Francisco Lindor

20/20 Hindsight: Mets Finally Lose Opening Series

After the opening series against the Washington Nationals was canceled due to COVID19, the New York Mets finally played their first series of the season. They should’ve taken the series, but didn’t;

1. That was your typical Jacob deGrom start. He’s dominant. The Mets don’t score. The bullpen blows it.

2. Much was made of deGrom coming out after six. People overlook deGrom being part of and agreeing with the decision. He had a long layoff, and it’s going to be tricky getting everyone through the season.

3. James McCann was a mixed bag. He called a great game, and he was great framing it. However, he did let some balls get behind him, and he did a Wilson Ramos impersonation on Luis Guillorme‘s throw.

4. With J.D. Davis being down, Guillorme and Jonathan Villar may get a chance to prove they should play everyday. So far, they’re making a good case.

5. Pete Alonso looks like a man on a mission. He’s completely locked in at the plate, and his defense has never looked better. He could be on the verge of an MVP type season.

6. It was actually surprising to see his ball didn’t go out on Tuesday night. Last year and the year before those balls might’ve been 20 rows deep. Instead, that ball died at the wall. That may be a real sign the ball isn’t traveling like it did in prior years.

7. The Mets were down because the bullpen hasn’t been great so far.

8. Trevor May has struggled in both games, but it was good to see him come into the second game, fight it, and get out of the inning unscathed. That and his taking ownership of his poor performance is an indication he is going to be just fine in New York.

9. The Aaron Loup signing was curious, especially given the three batter rule. We saw just how that can help a team implode. After he plunked Bryce Harper, he was facing J.T. Realmuto. It should come as no surprise that inning got out of control.

10. There were some good signs out of Jeurys Familia and Miguel Castro. Overall, with Edwin Diaz not getting into a game, the Mets best reliever in the series was Joey Lucchesi, who is also their fifth starter.

11. There could be some questions as to how Luis Rojas managed these games, but it is first important to remember he is not the one who fills out the lineup card. Some of his decisions are also very defensible like leaving in Kevin Pillar in the fourth inning of a game where the Mets had deGrom on the mound and had a 2-0 lead.

12. The fact the Mets would not bat Brandon Nimmo atop the lineup is beyond crazy. Even with a left-handed pitcher on the mound, it’s crazy. In fact, Nimmo has been the Mets best hitter against left-handed pitchers the last two years. The second best? Dominic Smith.

13. Dominic Smith isn’t a platoon player, and he shouldn’t be treated as such. He showed that on his first at-bat of the season.

14. Jeff McNeil has hit the ball with real authority so far this season. It was probably a good idea to get him a mental break ahead of coming to New York.

15. On that note, we are likely going to see a number of players miss some unexpected games here and there as they get vaccinated and deal with the side effects. Well, everyone except Davis.

16. Marcus Stroman was great on the mound, and he not only looks like an All-Star with that new forkball, but he could be a very real contender for the Cy Young this season.

17. Francisco Lindor has been everything as advertised so far this season. His defense has been great. He is giving good at-bats. He was a real leader talking to David Peterson after a rough outing. The Mets are very lucky to have him around for the next decade.

18. The long layoff was probably a factor, but Peterson showed he probably needs more time in Triple-A, which is fine. It would’ve been better to put Jordan Yamamoto in the rotation to start the season. That goes double when the Mets could have skipped the fifth starter, which they are.

19. Michael Conforto struggled with runners on base during this series, so naturally people are going overboard in their reaction. Fact is, Conforto is still a .271/.393/.512 hitter with runners in scoring position in his career. He’s going to be fine, and the Mets should still be pushing to sign him to an extension to make him a Met for life.

20. The Mets were put at a disadvantage not playing the Nationals series, and the Atlanta Braves got to fact that decimated Nationals team. Mets showed some rust, but this is still a very good team. They’re now in the flow of things, and we should look for them to have a good first homestand of the season.d

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Jeurys Familia Showed He May Have A Great Year

The numbers weren’t good. Two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk. Put the results aside for a second.

Jeurys Familia looked like he could be in line for a very good season.

Just look deeper than the results. Neither of the two hits were really indicative of how well Familia was pitching, and as an extension of that, neither was the runs against him.

Neither the Adam Haseley single or Rhys Hoskins double were hit all that hard. In fact, the Hoskins double was the second weakest hit ball of the night. Really, no one made good solid contact against Familia. That’s evidenced by the lack of barrels against him.

With any luck, that’s a 1-2-3 inning. Instead, Pete Alonso throws the ball away trying to get Hoskins at second allowing Haseley to score.

What happened next is important. With everything going haywire, and the day after the Mets blew a late lead with a horrendous inning against the Phillies, Familia bore down. He made quick work of Andrew McCutchen striking him out.

Familia then didn’t give Bryce Harper a chance to launch a homer to let the Phillies back into the game. Instead, like a veteran, he tried to get Harper to bite, and when Harper didn’t, he drew a walk.

We would see the epitome of defensive indifference that inning as well. Hoskins was just allowed to walk to third. That’s one of the only reasons why he scored the second run.

After the Harper walk, Familia faced J.T. Realmuto, and he got him to hit the ground ball he needed. Unfortunately, even with Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil turning it quickly, the ball just wasn’t hit hard enough to turn two.

Again, we saw the defensive indifference as the Mets just let Realmuto go from first to third undaunted. Familia didn’t let this get to him as he got Didi Gregorius to fly out to end the game.

Breaking it down again, let’s review what we saw from Familia.

First off, Familia has really good stuff hitting 98 MPH with his fastball. For a pitcher with real command problems last year, he only went to three balls to Harper, a batter he was arguably pitching around to get to Realmuto.

We saw him respond to a bad and unlucky start to the inning by striking out McCutchen. Also, no one was able to square him up and make good contact against him.

If we see Familia have good velocity, induce weak contact, get big strikeouts, and stay poised when things around him go haywire, he’s going to have a big year. In the end, that’s the biggest takeaway from his appearance, and really, that’s great news for the Mets.

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Jacob deGrom Opens 2021 Season In Typically Great And Disappointing Fashion

When you think of Jacob deGrom, you think of the best pitcher in baseball. You also think of a pitcher who gets no run support.

Perhaps, you can understand why deGrom was against the universal DH. He knows he needs to provide his own run support in his efforts to try to get a win.

For the first (and last?) time in Mets history, deGrom became the first Mets pitcher to get the team’s first hit of the season. Overall, he’d go 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI.

He’d go six scoreless innings pitching phenomenally. He kept dialing it up to 100 MPH overpowering Phillies batters. When there was contact against him, the Mets defense actually showed up.

The problem was, as usual, deGrom received no run support. In that fourth inning where he and James McCann drove in a run, the Mets had bases loaded and one out.

The Phillies lifted Matt Moore for Brandon Kintzler. Kintzler got Kevin Pillar to hit into the double play he needed to get out of the jam. Pillar was a surprise lead-off hitter even with the left-handed starter, and he wasn’t great at the plate.

There was some debate about Dominic Smith there. The problem with the thought process is the Mets already had a lead with deGrom on the mound. Arguably, at that point in the game, defense was the priority. There’s also your top hitters after Pillar if he doesn’t hit into that double play.

Now, deGrom would only go six despite 77 pitches. It made sense giving the layoff, the Mets wanting to use him Sunday, and trying to get him through 162 games after last year. Despite that, deGrom had another scoreless start.

The Mets offense went dead for the next four innings giving the Phillies a chance. In the seventh, Miguel Castro didn’t give the Phillies a chance with a strong inning. It was a much different story for Trevor May in the eighth.

May got the first batter he faced out, and then he imploded loading the bases. That’s when Luis Rojas went to Aaron Loup to face Bryce Harper despite the three batter rule.

The decision immediately blew up with Loup plunked Harper. He then allowed a game tying single to J.T. Realmuto. The game then changed on the next play.

Alec Brohm hit a chopper to Luis Guillorme, who was in for defense for J.D. Davis (who was turning routine pop outs into adventures). Guillorme made a high throw home James McCann misplayed in Wilson Ramos fashion. With his being out of position and lunging, it hit off his mitt allowing two runs to score.

All told, that disaster of an inning turned a 2-0 lead into a 5-2 deficit. From there, you have your glass half full/half empty analysis.

Jose Alvarado retired the first two Mets quickly. After that, the Mets showed some fight. Pillar and Francisco Lindor hit two out singles bringing the tying run to the plate.

Michael Conforto hit an RBI single which dropped right in front of Harper. Interestingly enough, Joe Girardi left the left-handed reliever in against Pete Alonso.

For a moment, it looked like a massive mistake as Alonso gave it a ride. However, it’d fall just short with Harper catching the ball at the wall.

With that, the Mets lost a game they had no business losing. Perhaps some of it was rust. Perhaps it was just this being the way it goes when deGrom starts. Whatever the case, the Mets lost.

Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo hit eighth, and he was 1-for-3 with a walk. In the post game, deGrom agreed with getting pulled after six.

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Francisco Lindor Era Finally Begins

If not for the Washington Nationals, we would have seen the start of the Francisco Lindor Era with the New York Mets. Instead, that era starts in Philadelphia nearly a half week into the season.

If Mets history is any gauge, the era will start off with a win as the Mets have won on Opening Day at a higher percentage than any team in Major League history. The chances of that increase exponentially with Jacob deGrom on the mound.

Of course, this isn’t really Opening Day, but that is also besides the point. The real point is Lindor is a Met now, and he will Be for the following decade.

In that decade, there is a clear path for Lindor to easily surpass Jose Reyes to become the best shortstop in Mets history. In fact, in what New York Yankees fans may consider sacrilege, he could go on and become the best shortstop in New York baseball history.

Anything is on the table with Lindor. Since his career began, he’s been the best shortstop in baseball, and really he’s been the third best player in the game. Looking at it that way, it certainly fits that Mike Trout and Mookie Betts are the only higher paid players.

Lindor is having a Hall of Fame career, and much like Mike Piazza and Gary Carter, he’s going to get the opportunity to cement that legacy in Flushing. If so, he will join Piazza and Tom Seaver as players who have entered the Hall of Fame as Mets and had their numbers retired by the team.

With Lindor and Steve Cohen’s willingness to invest not just in players, but also the front office and technology, this promises to be one of the greatest stretches in Mets history. In fact, it could surpass what we saw in the 1980s.

Whatever happens from here on out, it’s most likely going to be defined by Lindor. He’s a genuine superstar playing in the best city in the world. Chances are this is going to be a mixture of magic and amazin.

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Mets Received Additional Time To Extend Michael Conforto

Before the season, Michael Conforto said he did not want to have contract extension talks during the season. While some have intimated he relaxed that Opening Day deadline, Conforto did once say he wanted to resolve his contract status by Opening Day.

Right now, we know Francisco Lindor has a 10 year $341 million contract. What we don’t know is what impact that will have on the Mets willingness and ability to hand out extensions to their other important players. On that note, the Mets were simultaneously having extension discussions with Lindor and Conforto with Lindor obviously being the priority.

With Lindor, the Mets had a future Hall of Famer who they parted with some good young players and prospects to obtain. For Conforto, it’s different. He is the homegrown player who could be a future captain and break a number of Mets records. He is also the player who hit two home runs in a World Series game at Citi Field.

Being further away from that shoulder injury, and being further away from Terry Collins, Conforto has re-emerged as an All-Star caliber player. While his career has not been on par with Lindor’s Conforto does have Hall of Fame talent. This is a player with one of the sweetest swings you’ve seen in Mets history this side of Darryl Strawberry. He has also been a good outfielder.

How we all remember Conforto’s career is going to be dictated by what he does in his prime and beyond. With the Mets, he has a comfort level, and now, he has a front office which is going to give him to the tools to really succeed. He can now get even more out of his talent with the data and training the Mets can now put in place. That many not only make his peak higher, but it may also lengthen his career.

Of course, the Mets have to entice him to stay in terms of dollars. While the narrative on Scott Boras is overstated, he has been reluctant to have his players sign extensions. Still, we have seen it with superstars like Greg Maddux, Stephen Strasburg, and Jose Altuve. The key is that Boras wants a real deal for his clients and not the hometown discount.

Seeing Conforto, he shouldn’t be pressured into the hometown discount. That goes double when they gave Lindor the third highest contract in the game. Conforto is a Met through and through, and he deserves to be treated as such.

The Mets were gifted an extra couple of days to focus in on Conforto and get a deal done. With Boras and the extremely weak outfield free agent class, that is going to be very difficult. However, as we saw with Lindor, all it takes is to make the offer to make Conforto feel like the wanted star he truly is. The Mets now have 48 more hours to get it done.

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2021 MLB Predictions

The 2021 season is going to be an interesting one. We are coming off of a pandemic shortened season, and Major League Baseball is once again messing with the baseball. That does make predictions all the more difficult. Despite that, here are the predicted division winners:

AL East – Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have exciting young talent with more pitching than people realize. They are helped out by the fact the Tampa Bay Rays took a significant step back with their pitching, and the New York Yankees just have too many question marks in their rotation and now in their bullpen to claim the division title.

AL Central – Chicago White Sox

Even with Eloy Jimenez injured and out for most of the season, they still have terrific starting pitching, and they have a deep lineup. The guess here is Tony La Russa actually works out, but we also shouldn’t discount him imploding everything. That should be enough to hold off the Twins and the Indians who seemingly just get pitching out of nowhere every season.

AL West – Los Angeles Angels

With Shohei Ohtani ready to be unleashed as the true two way star he can be, the Angels are a much better team. Keep in mind, this team still has Mike Trout, and they’ll get a full season of Anthony Rendon. On top of that, it looks like they may actually have starting pitching. That may just be enough to hold off Matt Olson and Matt Chapman in Oakland as well as the Houston Astros who appear at the end of their run.

Wild Cards – New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics
MVP – Mike Trout
Cy Young – Lucas Giolito

NL East – New York Mets

As noted earlier, the Mets have the best team in the division. That includes their having the best pitcher in Jacob deGrom and the best shortstop in Francisco Lindor. They also have the money, resources, and willingness to outlast and outbuild the other teams in the division.

NL Central – St. Louis Cardinals

The Nolan Arenado acquisition was just that important, and really when we look at this past offseason, they seemed to be the only team trying. Well, them and the Milwaukee Brewers who took advantage of the weird offseason market to nab Jackie Bradley Jr. Other than those two, the other teams did little for anyone to take them seriously.

NL West – Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers won the division, and they went out and arguably improved their team by adding Trevor Bauer. They have a great manager in Dave Roberts, and they have the best player in the National League in Mookie Betts. No matter how much the Padres did this offseason, and it was significant, there is little reason to believe over the course of a 162 game season anyone could overtake them.

Wild Cards – San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies
MVP – Mookie Betts
Cy Young – Jacob deGrom

Postseason

AL Wild Card – Yankees over Athletics
ALDS – White Sox over Yankees, Blue Jays over Angels
ALCS – White Sox over Blue Jays (MVP: Tim Anderson)

NL Wild Card – Padres over Phillies
NLDS – Dodgers over Padres, Mets over Cardinals
NLCS – Mets over Dodgers (MVP: Michael Conforto)

World Series – Mets over White Sox (MVP: Jacob deGrom)

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Mets Will Win 2021 NL East Title

Maybe this is just the excitement which comes from Opening Day. Certainly, that is amplified by new ownership, the Francisco Lindor extension, and Jacob deGrom taking the mound. However, taking everything into account, this New York Mets team is the best one we have seen since 2015 and probably 2006.

Like most times the Mets are good, they are going to be led by pitching. Their starting staff is great, and when healthy, it is the best in baseball. Part of the reason why is deGrom is still the best pitcher in baseball. Behind him right now is Marcus Stroman. Stroman has made adjustments and added new pitches, and he looks set for a career year. That is really saying something considering he has been a gamer his entire career, and he was the World Baseball Classic MVP.

Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco may be the two most underrated pitchers in baseball. Looking at their FIP, they pitch at or near an ace level. In this rotation, they may be no better than third or fourth starters. It’s not just doing deGrom-Stroman-Syndergaard-Carrasco. This is one of the deepest rotations in all of baseball.

Behind that quartet is Taijuan Walker who was once a top 100 prospect, and he seems poised to take a big step forward after using analytics to help him improve. After Walker, the Mets have David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, and Jordan Yamamoto, each of whom could be around a three in most rotations. For the Mets, they will eventually be on the outside looking in.

They are all going to be better pitchers because they have the tandem of James McCann and Tomas Nido behind the plate. Both of these players are strong catchers who are excellent pitch framers. Having catchers like that behind the plate make good pitchers even better. When your starting pitching is great and operating at a high level, you are going to win a lot of games.

This is paired with an incredible lineup. They Mets have an embarrassment of riches on that front. Consider Francisco Lindor, Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil have each been All-Star lead-off hitters, and they aren’t even the Mets best lead-off hitter. That’s Brandon Nimmo. With that group plus Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith, their 1-6 of their lineup can and probably should be hitting in the middle of the order.

Now, this Mets team isn’t perfect. Far from it. The first problem is their bullpen. The good news on that front is between Edwin Diaz and Trevor May, they have the last two innings covered well. The hope is at least one of Dellin Betances, Miguel Castro, or Jeurys Familia can figure it out to become that seventh inning reliever. That is at least until Seth Lugo is good to return. When that happens the Mets bullpen will be in great shape.

Another factor there is the Mets have some other interesting options. Sooner or later, Drew Smith will be healthy and ready to rejoin the bullpen. It should also be noted when the Mets have their full rotation, someone like Lucchesi can move down to the bullpen where his churve could be a weapon on par with Lugo’s curveball.

The other issue is the defense. Simply put, having J.D. Davis at third is unacceptable. He can’t remotely field the position. Having Dominic Smith behind him makes the left side defense one of the worst in baseball. To that, they may not be the worst in the division with the Atlanta Braves probably being worse with Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna.

It’s very possible Brandon Nimmo can succeed with positioning in center. After all, he’s had positive OAAs in center most of his career, and he does have the speed for the position. Jeff McNeil seems more comfortable at second, and while Alonso has his defensive issues, he is quite adept and receiving throws around first.

While the lineup has serious defensive issues, the bench does not. Luis Guillorme is a Gold Glove caliber defender. Albert Almora and Kevin Pillar are also quite good. With the lead, we can and should see Luis Rojas run all three out with Smith moving to first base. When that happens, the Mets defensive alignment turns from questionable to really strong.

Therein lies the key. Aside from health, Rojas is going to be the biggest key to this Mets season. He is going to need a deft touch as to when to utilize his defensive replacements. He and Jeremy Hefner are also going to have to get their rotation healthy through the season, which is all the more challenging because of the shortened season last year. They are also going to have to find the right mix in the bullpen while making sure they don’t overuse their best relievers.

Right now, the Mets have the right mix to have a great season. They also have an owner willing to invest in the team, and they have Sandy Alderson in charge, who we know will not be shy making a key trade or two to improve this Mets roster.

Looking at the Braves, their pitching has durability issues, and their defensive issues may be worse than the Mets. The Phillies don’t have the starting pitching, and their bullpen was a disaster last year. The Marlins are young and not deep. The Nationals still don’t know what they are going at key positions on the field.

Taking everything into account, the Mets are the best team in the National League East. If Rojas is up to the task, and there is every reason to believe he will be, the Mets are well poised to return to the postseason again and let their pitching take them back to the World Series.

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J.D. Davis Ready For Great Season

There are reports the deadened ball efforts may not have gone as planned with the new balls looking all the more juiced. That could really benefit J.D. Davis who had a really good second half in 2019 with the juiced ball.

Add to that, his working with Francisco Lindor and Gary Disarcina at third. Certainly, Lindor’s range helps him defensively as he has less ground to cover. We already saw some of the positive results this Spring Training.

When you look at Davis, you see a player who is in a position to succeed. He’s in a deep lineup, and there are players around him who are going to make him a better player. Between that and his willingness to do whatever he needs to do to succeed, no one, especially me, should be counting out his ability to have a great 2021 season.

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Steve Cohen Added Hall Of Famer Francisco Lindor To His Collection

One of the unspoken parts of the Francisco Lindor extension discussions was Steve Cohen and the New York Mets had the opportunity to add another Hall of Famer to the franchise. With the 10 year/$341 million contract, the Mets did just that.

This is what the Mets were able to do with Mike Piazza. Depending on how future votes go, the same can be said for Keith Hernandez and Carlos Beltran.

Point is, it doesn’t matter where your career began. What matters is where you spent the bulk of your career and had the greatest impact. With a 10 year deal, Lindor will be in line to wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.

Make no mistake, Lindor will be a Hall of Famer.

Consider for a moment, the average Hall of Fame shortstop has a 43.1 WAR7 and a 55.3 JAWS. So far, through five-and-a-half seasons, Lindor is at a 27.9. If he continues his 5.3 WAR/year production over his first five years, he’ll hit a 37.4.

That’s right behind the 43.1 mark. However, it should be noted Lindor is entering his prime. He’s entering his prime after already establishing himself as a 30 home run, 100 RBI shortstop.

That’s Alex Rodriguez and Cal Ripken Jr. territory. In fact, with each passing year, he continues to put himself on Ripken’s level.

Now, Lindor is with a New York franchise where his profile will be even higher. He’s also at a place more invested in analytics and getting the right data to players to help them perform at their peak. In some ways, Lindor finds himself in the position Gary Carter once did.

New York will be the place Lindor shows just how much of a leader he is. He’ll show his enthusiasm and love for the game on a bigger stage. God willing, this will be the place he leads the Mets to the World Series.

When all this happens, there will be no doubt Lindor should have his number retired, and he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He will wear a Mets cap on his plaque.

All that will be made possible because Steve Cohen stepped up to give Lindor the extra million more than Fernando Tatis Jr. received. It was possible because Cohen understands value. It was made possible because Cohen purchased the Mets.

Opening Day starts a new era in Mets history. It’s no longer just the start of the Steve Cohen Era. It’s now the start of the Francisco Lindor Hall of Fame Era in Mets history.

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Mets Sticking To Offer To Francisco Lindor Bad Idea

Being honest and fair, the 10 year/$325 million offer to Francisco Lindor was absolutely offering the superstar a contract everyone should’ve expected him to accept. As such, it’s a fine place to draw a line in the sand.

If that was it, everyone could move forward and wait until after the 2021 season. However, that is just part of the story. The other part is how the Mets have handled this publicly.

The Mets obviously leaked their offer, and Lindor’s camp obviously leaked their 12 year/$385 million counter-offer. If reports are to be believed, both sides are firmly entrenched in their positions and are playing chicken in advance of Opening Day.

If a deal is going to get done, someone has to blink. If it’s Lindor, that may not be as good for the Mets as some may believe.

Yes, Lindor blinking and signing that record deal is great for the Mets. It keeps a superstar and future Hall of Famer on the team for a decade. However, that’s only part of the story.

If the Mets very publicly make Lindor blink, all of baseball will notice. They’ll notice it just like they noticed when George Springer became a Toronto Blue Jay.

The Mets will look to be rigid and ruthless in negotiations. It will not be seen as a team trying to get a player, but rather, as an organization who looks to win every deal.

Keep in mind, that’s not the same as being cheap like the Wilpons. Clearly, Cohen has shown an ability and willingness to spend. This is something different.

It’s an odd situation where you make a record offer, and you make the other side have to swallow his pride and accept it. That’s exactly what will happen if Lindor signs that deal.

He will be in a clubhouse overjoyed he’s staying. He will also be in a clubhouse with players looking for their own deals.

Certainly, Michael Conforto, Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard, and their agents are watching this closely. At least with respect to Conforto and Syndergaard, the Mets have indicated there’s an interest in an extension.

How these players and their agents approach those negotiations will be very much impacted by the Lindor resolution. That’s not to say they won’t sign if the money isn’t right. Rather, it’ll be much more difficult to get there. That goes double where Scott Boras is involved.

The same will be true for future free agents. To a certain extent, it’s fair to say the Mets were shy in bidding wars, and they were not willing to go where they needed to go to get deals done.

Saying that with Lindor would be all the more alarming. It’s one thing for this to not get done. It’s another to leak offers and put public pressure to accept the proverbial “take it or leave it” offer.

Really, if the Mets just give an inch, perception changes. They will have finally gotten the big deal done. They suddenly seem more able to get deals done and be more creative and flexible. That has real value.

By first pitch on Opening Day, the Mets and Lindor either will or will not have a deal. If the Mets have a long term view, they will have Lindor for the next decade while just giving him that inch he needs to save face, and the inch the Mets need to give to help them with negotiations with their other star players and future free agents.

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