Peter Hyatt - Arm Chair Quarterbacking the 2017 Mets

Imagine if...

We all do it and it is said by some to be a waste of time. 

It isn't. 

It is analysis.  It is to learn to not repeat mistakes moving forward.  It is to, in the face of injuries, make certain there is a contingency planning.  

By the time the first two months of the season were complete, the 2017 Mets dug themselves a hole they were never able to climb out of.  

Looking back, there was no way to avoid injuries...or was there?

With more control over their employees' off season work outs, we might have avoided injuries to Cespedes and Syndergaard, obviously, but with strong team leadership comes discipline and accountability.  

Perhaps even Harvey may have avoided this disaster of a season had he been under strong leadership.  

But even if we skip over the injuries, were there things that could have been done differently that might have kept us from falling into a hole the first two months of the season?

I can think of a few things in the line up that really hurt us. 

Amed Rosario had a good Spring.  Although jumping AAA is not the norm, might this have provided improved defense that did cost us games in April and May?

1.  Cabrera 

Cabrera was a disaster at short stop.  .244 in April, his bat was little better.  Poor defense, something that is not saber metric popular, is close to inconsequential as can be for Sandy Alderson, who admitted this recently.  The impact upon struggling pitchers is strong.  

Could Rosario provided better defense?  Yes
Could Rosario at least equaled Cabrera offensively?  I think so. 

2.  Reyes  

Next, there was Jose Reyes. 

In April, Reyes was a disaster.  

He batted  .174 with poor defense and even worse base running. 

In May he "heated up" according to the Mets promos, and batted  .216   

In June he hit .213 and after a hot July, is batting .161 for August.  

By the end of May, after 2 months of poor baseball, the Mets had dug their hole.  

3.  Granderson.  

Curtis Granderson's leadership not withstanding,

In April, he batted .128 while our best natural hitter and all star Michael Conforto barely played and was relegated to pinch hitter.   This horrific start helped dig us the early season hole that we never climbed out of. 

 In June, Granderon recovered and hit .316, but damage was already done.  
When Cabrera demanded a trade, he scorched up too. 
By the time Reyes heated up, it, too, was too late.  

4.  Cespedes 

Besides no oversight into Yoenis Cespedes' off season hypertrophy leg workouts, the lack of leadership may have also contributed to his leg injuries.  

On pop ups, Cespedes refuses to hustle.  There were even times where he carried his bat to the dug out while the ball was still in the air.  

Yet, twice on balls he chose to not run out, he had to turn on the gas, and came up lame.  

Had there been leadership from the beginning that said, "You don't hustle, you don't play" and kept to it, it is possible that Cespdes may have avoided either the injury or at least, further injury (including mitigating the original strain.)

5.  Steven Matz

What happened over the off season with this talented left arm? 

 Do we even know?

This point may seem a touch unfair, but this must be asked:  Did we give the proper medical oversight that would allow Matz to fully heal knowing his chronic elbow and left arm issues?

Answer:  I don't know.  

I don't accuse Matz of concealing his workout or regiment from the Mets; he is not that kind of young man.  He is very competitive, a bit hot tempered (with himself) but is known for "team first" and maturity.  

Here, my question is about Mets' leadership and oversight; not about independence from the Mets, as  in Cespedes or Syndergaard, or even disappearances like Harvey.  
   

Objection:  The players have a right to a private life. 

Answer:   The Employer owns their labor.  Ethically, for the millions they are paid, it is their reasonable service to care for the bodies the employers so generously pay for, made possible by the fans in the manner prescribed by said employer. 

If said employer abdicates responsibility; the failure is upon the employer, not the employee.  


6.  The BullPen 

This is a topic for a different article, but suffice for now, Terry Collins' bizarre use of the bullpen combined with Sandy Alderson's bizarre love affair with the waiver wire, and the free agent money, conspired against us to bring despair to Metsie land before we ever reached Summer.