Monthly Archives: September 2018

Mets Considering ‘Outside-The-Box’ GM Hire?

29 Sep

Sandy Alderson
Geez, I hope not:

The Mets have a three-headed ownership group, with also Wilpon’s son Jeff, the club’s COO, and his brother-in-law Saul Katz, but the elder Wilpon seems to make many of the key calls; he picked Sandy Alderson eight years ago for the job. The younger Wilpon has been soliciting advisers for “outside the box” candidates, and they have considered agents, TV people and others, and according to a source have reached out to at least one prominent agent, Casey Close, though he would seem to be a major long shot based on the assumption he’d have to take a major pay cut while enduring much more job uncertainty (and perhaps stress). Close did not return a message. Andy Martino of SNY first mentioned Close as a person of interest.

GM roles require a lot of knowledge on MLB rules, roster changes, minor leagues, team finances, contracts, etc. Yeah, a veteran agent will have some experience at some of that, but I’d much rather have a guy who’s already working himself up the ladder to be a GM one day (i.e. an Assistant GM) if I’m going to hire a novice.

No, David Wright Doesn’t Belong On Mets Mount Rushmore

25 Sep

David Wright
Sorry, but it’s true. While everyone gets sentimental about upcoming Wright’s retirement, the reality is that without a World Series championship, a major award or enough clutch moments during his Met days, I just can’t put Wright ahead of Seaver, Gooden, Koosman and Strawberry. It goes without saying that Wright is on everybody’s Top 10 Greatest Mets list, but Top 4 just wouldn’t be right.

David Wright Calls It Quits

14 Sep

David Wright
NYTimes.com:

For more than two years, David Wright had one goal in mind: to play for the Mets again. He thought his neck and shoulder problems were behind him after multiple operations and that another operation would alleviate some of the pain stemming from a chronic back condition. But as he moved through his protracted rehabilitation, he grudgingly realized that his body could not keep up with his desire to play.

“Those three combined, it’s debilitating to play baseball,” he said.

So in a tearful news conference Thursday afternoon, Wright — the Mets’ captain and longest-tenured player and one of baseball’s most admired figures — announced his plan to leave the game after one more start on Sept. 29 against the Miami Marlins, the penultimate game of the season. Wright last played in a major league game on May 27, 2016.

“Physically, the way I feel right now and everything the doctors have told me, there’s not going to be any improvement,” he said.

Wright will come off the disabled list on Sept. 25, the beginning of the final home stand of the season, and start at third base four days later. Given the state of his body, Wright, 35, was unsure how much he could play in that game or if he would be available as a pinch-hitter on the other days.

Sad in a way, because he’s a lifetime Met, seemingly such a great guy and when you think that if not for these series of injuries and set-backs over the years, he was on his way to a Hall of Fame career. But for as long as the possibility of ‘David Wright coming back’ lingered over the Mets and for his lifetime health and future, maybe it’s just best for the Captain to hang it up.

$$$ Is Holding Back David Wright’s Return

7 Sep

David Wright
Forbes.com:

Yet he keeps putting in the work, determined to get back to a major league field in a Mets uniform, maybe even this year. That may be optimistic, given his miniscule production in the minors so far, though with the minor league season about to end he is due to join the Mets for moral support during their upcoming road trip. A return to the team as an active player would be a great story and would draw fans to Citi Field during a September with little else to play for.

The problem is that Wright is due $27 million across 2019 and 2020. And if he’s playing, the insurance stops. It’s not a ton of money, relatively speaking, since the eight-year, $138 million contract Wright signed in 2013 peaked in annual value from 2014 to 2018 before dropping off for the final two years. The price tag is reasonable for a productive player, and maybe Wright can be that again. But it’s probably a longshot since he hasn’t played since May 2016 and he’ll be 36 in December. Cash that could be put to use elsewhere – let’s say re-signing Zack Wheeler after next year or going after another free agent – isn’t cash you want to use for sentiment.

In a lost season, does seeing David Wright come back for a few at-bats on the big league level, matter anyway? Other than some sentimental value, not really. The Mets need to be transparent and just admit what’s really going on.

Where Would Daniel Murphy Play If He Returned To Mets?

7 Sep

Daniel Murphy

MetsBlog.com:

Second baseman Daniel Murphy has tormented the Mets since leaving them to sign a three-year, $37.5 million contract with the Nationals after the 2015 season. 

Murphy will again be a free agent this winter at a time when the Mets are expected — yet again — to be in search of everyday second baseman. The Mets would be smart to consider bringing Murphy back 1) to fill multiple spots on their roster, but also 2) to get him out of the opposing batter’s box.

The Nationals traded Murphy last month to the Cubs, with whom he had just two hits in nine plate appearances against the Mets last week at Wrigley Field. However, prior to his recent two-game set against the Mets, he had been hitting .392 with 25 extra base hits and 43 RBI during just 44 games played against them for the Nationals.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only player to drive in more runs than Murphy during his first season against his former team was Roger Maris in 1960.

Who wouldn’t want Murph back, if not for the simple fact that he’s literally killed us since he left? But with Jeff McNeil establishing himself as our future 2nd baseman, where would we play Murphy? Put him at 1st and he stands in the way of an already frustrated Peter Alonso. Todd Frazier has another year left on his contract, so unless you’re trading him, it doesn’t look like Murph at the hot corner would be in the mix either. Of course, with Murph being a free agent this offseason and being defensively liable, there’s always the chance that an AL team (hello, Yankees) could sign him and for the most part, get him off our back. But for now, I highly doubt that we’ll ever see Murph in a Mets uniform again.

2018 Mets Have Been Horrible On Defense

5 Sep

Mets Defense
No surprise here, you see it in almost every game. The Mets just don’t seem to prioritize defense:

A bad bullpen, a weak offense, and a ton of injuries hurt the New York Mets in 2018. One of the bigger problems we sometimes forget is how bad this team is on defense.

Whether you like or not, defensive WAR is a quick way to measure how skilled a player is with his glove. Although it’s not the end-all, be-all it does give us a reasonable estimate.

Right now, the Mets have only four players with a positive WAR on defense. I’m not convinced it will change either. In fact, one is close enough to go down to zero or even fall into the negative range.

The four men who have been above replacement level on defense are catchers Devin Mesoraco and Kevin Plawecki along with Todd Frazier and Juan Lagares. Lagares has missed most of the season, but we can safely assume he’d put up a nice total due to his history as a plus defender.