Mack’s Mets – the premier site for information on the New York Mets talent pipeline and dialogue on Mets prospects, Mets news, and Mets opinions.
My spin?
I want Baty to get regular reps and it is obvious Vientos has won third if Alonso is well
As for Scott, I hate this but he too needs to stay on 5 day plan and that won't happen with the London trip coming up + 6 starters on the 26
I hate this but seems like a necessity evil
Actually Niagara Falls, Frozen Over, In 1911
But Pretty Much The Same Frigid Weather
My # 1 pre-season Mets prospect was Jett Williams.
The Golden Jett.
He played several games and got hurt with a TFCC wrist injury. (Never heard of it? Neither have I but you can google it). He's had at least one ineffective cortisone shot, and possibly could need surgery. If needed, I am not sure of the recovery time (google it).
He's Mets property, so that makes sense. Perfect sense. If he played for any other organization, he heals in 2 weeks. He’s entering the realm of Jed Lowry and all the other injured Mets greats.
Was it due to Jett’s recklessness, his aggressive style of play, or just happenstance? I don't know. But he is missing a boatload of time.
My # 2 pre-season Mets prospect was Drew Gilbert.
He started out ice cold in March (and why not?) and started to hit better in early April until he got hurt on April 6. How did he get hurt? Sounds reckless, not aggressive, to me.
Drafted by the Astros in the first round in 2022, his short season got shorter when he collided with a wall. I did not see the play, but it sounded reckless. I personally try not to run into walls. Gilbert missed a bunch of games.
This early April 2024 injury was described by Anothony DiComo as such:
"Mets No. 2 prospect Drew Gilbert landed on the Triple-A injured list this morning with a mild strain of his right hamstring. He pulled it running to first base during Game 2 of a doubleheader on Saturday."
But he actually did not come out after he reached first base - he stayed in the game, and hurt it worse, presumably, running to second on a subsequent wild pitch.
Sounds reckless. Has missed a bunch of games, and continues to do so. Evel Knievel missed a lot of time, too.
If not for bad luck, this organization wouldn't have no luck at all.
My guess is Lou and Cal (Gehrig and Ripken) played aggressively, but not recklessly.
Would it be reckless of me to say that players should play aggressively, but never recklessly? Or I am I being merely recklessly aggressive here?
WHAT IS GOING ON?
3-2 Mets win. a word only vaguely familiar to Mets fans, Christian Scott was strong for 5, and then newly found pen ace Adrian Houser, Young, and Garrett toss 4 scoreless, hitless relief innings. Recalled Danny Young grabs the win, and is 2-0.
Francisco Lindor went 4 for 4 with a HR in the lead off spot, and is up to .225, pulling even with Baty at .225. Mind you, on April 13, Lindor was hitting .103 and Batty 199 points higher at .302, so Lindor has made up a lot of ground there.
Lindor is one point ahead of Mystery Missing Man McNeil’s miserly .224.
Iron Man Pete Alonso did not start, but somehow got a key pinch hit double late. X-rays were negative. So, with his arm still attached, he played and contributed.
Speaking of “somehow”, somehow Francisco Alvarez STARTED AT CATCHER in AA and hit a 3 run bomb and drew a walk. Way ahead of schedule. Unless they have another catcher by that name in the organization.
Maybe this Mets team will fight their way out of its morass.
Jack Wenninger fanned 12 in 7 IP for St Lucie. 60 Ks in 44 IP for the 2023 6th rounder.
Nick Morabito 42 games, hitting .369, .486 OBP, 24 steals. I like him.
- Do you like him? “Well, do ya….punk?”, Clint Eastwood asked.
WHEN IS A DEMOTION A PROMOTION?
Mike Vasil has been a little better his last 2 AAA starts, but still not good. He is a rough 7.59/1.56 in 10 starts.
I'm not in AAA to watch why Vasil has struggled so much, but Justin Jarvis was getting pulverized, not to mention shellacked, in AAA, so they send him down to AA to regroup. AND HOW!
In 2 AA outings, a stunning 11.1 innings, just a few hits, no runs, no walks, 15 Ks for Jarvis. He clearly fixed something. So, I puzzle as to why Vasil is not similarly demoted, to see if a breather for a few games a league down would kick-start the rest of his 2024.
JORGE LOPEZ DFA….
We all know why. But…will he now end up pitching with a contender? Crazy like a fox?
Phil Bickford, who has been a better MLB pitcher in his last 3 years than Lopez, ended up with the Yankees' AAA team after the Mets cut him in spring training, and for that Yanks AAA team, he has been pitching well. But the Bombers have the best pitching in baseball in the Bronx, a stunning 2.77 ERA vs. the Mets' 4.09, so Phil stays stuck in AAA. Maybe he needs to throw his mitt in the stand to get back to the majors.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
I noticed meanwhile that Trevor Bauer is in a Mexican League and is 5-0, 1.50, with lots of Ks. Just mentioning it, that’s all, since his name came up in a comment in an article on this site yesterday. On his days off, he sits outside the ballpark holding a sign that says "Will pitch in MLB for minimum wage."
ELSEWHERE…
In the FCL, 17 yrs, 10 months old SS Jeremy Rodriguez had 2 hits, including a HR, and is hitting .362/.436/.536.
- Future MLB star? Major leaguer before he turns 20?
- If called up to Mets 2 years from today, 19 yr, 10 mo. old. Why not?
And AJ Ewing hit his 5th HR and leads the entire FCL in that category.
Woo-boy. Did they ever nail that one correctly!
What has happened in the past few days? Well, for starters the Mets needed to clear a roster spot to bring back David Peterson from injury recovery. The lucky recipient of the Uber ride to Syracuse was very recent newcomer Josh Walker. He and Dedniel Nunez likely shared that ride back upstate.
Then David Peterson arrived as planned, but the unforeseen coinciding roster transaction was Edwin Diaz heading to the IL for an alleged shoulder issue. The word “alleged” is used because, well, you know...the Mets have an issue with manipulation of false injuries to play games with the roster. Diaz has been horrific and while no one wishes him to have another injury, it does seem somewhat curious that this medical condition did not arise when he was pitching successfully. Putting him on the IL allows the team to test drive some other closer candidates in his absence. You wonder if the Uber driver for Josh Walker made a U-turn or if another driver was summoned for that unexpected and very quick return to Queens.
OK, so mediocre starters Tylor Megill and David Peterson both seem to have overcome health issues and posted some gaudy numbers to push their way into the rotation. Given the fact that Kodai Senga is still ailing and Adrian Houser already got bounced from the rotation, it’s not a bad thing to have capable pitchers available in a pinch. So now if you go through the rotation stacking it would appear to be Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Christian Scott, Tylor Megill and David Peterson. Severino is on a one-year deal, Manaea is on a two year deal with an opt-out (his choice) after year one, Quintana is playing for his next new deal. So that leaves the three younger pitchers as the team’s stalwarts for August 1st and beyond.
OK, OK...so the starting rotation isn’t exactly what it was envisioned to be but the bullpen is rock solid now, right? Oh, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, Jorge Lopez proved that you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Taking the high road apparently went far out the window (or at least further than Lopez hurled his glove into the stands. Some were surprised that he had that kind of arm strength, but the act itself was likely going to draw deep into his $2 million pockets for unsportsmanlike conduct. It’s only money, right? Pay the fine and get on with life.
Or...
When queried about the whole incident. let’s just say that Lopez was pretty much at the realization his behavior and his team’s performance were simultaneously coming to an end. He said that the Mets were the worst f**king team in MLB...this coming from a veteran Oriole who worked on some awful teams as a result of his own ineptitude with a career ERA after 9+ seasons of 5.39 and a career record of 23-42.
Well, he will now get to test out his pitching arm, his discus throw arm and his big mouth for a new team as the Mets have put him on the DFA list for his tirade. That opens up yet another bullpen slot while they figure out how to muddle through the injury to Diaz, the recent meldown by Reed Garrett, the inconsistency of Jake Diekman, the season-ending surgery on Brooks Raley, the most recent losing effort by Adam Ottavino and a host of others (soon to be joined by Drew Smith back from injury).
Opinions
Mine?
Stupid overreacting what someone who was upset and spoke broken English to an SNY reporter looking for clicks.
Lopez has a son waiting for a transplant. A lot on his mind during a bad season.
He's a good reliever I wanted around in 2025
There are teams that have been snake-bitten on losing streaks where anything that could go wrong would go wrong and all one could say is, “That’s baseball”. This isn’t one of those teams. These losses, and particularly the most recent ones, were given away by poor execution. Case in point – in Monday’s loss a 2-0 lead turned into a 2-5 loss in the late innings driven by an inexplicable three double play ground balls not turned into double plays in the same inning. There have been fielding gaffes, base-running gaffes, weak at-bats with runners in scoring position, and of course pitching mistakes. I have also seen evidence of a lack of full effort, but that is subjective so I will not introduce it as evidence. These losses were self-induced failures in winnable games that were close in the late innings.
If the Mets had a veteran manager, the crowds would be amassing with torches and pitchforks ready to run him out of town. Instead, very little has been said about Carlos Mendosa’s culpability in this failure. After all, it is the players that have failed to execute. But at some point, the mental state of the team has to be influenced by the leadership. At some point there has to be a tear-it-down house-on-fire team meeting where the latest mishaps are just not accepted.
There are two major reasons that I take such a harsh stance, and none of them has to do with “I’m mad because my team is unsuccessful”. I’m pretty used to unsuccessful sports seasons, so I can get over that. What I think is particularly alarming is this:
1) The team has built a long list of talented prospects who have been moving through the development system. Some (Alvarez, Baty, Mauricio, Vientos, Scott) have already made it up and others are on the verge. These players may have great skills, but if they are exposed to such a desperate, losing mentality that currently exists in this clubhouse, they are not being trained as winners. The winning attitude is a deep-rooted psychological mindset that doesn’t have a switch – it gets diffused into a player’s psyche over a long period. The converse is also true, so this current team’s performance is training a losing attitude in the youth that holds our future.
2) People like to talk about 2024 as a transition year. Yeah, we’ll be competitive and maybe contend for a wild card. But next year we’ll go out into the free agent market, purchase some big talent in the right places with Steve Cohen’s money, and come out with a winner. Guess what, folks? Big talent doesn’t want to come to a loser. The players see what is going on. Juan Soto will not abandon the Yankees to wear Orange and Blue for any amount of money if it looks like this is a perennial 4th place team. The same goes for the “next Yamamoto”, Corbin Burnes, and the rest of the big names. If the 2024 Mets don’t look like a team on the cusp of success, they won’t attract the pieces to make it reality.
Now that you are as alarmed as I am, let me say that there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. This is reversible. The poor hitting in key situations just needs an adjusted approach. I hope our coaches are smart enough to be working that right now. The defensive mistakes are being made by players that are capable of so much more – so it is not time to start spring training all over again it is just time to get people’s minds right so they are focused on execution. It is also not the ballpark (sorry Tom). The Mets are currently 4th in the National League in home runs and some of the ones they have hit (Lindor’s on Monday, Nido’s on Wednesday) would have been difference makers if the defense had just executed.
The bullpen is not right. Edwin Diaz has not found it yet, and maybe his newly diagnosed “shoulder impingement” is his reason. But the rest of the pen has been among the bright spots in the first third of the season and they are suddenly coming apart. This is where Mendoza needs to learn a hard lesson. He was way too quick with the hook in the early season and now that constant day-after-day routine of throwing 4-5 relief pitchers is catching up with him. I had warned earlier in the season that our starters needed to be contributing more than five innings and that has now become the latest problem. To fix it, Carlos has to let the starters throw more in the warmer weather and he is going to have to go to a six man rotation to lessen the wear on them. This is easily done with Megill and Peterson back and a very capable Jose Butto just a phone call away.
This team must have a big wake-up call right now. Mendoza or his seasoned bench coach John Gibbons has to give the message to the individual players – you are part of the solution or part of the problem. The latter group will be gone by August 1st.
DIMENSIONS REALLY DO MATTER.
BEFORE MY REGULAR PROGRAMMING…
Mets? They utterly collapse. Jorge Lopez goes on a glove tossing tirade, insulting the Mets’ team. He is now DFA, which is short for Dufas.
And Pete got hurt. After Edwin got hurt. Drop the curtain, roll the credits, start the selling.
Note to Stearns:
Luke Ritter is ready, hungry, and won’t throw his glove into the stands.
Good news is that the Mets will likely win at least 41 games and stay out of the record books. Tidwell shined in AAA, too. 6 scoreless.
Tell me how you feel about all that, brothers. The team you support? LOL.
NOW, ON TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
Ballplayers starting out, unless they go undrafted, have no say in where they play. You go where they pick you to go. And you stay for a long time.
In the real world, you may have gone to college to be a software engineer, developed a bit of a resume, and went out hunting for the best job you could find.
You weren't told you could only work for Acme Widgets.
Dave Kingman?
He was often vilified, and much of it was his fault. Attitude, etc. Playing on depressingly bad Mets teams didn't help.
He played first in San Francisco, not a power hitter's hitting mecca, and described thusly in Wikipedia:
"The stadium was infamous for the windy conditions, damp air and dew from fog, and chilly temperatures. The wind often made it difficult for outfielders trying to catch fly balls, as well as for fans, while the damp grass further complicated play for outfielders who had to play in cold, wet shoes.
“When the park was expanded to accommodate the 49ers in 1971, it was thought that fully enclosing the park would cut down on the wind significantly. Instead, the wind swirled from all directions, and was as strong and cold as before."
As a result, Dave in his career hit just .222 there.
Then he played for the Mets at Shea Stadium for a long time.
Too long.
In good old Shea Stadium, he hit a sucky .218 in 1,376 plate appearances. Ugly.
We fans found out the hard way that while he may have hit some ballistic missiles that landed somewhere overseas, many of his towering long fly balls died instead in fielders' gloves out on the Shea warning track.
If he could have worked anywhere he wanted as a baseball crushing specialist, he would have headed straight to Chicago's Wrigley Field.
It has always been deemed a hitters' park, especially for righty hitters like Kong.
Kingman was a Cub during the 1978-80 seasons and obviously also played road games there while with the Mets and other NL teams.
In Chicago, he hit a terrific .297/.360/.608 in 940 plate appearances.
Well, how about that? That's a HOF split, if he could have done that his whole career.
In his career overall, despite playing many years in pukey home parks, he hit an impressive 442 HRs - and batted .236.
What, though, might he have hit overall if he had been a life-long Cub?
Well his Wrigley ABs were roughly equal to a quarter of his total home ABs, so had his home ABs all been in Chicago, his home numbers might have been:
148 doubles, 32 triples, 276 HRs, 828 RBIs, and .297/.360/.608.
His road numbers were:
121 doubles, 14 triples, 225 HRs, 591 RBIs, .234/.300/.478.
Combine those road and hypothetical home totals and you'd get:
6,677 at bats, 269 doubles, 46 triples, 501 HRs, 1,419 RBIs, and .268/.330/.543.
A whole lot better than his actual career numbers.
Almost worthy of HOF consideration.
Maybe he would have tried harder and played longer if the HOF was a real possibility, and ended up hitting 600 HRs. Ahh, speculation.
Consider that he had just 6,677 career at bats, while HR King Hank Aaron hit his 755 HRs while playing in admittedly hitter-friendly home parks, and having nearly double (5,700 more) the career at bats.
All to say, park dimensions do matter.
Even today, based on recent career-to-date stats...
Pete Alonso on the road? .261, 110 HRs, 279 RBIs.
Pete Alonso at Citi Field? .239. 91 HRs, 241 RBIs.
Maybe if he had his resume ready and could have played anywhere from day 1, and decided on Wrigley, Pete's home #s would be .280, 125 HRs, 300 RBIs instead. Maybe that would be iffy in terms of HOF potential, but his HOF chances playing in Citi Field can only be considered an extreme long shot.
It sure matters to sluggers if they play in friendly dimensions.
What was a deciding factor for JD Martinez signing with the Mets?
He had 2 choices: The Mets' pitcher friendly park, or the Giants' VERY pitcher friendly park. He made the best of two lousy choices. He'd have at least 2 more HRs already if Citi's fences were shortened a bit to make the park simply neutral.
Just call me Mr. Dimension.
See, I know at times my message seems one-dimensional.
Some points just bear repeating. A bad park can mess with hometown players' heads.
Lastly:
Saw this intriguing historical info (unverified by me).
Who’s the best first baseman in the Mets minors, prospect-age, of course.
JT SCHWARTZ?
Hmmm…Low power output.
RYAN CLIFFORD?
Nearly 80 minor league games at 1B, so he is not just an OF.
But he strikes out a lot. A whole lot. 114 times in 75 games since the Mets acquired him.
So…pick one.
No? You’d rather continue shopping?
OK, how about a 3rd choice?
Say, a guy who is hitting .295/.388/.550 for an unlikely low-offense team, Brooklyn?
Averaging an RBI every 5 at bats? Works for me.
And..he plays both 1B…AND 3B?
Just 2 errors in 30 games in the field this year?
Just call him Keith Brooks, then.
Player of the week in the So. Atlantic League for his recent play?
And just 25 Ks in 152 PAs, in a league where that sort of rate is excellent?
Who cares if he was just a 9th rounder in 2023, if he can do all that?
His name? Nick. No, not Morabito.
Nick Lorusso.
So, Schwartz and Clifford have some competition. Tough competition.
Right now, I’d say Luke Ritter is the best 1B prospect, but is older and has been K prone, Improving in that regard, for sure, in 2024, but of the younger up-and-comers….?
Nick Lorusso.
Jett Williams….has what the club is calling a right wrist TFCC sprain that already required one cortisone shot. Williams is expected to receive a second injection after the first did not cure the soreness.
SURGERY MAY BE NECESSARY?? Hope not.
Good morning.
Got some time on my hands, so I thought I would come up with some trade scenarios that would make sense this year for both the Mets and the team they would be trading with.
The first today would be trading designated hitter JD Martinez. Yes, he has been one of the more productive bats this year, but he's getting 12mil on a one year and would cost a hell of a lot more next season.
I'm not sure at this point who the 2025 DH will be for the Mets, but I need to save this kind of money for my Blow It Up plan.
Where to, you say?
Well. both San Francisco and Seattle have DH bats that are simply not producing at an acceptable level.
Both these teams are currently in the playoff race and could use a JD boost in their lineup.
Seattle has two top SS/2B prospects. The MLB has Cole Young as their 39th prospect and Colt Emerson as their 87th.
At A ball, Emerson is: 70-AB, 2-HR,..271 and Young is hitting .255 in 145-AB with 3-HR at AA.
Either would be fine for me as a future second base prospect.
Also in Seattle is an attractive outfield prospect. Lazaro Montes is currently hitting .325 in 154-AB, 7-HR, 44-RBI in A ball.
As for the Giants... I like two prospects:
1B/OF Bryce Eldridge - A ball: 111-AB, 5-HR, .279
LHP Carson Whisenhunt - AAA ball: 0-3, 6.37, 35.1-IP, 55-K
2023 in A/A+/AA: 16-ST, 2.45, 58.2-IP, 83-K
Make any sense?
So what kind of a pitcher is David Peterson? Well, let’s keep an open mind and not merely concentrate on his track record. That part is pretty unimpressive, though last late season he revved it up to a 3.88 ERA over several weeks to indicate that despite the pain he was feeling he had shown an extended interval of better than average pitching.
Now for his career those numbers are not nearly as good. He has a losing record, a 4.51 ERA (which benefited from his late 2023 strong effort), gave up nearly a hit per inning pitched and struggled with control. His WHIP for his career is 1.41 which is a lot of base path traffic that can result in difficulty keeping opponents from scoring against you.
Right now the plan is for him to be the 6th starter but that temporary measure isn’t suggesting what will happen for the long term. Let’s assume for the moment he pitches to a 3.00 ERA over his first few starts. Does that push someone out of the rotation when the current marathon schedule subsides a bit? What happens if and when Kodai Senga is ready to pitch in the rotation as well?
Right now Jose Butto has already been pushed back to Syracuse while delivering a 3.08 ERA with a great WHIP and almost no one getting hits off of him. Does the team believe that long term pitchers with charitably deemed below average performance like Peterson and Tylor Megill at later ages make more sense than younger pitchers?
Not for the first time I will again suggest that the Mets consider converting the suddenly highly capable southpaw into a relief pitcher. Everyone knows that Brooks Raley is done for 2024 and Jake Diekman at age 37 is not likely going to be a daily stalwart. Having Peterson assume bullpen duty helps reinforce the overcrowded and 5-inning starting staff while also opening up the possibility of trading away other bullpen arms in the attempt to reshape for 2024 and beyond.
For now, like all Mets fans, I hope for unexpected and great success for David Peterson, but I wouldn’t bet the house on it. We’ve all seen flashes of productivity in the past that was not sustainable. Maybe the extra innings and untreated hip issue were at the core. Maybe he is now a dominant pitcher. Maybe not.
SAVAGE VIEWS – I Wonder as I Wander – Part II
Back on
December 10, 2020 I posted that the Mets should pass on trading for Lindor. At that time, I was pleased to have Gimenez,
Rosario and Mauricio in our pantry. As it turns out, the reasons for acquiring
Lindor made a lot of sense. It signaled an end to the Wilpon era and now open
for business regardless of the cost.
Unfortunately, the Lindor cost was very high and we are committed to him
for the next seven plus years. While I love his attitude and personality, his
offensive output appears to be diminishing.
Another
recent signing that, in my view, made little sense was bringing JD Martinez on
board. While he is a professional hitter
with an elite resume, he simply is not a good fit. His signing sent the wrong
message to younger players such as Vientos and Baty. In fact, as long as JD is
on the team one of Baty or Vientos needs to be either farmed out or traded in
order to add a utility infielder to the roster.
As I write this on Sunday afternoon, Vientos is sitting while JD
demonstrates his continued inability to make contact. Since he arrived on the
scene the Mets are a brutal 9-18.. I
wonder if lineup decisions are being dictated to Mendoza? Otherwise, how can
anyone justify sitting a very hot Vientos in favor of JD.
I’m having
trouble reconciling demoting Butto while retaining Houser in the rotation. Butto was fairly successful as SP5 while
Houser’s struggles are well documented. On
the other hand, Howser looks as though he could improve the pen.
Our bullpen’s
success is dependent on having a dominant Diaz.
Clearly, that has not happened. We
were fortunate to have Garrett and Reid-Foley exceed expectations early in the
season. Now they have tumbled back to
earth. Without a strong pen our season
is doomed. Wonder how teams such as the Yankees and Guardians continually find
diamonds in the rough while we struggle every year. Someone needs to explain
why Quintana is pulled after 70 pitches making it necessary to go to an overtaxed
pen.
At the rate
we are going, got to wonder if Mendoza makes it to the all-star break. I want him to succeed, but some of his
decisions have me scratching my head. In a recent game against the Giants, the
Mets had runners on 2nd and third with one out in the 9th
and Nimmo coming up with a chance to bring in the tying run. Melvin elects to give Nimmo a free pass and
take his changes with JD who fails to make contact and strikes out on three
pitches. If the situation was reversed,
I doubt if Mendoza makes the same move. With any new manager there is a
learning curve. Hope Mendoza gets up to speed soon.
On another
topic, I wonder why Nick Morabito is not rated higher. He has shown the ability
to get on base at a very high rate and some pundits have him as a future fourth
or fifth outfielder. His scouting report is a high on-base guy with great speed
and good defensive chops. I like to
think of him as a Richie Ashburn type who could be a terrific table setter and
our team needs one. Nimmo, for all his
talent, is reluctant to steal a base. Ashburn, by the way, was elected to the
HOF.
At least I’ve
got the Rangers to look forward to. LGR.
Ray
May 28, 2024
IN TOUGH TIMES, WHAT IS THE RIGHT PATH FORWARD?
I looked up and realized I had an article to write for 6 AM Tuesday.
Then Steve called me.
No, not Cohen...my brother.
He gets heated...as always...and his views might be right.
I tell him David Peterson had a great rehab, says his hip really bothered him forever, and that I think there is some Cole Hamels potential there. He tells me I'm drinking Mets Kool Aid again and Peterson is a busted pick who will never be more than a #5 or #6. He thinks having Peterson make his first start against the potent Dodgers on Wednesday is asinine. He'd have pushed him off to face the Diamondbacks. Now he's worked up.
He says, I've been a Mets fan all my life. I want this team to WIN before I die. He's been saying that a lot.
He notes the bewilderingly bad Mets history of busted draft picks, how little they've gotten out of first two rounds of picks over the decades.
- He's right there. Dwight, David Wright, Harvey, Pete....obvious picks like Strawberry don't count.
He noted their continuing and utter inability to develop talent. Even right now, he looks at the farm system today and says it is talent-thin. He's right. He asks where our Ken Griffey Jr is, realizing that, as usual, no such superstar hitter is in sight, either ahead of us, or behind us.
I run down some of the current prospect names (with his reaction): Gilbert (too short), Acuna (too short), Jett Williams (too short), Rhylan Thomas (too short), Nick Morabito (too short). He wants 6'2" sluggers drafted who can run and field. Is that too much to ask?
He wholeheartedly shares my view on the Mets' franchise-long unwillingness to make the park hitter-neutral to hitter-friendly, inhibiting their hitters decade after decade. Then, wondering why free agent sluggers sign elsewhere.
He repeatedly has excoriated the Mets for seeking in off-seasons to "do just enough" to build a "theoretically decent bullpen" - until the inevitable injry crap happens. "Crap" (he used a different word) is one or two key falters in the pen and the whole thing implodes - Diaz not returning as Trumpet Diaz, Raley going down, and the bullpen going up in flames, blowing one game after another.
He thought the Verlander trade was totally foolish. If you're paying so much of his remaining contract, why trade him, rather than keep a winning legend? We got in return an injury-prone Gilbert, whom he views as a future mediocre full-or-part time player, and Ryan Clifford, whom he sees as a guy with power, but far too strikeout prone for Steve to think he won't fail.
He thinks this current team is boring and filled with losers. So he hasn't watched a game in weeks. His favorite soap opera isn't "One Life to Waste." He's got better things to do. After 2023 and 2024 to date, and every season after 2016 but 2022, who can argue? Not me.
He realizes full well that an Ohtani and a Yamamoto would have picked LAD in a heartbeat for a few reasons, but most notably, a true winning team. Which the Mets clearly are not. The Mets, as Steve noted, after 1973, spanning 51 years and counting, have had precious few playoff years. Far, far too few for a big market team, and it disgusts him.
His prescription? It is most likely different than yours.
Cut spending? NO!! He doesn't care about the 10 slot draft penalty for substantially exceeding the cap, he doesn't care if Steve Cohen's team salary plus tax hits $1 billion.
He wants this:
Sign the right, winning talent and lots and lots of it. And make this the deepest Mets bullpen of all time by signing five fireballers. Pay for the best team in baseball. Period. Shoot for 115 wins and settle for 105.
He appreciates Steve Cohen's spending after the "pathetic" Wilpon regime's decades-long M.O. of never doing enough. But feels Cohen is psyched out and too hesitant to go for victory at any cost.
He wants Corbin Burnes badly. And Soto. And 5 reliever fireballers. And whatever else it takes to become a no-doubt perennial winner.
What think you of his critique and prescription, especially considering two things:
1) This team's terrible lack of historical success
2) It's always having a minor league system that ranges from average to abysmal?
GET AWAY FROM THE EDGE WHEN YOU CAN. THE ABYSS LIES BELOW.
Standing on the edge of a cliff. Pebbles falling off from the unstable dirt at the edge. The Dodgers up next. On the verge of a 9th loss in 10 games.
Starting to lose your balance. Beads of sweat. No plunge protection insurance.
But…
Two unexpected happened. Both positive.
Adrian Houser threw 4 innings of one run relief and looked sharp.
Secondly, trailing 3-1, bottom 9 with 2 outs, a 3 run game-winning rally!
The hot Harrison Bader lashes an 2 out, 2 run double, for his 8th and 9th RBIs in 10 games, and his biggest two of the campaign.
Then the frigid 9 for 60 Omar Narvaez steps in with the score suddenly tied, and voila…a game-winning single. 4-3 win, and a sigh of relief.
Monday (and the Dodgers) lies just ahead.
Abyss and abysmal are still on the radar in Metsville. But perhaps a little less so...why?
RONALD ACUNA JR PULLS A RONNY MAURICIO
Not all bad things happen just to the Mets. The Braves have taken a second major hit.
Ronald Acuña Jr. pulled a "Ronny Mauricio:
He suffered a torn ACL, and will miss the rest of the 2024 season.
While leading off second in the first inning, Acuña hurt himself getting ready to possibly run to swipe another base. Just like Ronny, he didn't.
RIP....
Are the Mets now going to shake off this malaise and be inspired to try to chase down a Braves team missing both Ronald and Spencer?
Elsewhere in Metsville:
Syracuse (31-19) wins yet again. The too-good-for-AAA Jose Butto was excellent for 5 innings, Carlos Cortes and Rylan Bannon both smack 3 run shots, and my guy Rhylan Thomas gets on base 4 times. Also, there was 31 year old Matt Festa, with decent MLB relief experience, as he threw his 3rd scoreless outing for Syracuse. Maybe a ticket to Citi soon?
Next, Binghamton lost a close one, 3-2. Jeremiah Jackson (.167) smacked 2 solo shots in the loss. Jaylen Palmer and Nolan McLean both went 0 for 4 with 3 Ks, as Binghamton batters fanned 15 times. Ryan Clifford went 0 for 4, and is now 4 for 38 in AA, with 20 Ks. Perhaps rushed a bit.
Those 4 are going to start a barbershop singing group called the Strikeout Quartet.
Moving on, Brooklyn lost 4-2, with the offensive excitement limited to a triple by 1B/3B Nick Lorusso (.295), who tripled in a run and scored the other.
Hurler Jonah Tong threw 2 scoreless innings in this start, but was done after just 26 pitches??? Hopefully nothing serious.
Lastly, St. Lucie continued a bad habit, called losing, dropping to 14-31 with a 9-4 loss.
That’s it, folks.
Thanks to our veterans, who we remember and honor, and who have been instrumental in making this country the greatest ever, and A BLESSED MEMORIAL DAY TO YOU, as we all never forget.
But, before I go, an addendum...
I can't seem to get away from adding “article addenda” anymore...
I wanted to relate to you a true story of how sometimes a really bad circumstance, like a holiday sports injury, could be a blessing in disguise.
A friend who I’ve not seen in a while, named Harold, tore his Achilles tendon in a picnic football game I was at on Labor Day in the year 2000. He made a cut and heard a rip. Down he went.
He felt like the biblical Job…."how could this possibly happen, too?"
You see, he made a living delivering office supplies, which required physical health. Up to his neck in bills, Harold, a Mets fan BTW, was physically unable to execute his office supply deliveries for quite a while, as walking was a prerequisite. Out of desperation, weeks later, he went into driving a limousine for a living, even while still initially in a lot of pain, to pay the bills and keep a roof over his and his family’s heads.
A year later on 9/11, as it turns out, he would have still been delivering office supplies had he not been hurt. He made daily deliveries pre-injury to the World Trade Center.
His usual delivery routine prior to his injury was to deliver office supplies daily to Cantor Fitzgerald, always right at the time in the morning when one of the planes hit their building and killed everyone that worked for Canter Fitzgerald on their floors.
Harold? He clearly would’ve been dead too, but his Achilles injury the prior year, which he saw at the time as his worst possible misfortune, that forced him to change occupations, saved his life.
I don’t know how you see it.
I know how he saw it, and how I saw it: as Divine Providence.
Anyway, enjoy your hotdogs. And say thank you to a veteran.
So I checked in on the statistical performance of the system from the low minors to the majors to find that ray of hope. It continues to elude me.
As of last night, the NY Mets stood at 22-30 in fourth place in the NL East a full 15 games behind the division leading Phillies. Gary Cohen pointed out yesterday that this was the farthest back a Mets team has been on May 26th since the 1993 team that finished with 103 losses.
The team has a .236 batting average through their first 52 games, and they only have three players batting over .275 – Mark Vientos, Harrison Bader, and JD Martinez. I consider anything below that to be mediocre, and there are some pretty high profile players below that team average.
Maybe old habits die hard, so let’s look to the development system:
The Syracuse Mets are batting .251, with only two (Ben Gamel and Jose Iglesias) hitting over .275. Both of them are guys with MLB experience, so one would hope they could handle AAA pitching.
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are batting .237, with only one – Wyatt Young, batting over .275. We all knew Wyatt could hit.
The Brooklyn Cyclones are batting .207, also with only one – Joe Lorusso, batting over .275.
The St. Lucie Mets are batting .230, also with only one – 3B Jesus Baez, batting over .275.
I don’t see anything yet that resembles results. I would be OK with a low team batting average for a minor league club if it was being pulled down by guys that just weren’t going to make it any further, but to have so few players distinguishing themselves with an average better than .275 in the minors says that the experiment is not working.
Maybe batting average is a little old school in these days of three true outcomes. Maybe I should look at OPS.
Syracuse: .791 OPS
Binghamton: .706 OPS
Brooklyn: .643 OPS
St. Lucie: .661 OPS
Nothing there to write about. Syracuse seems to be a notch ahead of the rest, but besides Gamel and Iglesias, only Trayce Thomson, Luke Ritter, and Rhylan Bannon have OPS over .800.
Maybe I am grasping at straws here, but I want to justify the struggles at the major league level by convincing myself there is something coming soon that will make it all worthwhile. But even if there is some breakthrough pitching coming up, runs need to be scored to win ballgames. Where are those runs going to come from?
The Mets’ core is not performing, even with Francisco Lindor’s new glasses (remember I said two years ago that it looked like he needed glasses?), or Omar Narvaez’ first hit in Citi Field.
Hitters don’t just come from free agency. Some have to be developed from within. I am urgently looking for signs of life from the batter’s boxes in Syracuse, Binghamton, or Brooklyn. There are flashes of success like JT Schwartz going 4-4 yesterday, but there is a lack of exciting season-long performances in the minors that screams, “call him up” since Mark Vientos.
It is time to take a long, inward look at how hitting development is being done in this franchise. Success in the major leagues is not going to come without it.
Think about that one for a moment. Buck Showalter who is likely headed to Cooperstown for his managerial record started off with 101 wins in 2022. Then when he lost Diaz for all of 2023 and a variety of other players nosedived he went from the solution to the alleged problem with why the team was not performing better than near basement dwellers.
Now to be fair, the plans to bring in David Stearns as the new President of Baseball Operations opened up that awkward door as you would think the POBO wouldn’t want to be saddled with an inherited manager but would certainly prefer to hire his own. No one knew at the time that Billy Eppler was also headed out the door as a result of the IL manipulation and fraud, but that change was not even addressed as Stearns took over the GM duties as well as serving as the new man in charge of baseball.
No, the bigger question for the Mets organization is whether they wanted to grow and shape a young manager much like the way Milwaukee did with Craig Counsell. There is risk in doing that but the reward is low cost loyalty for several years. Even though Mendoza had done some winter league managing he had not taken over for even a solid 2 days in a row in the major leagues. Consequently did it mean he could morph into Luis Rojas II?
Thus far it seems that Mendoza has done an acceptable job for the day-to-day details such as filling out lineups, rotating players and not getting ejected on a regular basis. Yes, there are definitely questions about habitual early hooks on starting pitchers and overuse of the bullpen, but otherwise he seems to be at least average.
So what is Mendoza doing to address the attitudes and execution of his players? When they recently had a meeting with the players it was pointed out that meetings don’t seem to be a major part of the Mendoza style. Perhaps that type of communication with all players in the same room at the same time being treated equally is something he needs to consider.
Rookie managers, however, have no track record and learning on the job is part of the playbook you accept when you attempt to craft that kind of inexpensive long term solution. I’m sure if you go back through Craig Counsell’s early days as a manager you would find examples of highly questionable things he did, but he learned from them and quickly became one of the most desired managers when he resigned from the Brewers.
So now you have to consider the horrific stretch the Mets are facing right now and you have to wonder how much rope David Stearns is offering to his manager? What is he as POBO doing to motivate one of his lieutenants? How long does he give the on-the-job learning process before accountability overtakes pride in the hire? Would bringing in a new manager actually change things drastically? It seems that the problem is in player execution more so than managerial flaws, but at this point all potential problems need to be considered.
