Mack- From The Desk...

Good morning.

Nice guy Columbia IF Rigoberto Terrazas was released by the Mets. The 22-year old International product played five seasons for the Mets, hitting .253 for four teams. His best season was 2017 where he hit .348 for Kingsport, but he stumbled badly this past season in Columbia, hitting

only  .176 in 295 at-bats.

Are Amed Rosario And Jeff McNeil  The Mets' Future Middle Infield? –

There are a few reasons why the Mets - with a 29-20 record since August 3 - have played better baseball during the tail end of the season.

But the most interesting story comes from the middle infield. Shortstop Amed Rosario, struggling at the plate for most of the season, has found his groove to the tune of a .339 batting average over the past month. And second baseman Jeff McNeil – a 12th round draft pick five years ago who debuted as a 26-year-old rookie in late July – has shocked everyone with a .340 average and .394 on-base percentage in his first 220 big league plate appearances. Talk about a shot in the arm. McNeil’s 2.1 WAR in just 57 games is already the sixth-highest on the club and higher than the 1.3 WAR that his second base predecessor, Asdrubal Cabrera, put up in 98 games before his trade to the Phillies. The only shock now is a game in which McNeil fails to bang out two or three hits.

Mack – I want to believe that both these guys are for real and, as soon as soon as soon as Andres Gimenez arrives from Syracuse, one will move to third and we are done worrying about these three positions for 5+ years.

          Like I said, I really want to believe this…

Fangraphs  with Mickey Callaway:

          

“I’ve tried to [bring aspects of Cleveland Indians culture], and not just because of Tito and the Indians. It’s because it’s what I believe is right. I’ve learned in different cultures. I’ve taken things from Buck Showalter, from Mike Scioscia, from Buddy Black, from Joe Maddon. Obviously Tito. All of those guys. They were always prepared and very thoughtful in everything they did. It makes sense to bring some of that over here.

“You learn pretty quickly that New York is a different animal. For a lot of reasons. You have to adapt some of the thinking you had when you were with a smaller-market team. You have to make sure you understand that this is a different situation, and you might have to implement things differently. The ideals can stay the same, but the implementation of things you want to do probably has to be a little different.

Mack – Like Rosario and McNeil, I want to believe in this guy. I give him no credit for the 11-1 start because it simply was too early and shit happens like that. I fault him greatly for his erratic starting lineups during the middle of the season that had to cause some of the losses. But I also give him 100% credit for steering the ship correctly after the All-Star break by creating a solid lineup.

I gladly give him another year.

Mets  try new modified instructs in NY, Florida –

        

  The Mets tried something new this year, holding a pair of one-week camps at the conclusion of the 2018 Minor League season, in two different locations. One had a more traditional instructs feel, albeit without games against other organizations, featuring players from the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League, that took place in Port St. Lucie, Fla.. The other took place in New York and included players from the rest of the affiliates up and down the system. The Appy League team from Kingsport would have been in Florida as well, but its season was extended by the playoffs, so players from that squad got to head north to Citi Field as well.