Mr. Buskirk, thanks for bringing up the possibility that neither Bichette nor Polanco work out in the field. It's real. The cliche "Hope is not a strategy" comes to mind. As I read through today's piece I kept thinking, "This would be a hugely better team if they still had Pete Alonso". 30M a year for Alonso seems a bargain if you're paying Polanco 20M a year. Maybe they should've just accepted Alonso would fade in years 4 and 5 but what he would give you in years 1,2, and 3 would be worth it.
Honestly the more distance we get from Pete the more I believe it was much less about the money and much more about maintaining the sort of roster flexibility that will allow room for Clifford to come up soon and for other young guys to get some run. They definitely like him, and I think without any clear pathway to playing time they ran the risk of just letting him linger in the system. I think they want Clifford to get some more outfield reps...all signs point towards them trying to turn him into our own homegrown Ryan O'Hearn equivalent. I'm also curious to see how much playing time Jacob Reimer gets at first base between Bing and Syracuse this season — scouting suggests he may be bound for a shift off third, and if the team sees they have two potential boppers who can handle first, I understand the logic behind letting Pete walk a bit more.
Bichette’s throw to first was fine. It was Rojas who for some reason attempted to tag the runner when he was already out as his foot was on the bag as his glove hit the runner the ball came flying out. The Mets should have given Ty France a minor league deal with an invite to camp. I don’t like that we really don’t have a real first baseman in camp unless they are going to give Ryan Clifford a serious look. Let’s hope he mashes and makes the decision for them. Manaea to me will be headed for surgery. He is still screwing around with his arm slot and the only reason I can see for him to be doing that is to figure out which slot gives him the least amount of pain. I always thought it was a joke that he didn’t clear this up in the off season and if he gets surgery now he should give back his salary. The Mets will be lucky to get anything out of this guy the next 2 years and that’s a shame because I like Sean. He’s a funny interview anytime I’ve seen him give one and is a good clubhouse guy. Polanco is going to DH more than play the field. I think the Mets should trade Vientos and maybe Mauricio or another piece for Yandy Diaz. That would solve the first base problem and be a huge upgrade over anything we currently have in camp unless they are going to give Clifford a serious look. The “run prevention” mantra doesn’t look that serious having Vientos with a glove on and Polanco being your everyday first baseman. This move never made any sense to me. Waddel looked great. AJ Ewing credited his ‘24 season and his struggles during it with his resurgence now. Kid is a rising player for sure. Time for USA hockey. USA! USA! USA!
I think you're exactly right about Manaea's constant tweaking, unfortunately — he's clearly a hell of a clubhouse presence and the team loves having him around, but there's no other reason we should still be tinkering with an arm slot that helped him find career-high success just two season ago *unless* it's hurting him somehow. We've seen hardly any video of him from camp, which doesn't scream 'confidence' from a team who bases half of its current identity on its pitching development. I love Yandy and I think he'd fit the current lineup perfectly, but I also think he would block Clifford in a different way than Polo is. With Polanco, even if things do go south defensively and he's relegated to full-time DH duties, the Mets still have the benefit of having two switch hitters in the lineup between him and Lindor, along with the positional flexibility at first to try some other options. With Yandy, they'd be hard pressed to justify a part-time 1B workload, which would also likely guarantee that his conditional 2027 option would vest, further creating a 1B delay for Clifford. I do believe he's the plan for the future and that the Mets just wanted to ensure he had a clear runway to playing time, and if they found a way to do that while also securing a solid bat to lengthen the lineup and hold down the defensive fort in the interim, my kudos to the front office! Re: Ewing, I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for him. If his 2026 looks anything like 2025, I think a late-season cup of coffee is all but a sure thing.
The media is making too much of Bichette and Polanco position changes. Being a baseball observer for 50+ years, I have seen my share of players changing positions. Happens all the time yet it is only in todays, social media world where it is blown out of proportion all for clicks. Bichette is moving to a position that requires less range. And in this era where a bunt is rare, he doesn't need to play in on the grass. Of course there will be those balls that are topped and he will need to make a play but that is not the norm. As for Polanco (and I get we rather have a great defensive first baseman) but the fact is that least 'defensive' position is 1st base. Polanco may even be an upgrade defensively where the pitchers covering need to worry where the ball is being thrown. Please don't take this to mean he is Alonso replacement. No one will replace 40-50 HR's and 100 rbi's but Polanco will make all the plays at 1st base.
I'm not at all worried about Bichette, and not really about Polo either. Agreed, the standard for replacing Pete should never be a discussion of matching his offensive output — that's only ever going to happen in the aggregate. I do believe Polanco will be a defensive upgrade when all is said and done, but I also understand Mendy's point that in-game reps are really critical to helping Polo feel fully comfortable there. As a middle-infielder, I think he'll adjust fine, and back field video has shown him moving fairly fluidly in drills, but Bo has the benefit of a full slate of spring games to play...per Mendy, Polanco does not. Makes total sense that he'll need a bit of ramp up time in the early weeks of the season to get accustomed to game speed and that the Mets don't want to totally throw him to the wolves. Ultimately, I think this signing will prove to mostly just be a bridge to Clifford, but we'll see how he works out this year.
I think the best cliche of all applies, lets see what happens on Opening Day and the games after that. I get the excitement that baseball is back, but the Mets are digging their own hole by posting "highlights" of guys fielding groundballs and scooping. As psychotic fans we are starved for baseball content, but in the end everything that happens in February and most of March is pretty meaningless.
It is going to be slog as is in the regular season. When Polanco gets a clutch hit, it will be "see, he is the best", when he fumbles a ball or throw it will be "what a disaster moving a middle infielder turned DH to 1B". Now apply that to if Benge struggles, or Roberts is a dud, or Bichette has issues and vice versa for all. It will be 162 games and hundreds of chances to overreact. Wake me up when the playoff teams are locked in and we will see if the Mets made it.
Mr. Buskirk, thanks for bringing up the possibility that neither Bichette nor Polanco work out in the field. It's real. The cliche "Hope is not a strategy" comes to mind. As I read through today's piece I kept thinking, "This would be a hugely better team if they still had Pete Alonso". 30M a year for Alonso seems a bargain if you're paying Polanco 20M a year. Maybe they should've just accepted Alonso would fade in years 4 and 5 but what he would give you in years 1,2, and 3 would be worth it.
Honestly the more distance we get from Pete the more I believe it was much less about the money and much more about maintaining the sort of roster flexibility that will allow room for Clifford to come up soon and for other young guys to get some run. They definitely like him, and I think without any clear pathway to playing time they ran the risk of just letting him linger in the system. I think they want Clifford to get some more outfield reps...all signs point towards them trying to turn him into our own homegrown Ryan O'Hearn equivalent. I'm also curious to see how much playing time Jacob Reimer gets at first base between Bing and Syracuse this season — scouting suggests he may be bound for a shift off third, and if the team sees they have two potential boppers who can handle first, I understand the logic behind letting Pete walk a bit more.
Bichette’s throw to first was fine. It was Rojas who for some reason attempted to tag the runner when he was already out as his foot was on the bag as his glove hit the runner the ball came flying out. The Mets should have given Ty France a minor league deal with an invite to camp. I don’t like that we really don’t have a real first baseman in camp unless they are going to give Ryan Clifford a serious look. Let’s hope he mashes and makes the decision for them. Manaea to me will be headed for surgery. He is still screwing around with his arm slot and the only reason I can see for him to be doing that is to figure out which slot gives him the least amount of pain. I always thought it was a joke that he didn’t clear this up in the off season and if he gets surgery now he should give back his salary. The Mets will be lucky to get anything out of this guy the next 2 years and that’s a shame because I like Sean. He’s a funny interview anytime I’ve seen him give one and is a good clubhouse guy. Polanco is going to DH more than play the field. I think the Mets should trade Vientos and maybe Mauricio or another piece for Yandy Diaz. That would solve the first base problem and be a huge upgrade over anything we currently have in camp unless they are going to give Clifford a serious look. The “run prevention” mantra doesn’t look that serious having Vientos with a glove on and Polanco being your everyday first baseman. This move never made any sense to me. Waddel looked great. AJ Ewing credited his ‘24 season and his struggles during it with his resurgence now. Kid is a rising player for sure. Time for USA hockey. USA! USA! USA!
GOOOOOOLLLLDDDD!!! 🥇
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
USA USA USA!!!
It seems that nobody's investing a lot of hope or talk in Ryan Clifford. Sure would be nice to have an adequate first baseman with power.
It sure would. I feel this kid is ready too.
I think you're exactly right about Manaea's constant tweaking, unfortunately — he's clearly a hell of a clubhouse presence and the team loves having him around, but there's no other reason we should still be tinkering with an arm slot that helped him find career-high success just two season ago *unless* it's hurting him somehow. We've seen hardly any video of him from camp, which doesn't scream 'confidence' from a team who bases half of its current identity on its pitching development. I love Yandy and I think he'd fit the current lineup perfectly, but I also think he would block Clifford in a different way than Polo is. With Polanco, even if things do go south defensively and he's relegated to full-time DH duties, the Mets still have the benefit of having two switch hitters in the lineup between him and Lindor, along with the positional flexibility at first to try some other options. With Yandy, they'd be hard pressed to justify a part-time 1B workload, which would also likely guarantee that his conditional 2027 option would vest, further creating a 1B delay for Clifford. I do believe he's the plan for the future and that the Mets just wanted to ensure he had a clear runway to playing time, and if they found a way to do that while also securing a solid bat to lengthen the lineup and hold down the defensive fort in the interim, my kudos to the front office! Re: Ewing, I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for him. If his 2026 looks anything like 2025, I think a late-season cup of coffee is all but a sure thing.
🥇 LET'S GO USA HOCKEY 🥇
The media is making too much of Bichette and Polanco position changes. Being a baseball observer for 50+ years, I have seen my share of players changing positions. Happens all the time yet it is only in todays, social media world where it is blown out of proportion all for clicks. Bichette is moving to a position that requires less range. And in this era where a bunt is rare, he doesn't need to play in on the grass. Of course there will be those balls that are topped and he will need to make a play but that is not the norm. As for Polanco (and I get we rather have a great defensive first baseman) but the fact is that least 'defensive' position is 1st base. Polanco may even be an upgrade defensively where the pitchers covering need to worry where the ball is being thrown. Please don't take this to mean he is Alonso replacement. No one will replace 40-50 HR's and 100 rbi's but Polanco will make all the plays at 1st base.
I'm not at all worried about Bichette, and not really about Polo either. Agreed, the standard for replacing Pete should never be a discussion of matching his offensive output — that's only ever going to happen in the aggregate. I do believe Polanco will be a defensive upgrade when all is said and done, but I also understand Mendy's point that in-game reps are really critical to helping Polo feel fully comfortable there. As a middle-infielder, I think he'll adjust fine, and back field video has shown him moving fairly fluidly in drills, but Bo has the benefit of a full slate of spring games to play...per Mendy, Polanco does not. Makes total sense that he'll need a bit of ramp up time in the early weeks of the season to get accustomed to game speed and that the Mets don't want to totally throw him to the wolves. Ultimately, I think this signing will prove to mostly just be a bridge to Clifford, but we'll see how he works out this year.
I think the best cliche of all applies, lets see what happens on Opening Day and the games after that. I get the excitement that baseball is back, but the Mets are digging their own hole by posting "highlights" of guys fielding groundballs and scooping. As psychotic fans we are starved for baseball content, but in the end everything that happens in February and most of March is pretty meaningless.
It is going to be slog as is in the regular season. When Polanco gets a clutch hit, it will be "see, he is the best", when he fumbles a ball or throw it will be "what a disaster moving a middle infielder turned DH to 1B". Now apply that to if Benge struggles, or Roberts is a dud, or Bichette has issues and vice versa for all. It will be 162 games and hundreds of chances to overreact. Wake me up when the playoff teams are locked in and we will see if the Mets made it.