It was an interesting weekend between the insincere interview
Jeff Wilpon gave the NY Post regarding his involvement in the team’s various
messes since taking over from the Doubleday family, the shirtless prank the
pitchers played on Noah Syndergaard when they all appeared in bare skin around
the fully clothed Thor, and the ongoing lack of movement on improving the NY
Mets roster.
With full squad practices beginning this week, a great many
are looking to see who will win some of the minor position races and who will
make up the 24th through 26th roster spots. There shouldn’t be any great surprises with
most of the decisions already made before a pitch has been thrown or a bat has
been swung.
The biggest news to evolve over the weekend was the Friday
post that Alex Rodriguez is allegedly “kicking the tires” on joining the fray
to bid for the team from the Wilpons.
Everyone knows that the Wilpons have agreed to relinquish control more
quickly than under the documents drawn up with Steve Cohen, but they also have
upped the price of the franchise by about $400 million over what Cohen was to
pay for the club. Good luck with that
one given the club is allegedly losing $50 million per year and from a business
perspective it would appear not to be a sound financial investment. Financial pundits feel that Rodriguez, even with J-Lo's contributions, would not have enough capital to make this move without involving as yet unidentified partners.
TCM played the classic movie “Gaslight” this weekend which
is about a desirable young wife being terrorized by her husband, making her
feel as if she is going crazy. In a way,
that’s a lot like how it feels to be a Mets fan. Just as soon as the optimism of a new
beginning fuels your positive emotions, a blown deal, a baseball scandal or a
misbegotten contract signing serves to pull the rug out from under you and make
your despair as a Mets fan blossom anew.
With a new owner the club might seek out a more experienced General
Manager, look to strengthen the 25th ranked farm system, and embrace
spending in a positive way instead of restricting roster improvements to
previously injured or overwrought veterans (as well as picking up the scrap
heap picks discarded by other teams).
There’s certainly truth to those notions and in many ways the improved
2019 club has nowhere to go but up.
Right now it’s pretty clear they are not going to make any major changes
that could impact the potential sale, so what you see is what you get. Fortunately for Mets fans, that’s not all bad
for the first time since mid-year 2015 when Yoenis Cespedes almost
singlehandedly led the club to the World Series. With a better manager, maybe this time they’ll win.
10 comments:
Lowrie coming in with a brace is a reminder that sometimes, optimism must be tempered by reality.
But the great thing about it being Lowrie in the knee brace, is that he represented 0% of the optimism I have for this year's team.
That first site of the knee brace immediately elliminated any chance of putting together a deal for him this year.
I agree. While it would be nice to get a productive season from Jed, he's not someone to count on or even "need".
Too bad no DH. Lowrie might be easier to use effectively.
And yes, Remember1969, I think (absent injuries) the offense will thrive without a useful Jed
Say what you will about the Lowrie leprosy (or whatever it is plaguing him now), but he's a much more valuable bat than Luis Guillorme. To say he won't be missed is not quite accurate.
My take on this is that for the 25 or 26th player on the roster, the glove is much more important than the bat. I would rather see Guillorme backing up Rosario in the short term than Lowrie. I am not sure either of them is the answer if Rosario were to be out for 6 or 8 weeks. Lowrie hasn't played shortstop regularly in 6 years.
And I am not convinced that Lowrie's bat, even if healthy this year, would be that much better . . a 36 year old that missed an entire year cannot be expected to bring a lot to the plate.
I would expect Lowrie to be on the IL for most of the season. The guy has permanent, debilitating knee damage. He's about fit for a Central Park softball league, and that's about it.
The Mets really missed an opportunity to upgrade the left side of the infield with a real third baseman (several were available this winter). If Rosario and/or McNeil go down with injuries for any length of time, the 2020 Mets are going to take a hit.
Guillorme can be a defensive wizard at short, but I just don't see him being more that a light hitter (think Ruben Tejada). J.D. Davis at third base is just a scary thought. You can say what you want about taking a million ground balls at third in practice. There's something psychological that kicks in during a real game. He'll be triple-clutching lollipop throws to second and first. Eduardo Nunez? Not sure how much he has left in the tank.
This could be a problem if Cano gets hurt as well, and McNeil has to move to second.
Who care that he has a brace, we should be hoping that its permanent. this way we recover the insurance portion of the contract, and id he isn't healthy then that is more of Mcneil and JD.
those are Win win win.
Luis G did better in second half with bat. Good sign
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