Tom Brennan - METS LIVING IN REHAB CITY
As of the time of this writing on Friday morning, Hurricane Todd bears down on the Mets 25 man roster, with the joke being that with a bat like his, they are expecting minimal damage.
While on the rehab topic, what has happened to some of the other rehabbers?
The Mets signed Ruben Tejada as of March 23 - 4 weeks later, not activated or appearing in any games. Wazzup, RT?
We are heavily focused on the season in progress, so the glare of attention has diverted from the subject of: how is Yoenis Cespedes coming along in his rehab? Have not heard a thing in quite some time about La Potencia, but who woudn't love that righty bat for the current Mets' outfield?
After all, 2 current righty outfielders, Juan & Keon, ain't exactly playin' like Lebron:
Combined, the whiffing duo is 13 for 62 (.209), 1 double, 1 homer, 7 walks, and a nauseating 26 strikeouts. I am getting flashbacks to the underwhelming play of 2018 Mets subs and scrubs, as I think about these two.
OK, OK, I just figured it out:
Juan and Keon are actually rehabbing in live games, which is why they are hitting like - well, like those 2018 Mets subs did. If Jose Bautista had not hit .203 in both 2017 and 2018, I might want him back.
If I were a fisher, I'd cut bait with both Juan and Keon.
Instead, I want to see Carlos Gomez overswing and fall to one knee while hitting in Queens instead, don't you?
Competition is slim - after all, that Rajai guy is hitting like a 38 year old in Syracuse (.200, 14 ks in 12 games), and Timmy T has sputtered so far (.182) in the frozen tundra known as Syracuse, where residents p-p-pray for actual g-g-global w-w-warming to o-o-occur.
Too bad that uber-hitter and infrequent outfielder TJ Rivera's rehab went up in smoke - he doesn't know anything about .209. His opening hitting bid is .309. He would have been a perfect 4th or 5th outfielder fit.
Actually, a very healthy J.D. Davis had about 30 minor league games in the outfield, and so he and his superior bat should be getting some time out there soon, I'd think.
Dominic Smith isn't rehabbing, but he is resting way too much on the bench, don't you agree?
He'd be getting outfield reps but it would be tough having him as a not-so-speedy outfield apprentice while .424 Jeff McNeil is also apprenticing out there, albeit in a more advanced stage of apprenticeship and speed ship than Smith.
Of course, Hurricane Todd Frazier has some outfield experience, too, not much, but some, so perhaps he will find himself out there a bit instead of Juan and Keon.
Jed Lowrie was supposedly progressing to live BP - after 8 weeks, I'd certainly hope so. Like being in a traffic jam and going from 1 MPH to 5 MPH.
Target date for return of the former Iron Man?
What do I look like, a prophet?
Zero Mets at bats for Jed - and (not) counting.
Brandon Nimmo, meanwhile, was hot as a firecracker, and naturally gets a bad stiff neck. Typical Mets timing. David Wright says that those sorts of stiffy necky things can be a problem.
Gavin Cecchini was hurt most of last year - and so far, this year too. That hurts our feelings.
Meanwhile, it is clear that Jason Vargas is still rehabbing from his hamate bone injury - once he is healthy, he'll pitch better (wait, he was healthy last June? But why is he pitching like he's hurt?)
This may be my last article for a while:
Mack may send me to rehab. At a facility with butterfly nets.
Happy Mets-Cardinals, people.
AND HAPPY EASTER & PESACH TO OUR READERS.
AND HAPPY EASTER & PESACH TO OUR READERS.
I'm sorry, I'm going to be negative here, and it's not that I don't appreciate the enthusiasm you bring to the Mets and this blog. But there are so many nutty ideas in here I don't know where to start.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main themes here is your total disregard for outfield defense. It matters. You can't just throw anybody out there -- Smith! Frazier! Davis! -- while dumping on the two guys who can actually field the position.
* You want to try Todd Frazier in the outfield? Is this some Joycian stream of consciousness thing or an actual idea put forth on a Mets blog?
* You want Smith to start more and yet fail to mention the corresponding result that Alonso should sit more? They play the same position, you know. It's nice that Dom has enjoyed a statistical blip so far but if you've noticed, he really hasn't squared up many baseballs. Rolled three through a vacant SS position, a couple of other 3-hoppers that I recall. He's been lucky. I'm rooting him, sure, but I'm not in a big hurry to sit Big Pete.
* You don't seem to grasp that Lagares/Broxton are primarily backup outfielders on the team for their defense -- on a team that has very, very poor defense. This needs to play itself out over more time. Too soon.
* Carlos Gomez might be crazy. You know that, right? He's often in the middle of daft kerfuffles. I wouldn't be so eager to toss away useful ML players just to throw Carlos Gomez into a young Mets clubhouse to see what explodes. I'm not sure he'll relish a backup role, either. I mean, sure, I'm glad he's in AAA and if there's an injury, I bet we'll eventually see him. Not expecting big things.
* It's April 19th. Stats are fairly meaningless, though beginning to stabilize, for regular position players. For bench guys, playing time is too erratic. Lagares, we know, can't hit. Broxton, we know, is on the team for his glove, his speed (4 SBs), and his occasional pop. Three weapons. Remember that the Mets have poor defense and are very slow. When you focus on his BA -- with no recognition that he's hardly had an opportunity to get going -- then you completely miss what this particular player brings to the bench. Too much staring at numbers. Same for Travis d'Arnaud.
* If Mets could trade Lagares/Broxton/Frazier/Smith for a relief arm, they'd do it.
* J.D. Davis is a good hitter and an erratic/poor fielder. He's very slow. He's not an outfielder.
* On a ML bench, guys who are #24 and #25 are never, ever complete, full-formed, multi-tooled players. If they can do 1-2 things very well, in areas of team weakness, they likely have value. You expect too much and believe too much in the numbers, which will only ever tell an incomplete version of the story.
Jimmy P