Once upon a
time, pre-expansion, the Montreal Canadians were allowed to sign the top two
French Canadian amateurs to contracts before any other of the original six were
allowed to make their selections. This was during a period when Canadians totally
dominated hockey. We are facing a similar
dilemma today as the Dodgers are able to attract the top players at every
position since there is no salary cap.
Hockey fixed its problem to create a more equitable playing field, and the sport has blossomed since. Every major sport with the exceptions MLB has adopted a salary cap. It’s simply outrageous that only a handful of teams can be considered playoff contenders.
The other 20 or so teams will continue to struggle both on and off the field. The
high draft choices who are successful will eventually wind up signing long-term
contracts with other teams or get traded for a new round of prospects. It’s a never-ending
cycle.
As a Mets
fan in the post-Wilpon era, I’m delighted that cost is not the overriding factor
of whether or not to sign someone. On one hand, I support David Stearns desire
to control payroll by limiting long-term deals and on the other envying the
Dodgers with their devil may care attitude.
We are weeks away before pitchers and catchers report for spring training. I’d be surprised if Pete Alonso is not a Met by then, but we’ll see. For all the transactions made by the Mets this offseason, only a couple stand out. Signing Juan Soto was obviously a coup, and AJ Minter is a solid addition to the pen. Nothing else really stands out.
We brought back Scott Manaea and replaced Severino and Jose Quintana
with Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes. Our rotation remains a question mark as we
wonder whether Senga will be our ace and whether Montas can return to past
form. And, of course, will Brandon Sproat be ready to make a significant
contribution this season.
The Mets
finished the season as the number two overall team in MLB. Right now, they
probably rank between 5-7 with the Dodgers, Phillies, Braves and possibly
Yankees ranked ahead of them. Last year the Mets received lackluster
performances from Nimmo, McNeil, Alvarez and Alonso and still gave the Dodgers
a run for the money. It’s reasonable to expect bounce back years from this group
which should make for a dominant batting order. This lineup, assuming Alonso is
signed, has the potential to have five players hit over 30 homers.
The pen brings
back many familiar faces. We still have room for at least one top end reliever.
No doubt, we will need several reinforcements during the season. Building depth
is important.
At this
point, I’m not willing to make any projections for the upcoming season. I expect
we will be playoff bound but I’m not sure how well we compete against the
Braves and the Phillies. Don’t forget the Nats are going to be a much-improved
team.
Ray
February 4,
2025
7 comments:
Ray, nice synopsis. I remember those Canadian teams against the Rangers. If the Rangers got a penalty, the Canadian barrage on goal during the ensuing 2 minutes was overwhelming.
I really would like to see Pete back on a mutually beneficial contract that won't preclude a run at Vlad next off season. It will be a devastating line up. A sight to behold. Like a Canadians penalty advantage - thunder will rain down.
The Canadians in 2 back-to-back mid-70s years went an insane 119-18 ,with some ties, and scored 746 goals while surrendering just 354. Sheer dominance. Let's hope the Dodgers don't do that.
I made my prediction in R69's piece so I won't repeat it here. I think it is the Savage truth that the NL east will be a VERY difficult division. The Phillies are still good, the Braves will return to health with the same feared lineup from 2022, and the Nats are indeed better. Need to go 13-0 against the Marlins to make the wild card.
I don't think the Braves are as good as you all think. They won't have Acuna for at least the first month, maybe two, and there are not a lot of players that come back and be in all-star form after a year and some off. I don't see Ozuna having the year he did last year (I'm calling his 2024 a career year), and not many pitchers repeat as Cy Young winners - Sale will probalby have some regression. Unless Kelenic really blossoms (hard to fix that K problem overnight) or both Riley and Olson come back with monster seasons, they are not as good as they have been.
The Phils are weird to predict. On paper, they look very good. Many of their hitters are pretty streaky and can carry them for a couple weeks, but also go away and are pretty weak for another couple weeks. They are also getting older - hard to say with them.
If things come together, even with the team they have today, the Mets could challenge for the division, particularly if they get off to a better start than last year.
R69, also remember that a key Acuna weapon was steals. After missing so much time, I can’t imagine he’ll just return to stealing bases. Isn’t JT Realmuto getting old? 34 before opening day. Catchers age faster than other positions. He will still be good, but not the JT of 3 yearsago.
Schwarber will be 32. I bet his stats slip this year vs. 2024.
Interesting, we could finish anywhere from 4th to first in the NK east.
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