Mike Freire - Fleeting Thoughts

Good Morning, Mets fans!

I sit here at work on this fine Florida morning and I have to shake my head at what the Mets' 2018 season has looked like.  First we had the 11-1 start which predictably had the fan base riled up about a possible championship season (whatever ghost possessed the team for the first twelve games must have jumped into the Red Sox for the rest of the season).  Then, you had the "sharp downturn" which caused the fan base to run in the opposite direction and call for everyone's head on a spike.

Now, with the team well out of contention, they have been playing pretty decent baseball of late, which gives you a small glimmer of hope for next year.  Sort of like a really bad golfer who regularly shoots in the 100's, but hits a great shot towards the end of their round and it convinces him/her that things are turning around!  It is enough to get you back out onto the course for another attempt,  or in our case, back in our seats for the 2019 season.

I have always been a bit of a dreamer, so why not? 

Let's get on with the rest of this article before I come up with more analogies!

1.  Speaking of the 2019 season, there are a ton of question marks that need to be answered and the most important one is who will be in charge of the team?  Yeah, I am aware that some folks think that Jeff Wilpon is in charge and that the GM is simply a figurehead.  That may or may not be true, but the team still needs to find a replacement for Sandy Alderson.

I am holding out hope that the team goes outside of the organization for it's next "leader" and I also hope that the next GM comes from a team that wins on a consistent basis.  The rest of the team's decisions all hinge on that selection, so it needs to happen fairly soon, right?

Side note, I hope that Sandy is doing well, despite the lack of information on the subject.

2.  It is hard not to get excited over what Amed Rosario has been able to do over the past six weeks, or so.  Once the calendar turned over from July to August, Amed has been on FIRE!

Consider his last thirty games played, which is roughly 20% of a full season;

.318/.350/.473  (.823 OPS)

3 HR/15 RBI/8 SB and 24 R

***Plus he is drawing more walks (look at his OBP) and hitting for some power, to include a bunch of triples.  Better yet, if you project a full season's worth of stats off his current pace, how does 15 HR/75 RBI/40 SB and 120 R sound?

Hoping that he holds onto most of his recent gains, he is starting to look more like a piece of the future and less like an over matched prospect.  In my world, he is the future at third base once Andres Gimenez is ready for Short Stop and Jeff McNeil settles in at Second Base.

3.  Feel free to call me a bit petty or even shallow,  but I am enjoying the slow motion melt down of the Washington Nationals.  That team has been the "favorites" in our division for what seems like an eternity.  Of course, that is what you get when the "hype machine" (i.e. ESPN) takes a liking to your squad and one overrated player in particular.

That team is as cocky as any squad in baseball, despite the fact that they haven't accomplished much outside of the NL East.  They have gone through more excuses and managers then most teams, and despite having a talented roster, they continue to underachieve.  It couldn't happen to a "nicer" bunch of players, I tell you.

Hey Bryce, have you found your "ring" yet?

4.  On a much more serious and relevant topic, I hope that any of you in the general path of Hurricane Florence are taking the storm seriously while protecting your loved ones and your possessions from possible harm.  I know that the media is really good at making "mountains out of mole hills", but strong hurricanes like this one are no joke.

Last year, we were fortunate that Hurricane Irma chose to drive up the middle of our State, instead of staying out in the Gulf of Mexico and hitting our area as a Category 4 or 5 storm.  Even in her weakened state (Category 1), the wind, the rain and the flooding were an eye opener. 

This storm has the potential to inflict serious damage to the mid-Atlantic region, so take it seriously.  It is better to be over prepared when you don't need to be, as opposed to getting caught under prepared and suffering the consequences.

Well, that's it until next time.

Stay safe, Mets' fans.