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.

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.

The Mets Should Not Trade DeGrom, Syndergaard, Matz or Wheeler

27 Jul

DeGrom Wheeler Matz Syndergaard Harvey
Sick and tired of all this trade talk about the Mets and one of their starters. I no it makes for good copy, but what does it do for us in the long run? What big name prospect out there can we really pick up for Wheeler? Even in a lost season like this one, Mets management has gots to know that pitching is our one major strength and what wins us championships. In other words, sign our ace Degrom to a longterm contract already and leave Matz, Syndergaard and Wheeler alone.

Yes, The Mets Should Demote Dominic Smith

13 Jul

Dominic Smith
If the chatter is real, then yeah demote him. Like, yesterday. I’m long tired of the excuses. I mean, Smith doesn’t look lost at the plate, he looks like he doesn’t belong at the plate, Big difference. Which tells you that maybe, despite getting chance after chance, the guy just can’t hit major league hitting. To think, my guy Adrian Gonzalez got released for an enigma with exactly 1 RBI and 26 strikeouts in 71 at-bats. Unbelievable.

The Return of TJ Rivera?

6 Jul

TJ Rivera
This is good news:

New York Mets infielder T.J. Rivera made his first step back to the major leagues on Thursday night when he was the designated hitter for the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets.

Rivera, playing for the first time since last July, went 0-for-4 with two line outs as the No. 3 batter for the St. Lucie Mets.

The 29-year-old Rivera had Tommy John surgery in September and there had been very little reports about his progress up until Thursday.

With a .324/.370/.435 slash line over his seven seasons in the minors, Rivera made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2016. Through 106 major league games (319 at-bats), he’s hitting .304/.335/.445 with eight home runs, 27 runs batted in, and 17 doubles.

Rivera returning could make Wilmer Flores expendable as the July 31 trade deadline gets closer.

Where Is David Wright Going To Play?

3 Jul

David Wright
Of course, the idea that David Wright could return to the Mets lineup before Yoenis Cespedes is both funny and ironic considering what was thought to be the extent of each player’s injury. However, what if Wright really does make it back sooner than later? For starters, it’d speak a lot to Wright’s resiliency, fortitude, hard work and why at the very least, no matter how much he has left, maybe his return could be an inspiration in an otherwise dismal 2018 season. But secondly, if Wright does come back and resembles anywhere close to his old all-star self, where the hell do you play him?

The just-signed-in-the-off-season Todd Frazier is your everyday 3rd baseman and to the detriment of Dominic Smith, Wilmer Flores has pretty much established himself as your everyday 1st baseman (the only other position that’d make sense for Wright besides playing the outfield, which he has never done). So unless you’re trading Frazier to get some prospects so Wright can go back to his old (and much more taxing) position, what then? Some might think it’s a reach, but a Mets infield consisting of Wright and Smith at 1st, Flores at 2nd, Asdrubal Cabrera at short and Frazier at 3rd, could certainly work for me….hmmm.

Is Mickey Callaway In Over His Head?

29 Jun

Mickey Callaway
Yeah, a bunch of injuries have contributed greatly to the Mets miseries this year, but how much of it is the rookie manager’s fault? From the early season lineup card fiasco to his inability to run with a consistent lineup (not to mention that I always hated the decision the bat the pitcher in the 8th spot) to the constant mismanagement of the bullpen (should Jeurys Familia have even been brought last night, having thrown 28 pitches the previous night?), the Mets are a game above the woeful Florida Marlins and maybe it’s time to put some heat on the manager.

Dave Eiland Thinks Mets Would Be “Crazy” To Trade Jacob deGrom

20 Jun

Jacob deGrom

Real Met fans know the deal. Besides not winning a World Series in 31 years, there’s the fact that we’ve only had 6 playoff appearances since 1986. That’s a 20 percent success rate. And while bad trades, horrible free-agent signings, major injuries, ass-backward GM decisions and major busts like Lastings Milledge and Fernando Martinez have all contributed to the Mets lack of winning of late, if you’re Mets you have a right to be….disgruntled. That said, why in the world, as the local press has been pushing of late, would you choose to rebuild (again) and trade your best pitcher? This ludicrous idea is beyond me and apparently pitching coach Dave Eiland too:

No-nonsense pitching coach Dave Eiland listed all the off-the-charts attributes deGrom brings, and then told The Post this when asked if deGrom should be traded for prospects:

“Absolutely not. It’s crazy, it’s asinine, these guys don’t just fall off trees, it’s total nonsense,’’ Eiland said before the Mets played the Rockies on Tuesday night at Coors Field, one night after deGrom pitched eight spectacular innings in a 12-2 win over Colorado.

“Say you got five prospects, who is to say those prospects are going to work out?’’ Eiland said. “Who’s going to fill Jake’s innings not only this year, but in 2019 and 2020? He is the pitcher every team is looking for. Hey, I’m just a pitching coach, not a manager or a GM, but I’ve been in this game for over 30 years, you don’t trade a guy like that, because you can’t replace him.’’