Over the years I have probably been one of most pessimistic contributors to this site. Until recently, I saw no reason to change my stripes. Following the trade deadline and the addition of a number of highly rated prospects, I now like our future and believe we have significantly closed the talent gap between us and the Braves. Thought it would be interesting to review past posts made by the negative Ray.
November
1, 2022
Take
Francisco Alvarez. He is still a work
in progress but to think a few months in the minors will improve his skills
behind the plate is short-sighted. His
power bat is far better than any alternatives.
Over time, his defense will improve.
As with most young players, there may be some growing pains – but worth
the wait.
In the case
of Brett Baty, making him the regular third baseman means that either Edwardo
Escobar or Mark Canha would be superfluous.
I would rather keep Escobar and make him my regular left fielder. He offers much more flexibility than Canha
since he is also able to serve as a back-up on the infield. Canha has trade value and should help us
secure either a nice prospect or a bull-pen arm.
Mark Vientos
has nothing left to prove in the minors.
He should be given the chance to be the full-time DH. He is another power bat that will enable the
lineup to really rock. Unfortunately,
retaining Vientos makes Daniel Vogelbach unlikely. Unlike Vogelbach, Vientos
can play the field if necessary.
March
31, 1023
As we head
into the 2023 season, I am not feeling very optimistic that the Mets are
play-offs bound and I felt this way before the Diaz injury. At this stage, both the Braves and the
Phillies are better teams. Both have
explosive lineups and pitching staffs that measure up to the Mets trio of
Verlander, Scherzer and Senga. All
indications are the Mets starting line-up will be pretty similar to the one
that closed 2022 and we know how well that turned out.
It looks as
though they will begin the season with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos in
Syracuse. That would be beyond
insane. Whatever happened to the mantra
of having the best players on your team regardless of age or experience. It’s been an absolute pleasure watching Baty
this spring. This guy has a major league
bat, kind of reminds me of Freddie Freeman.
His glove is adequate and will get better over time. There is nothing to be gained by sending him
down for more seasoning. His time is
now. He may encounter some growing pains
but let’s experience them now rather than later.
April
27, 2023
No one could have predicted that our starting rotation would be in shambles. Unfortunately, neither Peterson nor Megill have shown the ability to step up. In their recent outings they look more like BP pitchers than legitimate major leaguers. Lucchesi looked sharp in his debut but it’s too early to tell if he’s going to work out long term. Even when we get Verlander and Scherzer back our rotation does not seem to be strong enough to overcome the deficiencies of this team.
Let’s stop the platoon and make Baty and Alvarez our regulars. Look what the Yankees are doing with the 21-year-old
Volpe. We need to recognize that true
talent will eventually manifest itself.
We are a team on the path to mediocrity.
Unless things are turned around quickly not only will we not make the playoffs
but will have trouble winning more than 81 games.
Buck
Showalter is well regarded as a manager, but it’s hard to envision him being
retained if we do miss the playoffs. In
his defense, he can only play the cards he is dealt and this roster has major
flaws. The bullpen is a mess and losing
Diaz certainly complicated matters. Even
with a healthy Diaz, the bullpen would not have been a strength. While Robertson and Ottavino are solid, there
is little else in the pen. In this era
of starters having trouble lasting six innings, a strong pen is a necessity. I admire the Yankees who always seem to find
diamonds in the rough.
In
Summary
For the most
part, my predictions over the past year have been pretty much on target. I expected more from Baty and still think of
him as part of our future. I thought he
was trending in the right direction toward the end of the season. If, as expected, the Mets are able to add at
least two top of the rotation pitchers and shore up the bullpen, we will be
contenders in 2024.
Ray
8 comments:
I have to now stick with thoughts of Mauricio over Baty at 3B even though I spent years saying Baty all the way.
Baty and Vientos failed their tests in 2023. Wonder what Stearns really thinks about their chances to be valuable players in 2024.
Alvarez spot on call.
Diaz? Mets win a Wild Card slot if he was healthy, and Justin, Max, and Pham would still be here. His injury blew up the Mets, who failed to do enough to replace him.
Yes, we might've reached the playoffs. But would be better-positiined long-term if we kept those guys and the others we traded, instead of the prospects we hot in return?
And we can still bring back Robby and Pham if we want them.
My spin
Ray said what
What's next
Tom's fence movers?
Reese 's other pieces?
Paul's articulations
Bill's 69s?
Mack, I’m feeling a bit fenced in here LOL.
Bill, but might we have won a WS with a healthy Edwin + Verlander and Max to go along with Senga? Possibly.
But that is water past the bridge. The Braves come to NY and use EZ Pass, as they breeze past the Mets.
Woulda, shoulda, coulda ... the history of the New York Mets.
Gonna ... the future of the New York Mets.
Baty and Vientos so muc expected so little delivered.
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