Rare Picture of the Lone Fan Upset With Mets' Offseason So Far
Few are unhappy, even despite the defection of North Correa.
Baseball is a great game because there is no shortage of stuff to consider, especially now that the rosters around baseball are fairly well set - which they never fully are.
Like this stuff:
David Peterson had a higher K/9 rate in 2022 (126 in 105 IP) than did mighty mad Max Scherzer.
David Peterson (48 in 105 innings) had at the same time the highest walk rate of any significant Mets pitcher in 2022. So it was a mixed bag for DP.
G.O.A.T. DeGrom was a damaging 1-3 in 5 September starts in the midst of a heated pennant (and barely lost) race. He no longer cares, as he is probably a Texas goat herder as we speak. My brother said he heard that Jake hopes to ramp up his innings in 2022 now that he no longer has to be as concerned about injury.
Which kind of confirms my sense that he was healthy sooner than his return in 2022, but that he wanted to pitch enough to show he was healthy and get a big contract, but not return too early and get reinjured down the stretch, impairing his resale value. Only Jake knows for sure.
deGrom was 5-4. Struggling Tylor Megill and traded Colin Holderman, meanwhile, were a combined 8-2 in 2022 - and so very much cheaper.
Jose Butto has surrendered 51 minors HRs in 450 innings, so many in fact that Cape Kennedy is being renamed Cape Butto.
"Rocket cleared for launch! Butto Booster Rocket is attached."
Bryce Montes de Oca just 1 HR in 85 innings...but Boom Boom Butto is viewed more favorably by many than is BMDO. BMDO, in fact, is still not listed in the Mets prospect top 30, although lesser performer-in-2022 Eric Orze is. That aside, some fans sitting behind home plate are concerned that BMDO is so huge, so immense, their view of the centerfielder will be obscured - tragic, but it seems the solution is that they'll just have to move, that's all.
Moving on:
Two of the Mets’ all-time pitchers were Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack, most Mets' aficionados would agree.
But that duo went 15-35 in 1977. That team had to have really sucked, huh? I think finishing 37 games out of first place was an indicator.
In 1978, the great Pat Zachary was 10-6, while Koosman was 3-15. Koosman was in point of fact a ghastly 11-35 in 1977 and 1978, making Darin Ruf's 2022 output look good, but Jerry was a 20 game winner in both 1976 and 1979. Those 4 seasons were like a sandwich with great slices of bread on the outside, and two big slices of rancid meat on the inside.
Back to hitters: In 1962 Mets original Jim Hickman's best two combined years with the Mets, he cracked 28 total HRs and had 108 RBIs while hitting .240 in 285 games.
In his one best year in 1970 as a Cub, he had 32 HRs, 115 RBIs, and hit .315 in 149 games and finished 8th in MVP voting. And some people wonder why sluggers would prefer to play away from Queens.
In 1970, against the likes of dandies like Seaver, Koosman, and others, Hickman in 17 games went .315/.456/.645.
In 1969, he hit just .237 for the Cubs. Had he hit in 1969 like he did in 1970, maybe the Miracle Mets never would have caught those Cubs. On that trivial note, have a more-tha trivial day.
P.S.
Pete Alonso signs pre-arb at $14,5 million, so he is finally earning some serious coin. Apparently, MLB batting champ Jeff McNeil wants in the mid-$7 millions, while the Mets are offering in the mid-$6 millions, a little more than a million apart. Jeff, if they don't come up, take them to arbitration and win.
And Drew Smith gets $1.3 million pre-arb. Drafted by the Tigers in the 3rd round of 2015, glad I am that he is a Met. 7-6, 3.24 in 110 career outings. Stay healthy, bigger paydays will be forthcoming.
Looking back at the good deal that brought him into the fold:
On July 27, 2017, the New York Mets traded slugger Lucas Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Drew Smith.
17 comments:
I loved Pat Zachary
Guys like him and Mike Hampton made a season.
I keep forgetting about Drew Smith. Would be huge if he has a big healthy year.
I'm glad that Pete got as much as he did, but it's hard to believe that the MLB batting champ is comparatively being lowballed.
The money not being paid to Correa should be used to sign the Bear and Squirrel to multi-year deals, as was dine with Wright/Reyes in their pre-FA deals long ago.
Mack, I most remember Zachary starting a Mets game against St Louis that I went to, Sept 20, 1981 - he got knocked out early, 2 innings, 5 runs, and the Mets were scoreless after 5 innings despite 9 hits. The Mets clawed back and got to 2 outs in the 9th, training 6-5 on 21 hits. Could they lose with just 5 runs on 21 hits?
Then Mookie hit a stunning 2 run walk off game winner off of Bruce Sutter, only his 3rd HR of the year. 7-6 Mets win, 7 runs on 22 hits. The Mets had no walks and just 2 strikeouts, and the walk-off losing first baseman? The Cards' Keith Hernandez.
Hubie Brooks and Mookie Wilson were both 4 for 5. That game epitomized being a Mets fan - agony, with the occasional thrill.
Ernest, well deserved raise to Drew Smith. Hard to believe he will be a free agent in 2025. Man, a few productive healthy years and he will get PAID.
Bill, I think the Squirrel hurts himself due to lack of run production. Just 73 runs, 62 RBIs last year in 148 games. Obviously, he'd drive in more if he was batting 3rd or 4th. He also is hurt by Nimmo and Marte's presence in the top of the lineup that pushes him down to 7th.
His 2023 Baseball Ref projection? .289, just 61 runs, 53 RBIs. I hope he can do much better than that. As in .300, 18 HRs, 80 RBI, 90 runs. But that would be his career best in runs and RBIs. He needs to start 150+ games and excel to be paid big.
Mike Hampton would have made a heck of a position player, too.
Luis Guillorme signed a 1 year / $1,600,000 contract
Tomas Nido signed a 1 year / $1,575,000 contract
Sorry Tom, but I'm not buying in on the Butto joke. As you say, he gave up 51 HR in 450 innings, which works out to 0.11 HR/inn. But if you look at last year's Mets starters, Carlos Carrasco had an almost identical 0.11 HR/inn ratio. The GOAT had a 0.14, Bassitt 0.10, and the best was Scherzer at 0.09 HR/inn. They're just all swinging for the fences, so sometimes they will barrel it but if you get more outs in between you win games.
As long as I'm being negative today, what the *bleep* are the Mets thinking by going to arbitration with McNeil and only signing Pete to a 1 year deal? I think it is very dangerous to let those two guys get to free agency without a lucrative extension in front of them.
I don't know how Baseball Ref compiles those projections, but those figures are almost identical to his WORST season to date. I 'll take them seriously if they prove accurate 10 months from now.
Is there a link anywhere to their projections a year ago, so we can see if there's any reason to give them credibility?
I'm with you, Paul, except that the decision for Arbi is automatic if they don't sign contracts by Jan 13th, so they had no choice. If it does get to Arbi, which can still be avoided by a contract agreement, I have no doubt that he'll win the case.
The Yankees are going to Arbi with Gleyber Torres after he rejected their $9.5 mil offer. Is there any way that he's worth 50% more than Squirrel? In whose fantasy?
Biggest sigh of relief is we don't get North Correa and Kim-Jong-un because word from the street is he is a very very bad man.
Paul, I think a HR per 9 innings in the minors is a HR every 5 or 6 innings in the majors. Maybe Butto can adjust. Orca’s HRs allowed rate is 1 every 90 inning, Butto 1 every 9. Huge difference, advantage Oca.
Bill, I think those projections tend to be somewhat conservative. But what would Jeff’s and Lindor’s numbers be if Jeff batted 3rd and Lindor 7th? Very different.
Gary, Minnesota is not far from North Correa.
Paul, actually as a comparison, Logan Verrett in Mets minors had about the same # of innings and HR/9 rate as Butto. In the majors, it worsened to one every 6 innings for Verrett.
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