Tom Brennan - HOW DID PETE DO LAST NIGHT?
As I recall Jake deGrom's ordeal en route to brilliantly winning the Cy Young award in the face of egregious non-support (how else to explain his winning only 6 of 28 starts in one stretch), I think of offensive fixes to help Jake win 20 in 2019.
Stop thinking...what about Peter Alonso?
Last night, his bat screamed, "Ready to help you, Mr. deGrom."
Yes, 4 for 5, including 2 doubles, his 6th HR, and 6 RBIs, giving him 27 in 27 games, and 42 HRs and 146 in the regular season and AFL combined.
Not counting his Kingman-esque July and November memorable All Star game homers. The July one was as long and high as any homer Giancarlo or Judge has ever hit, while the recent one was a bomb off of a 103 MPH FB. He also hit a double with the fastest exit velocity ever. By anyone.
Fielding better and better, and a very cool 4 for 4 in steals.
Or...we could watch Jay Bruce at 1B hit into the shift all year without adjustment, or Dom Smith slotted there after earning nothing of the sort based on his desultory 2018 season.
I'll take PETE.
Pete, as I noted a while ago, had essentially identical splits against lefties and righties in 2018, so no platoon is necessary.
We need 42 HRs and 146 RBIs at 1B in Queens next season, don't you agree?
A FEW OTHER NOTABLE AFL PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT METS:
Alonso was not the only AFL guy to hit 6 homers.
Braves farmhand 1B Braxton Davidson has, too. In fact he hit 26 HRs in 138 games this year...but also managed to fan a stunning 242 times. Somewhere, 13 strikeout Joe DiMaggio is chuckling.
Vlad Guerrero has hit a "weak" (for him...bored?) .351. 17 RBIs in 19 games, but no homers.
Colorado certainly produces hitters. Another one appears to be 21 year old 1B Tyler Nevin, who had a fine A ball season (.328/.386/.503) and proved it was no fluke in going straight from A ball to the AFL and hitting a ridiculous .426/.535/.593 in 17 games. Interestingly, a righty bat at 1B, like Alonso.
Lastly, a guy we kicked around as a possible trade target for the Mets during 2018 articles, 2B, Keston Hiura...after a very solid 2018 minors season, he has torn the AFL asunder with a .333/.382/.533 split and a whopping, jaw-dropping, heart-stopping 33 RBIs in 22 games.
Mr. 190 RBI, Hack Wilson, hit the "like" button when he saw that. My guess is many Brewers fans have, too.
OK, my train ride is ending, but repeat after me:
PETE, PETE, PETE!
Go ahead, try it out loud, trust me, you'll feel better!
If our new GM truly wants to come out of the box with our best player on first, it should be Peter.
ReplyDeleteNow...
Send him home, let him sleep for a month, and give him some home cooked meals.
He's earned the rest.
The corollary to that is if he does get to start, don't do a TC and bench him for a week after an 0-4 day.
ReplyDeleteMack, Alonso is HUNGRY - so I think he won't stay home long.
ReplyDeleteHe worked out like a dog last off season, to accelerate his growth, and I have little doubt that after some rest he will jump back in. Because he is HUNGRY.
Reese, he will have 0 for 4 days, but he will be good.
One guy playing but not killing it in the AFL is Bobby Dalbec, but he is a good example to bring up the point again about drafting.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets in the 3rd round of 2016 picked Blake Tiberi, 6'0", 205 IF. 30 picks later, the savvy Red Sox picked 6'4" 225 IF Dalbec.
Dalbec strikes out too much, but in 2018, in 129 games, he had 32 homers, 109 RBIs, and was .257/.361/.558.
Tiberi in 114 games was 5 HR, 38 RBI, .242/.342/.336.
I have to ask myself AGAIN why the Mets would draft a seemingly low powered IF like Tiberi (putting up Cecchini-type #'s) that high in the draft when a Dalbec is available. Dalbec may never make the majors if he does not fix his K problem, but his power made him a much better pick to me, just like Alonso was a great pick.
Again, this is not a criticism of Tiberi - it is a criticism of an organization that has picked far too many guys over far too many years without a huge tool or tools, like Dalbec showed with his power in 2018.
I hope Van Wagenen's people read this - DRAFT POWER, whether it is power arms or power bats or power speed. You're far more likely to draft well where it counts - major league winners.
It is simple - list all of the drafted and international players that succeeded at the major league level (or are top 100 prospects right now) for a few successful organizations like the Red Sox, the Braves, the Yanks, then list ours, and see why those teams did so much better. Just dumb luck, or better strategy? I think mostly the latter.
If you blow the drafts and international signings, you pay big too plug multiple holes later on.
Dalbec was 30 picks after Tiberi. Does that make 29 other teams as "incompetent" as us?
DeleteAt this point I might disagree. I am very tired of the all-or-nothing types of players that were Sandy's favorites when he was the captain of the Titanic. I'd like more McNeil/Rivera types who make steady contact. Granted, pwoer gets you noticed but guys like Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew made nice careers for themselves without being sluggers.
ReplyDeleteWell...
ReplyDeletefor me, the draft will always be power pitching first
Internationally, speed and defense
I can change a hitters swing trajectory, but I can't teach him how to run faster, catch better, and hit the zone more often
And the drafting debate goes on, gents! Like I said, I would, as the GM, study which teams had the most success at developing REAL contributing major leaguers and see which attributes most often turned into real talent...and aim at those guys.
ReplyDeleteOK, so clearly, The Pounder will be a strong contender for the primary first base job in 2019.....but, I ask all of you this;
ReplyDeleteIs it irresponsible to play him out of the gate, when delaying his debut by a few weeks buys the franchise another year of control?
I know that sounds cheap, but it is a factor.
I can live with fill ins at first base for a few weeks, if it buys another season of an impact bat.
Mike
ReplyDeleteTrue
Mack and Mike, whether Alonso starts the season in the minors or with the Mets depends...is he red hot? Is the team healthy and playing well? I am conceptually not against delaying Peter a few weeks if the circumstances make sense...but I want to win in 2019. That is the priority.
ReplyDeleteIn order:
ReplyDelete-Mack, I’ve heard the “Let him rest” argument and I remind that he rested all of September and half of October. He’s not tired.
-Tom, no one liked Tiberi and too many draft picks leave the Mets looking like dumb, but I had read at the time that the Mets were looking to make Tiberi a catcher. Something didn’t materialize.
- Mike, those two weeks are a big deal. I want an extra year. With early cancelations and off days, he could miss about 10-11 games. Big deal.
My take: I read about Donaldson today. That’s a good start. Donaldson, Ramos, and three relievers is hope. Less than that is “meaningful games in September”.
Texas Gus, I agree with your acquisition approach. Team needs to not try to be like a pole vaulter that is hoping to skin the bar but not have it rattle off. Error on over-acquiring a bit, so there is room to spare between the vaulter and the bar.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I do not want this off season targeting to get us to 86-90 wins. I want it to get us to 92-96 wins. Targeting lower and it is so easy to have a few injuries and another season thrown away.
Just adding a strong pen gets us 10 more wins than last year, maybe more. Last year's pen was horrific.
I'll go one further....
DeleteI don't want 1 year of 92+ wins.
I want the Mets to build a core that will be the center of a 92+ win team for years