Postseason Roster: So what if the cart is before the horse?

[Centerfield]

I'm not sure I agree with this. Wednesday should be all hands on deck. I think the Mets should carry the best pitchers on the team, whether they are "starters" or "relievers".

Lugo has experience pitching out of the pen right? In fact, I think they had given up on him as a starter while in Vegas. I think I'd feel just as good about Lugo coming in to get an out in the late innings as I would anyone not named Reed or Familia.

I haven't paid enough attention to this thread to see who I would leave out, but I think I'd be inclined to go to Lugo to pitch the seventh than even Salas.

[Ceetar]

Centerfield wrote: I'm not sure I agree with this. Wednesday should be all hands on deck. I think the Mets should carry the best pitchers on the team, whether they are "starters" or "relievers". Lugo has experience pitching out of the pen right? In fact, I think they had given up on him as a starter while in Vegas. I think I'd feel just as good about Lugo coming in to get an out in the late innings as I would anyone not named Reed or Familia. I haven't paid enough attention to this thread to see who I would leave out, but I think I'd be inclined to go to Lugo to pitch the seventh than even Salas.

Assume Syndergaard goes at least 6 (because we probably have other problems then) I probably go right to Reed and Familia. Honestly I probably go Familia first, because Reed is probably the better pitcher and is more suited to getting out of a situation with runners on than vice versa (Familia walks more and strikes out fewer, which relies on the Mets iffy infield defense more)

[Gwreck]

Centerfield wrote: I'm not sure I agree with this. Wednesday should be all hands on deck. I think the Mets should carry the best pitchers on the team, whether they are "starters" or "relievers".

You can't totally sacrifice everything. If they win, they have games to play on Friday and Saturday. You have to hold back starting pitchers for those games, no?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

We need some righthanded hitters to materialize Wednesday, that's what we need. Would you do something whacky and play TJ or Plawecki at first base?

[Centerfield]

Gwreck wrote: Centerfield wrote: I'm not sure I agree with this. Wednesday should be all hands on deck. I think the Mets should carry the best pitchers on the team, whether they are "starters" or "relievers". You can't totally sacrifice everything. If they win, they have games to play on Friday and Saturday. You have to hold back starting pitchers for those games, no?

In my book, you do everything to get there first, then sort it out. You have Colon for game 1 either way. Game 2, you sort it out if you have to. Hell, it might even rain.

I'm just saying if it goes extras tonight, or if it's like the last Bumgarner game where both starters struggle, it would be a shame to have one of our best pitchers unavailable.

[Gwreck]

No. You play Duda. You don't have to love his numbers against lefties but you don't play players who just can't hit at all (Campbell, Plawecki, etc -- and are even worse) simply because they bat right-handed.

[Gwreck]

Centerfield wrote: In my book, you do everything to get there first, then sort it out. You have Colon for game 1 either way. Game 2, you sort it out if you have to. Hell, it might even rain.

I'm confused. You'd even use Colon on Wednesday?

[Frayed Knot]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: We need some righthanded hitters to materialize Wednesday, that's what we need.

aka: we need Cespedes to be Cespedes and he hasn't been very Cespedespian lately.

Would you do something whacky and play TJ or Plawecki at first base?

Problem with TJ there is then you won't have a RH bat to play 2nd - unless Wilmer is back and then he plays 1st anyway
and the problem with Plawecki is that he hasn't proven he can hit either, and has barely played in over a month (2 for 8 since recall). Yeah he was 300/348/484 in Vegas (200 AB) but that's Vegas and he's still 211/287/285 at this level (365 AB)

[TransMonk]

What I find to be amazing is that, as far as I can tell, only 10 players from the 2015 World Series roster are locks to be on a 2016 Mets post-season roster:

Bartolo Colon
Jeurys Familia
Addison Reed
Hansel Robles
Noah Syndergaard
Travis d'Arnaud
Lucas Duda
Kelly Johnson
Yoenis Cespedes
Curtis Granderson

There are 5 guys from the 2015 World Series roster on the bubble:

Sean Gilmartin
Wilmer Flores
Michael Conforto
Juan Lagares
Kevin Plawecki

There are 10 players from the 2015 World Series roster that will definitely NOT play for the Mets in the 2016 postseason:

Tyler Clippard
Jacob deGrom
Matt Harvey
Steven Matz
Jonathon Niese
Daniel Murphy
Juan Uribe
David Wright
Michael Cuddyer
Kirk Nieuwenhuis

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: We need some righthanded hitters to materialize Wednesday, that's what we need. aka: we need Cespedes to be Cespedes and he hasn't been very Cespedespian lately. Would you do something whacky and play TJ or Plawecki at first base? Problem with TJ there is then you won't have a RH bat to play 2nd - unless Wilmer is back and then he plays 1st anyway and the problem with Plawecki is that he hasn't proven he can hit either, and has barely played in over a month (2 for 8 since recall). Yeah he was 300/348/484 in Vegas (200 AB) but that's Vegas and he's still 211/287/285 at this level (365 AB)

Really wacky, but if they're going to have two lefthanded outfielders anyhow — presumably Bruce and Granderson — move Bruce to first and play Laggy in Center.

The other option is Kelly at second and Rivera at first.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ty Kelly? Or Kelly Johnson?

This year Kelly Johnson is .245/.273/.434 against lefties and /247/.313/.382 against righties.

[Edgy MD]

Ty Kelly. Kelly Johnson is defensible too, of course. But looking at how our batter does against lefties is only half the game. There's also the matter of how Bumgarner does against lefthanded batters. And he disintegrates them.

[Fman99]

I don't really understand why MLB lets teams set a special one day wild card roster to begin with. They should be forced to set a LDS roster and then use that. It's kind of a farce this way.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I agree. They're treating it as a separate "series", which is logical, but a one-game roster really doesn't make sense. The Wild Card roster should carry over into the Division Series unless there's an injury (or a recovery from an injury).

[Edgy MD]

So, have managers in the past dropped three starters from their Wild Card game roster in order to carry extra bats or LOOGys? Or is there some sort of honor system that leads them to carry at least four starting pitchers?

Because if anybody is ever going to be the first to flout that honor system convention, I suspect it won't be Terry.

[Gwreck]

Edgy MD wrote: Because if anybody is ever going to be the first to flout that honor system convention, I suspect it won't be Terry.

Yabbut, Sandy makes the decision on the roster, I would think.

[Edgy MD]

According to John Ricco, most Wild Card teams go with a nine or ten-man pitching staff, and 15 or 16 hitters. I imagine he wouldn't make that observation unless they were going in the same direction. I guess a nine-man staff would be (1) Syndergaard, (2) Colon, (3) Familia, (4) Reed, (5) Salas, (6) Blevins, (7) Robles, (8) Smoker, and (9) Goeddel. The potential 10th would be Henderson.

Fifteen hitters seems like such a luxury these days, but it'd seemingly allow room for righthanded bats like Lagares and Campbell, and perhaps a switchie in the person of Ty Kelly.

[Vic Sage]

WC roster?

[u:15hegij2]regular line-up (9):[/u:15hegij2]
3b - Reyes #
SS - Cabrera #
LF - Cespedes
CF - Granderson*
RF - Bruce*
2b - TJRivera
1b - Duda*
C - R.Rivera
P - Syndegaard

[u:15hegij2]Bench (7):[/u:15hegij2]
C- d'Arnaud
LHed OF/PH - deAza*
RHed OF/PH - Lagares
LHed IF/PH -Johnson*
RHed IF/PH -Campbell
LHed PH - Conforto*
+ Kelly#

[u:15hegij2]RP (9):[/u:15hegij2]
CL - Familia
SUp - Reed
SUp - Salas
RH - Robles
LH1 - Blevins*
LH2 -Smoker*
Long - Lugo
+ Henderson
+Goeddel


[u:15hegij2]optimal line-up v Baumgarner?:[/u:15hegij2]
3b - Reyes #
CF - Lagares
SS - Cabrera #
LF - Cespedes
RF - Bruce*
2b - TJRivera
1b - Duda*l
C - RRivera
P - Syndegaard

[Edgy MD]

Terry has tipped his hand a little.

• He's carrying nine pitchers. I'm sticking with (1) Syndergaard, (2) Colon, (3) Familia, (4) Reed, (5) Salas, (6) Blevins, (7) Robles, (8) Smoker, and (9) Goeddel or Henderson.
  
  
  
• T.J. will be in the lineup ... somewhere.
  
  
  
• He's mum on the Who's on First? question. Why create a controversy 30 hours before game time?

[Vic Sage]

isn't Colon going to start game 1 of an NLCS, if they get that far? I'd think they'd prefer to have him fresh for that game, rather than coming in the pen. Lugo won't be used for quite a while and has relief experience. I think, if they're going to go with 1 starter in the pen, it'll be Lugo over Colon.. or am i missing something? wouldn't be the first time.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Vic Sage wrote: isn't Colon going to start game 1 of an NLCS, if they get that far? I'd think they'd prefer to have him fresh for that game, rather than coming in the pen. Lugo won't be used for quite a while and has relief experience. I think, if they're going to go with 1 starter in the pen, it'll be Lugo over Colon.. or am i missing something? wouldn't be the first time.

My understanding was that it would be Gsellman in the pen instead of Colon. If not Gsellman, I would think Lugo.

But it's possible that they'd go with the more experienced Colon (he'd only be used in an emergency anyway) and if they did use him, and they won, Gsellman or Lugo would pitch Game 1 of the NLDS and, I suppose, Colon could pitch Game 2.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm wondering if one of the "extra" position players will be a third catcher, meaning Plawecki.

When does the roster get announced? I seem to think it's tomorrow at noon. Is that right?

[Edgy MD]

Well, if I'm in the 12th inning of a win-or-go-home game, and I've burned all my bullpenners, and I need a starter to carry me through the marathon until somebody scores, he's the best guy (to my thinking, anyhow). If that desperate and unlikely but potentially real situation doesn't come to pass, great, and he starts Game One. If it does happen, I want him available, and will figure out Game One of the Division Series when it comes.

[Vic Sage]

fair enough

[Edgy MD]

So, they indeed went for both, and go into the game with two reserve starters.

Fine. But apart from Kelly over Duda, the call that gets me is Edgin over Smoker. This seems contrary to the way Terry had been using them down the stretch, giving Smokestack higher-leverage situations and seemingly having more confidence in him against righties. If Edgin is going to get in there, it's going to be merely as a LOOGy.

But I guess in a one-game "series," you look to get the highest yield out of your specialists.