The SUNDAY
SCOOP: GUPPIES ARE SWIMMING UPSTREAM!
AND WE GOT A MIDDLE INFIELD SURPLUS OVER HERE!
BY Tom Brennan
“The Guppies are Swimming Upstream” is my latest in a weekly series of tracking the fine young talent we have in short season baseball. Read it weekly, and be a little more informed – and hopefully entertained!
“We Got a Surplus Over Here” is Part II of my take on how a once-barren minor league system is now one burgeoning with talent. Last week, in Part I, I outlined what I see as an incredible bumper crop of pitching surging towards the major leagues. The Mets boat will not be able to contain them all – can somebody say trade bait!
This week, we get to the offensive surplus – not as deep as the pitching surplus, but some dad gum good players. Let’s jump into that.
“The Guppies are Swimming Upstream” is my latest in a weekly series of tracking the fine young talent we have in short season baseball. Read it weekly, and be a little more informed – and hopefully entertained!
“We Got a Surplus Over Here” is Part II of my take on how a once-barren minor league system is now one burgeoning with talent. Last week, in Part I, I outlined what I see as an incredible bumper crop of pitching surging towards the major leagues. The Mets boat will not be able to contain them all – can somebody say trade bait!
This week, we get to the offensive surplus – not as deep as the pitching surplus, but some dad gum good players. Let’s jump into that.
The focus this week is in the area of greatest Met Minors non-pitching strength, the infield, specifically up the middle at 2B and SS.
We got some serious middle
infield surplus going on, folks. SERIOUS!! So if Sandy does
not go big game hunting and bag a Tulo or an Addison Russell, all is not lost.
First, we recently
graduated the bat of one Wilmer Flores to the majors, and while the jury is out
on his glove work (some would say his glovework is manslaughter), I am
confident he’ll wield a mean stick up yonder.
Besides Wilmer, which middle infield guys still “down under” ought to be major league capable in the next few years? Try these 11:
AAA- Matt Reynolds and Danny Muno
AA - Dilson Herrera, Wilfredo Tovar
Hi A– Lee Mazzilli, Jeff McNeil and Gavin Cecchini
Mid A – Yeixon Ruiz is a new name
Short Season – Amed Rosario, Milton Ramos, and Luis Guillorme
Right now, Dilson Herrera to me looks like the stud of the group. But several are nipping at his heels, and I think all of them have the real capability of being a future major league starter or utility guy. Maybe not all will, but potentially. I’ll touch on each one briefly, in league order.
Matt Reynolds
2nd round 2012, 6’1”
200 lb – can somebody spell “PROGRESS?”
Matt had an anemic season in 2013 in St Lucie in his first full year.
In AA and AAA this year, he is hitting an amazing 125 points higher than last
year. Some question sustainability his .347 average in 2014 given an
unusually high BABIP, but as his hitting has been consistent all year, I
believe the BABIP has to be due to his adept hitting to all fields and lots of
line drives. Guys who hit for a high average typically will hit the ball
hard and get a high percentage of hits on balls in play.
Besides Wilmer, which middle infield guys still “down under” ought to be major league capable in the next few years? Try these 11:
AAA- Matt Reynolds and Danny Muno
AA - Dilson Herrera, Wilfredo Tovar
Hi A– Lee Mazzilli, Jeff McNeil and Gavin Cecchini
Mid A – Yeixon Ruiz is a new name
Short Season – Amed Rosario, Milton Ramos, and Luis Guillorme
Right now, Dilson Herrera to me looks like the stud of the group. But several are nipping at his heels, and I think all of them have the real capability of being a future major league starter or utility guy. Maybe not all will, but potentially. I’ll touch on each one briefly, in league order.
Matt Reynolds
With Matt, I see 3 possible
caution signs – but I am not worried.
First, Matt has generated few
extra base hits this year. But he must be working on it, people, with 5 of
his 6 HRs since July 26, with 3 triples in that timeframe. I believe he adjusted his batting style to
great success early this year, and may now be seeing how he can work in more
power.
Second, he has struck out a
lot this year (almost once a game since his promo to AAA) – I’ll bet that rate
will drop a lot, too.
Third, some comment that
his fielding at SS is solid but not spectacular.
But he has jumped 2 levels this
year with enormous success, and I see a future starting IF. Mets could do
worse in 2015 than Matt as their SS.
Danny Muno – he always has a strong on base %, drives in a ton of runs for an early/late in the order hitter, has some ability to steal, and a lot of pop for his size. Assuming he remains in AAA this year, my bet is he puts up monster numbers in AAA in 2015 and gets called up or traded. Seems he’d be a great utility guy for Mets, or whomever.
Dilson Herrera
currently 8th on the Mets’ website prospect ranking, Mr. Dilson simply does it all at a very young age (20) – great average (.321), strong on base % (.377), good pop (45 extra base hits), fine speed (22 steals) – all in a smallish frame. My guess is he will be either the Mets’ 2B or SS by mid-2015, a star for years to come, a future All Star.
Danny Muno – he always has a strong on base %, drives in a ton of runs for an early/late in the order hitter, has some ability to steal, and a lot of pop for his size. Assuming he remains in AAA this year, my bet is he puts up monster numbers in AAA in 2015 and gets called up or traded. Seems he’d be a great utility guy for Mets, or whomever.
Dilson Herrera
currently 8th on the Mets’ website prospect ranking, Mr. Dilson simply does it all at a very young age (20) – great average (.321), strong on base % (.377), good pop (45 extra base hits), fine speed (22 steals) – all in a smallish frame. My guess is he will be either the Mets’ 2B or SS by mid-2015, a star for years to come, a future All Star.
Wilfredo Tovar – great glove, little power, good bat (.296
in 66 AA games), good on base, good contact – major league material, possible
starter ceiling, but more likely, due to the low pop bat, a fine future utility
guy.
LJ Mazzilli
The Mazzilli DNA is showing
him to be a real competitor, and very possible future major leaguer in some capacity.
“Junior” through August 14 had a .291/.356/.431 split across mid-and high
A ball in his first full year, with 12 of 15 steals – he is proving to be one
to watch. Turns 24 soon, but he is moving along strongly.
Jeff McNeil – dazzled in mid A ball earlier this year, a little short on power but a great average and on base %, and lots of steals. After a slow start in High A ball, in which he went 5 for his first 35, he hit the throttle. For the year, the 22 year old lefty hitter has hit a dandy .308/.383/.420, with 16 of 20 steals. Looks like a future major leaguer and perhaps IF starter to me - a lot may depend on how much more power he adds.
Gavin Cecchini – the 20 year old showed improvement in his Savannah debut early this year, followed by a prolonged period of struggle in St Lucie after his June promo. But is he ever clicking now! While through August 8, his YTD splits are .249/.330/.386, he’s done WHAT since July 28? On base 32 of 67 times, with just 2 strikeouts. TWO. After just 1 homer in his first 2 seasons, he has 8 this year in a similar # of at bats. Maybe we’re finally seeing the Gavin who was thought enough of to be a high first rounder.
LJ Mazzilli
Jeff McNeil – dazzled in mid A ball earlier this year, a little short on power but a great average and on base %, and lots of steals. After a slow start in High A ball, in which he went 5 for his first 35, he hit the throttle. For the year, the 22 year old lefty hitter has hit a dandy .308/.383/.420, with 16 of 20 steals. Looks like a future major leaguer and perhaps IF starter to me - a lot may depend on how much more power he adds.
Gavin Cecchini – the 20 year old showed improvement in his Savannah debut early this year, followed by a prolonged period of struggle in St Lucie after his June promo. But is he ever clicking now! While through August 8, his YTD splits are .249/.330/.386, he’s done WHAT since July 28? On base 32 of 67 times, with just 2 strikeouts. TWO. After just 1 homer in his first 2 seasons, he has 8 this year in a similar # of at bats. Maybe we’re finally seeing the Gavin who was thought enough of to be a high first rounder.
Yeixon Ruiz - in Savannah is having a nice campaign
(.266, .302/.376). The 23 year old
switch hitter is fleet afoot with 13 steals in 16 attempts.
Now for the teenagers:
We have 3 excellent SS
candidates in Brooklyn, Kingsport and the GCL:
Luis Guillorme – a 19 year old SS glove, this 2013 10th
round pick is also doing some fine hitting in Kingsport, with a .288/.345/.342
through 44 games. I love it when guys go on a tear, and Luis went on a
sweet hitting streak of his own recently, punctuated by a 5 for 6 doozie on
August 8 ... that's the kind of attention-grabber that tells me there may well
be a fine hit tool to be reckoned with to join with his slick glove. 5'10"
170 is a solid SS frame that should allow for increased power in the years to
come. Maybe there will be "Looie G" chants reverberating at Citifield
in a few years.
Amed Rosario – what is not to like about a guy who was
tabbed the top prospect of the entire Appalachian League in 2013, at the tender
age of 17? Jumped to Brooklyn this year, the EIGHTEEN year old, 6’2” SS
has a slash of .288/.336/.379. Special for that age. A high ceiling
future appears to await Amed, the Mets’ 7th ranked prospect.
Milton Ramos – this 5’11”, 160 lb eighteen year old SS, drafted by the Mets in the 4th round, started very slowly for the GCL rookie team this year, but in July and August, showed a trend of continued improvement offensively, with 22 RBIs in his last 33 games. Sweet! When I see a really young guy do that, I see the possibilities are huge, if uncertain. The Mets think so too – they immediately ranked him their #11 prospect.
So, as if the middle infield talent on the 4 full season teams weren't special enough, we got at least 3 top notch middle infield prospects (Luis G, Amed, and Milton) on the short season teams. I'm really excited to follow these guys. I hope you are as well.
Milton Ramos – this 5’11”, 160 lb eighteen year old SS, drafted by the Mets in the 4th round, started very slowly for the GCL rookie team this year, but in July and August, showed a trend of continued improvement offensively, with 22 RBIs in his last 33 games. Sweet! When I see a really young guy do that, I see the possibilities are huge, if uncertain. The Mets think so too – they immediately ranked him their #11 prospect.
So, as if the middle infield talent on the 4 full season teams weren't special enough, we got at least 3 top notch middle infield prospects (Luis G, Amed, and Milton) on the short season teams. I'm really excited to follow these guys. I hope you are as well.
LOWER MINORS PROSPECTS RANKINGS - WEEKLY GUPPIE UPDATE
For several weeks, I have
been ranking the Mets’ short season prospects.
I continue to evolve in my thinking on rankings...I upped the list to 25
for the 3 teams but that seems a bit large, so this week I’m returning back to
20 guys, with those who are performing admirably but not making my top 20 being
listed as Honorable Mentions. FYI,
I still weight towards statistical performance because performance leading to
promotion is a fact of life, whether you are a banker, drive a tanker – or
drive (or throw) a baseball.
The three teams these guys
are on guys on have relatively average stats overall. Notable is Brooklyn
is 2nd in ERA and nearly lead in Ks out of 14 teams. Also, Kingsport (with a
handful of boppers) leads its league in the long ball department. It is my favorite
department when I go shopping. So these
guys are hugely responsible for these teams having above .500 records.
A RATED’S
Martirez Arias - a 23 year old pitcher starting the
season in the lowest of the 3 short-season leagues, and on the A List? You
bet...this 6'7" righty has thrown nothing but fine games this year,
including with Brooklyn after his recent promotion. His "worst"
game so far? 2 runs in 5 1/3, with 7 Ks. Keep it rolling!
Wuilmer Becerra - eased off the throttle a bit lately, but
a roughly .300/.500 combo is rare in the lower minors. He's young and
restless.
Michael Conforto - our #1 pick came out of the gates like a
house on fire and cooled recently, but he's locked on an A rating until he gets
promoted out of SS baseball.
Luis Guillorme – I bumped him to A – he earned it. Luis
started the season hot, cooled temporarily, but has blazed of late. Fine
SS that makes excellent contact. Very low strikeouts of late, the sign of
a quality contact hitter. Closing in on
.300 (thru Thursday) as we speak.
Marcos Molina - nice write up on Marcos by Macks Mets'
very own Chris Soto this week. A young talented hard thrower (Marcos, that is,
I know Chris throws hard, but doubt he's quite as young), he is doing awfully
well for the Cyclones. Game in, game out.
John Mora
- John is having another fine season, recently promoted to Brooklyn. A .300+ OF
with some pop and speed.
Corey Oswalt - very solid starter for Brooklyn.
Remains an A after yet another excellent start (none earned in 6+ innings
Thursday).
Amed Rosario - high ceiling 18 year old SS who has a
relatively high average, high offensive production - and relatively high errors
so far, like many young SS. Nothing that continuing to play shouldn't
cure.
Jhoan Urena - a strong steady hitter for the Brooklyn
franchise this year. 16 doubles through Thursday gives him the doubles lead on
these 3 teams.
Jean Rodriguez - I was keeping an eye on J Rod for a while. Now hitting over .320 with some pop,he’s for real; I had to get him on the list PRONTO! And why be conservative? With those #'s, he gets a pass right into the A List!
B RATED’S
Shane Bay
- 12 for 12 in save opportunities for the 'Clones. Great so far.
Kevin Canelon - another fine relief pitcher, holding
opposing hitters at bay.
Oswald Caraballo - OC leads his team in RBIs and hits well and with some extra base knocks.
Oswald Caraballo - OC leads his team in RBIs and hits well and with some extra base knocks.
Eudor Garcia - Eudor has hit a bit of a lull. He
is reputed to be too good a flat out hitter for that to last.
Alex Palsha - fine closer relief work in GCL. Picked
up his first blemish on Thursday, losing while surrendering an unearned run.
Scarlyn Reyes - strong and consistently solid - high K/9
Kelly Secrest - strong relief work with a bunch of
Ks. It was tough to figure which worthy relief guys would not make this
list. He belongs.
Blake Taylor - Blake has struggled some after his promo
to Kingsport, and his walks are high, so I bumped him down to B this week.
Brad Wieck - nothing weak about Wieck's
performance. The big guy has had a great ERA and K/9 so far, with 4 more
Ks on Thursday bringing him to 29 Ks in 20 innings. Woo-hoo!
Dash Winningham - done well for an 18 year old, adding a
scarcity - power - to the mix. 28 RBIs in 40 games also grabs one's
attention. Should be interesting to see him grow and develop.
Enmanuel Zabala - hitting .300+ (with no homers, but very few Ks) in GCL. He rounds out the latest Top 20.
Enmanuel Zabala - hitting .300+ (with no homers, but very few Ks) in GCL. He rounds out the latest Top 20.
HONORABLE MENTIONS - 10 more guys who should be proud of their performance to
date:
|
Adrian Almeida - pitched well, BB up (21 in 32 innings thru
Thursday).
|
Tyler Badamo - the Long Island native is pitching well in
relief and as a starter, including a solid 5 inning outing Thursday. Nice
stuff.
|
Andrew Church - tough start, MUCH improved of late.
|
Casey Meisner - fine pitching in 6 of last 7 outings. The 19
year old righty is on the roll the Mets expected when he was an early draft
pick in 2013.
|
Josh Prevost - nice relief work from yet another pitcher in
Coney Island.
|
Milton Ramos - strong prospect, surprising # of RBIs, with 24
in 41 games. Five triples - Jose Reyes approves.
|
David Roseboom - another fine reliever, this one a 22 year old
lefty with 21 Ks in his last 14 1/3 and 1.45. Ran out of Top 20 room
this week.
|
Ismael Tijerina - following in the Jake deGrom mode, this
infielder turned relief pitcher is doing quite nicely in his transition.
|
Ty Williams - fine relief work (boy, we got lots of relievers
doing well on these 3 teams). Cool to
have the first name of Ty Cobb and the last name of Ted Williams too.
|
Jimmy Duff - a great ballplayer's name, had to add Jimbo to the list. Dude is 3-1, 1.80, with a 0.96 WHIP in 10 games over 25 innings for Kingsport. That gets it done. 18:5 strikeout to walk ratio too. Duff Said.
|
Phew! Long, but you weren’t
going anywhere, right? That’s it. I'm done.
So weigh in, comrades. And check out the stats sidebar at all times!
Believe
what you will - but I think there’s gold in them thar hills.
Have a great day!
37 comments:
Nice run down and if you classify Sandy's criteria for success as rebuilding an organization from top to bottom for sustained success, I think he deserves a solid grade. It has not yet translated to ML level yet, but they are getting closer and as this write up shows, any success should not be a one and done plan. There is good reason to believe that the ML team is nearing strong competitiveness and the restocked inventory should be able to keep it going. I think Sandy's most success will be realized after he is gone.
Your assessment is spot on.
But, he just might get the praise he'll deserve if he hangs around another few years.
In that case, he wouldn't be "GM of the Year" but would be looked at with high praise for the entire body of work.
Morning, Anon
Yep, hopefully the fruit of the system starts hitting the table (or the trade market with some of the better talent) in the off season and 2015.
The 4 full season teams are not roughly 90 games over .500, and the 3 short deason teams also collectively over .500, for nothing. A lot of it has to do with the pitchers and middle infielders I mentioned this and last week. And they just seem to get better as the season goes on...just after I posted this article, for example, A Lister Marcos Molina tossed an absolute gem Friday nite. Exciting.
The system already pumped out Harvey, Wheeler, Familia, Lagares and Black recently, and there's lots more in Sandy's cupboards. The system is working. The Brad Holt/Eddie Kunz days are over.
Amen...no more drafting relievers in the 1st round, especially over talent like Giancarlo Stanton.
yay.......sandy
best thing that ever happened to the Mets. ....??????
Come on now............
He completely sacrificed 6 years.
And the man that allowed Jose Reyes walk without at least trading him should not have praises sung about him.
There are many GMs in baseball that could build a strong farm system. If allowed to punt 6 years in a row and have the luxury of trading off the likes of Beltran, Dicey, & others.
There are some gms that might have done even better by building the farm and producing a competitive major league team earlier.
Look at the Marlins history of rising and falling. Or Boston's farm system growth over the years while competing.
6 full years were just sacrificed. During those 6 years Alderson devised a master plan that included E. Young & C. Young in the 6th year?
Alderson did build something yes. It is promising.
BUT......
There are other gms that could have done just as well if not better
True. The past sucks. We're finally getting to the dividends, though. I choose to no longer look back. Let's hope Sandy earns his keep going forward.
Thomas,
I like your writing AND your attitude! You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, finally.
You bet, Stevie. Good times are coming... Just keep Harvey as The Stud and like with Seaver and Gooden, we'll move forward
6 full years?
2011
2012
2013
2014
Your math is off... I wouldn't write the next two seasons off just yet.
And as far as Reyes, we don't know how much the Wilpons impacted that non-trade... Not to mention Jose's poorly timed injury that made him impossible to trade.
Well, I applaud your ability to be optimistic, but I've been an astute observer and Mets fan long enough to fear that any light at the end of the tunnel is emanating from an oncoming train. :)
I will believe it when I see substantive changes in this off season, specifically at SS and LF. The biggest positive would be a change in manager, but according to most reports that option is off the table.
I'm sorry that I have the bad attitude here but
do we know what the light at the end of the tunnel is?
Remember these are only prospects. ......the majority fail.....only some become major league regulars.....and far less become stars.
Is the light nirvana? Gold? A dropped flashlight? An oncoming train?
By the way isn't one of Alderson's assistants responsible for most of the draft decisions, minor league building and scouting for trade targets? Was it Depodestra? Or Ricciardi?
I'm sorry
I really am.
I desperately want to see nothing but rainbows and chocolate fountains.....
I just see Alderson as being too passive, more interested in winning a trade then games, too slow to react, unable to assess a free agents future performance, too disrespectful of top international free agent talent, unwilling to use the trade market to acquire the obvious needs on the major league roster, insistence on intruding into the manager's responsibilities, poor judgment in his choices of humor at the expense of the Mets and their fans, failure to address the very needs he himself identifies as his priorities
You read my mind
I have long been a pessimist. When the stock market crashed in 2008, almost everyone was pessimistic - but the light at the end of the tunnel was right there in retrospect.
I see the light. Maybe my rose colored glasses help. Let's hope, in biblical terms, that the light dispels darkness. There's been too much darkness here for half a decade.
Whoops
you are absolutely correct
those first two pathetic years (2009 & 2010) were pre- Alderson.
So make it 4 years and still counting.
Still not. Impressed.
Doesn't change all of the points made
In terms of the Reyes trade, so it easier if you assume the Reyes trade was for Matt Reynolds and Kevin Plawecki?
Does that make people feel any better since those were the compensation draft picks we received as a result of losing Reyes in free agency?
If you think about it and say we traded Reyes to the Marlins for those two guys, it looks like a solid return based on how well those two have progressed to AAA.
We might have possibly received more if we moved him, but who knows if those guys would have panned out and so far Plawecki & Reynolds appear to be playing at a high level and looking like future players or trade chips for us for a bigger piece in the future.
Alderson is the baseball guy. His responsibility to convince the owner of good baseball decision. Would have been more profitable over the past 4 years as well as this team would more likely have been better faster.
Suggestions to trade Reyes began well before his injury if he was not going to be extended.
Alderson's passive trade approach and need to win every trade at maximum value made him over look Reyes injury history.
Sorry Can't blame anyone ultimately then Alderson, not even the Wilpons considering Alderson had the backing of the Commissioner himself. If Alderson stood his ground the Wilpons would have had to be supportive.
Sorry return would have been better for Reyes and more likely to have impacted the major league club by now
Not in the case of Jose. Considering what he got for Beltran at the deadline, I guarantee a team would have met Sandy's demands as there was an even bigger market of teams interested in Reyes. He was kept because the owners didn't want to hurt attendance any more than it already had been.
Since you have nothing but criticism, tell us what you would have done differently, besides trading Reyes, which I was also in favor of doing.
If you're going to saddle Alderson with your disappointments, he has to get credit for success too.
You can claim that any GM could have built a great farm system, but this is a ridiculous and unfalsifiable argument. There are also plenty of GMs who would have built inferior systems as well.
Alderson had the 'luxury' of dealing Beltran and Dickey, but the rumored returns were Gary Brown, Mike Olt, and Leonys Martin. I guarantee that plenty of other GMs would've taken that and run.
Because of Alderson, we have d'Arnaud, Syndergaard, Becerra, Herrera, and Vic Black in the organization. The man knows what he's doing.
Yes, prospects are just that and can easily fail. What you're ignoring is their value on the trade market. The Mets finally have a surplus of talent to deal from, something they haven't had in many years.
#1 treat the fan-base with respect - no poorly judged attempts at humor
#2 not lie to fan base
#3 go all-in on rebuilding at the beginning ( sorry Reyes & Wright)
#4 be more respectful of top international free agent talent over the past few years (Puig, Cespedes, Abreu, Solar....)
#5 - #????? Opposite of poor traits listed below post
#??? Use Red Sox & Athletic example of selling but buying at the same time
Wow I. Would really have to review the past 4 years daily news to answer this question with any sort of justice.
These are merely off the top of my head without any sort of review
I'm sorry
I don't mean to be so negative.
It's just that Alderson has done some things well....slowly.
But is this all he is capable of? Is he the quintessential "AAAA" player on the management level?
Is this reaching his ceiling?
Is he just a farm building gm?
Is he capable of building a team that adjusts and reacts and morphs and shows foresight to contend regularly?
Why is it so taboo to think maybe a different gm would be more capable to lead the Mets from this point on?
Why are we always told or left to believe Alderson WILL do better?
Why do we HAVE to believe it in spite of what his actions have been so far?
Bob's right had we unloaded Reyes at his peak. We got lucky with what we got. Did not have to be Reynolds and Plaw- could have been two stiffs.
I have given Alderson credit.
He has done some things well.
Of course that is true.
I have never asserted that just any gm could do better.
Heck, some could do worse.
But yes some could do better. Isn't that what we should want for the Mets?
I'm not just impatiently being a jerk here.
it has been 6 years of patience of being optimistic during poor seasons.
4 years in which this gm has lead. I have been patient.
But I have also been mislead, listened to half-truths , and outright lied to by this teams representatives during Alderson's tenure.
Why should I not be sceptical and question?
Why should I not question whether there is a better leader for this organization?
Bob, why are you a fan? Listening to you makes me want to drink some special kool aid from Jim Jones.
If the Mets make you that unhappy, find a new hobby, as opposed to crapping all over the rest of us at every turn.
I'm sorry you see it that way anonymous
I have not at any time "capped on" you or anyone else on this site
I have always been respectful.
I have always been a Mets fan
does that mean I should not be upset when the current leadership treats the fans poorly?
Does being a fan mean I should not want better for my team when there are legitimate concerns in decision making?
Does being a fan mean I have to blindly say everything my team does issue wonderful?
I have been enough of a fan to let all know bob Gregory is a Mets fan even though the team is doing poorly.
I also am enough of a fan to passionately question when it is warranted while feeling sorry for D. Wright.
Notice I have never. ..NEVER... attacked a player on the Mets. Never put down a player or questioned their effort.
But then again I guess I am wrong
you have set me straight
yay Sandy!
The Wilpons rule!
Bob Gregory - relax... you can voice your opinion here anytime and you always do in a professional manner... with your identity
Anon - you, on the other hand, can gladly find another blog if you can't even identify yourself with your name when you comment
Thanks Mack
appreciated
Anonymous
I just want success for the Mets, just like everyone else here, and I assume you do a as well.
And all this was probably written before today's loss, which looks quite familiar. Reminds me of when the Million Dollar movie on Channel 9 showed the movie the Crawling Eye each night of the week. Seeing somthing ugly on Monday was enough, show us Mighty Joe Young or something else please (on 2nd thought, no movies with Young please - we've seen enough of that one too).
My vote is for polite, enegetic discourse!
Allow me to say that I was the first Anon comment and not the last, but I don't do it because I am unwilling to identify myself, just because it is easier. That being said, I'm a bit surprised that Mack would suggest someone (not me) find another blog because of a different opinion. My name is Joe and like othes listed above, I stridently disagree with Bob because i don't feel as though I have been lied to or disrespected and I use different criteria for success. First, it has not been six years of Sandy and I don't know who could have been successful in 2011&2012, but if I ask myself are the Mets better off now than 4 years ago, I would definitely say yes. Sandy had been perfect, but on the whole, I am optimistic about the overall direction. As far as Reyes, he was leading the league in hitting, so it would have been difficult to sell to a fan base already in revolt and then he got injured at the deadline, so it became even more difficult to move him. One thing that Bob expressed which bothered me is any expression of optimism is equal to "Yay Sandy or Wilpons rule". Don't remember saying that, just that after inheriting a disastrous situation 4 (not 6) years ago, I am not unhappy with the progress made because I believe it was unreasonable to expect a WS winner while Bay and Santana were still anchors. I don't agree or disagree with everyone, but I didn't think I might end up being told to find some other blog....for being optimistic? Again, I wasn't the Anon being addressed by Mack, but don't think he should be shown the door and didn't think Mack would be so presumptuous to think that us posters who use the Anon option do so because we are afraid to identify ourselves, just because it is easier. Again, my name is Joe. Does that make my comment more legitimate?
Anonymous Joe
let me make something clear here if I didn't make it clear enough earlier.
I envy the optimism.
No sarcasm in that statement what so-ever.
My yay and ruling comment was not an offensive attack on optimism.
It was exaggerated defense against the assertions that my disagreement in Alderson and Wilpons decisions and belief someone else could do better meant I was not a fan. Or those thoughts are not worthy of expression.
I am glad you do not feel lied to and support your expression of that belief. But remember I am no alone in feeling or believing the way I do.
for every comment made here (whether in agreement or not) there are many more that support its position.
I take no pride in expressing some comments that are or were representative of many Mets fans that have seemed to leave our fan-base fellowship over these past few years.
I anxiously await a return to optimism but am guarded like a dog that has been mistreated by its owner.
Joe, Anonymous-other, and others that disagree with my concerns being valid as we move into the future. .........
I WANT you to be proven correct.
Hey!!
how about Montero today?
Remember he is only 23 years old.
maybe we have been too spoiled by Harvey, Wheeler, and Syndegaard.
Maybe Montero has Glavine like potential.
For some teams Montero could be their top prospect.
and.... maybe Montero not being a power pitcher is a positive in today's pitching injury environment?
Joe -
it takes around 30 seconds to register
And, I was reacting to the other anon writer for attacking Gregory.
But you're right... I shouldn't have done so and I apologize
Folks -
I'm going to take a rest from commenting on these posts anymore.
I'll still post my Morning Report on Monday through Saturday
If you have any questions you want to ask me, email me at macksmets@gmail.com and I'll add my answer to future morning reports.
Sorry for my lack of professionalism lately.
Mack
Mac
let me remind you to relax at this time.
Take the night, come back smiling tomorrow.
To anyone using Anonymous who would like to use a name,
This is not criticism, just a suggestion based on personal experience.
If you care to identify yourself, but find the other options difficult, you can use the Name/URL option and just type in whatever handle you care to use. It does not insist on a URL. I have been doing that all along, although I did register through Blogger. I find it easier to use than Blogger.
Thanks for reading.
Montero was most definitely ace-like today -- as advertised. He was painting the outside corner (particularly to right handed batters). Now that I've seen him manhandle a team at the ML level, I feel better about his role either as a trade chip or in the rotation if young veterans like Gee or Niese get moved (along with Colon) as a way to bolster the anemic offense.
I'm a big "play the kids" advocate, but neither den Dekker nor Flores are setting the world on fire as of yet. I know Rome wasn't built in a day, but I hope the manager has the patience to let them have the remainder of the season to see what they can do. If they're still hovering at current output levels after 7-8 weeks in the majors playing steadily, then it changes the priorities in the off season.
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