Congratulations to Brodie Van Wagenen on his second great
draft in a row. Once again, he did a
great job getting the most of his slot dollars by drafting high end talent
early and saving slot money in the later rounds to get them signed.
Some will say this compensates for the “go for broke” trade
of Jarred
Kelenic and Justin Dunn
for Robinson
Cano and Edwin Diaz.
Or three prospects going for Keon
Broxton – only to release Keon in June.
Or trading a prospect for Wilmer Font
– only to release Font. Or the trade of Simeon
Woods-Richardson and Anthony Kay
for Marcus
Stroman who will be a free agent after this year’s 60 game season.
His drafts help make up for the aggressive moves that may come
back to haunt the Mets.
But none of the above moves is as bad as this:
He fired Fonzie.
Sorry – reassigned him to a “club ambassador” role: doing
things like Census PSAs.
So what, Managers come and go all the time right?
Growing up as a Mets fan in the 70’s and 80’s, I saw the
great Gil Hodges teams that emphasized defense and good fundamentals. When Gil died that emphasis slowly went away.
In the 80’s under Frank Cashen and Davy Johnson, the Mets
went with the old Orioles “three-run” homer mentality. Davy didn’t like to bunt – even when it was
obvious to do so.
They played guys like Howard Johnson and Kevin Mitchell at
shortstop!
This mindset resulted in those great mid-late 80’s teams
just getting one World Series title.
For example, in 1987, the Mets scored more runs and had a
higher BA than the Cardinals. The Mets also hit almost 100 more homers than the
Cards in 87. Still, the Cards won in part to the fact that they made just 116
Errors to the Mets 137. Yes, Dwight
Gooden missed the start of the season – other Mets starting pitchers got
hurt in 87 as well but Cardinals ace John Tudor
was also hurt and missed time. They lost
that year by three games – despite of all the extra hitting.
Poor defense, poor fundamentals, consistent lack of team
speed (with the exception of the Jose Reyes
years) has sort of been what we were used to as Mets fans.
You got used to it whether you went to a Major or a Minor
league game.
Then it happened. One
year ago this month. Monday Night, July
8, 2019. I was seated in the second row
behind home plate at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy, New York to watch the Tri-City
Valley Cats play the Brooklyn Cyclones.
In the top of the first, Antoine
Duplantis singled. Guillermo
Granadillo, the Brooklyn right fielder that night, hit the other way against
the shift to reach first. Duplantis made
second and seeing that no one was covering third due to the shift, kept running
to third base. Granadillo then stole
second. Duplantis later came home on a
passed ball and Granadillo later stole home on another ball that got away from
the catcher.
Wait – what just happened?
This is a Mets team? Hitting
against the shift? Running the bases
aggressively?
I then started following last year’s Cyclones completely
after that. Going to games in Brooklyn when
possible, following all the games.
They played defense (the only category they led the league
in), they were very aggressive on the bases, they ran out popups (unlike we
have seen other Mets teams do), they stole 4 bases in the first inning one
game, they scored runs on outs.
This was exciting baseball…and they won. The first team Brooklyn Cyclone team to win
the New York Penn League Championship outright (the 2001 team made it to the
Championship game but was declared a co-winner when the game was cancelled due
to 9/11).
Unlike some of the prospects that he dealt in a “go for it”
season to try and build value for the sale – future be darned…Brodie saw the
fruits of Fonzie’s labor right in front of him.
And Brodie fires Fonzie because he was not his guy?
What? The guy is the first Mets manager since Gil Hodges to stress fundamentals, aggressive base running, and defense. And you fire him? Sorry, reassign him?
But look at how great Brodie's drafts have been?
Sorry - he fired Fonzie. An unforgivable sin.
Not to change the subject, but thinking of Brodie made me think, "what's going on with Quinn Brodey?" If he is any good, he could be a Met OF some time next year.
ReplyDeleteBack to Fonzie...I would love to find out from an unnamed source what really happened with his firing. If this team was in Washington, we'd know, with all the leaks there.
Stolen bases are great - until guys get hurt from too many times hitting the dirt. If Jose Reyes had been indestructible, he'd be joining fellow NY SS Derek Jeter in the Hall of Fame. Maybe Pete Crow Armstrong will bring the steal back to Queens. Rosario could, if he ever applied himself.
The Kelenic deal will always be my number 1 worst move by Brodie, but that Fonzie move was horrible as well.
ReplyDeleteI always say let’s build a team like the cardinals of the 80’s with speed and defense. It wasn’t fun to watch because we were rooting for the other team but it would of been if it was our team.
I agree 100% Zozo. Hated how the Cardinal teams won against us with less talent. Fonzie did not have any of the Mets top 20 prospects until the last week of the season and the playoffs - and still won. Proving once again that it takes more than talent.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Quinn.
ReplyDeleteHe desperately néeded 2020 as a rebound year.
Sadly, he may settle into a AAAA role.
We may never know the reason behind the Fonzie firing. Perhaps he was late filing paperwork to the front office. Perhaps he kept a sloppy office. Perhaps it is simply not being someone BVW hired. It could be any of the above or something untoward like speaking something other than the company line to players or indulging in substances. Until we know the facts, it's hard to get too hard on the GM for making the move. If it was strictly BVW's ego resenting someone in the lower minors having more name recognition and respect than him, then yes, he is 100% wrong. But we don't know what the rationale is.
ReplyDeletePeople get fired for one of these reasons -
ReplyDelete1. You under-performed at your job.
2. You didn't play by the team rules.
3. Poor chemistry between you and your boss.
4. Substance or drug abuse.
5. Lack of respecting diversity.
6. Bedding down one of the children of the GM.
7. Your boss loses confidence in you.
8. You are found in the alley way of a dive bar with a dress on.
9. Your players complain openly about you to members of the organization.
10. You dot the 't's' and cross the 'I's'.
Pick one.
Mack, I was fired from my first job after school for doing exactly what me boss told me to do, even though I warned him it was wrong, by his boss. I was new and he was mad.
ReplyDeleteAs for Fonzie, the fact that he still has a job with the organization speaks to somebody liking him. Usually, the guy paying the bills. He must have given BVW some lip or something and he was made an example of.
The Seattle trade will be BVW’s unforgivable sin not just because of the talent traded, but that Cano had a “no trade clause” and was only going to accept going back to NYC and he was owed a boatload of money. That is where you rip off Seattle, not let them steal your lunch! By asking Seattle to take Bruce and Swarzak, they gave Seattle leverage. Then, the Mets had to go out and sign another reliever and trade for an outfielder in Broxton. Incredible brain farts. BVW may have learned, but the price was unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteT
ReplyDeleteTo say that’s losing a minor league manager was Brody most unforgivable act is ludicrous... Edgar was a fan favorite as a player but there is no proof he would have been a great major league manager.... losing assets for worse assets is Brodys most unforgivable act... and I hope he is gone with the Wilpons even if all the new talent acquired hits....
ReplyDeletehaving to pay cano (a former CAA client no less) could not have been thought of as a great idea by his Staff... even if Diaz went to the Phillies .... that will never be forgiven as he could have been a trade chip for a real talented player that had a future with this team but I would have just kept him and seen him take CF
Eddie,
ReplyDeleteI understand your point. The Cano - Kelenic trade was a overly aggressive trade by the owner and GM trying to win now, to drive up the price and sell the team. Was it the wrong move? Yes. Was it an idiotic move? Yes. Was it an extreme long-shot that 99.9% of the world's most addicted gamblers wouldn't even take? Yes. Unforgiveable? Maybe, maybe not.
What I am saying is that Edgardo Alfonzo was not just "a minor league manager" and not just "a fan favorite" player. He was the type of Mets manager that Mets fans have been begging for - for years. And it happened all right in front of Brodie's eyes.
It is one thing to dispose of something you are not sure about - it is another to dispose of something that works - that you see on a day to day basis - and still dispose of it.
The Brooklyn teams over the last two years hit against the shift. Took extra bases when the shift had players out of position and bases uncovered. Scored from third if the ball got by the catcher. It was the prayer Mets fans have been begging for.
I have been going to minor league games for a long time. I saw fan favorite Wally Backman manage as well as Luis Rojas, Tim Teufel, Howard Johnson, and others. Only one made me sit up and take notice - Fonzie. His style of play should have been replicated over the entire system. Instead he is now the ambassador.
I thought we finally had the right approach to how the game should be played in the Mets system. Nope. No such luck.
Ego over results. Unforgivable.