My guess…
and it’s only a guess right now… is a parent of some ‘top talent’ that would
have wound up pounding their heads against each other as early as 8-years old
will turn to other sports, like baseball, to feature their all-star potential
services.
What if one
future quarterback prospect kicks the helmet in the corner and walks out to the
pitching mound instead? What if two speedy wide receivers and defensive backs
take their pads off and pick up infield gloves to join their friends on the
diamond? And what if two defensive and offensive lineman shed their suit or
armor and head to the bat rack with dreams of becoming the next Prince Fielder or Big Pappy?
Football’s
loss could instantly result in additional gain for the industry of baseball.
A scout
wrote on Asdrubal Cabrera -
“I don’t think he’s a top-15
shortstop, but he’s in the middle of the pack. What I like about in him is his
ability to switch-hit, and I like his hands defensively. Everything he gets to,
he’ll catch. Range-wise, he’s limited, but he’s still a quality baseball
player. He knows how to do little things that help his team win. He may not
match up to the kids at shortstop athletically, but he’ll surpass them in
baseball intelligence. His brain is top-10. He’s still a very good guy to have
on a major-league roster.”
