Tom Brennan - 5 THINGS THAT HAVE KILLED THE METS
No, no, this article is not about much-maligned Fred Wilpon, Sandy Alderson, or Mickey Callaway.
Let's look at the players on the field.
After all, they play (and lose) the games, right?
REASON # 1 - OUTFIELD IMPOTENCE
If someone told you before the season that through 63 games (12 exhilarating games followed, thru this Tuesday, by debilitating 17-34 ball) that Brandon Nimmo would be far and away the Mets' best OF, you'd no doubt have been shocked...and perhaps alarmed.
Juan Lagares got kicked out of the high risk insurance pool after the latest of his many avoidable multi-month injuries, and Yoenis Cespedes cannot keep a leg up on the competition without pulling it.
Juan cratered in mid-May ("who put that wall there?"), and No-Go Yo went out with a day-to-day injury on May 13 that has now become a month-to-month injury.
It happily has not kept him from cashing his large paychecks.
It happily has not kept him from cashing his large paychecks.
No-Go Yo's slugging % in 2017 and 2018 since signing his contract is .524.
Coincidentally, his games played % is also .524 (118 out of 225 possible games).
La Potencia has become La Absencia.
That leaves Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto in the OF IMPOTENCE category.
The two "sluggers" have had 389 at bats this season and have a stunningly low 33 RBIs, with 17 doubles and just 10 HRs. Making me realize again how much I loved big-time slugger Dave Kingman.
The two "sluggers" have had 389 at bats this season and have a stunningly low 33 RBIs, with 17 doubles and just 10 HRs. Making me realize again how much I loved big-time slugger Dave Kingman.
REASON # 2 - CATCHER CATASTROPHE
Losing both starting catchers at virtually the same time in early April was a killer.
Mask wearers d'Arnaud and Plawecki were replaced by El Lobo, Jose Lobaton, and I Nido Learn How to Hit Tomas Nido, who combined for 14 for 90 (.156) with 6 RBIs and 30 whiffs.
Mask wearers d'Arnaud and Plawecki were replaced by El Lobo, Jose Lobaton, and I Nido Learn How to Hit Tomas Nido, who combined for 14 for 90 (.156) with 6 RBIs and 30 whiffs.
Neither of them realized that the idea of baseball is to hit the ball and score runs.
REASON # 3 - BULLPEN BLUES
Hardly was the ink dry on his 2 year contract when Anthony Swarzak went down with an oblique (pronounced "OH BLEAK") injury in late March, causing this supposed bullpen lynchpin to miss the next 9 weeks.
Left to shoulder the load were Jeurys Familia and wild man AJ Ramos, both of whom went to sick bay in recent weeks with sore shoulders.
Jerry Blevins has given Mets fans sore necks watching balls being hit hard with too-frequent regularity, as Macks Mets writer Erica Lay related to us the other day.
And Anthony Young is back: last year's 0-6 Paul Sewald has become this year's 0-4 Paul Sewald, amazingly not picking up a loss on Tuesday when he surrendered a grand slam because he actually entered the game with the Mets trailing, which makes it hard (based on baseball scoring rules) to pick up a loss.
Big Fly Boom Boom Robles has (not surprisingly) allowed 6 HRs in 15 innings, due to his generosity and love to give away souvenirs, and of the 3 new Vegas call ups (Conlon, Rhames, and Peterson), only the latter has done well (and that briefly) so far.
REASON # 4 - GERITOL GUYS
Besides the aforementioned elderly El Lobo, the Mets' elderly include just-ousted 1B Adrian Gonzalez, who really left to visit his Social Security Office; Jose (happy 35th) Reyes, who has two story lines (his .149 average, with no one asking why Zach Wheeler is a superior hitter; and how to give Go-Away Jose the best and most timely fond farewell); and Jason Vargas (the 35 year old hamate-bone-free guy with a WHIP 5 times as high as his age, at an unsightly 1.75).
REASON # 5 - STARTER STUMBLINGS
Some may think Jake deGrom has pitched superbly; I don't.
With a team hitting this poorly, only a 0.00 ERA is acceptable. Jake, leading the league in ERA is not enough.
With a team hitting this poorly, only a 0.00 ERA is acceptable. Jake, leading the league in ERA is not enough.
Thor has missed more time in 2017 and 2018 than No-Go Yo, which says all you need to know there.
Matz and Zach have been OK, but "Roger Craig-like OK"; Roger was 5-23 for the Mets one year with a solid ERA. Matz and Zach? Just 4-9 and averaging a sub-par 5.3 innings per start. Maybe not OK after all.
And, not to be forgotten, the dearly separated Dark Knight, who - uhh - stunk like stinky dark night garbage.
That's my 5 reasons - what's yours?
9 comments:
How about these 5 reasons ...
Sandy Alderson, Fred & JEff Wilpon,Saul Katz and Mickey Callaway,
That makes it 10 reasons, then, Eddie :)
More on that in my article tomorrow
I think Eddie is onto the reasons but in the wrong order:
Wilpons
Alderson
Callaway
This current Wilpons baseball team "building project" has been condemned. Bring in the wrecking crew.
Reese
so If Sandy Drafts
Jose Fernandez > Nimmo
Seager > Cecchini
Judge > D smith
Not give a 1st round pick for Michael Cuddyer
I am sure we would not be complaining as much about the Wilpons
So sandy is first ... Not all in the draft works out but if he hit home runs then we over come the Wilpons
Eddie, 4 big first round boo boos for sure. Nimmo so far is playing like a successful 2nd rounder, considering what year he was drafted in. And I believe at the time, Jose Fernandez was clearly considered by other teams as a far superior choice to Nimmo - it isn't revisionist, after the fact 2nd guessing, which is much more the case with Smith vs. Judge.
Bottom line:
Poor decisions have huge consequences.
the question was what has killed the mets...
Sandy not hitting a home run (like you would say about cespedes or any other hitter)
why is it that you have to wait to evaluate drafts years later but then its revisionist?
you only get credit when its good? i say you get non stop criticism when its bad...
so if he hit home runs then we are not suffering talent now are we? What about Justin Turner... Because he didnt hustle?
what about the fact that if he had it his way it should have been carlos gomez?
and not trading Reyes?
let not forget the wasted money every year...
SANDY is the worse thing about this team...
General Comedic Observations
1. Confusion
2. Bloating
3. Swinging at pitches so low that they are almost Chinese.
4. Constipation
5. Teary eyes (sans Flores)
6. Misplayed balls
7. Moth balls
8. Balls falling out of glove
9. Bad home plate balls not strikes (ask Todd)
10. No bunted balls or hit and ruins, no pinch hitter either
Does this make any sense to you? Of course not, it isn't supposed to.
Q: Do I agree with the confliction and psoriasis of rebuilding this Mets team come season end? A: Not really. But good try anyway Tom and Mack.
Why?
1. The four starters here now (1-4) are gelling and not smelling. Yes, there will always be injuries with your best starters, but hopefully rotation depth can be improved to smooth out those brief injuries. So far that depth is for the most part absent.
My candidate for the next homegrown NY Mets starter? Between these two, Drew Smith and Nabil Crismatt. Drew has that 98-99 mph deGrom ramp up thing, a mid-90's 4 seamer and 80 mph change. Crismatt just keeps getting better and better. On Smith, the Mets have Ryder Ryan, Tyler Bashlor, Eric Hanhold, Gerson Bautista, and Johua Torres as right handed relievers on the way up. And Dave Roseboom from the leftside to relieve as well. They could spare Drew Smith becoming a solid starter. His stuff is that good I think.
2. The Mets just called up (finally) 1B Peter Alonso and 2B Jeff McNeil to AAA Vegas. Add in possibly others to this coming along (like Thompson for instance) and you can see the core of the future beginning to take form I think.
3. A sports franchise has to be able to honestly assess not only their current and future player personnel, but their own tactics and strategies in building the current and past (25 man) team rosters. In other words, has it worked out to their own expectation? Without doing this, improvement year to year is probably going to remain improbable and unlikely.
Post a Comment