The new GM in town.
Brodie Van Wagenen was a most unconventional choice. But then, what IS a conventional choice? Baseball general managers had to start someplace. They weren’t always “baseball” people. Some were lawyers. Some were business people. Some were interns who simply worked their way up the ranks. The jury is out on Brodie Van Wagenen. But I think that Brodie has shown that is going to be aggressive and creative. He has revamped the front office and brought in proven talent to boost the farm system, the scouting team, and sabermetrics department. I remember when fans crucified the Yankees for the hiring of Brian Cashman. I think Brodie can end up being just as effective as Brian across town.
Off-season acquisitions.
Brodie made a couple of big splashes. What is now known as the Robinson Cano trade will, hopefully, down the road, be referred to as the Edwin Diaz trade. If spring training is any indication, and it certainly not a true barometer, Cano still has that sweet swing. His suspension not withstanding, Cano has proven to be a professional hitter that doesn’t use two terms I hate – “launch angle” and “exit velocity,” rather, he sprays the ball around the field, hits it where it’s pitched, and makes a pitcher pay for a mistake. Some of the young Mets hitters are already picking up on that philosophy and technique…which is great for Michael Conforto because his strength is as a gap hitter. But to bank on Cano being Cano is tough. Mets fans have been down this road before. There was Juan Samuel. There was Carlos Baerga. There was Roberto Alomar. There was, gulp, Luis Castillo. None of them ever performed for the Mets the way they did for their former clubs which made them All-Stars and Alomar a Hall of Famer. Instead, it seemed like the Mets was a place for All-Star second basemen to come to die, career-wise.
The signing of Wilson Ramos is a gamble as he is another catcher that is oft-injured. However, he is a hitter that is an effective catcher. Travis d’Arnaud, for all of his hitting “potential” that we have seen for very brief periods, is an awful defensive catcher. He has the worst footwork I have ever seen for a catcher…which affects his throwing (if that’s what you call it) to second base. I always like Kevin Plawecki but he never fulfilled his promise as a hitter and always looked overmatched. For everyone calling for J.T. Realmutto, I am glad Brodie passed. When the Mets traded with the Marlins for Mike Piazza, they gave up some good young talent. But he was Mike Piazza. Realmutto is not, and never will be, in the class of Piazza…not as a hitter anyway. He happens to be one of the best, if not the best of the current crop of catchers in the big leagues, but let’s see how he does when he is under scrutiny instead of toiling in anonymity in Miami.
Bringing back Jeurys Familia could turn out to be the sleeper deal. He is a proven closer and now that Diaz is on the scene, Familia doesn’t have to be The One and have the pressure on him. People forget that he was at his best when he was setting up for…what’s that guy’s name…oh yeah…Jenrry Mejia. So the two-some of Diaz and Familia could very well turn out to be as good as the tandem of Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances on the other side of town.
Jed Lowrie, if healthy, should be an upgrade over the departed Wilmer Flores, if only because his defense is a lot stronger. He may not provide as many walk-off homeruns, but he will certainly provide a lot more sound defense.
What Brodie DIDN’T do was spend “stupid money” on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. And it would have been stupid. As Ralph Kiner was once told by then Pirates’ executive Branch Rickey when asking for a raise after winning the N.L. home run title, “We could come in last without you…” noting that the Pirates had come in last that year. While it’s true, baseball isn’t a one-person sport, Machado didn’t help the Orioles become winners. And with a pitching staff anchored by the likes of Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, and a cast of star players like Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon, Harper was never able to put the Nationals over the top and help them to a title. Both Machado and Harper are head cases that cause problems for a manager and dissent in the clubhouse. Giving them “stupid money” would only exacerbate that. Let them be someone else’s headaches.
The Mets don’t do thing the way the Yankees do. They don’t spend “stupid money” like the Phillies. But they do, in fact, spend money.
Jacob deGrom.
They do spend money. After stressing about the possible conflict with Agent Brodie Van Wagenen turning into General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen, and the clock ticking away to Opening Day, and other players getting extensions in the meantime…the Mets absolutely did the right thing. They gave deGrom a much deserved extension that will take of his family and, hopefully, keep him in a Mets uniform for the rest of his career. Expecting him to duplicate the 2018 season would be unreasonable. Doc Gooden never duplicated his 1985 season. But deGrom could very well be this generation’s Tom Seaver. He is a student of the game. He is a masterful worker. He is a competitor and finds a way to get the job done when he doesn’t have his best stuff. Who does that sound like?
The Franchise
As someone who was mesmerized by the 1969 season, and all that went along with it, it has been difficult watching members of that team aging so much, and some passing away. Even more difficult has been watching a number of them going through some very tough conditions. Ed Kranepool is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Bud Harrelson is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is no longer driving because he can’t find his way home at times. And Tom Seaver, the leader, the former Marine, the artist on the mound, the perfectionist, The Franchise, is suffering from dementia.
I would like to think that the plans all along were to coincide the honoring of Tom Seaver with the 50th Anniversary celebration of the 1969 Mets. Reports are that Mets officials were speaking with Seaver about it all as far back as three years ago. I believe that there should have been a statue of Seaver when CitiField opened in 2009, which was the 40th Anniversary of the ’69 Mets. Seaver deserved it. His presence almost single-handedly brought the Mets credibility, and helped rid the reputation of being a laughing stock, regardless of how hard M. Donald Grant tried to keep them down. Unfortunately, Seaver won’t be present to see it all happen, but at least he is still around to know about what’s happening at 41 Seaver Way.
Other thoughts.
The Mets starting staff of deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz, and Jason Vargas will, hopefully, be their strength. If the starters remain healthy and continue to perform the way they did in the second half of last season, they could prove to be the best starting five in the league. If they falter, it will be tough to compete with the rest of the division. The same goes for the bullpen in front of Diaz and Familia. I think that Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman are the keys and unsung heroes. If they both have success, it will take a lot of pressure off of the rest of the staff.
The first base situation is a conundrum. During spring training it became the good problem. Both Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso had outstanding springs. But while Smith is an elite fielder, I still don’t trust that he is a major league hitter. And Alonso appears to be a lot more than just a “slugger” it is possible that he could be another Lucas Duda at first base. Getting them both into the lineup at the same time weakens the defense at both first and left field. Unfortunately Alonso can only play first base so that doesn’t allow for much flexibility.
It’s exciting to see the development of Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, and the emergence of Jeff McNeil. Now that Conforto is back to his natural gap to gap philosophy, there should be more consistency and higher on base percentage and lower strikeout numbers. The problem is that the team is so lefthanded. Conforto, Nimmo, McNeil, Cano, and if you add in Smith and Lowrie, that is not a very balanced lineup. All the more reason to hope Alonso has a fast start and becomes the potent righthanded bat, with support from Ramos on the days that he is behind the plate. The wild card in all of this? Amed Rosario. Will Rosario be what he was in the first half or the second half of last season? If he truly does become what Cano believe Rosario can be, it may not be out of the question to see Rosario get moved to third base and have Andres Giminez brought up to play shortstop.
Some years ago when others were clamoring for the Mets to acquire Todd Frazier, it was my feelings that Frazier was not the everyday player everyone believe him to be. I felt he was more of a utility player, capable of playing multiple positions and being a supporting player. I still feel that way and love his style of play, his hustle, and his passion, but he is not the player for others to lean on…he is not capable of carrying a team on his shoulders as he tried to do as the big righthanded bat last season in the absence of Yoenis Cespedes.
The Mets did something else to fix something. Thankfully the radio broadcasts were moved from WOR 710 to WCBS 880. When the Mets were on WFAN, of course it was clear channel on 660 AM but it was also broadcast on the FM dial for a great signal. The last few years since moving to WOR caused utter frustrating as listening while driving was next to impossible as the signal just flat out sucked. Always glad to listen to Howie Rose but happy to see the other guy go because I just didn’t enjoy listening to him. As for the TV team, in all my years as a fan, and as a former play-by-play person, I have never heard, or seen, a better team than Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez.
Which leads me to my one last thought. When you are at the games at CitiField, there are TV monitors everywhere and you can hear the broadcasts of Gary, Ron, and Keith as you are walking around the stadium. But you go into the restrooms, you are then listening to the voice of Howie Rose. And, I guess, as a former radio play-by-play man, I kind of find it offensive that one would have to into the bathroom to hear me. I just wonder if Howie has ever thought about that?
