During sporting events injuries are a normal course of events. After all, you have athletes performing at their top level against others doing the same, giving their maximum effort and receiving maximum effort from others in return.
In some sports the injuries are the result of the game itself -- running too hard, throwing too many balls that strain the arm, elbow or shoulder, colliding with a railing or fence, cramps, muscle strains and the like.
In other sports like football, the injuries are usually the result of direct player-to-player contact. The cause may be different but the result is the same.
Quickly it became clear that one team was unable to rebound from injuries while the other one did. Again, the injuries weren't exactly the same but the manner of dealing with them were quite different. What looked to be a seesaw game going back and forth turned into a laugher with the Giants being the recipients of the ridicule.
Coming back to baseball, think about how the Mets handled their many injuries this year. Yes, it's hard to lose a Jacob deGrom and expect a DFA'd castoff from another club to come in and replace the best pitcher in the game. The same pattern repeated with infielders, outfielders, catchers, relief pitchers and other starting pitchers.
The only solid acquisition the team made all year long was Javy Baez to play a position that wasn't purely needed given Jeff McNeil's ability to play second base, but he too was on the shelf for long stretches of the 2021 season.
No, the issue to me is more about planning and execution. Think about some of the players who got innings for the Mets in 2021. They included the likes of Anthony Banda, Akeem Bostick, Jerad Eickoff, Geoff Hartlieb, Heath Hembree, Trevor Hildenberger, Tommy Hunter, Stephen Nogosek, Jake Reed, Robert Stock, Stephen Tarpley, Nick Tropeano, Travis Blankenhorn, Jake Hager, Wilfredo Tovar, Johneshwy Fargas, Cameron Maybin, Billy McKinney, Chance Sisco and Mason Williams.
Do you see a single starting caliber player in that entire sad list? It's almost as if the Mets simply said, "Hey you, thrown on a uniform and we'll see you get some playing time to extend your already ended career."
To be fair, the Mets did acquire Rich Hill after the trading deadline passed. He's certainly a quality back of the rotation starter, though over 40 years of age he's not exactly a long term solution. They did get a few good games out of Brandon Drury. When Jose Peraza was healthy he wasn't an embarrassment either. However, none of them made up for the quality of the players they were asked to replace.
In all of the analysis and anxiety over the Mets' organizational inability to land top talent in the front office and leading the team as the manager, to me the single issue that creeps up again and again is the lack of planning. In some cases the Mets overestimated what mid range players could produce if given the shot. Jonathan Villar is a good example. In other cases they expected top level numbers and instead got Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco performances.
To me, the new regime in management needs to plan from the lowest level of the minors up to Citifield. They need to have resources internally who can help, they need not bank on AAAA players who were perhaps a bit too good for the minors but not quite good enough for the majors.
They need not discard the DFA lists entirely, but instead not grab hold of them as their only solution to their roster problems. They need to execute trades, even unpopular ones, to address needs. We haven't seen much of that in many, many years.
Annual theme for the Mets: 1) Miss the playoffs 2) While missing the playoffs, over use the likes of Anthony Banda, Akeem Bostick, Jerad Eickoff, Geoff Hartlieb, Heath Hembree, Trevor Hildenberger, Tommy Hunter, Stephen Nogosek, Jake Reed, Robert Stock, Stephen Tarpley, Nick Tropeano, Travis Blankenhorn, Jake Hager, Wilfredo Tovar, Johneshwy Fargas, Cameron Maybin, Billy McKinney, Chance Sisco and Mason Williams.
ReplyDeleteEvery year, the bench is overused and sputters.
I do, however, disagree on certain subs - I think that pre-2021, the Mets avoided signing the likes of Pillar and Villar for too-much-cash reasons.
Those two did combine to give them 779 at bats, 29 doubles, 33 HRs, 103 runs and 91 RBIs. Not bad for subs - I'd take that from subs or part time players most years.
Admittedly, the two were used a lot more than the Mets would have hoped pre-season. But the two helped keep the Mets from completely tumbling off a cliff in 2021.
Having an even stronger bench in 2022 is important.
Reese is in uncharted water when he goes after The Replacements.
ReplyDeleteFans loved them.
I always thought they were a great band.
Lets face it Stevie blew it with his ridiculous trades of Lindor AND McCann. The resourses could have been much better used in multiple areas kind of like the winning teams do but with a totally inept FO he over reached big time. It scares me that he acted more like a fan in making those decisions than what I assumed (we know what that word means) a brillant business owner would do. We're only going to improve if the right people are added and LEFT ALONE to make decisions which seems obvious but not on our team. Here's hoping this will all change.
ReplyDeleteGary, I still think signing Lindor to 10 years was the mistake, more than the trade itself. You win in the playoffs with elite talent.
ReplyDeleteMcCann? One can only hope Alvarez shocks the world and is ready to take over mid-2022. McCann can be his back up and tutor.
McCann simply had 1 good month and 5 bad ones. Realmuto was probably the opposite. Realmuto might have gotten them into the playoffs.
I know there is a love affair with the minor league players here. But, looking at the forest from a mile up and not focusing on some of the nicer trees, the Mets farm system was abysmal in 2021.
ReplyDeleteI'd say they were bottom third if you combine their low A, high A, AA and AAA records. Eliminate low A and it's bottom quartile for sure.
Winning starts in the minors and works it's way up.
By the way, the Yankees? Better at every level than the Mets. In most cases, far better.
This needs to change before the major league team can win. That way we can stop seeing guys who shouldn't be anywhere near a major league dugout.
Bob W
Tom, there's little dpubt that Realmuto would've been better than McCann, but at what cost? Not only the dollars, which would've kept us from other acquisitions, but the length of contract thatbwould block Alvarez and saddle us with an aging catcher at high price for years to come.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Alvarez will be ready to at least share the position with McCann by OD '23,then take over with McCann as backup.
Would that happen if we outbid the Phils for Realmuto?
While I agree that it is important to establish a winning culture in the minors so they know what it feels like when they get to the show, it is also important to look at progression.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Syracuse Mets and the Binghamton Rumble Poinies had abysmal starts to the season, at one point they were something like a combined 3 and 39 or something horrible like that.
Then Vientos figured out AA, they got some better talent up from Brooklyn and Binghamton became a very competitive club. Syracuse the same. I am happy with the way they ended, not so much how they started, but that is far better than the other way around.