Musings
As a Giants fan, I love Eli Manning. Any true Giants fan would. The man won two Super Bowls picking up an MVP in each game. There’s always the debate if he’s elite or not. That conversation never concerned me because I knew that my guy could go up against Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady (twice) and beat them in the biggest games. He inspires confidence. That’s all I could ask. That’s why he’s a big time QB.
That’s how I feel about the Mets current pitching staff. Last we saw them, they were leading the Mets to an improbable National League Pennant. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard went out there and established they can pitch with anybody. Better yet, they established they can beat anybody. In the NLDS, it was Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke for two starts a piece. In the NLCS, it was Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester. Mets beat them all.
With Arrieta, Greinke, and Kershaw, the Mets beat the top three in the NL Cy Young voting. With Lester, the Mets beat a pitcher who has a 2.85 postseason ERA along with a 1.071 WHIP. Harvey, deGrom, and Syndergaard beat them all. Not only did they establish they can pitch with the best, they also established they can beat the best. That’s all you need to know about them.
Sure, the Mets rotation wasn’t ranked ahead of the Cubs rotation, nor was it ranked as the top rotation in baseball. None of the Mets pitchers were ranked as the top 10 pitchers right now. At the end of the day, who cares? Seriously. This stuff is to create and drive debate. What’s not up for debate is that the Mets Big Three can go against any other team’s pitching and win.
So while everyone can go on discussing who is and who is not elite, I’m perfectly comfortable watching my guys collect division titles and pennants. They’ve proven they can do that, and they will do it again. So yes, none of the Mets starters are in the Top 10 right now. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.
The Mets starters right now are number one in the National League.
This morning my son woke me up early, very early, by sitting on my chest and yelling, “DADDY WAKE UP!” I’m starting to come down sick. Despite all of this, I’m going to have to shovel about a foot of snow. So, how am I feeling this morning?
AWESOME! Yoenis Cespedes re-signed with the Mets. He turned down more money because he wanted to play for the Mets, for us fans. This never happens. Usually, like with Carlos Beltran, the Mets had to be the highest bidder in order to get the player. Again, this never happens.
Furthermore, the Mets spent $27.5 million in the first year to get him. They gave him a no trade clause. They offered him an opt out. His contract is the fifth highest in Mets history and the highest single season salary in Mets history. The Mets made him the second highest paid position player next year. The Mets front-loaded his three year $75 million contract. The Wilpons spent to improve the team.
Right now, there is no reason for any Mets fan to complain. Sure, you can miss players like Daniel Murphy. However, there is no reason to complain if you’re a fan. Alejandro De Aza may feel differently, but I’m pretty sure fans are alright with that.
Today, it doesn’t get any better being a Mets fan. The fans were always all-in, and now the team is all-in as well. Today, as it continuously snows leaving us all trapped inside, the Mets have not had a sunnier outlook. Instead of thinking of shoveling, Mets fans are thinking of watching a World Series favorite playing baseball on warm summer nights.
I’m not putting on my snow clothes to go outside today. No, I’m putting on the same clothes I will be wearing this October in Citi Field. What a great day.
LETS GO METS!
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.
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.
What I’ve found is most of the people that support the Yoenis Cespedes trade is he transformed the offense, and he was the reason the Mets won the NL East. Other people say while Cespedes was great with the Mets, there were other more important factors helping the Mets win the NL East. These arguments rest upon the Mets getting healthy and a weak August schedule.
I think the best way to look at this is just to present the facts. I’m presenting them unadulterated and without comment. Before presenting them, remember that Cespedes’ first game with the Mets was 8/1.
Pre-Cespedes Record: 53 – 51
Post-Cespedes Record: 37 – 21
In the same time frame, here is the Nationals record:
Pre-Cespedes Record: 54-47
Post-Cespedes Record: 29-32
Mets Opponents Combined Win Percentage and Mets Record by Month:
April Opponents .458 Mets 15-8
May Opponents .510 Mets 13-15
June Opponents .483 Mets 12-15
July Opponents .537 Mets 13-12
August Opponents .480 Mets 20-8
September/October Opponents .458 Mets 17-14
Here is the Mets and Nationals records and position in the standings at the end of every month:
April
Mets 15-8
Nats 10-13 (5.0 games back)
May
Nats 28-22
Mets 28-23 (0.5 games behind)
June
Nats 43-34
Mets 40-38 (3.5 games behind)
July
Nats 54-47
Mets 53-50 (2.0 games behind)
August
Mets 73-58
Nats 66-64 (6.5 games behind)
September/October
Mets 90-72
Nats 83-79 (7.0 games behind)
Overall, the Mets went from 2.0 games behind heading into August to 6.5 games up at the end of the month. As stated above the Mets record in August was 20-8 against opponents with a .480 winning percentage. The Nationals went 12-17 against opponents with a .490 winning percentage. Aside from the records, here is some additional information to consider:
Dates Key Players Came off the DL for good (by first game played after activation):
Travis d’Arnaud July 31st
Daniel Murphy June 30th
David Wright August 24th
Michael Cuddyer August 11th
Here are some other key dates from the 2015 season to consider:
July 24 – Michael Conforto called up from AA
July 24 – Mets trade for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson
July 27th – Mets trade for Tyler Clippard
July 30 – John Mayberry, Jr. released
July 31 – Mets trade for Cespedes
August 1 – Cespedes plays first game with the Mets
Again, I’m making no comment on any of this information. It’s being presented to review it and process it. Upon reviewing the information, does your judgment on how Cespedes impacted the Mets change or remain the same?
As I write this, Grayson’s parents have received $13,746 towards the $30,000 needed to get him out of the hospital and home. It’s important to raise this money because: (1) he’s had infections while at the hospital requiring additional open heart surgery; and (2) he didn’t get to spend his first Christmas at home.
Think about that. It’s heartbreaking. He was in a hospital fighting an infection after having open heart surgery. While you and your family members got to dress up as Santa and watch the baby open gifts, Grayson was in a hospital.
First, I want to say that the $13,746 raised so far is a tremendous amount. I want to thank everyone who retweeted my incessant tweets trying to get the word out. I want to thank those that made donations as well. With that said, it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating because donations after the first day were around $8,000. Less than half that amount was raised in the subsequent four days. I’ve been sitting around trying to figure out how I can help more. I came up with a giveaway.
Right now in my possession, I have the following items to give away: (1) a David Wright Oyo Figure; and
(2) a PBS style Mets tote bag
Both were purchased with my own money, and neither of the aforementioned companies are sponsors. If you’re interested in the giveaway, here are the rules:
- There is no purchase necessary.
- One winner will be randomly selected.
- To enter, you must either RT the Tweet containing this article and/or enter a donation on the webpage leaving MetsDaddy and your Twitter handle in the comments section.
- If you RT and enter a donation, you will be deemed to have entered twice. There is no minimum donation required. However, only your first donation will count as an entry. All subsequent donations will welcome but not considered for the giveaway.
- Prior RT and donations do not qualify for the giveaway. Only RT and donations made after this is posted on Twitter will qualify.
On Friday, January 22nd at noon, I will selecte two winners at random. If the donations at that time meet the $30,000 goal, I will do an additional giveaway. If you want to make a donation, please click this link.
Again, thank you for all that you’ve done so far to help my friend’s son. Let’s finish the job and let his parents bring Grayson home.
If you’re signed up for Mets emails, the slew of requests for fans to purchase game plans and the like. My favorite is when the Mets inquire if you’d like to get single game suites.
It’s something I always wanted to do. If love to go to a hot July day game and sit in a nice air conditioned suite. It’ll be great to let my son run around the suite if he gets antsy. It’ll be great to not have to wait in line for concessions during the game. Hungry? Just get up and grab something. Have to use the bathroom? Well there’s no line. It’s your own bathroom.
The Mets don’t have the information online, so I had to do some digging. The going rate for 19 people seems to be in the $4,000 – $5,000 range. Assuming I could bring my son in for free (his growth spurts aren’t helping that), the cost would be between $210.53 – $263.16 per person. However, it appears that may be without the food, which is part of the charm. If you were to sit in the ballpark, that would be the equivalent of sitting in the Metropolitan Silver section.
I can’t sit in the Metropolitan Silver section now with a little kid, but I could sit in a suite. It’s a lot for a game, but it’s something I would love to do. I guess it’s time to get 18 of my friends together.
If you watched last night’s National Championship Game, Clemson lost 45-40 in the most excruciating way possible. Clemson had control of the game until the onside kick. After that, Alabama took over and won the game.
Before last night’s game, I thought the only thing the Mets and Clemson had in common was Tim Teufel. There’s so much more. Like Mets fans, Clemson fans don’t get to see their team in a position to win a championship often. Honestly, I don’t know if Clemson has ever played for a chance to win the National Championship. I looked it up. It was 1981. That’s even worse than the Mets. These fans waited over 30 years for a championship. They were ahead late. They were in control. They were then out maneuvered. Out executed. It’s a helpless feeling.
That was the 2015 World Series for the Mets and their fans. The Mets lost three late leads. There is a feeling they blew it. Honestly, you don’t know if they blew it or if they were just beat by a better team. It’s a sinking, heless feeling. You lose sleep over it. Lots of sleep. You keep replaying everything over and over again in your head. Here’s the thing. It might just be the beginning.
The Mets have their young starters under cost control the next few years. Clemson has the right coach with Dabo Swinney. They have star quarterback Deshaun Watson returning. There’s real, legitimate hope . . . no matter how the offseason goes. The Mets and Clemson will be back in the mix next year. Your children won’t know the pain you’ve felt for 30 plus years. Things will be better for you and your children. If you reflect upon it, that’s a great feeling.
After all the frustrating years, we’re back. Let’s enjoy this run while it lasts. It doesn’t happen that often. It’ll be great to see people doing the Teufel Shuffle all the way from New York to South Carolina.
With Mike Piazza finally getting elected to the Hall of Fame and this current Mets offseason, I’ve been thinking a lot about missed opportunities in Mets history. For me, the 2000 offseason and 2001 season might’ve been the biggest missed opportunity in Mets history (or at least my lifetime).
Coming off a disappointing loss in the World Series, the Mets had a ton of important decisions to make. The most intriguing one was Alex Rodriguez. The Mets passed calling him a 24 and 1 type of player. The biggest free agent in baseball history, a 25 year old shortstop with 40/40 capability, and the Mets weren’t interested. They weren’t interested despite A-Rod wanting to be a Met. The Mets wouldn’t sign a big bat in lieu of him.
The next big decision was NLCS MVP Mike Hampton. The Mets have up a lot to get him, namely Roger Cedeno and Octavio Dotel. However, Hampton delivered. He was 15-10 with a 3.14 ERA. He won a Silver Slugger. He was an ace. He and Al Leiter were terrific that year during the regular season, and they helped pitch the Mets to the World Series. The Mets wouldn’t outbid the Rockies, who offered him the biggest contract in baseball history (until A-Rod signed with the Rangers) and the benefits of the Denver school system.
With the Mets missing out with these two players (and Mike Mussina), the Mets decided to build a deep, cost effective starting rotation. By the way, where have we heard of a World Series losing team choosing depth over high-end expensive players? In any event, the Mets re-signed Rick Reed and added Kevin Appier and Steve Trachsel. The last two moves were about as popular now as they were then.
The end result? The Mets got a compensatory pick for Mike Hampton (more on that in a minute) and an 82-80 record. It would be the last year the Mrts finished above .500 until 2005, which was Piazza’s last year with the Mets. The end of Piazza’s prime was wasted by the Mets. He would never return to the postseason with them. He would never play in another World Series. Was it worth it? Well, it depends on your point-of-view.
For me, the pivotal figure in this inquiry is Hampton. For startees, I say Hampton because I believe the Mets were never truly enamored with A-Rod. The Wilpons and Nelson Doubleday were fighting over the valuation of the Mets. The Wilpons were buying out Doubleday, and they didn’t want the value of the franchise to increase any further. A-Rod would’ve done that. Furthermore, it’s likely they would’ve had a hard time signing A-Rod, building a pitching staff, and buying out Mr. Doubleday. Hence, it was Hampton and not A-Rod as the pivotal figure.
We know Hampton was terrible in Colorado, but then again most pitchers are. It’s fair to assume, he would’ve continued pitching as well as he did in 2000 for the next year or two with the Mets. That’s about a pitcher with a 4.7 – 6.6 WAR. Would that have been sufficient to keep the Mets afloat in 2001? Would he have been enough to rescue an offense with the least runs scored in all of baseball that year?
We don’t the the corresponding moves. We also don’t know if the lack of moves created a negative vibe over a Mets team that sputtered out of the gate in 2001. This was a team that was Jekyll and Hyde. It was 38-51 in the first half and 44-29 in the second half. In reality, their second half push came too late leaving them no margin of error, as we know all too well with yet another huge Armando Benitez blown save.
Maybe with Hampton the season starts off different. It’s possible the Mets don’t make the flurry of moves they did in 2002 that proved disasterous. Maybe with Hampton the Mets make the postseason in 2001 and/or 2002. Maybe Piazza gets his ring. Maybe Mets fans are not waiting 30 years for a World Series. We don’t know. All we know is two things: (1) the Mets missed Hampton; and (2) Hampton leaving might’ve been the best case scenario.
The second reason Hampton is the pivotal figure is the player the Mets got in his stead. When Hampton left, the Mets received a compensatory pick. With that pick the Mets selected one of the best high school bats. The Mets got a third base prospect by the name of David Wright. Wright has been a big part of Mets history. He’s the Mets All-Time leader in games played, runs, hits, doubles, RBI, and walks. He’s second in homers. He’s hit the first a Mets homerun at Citi Field and the first World Series homerun at Citi Field. He was a big part of two postseason teams, which is no small feat in Mets history.
Essentially, you cannot tell the story of the Mets without David Wright. It’s unfathomable to imagine Wright in another uniform. However, I ask you has he been worth it? Was he worth wasting away the last years of Piazza’s prime? Was he worth losing all momentum from the 1999 and 2000 seasons? Would you rather have had a shot for another World Series run back then in exchange for Wright’s entire career?
Before answering, I ask that you keep some thoughts in mind. The first is if Hampton returns, you don’t hate him the way you do now. In fact, you may not hate him at all. Next, I’m not asking you to assume the Mets win the World Series Hampton re-signs. I’m only requesting you think about how he would’ve impacted the 2001 Mets and/or his impact in subsequent years. With that in mind, what do you do?
Now, if you asked me this question in 2000, I’m taking Hampton. No doubt about it. Hampton was a much better option than Appier. If the Mets got Hampton and Appier without signing Trachsel, even better. However, I’ll be honest, while I can separate myself from my hatred of Hampton, I can’t separate myself from my love of David Wright.
Sure, Piazza is my favorite player, but Wright has also been a terrific Met. He’s a homegrown Met. He has a contract that may make him a lifetime Met. Generally speaking, Wright has been everything good about the sport of baseball since he was called up. He’s created some great memories for Mets fans. His name is all over the record books. I’m not sure I could part with that, perhaps not even at a chance at a World Series.
So begrudgingly, I believe I’d pick the entire career of David Wright over the possibility of another World Series title. Sure, World Series titles are rare, but so are the David Wrights of the world. I’m hoping in 2016 Mets fans can celebrate both Wright and a World Series title. It’s a lot more fun than playing the what if game.