batmagadanleadoff

=Marshmallowmilkshake post_id=179215 time=1731864544 user_id=119] I saw him pitch in that third game against the White Sox and I think he struck out the first seven Mets he faced. His point about the postseason was that he already far beyond his innings pitched, and he didn't want to get traded to a team that would abuse him for two-and-half months and not be invested in his future. If we have some surplus talent and can land him without shipping out our top prospects, I'd do it. Maybe a package around Baty, O'Neil (with the Mets picking up a chunk of salary) and one of the next tier prospects. The Sox need warm bodies who don't completely suck.

After this,we can have a poll to determine which of these recent GM's was the best base-runner. Tournament! It's a tournament! I can't wait.

it's all relative. 4/115 isn't quite Aaron Judge money but it's one heckuva score for a 30 year old man.

This is great. We can rank 'em by position. And by combined positions. And then after that, we can rank 'em by not position. What's next? The best Met of 2024 whose uniform number begins with the number "2"? Best blonde Met?

What? No awards for every single distinct infield position? What gives? I feel so cheated. What a gyp.

This is great. Maybe we can also create an award for the best third-string catcher when we're done here. If we had an award for the best Mets third baseman of 1971, Bob Aspromonte would've won in a landslide. And why isn't this riveting poll being "stickied"?

This is great. Maybe we can also create an award for the best third-string catcher when we're done here. If we had an award for the best Mets third baseman of 1971, Bob Aspromonte would've won in a landslide.

https://x.com/snyyankees/status/1853477186692419901 Oh great. Another know-it-all making grand proclamations based on five baseball games. I mean, the Dodgers might very well be a better team than the Yankees, whatever that even means, but I wouldn't make that bet based on just the five WS games the two teams played.

Cole agrees to stay on with MFYs and extend contract. https://sny.tv/articles/yankees-gerrit-cole-option-2025?fbclid=IwY2xjawGWIztleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSBv_uKUs4GOPG7QXfjgP0DUr1d8igUbV3RYYpTrMVgHq2lqJu863-wu_w_aem_p9xxIQVQHDz3rlvfHXFiQghttps://sny.tv/articles/yankees-gerrit-cole-option-2025?fbclid=IwY2xjawGWIztleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSBv_uKUs4GOPG7QXfjgP0DUr1d8igUbV3RYYpTrMVgHq2lqJu863-wu_w_aem_p9xxIQVQHDz3rlvfHXFiQg Later I guess the Mets won't be getting Cole on a two year contract. This is such a shocker to me.

Edgy MD wrote: I think the all-time shortest Met is Zack Short. He barely edges out Bill Short by actually appearing (if only for one inning) at short. That can't be. Zack's listed at 5'10" at bbRef. Unless you were word-playin'. I think that Daniel Herrera was the shortest Met ever.

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=178164 time=1730649964 user_id=68] Same here. In fact, for every single free agent from here to the end of time, I'd like for the Mets to sign them only for as long as they're good. I'd also like for their Mets contracts to expire just when they crap out and suck. I only want for the Mets to sign the good players, not the ones that are gonna be crappy and sucky.And if they suddenly become crappy and sucky in the middle of their Mets contracts, they should opt out and go play for the Yankees right away. I would put that in their contracts, too.

Same here. In fact, for every single free agent from here to the end of time, I'd like for the Mets to sign them only for as long as they're good. I'd also like for their Mets contracts to expire just when they crap out and suck. I only want for the Mets to sign the good players, not the ones that are gonna be crappy and sucky.And if they suddenly become crappy and sucky in the middle of their Mets contracts, they should opt out and go play for the Yankees right away. I would put that in their contracts, too.

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=178109 time=1730580262 user_id=68] I find it hard to believe that the Yankees are going to let Soto walk on over to the Mets, of all teams, to put up Mickey Mantle-like numbers for the next seven or eight years.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: "Stevie Nixed" is an excellent headline. Motocross is dumb. Yeah but it has a good action picture so fman should vote for it. Seriously, that's a good tabloid cover because it is dumb. They've used that line more than half a dozen times, going back at least 20 years to when the Mets fired Steve Phillips. Deduct five points for lack of originality.

Keith Law ranks this year's crop of MLB free agents. Juan Soto tops Law's list. Was anybody surprised? Here's Law's fabulous write-up of Soto: 1. Juan Soto, OF If plate discipline was a person, it would be Juan Soto. He doesn't chase bad pitches; bad pitches chase him. When MLB finally institutes a challenge system for balls and strikes, instead of using an automated system, the plan is to just ask Soto. So of course he's the best free agent in this class, and a team is going to have to back up the proverbial truck for his services — especially since he's going to start his new contract at just 26 years old. Soto was the third-best hitter in baseball this past year by wRC+, and the only two hitters who were better are going to win their league's respective MVP awards. He's led the league in walks three times, finishing second this year to his teammate Aaron Judge, and has walked more than he's struck out in every season since 2019. He has never had an OBP below .400 in seven major-league seasons. He's coming off a career high in homers, and while it's easy to just ascribe that to playing half his games with the right-field fence about 20 feet from home plate (my estimate may be off, I blame the metric system), the majority of his homers were “no-doubters” by distance. For most free agents coming off a career year, it would be wise to assume some regression is coming; in Soto's case, it could just be him entering his offensive peak. His only flaw as a player is that he's a below-average defender in right, and while his defensive metrics were better in 2024, playing in a smaller right field at Yankee Stadium may have had something to do with it. He's going to put up a bunch of 8-WAR seasons in the next 10 years, and, assuming that's the length of his contract, should still be an above-average offensive player at the end of it, even if he might move to DH by his mid-30s. I suppose it's time to retire the Childish Bambino nickname, though. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5874781/2024/11/01/mlb-top-50-free-agent-ranking-keith-law/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5874781/2024/11/01/mlb-top-50-free-agent-ranking-keith-law/ I find it hard to believe that the Yankees are going to let Soto walk on over to the Mets, of all teams, to put up Mickey Mantle-like numbers for the next seven or eight years.

Edgy MD wrote: I can list just as many top contracts that ended up being an exercise in burning money. And just as many that were neither one nor the other. Nothing guarantees anything. Obviously, a team in a position to hand them out is often in a position to do a lot of things, and in the current environment, any team that makes the playoffs is a real contender for a championship. That list certainly shows how few of the largest contracts are going to pitchers of late. You can't. Because these are literally the top ten. You can list the next ten, or twenty. But these are the top contracts. I think its more complicated or nuanced than you present. Just off the top of my head without looking anything up, as a Met, Jacob deGrom was once the highest paid NLer and the Mets didn't win anything with him. Same with Scherzer and then Verlander. In fact, those two were the highest paid players in MLB history while with the Mets. deGrom's Rangers salary was off the charts. And while the Rangers, remarkably, then won the WS, it was no thanks to deGrom, who missed just about that entire season. Mike Trout's contract, at the time, was a record-breaker, and yet the Angels didn't even make the playoffs. The reason those teams you listed did well is not simply because they gave out record breaking contracts, but because they were smart enough and rich enough to make other successful signings.

https://x.com/DanBartels2/status/1852339116978876865 Darling is saying that nobody should pursue Soto because the Yankees didn't win the 2024 WS? WTF?

=MFS62 post_id=178031 time=1730469094 user_id=60] I think San Francisco and Atlanta are also in 1B - always lurking. And it will be interesting to see how deep the pockets of Phillie ownership are. Later

The Juan Soto Tiers, according to The Athletic. The Mets are in tier 1A. Juan Soto destination tiers: MLB execs forecast market of winter's top free agent Excerpt: When it comes to Juan Soto, an executive from a major-league team said, every team should at least try. He's that good. He's that young. Now that the World Series is done, Soto officially enters free agency squarely in his prime after hitting 41 home runs with a ludicrous .288/.419/.569 in his age-25 season. The kind of career numbers Soto has produced before turning 26 puts him on a path toward Cooperstown. Soto, a client of super agent Scott Boras, should fetch a long contract worth over $500 million; it's probably just a matter of how close he gets to $600 million. Of course, even if all 30 teams take a swing at signing Soto — some still won't — a few have better odds at landing the star outfielder than others. After speaking with several executives from various teams across the league, The Athletic weighed every club's chances of signing Soto and grouped them. Tier 1: Keep spreadin' the news New York Yankees Soto handled being a star in New York with aplomb. Teaming up with Aaron Judge produced constant comparisons to the iconic duo of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The Yankees hold that kind of lore. Soto seemed to dig it. Every game, fans chanted his name, waved Dominican flags and held signs telling ownership to re-sign him. Soto thrived on that stage, helping lead the Yankees to a World Series appearance. And coming up short only underscored the need to bring Soto back. What if it's just the beginning in New York? Tier 1A: The power of Steve Kong New York Mets No one has deeper pockets than Mets owner Steve Cohen, who also has a strong appetite for winning. A couple years ago, Boras called Cohen “Steve Kong” while talking about a need in MLB for “more goliaths.” Whatever that means exactly, they seem to have a great working relationship. During the National League Championship Series in Los Angeles, the two chatted for a lengthy period. After a successful first year for the club under president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza, landing Soto would electrify the fan base in Flushing. Tier 1B: Always lurking Los Angeles Dodgers This is the newly minted World Series championship super team with the money, the ambition and the cachet to be in on anyone it wants. That doesn't mean Soto's preference is to turn his back on New York and play on the West Coast. But one phone call or text message from Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman could change the entire tenor of these negotiations. [***] Tier 5: Not happening Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays The Rays take an unconventional, open-minded approach — they pursued Freddie Freeman before he left Atlanta for Dodger Stadium — but there's not a realistic scenario where Soto's market craters and a low-revenue franchise swoops in. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5885657/2024/10/31/juan-soto-mlb-free-agency-tiers/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5885657/2024/10/31/juan-soto-mlb-free-agency-tiers/

=Centerfield post_id=177968 time=1730395579 user_id=65] =batmagadanleadoff post_id=177910 time=1730346299 user_id=68] Even though almost half of all of the teams now make the playoffs, the Mets squeaked into the playoffs by one game on the last day of the regular season --- after they played 162 games, as did their main competitors, the Braves and DBacks. And after all of that, youse can safely rule out that there was no luck involved?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I don't understand why those two clowns would be lauded as heroes. Unless I'm missing something (I haven't been watching, and only saw the clip that batmagadanleadoff posted in this thread) they didn't affect the outcome of the game at all. Betts caught the ball in his glove and the batter was ruled out on a fan interference call. All they really accomplished was that they outed themselves as a couple of louts. I agree. Those two jackasses should be treated no differently than if they ran onto the field and punched a player in the face.

Frayed Knot wrote: I can think of only one other playoff run that was sustained by just three starting pitchers, and that was when the playoffs was intentionally stuffed with extra off days.... It's happened on occasion. As just one example, the 1969 Mets won the championship with just a three-man post-season rotation of Seaver, Koosman and Gentry. The 1986 Mets almost did it. Gooden, Darling and Ojeda started 12 of the Mets' 13 post-season games. Fernandez got a start in the playoffs.

Even though almost half of all of the teams now make the playoffs, the Mets squeaked into the playoffs by one game on the last day of the regular season --- after they played 162 games, as did their main competitors, the Braves and DBacks. And after all of that, youse can safely rule out that there was no luck involved?

I would expect the lawyers advised them to give the refund for a game they prospectively cannot attend (and during which they have not violated license terms, since the game hasn't started yet). It's the easiest way — “Your ticket is a revocable license, and we just revoked it. Here's your money back.” Beyond the ejection-without-refund yesterday (for violating the terms of yesterday's license) options are limited. Criminal charges effectively requires a victim willing to press charges (Betts didn't seem interested). Civil tort claims would require proving some damages (unclear what those are). That said, they absolutely require more severe punishment. Revocation of next year's season tickets at a minimum, and longer term ban from MLB stadia seems appropriate. I don't know whether or not a crime was committed there but it's not necessary for somebody to "press charges " for a prosecutor to pursue the criminal case. If the prosecutor has all of the evidence it needs to prosecute without needing the victim's cooperation, it can decide whether or not to prosecute irrespective of the victim's wishes.

I don't even really understand the question. There's always luck. Always. Especially so where there's much success. Life itself is pretty much all luck. Are youse suggesting that luck and talent are mutually exclusive and it's either/or?