Mack Ade - "C70 At The Bat" Interview with Mack

(I was interviewed by this St. Louis blog late in February. Here's what I said...)

My name is Daniel Shoptaw and I write the Cardinals blog C70 At The Bat.  Every year at this time I run my Playing Pepper series, where I pose a set of questions to bloggers of every other major league team. This year, we're talking with Mack Ade of Mack's Mets.

Was it a good offseason for the team?  Did they do what they needed to do?  Is there any move you wished they had made that they didn’t?

            Mack – 

If you ask 100 Mets fans how the off season has gone, 95 would tell you that the Mets have done nothing to improve the team, but, at the same time, they signed one of the top five ‘bats’ in the game, that also was a free agent… outfielder Yoenes Cespedes... and brought back two of last year's top relievers, Jerry Blevens and Fernando Salas.

Cespedes opted out of his deal with the Mets and was on the free agent market, but Sandy Alderson knew that he would have no chance to return to the World Series without this guy.

The problem with the off-season is the inability to trade outfielder Jay Bruce so they can clear this salary. The trade was also supposed to target receiving either a quality reliever or a couple of blue chip prospect.

Nobody seems to want Bruce and reports now out of the Mets camp is that he will start the season as the rightfielder.

What are the expectations for Matt Harvey, both in when he will return and how effective he’ll be when he does?

Mack – I don’t think the average Mets fan has much expectations for him right now.

Harvey has caught a lot of flak for his attitude, the fact that he has Scott Boras for an agent, and the average Mets fan just know in their heart that this guy is just playing the string out until free agency rolls around.

I believe he will be effective because he always has been. With all the ups and downs, he has a 2.94/1.08, 9.09-K/9 stat line in the four seasons he has been a Met.

My guess is the Mets brain trust will start the season off with a 6-man rotation and limit the innings for Harvey and the other pitchers coming off surgery (Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler).

The hope here is that Harvey stays healthy and puts up killer numbers before the all-star break so the Mets can put together a deal for 2/3 quality players/prospects for his service.

Is there an unheralded player that people should keep an eye on this season?

         

   Mack – This season, no.

There are three ‘nobodies’ that should continue to carry their weight on this team… SPs Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo, and utility infielder T.J. Rivera, but the ‘A’ rated prospects won’t begin to arrive until September when the minors shut down.

One long shot… watch for pitcher P.J. Conlon, who was the Mets minor league player of the year and had the lowest ERA last season in all of minor league baseball. Word is the lefty may be converted from a starter and fast tracked from AA-Binghamton to the Mets pen in Queens.

What’s your projection of the team’s record and/or where will they finish in the division?

Mack – If everyone stays healthy (especially the rotation) I see 86-76 as a target, but Washington will easily win the division and Atlanta has done loads to improve their team.

My prediction:  Third place behind the Nats and Braves

Who is your all-time favorite Met and why?

           

Mack – For me, this is an easy choice.

            I grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and worshiped Gil Hodges.

I danced in the streets when he became a New York Mets and I cried quietly in my bedroom when he passed.

Many would answer this question with the name Mike Piazza. Others would say it was ‘The Captain’, David Wright.

For me, it will always be Number 14.