Happy Ground Hogs’ Day, people.
Will we, due to COVID, end up with 6 more weeks of off-season? Only The Shadow knows.
Anyway, I have mentioned it ad nauseum...Steve Matz started his Mets career 11-1, 2.05, followed by 20-40, 4.83. Why?
Pete Alonso started so well, but struggled in 2020. Why?
Ike Davis started well, then struggled. Why?
Lucas Duda hit .173 in sporadic at bats in his rookie year in 2011 thru late June, then hit .317 in his final 250 ABs that year, raising great hopes, but then was average, or less, over the remainder of his career, except for a good year in 2014. Why?
Daniel Murphy was so-so for most of his Mets career, then exploded with the Nationals. Why?
Gregg Jefferies performed below expectations with the Mets, then played 2 years in St Louis a few years later where he hit .335. Why?
As Texas Gus recently pointed out, Rocket Roger Cedeno had a phenomenal year in 1999 (.317, 66 steals) when he played alongside the free-wheeling winner, Rickey Henderson. But when he returned a few years later to the Mets, at age 27 and 28, he was a far cry from that 1999 performance. Why?
Travis d'Arnaud doesn't hit with the Mets all that much, but becomes baseball's best hitting catcher since he left. Why?
Zach Wheeler having a great 2020 after he leaves...Anthony Young going 5-35 as a Met, but 10-13 in the rest of his career...Sean Marcum going 60-38 in his non-Mets career, but 1-10 as a Met....the law firm of Porcello and Wacha going a combined 2-11 as a Met after considerable prior career success...Tyler Bashor 0-6 going as a Met...Paul Sewald compiling a brutal 1-15 as a Met...Hansel Robles being driven out of Gotham while escaping a home run barrage, then putting up nearly 2 strong seasons with the Angels...Amos Otis...Nolan Ryan...etc. Name your own Failure Dozen.
Why, why, why.
I ask you, the reader...
What goes on here? Why is it that playing for the Mets seemingly causes many to under-perform as Mets? Is it just a normal pattern, or is something abnormal, where many Mets players feel a strong headwind?
You’ve watched the Mets as much or more than I have.
So, what is it? Fire away.
6 comments:
I think Caddyshack is a factor here.
Vince Coleman? Carlos Baerga? Robbie Alomar? Justin Turner? Jim Fregosi? Jeff Kent? A few more minutes, I could come up with my other six. :-)
On the other hand .. Keith Hernandez? Mike Piazza, Carlos Beltran? Johan Santana?
A lot of it is just timing - giving up on Otis and Ryan too early, obtaining Baerga and Alomar too late. I think Lindor will do just fine.
Remember 1969, I just wonder if players for the Mets press too much, trying to not be the # 2 team in town, and I think a segment of the Mets fan base is hyper-critical, and the players get affected by it. Yankee fans may have been experiencing a lot of playoff non-success, but they are mostly more positive than Mets fans because they are almost always # 1 in NY and almost always a playoff team. Cardinals fans are much more genteel than Mets fans as a whole.
Maybe this is the year it all changes. In 1986, the Mets oozed confidence, which I think made them even better. Our players need to have fun, win a lot, and develop a relaxed swagger. Steve Matz over the past 4 years never seemed relaxed to me.
The guys you mentioned that did well upon acquisition did so when the team was in ascendancy - tailwinds, not headwinds.
We are about to find out again. If Matz turns into the Ace the Mets expected, then yes, is something about the Mets and their organization that negates the talent in some players.
Viper, I knew you would see the groundhog picture and respond, as any Viper would LOL.
Yes, if Matz suddenly finds it, like let's say Ollie Perez did after he left the Mets, there will be added evidence of there being some sort of deflating cloud over the franchise's players.
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