Firing Up the Hot Stove with Another Metsian Podcast

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

A METSIAN PODCAST

KINDLING THE HOT STOVE

with Sam, Rich, and Mike

Seventy-Minutes

STUFF

First, I'm a veteran, but may have exercised poor judgement with regards to a joke said in poor taste.

I know better; guilty as charged.

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Changes ~ Pat Roessler ~ Rickey Bones ~ J.P. Ricciardi

Radio Days: The Move to WCBS-88 AM

Howie Rose ~ Josh Lewin ~ Ed Coleman ~ Wayne Randazzo

The Syracuse Mets ~ Since when have there been Cy Young finalists?

Peter Alonso ~ Dominic Smith ~ Dave Kingman

Arizona Fall League ~ Andres Gimenez ~ Desmond Lindsay ~ Ali Sanchez

Jacob deGrom ~ Amed Rosario in Japan Series

BVW expectations ~ What's the New Plan ~ Are Mets Hands Are Tied 

Chris Bryant ~ Corey Kluber ~ Manny Machado ~ Bryce Harper ~ Asdrubal Cabrera

The never ending debate behind the plate ~ a plan for the bullpen

and so much more!

A Very Metsian Podcast with Metstradamus and MetsMusings

From the desk of:  HEAD=BUTTING MR. MET

Sam, Rich, and I, present our

2018 End of Season Round Table 

Metsian Podcast

With Guests

John Coppinger aka Metstradamus

and

Mr. Gary Mack of MetsMusings.com

An End of Season Round Table is worthy of two hours, no?

John Coppinger joins us for the first half-hour.

Gary Mack joins for the final 90-minutes.

STUFF

Cy Young closing arguments ~ David Wright Farewell

The season that was ~ report cards ~ this record vs. that record

Linus' blanket ~ throwing Sandy Alderson under the bus

phantom finishes ~ first base quagmire ~ Peter Alonso

organizational failures at second base ~ Jeff McNeil ~ Amed Rosario

my kingdom for a catcher ~ grading Mickey Callaway

Fred, Jeff, the front office, and the next executive

This is when Sam makes me blow not one, but two gaskets.

N.Y. Mets: Why Calling-Up Peter Alonso is a Terrible Idea

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

1B - Peter Alonso

a/o Sept. 4, 2017

Binghamton Rumble Ponies

New York Mets: There's Nothing To Gain By Exposing Peter Alonso To Parent Club's Dysfunction.  For His Own Good, His Flushing Debut Must Wait Till Next Year.

Far be it from me to agree with anything John Ricco says - and I'm sure in this instance our respective reasoning differs greatly - but I absolutely support the Mets decision to not promote Peter Alonso during September call-ups.

Now 23-years old, the Mets select Alonso in the second round of the 2016 amateur draft.  He finishes the summer at Brooklyn playing thirty games with the Cyclones, then skyrockets through Port St. Lucie and Binghamton over the next year and a half, until finally touching down at Las Vegas in mid June.

To date, Alonso has played in 251 games with just under 1,000 career at-bats.  He wields a quadruple slash of .287/.379/.550/.929, with 56 career home runs and 197 RBI.  The Mets promote him to (AAA)-Las Vegas this season after slashing .314/.440/.573, with 15 home runs and 52 RBI through 65 games at Binghamton.

With Las Vegas, he continues hitting for power evidenced by his 18 home runs and 61 RBI through 63 games.  In fact, his overall line is quite prodigious: .278/.393/.561, with 29 doubles, 33 home runs and 113 RBI.  However, since leaving Binghamton his batting average and OBP have fallen 68-points and 92-points respectively, while playing, ironically, in a notorious hitter friendly league.  I simply suggest Peter Alonso needs more practical experience facing the expanded pitching repertoires offered up by AAA-level pitchers.  His Las Vegas numbers indicate there are still adjustments to be made in his game.  None of which should take place during a September call-up for the New York Mets.

And there's the rub ...

The Mets have created quite the untenable situation at first base.  It's a position riddled with numerous and rather ponderous scenarios, none of which would serve Alonso well.  An invitation to Flushing means little more than receiving woefully inconsistent and inconsequential playing time behind Wilmer Flores, Dominic Smith, and perhaps even Jay Bruce.  Therefore it makes little sense asking a highly touted minor league prospect to dive head first into a quagmire of major league proportion.

Monitoring the organization's every move, waiting for any misstep (real or perceived) would have been the media, waiting to further fan this raging bonfire of front office folly.

On that note, I would argue Alonso's agent spoke too soon. 

Be careful what you ask for ...

Because until ownership decides on a definitive course of action - which is right in line with getting a new executive in place - there's nothing to gain by exposing his client to such parent/club dysfunction.  Therefore, it's probably in his best interest at the conclusion of this regular season that Peter Alonso just go home, reflect back on the season that was, and begin focusing on the season ahead.  Hopefully by then, the Mets will have a competent executive in place that will better help his client carve out a more conducive path to the major leagues.

That may involve trading Wilmer Flores this coming off-season.  If provided with a stable environment, I believe his best days as a hitter are still ahead.  I'm sure there are general managers whom feel similarly.  Any trade partner would also be receiving two years of valuable organizational control.  If Flores can be packaged in a larger deal, even better.  Then if Jay Bruce is relegated to playing right field, you've set up a spring training competition between Dom Smith and Peter Alonso, which then becomes a matter of may the better man win the starting job.

But that's all for the next executive to decide, and about getting this enterprise moving forward again.

And that's why Peter Alonso's debut can wait.

N.Y. Mets: The Old Good Fan/Bad Fan Metsian Podcast Routine

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Moving right along ... but where?

Partner Sam Maxwell and I go head-to-head in 

a very spirited Episode 18 of A METSian Podcast. 

 

1 Hour, 4 Minutes

David Wright rejoining the team ~ Peter Alonso not joining the team

I continue ripping Noah Syndergaard; Sam supports Jason Vargas

On Robert Gsellman: Sam is pro-closer; I'm anti-closer

 Innings limits be damned ~ Seth Logo ~ Jennry Mejia?

How does 2017-2018 compare to 1978-1979 ~ Agents Gone Wild

Travis d'Arnaud ~ Darryl Strawberry ~ Juan Lagares

Michael Conforto ~ Jay Bruce ~ Todd Frazier ~ Benny Ayala

Amed Rosario and Willie Mays Hayse ... yes, Major League

!!..Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance..!!

Baseball in NYC, 1918

Brooklyn Robins ~ New York Giants ~ New York Yankees

Burleigh Grimes ~ Waite Hoyt ~ Miller Huggins

N.Y. Mets: The S.S. Wilpon is Losing Wind, Again

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

New York Mets: Winning the National League pennant in 2015 blew the organization off course.

... not a knee jerk reaction.  If you're a regular reader of Head-Butting Mr. Met, you know where I've always stood.

This has nothing to do with the Mets going 6-14 after starting the season with an 11-1 record, or the fact they lost six in a row heading into Cincinnati.  For the moment, I chalk that up to the ups and downs of baseball.

• The Mets take the series opener from the Reds by a 7-6 margin.

This is more about the new quagmire they've potentially created for themselves.

The Mets were still in the midst of rebuilding right up until the acquisitions of Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, Yoenis Cespedes, et al.  I'm certainly not criticizing what transpired after the 2015 trade deadline, nor the front office's stick-to-itiveness entering the 2016 season.  But what began as an imperceptible deviation now needs correction as the Mets find themselves somewhere very distant from where they originally intended to be.

Through the draft and via acquisitions, the Mets attempted to rebuild their club around a new generation of starting pitchers: Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Steven Matz.  At least that was the idea.

At the time, Kevin Plawecki; Travis d'Arnaud; Wilmer Flores; Juan Lagares; Dilson Herrera; and Michael Conforto represented the up-and-coming position players.  Guys like Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, Gavin Cecchini, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo were poised to arrive in the next wave.

However, the 2015 team that went to the World Series still featured very familiar faces: Lucas Duda; Jeurys Familia; Daniel Murphy; Ruben Tejada; Curtis Granderson; even David Wright.  And by 2016, the rebuild effort was shelved for a win-now mentality.  Second baseman Dilson Herrera was dealt to acquire Jay Bruce whom was further surrounded by more veterans: Asdrubal Cabrera; Neil Walker; Jose Reyes; Adrian Gonzalez; James Loney; etc.

Today, the positions of left field, right field, first base, second base, and third base, are all bogged down with older players again as a result.  One or two seasoned veterans is fine, necessary even, but not five positions - not to mention an insufferable situation behind the plate.

Alderson has drafted rather curious talents through his years here as general manager.  But also conjures rather ponderous scenarios when it comes time for integrating them into the fold.  I've seen more players called up and effectively misused, than not.  Aside from Travis d'Arnaud, Amed Rosario is the only player for which the Mets effectively cleared out the position in anticipation of his arrival.  Otherwise, Michael Conforto is being forced to play out of position, while guys like Brando Nimmo, Wilmer Flores, and Juan Lagares continue going underutilized.

This condition was poignantly demonstrated recently by the visiting Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, when a young club being given time to develop together came to Flushing and swept the Mets.

Said another way, this organization needs to refocus on youth and get back to establishing a core of position players - something they failed to do the first time around.  They diligently worked on building strong pitching, but resigned themselves to patching together poorly constructed line-ups and hoping for the best.

• The position of catcher is an unmittigated mess.  In simple English, Sandy Alderson's plan behind the plate has failed.  Fans are pretty fed up with Travis d'Arnaud.  Unfortunately, his best ability has been his unavailability.  And just when it seemed Kevin Plawecki was beginning to gain momentum, he sustained an injury.  At least Plawecki is younger, and therefore still represents potential where as d'Arnaud is fast approaching the age of thirty.

• Who's on first?  Dominic Smith was utterly unprepared for his major league debut.  At least prospect Peter Alonso offers a glimmer of hope.  His arrival in Flushing could potentially come within a year.  The 23-year old is presently beating up on Eastern League pitchers.  In the meantime, the Mets hope Adrian Gonzalez holds up.

• What's on second - Dilson Herrera isn't quite living up to Cincinnati's expectations.  In fact, he hasn't participated in a major league game since 2015 with the Mets.  Otherwise, there is no other plan for second outside of transitioning Gavin Cecchini into a second baseman.

• Third base?  Todd Frazier is 32-years old.  Acquiring him was a practical move and economically made sense.  His acquisitions allowed the Mets to finally move on from David Wright (in a manner of speaking) whom has kept the position in a holding pattern.  The only player worth holding out hope for down on the farm is David Thompson, who is not having a fun go of it in his first season at Las Vegas, to date.

• With regard to outfield prospects, the Mets have nothing going on worth mentioning.

Shame ...

I entered this season believing the Mets could contend for a Wild Card.  I still believe that.  It's just that as currently constructed I feel the Mets window of opportunity is very small.

I'm merely suggesting the Mets adjust their course before they become completely lost, again.

N.Y. Mets: Who Making Bid for First Base Job

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Who's On First

Can Adrian Gonzalez still wield a productive bat?

New York Mets: On the Recent Past, a Questionable Present, and the Potential Future at First Base.

When Ike Davis recorded 32 home runs and 90 RBI in 2012, a bunch of us fans thought the Mets were set at first base for years to come.  However, health issues would hasten his unfortunate demise.

The Mets then passed the torch to Lucas Duda.  One of the most streakiest hitters in recent memory - if not all-time - he often amassed most of his numbers within just two to three offensive outbursts per season.  Otherwise his home run to RBI correlation was generally a source of chronic exasperation.  There's no denying he was well liked.  But unless Duda proved himself ultra-worthy of a long-term extension, the front office plan was to expend all his controllable years until Dominic Smith could take over.  Thus, Duda is now with the Kansas City Royals.

Meanwhile, Smith's Mets career has gotten off to a somewhat bumpy start.  Last year, Sandy Alderson's 2013 first round draft selection (11th overall) was taken to task over his conditioning, and this year has recently been disciplined by Mickey Callaway over tardiness.  He's presently nursing an untimely (quad) injury.

Enter Adrian Gonzalez.  The position of first base appears his to win.

This is a classic example of trying to strike lightning in a bottle - no harm in the Mets present situation.  They're paying him the major league minimum, and therefore have absolutely nothing to lose by bringing him aboard.

Gonzo will turn 36-years old in May.  He was still a productive player as recently as two seasons ago when he slashed .285/.355/.435, with 31 doubles, 18 home runs, and 90 RBI for the Dodgers.  He was compromised last year by injury which limited him to 71 games played.

Best case scenario: he regains health and anchors the middle of the line-up.  I'd also gladly settle for reliable production lower in the order.

Worst case scenario: the end of Gonzo's long individually successful fifteen year is confirmed.

That's why Dominic Smith is by no means out of the picture.  The less Adrian Gonzalez potentially pans out, the more starts Dom will surely make.  On the flip side, the better Adrian does the more Dom can expect to stay active at Las Vegas.

The Mets will have everywhere-man Wilmer Flores, and to a lesser degree Jay Bruce available to fill in at first if needed.

That's why it would behoove Smith to learn from Gonzalez while the two are still in Florida.

In any event, it now seems as if both Gonzalez and Smith are merely holding down the position until prospect Peter Alonso further develops and ideally takes over ... perhaps as soon as the 2019 season.

Alonso was the Mets second round selection of the 2016 draft.  After 82 games last season at Port St. Lucie, he was promoted to (AA)-Binghamton where he played 11 games for the Rumble Ponies.

He slashed .286/.361/.516, with 16 home runs and 58 RBI through 82 games and 308 at-bats for the (A+)-Port St. Lucie Mets.  He then slashed .311/.340/578, with four doubles, two home runs, and five RBI in just 45 at-bats with Binghamton.

If he excels at Binghamton over the first half of the upcoming season, I suspect the Mets would promote Alonso to Las Vegas - creating more reason for Dominic Smith to get his act together.

I briefly caught a close-up view of Peter Alonso in 2016 when he played for the Brooklyn Cyclones and loved what I saw.

In the meantime, the rest of spring training will determine who opens the season at first base.

First baseman Peter Alonso with Binghamton

Road Trips 2017 Part IV: Binghamton Rumble Ponies

• Part I - Pittsburgh Pirates,   Pittsburgh Part II: Forbes Field,   Philadelphia
• Part II - Baltimore Orioles,  Wilmington Blue Rocks
• Part III - Hartford Yard Goats

I'm glad to finally present you with Road Trips, Part IV.  This chronicles my Labor Day weekend adventure through my home state of New York.  The wife and I made stops in Hudson Valley/Fishkill, Troy/Tri-City, Cooperstown, and Binghamton.  I took 1,062 pictures, so it took some time for me to get them properly filed way.

If you've been following along, the wife and I fled the city and headed straight for Dutchess Stadium where we watched the Hudson Valley Renegades defeat the Vermont Lake Monsters.  We then continued our drive up to Cooperstown and finally checked-in ending day one.  After spending the next half day touring the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, it was off to Troy where I first stopped to visit a monument commemorating the 19th century Troy Haymakers BBC, and Troy baseball history.  We capped off the evening a few miles up the road watching the Tri-City Valley Cats hosting the Aberdeen Ironbirds, followed by an easy drive back to Cooperstown ending day two.

After a fine breakfast, the hotel accommodated us with a late check-out, allowing us to spend another half-day in the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and still have time for freshening up before leaving.  We sat for lunch along Main Street, checked out, then hit the road in time to catch an early evening game in Binghamton.

Ninety minutes and 82 miles later, I pull up to NYSEG Stadium only to find out, to my dismay, that evening's game against the Hartford Yard Goats has been called (which is nothing new in Binghamton).  The decision to postpone the game came somewhere around 2pm, but who knew.

It made little difference, though.  My plan was to catch that evening's game, stay overnight in Binghamton, then stop in Trenton on Labor Day (Monday) for the final leg home.  We went out for dinner instead, watched baseball at the hotel bar, caught Sunday's 2pm game, then drove straight home ending another great trip.

NOTE:  I've been withholding Cooperstown for last.  There's obviously a ton of items worthy of show and tell.  Make sure to check back soon.


Part IV 

• Hudson Valley Renegades
• Troy Haymakers
• Tri-City Valley Cats

BINGHAMTON RUMBLE PONIES

Double-A Affiliate of the New York Mets

*

EASTERN LEAGUE

Established in Binghamton 1992

Formerly affiliated with the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners, the team was originally founded in 1987 as the Williamsport Bills.  The team was purchased by the Mets and relocated to Binghamton in 1992 where they've served as an affiliate for the last 26 years.  The club has since changed hands several times, and at one point almost relocated to Delaware.

NYSEG STADIUM

Opened 1992

SUNDAY: GAME CALLED

The team was previously known as the

Binghamton Mets / B-Mets / Binghamton Bees

Upon purchasing ownership of the club in 2015, John Hughes recommitted the team to the city of Binghamton, and in 2016 initiated a re-branding, along with refurbishments to NYSE Stadium.  After a fan vote, the name Rumble Ponies won out, commemorating the local area's carousel history.

I arrived early for Monday's game, and was allowed to 

wander freely throughout the park for about 40-minutes or so.

LABOR DAY

Hartford Yard Goats

vs.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies

I was hoping to see Mets third base prospect David Thompson. but that line-up (left) got scrubbed due to Sunday's rain-out.  I had no problem, however, settling for Monday's line-up (right) featuring first base prospect Peter Alonso.

1B - Peter Alonso

Despite a stellar 85-54 record, Binghamton finished the 2017 regular season in second place behind the Trenton Thunder.  The two teams then faced off in the Eastern Division playoffs.  Binghamton took the series opener, but Threnton reeled off three straight victories to take the series.  After posting the Eastern League's best regular season record, however, the Thunder were swept in the Eastern League championship series in three straight by the Altoona Curve.

After capturing championships in 1992 and 1994, Binghamton went 20 years without winning another, until finally clinching their third Eastern League title in 2014.