Centerfield

How many covers advance?

Thumbs Up is the same picture they used a week before:

It's funny how it came tumbling down so fast for Harvey. Those covers are from April 20. Have no memory of the Cespedes grand slam. This team is so different when he's on the field.

Lefty Specialist wrote: All kidding aside, it's something you at least have to look at. Yeah. Agree with this. In theory, this is the type of deal that can make sense. Deal from a strength to secure a need. And a player like Bryant is the type of player we should be looking to get in a trade. Young, difference maker, high upside. Seems like a better dude than Manny. Both guys are potential difference makers. MVP versus Cy Young. But I guess it depends on your organizational philosophy. If you're still trying to build around starting pitching like the 90's era Braves, then you keep Syndergaard. Corbin and the other free agents don't really compare to him. But if you're thinking to create a team that mashes (like the Red Sox or Cubs), then you pull the trigger and piece together whatever starters you can. Either option involves spending money. If you're just trading pitching for offense without other upgrades, then you're just rearranging chairs on the Titanic. Personally, I wouldn't do it. At the end of the day, if you we want to win, the team needs huge upgrades. I think you sign the best guys out there first. The type of players you want, then you make trades to make the pieces better fit. If it were up to me, I'd prefer Harper over Machado. But then we have too many lefty-hitting corner outfielders. Hey, maybe we should look at trades for Michael Conforto!

seawolf17 wrote: I do understand the issue, but at the same time, if the Mets offer the most deal to a Boras client, he'll take it. Not worried. Exactly. The "rift" will last exactly as long as it takes for the Mets to spend money. If the Mets make the highest offer, the hatchet will be buried. At least until the next time Boras wants them to spend. If they don't make a competitive offer, the barbs will continue. And not for nothing, I'm not sure having a good relationship with Scott Boras exactly a good thing. I'm sure Boras thought Tom Hicks was a super guy.

I wouldn’t. Let’s examine our areas of need. Bullpen. No fucking way I trade Conforto for a relief pitcher. Starting pitching is a relative strength compared to our lineup. So it doesn’t make sense to deplete our offense even further. So if we are trading Conforto for offense, I’d look for a young, middle of the lineup guy who get on base and hits for power. Team control for a few years. So basically I’d be looking for Conforto. I guess if Ces comes back we could look for someone who fills a need better than a lefty hitting corner OF. But the Rockies are not trading Arenado for him, and Bryant isn’t coming either. So no. I wouldn’t trade Conforto.

Ruben Sierra. Disqualified over the "e". All guys named "Frank": Disqualified unless the Frank is actually short for "Frankfurter".

Edgy MD wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: That's the same story I recall. I sometime conflate him with Jeffrey Leonard I conflate him with Candy Moldanado. Longtime West Coast corner outfielders who made for a tasty snack. If you recall, Chili Davis and Candy Maldonado were the center of intense controversy when MLB named its "All-Time All-Food" team. Chili, like Vinegar Bend Mizell, was disqualified. Chili being a nickname. But Candy was named to the team, despite his real name being "Candido". The committee felt "Candy" was the natural nickname of "Candido", while "Chili" was ruled not to "reasonably derive" from the base name "Charles". Fans of Davis felt like his exclusion was arbitrary, if nicknames were allowed. Other purists, like Jim Rice, felt nicknames of any sort should be disallowed. Intense protests ensued. Similar to that of the Matt Harvey pee covers.

Right now, d'Arnaud is one of the two best catchers in the organization. I think you have to tender him. According to MLB traderumors, the projection is $3.7 million. https://metsmerizedonline.com/2018/10/mlbtr-2019-mets-arbitration-projections.html/ He's heading in the wrong direction, but can hit a little. If the catcher's market really is that big of a seller's market, I would think you could move him if we signed someone else. Other projections from MLB Trade Rumors: Jacob deGrom (4.139) – $12.9MM Noah Syndergaard (3.149) – $5.9MM Zack Wheeler (5.098) – $5.3MM Wilmer Flores (5.003) – $4.7MM Michael Conforto (3.043) – $4.4MM Travis d’Arnaud (5.044) – $3.7MM Steven Matz (3.099) – $3.0MM Kevin Plawecki (2.167) – $1.3MM

Rivera had a setback, but from what I heard, he should be back and ready by spring. What happened to Gavin remains a mystery. The last article I could find was from August. https://metsmerizedonline.com/2018/08/mmo-prospect-profile-gavin-cecchinis-lost-opportunity.html/ Basically, Gavin rebuilt himself over last winter, and was off to a nice start before fouling a pitch off his foot on May 9. He was listed as day to day, but when things didn't get better, they suspected he had torn something. I don't know what became of him after that. I can only guess his entire leg has been amputated by now. I have no explanation for my high hopes for Cecchini except that he looked like a hitter in the small samples we saw of him in 2017. I still hope that he can be a productive player, but understand that the chances of that happening, or of him even getting an opportunity, are slim. Still, if he's able to play in 2019, I'd rather try him for the Jose Reyes role (cheap with upside) than to bring back Jose again.

This was fun. I like when the Mets win. I wish they did more of it.

Game on MLB network.

I'm president of his fan club. The group is...small.

This one from straight away. Chili Davis does a lot of gazing.

I mean, look at him from the right side. Very poor gazing mechanics.

Frayed Knot wrote: Chili was also a switch-hitter (despite the above cards showing him strictly as a lefty) ... for whatever that's worth as a hitting coach. And as the splits will show, he was much better at gazing intently from the left side than he was from the right.

They should be right at the fucking top. Right there with the Dodgers and Yankess. Every fucking season ferchrissakes. Give me a fucking break already with but the Mets signed a big one every 15 years or so. I've been through this act too many times. Tell me if you've heard this before. *Undisputed fact: Mets don't spend like other big market teams *Newsworthy Item: Boras renews his criticism of Mets for not spending like big market teams. *41Forever: Cites to isolated incident suggesting that the Mets do, in fact, spend like a big market team, even though anyone with a brain knows this is not true, and it wasn't even what the thread was about. *CF: Gets angry that 41F would offer intentionally misleading information. Accuses 41F of being a shill for the Wilpons. *41F: Refuses to acknowledge that he likes the Wilpons, continues to feign neutrality, says his only experience with the Wilpons was a pleasant conversation in some elevator or something. *CF: Loses his mind. Can't believe anyone would buy that garbage. Asks 41F why, if he is so quick to defend their actions, he won't just come out and say he likes the Wilpons. Accuses 41F of dishonesty. Uses bad words. *41F: Asks CF to stop using bad words. Asks why he makes personal attacks. Brings up M. Donald Grant. Scene.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Does he have a client this year that the Mets might be in on? I doubt that he's trying to goad them into signing Bryce Harper... I think at the high end of the market, there are very few suitors. Only a handful of clubs can afford to take on this sort of commitment. Out of that handful, some will not have a need (like the Yankees, as currently constructed). I think it benefits him to have all possible big market teams in the discussion, as it creates leverage and allows him to create a market for his player. I think it frustrates him that the Mets should absolutely be among this handful of teams, but are not.

And so it continues. Scott Boras’ annual assessment of the Mets’ spending habits — a tradition like no other at the general managers’ meetings — brought the team’s owner and a discount retail chain together under one umbrella on Wednesday. “Frankly, like always, the Mets will shop at Fred’s,” the mega-agent said. Asked what was for sale at the store, Boras said: “It’s not what’s for sale, it’s where a man [Fred Wilpon] who wants to win, wants to win and he has the wherewithal to do it.” https://nypost.com/2018/11/08/boras-fred-wilpon-and-mets-wont-spend-big-money-again/ I get the first part, Mets are cheap, bla blah blah. I don't think I understand the second part. I don't know that this means a heck of a lot, but I hope the two sides can repair this relationship before Michael Conforto's status becomes an issue.

The team needs a minimum of two relief pitchers. I think they need one guy from the Kimbrel club of "closers" (Kimbrel, Familia, Robertson, etc). And then one guy from the second tier. (Miller, Britton, etc). I think this second guy should be left-handed. I'm fine with Miller so long as we are not expecting him to return to form and be our closer. He is what he is at this point. I guess I have a particular concern about the Mickey Calloway system. Brian Shaw also had that "He can pitch multiple innings" label. And then he got a big contract and his arm fell off. Miller was used in that same way, and we may be seeing the beginnings of a decline. At home, we saw the innings rack up for Gsellman and Lugo. The fear that the Calloway system can work in the short term, but over time, it does damage on a pitcher's health.

He's also great insurance in case Jeff McNeil isn't all we are hoping he will be. But like smiggy says, I think he'll get a starter role somewhere. Besides, I'm going out and predicting great things for Gavin Cecchini for the second straight year.

I guess it comes down to whether you think Donaldson is recovered and/or shot. If only there were some sort of data to measure his peripherals so that we could make an educated determination rather than just guess blindly.

I read an article about the "Tebowing" phenomenon. I guess the issue is more nuanced than originally presented. I stand by my statement that an athlete's faith should not be something that's mocked. That being said, an exception is certainly justified if that player uses his faith as "marketing" or a "brand". Faith should certainly not be used for self-gain. And if that's done, then I think it's not about faith, but about dollars. For instance, those crooked televangelists are fair game in my book. I guess, for me, it's unclear whether or not Tebow is genuine in his faith, or if it's a marketing tool. I would have to spend more time catching up on the specifics. And frankly, I don't care enough to dig in any further to find out. I haven't seen the pro-life ads, but I'm perfectly fine with an athlete using his platform to speak on issues important to him. I have no problem with a pro-choice athlete speaking out in support of women's rights. In theory (without seeing the ads themselves), I support an athlete's right to take the opposite position, even if the views differ from mine.

I read this morning in Matt Ehalt's article that the Mets have about $130 committed to next year. If the projections are accurate, consider this scenario: 3B: Josh Donaldson. 1 year, $20 million C: Ramos. 3 years, $36 million RHRP: Familia. 3 years, $33 Million LHRP: Britton. 3 years, $33 Million. Assuming none of this money is backloaded, it gives us a bump of $54 million for the 2019 payroll. Wright will certainly not play in 2019, meaning 75% of his $15 million salary is covered. That means a net payroll bump of $43 million (I'm leaving any Cespedes insurance coverage out, since I don't know how long he'll be out, and I don't know the specifics of coverage.) That gives us a $173 million payroll. ($23 million more than last year) $173 million would have put us 8th in the league last year, and presumably somewhere in that area, maybe a notch or two lower, for 2019. If the Mets are able to unload Frazier (who still has some value), then that drops them to $164 million. That would have been good for 10th in the league. There is no reason something like this is not doable. Of course, I'd love for the Mets to actually act like a big market team, increase to a top 5 payroll, and get the actual superstars at the top of the market, but there is no excuse for the Mets, at a minimum, to do something like this.

That's ridiculous. In a sport that is full of actual criminals, they pick on the guy for being too wholesome? I get that religion is not everyone's cup of tea, but you know, live and let live. And look, I don't agree with the pro-choice position, but I understand that it's a difficult decision either way. And certainly he has the right to express it.