Lefty Specialist

He'll have better numbers than last year (he's already got more RBI's), but his regression after the first month of the season is concerning. If the Mets had any viable alternative at first I'd say let him twist like they did last year and see how much he wants to come back. That leaves open the possibility he gets snatched away by any one of a number of teams, including the Yanx. But the Mets have no up-and-coming first base type in the minors currently.

Well, it's not helping. You can't use 4 or 5 relievers night after night after night and expect good results. If this is by design, then that's a big problem. If you have starters who lose effectiveness after 75 pitches, maybe it's time to find new starters.

McNeil wasn't terrible, but there were a few balls that he didn't get to that I wondered if Taylor would have gotten them.

My Balamer friend says we'll like him. Hits better than Taylor, but who doesn't? At least they're not getting Luis Robert Jr, which would have been a disaster. I'd have preferred a starting pitcher, but I'm not David Stearns.

3 A-Ball guys for Helsley I can certainly get behind. Yeah, bullpen solidified. Be nice if their starters could go more than 5 innings so these guys don't have to pitch every single night.

Too much for a rental in my opinion.

I've become okay with replay. It corrects a lot of egregious errors by umps, and the game is better for it.

Sorry, this is stupid.

I'd drive Baty to Arizona myself.

Don't get me started on Baty again. He mashes in the minors but just can't put it together in the majors. When Vientos comes back, I'd imagine Mauricio will go down for more seasoning. But my ideal lineup has McNeil playing second every day with Acuna as the defensive replacement, and Vientos at third every day with only an occasional Baty defensive appearance, and Taylor playing CF every day (no defensive replacement needed). Playing McNeil in CF scares me, and it's going to blow up on them at some point. Siri seems worlds away, though. I do hope that Alvarez gets his head straight in Syracuse, because ML pitchers look at the vicious uppercut swing and know just how to throw to him.

You have to think that the Yankees would love to steal Alonso, after the Mets stole Soto from under their noses. Goldschmidt only has a one-year contract, so he'd fit perfectly. He'll cost a lot less than Soto and it would be a dagger to a lot of Met fans.

Somehow, I don't see him making the majors as a shortstop. Lindor is here through 2031.

I just want to say I predicted they'd trip. I thought it was dumb, but after seeing an actual race....no, it's still dumb.

Still think it's a dumb idea. It's also, as noted, been done many other times in many other places. How about something original?

Omigod this is unimaginably stupid. I'm guessing from the looks of the outfits that every one of them will trip at least once before reaching the finish line.

The last time I was overconfident was 2023, when they were coming off a 101-win season and signed a Hall of Famer in Justin Verlander. That all fell apart very quickly.

Well, the game's changed in 25 years, so comparisons are shaky at best. Yes, I picked them for a losing season last year, and for the first 2 1/2 months I was spot on. Then they brought up Iglesias and Vientos, activated Peterson, Lindor got hot and they went on a run none of us envisioned. I don't see that sort of thing happening two years in a row. Could everything perfectly fall into place like it did last year? Sure, it's possible, I just don't think it's likely.

My rating would have been higher if they'd actually signed some decent pitching. They signed Manaea back but the rest was retreads or trash. Frankie Montas? Griffin Canning? Ryne Stanek? There were pitchers out there for the taking but they didn't take them. If they hadn't signed Alonso, they would have moved Vientos to first and let Baty play 3rd, or snagged some other 3b, or maybe resigned Iglesias, who knows. If they hadn't signed Alonso or Soto, it'd be a 70- win team that would have been pounded in the NL east. As it is, Senga's coming off a year of inactivity, Manaea and Montas are hurt, your Opening Day starter hasn't started a game in 7 years, Canning is a guy even the Angels didn't want, and Tylor Megill is back for his 27th time trying to win a spot in the rotation by default. McNeil and Alvarez are already going to be out at least a month and Nimmo and Marte are hobbled. Maybe Stearns is a genius and I'm not seeing it. I wouldn't be surprised if the bullpen isn't burned out by the end of April. I'd love to be wrong, but this looks like an incomplete team. I'm sure Soto and Lindor will have great years, but they can't do it alone.

1) 79-83. Not enough pitching. Sorry, Juan. 2) Braves, Phils, Mets, Nats, Marlins 3) Playoffs? No. 4) See 3). 5) Dodgers go back to back. 6) 35 Polar Pops. 7) Soto will do something awesome that'll be Stockholm-worthy.

Marcus Stroman is probably the happiest guy in camp.

Not being a fan of facial hair, I kind of liked the Yankee policy. Too many players today have stupidly-large beards, and I liked that they'd have to shave them off when they came to the Yankees.

ESPN coverage was mostly crappy so they won't be missed. I'm sure this slot will get taken up by one of the streaming services, with wildly varying results.

August 4th

The only problem is that the odds are good the Mets and Pete will be in this exact same position next year. If they're not, it's only because he had a crap year and took the option instead of testing the market again. So the conundrum is merely postponed.

Well, it certainly seems like there wasn't any other team in on him, and the Mets didn't negotiate against themselves. That 7 year offer he turned down was in June 0f '23. You chose poorly, AlonsOMG. Glad this is done so we and they can get on with bidness. Still need to shore up that bullpen and rotation. So, Alonso, McNeil, Lindor and Vientos in the infield. Nimmo, Taylor/Siri, Soto in the outfield. Marte/Winker DH and part-time OF. Alvarez C Baty, Acuna, Mauricio all have options so they can be stashed in Syracuse and used as necessary. Candelita on the outside looking in but still available. Not the greatest lineup in baseball but certainly competitive.