Remember's Ramblings With a Little Help From His Friends

 

Remember's note:   

As I mentioned in passing in my last post, I have rediscovered an interest in golf and this year joined a golf league that I had subbed in a few times over the past several years.   By joining the league, I met Paul, another long time Mets fan and have had quite a few discussions with him over the summer (or is it through the summer over some beers?).   I introduced Paul to Mack's Mets a little while ago and he has recently been following the writing and commenting occasionally.     Paul is a long-time coach in the local little league program and has an in-depth knowledge of the game.   So for this next piece, the credit goes to Paul, who has taken his time through the rainy Thursday that Tropical Storm Fred gave us to write a very interesting piece on getting to the end line in 2021 successfully.     

 

Metsputin sees how the Mets win it all

Things look pretty bleak for the NY Mets right now.  They are 4.5 games back, 13-20 since the all-star break, and still have key players on the IL.  Those that have been down this road before are already lamenting the season that “could have been” in 2021.  But wait, this is baseball.  It’s not over till it’s over, and that’s not scheduled until October.  So what do the Mets need to do to win 90 games this year and bring momentum into the playoffs?  Renowned future-seer Metsputin breaks down what he sees in a season we will all remember one position at a time.

P: David Wright sits down with the pitching staff and teaches them to stretch.  Remember that in his later years, he stretched out his back for 3 hours just to play in a game.  The staff figures it out, performs 30 minute per day group sessions with yoga and stretching exercises.  Both deGrom and Syndergaard’s body types respond and they return with no re-injuries, bolstering a staff that compiles a 2.91 ERA as a team for the rest of the year.  With starters going 6-7 innings almost every night, the bullpen gets rested and becomes a force in the post-season.

C: James McCann stops trying to do too much.  Instead of over-swinging at balls on the edges he goes with the pitches and winds up with 18 doubles over the last 42 games, improving his OPS to .840.  On the defensive side, he stops trying to frame pitches that are too far out and eliminates passed balls.  He summons a little Gary Carter and becomes the most competitive player on the field night after night.

1B: Pete Alonso takes a quieter mind to the plate and stops getting into 0-2 or 1-2 holes.  With hitters’ counts in most at-bats, he plays the “best power hitter on the planet” role, helping the Mets score 5.5 runs/game over the last 2 months of the season.

2B: Javy Baez has a long talk with Lindor and comes back from the IL with a new attitude.  He hustles all over the field, keeps his head down during HR trots, and makes sizzling plays up the middle matching Lindor ball for ball. Riding the defensive confidence and protected by Alonso and Smith in the lineup, he gets better pitches to hit and puts up the best OPS of his career.

SS: Francisco Lindor returns to the lineup with youthful enthusiasm.  He pulls out of his batting slump and shows what he is capable of over the last two months.  His on-field leadership restores the Mets to the defensive performance that they showed glimpses of earlier this season and Lindor goes on to earn his third gold glove award.

3B: Jeff McNeil sees the move to 3B as a demotion and sets out to prove his worth.  He returns to his roots as a bat-to-ball hitter and hits a torrid .406 down the stretch with only 1 homer, scoring runs in 33 of the last 42 games.

LF: Dom Smith is slotted fifth in a less volatile lineup and finds the power stroke that produced a .616 slugging percentage in 2020.

CF: Brandon Nimmo continues to rule the strike zone and force opposing pitchers deep into counts.  His OBP of .410 ends up third in the NL behind Juan Soto and MaxMuncy.  He makes a critical diving catch in the gap during the final series with the Braves to lock up the division.

RF: Michael Conforto is dropped permanently to 8^th in the lineup, and eventually helps the Mets with a late September hot streak before cooling off again.  Luis Rojas begins to platoon Conforto and Kevin Pillar in right field.

Dugout:  Luis Rojas moves Gary Disarcina back into the dugout and installs Dave Jauss as 3^rd base coach.  Jauss takes a more aggressive approach and Mets games become very exciting to watch.  The team responds with dirty uniforms as a badge of honor.  Tide becomes the official detergent of the New York Mets and initiates an ad campaign that goes viral.

Front Office: Steve Cohen, Sandy Alderson, and Zack Scott re-work several contracts, removing incentive clauses for home runs.  They replace them with new incentives for batting with RISP and wins.