The much older version of me hates the new Diamondbacks uniforms. They’re terrible in every way, shape, and form. Then I realized something. I actually owned this Mets cap:
I was a teenager, and I thought they were cool when they were first released. There’s a picture in my parent’s living room of my brother, father, and I at a Mets game. I’m wearing this cap. Yes, I purchased it before seeing how awful they matched up with the jerseys.
Then the following year, I purchased my first ever Mets jersey:
Yes, I purchased the black jersey. The older version of me wouldn’t. The younger version of me loved it. I also liked the black hats too even if I still preferred the traditional blue caps. That’s the thing. The jerseys are not designed for older fans who wants something more traditional.
They’re designed for younger fans who are more inclined to get the jerseys. So while I love the current Mets uniforms, I know the minute sales stall, the Mets will have a change. Based upon the black jerseys, the Mets may just go the Diamondbacks route if they actually sell well. They’ll do it because kids drive jersey sales, not old men even if they are the ones actually purchasing the jerseys.
And I’ll shake my head as I purchase my son a Mets jersey and hat I think are ugly.
I’ll admit I’m jealous of my son. When you think of the toys you had growing up, there was always one missing. That was interactive sports toys. I know there were video games, but that’s not the same thing. Also, Starting Lineup was a series of collectibles masquerading as kid’s toys.
There’s a new toy series called Oyo Sports. At least, it’s new to me. I didn’t notice them until I saw them in a Mets team store in Citi Field this year. Now, I see them in Modells and toy stores. Basically, they’re Lego men of your favorite teams and athletes:
I would’ve loved to have one of these as a kid. When you incorporate it with the field, it’s amazing. I could imagine being a kid using these sets to not only build my own stadiums around this, but also staging games where the Mets won the World Series every time.
When my son is old enough, I plan on doing that with him (right now we’re still playing with Duplos). In the meantime, I plan to collect as many players I can including his favorite players Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, and Matt Harvey. Hopefully, they’ll all still be here.
Right now, I enjoy every moment with my son, and I look forward to doing so much with him. Playing with these Oyo toys is one of them.
Editor’s Note: This was not a paid advertisement or done in any way in conjunction with Oyo. Rather, it’s a mild hint what to get me . . . err my son (yeah that’s it) for Christmas.
There’s a free agent out there who fits the Mets needs quite well. He’s a career .281/.365/.479 hitter. He hits lefty and he plays well defensively at first, second, and third. He only wants a one year deal making him a good stopgap until Dilson Herrera is ready.
In case you haven’t already guessed, the player is Chase Utley. When you think of potential free agents the Mets would consider, he checks all the boxes:
- Left handed bat
- Versatile
- Good defender
- High OBP
- Cheap
Unfortunately, you can’t add a player like him to this team, not after this:
Sure, he’s at least close enough to David Wright to have his cell phone number. cell phone number. So maybe there’s a chance things could be smoothed over with the team. However, it never will with the fans. It just would never sit right with them. I will admit a small part of me would be amused by the Mets defending Utley at the suspension appeal hearing because they took the cheap way out.
Ultimately, Utley would be a nice fit on the Mets in 2016 if he wasn’t Utley. Maybe the Mets can consult with Bobby V to get a disguise to make this happen. Other than that, it looks like it’ll be Herrera next year without a safety net.
Scratch Utley as a cheap option the Mets could chase.
With MLB announcing they will be making a goodwill tour to Cuba this month, I began to remember the memorable (and not so memorable) Cuban born players who have played for the Mets. Can you name them? Good luck!
There’s always a surprise or two amongst the players who were non-tendered regardless of whether or not the move made sense. It might’ve been surprising to see Greg Holland‘s name out there, but the move made sense.
Holland was slated to possibly receive $11.3 million in arbitration. You can’t pay that to someone who is going to miss all next year due to Tommy John surgery. You can’t pay him that when it’s his last year of team control before he becomes a free agent. The Royals tried to do the prudent thing in offering Holland a two year deal. However, the Royals were rebuffed leading to the non-tender.
The reason the Royals were rebuffed probably had a lot to do with the fact that Scott Boras is his agent. Boras probably wants to shop Holland around looking for the best offer. He should with 145 saves over the past four years. In 2013 and 2014, when he was the full time closer and healthy, he averaged 47 saves with a 1.32 ERA.
When healthy, he’s an elite shutdown closer in the ilk of any closer you want to mention. It’s the reason you would be willing to give him a two year deal. You want to get him on the cheap. He’d be a dream to pair with Jeurys Familia. If he returns to form in 2017, you have a reliever you could extend a Qualifying Offer thereby recouping a possible draft pick.
If I’m the Mets my selling point is how well things went with Matt Harvey (not sarcasm). However, I think Holland is going to go to the team that’ll offer him the most money, which he should. It’s at that point the Mets probably fall out of contention.
It’s a shame too because having that kind of bullpen in place would be another step in making a one year World Series run into a three year period of playoff runs.
When perusing the list of players who were non-tendered, I noticed Aaron Crow. He’s a talented reliever, who the Mets should pursue.
Crow was non-tendered by the Marlins after missing the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery. He was a former first round pick by the Royals, who failed as a starter, so they converted him into a reliever.
In his first year as a reliever, he was an All Star. For his career, he has an ERA+ of 120, a 4.16 FIP, and an 8.0 K/9. In terms of more traditional stats, he’s 20-11 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.322 WHIP. For his career, batters have hit .243/.321/.382. He fared better against righties (.229/.310/.327) than lefties (.262/.336/.455). Much of these career stats are skewed by an awful 2014, which was his last year before needing Tommy John surgery.
After seeing Bobby Parnell struggle last year post-Tommy John, Crow shouldn’t received more than a minor league deal. (Quick aside, the Mets should bring back Parnell on a minor league deal as well). He probably won’t receive more than that with his availability to start the year being a question mark. However, he’s well worth the flyer as he had a fastball that traveled between 93-97 MPH when healthy.
For a team rumored to be seeking bullpen help, brining on Aaron Crow is a no-brainer.
There may be a new second baseman on the free agent market with reports that Jose Fernandez has defected from Cuba.
In the Cuba, he was a .319/.403/.423 hitter. Personally, I don’t know how well stats from the Cuban leagues translate, do for comparison purposes here are the MLB numbers versus the Cuban league numbers of two well known successful Cuban players:
- Yoenis Cespedes MLB .261/.319/.486 Cuba .319/.404/.585
- Yasiel Puig MLB .294/.371/.487 Cuba .302/.398/.504
So, we can see there is a a drop in numbers from the Cuban leagues to the majors, but that is to be expected. Therefore, the best estimate of how Fernandez will play in the majors.
According to Baseball America, Fernandez is the third best prospect from Cuba who hasn’t signed a MLB contract. He’s a contact hitter that doesn’t strike out. He doesn’t hit for much power. He doesn’t have a lot of speed, and he’s not a good defensive second baseman. Fernandez has not played baseball in over a year because he was suspended for trying to defect. This begs the question why would the Mets go that route?
From the description, he’s no better than Daniel Murphy. Murphy is a contact hitter that’s not great defensively at second. Yes, Fernandez is three years younger, but he also hasn’t done it in the majors. With that said if you’re inclined to go that route you’re better off re-signing Murphy or giving the position to Dilson Herrera, who is also just as much of a question mark.
When it comes down to it, Fernandez may be the Cuban version of Daniel Murphy. If that’s the case, I’d rather have the real Daniel Murphy.
I remember years ago the Milwaukee Brewers carried a relief pitcher by the name of Brooks Kieschnick. He failed as an everyday player, so he returned to becoming a pitcher as he was in college. He then became an average (at best) reliever, pinch hitter, and DH.
I believe this could and should be Ike Davis‘ future in the major leagues. He once was extremely promising as a good defensive slugging first baseman. It may just be the Valley Fever, but he never fulfilled that promise. The Mets gave up on him and traded him to the Pirates. The A’s purchased him in the offseason from the Pirates. After a forgettable year, the A’s decided not to tender him a contract making him a free agent.
Actually, forgettable was the wrong word because Davis had a memorable relief appearance:
It was a long time ago, but Davis was a college pitcher, who had a 2.25 ERA at Arizona State. In his lone relief appearance, he fastball hit 88 MPH and he appeared to have a slider. If Davis works at it, it’s possible he could have the type of stuff he once had:
https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/590837222116610049
I’m not saying it’s likely, but it is possible that Davis could make himself an effective reliever and/or LOOGY. Considering the fact that he hit .229/.301/.350 last year, I’m not sure how many teams want him as a first baseman anymore. Why not become a reliever. If he succeeds in the conversion, he becomes quite a weapon.
First of all, a team can never have enough relievers. Guys who can get lefties out will always have value. Furthermore, for all of his faults, we know he has power. He could be a viable pinch hitter or a DH in the event he’s pitched too many days in a row. With his glove, he could play first in an emergency situation.
Now, this only makes sense if he comes back on a minor league deal. You don’t want to waste a spot on the 40 man roster if he can’t hack it. I’d extend the minor league offer with an invitation to Speing Training as a reliever. If he can do it, great. If not, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
As a reliever on a minor league deal, I like Ike again.
Somewhere over the course of the baseball season, my son switched his favorite player from Lucas Duda to Daniel Murphy. I’m not quite sure why, but he did.
When we went to measure his height on his birthday on the Duda Growth Chart, he asked for a Murphy one. At one point the Duda Growth Chart had an awkward Duda body and Murphy head. My son approved.
When we go to play baseball, he insists on batting lefty. He insists despite still not exhibiting a right or left hand dominance. The reason? He wants to hit homeruns like Murphy.
My son’s pediatrician is a Mets fan. No, that’s not the reason we picked him. Five, it’s not the reason my wife picked him. Anyway, he gets a kick out of talking about the Mets with my son. When the doctor asks him who his favorite player is my son says Murphy. He then lets the pediatrician know that “Murphy homerun!”
When the pediatrician suggested he wanted Ben Zobrist to play second, my son said, “No. Murphy.” In his mind there is only one player who plays second for the Mets and that’s Murphy:
There are many reasons to bring back Murphy. However, after last night, I’m stuck with just one. No kid should lose their favorite player. Certainly, not my son.
So, I again implore the Mets to sign Murphy. Sign him because he’s the best free agent fit for the Mets. Sign him because you don’t want to disappoint a two year old.
Whatever the reason, just sign him.
With Bob Geren leaving the Mets for the Dodgers, I’m sure there’s going to be a groundswell for the Mets to make Wally Backman a coach on the major league squad. Why?
First off, Backman has seemingly done a good job with the AAA team. He sends players up major league ready. He and Terry Collins have a great rapport. That type of synergy can only help the major league club. This is more important to the Mets than Backman on the bench or at third base.
Furthermore, Backman does not replace the role Geren fulfilled with the Mets. Geren was the stats based coach. Geren was also the coach who worked so well with the young catchers:
Geren a loss for the Mets. Worked extensively with the catchers, gave TC a different perspective in dugout.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) December 2, 2015
Neither of those areas are within Backman’s forte. He’s a good minor league manager. It’s where he helps the Mets the most. The idea isn’t to reward him for this. The idea is to keep him where he’s best suited. The idea is to keep him where he best helps the organization.
If Backman wants to walk, let him. It’s not like there are other teams begging to bring him over to their organization. He didn’t get one interview for any of the managerial openings. He hasn’t been even mentioned as a possible option as a coach on another major league team.
Who should take his place? Previously, I’ve advocated for Juan Uribe, who was a leader on the team last year. However, I’m assuming he’s going to want to play another year. I’m sure there will be names floated from all across the Mets organization. Whoever it is, I hope that player can have the same positive impact had with the Mets.
More so, I hope Backman stays in Las Vegas.