Mike Friere - Fleeting Thoughts - Opening Day Edition

Good Morning, as always, Mets' fans!

Well, Winter has come and gone (unless you are in Westeros) and all of the usual signs of Spring are in full view. The biggest sign of Spring for me has always been Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season.  I think it should be a national holiday and every last baseball fan should celebrate with a full day on the couch, while eating hotdogs and watching as much baseball as you can stand in one day.

By the time you read this article, the Mets will be in Washington DC getting ready to face off with the Nationals in both team's opener. You really couldn't ask for a better Opening Day, right?  

The Mets versus the dreaded Nationals with "newly extended" Jacob DeGrom facing off against Max Scherzer.  You know, the guys that finished first and second in the most recent NL Cy Young award race and two of the best pitchers in all of baseball.  It should be the first of many entertaining match ups between the two teams this year.

Let's get on with the rest of this article!

PC - Ed Delany

1.  Boy, it is getting harder by the day to stomach what the mainstream media is dishing out anymore.  A more relevant example is the story (i.e. non-story) are the Mets' negotiations with Jacob DeGrom.  Despite the fact that the team had two more years of control over JG, the pending extension was viewed as a "life or death" issue is some circles.  Not to mention the frightening "deadline" that was set by the agents representing the player that was still days away when the stream of negative articles started to circulate. 

This was made even worse by the statements that were elicited from Noah Syndergaard, which were then recirculated all over the place.  You would have thought that dysfunction reigned and that Jake was going to "get away" somehow.

BUT, just like that, an extension was reached on Tuesday morning and suddenly all is well!  Two full days before the "deadline" and the contract itself is extremely fair for both sides.  All the hand wringing and media machinations over NOTHING!  Makes you want to tune out permanently, doesn't it?

2.  On a much happier topic, I like to "guesstimate" a basic range of wins for each team in the NL East once the off season is over and games being to count.  The range is a "low end/high end" type of scenario and it is an effort on my part to generate a "ranking" system for the coming season.

***Yes, any of the listed teams could exceed the range in either direction, but in a normal environment, this is what I am projecting.

Washington   87-92 Wins
Philadelphia  85-90 Wins
New York       85-90 Wins
Atlanta          85-90 Wins
Miami            67-72 Wins

Outside of the rebuilding Marlins, the rest of the division is packed together with the Nationals as a slight favorite, in my mind.  OK, so I am a bit of a homer, but I still like the Mets' chances to compete with the rest of the teams, despite the fact that the Phillies are now the media darling for signing Bryce Harper.  It wouldn't shock me to see both wild card teams coming from the NL East (how is that for bold).

PC - Ed Delany

3.  I have officially changed my mind on Pete "The Pounder" Alonso.  A small part of me still thinks it would be a smart business decision to start him in Syracuse for a few weeks in order to gain an additional year of control down the road.  But, the rest of me thinks it is smarter to put him at first base, right off the bat (pun intended).  His right handed power bat will be a welcome addition to the lineup, no doubt.

His spring statistics have been very impressive and his defense appears to be passable, or at least close enough to acceptable that his bat will more then make up for the difference.  Plus, it is another example of BVW keeping his word and creating "a player friendly environment" that has been missing the past few years (despite what the mainstream media would have you believe)

Oh and if he ends up being the player he appears to be so far, the team will likely extend him before the service time issue rears its ugly head anyway, so it is a moot point, right?

4.  One last thought before I close up shop for the day.  The Mets' regular players have been tearing the cover off the baseball this Spring, in case anyone failed to notice.  Their offensive prowess has gone beyond power statistics and it has also included situational hitting!  If I didn't know better, the team looks like a reasonable copy of the 2018 Boston Red Sox who could kill you with "a thousand paper cuts" just as easily as they could with the long ball.

What has gone mostly under the radar is the influence of new hitting coach Chili Davis (whose fingerprints are all over the aforementioned Red Sox approach).  I was stoked when he was hired this past Winter since he has been pretty successful as a player and a coach, his one year hitch in Chicago notwithstanding.

Yes, the current Mets' team is more talented than last year, but I also think you are seeing CD's influence here.  IF that carries over to the regular season, I am confident we will see a much more consistent offensive team in 2019.  Pair that up with a strong rotation and an improved bullpen and well....maybe my 85-90 win forecast needs to be tweaked upwards?

Enjoy the games today and I will see you next time.