Peter Alonso
While the world is dealing with COVID19, and trying to figure out how to get back to our lives as usual, Rob Manfred is taking advantage of the pandemic to push his agenda. A few weeks ago, that mean shortening the draft, which, when you break it down, really only served the purpose of having fewer players. With fewer players, it is easier to push forward with the plan of contracting 42 minor league teams.
Now, Manfred is doing this again to try to implement the universal DH.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported MLB is considering utilizing Spring Training facilities to allow MLB to play the 2020 season. With the Grapefruit League and Cactus League being split up by an East/West designation rather than an AL/NL designation, in order to effectuate this plan, there will need to be radical realignment for one year.
With that radical realignment would come a universal DH.
Now, if a radical one-year re-alignment is necessary to pull off baseball in 2020, no one is going to complain. With AL teams being built for the DH, you can understand implementing a universal DH under this plan. After all, it is difficult to ask teams like the White Sox with Edwin Encarnacion to find a place to put him in the field for a full season.
If you look to the Mets, you could make the argument this benefits them. This would allow the team to DH Yoenis Cespedes in the last year of his contract. Digging deeper, J.D. Davis really belongs in a DH role. You could also look to DH Pete Alonso to permit the superior defensive first baseman in Dominic Smith to play first.
However, this isn’t an argument for what is best for the Mets. Rather, this is an analysis about what is best for baseball. Maybe, a truncated season split up like this for one year is what is best for everyone. Maybe, you do need the universal DH to make this work.
On a one year basis, we should be willing to do whatever is necessary to have baseball in a safe fashion. Safety is the first priority.And yet, this once again appears like Manfred is really taking advantage of the situation.This time, instead of reducing the amount of minor leaguers with no specific purpose, he is now pushing for a universal DH for these games.
It is difficult to come to a different conclusion when the original proposed plan was to have all 30 teams in Arizona and effectively quarantining them as a league there. Now, the plan is to have half the teams in Arizona and the other half spread across the State of Florida. The very minute this shifted from lockdown to travel is where suspicions should arise.
Maybe, this is all bluster, and nothing will come of this. It is possible this is just the brainstorming which needs to and should occur. You can argue all that you want, but after we get through every plausible explanation, there is still the air of suspicion which should surround the commissioner moving on from limiting the draft to finding a way to implement a universal DH.
In the end, it just appears like Manfred is using this situation to push through his agenda knowing there won’t be much opposition due to people’s safety concerns. There is a phrase for this – it’s called taking advantage.
Heading into the 2020 season, many anticipated Steven Matz and Amed Rosario would have breakout seasons. In the simulated game against the Milwaukee Brewers, we got a look into what that might’ve looked like:
Through six, the only run scored in the game was off a Rosario solo shot. At that point, Matz was straight dealing, and as such, Luis Rojas let him hit for himself in the top of the seventh.
That appeared to be a mistake when Eric Sogard homered off Matz to start the bottom of the seventh.
Jeurys Familia relieved him, and he’d pick up the win. Pete Alonso led off the eighth with a ground rule double. Jake Marisnick pinch ran for Alonso, and he’d eventually score on a Yoenis Cespedes sacrifice fly.
Seth Lugo bailed Dellin Betances out of an eighth inning jam, and it wouldn’t be pretty, but Edwin Diaz would get out of a bases loaded jam to earn the save in the Mets 2-1 win.
This was a fine pitcher’s duel between Marcus Stroman and Stephen Strasburg with neither team able to break through against them until Pete Alonso homered in the sixth.
The next three homers would come from the Nationals. The first was a two run shot by Juan Soto against Stroman in the bottom of the sixth.
The Mets would load the bases in the eighth, but J.D. Davis struck out, and Robinson Cano flew out. Throw in a Nationals homer off Jeurys Familia in the bottom of the eighth, and the Nationals would win 4-1.
On the bright side, neither we nor the virtual Mets had to watch the Nationals raise their virtual banner.
Well, it finally happened. Behind the pitching of Jacob deGrom, the Mets finally have a simulated win for the 2020 season.
For a while, it looked like a typical deGrom start with him shutting down the other side and the Mets not scoring runs. Jeff McNeil was thrown out at the plate, and Brandon Nimmo struck out with the bases loaded.
Finally, Robinson Cano hit an RBI single in the third, and Dominic Smith would hit a three run homer to give the Mets a 4-0 lead. Pete Alonso, who has struggled in 2020 (for what very little that’s worth) also homered in the game.
It was a very rude homecoming for Zack Wheeler who only lasted four innings and would take the loss.
The Phillies didn’t get to deGrom until Nick Williams hit a two run homer in the seventh, but that only pulled the Phillies to within 5-2.
Seth Lugo got touched up for two in the eighth, but Edwin Diaz would shut the door in the ninth to preserve the Mets 5-4 win, their first of the season.
Right now, players are finding ways to work out to stay in shape in the event baseball is played in 2020. For Marcus Stroman that means going out into the street and pitching to Dominic Smith.
Working daily with my dawg @TheRealSmith2_. Still cold with the windup variations! ? #HDMH @Mets pic.twitter.com/MKP9hOmRNv
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) March 30, 2020
What is interesting with Smith is this isn’t his first foray into catching. In fact, Smith told Michael Mayer of MMN he caught in high school. As seen above, he hasn’t completely given up on it as he was slated as the Mets emergency catcher in 2019. Overall, reviews of his limited work behind the plate are somewhat positive.
My dawg was nice behind the plate back in high school ? believe it or not @TheRealSmith2_ https://t.co/EFVIBGvi1I
— Braxton Davidson (@Braxdavidson) March 30, 2020
Looking at 2021 and beyond, Wilson Ramos is going to be a free agent, and Smith is a player who is blocked from playing his everyday position of first base by Pete Alonso. Seeing him catching Stroman, being an emergency catcher last year, and the positive reviews of his limited work back there, you do wonder if the Mets should try to move Smith behind the plate.
Before addressing the point in full, as noted by The Hardball Times, Jack Clements is the only left-handed catcher in Major League history to catch at least 1,000 Major League games. His last game was in 1900. To that end, you could consider him the only true left-handed catcher in Major League history, and he played in the Dead Ball Era.
There have really been a handful of left-handed catchers in Major League history (14 in total) with Benny Distefano being the last one to appear in a game. What is somewhat interesting about that is he played first base and the outfield from 1984-1988 before he was permitted to catch three games in 1989, which was a function of his preparing to be an emergency catcher. More interesting than that was the fact he didn’t catch in his professional career before those three games.
With his limited experience, Distefano noted the issues for a left-handed catcher were bunt plays towards third base as well as applying tags at the plate. (New York Times). The Hardball Times addressed this in their article, and they noted there is a slight issue with it, but they also noted a left-handed catcher would not have the same issues with a right-handed batter the right-handed catcher would.
The bigger issue is getting the tag down, which The Hardball Times confirms. On both issues, it was noted it is such a small part of the catcher’s duties it likely would not have a real impact on the game. That is all the more so when you consider the advantages a left-handed catcher would have including fielding plays right in front of the plate and catching breaking pitches from right-handed pitchers.
In total, at least in theory, there would be no real discernible difference between right and left handed catchers other than the fact seeing a left-handed catcher would look strange. In the end, it is not like a left-handed shortstop or third baseman where playing the position is an impossibility.
Seeing how it could happen, we revisit the question of whether the Mets should look to move Smith behind the plate.
Certainly, it helps he already has some experience in terms of high school, preparing to be an emergency catcher, and now catching Stroman. Being a first baseman, he is accustomed to the bunt plays towards third and making the left-handed throw to third base.
We know he has the agility to do it between his first base and left field experience. In terms of left field, we know he has the ability and willingness to learn a new position if it means helping out the team. Overall, he has shown himself to be a team first person, who may prove willing to do this. That may prove to be all the more the case if it meant a regular position for him.
In terms of the Mets, Ramos has a $10 million option for 2021 which may or may not be picked up. Tomas Nido is a defensive back-up with no remaining options. Ali Sanchez may be nothing more than a better defender and possible a worse hitter than Nido. The shot in the dark is Patrick Mazeika who is still just a part-time catcher in the minors.
Really, from an organizational standpoint, the Mets are exactly the team who should experiment with this. After all, Smith is an everyday caliber player, and he has the experience. More than that, he has nothing to do now but work out on his own and to meet up with Stroman to catch him.
The more he catches Stroman, the better prepared for the transition he will be. Speaking of Stroman, Jose Bautista working out with him led to his getting work outs to try to return to the Majors as a pitcher. At the end of the day, there isn’t much reason not to at least see if this could happen.
No, this is not a pre-scheduled article which was not edited. Remember, that today is still Opening Day, and just because we are not going to see Jacob deGrom square off against Max Scherzer for the second straight year doesn’t mean there is absolutely no baseball.
If you have a glove, bat, and a baseball. There is baseball.
Go outside and have a catch with your kids or someone else in your household. If it is just you, find a wall and throw a tennis ball against the wall. If nothing else, it is good exercise.
Put on your favorite Mets shirt. For example, I’m going to wear my Michael Conforto raglan t-shirt while my kids wear their Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil shirts. We’re going to go out there with our mitts, tees, and wiffle ball stuff, and we are going to play baseball (again).
Remember, today is Opening Day, and on Opening Day, there is baseball.
It may not be happening at Citi Field or at any other Major League park. You may be banned from playing baseball with people outside of your household. Still, there is baseball. It is in your yard, or if you can’t go outside, it is on your video game platform. If nothing else, it is on your TV.
On ESPN2, you can see Alonso and Todd Frazier win the Home Run Derby all over again. On mets.com, you can relive the Murphy Game. You can see deGrom use guts and guile to outlast Zack Greinke followed by Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia just mowing down Dodgers hitters. You can see Daniel Murphy having the game of his life (up until that point) propelling the Mets into the NLCS.
You can also go check out anyone of the Mets games available on MLB.tv or YouTube. There are various Mets games throughout history available on YouTube, or you can just decided to go with clips like Gary Carter hitting a walk-off homer in his first ever game as a New York Met:
Today is a beautiful, cooler Spring day. It is the type of Spring day you want when you go out to the park to go see the Mets play on Opening Day. Just because the Mets can’t take the field today doesn’t mean there’s no baseball.
You can play baseball inside, outside, and/or go watch it. Really, find a way to celebrate baseball because it remains a huge part of our lives. In the end COVID19, may delay the season, and it may take away games. However, it cannot rob us of our love for the sport and the New York Mets.
Today, is March 26, 2020. Baseball is played today. We join as one in our love for the game. This is the day we are supposed to have hope. While some things are definitively different, there is nothing that can change all of that. This is the day we have baseball.
Let’s Go Mets!
Due to COVID19, ESPN is planning to replace their Opening Day programming by re-airing the Home Run Derby from the past five seasons. With them being run in reverse, Mets fans get to see Pete Alonso winning the 2019 Home Run Derby in the 6:00 P.M rebroadcast, and they get the end the day watching Todd Frazier, then of the Cincinnati Reds, winning the 2015 Home Run Derby.
While this the Home Run Derby we all know and love (at least some of us), watching players like Yoenis Cespedes launch homers into the Citi Field stands under a bracket format is not in congruence with the original concept. In fact, the original Home Run Derby was quite different.
Under the original format, sluggers would face off against each other in a nine inning game. The game was very much akin to a baseball game with nine innings and three outs per inning. Under the construct of the game, anything not hit for a homer was an out, and if a batter did not swing at a strike, it was an out.
Re-watching those games/episodes, you’ll notice they were played at an empty Wrigley Field. No, not the Wrigley Field in Chicago, but the old one in Los Angeles. The venue was selected for a myriad of reasons including it being supposedly neutral to right and left-handed hitters.
In this series, we saw some of the greatest sluggers of all-time face off against once another. Perhaps, it should come as little surprise Hank Aaron had the best record in the show’s history. The only other two hitters with a winning record were Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, two Hall of Famers who are also members of the 500 home run club.
Conceptually, pulling off this version of the Home Run Derby could be accomplished with the outbreak of COVID19. As we know a pitcher stands 60’6″ away from the batter. The two batters can stay in their own dugouts, and they only come out after the other batter has cleared the playing surface.
In lieu of a catcher or umpire, we can just let balls go to the backstop, and we can let technology determine if it was a strike or ball. If nothing else, it would be a good test of the technology MLB wants to eventually introduce to the Major Leagues.
With the announcer up in the broadcast booth, there would be social distancing of much more than six feet between everyone. At least in theory, this makes the set-up of a Home Run Derby possible, at least conceptually. In reality, that may not be realistic, at least not yet.
Frankly, there is too much inter-personal contact necessary to set up the event. Someone is going to have to set up cameras, microphones, and handle the baseballs. There are many more things which would need to be done to allow this to happen, which, given the current state, would make this event impractical.
That’s at least right now. Hopefully, there will be a point where we will be able to have expanded testing efforts, which could permit individuals and players who have tested negative to have this event in an empty ballpark. Potentially, baseball could do this during the time period between people getting cleared on a widescale basis and everyone being able to return to work/baseball.
At this moment, it’s just an idea, but it may be a worthwhile idea to pursue. After all, the Home Run Derby is one of the more popular events of not just the All-Star festivities, but the entire season. If possible, it would give us a live sporting event until games can return.
With no sports available to be broadcast, NBC Sports Washington is taking a novel approach. Instead of replaying a classic game, they’re going to play simulated games for the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.
Monumental Sports Network and NBC Sports Washington will present one-hour video game simulations of previously scheduled @WashWizards (NBA) and @Capitals (NHL) games beginning this weekend.#ALLCAPS https://t.co/CFJuOVtUOv
— Caps Gaming (@capsgaming) March 20, 2020
These video game simulations are using EA Sports games. So, instead of seeing actual games, we’re seeing machines play games. It’s like e-Sports meets Real Steel.
It’s certainly worth trying for a sports starved country.
For Mets fans, what would be better? Watching Johan Santana‘s no-hitter for the umpteenth time, or seeing a video game simulation of Pete Alonso hitting home runs and having crazy home run celebrations?
This Pete Alonso bat flip from @MLBTheShow is a thing of beauty ?
(via @Ben_Yoel) pic.twitter.com/n5aYE1daTA
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 22, 2019
Perhaps you can find a way for MLB to work with teams and RSN’s to broadcast the games simultaneously. If they could do that, could you imagine how much fun Gary, Keith, and Ron would have broadcasting these games?
Listening to Keith’s bemusement of this while he’s sitting home on Skype (or some other device) while Hadji is running around would be reason enough to watch.
As for baseball, they could have some fun with it keeping records and standings. We can get Harold Reynolds and other MLB Network personalities trying to break it down, or simply having a breakdown about how computers have once again ruined the game.
If done well, this could be fun and give baseball fans something to watch until we get games. If done poorly, well, it’s still better than nothing.
In any event, NBC Sports Washington is taking the first crack at this. Hopefully, it is a success, and it brings us closer to having something to watch to bridge the gap.
As baseball fans, we are starved for baseball. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no possible way to watch the sport we love because every league has been shut down due to COVID19. That means it is nothing but classic games and begging for different regional networks to come up with some creative programming which includes broadcasting old seasons.
As bad as things are for fans, it is more difficult for players. They were in Spring Training ramping up for the 2020 season, and now they are shut down with no idea when or if they are ever going to play games again. Keep in mind, this isn’t just their job. The vast majority of Major League players love the sport, and they are itching to play. Some are seemingly willing to throw caution to the wind to do it:
https://twitter.com/Pete_Alonso20/status/1239939244208070669?s=20
Making baseball fun again. ? pic.twitter.com/QFqCJyKJmv
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) March 15, 2020
While you can understand why Pete Alonso and Trevor Bauer may want to play games, they just can’t. That is even the case with Bauer setting up a Go Fund Me in conjunction with his “sandlot” games in order to help out stadium workers. While noble, it increases the risk of the spread of this disease, and to a certain extent, may endanger the very people he looks to help.
On another note, with MLB teams pledging over $30 million, the hope is Bauer’s efforts may not be as necessary. Of course, what happens when that fund runs out is anyone’s guess.
Again, the CDC is telling us to socially isolate for at least 15 days in order to help stop the spread of the disease and help flatten the curve. By doing that, we help protect those who may be the most endanger of dying from the disease, and we also help lessen the burden on what is an increasing over-burdened hospital system.
As we see, professional athletes are not immune to this disease. The first reported case was Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, and the second was his teammate Donovan Mitchell. The Brooklyn Nets just had four reported cases.
It is not just an NBA problem. The Yankees have two reported cases, and there are bound to be more. We are also seen NHL players begin to contract the disease.
In the end, it is great to see Alonso and Bauer love playing baseball. It is even better they are using their platform to raise money. However, it is just not responsible. They need to do what the vast majority of us are doing and socially isolate to help stop spreading COVID19.
Maybe seeing how players want to play so much, perhaps teams will rethink closing down their Spring Training facilities. After all, those players were in a socially isolated environment and were only subjecting themselves to the same people everyday. Releasing them now to all parts of the world just seems all the more irresponsible now, and it is seemingly counter-productive.
No matter what the case, we see both Alonso and Bauer need to stop their efforts to have these games, and they need to follow everyone’s direction by socially isolating.
According to reports from MLB, while there is hope to resume the baseball season in May and play all 162 games, there are indications the baseball season may not be able to start until July. Overall, the optimistic view is Memorial Day weekend, and the pessimistic view is Fourth of July or All-Star Weekend.
Actually, the pessimistic view is no 2020 season, but we’ll address that at some other time.
For the sake of argument, let’s assume baseball cannot resume during the month of May, and there is going to need to be some form of Spring Training in June before baseball can begin anew. At that time, even the most casual of baseball fans will be baseball starved, and they will want to see any form of baseball as soon as they can.
Now, the later the season goes, the chances of the All Star Game actually being played become increasingly more remote. That’s problematic for the Los Angeles Dodgers who were awarded the game, and they cannot get the game back until 2022.
When you think about it, there is no reason for the Dodgers to lose the All-Star Game. After all, it is just an exhibition designed to give fans baseball at at time players are getting a mid-season break. On a related note, it is an event baseball wishes they could garner more interest leaving them to try different things like “making the game count” or miking up players in the field.
In some ways, COVID19 presents a real opportunity for MLB to get as much possible interest in the All-Star Game. If MLB were to start the 2020 season with the game, instead of using it as the midway point of the season, a baseball craved fanbase and sports starved world will likely tune it to watch at record numbers.
If you think about it for a second, the All Star Game is well suited for Spring Training anyway. Pitchers can only pitch a maximum of two innings. Position players play a couple of innings. There’s light workouts mostly generated in getting fan attention. In essence, the All-Star Game is really just a hyped Spring Training Game.
If it’s really just a Spring Training game with really good players, let’s make it a Spring Training All-Star Game, at least this one year. After all, it is not unprecedented to begin a professional sports season with a marquee event. For example, NASCAR begins their season with the Daytona 500, an event they deem their “Super Bowl.”
Seeing how this is fan driven event with each team getting a representative, allow the fans to pick the representative from their team. It’s a fun way to do it too. We can see Jacob deGrom and Pete Alonso squre off. Maybe this could lead to another video of Alonso and Jeff McNeil to make their case as to why it should be Alonso.
Other teams can have similar fun and interesting debates. For Yankee fans, is your guy Aaron Judge or Gleyber Torres, or are you already star struck by Gerrit Cole? Do Dodgers fans love Clayton Kershaw that much, or is Cody Bellinger their guy now? Like Yankees fans, maybe it is the new guy Mookie Betts.
Really, the only team who is a 100% lock for a player is the Angels with Mike Trout. Then again, maybe the large contingent of Japanese fans will vote for Shohei Ohtani.
There are fun possibilities, and honestly, it gives baseball fans something to argue and debate leading up to the start of the season. If people are searching for things to talk about now, just wait until there are no sports in March, April, and May. Fighting over who should and should not be an All-Star will be at a fevered pitch, at least that’s the hope.
Once there are 15 players selected by the fans for each squad, the players can fill out the rest of the 34 man roster. After all 34 players are named, the fans can then vote who from the pool of players should be starters in the All-Star Game.
Again, the concept here is to get fans engaged with something to discuss and to give people baseball even when MLB can’t give them baseball. Then, finally, when MLB can give them baseball, they will start the abbreviated season with a must-see event with the best players in the game taking the field.
Overall, it allows us to have the All-Star Game, and it gives us something to look forward to, which at a time like this is something we really need.