The 2002 United States Men’s National Team shocked the world and captivated us all going to the World Cup quarterfinals. That team outplayed but ultimately lost to Germany.
This 2022 team appears on the verge of doing the same. Christian Pusilic is a national hero. He was already known in the soccer community as such, and well, the rest of the US is learning that as well.
If you go back to the 2013 World Baseball Classic, it was a nickname bestowed upon David Wright.
Only, that homer and that team didn’t captivate America’s attention. In some ways, it didn’t even register with baseball fans all that much.
There are several reasons for this. All of these several reasons wrap themselves up into one big reason – the event isn’t as big as it could or should be.
Keep in mind, the WBC is just held at the wrong time of the year. Baseball players are not in their peak form. Really, they’re just getting ready for the season.
That goes double for pitchers who have much needed pitch counts. One of the biggest complaints of the modern game is magnified in this tournament.
The United States never sends its best players because the players aren’t ready or interested. To some degree, it made the US winning more special, and it could possibly be a reason why we’re seeing Mookie Betts and Mike Trout playing now.
You’ll note we’re still not seeing the best pitchers, at least not from the US. Chances are we never will. That is entirely due to when the tournament is held.
You could do it in November after the World Series. However, many players have shit it down and will have to ramp it back up. Certainly, baseball is probably also intimidated by competing with the NFL for ratings in November.
You’re still going to see pitchers opt out because of that reason as well as players not wanting to go through a postseason gauntlet followed by this tournament.
In fairness to MLB, it’s hard to know when is the right time. Do you do it mid season and punt the All-Star Game? They may not be willing to forgo that revenue even for the long term gains of growing the sport more internationally.
Keep in mind, the Premier League (and other soccer leagues) suspended its season for this World Cup. The NHL used to put its season on hold for the Olympics (they don’t anymore trying to get their own tournament off the ground).
In both cases, the professional leagues invested more in the growth of the sport than its short team bottom line. That begs the question for Major League Baseball – just how invested in baseball are you? A corollary to this is how invested in the WBC are you?
Having it in Spring Training will forever make it feel a little gimmicky. If you’re a cynic, it’s a quadrennial cash grab.
If MLB is truly invested in the growth of the sport and the WBC, it will have to host the event mid-season. They will need players performing at their peak to get the best possible baseball to showcase to the world.
It’s at that point you can really see the sport grow and captivate interest. Certainly, they’ll get more interest domestically and will see better players participate. That’s what we all should want.
Maybe then we will see a homer resonate domestically the way that Pusilic goal did. Keep in mind, while Americans may not care all that much about soccer, they love the big moment on the biggest stage.
Until the World Baseball Classic becomes the biggest stage in all of baseball, the sport of baseball will continue to cede the big international moments to soccer and baseball.
Noah Syndergaard left the New York Mets for good reasons. Those reasons included whether he believed he could handle pitching in New York with diminished velocity.
The answer was he wasn’t anywhere close to being Syndergaard. Better yet, he wasn’t Thor. Nowhere close.
Syndergaard was once known for the ability to ramp it up to 100 MPH. Instead, post Tommy John, he was throwing 94 MPH with his slider velocity similarly diminished.
What’s interesting is he did have a slight dip in velocity from April through the 2022 season. That may be an indication he’s still working his way back physically. Perhaps, there’s a couple more MPH in his right arm.
With Syndergaard, that’s the intrigue. We’ve seen it from him previously. Whoever signs him is partially betting on the ability to get Syndergaard closer to the pitcher he was.
On that front, the Mets have Jeremy Hefner. Hefner has built his reputation as an excellent pitching coach. We’ve already seen how his ability to hone mechanics helped Edwin Díaz have a phenomenal season.
Maybe it’s a mechanical issue with Syndergaard. It’s possible he just needs to rebuild arm strength. Likely, it’s a combination of the two. Again, that’s why the Mets have Hefner.
It’s also possible this is who Syndergaard is now. If that is the case, Syndergaard is still intriguing.
Looking at the 2022 numbers, he struggles getting going in the first inning. He starts to lose his control the third time through the lineup. After 100 pitches, opposing batters start hitting him very hard.
This turned Syndergaard into a five and fly guy. The Philadelphia Phillies gave him a very short leash in the postseason. He was just another fifth starter to them.
In some ways, this makes him similar to what the Mets had with Carlos Carrasco. When he returned from injury in 2021, he struggled mightily, especially in that first inning.
In 2022, it was a different story. He was still at his worst in the first, but he was better able to navigate it. Even having the same limitations as Syndergaard, he still won 15 games with a respectable 3.53 FIP.
That’s what we’ve seen with Hefner as pitching coach. If there’s something there, he’s going to help that pitcher find it. With Syndergaard, there is something there.
Per Baseball Savant, Syndergaard still limited hard contact. He also had good control with a low walk rate. Part of the reason for that is Syndergaard’s extension.
We saw Syndergaard slower to the plate this year and taking more time between pitches. Perhaps, that was a confidence issue. Maybe, he was just trying to figure it out. Whatever the case, the pitch clock promises to get him working quicker pushing him towards being more of himself.
Another thing of note is Syndergaard generated a number of ground balls with his sinker/slider combination. He’d benefit from having Francisco Lindor up the middle. A better defense can make a better pitcher.
All told, there’s enough there to talk you into Syndergaard. That’s even before following Zack Wheeler’s rocky return from Tommy John where he threw 94.8 MPH in 2017 and 96.8 two years later.
The 100 MPH may be forever gone, but in all likelihood, there’s another tick or two in that fastball (and slider). Thor is still deep down somewhere in there.
There’s definite risk with Syndergaard, but it’s probably not going to be cost prohibitive to take that risk. That’s a factor for the Mets who are looking to bring back Jacob deGrom and Brandon Nimmo while rebuilding an entire pitching staff.
For the Mets, maybe Syndergaard is worth the gamble. Maybe Hefner is that good. Maybe Syndergaard as a fifth starter can help manufacture pitching depth by forcing Tylor Megill and David Peterson to Syracuse to start the year.
In all likelihood, this probably won’t happen, and certainly, the Mets should pursue other angles first. Syndergaard may not want to return, and the Mets may have no interest in bringing him back. That said, things get weird in the offseason, and at some point, it could make sense for the two to reunite.
In the end, there may be something there with Syndergaard, and the Mets finally have the type of organization which can unlock it. We will see if that will happen.
When our kid loves a sport like baseball, the question is how can I help my child improve? What is the gadget or new training tool?
There are infomercials and commercials. There are incessant ads across social media. We’re reminded of Fred McGriff from our youth.
It’s not always about being a crazy dad trying to have your child make it when you couldn’t. For the most part, it’s just about investing in your child and letting them be better at what they love.
There are a number of different devices which can actually help. Of course, it’s difficult to know which device can specifically help your child.
There is good news. There is something universal which can help your child improve in baseball. I
It’s you.
Look, life gets in the way all the time. There are countless things to do at work and home which always get in the way. We all know you’re not being selfish by handling those things or the myriad of other things which always get in the way.
And it’s not just you. There are practices, birthdays, and play dates. There’s homework and projects. There’s rain and snow.
Still, in any week, there’s always time to be found.
So long as you have a glove and ball, you can have a catch with your child. There is literally nothing more you can do to help foster your child’s love of the sport and help grow your relationship than that.
Grab a chair and Whiffle ball. Throw all those crazy pitches to your kid. It works on their hand eye coordination and ability to see the ball. Mostly, it’s just really fun.
There are other things you can do like grab a tee and net. You can watch videos and hit the batting cage. They’re all great tools, but it’s no substitute for you.
So, as you see all these Black Friday deals, and you question what you can do, you already have the answer. The answer is you and has always been you.
This offseason, the New York Mets need to add starting pitching. With their likely expensive budget, they can afford to get the best of the best.
Certainly, Carlos Rodón qualifies. Even with that said, he’s a pitcher they should avoid this offseason.
Give the San Francisco Giants credit, they’ve become exceptional at identifying under valued pitchers and making them ace level pitchers. Two years ago, it was Kevin Gausman, and this past year, it was Rodón.
Gausman backed it up showing what they do with pitchers isn’t temporary or limited to what the Giants do. Still, Rodón has his limitations.
First, the good. Rodón led the league with a 2.25 FIP and a 12.0 K/9. He finished sixth in Cy Younh voting and probably deserved better.
Beyond that, there are a number of red flags and issues related to Rodón. Primary of them is his lack of durability. That’s especially of concern for a Mets organization which promises to be thinner from a starting pitching depth perspective next year.
This past year was the only season in Rodón’s eight year career where he’s made 30 starts. Notable there is he’s never thrown 180 innings in a season.
In his career, Rodón has averaged 5.2 innings per start. Last season, where the Giants were able to keep him healthy, he averaged 5.2 innings. That’s not bad at all, but for the sake of comparison, Jacob deGrom averages 6.1 innings per start.
That’s important for two reasons. First and foremost, the Mets are rebuilding their entire bullpen, and they want as many innings from their starters as possible. That’s how their built.
Another reason is it’s likely deGrom or Rodón. Taking the full picture, it’s difficult to justify Rodón over deGrom if you’re the Mets (or any team).
With deGrom, you get the much more dominant starter who also pitches more innings. While Mets fans will lament deGrom’s recent health issues, historically, he’s more durable than Rodón.
If the Mets only have money for one, it should inarguably go to deGrom. If they have money for both, they should still tread lightly.
Rodón has a questionable injury history. We don’t know how he’ll handle New York. While he might have the highest upside, he could be the biggest potential bust with his history.
If the deal makes sense, the Mets should pounce like the Giants did. If it’s a bidding war, the Mets have plenty of other routes to go and can probably spread the money across multiple dependable starters like Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker.
There’s a scenario of two where Rodón makes sense. However, the way this offseason appears headed, they should be looking in another direction.
Before the season, there were 60 bold predictions made heading into the New York Mets 60th season. Here is a look back at how those bold predictions worked out:
1. The New York Mets will win the 2022 World Series.
While they won 101 games, they collapsed late in the season, and they would lose in three games to the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round.
2. Howie Rose will retire after the season. The Mets have already tabbed their replacement in Jake Eisenberg, and Rose could not pass up the opportunity to go out calling a Mets World Series victory.
Fortunately, Howie has not announced his retirement.
3. Rose will return in some limited fashion to SNY and will be a fill-in replacement in 2023 and beyond.
See above.
4. Francisco Lindor will be the NL MVP. Like Mike Piazza and Carlos Beltran, he’s going to have a huge second year. Unlike them, he wont’ be denied the award.
Lindor did have a huge second year, but a broken finger cost him any chance of winning the award.
5. Dominic Smith will force his way into the lineup. Yes, he’s battling with J.D. Davis and Robinson Cano for the DH spot, but like he did in 2019 and 2020, he’s going to force his way into the everyday lineup and not relinquish his spot.
As it turned out, Smith was not given a real shot to be the DH. Not only did he not force his way into the lineup, but he was demoted to Triple-A, and he was not called up even with the expanded rosters. He was non-tendered after the season.
6. Edwin Diaz will be an All-Star. Diaz has been an every other year pitcher in his career, and following that pattern, this is his year.
Diaz was an All-Star.
7. The Mets All-Stars this season will be Diaz, Lindor, and Max Scherzer.
Diaz was the only All-Star from this group. The other Mets All-Stars were Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, and Jeff McNeil.
8. Jacob deGrom will receive some Cy Young votes. Whenever he comes back, he’s going to be deGrom, and he’s going to be so great, he’s going to appear on ballots.
It started that way, but deGrom wasn’t quite as sharp when he returned. He did not receive any votes.
9. Jeff McNeil will finish the season as the left fielder. That is an injury prone outfield, and McNeil will eventually be forced to move out there.
As it turned out, he finished the season as the right fielder, but he moved back to second when Marte returned from injury for the postseason.
10. Robinson Cano will reclaim a starting job. We forget that when Cano played he was actually good in the field. If the outfield is as injury prone as we think, we will eventually play almost every day at second or DH.
Wow, this one was way off the mark and couldn’t have been more wrong.
11. Chris Bassitt will have a slow first month frustrating fans, but he will have a terrific stretch starting in the middle of May as he adjusts to working with the new catchers and Jeremy Hefner.
It was the opposite for Bassitt. He was strong all season until the very end.
12. Starling Marte is going to have a fast start and quickly become a fan favorite. When he’s snubbed at All-Star time, fans are going to be livid.
Marte was a fan favortite, and Mets fans would not let him be snubbed with their voting him in as a starter.
13. Mark Vientos will have a thrilling MLB debut. Vientos’ bat is arguably Major League ready, and he’s going to get some run during some point of the season as a third baseman or DH. He may not relinquish a spot.
For whatever which reason, the Mets were reluctant all year to give him a shot. After the Darin Ruf trade disaster, he finally got a shot in a pennant race and was less then thrilling.
14. Brett Baty will be moved at the trade deadline. With the emergence of Vientos and the ground ball problems, the Mets feel comfortable moving him for that big piece at the trade deadline.
Baty was not moved, and he would be called up to be the team’s everyday third baseman until his own season ending injury.
15. The Mets everyday catcher is not on the Opening Day roster. At some point, the Mets will swing a deal or call up Francisco Alvarez to take over as the everyday catcher.
With his ankle injury, Álvarez was only called up to DH late in the season. Tomas Nido did supplant James McCann as the starter.
16. The Philadelphia Phillies will be the Mets main contenders. Last year, the Atlanta Braves were dead in the water until the Mets were too injured. The Mets won’t do that again this year, and the Phillies pitching and hitters will give people more of a run than we think.
Well, the Phillies won the pennant, so this was only true to that extent. However, the Mets missed their every chance to bury the Braves and would eventually collapse.
17. The Atlanta Braves will not challenge the Mets at all for the division. They’ll really miss Freddie Freeman, the bullpen will falter, and they will not get Ronald Acuna Jr. back in time.
This was very true in June. It was not true at all after that.
18. Tylor Megill will last the entire season in the rotation. Now that he’s here, it is going to be difficult to remove him from the rotation. If need be, the Mets will go to a six man rotation to keep him in the majors.
Megill had a good run as a starter until he was injured. He returned late in the season and moved to the bullpen. He is likely in the mix for the rotation next season.
19. Carlos Carrasco will rebound and will pitch like he did with Cleveland, but he will not make more than 20 starts.
Shockingly, not only did Carrasco rebound, but he also made 29 starts.
20. Trevor Williams will become a huge part of the Mets bullpen as he becomes more of a fastball/slider pitcher.
Williams was a vital part of this team all season.
21. Steve Cohen will purchase SNY during the course as the 2022 season as the Wilpons are scared off by the increasing rights deals with streamers.
This did not happen.
22. The Mets will have multiple Gold Glove winners with Lindor and Marte.
The Mets did not have any winners with only Nido being a finalist. In terms of the voting, there were multiple Mets who were snubbed despite excellent defensive numbers.
23. Hefner will get interviews for managerial positions with other teams after this season.
His name has not surfaced as a managerial candidate.
24. So will Eric Chavez.
Neither has him.
25. The Mets will not have any player at DH for more than 40 games this season.
This was very close to being true. J.D. Davis was a DH in 41 games before the team mercifully got rid of him. After the trade deadline, Daniel Vogelbach was the DH in 46 games.
26. J.D. Davis will make multiple relief appearances for the Mets this season.
He did not.
27. The Joely Rodriguez trade will work out as well as the Alex Torres trade did for the Mets.
While Rodriguez had his moments, he had an 87 ERA+ making his largely true.
28. None of the Mets outfielders will play over 135 games this season.
To our collective surprise, Brandon Nimmo played a career high 151 games. Mark Canha would play 140.
29. Fans will fall in love with Nick Plummer and get more frustrated by Khalil Lee.
For a one week stretch, when Plummer hit that ninth inning homer against the Phillies, Mets fans did fall in love with him before he stopped hitting as a part time DH. No Mets fan paid any attention to Lee.
30. Mark Canha will play more games than any other Mets outfielder, but he will have the lowest WAR out of all the regular outfielders.
Canha played fewer games than Nimmo, but he did have the lowest WAR among outfielders.
31. There will be an issue over Marcus Stroman not receiving a video tribute when the Chicago Cubs visit the Mets in September.
There wasn’t any issues with Stroman during the season, and he did not pitch against the Mets this year.
32. Old Timers’ Day will have one team wearing the 1986 Mets jerseys and the other team wearing the black jerseys.
That did not happen.
33. Carlos Beltran will not return to Citi Field for Old Timers’ Day. We also will not see Carlos Delgado.
Sadly, this was true.
34. The loudest ovation on Old Timers’ Day will go to Piazza. The second loudest will go to Nolan Ryan, who will be a surprise attendee.
It was difficult to ascertain who got the loudest ovation which was a great thing.
35. The defensive highlight of the season will come from Luis Guillorme.
This award probably goes to McNeil for robbing the Oneil Cruz homer, but Guillorme had more than his fair share of highlights.
36. Pete Alonso will take a step back defensively, and he will see more time at DH than initially expected.
Alonso took a big step back defensively, but the Mets hesitated to give him more time at DH even to give him rest late in the season.
37. A week or two into the season, we will hear some rumblings about Michael Conforto looking to return to the Mets. He won’t return, and likely, he will not sign with anyone until after the Major League draft.
There were some rumblings about Conforto, but he wasn’t tied with the Mets. He also did not sign with any team.
38. Some team will crack the frequency on the pitch calling device, and we will eventually know it is them because they will be the surprise team of the 2022 season. It won’t be the Mets.
We heard nothing on that front, but we should give this one time.
39. Mets fans will actually enjoy the Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts this season.
Nope, we didn’t, and it didn’t help that David Cone was saying Mets fans would complain about them not being GKR.
40. Showalter will be the 2022 NL Manager of the Year, and it might be unanimous.
Whether or not it was the right call, Showalter won, and it was close to being unanimous.
41. Seth Lugo will return to his dominant form, but he will only be a one inning reliever. The multiple inning role will be assumed by Williams.
This one was actually true.
42. The Tom Seaver statue will be perfect.
This one should’ve been true. However, Paul Lukas of Uniwatch found the flaw.
43. Drew Smith will take over the eighth inning and will be groomed as the next closer. He will not take over the eighth due to any fault of Trevor May who will have another good year.
Smith was well on his way until injury. May did not have a great year, but that was mostly due to injury. It should be noted he stepped up late in the season and in the postseason.
44. People will talk about how Scherzer isn’t what they thought he’d be and the contract was a mistake. Those people will be idiots.
With Scherzer dealing with an oblique injury and faltering against the Braves and Padres, this ultimately proved true.
45. The Mets are going to have a monster second half with them running away with the division.
The Mets did have a monster second half until they faltered against the weakest September schedule. Truth is they should have run away with the division.
46. With the Toronto Blue Jays winning the division, the Mets are going to make a push to get their unvaccinated players vaccinated to ensure their availability for the World Series.
The Blue Jays made the postseason. With them and the Mets losing in the Wild Card round, this was not remotely an issue.
47. Jeurys Familia will receive a tribute video when he returns to Citi Field, and there will be a mix of cheers and boos with probably more boos.
It was a chilly reception.
48. The Wild Card round will be a complete dud and fans will be clamoring for the return of the winner-take-all Wild Card Game.
So far, fans seems to be unhappy with the postseason changes.
49. We will see David Peterson bounced around between starting and relieving due to the injury issues with the Mets starting staff. He will struggle for it.
Peterson did quite well even if he had some struggles, and he stayed in the rotation for the most part.
50. The Mets will not need to add bullpen pieces at the deadline because we will see pitchers like Colin Holderman and Thomas Szapucki emerge as quality relief options at the Major League level.
Holderman emerged as a quality relief option, but he would be traded for Vogelbach. Szapucki was moved to the bullpen with Syracuse with an eye towards using him in that role. He too would be traded for a platoon DH option (Ruf). The Mets only added Mychael Givens at the deadline while espousing they liked what they had.
51. James McCann will have very similar production to what he had in 2021, and in short order, he will find himself in a catching rotation with Tomas Nido.
This proved true with Nido finally taking over full duties at the very end of the season.
52. No New York baseball player will sign an in-season extension. That includes deGrom and Nimmo, and it also includes Aaron Judge.
True, but Diaz was signed before the start of free agency.
53. There will be no negative articles written about Showalter this season even during a time in the season where the Mets slump (as even the best teams in baseball always do).
True even as his team collapsed.
54. Taijuan Walker will make the fewest starts of anyone in the Mets pitching rotation.
Walker tied for the second most starts. deGrom would actually make the fewest starts.
55. The Mets will have a no-hitter this season, but it will not be from a starting pitcher going all nine innings.
On April 29, the Co-No happened.
56. This will be the last Major League season with nine inning double headers. We will see the return of seven inning double headers in 2023.
This likely will not happen.
57. The Mets will announce their next Hall of Fame class, and it will include Al Leiter and Johan Santana.
There was no such announcment, but there was the announcement of Willie Mays and Keith Hernandez having their numbers retired.
58. Mets fans will not care about the Apple TV game, but they will be absolutely livid about the game on Peacock. Of course, MLB will not care one iota about the blowback.
MLB did not care about the lack of quality with the games, and honestly, while there were complaints, Mets fans didn’t complain nearly as much about the streaming games as you’d anticipate.
59. Showalter is going to get Guillorme in a lot of games for late inning defense.
It actually proved to be more than just that. Showalter got Guillorme into the lineup due to his glove.
60. To reiterate, the Mets will win the World Series, and they will not have to wait another three decades for their next World Series.
To reiterate, I’m an idiot, and I’ll probably make the same prediction next year.
This offseason, the New York Mets have so many pending free agents it’s difficult to know where to prioritize. In the end, the only plan is to sign who you can sign when you can sign them.
That brings us to the Mets need to completely rebuild their bullpen. That also brings us to Trevor May.
This is typically where fans will overreact to the season May just had. Yes, admittedly, it was a forgettable and unfortunate one for May.
May, 33, was limited to just 26 appearances due to injuries. Also, mostly due to injuries, May did not have good numbers over the course of the 2022 season.
It should be noted he tried to pitch through a stress reaction in his right humerus to disastrous results. While trying to pitch through the injury, he had an 8.64 ERA over his first eight appearances of the season.
Finally, when it was clear May was hurting and ineffective, they shut him down. After a lengthy IL stint, he was activated on August 3, and well, he was May again.
Over the final two months of the season, he made 18 appearances. He was 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, and a 13.5 K/9.
As per Baseball Savant, May had excellent velocity, spin, and extension. Of course, we saw that reflected in the big strikeout numbers we saw him post when he returned from the IL.
May stepped up in the Wild Card Series pitching 2.1 scoreless in the series. It would have been interesting to see how things could have played out for him and the Mets if the team was able to advance.
Instead, the Mets have nothing but disappointment from a promising season. They also have to rebuild their bullpen, which should include bringing back a reliever who loved being a Met.
With May, there’s something to be said for a reliever who has embraced New York. He was personable, embraced the fans, and his performance was not impacted by any of it. All too often, that is something not fully understood by the Mets organization.
May is a set-up reliever you can comfortably slot in any inning. He’s shown something over the past two seasons, and there’s some unfinished business for both parties.
Hopefully, the Mets find a way to bring back a reliever who still has good StatCast metrics. Mostly, let’s hope the Mets can bring back a reliever who handles this market and pitching on this stage very well.
When it comes to Ronny Mauricio, it’s easy to see why talent evaluators love him. He has all the raw physical tools, and it’s impressive to see it all working.
We are seeing that in the Dominican Winter Leagues. Through 29 games, he’s hitting .316/.353/.483 with 11 doubles, one triple, two homers, and 22 RBI. In his most recent game, he was 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, and three RBI.
The power numbers from the 21 year old shortstop aren’t all that surprising. MLB Pipeline rated him with 60 power (25+ HR) saying “shows the most raw power from the left side, and there should be more pop coming.”
What was really shocking was the two walks. This is just not something Mauricio has done in his career.
Through 123 games for Double-A Binghamton last season, Mauricio had a 4.4 BB%. While the number is disappointing in and of itself, it’s all the more so when you consider it’s the worst mark of his professional career.
In fact, he’d only draw 24 walks all season. His high water mark for the season was six walks in June. This impatience at the plate is a big reason why Mauricio’s offensive numbers doesn’t match the tools.
Last season, he hit .259/.296/.472 with 26 doubles, two triples, 26 homers, and 89 RBI. The .212 ISO is great and speaks to the damage he does when he gets a hold of one.
However, the .296 OBP is the most telling number. It speaks to an over-aggressive approach. It speaks to his poor pitch selection. This is why he only had a 105 wRC+.
This is also why the two walks at the plate were far more important than the double. He needs more patience at the plate. With that, not only will be draw more walks, but we will also see more doubles and homers.
This is why Mauricio is so maddening. In a glimpse like this, you see all he can be. You can envision him being a dynamic offensive threat one day in the majors.
However, if it never comes, it’s hard to see how he could be successful at Triple-A, let alone the majors. At some point, you have to question if it will because there hasn’t been any real signs of improvement on this front.
Mauricio is going to have to figure it out now. If he does, he may make it to the majors in 2023. If he doesn’t, it’ll be hard to see him ever forcing his way to Queens. And that right there is why he is such a maddening prospect.
The writing had been on the wall, and now, it’s official. With the New York Mets non-tendering Dominic Smith, his tenure with the team has now ended.
In many ways, it never really began.
Despite Smith being a first round pick and top 100 prospect, he was only given 49 games in 2017 to claim the first base job. This was at a time when he had undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea.
That sleep apnea interfered with his chances of winning the first base job over Adrián González. It should be noted here the Mets brought in competition for Smith’s job but not Amed Rosario’s.
Rosario was never challenged for his job despite his failures. Smith was never given the chance to succeed.
In Smith’s entire six year career with the Mets, he entered Opening Day as the team’s first baseman zero times. Yes, Pete Alonso had a lot to do with that, but the organization’s unwillingness to give him the job played into it more.
Remember, after González was designated for assignment in 2018, Smith was not recalled to play first despite the team being effectively eliminated from postseason competition in May.
Over six years, Smith, a pure first baseman, has logged more innings in left than at first. Notably, left is out of position for Smith, and he suffered injuries each year he was asked to play extended time there.
On that note, the only time he was given a steering job out of Spring Training was 2021. He’d hurt his shoulder and play through it partially because of all of the Mets injuries.
He earned that chance because of a great 2020 pandemic season. That was the only time in his Mets career he was healthy and given a chance to play first. He thrived.
To the apparent shock of the Mets, Smith did not thrive playing out of position or when injured. It’s shocking they didn’t realize this because they only had to go as far back as Lucas Duda to figure that out. This being the Mets, they didn’t.
In 2022, the Mets opted to first go with Robinson Canó then J.D. Davis at DH before trading for Daniel Vogelbach. No, Smith was not given a chance to win that job in-season.
Smith was a DH fewer times than Alonso, who only served that role 27 times all season. Smith was the DH in just eight more games than Mark Vientos. Vientos was a short side platoon DH called up on September 11.
Barely getting more reps at a position than a part time player called up with less than a month remaining in the season is proof positive he wasn’t given a shot to win the job.
There are obvious and fair criticisms of Smith in 2022. He didn’t hit a homer in the majors all year. He didn’t hit much at all. Then again, his playing time was very sporadic.
Still, when you don’t produce, you’re going to be benched. Moreover, when the Mets were in need for pitching, they needed to send Smith down.
What’s truly bizarre is we never saw Smith in September. That was even with him hitting, and the Mets needing offense, offense the rookies were not providing. For Smith’s Mets tenure, it was par for the course.
Now, Smith is going to be free to sign with a team willing to play him at first. He’s going to get to show when playing first he can be that guy he was in 2020. Conversely, he also gets the chance to prove he’s not that guy.
Put another way, Smith is finally going to get his chance. Here’s hoping he takes full advantage and produces like we know he can.
Collusion has been a very real thing in baseball history. That was no more apparent than when Andre Dawson signed a blank contract with the Chicago Cubs because no one would offer him a contract.
Ultimately, the Hall of Famer Bud Selig collusion efforts led to MLB paying $102.5 million to the player’s union. We’ve subsequently seen evidence of collusion, but the matter has not been subsequently taken to arbitration.
That brings us to the right now with Aaron Judge’s free agency.
As reported by The Athletic, MLB is requesting records between the New York Mets and New York Yankees regarding Judge. Specifically, they want communications between Steve Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner.
This goes back to a report saying how both teams “enjoy a mutually respectful relationship, and do not expect to upend that with a high-profile bidding war.” If you’ve been around New York baseball since free agency began, you knew this was going to be the case.
Typically speaking, the Mets and Yankees don’t pursue each other’s free agent players. That goes double for the higher profile players. Really, when you think about it, the Mets and Yankees never get into a bidding war over a player.
That’s not to say players don’t switch teams. We know Curtis Granderson signed with the Mets after four years in the Bronx. Pedro Feliciano signed with the Yankees after his second stint with the Mets.
What was notable about both players is their tenures with their previous team ended. To put it another way, the franchise was not pursuing their own player in free agency.
That may also explain the respective franchises historical obsession with their respective high profile players towards the end of their careers.
We’ve seen the Yankees sign players like Carlos Beltrán, Dwight Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry. The Mets made trades made trades to obtain El Duque and Robinson Canó in addition to signing players like Willie Randolph.
This just doesn’t happen when these players initially hit free agency and their team wants to keep that player. Certainly, a large part of that was the Wilpons unwillingness (followed by their inability) to spend.
As we look to this offseason, both Judge and Jacob deGrom are free agents. These are franchise defining players. They are future Hall of Famers whose numbers will be retired by their respective teams.
They also solve problems for both teams. It’s just going to come at exorbitant salaries. Even with the money both teams have, they likely will not be able to sign both.
That’s part of the reason there is a détente between these franchises.
These two teams could be running up the cost on the respective players. Eventually, one is going to be signed by someone. That doesn’t mean the other will get signed.
Let’s assume for the sake of argument, the Mets sign Judge. Let’s also assume, this puts them out of the deGrom market.
We’ve heard rumors deGrom is looking for money similar to Max Scherzer. Let’s say the Mets were in that neighborhood before signing Judge and breaking off negotiations.
It’s entirely possible the Yankees were never going to that point. That leaves them out on deGrom, and we’ve already heard other teams balking at what deGrom wants. In the end, this means deGrom eventually signs for less than what he would’ve had this détente not existed.
The simple fact is this détente is necessary for the franchises and players. It’s not driving down player salaries. It’s keeping them all high. It’s allowing Judge and deGrom get the highest possible contract they could receive.
Both the Mets and Yankees now they have an uneasy relationship. They’re rivals who share a city, but they need one another. They’re allies when it comes to revenue sharing and the CBT, and they both know they both do better financially when both teams are thriving.
So, the Mets and Yankees have this unwritten détente which has served New York baseball well for 30+ years. We will now soon find out if this unwritten détente is also unspoken.
The BBWAA voted to make Buck Showalter as the National League Manager of the Year. This award was historic for many reasons.
While this was the first time a New York Mets manager won the award, it was the fourth time Showalter did it. This ties him with Tony La Russa for the most all-time.
Showalter became the first manager to win the award with four different organizations. He’s also the first to win the award in four different decades.
Showalter also became the first manager to win the award after blowing a 10.5 game division lead. Apparently, the Mets collapse and Brian Snitker besting him when it mattered most was irrelevant to voters whose task was to find the best manager.
Showalter winning the award was a farce. It’s celebrating failure. It tells you being media savvy is of more importance than not blowing a historic lead.