Let's call up Dom Smith

[Centerfield]

Agreed that Dom Smith's numbers are bad, but it's still a relatively small sample size. 219 ABs.

In 2017, Brandon Nimmo had a .732 OPS in LV, with a terrible average, and only 4 HR's. So there's precedent for a hitter turning it on after they arrive at the show.

Nimmo, like Smith, was much better in the year before. .905 for Smith, .964 for Nimmo.

So hopefully Dom gets the bump like Nimmo did.

Hopefully.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Centerfield wrote: Agreed that Dom Smith's numbers are bad, but it's still a relatively small sample size. 219 ABs. In 2017, Brandon Nimmo had a .732 OPS in LV, with a terrible average, and only 4 HR's. So there's precedent for a hitter turning it on after they arrive at the show. Nimmo, like Smith, was much better in the year before. .905 for Smith, .964 for Nimmo. So hopefully Dom gets the bump like Nimmo did. Hopefully.

Sure. I didn't make any comments about Smith's future., just that he sucked in Vegas. I just disagree with the idea that Smith was sent down and asked to hit in a way that he'd never hit once back in the majors. That idea, to me, is pure rationalization.

Also, there are scouting reports that Smith's hitting looked awful in Vegas, and that specifically he wasn't driving the ball or hitting it hard.

[Centerfield]

That itself might be the explanation for the walk rate. Fouling off the pitches you should be crushing and thus prolonging the AB's. That can lead to walks in LV. It won't in the show.

[Centerfield]

Dom Smith. Sure, it's a small sample size, and a large part of that sample was in Colorado.

But .300/.323/.567

That's an .889 OPS.

[Vic Sage]

Lets see if he can keep it up at home. Certainly Flores isn't making an argument to be the 1bman.

[Centerfield]

Interesting quote today in this article:

https://nypost.com/2018/06/22/dominic-smith-isnt-trying-to-do-too-much-and-it-is-paying-off/

“You hear all the talk about how you don’t have power, so you try to do too much and try to hit home runs and that is not really my game,” Smith said. “I can hit the ball out of the park as well, but I hit the ball out of the park at all fields, so it’s definitely something I wanted to be more cautious of this year...I definitely didn’t want to get away from that, because if they are going to throw me away I might as well take my hits, my doubles,”

I don't know who is generating "all the talk" but I wonder if someone in the Mets organization was trying to get him to increase his power etc. Could by why he hit 9 HR's last year but only hit .198.

To me, leave that all or nothing shit at home. We have plenty of guys who hit .220 and 25 HR's already. Give me a guy who hits .315, gets on base at a .400 clip and hits to all fields. A guy who is a threat to hit good pitching instead of a guy who accumulates his stats against the dregs of a bullpen. 10-15 HR's? Plenty enough. Give me mid-80's Keith.

[Centerfield]

Oh, and the guy seems much more nimble than last year. And I kinda like how he wears his uniform baggy. Like he insists on wearing his old one to show how much weight he's lost.

[A Boy Named Seo]

.290 Dave Magadan hitters are the new inefficiency.

[Centerfield]

So, he's cooled down significantly outside of Coor's Field. OPS now down to .547.

I heard his wrist was bothering him. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Centerfield]

If you want to get an idea of how dumb the Mets are, look no further than Dom Smith.

Even in a lost season, a smart franchise can start preparing to be successful again. One of the most precious assets during such a season are MLB plate appearances. They provide an opportunity to gauge young talent. But these moments are finite, and a smart franchise should be efficient with them.

The Mets, despite going nowhere last year, waited too long to get a good read on Dom Smith. Now, they are giving away AB's to Jose Reyes while Smith sits on the bench. In this last four game series, he got one at bat. Jose Reyes has been playing every day.

It's hard to believe a franchise can be this incompetent. I understand wanting to showcase Flores if they are trying to build his trade value. Flores can play 3B. Probably as well as Reyes at this point. Or Flores can play 2B, and move Cabrera to third.

Either way, there is no excuse not to start Dom Smith at 1B every day and see what he can provide. We are going to have to make a decision on Smith/Alonso very soon. It's stupid not to give Smith at-bats.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I wonder who it is that's deciding not to let Smith play. Is it the front office? Or is it Mickey, managing for the short term in an attempt to get enough wins to save his job? (Not that that's working out all that well.)

[Ceetar]

There's almost definitely something going on with Smith and the club that we're not privy to.

I suspect this is not unrelated.

[Centerfield]

I have nothing to base this on, but I think that the club is very simple minded.

*Flores and Cabrera have to play every day since they are trade bait.

*Once they are gone, there will be plenty of time to play Dom Smith. No rush. We have the entire second half.

*Reyes has to play every day because we have to get him going. Once all the trades take place, there will be little to hold fans' interest. So we can bank on his nostalgia to sell tickets in September.

[Edgy MD]

I'm not sure playing Reyes has sold ticket one.

I do think if they release him, it could set off an lolmets don't honor their heroes properly narrative. That might cost them a ticket or two, but nothing that a little curtailing of the stinking wouldn't offset.

[Centerfield]

Yeah, I don't know that he has either. But from what I'm hearing through the news, it seems like someone in management thinks that he's worth something.

Again, pure speculation on my part. Really. I can't understand their logic behind Reyes and their unwillingness to play Smith.

I get that he hasn't been good, but (1) he isn't going to get better without playing and (2) if he is this bad, this is info we need to know really really soon.

[Vic Sage]

totally agreed. every AB given to Reyes or Bautista over ANYBODY is a waste of time. And time is a precious commodity.

Play Flores at 3b. Play Dom at 1b. Trade Cabrera and Familia for AA players. Cut Reyes and bring up McNeil for 2b. Cut Bautista and play Borenstein (or any AAAA hitter) in RF on the off chance he can show something. Hell, i'd be happier seeing Tebow in the OF than Bautista... and THAT would sell tix! Not that i really want to see him, but you know what i mean.

Nimmo
McNeil
Flores
Conforto
Borenstein (until Cespedes returns)
D.Smith
Plawecki
-pitcher
Rosario

Edited July 16, 2018 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

My guess is that "able to play third" is an established part of Flores' label, and whatever value it has is diminished the more he actually plays third.

Just a guess. Another possibility is that they don't want to touch him while he's hitting.

[Vic Sage]

Edgy MD wrote: My guess is that "able to play third" is an established part of Flores' label, and whatever value it has is diminished the more he actually plays third. Just a guess.

then play Flores at 1b and Smith in LF, with McNeil at 3b and Kelly at 2b. or vice versa. anything but what they're doing now.

[seawolf17]

Seriously. Nobody's buying tickets to see Jose Reyes any more.

[smg58]

I think somebody upstairs sees sentimental value in getting Reyes and Wright to share the left side of the infield one more time. Personally, I think Reyes can and should play shortstop for the Long Island Ducks. THEN he might sell a ticket or two.

As for Smith... I think he needs to spend time unlearning everything he was taught about pulling the ball as much as possible. That might be hard to do in Queens. Plus he's probably going to have to learn to play the outfield much better if he has any future here. Send him down, give him a chance to regain value, and then figure out what to do with him.

[Edgy MD]

If a return of Reyes and Wright has any value, it doesn't speak to Reyes' current playing time.

I'm more reluctant to judge, though, until after the break. I tend to agree that there's more than meets the eye with Smitty's situation. But I'm not expecting to be necessarily comfortable with the reasoning that Mickey will offer.

I will say that (1) Smith's at-bats have been frustrating and excruciating, (2) there's a possibility that Reyes has been given an we're-planning-on-releasing-you-soon-but-we'll-give-you-enough-PT-to-try-and-dig-yourself-out-you've-got-X-amount-of-weeks ultimatum

[Lefty Specialist]

I'm baffled by the Reyes playing time. There's SOMETHING going on with Dom Smith, to see what little PT he's getting.

They're going to dump Bautista, Familia and Cabrera after the break. Flores is also a possibility; this time I don't think he'll be crying if he leaves. And Reyes, he needs to be shot out of a cannon. I'd rather see Ty Kelly play third.

[Vic Sage]

they're not going to "dump" Flores, I don't think. They may trade him, if they can get value for him, but he's a useful player and there's no need to dump him.

[Ceetar]

Lefty Specialist wrote: I'm baffled by the Reyes playing time. There's SOMETHING going on with Dom Smith, to see what little PT he's getting. They're going to dump Bautista, Familia and Cabrera after the break. Flores is also a possibility; this time I don't think he'll be crying if he leaves. And Reyes, he needs to be shot out of a cannon. I'd rather see Ty Kelly play third.

We yell and scream but all teams seem to do this. lead up to the trading deadline and then do the 'play the kids' stuff. It's dumb for the most part but it's mostly minor. And that said, there hopefully is some value in working with the actual minor league coaches and instructors. It's such a fine line between letting them have the full timeto develop skills before they get to the majors and getting them up to speed and used to major league speed. I tend to err on promote them earlier, but it's not necessarily the 'best' way to do it.

[metirish]

Optioned back to LV , he will be joined by Oswalt....Drew Smith going the other way

Is Dom Smith any good?, I have no idea but he looked awful this time around, course he was on the bench for a lot of that...

[bmfc1]

bmfc1 wrote: Gonzalez is done. The Mets took the trash that 2 other teams discarded because he was cheap and--surprise!--he's not any good. Now that the season is on the verge of being over, call up "future star" Dom and let's see what he can do.

We saw and it wasn't good. That doesn't mean that he's a bust but he's better off elsewhere for now.

[Centerfield]

So Dom smith had 3 hits last night and is starting to pick things up a little. Still hitting for no power, but at least some hits are starting to fall.

It's really curious that the Mets are not using this time to see what they have in Smith. I understand his play doesn't necessarily warrant a call up, but at some point you have to just give him regular AB's and see what he can do. It's not like there are any mysteries about Flores.

Maybe the Mets have given up on him and think it's better that he inflate his numbers at AAA and trade him this winter. I don't know.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I think Smith is rounding into a "change of scenery" guy, but I also suspect the Mets might look at the evil plan to keep Alonso buried as a way to avoid Smith-ing his value away and seeing what he could bring back in a trade, as we have way too many 1Bmen on the roster already

[Vic Sage]

we have NO 1bmen on the roster. We just have guys we stick at first base.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think Smith is rounding into a "change of scenery" guy, but I also suspect the Mets might look at the evil plan to keep Alonso buried as a way to avoid Smith-ing his value away and seeing what he could bring back in a trade, as we have way too many 1Bmen on the roster already

There is value in 'development' in working on things in the minors, reps, training, etc, outside of the lights and competition of real games. It's not like Alonso has been in AAA all season. I'd probably bring him up, but I typically err on the side of 'eh, just promote him', I'm just not going to deny that it's that cut and dry.

I guess same with Smith? It really feels like he should be up and taking his hacks here, but he was garbage last time up and didn't walk at all. If my unbaked theory that his decrease in power early this season was a result of the Mets specifically telling him to focus on batting eye, and then he comes up and doesn't walk, it doesn't seem farfetched that he was sent back to do just that. I still think he should probably just do it up here at this point, but hell, maybe it's a "You don't get rewarded for not listening"? I dunno.