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Hi Anz, just a very brief note to let you know I'm doing okay though I am coming off the most stressful two weeks of my life. Anytime your e-mail is up and running I'll be glad to fill you in. Things are little more stable now for the short-term so I can probably allow a post or two here in the short-term and its because I value and treasure our exchanges here over these last ten years as well as your friendship going back even before this thread on this board during a couple rough moments that I do owe it to you to keep posting here. All the best to you.
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Posted: |
Jul 21, 2015 - 11:58 PM
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By: |
ANZALDIMAN
(Member)
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I haven't posted in here in a while but this rant is going to be a long one.
I was watching MLB Network today and I heard some talk about the Tigers giving up on the season and unloading contracts. Nobody in a front office is ever going to admit things are not working, but the moves they may or may not make at the trade deadline will speak for them. Verlander got booed by the Detroit fans after getting lit up in his last start and he really hasn't been the same since he started that weight training. Who would have ever thought Verlander would be booed by the home fans? His girlfriend Kate Upton maybe, but Verlander himself? The fans are frustrated and they have a right to be. You only get a few years to have a chance to hoist the WS trophy with a key group of players before injuries, off years, and age set in on a ball club. And while all that is happening the teams in your division continue to get better.
The window to win a championship eventually begins to close with a certain group of players and then you start to hear the word that every baseball fan dreads. "Rebuild". The Phillies are going through it right now. They have come down hard and are now toiling away in the basement in the NL east. This was a cocky team that was in a pennant race year in and year out for what seemed like forever. They got old all at once and broke down and now their fans will have to sit through some bad seasons. It happens. And this was a team that once spent copious amounts of money on star players that is now just looking to cut their losses and dump salary. The Mets window closed quickly after 2006 and until just the first half of this year it's been one sub .500 season after another since. The trade deadline is coming up soon and that will tell the story if teams still believe they have a chance in 2015 or if they are sellers cleaning house.
The Mets are still in the race for the NL east for a few reasons. Their young starting pitching with Familia anchoring the bullpen have been remarkable, and the fact that the Nats have had some key injuries and have failed to put together any long winning streaks. But that may change soon. The Mets and everyone else in the east would have been blown back in the division long ago had Washington played up to their potential in the first half. They are the clear favorites. And their injured players are about to return. The Mets have an awful offense this year. It stinks. It's lousy. And worst of all it's boring and predictable. It's as bad as I've ever seen and I've lived and died with the team since the early 70's. They'll get runners on and time and again cannot get key hits to drive those guys in. This offense simply cannot score runs. As a Mets fan, when the days of Joel Youngblood, Richie Hebner, and Willie Montanez start to look good you know your offense reeks. Eric Campbell and John Mayberry Jr. are not every day major league players. In fact, one might argue that they are minor league players on a major league roster. Ruben Tejada is not an every day player. Yet Terry Collins is forced to trot these guys out there on a regular basis with his fingers (and toes) crossed because there are no other alternatives and as of yet the cavalry is nowhere to be seen. The cavalry costs money, you know.
The Mets offensive drought this season has made watching this team as exciting and inspiring as a trip to the DMV. Lincoln once said of General George B. McClellan, "He has a case of the slows". Well, the Mets lineup this season has a case of the "blows". And they blow badly. GM's around baseball know Alderson is in a bind for a bat. Meanwhile, the pitching staff goes out there knowing they have to thread the needle in each and every start because their team can't score. A heartbeat with a bat and some rbi's attached please. Other than Michael Conforto the Mets really have no outstanding position players at the minor league level to include in a deal. And Conforto has the potential to be a star and is not going anywhere.
So GM's continue to want what Alderson refuses to give up. His vine ripe young pitching. And it's not the ol' stalwarts Niese or Gee they're asking for anymore. They want the crown jewels. So as Mets fans we can complain all we like that the offense stinks worse than getting stuck behind a garbage truck in the August heat, but baseball is a business and these guys in the front offices are not just going to hand Alderson the hitters he so desperately needs without holding him up for some his best players in the process. Even if it is just for a fading greybeard at the tail end of his career. Screw all the cocktail party banter that goes on at the winter meetings. None of that matters now. When opposing GM's sense blood in the water during the regular season they'll go for the throat. Alderson not wanting to part with the talented young pitching is understandable. Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, and Matz are indeed untouchables. The Mets may be able to make some moves if they were prepared to pick up more in money and give up less in players. But that certainly won't happen given the penny pinching ownership.
With the wasting of all the great pitching performances this year due to lack of offense, the Wilpons are continuing to watch that Mets payroll like buzzards circling a carcass. They simply don't want to spend any more money to help this team. Period. They continue to operate a big city franchise in New York on a budget that remains lower than a frog's posterior. Those two won't budge. Somebody needs to remind Fred and Jeff Wilpon that eventually the chickens are going to come home to roost. If they are unwilling to spend money now, it's not hard to imagine what's going to happen when those vaunted young pitchers move ever closer to free agency. And it's coming sooner than any of us would like to think. Hopefully between now and then they'll finally realize they can't run the operation properly any longer and sell the team. The trading deadline is rapidly approaching. What will Sandy Alderson do? What will he be allowed to do if it involves bringing in a big contract bat? I'm not holding my breath that anything significant will get done.
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Posted: |
Jul 27, 2015 - 6:33 PM
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By: |
ANZALDIMAN
(Member)
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With the trading deadline winding down, Mets GM Sandy Alderson has been busy working the phones. First, he brought in veterans Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson in a deal with the Braves that cost two low level minor league pitchers. The Braves were looking to dump some salary and the Mets got two experienced players they could use. Uribe and Johnson will add some flexibility for Terry Collins off his bench and in part time starting roles. Both of these players have already paid dividends since joining the Mets.
Yesterday, Uribe got the walk off hit off the outfield wall that gave the Mets an extra inning win against the Dodgers. Johnson homered the night before. Today, in a big move, Alderson pulled the trigger once again and brought back closer Tyler Clippard of the Oakland A's to the Mets. Once again, the Mets did not have to give up a key piece to finish the deal. Clippard adds insurance in the bullpen and can compliment Familia either as a bridge to him or he can step in and close. Clippard himself is an experienced closer. Mejia, because of his suspension for PED's will not be eligible for post season play if the Mets are lucky enough to get that far. Clippard will fill that role. And to boot, the Mets blocked their division rivals the Washington Nationals from getting Clippard back, as they had also been in serious discussions recently with the A's to trade for him. Oakland GM Billy Beane hooked up his mentor Alderson big time here.
My earlier rant must have helped because these three moves were vintage Sandy Alderson.  
He's added versatility without giving up any of the Big 4, AND as of yet he's not blown the payroll so out of wack as to give the Wilpons a panic attack. Alderson actually got some money back along with the players in these deals! He's done well here. Next up is an impact bat. This next move will probably take the trading of Zack Wheeler and other pieces to get it done but Alderson HAS to bring in a big bopper. There are three or four main bats out there that are available with Marlon Byrd as a fall back option if the main objectives fall through. The Mets have the starting pitching to make a run for the Playoffs. They need at least one more piece. And the clock is ticking.
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Posted: |
Jul 28, 2015 - 9:04 AM
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By: |
ANZALDIMAN
(Member)
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The Colorado Rockies finally unloaded their 30 year old All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki last night. But not to the Mets as had been speculated for months. They traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays for former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, pitching prospects, and the "ageless wonder" relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins. Hawkins it seems has been around forever with various teams (including the Yankees and Mets) and is in his final season. He's said he's retiring. On it's face, this trade doesn't seem to make much sense as Toronto already has a strong offensive lineup and needs established pitching. Reyes is now 32, has a big contract of his own going back in the trade to Colorado, and is oft injury prone like Tulo. I never got the feeling that Tulowitzki wanted to come to the Mets in the first place. He idolized Derek Jeter and has wanted to be a Yankee in the worst way but at this point he'll have to settle with playing up in Toronto. On the other hand, Reyes loved being a Met and probably wishes he never left. He took the big money contract Miami gave him as a free agent and was sent packing shortly thereafter.
Reyes since winning the batting title with the Mets and then moving on to Miami and Toronto has never been the same impact player he was in New York. He's been on and off the disabled list the last few years which is certainly no big surprise.. Reyes is getting up in years now and doesn't seem to fit into the Rockies rebuilding scheme down the road. His defense had also been an issue in Toronto. The Rockies have been saying recently that they were "hesitant" to trade Tulowitzki, their "face of the franchise". I think they were hesitant to trade him because he is so popular with the fans out there. But they wasted no time trying to get out from under that huge contract they gave him. That, they were not hesitant about.
The Rockies franchise has continued to flounder and it was time to cut bait on Tulo's enormous salary. 10 years, $157,750,000. I'm sure the phone was ringing off the hook with various offers for Tulo for at least a year. Toronto is absorbing Tulo's bloated contract and this may have been the best of all offers that Colorado got for just that reason. I'm sure that in other trade talks (including those with Alderson) the Rockies were asked to absorb a huge chunk of the money. An odd trade. We shall see if Reyes stays with Rockies or is moved again for prospects in yet another deal by the trade deadline.
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