Musings
One of the interesting subplots to the 2016 season was going to be when Chase Utley stepped into the batter’s box against the Mets. One of the young Mets hurlers was going to have a chance to plunk Utley as retribution for what he did to their teammate, Ruben Tejada.
The problem is Tejada is no longer a Met. He’s a Cardinal. He’s off trying to help some other team try to win a World Series. When the Cardinals face the Dodgers, I’m sure it’ll be news that Utley and Tejada are facing each other for the first time since the NLDS. However, I doubt that Cardinals pitchers will be expected to exact revenge upon Utley for something that didn’t happen while Tejada was wearing a Mets uniform. Does this mean the Mets then have that obligation?
Do the Mets have to go out and plunk Utley? The message here is you went out and injured one of our own on a dirty play. We don’t care if Tejada is wearing another uniform or not, we will still stand up for our guys. It’s a message that the 2016 Mets will not back down to anybody. It’s a message that if you go after one of their players, you will have to answer for it.
Of course, it would be perfectly justifiable for the Mets to not plunk Utley. The 2016 Mets can still be the team that doesn’t back down to anyone without hitting Utley. While the Mets might still be upset over the play, Tejada is a Cardinal. They very reasonably could determine it’s up to the Cardinals to handle Utley now.
Overall, it’s fair to say the Mets are in a no-lose situation no matter how they choose to handle this situation. Actually, no, the Mets are in a no-lose situation so long as they don’t repeat the Shawn Estes situation.
Editor’s Note: this also appeared on metsmerizedonline.com
Being a father while being a big leaguer must be extremely difficult. You are effectively on the road nine months out of the year.
That’s why we hear stories about how players like bringing their kids around whenever possible. There are the stories of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Barry Bonds hanging around their Dad’s clubhouses. There was Dusty Baker’s son acting as the bat boy during the 2002 World Series. Now, we have the story of Adam LaRoche and his son.
LaRoche has historically had his son hang around during Spring Training. His son would get his own locker allowing him to hang out with his dad. With LaRoche’s job as a baseball player, this is making up for lost time. After Spring Training is over, LaRoche is on the road the rest of the year. He goes from city to city. He plays night games and gets home late. This is his best chance to spend quality time with his son. While you normally can’t put a price on that, LaRoche did. He determined this was worth more than $13 million.
Before signing with the White Sox last year, Robin Ventura told LaRoche he would have no problem with LaRoche’s son hanging around the clubhouse. In fact, LaRoche’s son had his own locker during the regular season so he could hang out during home games. At no time was LaRoche’s son a distraction. That didn’t prevent the White Sox front office from asking LaRoche to only bring his son around only half the amount of time. Instead, LaRoche decided to retire. He would rather retire than spend less time with his son.
The front office decision did not sit well with the players. As Karl Ravech said on Mike & Mike this morning, the White Sox players threatened to boycott yesterday. They were not going to take the field for practice. They were not going to play in Spring Training games. It wasn’t until Robin Ventura interceded that the disgruntled players finally agreed to go out there for practice and play in Spring Training games.
Every take I see is that there’s no bad guy in this situation. I disagree. When the players show a united front here, it’s the front office that’s the bad guy. We can have an honest debate as to whether children belong in the clubhouse at all. We can have an honest debate as to whether LaRoche’s son was in the clubhouse too frequently. However, the front office made a very poor decision here.
First, the front office caused the retirement of their first baseman. Second, it almost caused a team mutiny. Third, it undermined the manager who is in charge of the clubhouse. There is no scenario in which you can look at this decision and say it was the right decision.
Strange enough, the only good thing that arose from this situation was seeing how well Robin Ventura handled the situation. He kept control of the team and the clubhouse with an angry team on the verge of a boycott. He showed himself to be a strong leader who is respected by his team. Seeing this, maybe the front office should’ve allowed Ventura to handle this whole situation.
They didn’t, and now they are down a first baseman.
Today, we know that people Irish and “Irish Just for Today” are going to engage in some Shenanigans. Now, I’m not going to tell people how to celebrate. I know if I was feeling well I would have a pint of the black stuff. What I do ask is that you take some time to celebrate Saint Patrick.
Saint Patrick first came to Ireland when he was captured by Irish pirates at the age of 16. During his six years of captivity, working as a shepherd, he prayed and became closer to God. He escaped captivity and returned to Britain. He would then study to become a priest, and he would return to Ireland as a missionary. He spent his time baptizing people and ordaining priests and nuns. He and his concerts faced persecution from the pagan ancestors, but as we all know St. Patrick was undeterred. He would become the Archbishop of Ireland. He would succeed in making Ireland a Catholic country.
Legends say he succeeded by using the shamrock to teach the people about the Holy Trinity. He was said to banish all the snakes out of Ireland and that his walking stick became a tree.
St. Patrick would die on March 17th. That would become his Feast Day.
So before partaking in the day’s festivities, remember who St. Patrick was. Remember the people of Ireland who would be persecuted and oppressed for practicing the faith St. Patrick brought to them.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Never before have I gotten the flu shot, didn’t need it. Now, I got the flu. It sucks. Get the flu shot.
The Mets have a $140 million payroll. The strength of the team is its young, cost-controlled pitching. The pre-arbitration pitchers make little money by baseball standards. However, their $500,000+ salary should allow them to live comfortably.
Families make a lot less than that, and they can put a roof over their families heads and put food on the table. One of the crazy things a family is able to afford, even with relatively modest means, is a mattress for everyone. When they go away to places like Florida, they can stay at places that have decent mattresses. So with that said, why can’t the Mets and their players?
Last year, Steven Matz almost missed the postseason because he injured his back sleeping on a Barcalounger. Yesterday, Jacob deGrom missed his Spring Training start because he tweaked his back sleeping on a mattress that was too soft. He was able to throw a bullpen. He then counseled with Matt Harvey who, like Baby Bear, had a mattress recommendation that is just right.
I know, I know. We should calm down. Matz was able to pitch in the postseason, and deGrom was able to pitch a pain free bullpen. However, I get nervous because it’s the dumbest things that interfere with a great or potentially great season.
The 1987 Mets never got traction with their pitchers missing time. Most notably was Dwight Gooden and his cocaine suspension. Aside from Gooden, I think every Met pitcher had an injury including the guy who threw batting practice.
In 1988, the Mets returned to form, but there was a strange injury that hurt their chances at another World Series title. On the day the Mets clinched the NL East, Bob Ojeda, who was amazing in 1986, nearly severed the middle finger on his pitching hand while trimming the bushes in his front yard. The Mets, who dominated the Dodgers in the regular season, lost the NLCS in seven games.
In 2006, Duaner Sanchez suffered a season ending shoulder injury during a late night cab ride to get a late night bite. This caused a number of moves to try to replace his spot in the bullpen. In the seventh inning of Game Two of the NLCS, Guillermo Mota shook off Paul Lo Duca and threw a change up that Scot Spiezio turned into a game tying triple. In Game Seven, Aaron Heilman allowed Yadier Molina to hit the series winning homerun. It’s possible Sanchez would’ve closed the door in either situation. Instead, he was unavailable.
The overriding point is that it’s not just the Tommy John surgeries that kill your chances. It’s also the yard work and can rides. It’s the unforeseen problems that arise. Maybe the Mets win in 1988 if Ojeda hires a gardener. Maybe the Mets win in 2006 if Sanchez orders room service. I don’t want to say maybe the Mets win in 2016 if their pitchers had better mattresses.
If in the equipment manager, I’m ordering a mattresses that Harvey recommended for every player. The 2016 season cannot be derailed by a bad mattress.
Thr first thing you should know about running NCAA pools is you shouldn’t. It’s just aggravation. The biggest one is chasing down people for money. With that in mind, here are some friendly suggestions:
- It’s 2016, have everyone enter picks into an Internet site like ESPN, Yahoo, or CBS. You don’t have to do this on paper.
- Again, it’s 2016. Use PayPal. You can have everyone send the money to you electronically, and when you do the payout, you can send it out electronically. No need to chase people down for money or cash checks.
- Have a small entry fee. The smaller the fee, the more likely people will be willing to do it. With more people in, it’s more fun, and hopefully, the payouts will be higher.
- A fun rule to increase participation is to offer last place their money back. Many people who are on the fence may be willing to give it a go knowing that if their picks are terrible, they’re getting their money back.
- Make sure everyone knows the points system and other rules upfront. Also, keep those rules available whether it’s a message board or an email chain.
If you follow these simple suggestions, running a pool shouldn’t be as stressful as it usually is.
Good luck.
In honor of Pi Day, let’s look at all the things to look forward to during the 2016 season:
3.1 – Mike Piazza
This summer Mike Piazza is going into the Hall of Fame as a Met. He’s the first Mets position player to do so. The following weekend, he will also be the first Mets position player to have his number retired. He will forever be remembered for all of his homeruns, especially the homerun after 9/11. More importantly, he will forever be a Met.
41 – Tom Seaver
Seaver is the greatest Met to ever wear the uniform, and perhaps, the greatest right handed pitcher of all time. He was rightly dubbed “The Franchise.” With him, he began the aura of the Mets always having good pitching. This year his mantle will be picked up again by a dominant young staff reminiscent of the pitching staffs Seaver was a part of back in his day.
59 – Antonio Bastardo
Bastardo is one of a few key free agents the Mets added this offseason. Last year, the Mets had bullpen problems forcing them to overuse Jeurys Familia and trade a lot of good young pitching away to build a bullpen around the trade deadline. This year, Bastardo is a key arm in what appears to be a bullpen worthy of holding down the leads handed to them from their dominant starting pitchers.
26 – Kevin Plawecki
Plawecki had a rough 2015 whether it was because of him being rushed to the majors too soon or him needing sinus surgery. Given Travis d’Arnaud‘s injury history, it is very possible Plawecki is going to get another shot at being the Mets starting catcher next year. At some point, he will be called upon to not only continue his tremendous work as a receiver, but also being a more potent bat to the Mets lineup.
5 – David Wright
The biggest question mark in the 2015 season is how much David Wright can play and how effective he can be over the course of a 162 game season. Wright is the team leader and Captain, and they’re going to need him. At the end of 2015, he showed he can still hit and be an important part of the Mets. They’re going to need him at some point next year.
35 – Logan Verrett
After losing Verrett in the Rule 5 draft last year, he’s back with the Mets organization. Last year, he was an important swing man. He was first a bullpen arm and later a spot starter who gave a young pitching staff some rest before the postseason. In 2016, Verrett is likely to serve a similar role regardless of where he starts the year. At some point, the Mets will need him, even if it’s just to get the starters some rest before another postseason run.
89 – The Closing of a Window
After the Mets lost in the 1988 NLCS, there was no reason to believe that was the end of their window. There were veterans on the team, but there were also prospects behind them and rising stars on the team. There was still the pitching. It’s a stark reminder that when the window is open, you do everything you can in that timespan. You never know when that window closes.
79 – Paul Sewald
Sewald is just one of a number of Mets pitching prospects who are chomping at the bit to get called-up to the majors. Sewald has had a 1.83 ERA in his entire minor league career. If he continues pitching this well, he very well might get a call-up in the event there is an open bullpen spot this year.
32 – Steven Matz
In Matz’s first two career starts, he was incredible on the mound and at the plate. Even after his injuries, he has shown flashes of brilliance. He’s an early leader in the Rookie of the Year race. He’s primed to become the next great Mets starting pitcher. In 2016, he needs to stay healthy and take that next step.
38 – Dan Warthen
Warthen and the entire Mets organization have been blessed with amazing pitching. It’s encumbent upon Warthen to not only help each of these pitchers take the next step in their development, but also to help keep them healthy over the course of a full season.
4 – Wilmer Flores
We end with Flores, who was the last Mets to bat in the 2015 World Series. Flores was the player who cried at the possibility of leaving the Mets to a fan favorite. He has gone from the starting shortstop to a utility/platoon player. The 2016 Mets are a heavy left-hand hitting team. Flores can balance this out in his role as a super sub.
He’s also the first choice for third base in the event that Wright needs to sit or go on the DL for long stretches of time. He’s the primary backup at every infield position. He’s going to be an extremely important piece for the Mets.
They are all important actually. As we saw in 2015, a team will have to go deep into their roster at times. However, by building a strong 25 and 40 man roster, as the Mets have now, you give your team the best chance to make it to the postseason. Hopefully, the Mets can come full circle (pi pun) in 2016, and win the World Series.
In his first Spring start, Jacob deGrom showed decreased velocity, and he got hit around a bit. Today, deGrom will miss his start with back stiffness.
Take a deep breath. It’s still only Spring Training. The season is still about a month away. There is time for him to rest and improve. Even if he’s not ready right alway, there’s a lot of off days early in the season that the Mets can navigate April without deGrom if needed. However, that’s jumping the gun. It’s just one day. Relax. Just keep your composure:
There are moments that will forever stick out in your mind; moments that bring a father and son closer. For me, that moment was the 1989 NCAA Tournament. More specifically, I’m referring to the Championship Game.
The 1989 Championship Game was the first time my father was able to coax my mother into allowing me to stay up past my bedtime to watch a sporting event with him. This was the first year I had ever done an NCAA bracket, and I actually had Michigan and Seton Hall in the Championship game. I had Michigan winning the game too.
I still remember my father trying to talk me out of rooting for Michigan.
“Seton Hall wears blue uniforms. Blue is your favorite color.”
“Seton Hall is a Catholic school. Aren’t you an altar boy? You shouldn’t root against a Catholic school as an altar boy.”
“Seton Hall is in the Big East!”
There, you see, my father was like the dad in Rudy. There’s only one conference we root for in this house, and that’s the Big East. I remember when Getty did their annual Big East glasses promotion, my Dad would make sure he got each and ever glass to complete the set – even Miami. He never much liked Miami joining the Big East.
I’ll be honest, my father had me close. It was only the second time in my life my Dad had a different rooting interest than me. The first time was the Flipper Anderson Game. It made me nervous, but I still was rooting for Michigan. I had them all along. It’s funny how on the night, I was the biggest Michigan fan in the world. That also meant I was rooting hard for Seton Hall to lose.
Life is funny. I grew up to be a Seton Hall fan. There are times that I want to go back in time, smack that kid upside the head, and say, “What’re you doing? We root for Seton Hall!” I would then utilize that time machine to stop the referee from making a bogus call to send that game into overtime.
But no, in 1989, I was a Michigan fan. More importantly, I was hooked on college basketball and the NCAA tournament. From that year forward, I ran a pool. I ran it in my Catholic elementary school, high school, and beyond. In college, my pool including the do entire dorm, the accounting department, and half the faculty in the School of Business.
During this long journey, I became a Seton Hall fan. It wasn’t because of Gary Cohen, but trust me, I love that he’s the radio play-by-play announcer. It’s also not because of Bill Raftery, although every college basketball fan should hold a special place in their hearts for Seton Hall because they brought Bill Raftery to the scene. Every time this NCAA Tournament you hear him describe a team starting out “man-to-man” or scream “ONIONS!” after a huge shot, thank Seton Hall. Conversely, don’t blame us for Dick Vitale.
In any event, I’m a Seton Hall fan, and in the first year at the Prudential Center, I was a season ticket holder. There have been few ups and many downs in my rooting for Seton Hall. The most baffling was the change in Pirate mascots. Amongst the lowest was last year, when the team collapsed. The year and team were so bad, on and off the court, that good players left the school rather than dealing with that nonsense. Kevin Willard kept his job in a situation where 99 out of a 100 coaches would’ve lost their jobs. Seton Hall made the right choice.
For the first time in 23 years, Seton Hall won the Big East Tournament. It really is an amazing feeling. The Dukes of the world take things like this in stride. For Seton Hall fans, this is a momentous occasion. There’s no telling what this team will do in the NCAA Tournament, but after seeing them knock off Xavier and Villanova on back-to-back nights, I’m ruling nothing out.
So for the next month, not only do I get the chance to watch the NCAA Tournament, which I love, I get to see Seton Hall play in it. Even better, Seton Hall has a legitimate chance to make some noise. It looks like 2016 is off to an amazing start in my corner of the sports world.
Onward Setonia, we are bound for victory . . .
In all seriousness, the last thing I want to do is to write about Jenrry Mejia again. It’s going to be an exciting year for the Mets, and there are so many great and positive things to write about and discuss.
However, he called a press conference, and WOW, do we need to address his allegations.
First, Mejia alleged that baseball threaten him with a third suspension if he didn’t name names. Essentially, Mejia is asserting that the way MLB handles its steroid policy is nothing short of how the McCarthy hearings transpired. For not naming names, Mejia alleges he was suspended a third time even though he was not using a banned substance at the time of the last suspension.
Now, Mejia only admitted to being guilty the first time, which he chalked up to an accident. He said the subsequent tests were no accurate. When pressed on whether MLB was issuing false positives, Mejia’s attorney said the information is confidential. Despite the confidentiality asserted here, it did not prevent Mejia from making that assertion.
Second, Mejia has alleged that MLB has hacked into player’s social media accounts. Following the Cardinals’ hacking scandal this is no small allegation. Mejia is not only asserting baseball has infringed upon his rights, he is also accusing baseball of criminal behavior. If true, this is a scandal that could rock baseball. If false, these allegations are nothing short of defamation.
Of less surprising news, Mejia says he is innocent, and he will appeal the suspension through the Player’s Union. As such, no court case as of right now. As we’ve seen in past cases, these appeals happen behind closed doors, which is a shame. With all that Mejia is claiming, I’d love to see this on live TV.
This press conference has raised many issues regarding how MLB handles people who test positive for PEDs. If MLB is willing to bargain with a tainted player for information, it puts the legitimacy of the policy and what’s on the field in question. Conversely, if MLB is creating false positives and hacking into player’s social media accounts, it shows the great lengths baseball will go to in order to catch PED users. At this point, this all seems a little far fetched . . . at least I hope it is.
The Mejia drama has taken some strange twists and turns thus far, and by the looks of it, the drama is not going away any time soon.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsmerizedonline.com