Edgy MD

I don't think the team is light years away offensively. They were seventh in the league in OPS+, despite missing much of their firepower for much of the season. They tied for the lead league in homers. Bruce and Walker and Duda are gone from that group, so replacements will have to come. (Every team, of course, will have the pitcher in the lineup, and the Mets pitchers hit better than most.) It may be that Lageres may not still have it, or that he can't stay healthy, but his productivity in 2013 and 2014 was real. It was real when he was healthy this year also, it just wasn't as obvious because most of his value was tied up in his defense, but the metrics are there. I really want Nimmo to see regular playing time, or incoming guys to be OBP-first guys, to complement the power. I'd be perfectly satisfied with a Nimmo/Lagares platoon between Conforto and Céspedes, assuming everyone is healthy. But that's the rub. And for all I know, Conforto won't be at full strength any time soon. And if that's what the Mets expect, they certainly need to shop accordingly.

I don't think having a Gold Glove-quality centerfielder (assuming that he indeed still is one) is a one-run strategy. I certainly prefer him as a platoon player, but healthy, he has demonstrated he can be a three-win player based almost on his glove alone, and that's not nothing. Whether it's a high-scoring or low-scoring era isn't really the issue. The era is only relevant in that we're in a high-strikeout era, which suggests fewer opportunities for defenders to make a difference.

How is Rick Anderson only 50? That would suggest he was holding up the back end of the bullpen for the 1986 Mets at 19 years old.

Keef's mouf creating a little bit of overnight controversy. [tweet:2c04lqus] [/tweet:2c04lqus] Still beats Pete Rose, of course.

Ugh, didn't even stay up for it , Dodgers just didn't look like doing much. A lot of talk about Beltran's tears on Twitter, and how he's a sure fire HOF. Is he?? I would imagine there are plenty of comparable players not in the HOF Say what you want about baseball reference comps, but they certainly speak well of Beltran. Similar Batters Andre Dawson (928.0) Billy Williams (886.0) Al Kaline (881.8) Luis Gonzalez (870.8) Tony Perez (863.4) Gary Sheffield (856.8) Dave Winfield (856.6) Dwight Evans (851.4) Chipper Jones (850.4) Adrian Beltre (843.2) Similar Batters through 40 Andre Dawson (931.3) Dave Winfield (926.8) Luis Gonzalez (870.8) Gary Sheffield (856.8) Chipper Jones (850.4) Carl Yastrzemski (841.6) Dave Parker (839.2) Harold Baines (836.9) Reggie Jackson (830.6) Tony Perez (823.9) Throw in (1) defense, (2) Jones and Beltre being clearly destined for the Hall, and (3) being probably the best post-season player ever, and he's in like Early Wynn.

I don't get that the conversation (here? elsewhere?) is coalescing around re-signing Jay Bruce. And I certainly don't see anybody else banging the drum for Dee Gordon.

If you have reservations about Conforto in centerfield long term, why push for the team to acquire another corner outfielder?

Wow, Seager ends it going after the first pitch.

Utley going down on strikes in the ninth. Who can't root for that?

We could use a Centeno Citing also. I don't get this let-everybody-pitch strategy. It's probably the way of the future, but it's absolutely crackers.

This game needs a Beltran factor.

Shh... Let the Mets be sober while all the other teams get cold feet.

His off-season price is dropping!

Yeah, I tend to think that money works better spread around.

It's tough to sign a reliever who has been closing games when he and his agent know you already have a guy with that assignment. Closing is how they enhance their résumés. If you want to get an active closer to be your other closer, you generally have to trade for him, a la AJ Ramos. That way he has no say in his role, other than to pitch effectively. That could happen, but I think it's more likely that the Mets will be trying to shore up the setter-uppers, rather than the back end.

That Lind article was delightful bit of diversion.

One of the deceptive things is the very idea of graduation. In reality, Smith and Rosario are very much still prospects and should be considered as such. It's sort of misleading that Amed Rosario as a 21-year-old shouldn't factor into prospect projections because he has 170 plate appearances in the major leagues, but J.P. Crawford as a 22-year-old does, because he has only 87 plate appearances.

I hope that, beyond draft pedigree and track record, scouting filters into these rankings as well.

Well, I'm slow to make any definitive determination on Rosario, but yeah, he's certainly not an automatic pencil into the leadoff spot. Any notions with regard to whether Zach Cosart's giant leap forward this past season makes him attractive? Does Ian Kinsler's giant fart backwards portend the notion that he's finished?

We've got a lot o' Moustakas threads.

I think Gordon, or somebody like him, could certainly help the Mets. Flores, Wheeler, and Guillorme? That sounds real steep.

Piggie's (and Tuggie's) tomatoes.

That's a pretty good policy. "Kitaen" doesn't inspire a massive amount of confidence either.

Molina has a reasonable chance at making a 2018 impact. He may end up debuting as a reliever, and possibly sticking as one. That could bring him along a little faster.

There seems to be disagreement from site to site whether his name is GimInez or GimEnez, but there's certainly consensus that .265 / .346 / .349 // .695 for an 18-year-old jumping from the DSL all the way to the the South Atlantic League is really impressive.