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5/13/17

Reese Kaplan -- Praise for & Challenge to Front Office

Today I’m going to offer a qualified and rare defense of the Mets front office for how they’re handling the current spate of injuries.  A lot of people have besieged the Mets to sign Doug Fister for the rotation after losing Steven Matz, Seth Lugo and Noah Syndergaard to injuries.  We’ve all seen the ugly starts from Rafael Montero, Adam Wilk and the credible one from Tommy Milone.  Could they use another quality starter?  Absolutely!  However, does it make good business sense to do so?

According to most reports with Seth Lugo and Steven Matz pitching in rehab already it is a matter of weeks until they’re available.  Let’s be conservative and call in June 15th.  At that point your starting rotation would consist of Jacob de Grom, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler for sure.  Robert Gsellman is on thin ice but has won his last two starts.  While I don’t expect any great breakthroughs from Tommy Millone, throw both Lugo and Matz into the mix and all of the sudden there’s no room at the inn.

Consequently, what purpose would be served by signing Doug Fister or (as many have also suggested) trading for Bartolo Colon when there will seemingly be an excess of starting pitching long before the All Star break?  If the coffers contain too little money to have signed anyone in the off-season, what makes you think that the bank account has grown substantially during the lackluster start to this season?

Granted, a team that did place winning above budget would do what was necessary to minimize the appearances of the likes of Montero and Wilk types, then sort out the excess if and when it became available.  However, we’ve all seen the club does not act like a large market team or one truly committed to winning.  Consequently I can understand the approach being taken, hoping they can tread water until getting back the injured starting pitchers.

That being said, there are other areas which are seemingly more pressing to address.  Jose Reyes is down to .183 and still looking shaky in the field.  His best attribute, speed, is not really helping much either with just 4 SBs to lead the team.  By comparison Billy Hamilton has 19 and three AL baserunners are tied with 9. 

I bring up Jose Reyes’ performance because soon Lucas Duda will return from the DL.  Lately T.J. Rivera has been the primary 1st baseman and is hitting .300 in that role.  Wilmer Flores back from his knee infection recently had a 3-hit night and is up to .254.  Obviously Duda will take over 1st base duties and Flores will likely play against left handers.  That leaves the question of what happens with T.J. Rivera?

Anyone who’s watched this club during the current era knows that veterans get seemingly innumerable opportunities to “get themselves going” whereas younger ballplayers often get benched after a good night at the plate.  Wouldn’t the team be better served playing Rivera every day at 3B (or Flores for that matter) rather than continuing to trot out the seemingly lost Jose Reyes?  It won’t happen, of course, but a thinking man e.g. someone not named Collins would want to put the most productive players on the field to help win games.

A parallel situation is going to evolve when Yoenis Cespedes returns.  He will slot into his customary position in LF.  Jay Bruce (and his surprising bat) will continue to play RF.  That brings up the question of who plays CF?  If you polled 100 Mets fans I’d be willing to bet the answer would be a unanimous Michael Conforto who is hitting .340 as a leadoff hitter and providing power to rival Yoenis Cespedes.  By contrast Curtis Granderson is hitting .139 with just 2 HRs on the season.  What to do, what to do…

So my defense of the Mets front office comes with a caveat.  I’ll accept your conservative approach on pitching because there is light at the end of the tunnel within the next 4 weeks.  However, to allow salary (in the case of Granderson) or previous reputation (in the case of Reyes) to force productive hitters like Rivera and Conforto to the bench would signify that the whole LOL Mets moniker is not only deserved, but also self-inflicted. 

Prove me wrong.

10 comments:

  1. I am due to put out Vol. 11 of my Old Man Hitting Tracker series. Reyes and Grandy need to move to the bench. It is TJ Rivera time.

    If Matz and Lugo return by month end, should the Met move Matt Smoltz Harvey to the pen?

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  2. Am I the only one who is noticing that Paul Sewald is having a much better May than Matt Harvey? I am a big proponent of "What have you done for me lately?"

    Nimmo is hitting.121 in AAA so far, so Grandy can relax.

    Now if the Mets wanted to upgrade their hitting in the outfield over Grandy, they can call up Tyler Pill, who is also having a heckuva season pitching so far. I am sure he's shagged enough outfield flies to play out there.

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  3. I've read that Josh Smoke is now a member of the Las Vegas rotation but the official spin on this move is he is being moved there so he can use all his pitches and will eventually be returned to the pen (???).

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    1. They need arms to start in Vegas. May I suggest Conlon.

      I was referring to Smoltz, not Smoker though. If Harvey is struggling with multiple innings right now, he might do great with one inning every other night.

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  4. Just when you thought the Mets were poised to take over NY from the Yankees, they start going in different directions.

    The Mets are my version of purgatory. Always, and I mean always, there is something wrong with this team. They hit, they don't pitch. They pitch, they don't hit. They hit and pitch, Familia turns into Benitez. Or they just can't catch the ball on a critical play, just ask Flores.

    Year after year is how many things will go wrong before the All Star. Who will the Mets trade to the Braves this year for Bartolo? Gimenez?

    You know what this team needs? an infusion of youth. Bring up the Rosario, Smith and play Rivera somewhere everyday. This hot/cold/hurt cycle is as annoying

    Flipping channels again while watching the Mets. Not a good sign for me.

    Viper

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  5. Viper -

    It seems so are most of the Mack's Mets writers. Can't get any posts out of them lately.

    I have a question for you...

    I've used the Iwo Jima comparison this week... we're fighting that kind of a war this season.

    Harvey is a bust this season and, frankly, I don't think he has any trade value at this point.

    The Mets are also stretching out Josh Smoker in Las Vegas and adding him to the rotation...

    The Mets need a closer...

    I'm thinking...

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  6. Come to think of it, wasn't it after injuries that Smoltz was converted to the pen?

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  7. Mack,

    I think it is still early for Harvey. I want to give him until the All Star and see what if anything he has left. Why someone cannot learn to pitch with a 95mph fastball is beyond me. But Harvey seems to still be a thrower, not a pitcher. His command right now is comparable to Montero.

    Josh Smoker? he is another pitcher who is relying on a power arm and no secondary pitches but unless you are Chapman, its not going to work most of the time.

    Mets need a closer? they have one in the making at least in my view. Robles.

    Viper

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