"If only the Mets had a pulse..." should be changed to "If they only had a heart". And for Stearns: "If he only had a brain." Uncle Steve: "If he only had the nerve" to fire Stearns.
Big majority of Stearns' bets have been losers. As a businessman, Cohen has got to feel he's gotten very little for a very large investment of money. He should be feeling burned. Unless there's a dramatic turnaround, how can Stearns NOT be fired?
The Nats are over .500. I fear when Washington teams do well that it involves selling their soul to the devil (maybe the reference is too old?), but good for them.
"Whenever he does return, Jorge Polanco will reportedly be battling pain for the rest of the season."
Okay. Let him never return. Why do we want that? Let his roster slot go to some kid.
Overall, I agree. I think the org wants to avoid promoting too many of the kids until they absolutely have to, mostly because a lot of early up-and-down can stunt development; the FO's thought process is probably 'hey, if we can add this veteran switch hitter back into this lineup, let's see if that does something.' Under normal circumstances, I would take the same gamble, especially with another switch-hitter due to return eventually. That's some nice lineup versatility...if people are hitting. Should Polanco be able to DH for the rest of the year somehow, awesome — if he's still awful by July, it looks like an increasingly stupid expenditure.
Agreed on the painful viewing. How useful a base runner will he be if he’s nursing a sore Achilles for the next four months? He’ll probably need to fill a three-true-outcomes profile to make any real impact, and leg injuries aren’t exactly good for power or base-stealing after walks so…even more strikeouts? Oh boy.
I keep returning to the hitting coach...no adjustments???? If poor hitting is an organizational problem is it philosophy & who would have the influence to dictate that? What the hay is going on???
I believe at least two Mets have publicly acknowledged that they've already picked his brain for hitting advice — that alone could be an indictment of the hitting program.
Why havent we seen Bae? Granted he is nothing special, but he is versatile, and if I am not mistaken can play the infield as well as the outfield. I mean I was all for Melendez, and I dont understand what happened to his swing from his KC prospect days, or why the Mets are not trying to get some time behind the plate so he can be an effective third catcher, but he is hitting .200 Certainly Bae can do that, and add some speed into the lineup. Play small ball.
And yet, everyone on the management/leadership side is still collecting a paycheck. There is absolutely ZERO accountability for this horrific product. How long do you think any of us working class people would last if our businesses put out an ROI like this? Maybe if/when fans STOP paying for tickets to the this product, the message will become clear and we will see change (even if just for change sake).
This piece focused on the Mets’ anemic hitting which is a problem. In addition, their starting pitching is uneven at best. At this point, would it hurt to give Manaea a start? He is still stretched out and could probably throw about 80 pitches. Use Peterson in Manaea’s long relief role. What do the Mets have to lose by doing this?
The pitching hasn't been perfect, but it's been far less of a problem than the offense. They rank 9th in team pitcher fWAR (6.2), 4th in K/9 (9.38), and have a group ERA of 3.96 — that's absolutely good enough to win games, so they're spared my ire right now. I definitely agree on giving Manaea a start. I think he's earned it, and he's previously proven he can succeed at lower velocity over sustained innings (see his 2018 season). I certainly trust him more than Petey right now.
Really nice piece. It's good to share the anguish with somebody. Polanco/Robert looks like he's going to be an epic flop in history of Mets epic flops. It's not lack of heart or any other psychological buzzwords (chemistry, meshing, all that stuff). They just can't hit. Yet I've seen commenters elsewhere complain that Soto only hits homers when the Mets are getting plastered, as if he controls that.
The Mets need to learn how to manufacture runs.....a single and stolen base, hit behind runner or bunt to advance, sacrifice fly to score....this doldrums should serve as a challenge to explore ways to score. What do the Dodgers and Braves do that different than the Mets offensively? Yeah, great hitters. Young athletic players and I don't know how they do it.
Just read that old friend Jarred Kelenic just got DFAed by the Chisox. If he clears waivers he'll be a FA. He fits the profile - another AAAA player with a Mets pedigree. So we have that to look forward to!!
Sometimes, prospects don't pan out. It happens. But look how many organizations he cycled through, each one thinking they could unlock his potential. Credit the Mets for selling high on him.
90% of the time a pundit uses the annoying phrase "roster construction", they could just write "roster" instead but they want to be one of the cool kids and sound sophisticated. Up to my eyeballs with that buzzword...
"If only the Mets had a pulse..." should be changed to "If they only had a heart". And for Stearns: "If he only had a brain." Uncle Steve: "If he only had the nerve" to fire Stearns.
Big majority of Stearns' bets have been losers. As a businessman, Cohen has got to feel he's gotten very little for a very large investment of money. He should be feeling burned. Unless there's a dramatic turnaround, how can Stearns NOT be fired?
The Nats are over .500. I fear when Washington teams do well that it involves selling their soul to the devil (maybe the reference is too old?), but good for them.
"Whenever he does return, Jorge Polanco will reportedly be battling pain for the rest of the season."
Okay. Let him never return. Why do we want that? Let his roster slot go to some kid.
Overall, I agree. I think the org wants to avoid promoting too many of the kids until they absolutely have to, mostly because a lot of early up-and-down can stunt development; the FO's thought process is probably 'hey, if we can add this veteran switch hitter back into this lineup, let's see if that does something.' Under normal circumstances, I would take the same gamble, especially with another switch-hitter due to return eventually. That's some nice lineup versatility...if people are hitting. Should Polanco be able to DH for the rest of the year somehow, awesome — if he's still awful by July, it looks like an increasingly stupid expenditure.
It's fair to talk about being careful about not overdoing the youth movement.
If not that, rotate in people who might bring lightning in a bottle. Try people out.
Anyway, unless the guy actually is going to do better than the alternatives, watching him play hurt would itself be painful to me.
Agreed on the painful viewing. How useful a base runner will he be if he’s nursing a sore Achilles for the next four months? He’ll probably need to fill a three-true-outcomes profile to make any real impact, and leg injuries aren’t exactly good for power or base-stealing after walks so…even more strikeouts? Oh boy.
I keep returning to the hitting coach...no adjustments???? If poor hitting is an organizational problem is it philosophy & who would have the influence to dictate that? What the hay is going on???
Can Uncle Stevie convince J.D. Martinez to be the full-time hitting coach?
Who is JD with now..what org?
The Mets. As a Special Assistant - blah blah blah.
I believe at least two Mets have publicly acknowledged that they've already picked his brain for hitting advice — that alone could be an indictment of the hitting program.
For me, it is impossible to watch. So I take a break and will be back after the NBA Finals and stay involved with the Knicks!
Why havent we seen Bae? Granted he is nothing special, but he is versatile, and if I am not mistaken can play the infield as well as the outfield. I mean I was all for Melendez, and I dont understand what happened to his swing from his KC prospect days, or why the Mets are not trying to get some time behind the plate so he can be an effective third catcher, but he is hitting .200 Certainly Bae can do that, and add some speed into the lineup. Play small ball.
Once the walking wounded return to the lineup, I propose the following changes be made:
When Lindor returns, Bichette returns to 3B.
When Polanco returns, he becomes the primary DH.
Baty and Semien platoon at 2B.
Vientos and Young platoon at 1B.
Alvarez catches 2/3 of the games.
The outfield is set with Soto, Ewing and Benge, so no changes.
RF Benge
SS Lindor
LF Soto
3B Bichette
DH Polanco
CF Ewing
1B Vientos/Young
2B Semien/Baty
C Alvarez
Thoughts?
All reasonable ideas.
And yet, everyone on the management/leadership side is still collecting a paycheck. There is absolutely ZERO accountability for this horrific product. How long do you think any of us working class people would last if our businesses put out an ROI like this? Maybe if/when fans STOP paying for tickets to the this product, the message will become clear and we will see change (even if just for change sake).
This piece focused on the Mets’ anemic hitting which is a problem. In addition, their starting pitching is uneven at best. At this point, would it hurt to give Manaea a start? He is still stretched out and could probably throw about 80 pitches. Use Peterson in Manaea’s long relief role. What do the Mets have to lose by doing this?
The pitching hasn't been perfect, but it's been far less of a problem than the offense. They rank 9th in team pitcher fWAR (6.2), 4th in K/9 (9.38), and have a group ERA of 3.96 — that's absolutely good enough to win games, so they're spared my ire right now. I definitely agree on giving Manaea a start. I think he's earned it, and he's previously proven he can succeed at lower velocity over sustained innings (see his 2018 season). I certainly trust him more than Petey right now.
Really nice piece. It's good to share the anguish with somebody. Polanco/Robert looks like he's going to be an epic flop in history of Mets epic flops. It's not lack of heart or any other psychological buzzwords (chemistry, meshing, all that stuff). They just can't hit. Yet I've seen commenters elsewhere complain that Soto only hits homers when the Mets are getting plastered, as if he controls that.
The Mets need to learn how to manufacture runs.....a single and stolen base, hit behind runner or bunt to advance, sacrifice fly to score....this doldrums should serve as a challenge to explore ways to score. What do the Dodgers and Braves do that different than the Mets offensively? Yeah, great hitters. Young athletic players and I don't know how they do it.
What's most maddening is we've seen the recipe for success several times this season. They absolutely know how to do it, and they just...don't.
The other day, the Mets actually had some hits. They got two runs out of them. Not great.
The Rockies, the Giants, and the Mets all lost last night so the race to last place in the NL puts the Mets only 2.5 games away from the Rockies.
Just read that old friend Jarred Kelenic just got DFAed by the Chisox. If he clears waivers he'll be a FA. He fits the profile - another AAAA player with a Mets pedigree. So we have that to look forward to!!
Sometimes, prospects don't pan out. It happens. But look how many organizations he cycled through, each one thinking they could unlock his potential. Credit the Mets for selling high on him.
Yea!! Bring back Dicky Lovelady as well!
90% of the time a pundit uses the annoying phrase "roster construction", they could just write "roster" instead but they want to be one of the cool kids and sound sophisticated. Up to my eyeballs with that buzzword...