Monthly Archives: August 2018

The Mets Are Not Calling Up Peter Alonso This Year

29 Aug

Peter Alonso
And the kid is not happy about it:

Maybe David Wright will be the reason to go to Mets games in September. Peter Alonso will not be.

Assistant general manager John Ricco delivered the news Tuesday, saying the slugging first baseman will remain at Triple-A Las Vegas for the remainder of the season.

The Mets have multiple reasons to leave him in the minors. They have stated they would like Alonso to hone first-base defense, and there are also 40-man roster considerations. Alonso is not on the roster and not yet eligible for the Rule 5 draft, so the Mets are preserving a roster spot by not calling him up.

Additionally, the Mets have a surplus of first basemen. Jay Bruce is expected to see a lot of time at the position as he returns. Wilmer Flores and Dominic Smith also will have turns, and the Mets did not want Alonso riding the bench.

Yeah, doesn’t make much sense to call him up if he’s hardly going to play.

Mets Sticking with Dumb Plan of Playing Jay Bruce at 1st Base

25 Aug

Jay Bruce
Jay Bruce is back and apparently healthy. Yet, the Mets being the Mets, have to find some way to screw things up and in this case, it’s making a guy whose played the outfield for 99% of his long career, play 1st base:
 
NYPost.com:

As the Mets evaluate their options for next season, manager Mickey Callaway said Bruce is a possibility to become the team’s full-time first baseman in 2019 if he can show proficiency at the position over the next five weeks.

Bruce is expected to begin receiving action at first base in the coming days.

This makes no sense on so many levels. For starters, the guy playing 1st base most of the time now, Wilmer Flores, is doing a pretty good job. Secondly, Bruce just got back from a couple of months on the DL. I know that the season is over, but with all the able footwork required at 1st base combined with Bruce’s recent history of foot injuries, is playing him at first for the rest of the season really a good idea?

Then too, the Mets have Peter Alonso waiting in the wings to be there future 1st baseman–some are saying that Alonso’s 32 minor league homeruns this year warrant a call-up to the big leagues now. Lastly, not only does Bruce not seem too excited about playing 1st, but the idea that Brandon Nimmo or Juan Lagares are ready to be full-time starters in the outfield just doesn’t seem fitting considering the former’s streakiness at the plate and the latter being so injury prone. But of course, as we’ve learned over the years, leaving well enough alone just isn’t in the Mets modus operandi.

Seth Lugo Wants To Be A Starter

23 Aug

Seth Lugo
MetsBlog.com:

Seth Lugo has been a weapon for the Mets in the bullpen this season, but when asked Wednesday at Citi Field if he had thought about next year and what the future holds, he didn’t hesitate.

“To be honest, I have,” Lugo told SNY’s Joe Kraus. “With the way I’ve been pitching this year — fastball velocity and breaking ball command — secondary, my third, fourth pitches. I’m throwing the ball better than I’ve ever thrown it. I’ve got more self-confidence than I’ve ever had. Some of the stuff I’ve thrown this year, I didn’t know I had it.”

“I think about the future, hopefully getting to that starting role I want to be in,” Lugo continued. “I think I can maintain better stuff than I have in the past. I’m kind of excited to see what the future holds. Hopefully I can win a starting position sometime.”

Can you blame the guy? He came to the major leagues as a starter and was very successful his 1st year. Then too, he has the arsenal in pitches to be a big league starter. And heck, let’s just say it: starting is where the $$$ is at, not middle relieving (unless you’re like Andrew Miller). Then too, ask most Mets fans and a rotation of deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, Wheeler and Lugo is a lot more appealing than one with Jason Vargas at the end instead of Lugo.

Nationals Trade Daniel Murphy, Declare 2018 Season Over

21 Aug

Daniel Murphy
With like 6 weeks left in the season, this comes as a bit of a surprise. But I guess Nats management figured with 2 teams (Braves and Phillies) to try and jump instead of 1, might as well get the fire sale started now and get some pieces back before it’s too late. They’re not trading Bryce Harper tho (waivers have expired) which makes me believe that the Nats aren’t completely done yet. Meanwhile, the Cubs have the best record in the NL and playoff legend Daniel Murphy in the loop for a run to another World Series title. Yet another reason I’ll never forgive Sandy Alderson for not re-signing Murphy after 2015.

Could Double Digits in Wins Get Jacob deGrom the Cy Young?

14 Aug

Jacob deGrom
Two wins in a row gets him to 7 total. And you have to figure that if everything stays on track, deGrom has about 6 or 7 starts left in him before the season ends. Felix Hernandez won a Cy Young with only 13 wins not too long ago. If deGrom stays atop in the ERA race and can get to double digits in victories, I think that he has a chance to win the award for baseball’s best pitcher even if Max Scherzer is having an MVP-type year.

Can the Mets Just Leave Amed Rosario Alone, Please?

9 Aug

Amed Rosario
This idea that the Mets rookie shortstop should learn to play center-field for 2019, much less bat leadoff with a current OBP of .274 is just ridiculous. This off-season, Rosarion should just be assigned to work on his defense and get a better appreciation of the strike zone. The kid has a load of talent, it just needs to be fine-tuned. Adding to his struggles or messing with his head to learn a new position and/or fulfill the needs of a high-pressure spot such as batting leadoff is just, at this time, unnecessary and asking for trouble. Leave the kid alone.