A Boy Named Seo

Yikes.

Some dude on twitter praising the Padres and throwing a jab at the Mets

=Centerfield post_id=52981 time=1609343139 user_id=65] He then attacked Heyman on Twitter for reporting this. This guy might be a bit of a dick.

The only thing missing is an Advil ad on the wall. Great shot.

San Diego strikes again. Kim to the Friars.

My phone (reliable source) just said the Padres are "deep into talks" with Yu Darvish, too!

What a get for the Pads. Patiño looks to have the goods, but he isn't even the cream of the Pads farm system, and poor Mejia hasn't shown much at the MLB level at all. I think I might've hoped for a bigger haul for a 28-year old ace on a team-friendly deal.

I don't know if you're joking or not, but I was!

=MFS62 post_id=52705 time=1608752021 user_id=60] How can I send you my resume? Later

So the Mets and Steve Cohen are doing a thing that I could never imagine a previous Met regime even considering - a live Q&A with the owner. Tonight at 7PM, Cohen answers questions from us dingbats on twitter. What would you (will you?) ask the man? [YOUTUBE]_fQGRWFQbuo[/YOUTUBE]

I'd vote against that Seaver cover in the right matchup, but this ain't it for me.

This was a pretty cool read. It was fascinating (if not a little weird) how Sandy decided to pounce so quickly. Those other teams want him, we should probably want him, too, right?

#intangibles He's got it all, I tell ya

Let me be in the minority to say I'm kinda psyched on McCann. His body of work over the last two seasons (almost 600 PAs) has been very good. The advanced metrics seem to suggest he's figured something out both at the dish and behind it. StatCast numbers are sexy, even. I don't think Realmuto will be light years ahead of him for the next couple of years, and as McCann and Realmuto both devolve into old, crumbling catchers, we'll have the cheaper one on a shorter contract, which will make him easier to deal with. I know moneymoneymoney-it-doesn't-matter, but the Mets were at about https://theathletic.com/2245239/2020/12/08/mets-winter-meetings-free-agency-jt-realmuto/$153M and the CBT for 2021 is $210M. McCann adds ~$10M to that, so ~$163M, leaving $47M before they hit the threshold. Plenty to play with, and going over for the first year wouldn't hurt the Mets or Cohen at all. But the dream sweep of Springer/Bauer surely puts them over and then "hi, welcome back, Cano" in 2022 and a new CBA (with potentially new tax penalties) makes for what could be some gnarly financial books. Sure, Cohen can afford it, but I'm also sure he doesn't want to give away truckloads of money in taxes if thinks he can win at the top of the CBT threshold and invest elsewhere. /ducks

Paddy Power putting 3-1 on the Spiders to be the next team name*. I think that would be a great nick, nod to history, and could produce some great logos. /slams gavel *I made this up

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Lost Deneil Nunez to SFG Selected a pitcher from Cleveland then sold him to Pittsburg In the minor league phase they picked up -OF Drew Ferguson (HOU). Low power, but good BA/OBP guy who plays 3 positions -RHP Justin Dillon (TOR). Starter, good whip guy -SS Drew Jackson (LAD). Stats don't look very good -RHP Jesus Reyes (CIN) sinkerball reliver -LHP Jose "the Gorilla" Zorrilla (CIN) LHP reliever, high ERA, lots of whiffs Lost: -SS Sebastian Espino -C Wilfred Astudillo -RHP Ezequiel Zabaleta -2B Mitchell Tolman Wilfred Astudillo is la Tortuga's little brother IIRC. Bummed that family line isn't in the Met org any longer.

They made so much about him being a "twice, and ONLY twice" around the lineup pitcher during the playoffs that I'm not sure what the impact would be on the Mets bullpen if they signed him. While I realize the game has changed and not too many starters go seven innings any more, that lit up a buyer beware sign next to his name for me. Later He's averaged less than 5 IP/start the couple years, but MLB was 5.2 in 2019 and 4.7 in 2020, and he pitches for the Rays, which has obeys no conventions with regards to traditional starting pitchers. So I guess I don't really worry about that angle. I do like a 27-year old lefty who throws 95 and has a K/9 > 11. I'll play my own game. They'll need pitchers who are affordable that they can use in flexible roles. I think we would need a Kelenic to pull this off, but of the leftovers, I would offer this: Mets get Snell. Rays get: Seth Lugo David Peterson Franklin Kilome Pete Crow-Armstrong Lugo seems like a perfect Rays pitcher. Excellent in any shorter role, and arbitration eligible for 2021 and 22. Peterson (and maybe Kilome) can both contribute in 2021. PC-A is a bit of a lotto ticket. The Mets would have to fortify the rest of the pitching staff after this, but ok, there's plenty of good dudes available. I think the Rays would have to think about this one, with legit options on the table to replace both Snell and Morton. Does that get it done? Or Fire ABNS NOW!!!!

=metsmarathon post_id=51325 time=1606236423 user_id=83] [pushed glasses up nose] well, actually, it was han solo who cut open the tauntaun so he could keep luke warm.

"Reports" are reporting that Blake Snell could be had in a trade. He's 27 and has 3 years left on a team-friendly contract. Apparently the Rays were hit hard by COVID-19, but our billionaire is only more billionairey. Do the Mets even have enough shiny pieces to make a trade? It would likely have to be some combo of great prospects and/or cheap, affordable MLB talent. Sandy is asking YOU to come up with a trade package for Blake Snell that the Rays have to say "yes" to. So, like, what is it? EDIT: Refer to https://thecranepool.net/phpBB32/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29890this thread if you need to gut the farm system like Luke Skywalker with a tauntaun.

=Centerfield post_id=51087 time=1605887685 user_id=65] 4. Luis Rojas Too early to tell. Like I haven't even seen his face yet. The dumbest we've had. Surly and insecure. Complete waste of time.

Commentary from one of baseball's most revered thinkers: [TWEET] [/TWEET]

Even though you said James, this whole time I had Brian McCann in my head and none of what you were saying made any sense to me. pound sign reading#

I don't know how much defensive acumen drops off once the bat disappears, but Realmuto could still be very useful if he remains an elite defensive catcher even if the bat becomes average. I like this dude a lot.

Geez, I have to pick one

Yeah I'd rather a full season, but if we did have a 100-game season this year and Cano was missing 62 more in 2022, and a third of his bloated salary, well I wouldn't be mad about it.