Back in the early 1970s, I almost bought a brand new Chevy Vega for $2,300. Including tax. Yep, you read that right. What a beauty.
Cheap indeed...but even at $2,300, I would not have gotten my money's worth.
It was a crappy rust bucket of a car that would have fallen apart in no time.
Wikipedia described it as follows:
The Vega received praise and awards at its introduction, including 1971 Motor Trend Car of the Year.
Subsequently the car became widely known for a range of problems related to its engineering, reliability, safety, propensity to rust, and engine durability.
Imagine being the Car and Driver magazine writer assigned to do a review on the Vega...."I became a journalist for this?"
One good Vega point, though...theft protection. At a time where as many as 100,000 cars were stolen annually in the 5 boroughs of NYC, who'd want to steal a Vega?
Even with the doors unlocked and keys in the ignition? Uhh, nobody, that's who.
How about the fabulous Ford Pinto? Similar cheap junk, but with exploding gas tank problems to boot. Cheap...crappy.
Enter the much more reliable Toyota Corolla, stage right, to steal huge market share from Chevy and Ford.
Writing about the Mets is often like writing about the Chevy Vega. Hard to be positive.
"Well, that Vega right there? It usually starts, so it's mostly reliable, is normally faster than walking, and the rust should not start showing for at least 18 months. So how many Vegas do you want?"
Yes, sometimes, it is equally hard to write about our Mets. They are NY's baseball Vega or Pinto, your choice.
Nothing like writing about that beautiful Lamborghini in the Bronx, that much I can tell you.
8 comments:
Yeah but I wonder just how long that "Lamborghini" will go into the playoffs with that pitching? Bet they'd love to swap rotations right about now.
My first car was a used 1971 Chevy Vega. I was warned that the engine block cracked at about 50,000 miles but, as usual, I ignored the warning. Sure enough, the engine block cracked at about 50,000 miles. I don't have a point to make besides a lesson learned.
Your comment about the Lamborghini in the Bronx got me to thinking about the Ferrari in the highly underrated "A New Leaf" by Mike Nichols and Elaine May:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4UhOeYYXAA
7 in a row. We could be approaching Toyota Corolla territory.
Nah, Corollas are reliable
Kevin Kaczmarski - NYM MiLB CF
Good glove, good attitude, hustles in the field, can hit for average but with not much power generation. Here's why.
In the videos I have watched on Kevin, he does have quick enough hands and bat speed but at times. He utilizes a step-into-the-ball batting mechanics style approach, but "as is" it does not always work for him in the power generation department. He does make consistent contact on the ball, but the ball does not fly off his bat with the power he actually could use more of.
Many batters today come up to the majors using what I call "the hip-swivel-approach" to generate bat speed and power. With this there is no step-into-the-ball. These batters turn quickly on the ball utilizing just their hips. But there is no problem using the "step-into-the-ball approach" either. It's actually been used since baseball began and it is tested, tried, and true.
Kevin's actual step-into-the-ball (as the ball is coming into home plate) is only maybe four to five inches wider than his initial set stance is. At this time, he sort of drags his front foot forward more than lifting it into position. As such, it makes it hard for him to generate any real and consistent power employing this approach because there is no significant enough body weight shift resulting.
In the videos that I have seen, his initial batting stance is actually the problem here.
He takes too wide a stance (well beyond the width of his shoulders) so that when it comes time to actually step-into-the-ball and weight shift, the pitch finds him almost flat-footed with only four to five inches to step (slide) into the ball with his front foot, which isn't really enough of a step-in to generate the kind of power generation to drive the ball consistently hard. Grounders usually being the result.
I would suggest that Kevin maybe try shortening his initial stance; in other words narrowing it down to a more closed shoulder to shoulder wide stance and then stepping more than just the four to five inches he has been doing before the ball reaches the plate.
This should provide the power Kevin could use more of, and by lifting his front foot a bit higher to begin his swing's weight shift, it should add the more power generation.
If I see things correctly, the Mets could use one more utility CF on their roster right now, and Kevin Kaczmarski could be perfect for this role in time.
The NY Mets are playing very, very good beisbol now man. But as the season goes on, the bench could play an increasingly important role. Take the Cano hamstring pull yesterday as an example.
The Mets have (I think) some seriously good MiLB middle infielder depth at AAA. But I do think that they need to stop bringing up AAA players that seem to have peaked only at AAA. By this I mean that when called up, they have not been able to deliver on any consistent level offensively in the big leagues.
The Mets need to find this middle infielder now probably down at AAA Syracuse. There are two players I see there who might be perfect for this role, and I don't think either one has been called up yet this 2019 season by the Mets.
The Mets right now may not have the luxury to start Jeff McNeil on his natural second base. JD Davis in left field has been terrific lately, and I am not at all surprised by this. But with the Dominic Smith, Robinson Cano, and Brandon Nimmo injuries, I do not think that Jeff playing second makes a lot sound sense, considering how thin the Mets outfield already is. In other words, Jeff should probably stay in right field for now. He is a natural athlete and could probably play anywhere that he wanted to.
"The Squirrel" for NL MVP and "THe Bear" for ROY Award. How perfect would that be?
The remainder of this season is going to be fun!
And finally the bullpen, I bring you this.
I think that NY Mets bullpen would all change with the addition of a true hard and consistently throwing (as in strikes) lefty closer.
Firstly, that guy is not here now on these NY Mets and they do not really have him in their AAA or AA either. They have left-handed early on and middle relievers, but no one for the closing role. The right handed relievers here now are pretty good actually, but they fall short closing out games.
The Mets addition of a hard throwing left-handed closer, could conceivably change all this to the good-er. I like that word, because I just made it up. (Don't tell Mack!)
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