9/30/20

Mets360 - A wrap-up of the 2020 Mets’ defensive play

 


By Chris Dial September 30, 2020

The season mercifully came to an end on Sunday. The Mets went into Saturday with a chance at the playoffs and proceeded to dump the season in getting swept by the Washington Baseball Team, surging into the National League East cellar.

Tremendously, the Mets played well on offense. The starting nine only had Amed Rosario hitting below average. The Mets poor finish is solely on the shoulders of the pitching and defense. Jacob deGrom was stellar as usual, and rookie David Peterson was excellent. Both have a strong argument for their respective awards – deGrom could win his third consecutive Cy Young (check opponent quality) and Peterson was the top Rookie, and not just pitchers. Ke’Bryan Hayes must play more than that…

The pitching staff will have to be overhauled – Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha and Steven Matz combined for a 2-16 record with an ERA in the sixes. Seth Lugo struggled as a starter but showed flashes of competence. Porcello’s FIP certainly suggests he needed some defensive help. The bullpen did not implode, and Edwin Diaz pitched pretty well.

Let’s talk about the defense. Was it good? No. Was it terrible? No. Well, was it terrible for just 60 games? It was not good. The Mets posted the third-worst defense in the National League. Both the Phillies and the Nationals were significantly worse (7-8 runs), which is why they were just “bad” and not “terrible.” Based on what we expected, how did the Mets do?

As expected, Pete Alonso played first base, mashed a few home runs, made it through his sophomore slump, and performed approximately as expected on defense, perhaps even a slight improvement over 2019. Good work for Alonso in the field, now hit some dingers next year.

At second base, the Mets stumbled around just below average, by a couple of runs. As noted, the five-man committee turned in a performance just below average, and the runs not saved were small. That isn’t a reason not to upgrade the position with an everyday player, preferably one whose agent isn’t the General Manager.

Rosario had a good year with the glove, but rookie Andres Gimenez made some flashy plays, leading people to call for a “youth movement”, even though Rosario is 24. Gimenez was clearly an improvement at the plate, even if his shortstop play was about the same. Gimenez did field well at second and third, so there is definitely room for him on the team.

Third base had a similar five-man operation as second base, and four of them performed average or above. Unfortunately, J.D. Davis gave all of those runs back and more and posted the worst defensive numbers on the team. He simply cannot play third base competently and is more suited to be a designated hitter.

Instead of being an average infield, the Mets chipped away, playing 10 guys in various positions managed to post a -8 runs; in 60 games, or the equivalent of 22 runs over a full season. When the Mets look around for improvements this offseason, finding younger, better fielders is a must.

The Mets defensive bright spot was the outfield. That sounds odd if anyone watched the games, but Michael Conforto played well, a few runs above average. Brandon Nimmo was average when not in center field. Jeff McNeil played well in left and right fields and played half the time there.

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Mike's Mets - No, We're Not Being Unfair to the Wilpons

 


A scene from the Wilpon's
Going Away Party
By  September 29, 2020

When I wrote my post "Look Back in Anger" a week ago, I knew that someone in the media would be coming out with the take that fans were being unfair to Fred and Jeff Wilpon by heaping the lion's share of the blame on them for the poor results of the franchise under their watch. I thought it might take a few months or at least a few weeks for this to appear, but I seriously underestimated. The rotted corpse of the 2020 season wasn't even cold yet when it happened.

Congratulations to those of you out there who had David Waldstein of the New York Times in the pool for who would be the first in print to scold Mets fans for this sin. Waldstein begins his piece with a moving story about how Fred Wilpon and David Sheehan, a lawyer who worked to get Wilpon and the Mets to repay some of the alleged Madoff profits, eventually became friends. It was so lovely, I had to read it through tears. After quoting the Sheehan on how gracious Wilpon was, Waldstein summed up:
Perhaps decades of withering criticism from fans and news media members over how he ran the Mets - some of it fair, some not - had inured Wilpon to public attacks. But no booing could have been worse than that bruising litigation and the staggering financial losses suffered in the Madoff scandal, which almost cost Wilpon and Katz ownership of their beloved team.
Look, it's not that I've never read or heard criticism of Wilpon that was unfair, but Waldstein's wording, "some of it fair, some not", presents it like there was somehow an equal amount of fair and unfair criticism. Sorry, but that really is a false equivalency. You don't run a large market club with as little success as Fred Wilpon did without richly earning the vast majority of criticism directed your way.

I remember back in the early days of my blog, back in 2005-2006, I felt that it was unfair that some people accused the Wilpons of being cheap. Madoff cash was still pouring in, and they were actually spending money back then on payroll. The club was being horribly managed, however, and there were items written during that period that accused Fred and Jeff of too much meddling in the day to day affairs of the Mets. Those calls were coming from inside the house, it was one of the worst-kept secrets in baseball that ownership made the Mets a terrible organization for which to work. The best people chose to work elsewhere, or left the Mets when an opportunity to leave came up.

The problem with the way the Mets were run long predate the Madoff affair, but Waldstein chooses to ignore all of that:
But if the Madoff scandal had never happened, the entire Wilpon-Katz era would probably have a different feel to it, and perhaps not be ending so soon.
As "proof" of this thesis, Waldstein offers up a quote from notorious Wilpon crony Bud Selig, whose behind-the-scene machinations allowed Wilpon to keep control for a decade after his own incompetence should have forced him to sell:
"I believe things would have been different. But you know, in many ways you also have to be lucky in life, and that was some pretty bad luck."
Okay, let's address Selig's quote. Fred Wilpon had enough smarts to become very rich in commercial real estate development in New York, one of the most competitive markets in the world. Yet somehow he never questioned the extraordinary returns he was getting from his Madoff investments, far beyond anything anyone else was producing. Madoff got away with his scheme for as long as he did because of how little regulation truly existed in that time in the financial industry, but people had been questioning his uncanny results for years. Basically, those returns were literally too good to be true. But Wilpon was so dependent on that money to run the Mets that he not only turned a blind eye to it, but doubled down by investing more heavily with Madoff.

So, is it bad luck to blindly to invest so much money in the same place, without even questioning the extraordinary returns? Because, quite frankly, it feels more like willful ignorance to me.

Now, if you and I had made the same mistake, there would be nobody looking to bail us out. I've known financial setbacks in my life, and I paid dearly for my personal mistakes. But I owned up when I screwed up, accepted the consequences and worked hard to get out from under them. I absorbed those hard lessons and tried to learn from them. I didn't asked anyone to feel sorry for me, and I've never used bad luck as a synonym for poor judgement.

Okay, here's a paragraph in Waldstein's piece that particularly rubbed me the wrong way:
But in the 19 seasons since the group bought out Doubleday, the Mets made the postseason just three times, and fans grew weary of its reign. Whether it was because they could not, or would not, spend more money on top players, many fans vilified the owners, particularly the Wilpon duo, for the team's failures.
I mean, freaking seriously? Show of hands, how many of you reading this believe that our only fault with the Wilpons was that they failed to spend enough money on players in the last few seasons? Yeah, me neither. The issue is very much NOT that the Wilpons were tight with the purse strings over the last decade. That is a immense oversimplification of the problem that many of us have had with ownership.

The Wilpons could have chosen to go into several different directions after Madoff. What they never did was to figure out a realistic budget and hire someone really smart to gameplan how best to go forward under that budget. There are teams in markets much smaller than New York that have enjoyed much more success than the Mets have. Better judgements would have led to more success, which in turn would have eventually brought in more revenue, which would have allowed more spending organically. Some people would have still complained, of course, but it's a lot harder to argue with good management and the resulting success.

What the Wilpons chose to do was to obfuscate the depth of their financial distress, boldly proclaim that it had no effect on the budget or payroll, and worried more about selling tickets and blowing smoke up everyone's rear ends. The end result was that the club charted an erratic course that tried to navigate a middle path that shot for mediocrity and often fell short of even that. It was ultimately a road to nowhere, as the almost unimaginably poor results clearly demonstrated. By all accounts, even the front office regimes of Sandy Alderson and Brodie Van Wagenen were never given clear, definitive spending guidelines from which to operate.

Tim Britton had a piece in The Athletic yesterday that I felt offered a reasonable summary of how thoughtful fans look at Wilpon's tenure, and why we're not in a hurry to shower forgiveness on Fred Wilpon:
Fred and Jeff Wilpon oversaw a culture of micromanagement heavy on scapegoating and light on accountability or transparency. They intervened in every aspect of the major-league team's day-to-day operations... They remained willfully opaque about the state of the franchise’s finances, not merely to the public but also to their own front office, which often operated without knowing the parameters of the club’s budget. The front office had to conduct offseasons on two parallel mental tracks: what the team should do to improve, and what the team would be permitted to do to improve. The result was a succession of teams seemingly built to win 84 games.
The Wilpons thus made it nearly impossible to properly evaluate their executives’ performance, as GMs had to manage up at least as much as they managed down. Jeff Wilpon has made explicit in recent years what has long been understood: Every personnel move went through him.
The Wilpons alienated those closest to the organization - be it long-time minor-league affiliates, devoted alumni or one of the most passionate fan bases in sports.
The line that really rung home for me was noting the "succession of teams seemingly built to win 84 games." It seemed like the main objective was to convince us fans that our team could be competitive rather than attempting to build the best club that resources would allow. If there is one thing that I believe damns the Wilpons more than any other, it is that. I don't care how much Fred Wilpon is anecdotally acknowledged to love the Mets, his desperate attempt to hold onto the club doomed it to be exactly what it was most of the time, a cheaply spackled-over pretender rather than a well-designed contender.

By all accounts Fred Wilpon is someone that most people who know him consider to be an agreeably likeable human being. While Jeff Wilpon doesn't have that kind of a reputation, I'm sure that you might like him as long as you didn't have to work under him. I don't wish ill for either one of them, but I won't excuse them for just how dismally deficient their stewardship of this franchise was. You could have picked some other wealthy individual at random, and gave that person control of the New York Mets in 1986, the year that Fred Wilpon became partners with Nelson Doubleday. The odds are pretty darned good that the results would have turned out better, because you'd almost have to try to do worse.

I try to maintain some perspective on things that I am passionate about, including my lifelong fandom of the New York Mets. The dire events of 2020 clearly demonstrate the difference between the letdown caused by your team playing terribly and true tragedy. So, as much as I am resentful of how badly Fred and Jeff ran the team that I love, I don't hate them, nor do I wish anything bad to happen to either of them. But that doesn't excuse them for doing a demonstrably terrible job. And I feel no compulsion to forgive them or let them off the hook for how awful they were.

If you or I did as poorly at our jobs as Fred and Jeff have performed in running this club, we would have been fired a very long time ago. Nobody would feel the need to make excuses for us. This slow motion train wreck has been going on for decades, way too long to ascribe it to "bad luck."
When I need to form a fair judgement on someone, I always try to put myself in their shoes. I imagine myself as someone with enough money to purchase the baseball team that I love. Would I have attempted to have a lot of input on the direction my club was going to go? Could that even have translated in me being too involved, at least for a time? Of course. Anyone could be forgiven for taking some missteps based on caring too much.

But at some point I would have needed to take a step back, look at the poor results, and question what was my own culpability in those bad outcomes. I would need to have someone whose opinion I trusted advise me on what I was doing wrong. I would then need to be humble enough to be willing to admit my mistakes and change my course. Trust me, my personal journey has been filled with many examples of exactly that. But Fred Wilpon never seemed to do that, did he?

Again putting myself in Fred's shoes, I have to believe that people tried to explain to him what a disruptive force Jeff had become in the club's front office. I can't blame a man for loving his son and being somewhat blind to his son's faults. But, if it was me, at some point I needed to recognize what was happening and take steps to change the responsibilities of that son to alleviate the problems. By all accounts, this is something Fred Wilpon never did.

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Reese Kaplan -- Where Do You Start First to Fix Things?



While everyone is probably glad this unique and convoluted season has come to an embarrassing end for the Mets, there is still optimism in Mets fans' hearts knowing that Steve Cohen is highly likely to be approved as the new controlling owner of the team.  No one expected the all-hit/no-pitch team to make the World Series, few hoped for a post-season appearance, but most are just happy to be moving onward (and hopefully upward).  



While everyone is waiting with bated breath for the housecleaning to begin, the fact is that Cohen does not assume control (assuming he wins the vote) until November.  Until then fully expect the familiar cast of characters (both good and bad) to still be in the conversation for 2021 with the exception of the free agents who do not have buy-down options before testing the open market.  The likelihood of folks like Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Wacha or Rick Porcello being lured back are highly unlikely.

 

The bigger question has to do with the optional free agents who the Mets must evaluate to decide whether or not they are worth being part of the future.  Dellin Betances is a classic example of a player who can walk away or insist that the Mets keep him around.  Others like Todd Frazier have multiyear options which anyone with a brain would avoid like a plague. 



There are an awful lot of holes in the team, mostly on the mound.  There are decisions to be made like Steven Matz' future.  Noah Syndergaard won't be ready until after the All Star break.  That leaves Jacob deGrom and Seth Lugo as the starting rotation.  That's pretty barren.  

 

In the bullpen the reborn Edwin Diaz is definitely a keeper, but Jeurys Familia has been straight out awful as a setup guy.  Many of the warm bodies brought in for this season are not written in ink anywhere.  The club needs a major overhaul here and there's no guarantee that guys like Brad Brach, Miguel Castro or Paul Sewald are reliable enough to preserve a lead or at least not let things get worse.  The first two starting pitchers are strong (one more so than the other).  The bullpen is a mess of worse dimension than the club has seen in many years.

 

For offensive players, the club is in good shape but the defense and position battles suggest changes need to be made.  Unless the team is hellbent on buying every free agent on the market or gutting the minor leagues in Brodie Van Wagenen style, there is going to be a need to make some trades of solid offensive players.  No one is going to want to see Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto or Jeff McNeil go, but you have to give to get and the Mets most definitely need ways to reinforce the pitching.

 

I'm ready to see the club go into a new direction.  How they get there is what's unclear.  No one knows how much Cohen intends to invest in payroll.  No one knows which of the broken pieces are worth salvaging.  Whether it's BVW and Luis Rojas working on the front end of deals or other personnel is anyone's guess.  

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John From Albany – Mets News and Breakfast Links 9/30/2020

 


Good Morning. Happy Birthday Dave Magadan and Born Today Jose Lima.  Rob Manfred would like Mr. Cohen to be approved quickly, AL Playoff results as NL Playoff games get under way today.     


Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, and This Day in Mets History.


Mets Links:


SNY.TV: Rob Manfred talks potential approval of Steve Cohen: 'We would like to move this along as quickly as possible'. 'It's up to the owners, ultimately, as to whether Mr. Cohen will be approved'.


SNY.TV: 5 Mets offseason storylines to watch, including futures of Seth Lugo and Steven Matz. ‘When it comes to fixing the rotation and addressing the hole behind the plate, Trevor Bauer and J.T. Realmuto would be perfect fits. But even if the Mets land one or both of them, they will have plenty of additional work to do.”



SNY.TV: In 2021 MLB Mock Draft, Mets take pitcher who could have the best pure stuff.  “In their first mock draft of the offseason, Baseball America has LSU right-hander Jaden Hill going to the Mets at No. 10.”  Our own resident Draft expert, Mack, thinks he will be long gone when the Mets pick #10.


Jason Fry Faith and Fear in Flushing looks back at Lenny Dykstra in “Nails and the Chalkboard.”


Elite Sports NY: New York Mets 2020 season in review: So much talent, so much disappointment.


Metsmerized Online: Robinson Cano Showed That He Still Has Value.


Mike’s Mets: No, We're Not Being Unfair to the Wilpons.


Amazing Avenue: 2020 Mets takeaways: The infield. The Mets have more viable major league starters in the infield than there are infield spots.


Metstradamus.com: Mike's (Phillips) Met of the Month, September 2020: Edwin Diaz.


Mets360.com: What the Mets’ Opening Day roster could look like in 2021.


Rising Apple: Five general manager options to replace Brodie Van Wagenen. #5) Bobby Heck - currently a special assistant to the GM with the Tampa Bay Rays; #4) Kim Ng; #3) Paul DePodesta; #2) Billy Owens - currently an assistant general manager and the director of player personnel with the Oakland Athletics; #1) David Stearns - currently the President of Baseball Operations and General Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.


Rising Apple: Three reasons David Peterson will help the Mets this offseason. Peterson is better than most free agents; David Peterson saves the Mets some money they can use elsewhere; The Mets need fewer new pitchers this winter.


You Tube Mets Videos: Jake’s deGrominate Week.



Savannanow.com: OPINION: Savannah Bananas sign new lease -- on life -- for Grayson Stadium.



MLB Links:





MLB.com: Cole K's 13 as Yanks rock Bieber in Game 1. Yankees 12 Indians 3 (Box Score).



MLB.com: Snell 'lights-out' as Rays win Wild Card G1. Rays 3 Blue Jays 1 (Box Score).



MLB.com: Giolito in 'bully stage' with near-perfect win. White Sox ace flirts with history in postseason debut. White Sox 4 A’s 1 (Box Score).


MLB.com: Astros rally, ride Framber's relief to G1 win. Astros 4 Twins 1 (Box Score).


MLB.com: All 8 of today's playoff games, ranked.


MLB Trade Rumors: Astros Sign Yuli Gurriel To One-Year Extension.


MLB Trade Rumors: Rays Designate Sean Gilmartin For Assignment.


MLB Trade Rumors: Wilmer Font Elects Free Agency.


Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:


Born on this date:


Transactions:
New York Mets signed free agent Nino Espinosa on September 30, 1970.

New York Mets released Jerry Martin on September 30, 1984.

Raul Casanova granted free agency on September 30, 2008.


Centerfield Maz: Remembering Mets History (1973): Cleon Jones Hot Hitting In the Final Week.


Centerfield Maz: Dave Magadan: Former Mets First Baseman (1986-1992).


National Pastime.com:

1962

The Mets finish their inaugural season with 120 losses, a 20th-century record when the team drops a 5-1 decision to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. In his last career at-bat, New York catcher Joe Pignatano hits into an eighth-inning triple play with Richie Ashburn and Sammy Drake on base, both who are also appearing in their last major league game.

1971

Tom Seaver, for the second time in his career, becomes a 20-game winner when the Mets beat St. Louis, 6-1, at Shea Stadium on the final day of the season. En route to the complete-game victory, 'Tom Terrific' whiffs 13 Redbirds to end the campaign with a league-leading 289 strikeouts.

 

1979

In his last big-league game, Ed Kranepool pinch hits in the top of the seventh inning and doubles off Bob Forsch when the Mets beat the Cardinals in the season finale at Busch Stadium, 4-2. The James Monroe High School graduate, who made his debut with the team in 1962 at the age of 17, had been the last original Met left in the majors.

1980

In front of only 1,754 patrons, Mets southpaw Pete Falcone beats the Pirates in the season's last game at Shea Stadium, 3-2. The crowd is the smallest ever to attend a game at the Flushing ballpark, 33 fewer fans than yesterday's meager gathering.

 

1988

Joining Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Dwight Gooden, David Cone improves his record to 20-3, becoming the fourth pitcher in Mets history to win twenty games in a season. After his 4-2 complete-game victory against the Cardinals, the 25 year-old right-hander receives congratulations from a surprise visitor to the Shea Stadium dugout, former president Richard Nixon.

1999

Mets' shortstop Rey Ordonez plays in his 96th consecutive game without committing an error, breaking Cal Ripken's major league record for errorless games in that position. The flashy infielder will finish the season extending the record to 100 games.

 

2006

In the Mets' 13-0 rout of Washington at RFK Stadium, Julio Franco drives in five runs, tying a career-high, to become the oldest major leaguer in history to accomplish the feat. The 48 year-old first baseman, with three hits, falls a triple short of completing the cycle.

2006

Five years and two cities after Frank Robinson, then the vice president in the commissioner's office in charge of on-field discipline, accepts Bud Selig's offer to take the MLB-owned Expos' manager job for just one season, the franchise, now known as the Washington Nationals, will have a new skipper. Jim Bowden, the team's GM, announces the search for the replacement for the 71 year-old Hall of Famer will begin after tomorrow's season finale against the Mets at RFK.

 

2007

With the help of New York losing 6 out of their seven last games (all at home) and squandering a seven-game lead with 17 to play, the Phillies clinch the NL. East title for the first time in 14 years by beating the Nationals on the last day of the season, 6-1. The Mets' colossal failure down the stretch is considered by many to be the worst collapse by a team in baseball history.

2009

Ricky Nolasco, en route to the Marlins' 5-4 victory over Atlanta in the season's finale, sets a franchise record with 16 strikeouts. The 26 year-old right-hander's performance includes whiffing nine consecutive batters, one shy of the major league record set by Tom Seaver with the Mets in 1970.

 

2009

Francisco Rodriguez becomes the fourth pitcher in the history of the game to yield two walk-off grand slams in the same season when Justin Maxwell goes deep, giving Washington a dramatic 7-4 victory over the Mets at Nationals Park. Last month, Everth Cabrera of the Padres also hit a game-ending four-run round-tripper, making K-Rod Rodriguez the only major leaguer to surrender two game-winning grand slams to a pair of rookies.

2013

The Mets extend manager Terry Collins' contract for another two years, adding a club option for 2016. During his three-year tenure with New York, the 64 year-old skipper, who has also managed the Astros and Angels, has guided the team to a 225-261 record, the lowest winning percentage (.463) of his major league managerial career.

 

 

 

 



Want more?  Check out https://sportspyder.com/mlb/new-york-mets/news. 


Want something else tracked here each day?  Please leave a comment below.

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9/29/20

Mets360 - What the Mets’ Opening Day roster could look like in 2021

 

By Jim O'Malley September 28, 2020

Here’s to keeping our fingers crossed that Steve Cohen gets the requisite number of votes at the forthcoming owner’s meeting. Assuming he does, what might the deeper pockets of the new ownership mean for the 2021 opening day roster?

Overall strategy: This version of the roster was designed to retain most of what the team had in place during the shortened 2020 season. The argument being those players that didn’t get off to a solid start never really had ample time to correct the issues. The season was too much of a sprint and not a distance run.

However, some notable removals from the team are: Yoenis Cespedes, Todd Frazier, Wilson Ramos, Robinson Chirinos, Steven Matz, and Robert Gsellman.

Specific Moves/Comments: There was not further contact between the team and Cespedes; his run was done. There was no effort to bring back Todd Frazier as a player, however, actions regarding him returning as the third base coach were taken. The catching tandem of Wilson Ramos and Robinson Chirinos were let go in favor of one of the two big acquisitions. Steven Matz was dealt to the Washington Nationals for a righthand-hitting outfielder, Michael Taylor. Robert Gsellman was similarly dealt to the Detroit Tigers for a second righthand-hitting outfielder, Victor Reyes.

The team devoted a lot of energy into the pursuit of J. T. Realmulto signing him to a long-term (six-year deal) at $30,000,000/per year. This made Realmulto the second highest paid player on the team behind Jacob deGrom. The Mets also let bygones be bygones and brought back Marcus Stroman on a long-term (five-year deal) at $ 18,000,000 per year. The Mets also resigned Rick Porcello to a one-year deal at $10,000,000.

Important Notes: Because of the expected recovery time of Noah Syndegaard, the Mets started the year with him on the reserve list. This allowed Seth Lugo to begin the season as a starter with Corey Oswalt getting a spot on the roster out of the bullpen. Role adjustments could be made depending on how the season develops.

The team attempted to even out their line-up by the acquisition of two right-handed outfielders.

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Tom Brennan - PICTURE YOURSELF IN A BOAT ON CITIFIELD RIVER


"Picture yourself in a boat on a river", the Beatles once sang. 


Now picture yourself after Sunday’s season finale with no Tangerine trees and Marshmallow skies. 


But now the hypnotists asks you to imagine back further, back in January, and imagine you’re a millionaire, and baby, you love to make outlandish bets.


What if someone sidled up to you and asked you to make a million to one bet that Thor, Matz, Porcello, Wacha, and Stroman would combine to have just two wins in 2020. 


"How outlandish is that?" you'd think. "How absurd."


You'd then think to yourself, “Syndergaard and Stroman should combine for about 27 wins, Stevie Wonder should rack up about 10 wins, and Porcello and Wacha should combine for about 13 wins, for a total of 50."  Conservatively, you think.


Sure, somebody in that group could get injured.  But injuries or poor performances, no matter what, how could those five guys total just 2 wins? 


So you're no fool - 2 wins in the bet, you think 50 - so you delightedly take the bet. 


Then this dude asked you to take a second meshuga bet. 


The bet is him adding the 2020 win total of 2 time Cy Young winner Jake de Grom to those five pitchers, and betting that David Peterson (even though in January, he is not even expected to make the opening day roster) would have as many wins as all six of those pitchers combined in 2020. 


Well, you think that that was an even crazier offer to bet than the first bet, so you take that bet, too.


So, bet you did, and the bettor emptied out his wallet but fortunately for you, he only had 20 bucks, so he put down 10 bucks on each wager.   Going for broke.


And how fortunate for you, as it turns out, that he only had 20 bucks - because he’ll be walking away with 20 million bucks. 


Why? Because the impossible happened. Twice. 


Those first 5 guys did only win 2.


And those same 5 hurlers plus deGrom deGreat won a total of just 6, and Peterson, well, he won 6 all by himself.


Pay up, buddy boy.



Suddenly, the girl with kaleidoscope eyes walks by. 

It has to be a dream, right? 

More like a Mets nightmare.  

Some nightmares really do happen.

You can bet on it.

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John From Albany – Mets News and Breakfast Links 9/29/2020

 

Good Morning. Happy Birthday Heath Bell.  Pete Alonso releases his final Mic’d up show, some 2020 Mets Grades are in, and the AL Playoffs start today. 


Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, and This Day in Mets History.


Mets Links:



Newsday: Mets offseason: Who is a free agent? Who isn't? Who might leave? “About to be free agents: Marcus Stroman, Yoenis Cespedes, Jed Lowrie, Rick Porcello, Justin Wilson, Jake Marisnick, Michael Wacha, Erasmo Ramírez, Jared Hughes, Eduardo Nunez, Rene Rivera.  Might be free agents: Dellin Betances, Wilson Ramos, Robinson Chirinos, Todd Frazier, Brad Brach, Steven Matz. Ramos, Chirinos and Frazier have team options;  Betances, Brad Brach — player options…Matz is probably the Mets’ biggest nontender possibility.”


Empire Sports Media: Dellin Betances undecided about his future.



Baseball America: Preliminary Estimated 2021 MLB Draft Order. If draft order is compiled in the normal fashion, the Mets will pick #10.


SNY.TV: Mets 2020 season grades for every key group, Luis Rojas, and Brodie Van Wagenen. There were some big hits and misses during a disappointing year. Offense got a B-; Defense got a D; Starting Pitching a D; Bullpen got a C; Luis Rojas got a B; BVW a D.



CBS Sports: MLB report card: Handing out grades for every team in the abbreviated 2020 regular season.  The Mets came in last and got a C?


SNY.TV: Ranking the three best and worst moves Brodie Van Wagenen has made as Mets GM. The Jarred Kelenic trade and the Jacob deGrom extension highlight the list.


SNY.TV: David Wright says Steve Cohen can build a 'perennial winner'. Wright said he does not see himself in a full-time role with team.


Greg Prince Faith and Fear in Flushing: Disposable Seasonette.


Amazing Avenue: 2020 Mets takeaways: The bullpen.  Believe it or not, Mets relievers were closer to middle of the pack than the worst in baseball this year.


Reflections on Baseball: Mets New Era: No Time For Reflection On 2020 – Only Time To Move On.


Rising Apple: Three pleasant surprises from the 2020 season.  David Peterson, Andrés Giménez, and Erasmo Ramírez.


Baseball America: Appalachian League To Operate As Summer Wood-Bat League. 


MLB Links:


MLB.com: Picks are in: Experts predict the postseason. 9 of the 12 writers pick the Dodgers to win it all, 2 pick the Rays, and 1 the Indians.


ESPN.com: Expert picks for the 2020 MLB playoffs. 16 ESPN Writers pick the Dodgers to win the WS followed by the Rays: 6; Twins: 2; Padres: 1; A's: 1; Indians: 1; White Sox: 1; Yankees: 1.



ESPN.com: MLB playoffs preview: Everything you need to know about the 16-team postseason.


AP News: Lots of unfamiliar territory in 2020 baseball playoffs.


AP News: Playoffs begin, Bieber vs Cole in prime matchup.


AP News: Yanks to start C Higashioka, sit Sánchez in wild-card opener.


AP News: Hall of Famer Larkin’s postseason bat labels promote healing.


Yahoo Sports: Former Dodgers fan favorite Jay Johnstone dies at 74 after COVID-19 battle.


MLB Trade Rumors: Blue Jays Outright Wilmer Font.



MLB Trade Rumors: Previewing The 2020-21 Free Agent Class: Shortstops. The A’s Marcus Semien, Phillies’ Didi Gregorius, and Angels’ Andrelton Simmons lead the list.


MLB Trade Rumors: Previewing The 2020-21 Free Agent Class: First Basemen. C.J. Cron and Yuli Gurriel are the top two names listed. 


Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

Died on this date:

Transactions:
New York Mets released Jeff McKnight on September 29, 1989.

New York Mets released Mike Draper on September 29, 1993.

Brady Clark granted free agency on September 29, 2008.

Chris Aguila granted free agency on September 29, 2008.




Centerfield Maz: Remembering Mets History: (9/28/2008) The Closing Ceromonies At Shea Stadium.



National Pastime.com:

1963

On the final day of the season, John Paciorek, brother of Tom and Jim, goes 3-for-3, driving in three runs and scoring four times in his big league debut as Houston routs the Mets at Colt Stadium, 13-4. Due to severe back problems, the 18 year-old Colt .45's right fielder, who also makes two outstanding defensive catches, will never again play in a big-league game.

1964

At a press conference, the Mets announce Casey Stengel, the only skipper the franchise has ever known, will continue to manage next season. Although the expansion team has finished last in all three years of its existence, the 'Old Perfessor' is given a raise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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