Meet the Mets (For Mets Fans Only!)

jfinnegan said:

So Rojas thinks they still have a shot 5 games out with 15 games to play and they can't beat any teams that are slightly better than mediocre? I know he has to give that answer, but why bother even asking the question. Why do they even bother having press conferences with him? I never thought I would miss Terry Collins, but now I do after dealing with Mickey and Luis. 

 In fairness to Rojas, all press conferences are garbage.  There are never any real questions asked, and never any real answers delivered.  No player is going to say "we could have won if player X wasn't stinking up the field".  And no player or manager can say "It's over". 

Realistically and honestly what did people expect?  The Mets were in first for a while in this division because no one else really wanted to be, not because they were dominating.  Those 8 games around the all star break against Pittsburgh, followed by the 4 in Miami, pretty much proved my assessment to me.  This year is about Cohen seeing how it works and what he has inherited.  Now we have to see how he moves forward.

My prediction is this: the Mets will squeak into the post-season following a 1-game division playoff against the Braves who will suffer a catastrophic season ending slump. They'll stun everyone with revitalized hitting, energized by the stunning upset, and romp through the playoffs to win the World Series in six.

There is a universe in this multiverse of infinite possibilities in which this is the outcome. Maybe that's the universe we live in. So I'm taking a quantum approach and saying it ain't over!!!

At the quantum level you are both absolutely right and absolutely wrong.

mrincredible said:

My prediction is this: the Mets will squeak into the post-season following a 1-game division playoff against the Braves who will suffer a catastrophic season ending slump. They'll stun everyone with revitalized hitting, energized by the stunning upset, and romp through the playoffs to win the World Series in six.

There is a universe in this multiverse of infinite possibilities in which this is the outcome. Maybe that's the universe we live in. So I'm taking a quantum approach and saying it ain't over!!!

 I suppose if they had deGrom and Syndergaard alternating nights as the closer in the postseason, things could be different.

DanDietrich said:

At the quantum level you are both absolutely right and absolutely wrong.

 There's another universe where I predict an 0-15 losing streak. That me is also absolutely wrong and absolutely right!

This is what the season has come down to.

LGM!

I have found the '86 documentary to be much more enjoyable to watch over the past couple of days. So now Baez wants to play in NY? I'm sure it has nothing to do with money. 

The off-season will be interesting.  It's easy to say upgrade here or there, but who is actually available?  I'd re sign every single starter, since I am sure we will need 10-15 next year.

I think Villar and Loup should be the priorities. Is Trevor Williams a free agent? I figure they have to bring back the DH after a lot of pitchers got hurt hitting and they are even worse at hitting. I'm ready to move on from Conforto. His streakiness bugs me. 

So who do they sign to play right field?  That's the question.

Starling Marte is the guy I have wanted for at least the past two years. Corey Dickerson? J.D. Martinez might be available. Schwarber also, but I don't want to see him trying to play rightfield. Rosario and Soler on the Braves are also free agents, but I'm not sure that is an upgrade. Castellanos might be available also. Kris Bryant would be ideal. He seems to be loving San Fran. There's also the option of putting McNeil in right and Dom in left. Is the league going to wait again until free agency is over before they decide whether or not to have a DH?

my gut still tells me that if the new CBA still has qualifying offers as part of the FA process, that the Mets will give Conforto one and he'll take it in the hopes of having a big 2022.  I know a lot of fans hate on Conforto, but he's been one of the best fielders the Mets have had in the OF during his tenure, and that's something that gets overlooked.  And for all the complaining about his "streakiness" there have been some good reasons for the extended slumps he's endured.  In 2016 he struggled in his second time through the league. In the first half of 2018 he was still recovering strength after surgery.  And this year he got off to a terrible start, and then missed a month and a half on the IL.  And for all the complaints about his slumps, even when he's slumping, he does get on base.  His lifetime OBP is .356, and you don't get to that level by going weeks without getting on base much.

I don't think the Mets will give him a five or six year deal this offseason, but I'm not sure any other team will either.  And if no team does, I think he'll take a one-year contract, and try to hit the market again after next season.

I'd prefer Conforto in right over McNeil or Smith.  The Mets got very lucky playing Smith out of position and having his defense actually be okay.  But the outfield corners really need to be power positions, and that's not McNeils game.  I'd like to see if any of the FA shortstops would take a three year deal to play second.  McNeil and Smith are two of my favorites, but I'd trade them for minor league talent and try to sign short term free agents for the major league team.  

There was an article in The Athletic saying they should try to get Billy Beane and Melvin to come as a package deal. He's going to have to give up a decent amount of ownership to get anybody any good to come to this mess and have to deal with dumb tweets from the owner about the incompetence of his players.

jfinnegan said:

There was an article in The Athletic saying they should try to get Billy Beane and Melvin to come as a package deal. He's going to have to give up a decent amount of ownership to get anybody any good to come to this mess and have to deal with dumb tweets from the owner about the incompetence of his players.

 I don't really agree.  There are only 30 teams.  Plenty of people in the business would kill for a shot at one of those jobs.  Cohen is fine.  He's a fan, and not a penny pincher.  The hard part is the impatient fan base.  The team has problems from bottom to top, and won't be fixed in one or two off-seasons.  And Billy Beane isn't the answer.  Someone with patience and a vision could do well here.  

Beane has had the A's be competitive almost every year and with a low budget. I wanted Theo, but considering he had Porter and Scott on his staff he might not be the best hire. I wouldn't mind somebody from the Rays either. It stinks having another year where we're talking about next year by mid-September. 

Can report from last night that the disconnect between the absurd, noisy hype videos and the actual game has rarely been greater.

I hope the Mets can re sign every starter they have, all 12 or whatever.  Especially Stroman and Hill.  

I hope they can have more than one starter that can stay healthy and get through six innings. Is there anybody in the lineup you don't want up with runners on 1st and 3rd and 1 out less than Conforto? Other than McCann. 

jfinnegan said:

I hope they can have more than one starter that can stay healthy and get through six innings. Is there anybody in the lineup you don't want up with runners on 1st and 3rd and 1 out less than Conforto? Other than McCann. 

 Conforto's struggles have come with 2 out and RISP.  With RISP and less than two outs (53 ABs) he's hitting .321/.400/.490 with 2HR and 28 RBI.  He has grounded into 4 DPs with RISP, but he's not the worst offender by far.  It's McNeil, who's hitting .170 with RISP, and grounded into 4 DPs.

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player-splits.php?id=13371

Earlier in the season, I had mentioned that the Mets' baserunning has been better than in '20.  As much as that may be true, it doesn't mean their baserunning has actually been good.  It's just not terrible.  This article in The Athletic (sorry, behind a pay wall), lays it out with stats.  The reason they aren't scoring runs is poor hitting with RISP, compounded by overly conservative baserunning when they are on base (partly due to the fact that aside from Lindor, Villar, and Baez the Mets are generally a bunch of slow runners).  The conclusion of the article is that the Mets just need to be a little more aggressive when they have their chances, and try to take an extra base on a hit a little more often.  In a season full of one-run losses, it might have made a difference, without taking on too much unacceptable risk.

https://theathletic.com/2836193/2021/09/20/this-week-in-mets-how-can-the-mets-be-better-on-the-bases/

I read that article. The guy I want, Marte, was mentioned in it. Nimmo seems fast, but he's not able to steal any bases. I was going to get on DiSarcina on the play where Baez scored from first on the error by the leftfielder, but it was actually somebody else coaching third that game. I think sometimes they hold guys up figuring there's one out and the heart of the order coming up. If it's McCann or the pitcher due up you have to send them everytime. 

jfinnegan said:

I read that article. The guy I want, Marte, was mentioned in it. Nimmo seems fast, but he's not able to steal any bases. I was going to get on DiSarcina on the play where Baez scored from first on the error by the leftfielder, but it was actually somebody else coaching third that game. I think sometimes they hold guys up figuring there's one out and the heart of the order coming up. If it's McCann or the pitcher due up you have to send them everytime. 

 and every once in a while you need to force the other team to make a play. It's not as though a throw to third or to the plate is automatic. 

I would prefer them get thrown out on a nice play than to leave it to the next guy to get a hit. There doesn't seem to be many outfielders left that can make a strong throw on target. I hate how often Villar gets picked off, but I'll take his aggressiveness over a lot of the other guys going base to base and not even bothering to round the base. 

jfinnegan said:

I would prefer them get thrown out on a nice play than to leave it to the next guy to get a hit. There doesn't seem to be many outfielders left that can make a strong throw on target. I hate how often Villar gets picked off, but I'll take his aggressiveness over a lot of the other guys going base to base and not even bothering to round the base. 

 I think there might be reluctance borne out of how bad they were on the bases last year.  It will be a process. In 2021, stop doing the reckless dumb stuff.  In 2022, start doing some smart aggressive stuff.

These are the types of things that get taught all the way through an organization.  Players need to know that they won't get screwed over  for running into outs on the bases.

DanDietrich said:

These are the types of things that get taught all the way through an organization.  Players need to know that they won't get screwed over  for running into outs on the bases.

 this is true.  And I wrote a few months back on this thread that my hope is that Cohen really puts his efforts behind player development.  The successful organizations make that a higher priority than scouting or making trades or signing FAs.

Yes, but it takes time to percolate through. We are focusing on the tip of the iceberg.  It's likely that the major league team won't be ready to win next year, either.  

I just saw a highlight of Lindor making a nice play cutting in front of Baez on what would have been a routine groundout to 2nd. Maybe they need to adjust their positioning. 

DanDietrich said:

Yes, but it takes time to percolate through. We are focusing on the tip of the iceberg.  It's likely that the major league team won't be ready to win next year, either.  

This is also true. But it's possible to turn some guys around in one off-season with proper developmental work. That's what Justin Turner did.  

Isn't their current hitting coach supposed to be the guy handling player development in the minors for hitting? Did they replace him? I didn't bother turning the game on last night, but I read the play-by-play and saw Alonso got thrown out at home with no outs with Pillar coming up against a lefty and the bases loaded. Seems like a bad time to take a risk to me. 

Mathematically eliminated last night.  In my mind eliminated by the losses to Pittsburgh and Miami around the all star break.