Good morning.
Luis Robert.
Luis Robert is the 19-year old phenom
Cuban outfielder that many feel is the best outfield prospect in baseball.
Robert will become eligible to be signed
by any team on May 20th.
Six teams have had private workouts for
him. Five have already gone over their 2016-17 bonus pool while the sixth will
go over their ceiling if they sign Robert. All will be subject to penalties. I
bring this up because there is obviously no concern for this from any of these
teams.
The teams are the White Sox, Cardinals,
Padres, Athletics, Reds, and Astros.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Addison Reed –
During
New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia’s 15-game
suspension to start the season, relief pitcher Addison Reed admirably filled in
as the Mets' closer, notching four saves in four attempts. Being a reliever on
the Mets is far from an easy task though, given manager Terry Collins’ consistent overuse of his best bullpen arms. To
close out the month of April, Reed allowed runs in three of his last five
appearances, ballooning his ERA to 4.15. With some rest, he’s looked like a
much better pitcher in May. He hasn’t given up any runs this month, lowering
his ERA to 3.00 and his WHIP to 0.89. Furthermore, he’s struck out six while
not allowing any walks over that time span. If you’re in a league counting
holds as a statistical category, Reed seems to be back to being the automatic
guy we saw in 2016.--Andrew Bua – RotoBaller
Mack
– It really isn’t about the talent in the Mets pen. There is plenty there. It
is all about how they are used and managed and that has always bothers many of
us here at Mack’s Mets.
Of course, I wrote this before Familia went down with a possible season ending injury.
Bullpen management is now critical with the loss of your most talented reliever and the failure of your rotation.
Q and A -
Mets Rotation -
I really don't have much to say this Monday morning so I might as well talk about the most disappointing segment of this team this year, the starting rotation.
What once was projected as the all time poo-pah rotation has turned out to be the worst in baseball this season. Injuries have cost us Seth Lugo and Steven Matz, while consistent poor performances by Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman, and Matt Harvey have helped to create a 4.89 team ERA (prior to yesterday's game) which ranks them 30th, or dead last, in baseball.
And there is so immediate solution to this other than the above mentioned pitchers doing a better job on the mound. Lugo and Matz aren't due back until the end of the month and there is no one in Las Vegas that is ready to ship out and help here.
No, this is the team that left camp and this is the rotation that was suppose to make us all forget all the great ones in the past.
And don't waste anytime throwing bullpen maintenance into this discussion. You first need your starters to go at least seven innings, holding a lead your bats gave you.
No, we're all going to have to suck it up here and realize this may be the test of your loyalty to a team you love so much. Readership is down on Mack's Mets. Post from the writers are down on Mack's Mets. You know my feelings on this, but I'll hold off and keep my white towel next to me rather than throw it in the ring.
I just hope you can too.
To Read –
Mack sorry I haven't been very active
with questions but it's been a very busy year for me anyway here's two for you.
With Bruce playing the way he has as
well as his positive clubhouse presence and the probable power loss of Grandy,
Walker and perhaps Duda if they resign Bruce that means of course Conforto
plays center and is that a good thing or should we let him go and get a CFer
and then Conforto plays right?
Second question: With the sad story of
Matt Harvey's rise and fall being currently written I can't help but be
concerned with our current rising star Noah Syndergaard as he seems to be
following down that same rocky path . This will seem like a radical suggestion
but stay with me for a minute here. As we all knew a few years ago we were
never going to sign Harvey and the ideal time to trade him was after the 15' WS
but management giddy with the excitement of another WS run didn't make the move
an we all know how that's working out. I know I posted the question not long
ago about trading Syndergaard for Machado so in keeping with that theme and
knowing Thor's value may never be higher and given the current state of the
team whether it's the Machado trade or a package of prospect's I'd be
interested in knowing how you and the writer's here feel about it? Thanks, Gary
Mack - Gary, on 'my team', and if everybody is healthy, I would have Conforto in left, Cespedes in center, and Bruce in right. I know I would have to live with the occasional brain farts from the Yo-man, but it's the trade off for his bat. Bruce is proving that the trade for him was a great one, and Conforto is an all-star in the making.
As for your Manny for Noah idea, I like it, but no trade would ever happen until, one, Syndergaard is fully healthy again and producing well... and until the Mets put together a workable rotation without him.
I explain below...
Mets Rotation -
I really don't have much to say this Monday morning so I might as well talk about the most disappointing segment of this team this year, the starting rotation.
What once was projected as the all time poo-pah rotation has turned out to be the worst in baseball this season. Injuries have cost us Seth Lugo and Steven Matz, while consistent poor performances by Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman, and Matt Harvey have helped to create a 4.89 team ERA (prior to yesterday's game) which ranks them 30th, or dead last, in baseball.
And there is so immediate solution to this other than the above mentioned pitchers doing a better job on the mound. Lugo and Matz aren't due back until the end of the month and there is no one in Las Vegas that is ready to ship out and help here.
No, this is the team that left camp and this is the rotation that was suppose to make us all forget all the great ones in the past.
And don't waste anytime throwing bullpen maintenance into this discussion. You first need your starters to go at least seven innings, holding a lead your bats gave you.
No, we're all going to have to suck it up here and realize this may be the test of your loyalty to a team you love so much. Readership is down on Mack's Mets. Post from the writers are down on Mack's Mets. You know my feelings on this, but I'll hold off and keep my white towel next to me rather than throw it in the ring.
I just hope you can too.
To Read –
I probably should hold off until my article says this tomorrow, but I would release Grandy and bring up red hot Desmond Jennings.
ReplyDeleteLuis Robert...I am puzzled without more details as to why he would not be considered signing by the Mets. Why not go after the best?
ReplyDeleteTom -
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Grandy move, if for no other reason then to send a sign...
I also agree with bringing up Jennings. He would be a perfect long term OF5.
As for Robert, would it hurt to send a scout? I don't understand this team sometimes.
The way things are going, they can't be sellers soon enough. Grandy has next to zero value at this point. Ditto Duda. Walker, if he keeps hitting like he suddenly is, likely has some if the Mets pick up some of his salary. Cabrera'a hurt, so maybe by the trade deadline. Bruce probably fetches you a mid-level prospect or two. Flores, one guy who I hope they don't trade, could net something from a team in desperate need for a RH bat off the bench. But really, not a lot to be recouped by unloading these guys. On top of that, management is unlikely to paint themselves as sellers until the season is so far gone that they can no longer even pretend to still be in it. Though I think they'd draw more fans with a youth movement now.
ReplyDeleteAnd they won't release Grandy unless he requests it.
Adam -
ReplyDeleteI think the Mets could get Granderson to agree to that. He has to be hating the way he is going out.
He won't agree to it unless he knows for sure that someone will pick him up. I'm guessing he wants another contract next year, and spending the second half of the season sitting home won't help that quest.
DeleteYou trade Syndergaard and you're starting from scratch again so unless you want to wait another 3/4 years for the Genius in his own mind to put a team together, I would just hold on making such a move.
ReplyDeleteLets not forget that Sandy, "the Genius" is the one who has taken more than 5 years putting this team together and is still full of holes and full of unproductive players. Never mind that most of the good players are from the Minaya era.
The Mets simply do not know how to build a proper team with support in the lower levels. They can never fully commit to a plan and see it come together. The Mets still don't know what they have in Conforto, Flores, Lagares, d'Arnaud, Plawecki and others because they never fully committed to them. Conforto got an opportunity because of injuries, otherwise, he could have been wasting away in Vegas.
You can't win when you continue to play unproductive players because they make a lot of money. Just doesn't work if you want win games. Players like Granderson, Walker and Reyes deserve to ride the bench for a while. Maybe that will wake them up.
This team needs new blood. They need to bring up Rosario and Smith sooner rather than later. What ever happened to Cecchini?
Viper, Cecchini's fielding is great, hitting is not. He needs to prove he is more than Matt Reynolds.
ReplyDeleteMets have won 9 of last 26. How did anyone handle the Mets' first 5 seasons of winning at that pace or worse? I was a kid, kids can hope.
Who cares if the players want to agree with or not. It is more important for the Mets to protect the team and the 150M payroll than to make anyone player who is not producing happy.
ReplyDeleteSit them now and tell them they will get opportunities to regain the starting jobs back. But that in order to win now, they must play the ones who are producing. I am not saying to sit them outright, but you start by sitting them 3 times per week and if they don't produce, you increase their bench time.
Walker, Granderson, Cabrera and possibly Reyes have no future with the Mets past 2017.
Viper -
ReplyDeleteCecchini has worked hard at his defensive game in Vegas and is now the full time SECOND BASEMAN there... but... his batting is down in the .250 range which is very low for that league
Still, if you trade Walker, Cheech should come to Queens permanently
The Mets should start planning for the 2018/19 team. It is a given that the Yankees will go hard after Bryce Harper but can they afford anything else after signing him?
ReplyDeleteWhile the Yankees are busy with that, the Mets should go hard after Machado. We can dream right? Not saying give up on this year but to just be prepared to spend big for the right player in 2018.
Luis Robert? yes but the Mets are too cheap and too conservative. They won't take the chance of being burned if it doesn't work out. Small club mentality you know.
A little off topic, but not much. When you have a guy like Mazeika completely crushing the FSL, promote him. He's ready, find him space there.
ReplyDeleteHumphreys pitching like a Man against So. Atlantic League boys? Promote him. Promote Tim Peterson to Vegas, along with Luis Mateo and Kyle Renault. The Vegas pen without Sewald is atrocious. Demote some guys. When you drag your feet on promotions, when you suddenly need new blood they are not ready.
Be less conservative.
How about promoting Luis Gillorme too?
ReplyDeleteWhy do the Mets management continue to be cheap and ignore the international top players?They didn't even make a sniff at Moncada now they avoid Robert? I believe there is multiple ways to keep your team strong and healthy year in and year out!
ReplyDeleteIgnoring the international players doesn't help.
If you don't draft well or don't sign top FA ,that hurts
What does that leave you with?
Making trades?
Jeepers
Mets are content in drafting HS players who can only help 5 years later. I knew these guys were not up to the task when they made Nimmo their first signature draft pick. That spoke volumes to me.
ReplyDeleteViper as soon as Rosario gets called, Luis should go to AAA - agreed!
ReplyDeleteAnd to draft Nimmo and Cecchini two years running that high in the draft is, indeed, bad judgment- both should have been 2nd or 3rd rounders.
ReplyDeleteBoth are very young - 24 and 23. Both could turn out to be fine major leaguers. It's way premature to judge.
ReplyDelete