John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 5/16/2020

Good Morning, Lots of talk about the Mets DH, Jake  Mangum talks on the Mets Farm Report, and the MLB Draft will be held remotely.  

Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, Minor League Links, Asian Baseball Links, and This Day in Mets History.    

ESPN.com: 2020 MLB draft to be held remotely on June 10-11.

CBS Sports: MLB Draft 2020: Ranking top 50 prospects in the class, with collegiate hitters at the top.

Mets Links:

FanGraphs.com: No, the Mets Do Not Have a Good Designated Hitter Situation. Comparing the projected wRC+ of the Mets hitters to the average wRC+ of the AL’s DHs last year FanGraphs notes “Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil would all make fine DHs while Brandon Nimmo, Yoenis Céspedes, and J.D. Davis would all be decent to average. Everybody else would be bad.”

SNY.TV: Gary Cohen says “The Mets have multiple options for using the DH to their advantage, starting with Yoenis Cespedes...J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith and Robinson Cano all profile as possible candidates in a DH rotation.

Empire Sports Media: New York Mets: Why the DH is an Advantage.

Rising Apple: First Mets DH in franchise history during the regular season and playoffs.  Playoffs, 1986, Danny Heep.  Regular Season, 1996, Butch Huskey. 

Mike’s Mets talks about “MLB's evolving plan to get back to playing baseball.” In “Testing. Testing”.

Brian Joura Mets 360.com: Opinions on hot temperatures, hotspots and the start of the 2020 MLB season.

Centerfield Maz: Rube Walker: Inventor of the Five Man Rotation- Long Time Mets Pitching Coach: (1968-1981).

Centerfield Maz: Remembering Mets History (2009) Mets Steal A Franchise Record Seven Bases, 5/14/2009.

Mike Puma NY Post: Wilson Ramos’ task: Getting on same page with Mets’ starters.

Newsday: Mets position analysis: Michael Conforto is a staple in rightfield.

Rising Apple: New York Mets: Five recent players we forgot played in Flushing. Elizabeth Muratore cites Aaron Harang, Jose Valverde, Jack Reinheimer, Blaine Boyer, and Jim Henderson. 

Metsmerized.com: Metsmerizing Moves: Cliff Floyd Sets the Stage for Offensive Boom.

Metsmerized.com: MMO Exclusive: One-on-One With Ruben Amaro Jr.

My Captain #LGM pic.twitter.com/Ufdkmy8MrL

— Athlete Logos (@athletelogos) May 15, 2020

YouTube: New York Mets Videos - Catch Up with Robinson Cano.

MLB LINKS:

MLB Trade Rumors: MLB Expected To Suspend Revenue Sharing.

12Up.com: MLB Owners Should Just Pay the Players Instead of Losing Billions and Depriving Fans of  2020 Season.

Ken Davidoff NY Post: Doctors give MLB’s coronavirus restart plan mixed reviews.

Joel Sherman NY Post: After safety and money, MLB’s restart questions are aplenty.

12Up.com: Boston Mayor Confirms No Fans Will Be Allowed Inside Fenway Park This Summer in Latest Baseball Gut Punch.

12Up.com: 6 MLB Postseason Chokers Who Were Worse In October Than Clayton Kershaw. They include Jeurys Familia and his 2015 WS and 2016 Wild Card performances on the list.

Yahoo Sports: Bryce Harper has some wild ideas for MLB if the 2020 season is played. “Harper starts by laying out a 135-game schedule that would begin on July 1 and end on Nov. 15 — a span of a 138 days…Harper suggests 30-man rosters with six-man pitching rotations…Harper’s [postseason] plan calls for a 10-team, round-robin type tournament with several best-of-three series and wild cards and all kinds of potential madness.”

Yahoo Sports: Álex Rodríguez says MLB players and owners must work together to 'save baseball'.

Yahoo Sports: Hate Blake Snell if you must, but every athlete has a choice to make on coronavirus risk.

Yahoo Sports: Bryce Harper backs Blake Snell's stance on not accepting pay cuts: 'Somebody's gotta say it'.

Kyodo News: Baseball: Playing now akin to treating players like dogs: Yu Darvish.

MLB Trade Rumors: Realmuto On Spring Extension Talks With Phillies.

MLB Trade Rumors: The Last 10 First Overall Picks.

MLB Trade Rumors: Royals Have Reduced Future Payroll Commitments To Under $40MM.

Minor League Links:

Check out this interview that @AlyssaRose did with @Mets 2019 draft pick, SEC hit 👑 and former @HailStateBB star, @jakemangum15. #LGM pic.twitter.com/5YiKOM0NNa

— Mets Farm Report (@MetsFarmReport) May 15, 2020

Asian Baseball:

(Yonhap Interview) In 2nd KBO season, American outfielder wants to 'improve on everything'.  In 95 games in 2019 Preston Tucker batted .311/.381/.479 with nine home runs and 50 RBIs.

Yonhap News: After dismal stretch, ex-Cubs prospect, Kim Jin-young, finally putting it together on mound.

NC Dinos 6 SK 2.  Aaron Altherr 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. (Box score).

Aaron is so far 0 for 3 in today’s game (Box Score). He is hitting .227 in 8 games so far.

Here is KBO’s Scoreboard for yesterday and today.

CPBL Stats: Chen Yung-Chi Hits “Two Grand Slams” (One regular – one “Little League” style.)

Hi Guys We are #LIVE with #CPBL right now.
From #Taiwan #Tainan, please join the world to watch @CTBC_Brothers vs #UniLions!!
WE HAVE #SABABOY today!! https://t.co/qodg0JtCKP

— ELEVEN SPORTS TAIWAN (@ElevenSportsTW) May 16, 2020

Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:

Reese Kaplan -- That 82-Game Season May or May Not Happen.

Tom Brennan - THE METS' BEST HITTER OF THE 1980'S.

Mack’s Blast From The Past May 16, 2013: Mets Draft Target - 1B/OF - Dominic Smith.

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

• Rube Walker (1926)
• Frank Seminara (1967)
• Jerrod Riggan (1974)
• Andres German (1997)

Transactions:

New York Mets released Ralph Terry on May 16, 1967.

New York Mets signed free agent Neil Ramirez on May 16, 2017.

National Pastime.com: 

1983	In an 11-4 rout of the Pirates, rookie right fielder Darryl Strawberry hit his first major league home run, a two-run round-tripper off Pittsburgh's Lee Tunnell at Three Rivers Stadium. The troubled Mets outfielder, the eventual franchise leader with 252 homers, will hit a total of 335 during his turbulent 17-year career with the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, and Yankees.
1988	Mets catcher Gary Carter hits his 299th career home run, connecting for a three-run round-tripper off Greg Booker in the seventh inning of the team’s 7-4 victory over the Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium. The future Hall of Fame backstop will go 230 at-bats and three months before hitting #300 on August 11th.

2008

Before the start of the Subway Series at Yankee Stadium, the visiting Mets conduct a closed-door clubhouse meeting to clear the air concerning comments made yesterday by closer Billy Wagner about his teammates' availability after games. Although the reliever addresses the issue, his remarks focus on the team's lackluster start to the season, and the need to get it done on the field.

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