9/20/18

Mike Friere - Random Thoughts

Good Morning, Mets fans!

Once again, I sit here at work on this Tuesday afternoon, wishing I were someplace else. Not unlike most of the Mets' roster who are now officially eliminated from playoff contention in large part due to a miserable month of June. Most of them are mere days away from tee times and other off season obligations before the whole crazy cycle repeats itself and we are on the doorstep to the 2019 season.

Before I get too far into the weeds, let's get on with the rest of this article.

1.  Just this past weekend, the Mets traveled to Fenway Park in Boston, where they engaged in a three game set with the Red Sox. The differences between the two teams was quite staggering, with the most obvious being the 32 games that separated the two teams in the overall standings!  Despite this fact, the Mets actually continued a recent trend of playing decent baseball while representing themselves well in the three games.

Yes, they lost two of the three contests but due to a blowout victory in the first game (8-0), they actually outscored the Red Sox 14-9 and could have claimed two wins in three tries with just a bit better pitching from the bullpen. I will also admit that the Red Sox also have a huge lead in their division, so they may not have been going full tilt.  However, in a dismal season, I look at the recent run of games as a positive that can be used to build towards the 2019 season.

2.  So, who is on third base?  No, I am not recreating the "old skit" that we are all familiar with. Instead, I view that question as a valid inquiry that will have a large role in the Mets' future infield configuration. To properly answer the question, it should be done in two parts.....the 2019 season and "beyond".

In 2019, I think Todd Frazier is the starting third baseman, with Amed Rosario at short, Jeff McNeil at second and (hopefully) Pete Alonso at first. However, once Todd Frazier's contract is up (2019), that opens up some possibilities for 2020 and beyond. 

Starting in 2020 (give or take a few months), I would put Amed Rosario at third, Andres Gimenez at short, while leaving McNeil and Alonso alone on the right side of the diamond. My rationale is that you are disrupting fewer players by doing so and Amed can most certainly handle third with his athleticism and "cannon" for an arm (think of the transition ARod previously made for the Yankees).

3.  Speaking of young players and the "2020 Foundation", consider the following group of players;

***Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, ***Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Jake deGrom and Noah Syndergaard

Granted, some of them have not arrived yet (***) and others are still learning on the job, but that is a nice start to the next "good" Mets' club, right?  There are still questions at catcher, center field, the back end of the rotation and in the bullpen, but things are definitely looking up and I didn't even list some of our supporting cast here.

With some savvy free agent moves, potential trades and the continued maturation of the younger players, we could be in good position for another playoff run in the early '20's.

4.  Lastly, I wanted to take a moment and say a HUGE thank you to David Wright and everything he has accomplished in his career, as well as what he has given to the Mets' organization and the fan base.  It is easy to forget how much of an impact player he was BEFORE his run of bad luck and the toll that the injuries took on his body.

Officially, he started his career in 2004 and he will play his last game (shortly) in 2018, so his career arc is roughly 15 seasons. However, I prefer to look at his career in two parts and that would be from 2004 through 2012 (first part) and everything after that (second part). For reference, in the six seasons since 2012, David only has 321 games played (20% of his total) and he was CLEARLY compromised during that stretch of games.

From 2004 through 2012, he participated in 1,262 games and put up a majority of his impressive statistics (below);

.296/.376/.491  (.867 OPS)

242 HR/970 RBI/196 SB and 949 RS

50.4 WAR

Is it his fault that he signed his last mega-deal on the eve of his stenosis diagnosis?   I guess we will never know the timing of the two issues, nor who knew what leading up to the same.  I do think it is a bit sad that the good parts of his career are overshadowed by how things will end. 

If he does retire this year, he will have earned roughly 125 million dollars over the course of his career!  But, when you take into account everything he gave this team and the professional way he went about his business, it almost seems like a bargain in some ways. I hope the Mets can find a way to keep him around the team in some capacity, since his character and professionalism are sorely needed.

Well, that's it until next time.

Stay safe, Mets' fans.



7 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Good article, Mike.

I see Gimenez up with the Mets by mid 2019, not 2020. His bat will play by then, but his D and base stealing are superior and in my opinion will hasten his arrival.

Mack Ade said...

I agree with Tom... IF... Frazier leaves dUring the season next year.

If not let kid play every day in Syracuse

Zozo said...

I feel like we should move Amad to CF starting in 2020. Hopefully we will have traded Bruce by then and either Vientos or dare i say Machado at 3rd base?

Reese Kaplan said...

You may be onto something there, Zozo. After all, both Juan Lagares and Billy Hamilton made successful moves from SS to CF. He's certainly got the speed for it.

However, that opens up more problems. Who plays SS now? Gimenez is not ready. Who plays 3B in 2020 when Frazier is gone?

Mack Ade said...

Guys -

There is a lot of pipeline infield talent right now but not much avaialbe right away.

Let's take this one year at a time.

2019:

Alonso, McNeil, Rosario, Frazier

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this Article Mike.
I agree with 2020 the decade of the Mets.
Rosario to CF just like Robin Yount or Biggio.
There are plenty of 3rd baseman who can hold down the fort till, Vientos is ready.
Machado is a game changer but I don't see, Wilpons spending the money to get him! I also don't see Manny wanting to come to the Mets.
Catchers are coming
Time for a new approach GM, who believes in team speed defense hit-n-run 1st-3rd.
There is enough power hitters in this organization,they need guys who get on base,so they aren't so reliant on Homers

Steve

Anonymous said...

Double Day

The NY Mets raining doubles last night. Bruce, Rosario, and Conforto each had one, with "Chucky2" Mesoraco hitting two for the heck of it.

Tomas Brenner's posting on Gimenez

You know what Tomas, if the Mets were to Fall Ball/Winter Ball Andres, I get the feeling that Andres could be ready to earn a spot on this team coming right out of 2019 Spring Training. Just a hunch.

Would it be rushing Andres?

You have to remember that with pretty much all of the Latino players coming here to play MLB, they play baseball year around and have more experience than their counterpart USA players. There is no NFL where they are, no NBA that I am aware of. Just Beisbol. Lots and lots of baseball. So they tend to be a little bit further along more quickly and at a younger age, once in a MLB system, because of this. On the surface many will scoff of this crazy notion, I do understand, but I think that Todd Frazier could be very hard to move after this season and at his age. With this in mind, I think Andres Gimenez could at least platoon at third with Todd.

I wouldn't mess with the already existent middle infield here now, Rosario and McNeil. It is working just fine as is, and at times remarkably so. Andres Gimenez is a shortstop so far. But with his live arm, and fast reflex coordination, he'd be perfect at third base too.

The 2019 infield could be: 1B Alonso/with Bruce getting one game a week backing up Peter, to keep Peter ready for the October Playoff Run. Bruce would also get two more games a week backing up left and right fields, for a total of three games a week and also being a late inning pinch hitter with power, which the team needs badly. 2B McNeil SS Rosario 3B Frazier/Gimenez, and catcher, get this Patrick Mazeika.

Why Patrick Mazeika you ask?

Why not actually?

Because in my opinion, there are no worthwhile catchers out there really, worth what they make or cleverly are asking for.

Wilson Ramos is a good idea but only on paper. He'll be 32 years old (old for a catcher) and has had too many knee and leg injuries of recent to be health predictable. Usually catcher' leg injuries are a clear sign that the catcher is beginning to break down. And that breakdown can be very fast due to the physicality of the catcher psotion. May not be so wise to pursue him.

With free agent Yasmani Grandal, he can hit some homeruns but is almost as old as Wilson Ramos. In addition, he never has really hit for much of a batting average in MLB.

Whereas Patrick Mazeika is at an age (24) where it is quickly becoming now or never really. He has only played to AA level thus far, but all his stats seem to indicate that he could be a 12-15 homerun catcher at this level, and hit for a decent .275 BA, which is better than Grandal.

So how do we get Patrick to the Mets for 2019?

Fall Ball/Winter Ball and much sound tutoring from a capable ex-MLB catcher. Piazza?

Is this a crapshoot with Patrick Mazeika?

Obviously, it does have that consideration with it. But you mean to tell me that signing of either Wilson Ramos or Yasmani Grandal (both free agents) are in any way less of a crapshot?

Who then might be the backup if this idea were to go through?

Probably Tomas Nido.

He just needs some correction himself offensively on his stance and swing mechanics. In so doing, Tomas could better optimize his power stroke which right now is locked up in a non-optimal stance and swing approach due to it. Underneath, Tomas could be hiding a much better and more powerful MLB hitter. Letting him out could work wonders!