Centerfield

"It's a tradition" is never a good argument. Slavery was a tradition. So was foot-binding in China. Bad traditions should end. Cross-dressing can be fun and lighthearted, but it stresses gender roles and reinforces negative stereotypes. Our transgender community probably doesn't find this tradition to be very funny.

Frayed Knot wrote: And, not for nothing, but that Conforto article is a piece o' shit, starting with, although certainly not limited to, the fact that the author immediately leaps to the contents of a single reader comment around which to base the remainder of the article. When I read that, I thought to myself "Come on FK, tell us how you really feel." Then I read it and I think your commentary is actually understated. What is the level below piece of shit? Because that article is looking up at shit right now. There are so many factual inaccuracies in there you don't know where to start. But seriously, hey dickhead. Maybe he struggled to hit last year not because of some character flaw, but because hitting in the big leagues is really fucking hard. He seems to acknowledge that hitting in AAA is easy for Conforto. So I'm not sure what the Dominican League is going to do for him.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I went with the deGrom cover too, but it wasn't a clear decision. I like them both nearly the same. Me too. In the end I went with the guy who doesn't beat his wife. 5-0 so far. Would expect it to be closer.

That's good to hear on Lagares. Maybe he should stop diving. Or at least dive better.

The idea that Murph has been the new Murph for a season and a half is largely cited as fact, but I don't think this is true. In 2015, post All-Star Murph (which is not even a full half-season) OPS'ed at .803. That's nice production, but no where near what he did this year. In 2016, Murph came in at .985, and spent 4 entire months up over 1.000 in OPS. That is just a monster performance. I guess the case could be made, maybe, that he spent the latter part of 2015 building toward this level: July: .646 August: .861 September: .909 Post-Season: 1.115 And maybe that's why we get the idea that this is a transformation, and not a fluke. Plus the fact that this steady increase coincided with his gradual work with Kevin Long. But really, Monster Murph basically debuted very late in 2015. It wasn't half the year. I don't know. I'm still hoping that he regresses a lot in 2017. But if the Kevin Long effect is sustainable, this bodes well for Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker right?

Love Sultan. So much so I can even get over Scherzer's ugly mug in the corner.

Edgy MD wrote: It seems to me they've had sone success finding potential LOOGy-ness in guys who are just floating around, failing at bigger roles, waiting to blossom in the smallest role of them all. Over-committing to such characters as Brett Cecil seems folly. Yeah, I'd be happy to find a guy who is kinda struggling as a starter sign on and blossom as a LOOGY. This is one of my favorite story lines. Right up there with HS nerd-girl is forced to tutor good looking jock, who eventually falls for her and then she has a makeover and ends up looking amazing at the homecoming dance at the end of the movie.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Centerfield wrote: Plus I'm not sure that the Nats are without their question marks. Daniel Murphy OPS'ed at .985 last year while spending nearly his entire career in the mid. 700's. Are we sure that he can match that production again in 2017? There are all sorts of guys who had that one standout year and never matched it again. While I don't know what's in store for Murphy, and maintain a healthy respect for the total unpredictability of everything, everything, I'm also convinced that Murphy is one of those rare players who changed his game in mid-career. I think he's no longer that singles and doubles hitter spraying the ball over the field for all but the last half season of his Mets stint. And so, I wouldn't consider the old Murphy as the baseline by which to gauge expectations. I think Murphy's a stud now, one of baseball's most dangerous hitters. And I think that that Murphy's here to stay. If his productivity goes down, it'll be because of the inevitable wear and tear and injuries and aging --- not a reversion to the original Murph. Is that just a hunch or are you basing that on anything specific? Not to say you're wrong, I just don't have the depth of understanding to make a prediction on this one way or the other.

Plus I'm not sure that the Nats are without their question marks. Daniel Murphy OPS'ed at .985 last year while spending nearly his entire career in the mid. 700's. Are we sure that he can match that production again in 2017? There are all sorts of guys who had that one standout year and never matched it again. Trea Turner looked like a star with a .937 OPS over 73 games. But he could Conforto in his sophomore year. Plus, his performance in Washington far outpaced what he had done through the minors. So there could be some regression. (Though he really looks like he'll be a helluva player.)

Fangraphs picks the Nats to win the NL East. The Mets finish second with 84 wins. Fail to qualify for either WC, which go to the Giants and St. Louis. http://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings#NL-E Mark Simon says most of the difference comes not from a disparity in talent, but more from the uncertainty arising from the injuries. http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/124925/sorry-mets-fans-nationals-are-currently-considerably-better Which I guess is good, but he still manages to sound kinda like a dick. Did we know about Travis's shoulder issue? Was that really the problem? I hadn't heard that.

I was at the seeds game. What a great moment.

Certainly understand the apprehension. But we have Harper, Murphy, FFF in the division. We need someone better than Josh Smoker.

Great observation. It's funny because I bet most Met fans would say that they are pretty happy with the offseason so far. Have our expectations been lowered so much that we just fear getting worse without a thought to actually get better? All the jubilation around the Cespedes return is really just a celebration of status quo. The way I see it, teams can improve in basically 3 ways: 1. Get better players. 2. Existing young players mature and improve. 3. Get luckier. Fewer injuries, good years from question mark players, be on the right side of Pythagoras. And hope for just the opposite for your opponents. And the aggregate of these three have to offset lost personnel, regression, and bad luck. The Mets are coming off an 87 win season. They have not yet done option 1. There is time, but so far there are no serious discussions about adding anyone of impact. In fact, I'm not sure anyone they are linked to is enough to even offset the guys that left. I would say Conforto still qualifies for option 2. And we will be anxious to see who will be this year's unexpected hero. But right now it looks like the Mets are putting most of their eggs in Option 3. And there may be good reason to think we actually will be luckier. Healthy Duda, maybe Travis reverts to form, maybe we will not be historically bad with RISP. I don't know. I think at the very least I would feel much better if we could add a lockdown LOOGY.

Frayed Knot wrote: Yeah, that's been the problem with the whole deification of Jeter thing, that the worshipers have taken a legit HoF'er and still somehow managed to over-rate his importance. I'm already dreading the talk, sure to come up four years hence, about how HE is finally the one above all others who deserves to go in unanimously which, given the coming era of open ballots and the specter of public shaming that could go along with it, may actually happen. And as much as I hate the whole narrative (stemming largely from DiMaggio's time) about how no one should ever go in unanimously, the idea that he alone should be the one to break the trend is distasteful enough for me to temporarily jump on that wagon and hope that at least a handful of voters do as well. Yup. Which is why I am so hoping someone gets the unanimous nod before him. It would just kill me that of all the great guys through history, that Jeter would be the one unanimous choice, validating all the over-inflation of his worth. I've said before that any writer who didn't vote for Rickey Henderson is simply too stupid to vote.

seawolf17 wrote: This would literally be the only thing he's done that makes any sense. And it only BARELY makes any sense. This. Lol.

metfairy that is a terrific picture. Right up there with the Wilmer picture and the Mr. Met/Phillies bench one. It's amazing to watch you learn this craft over these years. Between you and DGW we have a glut of photographers on the CPF. I wonder if this means one of you will be traded.

Frayed Knot wrote: Looking like Dexter Fowler to the Cards on a five year deal. Not that it was a direct exchange or anything, but StL certainly seems like they're coming out on the better end of the Heyward/Fowler "swap" of NL Central outfielders. Based on 2016 anyway. Fowler's numbers were a bit high for his standards in 2016. And he has played his career in hitters' parks. Heyward, as everyone knows, was historically bad last year. Gun to your head, who has a better season in 2017? You probably go with Fowler, but it's not a no-brainer for me.

Soannie Torres. Wife of former Met Andres Torres loses her battle with cancer. 37 years old. Heartbreaking.

So the Winter Meetings are done. Not a lot happened there, but there were some good moves made get back to status quo heading into the meetings. Will that be enough? For all the goodwill of Walker and Cespedes, the Mets have made no additions to the team from the one that left the field in 2016. And in fact, they are actually looking to dump offense, rather than add it. Still, maybe Duda, d'Arnaud and Conforto bounce back. Tough to say. But I'm asking you to say it anyway!

Lefty Specialist wrote: Well, he can buy all the weaponry he needs to threaten his girlfriend now. I know that this is not supposed to be a funny subject but this made me laugh out loud. What an asshole. Wasn't there a guy on the Giants that ended up shooting himself in the leg a few years ago? I hope this happens to Chapman.

Nymr83 wrote: where is his defense these days? its not the late 90's anymore where you trot Adam Dunn out to fake a position... or Derek Jeter. No idea. But my point is that Braun is still going strong, while David is basically shot. So frustrating. You figure without the stenosis, Wright might be putting up these numbers himself.

Nymr83 wrote: No interest. I'd rather just keep Duda, maybe with a righty-platoon partner Really? Zero interest? Imagine he could be had for 3 years, $60 million with an opt-out after 1. If you trade Duda and Bruce, the money is a wash. 42 HR's and his OPS is in the high 800's.

Rumblings at the Winter Meetings are that no one is willing to pony up for Encarnacion. Do you consider making a Cespedes 2015 offer (3 years + opt out)? Encarnacion can only really play first, so you'd have to trade Duda. And to clear salary you'd probably have to lose Granderson and Bruce, and probably have to play Lagares/Nimmo at CF. The timing might work for the Mets. If Edwin bolts after 1 year, it might open the door for Dominic Smith. A long shot. And you're trading away 90 possible HR's just to fit Encarnacion, but it's something to consider.

I went with Amazin' Kinda pissed at Seaver these days. Plus I feel like Mike deserved a cover all to himself. Love that the sub-heading references the excitement we felt with the Ces signing and the Piazza enshrinement. The Mets better be pretty good in 2017 if this Cover Derby is going to be fun. There will be no Cespedes signing covers to create excitement. And I think it's unlikely that Piazza makes the Hall again.

Lefty Specialist wrote: So far the off-season's playing out pretty well. Glad Sale isn't a Nat and Ramos is moving on. Melancon to the Giants is a little concerning, as their bullpen was their Achilles heel. Wade Davis to the Cubs replacing Chapman is a wash. Red Sox will be loaded. And they don't look like they're done. Gonna be tough to be a Yankee fan next year. (Awwwww) One of the possible landing spots for McCutchen was the Rangers, but signing Carlos Gomez for CF closes that off. So it increases the DC possibility. I'm betting Cutch has a bounceback year and I'd hate for it to be for the Nats. Yeah, I think the Nats losing on Sale probably makes them front-runners for McCutchen. I guess then they move Tina Turner to SS? I am trying not to celebrate the Nats losing on Sale too much. Last winter I laughed as they missed on all their targets, then the guy the eventually settled on turned into Ted Williams. Fucking Brandon Phillips. I still blame him. But man, I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief that we dodged the Sale bullet. That guy would have just destroyed our lineup. Nats still have great pitching, obviously, but if Gio goes to the MFY's, they are basically right-handed.