With the Mets losing and the Nationals winning, there is no change in the Mets magic number. However, I’ve been having some fun doing these, so I figured I would take another crack at 10. Today, I’m looking at the 2004 season and Joe Hieptas:
During the Mets 2004 season, when they finished 71-91, they would call up Hieptas in September to become the Mets third string catcher. On October 3, 2004, his dreams would come true, and he would play in a big league game catching one inning in an 8-1 win over the Montreal Expos. Unfortunately, Hieptas did not get a chance to bat making him a modern day Moonlight Graham.
Hieptas tried all he could to get back to the majors. He would convert to a pitcher at the Mets suggestion in 2007, but he would never make it back to the big leagues. Much like the 2004 Mets, he never really had a chance, but he still went out there anyway. I know at times it must be frustrating for him, but he can sleep at night knowing he gave it his all.
Hieptas’ story reminded me of Mets fans’ favorite punching bag, Eric Campbell. I’ve seen a number of things written about him. I believe most of it is unfair and sometimes just wrong.
He’s a guy who plays hard and hits the ball hard. He’s doing everything he can do to be a big leaguer. It’s just ironic that Campbell sees his salvation in a position Hieptas had to leave to get another shot. Hieptas and Campbell are both reminders that whether a team is good or bad, there is always someone out there trying to make the most of their talent and opportunity.
So with that lets tip our hats to Joe Hieptas.
Let me start with the preface that the Mets are going to win the NL East, and they may still get homefield advantage in the NLDS against the Dodgers. However, doesn’t September losses to the Marlins just seem bigger?
It just seemed like this was another poor start for Jacob deGrom in what not too long ago seemed like a potential cyGrom season. Tonight, he gave up 10 hits and six earned in only five innings. deGrom is the key to a Mets possible World Series run, and it appears like he’s falling apart at the seams. I checked Twitter during the game, and I found out he really wasn’t:
First time deGrom has allowed double-digit hits this season and just the second time in his career. (12 last year vs. Cardinals).
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) September 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/bbtn/status/643948706375561217
However, I still felt like Chicken Little, so I checked Baseball Reference. Aha! deGrom has been worse in the second half. He was a superhuman deGrominator going 9-6 with a 2.14 ERA, 0.924 WHIP, and 8.9 K/9 in the first half. Coming into tonight, he was 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA, 1.043 WHIP, and a 10.4 K/9 in the second half. So yeah, he’s been pretty much the same pitcher in both halves of the season.
That’s the thing with losses like tonight. You tend to overreact. You make deGrom’s outing out to be worse than it was. You focus on another poor Eric O’Flaherty outing. You miss things like David Wright hitting an RBI double and going 1-2 with two walks, a run scored, and an RBI. You miss Michael Conforto going 2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. You grumbled when Bobby Parnell came into the game while neglecting the fact that he had a good, scoreless inning.
The Mets won eight straight. They were due for a clunker. That was tonight. It seemed like they could do nothing right, including but not limited to Erik Goeddel pulling a Shawn Estes when he seemingly was trying to plunk Tom Koehler as retaliation for him plunking Yoenis Cespedes. This was further compounded with my man, Dario Alvarez limping off the field after allowing a Dee Gordon homerun.
The Mets just need to put this ugly 9-3 loss behind them. I know I’ll forget about it by tomorrow morning.
I’m a card carrying member of the IBWAA, which means I have the opportunity to vote on the following year end awards:
- NL & AL MVP
- NL & AL Cy Young
- NL & AL Rookie of the Year
- NL & AL Manager of the Year
- NL & AL Reliever
Now, this blog is about two things: the Mets and being a father. With the NL categories, I haven’t made my mind up, but I suspect the Mets could be featured in any of the above categories. With the AL, there obviously will be no Mets featured unless I vote for Yoenis Cespedes for AL MVP. I’m kidding of course.
I’m going to publish all of my votes and my reasons for my vote, whether I voted for a Met or not in any particular catergory. The reason why is that I obviously have opinions, and I try to back them up. I now have an opportunity to vote my convictions. It’s one thing for me to say Cespedes isn’t the MVP, it’s another for me not to pick him as an MVP.
As you know, I have a son. I want to tell him to stand behind his convictions. If I can’t do it here, how can I convince him to do it in the future? Seriously, if I can’t back up my vote for something relatively meaningless like an MVP vote, how can I have that conviction when it’s truly needed?
So with all that in mind, I will make my votes available on the site. Thank you for reading.
The New York Times has an excellent piece today on Yoenis Cespedes. There were some things we learned or were reaffirmed:
- Cespedes desperately wants to win;
- Cespedes was the only OF available for the Mets on the eve of the trade deadline; and
- It’s going to be very expensive to re-sign him.
In reading the article, there are some things I personally interpreted.
The Tigers Were Desperate
The Tigers used Jim Leyland to take advantage of his relationship with Terry Collins to tell him Cespedes was available. I’m not an expert, but I presume trade negotiations are not normally done between a manager and a former manager.
This was a way to put pressure on the Mets to go get Cespedes, a player with whom the Mets had reservations. Everyone on the planet knew the Mets offense was terrible. Collins must’ve been going crazy filling out a lineup card that included John Mayberry, Jr. in the cleanup spot. I’m sure when Collins found out the Mets could get Cespedes, I’m sure he ran through the Mets offices telling anyone who would listen to get the deal done.
Again, the Mets were split. Maybe this Leyland-Collins conversation is what finally pushed the Mets to go out and get Cespedes.
The Mets Have Soured on Juan Lagares
One of the key aspects of the decision to get Cespedes was whether or not he could play CF. This was after the Mets failed attempts to get Carlos Gomez. Remember in that deal, the Mets were pushing to trade the Brewers Juan Lagares and his contract. It’s apparent the Mets didn’t just want a bat; they wanted a CF.
I’m shocked as the Mets were high on him as long as a year ago when they gave him the extension. Now it seems, they want to move on. That’s a huge fall out of favor for a gold glove CF.
The Mets Only Saw Cespedes as a Rental
As noted in the article, the Mets knew about the five day clause in Cespedes’ contract. They knew it would be difficult to bring him back to the fold in 2016 and beyond. The article further notes that Alderson doesn’t typically give out contracts to players of Cespedes’ age because Alderson likes his teams to have payroll flexibility. Cespedes will more likely recieve than David Wright‘s $138 million. That really restricts the Mets payroll flexibility when they will have to eventually pay these young pitchers.
This May Be a Test Case for Future deGrom Negotiations
As luck would have it, Cespedes shares the same agent as Jacob deGrom. Their agent, Roc Nation, and chief negotiator, Brodie Van Wagenen, are known to be tough and to be able to get the maximum value for their clients. The Mets dipped their toes on what it will be like when Robinson Cano was a free agent. The Mets came off as looking like they weren’t serious.
Whether the Mets eventually re-sign Cespedes or not, they need to put their best foot forward here. It’s possible the Mets will be outbid while still making a real, viable attempt to keep him. Remember there’s always a crazy team out there. Just look at contacts given to Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard.
The point here is to look like a serious team that can and will spend money.
Sandy Alderson Wants to Win Now
There was every reason not to make this trade. Cespedes was not the type of player the Mets sought out under Alderson’s regime: he swings wildly and doesn’t walk enough. The fact that Michael Fulmer could turn out to be the Mets best pitching prospect, current Mets pitchers included. There was dissension within the Mets front office whether to proceed.
Alderson saw an opportunity, and he went for it. Sure he took advice from his advisors, but he made the final call. It was gutsy and risky. Whether or not you agree with the trade, you have to respect how Alderson made the call.
There are some other nuances that are there, but these are the main ones in my opinion. In any event, while I disagreed with the trade, I’m loving the Cespedes ride. I’m not so excited about how the offseason will shake out. I’m putting that out of my mind right now.
I’m just enjoying the ride for now. Lets Go Mets!
I’m aware of the MVP talk currently surrounding Yoenis Cespedes. He’s been incredible, but he’s not the MVP of the National League. He can be the Player of the Week. He can be the Player of the Month. He’s not the MVP. He’s not even the Mets MVP. That’s Curtis Granderson.
He’s having a terrific season. He leads the league in games played. He has a triple slash line of .285/.365/.455. For traditionalists, he has 23 homers and 64 RBI from the leadoff spot. He has a 4.8 WAR, which is 10th in the NL and fourth among outfielders. He’s also the ready the Mets kept it together long enough for Sandy Alderdon to make the necessary deals. Overall, there is no Cespedes without Granderson.
The Mets were once a M*A*S*H* unit with a historically bad offense. Granderson was the only one doing anything. There was talk of moving him out of the leadoff spot, but that was irrelevant because there were never anyone at base. Well, the Mets have players now and Granderson is still contributing:
Curtis Granderson entered June 4 hitting .225
Since then
.278/.382/.509
42 extra-base hits in 87 games.
That's pretty good.
— Mark Simon (@MarkASimonSays) September 14, 2015
Without a healthy and productive Granderson, the Mets would win fewer games, and it’s possible they’re not in a position to trade for Cespedes. So, if you love Cespedes, you should love Granderson just as much.
So overall, Granderson helped the Mets tread water until help arrived. Cespedes is doing all of this in a Mets uniform due to Carlos Gomez and his hip as well as Granderson’s play. That’s why he’s the team MVP this year.
On another note, he’s a good guy. He was nominated for the 2015 Marvin Miller Award (he’s won before), which is an award that recognizes charitable actions and on the field play. He’s also a nominee this year for the Roberto Clemente Award for his off the field contributions. No, this shouldn’t factor into the fictional 2015 Mets MVP Award, but it is something I wanted to mention.
So while we all agree Cespedes has been amazing, Granderson is the true Mets MVP.
After losing the 2000 World Series and a rough 2001 season, Steve Phillips decided the Mets needed to shift gear. He thought the Mets needed to be an offensive based team. He started with what seemed like the masterful Roberto Alomar trade. He also added Mo Vaughn (don’t trust the narrative, sadly the Mets won this trade) and Jeromy Burnitz via trade. Finally, the Mets signed Roger Cedeno. It was a disaster with the Mets finishing in last place with a 75-86 record.
All of the aforementioned players underachieved, none more so than Alomar. Part of the narrative behind Alomar’s season was the adjustment to New York and his rift with Rey Ordonez, who would be cast off to Tampa before the season. In his place, the Mets brought on a player approved by Alomar to play SS, today’s magic number 10, Rey Sanchez:
In theory, it made sense. You make a superstar like Alomar feel as comfortable as possible to get the most out of him. In practice, it failed. Alomar would hit .262/.336/.357 in 73 games for the Mets in 2003. With the Mets sitting at 36-47 and 16 games out of first place, the Mets traded Alomar. Sanchez couldn’t save him.
In fact, Sanchez needed to save himself. Sanchez had his career worst year in 2003. He hit .207/.240/.236. I think the Mets pitchers this year hit better than that. His play was so poor, he would only play in 56 games. Of course, he would leave the Mets and resurrect his career. Unfortunately, he couldn’t resurrect a Mets team that finished 66-95.
So Sanchez reminds us that there was a time that players didn’t always excel like Yoenis Cespedes when they came to the Mets. It’s also a reminder that it takes a special personality like Juan Uribe to come in and create a new clubhouse culture. Again, we learn how different and special this 2015 season is.
So with that, we all owe a hat tip to Rey Sanchez.
One of the things I like to do is to go see a Broadway show during previews and right before Opening Night. By that time, many of the kinks are worked out, but the actors are still trying things to see if it works. Even better, the tickets are at a discount.
Tonight was preview night at Citi Field. The Mets had BOGO tickets. Terry Collins tried some stuff out like batting Lucas Duda seventh against a righty. He started Michael Cuddyer in RF against the lefty over Curtis Granderson. He only let Logan Verrett go five innings in a game tied at one despite throwing under 70 pitches.
Collins would bring in Sean Gilmartin in the sixth. Was this to see both potential long men, or was this a preview for a future Matt Harvey rumored half start. Gilmartin would show his rust giving up two runs to the Marlins. However, like the Broadway previews, the stars brought it and brought down the house.
Yoenis Cespedes opened the scoring in the third with a bomb to left field. After the Mets fell behind, Travis d’Arnaud hit a game tying two run homer. Finally, the biggest star of them all, David Wright, hit the go-ahead ground rule double scoring the pinch running Eric Young, Jr. (who also stole a base). Jeurys Familia came on in the ninth and saved the 4-3 win.
We can expect a lot more of this over the next month. These are the types of things you can and should do with a large division lead in September. Because the Mets are so good, they’re going to win a lot of those games.
I can’t wait for when this show makes its October debut.
The Yankees are the greatest franchise in the history of sports. When you invoke their name, you invoke the names of some of the greatest players to ever play the game in Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle. With legends like these, it’s no wonder the Yankees won 19 World Series titles before the Mets even took the field in 1962.
According to the Yankees, they began play in 1903 when they purchased the defunct Baltimore Orioles franchise. In their first 59 years of existence, they would win their aforementioned 19 World Series titles. It’s extremely impressive even if you disregard the fact that baseball was segregated, and the Yankees were definitively pro-segregation.
The Yankees position was so entrenched they would pass on Willie Mays multiple times. The Yankees would not add their first black baseball player, Elston Howard, to the major league roster until 1955, eight years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.
I bring this up because now that the Mets are good again, and the Mets fan is puffing out his chest again, the Yankee fan reply is “27 rings.” Note, they want to own the rings but not the racism. Also, they neglect to mention that 70% of those World Series titles came before the Mets existed. The real argument is eight rings to two. With that in mind, let’s look at the Yankees titles since the Mets began:
1962: The Yankees won the first year of the Mets existence. It was the Yankees second straight title, and third in five years. They would not win another one for fifteen years.
1977 & 1978: The Yankees won two straight titles. At this point, the Yankees had three rings to the Mets one. The Yankees would not win another ring for 18 years. The Mets would win another in 1986 narrowing the gap to 3-2.
1996: The Yankees were on the dawn of their next dynasty. This raised the Yankees advantage to 4-2.
1998 – 2000: If there was a pitcher named on the Mitchell Report or elsewhere, chances are they pitched for the Yankees. As an example, three of the Yankees winning pitchers in the 2000 World Series aused PEDs: Mike Stanton (2) and Roger Clemens. Three of their four SP in that World Series used steroids during their career: Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Denny Neagle. Since there’s no steroids asterisk to these titles, they all count increasing the Yankees lead to 7-2.
2009: With a mostly retooled roster, the Yankees won their 27th World Series or 8th since 1962.
So, in total, the Yankees only have eight rings to the Mets two, or do Yankees fans expect the Mets to have competed for a World Series prior to 1962. The Mets had just as good a chance of winning one then as a black player had of playing on the Yankees. Remind them of that because if the Yankee fan wants credit for their entire history, you should make them own it.
In any event, I don’t care about the Yankees and how many rings they have. I’m only concerned about the Mets, their two rings, and their chances of winning one this year.