Centerfield

I wonder why I didn’t participate in those threads. I would have thought I would have. I’m pretty sure I liked the trade then. I remember some reporters saying we had fleeced them with the inclusion of Syndergaard and Bucerra. I hope we don’t trade Noah. There is no pitcher available this offseason that can replace him.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Even if I wanted him, Bryce Harper isn't coming here. Not even worth discussing. Has he said something? I’ve never heard him say a bad word about NY.

And he’s well liked by all teammates not named Papelbon and everyone pretty much agreed afterward that it was Papelbon’s fault. There is no reason not to pursue Harper. He is a franchise changing signing. This is like Piazza or Beltran. Except this time we actually have pitching to back it up. The only reason not to do it is money. Anyway. Someone else will sign him. And someone else will sign Machado. And the teams that spend wisely will win and make the post season and we will sit there under .500 with a 23rd ranked offense. Let’s get Martin Maldonado. Or trade Syndergaard. Things have been working so well for us.

Mets out according to Jon Heyman. Quotes a Mets source saying he’s not their type of player. Still very early in the offseason and these are all unsubstantiated rumors, but the tea leaves aren’t telling a great story so far.

G-Fafif wrote: Jeff Wilpon sadly rationalized, "We weren't old enough to have enough history. But now we are and, in Jay, who's been with us so long and has seen so many players come through the organization and maintained a rapport with them, he was the absolute right guy for this job." This is true. In 1962 Fred would have only been just a baby. How can he be expected to know anything about baseball at the tender age of 26?

G-Fafif wrote: Cespedes was more exciting going back on the DL than most Mets were doing anything else at this stage of the season. This Yo-intensive interlude is a reminder of what a presence he's been since arriving...and what a void he leaves when he's in absentia. Yup.

Let’s hope so. Looks like Paxton has trouble staying healthy too. Maybe he will suck and then his arm will fall off.

Frayed Knot wrote: Yanx deal w/Seattle for LHP James Paxton giving up touted LHP prospect Justus Sheffield plus two others. Paxton, 30 earlier this month, can be a free agent after two more seasons. Paxton has pretty good peripherals according to the articles circulating now. The general consensus seems to be that Seattle didn’t get enough back.

Sources: As they consider Noah Syndergaard trade, Mets exploring free agent pitching options to replace him Andy Martino wrote: Trading Syndergaard -- which is no sure thing to happen, even though the Mets are exploring it -- would only be one piece in a larger strategy. The Mets could obtain a package of prospects and major leaguers for Syndergaard, then replace him with a free agent such as Patrick Corbin, J.A. Happ, Dallas Keuchel, or Nathan Eovaldi. Andy Martino wrote: The Mets are not close to signing any of these pitchers, and would likely have to make a trade before doing so. But GM Brodie Van Wagenen has been in touch with the agents for many free agent starters, keeping a dialogue open in case of a vacancy. It's cute how Andy Martino still writes like he's a reporter, and not on the payroll of the Wilpons.

The No Shit Sandy cover is infuriating. From the unflattering picture to the headline. I don't think Sandy did a great job either, but I don't think it's all on him. And Mets fans blame the Wilpons first. Sandy is second. Maybe even a distant second. But you'd never get the News, who partners with SNY, to say that.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Best lollygagger video ever. [youtube]cDaFcQJC4z8[/youtube] How'd we ever win 8? It's a miracle! I could watch that movie any day, any time, whatever point I catch it in.

This is a tough bunch.

It's clearly the Wilpon's fault. I think that smg is saying that the Wilpons screwed up on multiple fronts, not just the ponzi scheme.

Kevin Kernan in the Post: https://nypost.com/2018/11/19/noah-syndergaard-trade-talk-proves-mets-approach-all-wrong/ The starting pitching is the Mets’ only strength right now. Don’t weaken it by trading Syndergaard. How about strengthening it by going out on the free-agent market and picking up more talent, more offense, more defense? I guess in theory, it's possible that a trade exists what will make the Mets better now as well as the future. It would mean that they get a player (or players) that collectively outweigh the value provided by Syndergaard now, as well as in future years. Which I guess means that the target players are younger. But Noah is pretty damn good right now. And he's young, and under team control for the next three years. So why would another team give up a player (or players) who are better and younger? My biggest fear is that they make a stupid trade that will improve one of the other areas, cost us Noah Fucking Syndergaard, then that will be the justification for not increasing payroll.

I fear that “aggressive” won’t mean move aggressively to improve the team. It will mean make stupid trades where our best result is to tread water. While keeping payroll at its current level.

“Better for his family” is code for “lots more money” right? If so, good for Josh. We will miss him. What a hard seat this has been to fill. We need to clone Gary.

I think the Wilpons are sincere in their desire to win. But I think they’re incompetent. I think they can’t afford to fund a $185 million payroll because they’ve over-leveraged the team and SNY to make up for Madoff losses. And I think they meddle too much to allow a smart GM to spend wisely even if they had that money. New GM though. So we will just have to wait and see.

This is stupid. Just sign some hitters.

This should be the minimum. Also factor in the Cespedes insurance money.

I find it one of the weird quirks of baseball that we ended up having both Tatis and Park as Mets. Two guys linked forever by a memorable play, both end up as Mets. Others: Robin Ventura gets pummeled by Nolan Ryan. Jesse Orosco strikes out Kevin Bass to end '86 NLCS. Left Davey Johnson making the last out in '69 off the list since he was never a Met as a player.

If Tatis is really one of the top prospects in baseball (and IIRC Keith Law had him #1 at some point recently), and you're getting Tatis plus? That feels like a trade you really have to consider. #2 overall in MLB's (Jonathan Mayo & Jim Callis) mid-season 2018 update, behind only Vladdy Junior Their write-up: [Tatis] made an immediate impact in his pro debut, finishing the season as a 17-year-old in the Class A Short-Season Northwest League, and then emerged as a top-flight prospect in 2017 as he became the first 18-year-old in Midwest League history to post at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Perhaps even more impressive was how Tatis Jr. handled himself after making the jump directly to Double-A San Antonio in August, and he continued to draw raves in his return to level in 2018 before undergoing season-ending surgery for a fractured thumb in late July. Tatis Jr. has all the ingredients to become an offensive force in the Majors, as his bat speed, leveraged swing and overall capacity to make adjustments all portend a future plus hitter with plus power. He proved vulnerable to spin and sequencing early in the year but tightened his approach as the season progressed en route to pacing the Midwest League with 75 walks. Many evaluators believe Tatis Jr. is merely scraping the surface of his offensive potential, as he still has considerable room to grow into his tall and athletic frame. That larger frame doesn't currently impede Tatis Jr.'s abilities at shortstop, where he makes highlight-reel plays on a daily basis thanks to his athleticism, range and rocket arm, though further physical development could ultimately force him to third base. Even if that's case, Tatis Jr.'s bat gives him the ceiling of a perennial All-Star, possibly even an MVP candidate in his prime. If he's better than his father, we are looking at 3 grand slams in one inning.

41Forever wrote: Went with "Fired Up." It was the least negative! Holy crap. That's right! The best thing to happen to the Mets that month was Citifield catching on fire!

I don't see how trading Syndergaard helps us win now. Either win now and go for it, or win tomorrow and tear it down. Jesus.

Sandy throwing Cespedes under the bus was a dick move then. But knowing what we know now, it's indefensible. The guy is battling a crippling pain in both of his heels and Sandy is surprised? I wonder how much of that was actually him and how much of that was the owners putting him up to it.

G-Fafif wrote: The Last Blasphemer lays it on Randy Jones. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/mlb/sd-sp-degrom-scherzer-cy-young-vote-writer-20181115-story.html Twenty-nine other writers didn't have an automatic column this morning. Yes, the Mets were a bad club, offensively and defensively. He didn't get run support. One emailer pointed out that if the Mets had scored two runs in DeGrom's starts, he would have been 20-6; three runs would have been 25-1; four runs 30-0. But you know what they say about ifs and buts. The numbers are what they are and — after hours of consideration — I was swayed by Scherzer’s 18-7 mark in 220 2/3 innings on an under-achieving Nationals club. I spoke with Randy Jones, a man I greatly respect. He was 22-14 with a bad Padres team in 1976 and won the Cy Young Award. In that conversation, Randy said, "Wins are the most important thing in the game. You need to pitch to the run support you get, whether that's one, two, three or 12.” I wonder exactly what Randy meant. If he meant "winning the game" is the most important thing. And that a pitcher's job is to pitch to the run support you get, then this is true. The objective of the game is to win. You win and lose as a team. If your teammates suck, it's on you to to be better. But if Randy Jones mean "Wins are the most important stat", then he's wrong. And just because some pitcher says it, it's no excuse for a sportswriter to blindly follow. Individual awards are just that. Individual awards. Judging the performance of an player independent of the performance of the other players. If that wasn't the case, the Cy Young should go to the best pitcher on the World Champions. No other pitcher accomplished "the most important thing". But that's silly. Logic like this makes me irrationally upset. "In judging an individual's performance, I will use the statistic most poorly correlated with that individual's performance." Anyone paying attention today knows that Randy Jones's 22 wins has nothing to do with deGrom's 10 wins today. In 1976 Randy had 25 complete games. That number led MLB. 11 people tied for the lead this year. That number is 2. So yes, it's true that a pitcher's job is to pitch to the run support you get. I guess in today's game, a pitcher's job is to pitch to the run support you get, while taking into account the anticipated number of runs your bullpen will give up behind you. Had we had Randy Jones, he would have known to give up -3 runs in each start.