Back in his early draft days...Dom was young, svelte and full of promise
FIRST: HAPPY THANKSGIVING. MAY BLESSINGS OVERFLOW YOU.
We all have our own thoughts and rationales for why one Dominic Rene Smith is now an ex-Met. Two slow, too heavy, too emotional, too distracted, too expensive, etc.
Here’s one you may not have thought of:
The lefty-hitting Smith hits lefties a lot better than he does righties.
Had he been a Lucas Duda type of lefty slugger, he might have been kept last year to be a platoon hitter vs. righties, rather than being sent down.
Now, of course, Dom deserved to be sent down, after no HRs, a sub-.200 average, and actually no homers in over a 12 month span.
Lefty Lucas in his career had a more classic lefty-righty split. He was a solid .249/.351/.481 against righties, but just .211/.282/.351 vs righties, so he would have been a good and logical platoon hitter vs. righties. Lefties pitching? Sit right over there, Lucas.
Getting back to Dom, he was just a career .240 hitter with .297 on base % against righties, but a surprisingly and significantly better .267 hitter with a .346 OBP against lefties.
Heck, Darryl Strawberry was worse vs. lefties than Dom, at .239/.319 career.
But you don’t keep a lefty like Dom to platoon against lefties.
Against righties, very mediocre. Too mediocre. Head-scratching mediocre.
The Mets made the right move. Let a $700,000 kid get his at bats in 2023, replacing multi-million Dom.
Now, it is up to Smith to make a fresh start for himself. Or retire.
After all, it was time for Rene to walk away, as the old song goes.
Another struggling hitter, Cody Belinger, has three things going for him that Dom does not, to offset the Smith bat deficiencies: Cody has speed, OF defensive cred, and MORE power. Dom needs to take it up a gear or his career will peter out like the career of Ike Davis. Maybe all he is, is another Daniel Palka (no offense meant, Daniel).
Anyway...
Enjoy Your Turkey.
Thankful for the readership and camaraderie here.
In all things, give thanks.
Rumor has it that the Pilgrims were the first baseball scouts in America.
(You never know where my humor will turnip).
But before I go...
Bleacher Report broke down the 30 MLB teams as to prospect rankings, and had Mets 8th, based on guys who will have a future MLB impact (tier 1 = star; tier 2 = solid; tier 3 = fringe, or too soon to tell).
Their top 10 Mets ranking = the following - I think Blade and Ziegler are both Tier 2, but I cannot otherwise disagree with this list - your thoughts?
Top 10 Prospects
1. C Francisco Álvarez (Tier 1)
2. 3B Brett Baty (Tier 1)
3. C Kevin Parada (Tier 1)
4. OF Alex Ramirez (Tier 1)
5. SS Ronny Mauricio (Tier 2)
6. 3B Mark Vientos (Tier 2)
7. SS Jett Williams (Tier 2)
8. RHP Calvin Ziegler (Tier 2)
9. RHP Blade Tidwell (Tier 3)
10. RHP Matt Allan (Tier 3)
Senior Mauricio, BTW, continues to tear up Dominican League ball - 3 HRs, 25 RBIs, .322 thru Monday. That gives him 114 RBIs in slightly less than 150 games overall in 2022. He may just be MLB ready, after all.
Just want to add Thanks for all the writers here who make each morning and day better for this Mets fan with the best Mets articles anywhere. We all deal with enough real life stuff that it’s a relief to worry about baseball. Have a Blessed day all!
ReplyDeleteMack, family first as you said. Incredible wife, many good family members (some are a bit of a - well, you know the deal).
ReplyDeleteI can relate a bit to your stenosis, as a really immobile neck snuck up on me and hit full-blown yesterday. Slept with a towel under my neck, and used both hands to lift my neck up to get out of bed. But extra strength Ibuprophen that my dentist had given me but I didn't need is now coming in handy. Almost no lateral movement, nor up and down. But prayer and a good chiropractor should get me back to "normal" (cue in the chorus: YOU THINK THAT'S NORMAL??)
I will be retiring after April 2023 at the pleasant age of 69.5 - I am not taking the train to the city, because in the colder months, the LIRR is a disease incubator, based on past experience, and a few crowded subway stops too - you may get away with not catching the Plague that round trip a few times, but not nearly as likely with the roughly 50 days I will have to go to NYC until then. So, I drive in - 60 miles each way - fortunately, I work just on the city side of the Midtown Tunnel - last time I left home for work at 4:40 AM, and as I got to the Cross Island on the LIE, WAZE redirected me away from the heavy traffic jam ahead - at 5:25 AM. I have to leave work at 1 PM - then its 75 minutes home. The one day I left at 2 PM, it took me 2 1/2 hours to get home. Retirement can't come a day too soon.
I am thankful finally that folks read my stuff, given most of the readers know more about the MLB than I do. I am thankful that I expect that some will keep reading. Have a bullpen article Saturday, so I am hoping any big pen signings wait until Sunday at least, so I don't have to change it.
God bless, everyone.
DJM, thanks, we greatly appreciate you, too.
ReplyDeleteI feel like such a slacker since I opted to retire at age 61.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to all. I also am thankful for the daily blessings from God to still be kicking it at 55.
ReplyDeleteTom, Dom Smith used to be worse against lefties but worked at it. He will be another David Ortiz and be great somewhere with a grand personality. He didn’t fit the world’s smartest scowl’s team because he complained. However, he was right on everything he said. He should have been traded in 2020 but the turmoil of The Snob firing everyone the minute he walked in again because of course, he is also the smartest GM out there, screwed everything up. Then, Smith got hurt. I think he is a very good player that they should have used more in September.
Mauricio will be a Tier 1 when they move him to CF. He showed great range and glide on pop ups, but another stupid Front Office move has locked him up to SS to be trade bait.
I'm thankful for family all you guys on this site and still going strong at 75. I thank God everyday for getting to spend most of my life in the last century because this one is scary and I think everyday about how the younger generations will handle it. When I think back in my life ( I was born in 47') there were many things that could have gone terribly wrong like the bomb and McCarthyism in the 50's too many things to list in the 60's, running out of gas in the 70's or so we were told, the death of the human race to AIDS in the 80's and the whole world would shut down in Y2K because the worlds computers weren't up to code but there was HOPE throughout it all. Now our hope is being tested but I'm an optomistic person by nature and feel we all will get through this and I'll stay with that thought on this Thanksgiving day along with go Giants! Oh and this is the BEST MET SITE ON THE WEB!
ReplyDeleteOne more thing why doesn't Maurcio get more love?
ReplyDeleteReese, it is weird. I get a 20 year bump in pension if I stay that long. I worked 32 straight months 100% at home, which was easy, and got me within 8 months (now 5) of the 20 year mark. Or I’d be retired today. It sometimes is very tempting to say “screw it” but the practical side is prevailing…for now.
ReplyDeleteGus, thanks, and maybe Dom will prove to be the ultimate change of scenery guy. Go to a low key locale. Start over.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mauricio needs to follow in Rosario’s footsteps ASAP and get into the outfield, I agree. He is a keeper.
ReplyDeleteGary, the real question is: will there be enduring world peace before the Mets win another World Series? And at age 75, you got to truly appreciate the terribleness of the early 1960s Mets. I was just a kid who kept hoping they'd win a few more. Happy Thanksgiving, and keep reading the stuff we turkeys write.
ReplyDeleteWhy can the Mets develop infielders and (in the past) pitchers but never develop outfielders?
ReplyDeleteWhat about Straw, Mookie, Dykstra, Mitchell, Conforto, Kelenic, Crow, and Nimmo?
DeleteWhat are their positions?
Gary, Mauricio needs to get into the outfield to show all Austin Powers fans that Ronny can be Shagadelic.
ReplyDeleteBrutal Tom, but funny.
DeleteIf Mickey Mantle can make the move from ss to cf, so can Rony so says this soon to be 81 year old.
ReplyDeleteYou're the only "yoot" here that's close to MY age (turned 82 last month). 😆
DeleteI'm thankful to still be on the "right side of the grass" and able to walk and swing a golf club (occasionally actually making contact).
And of course for my family and many good friends, both in person and online.
I'm thankful to be able to roll out of bed every morning and read all the latest Mets news, especially this site and Tom's reports.
I hope to keep all of the above going for many years, and that next year or soon afterwards we'll be celebrating a World Championship for our Mets.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 🙋♂️