Reese Kaplan -- (Not So) Deep Thoughts

Rafael Montero's issue has always seemed to be more mental than physical.  Look at the minor league record.  His WHIP is fantastic and he averaged just 2.6 walks per 9 IP.  Maybe he can't handle the stress of being in the big leagues, but control is not his endemic issue.  

Perhaps he's been told to do something different than what got him to the majors and he went away from what was natural for him early on.  Now if you want to say people who fanned on his pitches in the minors are teeing off on them in the majors, then that's another matter entirely.  I've always felt he was a head case, probably not helped by the dynamic duo of Collins/Warthen, but also not showing the mental toughness to succeed. 

While another good start will have people jumping on his bandwagon, I'm more curious if he has a bad start what happens the next turn in the rotation?  Does he take it in stride like Jacob deGrom or does he crumble as he has in the past?  Of course, given the Skipper's predilection for veterans, Montero's on the thinnest of ice as it is.  He'd probably rather see Kevin Plawecki back on the mound again than give a shot to Montero should Rafael suffer a bad outing,

In oddball news, I just stumbled across a tidbit today about something that happened to the Skipper’s former favorite player, Ruben Tejada last year.  We all (well, all but Terry Collins, anyway) knew he couldn’t hit, couldn’t run, had no power and was at best an adequate fielder.  Add he can’t pitch to his resume, too.  Apparently last year the St. Louis Cardinals threw him into a game in mop-up duty for the 9^th inning when they were already trailing.  He gave up a pair of home runs and now owns a career 18.00 ERA as a pitcher.  That’s the difference between winning and losing ball clubs.  Winning clubs see someone who doesn’t get it done and cuts him loose after 34 ABs.  Losing ball clubs give him 1931 ABs before coming to the same conclusion.  History seems to be repeating itself with Jose Reyes. 

A friend (and frequent visitor to this site) opined that Terry Collins brilliantly handled Wilmer Flores and thus gave him the opportunity to develop into the solid hitter he has become.  I countered that when the competition was the likes of Ruben Tejada and Eric Campbell the manager squandered quite a few ABs on people who were vastly inferior.  In this case I’m not going to argue the glass half-full or half-empty side.  I’m just happy he’s hitting and getting the chance to play, though I am sorry it’s due to a multitude of injuries to other players. 

No one has to be happier than Sandy Alderson that Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce are flourishing and thus theoretically attractive to a club in need of some left handed power.  I’m amused by the many fans who have now catapulted themselves onto the Bruce bandwagon after going after him with torches and pitchforks after his less than stellar 2016 debut.  In Granderson’s case, everyone acknowledges he’s a great guy and an asset as a teammate but there better not be a Mets future for him on the playing field (though as a coach or manager at some point is certainly not a horrible idea).  As such, I hope the Mets can pick up a chunk of his salary and move him elsewhere for a prospect.  On the Jay Bruce front, remember all that the Mets gave up to get him was Dilson Herrera who is currently batting just .248 for Louisville, Cincinnati’s AAA team.  At the time he was acquired he was leading the league in RBIs.  This year he’s on pace for 40/100 but don’t expect the second coming of Mike Trout for a half season rental unless you’re willing to roll the dice on someone in the lower minors. 

In the bullpen, the media’s been ablaze with salivating fans ready to push hard to sell the attractive pair of Addison Reed and Jerry Blevins.  Reed, as you know, is a FA at year’s end, while Blevins has a $7 million team option.  For a team holding its starting pitching together with spit and glue I can’t see them moving both of them.  Of the two, Reed is the more likely to go..  The thinking would be that Jeurys Familia will be back either later this year or certainly in 2018.  Reed has succeeded as both a setup guy and as a closer.  Right now Reed earns more money than does Familia and will be due a raise.  Familia is likely going to earn the same in 2018 as he did in 2017.  Blevins will cost less and fills a specific need – LOOGY.

Lucas Duda is an interesting case.  The Mets decided he was the better bet than Ike Davis despite Davis having come off a 32 HR year in 2012.  While Duda can be frustrating when he’s slumping, he can also carry a club when he’s hot.  He plays an adequate first base and actually has proven the Mets right in their choice between the two left handed sluggers.  While there’s not as much buzz about Dominic Smith as their has been about Amed Rosario, the fact is that the team has a superior defensive candidate who will earn minimum wage available next year, so Lucas’ days as a Met are likely numbered.  To another club looking for a lefty half of a platoon (the Yankees, for example), or a team in need of a DH they could do a lot worse.  Like Granderson, the Mets should be prepared to kick in a chunk of salary to sweeten the level of prospect coming in return. 

To some people Asdrubal Cabrera came across, to use Bill Maher’s phrase, “a whiney little bitch” when he demanded a trade rather than play second base to help the ball club.  As usual, there were two sides to the story.  First, Cabrera was willing to make whatever change the team wanted but asked that in return the Mets exercise his option for 2018.  That’s called quid pro quo.  The Mets are not too adept at being pros at anything and balked.  Furthermore, the player first learned of this proposed change the day he was returning from the DL.  For that I place the blame squarely where I usually do – on the white haired guy with the lineup pencil.  Granted, the advent of the cell phone may have passed him by, but even a landline could have been used to reach out and touch Asdrubal  while rehabbing to suggest he might want to prepare to play a new position.  Don’t get me wrong – Cabrera is no angel here and is taking a me-first instead of team-first attitude towards the situation.  Fortunately he’s not letting it affect him on the field as he’s returned with a vengeance which could help the Mets fulfill his wish.  I’m sorry to see it end this way as Cabrera was terrific last year and by all counts is a great clubhouse presence.  He would have been a good mentor to Amed Rosario playing alongside him at 2^nd or 3^rd next year.(c’mon…you really don’t expect Wright to be back, do you?)

The one that actually hurts the Mets the most right now is Neil Walker.  Not only are they saddled with his outrageous $17.2 million contract, the fact he’s on the DL at the time when he could have been showcasing his abilities and enticing another club in need of a 2^nd baseman suggests that he’s here for the duration.  You can’t trade a player on the DL and even if you could, how much could you expect to get when the opposing club doesn’t know how soon Walker will return? 

A man I’ve derided as the Hispanic version of Anthony Recker is quietly putting together what could be the finest season of his big league career.  Rene Rivera has always been solid behind the plate and in working with pitchers to call a good game, but his bat is speaking volumes (by Rivera standards, anyway) this year.  He’s slated to be a FA and given the fragile and unrealized state of Travis d’Arnaud’s talent, the club can ill afford to let Rivera depart.  I’ll take my crow slow roasted with red wine and garlic.  Offer to extend the man a contract now before he gets to the open market. 

The other Mets free agents to be –Jose Reyes and Fernando Salas – would be classic cases of addition by subtraction.  Reyes is STILL looking up at the Mendoza line yet STILL is playing nearly every single day.  Salas was brilliant late last year but the bloom has most definitely come off the rose in 2017 as he’s letting opposing players hit ..294 against him with a deplorable amount of walks and an ERA approaching 6.00.  Cutting ties with Reyes is easy – promote Amed Rosario.  Cutting ties with Salas is a little tougher.  They’re already scraping the bottom of the barrel with  the recent promotion of career 4.22 minor league pitcher Chasen Bradford.  They’ve already promoted Erik Goeddel, too.  They still have the immortal Neil Ramirez in the majors.  Josh Smoker is still hurt.  After that the cupboard in AAA is pretty empty unless they want to try to convert Tyler Pill into a reliever.