108-97. 4.00 era. I will die in the hill that trade wasn’t nearly as bad as it was made out to be.
I somewhat disagree. He had the potential to be a huge help in 06 when everyone else got hurt. Also, while there is no real way to know it, it certainly felt like they could’ve gotten a much better return than Victor Zambrano. Even if Kazmir got hurt immediately after the trade and never pitched again, it doesn’t change the fact the probably got well below full value for him.
They would have had to sign Kazmir to a contract and the Mets staff didn’t like his frame and mechanics long term. The trade never burned them and no one ever gave much more for Kazmir at any point in his career. All he ever ended up being was the allure of “the next great lefty” and that never materialized.
What do you mean sign him to a contract? His first four full seasons he put up era+s of 116, 141, 130, and 127 and the last year was the only one where he noticeably outperformed his FIP.
If they felt like he was the next great lefty as everyone was anointing him to be, they would have needed to commit to a big long contract to tie him up and they didn’t want to do that.
Also, had they committed an ace level contract to him prior to 2008, they likely couldn’t have given Johan Santana the money they gave him.
So it’s almost June. How are we feeling about Lindor? Personally, I am not feeling good. Not. At. All.
Same as I felt then, he'll be fine and not even remotely worried
I don’t like the body language at the plate. He looks totally lost. I never watched him before he came here but I have no faith that he will ever be a premier hitter here, if he ever was.
That's funny because I have the exact opposite take, his body language at the plate is why I'm so encouraged. He's not chasing pitches and is drawing a ton of walks this year, which is why his OBP is still decent despite not hitting at all.
I definitely never watched him before this season. The older I get, the more tunnel vision I get with my pro sports fandom, focusing only the team I follow and doing little else except watching the standings in the other divisions and leagues. Except for the playoffs, when I will start watching most of them.
End up? Yes, usually. But this is the beginning and so far he looks more like Rey Ordonez 2.0, which is not what "we" paid for.
I also didn't like them showing how he tailed off last year in the shortened season then continued into this year and has gotten worse. Could the Mets brass really have missed THAT badly on him? Jesus.
Gotta say, although I generally don't agree with his takes on sports generally, @WeAreUCONN was all over it at the time. I don't want him to be right here, but he is definitely on record pointing that out when we made the trade and then signed him to that contract.
Comparing him to Rey Ordonez is beyond insulting and is so far off base. You're entitled to your opinion but I suspect this one ages as poorly as your posts about Edwin Diaz in 2019 after his early struggles
The Ordonez comparison was based on another former Met Golden Glove shortstop with a weak, unclutch bat. So far that is what we have seen since Lindor has been here. That is all I have to go on with my own eyes. And if he doesn’t turn his offense around, the comparison will be very apt.
In relation to his Mets career that's definitely an early struggle, which is why I'm not willing to write off Lindor as a bust after 2 months, and he's starting with a significantly better track record than Lindor was. But I'll admit I'm much more patient with players and always looking at the big picture. Beltran started off slow his first year with the Mets and ended up as one of the 4 or 5 best position players in their history, it wouldn't shock me at all if Lindor is the same way
And if I remember correctly, you are also more forgiving of Beltran keeping the bat on his shoulder for that called third strike...which I have been unable to supplant as my indelible image of him.