Corned Beef And Cabbage Is Irish

There’s a scene in The Devil’s Own where Sheila makes corned beef and cabbage for Rory, who is a houseguest from Ireland, to help make him feel at home. The only problem is Rory had no idea what it was.

At some point, we are all Sheila when we discover there is no corned beef in Ireland. For the most part, they really don’t know what it is. In no way, shape, or form is corned beef Irish.

And yet, it’s on the menu at each and every Irish pub across the United States. It’s on the table of nearly every Irish (and those pretending to be Irish for the day) household.

For some Irish-Americans, they don’t have corned beef. Instead, they opt for much more traditional fare. That includes shepherds pie, lamb stew, fish and chips, or bangers and mash. It’s understandable because corned beef and cabbage is decidedly not Irish.

While not Irish, it is decidedly Irish-American. Moreover, having it on St. Patrick’s Day is not only celebrating our culture but also celebrating how far Irish people have came.

As denoted many places, including Delish and the Smithsonian, corned beef and cabbage was born out of poverty and necessity. When the Irish came to America, they were poor and faced prejudice. As a result, they couldn’t afford the foods they regularly enjoyed in their homeland.

What they could afford was corned beef and cabbage. And so, that’s what they ate instead of the bacon they loved. In large part, that’s why we eat it today.

Being this is an Irish story, you’d expect some irony. Here it is.

Corned beef was actually once an Irish delicacy. During the years of British rule and oppression, the Irish were forced to slaughter their cows with Irish beef being renown across the world.

The beef was cured with corn sized pieces of salt giving the delicacy its name. For centuries, everyone sought to enjoy Irish corned beef. Of course, everyone but the Irish who could not afford it.

That was not until they emigrated to the United States and purchased it from Jewish neighborhoods. They did it because that’s what they could afford. With that, a tradition was born.

So, if you’re Irish-American, there is no better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than having corned beef and cabbage. By having it, you’re celebrating just how far the Irish people have come, and you’re doing it by having an Irish delicacy.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

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Chick-Fil-A Foul Poles Gone From Citi Field

As confirmed by the Mets owner, himself, the foul poles at Citi Field will no longer be adorned with the Chick-fil-A advertisements.

Regardless of your feelings about Chick-fil-A, this is a really good day for the New York Mets. Those advertisements should have not been there in the first place.

For starters, they were a giant eye sore. More importantly, at least from an aesthetic point of view, it never should have been there in the first place.

The Mets foul poles are special. They’re the only ones in the majors that are orange. It matches one of the Mets main colors, and it is one of the things which makes this team unique.

It’s not hyperbole to suggest putting advertisements on those foul poles is like putting roses on the ivy in Wrigley. It’s like putting a random player in Monument Park. It’s like adding a racing stripe to the Green Monster.

Okay, it’s a little hyperbolic, but the point remains. The orange foul poles were a fun way the Mets were unique and special. That and the apple is what makes a ballpark a Mets ballpark.

More importantly, it strips away a vestige of the Wilpon ownership. Instead of selling square inches for revenue, the Mets are more concerned about the way they present themselves. This time, instead of presenting themselves as nepotism gone very wrong, they now present themselves as a Major League team.

The announcement of the foul poles returning to their former glory is a great day. With Steve Cohen at the helm, there will be many more in the future.

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Dellin Betances Dangerously Close To Not Making Opening Day Roster

If you looked at last season, there was legitimate reason for optimism for Dellin Betances in 2021. If nothing else, he showed his ACL was healed, and he was still able to generate a very good whiff%.

We should have seen Betances build off of last year with a regular offseason. Instead, this Spring, it seems like he’s regressing and could be in real danger of not making the Opening Day roster.

Betances seemed the acknowledge his 98+ MPH fastball was forever gone. Last year, he more than made 94 MPH work, at least in terms of swings and misses. He looked to build upon that, and he worked with Rockland Peak Performance to optimize his spin and to maybe regain some velocity.

So far, the results haven’t been great. Through four appearances, he has allowed six runs on five hits and three walks while only striking out two. While we should typically ignore Spring Training performances, this one merits analysis.

The main reason is his velocity, or better put lack thereof. While Betances is known for low velocity at this time of the year, his velocity so far this Spring is trending in the wrong direction.

Instead of Betances building up his velocity, it’s dropping. It’s now at the point where his fastball is dipping below 90 MPH. While he was able to make 94 work, it’s very debatable he can make sub 90 work.

The biggest reason is his control. With the high number of walks he issues, he really can’t afford lower velocity. The dip in velocity makes it easier for a batter to either lay off a pitch or square one up. That decrease in velocity could end any chance Betances has at being an effective reliever.

If Betances sees his velocity continue to drop, it’s going to become more and more done difficult for the Mets to put him on the Opening Day roster.

The only saving grace Betances has is his relatively high $6 million salary and Seth Lugo‘s injury. For those two reasons alone, he may very well get the chance to be on the Opening Day roster. If so, he can hopefully follow his career pattern of increasing his velocity in-season.

If not, Betances may well soon find himself as a DFA candidate. In fact, he’s probably one already. For now, he has about two weeks remaining to give the Mets some reason to bring him to Washington to begin the 2021 season.

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Happy 40th Birthday Curtis Granderson

Curtis Granderson, one of the best human beings to ever don a Major League uniform turns 40 today. Through his charitable work and play on the field, he left an everlasting impact on the game.

If not for Granderson, the 2015 New York Mets aren’t alive to make that miracle push in August and September. He was every bit the MVP of that team, and if things shook out differently, he would’ve been the World Series MVP.

He was a true leader who left an impact on the young team. He was also very fun starting the We Follow Lucas Duda Instagram account. Everything about him was great, and it truly was a pleasure seeing him play for the New York Mets.

He’s certainly one of the best players in Mets history, and he should have a spot in their Hall of Fame. In fact, there should be a spot for him in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It’s a little known fact he’s the only man to win the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award four times. That’s two more than anyone else. Of course, he has also won the Roberto Clemente Award.

That’s why, today, we celebrate the life of a great baseball player and even better human being. Happy 40th Grandy.

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May Still Be Hope Yet For Matt Harvey

After a disaster of a first start of Spring Training for Matt Harvey, he rebounded in a big way. It wasn’t just the results, it was how he pitched.

Through 4.0 innings, he allowed two earned on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. While not dominating, it was a clear positive step for Harvey.

That’s what Harvey has been making all offseason after not pitching a full season in the majors since 2018, the year the Mets designated him for assignment. It’s been a hard and difficult road since that season.

One thing Harvey did was go to the Baseball Performance Center this offseason. There, he worked to not only regain velocity but more importantly spin.

Seemingly, against all odds, it seemed to work, and as a result, Harvey landed a minor league deal with the Orioles. If for no other reason, that seemed a good fit as that is a rebuilding team who can give him a chance.

That’s all we should want for Harvey – a chance. Sooner or later, you just pray it’s going to click again. Maybe, this start was the beginning of that happening. If so, good for him.

Harvey gave his career to help the Mets try to win a World Series. Hopefully, there is a second act in the works.

And who knows, with the Mets potentially needing bullpen help, there could be a second one in Flushing. Maybe, this time he comes in for the ninth and seals the deal for the Mets third World Series title.

We can dream, can’t we?

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Gary DiSarcina Can’t Be Serious

Imagine for a second criticizing Luis Guillorme‘s defense while at the same time praising J.D. Davis. Now, imagine that coming from a Mets coach.

Absurd, right? Well beyond absurd. No one in their right mind would ever do that. Right?

Sadly, it’s true. That’s what Gary Disarcina did. Sorry, Mets INFIELD COACH Gary Disarcina.

Disarcina spoke about how Guillorme has limited range and how he should learn first base to become a more versatile utility player. Yes, it was couched as a positive, but saying your second best defensive infielder has limited range is an unnecessary criticism.

Guillorme wasn’t the only player Disarcina critiqued. He also spoke about Davis’ defense. Now, given how he was critical of Guillorme, you could only imagine what he had to say about Davis.

As reported by Mike Puma of the New York Post, Disarcina said, “he’s been ‘pleased’ with Davis’ work [at third] this spring.” He also spoke about analytics helping Davis and that Davis has “definitely improved.”

The article also spoke about wanting to make Davis work at third because they want to keep his bat in the lineup and Guillorme on the bench.

That’s right. The Mets are actively ignoring Guillorme continuing to prove himself as an everyday player to make something work that hasn’t. Remember, Davis has been among the worst defenders in Mets history.

Now, they have Disarcina saying Guillorme has poor range and needs to learn first to become more versatile while saying he’s pleased with Davis’ progress. Maybe we should consider the source.

Disarcina was the bench coach who couldn’t properly run QC leading to Jay Bruce batting out of order. He’s also been completely unable to help Mets infielders defensively.

Remember, Disarcina has been coaching Davis for two years now, and Davis has only regressed. Jeff McNeil was a good third baseman, and he struggled under Disarcina’s tutelage last year.

There’s also Amed Rosario. Rosario was an exceptionally gifted prospect who many thought could win a Gold Glove one day. Instead, while working with Disarcina, Rosario was actually the worst defensive shortstop in baseball and fourth worst defender overall.

This same coach is now going to say Guillorme has limited range while working on his versatility to be a better bench player? He’s going to say he’s finally getting through to Davis?

It’s an embarrassing series of statements devoid of any credibility. It really only highlights how poor of a coach Disarcina has been and just which direction the Mets want to go.

At this point, they’d rather try to go with someone who is among the worst fielders in Mets history over the better player who has earned the job. For some reason, the Mets and Disarcina thought they should prop up one player while taking subtle shots at the better player.

It’s ridiculous and hopefully dishonest.

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Don’t Forget About Corey Oswalt

While Luis Guillorme understandably grabbed all the headlines, he was not the only Mets player who impressed. Corey Oswalt also had a strong performance.

Oswalt pitched two scoreless innings striking out five of the six batters he faced. It was a reminder Oswalt may still have an impact at the MLB level.

At this point in his career, it is difficult to say he’s been good. There have been glimpses here and there, but overall, as his career 63 ERA+ would indicate, he’s struggled.

One of the biggest reasons why is how he’s been used, or better put, abused, by the Mets. He’s sat unused for far too long stretches, had him pitch on three or fewer days rest, and they’ve bounced him between roles with zero preparation.

Put another way, the Mets did not put Oswalt in a position to succeed, and he hasn’t. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t.

Oswalt is a true four pitch pitcher who is willing to throw any of his pitches at any count. One of the reasons he can do this is his control. While not exceptional, it’s still quite good, and he can locate his pitches where he wants.

Oswalt does not have great velocity averaging around 92 MPH on his fastball. He also has not shown much spin on any of his pitches. As noted, he does combat this by locating.

That said, his change has nice drop to it. That helps allow the swings-and-misses, and it helps induce weak contact. The issue is he hasn’t really had that chances. That’s something the Mets really haven’t had.

The question fo Oswalt is whether he’ll get that chance now. That’s certainly up for debate partially because of the Mets.

Overall, this was a strong 2,0 innings for Oswalt. He showed why the Mets can’t give up on him. That goes double with the Mets starting staff beginning the year without Noah Syndergaard and Seth Lugo.

That right there is the key. The Mets need to pick a role to permit Oswalt to thrive and work within that role with Jeremy Hefner. That could be as a reliever, and it could be as a fifth starter. That’s up to the Mets.

With Oswalt off the 40, he has to reprove himself to get that call up again. He then has to stick. He has the talent, and he’s got the ability to work on things. Where he goes from here depends on his development).

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22 Reasons Luis Guillorme Should Play Everyday

Every time Luis Guillorme takes the field, he again proves himself and further shows why he needs to play everyday. His latest exploit was a 22 pitch at-bat against Jordan Hicks.

Hicks is a closer who can ramp it up to 100 MPH with regularity. He can blow that fastball past nearly everyone. Well, everyone except Guillorme.

Guillorme fell behind 0-2, and he fouled off 15 pitches before drawing a walk. That is special, and it’s yet another indication he can play and star at the Major League level.

In that at-bat against Hicks, we got 22 more reasons why Guillorme needs to play everyday. In his next game, we are bound to find more reasons because he’s that good and deserving.

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Luis Guillorme Has Earned A Starting Job

Truth be told, the notion of Spring Training competitions have become antiquated. Teams pretty much know their rosters, and it really takes a miracle to get them to change their minds.

Proof of that is Luis Guillorme.

Entering Spring Training, there was presumably one starting job on the infield available. With Jeff McNeil‘s versatility, that job could’ve been at second or third.

For his part, Guillorme continues to make the case he should get that job. He’s had a terrific Spring where he’s made a number of phenomenal defensive plays. Yesterday, it was at third.

It should not be lost on anyone that was with Marcus Stroman on the mound. Like most of the Mets staff, Stroman generates a high number of ground balls necessitating defense like that in the lineup on an everyday basis.

It’s not just his glove, which has always been phenomenal. Guillorme has also been hitting. So far this Spring, Guillorme is hitting .357 over six games.

That’s building off a great 2020 where he had a 144 wRC+. This marked the third straight season Guillorme saw an increase in wRC+. Each one of those seasons was a small sample size, but 2021 should not.

Guillorme has done everything asked of him. He’s been great in the field, and he’s continued to improve at the plate. This is what you want to see from your players, and that should be rewarded.

More than rewarded, Guillorme continues to prove he’s the best option. There really is no real viable counter-argument why a ground ball pitching staff shouldn’t have their second best defender in the infield.

Guillorme has been great this Spring, and he’s continuously improving as a player. He continues to prove he deserves a starting job. More to the point, he’s establishing he’s better than all the other options.

Come Opening Day, Guillorme needs to be in the lineup.

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Mets Second Starter Should Be Taijuan Walker, Joey Lucchesi, Or Jordan Yamamoto

When teams assemble their pitching rotations, they typically assemble them in order of the talent of their top starters. Taking the New York Mets as an example, Jacob deGrom will be the Opening Day starter. After him, with Carlos Carrasco possibly delayed to start the season and Noah Syndergaard on the 60 day IL, it is fairly clear right now Marcus Stroman would be the second starter.

If you are taking the long term view of the season, Stroman should not be the second starter. Yes, he is the second best starter available, and if this was Game 2 of a postseason series, you would definitively be handing him the ball. However, in the regular season, that does not make any sense.

Looking at deGrom, since he has been the best pitcher in baseball, he has averaged 6.1 innings per start. If you look at the two seasons prior to 2020, he averaged 6.2 innings. That means whenever he takes the ball, the bullpen is getting a break. That is important when you consider the bullpen gets increasingly taxed and taxed with each start. To that, here is the average innings per start over the last four seasons for the Mets projected 2021 rotation options:

Now, the Mets seemed to be blessed with pitchers who tend to go deeper into games than most teams. Still, when fully healthy, this will be a rotation with two 5+ inning starters at the back end of their rotation. That means a bullpen who gets increasingly used after deGrom starts will be asked to provide a lot more without much of a break.

That was something which truly presented an issue for the Mets during deGrom’s first Cy Young campaign. Yes, he received little to no run support far too often that season. However, he also would see the bullpen blow a number of late leads for him. Part of the result is that the bullpen had been taxed heading into his starts. Rather than having the bullpen in the best possible shape to secure a win from their ace, they were on fumes hoping for deGrom to give them a break.

That is partially how you take a season for the ages and turn it into a 11-10 record for deGrom. That is both a reflection of how wins and losses for a pitcher are overrated. However, it is also an indication that something is going wrong that a pitcher who is setting records can’t buy a win.

If we were to look at the current Mets rotation, the bullpen is going to be well rested when deGrom takes the mound. Typically speaking, they will need to get about 6-8 outs in a game. That will leave them well rested. That is exactly the right time to line up the bullpen for a Walker start.

Typically speaking, Walker provides 5+ innings in a start. After deGrom, the bullpen will be well poised to provide that. Of course, after that, the Mets will have run through some of their bullpen. That is when you combat that by going to Syndergaard or Carrasco (if healthy) or Stroman. The Mets can then go to their 5+ inning fifth starter whether that is Luccesi, Peterson, or Yamamoto. Finally, the Mets could then go to Stroman who can eat some more innings before handing the ball back to deGrom.

By restructuring the rotation in that fashion, the Mets are positioning their bullpen to get breaks here and there. You are getting them regular work, and you are avoiding some fallow periods where they are not getting work because the top pitchers are eating up innings. Overall, the general concept is to stagger the pitchers by the innings they will reasonably provide instead of just lining them up without any concept on the impact it will have on the bullpen and staff as a whole.

Hopefully, that means a better rested Edwin Diaz. It could mean less of a need to rely on Seth Lugo for multiple innings when he returns. It could mean not needing to have the Triple-A to MLB shuttle for pitchers like Drew Smith. Instead, pitchers are put in a position where they get regular rest and work. That should help them succeed, and it should help prevent them from blowing games for deGrom.

 

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