This weekend's question: How does the rest of the division look at this point? Who are the teams to worry about?
Atlanta:
Just traded Freddie Freeman for Matt Olson
Just signed Kenley Jansen
Signed Eddie Rosario
Ronald Acuna, Jr. will be back
They still look pretty good
Philadelphia:
Signed Kyle Schwarber
Signed Nick Castellanos
Signed a whole bunch of older relievers
Half to two-thirds of their line-up looks dangerous - is it enough to get them to the top?
Can their thump overcome their terrible defense?
Washington:
Traded away their top players in 2021 (Schertzer, Turner, Schwarber)
Signed 41 year old Nelson Cruz
Signed Steve Cichek
Ryan Zimmerman retired
Still have Juan Soto.
They look like they are pretty far from the goal.
Miami:
Haven't done much this off season
Have a great core of young pitchers
Have one of my favorite non-Mets players in Jazz Chisholm
They look like they are still a couple players short of challenging for the division.
So the discussion: Who scares you? Why?
What more do the Mets need to do? Do they need to answer either of the recent Philly or Atlanta moves?
Bullpen, need to sign 2 more reliable arms. Maybe another bat, but where does he play? Cano and Davis ticketed for DH and the OF aids covered.
ReplyDeleteAll roads thru Atlanta - Mets must remove their tomahawks. I think Mets' hitting renaissance. Need another lefty pen arm. Wish we had Loup.
ReplyDeleteHis leaving left a Loup-hole.
Maybe we'll be shocked and Josh Walker of Tom Szapucki show they are ready for that pen role. Josh Hader, though, they are not.
ReplyDeleteAtlanta is the beast we need to defeat and as I posted earlier their brilliant FO constantly improves their club w/o overspending a lesson I hope SC and our new FO learns. We must have the best pitching to really compete with them and although we are real solid in the starting staff the BP is very much a work in progress. So not to beat a dead here but oh how those extra 100 of millions we could be using elsewhere are now allotted for Lindor when there were soooo many other options. I almost got sick when I saw what Correa signed for and of course being stuck with FL's contract for 10 more years which would have crippled the Wilponies I just hope SC is the 2st century version of Steinbrenner and will not stop till we win a WS.
ReplyDeleteI think that Atlanta is still the team to beat in this division. Yes, it was a tragedy that they lost Freeman, but it is very hard to come up with that kind of $$ anywhere but in a major market city. The signing of Olsen was a pretty quick recovery. Their pitching is solid, their roster is good, and their talent pipeline always seems to have some good prospects.
ReplyDeleteThe Phillies have some good bats, which is appropriate for the little band box that they play in. I think that their bullpen will continue to be a weakness so they are a 3rd/4th place team. Miami will battle them if their young team matures well. The Nationals are in rebuild even though they have Soto.
The Mets have done well with their starting pitching, and I expect the bats to be significantly improved this year with a better approach to blending hitting mechanics with analytics. They have a wily veteran in Buck Showalter calling the shots, and their stars are ready to break out.
As always, health is the key. If the Mets can get 25 starts out of 6 starters they will be tough to beat.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Atlanta is probably the best team in the division. I think their weakness will be catching and centerfield. Getting Jansen was huge for them.
I don't have as much issue with the Lindor contract as some of the rest of you guys. I think this will turn into Francisco's team quite quickly and he will be worth his money for quite a while.
And yes, I also agree that a lefty out of the bullpen to replace Loup is necessary. I am not sure who that is at this point. Perhaps Peterson re-invents himself into a shut-down reliever.
We may be getting an early answer why Dom Smith wasn't traded. Helps to hit when you are healthy. Dom is the answer to the question, "who has the single season slug % record for the Mets." Not Piazza, not Alonso. Dom.
ReplyDeleteDid not see Josh Walker pitch, but his stats show he was highly effective - for 3 INNINGS!
ReplyDeleteI've been a huge Dom fan since he was drafted - I remember watching the draft on mlb.com that night and have been a fan ever since - the bad times and the good. It is great to see him off to a good start - two bombs off Max and a triple and homer today. He is going to be playing his way into the line-up! I just hope they don't showcase him for trade.
ReplyDeleteGuillorme had a nice game at leadoff.
And yea, Josh Walker had a nice line with one hit over three innings.
Yup, spring training game 1. Ain't it grand?
But seriously, perhaps Walker will turn out to be a missing gem.
R 69, why trade Smith when Cano might flop and be cut? He hit well in 2020, but how "aided" was he, and that was 18 months ago - many guys lose it between ages 37 and 39.
ReplyDeleteWalker's year was characterized by several outstanding starts and some (fewer) real stinkers. The former indicates to me there is real potential there. Many guys can be mediocre consistently, but it is the ability to be superior that gets one to the big leagues. I would just like to know what the real difference, if any, is between him and David Peterson.
The real difference is that Peterson was a first round draft pick and Walker was a 37th round draft pick. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think the real reason for not trading Smith is insurance if Alonso gets hurt at all
ReplyDelete