Tom Brennan - 2021 Quiz! & Big Bryce Montes de Oca...Klutz or Nimble?

 

Before we get to this quizzer thing, I had a question for YOU...yes, you.

You're the critic...yes, you, I see you, sir…who always harps on 2 year minor leaguer Bryce Montes de Oca's control, or lack thereof.  

You blithely and summarily dismiss his 47 Ks in his last 24 AAA innings. "But...he walks people!!!!"

You probably think shaky control also means he's just a giant, fumble-fingered klutz.  

(Well, he is a giant, I'll grant you that).

But is he a klutz?  

Well, it would show up elsewhere, like, say, in his error totals, right?

Well, in 74 outings spanning 89 pro innings, he's had...come on, say it...

SAY IT!

ZERO ERRORS! 

AS IN 0. 

NADA. ZILCH.

A regular Gold Glover.

 

I guess he is not a giant klutz after all. 

I guess maybe he'll be…I dunno…good after all.

Maybe you’re the klutz, and it’s all projection on your part.

Maybe you fumble like Joe Pisarcik but you’re too proud to say so.

Or maybe I’m just a little nutz, because me? 

I’m not a klutz.

Anyway…I hope you now realize the error of your ways.

CARLOS CORREA? Well, not so fast...

Lots on his "plate", so to speak.

Hopefully he has a leg to stand on.

Mets signing of CC is now in Limbo.

(Would a Baty/Escobar platoon make more long term sense?)

Twelve years....sometimes, guys slide quickly.  The year after Hack Wilson drove in 191 runs in 1930 at age 30, he plated just 61 in 112 games in 1931. 

In 1927-30, he averaged 150 RBIs over 4 seasns.

In 1933 and 1934, he averaged 42 RBIs and retired before age 35).  

Imagine if he became a free agent in 2022, after his 191 RBI season....

10 years, $450 million?  And a billion regrets.

Let the buyer beware. TWELVE BINDING YEARS.

OK, OK, I know you're anxious.  

Back to today's quiz.

These days, the big quiz question is "Who did Steve Cohen acquire THIS TIME?"  

Me, I’m a big Danny Mendick fan, and Mack knows why: if you can't have Danny Muno, Danny Mendick is quite a consolation prize.

But the following Q&A is related to another long-ago time...2021 A.D.

11 quiz questions re: the disappointing 2021 season (answers below):

1. Which Brennan prospect favorite was traded to the Cubs for “two thumbs down” Javy Baez and newly minted National Trevor Williams?

2. Part of the reason the Mets were a stinking 77-85 was that 3 of the team's reserves went bonkers at the plate, combining for 8 for 98 with one RBI.  Who were these guilty 3? 

3. Which productive 2021 reserve, who hit .274 with 14 RBIs in 84 ABs, had a fine 2022, but not with the Mets?

4. Which beloved Met hit .265 with a .374 OBP, but had just 5 RBIs in 156 plate appearances?   His 39 career RBIs in 703 plate appearancesare 14 fewer than the 53 that Hack Wilson compiled in August 1930, just from a point of comparison.

5. Which Met had a season with stats almost identical to the Mets 1962 offensive leader?

6. Which Met had 55 RBIs more in 2021 than this year?

7. Which two pitchers had the highest win totals for the Mets in 2022?

8. Which pitcher had 62 innings and 32 saves in 2021, and also in 2022?

9. Which pitcher came literally out of nowhere to throw almost as many innings as the G.O.A.T.?

10. Part of the reason the Mets were 77-85 was that 9 pitchers combined to go 2-18.  Who were the two of them that each won a game?

11. Which two pitchers compiled ridiculously, completely insane ERAs?

ANSWERS BELOW

 "AND SUCH ANSWERS", AUNT SADIE TOLD ME:

1. Pete Crow Armstrong was the traded one.    He hit .312/.376/.520 in 101 games with 32 steals.  Mr. Brennan wants him back.

2. Al Almora (6 for 52, no RBIs), Cam Maybin (1 for 28, no RBIs), and ‘Lil Lee (1 for 18, 1 RBI). 

8 for friggin’ 98.  Simply hard to believe.  Lee’s one RBI made him the RBI Machine of the 3. A regular Albert Belle, he was. 

Heck, even in poor hitting Jerry Koosman’s 1968 rookie season, he was a similar 7 for 91…but there the comparison ends, people…he had a HR and FOUR (count ‘em) RBIs. And in 1974-76, he hit nearly .200, with 47 hits! The pre-Ichiro.

3. Brandon Drury hit .263 with 28 HRs and 87 RBIs in 2022 as an ex-Met.  He also hit .400 with 5 RBIs in 4 playoff games.  The Mets kept JD Davis and Dom Smith instead.

4. Luis "the Glove" Guillorme.  His RBI rate in 2022 was almost equally low.  His next career RBI will be his 40th.

5. Pete Alonso had 37 HRs, 94 RBIs, and hit .262.  The First Frank Thomas, in 1962, had 34 HRs, 94 RBIs, and hit .266.

6. Michael Conforto (now a SF Giant) had 55 RBIs in 2021, not a terrific #, but had no RBIs in 2022.

7. Marcus Stroman (10 wins) and Jeurys Familia (9) had the two highest Mets' win totals in 2021.

8. The wonderful Edwin Diaz (thank you again, Brody VW).

9. Tylor Megill, who this writer found holding his breath in a California stream while panhandling for gold, had 90 innings, while two-time Cy Young award winning part-timer, Jack deGrom, fired 92 innings.

10. Carlos Carrasco (1-5) and Joey Lucchese (1-4) were the big winners in the group of 9.

11. Aaron Loup (6-0, 0.95) and Jake deGrom (7-2, 1.08 ERA) were the dynamic duo.  The rest of the team was 64-83.

Wipe that quizzical look off your face before I thank you for checking out my quiz.