Gwreck

Bonds and McGwire are the other two that came to mind. (Maybe you could take issue with calling those the fairweather fans Mets fans).

That would be an awfully long slump for Francisco

Pete got ovations: -When the opposing team lineup was announced -First time he stepped out to warm-up; tipped his cap -After the tribute video, a standing ovation; he tipped his cap -When he came up in the top of the first to another standing ovation. I can count on one hand (and have fingers left) the number of times Mets fans have been actively rooting for a visiting player to homer.

That was a pretty quick analysis but my immediate reaction is that it really shouldn’t be a measure of “all the other first basemen” since all of those guys (Young, Vientos, whomever) would still have been Mets if Alonso was retained. Polanco was the clear and specific alternate personnel decision. I’m sure looking at the money only makes it worse since Alonso wasn’t replaced with a team-controlled prospect and was instead replaced with a full-market-rate player (at only a somewhat lower cost for this year).

Surely not. 2026 is the worst first year “loss” they’ve ever had, though. 1991: Darryl Strawberry puts up 3.7 WAR in his first year in LA. Hubie Brooks pits up 0.2 (while also costing a still-productive Bob Ojeda in trade to acquire). 2012: Jose Reyes has a 3.0 WAR season in Miami. Ruben Tejada is given the full-time shortstop role at age 22 and has his best-ever year (2.1 WAR). 2016: Daniel Murphy leads the NL with a .985 OPS in Washington; 4.7 WAR. Neil Walker (acquired for an at-the-end-of-the-road Jon Niese) has a perfectly respectable .823 OPS and 2.3 WAR but gets hurt in late August. 2020: Zack Wheeler is outstanding in his first year for the division-rival Phillies. Whether comparing against Porcello or Michael Wacha, it’s not pretty, and only because it was a short season. 2026: Alonso has 4.1 WAR (so far) against Jorge Polanco’s -1.4. A runaway winner for “worst.”

Good article from Abbey Mastracco in the Daily News: Ex-Met Pete Alonso not ‘hurt or slighted’ ahead of return to Citi Field with Orioles https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/09/14/pete-alonso-returns-to-citi-field-with-the-orioles/ Some highlights from the article: [quote]“I knew they were going to love Pete,” former Orioles and Mets manager Buck Showalter recently told the Daily News. “He called me about Baltimore. I said, ‘Pete, Baltimore will get you. They will appreciate you, and you’ll like the city because the city’s blue-collar. All they want there is the Orioles to be good.'” … [D]efensively, he’s improved. Declining metrics and increasing age led the Mets to believe that his value wasn’t worth the long-term investment as a right-handed first baseman. They thought wrong. Alonso credits the O’s staff for helping him with positioning, as well as his own growth. “It’s understanding where the game is going to flow based on things like how the pitcher is pitching,” he said. “It’s thinking, ‘When the guy makes contact, how is this going to affect me?’ I think it’s helped me get to get to some more balls. And obviously, this is year eight, so I think experience is kind of added into that too.” His son, Teddy, was born nearly a year ago while the Mets were desperately trying to stay in the Wild Card standings. The timing was perfect; Alonso’s wife, Haley, gave birth to Teddy a few days before the team’s final road trip of the season, and a few days after left-hander Sean Manaea’s wife, Talat, gave birth to their daughter, Shima, in the very same hospital room at Mt. Sinai West. “This time last year was very, very stressful,” Manaea said. “I didn’t know what being a dad was like or the whole process. Going through that was crazy. We kind of confided in each other. The moms were putting in all the work and doing their thing, but it was made a little bit easier to go through that experience together.” Manaea and Alonso grew close during the 2024 season. When Manaea tallied his 1000th strikeout, he found a bottle of wine in his locker from Alonso. It was a moment when Manaea realized Alonso was more than just a home-run leader — he was a crucial team leader. Alonso learned Spanish to better communicate with his teammates. He took the rookies to dinner. A University of Florida baseball alum, he felt protective over his fellow Gators coming through the Mets’ system as prospects. He felt just as protective over Jeff McNeil, a close friend since their days in the minor leagues. The Mets could always count on Alonso to lighten the mood on bus rides with a comedy act, or to fire them up with a motivational speech. But Alonso’s true leadership came on the field where he earned immense respect for regularly playing 162 games. “He played no matter what,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “Everybody knew what he was going through at times. He always showed up, posted up, played hard and took care of business.” … Alonso isn’t returning to Flushing with any ill will, only gratitude. “I didn’t feel hurt or slighted because I obviously respect their decision,” Alonso said. “They’re trying to do whatever is best for their organization, and for them. So am I.”[/quote]

It was a serous question. I’m guessing from context that she appears on the Fox News channel but I really hadn’t ever heard of her before this thread.

Consider these scenarios: a. Mendoza is fired after the 2025 season ends. He‘s had a 172-152 record, making the playoffs one year and barely missing the second. Half the time he runs the team (June ‘24-June ‘25) they play better than any team in baseball, and the other half they play like crap. He’s the 4th consecutive Mets manager to not last more than two years. The team is otherwise the same, so you still have the early Soto, Lindor, Robert, and Polanco injuries. Does a different manager get more out of Bichette and Peterson and Baty and Semien? Enough that they’re not so awful that they fall out of the race immediately? b. Mendoza starts the season but is fired April 26, after the Mets are swept by the Rockies and are 9-19. c. Mendoza is fired May 25, after the sweep in Miami. Mets are 22-31. d. (Actual events): Mendoza fired June 25, Mets are 34-47. With the benefit of hindsight, I have a hard time seeing the Mets making the playoffs even in scenario B or C. And firing Mendoza earlier than April 26 seems unrealistic if he’s the managerial choice for the year.

Who is Tomi Lahren?

He might, but I’d be in favor of giving that opportunity to Dylan Ross first.

When I last checked on this game it was 8-0 Mets! What the hell…

I would think there has to be some sort of calculus involved in whether trying to use him as a pitcher jeopardizes his effectiveness as a hitter. My sense is that Ohtani is more important to that team in the batting order than on the mound.

Yamamoto, Skubal, Glasnow, and Snell would still be the best rotation of any playoff contender, though?

They flew to Fort Lauderdale, landed 9:13 PM EDT.

This article was most about offense and that’s of course a huge part of the problem — but as Edgy noted, no one was expecting Semien to be a star. Further offensive decline (maybe not quite as much as he had) was expected. What I have less explanation for is how this guy went from being the best defensive second baseman in the league last year to one who’s well below-average. That sort of decline shouldn’t happen overnight. He was worth 3.3 WAR last year despite below-average offense. If he was even half that good this year it would be a huge improvement over what we’ve actually had from him.

Ah it all makes sense now. Some points off for me for not knowing what year Gardenhire was a rookie. Especially after he also starred in my most recent quiz.

The chart has 95 hits for Gardenhire in 1981 — that’s the actual total, right? So the projection would have to be higher unless he was called up on the first day of the second half of that season?

So projection 3 is Mookie in 1981, then. But Gardenhire should also have a projection for that year? Or was one of them not called up until the second half of the year? This is where I tap out. I vote that last answer should be worth 300 points.

Is projection 6 Milner then? The work stoppage was in 1972?

What about Carl Everett? Was he a rookie when acquired from Florida, and does his 1994 project to 87 or 89 hits?

I know there were three MLB work stoppages that caused games to be missed: 1981, 1994/95, and one in the 1970s that was shorter. Maybe #28’s 85 hits project out to 88 hits due to the missed games? But who that would be and which year in the 1970s I don’t know. #7 has me completely stumped. It also seems like a projection slot is missing, since Mookie and Gardenhire are both 1981 rookies but there’s only 1 slot ahead of them.

This is a great quiz but I cannot figure out for the life of me who #7 and #28 are. From our 1983 FA Compensation draft quiz, I recall that a rookie Jose Oquendo was protected after spending the season in the majors. Could he have hit enough to be #28?

The top projection is Brooks, because the 1981 season was shortened due to strike.

Not only the $4B number but also that it’s been less than 6 years since Cohen purchased the Mets for half that amount. Franchise values are tremendous and continually going up.

Butch Huskey (RIP), 1994 (?). Maybe as one of the projection slots.