SAVAGE VIEWS – Not Ready for Prime Time Take Two

 

October 11, 2022

My intention was to write this article prior to the post-season series with the Padres.  Unfortunately, I came down with severe head cold that sapped my strength.

Before the season began, I wrote that the Braves are a far better team than the Mets.  Top to bottom their lineup is superior.  At best, we would finish the season a distant second.  Coming out on top would be a pipe dream.

So here we are, tied with the Braves with a 101-win season.  Mets fans are dancing in the streets.  We have exceeded pre-season expectations.   Jeff McNeil has won a batting title, Alonso has not only hit 40 homers but driven in 131 runs and Lindor has had an exceptional season.

In reality, it has been a disappointing season.   For all of those exploits, we are still no better than number two to the Braves.  Our key players continually came up short in key situations.   Prior to the Braves series I told my son that I would pick Max Fried to prevail over deGrom every day.  My thought process was that as good as deGrom is, Fried has a better chance of shutting us down than vice-versa.

Also, I view Swanson as more of a clutch hitter than Lindor and that was proven in the Braves three game sweep.

The Division was ours for the taking.  We failed to take advantage of the relatively easy September schedule.  Had deGrom and Scherzer just been ordinary over the last six weeks, we would have run away with the Division.  Turns out we won only about half the games they pitched.  Instead of a bye, we were forced into a wild-card playoff.   Losing Marte, was a killer. 

Being old-school, I don’t understand the lack of retaliation for all the times our players have been hit by pitch.  If it was my call, every game would feature our starter throwing a few pitches inside backing hitters off the plate.  The message being we will not tolerate you going after our guys.

Going into game one versus the Padres with Darvish on the mound, our only chance was for Scherzer to match zeros.  That did not happen as mighty Max melted down and allowed four homers.  Makes you wonder if he is suffering from a physical malady.

It was good seeing deGrom pitch well enough to take game two.  But he does not currently resemble the G.O.A.T.

Chris Bassett looks like a reincarnation of Sonny Gray.  A very good pitcher who cannot handle the bright lights of Broadway.

Looking back, some blame can be placed on the front office for a number of curious moves.   The failure to address the lack of left-hand options in the pen – we could have resigned Brad Hand as one option.  Not retaining Brandon Drury left us scrambling for a right-hand bench player.

The deal for Ruff never made any sense.  At the very least, JD plus three prospects should have netted us Wilmer Flores.  And someone needs to explain the me why Vogelbach is entrenched in the five position while McNeil spent the majority of the year in the seventh or eight spot.  And now that Marte is back, why is he batting behind Vogelbach.

The consensus opinion is that manager Bucky is a genius.  I guess he deserve some credit for a 101win season, but I questioned a lot of his moves during the season.

The “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” on SNL peaked early and failed to replicate their early success.   Unfortunately, our team is moving in the wrong direction.   The future appears somewhat dim.

Ray