What's in Store for Twenty-Four?: Tomás Nido

[Edgy MD]

Five. I'm on my fifth Mets manager. Collinshallwayrojasshowaltermendoza. You say "Skipper" and that's the word that flashes through my mind. I don't know, but I imagine only Ed Kranepool and Ron Hodges have had more guys scribble their names halfheartedly into a lineup card. But that's the hand I've been dealt.



My story is well-written. I'm not incapable offensively, but I've never, ever been able to put together any sustained run of moderate success. If I remain in a backup role, my bat atrophies, but when forced into a starting role, it grows overexposed. The one time it seemed like I had it figured out was 2020, and then I got hurt. It's like ... I'm one adjustment away but everyone adjusts faster than me.



Defensively, I generally get high marks, but it doesn't really show up in the numbers, does it? Outside of blocking pitches in the dirt, no part of my defensive game really stands out.



I've got friends. I've known Lindor since youth baseball, and me and Diaz also got this Puerto Rican thing going. But how far is that going to get me? It's like people want me to better than I am. And I really suspect they're right — that I am better than I am. Or at least better than I've performed. But I'm now 30 years old and 277 games of Major League Baseball tells a pretty compelling story, no matter what anybody believes. Sometimes you've got everything going for you to be a Major League catcher except the personality to get in there and push everybody around. To express your authority. Franciso Álvarez can fail to hit for two months and nobody doubts that he's a big leaguer.



But again, now I'm 30. And a lot of pitchers on this staff have come up behind me. Maybe it's my time to take the proverbial bull by the horns. The apple by the stem. Yes my record tells a story despite what anybody believes, but I'm here to ask, what do you believe about my 2024? Because Álvarez is hurt, and the Mets didn't call on Austin Allen, Joe Hudson, Matt O'Neill, Kevin Parada, or Hayden Senger.



They called on me.



Again.



What do you believe?



[FIMG=328]https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltf7a82b39b0908da4/blt26f03985e677c85e/64e2d57043b0ca22939bebb1/USATSI_14737206.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=372]https://www.amny.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Untitled-Edited-scaled.jpg?w=1200[/FIMG]

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[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy MD wrote: Five. I'm on my fifth Mets manager. Collinshallwayrojasshowaltermendoza. You say "Skipper" and that's the word that flashes through my mind. I don't know, but I imagine only Ed Kranepool and Ron Hodges have had more guys scribble their names halfheartedly into a lineup card. But that's the hand I've been dealt.

Mets players who have played for five or more managers:



Tom Seaver 9

Ed Kranepool 8

Jerry Grote 7

John Stearns 7

Ron Hodges 7

Jerry Koosman 7

Bud Harrelson 7

John Franco 7

Craig Swan 7

Todd Hundley 6

Rusty Staub 6

Dave Kingman 6

Jon Matlack 5

Tug McGraw 5

Tomas Nido 5

Pedro Feliciano 5

Brandon Nimmo 5

David Wright 5

John Milner 5

Jeff Innis 5

Hubie Brooks 5

David Cone 5

Jose Reyes 5

Cleon Jones 5

Howard Johnson 5



Seaver's nine would be Westrum, Parker, Hodges, Berra, McMillan, Frazier, Torre, Bamberger, and Howard. For Kranepool, we'd add Stengel and subtract Bamberger and Howard.

[Fman99]

Won't hit. Will wish he could bat 10th in the lineup

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Five. I'm on my fifth Mets manager. Collinshallwayrojasshowaltermendoza. You say "Skipper" and that's the word that flashes through my mind. I don't know, but I imagine only Ed Kranepool and Ron Hodges have had more guys scribble their names halfheartedly into a lineup card. But that's the hand I've been dealt. Mets players who have played for five or more managers: Tom Seaver 9 Ed Kranepool 8 Jerry Grote 7 ...

I mentioned some of these names to him, and Nido just looked away and mumbled something along the lines of "I wasn't counting interims ... ."



I was going to remind him that, hey, Frank Howard is a person, but he just looked so sad, and reminding him of the weakness of even this dubious claim to fame wasn't going to make him any less so.



Also nobody ever scribbled Tom Seaver's name halfheartedly onto a lineup card.

[Cowtipper]

Tomas Nido? More like "No Mas" Nido, as in we don't want any more of him!



.121, gone by June.

[Edgy MD]

Who are "we"?

[Cowtipper]

Are there still Mets fans that want him around?

[Edgy MD]

I'm totally a Mets fan, so yes, certainly.



The alternatives being what they are, I welcome any contributions he can offer.

[Cowtipper]

Is Ramon Castro available?