By ending the 2013 season 74-88, the New York Mets have compiled a record of 225-261 with Terry Collins as manager. Fittingly, Collins was rewarded with a two-year contract extension that includes an option for a third year.
Which do you think has a better chance of happening: the Mets going to the postseason with Collins at the helm, or Collins losing more games than any other manager in Mets history? Continue reading
The 2013-2014 offseason (for the Mets and other non-playoff teams, anyway) is almost two weeks old, and Mets fans are abuzz with speculation about what the Mets will do to improve their team.
Trying to predict the future can get kind of repetitive. The same names keep coming up – because those names will be available via free agency, or are widely believed to be trade candidates. But there’s only so much you can say or write about until deals actually start to happen.
That doesn’t stop us bloggers from trying, however.
According to Mike Puma, Carlos Beltran “won’t rule out” returning to the Mets (Beltran said it while laughing, by the way). Puma also tweeted, however, that the Mets consider his diminished defense an “issue” (I laughed while reading that, by the way).
In other news, another former Mets outfielder is “open” to returning to Flushing — Continue reading
A decision has been made:
#Mets announce that Matt Harvey will cease rehab and undergo Tommy John surgery. He is expected to miss all of 2014. Much more coming.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 4, 2013
Sounds like it must have been an obvious choice. The Mets originally said they’d give Harvey a chance to rehab until December, and even had plans to test his elbow out in the Arizona Fall League.
So now, the Mets will have a 2014 rotation of Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, possibly Jenrry Mejia, and someone else – maybe a stopgap veteran like Aaron Harang or Daisuke Matsuzaka (or someone else). 2014 will also likely feature the debut of Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard, but it probably won’t happen until May or June, so the team can have an extra year of control.
More details will be coming out about Harvey as the day progresses.
You may have heard the news that Dusty Baker has been fired by the Cincinnati Reds. With that news comes the first rumor of the winter. Continue reading
Perhaps lost in all the excitement and ballyhoo of Terry Collins and Dan Warthen receiving two-year contract extensions were the quotes of Jeff Wilpon. Particularly this one:
“The pressure is on all of us to win. I don’t look at it as pressure, but look at it as an opportunity, how Sandy has looked at it.”
Wait, what? So, is it pressure, or isn’t it pressure?
I think Jeffy was saying that the organization feels the pressure to win, but are choosing to accept it as an opportunity. I also believe this perspective comes from a self-help book — which is cool, as I have read a number of those in my time.
Whatever, it sounds like Jeffy realizes that everyone is expecting some kind of forward movement, after five straight losing seasons, and more specifically, a won-loss record that has gotten worse, worse, and worse again in the three years of “not rebuilding” under Sandy Alderson.
This proclamation is eerily reminiscent of one made in 2009 — when Omar Minaya’s tush was similarly simmering. Yes, I do believe it sounds like Sandy Alderson is on the hot seat. Shouldn’t he be, after three years of seeing a team perform progressively worse? (Hmm … can anything be “progressively worse?”)
During Monday’s presser, much was made about the suddenly dissolved financial constraints, mainly due to the contract of Johan Santana and Jason Bay coming off the books. Alderson made clear that the Mets were in position to make a $100M offer to a player, if it was the “right” player. (We’re not privy to the advanced algorithm denoting what players might be “right,” but we’ll trust that Alderson and co. have that figured out.) Though, from the other side of his mouth, Alderson also said this:
“We’d be in a position to do it, whether it were the right player. But would it be prudent to do it, even for the right player? It’s not out of the question. Will we do it, that is more of a strategic question, not a matter of resources.”
I swear to God that this sounded a lot better to my ears than it looks in type. I swear.
Regardless, even through the doublespeak, it sounds like the Mets have the financial resources to obtain expensive players, and the Mets are expecting a winning season in 2014. Go back to that link a few paragraphs ago and click on it, if you didn’t already. Ironically, that was the same winter the Mets signed the aforementioned Bay.
See what I did there?
Looking back to the past to predict the future, here’s what I’m seeing in my orange and blue crystal ball: the Mets overpay for a free-agent this winter to make it appear as though they’re serious about winning next season. Or, roughly translated, they’re going to sign someone like Shin-Soo Choo or trade for a high-priced talent like Troy Tulowitzki for the express purpose of selling season tickets.
Am I nuts? Or do you believe history tends to repeat itself? And/or that someone other than the GM has been in charge of the Mets ever since Nelson Doubleday was pushed out.
Fire away in the comments.
How about a New York Mets Mr. Potato Head
In case you missed it, the Mets extended manager Terry Collins through 2015, with an option for 2016. Continue reading
Mets narrowly avoid a final-series sweep at the hands of the Brewers, perhaps inspired by Mike Piazza, and finish with the exact same record as 2012: 74-88. This year, though, that’s good enough for third place in the NL East! Continue reading
