Yoenis Cespedes
For all of his faults as a centerfielder, Yoenis Cespedes is an incredibly gifted baseball player coming off of a career year at the relatively young age of 30. In 2015, he hit .291/.328/.542 with 35 homers and 105 RBI. He was the Gold Glove left fielder in the AL, and he set the world ablaze upon coming to the NL. Teams should be lining up to give him a big contract.
So far, they’re not. They’re also not lining up for Justin Upton, who at 27, is just entering his prime. His 162 game average is .271/.351/.473 with 26 homers and 84 RBI. Are we supposed to believe teams aren’t interested because he had a down year offensively while playing at Petco Park? Then there’s an established player like Dexter Fowler, who is a leadoff hitter and a centerfielder on a team that just won 97 games at went to the NLCS. These guys would make a great outfield from left to right.
Heck, you can surround them with a pretty good team. There’s Chris Davis at first, who’s 47 homers lead the AL. There’s Howie Kendrick at second, who’s a good glove and high average guy. The 2013 playoff hero, David Freese, mans the hit corner. Ian Desmond is the rare shortstop who averages around 20 homers a year. By the way, these are all Top 50 free agents who are all unsigned, and we’re 36 days away from pitchers and catchers.
It’s insane! In fact seven of the top 15 free agents remain unsigned. One that did sign was Alex Gordon. He signed a team friendly contract that has been described as a bargain. We’re now hearing questions whether three-time All Star Justin Upton will only seek a one year deal. The Mets, who once discussed a two to three year deal with Cespedes, is now thinking of offering him only a one year deal (of course they’re expecting him not to take it). This all sounds a little too much like Andre Dawson to me.
Due to the owner’s collusion back in 1987, Andre Dawson offered a blank check to get him out of Montreal. Did I just use the word collusion? Yes, I did. At what point does someone bring it up? There are simply too many big time free agents unsigned.
The offseason was somewhat slow to develop, and then we saw a lot of deals happening. The top players were receiving opt out clauses to the dismay of the Commissioner. After that, free agent signings came to a crawl. There are several top free agents left with the start of Spring Training a little more than a month away. The top free agent that did sign in Janusry signed a team friendly deal. Can we at least be suspicious? Doesn’t the Mets reducing their offer to Cespedes scream a little foul?
Better yet, doesn’t it make you yet again question the Mets jumping the gun signing Alejandro De Aza? With all these big time free agents, why wouldn’t you wait a little longer? Even if De Aza fills a real need, is it worth signing him and losing out on Cespedes or Fowler? Did the Mets just get a really bad read on this free agent market or is something else going on here?
I don’t know because none of this makes sense. Players in their prime putting up huge numbers are not supposed to be available now. Yet, here we are. These players are available, and they might be seeking team friendly deals like Gordon because the market seems to be suppressing their value. Whether that’s artificially or not is up for debate.
What is not up for debate is the fact that the Mets had a bad read on this market. As a result, they have De Aza, and they probably won’t have Cespedes. No one is coming to the Mets with an open check. Instead, they’ll go elsewhere on team friendly deals.
When assessing what’s left of this offseason, Sandy Alderson has given fair critiques on what remains. He has stated Yoenis Cespedes was a square peg for a round hole. In essence, Alderson was saying Cespedes’ bat doesn’t justify his poor defense.
Last year, Cespedes’ UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) in centerfield was -3.2, which is also his career average. UZR tells us he’s a below average centerfielder. DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) paints an uglier picture. Cespedes was a -17 in center last year, which is about as bad as it gets. His career average in his prior years in center is -4, which suggests he’s below average. Therefore, no matter what stat you want to use, Cespedes is a poor defensive centerfielder in a spacious Citi Field outfield.
Mets fans seem to feel differently because Cespedes hit extraordinarily well when he came to the Mets. When he was hitting like that you could justify his poor defense in a key defensive position. Problem is Cespedes just doesn’t hit like that. He’s a low OBP with good power (or potencia). He is a career .261/.319/.486 hitter. He is a career .236/.302/.491 hitter at Citi Field. I know I expected that to be a lot higher too. Thing is if Cespedes reverts back to these numbers, you can’t justify playing him in centerfield everyday.
Understandably, Mets fans remember him more for his insane hot streak. They overly correlate winning the division with Cespedes’ arrival. Some will dismiss the statistics and point to the eye test. With respect to the eye test, all I can say is Cespedes gave up not one, but two, Little League homeruns last year. How many centerfielders do that?
Overall, the Cespedes’ situation leaves me irritated. No, I’m not irritated because the Mets aren’t going to re-sign him. I’m irritated because of what they gave up to get him.
The Mets gave up Michael Fulmer for three months of Cespedes. At the time of the trade, the industry believed Fulmer was an unbelievable get for the Tigers. Yes, baseball people said the Tigers won the deal; not the Mets. Part of the reason might be the fact the Tigers most likely couldn’t re-sign him due to the language in his contract. Cespedes wouldn’t and most likely couldn’t re-sign with the Tigers, and they got Fulmer in the deal? It just wasn’t a good trade. The Tigers were the more desperate team, and the Mets still gave up too much value for a player they knew they weren’t going to re-sign.
Fulmer could be a potential ace. Last year in AA, he was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. He’s a guy who can get his fastball up to 97 MPH with a full repertoire. He can probably help a big league team in 2016. He will be bringing that talent to the Tigers instead of the Mets.
Usually, it’s at this point I hear how you have to give up something to get something. That’s fine, but that doesn’t change the fact the Mets have up too much for a player they had no intentions of re-signing. I’ll also hear how it was worth it because the Mets won the NL East and made the postseason. That’s a stretch considering the Nationals imploded, and the Mets won the division by seven games.
Furthermore, this trade ignores the John Smoltz trade. In 1987, the Tigers traded Smoltz to the Braves for Doyle Alexander. Alexander was terrific for the Tigers going 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA. He helped the Tigers win the AL East. I’m sure Tigers fans were elated. The problem is the Tigers didn’t win the World Series, and oh yeah, they traded away a future Hall of Famer. Do you think the Tigers and their fans would want a do-over on that trade?
Is Fulmer a Hall of Famer? We don’t know that yet. We don’t know if he’ll be an ineffective starter and have to go to the bullpen. The thing is his value as a potential ace was much higher than a rental.
Here’s what we do know:
- The Mets lost 15 pitchers over the last year;
- The Mets had to sign a fifth stater this offseason; and
- The Mets didn’t win the World Series.
That’s it in a nutshell. The Mets tout all this pitching depth, and yet they’re signing guys like Bartolo Colon because they didn’t have a fifth starter. Furthermore, the Mets don’t have a World Series title to show for losing all that pitching. In fact, they don’t even have a Cespedes. So while I agree with Sandy Alderson that Cespedes isn’t a centerfielder, I can’t agree with him giving up a potential ace to a desperate team for someone he saw as a square peg to a round hole.
Just like most Mets fans, I’m irritated over the Cespedes situation. However, I’m irritated because they gave up a lot to bring him to New York. I’m alright with them admitting he wasn’t a centerfielder. I just wish they realized that before sacrificing a part of their future. A part of their future that will come all the more important when the Mets may not have the money to re-sign any of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, or Noah Syndergaard.
When that times comes, what will you be thinking? Will you be thinking the three months of Cespedes was worth it, or will you be wondering about how the Mets really could’ve used Fulmer to cushion the blow? My bets on the latter.
Editor’s Note: this first ran on metsmerizedonline.com
I think it’s fair to say that Mets fans have been disappointed in this offseason. No matter how you look at it, the 2016 Mets are worse the the Mets team that lost the World Series. There are still some moves to make, but I agree with Sandy Alderson when he says Yoenis Cespedes isn’t one of those moves.
The issue is Cespedes just isn’t a centerfielder. It’s the reason why Alderson said signing Cespedes is trying “to fit a round peg in a square hole.” Cespedes was great for a stretch, but it was mostly with the bat. Be honest with yourself for a second and think about Cespedes’ tenure with the Mets. What was the great fielding play he made in center? I tried racking my brain, and I couldn’t come up with one. The only thing I could think of was a throw:
Look, it was an awesome throw. He has an incredible arm. However, the throw was made possible because he played the ball poorly. No, I’m not saying he should’ve caught that. I’m saying he was in poor position. Go watch it again. The ball splits the outfielders and goes to the wall. While the ball is rolling to the wall, Cespedes is still heading towards left field. Given the curvature if the Citi Field walls, it’s physically improbable that ball bounced towards left. Sure, Cespedes turn it into a remarkable play, but it doesn’t change the fact he almost misplayed a double into a triple.
Here’s the part where many people will say I’m over-analyzing one play. That’s a fair critique. With that said, let’s look at his defensive metrics. Cespedes had a UZR of -3.2, which rates him as a below average centerfielder in a large outfield. It’s not a one year fluke as Cespedes’ career UZR in center is -12.6, which equates to an average UZR of -3.2 per season.
If you don’t like UZR, let’s look at Cespedes’ DRS (defensive runs saved). Cespedes was a -17 in center last year! That’s worse than below average. It’s flat out awful. It was the worst of his career. Typically, Cespedes averages a -4, which is still below average. There’s simply no reason to believe Cespedes is a good centerfielder. He’s not even an average one.
Typically, when I raise this argument, I’m told the eye test shows Cespedes is a good centerfielder. Are you sure:
Don’t know about you, but my eyes tell me that was a bad defensive play. He didn’t look like a great centerfielder there. It’s also not nitpicking just one play. Here’s another:
How many good centerfielders allow two Little League homeruns in one year? The answer is none. By the way, you have to hate his lack of hustle going back for the ball he missed there.
Ultimately, we remember Cespedes being better than he was defensively in centerfield because he has a canon of an arm, and we were distracted by his bat. It was a fun run with him, but the truth is it was nothing more than an insane hot streak. For his career, Cespedes is a .261/.319/.486 hitter. He has hit .236/.302/.491 at Citi Field. Those aren’t the types of numbers that can cover up bad defense at a position where defense is at a premium.
Like all Mets fans, I appreciate what Cespedes did. However, let’s be honest his career statistics prove out he’s not a centerfielder. I’m not saying you need to be happy with Alejandro De Aza. I’m saying you need to be honest and admit Cespedes isn’t a centerfielder. He’s a corner outfielder on a team with two terrific incumbent options with Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson.
Cespedes is just a square peg that can’t fit the holes the Mets have.
With one bold move, the Mets completely transformed their team with the acquistion of Mike Piazza. While he was not immediately adored (he was replacing the injured fan favorite Todd Hundley), he became a beloved Met.
To understand the Piazza adoration, you first have to understand what was happening. Honestly, I think things were worse in 1998 than they were now. The Mets were in year 10 of a rebuild from the glorious 80’s teams. That involved every player Mets fans loved leaving the team. The first step in the rebuild was The Worst Team Money Could Buy. This started some depressing baseball.
After that was the Vince Coleman firecracker incident. There was also the Bret Saberhagen bleach incident. The fans took everything out on Bobby Bonilla, who would wear earplugs to drown out the booing. It’s hard to see a team lose without trying. It’s worse to see a team try and be incompetent in doing so.This all set the Mets back years. Throw in the 1994 season ending strike, and you had the nadir of Mets baseball in my lifetime.
Nope, it wasn’t quite the nadir yet. The rebuild for the 90’s Mets was based on the same theory as the current Mets. It was based upon pitching. The problem is it didn’t work in the 90’s. The Mets entrusted Generation K to Dallas Green. All of the arms burned out. They were all injured under his watch. The Mets switched to Steve Phillips and Bobby Valentine, and things started getting better. It’s hard to imagine it, but 88 wins felt like the Mets had actually won something.
Part of the reason is the Mets acquired Mike Piazza. He came to the Mets in 1998 and he hit .348/.417/.607 with 23 homers and 76 RBI in 109 games. He did what Mets fans thought Yoenis Cespedes did in 2015. He carried the team for almost a whole season. He transformed the team. The Mets had no choice but to bring him back.
In 1999, he became the second Met to hit 40 home runs in a season. He led the team to the playoffs (even if they needed a play-in game to get there). He hit a homerun in the 1999 NLCS that I seriously thought was going to help propel the Mets to win Game 6 and complete the then impossible:
In 2000, he again led the Mets to the postseason. For much of that year, he was considered an MVP candidate. Unfortunately, the Mets lost as Piazza’s ball didn’t carry far enough. It was a shame because Piazza was the reason Mets fans had pride. He was the reason the Mets fans believed they could win it all. He was the reason the Mets could step toe to toe with the Yankees.
They did. There were some epic games between the two teams back when the Subway Series mattered. Everyone remembers the Matt Franco single, but they forget the two Piazza bombs in that game:
Did you see where that ball went? How epic was that bat flip? He was a dangerous and feared hitter. It’s why Roger Clemens went after him not once but twice. But getting back to the home runs, it was one of several huge home runs he hit for the Mets. Do you remember the homerun he hit against the Braves capping off a huge comeback:
I remember being there that night. It was insane. That homerun sums up his tenure with the Mets perfectly. Even against teams like the seemingly unbeatable Braves and Yankees, the Mets always had a chance no matter how bleak the odds were. Seeing those highlights made me a little emotional. That reminds me of this moment:
To me, that’s still the greatest homerun ever hit. If you didn’t forever love and respect Piazza before that night, you did now. It’s part of the reason why after he left Mets fans still cheered him. I know I returned in 2006 for his first game back. It was important for me to cheer the man that meant so much to Mets fans:
I remember the constant standing ovations and cheering his name. I just wish I was there for the next night when he got a curtain call:
Seriously, how many visiting players get a curtain call? This moment shows how much Piazza means to Mets fans. We loved him. It seems he loved us back. He came back to close out Shea and open up Citi Field. He is now the guy who throws out the first pitch at World Series games.
Whether it’s today or in the future, Mike Piazza will be a Hall of Famer. He deserves it. Mets fans deserve it. It’s important to a of us. We want to see him recognized for all he did for the Mets and all Mets fans. My favorite Mets teams were the ones with Mike Piazza. He’s my favorite Met. He’s my favorite player.
It’s important to me and all Mets fans he gets elected to the Hall of Fame.
The Mets seemingly have one last opportunity to spend this offseason. They’ve made promises to increase payroll of attendance went up, but they haven’t done so thus far. They’re running out of opportunities to do so as well.
Fans will immediately jump and scream Yoenis Cespedes. I’ll admit that despite my reservations, the Mets should bring him back if it’s a two or three year deal. However, I think Cespedes is still holding out for more. He may go into Spring Training holding out for more. Honestly, if he only gets a three year deal, I would get suspicious there was collision on the free agent market. This is all a round about way to say I don’t think Cespedes is returning.
As far as I see it, there’s one player where you can look at add payroll. Right now, the Mets need someone who can play first base and the corner outfield slots. That is unless Eric Campbell is your guy. Seemingly, I’m the only fan who has any respect for him, so that’s out. The other rumored guys for that spot are Ryan Raburn and Steve Pearce. They could be solid if not spectacular options. There’s one name who’s available that does excite me. Nick Swisher.
The Braves are desperate to move him and will eat a significant part of his contract to move him. They better be for a guy with two surgically replaced knees owed $10 million (Indians are paying $5 million of his $15 million due this year) coming off of a .196/.312/.320 season. With all that said, I still like Swisher. I think he can still help a team as a bench player. I believe he has more upside than Raburn and Pearce.
Yes, he is coming off two consecutive bad years, but it was following surgery on both of his knees. He’s had a full season in his rear view mirror, and hopefully, he knows his limitations and/or what he needs to do to get through a season. Additionally, I like the idea of reuniting him with Kevin Long.
If we remember, Curtis Granderson hit .227/.326/.388 in his first year as a Met. His contract looked like a disaster. In 2015, Granderson was reunited with Long, and he hit .259/.364/.457. At the age of 34, Granderson went from albatross to the Mets MVP.
Swisher hit .268/.367/.483 in four years as a Yankee. It was the best four year stretch of his career. They were all under Kevin Long. Seeing how Lonh helped rejuvenate Granderson, I’m intrigued by what Long could do with Swisher. Sure, Swisher is older than Granderson was, and he has injury problems that Granderson didn’t. However, Long has shown a knack in helping both players. I’d like to see him get another opportunity.
I also like having a switch hitter on the bench. For his career, Swisher hits lefties better, but he’s a viable bench player against lefties and righties. He has hit .243/.334/.453 against righties and .264/.389/.435 against lefties. Considering most of the talent on the current roster fares better against righties, it’s a positive to have a hitter that hits lefties better. It’s also good to have a pinch hitter who will not be neutralized by a pitching change.
The last reason I like Swisher is who he is. Seemingly, every team he was on commented on his enthusiasm. A 162 game schedule is a grind. A player like Swisher can help you through it (although it apparently works better on winning teams). This offseason the Mets have seemingly lost a lot of character and glue guys from the team. If you’re filling out a bench, it’s probably a good thing to add a guy who keeps the clubhouse upbeat.
We know the issues with Swisher. He’s going to be more expensive than the alternatives. He’s had two knee surgeries. He’s going to cost a player. However, it has seemingly affected him more at the plate than in the field. Also, he has more upside at the plate and in the clubhouse. I’d buy low on Nick Swisher and let him work with Kevin Long.
The Mets should acquire Nick Swisher.
Perhaps, the Mets biggest free agent remains unsigned. No, not Yoenis Cespedes. I’m of course referring to Keith Hernandez. As Adam Rubin reported, Keith remains unsigned. Most people expect him to return. I wouldn’t be shocked if he didn’t.
We know this isn’t the first time it was rumored that Keith was leaving SNY. There was his infamous 2009 sign-off where he hinted he may not return. As we know, Keith returned, and he has been a part of the Gary, Keith, and Ron (GKR) booth ever since. So, why is this time any different?
For starters, we had the Bobby Ojeda situation last year. Every Mets fan seemed to enjoy his work. I believe that was because Ojeda didn’t mince words. He called it as he saw it. Mets fans appreciated it regardless of whether we agreed with him or not. Unsurprisingly, it was reported the issue was money. Ojeda was replaced with Nelson Figueroa, who was presumably cheaper and definitively less critical.
We don’t currently know what the reason why Keith’s deal hasn’t been completed. We also know this isn’t the first time this offseason it was rumored the GKR booth was breaking up. There were the rumors Ron Darling may be poached by NESN to call Red Sox games. It turns out there was nothing to the rumors as Ron never had any conversations with NESN. I still question how those rumors arose.
What we do know is the Mets have been penny pinching this offseason. Instead of $12.5 million a year for Daniel Murphy, it’s around $9 million for Neil Walker. Instead of $9 million for Jon Niese, it’s $7.25 million for Bartolo Colon. Free agent Tyler Clippard earned $8.3 million last year, but the Mets did bring back Jerry Blevins for $4 million. Then there’s every Mets fans’ favorite, Cespedes was paid $10.5 million last year, and he remains unsigned (he seems to want double that). In his stead is the $5.75 million Alejandro De Aza. The total savings of those moves is $14.3 million.
Sure, I didn’t include the $8.25 million to Asdrubal Cabrera. That would reduce savings to $6.05 million. However, I also didn’t include the retirement of Michael Cuddyer, which took $12.5 million off the books. In total, that’s $18.55 million in savings. The Mets have increased revenues and attendance, and yet, they’re still cutting corners. Put aside your feelings on the wisdom of these moves, it’s fair to say the Mets saved money in each mechanation.
With that in mind, why should we feel the Wilpons will act differently with SNY? They already did it with Ojeda. Is Keith really immune to cost cutting measures? I’d argue no, and admittedly fans are partially to blame.
Be honest with yourself. If Keith is gone, will you stop watching Mets games in 2016? Of course not. You’re watching them to see if they can go back to the World Series. As we all know, there is higher attendance figures and higher ratings when a team is good. The Mets could hire Joe Buck and Bobby Bonilla to call the games, and you’d still watch. It may be on mute, but you’d still watch.
That’s the reason I wouldn’t be surprised if Keith wasn’t re-signed. The Mets are good again. SNY doesn’t need GKR to help drive ratings. They have a good team to do that. With all that said, I still believe Keith will be back next year.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he wasn’t.
Supposedly, this documentary was directed at Mets fans. As such, I really wanted to like it. With that said, wow that completely missed the mark.
Yes, completely. I know it’s an hour show. However, it missed so many HUGE storylines. First, there was no real mention of Matt Harvey. Seriously? He was coming back from Tommy John surgery. It was the reason for the flip-flopping on the six man rotation all season. There was the Yankee game. There was the innings limit drama. There was the whole keeping him in too long in Game 5. Harvey was a huge, important, and at times, divisive figure. He barely received a blurb.
Speaking of pitching. This could’ve been the year Jacob deGrom became the staff ace. He was utterly dominant in the first half. He was the story of the All Star Game. He opened the postseason with a 13 strikeout performance. He somehow gutted out Game 5 of the NLDS, which is known as The Murphy Game.
Both pitchers got less coverage than Steven Matz‘s debut and his grandfather. It was a big moment in the season, but also lost there was the Mets mismanaging his injury in a season of the Mets mismanaging injuries. Heck, Matz got more coverage than any pitcher. That includes Noah Syndergaard, who was probably standing 60′ 6′ away. It also includes Jeurys Familia, who got thrust into the closer’s role due to two Jenrry Mejia PED suspensions. Familia was arguably the team MVP, but you wouldn’t know if from any of this.
Speaking of MVPs, if he wasn’t interviewed, I wouldn’t have known Curtis Granderson was even on the team. Granderson may have been the sole professional bat on an injury ridden deplorable offense. We heard about David Wright‘s back, but we didn’t hear about any of the other injuries (even in passing) that led to John Mayberry, Jr. and Eric Campbell hitting in the middle of the lineup. How do you miss this? Ask any Mets fan, and they will tell you that was a seminal moment in the season.
It was part of the whole Mets mockery of the fans with Panic City. It lead to an important Mike Vaccaro column about the Mets malpractice. This column really touched upon what it meant to be a Mets fan since the Madoff scandal. We were angry. Very angry. There was a campaign to buy a billboard did the Wilpons to sell the team. That side of the story wasn’t voiced, not even with Joe & Evan.
Instead, we got The 7 Line Army story. I mean no disrespect to Darren Meenan and what he’s created, but why was The 7 Lime Army featured more than anything else? The 7 Line Army got more coverage than Yoenis Cespedes being the hottest hitter anyone has ever seen. Seriously, when Cespedes hit the NLDS homer, we saw The 7 Line Army celebrating instead of an epic bat flip. Interview Darren Meenan? Absolutely. He’s a fan, and he’s made a successful business out of his fandom. However, I’m sorry. The 7 Line Army was not the defining story of the 2015 season. Yet, it got a lot of coverage. Maybe the most coverage.
With that, a lot was missed. Think about it. There were many key games this past season. If you take longer than a nanosecond to pinpoint the Padres game as the nadir, you’re a casual fan. If you don’t know the game to which I’m referring, you’re not a Mets fan. That game set the stage for the exhilaration fans felt after the Cespedes’ trade. No matter your feelings about the trade, you were excited to se degree that the Mets were remade and going for it.
That trade flipped the script on the season for the fans . . . perhaps for the team as well. The Mets went from an under-.500 team falling apart at the seams to real contenders. They went from a laughingstock with the Carlos Gomez trade debacle to a force to be reckoned. The documentary took the incredible, real-life drama that unfolded and omitted it. You could do a mini-series on July 30th and July 31st. Instead, we get a snarky Tom Verducci comment about Mets fans not being happy. I would say the quote was taken out of context, but really, how could it be? Until that trade, the Mets had cheap owners and an under-.500 ball club. Any fan had a right to be angry.
That’s the thing overall. You simply cannot discuss the fans without capturing their anger. It’s an example of how passionate Mets fans are. We’re not the hapless bunch we were presented as to the world. We are fans that have lived through nightmares. There was the worst team ever assembled. The Midnight Massacre. There were the misses in the 80’s. The Worst Team Money Can Buy. Kenny Rogers walked in the series winning run. Mike Piazza‘s ball died on the warning track. Carlos Beltran struck out looking followed by two collapses. All hope was then seemingly lost with the Madoff scandal.
However, Mets fans have seen enough magic to believe in anything. The Miracle Mets. Ya Gotta Believe! A little roller up the first base line. The Grand Slam Single. Overall, Mets fans don’t expect the worst. We’re not Cubs fans or pre-2004 Red Sox fans. No, we believe anything can and will happen. It’s a feeling that was awoken with Harvey’s right arm. It’s a feeling that’s not going away.
So no, Tears of Joy didn’t tell the world about Mets fans. It missed the mark despite excellent work by Anthony DiComo, Jared Diamond, and Jim Breuer.
Also, it didn’t tell me about the team or the season. From my understanding of Tears of Joy, Daniel Murphy had a hot streak before losing the World Series with an error. All 27 homerun Lucas Duda did was make a poor throw home. I could go on and on ad nauseum, but you get it. You watched the season. You know just as well as I do that Tears of Joy didn’t do a good job describing the ups and [mostly] downs of the season.
No, overall it mostly failed to capture the season or the fans. It’s disappointing really, just as the end of the 2015 season was. I guess there it at least hit the right tone.
In some ways it’s ironic that Festivus is the first full day in which the Mets fans lost all hope for the continuation of Cespedes. It all started with this:
Oh my god. @Mets
I can't believe I can actually say this, but is it true that there is now
"A Cespedis for the rest of us"?#mets#T7L— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) July 31, 2015
Now, it unofficially ends with the Mets signing Alejandro De Aza. Personally, I thought the Mets didn’t have room anymore for Yoenis Cespedes. I didn’t like the trade that brought him here. But boy oh boy did I enjoy the ride.
We can all debate whether Cespedes was the reason the Mets won the NL East. Undoubtedly, he was a huge help to the cause. Furthermore, he added fun and excitement to a season which was frustrating and at times hard to watch. Seemingly overnight the Mets went from a team barely scoring any runs to a high powered offense. That offense was powered by La Potencia.
If nothing else, Cespedes made the Mets fun to watch with plays like these:
Also, let’s not forget the arm sleeve and the parakeet:
Whatever you want to say about Cespedes, you have to admit he brought energy to the team and the fanbase. He was fun to watch. He was the type of player you had to stop to watch. At any moment, he could unleash a laser from the outfield to nail a runner, or he could hit one out of the park in the blink of an eye.
When Cespedes was at his best, there were none like him. He made the game fun. He made the game exciting. I’m sincerely going to miss that. I appreciate all he did in his short time in Queens. He deserves the standing ovations when he returns. He will deserve the invitations back to Citi Field when the Mets celebrate big events. While Cespedes was only a Met for three months, he left his mark here. I wish him the best of luck.
Thank you for your time here Cespedes.
After the Mets signed Alejandro De Aza, the Mets fans realized the team was breaking its promises, and they became angry. They came to the realization that the team was not going to increase payroll, at least not significantly, after attendance increased.
Right now, I could remind everyone of the Mets great starting pitching in an attempt to calm everyone down. However, I don’t think it’s that time. Honestly, the fans need to be angry with the team lying to them. The team needs to answer questions why ticket prices increased while the payroll was decreased. The only way I truly know how to make that happen is to tell everyone the Mets punted on Yoenis Cespedes.
Cespedes is projected to receive a contract around $21.5 million per year. Jason Heyward signed a deal worth approximately $23 million a year. If you assume Heyward was the top free agent, the $21.5 million is a good approximation.
We know Michael Cuddyer. We don’t know if he received a buyout. He was due to make $12.5 million. De Aza just signed for $5.75 million, and he can earn up to $1.25 million in incentives. That’s potentially $7 million. Collectively, that’s potentially $19.5 million.
That’s right. The De Aza signing really did cost the Mets Cespedes. The money saved in the series of transactions starting with the Neil Walker trade and Cuddyer retirement wasn’t used to get the power bat the Mets need.
Yes, I don’t think the Mets should re-sign him. However, I do think they should’ve used the money to improve the roster. They haven’t done that. For me, I thought the Mets should’ve created a lockdown bullpen while bringing back Daniel Murphy. For others, it’s Cespedes.
For the Mets, it was pocketing the money while bringing on De Aza.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with Alejandro De Aza as the Mets fourth outfielder and/or a platoon option for Juan Lagares. I didn’t trust Denard Span‘s ability to return to form. I never thought Gerardo Parra would come to the Mets to accept a reduced role. In a vacuum, I thought the move made sense.
Apparently, I was the only one, and you know what? I completely understand. For many Mets fans the De Aza signing was a signal that the Mets weren’t spending money. It meant the Mets weren’t going to bring in Span, who was a popular free agent target amongst fans. It meant the Mets weren’t going to bring back fan favorite Yoenis Cespedes. It meant the Mets were going to pocket all that playoff money.
It showed the Mets were not going to keep their promise that payroll would increase if attendance increased. Well attendance and revenues increased, so what happened:
https://twitter.com/jareddiamond/status/679393422684381184
#Mets payroll alert: $107m. I'll leave now.
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) December 22, 2015
This means the Mets payroll is at or near the 2015 Opening Day payroll. That’s less than the Mets payroll at the end of the 2015 season. In essence, attendance increased and PAYROLL DECREASED!
It’s unacceptable, especially when you consider the Mets needed to improve a team that lost the World Series. They’re now worse than that team. It’s not right, and frankly it’s unfair to the fans.
One thing that’s funny is I had some on ask me why I wasn’t more upset about the De Aza signing. It’s simple. The Mets already signaled they weren’t going to spend this offseason with the Neil Walker trade. It was a cheap move that saved a couple of million.
Yes, Walker’s and Jon Niese‘s 2016 salaries are effectively a wash. However, the Mets needed to add Bartolo Colon to take Niese’s spot in the rotation for $7.25 million. The Mets might’ve been able to sign Daniel Murphy for an average annual value of $12 million. That’s a $4.75 million difference. By saving that money, the Mets lost a trade chip in Niese, which is important since the Mets have lost a lot of pitching over the past year. They also let everyone know they’re saving money. It’s just now confirmed the cost savings were for the Wilpons and not for a big payroll acquisition.
Overall, the Walker trade signaled this was coming. I was angry when that trade happened. I’m not going to get angry again over the same issue. I’m not going to get angry over a signing that makes some sense. Don’t get me wrong. Like you, I’m angry.
It’s just that I’ve been angry much longer than you have.