Major League Baseball
and all other major sports remain on hold as the nation continues to practice
social distancing with the goal of slowing down the spread of the coronavirus. This
is a time for the politicians in Congress and the Senate to finally bond
together instead of resorting to arguments. Peace and unity are what
this country needs to be able to focus on eliminating the virus so things in
the US can get back to normal.
As the Mets continue to wait for the season to start, they
are still undecided about certain things that pertain to the team and decisions
need to be made. For example, who will be the fifth starter? It comes down to
Matz vs Wacha. Since the Mets signed Wacha to a free agent contract there was
talk of Matz going to the bullpen.
I think Matz should be the fifth starter, because he pitched
well towards the end of 2019. The key for Matz is that he has to stay healthy in
which he has been during the last couple of seasons plus he has been
consistent. I don’t think Wacha will pitch like his early career form since he
was years removed from that time so I feel he should be the spot starter.
Who will be the closer? Should the Mets go with a closer by
committee? There is that much talent at the back end of the bullpen. Diaz and
Familia have been the closers. They both struggled. Brodie had an expectation
for Diaz after the big trade that brought him to the Mets, but he had tough year
in 2019 that he would like to forget about.
After his 2019 performance Diaz is determined to regain his
2018 form in 2020 and show everyone that he can be the ideal closer the Mets
had been lacking. Rojas thinks that the most important thing for Diaz is his
game preparation and maintaining his confidence. In 2018 his bread and butter
pitch was the slider, but in 2019 his slider was breaking differently which
ended up hanging so batters sat on his fastball since his slider was off.
Jeurys Familia struggled with his control and confidence. He
shed thirty pounds in an effort to rebound from an off year. He has worked with
the Mets health and performance department to improve in every aspect of his
preparation. He has spent time with Jeremy Hefner to better understand his
mechanics and approach.
Hopefully his new
build will not have a negative effect on his throwing motion. Betances and Lugo
have been successful setup men who have been effective and should stay in the
same roles. I think Diaz should be the closer and have the chance to regain his
2018 form.
In other Mets news, the Mets won’t be heading to Puerto this
season to face the Marlins. Major League Baseball announced the cancellation of
a three-game series between the two teams at Hiram Bithorn in San Juan from
April 28-30, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
I wonder what these ballplayers are doing to get exercise and to maintain conditioning while being told essentially to stay at home?
ReplyDeleteI keep trying to align the graduation of high school seniors and the draft up with a sports that probably won't have the opportunity to open up until past the orginal all-star dates and I can not see a 2020 season for anyone.
ReplyDeleteThe one tragedy is college seniors that are normally drafted as filler. Their baseball career is over.
Mack,
ReplyDeleteI'm still musing about the 60-man, split-squad DHers I threw out the other day. It's a wonderful way to kill time.
I have a 10 week (30x2 team) schedule mapped out, as balanced as can be given odd-no. leagues. Mets would play two 3G Simultaneous Home/Away sets vs each team in the NLE. on 8 weekends (FSaSu ) and a TuW 2G set against a non-div, NL opponent during those weeks. On weeks 5 & 10, they would play three 2G H/A sets MTu, (NL non-div opp) WTh (AL C/W Div opp), SaSuNYY)*
That is:
5H/5A G/wk for 8 weeks : incl 12 (6H/6A) against division; and 4 (2H/2A) NL non-dev
6H/6A G/wk on 2 weeks (4wks apart): 2H/A NL non-dev; 2H/A OtherL/non-rival; 2H/2A Rival*
12Gx4 in div(48); 4Gx10 vs non-div(40); 2Gx4 interleague (4 vs NYY)
48 "Doubleheaders of a 3rd Kind" on 48 dates in 11 weeks.
All teams in Div differ only in interleague opponents; intra-div & intra-league identical.
So now we need 60-man rosters.
And how about:
A limited (say 10 round) draft.
And unlimited, FA "per-diem" signings to fill MiL rosters who could choose to (A) return to amateur competition (and later MLB draft) or (B) sign MiL contract with "temp" team.
Nation Pastime it is.
Hobie
ReplyDeleteGo for a walk...
Mack,
ReplyDeleteLOL. Did-- 14,000 steps.
Hobie, You are on fire with this idea. As I also quoted on your guest post, think about playing games in Minor League cities to boost those cities. Baseball needs to be proactive and promote like crazy when they come back. I think it makes much more sense to play in Syracuse or Trenton than London.
ReplyDeleteReese, The ballplayers are probably lifting & doing calisthenics for exercise and to maintain conditioning while being told essentially to stay at home.
ReplyDeleteMack, I agree, there won't be much of a 2020 season.
John, i think the fans will come out when baseball returns.