Mack’s Morning Report – 4-2-16 – 25-Man Drama, Jim Henderson, Lisa Edelstein, Sandy Alderson, Lucas Duda

Good morning.

Mets manager Terry Collins said that he already knew who the final cuts would be before heading to Las Vegas to play the Cubs and close out the pre-season season.

Have you noticed that every other team in the league is announcing their last cuts and playing their last two games with the 25-man they will taking home?

If the Mets already know who was going to be on the 25-man, why delay the announcement for two or three games, let the players know who’s going to make the team so they can work on living arrangements, family needs, etc. and get on to the job at hand?

There always seems to be more drama than needed with this guy. I know this isn’t a big deal for guys like Kevin Plawecki and Johnny Monell. Hell, they may share the same digs in Vegas when one gets called up and the other ships out to Roosevelt Avenue… but what about Jim Henderson? He played for Milwaukee last season and has no idea where to live in either Queens or Vegas. Let him wait to the last day and he could rent a one-bedroom apartment off of Main Street that turns out to be in the middle of a Cambodian-American neighborhood.

In the end, the roster was announced on Friday and players like Henderson could make last minute decisions, but there was no reason these guys couldn't have been told before they left Port St. Lucie.

 Through The Fence Baseball on projecting the 2016 Mets -

– World Series Roster- Other than Daniel Murphy, this is basically the same team that surprised everyone and made it to the World Series. Though that’s a bit like saying that the cast of the TV show House, M.D. was the same when Lisa Edelstein left. Dr. Lisa Cuddy held that show together. Was Murphy the Mets’ Dr. Cuddy? I don’t know, but I do know he almost single-handedly beat the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs. But he didn’t really have much impact on the regular season, so his replacement, Neil Walker, will do just fine. I’m not sure what I’m saying here – I guess that I really liked House.

          Mack – Did he just compare the Mets to the TV show ‘House’?

 P Dub’s comments on Sandy Alderson building the 2016 team –

They landed Antonio Bastardo, a formidable lefty reliever, to help set up closer Jeurys Familia. They made up for the loss of Murphy with the signing of Neil Walker, a solid defensive second baseman who can switch-hit and has batted third for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They signed outfielder Alejandro De Aza, in a move that raised more questions than it answered, and switch-hitting high-upside shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Then, after some wrangling, GM Sandy Alderson made the move that silenced his detractors. And all of a sudden, the baseball world took notice.

Mack – And let’s not forget the re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes.

Yes, Sandy did well after the all-start break last season and also did well this past off-season. I agree with the writer that this team has the pieces to go all the way.

Now all they have to do is remember how to win ballgames.

 Paul Kastava on Lucas Duda -

I am very high on Duda this year, and being a part of a very good line-up will help his RBI’s and Runs. The power is there, and the batting average may or may not get to where fantasy owners want it, but I’m still buying, especially with general variability in batting average.

Mack – This is the last entry on the last pre-season Morning Report. Thank God. We can now move on to actually playing meaningful baseball and, hopefully, talking about a great team that wins real games.

As for Duda, you already know how I feel. I look for a return to a 30+ home run season for Lucas and even an occasional smile on his face.