Is there anything positive that Met fans can take from the four game battle for New York in which we were swept?
Met fans, if judged by social media and Twitter, in particularly, have very short memories. Coming off playing the Philadelphia Phillies, any form of optimism should have been tempered. When measured against the New York Yankees, the Dodgers or the Nationals, the 2017 Mets are not mediocre.
Mediocre would be an overstatement.
The NY Post rushed to "Steve Matz' career", rather than offer any insight into his delicate elbow and what he goes through, for hours per day, just to keep it together. Routinely headline hunting, they continue to ignore the leadership vacancy that dominates the Mets.
Reporting on Robert Gselleman's apology is all well and good, but what of the vacuum and abdication of responsibility within the clubhouse that continues to go unaddressed?
Perhaps New York Met fans can find some comfort in the embarrassing sweep by the Yankees in that it may force changes in leadership. At least, I hope so.
We can (and should) debate who is responsible for the inmates running the asylum but can share hope that change will come.
As late as August 17th, in a lost season, and walk contracts of veterans continue to be played over any hopes of tomorrow's youth. It is only when forced, via injury and the disabled list, that the line up changes. If you buy into "showcasing", I am pretty sure that we got nothing in exchange for Curtis Granderson, of whom the Dodgers were familiar with his abilities.
It took howls of Met fans to bring up Amed Rosario and Dom Smith; both of whom are exciting to watch and will learn as they face an element of pitching they've not seen before. Both have showed that they can handle MLB defensively. Both will need time and encouragement to learn.
If we are going to lose, I'd like to lose with youngsters in the line up, as they gain valuable experience.
Instead, we see Brandon Nimmo on the bench.
The future is not Granderson and Cabrera, yet they both continued to play, effectively robbing not only Brandon Nimmo of his chance to grow, but Met fans of whom losing with young players has its own optimism.
Grandy's leadership will be missed.
Matt Reynolds got a call only because Jose Reyes hit the DL...again.
Gavin Cecchini: can he play 2B? Can Reynolds? How about 3B?
These are questions that remain unaddressed by a lame duck manager who lost his authority over the clubhouse does what anyone who does not resign in that position does: he surrounded himself with vets.
Perhaps the Yankee Sweep will mean ownership going in a different direction.
Terry Collins is said to be a very good man. I do not know if his own boss, Alderson, undermined or severely restricted his authority, or if Collins, himself, let them run wild.
But consider:
We have a small nucleus of some very talented and very serious ball players from which to build.
Today is valuable.
Let them play.
6 comments:
Happy to see kids play last night and Flexen win after repelling a very challenging first inning. Nimmo on base 4 times. Rosario strong, Smith too. Sewald strong as usual. Only the being-showcased Cabrera played (and poorly).
But for Cabrera, this is the game you've been waiting for Peter. The kids played and won. And Matzo had a successful, but certainly belated, surgery.
Play someone other than Tommy Milone. Play the future, not retrades. Call up Oswalt.
"It took howls of Met fans to bring up Amed Rosario and Dom Smith..."
Sure, internet howling was the cause of the effect, not a total pitching collapse which made hanging on the Bruce, Walker, et. al. who would be gone in November superfluous. Howling at the darkness made the sun come back the other day too.
Call up whom? Marcos Molina and Tyler Pill are the only starters on the 40-man roster and both are injured.
To bring up Oswalt would require dramatic and unMetsian action like cutting ties with a has-been/never-was like Milone to create a 40-man roster spot. And it would require the self-proclaimed smartest guy in the room to admit he'd made yet another in a long line of mistakes.
I think third base, catcher and another starting pitcher are the three areas of dire need going into 2018. The other problem spots (second base - Flores or Cecchini, center field - Lagares/Nimmo platoon, bullpen depth from our collection of minor league arms) can be addressed from within, which validates your point about using the rest of 2017 to see if that is true.
I am NOT counting on Harvey or Wheeler any more. Matz gets one more chance in my mind, since his elbow issue is likely going to be resolved after his most recent surgery (DeGrom seems fine after a similar procedure). I think we can find another back end starter between Gsellman, Lugo and Flexen, but importing a solid #3 starter would be prudent, IMO.
I am also done with Travis behind the plate and DW "in the shadows", which keeps third base in limbo. MOVE ON already! History is the best indicator of future performance and I think we have seen what is likely here (regardless of why it is happening, like in DW's case).
***Address the problem spots in free agency/trades, let the kids you have on hand develop and get a new manager in here who can work with the nucleus we have on hand.
Granted, this isn't a 100 win roster in any scenario, but I think it can content for a playoff spot (85-90 wins) with a return to health and some different (actual?) leadership.
Mike
Reese, I surely hope Milone is GONE (almost rhymed there) before long. Pitching decisions are acute for 2018, and unless they fell Oswalt's record exceeds his potential and want his trade value maximized, he should be up here ASAP. Look at the progress of Flexen, getting thru the adjustment period is crucial to get out of the way in 2017.
Matt Reynolds is not good and shouldn't be in the major leagues. The kid have been playing for three weeks and what we know now is a team of them will be among the worst in baseball. Just look at the Padres and Phillis. Rosario looks to be a future star but still needs work. Smith I am less sold on but has a nice swing and good demeanor. Much of their limited success has come against bad middle relief which is not sustainable over full seasons...see Flores. Neither of them are Reyes or Wright circa 2003. None of these other kids offer anything but bench depth. Mets need to add good players in the off season. We have enough flawed role players like Flores, Lagares, Rivera, etc...
Additionally unless Thor comes back strong and two out of Harvey, Wheeler, Lugo, Gsellman and Matz perform none of this August and September tryout means anything.
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