Tom Brennan: METS BONEHEAD DECISIONS REVISITED

Flash back to the glories of late 2015, including scintillating playoff Mets baseball.

Shortly thereafter, the Mets stood pat with Lucas Duda at 1B, while letting the stunningly great Daniel Murphy leave in free agency - for their chief competitors. 

When Murphy had demonstrably proven in the playoffs that he could hit anyone on the planet, while also having the capability to play 2nd, 3rd (if Wright broke down), and first.

At the time, I wondered aloud in these columns: why not sign the beloved Murphy for 1B and trade Duda?

Ignored. I was ignored.  I tried. I really did.

He tortured the Mets in 2016 and 2017.  Didn’t see him pulling out toenails with pliers, but the effect was about the same.

Incredibly stupid.  

Fast forward to 2019.  The oft-injured Travis d’Arnaud (TDA) was coming back from TJS.  The Mets had signed good hitting Wilson Ramos, but had no back up catcher of major league caliber except Travis.  

Proof?  Tomas Nido in 2019 hit .191 in 136 ABs.  

They just had to give TDA time to see what he could do healthy.

They didn’t give him much time at all.  They dumped him quickly, still with no viable catching back up.

At the time, I wondered aloud in these columns: What’s the rush? We have no viable back up, so why rush?

Ignored.  I was ignored.  I tried.  I really did.

Around the beginning of June 2019, ex-Met d’Arnaud was shedding rust like he was bathing in a big tub of Rustoleum.

In fact, from June 1, 2019 through Sunday, d’Arnaud had compiled 432 at bats, in which he hit .290, with 21 doubles, 25 HRs, and an incredible 98 RBIs.  

The Mets were right...he wasn’t a back up catcher. Nope. 

 

Last I looked, those are starting All Star catcher numbers.

  

In 2020, he's hitting .336. Instead of riding the bench, he turned into Johnny Bench.

And Travis plays for...what else...a key division rival, while their own catchers hit like day old puke (sorry, I’ve been wanting to use that line) except for one breakout game each by Nido and Ramos.  The other 50 catcher games?  The stuff of barf bags

.

Incredibly stupid.

Let's not even litigate the cases of Hansel Robles (keep him and you make the playoffs in 2019) and Zack Wheeler (keep him and you make the playoffs in 2020).  

Someone, please... 

Take away the keys... 

Before the next drunken stupor, colossal mistake happens.