Friday, April 24, 2015
Let's Go Mets
Finally our years of patience are paying off and the Mets are playing great.
They have an 11-game winning streak after a 2-3 start (exactly the same as the 1986 Mets) and I am loving it.
The year I turned 8 the Mets won the World Series. This is the year Chase turns 8 and he's starting to get into the Mets as well.
Obviously they are playing great, getting great pitching, timely hits and teams are not making them pay for their mistakes.
Here are some reasons to be hopeful:
1) They're due. Bad luck in close games has plagued them for years and now it could be reversing itself.
2) They're doing it without being at full strength. Wright, D'Arnaud and Wheeler are all hurt. And Mejia is suspended, though we can't be sure he'll be any good if he comes back and isn't on the juice.
3) Help is still on the way. Steve Matz, Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero could all be in the starting rotation by next year and Dilson Herrera, Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto give the Mets some good hitting prospects as well.
But there are also reasons to worry:
1) The current lineup is old, 5 regulars are 29 or older (Murphy, Duda, Wright, Cuddyer and Granderson). The starting rotation is built for long-term success, 6 - 8 years. The lineup doesn't match in youthfulness and lots of reinforcements will need to come, and develop in order for the team to have the success I desire.
2) We're stuck with Terry Collins. He's a bad manager and at some point if the Mets make the playoffs he will blow a series. But we're not getting rid of him now.
3) The fear of the trade deadline deal. It would be an absolute disaster if the Mets make a panic move in July to improve this team that trades a player like Matz or Syndergaard and brings in an older player with a limited window. The Mets must resist the talk-radio temptation to sacrifice the future to play for this year.
This is still a work in progress, but as we can all see, it's nearly finished.
Id give sandy alderson a bit more credit. He's shown himself to be pretty shrewd and disciplined and statistically analytical. I think if there is a trade to be made it more likely would be dealing one of the two catchers, darnaud or plawecki (can't keep both long term). Also you are down on the long term prospects of the offense, but at the same time you are touting the reinforcements on the horizon (nimmo, etc.). Also to call Duda an older player is a misnomer, as he is only in his 4th or 5th season and was a late bloomer. Finally, we know you love laggers, whom you didn't mention.
ReplyDeleteI do like Alderson and trust him but I feel like he gets pressured into bad moves to appease the moron fans. Which is how we got Cuddyer and Alderson.
ReplyDeleteI'm not down on the hitting prospects, I'm just saying they're unproven and we're going to need them.
Duda is 29. That's all I said. Can we really count on him for 5 good years?
I do love Lagares. He's great. Should play center at a high level for the next 12 years.
I'm optimistic about the Mets' future for the first time since around 2005-2006. It was a long decade sports-wise and I'm finally excited about the team. I certainly share many of Paul's concerns, but overall I'm optimistic.
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