Centerfield

During a slow part of the day, I took the time to appreciate the fact that the Mets are definitely going to get one of either Springer, Bauer, Realmuto or Springer. When they do, it will be their biggest free agent acquisition since Carlos Beltran. Just amazing. And we're going to get another starter and bullpen help. What a country.

Assuming we sign Springer and a catcher, I think JD will likely be gone. I love the guy, but something has to give. And we can't have that many DH's. Tough one to give up though. For all his follies, he plays multiple positions (albeit poorly) and he just looks like a prototypical hitter. Ball jumps off his bat.

I voted for Mac. It's a cool picture. Also, I wonder if that approach helped cause his early season slump. Cardboard really is the story of 2020 though. That and Steve Cohen obviously.

Great analysis FK. I was already sold, but that drives the point home. Plus, what are you looking at if you don't get him? Jackie Bradley Jr? A trade for Starling Marte? Gotta get this one. I can see Cohen going Axelrod here.

I'm not sure Bauer will be worth the $30M plus he will command. Plus he's 29, so you're looking at a long term commitment. For less money, you can get Morton, Hendricks, and Hand. All for fewer years. And on top of being a dick, you wonder if this year was a blip or whether it's sustainable. For the first time ever, I feel like we will have people in the room capable of assessing this.

One thought about the two players being most discussed. And I acknowledge that it may not be an either/or situation given our new ownership. But Bauer strikes me as a guy that is pursued because he's the best available in that year. If Cole were available this offseason, would we even be thinking about him? Inconsistent career numbers. His Cy Young came in a weird, short season where he faced crap competition. Kind of a dick. I don't know. Lindor, on the other hand, is a guy you pursue whenever he's available. Even if you already have a shortstop or three. The acquisition. Not the cost.

=nymr83 post_id=50413 time=1605110889 user_id=54] =Centerfield post_id=50397 time=1605096830 user_id=65] And even as rich as Cohen is, there is a limit.

The more I think about it, this is the guy. Go get him Sandy.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Hoping that 2021 is the year where his performance meets his own hype. Good get for the Mets I think. A lot is being said about Bauer and his colorful personality. Stroman is no where near a controversial, but pretty outspoken and sensitive himself. A lot of personality for someone who is a middle of the rotation guy. I can see a lot of fans turning on him if he doesn't have an ace-type year. (Which is not anything we should expect really).

So to clarify, does this accepted QO mean Stroman is replacing Stroman? Or is he still replacing Wheeler?

I read someplace that the Mets have about $76-$78 million before the luxury tax. If you figure that Cohen might want to stay under the tax his first year, there's still room to do this: 1. Springer $25M AAV. 2. Stroman $17M AAV 3. Hendricks $10M AAV 4. Hand $7M AAV 5. McCann $10M AAV Total: $69M

MLB Trade Rumors Free Agent Predictions. These are fun, if seldom right, but it gives you an idea of market value. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2021.htmlhttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2021.html

Edgy MD wrote: The only way to be certain that he's open to signing here is to sign him here. One can be reasonably certain, depending on the discussion. If you don't get there, you don't make the trade.

Let's assume this front office to be named later is smart. You trade for Lindor if: 1. You are certain, through discussions with his agent, that he is open to signing here. 2. And you are prepared to pay him the type of money he can't pass up. Preferably before he plays a game. This is what the Dodgers did with Betts. 3. And you decide that this is the best use of your resources. As JCL said, you can only trade players once. And even as rich as Cohen is, there is a limit. I think there is a lot of question whether the third prong is met, especially with Story set to hit the market next year. I tend to think an Alderson led team will be more patient.

The key being what other pieces are available via trade. I wonder if a top tier starter with a big contract might be dangled.

Monday. It took until Monday to get the vaccine. We got Cohen, Biden and the Pfizer vaccine over a 4 day span.

Here are the 2020 numbers. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/catcher_framing?year=2020&team=&min=q&sort=4,1https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/catcher_framing?year=2020&team=&min=q&sort=4,1 I don't really know what these mean. But it suggests James McCann got much better than he's been in the past. Was surprised to see d'Arnaud so low on the list. I always thought this was a strength. Ramos, as expected is low. Chirinos, brought in for defense, was even lower.

I've always questioned his judgment.

All kidding aside, Brodie Van Wagenen is the worst GM in the history of the Mets. And that's not due to his track record as GM, though there is enough there to make a strong case. Brodie is the worst, not because he failed as GM, but because he never tried. Every other Mets GM had one primary goal. Make the Mets a better team. Some were better, some were worse, but all of them worked toward the same thing. The last few have had to overcome Jeff Wilpon to make that happen. Not Brodie. Brodie's job wasn't to make the Mets better. Brodie's job was to make Jeff look better. I mean sure, he would have preferred if the Mets won, but as long as there was no heat on Jeff, Brodie had done his job. That's why he was hired despite not having any front office experience. He didn't need it. Jeff was going to call all the shots. Brodie was just PR and spin. So fuck Brodie and his lies, and his double talk. I don't know what's next on the agenda for Jeff Wilpon, but I hope it has nothing to do with my life, and I hope he takes his smiling salesman along with him.

And after all the violence and double talk, there's just a song in all the trouble and the strife.

That is *really* weird, unless these ladies, um, perhaps, were "closer" to Mr. Johnson than these folks may think. This was my first thought. Unrelated, I hear that there are a bunch of little Latvian boys named Centerfield.

Labrum surgery suggests he won't bounce all the way back no?

Frayed Knot wrote: https://nypost.com/2020/07/06/steve-cohen-is-making-another-big-push-to-buy-mets/He's Baaaaaaack!! "Sources close to billionaire hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen told The Post he will bid on the Mets this week ..." Imagine. In 2021, we could have a vaccine, a new president, our jobs back, and Steve Cohen as owner of the NY Mets. Thinking back to this post of mine from July. To think the sale might close the same day Biden is declared the winner. Am I greedy to want a vaccine before the weekend?

Edgy MD wrote: I hope this works. I'm not nearly as pro-Cohen as the room. HEWJ Republican donor in 2016, but mostly laid low this cycle. Inside trader. Let others take the fall for him. If selling the team meant waiting for the ethical billionaire, we might have been left waiting for some time. Earlier in this thread I laid out my three criteria for an owner. Cohen, more than any other possible candidate, is the most likely to hit all three. Our current owners were the least likely to hit any of them. You never know how anything will play out. But upgrading to Steve Cohen from Jeff Wilpon in the owner's box is like upgrading to Carlos Beltran from Jeff Wilpon in centerfield.

One down. Trump is next.