Tom Brennan - Keep the Kids; & Someone Else Can Pontificate About Woeful Mets

Your Prospects Are Easier to Find If You Don't Trade Them

In the stumbling Mets' summer of 2021, as Jake deGrom was absent with his latest malady, the Mets went all in at the trade deadline - sort of. Well, partly.

They traded my favorite prospect, Pete Crow Armstrong, and in return got a brief rental of Javy Baez.  Who hit with some power, but was not nearly enough good stuff for a struggling team.  He was always a strikeout machine, was getting older, and wisely was not retained.  

He has sucked for the Detroit Tigers, post-Mets.

Stupid trade.  I want my Crow back.

Petey the Crow is now in AA and is widely considered the best defensive CF in all of the minors, and he can hit well, with power, and run fast.

He is now ranked as baseball's # 14 prospect. (For perspective, Ronny Mauricio is the top Mets prospect at # 39).

By next spring, maybe Crow is top 5.

Stupid trade.

Jarred Kelenic was traded too, another Mets' former first rounder.  

He struggled for a while with Seattle, but he is now with the Mariners in 2023 as just a 23 year old, with a .456 slug % and 9 steals so far in 73 games.

An OK trade, since the Mets got Sir Edwin (Patellar) Diaz, but as the Mets were already taking on $100 million on Cano's remaining contract, that should have precluded the Mets needing to give up a prospect as high quality as Kelenic.

So, calendar page flip flippantly, and it now is close to trade deadline of 2023.  

Monsieur Brennan's Admonition Du Jour?

Just don't trade any of the top ones this year. 

Or next year. Or in the years after that.

If you do, may a large Crow peck you, both painfully and repeatedly.

Keep The Kids.

Speaking of kids…

Christian Scott was brilliant again, and had 7 shutout innings in AA; he has supplanted Vasil and Hamel in my mind as the Mets’ hottest high minors starting pitching commodity. 

In AAA, Mark Vientos has 2 hits and a walk in his “I’m much better than this league, what am I doing here?” reunion tour. 

And  C Nick Meyer (a rising .230 with a .270 June) who has just 1 PB and 1 error in 25 catching games, slammed 2 HRs last night. Maybe they trade Narvaez and call up Meyer next month.

Speaking further of kids…

The Mets have been so abysmal over the last 59 games that heading into today’s action, the team had fallen 17 games back, and 8.5 games back in the Wild Card race. As such, I plan henceforth to not write about the major league team until they return to being in the 2023 race.

Steve Cohen was clearly disappointed yesterday. Watch his video.

So…

Not about results…not about trades actual or potential…not about the opposition. Nada.

The Mets don’t deserve my time and attention. So they will not get any.

Stupid organization.

(But wait, they did unexpectedly win last night…so, maybe…)

(But after Wednesday's game, the Mets still have played 10 fewer games at home than on the road this year, which should help them in the last 82 games).

Amazing that in the first 80 games, the Mets have scored 358 runs (4.5 runs per game) despite more-minimal-than-anticipated run generation input (21 RBIs) from Jeff McNeil. 

Of course, they have allowed 4.7, which is way too many RPGs.

But....they’ve 228 allowed in 45 road games, which is 5.1 runs per game.  Which, considering that when you lose on the road, most times, the opponent is not hitting in the 9th inning, it makes that runs allowed per game worse.  

But a much better 4.2 runs per game allowed at home...and in all of those games, the opposing team gets at least 9 innings. 

So, a I’ll pontificate for a moment, rather than someone else, and note that there remains a slight, slender sliver of hope for 2023, given how many home games are left.

Edwin’s demise was the Mets’ demise. Period.

QUITTER…OR REALIST?

Why do long-time Mets fans who are bothered by actual factual results complain?  Some NY Post-presented FACTS:

Simple - Met? In just 6 playoffs in 28 years.

Crosstown? 24 playoff appearances in the last 28 years. That’s 18 more, taking almost all of my 20 fingers and toes to count the differential.

 

Crosstown? At least one playoff series win in 14 of those 24.

Crosstown? 30 straight winning seasons. 

That sums it up. 

You aren’t a “quitter” to recognize those severely lopsided facts. 

You're just honest.

Steve is trying. And spending. 

The players are failing.