Edgy MD

I went 18-4 / 1.75 last year, winning my third Cy Young Award. I'd be a Hall-of-Famer if I hung it up tomorrow (heck, if i hung it up yesterday), having won almost three times as many games as Jacob deGrom. Now I'm a Met, and on any other team, this whole spring training would be about me. But here, last year, they already brought in a big bad Germanic-sounding righthander with three Cy Youngs who originally made his bones in the American League. So I'm kind of just styling here, joining a show that's already opened and gone on tour. Maybe that's healthy for me, or maybe I need to be the center of attention. I don't know, but after sitting out 2021 following ACL surgery, and being as good as ever (better?) in 2022, maybe there's nothing I can't do. Or maybe not. ZIPs has me down for 3.7 WARs, but WAR prediction can be funny with starting pitchers. We can have a wide range of WAR outcomes, with a bad break or two seperating a 7.5 WAR season from a 1.5. So while 3.7 WARs on the ZIPs scale is the fourth highest average outcome on the team, but there's only one season in 2023, and despite being 40 and having been broken a few times already, I'm as likely as anybody to really dominate. Or not. What's it gonna be? [FIMG=321]https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2022/12/20170238/USATSI_19657062-1024x683.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=429]https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/t_2x1/t_w1536/mlb/ltoudweooz7gbhx04zjw.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=232]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fjah73TX0AAsEtf?format=jpg&name=900x900[/FIMG] [FIMG=518]https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/dv_aru5Oh8fzE5DEnpp39Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTM2MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/sny_articles_235/89b7295f7e548f3db572786a9aa3f309[/FIMG]

Fuh yeah! I'm totally on the Vientos bandwagon these days. It's Baty this and Baty that and I don't think Vientos is in any hurry to cede the floor.

https://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/archives/5600/f1_t5634.shtmlDavid Wright Sure Is Swell, By Golly https://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/archives/5600/f1_t5683.shtmlDavid Wright: He's a Swell One, You Betcha https://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/archives/19800/f1_t19832.shtmlEverything's All Wright https://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/archives/600/f1_t647.shtmlDavid Wright as Hitting Coach https://phpbb3.leaptoad.com/mets/archives/800/f1_t879.shtmlRyne Sandberg on David Wright

I hit 53 homers as a rookie in 2019. That's the most ever. Last year, I hit only 40, and I may have been ... better? That's debatable, but the case is there to be made. I reached at a lower rate, and I slugged 65 points lower, but ... Iled the league with 131 RBI and that's something. But maybe I did all that and still left some power on the table. Wouldn't that be awesome? That's why I want to know what you think my 2023 will look like. ZIPS says I have 4.3 WAR coming, but I trust you more than them. [FIMG=343]https://www.sportscasting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/SC-Mets-Pete-Alsonso-hos-start-2-GettyImages-1141238829.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=407]https://i0.wp.com/searlebaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/alonso-glove-min-1.jpg?fit=1201%2C675&ssl=1[/FIMG] [FIMG=343]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/06/09/multimedia/09mlb-mets-1/09mlb-mets-1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale[/FIMG] [FIMG=407]https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/190929111511-pete-alonso-new-york-mets-record-trnd.jpg?q=w_3000,h_1688,x_0,y_0,c_fill[/FIMG]

Yeah, it's certainly a viable argument. Like with his prior Skidoo teammate Francisco Lindor, one can overlook that his very-goodness on offense is amplified to something like greatness by his terrific defense coming in the same package. His deal was a real win for the Mets this offseason. If he's underselling himself in that first post, it's because he's a humble-talkin' guy.

Well, thse things are shorter in the spring in general.

My first few years, I was good enough when healthy to make you wonder just how terrific I could be in a full season. Well, I finally had a full season in 2022, and I was ... good. I was a productive guy, but I lost 33 points off my on-base percentage, and that's, like, my defining stat. You can make something of that. You can say that I fall off over the long haul. The Mets, to their credit, looked at it differently. They thought that, if I was actually that productive in a mediocre year, there's maybe some still un-realized goodness ahead, and even some productive mediocreness in down years, which isn't nothing, clearly. Plus, I totally took a big step forward as a fielder. Maybe more. And when you're in the middle of the diamond, that's a really good thing. So the Mets doubled down and signed me to a generous long-term contract. Waddaya think of THAT?! How will I reward them? How will I reward you? ZIPs says they see 4.9 WAR for me this season. But that's just the data talking. What's ahead in 2023 for me, Brandon "Tater" Nimmo? [FIMG=249]https://foxsportsradionewjersey.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/102/2022/09/GettyImages-1419735058.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=501]https://delta.creativecirclecdn.com/rome/original/20210812-154224-7dada9b386.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=361]https://diamond-digest.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Nimmo.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=389]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/Dominic-Smith.jpg[/FIMG]

Believe me, peoples are already complaining about that. I'm sure they'll come up with ways to pad the game if things are coming in under the target.

Well, golly gee!

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/GU_born.shtmlThis page, a list of MLB players born in Guam, suggests that Sean Reid-Foley was only an active MLB player in 2018, when he has in fact appeared at the big-league level in each of the last five seasons — a fact quickly confirmed when one clicks his name. HORRENDOUS!

Well, http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/league.jsp?league=carmany already do, although they are certainly not forced, and certainly something more than dormant in February, which is when camp begins.

I'm not sure there is a big deal. Marketing is kind of where I ended up, and I'm not altogether bad at it, except that reading marketing language, used by people who presumably actually studied marketing, makes me massively depressed. In fact, any combination of the words pitch deck slide marketing strategy makes me want to enter a crowded southbound bus with explosives strapped to my chest.

STRATEGIC MARKETING PARTNERSHIPS: =#FF0000]DYNAMIC SOLUTIONS TAILORED TO YOUR OBJECTIVES THAT HELP DRIVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD That was the slide that killed me. Now I am dead.

Yeah, the chance to predict the season of your favorite Mets has returned, with a wrinkle. This year, you might actually get to your favorite Mets before tuning out, because instead of giving a thread to each member of the 40-player* roster, plus every camper, in alphabetical order, we will give them each a thread in order of their expected goodness, based on their Zips predictions. Zips works with its own proprietary formula, so who knows what's in there? (Hell, WAR itself is built from a proprietary formula.) Sure we could have used Pecota or Depth Charts or taken a great big Steamer, but we don't really want to defend any of these so much as use one as a framework for going from the higher-profile Mets to the lower-down dudes. And who is higher profile than I am? For I am Francisco Lindor. I'm not the best-hitting shortstop in the league, but I'm totally up there. I'm not the best-fielding guy at the position, but I'm in that group also. Not the fleetest, but I tear ass pretty well on the basepaths too. I'm that all-round guy, plus I'm a switch-hitter, unofficial captain, celebrated hair model, and the smiling face on the cover of your media guide (face of the franchise?) I produce, I play hurt, and if my double-play partner needs a slap, I'm the guy to go down in the tunnel and slap him one. Zips says to expect about 5.4 WARs from me. That's pretty cool, but the truth is that the future is unknown. Don't let that stop you from guessing, though. How am I gonna do? [FIMG=329]https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_2000,h_2000,c_fit/https%3A%2F%2Fcalltothepen.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fimagn-images%2F2017%2F07%2F15975364.jpeg[/FIMG] [FIMG=371]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/09/13/USAT/16d28063-cc10-4c00-9739-1279a0bffd24-AP_Yankees_Mets_Baseball.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=325]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/Francisco-Lindor-1.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=375]https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/8tCN08MDNkNp83c-eUGx8buYMUc=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc/public/E5BMVXMV3BA3XHMK2WAIIJXJGQ.jpg[/FIMG]

Frayed Knot wrote: Tim Kurkjian said yesterday (PTI) that, after spending an entire day at NYM camp followed by one at NYY camp, he heard much praise and not a single complaint from players on the new rules. I believe him, although that might depend on to which "new" rules he's referring. Also, the stakes are mostly non-existent in spring training.

I might-a be a little crazy, but aren't spring games something like 20% faster in general anyhow? Clearly, the clock will shorten game times. What's still up for discussion is how much of what is being cut is badness and how much is goodness.

Agreed. It's beisbol played at a top level but delivered through a different cultural filter or filters with a different motivational stake for the players. My US Cup™ tournament with teams representing each of the 50 states and US territories would be bigger than manbuns.

Haggerty was no fool. Probably wasn't even injured. What you see here is Dan angling to live the Jack Tripper Lifestyle™.

Yesterday was also the 46th anniversary of Dan Haggerty going down with an injury, before being improbably helped off the field by his two smallest teammates. https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/03/haggerty.png>

Frayed Knot wrote: A bit ironically, strength training of shoulders has led not only to fewer rotator cuff injuries but also to increased velocity which has in turn led to more UCL tears. One injury traded for another. Excellent point. I don't know that the cause-and-effect has been widely understood to be as official as all that, but it sure seems to be pointing that way.

Initially the torn cuff diagnosis seemed to have evolved into several degrees of partial tears. Players once given a prescription of surgical repair and hoping for the best were being offered a new opportunity to strengthen the injured muscle group through therapy and training. This led to a new regime of "Hey, why can't we strengthen that group up through therapy and training before it gets all torn up?" And that's really the regime we're in, so yeah, while there are still cuff injuries, they tend to be less frequent, of lesser grade, and caught earlier, so they don't interrupt or end careers with nearly the same frequency. Training ligaments to be stronger can also be done, but has not been as successful, as athletes are always beating the hell out of their ligs. If you're targeting them during workouts, when do they get a chance to recover? But that may be a next-generation thing.

The National League West injury pendulum swings the other way as Joe Musgrove fractures his big toe dropping a weight on it. It's his left foot — his landing foot as a righthander — so it's perhaps not as threatening as if it was his pushoff foot, but #WhoKnows? #DizzyDean. He'll either be out for two weeks or forever.

Thrills in Bradenton today as the Pirates hosted the Orioles. With Pittsburgh ahead, and the game seemingly over after the top of the ninth, both teams elected to play on through the bottom of the ninth to get their players the work. In the short time it took to decide this, however, Chad Fairchild's umpire team had left the playing field. So the two teams played baseball exactly the same way it's played in Heaven — with no umpires, calling their own balls and strikes and outs and safes. Somehow, the world kept turning.

Not WBC-related, neither.

He's on a two-year deal with a lot of depth behind him. He's probably not going to get a chance to do too much damage if he doesn't perform well.