2/19/18

Reese Kaplan -- Much Ado About Nothing



Athletes are like any other category of human beings.  You have winners and whiners.  The task for a manager is separating the two to try to stoke the fires of the winners and to minimize the malignancy of the whiners.  It seems that new field general Mickey Callaway has his first exercise in this regard in the person of Zack Wheeler.


Upon hearing the news that the Mets had signed Jason Vargas to start, Wheeler immediately announced, “I’m just here to be a starting pitcher. That’s what I’ve always been, and that’s what I’m going to be. When I’m healthy, I know I’m just as good as anybody out there, so that’s what I’m concentrating on.”

Maybe it’s just me, but in this hypersensitive, politically correct world in which we live everyone jumped to the conclusion that Wheeler was indeed whining, particularly when he added that he was not yet contacted by anyone within the organization about how this addition to the roster could impact his role.


Excuse me, but had he said, “Sure, Jason Vargas won 18 games last year and was an All-Star.  I haven't done diddly squat since getting hurt.  Tell you what, how about if I just throw in the towel and either head to the pen or to Las Vegas because he’s the better pitcher,” would we be congratulating him for being a team-first player?  No, he’d be roasted for being non-competitive.

Personally, I want to applaud Wheeler for essentially saying, “You’ll get the ball from my hand when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.”  I personally hope Callaway can instill this type of hyper competitive attitude into everyone on the team.  It’s then his decision on how best to deploy the resources he has on hand on a nightly basis and when situations demand one particular skill set.


Similarly, the whole non-story about Donald Trump, Jr. being out at the same shark fishing trip that Callaway was on with the players seem to set a great many fingers furiously typing to condemn that “plan.”  Nowhere was it actually said that it was arranged for these two notable figures to be in the same place at the same time – in fact, quite the opposite was reported.  If I happened to walk into the same room where David Duke or Louis Farrakhan appeared, did that necessarily mean I agreed or endorsed what they stood for?

It is incumbent upon Callaway to set the tone about expectations and to communicate with his players, but I think media and blogging types anxious for something to write about are seemingly creating firestorms where none exist.  Let’s hope Callaway is as good as advertised when it comes to his handling of players and media. 

14 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Hopefully Zach Wheeler will be an ace this year. He hopes to be...and I hope he is right. I for one need a lot of convincing. He will be swimming with the sharks.

Viper said...

Well said Reese but if Wheeler is still throwing 100 pitches by the 5th inning, he will put himself on the BP.

Hobie said...

We don't know of course, but it struck me that Wheeler & Vargas may very well be in the S. rotation.... and Harvey in the pen.

bill metsiac said...

He could be anything from an ace to another Smoltz/Aguilera to a total washout. I agree with Reese about the plusses of his competitive fire, but he could've said nothing at all instead of creating the impression of whining, true or not.

One pitcher flying well under the radar with a wide range of possibilities this season is Rafael Montero. He's got the tools to be a star, but hasn't been able to harness them. If Eiland can work his magic, what do we do with him? He's out of options, so Vegas is out.

He could become a star here, traded (if he has value) or released. ST will be very pivotal for him and the decision can be one to celebrate or regret for many years.

Viper said...

Bill,
Montero's problem is between his ears. His best game last year was when he went out and challenged the hitters. Then he went back to nibbling and walking hitters.

Tom Brennan said...

Either Harvey or Wheeler will be in the pen, more than likely. Or they may be used as long arms/ spot strarters interchangeably. I think the first 4 ( Jake, Thor, Matz, and Vargas) are almost a lock for SP 1 thru 4.

Reese Kaplan said...

Montero is indeed a puzzle as he was a STUD in the minors and occasionally flashed that ability in the majors. Someone would surely take a flyer on him if he was dangled in trade.

Tom Brennan said...

Viper, I think Calloway and Eiland should come up with a list of 10 guys with stuff virtually identical to Montero's who've been quite successful in the big leagues, and tell him:

Raffie, this could be you...Raffie, this SHOULD be you.

Tom Brennan said...

Right now, though, if someone came up to you and said we have a guy for you in a trade who is 6-16, 5.38 ERA, 1.71 WHIP lifetime in 192 innings, but he fans a guy per inning, would you want him? Unlikely.

That's Raffie, to this point. That won't get it done in 2018. Perform or goodbye in 2018.

Reese Kaplan said...

He found takers for Matt Reynolds and Josh Smoker so anything's possible.

bill metsiac said...

"Finding takers" is the least of the problem, especially since we'd be selling low and the taker would be getting him at very low salary.

We easily found takers for players named Ryan, Isringhausen, Otis, Mitchell, and Pagan, among others. And apparently couldn't even do that for Turner.

The question is, do we want to sell low, or somehow find a spot for him this season in hopes he will find stardom here or at least raise his value by July.

If he has a poor ST, the question is moot. But what do we do if he finds himself and Eiland/Callaway fall in love with him? I'll be watching closely for the answer.

Tom Brennan said...

Reese, hopefully Raffie really clicks so he can get trade value this spring - I have largely given up on him in real games that count, since we expect to contend for the playoffs - tried and true is better = if this was another 70 win season in the offing, sure, give him another chance. Maybe Tampa would want a guy like Montero.

BTW, Duda appears to have fallen off the face of the earth. Any Duda rumors?

Reese Kaplan said...

He's being positioned as a "value" alternative to other sluggers:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/lucas-duda

bill metsiac said...

I hope he finds success somewhere. He always hustled here and was a good teammate. If he played another position I'd like to see him get a MnL deal here, but between Smith and Alonso we have no room at AA or AAA.

Good luck, Dude! 👍