The McDeal with McNeil: Part II

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Y'know what else gets old? Lectures on what "Met fans" think

[Cowtipper]

I'm not lecturing anyone. But as a lifelong baseball aficionado, I've observed something curious about New York Mets fans. It seems they've grown so accustomed to mediocrity that they've developed an almost endearing attachment to it. Let's face it, the Mets have had their moments of glory, but these moments are sporadic and often overshadowed by long stretches of underwhelming performances. This pattern has shaped the fan base in unique ways.



The essence of being a Mets fan often involves celebrating minor victories and overvaluing players who, in a more successful franchise, might barely be noticed. Take, for example, the love for players like Wilmer Flores. Yes, he had his heroic moments, notably the walk-off home run after almost being traded, a moment steeped in drama and passion. But let's be honest, his overall performance was pretty average. However, Flores is lauded, almost deified by some fans, because in a sea of mediocrity, his few shining moments stand out like beacons.



This attachment to mediocrity isn't just about individual players; it's about the team's performance as a whole. When the Mets make it to the postseason, it's treated like a monumental achievement, even if they quickly exit without making much of an impact. This is understandable considering the team's history, but it also means that the bar for what constitutes success has been significantly lowered. Fans celebrate a .500 season as if it's a major win, and even a slight above-average performance is heralded as greatness.



Moreover, the Mets' management seems to understand and perhaps even exploit this sentiment. Over the years, there have been numerous signings and trades that bring in players who are, at best, solid contributors but are often sold to the fans as game-changers. And the fans buy into it because, in their context, these players do represent an improvement, however marginal. The cycle of hype and inevitable disappointment becomes a familiar rhythm.



Then there's the narrative of the "lovable underdog," which Mets fans have embraced wholeheartedly. This identity is rooted in the early years of the franchise when the Mets were the epitome of baseball futility. The 1962 team set a record for losses in a season, yet those early teams are still fondly remembered. This historical context feeds into the modern-day psyche of the fans, who often see themselves as enduring the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, much like a Shakespearean tragic hero.



What's fascinating is how this mentality affects the overall atmosphere around the team. There's a sense of camaraderie among fans, a shared understanding that being a Mets fan is about more than just winning. It's about the shared experience of frustration, the rare but sweet moments of success, and the ongoing hope that next year will be different. This culture of persistent hope and loyalty is admirable, but it also reinforces the cycle of mediocrity.



In other words, Mets fans have become experts at finding joy in the journey, no matter how bumpy it may be. They've learned to celebrate the small victories and find heroes in players who might be considered ordinary elsewhere. This isn't necessarily a bad thing—it's a testament to the resilience and passion of the fan base. However, it does mean that the standards for what constitutes success have been perpetually adjusted downwards.



Ultimately, while this attachment to mediocrity might seem peculiar from the outside, it's a core part of what it means to be a Mets fan. It's about hope, loyalty, and a never-ending belief in the potential for greatness, even if that greatness is often just out of reach. So, here's to the Mets fans, who manage to find joy in the struggle and maintain their unwavering support in the face of perpetual mediocrity.



Hence, Jeff McNeil, despite the fervent adoration he receives from Mets fans, epitomizes the mediocrity that the fanbase has come to embrace. While McNeil is undoubtedly a versatile player, his overall performance is solid but unremarkable. His batting average hovers around respectable but not spectacular numbers, and his defensive skills, while serviceable, are far from elite. Yet, Mets fans have latched onto him, celebrating his every minor success as if it were a major victory, a testament to how deeply ingrained mediocrity has become in the culture of the team and its supporters.

[batmagadanleadoff]

No. McNeil was a very productive player and now he's not as good as he used to be . And so your take is that his current diminished production is supposed to be proof that he was never any good in the first place. It's a tremendous leap of logic and an absurd take as well. And the numbers don't support your view unless you wanna go to ridiculous lengths to distort the numbers, make 2020 disappear because it was a short season, discount 2022 because it was the only season in which McNeil won a batting title. McNeil has already had a better career than the majority of players who ever played in the majors.

[MFS62]

Cowtipper, I may not agree, but I appreciate the time and effort it took you to say that.



Later

[Cowtipper]

LOL, I'd love to take credit for it, but I just had ChatGPT do it. Because I was told I was lecturing, I told it to form a response that started with "I'm not lecturing. But..." then proceed with a long-winded lecture. Get it? Is funny, yes?



I also had it write a poem about Jeff McNeil:



There once was a Met named McNeil,

Whose bat had a moderate feel.

He'd get on base fine,

Not a star but a sign,

That mediocrity's sometimes real.



Anyway, long story short, McNeil, like Murphy before him, was serviceable. Just serviceable. Not the cornerstone of a consistently contending, playoff-bound team, no matter how much we like to try to endear him to us with cute "squirrel" epithets and so forth.



And in all actual serious, I've kind of soured on him even more because he seems like a baby. Like a sourpuss. There's been a few times when he's been on the field and taken "umbrage" to things the other team has done. It's like, Jeff, dude, get some thicker skin, ya big palooka.

[MFS62]

Then I don't appreciate it.

(fucking computers)

Later

[Cowtipper]

I'm sorry.



:-(

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I'm not lecturing anyone /lectures. Good one.



We've been at this for 25 years and id say we have a good perspective on the Mets. If you're looking enlighten people with the revelation that Wilmer Flores wasn't an all star there's got to be a better place for that.

[Cowtipper]

25 years?!? that's almost a quarter of a century!

[Fman99]

There's a big difference between embracing mediocrity and adjusting to it. I want these fuckers to win, same as I have every year since they last won the WS (I was 13, for reference). I don't find anything endearing about being a bad or not good baseball team. Shit hurts me in my brain and my organs.

[metirish]

https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1799837774117482668

This is amazing 😆

[metirish]

Baty playing second base tonight

[kcmets]

=metirish post_id=159052 time=1718304591 user_id=72]Baty playing second base tonight

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

nah Batty doing his thing in Syracuse

[metirish]

Sorry, I should have said Syracuse

[Cowtipper]

The McDeal is he's a limited-skilled empty singles hitter and he can't pull that off anymore.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: I traveled through the cassava fields of Northwest Columbia in search of a hobby store that sold Typewriter Latin America Batman Cards You should've went to Mexico. Or Argentina, where Batman was huge. If you didn't go to Mexico, though, I don't blame you. I wouldn't go there even with a Secret Service detail guarding me.

"The mayor-elect of a small municipality near the crime-plagued Mexican resort city of Acapulco was assassinated early Monday, local prosecutors said — the latest in a series of attacks targeting politicians."



https://www.aol.com/mayor-elect-pulled-off-bus-174600022.htmlhttps://www.aol.com/mayor-elect-pulled-off-bus-174600022.html



For many years, Acapulco was the vacation and honeymoon capitol of the world.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

It's only going to get worse, according to the newscast in ROBOCOP



"More fighting in the Mexican Crisis today when American troops participated in a Joint raid with Mexican Nationals against rebel rocket positions in Acapulco."



I know that city mostly from The Love Boat

[metirish]

Going loco down in Acapulco

[Edgy MD]

So, hey, maybe the guy they need to add for the second half has been in uniform all along.



You can't project much of anything from one game, but ... what a game by McNumbles.

[Edgy MD]

McNevin's OPS has been under .600 — which I like to think of as The Ordóñez Line — for the last month, and now, after one SHaM game, it's up to .622.

[smg58]

Fingers crossed, it's a good sign. Trading "first hallf" Jeff McNeil for "most of his career" Jeff McNeil would be bigger than any deadline deal we could make.

[Frayed Knot]

Considering that his average first half exit velocity seemed to be somewhere around 22 mph, the power display last night was a nice surprise.

I didn't think he got the first one but it just kept carrying. The second was more obvious.

[Edgy MD]

Edgy MD wrote: McNevin's OPS has been under .600 — which I like to think of as The Ordóñez Line — for the last month, and now, after one SHaM game, it's up to .622.

McNuff has now pulled his OPS above .650, crossing the Grote Line.

[Frayed Knot]

He's gotta have more 95+ exit velo shots in the last two weeks than had in the last year and a half.

[Edgy MD]

I haven't been counting exit velocities, but lest it be forgotten, McNubbs really turned it on in the last seven weeks of 2023 also.



He's hopefully pulling the same act this year, only eariier and maybe punchier.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: I haven't been counting exit velocities

I haven't either. Just guesstimating 95 as a dividing line between hard hit and not.

But he spent most of 2023 and a good portion of this year playing patty-cake with the bat and ball. Any hits he'd get were mostly of the seeing-eye variety.

[TheNextMetsManager]

Frayed Knot wrote: He's gotta have more 95+ exit velo shots in the last two weeks than had in the last year and a half.

he hit two balls merely to the warning track at Yankee Stadium tonight. Not a great sign.

[Frayed Knot]

It's better than pop-ups and multiple weak ground-outs which is what we've been getting from McNeil for a long time.

[Edgy MD]

I'm not going to lament two balls that went "merely to the warning track" in a game in which the Mets hit five homeruns despite being opposed by the defending Cy Young Award winner.



If a guy goes merely 2-for-5 with two doubles, I'll sign up for that the rest of the year.