With the Mets cutting payroll and having holes and question marks across the 25 and 40 man roster, it is finally time for Juan Lagares to sink or swim.
With respect to Lagares, he was never supposed to have been a question mark. Certainly, the Mets didn’t feel this way when they gave him a four year $23 million contract extension on the eve of the 2015 season.
When giving Lagares the extension, the expectation was Lagares would continue being a Gold Glover out there, and he would eventually learn to hit a little. While hindsight may be 20/20, this was about as good a bet as there could have been with Lagares hitting .281/.321/.382 with a 102 OPS+ and a 101 wRC+ in 2014. His ability to be a league average hitter and otherworldly in center made him a 5.4 bWAR and 3.9 fWAR player that year. That made him the best player on the Mets.
Since that season, things have fallen apart for him. In 2015, he regressed at the plate, which would have been palatable if he didn’t regress even more in the field. In the subsequent two seasons, Lagares seems to have been getting back to the player he was in 2014, but he has suffered significant thumb injuries in successive seasons.
This could be a cause for pessimism, but we saw the 2014 Lagares in the field again last year. That Lagares wasn’t just a Gold Glover, he was the guy you expected to catch everything. He was the guy who was head and shoulders above even the best defensive center fielders in the game.
Among center fielders with at least 550 innings last year, Lagares was third overall and tops in the National League with a 15 DRS. He was also the Major League leader with a 24.7 UZR/150. You could chalk these up to small sample sizes all the like, but consider the numbers he put up in 2013 and 2014:
- 2013: 26 DRS, 33.1 UZR/150
- 2014: 26 DRS, 25.3 UZR/150
At his core this is who Lagares is. And with all of Major League Baseball prioritizing hitting the ball in the air, having Lagares patrolling center field is an imperative.
As we saw, the Mets pitching staff all regressed last year. Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman weren’t the hot shot rookies they were in 2016. Even when “healthy,” Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler weren’t who we expected them to be. Even Jacob deGrom, who had a resurgent year a year after having ulnar nerve transposition surgery, wasn’t the same pitcher posting career worsts in ERA, ERA+, FIP, and HR/9.
So far, the Mets have done a lot to help address these issues. They’ve hired Mickey Callaway and Dave Eiland. They’ve discussed not allowing their pitchers go a third time through the lineup. While both could help, it is indisputable having Lagares in center will be an enormous benefit as well.
Now, if you can get Lagares to hit even a little, then you have the player you thought you had in 2014. You have the player you thought would have a collection of Gold Gloves at this point in his career. You have the player the Mets once thought was worth $23 million. You have an answer to one of the biggest question marks on a Mets roster that has more holes in it that a piece of Swiss cheese attacked with a hole puncher.
Overall, the best bet for the Mets in 2018 is a healthy and productive Lagares. He helps the pitching staff return to form, and he allows the Mets to allocate money to other areas of the team that are in more desperate need of addressing. And if that doesn’t work, you at least have a platoon partner for Brandon Nimmo out there . . . .
Unless you walked by a newstand on your way to work or you saw their Tweet, chances are you missed the front page of the New York Daily News:
STAGE FRIGHT: Shohei Otani too scared to play for the @Yankees…
An early look at Monday's front page https://t.co/BFmiNlWlSh pic.twitter.com/3BqOTFTf6j
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 4, 2017
Judging from their steep decline in circulation, you probably did.
Make no mistake about it, the front page was an unnecessary shot at Shohei Ohtanti, and it was for the “crime” of spurning the Yankees.
As is typical with the New York Daily News, facts have not relevance here. The front page claims he “fears big city,” which is completely absurd when you consider his final list includes Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Arlington, with is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. But sure, he’s really afraid of the big city or big market teams.
Speaking of fear, are we really sure a 23 year who is eschewing tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars just to compete at the highest level is afraid? Do we really want to say someone who wants to do the unprecedented in both pitching and being a position player is scared of anything? Seems like Ohtani loves a challenge.
That’s actually backed up by the seven contenders he has selected. In a few of these locations, he’s going to have the follow in the footsteps of some terrific Japanese players:
- Mariners – Ichiro Suzuki
- Dodgers – Hideo Nomo
- Rangers – Yu Darvish
As we have seen with the Mariners and the Dodgers, the list goes well beyond those two legends. Throw in the Giants, who had Masanori Murakami (first ever Japanese MLB player) and Tsuyoshi Shinjo (first Japanese player to play in a World Series), and you have someone who is not intimidated by anything.
Still, none of these facts prevented the New York Daily News from publishing something just plain wrong.
Really, it should come as no surprise. The New York Daily News has been known by push beyond the lines of common decency for its front pages, including but not limited to, showing a blow-by-blow of how a woman was murdered.
It’s also a newspaper that once had the gall to publish an Andy Martino gem saying one of the reasons Mets fans hated Luis Castillo was because he was Hispanic. Put another way, he was calling Mets fans racist for not liking a player who turned in this gem:
Overall, the New York Daily News published yet something salacious, incendiary, and just plain wrong for reasons they only know. Only this time, they did it because someone had the temerity to select the baseball destination that was best for him. If we followed their standards, we could go as far to call them racist.
However, I won’t. I have actually standards.
Since my son’s first birthday, my wife has made it a point to go out there and get number t-shirts for our son for each of his birthdays. While not being initially enthusiastic about it for my son’s first birthday, looking back on it the photos, I am truly happy she made that decision:
The first birthday one was the one that jumped off the page at me the most when going back at them.
Not only did it make for some cute photos of him for his first birthday, but it also reminded me of how much he loved The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But it wasn’t just the book, it was the collection of stories and the videos you could see on Netflix.
It brought me back to his first birthday party when we made sure to have one apple, two pears, three plums, four strawberries, and five oranges all out on display which we used as props when reading the story to my son that day. Also served at his first birthday party was chocolate cake, ice cream cones, swiss cheese, salami, lollipops, cherry pie, sausage, cupcakes, water melon, and a nice green leaf (salad).
The overriding point here is with that one photograph, I was taken back to not just the day my son turned one but to all the things he loved and enjoyed around that time period. I honestly don’t believe one of the generic first birthday shirts would have done the same thing.
And yes, I did the same when I looked back at my son’s shirts for his second (Elmo) and third (Thomas) birthdays:
In some ways, these shirts are time capsules that take you back to certain memories and time periods. It reminds you of who your child was as a person at that specific moment in time. Also, for what it’s worth, they make for some great photos (whether you do it yourself or go to a photographer).
Now, you may hold back a bit because of the expense, which is understandable. Etsy isn’t always the cheapest place on the planet. Still, there are cheaper ways to do it. You can always get a pack of colored or plain white t-shirts cheap from Target, and while you are there you can pick up Iron On print pages to make your own design.
So in the end, there is definitely a way to make the exact shirt you and/or your child wants for their birthday. It will look great in photos, and the memories will last a lifetime.
With the non-tender deadline having passed, the MLB free agent pool has been expanded. These non-tendered players are free agents for a multitude of reasons, but that does not mean they can’t help anyone. In fact, here are six players who could help the Mets in 2018:
2017 Stats: 131 G, 367 PA, 339 AB, 46 R, 93 H, 22 2B, 3B, 20 HR, 65 RBI, .274/.319/.522
After struggling to start the year in St. Louis, the Braves took a flyer on him after the Freddie Freeman injury. He played well enough that the Braves dabbled with Freeman at third base.
Adams is a good defensive first baseman, and he appeared in 19 games in left playing poorly.
If the Mets want a cheap insurance option for Dominic Smith, Adams would be a good choice as with his splits against left and right handed pitchers, he’d be an excellent platoon partner with Wilmer Flores.
2017 Stats 1-1, 12.00 ERA, 9 G, 3.0 IP, 3.667 WHIP, 12.0 BB/9, 0.0 K/9
While it was a poor injury plagued year for Cedeno, the left-handed reliever has limited left-handed batters to a .226/.286/.299 batting line in his career. If he’s healthy, he could be the second lefty in the pen, which would allow the Mets to ease Jerry Blevins workload.
2017 Stats: 8-10, 5.22 ERA, 29 G, 28 GS, 153.1 IP, 1.428 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 8.6 K/9
Fiers was not the same pitcher in Houston he was in Milwaukee, which is interesting because he has not lost his stuff. There may still be hope for him to be the middle to back end of the rotation starter he was in Milwaukee. In an 11 start stretch this season, he was 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.108 WHIP. If he can find a way to get back to that, he will be a real find for his new team.
2017 Stats: 5-3, 3.02 ERA, 67 G, SV, 59.2 IP, 1.223 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 7.2 K/9
Hughes is a bit of a surprise non-tender as he’s coming off a career best year, which was largely driven by an increase in his fastball velocity. The caution with him is he’s a ROOGY as left-handed batters hit .282/.363/.549 off him this year.
2017 Stats: 1-3, 10.91 ERA, 21 G, SV, 15.2 IP, 1.979 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9, 12.6 K/9
The Tigers finally gave up on a pitcher who had tons of potential but questionable work ethic. If a team can reach through to him, like a Mets team who have a couple of pitching gurus, they may find themselves with a shut down reliever.
2017 Stats: 4-1, 4.24 ERA, 61 G, 57.1 IP, 1.221 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 10.8 K/9
Rondon has a big arm, and he’s posted big strikeout numbers in his career. He’s coming off a down year which was largely fueled by a big jump in his walk rate. Likely, his being non-tendered had as much to do with his down year as the Cubs not wanting to pay over $6 million for a set-up guy. The Cubs loss is going to be another team’s gain.
Like many Giants fans, I was completely outraged at the decision of the franchise to callously bench Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith. Like many New York sports fans, in that moment, I instinctively turned the dial to WFAN to listen to Mike Francesca to get his take on the situation. He didn’t disappoint:
This was like watching a great pitcher past his prime reach back and find that fastball for a huge postseason start. He may not be able to go the well that often, but when he needed it, it was there.
With the Eli Manning story, we probably have the last big moment of Mike Francesca’s tenure with WFAN.
Francesca will sign off on Friday, December 15th, and he will be somehow replaced with a three person booth. For the record, here were the takes of Francesca’s replacements:
In processing the Eli fiasco, I'm left with this: Pin it on McAdoo or Reese, but #Giants ownership greenlighted this. Disrespecting a pillar of the franchise by benching him for Geno Smith, an also-ran at best, because he "gives you the best chance to win?" That's incompetence.
— Chris Carlin (@ChrisCarlin) November 29, 2017
I'm just blown away that a coach & GM so clearly on their way out have been allowed to treat a two-time SB MVP this way. The #Giants have always been a Top 10 franchise in professional sports. Today, by their actions, they became another average-to-below-average team.
— Chris Carlin (@ChrisCarlin) November 29, 2017
Dominoes: Giants fire McAdoo/Reese, Eli leaves for Jacksonville, Giants draft a QB with top 5 pick. Giants just got a lot more interesting.
— Maggie Gray (@MaggieGray) November 28, 2017
Who says Geno starts the next 5 games? Could easily see Webb starting vs Dallas in Week 14
— Maggie Gray (@MaggieGray) November 28, 2017
Yes, it is a different medium, but those takes certainly aren’t the type that have you running to your radio like most New Yorkers did with Francesca when the news broke. For what it’s worth, Carlin had more passion when it came to Greg Schiano-Tennessee fiasco. This wasn’t exactly awe inspiring, and that’s before you take into account Bart Scott, the third member of this three team booth, had no takes on the situation. By the way, he’s actually paid to cover the NFL.
This doesn’t mean Carlin-Gray-Scott can’t work. It also doesn’t mean that they won’t be a show capable of handling news like this.
What it really means is that this really is an end of an era. You’re not tuning into anyone else like you’d turn in to Francesca when this news happens. The only one who would come close is his old time partner Mad Dog, but he’s unreachable for many because he’s on Sirius XM.
And no, you’re not tuning into any other show like you are Francesca. Sure, Begningo & Roberts have the requisite passion. Hardcore sports radio fans can’t wait for the Steve Sommers monologue on the topic. After that?
Boomer is still working out the kinks without Craig Carton. DiPietro & Canty lost something when they switched Rothenberg and Hahn’s roles. And no, you’re not having serious sports radio with The Michael Kay Show as long as Peter Rosenberg is on that show.
And yes, you may very well like anyone of the aforementioned shows. You may be one of the many who have sworn off Francesca pointing out his many faults. But be honest. You cared what he had to say, and many of you turned in to hear him go off on the Giants decision.
In a few weeks, he’s gone, and that same need to turn on the radio will be gone with him.
Francesca will soon be gone and with him goes a void that is unlikely to be filled by anyone who is or will soon be on the New York airwaves. We were reminded of that on Tuesday. We will be reminded of that again on Monday, December 18th. We will be reminded of it most when the next huge New York sports story hits and Francesa isn’t there to cover it live on WFAN.
Right now, the rumors are the Marlins are going to be willing to trade the reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton for the extremely underwhelming package of Joe Panik, Tyler Beede, and Joe Shaw. There is one caveat to a deal – the Giants have to pay $250 million of the $295 million remaining on Stanton’s contract.
What we don’t know at this moment is the particulars, including but not limited to the impact of Stanton’s pending opt out on the allocation of the remaining $295 million on his contract.
Considering this is the package the Marlins are currently contemplating, and in reality, are ready to go ahead and accept, it really makes you question where the Mets are in the bidding process.
No, we shouldn’t pretend there aren’t significant obstacles to a Mets-Marlins deal. First and foremost, we have no idea about Derek Jeter‘s proclivity to striking a deal with a team that is not only a division rival, but also an inter-city rival from his playing days.
An additional obstacle is Stanton’s no trade clause. For various rumors, he seems to be inclined to want to either play for the Marlins or the Dodgers next year. Even as the Giants and Marlins seem to be nearing a deal, it seems the Giants have to meet with Stanton to try to sell him on the idea of becoming a Giant. Considering the team’s recent success and willingness to spend to compete, this could be an indication of how resolute Stanton may be in his preferences.
We also know the Mets have their own limitations on the budget and prospect front. Still, even with those limitations, the Mets should still have enough to sell the Marlins and Stanton on the idea of becoming a New York Met.
Really, the one thing that jumps off the page at you is how well Stanton has performed at Citi Field. In 52 games at Citi Field, he is hitting .258/.348/.613 with six doubles, 21 homers, and 43 RBI.
Outside of the two parks Stanton has called home, he has hit more homers at Citi Field than anywhere else. That is all the more impressive because for a large part of his career, he has had to face tough Mets pitchers like R.A. Dickey, Jacob deGrom, Jeurys Familia, Matt Harvey, and Noah Syndergaard.
Stanton would also arguably complete the Mets roster. By acquiring Stanton, the Mets could shift Michael Conforto to first base. This is good for a few reasons.
First, the Mets don’t have to be as concerned with Conforto laying full out for a ball and landing on his surgically repaired shoulder in the outfield. Second, Keith Hernandez has long been enamored with Conforto’s potential at first base. Third, an outfield left to right of Yoenis Cespedes–Juan Lagares-Stanton is outstanding defensively.
With the modern emphasis on fly balls, having strong outfield defense is an imperative. That outfield will be as good as there is in Major League baseball. With the bats of Cespedes, Conforto, and Stanton in the lineup, you can certainly carry Lagares’ bat in the lineup.
You can also handle Stanton financially. While he has $295 million remaining on his contract, he has three years $77 million remaining before his opt out. With him making $25 million next season, the Mets still have enough to add at least one impact reliever and fill around the edges with the rest of the roster. With Stanton in the fold, that should certainly be enough.
As for prospects, you never know what another organization likes from your team. However, if the Mets are looking to swing a deal, it wouldn’t hurt to start with a former first round pick in Dominic Smith, who could be all the more enticing for a team possibly looking to move Justin Bour. The Mets also have a number of other prospects and players at or near the level of the Giants haul. The combination of those players and the willingness to absorb the salary could be enough to get a deal done.
Maybe, just maybe, that would be enough to sell Stanton on coming to the Mets. Certainly, he has been at Citi Field on nights it was absolutely electric, and he may want to be a part of that. Maybe he doesn’t. We wont’ know until the Mets try, which it does not seem like they are at the moment.
Since the Mets first season in 1962, the franchise has the most 90 loss seasons in baseball. Generally speaking, if you look at the players who have received the most plate appearances in those seasons you can ascertain why those teams have struggled so. Conversely, you can also look at the players with the most plate appearances and see why the Mets were good that season. Can you name the Mets players who have had the most plate appearances each year? Good luck!
Jose Reyes Curtis Granderson Daniel Murphy David Wright Mike Cameron Ty Wigginton Roberto Alomar Todd Zeile Edgardo Alfonzo John Olerud Jose Vizcaino Lance Johnson Bobby Bonilla Eddie Murray Howard Johnson Gregg Jefferies Keith Hernandez Mookie Wilson Dave Kingman Lee Mazzilli Willie Montanez Felix Millan Rusty Staub Bud Harrelson Tommie Agee Ed Kranepool Joe Christopher Frank Thomas Ron Hunt Tommy Davis Cleon Jones
One of the purported reasons why Sandy Alderson was hired to replace Omar Minaya as the Mets General Manager was due to the state of the Mets farm system. Now, there was some truth to that given how Minaya continuously left the team without high draft picks due to his propensity to attack the free agent market.
That went double when you consider he used his top picks to select players like Eddie Kunz, Nathan Vineyard, Reese Havens, and Bradley Holt. Even if those selections were justified at the time, it didn’t help Minaya’s case when they combined to appear in just four Major League games.
With that, Alderson was tasked with rebuilding a deeper than originally believed Mets farm system. In fact, that 2015 pennant winning team was largely built on talent Minaya acquired including Jacob deGrom, Lucas Duda, Jeurys Familia, Wilmer Flores, Matt Harvey, Juan Lagares, Daniel Murphy, and Hansel Robles.
Alderson deftly built upon that core to make the Mets contenders, and now the organization is at the point where it needs Alderson’s farm system to produce Major League ready players to revitalize this team. Considering how the Mets fell apart last season and how the team seems disenchanted with many of their own first round draft picks, it is time to review Alderson’s first round draft history with the Mets:
2011 – OF Brandon Nimmo (13th Overall)
2017 MiLB Stats: .227/.364/.368, 12 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI
2017 MLB Stats: .260/.379/.418, 11 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 21 RBI
Realistically speaking, this should have been the time for Nimmo to emerge as the team’s everyday center fielder. There was a p0int where this was expected to happen. However, knee injuries have limited him just enough to where many question his ability to handle center field defensively. It may have also impacted the power hitting ability that never materialized.
Now, Nimmo has shown he belongs on the Major League level in some capacity. However, if he can’t defensively handle center field, he’s likely a fourth outfielder as his bat does not profile for a corner outfield position.
2011 – RHP Michael Fulmer (44th Overall)
2017 Stats: 10-12, 3.83 ERA, 1.154 WHIP, 6.2 K/9
When drafting a pitcher in the first round, you are hoping to have a front line starting pitcher. With Fulmer winning Rookie of the Year in 2016 and being named as an All Star in 2017, he certainly appears to be the part even if he missed the final month of the season due to his having ulnar nerve transposition surgery. Unfortunately, the Mets are not reaping the benefits of his ascension because he was moved to the Tigers as the centerpiece of the Yoenis Cespedes trade.
2012 – SS Gavin Cecchini (12th Overall)
2017 MiLB Stats: .267/.329/.380, 27 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 39 RBI, 5 SB, 4 CS
2017 MLB Stats: .208/.256/.273, 2 2B, HR, 7 RBI, CS
Between Cecchini’s defensive struggles and the ascension of Amed Rosario, Cecchini moved to second base this past season. Whether it was the rigors of learning a new position, bad luck, or an unsustainable .357 BABIP in 2016, Cecchini regressed offensively to the point where the team did not even consider him for the second base vacancy in 2017, and his name isn’t being mentioned as a potential solution in 2018.
2012 – C Kevin Plawecki (35th Overall)
2017 MiLB Stats: .328/.375/.514, 17 2B, 3B, 9 HR, 45 RBI
2017 MLB Stats: .260/.364/.400, 5 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, SB
In what was an otherwise dismal year for the Mets, the biggest bright spot was the rejuvenation of Plawecki’s career. After finally spending an extended stint in Triple-A, he began to put things together offensively. Couple that with his historically good pitch framing skills, and Plawecki has earned a spot on the Opening Day roster. Should he continue to progress, and if Travis d’Arnaud repeats his 2016 – 2017 performance, Plawecki could find himself as the Mets everyday catcher next season.
2013 – 1B Dominic Smith (11th Overall)
2017 MiLB Stats: .330/.386/.519, 34 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 76 RBI, SB, CS
2017 MLB Stats: .198/.267/.395, 6 2B, 9 HR, 26 RBI
After years of people questioning if he would ever hit for power, Smith had begun to display the power many believed he always had in Triple-A. However, despite the gains he made in that department in Triple-A, the Mets have been quite outspoken on how they’ve soured on one of their top prospects.
Whether it is the weight issues or how much he struggled during his call-up, the Mets are not only talking about him not being on the Opening Day roster, but potentially also signing a player like Carlos Santana to a multi-year deal. If that does happen, this means the Mets will have fully moved on from a top prospect without giving him so much as half a season in the majors.
2014 – OF Michael Conforto (10th Overall)
2017 Stats: .279/.384/.555, 20 2B, 3B, 27 HR, 68 RBI, 2 SB
After Terry Collins made him a strict platoon player for two seasons, injuries allowed Conforto to play everyday, and he showed us all just how great he could be. He made his first All Star team, and he is quite possibly the best player on the roster. Unfortunately, instead of looking forward to him taking the next step towards superstardom, we are awaiting with baited breath to see how his shoulder heals after he separated it on a swing and miss.
2015 – No Pick
It needs to be mentioned here the Mets sacrificed their 2015 first round draft pick in order to sign Michael Cuddyer. This was partially the result of the Rockies making him a qualifying offer after how vocal the Mets were about pursuing him in the offseason. In exchange for that first round pick, the Mets got one season of Cuddyer where he hit .259/.309/.391. Cuddyer’s injuries and poor production were also a precursor to the Mets having to trade Fulmer away to obtain Cespedes.
2016 – RHP Justin Dunn (19th Overall)
2017 MiLB Stats: 5-6, 5.00 ERA, 1.563 WHIP, 7.1 K/9
When Dunn was drafted by the Mets, there were questions about his ability to stick in the rotation. Dunn did little to quiet those concerns by struggling in his first ever full season as a starting pitcher. In 16 starts he had a 5.74 ERA as opposed to a 1.59 ERA in his four relief outings.
Ultimately, the talent is there. The question is whether he can put it together before the Mets get impatient waiting for him to get there.
2016 – LHP Anthony Kay (31st Overall)
The Mets selected Kay with the pick obtained from Murphy signing a deal with the Nationals. After Kay was used heavily in college, he needed Tommy John surgery, and he signed an underslot deal. He will look to throw his first pitch as a professional in 2018.
2017 – LHP David Peterson (20th Overall)
2017 Stats: 0-0. 2.45 ERA, 1.364 WHIP, 14.7 K/9
To some, the Mets were lucky Peterson was there for the taking at 20. Certainly, you can make that argument with the outstanding Junior season he had with Oregon. Due to his throwing over 100 innings in college, the Mets limited him to just 3.2 innings for Brooklyn before shutting him down. Next year will be a big year as the Mets look to see if he’s the mid rotation starter some believe, or the top of the rotation type pitcher the Mets were hoping to get.
Synposis
Time and again it needs to be stressed the draft is an inexact science and that luck plays a role in determining how well a prospect develops.
If you want to have a glass half-full perspective, everyone drafted prior to 2015 will make the majors. Of those six players, two are All Stars. Depending on what happens this offseason for the Mets, there can be anywhere from one to four everyday players out of the five position players he drafted.
On the glass half-empty front, it does not seem any of his draft picks will reach their full potential. For players like Dunn, Kay, and Peterson, it is way too early to make that determination. However, for the rest, that becomes increasingly more of a possibility. In the cases of Nimmo and Conforto, the fact injuries played a role certainly are a black mark on an Alderson regime that has had issues keeping players healthy.
Worse than the injuries is how the Mets seem to be willing to move on from high draft picks like Cecchini and Smith without so much as a half of season of play to prove themselves.
Overall, there is still time for all of these prospects to develop into the players the Mets hoped they would be when they were drafted. For those that are pessimistic about that happening, look no further than Plawecki. If nothing else, he showed you shouldn’t give up on a talented player without giving them a real chance to develop.
While he is certainly not washed up, Eli Manning is not the same QB we all fondly remember from Super Bowls XLII and XLVI. With those two Super Bowls, you would think the Giants would allow Eli to write the final chapter of at least his Giants career. Really, the Giants owed Eli that much considering he delivered them those Super Bowls when the Giants risked so much in trading for him back in 2004.
But the Giants aren’t going to let him write that final chapter after all.
Instead, the team is going to let Ben McAdoo do that for him. This is the same McAdoo who has found seemingly every opportunity to malign one of the greatest players in franchise history. Make no mistake, while McAdoo has the right to make this decision as the head coach of the football team. However. in a larger sense, he’s a nobody in the history of this organization. He’s the guy who makes Ray Handley look good.
In well run franchises, you don’t let inept people on the verge of getting fired insult and decide the fate of future Hall of Famers.
No, this doesn’t mean Eli shouldn’t sit. The Giants are 2-9, and Eli has played a role in that. Moreover, football is a business, and the smart business move here is to realize the team needs to start looking in another direction at QB. Eli is now 36 years old, and the team is poised to have their best draft pick since 2004. As we all remember, that’s when the Giants traded Phillip Rivers, who the Giants drafted fourth overall, and other selections to obtain Manning.
At a minimum, the 2018 NFL Draft has hyped QBs. They could be great. They could be terrible. Fact is, it is a talented group like it seemingly is every year. Only time will tell if this will be a famed QB class like 1982 or 2004 or it will be a complete bust like in 2007 and 2013.
Point is, it’s probably time to move on from Eli. Before doing so and investing a top five draft pick on the future face of your organization, you need to find out about the young QB on your roster. The Giants seem to be confused as the young QB on their roster is Davis Webb, not Geno Smith.
Smith is a retread QB who failed with the New York Jets. He failed for a multitude of reasons, including but not limited to the fact he lost the Jets locker room.
Geno Smith was the guy who started in the event Eli was too injured to play. That would have likely been the result of a hit suffered from playing behind a putrid offensive line. The 27 year old impending free agent was not the guy to end Eli’s tenure over the pretext of finding out about the young guys.
In the end, the Giants, as an organization, decided to bench the greatest QB in their history. They embarrassed a future Hall of Famer not just by putting him behind a horrendous offensive line, but by benching him for someone who aspires to be a journeyman.
Like he always does, Eli handled it with class. He refused to go out there and start for the sake of keeping his 210 start streak alive. He stepped aside like McAdoo and the Giants wanted him to do. Eli fought back tears as he was once again the good guy:
Best part of it all? Mara wasn’t even in the building today.
How does an owner not make himself available to a team’s leader and a future Hall of Famer when a soon to be fired head coach benches him? It’s a flat out joke. By the way, the General Manager was also unavailable for comment.
That is something you expect to hear about any of the other New York teams, including the Mets whose owner once bashed his players in the media without provocation. With that, in what has been a crazy year, the unexpected has happened.
Step aside Jim Dolan. You too Woody Johnson and the Wilpons. Islanders don’t even have a home, and no cares where Prokhorov’s Nets are located. Doesn’t matter.
Mara. Tisch. The New York Giants.
They are now the New York franchise that is the biggest joke right now.
When individual game tickets were made available to the general public, the Mets began a real push towards hyping up the fan base. There were any number of rumors linking the Mets to trade targets Mets fans have coveted like Jason Kipnis and Dee Gordon. But it was more than that.
The Mets were also indicating they were not settling. Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo may very well be a terrific platoon in center field next season, but the team was at least going to inquire on Lorenzo Cain. Not only were the Mets interested in Shohei Otani, they were also interested in signing Jacob deGrom to a contract extension.
There were even reports Dominic Smith, who struggled during his brief stint in the majors, was not guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster. The big name mentioned there was Carlos Santana who the Mets labelled as a difference maker.
Many Mets fans, like myself, were skeptical, especially given the timing.
Well, when it comes to the New York Mets, the skeptics were once again prove to be correct.
As shoppers looked for their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, the Mets themselves began to look for deals themselves on the free agent market. Put another way, the Mets rumors have begun to shift away from Ian Kinsler and Eric Hosmer type of free agent acquisitions and now we are really at the point where many believed the Mets would be all along.
Recent rumors have the Mets interested in Neil Walker to play second base and signing Adam Lind to play first base.
When it comes to Walker, the reunion makes sense even if it is not exactly awe inspiring. He was one of the rare players who was able to elevate his game in a Mets uniform. Walker was not only able to handle the pressures of playing in the New York market, but he was also able to thrive in it. Even with his injury history, you can justify this move with his solid clubhouse presence and the Mets depth at the middle infield position with Wilmer Flores and T.J. Rivera.
And yes, you can more than justify Lind. This was a guy who hit .303/.362/.513 for the Nationals last year in part-time duty. The left-handed hitter abuses right-handed pitching making him a natural platoon partner with Flores at first base. He’s not a great defender at first base or left field, but he is arguably capable making him good depth in the event Smith actually does win the job in Spring Training. Even if Smith doesn’t win the job, Lind would not stand in his way in the event the former first round draft pick figures things out.
So yes, Walker and Lind are justifiable moves that will make the Mets better in 2018. However, they are not the big ticket items the Mets were hyping when tickets first went on sale.
Most fans anticipated this being a Walker and Lind type of offseason. If the Mets really addressed their bullpen where they had shut down relievers from the sixth or seventh inning on, Mets fans would have bought in. There would have been some excitement for the 2018 season especially with a healthy deGrom and Noah Syndergaard all season.
Instead, the Mets sold us a false bill of goods to artificially try to get a push for people to purchase individual game tickets when it went on sale.
If you are inclined to disagree with this premise and don’t find the timing suspicious at all, ask yourself if you truly believe the Mets are bringing in one or two big names this offseason. If the answer is no or the Mets do indeed fail to bring in the big names, can we then agree to stop giving this organization any benefit of the doubt?