The Official 2015 Mets Thread

[mets1090]

And as for Wright, he's an all time great Met obviously but a spinal condition is no joke. I find myself (unfortunately) hoping he sits out the rest of the year. See if he can come back next year. Plus they can recoup 75% of his contract for consecutive days missed after 60 days. The worst thing that can happen for him and the organization is he comes back and struggles before getting shut down again while also resetting the insurance clock.

 

[8893]

And as for Wright, he's an all time great Met obviously but a spinal condition is no joke. I find myself (unfortunately) hoping he sits out the rest of the year. See if he can come back next year. Plus they can recoup 75% of his contract for consecutive days missed after 60 days. The worst thing that can happen for him and the organization is he comes back and struggles before getting shut down again while also resetting the insurance clock.

Totally agree.

I had the exact same sense as Cohen and Darling after the showed that interview last night, i.e., plan on him being out the rest of the year. I also thought their insight about a player in his situation--and him specifically--perhaps not wanting to know too much when it comes to a condition like this, because it could mean the end of his career. Wright definitely seemed to be almost childlike in his hopeful ignorance.

Speaking of Cohen and Darling, the more I listen to them, the more I like them. They don't pull any punches when talking about the organization, from the top to the players. Keith is a bit of a goofball and an acquired taste (I'm fine with him, but can understand why his musings may annoy others), but Gary and Ron give pretty good and straight insight imo. They absolutely nailed Niese the other night, and deservedly so. But they usually seem to have their finger on the pulse of pretty much every situation going on, and they don't appear to hold back much when discussing it.

 

[UConnMike04]

I agree. Plan for Wright being out the year and make a move. If he comes back great, if not, then we'd have the position set.

Also, bring up Matz and trade one of Gee or Niese. I don't care if it's for a bag of balls. Every inning he pitches in AAA and every inning one of those two pitches up here is a wasted inning in my opinion.

Also Ron, Keith and Gary are the best baseball announcers in the game not named Vin Scully.

 

[8893]

Here we go again, Harvey giving up dingers. And maybe the worst bunter ever.

He's already given up more HRs this season than he did in all of 2013, his last season.

Guess we'll have to wait until next season to see if he's recovered?

We're not helping him by stranding runners left and right.

 

[8893]

Here we go again, Harvey giving up dingers. And maybe the worst bunter ever.

He's already given up more HRs this season than he did in all of 2013, his last season.

Guess we'll have to wait until next season to see if he's recovered?

We're not helping him by stranding runners left and right.

The HRs are troubling, but good to see that he limited the damage--looks like the first one may have helped him focus. He's got to be a little bit of a different pitcher now I guess, at least until he adjusts to the TJS recovery.

Really good to see the bats come alive. Those stranded runners with no outs in the first few innings usually come back to bite us.

Hold on to your hats with Niese going tonight.

 

[mets1090]

Mets somehow take back first in the division (and would be in a 3 way tie for the 2 wild card spots). Seems every game they win these days is a struggle. Take 2 out of the next 3 and we'll call it a successful road trip.

Harvey doesn't look like Matt Harvey yet but he seems to find a way most games. Hopefully he's 100% himself next season which is not uncommon coming off of TJS.

 

[UConnMike04]

In typical Mets fashion though one of the few guys that's been raking, Murphy, gets hurt. We can't lose him, especially now. If we do, we need an upgrade asap bc Muno, Campbell, etc. are not the answer. You can get by without Wright bc of Murphy, you can't get away with the loss of both.

 

[mets1090]

With Herrera and d'Arnaud playing 5 innings in a rehab game yesterday it would seem they should be back pretty soon. Herrera isn't quite where he needs to be to replace Murphy but he's an upgrade over the other options. d'Arnaud is a huge addition as Plawecki is just striking out way too much.

I'm really worried we're going to see Lagares continue to struggle at the plate and eventually his injured arm is going to get worse and force him to miss time.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[TheDoggPound]

You can just close this thread. The Mets 2015 season is over. Wilpon's are already targeting 2016.

 

[Alum86]

I cannot believe this team is in first place. Might as well go for it Fred and Jeff. Please?

 

[mets1090]

If they do anything to invest in the team this year by making a trade, they will undoubtedly sell more tickets. I just don't understand.

 

[UConnMike04]

D'Arnaud and Herrera expected back Wed as long as there are no set-backs in tonight's rehab game with Vegas.

 

[TheDoggPound]

 

[mets1090]

D'Arnaud and Herrera expected back Wed as long as there are no set-backs in tonight's rehab game with Vegas.

d'Arnaud is their second best offensive player at this point so getting him back is obviously huge. And while Dilson doesn't look like he's quite ready to be an everyday player, he is a noticeable upgrade over what is their worst position at this point with Murphy on the DL. With the sad state of the offense right now, just eliminating black holes in the lineup should help.

 

[8893]

They are all still playing coy about Wright's status, seemingly talking out of both sides of their mouths. Clearly he's not coming back anytime soon, and they claim to be searching the free agent and trade markets; but at the same time they claim that they are not looking for his replacement, and that he could be back sooner than many expect.

I have no idea what to think, but it's a real shame if they let all these good arms go to waste with an anemic offense and shoddy defense. I don't see how 2016 presents any better prospects for winning, because I don't think we'll ever see David Wright back to 100%, ever. That's very sad on a number of levels, but the sooner they come to terms with that the better. Their best chance to win is now.

 

[mets1090]

I don't see how 2016 presents any better prospects for winning, because I don't think we'll ever see David Wright back to 100%, ever. That's very sad on a number of levels, but the sooner they come to terms with that the better. Their best chance to win is now.

tl;dr - Trade marginal packages for Zobrist/Ramirez or whoever else is performing below recent trends and maybe you catch lightning in a bottle, allowing the pitching to carry them into October. Pursue the biggest free agent bat available this winter (or two solid every day players).

Without any additions 2016 won't be any better but it's not as if Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, and Montero (plus wheeler around the All Star break assuming a successful recovery) can't form a pitching rotation equal to what we have this year. The bullpen isn't exactly full of guys that are going to fall off either. We have a solid 3-4 year window here with the pitchers at reasonable cost so they shouldn't necessarily make any rash decisions to make a big splash for this year, but they definitely need to add a big bat in the off season if possible, otherwise we'll just be in this same situation every year until Harvey gets traded in 2019 or whatever. Honestly, they would be better off waiting for the free agent market if they're willing to spend $25 million a year on free agents (we can dream) to add two solid players or one big all star. If they aren't willing to spend that money then there's nothing huge they can do to help this year anyways so it's all moot.

Without any additions this year, they're close to a coin flip on stealing a playoff spot with d'Arnaud and Murphy healthy since the NL East isn't exactly a good division. The farther into the year we get with the Mets in contention, the better their odds are. For this year, they just need to find a way to add an average bat or two (Zobrist is the most common name) so they can stop filling out the roster with guys that don't belong in the majors. Find someone in that ability range that comes with a reasonable asking price and pull the trigger. If you can get Aramis Ramirez for a piece that doesn't matter then add him and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. His numbers last year would help this team a lot right now so while he's struggling this year on a horrible team, if he had a solid second half to balance it out he would be a boost. Just my two cents.

 

[Dove]

His name...is Chris Heston.

 

[8893]

That was a new low. Citi Field cheering for the other team to throw a no-hitter, with a guy throwing completely average stuff, while our guys are looking at third strikes. And our young "ace" looking more like Synderella than Thor.

This team doesn't look like it wants to win. Must be contagious from the ownership.

Thank God the NBA Finals are more interesting than I thought they were going to be. Not sure what I'm gonna watch after that's done though; this is getting unwatchable.

 

[UConnMike04]

That one hurt. Somehow I still picture Sandy yawning in his office saying "we will evaluate where we are once Wright is back."

 

[Deepster]

No hits and all 3 outs on the 9th (at home) are 3rd strike looking? Get the bat off your shoulder, for chrissakes. That's inexcusable.

 

[mets1090]

This team doesn't look like it wants to win.

Look at the lineup as it is right now and objectively estimate how many wins this team would get in a 162 game season even with a top 5 pitching staff. 70? Maybe 75? It's not lack of heart or desire, it's lack of talent. I can look at the roster and count 3 or maybe even 4 position players who don't even belong in the Major Leagues right now. Hopefully d'Arnaud doesn't take any time to get back into the swing of things because he needs to be their second best hitter the first day he gets back in the lineup.

The front office (except DePodesta) is a joke and has done nothing to improve the offense. It's as if they're looking at things and saying without Wright there's no point in going for it. He's only played 8 games and they're still somehow in first place. Just improve the offense in any slight way and they should find a way to be in the race for the rest of the year.

 

[8893]

Look at the lineup as it is right now and objectively estimate how many wins this team would get in a 162 game season even with a top 5 pitching staff. 70? Maybe 75? It's not lack of heart or desire, it's lack of talent. I can look at the roster and count 3 or maybe even 4 position players who don't even belong in the Major Leagues right now. Hopefully d'Arnaud doesn't take any time to get back into the swing of things because he needs to be their second best hitter the first day he gets back in the lineup.

The front office (except DePodesta) is a joke and has done nothing to improve the offense. It's as if they're looking at things and saying without Wright there's no point in going for it. He's only played 8 games and they're still somehow in first place. Just improve the offense in any slight way and they should find a way to be in the race for the rest of the year.

I don't buy the lack of talent. It's a culture of winning (SFG) vs. a culture of losing (NYM). Hell, look at what the bench players on the Cavs are doing in the finals just by playing hard and playing great defense.

These young guys on the Mets seemed to do a fine job of playing through injuries to key players initially, and I think a large part of that was their blissful ignorance of the Mets' culture of apathy. Now that they have settled into acceptance of the fact that ownership has no passion or urgency to win now, they are predictably cooling off. And even vets like Cuddyer are already barking that they can't do it alone, when they aren't exactly hitting the cover off the ball, either.

The bats on shoulders last night were inexcusable, but that seems to be the most enduring legacy of the Mets for the past 15 years:



Last night reminded me more of this though (minus the swinging part):

 

[8893]

To be clear: I agree that we don't have enough offense in this lineup given the injuries and that we need to make a move to acquire another bat if we are going to remain competitive, but it seems like the replacements were more likely to excel (or at least play well) in the meantime if they believed they were part of an organization that was committed to winning now. Now that the owners have sent the usual (for the Mets) signals of waiting until next season, it seems like the players have, too.

 

[mets1090]

You have a losing culture by having guys like Campbell, Recker, Ceciliani and Muno. Replace those terrible players with decent players and you suddenly you are committed to winning. The front office's lack of commitment to winning trickles down to the team by way of lack of talent. Maybe keep a group of talented players together for 5 years and we can talk about clubhouse culture. It would also help if their 2nd best position player didn't have a congenital spinal condition.