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8/13/18

Reese Kaplan -- Let's End it With the Reunions!



Reunions are sometimes a lot of fun.  You rediscover people you haven’t seen in many years.  You reminisce about the good times you shared together.  Sometimes you strike up new relationships quite different than what you had back then. 

The flip side, of course, is participating in a reunion expecting everything to be as it was but finding out that time has not necessarily been kind.  You mentally start making notes of who gained the most weight, lost the most hair or whose career path didn’t evolve as expected. 

Personally, when I made a last-minute decision to attend my high school reunion it coincided with a medically induced weight loss and it let me be a part of the “in” crowd for the first time.  While flattering to my ego, I soon realized that as much as it was perhaps some maturity on the parts of my old schoolmates, it called to mind the old Groucho Marx joke about never wanting to belong to a club that would have someone like me for a member. 

This nostalgic flashback both good and bad came to mind with the parallel to the New York Mets and how often they’ve gone back to the people with whom they’ve once before parted ways only to sign them back when they are older and their skill sets have changed.  I’d gotten into a conversation recently with more than one Mets fan who advocates just such a reunion with Daniel Murphy who is set to become a free agent.  While you can argue day and night about the foolishness of having let him walk away for relatively little money compared to what he provided the Nationals, this season he’s only been up 159 times.  He hit .306 with 5 HRs and 15 RBIs over that stretch – down a little from a 2nd career typical Murphy output – but .306 with 20 HRs and 60 RBIs is still productive.

The problem, of course, is that he’s going to be going into his age 34 season, the injuries are likely to become more frequent and is defense skills which were never very good are not likely to improve.  Furthermore, given his output in Washington he’s in a price stratosphere north of what the Mets are willing to entertain. 

Last year, however, they were fine with doing just that when it came to a reunion with Jay Bruce.  He had earned $13 million with the Mets after picking up his option for 2017 and his current deal with the Mets in his age 31 season has been a total flop due to a myriad of injuries to his hip, his foot and his back.  Like Murphy, he was never known for his defensive prowess and there’s been talk of shifting him to 1B where it so happens the Mets biggest power threat who has driven in over 140 RBIs over the past full season’s worth of ABs. 

Of course, the reunion tour is a page right out of the Mets’ playbook.  Let’s see, just off the top of my head there have been second times around with Rusty Staub, Tom Seaver, Bobby Bonilla,  Jason Isringhausen and the aforementioned Bruce.  I'm not even getting into re-signing their departing free agents.  Have they ever worked out? 

Yet every time a player who was formerly in orange and blue becomes available the chatter starts up about the desire to have a second player marriage.  Remember talk of Carlos Gomez, Lucas Duda and others in the recent off season?  The lack of original thought and the fear of trying something new is especially frustrating to people actually interested in winning. 

Of course, the discussion many people are having right now is about the team getting younger and more athletic.  Somehow adding aging players whose best days are behind them hasn’t worked over the past several years of the current administration, so we HOPE that a new regime will actually take over and the approach will change. 

12 comments:

  1. A 2 year deal? Maybe. As of today, I am with you. Not up for a reunion, but I will want to see how the last 6-7 weeks go before concluding.

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  2. More pressing needs to fill that will require $$. More value in spending that money at 3rd base, 1st base, Outfield, Starting Pitcher, and Closer.

    2nd base can be filled from within.

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  3. Bob, I agree except first base. Alonso should be fine there from the start of 2019, in my opinion.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Tom
    Alonzo could possibly, maybe be fine.
    But, in order to enter the season with the intention of legitimately competing in the playoffs, more than possibly, maybe is needed.

    Remember this season was entered into with the Mets and fans positively sure that g
    Gonzalez was just holding down 1st base until Smith took over and begin his multi-year tenure as the team's 1st baseman.

    Tired of being burnt by this organizations insistance on basing their major league team plan with a base of ifs, maybes, could bes, hopes, dreams, and settling.

    Organization stated the mission was playoffs and did not believe trading assets at their highest value was needed in order to accomplish this.
    The team does not have third and fourth place hitters heading into 2019.

    Can NOT enter 2019 depending on Alonzo to fill those holes.

    That would leave 3rd base and OF acquisitions to fill them.
    Will the organization make Frazier a bench player to accomplish this?
    History leads to doubting that option.

    ONLY realistic way of entering 2019 with Alonzo at 1st base and still focused on competing IN (not for) the playoffs is greatly reduced.
    It would make acquiring Machado AND A. J. Pollock absulotely necessary.

    Remember: Bruce, Cespedes, Frazier, Lagares, D'Arnaud contributions can absolutely NOT be counted on.

    Lineup-
    Leadoff Nimmo
    2nd Flores/McNeil
    3rd Pollock
    4th Machado
    5th Conforto
    6th Alonzo/Bruce?
    7th Rosario
    8th Catcher
    9th pitcher

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  6. Gary, I hear you on Alonso - but he is surging over the past 3 weeks, and playing every single game...on a 162 game pace of 50 doubles, 42 HR, and 152 RBI. Seems he should be able to handle it well. Judge did for Yanks.

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  7. To me the issues are C, CF and relievers.

    The starting quartet of deGrom, Syndergaard, Wheeler and Oswalt is good. Then you have Matz, Lugo, Vargas (ugh!), Montero (remember him?), and possible external reinforcements for the fifth slot.

    They won't pay Frazier his salary to sit on the bench, so I assume 3B is his. Rosario is showing late signs of life and with Gimenez and Mauricio a bit far away, he gets another year. 2B is up for grabs between McNeil, Rivera (another remember him?), and Flores. 1B goes to Flores or Bruce initially until the deadline passes and they screw Alonso out of a year of salary increases.

    Signing Machado might be a good move if they want to bundle off Rosario in trade somewhere. Machado could then slide over to 3B when the youngsters in the SS pipeline arrive, but after Cespedes I can't see them giving another $30 million per year contract. These are the Wilpons after all.

    The OF will include Nimmo and Conforto. If Bruce is at 1B, then expect Lagares for a handful of games in CF before the duct tape holding his body together comes loose. Then you might get the all lefty trio out there with Nimmo in CF flanked by Conforto and Bruce. I can't see them going for Pollock when they're paying Lagares $9.5 million and have five outfielders already (if you include Cespedes).

    The only truly open spot I see for the team is catcher and that's probably the toughest one to fill. Older catchers command big money and break down quickly. Younger catchers don't have the experience of the veterans and have no track record of offense.

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    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, this leads to another year similar to 2017 & 2018.

      Fighting just to stay out of the National League East Cellar.

      Further reason that deGrom's highest trade value ever should have been seized upon this past summer.
      BUT Ricco insisted the aim was to return TO the playoffs.
      No Machado or Pollock level acquisitions, No playoffs.

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  8. Unless you trade Jake in the off-season

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  9. I guess were all spinning our wheels here because the new GM ain't here yet at least I hope/pray he's not (oh no Ricco) and I don't see a new GM making that bold a move (trading Jake or Noah).

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  10. A few thoughts

    Machado is not coming here, in this lifetime. Maybe next. Who the hell knows.

    Maybe Wilson Romos. But not AJ. Free agent status.

    Conforto or Nimmo. Pick one.

    I would like to see a 440 yard dash between Flores, Duda, Bruce, Bartolo, and Sandy Leon. Winner takes all.

    Maybe Rosie O'Donnell can close. She's only 56!

    Maybe "The Donald" could be the next Mets GM?

    And "The Mack" could be the Assistant.



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  11. Anon -

    No, I pass. The life expectancy of Assistants to 'The Donald' are less than helicopter pilots in Nam.

    BTW...

    One of the reason you may not be getting a proper amount of responses to your comments is they are on 'dated' posts that no longer can be found on the lead page of the site.

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