Musings
In a surprise, the New York Mets hired Eric Chavez to be their hitting coach. Chavez, 44, had never been a Major League coach in his career, but notably, he was hired to be the New York Yankees assistant hitting coach for the 2022 season.
Now, this isn’t the Mets hiring someone right out from the Yankees. The Yankees had to grant permission, and to their credit, they did permit the Mets to hire him for a promoted role. Initially, there were thoughts on having him as the bench coach, but ultimately, the Mets opted to hire him as the hitting coach.
Still, it is quite telling, Chavez would leave a Yankees team and organization he was a part of for two years. Notably, in those two years, the Yankees did resurrect his career. He went from injury prone to nearing retirement to play four more years in the majors as a very productive role player.
Of course, that’s nothing to say of the relationship between Chavez and new Mets GM Billy Eppler. It was Eppler who believed in Chavez and was part of him signing with the Yankees. When Chavez retired, he worked with Eppler in the Yankees front office. When Eppler was hired as the Los Angeles Angels GM, he brought Chavez with him to the Angels. First, Chavez was a special assistant, and later, he was a Triple-A manager.
Chavez proved to be no more than an interim manager for Keith Johnson, who was promoted to the majors. Those 28 games were the full extent of Chavez’s coaching experience. After those 28 games, he was a managerial candidate for a few jobs, but ultimately, he would return to the Angels front office to work with Eppler until Eppler’s termination after the 2020 season.
Whether Chavez can be a hitting coach at the Major League level, or really any level, is anyone’s guess at this point. The Yankees seemed to believe he could, and obviously, the Mets did as well. However, it should be noted the New York Post did report the Mets could have three separate hitting coaches for the 2022 season. Between that and the bench coach rumors, that could lead you to surmise this was just a way to get Chavez over from the Bronx to the Mets in some capacity.
Whatever the case, the Mets found someone they wanted, and they were able to hire him away from the Yankees. Moreover, we see Eppler bringing over a confidant from his days with the Yankees and the Angels. Taken together, this symbolizes how things are different for the Mets.
Eppler is free as a GM to go out and get the guys he wants. Moreover, the team is able to go out and grab people they covet from other organizations. This is different for the Mets, and it is another example of why Francisco Lindor signed that contract extension last season and why Max Scherzer came to the Mets this offseason.
Mike Puma of the New York Post reports Edgardo Alfonzo has requested to return to the New York Mets in a coaching or player development capacity. Unbelievably, the Mets don’t appear interested.
Alfonzo is the best middle infielder in team history. He was a part of the best infield in MLB history. He was one of the most clutch players to ever don a Mets uniform.
Despite his legendary status with the Mets organization, he was willing to go to the minors to work his way up. The end result was him guiding the Brooklyn Cyclones to the last ever New York-Penn League Championship.
That’s the thing with Fonzie. He knows how to win. He knows how to do it as a Met.
As fans, we really don’t know how good of a manager or coach he is. What we do know is he has something to offer the Mets organization. He understands what it takes to win here, and that’s something few can understand the way he does.
Mostly, Alfonzo is Mets royalty. There’s really not a lot of that, and there’s fewer who want to be an everyday part of the organization. In fact, he may be it.
If Fonzie wants in, get him in. There’s plenty of roles across the organization. There’s only one Alfonzo. This is where he belongs. The Mets need to make it happen.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post broke the news MLB Network has not renewed Ken Rosenthal’s contract. Rosenthal, himself, confirmed the story.
Can confirm MLB Network has decided not to bring me back. I’m grateful for the more than 12 years I spent there, and my enduring friendships with on-air personalities, producers and staff. I always strove to maintain my journalistic integrity, and my work reflects that. 1/2
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 4, 2022
It was more than just renewing his contract. Rosenthal saw his airtime and duties significantly dwindle after he was critical of Commissioner Rob Manfred’s handling of the COVID19 pandemic.
That’s how thin-skinned Manfred is. He got rid of perhaps the highest profiled reporter in the sport because he was critical of him. Keep in mind, it’s probably the one time it’s happened with Rosenthal. Like Glass Joe, Manfred couldn’t take one punch.
It didn’t matter to Manfred it exposed MLB Network as state run media. It also didn’t matter no one was going to side with him. What mattered was there was a slight, and he was going to get his revenge.
Really, this can’t bode well for the MLB lockout.
Through the years, the players have publicly questioned Manfred and MLB. Just the other day, Max Scherzer spoke out about the lockout with Jorge Castillo of the LA Times.
Scherzer took aim and unequivocally put the integrity of the game into the debate. He drew clear lines on how the players are fighting for it, and MLB is fighting to suppress player salaries.
Scherzer is far from alone in these sentiments. Therein lies the problem. Manfred sees and hears all of this, and we know he will go out for blood even when it’s not in his and the sport’s best interests.
Everything said by the players and the MLBPA will likely force Manfred to dig his heels in further. He will seek a way to have his revenge. In all likelihood, he will drag it out as long as he can to try to declare complete victory.
That’s exactly what he did with Rosenthal. He waited over a year, and after punishing him, he got rid of him for one comment. Considering the history with MLB and the MLBPA, things can be so much worse with the lockout.
Or, maybe, it isn’t. Really, who cares?
If you want to watch it as part of your Christmas tradition? Great. Snuggle up next to the fire with some cocoa and cookies and watch some heartwarming scenes:
If not, go watch The Christmas Story. It’ll be one for a solid straight 24 hours. Surely, Ralphie’s work with the gun is a lot less gory.
Or watch something else entirely. Something more heart warming and Christmasy.
Whatever the case, if someone wants to argue Die Hard is a Christmas movie, just disagree with them. The same for the inverse. It’s just better than the other arguments you could be having now.
To the surprise of no one, Buck Showalter aced his introductory press conference. If you’re a New York Mets fan, you heard everything you wanted to hear.
Two of the things you heard him speak about were the ability to play in New York and the players needed to win here. Here are two relevant quotes:
- “When you get it right, and there’s a lot of people living and dying what you do every day, so there is an accountability responsibility to it and it’s not for everybody. We’re going to try to find out who it’s for, who is in and who ain’t.”
- “I think one of the mistakes people make is when they come into a situation and think everything there isn’t good and needs to be changed.”
When reading these two quotes, you can’t help but think about Michael Conforto.
Conforto is a free agent after spending seven years with the Mets. In his time, he’s at least been a top 20 position player in team history. If he stayed, he would rewrite much of the Mets record books.
With him, we’ve seen a player who can play in and handle New York. More than that, he has emerged as a true leader, and he’s been able to handle the most difficult of circumstances.
When things have been good, so has Conforto. We know he can play in the big games and deliver.
While he most likely wasn’t referring to Conforto in any way, shape, or form, Showalter’s words endorsed a Conforto return. Conforto is able to handle New York, and as Showalter said, the Mets shouldn’t be making the mistake of changing for changing sake.
Now, this is all well and good, but realistically speaking Conforto is as good as gone. That happened when the Mets signed Mark Canha and Starling Marte.
That said, if there’s an avenue to bring back Conforto, the Mets should do it. The Mets need players who can handle the gauntlet of New York, and he’s one of those players. In many ways, he’s a player Showalter proverbially wants.
While Buck Showalter may not have been the right fit for the New York Mets job, this job was the perfect fit for him. This is a job where Showalter can cement his legacy, and depending on how everything goes, it’s possible he has a shot at the Hall of Fame.
As we have seen with the media coverage, Showalter has been well respected in the game. That goes to every media person, and we have seen former players Zack Britton, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, and Mark Teixeira speak highly of him. There are reasons why that is the case.
Showalter has his strengths. He is a good communicator. He develops players. He knows this game inside and out. No, he doesn’t know analytics well, and he has been adverse to them, but he’s a lifer who knows the game.
The biggest knock on Showalter is teams have won after he has left. The 1996 Yankees. The 2001 Diamondbacks. Both World Series championships came after Showalter has been fired. As we saw with the Britton issue in the ALDS, there are a number of reasons why Showalter hasn’t won a ring..
However, the Mets now present that opportunity. He has Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer atop the rotation, that’s even better than Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (who Showalter didn’t win with). As we have seen before the lockout, Steve Cohen is going to do everything he can to win the 2022 World Series. He is spending like we haven’t seen a team spend in ages, perhaps ever.
This will be a Mets team built to win in the postseason. There is the vaunted top of the rotation. Francisco Lindor in year two. Brandon Nimmo moving to right field where he will thrive along Starling Marte. Pete Alonso hitting tape measure shots. The pieces are there, and there will be more to come. The challenge for Showalter will be to let his best players win instead of going to Jack McDowell or Ubaldo Jimenez.
If he is now truly receptive to analytics for the first time in his career, wonderful things can and will happen. His reward will be completely changing the narrative on his career. Now, Showalter will be the manager who builds winners and can take them over the top.
He will then have at least three Manager of the Year awards. By winning a World Series, he would join Bobby Cox, Jim Leyland, and Tony La Russa as the only managers to win three awards and a World Series. Leyland is the only one not in the Hall of Fame. If Showalter were to win two World Series, he would join Sparky Anderson, Tommy Lasorda, Joe Torre, and La Russa as the only managers to win multiple Manager of the Year awards and multiple World Series.
The Mets will put Showalter in a position to win those World Series titles. That will come in the form of both players and with information. Everything will be there for Showalter. If he is willing to grow as a manager and accept the more collaborative role, he will get that elusive ring, and quite possibly, he will be enshrined in Cooperstown.
One of the more interesting rumors which emerged during Buck Showalter‘s interview process was he’d be willing to have Carlos Beltran as his bench coach. It was an odd rumor.
When looking at a bench coach, you have someone responsible for running QC during a game. They’re making sure batters bat in order, keeping tabs on who is available, and chatting strategy with the manager.
The entirety of Beltran’s coaching experience is 76 days as the Mets manager. In that time, he had zero team meetings and managed zero games. Put another way, he has zero experience.
Putting him in a position to be Showalter’s right-hand man makes little sense. He’s ill equipped. Moreover, there’s no pre-existing relationship where they’re able to have a synergistic relationship.
It would also be bizarre to have Beltrán in place as a manager in training. Showalter wasn’t just hired to win in 2022. He was hired to be in place and win for as many seasons as he’s capable of doing the job.
The Mets hired the then 62 year old Terry Collins in 2011. He would manage seven more years with the Mets.
Tony La Russa managed the St. Louis Cardinals until he was 66 years old. After being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, he returned to the Chicago White Sox in 2021 as a 76 year old.
Showalter is 65. Looking at Collins and La Russa, he has as many years as he can do the job. With Showalter taking the job, we can presume he’s in for the long haul.
That’s just the thing. Showalter wants to win. He’s been in this game as a manager for 20 years. He knows people, and more importantly, he knows who he wants for different roles.
Maybe he likes Beltrán. It would make sense with Beltran being a noted leader and hard worker who is very intelligent. However, no one knows if Beltrán can coach.
Can he be a hitting coach? Can he be an outfield coach? Does he know how to interpret, apply, and communicate analytics?
No one knows, not even Beltrán. That’s why putting him on a staff makes little to no sense. Grooming an inexperienced coach for a role he may never be suited doesn’t make much sense.
Unfortunately, bringing Beltran back doesn’t make much sense. If Beltran does indeed want to come back and eventually manage, he will have to do the work and go to the minors much like Edgardo Alfonzo did.
When and if Beltran does that, then maybe Showalter can and should add him to a Major League coaching staff. Until that point, it just doesn’t make any sense.
Todd Zeile covered the New York Mets as an analyst throughout the 2021 season. That left him eight months to say something about Marcus Stroman.
However, now that Stroman is gone Zeile calls him one of the most divisive players in the Mets clubhouse last year. He intimated things in the clubhouse are better just because Stroman is a Chicago Cub.
Mind you, he didn’t say this when Luis Rojas was taking the fall for the purported clubhouse issues. Notably, he didn’t rebut Rojas when the former manager lauded Stroman for being a great teammate.
He didn’t say anything when there were reports of the Mets having a special chemistry. He was silent on Stroman when the narrative emerged the Mets didn’t do more at the trade deadline because they didn’t want to infringe on the clubhouse chemistry.
Zeile also was silent on Stroman when the clubhouse chemistry issue emerged with Javier Báez‘s thumbs down to the fans. There was a perfect opportunity to address team chemistry and issues. Zeile said nothing.
Time and again, Zeile was silent on Stroman’s impact in the Mets clubhouse. However, now with Buck Showalter being hired and Stroman a Cub, he is telling everyone Stroman is divisive.
Zeile sat on this information until the offseason. He sat on it during the many times the Mets clubhouse chemistry was at issue (good or bad). Now, that he never has to face Stroman, he’s more than ready to denigrate him.
This is completely unprofessional, and it highlights Zeile has little to no credibility. He had pertinent information to share in his role as analyst, and he didn’t disclose it.
Zeile didn’t have the courage to say anything while Stroman was a Met. He didn’t have the courage to say anything while the possibility of Stroman returning existed. This is as callow as it gets.
With these comments, Zeile lost credibility. It leaves you wondering what other information is he failing to disclose just to make his life easier. What is he not telling us so he can avoid an awkward conversation with a player?
Mets fans deserve better than this. The Mets players do as well.
Since Steve Cohen purchased the New York Mets, the organization has made it a priority to build a great analytical organization. It was an important part of their defense becoming leaps and bounds better in 2021, and its positive impact could be seen elsewhere.
How the organization goes from that to hiring Buck Showalter makes little to no sense.
Sure, he’ll talk a good game, and undoubtedly, he will say he will use the analytics and collaborate, but that runs counter to who he is. Really, he was the same guy in 2016 pitching Ubaldo Jimenez (and not Zack Britton) as he was in 1995 pitching Jack McDowell.
He overly says he tracked against shifting. He said he uses it to confirm what he’s thinking. He says it overlooks the magical unseen tools. He even tries to sound smart saying how analytics disagree with themselves.
Really, it’s just another way to say I’m going to manage my way. Honestly, when you hire Showalter, that’s apparently all you want.
The Mets didn’t want a Joe Espada or Matt Quatraro. These are managers who could’ve taken the Mets to another level and taught them all the things they don’t know.
They didn’t push for Bruce Bochy. Bochy is a manager who actually won something, and he’s gotten that little extra from his teams. Remember, Showalter has a .506 winning percentage and win exactly zero LCS games.
However, Showalter is seen as a great hire because the media loves his press conferences. They also love his eschewing analytics. His having won nothing is of little consequence.
Overall, Showalter was the popular choice. That doesn’t make him the right one. That’s because he wasn’t. Really, the Mets hired someone who runs contrary to what they were purportedly trying to do when they revamped their analytics department.
In reality, this is a step backwards. Hopefully, this Mets roster will be so good that it won’t matter . . . much like the 2001 Diamondbacks team who won the year after Showalter was fired.