MFS62

This showed some (surprising) class: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/mets-apos-david-wright-35-185416915.html Later

d'Kong76 wrote: Sign Machado. They'll window shop, in the end pop into Korvette's or a five 'n dime. Maybe they can find a Kor-Val brand catcher. Later

Lefty Specialist wrote: The new GM will have to major in Wilpon Management. They'll have no real freedom to do what they want. Jeff doesn't know the meaning of the word "freedom". And, he doesn't know the meaning of a lot of other words, either, one being "spend". Later

Edgy MD wrote: How about third for Nimmo? I'd be ok with that. Although some managers have gone with putting the best all-around hitter in the #2 hole, I'd go with the more traditional way. And you could argue that Nimmo was that - more power than McNeil. Does Conforto bat 4th? Three lefties in a row? Later

Neither. I don't want DeGrom to pitch a clunker, even for one inning and spoil him in the perception of a casual Cy Young voter who hasn't seen him all season. And, I still want to win the game, and that lead isn't safe enough to put in Sewald. I initially voted DeGrom, but I'd like to delete my vote if I could. Later

Rosario - McNeil - I like the righty-lefty thing, and I think McNeil is the kind of batter who gets the bat on the ball and who can hit to all fields ( didn't they used to call them "bat manipulators"?) I like to see batting second. Also, I think Nimmo has shown enough power to bat lower in the lineup. Later

Doesn't anybody take baths any more? First showers. Then the DH. Civilization is eroding before our very eyes. Later

Thanks for the birthday present. Later

bmfc1 wrote: This game is so long that David Wright is going to be eligible for the Hall of Fame by the time it's over. And I'll be 76. Later

bmfc1 wrote: To speed up the game, as soon as Sewald comes in a game give the other team a run and go from there. Like when I used go to any Caesar's Palace casino. I'd hand the guy by the door my wallet and say,"Take out whatever you think is fair". About the game. The thrill is gone. Later

John Gibbons is out as manager of the Blue Jays. (This could have been in the Mets in other unis thread) And this writer explores why. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-gibbys-gone-and-its-not-entirely-clear-why/ Later

Edgy MD wrote: Why does that article present the standard roster size as 30-players deep? Rules they decided upon for their Strat league, apparently years ago. They're very strict about team and player total usage limits, either under or over. Later

I think in his last at bat, he should try to bunt for a base hit. Later

bmfc1 wrote: Also, why is Jeffy talking on Sunday? That's David Wright's last day as an active player. Unless Jeffy has to immediately get to the Hamptons there is no reason why he can't mumble his way through a press conference on Monday (which would also give the Mets another day of coverage). Much has been written here about Jeff. I don't think anyone has accused him of being too bright. Later

A co-worker told me today he read that if the Mets had scored four runs a game for him, he would have been 30-0 and if they'd scored three runs per game, he would have been 20-5. He didn't say where he saw that, and realized that at least in some of those games, he would have been replaced by a reliever who would have blown the lead. I guess those were "coulds" instead of "woulds". But still, that is amazing. Later

My first baseball website was FASTBALL. It was fans of all major league teams. Then the kids found it, and it was flooded with "____ sucks" kinds of posts. So, the more matrure posters started their own site, (participation by invitation only). It was called the Dickie Thon Fan club, because the members saw him as the kind of player who always hustled and came back to the dugout with a dirty uniform every game. A lot of the members are Canadians. One of the members is a Mets fan in Germany, who is a Lawyer as well as the president of a German Semi-pro baseball league.* They met for a weekend of baseball and camaraderie every year at different major league parks, hosted by one of the members. At least one then-active major league player has had a team in their league. It had some of the best writing about baseball, and other things, you could have imagined. (One of the members was the late John Brittain, who was one of the original Baseball Prospectus writers) One of those other things, however, was politics, and it destroyed the board. The Red Sox fans started the famous Sons of Sam Horn site. The fans who remained were held together with the common interest of Strat. I hang around because I am still friendly with them, and try to answer their daily strat questions as though my strat team is the Mets. They net-play and will be meeting in Los Angeles next year for their draft. Later * = I've invited him to the CPF, but he hasn't replied yet

d'Kong76 wrote: Because doing things half-assed is in their Sterling DNA? I imagine a chunk of 'news' will be Wright staying on with the organization in some capacity. Strength and conditioning coach? Later

I had to kick-start my heart. Thanks a lot for that thread title. (Pegged my sarcasm meter) Later

cooby wrote: Selling the team So let it be written. So let it be done. Later

Announcing the name of the new GM? Later

A friend posted something from something called Somworld. It has a Mets slant. Is it pertinent to the main baseball page? "Spitballing #2 Winning With Pitching September 25, 2018 Many Strat-O-Matic baseball games are decided in the late innings. The starters get you to the fifth or sixth, then it's up to the bullpen to close it out or seal the deal. Handling pitchers in Strat has changed over the past decade. Whereas you saw rosters with (18 hitters, 12 pitchers) a decade ago now you see teams with (14 hitters, 16 pitchers) or even (13 hitters, 17 pitchers). One reason is it’s harder getting the GS and IP totals from 10 to 15 years ago. 2007 38 pitchers at 200+ IP Average pitcher – 66 IP 2017 15 pitchers at 200+ IP Average pitcher – 59 IP What else do we know? Bullpens are still unpredictable from season to season. The Indians and Dodgers had the number 2 and 3 bullpens for the 2017 season. They currently rank number 27 and 16 for the 2018 season. Restocking the bullpen is an annual feature for Strat managers when around comes draft day. The bullpen is usually an easy fix in Strat. Gather three to four picks in rounds three or four and you can cobble something worthwhile together. The 2018 draft was a little more interesting given the higher number of unbalanced relievers or cards with high 7 to 8 HR units on them. Those cards are problematic for medium and high-leverage situations. One wrong roll of the 4-5, 4-9, or 5-9 pitcher column and the lead might be gone.’ You need 6 or 7 RP cards in the bullpen. The strength of the rotation will be a key factor in ascertaining "how much" you need in the bullpen. The real question in this matter is the IP total. As baseball becomes more and more specialized, and as we see teams plucking young players out of the minors for limited or emergency use, it gets harder and harder to have the 60+ IP cards. That is an important strategy consideration: "How many innings will I get out of this card?" Every draft has 200 to 250 player debuts. There are lot of cards that comes into draft leagues. Some of them have low IP totals for many seasons before you finally get something of value. That’s why relievers are best viewed as current value propositions. The Somworld theory on pitchers is that low OB/TB scores, with K units, represents the best source of value. That said, moderate OB cards can work in many bullpen situations if there are limited TB and/or HR units. Nothing will kill a lead or ruin team fortunes faster than RP cards with straight HR or high BP units. The Armando Benitez cards from 10 years ago are a good example. The stats on paper looked phenomenal but Benitez had a problem with the long ball. It killed the Strat card. The same thing is true of Huston Street. Take off the HR units and his cards would be a completely different subject. There are many ways to organize the bullpen. 1. Closer 2. Set Up (2) (LH-RH) 3. Seventh Inning 4. Sixth inning. 5. Long Relief 6. Lefty Specialist Never skimp or ignore the LH specialist RP card. There will be a day and time when you bring in the lefty specialist. Hopefully it is in the playoffs when you have runners on base. You get the out and that’s the reason you drafted the card back in January or February. The RH columns may stink up the bullpen but there will be a point in the season or playoffs, even for 1 hitter, where you need the card with "nothing" on the LH side. You always need to have at least 1 LH card for those critical situations. The real bullpen composition key, however, is not only the roles but the balance ratings. Theoretically, the balance should be an average of 0 or at least 1L or 1R. Having a bullpen with the 5R, 1L, 2R, 2L, 1L, and 1R looks like a balanced group. It's good to have the 9L or 9R for a one-off hitter (in theory) but you'd like to have as many cards between the 2L and 2R range as possible. This range means you probably must make fewer moves in the last few innings. Injuries are probably more of an issue with starters. As mentioned, these guys are not pitching the same number of innings, so you probably need 8 or 9 SP cards just for depth on the roster. But you can go back to the New York Mets and see the devastation that happens with injuries. Pre-Injury Matt Harvey was one of the top SP cards in Strat draft leagues. He came back and had a fine 2015 NL championship season. Then it’s been a rough stretch for Strat owners, enough so where you just want to cut the cord back to the free agent pool. Noah Syndergaard has been one of the best pitchers in baseball in terms of combining dominance and control. He throws hard and he also hits his location. That’s a rare feat in the game. He’s also made it to 30 starts once in four seasons. Is there a durability question or a run of bad luck? What happens for the Strat owners is that you need an additional SP card or arm to make it through the season. Steven Matz is another guy who missed a lot of games. He’s about 30 starts behind in usage for his 4 Strat games. Jacob DeGrom missed a little time in 2016 but he’s the only consistent pitcher for the Mets. Plus, he’s hit 200+ innings for two straight seasons. That gives DeGrom considerable draft league value. Zack Wheeler is the fifth guy in this group. He throws hard, has good control, and he keeps the ball down. That’s something that helps with the Strat card. His injuries to the degree he based missed most of the 2015 to 2017 seasons. Looking at this over several seasons, the Mets have/had a fantastic rotation. They have five players capable of posting a number one or two starter cards in Strat leagues. If you total up the injuries in recent seasons we’re looking at 5 or 6 missing years of 30+ starts. What is worse, sometimes these guys came back and ending up having very tough stretches of results (Harvey, Matz). In Strat, we literally have no choice but to load up on pitchers. Six or seven RH pitchers. At least two LH pitchers. Strat managers are mixed on the use of LH SP cards. Some can’t get enough of them. Others avoid them like the plague. Our general though if you have a LH SP card with under 25 OB, 32 TB, 3 HR, then they should work out fine in the medium and larger leagues. At the very least, you always encounter a few teams with poor LH lineup options. These are the times when those cards come in as handy. The 8 and 12-team affairs are usually turkey shoots. You weed out the mediocre and poor cards and you have teams with no holes in the lineup and a solid rotation top to bottom. Even if a pitcher has a bad card (Sonny Gray, 2018) you keep him around for a while in the hope that he reverts to previous form. Very few SP cards maintain their value over multiple sets. Having 8 SP cards means you’ll have a greater opportunity for having 4 to 5 useable cards heading into the draft. It is very rare that the 5 SP cards you have in one set will be the same 5 SP cards that you have in the next one. Pitchers have a shelf life. The arm has so many pitches in it. Everyone would like a Greg Maddux or Nolan Ryan in terms of durability. Sometimes you get a Tim Lincecum and it’s a limited number of elite cards. One of the “rules” at the start of SOMWORLD is that rookie pitchers take a lot of time to develop. That’s not necessarily true in this day in age. Sometimes it’s correcting an issue. Go back to thoughts on Blake Snell in 2016 and 2017. He’s throwing too many pitches, missing the strike zone, and he’s not going deep in games. The Blake Snell in 2017 suddenly found his command. His walk rate dropped from 5.2 in 2016 to 3.1 in 2018. It’s no wonder he’s having a much better season. It doesn’t hurt that his pitches are sharper. We’ve watched him make Adrian Beltre look foolish on a high fastball and then coming back and killing him with a curve. Snell is just 25 and he now has his control. His Strat value has gone through the roof. The good SP cards don't take a tremendous amount of time to develop. They're usually good from the start or they need a small number of seasons to make the necessary adjustments and additions to their pitch quality or consistency. Three to four years into the career you're going to see what you're going to see. In other words, the developmental time for good pitchers is not very long. Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler are two recent examples. The rookie seasons established them as prime pitchers. Josh Hader and Edwin Diaz are under 24 and they represent two of the best relievers in baseball. Buehler, Flaherty, Snell, Lance McCuellers, Jose Barrios, Jamie Barria, Aaron Nola, Luis Severino, Syndergaard are under 25. These guys have the potential for throwing out “ace” cards for at least the next 5 to 7 seasons if they stay healthy. New Drafting Rules 1. Obtain position player cards with a high probability of AB accumulation. Position players usually operate within a specific range of high and low results. Make sure these players have the potential for multiple seasons of contributions. 2. Fill in needed bullpen spots with an eye to balanced cards with low HR/TB totals. 3. Draft at least 2 to 3 rookie SP cards in any draft. You never know when one of them with correct or improve in some area and then they’ll have a breakout season. Do number 1, then it is much easier to do numbers 2 and 3. The rebuild is much quicker. So is your stay at the top of the league." Later

41Forever wrote: Imagine if we had Cespedes, Thor, Travis, Frazier, Swarzak, Bruce and Lagares for the whole season. ..The other side is that Nimmo probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to break out, and certainly not McNeil. I don't see any other second basemen on that list. Later

Baseball America lists four ponies on its top 20 prospects list: 8. Peter Alonso, 1B, NYM 10. Andres Gimenez, SS, NYM 12. Justin Dunn, RHP, NYM 20. Jeff McNeil, 2B, NYM Alonso (14) and McNeil (17) are also on their top 20 PCL list. Later

Here's an analysis done by a stat guy with a screen name erosen responding to a comment by another restricted site poster: "Wow. He almost deserves rookie of the yr consideration." He's a decent clip behind a bunch of NL rookies for 2018 fWAR: 3.9 Ronald Acuna 3.5 Juan Soto 3.5 Harrison Bader 3.0 Brian Anderson 3.0 Walker Buehler *2.4 Jeff McNeil* 2.3 Jack Flaherty 2.1 Dereck Rodriguez 2.0 Jorge Alfaro Though a big piece of that is play-time. He's in a virtual three-way tied for first by wRC+, NL only: 147 Juan Soto 146 Ronald Acuna *146 Jeff McNeil* ... and [position player only] fWAR/600PA, NL only, min 150 PA: *6.9 Jeff McNeil* 5.4 Harrison Bader 5.2 Ronald Acuna 4.6 Juan Soto 3.5 David Bote 3.2 Jorge Alfaro 3.2 Franmil Reyes Yeah, Wow! Later

Frayed Knot wrote: Are you saying that you didn't enjoy our hit? One hit wonders aren't a good thing in either recording careers or baseball enjoyment. Later