Tom Brennan – “It’s a Bird, It’s a
Plane…Ouch, That Hurts”
We’ve all
marveled at Juan Lagares streaking across the outfield to make jaw-dropping
Superman catches. Crashing into fences
with abandon to save the day.
Only problem
is, unlike Superman, he is quite destructible.
Last year tearing his thumb up during a stupendous diving catch which
may have saved one game – and messing up most of his season in the process.
The year
before, having a screwed up elbow, messing up that season – that one might have
been due to an all-out throw and not a dive, but hey, might have been one of
those dives that did it.
And other all-out
hurtful incidents I can’t recall off the top of my head. Reply to this blog with your memories please.
Now, after a
messed up 2016 season due to an inability to avoid extreme acrobatics, we hear
he is hurt in a meaningless (to Mets fans) Winter Ball game doing what? What else, diving for a ball.
Methinks he
needs to buy some scuba tanks and attend Diving School. And/or also take a diving safety course.
Because
Lagares, who I once might be a young Clemente, may instead turn into a young
flame-out Fernando Martinez if he keeps this reckless nonsense up. A SMART player needs to pick his spots to give
it all for the team. Or the team may
tell him one day it no longer needs his damaged butt.
We need him
in 2017 – mostly to report to work every day healthy and ready for work. Him on the DL for half the season does not help.
Will he figure that out? Hope so.
All the more reason I support what Michael Conforto and his agent decided when it came to skipping winter league ball. People do get hurt there and unlike Lagares who has the security of a long term contract, Conforto isn't even guaranteed to be on the big league roster.
ReplyDeleteAl the more reason for the Mets to focus on rebuilding their outfield with the eye towards acquiring a centerfielder and dealing off BOTH Granderson and Bruce.
ReplyDeleteRight, Reese. Lagares should have only DH'd or not played, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteBob, good day. I think the Mets are hoping that Wuilmer Becerra rockets towards the majors this year and that Lagares man the spot for one more year. Wuilmer ready at start of 2018, hopefully...but he has a lot of ground to cover, he has to stay healthy. Hopefully, he can tear thru Binghamton and then rip thru Vegas too in the 2nd half of 2017.
ReplyDeleteI think he can, because I still remember him having his average as high as .424 late last April, before injury marred and then truncated his season.
Reese -
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be internet chatter (Metstradamus) that Alderson and Conforto are now on the outs over this winter ball dust up
Funny thing about Lagares... he basically had an injury free minor league career for the Mets.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that was before he started running into walls.
There is nothing you do when your body starts breaking down. I remember watching Carlos Delgado try to play in spring trianing in 2007. It was pitiful.
I would not count on Lagares in 2017 or beyond.
In the minors he was a SS
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should consider redesigning the OF with a real CF... But most of the names I've seen are pretty weak... Fowler? No thank you.. Eaton? Pass... Mccuthens / Pollack now your talking...
ReplyDeleteOne of those guys with Cespedes and Conforto would be a very solid OF... (even if we had to trade Conforto for one of them) then Grandy in RF i could live with ...
Blackmon??
DeleteI like it Eddie - thinking big.
ReplyDeleteThe bad thing about Wright and Lagares is: you never know when the injury is coming, but it most likely is, and will incapacitate said player for quite a long time...hard to plan well for that.
Its NY (despite what the way the Wilpons act) shop at Tiffany's not Target...
ReplyDeleteLet's see what Juan's story is first. If he is only slightly injured, that's one thing...if a bad injury, they can do BRS (Brain Replacement Surgery) while doing other repairs.
ReplyDelete