All it took was one Tweet for Mets fans to get suckered back in on the Yoenis Cespedes front:
Sources: Mets, Cespedes discussing an opt-out clause after the 1st year of a three-year deal. Would allow him to test market again Fall '16.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 22, 2016
Now, every Mets fan is hitting refresh on Twitter and on MLB Trade Rumors. Essentially, everyone is hoping Cespedes is going to take an under market contract to stay with the Mets.
Honestly, this whole situation reminds me of a George Harrison song:
The long story short is the a Mets fans can’t stop thinking about Cespedes. However, the man is going to want to get paid. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t look like the Mets are going to give him a “whole lot of spending money” or “the time to do it right, child”.
I hope I’m wrong. I hope the Mets can get Cespedes for a song.
Right now, it appears that Yoenis Cespedes may be leaving the Mets and joining the Nationals. While his ride was fun, there is a legitimate debate regarding what his true impact was. One way to measure that is WAR. Looking over the numbers, there were very few Mets who had a bigger impact than Cespedes did with the Mets. Can you name them? Good luck!
Wow #MetsTwitter is turning into a cesspool right now over the news that Yoenis Cespedes may be signing a deal with the Nationals. Seriously, everybody is attacking everybody. People I’ve found to be pretty lockstep in their opinions and/or cordial to one another are jumping at each other’s throats. Seriously, no opinion is safe:
- If think Cespedes doesn’t deserve a long term deal than you’re a shill.
- If you think Cespedes didn’t have the impact fans thought he did, you’re a nerd that doesn’t watch baseball.
- If you’re angry with how the Mets are operating this offseason, you’re ungrateful for the NL Pennant and/or unfit to be a Mets fan.
- If you think the Mets can win without Cespedes, you don’t know baseball.
- If you think Cespedes is a good centerfielder, you’re a dinosaur that doesn’t understand advanced stats.
At the end of the day, do you know what this all is? It’s misplaced anger. To a man Mets fans are upset with this offseason. Put aside your feelings on the Mets ability to win the NL East or the World Series next year. You’re not happy with the offseason. You’re not happy with the Mets not keeping their promise. The Mets said they would spend if the fans showed up and spent their own hard earned money.
Well, the fans did that, and yet, the Mets still aren’t spending commensurate with their revenues or their market. At the end of the day, it makes Mets fans angry. Mostly, we’re angry with the Wilpons. Only there’s no way we can voice our displeasure directly at them. So instead, we create billboards to voice our displeasure. We start yelling at each other. The reason? Simple, we’re angry, and there’s no avenue to properly voice that displeasure.
The sick part is the Mets don’t understand this. They don’t see a passionate fanbase. They see ungrateful people that should sign a loyalty oath because we know loyalty means never voicing a contrary opinion. The Mets don’t understand how lucky they are. This is a fanbase put through the ringer by this ownership, and yet, these fans still care. They are still passionate. They still keep coming back like Charlie Brown trying to kick that football.
The thing is the venom is going to get worse once Cespedes does officially leave the Mets. Fans will continue to go after one another instead of voicing our displeasure directly to the Wilpons. Again, the fans are angry, and I understand why. I think it’s time to take a step back and realize who the culprits are. It’s not each other; it’s the Wilpons. Other than the billboard, there’s no other method to let the Mets know how we feel (Note: not an advertisement, just stating a fact).
Basically, all I’m saying is Mets fans need to stop cannibalizing one another and find constructive ways to vent. The billboard is one idea. I know some who boycott. If there are other ideas, come up with those because right now yelling at each other isn’t helping anything. In fact, the only thing it accomplishes is irritating each other while the Wilpons’ malfeasance is ignored. It’s time to take a step back, take a deep breath, and realize the fans you’re attacking love this team no matter what.
You’re really angry at the Wilpons. Find a way to voice that displeasure. It’ll accomplish more than you yelling at another fan.
Yesterday, there was a lot of uproar over Fred Wilpon’s statements regarding the Mets chances to re-sign Yoenis Cespedes:
Fred Wilpon, on whether #Mets will sign Cespedes: "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm sticking with what Sandy said."
— Ken Davidoff (@KenDavidoff) January 20, 2016
You can read this anyway you want. Personally, I take this to mean that Fred Wilpon is in semi-retirement and/or focusing his attention on the other Wilpon businesses. Right now, it appears that the Mets are now truly Jeff Wilpon’s toy. It’s what the Wilpons always intended.
In 2000, Andrew Rice reported on the strife between the Wilpons and the Doubledays. Part of the story was how Doubleday no longer wanted to be partners with the Mets, and how he wanted out. The Wilpons blocked any attempt for Doubleday to broker a deal that would threaten Jeff’s ability to run the team
Last year [1999], Mr. Doubleday was ready to sell 80 percent of the team to Cablevision for $400 million – a deal that could have shielded his children, who are uninvolved in Mets affairs, from huge estate taxes. But Mr. Wilpon scuttled the deal, out of concern that, as a minority partner once again, there would be no assurance that he would still run the team. Jeff Wilpon, who is closely involved with the day-to-day planning for the new stadium, is said to be eager to take over the team one day.
[emphasis added]
Well, that time has come. Jeff Wilpon now appears to be in charge of the Mets. He’s the one appearing at Hall of Fame press conferences, the one who does not make himself available for reporters’ questions, and the one attending Winter Meetings, and the one showing up in the clubhouse for team celebrations. He’s taken over the team.
Jeff’s time at the top had been eventful and unchecked so far. Anything is possible from here on out. With Jeff firing pregnant women, taking out massive loans, and getting rid of disabled people without so much as a peep from Major League Baseball, nothing will surprise me. So far, no one has spoken out or corrected Jeff Wilpon for his actions. Jeff is running this team unfettered.
So no, I’m not surprised Fred Wilpon doesn’t know what’s going on with Cespedes because Jeff is in charge now.
Right now, there are two people who are realistically standing in the way of Yoenis Cespedes returning to the Mets. No, it’s not Fred and Jeff Wilpon. It’s Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson.
Like it or not, Sandy Alderson was right when he said Cespedes isn’t a centerfielder. While Cespedes grades out as an elite leftfielder, he’s just not good in center. Last year, he had a -3.2 UZR and -4 DRS while playing center. For his career, his UZR in center is -12.6, and his DRS there is -17. While the Mets were willing to move him in and out of center to take advantage of platoon splits for Juan Lagares while not forcing Conforto to face lefties. While it was rough at times, it did seem to work.
However, that was over the course of three months. Cespedes’ defensive numbers in center are unsustainable over a full season. I don’t buy the argument he only needs to play there two years. He’s already established he shouldn’t be playing there now. No, if the Mets want to re-sign him, he needs to go either left or right. That begs the question, why haven’t the Mets made room for him?
Specifically, I’m asking why the Mets haven’t explored trading Granderson. Last year, Granderson hit .259/.364/.457 with 26 homers and 70 RBI from the leadoff spot. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove in rightfield. On a team where everyone was dropping like flies, he played 157 games, and really, he was the only credible major league bat in the lineup for far too long stretches of time. His 5.1 WAR ranked him as a top five rightfielder in all of baseball last year. He has a reasonable two years $31 million remaining on his contract. One way of looking at this is saying he’s too valuable to be traded.
Another is to say he’s at his peak value, which is the precise time you want to trade players. Granderson is a year removed from a .237/.326/.338 campaign. The year before that he hit .229/.317/.407. He had pronounced splits last year hitting .183/.273/.286 against lefties and .280/.388/.504 against righties. His 5.1 WAR last year was the highest it had been since 2011. He’s going to be 35 on Opening Day next year.
Right now, the Mets still project to have Eric Campbell make the Opening Day roster until they sign another 1B/OF. The Mets still talk about adding another reliever. Their farm system took a big hit last year. Couldn’t trading Granderson address one, two, or all three of these needs? Isn’t that what smart front offices do? Don’t they trade away a player a year too early rather than a year too late?
Also keep in mind,this is a heavy left-hand hitting team. Trading Granderson and re-signing Cespedes would balance that out a bit. Isn’t this something worth exploring?
Personally, I’d like to see the Mets keep Granderson. I’m a big fan of his on and off the field. With that said, trading Granderson now may be the right thing to do. His value won’t be any higher, and the Mets have some needs to address. The Mets do not want to be paying for Granderson during his possible decline.
It might be time to trade Granderson.
Editor’s Note: this article first appeared on metsmerizedonline.com
I can make a case that Antonio Bastardo was a bad or unnecessary free agent signing. He walks to many guys. Following his ERA+, he’s an every other year player, and next year is his bad year. The Mets were well represented from the left-hand side with Jerry Blevins, Dario Alvarez, and Josh Edgin. Last year, Bastardo had less innings pitched than appearances.
However, I’m not going to make that case. Bastardo appears to be that rare cross-over non-closer lefty reliever. For his career, Bastardo allowed lefties to hit .178/.277/.319 and righties to hit .211/.308/.332. He had a 1.198 WHIP and a 11.0 K/9. He limits the long ball. He has been durable.
No, I’m again going to question this front offices’ obsession with steroids players. Bastardo is the third steroids player the Mets have signed this offseason. Bartolo Colon and Asdrubal Cabrera are the others. On top of that, the Mets offered Jenrry Mejia arbitration. This is the same Mejia who was suspended twice last year. The same Mejia the Mets were reportedly angry and disappointed with for the suspensions.
How can the Mets say one cross word about Mejia when they keep bringing other steroid users into the organization? It’s hypocritical. It’s apparent the Mets don’t care about steroids. They care about players getting caught.
If you think I’m going too far with this, or you don’t care, please consider this tweet:
Hey Antonio Bastardo, remember when we competed for a job in 2011. Thx alot. #ahole
— Dan Meyer (@Dmy53) August 5, 2013
That’s right. A roided up Bastardo beat a presumably clean pitcher for a job. Meyer never pitched in the big leagues again, and Bastardo has a two year $12 million contract. Of course it came from the Mets.
They love players who use steroids upo until the time they get caught. Then they’ll tell you how much they hate it. Hypocrites.
Overall, it’s apparent that the Mets do not see Yoenis Cespedes as a part of their 2015 plans. They’ve gone in another direction to address their offseason needs. While it’s rumored the Mets have a 2-3 year offer out to Cespedes, it’s apparent he’s not taking it. The Mets could increase that offer to sign Cespedes, but they do not seem inclined to do it. Well it seems the Mets resolve is going to be tested.
As Ken Rosenthal reports, the Nationals are pursuing Cespedes. Apparently, Cespedes is the Nationals next option after they missed out on Jason Heyward and Justin Upton. They are still interested even after trading for Ben Revere. The Nationals have made Cespedes an offer that’s less than the six year $132.75 million deal Upton received.
If Cespedes joins Daniel Murphy in Washington, there’s going to be a riot amongst the fan base. The backlash is going to be very ugly. Signing Cespedes could theoretically tip the scales in the Nationals favor with them now being favorites to win the NL East. With all that said, the Mets have to stay the course.
Alderson believes Cespedes is a square peg in a round hole. Essentially, he doesn’t see Cespedes as a centerfielder, and he’s right. What you’re willing to put up with for three months may not be what you will put up for a full season, let alone for three to five years.
If you truly believe Cespedes isn’t worth a four year deal, and he can’t play CF, you have to pass. You pass even if it means he goes to your biggest threat in the division. If you think Cespedes is not a CF, and you think he will be a problem if he receives a contract longer than three years, who better than your biggest competition to make that mistake?
Most Mets fans will not agree with this decision. At the end of the day, that’s not Sandy Alderson’s main concern. His concern is to build a winner in 2016 and beyond. There may be mitigating factors, but at the end of the day, you try to make things work that fit into your parameters. If they stray from that, you need to walk away. Unfortunately, it seems like when the Mets walk away again, their #3 and #4 hitters will play in Washington.
The Mets need to ignore that fact and move on. They need to not care where Cespedes winds up. They need to do what is best for this team. They need to spend more money in other areas to improve the team in other ways.
Ultimately, the Mets are just going to have to stay the course.
With Daniel Murphy signing with the Nationals, my son has to find a new favorite Met. Honestly, I didn’t steer him in the direction of Murphy. I wouldn’t because I knew he might be gone. Initially, his favorite player was Lucas Duda, but somewhere that changed.
Some of it might have been my personal feelings towards Murphy. I was always a huge fan of his. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Duda, but Murphy was my favorite Met.
Now, Matt Harvey is my favorite Met. He was the one that gave us all hope. I will always appreciate him for what he did in Game Five of the World Series. With that said, I don’t want him to become my son’s favorite player. The main reason is Harvey will be a free agent in 2019. That’s not that far away, and I would prefer for him to root for a player who will be around longer than that. With that said, I’ve narrowed it down to three choices:
I honestly picked these three guys because they broke into the majors last year, and as a natural extension, should be around the longest. Each have their own separate pull.
I like Matz because my son and I attended his first ever game. He’s a lifelong Mets fan who actually became a Met. He’s a left-handed pitcher, and any motivation I can use to get my son to throw left-handed is an added benefit.
Thor has the cool nickname, and he looks like the real deal. It’s easy to get a kid excited about a guy who throws 100 MPH and strikes a lot of guys out. I could also play this Pedro Martinez clip incessantly:
If you don’t think a two year old boy wouldn’t find it fun and hilarious to run around screaming, “THOR!” all day, you’re nuts.
The last option is Conforto. Conforto burst on the scene and played better than fans either reasonably or inreasonably expected. He hits left-handed as my son does now (Murphy left an impression). He’s an everyday player, which is a huge benefit. First, pitchers are more prone to have injuries that could leave them out for extended time or possibly be career threatening. Most importantly, when I bring my son to a game, it is more likely than Conforto will play. I don’t have to count every five days and hope there are no spot starts or skipped starts so he can see his favorite player.
With that said, I think I’m going to spend Spring Training trying to convert my son into a Conforto fan. If the past is any judge, he will select a player on his own. With that said, he may very well choose Conforto as his new favorite Met all on his own. That would be even better.
No matter what happens, I’m playing that Thor clip constantly because to me having him scream “THOR!” will be hilarious. I ask for my wife’s forgiveness in advance.
Honestly, I believe it’s too early to start naming Opening Day starters, but teams are already doing it. I guess when you’re the Diamondbacks it’s easy. When you’re the Mets with a loaded pitching staff, it’s a much more interesting question.
The first choice would be Jacob deGrom. He had the best year out of any Mets starter last year. He was the story of last year’s All Star Game. He was terrific in the NLDS. Also, he was supposed to be the Game Sux starter. Starting him in Kansas City would be the Mets way of saying we’re picking up where we left off, and we’re heading back to the World Series.
The next choice is Matt Harvey. In many ways, he’s the presumptive ace. He’s the guy that burst on the scene in 2013 giving the Mets fans hope this all was coming. He’s another year removed from Tommy John surgery, and the second year back is normally when a pitcher excels. He ended his year with an incredible Game Five performance. Starting Harvey in Kansas City is saying you’re not going to beat us again.
With all that said, I start Noah Syndergaard on Opening Day. The message is plain and simple. We’re not backing down this year from anyone. This was a 23 year old rookie pitcher who toed the rubber at the first ever World Series game at Citi Field, and this was his first pitch:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FMbpt_TtDro
When the Royals complained about the pitch, Thor told them to meet him at the mound. His presence on the mound alone is saying to the baseball world the Mets are intimidated by no one, and they’re back fighting to win 2016. If you have a problem with that, you know where to find them. The story line won’t be about the Royals getting their rings. Instead, it’ll be about how the Royals will handle Thor.
We want the 2016 season to be about the Mets and their pitching staff. We want it to be about the Mets responding to last year’s World Series loss by beating and intimidating other teams. You want all of baseball to look at this staff and wonder how they’re going to beat the Mets. This needs to be the story from day one. Let Terry Collins explain he’s starting the guy who beat the Royals last year. However he presents it, the most important thing is that we all know the Mets are going out there looking to get into their opponents’ heads with their pitching.
That starts day one. That’s why you start Thor on Opening Day.
Yesterday, the Cincinnati Reds announced they are going to honor Pete Rose this summer with induction in the Reds Hall of Fame, retirement of his number 14, and a statue. For some reason, MLB approved Rose’s presence at these events. Even more ponderous was the Reds wanting to do this for him.
I understand he is the Hit King. In many ways he’s synonymous with Reds baseball. He had 3,358 hits with the Reds alone. However, he was also the Reds manager. As the Reds manager, he bet on the games. There’s no proof he bet against the Reds, but then again, it took over 25 years to definitively prove he bet on baseball while he was a player. I still find it naive to believe he never bet against the Reds or found a convenient time to not bet on them.
Rose managed the Reds until mid-way through the 1989 season. Later that year, he was banished from baseball. That year the Reds finished in fifth places with a 79-87 record. Rose was 59-66. Do you know what happened in 1990? They won the World Series. I’m not saying it’s definitive, but it shouldn’t be ignored.
What also shouldn’t be ignored was between 1985 – 1988, the years he was a full time manager, his teams always finished in second and never won 90 games. While they were in second place, they never came close to winning the division. I know Lou Piniella is a good manager, but was he really good enough to be the missing piece? Probably not.
Let’s examine the 1987 season because that was the year the Reds got closest to winning the division under Rose’s tuteledge. That team jumped out of the gate going 15-7 in April. The next three months they played around .500 ball before collapsing in August with a 9-20 record. The Reds entered that fateful month of August with a two game lead in the division. After August was over, they were in third place, six games back, and three games under .500.
Keep in mind that this is dispositive of nothing. In fact, in some ways that was the August script between the 2015 Mets and Nationals. However, it still makes you question if more was at play here than just one really bad month. For example, the Recs went 1-5 against the Giants in August. Absent those August games, they were 6-6 against the division winning Giants.
Does it matter to you that John Franco led the league in games finished in 1987 with 60? How about the fact he repeated the feat in 1988 finishing 61 games? How about the fact that from 1985 – 1988, Franco appeared in 67, 74, 68, and 70 games? Does it matter that no other manager used him in as many appearances or to finish as many games?
How do we judge him playing a young and healthy Eric Davis only 129 games despite him being the team’s best player? How many teams have a 34 year old catcher and 36 year old RF lead the team in games played? Why were the Reds the only team in baseball with a four men rotation that year?
I could go on and on. However, hopefully, you get my point. Seemingly, Rose made a lot of strange choices. We don’t know if these decisions came about organically, or if these decisions made based upon other factors. The only thing we know for sure is Pete Rose was betting on baseball back then. We also know that once Rose was gone, the Reds won the World Series.
After all that, he’s getting honored by the Reds. He’s getting a statue. Other than his son, he’s the last Reds player to ever wear the number 14. It took 25+ years to discover he bet on baseball. I’m hoping it’s not another 25 years before we find out he bet against the he Reds.
At that point, what do you do with the number 14 and the statue? Will it be too late to take it down? All I do know is the Reds are sticking their necks out there for a guy who broke the gambling rule. They’re honoring a guy who might’ve bet against them. Wait another 25 years, and we’ll find that out.
In the meantime, the Redx are honoring a guy who did his best to ensure his banishment from baseball.