Ceetar

Zack Wheeler starts as the Braves head on over and get our Spring Training schedule going. SNY/WOR and also Atlanta WIFN. 1:10pm from First Data field.

feels like a stretch

This rumor has legs. Wheeler will start the first game on Monday.

It's spring. there are always open starting spots. there are split squad games and Callaway has already told guys like Nimmo that he might toss him into a minor league game if it's warranted (he wants Nimmo to face lefties, so if the minor league opponent is throwing a bunch of lefties, he can get Nimmo 3-4 AB that way)

*checks* it's 2/21. there are like 6 weeks to Opening Day. even longer to the 5th spot's start. I mean, I hope this is true because it basically means no Spring Training injuries. Does this mean Wheeler isn't going to start this Spring, or are they going to stretch him out anyway just in case and then decide on 3/28?

d'Kong76 wrote: I think the vast majority are like the morons posting in that Wright fb thread Edgy linked the other day. Know what I'm sayin'? more or less. If the Mets are exciting to follow they'll follow them.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: There's no doubt that the Mets goal is to wild card it into the playoffs. You should've known this from last year's team. Going in, the 2017 team was essentially the same as the 2016 wild card squad. Pitching was supposed to be the Mets strength, depth and quality wise. Yet last year's Mets opened with four starters coming off 2016 season ending surgeries. Their unexpected World Series run of 2015 still serves as cover for how broken and dysfunctional, especially relative to their market, this franchise is. wasn't unexpected. 2016 has some snags but it wasn't a foregone conclusion they wouldn't win the division and they didn't really struggle to make the playoffs. 2017 they got hit hard, but they've got a talented team this year and will compete for the division again. Average luck gets them at least a wild card. That'll be 3/4 years. You can yell about lucky runs or unintended success all you want. you can grouse about the partial information we have of expenses and income and complain about payroll rankings. Or, you can enjoy a team that's regularly contending, constantly active and positioned to remain so. It's an easy choice for the vast majority of Mets fans.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: He's probably under her vampiric spell. 'bucket or Nimmo?

Nymr83 wrote: maybe the Mets are buyers rather than sellers this year, but at least on the hitting side the Mets don't appear "built to buy" - there are too many average to just above average guys and its harder to replace those with a meaningful upgrade in-season as opposed to filling a glaring hole. If there's no glaring hole it means they won't need to buy offense anyway. A lineup with Cespedes and Conforto with 6 other average guys? That's should do nicely.

Nymr83 wrote: A Boy Named Seo wrote: Certain the facebook comments are exactly what I'd expect them to be. Poor Dave. He's just quietly trying to get better. As always, he's brought no negative attention to himself or the team. And every last one of those turds talking shit on him would collect that paycheck (that AIG or whoever is paying the majority of), same as he's doing. social media is exponentially accelerating the downward spiral of civil discourse. the downward spiral, if it exists, was always there. Social media just makes it louder.

Let's not gloss over the shark hunting itself. which is actually worse than even hanging with that idiot. Just having the same hobbies/guide in common is disappointing.

Chad Ochoseis wrote: It sounds like Edgy is saying that it would lead to better OBP as well as more home runs, which sounds like a new idea. I'm skeptical. New discoveries arising from more powerful computing techniques and advances in statistical analysis because sabermetrics is still a young science are one thing. But people have been swinging bats since Abner Doubleday didn't invent the game back in the 1830s. I have difficulty believing that we'd just be figuring out now that an uppercut swing leads to more hits (and therefore more walks, I guess, if it makes batters better hitters overall) than a level swing. well I mean, there was in fact a common parlance about hitting the ball level and hard. It's only recent that we've been able to measure angle of swing, so it'd be easy to lose that 20-30 degrees is good but too high is bad. defense/ability gets better every year. equipment/gloves/etc. defense is better which means that simple balls in play don't necessarily lead to the same results. shifting, etc. and then there's the juiced ball. we're living in an extreme home run environment which absolutely amplifies the effects of more balls hit hard in the air. Daniel Murphy is the perfect example of this.

no, i'm wrong. I must've been thinking of something else. Lynn and Cobb did do okay last year, though I don't particularly bank on any of the three being particularly good.

Nymr83 wrote: yes, its a mistake. i have pretty mixed feelings about the Vargas deal. he is an improvement over Harvey, but will the Mets really replace Harvey or will they replace someone who Vargas is NOT an improvement over? the other issue - this is "real money" as in "the owner just shelled out his money and guaranteed this guy will play" not like Gonzalez who was cheap enough to be easily discarded if a better options comes along. This is basically an admission that the Mets are not in the running for Arrieta, Cobb, or Lynn. i dont like that part. i guess i am ok with the signing in a vacuum but dont like the implications. Vargas is better than Cobb or Lynn.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I don't think they signed Vargas to 2yr/$16m deal to be a spot-starter/long man out of the pen I do. I mean, I think we're rapidly evolving toward a post starter/reliever world with most guys anyway. 34 year old journeymen who don't get signed till February don't get to make the rules. agreed, though they're publicly saying he'll start. Long time to OD. Mickey's stated he's open to a starter in the pen, so there's still some time for that too. I assume Montero and Gsellman are going to be technically in competition but the Mets have them starting in AAA. So Vargas, Harvey, Lugo, Wheeler, Matz for three roster spots? if everyone stays healthy. Vargas cause they just signed him, Harvey on personality, matz for the lefty. Wheeler and Lugo start in AAA?

No. If I had to pick, Colin McHugh

come my birthday (3/25) they may have injuries and/or 60day DL assignments where they can grab a den dekker type who they can disposably add to the roster as needed and then release for Conforto. So we'll see I guess.

I feel like this are all "do me a solid?" things. Like, the next time the Nats have to release a guy and the Mets want him they'll work something out.

dgwphotography wrote: And all I can think is, what will he tear this year? http://mlb.com/cutfour/index.jsp#contentId=266329440 the hair out of Nationals hitters mostly.

d'Kong76 wrote: Ceetar wrote: Honestly I'd have just preferred Juan work on taking a few more walks. I dunno, a little more pop from the outfield would be alright by me. I hope that pop ain't coming from something that could result in a 'vacation from baseball.' With the ball the way it is Luis Castillo would hit 5 HR. We got plenty of sluggers, we need guys to get on base.

Honestly I'd have just preferred Juan work on taking a few more walks.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Jeter, as DiMaggio did, evokes a casual elegance and commands any space he enters, even one this big. I can't help but wonder how he was able to type that without gagging. I mean, he already had something in his mouth.

It's also projecting only ~3-4 missed starts for the top 4 in the Nationals rotation, which seems extremely optimistic. And it's predicting Trea Turner will be at least 25% better than he's ever been, Murphy returns on time and without a scratch and Adam Eaton misses almost no time. ahh, projections.

Vic Sage wrote: Ceetar wrote: extremely[crossout]pessimistic[/crossout] realistic about injuries is the thing. fixed it for you. no. Flexen gets 10 starts, Corey Oswalt gets 8, and Montero gets 8. That's realistic? it's not. Hell, it's projecting deGrom to miss ~3 games and Thor to miss 6-7.

career high BB%, career low K%. Unless the Mets feel like they can fix that, or it's a "return from injury" fluke, pass.