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December 8, 2013 13-14 Offseason Joe Janish

Is Curtis Granderson a Yankee?

curtis-granderson-yankee

After hearing news that the Mets signed Curtis Granderson, I went to the office of a colleague (at my real job) who happens to be a huge Mets fan and has held season tickets for the past 15 years. I asked her if she was excited about The Grandy Man joining the Mets.

She frowned, and answered, “He’s a good player, and the Mets need a hitter, but …”

But what?

“He’s a Yankee.”

Ah. Something I hadn’t considered. In fact, I was thinking the opposite. The fact that Granderson has been in New York for the past several years, performed well, and truly inserted himself into the community, made me thin that most Mets fans would know he is and have positive feelings about him. And perhaps, many/most do.

On the other hand, there is the fact that he was very much, and very publicly, a Yankee. Not unlike the way Tom Glavine was a Brave, for comparison. I can easily see a Curtis Granderson “Yankeeography” produced in the next two years.

What about you? Do you care that Curtis Granderson was/is a Yankee? Curious to hear your thoughts.

Mets Item of the Day

It’s the holiday season, and — per Larry Hockett — candlesticks always make a nice gift. So how about buying some sweet-smelling Yankee Candles to put under the tree (unlighted and wrapped, of course)? This one is spiced pumpkin, but there are many other scents to choose from. Click on the link or the image below to buy a few from Amazon.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. megamets December 8, 2013 at 7:42 am
    Testing
  2. megamets December 8, 2013 at 7:49 am
    I do not care that Granderson was a Yankee. He hit just fine as a Tiger, the one bit of concern I have is will Curtis be able to revert back to his hitting style in DET. Less homer happy, less k’s, higher AVG and such. I’m assuming he will, but am guessing it will take a lot of hard work and discipline. As far as the signing goes, I’m thrilled.

    As far as Glavine goes, I hated the fact that he was a Brave, hated the fact that questec was put in at Shea the year we acquired him, hated the fact that Glavine recieved around 6 inches of respect, up, down, in and away, from the HP umpire as a Brave, and got squeezed the moment he became a Met. But, Glavine eventually adjusted, pitched quite well, I became a fan, and then, his last game, OMG. What was his line, 1/3 IP, 11 ER, in a win or go home affair.

    Anyways, I do not care that Granderson was a Yankee, but did not like Glavine at first because he was a Brave. Primarily because he got so many BS calls given to him while facing the Mets as a Brave. That was complete BS.

  3. Dan42 December 8, 2013 at 7:56 am
    I think of him more as the Tiger who allowed them to get Scherzer.

    Alderson must be betting that he will have a third wind in his mid thirties, because his Yankee second wind seems to have disappeared, looking at his year to year OPS+. Or maybe he’s trying to corner the market on aging CFs to offset the younger ones he already has.

  4. martym December 8, 2013 at 10:15 am
    I like the move we made. I don’t get caught up in players changing from yankee’s to the mets. I just hope we get a ss some better relievers a bench player worth having. I hope they don’t get rid of murphy.
  5. DaveSchneck December 8, 2013 at 11:12 am
    Nope, Carlos Beltran is.
  6. Chris December 8, 2013 at 11:13 am
    It’s not like he’s Paul O’Neill. He was a Yankee for how many years? 3? How many championships was he a major part of for them? Besides its not like Yankees fans are bothered about taking the mets true icons on board, ie Straw, Gooden, Cone etc.
  7. izzy December 8, 2013 at 7:47 pm
    Oh tell her Yankees fans celebrated when Cone and Doc threw no nos for them Yenakees and they loved Straw. She should be happy he left the Yankees for the Mets. Stealing a Yankee is pretty nice, even if the Yankees didn’t care.
  8. Cleon James December 8, 2013 at 8:16 pm
    A non issue, really. Bigger issue is that his stats (too many Ks, low average will be exacerbated in the Mets lineup, staduim and karma) and he will suck hitting in CitiField. I would have rather paid up for proven commodity Marlon Byrd. I would think that he’s about equal to George Foster, worse than Beltran and Bay, a little better than Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar, etc etc etc, all of whom sucked in their first years as a Met. I don’t think he has the make up of good hitters who came to the Mets and succeeded, namely Hernandez, Carter, Byrd, Piazza, Clendenon and Staub, who all did well in New York right off the bat.
    • crozier December 8, 2013 at 10:20 pm
      I don’t recall George Foster’s speed or defensive abilities, sir. Perhaps you would prefer Kevin McReynolds as an apt comparison? Except that McReynolds, like Foster, lacked the class and professionalism that Granderson has in abundance. I’ll grant you the latter aspects are intangibles, but they don’t carry a null value. I think Rusty Staub is a better comparison than you do, but we’ll know in due time. Granderson may lack Staub’s culinary skills, but we know that slowed him down big time.
      • Joe Janish December 10, 2013 at 12:51 pm
        Crozier, sorry, for some reason this comment was stuck in the spam trap, not sure why, and just checked the trap today.
    • spamboli December 9, 2013 at 8:00 am
      i disagree with you about his inability to adjust to Citifield. he played for the tigers in a spacious ballpark, but made adjustments for the short porch in ‘stankee stadium. i think he will readjust his swing for citi. trading higher average for fewer homers. i hope
      • CleonJames December 9, 2013 at 4:02 pm
        I hope you are right, didn’t realize that Detroit stad is that spacious. I also like the fact that he’s a lefty.
  9. crozier December 8, 2013 at 10:12 pm
    Granderson isn’t a Yankee, he just was one, the way Johnny Damon was one. Yogi Berri – who played four games as a Met – was a Yankee. Ron Swoboda – who played 191 games as a Yankee – was a Met.

    And yet I suppose it’s beyond arguing that when you join the Yankees, you embody the Yankees for that period of time, and Damon illustrates this as well as anyone. Earrings get boxed up, facial hair and long locks get shorn, you memorize the Best Yankee Practices Handbook for proper phrases when dealing with the press. And if you’re Soriano, you inexplicably go all Ruthian when returning to the fold. It’s mystifying.

  10. argonbunnies December 9, 2013 at 2:41 am
    A mere 4 seasons, never did anything iconic in the postseason. The fact that Granderson played for the Yankees can be easily forgotten. He was just a Tiger hitting some short-porch Bronx HRs.

    Active Yankees whose Yankeeness would bother me: Jeter, A-Rod, Cano, Teixeira, Sabathia, Chamberlain.

    I strongly associate Gardner with the Yankees too, but I actually like him. He’s kind of the anti-Yankee to me: a guy who plays really hard without supreme talent and big dollars.

  11. DanB December 9, 2013 at 11:54 am
    $13 mill, $16, $16, and then $15. Not as backloaded as I feared but still a bad reflection of Met finances. Add that to SA’s recent comment of lower budget to no higher then $85 mill and not being able to afford new SS without shedding payroll. Met finances have more impact on wins/losses then Harvey’s injury.
    • DaveSchneck December 9, 2013 at 2:48 pm
      Dan,
      I was actually please to see the spread of Grandy’s deal. We knew they would go low in 2014, but it does not escalate each year so I took that as good news.

      I agree with you that despite Alderson’s tap dance around the payroll budget, that figure is the biggest component of the Met offseason. Harvey’s injury is overemphasized and is being used by some to conveniently kick the can to 2015. Despite Harvey’s dominance, the Mets were 13-13 in games he started. This can be replaced, and other areas can be strengthened to field a WC competitor for 2014 that is poised to compete for 2015 and beyond as well.

  12. DanB December 9, 2013 at 6:49 pm
    Dave, you were pleased the contract wasn’t as bad as you feared. Still doesn’t mean it is proper. (Early reports had the Mets backloading even more — wonder if Granderson negotiated otherwise). I keep reading how the contract gives the Mets flexibility. For what? Just like Wright’s contract, it gives flexibility to pay down debt. Why don’t the Mets address the elephant in the room — they don’t have money for 2014. They know it, we know it.
    • DaveSchneck December 9, 2013 at 9:53 pm
      Dan,
      Oh I agree about the elephant, no doubt. With all these Alderson interviews, has anyone asked him directly these questions
      1. First, a simple math equation – with $26 million in new TV moeny for 2014, and the same payroll amount that produced 70 something wins in 2013, where is the additional $26 million going? Lower ticket prices?
      2. Last year the Mets were around the 20th highest payroll., well below average. At the same level in 2014, they will sink deeper into the bottom 3rd. How does a team in the biggest market justify this payroll level with a losing product 5 straight years?
      3. And follow it up with this question – why should the paying customers continue to pay premium NYC prices for an inferior product that the ownership refuses the spend on to improve?

      I understand that spending does not fix all problems, and can cause problems, but id the Mets can get a legit SP3, a legit SS, and a legit bullpen arm, they can compete for the WC in 2014. They can undoubtedly do this with $30 million more in 2014 payroll and without making commitments for more than three years. And, doing that in the FA market can keep all the young arms, permittingthem to trade from strength going forward. These actions could easily increase revenues 10%, paying for the difference between an $85 and $100 million payroll.

      Adam Rubin – ask Sandy directly about the elephant!