2019 New York Mets Season Thread

['7']

10 hours ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Now Frazier has a strained oblique and is questionable for Opening Day lol, so much for eliminating the ifs

Guess McNeil won’t be bumped to the OF after all at this rate

And this oblique stuff lingers too god dammit. Welp same ol same old. I automatically add another month mentally to this. We'll see ya in May Todd

[NJDevs4978]

Harper to the Phillies finally official, as if we didn’t know this for the last month and a half

So much for being the team to beat in the East lol

['7']

Welp, I wish him the worst

Still think we'll finish ahead of Philadelphia this year

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

18 hours ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Harper to the Phillies finally official, as if we didn’t know this for the last month and a half

So much for being the team to beat in the East lol

Yet another dipsh!t who instead of playing somewhere he really wanted to, took the highest offer and called it a day.  Does anyone believe for a second that Harper is all that excited about being a Phillie?  Guy clearly didn’t really want to go there.  Money can buy plenty, but it can’t ever buy you happiness.  I’m guessing that this deal becomes a complete headache for the Phils within four years.  Harper should’ve just taken the Nats’ 10-year, $300 million (still a fvck-ton of dough) and at least followed his heart more.  

He’d better not have a repeat of last season...of course it wasn’t all bad, but he can’t be hitting in the low .200s for much of the year...that fanbase will be all over him.  That market and that player feels like a very combustible mix.

Edited March 1, 2019 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

11 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yet another dipsh!t who instead of playing somewhere he really wanted to, took the highest offer and called it a day.  Does anyone believe for a second that Harper is all that excited about being a Phillie?  Guy clearly didn’t really want to go there.  Money can buy plenty, but it can’t ever buy you happiness.  I’m guessing that this deal becomes a complete headache for the Phils within four years.  Harper should’ve just taken the Nats’ 10-year, $300 million (still a fvck-ton of rough) and at least followed his heart more.  

He’d better not have a repeat of last season...of course it wasn’t all bad, but he can’t be hitting in the low .200s for much of the year...that fanbase will be all over him.  That market and that player feels like a very combustible mix.

The Harper to Philly experiment is extreme boom or bust. Either a jerk player and a jerk fanbase become BFF's for a decade and run roughshod over everyone. Or it blows up spectacularly.

[NJDevs4978]

Figures we get him after Flores is safely out of town

 

 

['7']

15 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Figures we get him after Flores is safely out of town

 

 

And the moment he was traded his entire career nosedived and has never fully recovered. And at 33, it likely never will. Thank god we dodged that bullet and fell into Cespedes in 2015

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

On ‎3‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 1:49 PM, '7' said:

And the moment he was traded his entire career nosedived and has never fully recovered. And at 33, it likely never will. Thank god we dodged that bullet and fell into Cespedes in 2015

Just another reminder of how bad of a GM Sandy often was.  Gomez was his first choice.  Bruce was his second. 

Gomez basically had two good-to-very good years (2013 and 2014) and some pretty good ones.  His Rangers numbers overall at quick glance were about on par with his best Brewer seasons, but they're very misleading...he was just as bad on the road as a Ranger as he was everywhere else...most of the damage he did in 2016 and 2017 was done in Arlington.  He also always acted like a guy who thought he was WAAAAAAAAAAAY better than he ever really was.  Had a lot of those traits that makes certain Hispanic ballplayers hard to embrace. 

You could definitely live with the Rangers version of Gomez...if he hadn't fattened up so blatantly in the Rangers' home park.  His over-reliance on The Ballpark At Arlington, and his 2016 and 2018 seasons are plenty prohibitive enough to sign Gomez with zero promise of a major-league spot waiting for him, that's for sure.  Take out his Arlington numbers, and he's WELL under a .700 OPS since being dealt from Milwaukee.

[NJDevs4978]

Until further notice file this in the 'it's Spring Training' category but man Dom Smith's coming out on a mission so far, maybe he's got a fire lit under him now that he's basically on his last chance here (and maybe in general) but he could wind up getting at least a platoon at first to start the season.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

32 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Until further notice file this in the 'it's Spring Training' category but man Dom Smith's coming out on a mission so far, maybe he's got a fire lit under him now that he's basically on his last chance here (and maybe in general) but he could wind up getting at least a platoon at first to start the season.

To his credit, he showed up to Spring Training in even better shape than last season...I saw a couple of photos of him and he looked a little more chiseled.  He should definitely be a smoother glove than Alonso could ever hope to be, but yeah, he's really going to have to hit a ton this spring to try to force his way back to relevancy.  Last year was such a lost year for him with the bat. 

If anything, he probably has a little more of a clean slate, with the change in GMs.  I don't think Sandy was ever a fan, especially after he gained weight, lost it, then gained it back throughout the 2017 season.  He did keep it off all of last season, but that was probably the only thing that went right for him in 2018. 

['7']

14 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

To his credit, he showed up to Spring Training in even better shape than last season...I saw a couple of photos of him and he looked a little more chiseled.  He should definitely be a smoother glove than Alonso could ever hope to be, but yeah, he's really going to have to hit a ton this spring to try to force his way back to relevancy.  Last year was such a lost year for him with the bat. 

If anything, he probably has a little more of a clean slate, with the change in GMs.  I don't think Sandy was ever a fan, especially after he gained weight, lost it, then gained it back throughout the 2017 season.  He did keep it off all of last season, but that was probably the only thing that went right for him in 2018. 

I just never trust guys like that that have an history of being out of shape, lazy, or having too relaxed an approach. Invariably they fall back into old habits. If he can keep this up for all of this year then I'll have some faith restored, but right now to me he's just doing what he should've been doing all along. And I'm still just in general not a fan of his swing (too long) so I don't really know what's in the cards for him regarding a career

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

14 minutes ago, '7' said:

I just never trust guys like that that have an history of being out of shape, lazy, or having too relaxed an approach. Invariably they fall back into old habits. If he can keep this up for all of this year then I'll have some faith restored, but right now to me he's just doing what he should've been doing all along. And I'm still just in general not a fan of his swing (too long) so I don't really know what's in the cards for him regarding a career

Oh I'm with you, Smith is pretty much dead to me, as far as having any real future with the Mets goes.  Even if he's now permanently dedicated himself to never being out of shape again, I just don't know he can ever hit enough to stick.  And last year basically led to Alonso blowing past him on the depth chart.  Smith is now going to have to shred to make up any ground, and even that might not be good enough at this point...it may take guys getting injured for him to ever get another real look.   

Edited March 4, 2019 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Oh I'm with you, Smith is pretty much dead to me, as far as having any real future goes with the Mets.  Even if he's now permanently dedicated himself to never being out of shape again, I just don't know he can ever hit enough to stick.  And last year basically led to Alonso blowing past him on the depth chart.  Smith is now going to have to shred to make up any ground, and even that might not be good enough at this point...it may take guys getting injured for him to ever get another real look.   

Well we're the Mets so...😝

One thing I'll say about Alonso (and I am intrigued by him as a player) but he and his agents are the type that can be disruptive/noisy. If he's slightly unhappy about anything...we're going to hear about it

[NJDevs4978]

And the Mets bring back both Al Leiter and John Franco to work with the organization. Funny I didn’t think Brodie would be the guy to play the back to the future card but whatever, can’t hurt I suppose.

['7']

11 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

And the Mets bring back both Al Leiter and John Franco to work with the organization. Funny I didn’t think Brodie would be the guy to play the back to the future card but whatever, can’t hurt I suppose.

And to be honest I don't think the Mets fan has any serious affinity for both. Not contempt but these are not adored team heroes. I wonder if this was at the behest of the Wilpons who always seemed to love Franco and probably wanted to mend fences with the opinionated Leiter after he ran to the Yankees

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

16 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

And the Mets bring back both Al Leiter and John Franco to work with the organization. Funny I didn’t think Brodie would be the guy to play the back to the future card but whatever, can’t hurt I suppose.

What's kind of funny/ironic with Leiter was that I once saw him on the MLB Network talking about mechanics...he actually came off as very intelligent and well-spoken, and really seemed to have a solid handle on all that goes into a proper windup, etc...but then I couldn't help but think "Then why did you have so many issues consistently throwing strikes?!'

Both Leiter and Franco gave up baserunners a-plenty in their time here...and of course, both ran deep counts often...but they often found ways to keep the damage relatively low.  If anything, they might be able to teach guys like Syndergaard how to bear down better when they get into jams...Thor seems like he's never going to be a true hit suppressor (sounds crazy with his stuff, but that's always been the case with him), so maybe those two can teach him how to become mentally tougher when he inevitably has runners on.  And if anyone knows what it's like to deal with injuries during his youth, it's Leiter.  It's really amazing that he went on to have the career that he did...it didn't look like he was ever going to stay healthy enough to stick, yet managed to pitch until he was 39...and in a ten-year period from 1995-2004, was solid...not outstanding, but definitely solid:  averaged 30 starts and 191 IP per season for that stretch, with solid to good numbers, all things considered. 

26 minutes ago, '7' said:

Well we're the Mets so...😝

One thing I'll say about Alonso (and I am intrigued by him as a player) but he and his agents are the type that can be disruptive/noisy. If he's slightly unhappy about anything...we're going to hear about it

Yeah, his chirping last season came off as ridiculous and entitled...if he's with some other, more respected organizations, you probably don't hear much of that from his camp.  It's easier to let loose on a franchise where everyone thinks the ownership lies somewhere between pond scum and a complete joke. 

Edited March 4, 2019 by Colorado Rockies 1976

['7']

4 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

What's kind of funny/ironic with Leiter was that I once saw him on the MLB Network talking about mechanics...he actually came off as very intelligent and well-spoken, and really seemed to have a solid handle on all that goes into a proper windup, etc...but then I couldn't help but think "Then why did you have so many issues consistently throwing strikes?!'

Both Leiter and Franco gave up baserunners a-plenty in their time here...and of course, both ran deep counts often...but they often found ways to keep the damage relatively low.  If anything, they might be able to teach guys like Syndergaard how to bear down better when they get into jams...Thor seems like he's never going to be a true hit suppressor (sounds crazy with his stuff, but that's always been the case with him), so maybe those two can teach him how to become mentally tougher when he inevitably has runners on.  And if anyone knows what it's like to deal with injuries during his youth, it's Leiter.  It's really amazing that he went on to have the career that he did...it didn't look like he was ever going to stay healthy enough to stick, yet managed to pitch until he was 39...and in a ten-year period from 1995-2004, was solid...not outstanding, but definitely solid:  averaged 30 starts and 191 IP per season for that stretch, with solid to good numbers, all things considered. 

Yeah, his chirping last season came off as ridiculous and entitled...if he's with some other, more respected organizations, you probably don't hear much of that from his camp.  It's easier to let loose on a franchise where everyone thinks the ownership lies somewhere between pond scum and a complete joke. 

Regarding Leiter I think the issue was that he was a very active/jumpy guy on the mound. Would always be pacing around, getting mad at himself etc. He had issues repeating his delivery consistently. Overthought things, never gave in. Every at bat had to be a battle. I think he understands and can teach how to do it properly, but he wouldn't be able to follow his own advice

Edited March 4, 2019 by '7'

[NJDevs4978]

17 minutes ago, '7' said:

And to be honest I don't think the Mets fan has any serious affinity for both. Not contempt but these are not adored team heroes. I wonder if this was at the behest of the Wilpons who always seemed to love Franco and probably wanted to mend fences with the opinionated Leiter after he ran to the Yankees

I don’t know what it is about Franco, he’s not outright hated but he’s not embraced the way he was in the early ‘90’s when he was the Brooklyn kid coming home. Of the two I think Leiter is more popular, both because he did more as a Met and because of his media savvy genes.

['7']

17 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

I don’t know what it is about Franco, he’s not outright hated but he’s not embraced the way he was in the early ‘90’s when he was the Brooklyn kid coming home. Of the two I think Leiter is more popular, both because he did more as a Met and because of his media savvy genes.

The issue with Franco (not rally an issue...not like it was his fault) was he saved a lot of meaningless games during inconsequential seasons..

Edited March 4, 2019 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

I don’t know what it is about Franco, he’s not outright hated but he’s not embraced the way he was in the early ‘90’s when he was the Brooklyn kid coming home. Of the two I think Leiter is more popular, both because he did more as a Met and because of his media savvy genes.

I think mostly because his body of work with the Mets was often agida-inducing...especially over his last 6 seasons.  He put up a 1.419 WHIP over those years...the guy could just never seem to get a clean and simple 1-2-3 inning.  It was always a double, then an out, then a walk or infield hit, then a wild pitch, then a 3-2 count that somehow ended in a K, then another 3-2 count that ended in a deep fly ball to the warning track.  Even in his better years with the Mets, it usually wasn't all that pretty.  He just kinda plodded along. 

[NJDevs4978]

6 minutes ago, '7' said:

The issue with Franco (not rally an issue...not like it was his fault) was he saved a lot of meaningless games during inconsequential seasons..

Yeah and then he was the setup guy when the team finally got good again.

Franco’s game against the Giants in the 2000 playoffs was the perfect prism of most of his Met career, get into trouble then get out of it in the most hair raising way possible, K’ing Barroid Bonds on a full count.

['7']

11 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I think mostly because his body of work with the Mets was often agida-inducing...especially over his last 6 seasons.  He put up a 1.419 WHIP over those years...the guy could just never seem to get a clean and simple 1-2-3 inning.  It was always a double, then an out, then a walk or infield hit, then a wild pitch, then a 3-2 count that somehow ended in a K, then another 3-2 count that ended in a deep fly ball to the warning track.  Even in his better years with the Mets, it usually wasn't all that pretty.  He just kinda plodded along. 

Though he always seemed to have Barry Bonds number (and had that critical K of him in 2000, just as Bonds was starting to juice monstrously and annihilate everyone) but he couldn't figure out Franco in any way. Bonds could never handle the screwball. He didn't see it that often

Edited March 4, 2019 by '7'

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

One prediction...this one has the Mets finishing at 83-79, good for fourth in the NL East:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-win-totals-how-we-see-the-2019-season-unfolding/ar-BBUoRvW?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=iehp

As far the record goes, probably not far off...I'd say a good over/under is 85.5 for the Mets.  If everyone actually managed to stay relatively healthy, I think they could flirt with 90 wins, but of course that won't happen here.  I think 83 to 85 wins is where they wind up. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Kinda reeks of BVW trying to be that "look at me, I'm such an outside-the-box creative thinker" kind of guy. 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mets-hire-jessica-mendoza-in-front-office-role/ar-BBUoPoG?ocid=iehp

We'll see.

['7']

33 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Kinda reeks of BVW trying to be that "look at me, I'm such an outside-the-box creative thinker" kind of guy. 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mets-hire-jessica-mendoza-in-front-office-role/ar-BBUoPoG?ocid=iehp

We'll see.

Exactly. This is dangerous too because if you hire her and then put her in a box, give her little responsibility, and not ever intend to use any skills and insight she has, this can really backfire because she does have something of a voice in the national level and could paint the Mets franchise in a bad light. As in that this was just a PR move and they really have no interest in advancing women in the workforce (Jeff already has that incident for chiding a Mets employee who I believe was pregnant and unwed)