Baseball aside and being just a human for a moment, Cleveland is probably a fantastic place for the Mets to be right now. Great city, superb ballpark, there for just a few days right after the crazy train that is the trade deadline stopped for a little while, a place Lindor knows really well and can help everybody relax just a bit with the young core.
Really interesting idea with Senga too. Counterintuitive, but that’s what professional Leadership is paid to see. Fingers crossed and let’s see how that goes. Let the kids be kids for a few days and just play hardball. Scott and McClean is about all there is, and they are not going anywhere, so air it out fellas. Crazy train pulls out of town in 2 days…
Manaea looked good again. The rotation for next year could be fine with McLean, Scott, Thornton, Manaea, and (hopefully) Holmes. Plus break the bank for Skubal.
Manaea is easy to root for, though that 25M is a tad ridiculous for what is now a back-end starter (fine for that, but 25M!).
Baseball Reference does tell me that his salary next year is "deferred until 2035–44."
I think the rotation can be fine -- they can pick up someone -- though the young guys might have growing pains. The OF is also fine (they can pick up a fourth OF).
It's the IF and relief (though Boy Genius has been good there) that concerns me.
Manaea should be OK at the back of the rotation. The overpay happened and at least we can get some mileage out of him.
I agree that we should be OK except for the infield. The problem is that we're stuck with Polanco (to DH?) and Semien (to overpaid backup infielder?). I'm betting that Bichette opts in for next year. Use Cohen's money to get free agents for 1B and 2B. How about Jake Bauers and Brandon Lowe?
The pen? I wish we had kept Weaver and Brazoban, but I do think we'll be OK here.
Ahem. Glad you said "could be". Manea: loads of baserunners but compared to earlier this year, a big improvement. And it's just a tad early to annoint Thornton, isn't it? Scott's got a lot of promise, I agree. Guess how many times he's pitched even 6 innings? Once. The rotation for next year, even if they manage to re-sign Holmes, is fine only if you don't compare it to what other teams have.
The team still has a lot of talent. They didn't lose any bats except for Taylor. Some pen arms (including Lavender) can be good stories. Senga? He isn't useless or anything.
On a personal level, I wish him well. I might also wish he and multiple other people would simply be DFA-ed, but with their salaries and all, that is not likely to happen.
Off topic but I can't resist posting this: Why not feature more important Mets news like Polanco’s race to get his BA under .100? He only has to go hitless in his next 34 at bats, which he’s certainly capable of, and he’ll have a BA of .099. If he can manage that, he’ll be getting paid at a rate of $1.4M per base hit, proving that Soto’s woefully underpaid.
The Senga experiment (contract) will be over, but not soon enough. Everything has had to be perfect for him, and the way that HE wants it. Someone please tell him "Welcome to the real world."
Baseball aside and being just a human for a moment, Cleveland is probably a fantastic place for the Mets to be right now. Great city, superb ballpark, there for just a few days right after the crazy train that is the trade deadline stopped for a little while, a place Lindor knows really well and can help everybody relax just a bit with the young core.
Really interesting idea with Senga too. Counterintuitive, but that’s what professional Leadership is paid to see. Fingers crossed and let’s see how that goes. Let the kids be kids for a few days and just play hardball. Scott and McClean is about all there is, and they are not going anywhere, so air it out fellas. Crazy train pulls out of town in 2 days…
Hope they have fun. They need it.
Steve
Manaea looked good again. The rotation for next year could be fine with McLean, Scott, Thornton, Manaea, and (hopefully) Holmes. Plus break the bank for Skubal.
Manaea is easy to root for, though that 25M is a tad ridiculous for what is now a back-end starter (fine for that, but 25M!).
Baseball Reference does tell me that his salary next year is "deferred until 2035–44."
I think the rotation can be fine -- they can pick up someone -- though the young guys might have growing pains. The OF is also fine (they can pick up a fourth OF).
It's the IF and relief (though Boy Genius has been good there) that concerns me.
Manaea should be OK at the back of the rotation. The overpay happened and at least we can get some mileage out of him.
I agree that we should be OK except for the infield. The problem is that we're stuck with Polanco (to DH?) and Semien (to overpaid backup infielder?). I'm betting that Bichette opts in for next year. Use Cohen's money to get free agents for 1B and 2B. How about Jake Bauers and Brandon Lowe?
The pen? I wish we had kept Weaver and Brazoban, but I do think we'll be OK here.
Ahem. Glad you said "could be". Manea: loads of baserunners but compared to earlier this year, a big improvement. And it's just a tad early to annoint Thornton, isn't it? Scott's got a lot of promise, I agree. Guess how many times he's pitched even 6 innings? Once. The rotation for next year, even if they manage to re-sign Holmes, is fine only if you don't compare it to what other teams have.
Yeah, glad I hedged my bet. And because of the uncertainty, I want Skubal!
Cleveland is good for what ails you -- mediocre.
The team still has a lot of talent. They didn't lose any bats except for Taylor. Some pen arms (including Lavender) can be good stories. Senga? He isn't useless or anything.
On a personal level, I wish him well. I might also wish he and multiple other people would simply be DFA-ed, but with their salaries and all, that is not likely to happen.
Off topic but I can't resist posting this: Why not feature more important Mets news like Polanco’s race to get his BA under .100? He only has to go hitless in his next 34 at bats, which he’s certainly capable of, and he’ll have a BA of .099. If he can manage that, he’ll be getting paid at a rate of $1.4M per base hit, proving that Soto’s woefully underpaid.
The Senga experiment (contract) will be over, but not soon enough. Everything has had to be perfect for him, and the way that HE wants it. Someone please tell him "Welcome to the real world."
Good post, as always. But "exponential" is a math term that became all the rage during the pandemic and does not mean "massive".