When Steve Cohen purchased the Mets he promised a new and winning culture. Having endured the long and painful reign of the Wilpon dynasty, this proclamation was music to the fans' ears.
While everyone was expecting wholesale changes in year one, for the most part they were greatly disillusioned. Much of the team was brought back with some supplementary free agents who were not exactly the cream of the crop. They did get a stellar season out of Aaron Loup and Jonathan Villar was a godsend to fill in for the variety of injured (or suspended) players on the infield.
What wasn't done in year one was bringing in the the best available hitters or the best available pitchers. Taijuan Walker was a nice-to-have addition and his first half was All-Star worthy, but no one was making book on Kevin Pillar or the multitude of outfielders who were tried out during 2021.
Now, to be fair, there was a huge trade made in 2021 which brought the top shelf shortstop here from Cleveland. Francisco Lindor was an All Star for four straight years and he did that all by the age of 26. Bringing him here was akin to some previous trades the Mets made which were not as player-expensive as they might have been due to the need to ink the received player to a long term contract. Could anyone picture the Wilpons spending $341 million for a ten year deal for a baseball player???
Now, of course it's not Cohen's fault that Lindor nosedived during his Citifield debut. There could have been issues learning new pitchers or feeling the pressure to be the big man after landing the biggest paycheck in Mets history. After fighting some injuries the latter part of the season showed Mets fans a bit better performance to make them feel he was rusty and should deliver the kind of playing skills that made him so desirable in the first place.
This year, however, it's been a wholly different ballgame. First was the dismissal of losing manager Luis Rojas and his entire coaching staff (except pitching guru Jeremy Hefner). Then came the decisions to part ways with Marcus Stroman and Michael Conforto. Everyone wanted Loup to stick around but you couldn't argue with his decision to chase a huge paycheck at this latter stage of his career after the 2021 season he put together.
Where things really started to change was when the free agent reinforcements began to arrive. For a team that has been without a real centerfielder for quite some time, bringing in the best available one in Starling Marte was a welcome change in how things were going to get done. Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha were not the top-of-mind signings that people expected but they were handsomely paid without really knowing what their roles will be as the roster is rather crowded.
All things got blown away when Cohen brought Max Scherzer in to form the best 1-2 starting pitching punch in the major leagues. Granted, at age 37 no one can be sure how much longer the three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All Star will deliver at that quality level. However, it sent a message to the fans, the media and the rest of the league that Cohen is going to be a force in Major League baseball.
Right now the roster composition is still in flux and it won't be resolved until the two sides begin negotiating a new CBA during the current lockout period. There are free agents who can be signed, trades that can be executed and player releases that some feel are overdue. Every armchair GM has a passel of ideas on what needs to be done and it's Billy Eppler's job to separate the wheat from the chaff.
If we baseball fans had one wish for the Mets right now it's not the addition of Kris Bryant or Kenley Jansen. It would be the new kid in town, Steve Cohen, to exert his influence to get the two warring sides to come to the table to talk. There is a long laundry list of issues to be resolved and each side stubbornly refusing to take the lead in communicating means that the baseball season's start (and longevity) become less likely to happen as scheduled.
3 comments:
It would be great if Cohen was not treated as the new kid on the block and could influence the owners with more seniority to make a deal.
Me? I'd not have a problem if the deal got struck February 15 or even March 1. The virus surge would be slowing down, and more so by the time players reported - delaying 2 or 3 weeks could make a huge difference - the last thing I want to hear is which 14 players are in quarantine. A bit of a delay could make for a much smoother, if somewhat delayed season.
Suffolk County statistics showed an official 28.5% positive test rate a few days ago. Yesterday, the reported numbers for January 6 were down a little over 2 percentage points. We may be starting to decent from a steep peak. In NY, we could be past this to a very large degree by mid-February. In Florida, too.
The Mets are scheduled once again to open in wintry March, on March 31. Guys get hurt more and play less naturally in cold weather. They opened in 1962 in milder mid April (April 11). 12 days add more sunshine and, on average, are about 4 degrees warmer, a significant difference. Just work it out so the season starts April 11, and I'll be happy. Schedule a bunch of 7 inning doubleheaders again for one more year to make up for lost time.
In the meantime, get some more Grade A Beef for the Mets' roster. Premium cuts are expensive, but the owner can afford it.
Sent to Steve
Reese, it’s a nice piece that I enjoyed until I got to the part about bringing in a real center fielder. What was wrong with the previous center fielder that had a better defensive rating than this new player had? Or, has Marte really ever been a good center fielder? No, he hasn’t, but we don’t see him everyday so we think he will rekindle memories of Carlos Beltran as a complete player. I’m afraid the previous center fielder will be better at the end, but that not a shot at Marte because I expect him to be very good, I just expect more from Nimmo the next Mets all-star to finally stay healthy and get his due.
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