3 Words

Today, there is only one mantra to live by. It should be spoken often and with purpose:

“Let’s Go Mets!”

Taking the Long View

Every game this season I can remember against the Nationals has been rough, but I still think 2014 is trending as overall positive. The emergence of Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Vic Black, and Josh Edgin have provided the Mets with a core of young, seemingly reliable late-inning bullpen options. And word is that other quality bullpen options are not far behind. Moreover, the organization’s investment and ongoing development of young power starting pitchers – many of whom have already enjoyed big league success – gives me lots of hope for future seasons. I think the Mets are building a championship caliber pitching staff, and it’s a credit to the FO that they have shown patience in allowing that staff to take shape.

Of course, pitching alone does not win baseball games, and happily it appears the Mets are finally developing a few young hitters to go along with their young arms. I really like what I see from Travis d’Arnaud, Matt denDekker, and Lucas Duda. I think all three of these guys are showing themselves to be everyday major league starters, and it’s reasonable to expect each player to become more productive as he ages. Add to this mix a hopefully rejuvenated David Wright, a streaky, but capable Curtis Granderson, the best defender in CF since Andrew Jones, and the NL hits leader Daniel Murphy and, in my opinion, you have a team that next season should easily win more than 85 games (and that’s without any significant improvement at SS.)

The rest of this year might be frustrating at times, but the future looks bright.

Del-GAH-do

The Mets actually won a game last night so let’s celebrate by remembering days when they used to win more frequently.

I’ve long contended the Mets never adequately replaced the production Carlos Delgado gave them. That dude could really mash. And a quick glance at his final season stats indicate there was still plenty in the tank : 298/.393./.521. Why did he give it up? I remember his hip was troublesome. Maybe that was it.

Maybe I’m waxing fond for Delgado because I recently visited the town he grew up in – a gorgeous place Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Anyway, as countless others have pointed out, the Mets need somebody like him who strikes fear into the minds of opposing pitchers and can make Citi Field play like the local little league field. Should be easy to find, I know.

Low Hopes

When Sandy Alderson was asked recently about his off-season signing of Chris Young, he said (and I’m paraphrasing), we were looking for a guy who could hit at least .240, with 15 home runs.  Thanks, Sandy!  I’m glad to hear a replacement level player is just what the Mets were after for their starting left fielder!!   Newsflash: this type of production you can’t win with. (Young’s current pace to hit possibly 10 home runs, while driving in 40 runs and batting less than .200 is depressing.)

Look, I am generally of the opinion that Alderson is doing a good job with the Mets. The Mets organizational pitching depth seems quite strong and he deserves props for that.  But, his comment on Young is baffling.   Couldn’t they have shot a tad higher?  What use does a .240, 15 HRs free agent have?

Its remarks like this one that help feed into the LOLmets meme that is so prevalent among fans and commentators.

Random Thoughts After Late Night

Ugh. I feel asleep around midnight. Overall, Mets young pitching is encouraging (I thought Collins should have left Montero in longer) but C Young is an albatross. I know it sounds convenient to suggest this now but I had a feeling C Young might drop one someday. Watching him catch routine fly balls earlier this season I noticed his method was…rather lacking. He has a bad habit of dropping his hands when he snags the ball. The ball should be met a higher point, I think.

Bobby Abreu doesn’t bother me. His at bat with the bases loaded last night did make me sick though. Nevertheless, I think before too long he’s gonna come up with a few hopefully memorable, big hits.

Bookmaking

My employer sent me to Las Vegas this week for a conference. I know what you’re thinking, “Don’t those people know how dangerous an idea that is?” Well, apparently not. Being here has given me ideas.

For example, I noticed the current odds on Mets winning NL are 40/1. I’m thinking about putting down $100. But I calculated the return would be $4,000 bucks. Given what we know about this team that return should be higher – don’t ya think?

Down but Not Out

Did anyone else see the stat that says the Mets have nine comeback wins, which are most in the National League? This gives me a lot of hope for the 2014 season because a very unscientific observation of mine is, “Good baseball teams comeback.”

Then again I also thought Omar Minaya was doing an ok job as GM.

Good Times

One of my new favorite things to do (especially at work where I am constantly looking for reasons to ignore my actual duties) is to chide my Nats fans friends about the Mets being ahead of the Nats in the standings. It’s easy to find Nats fans when you live and work in DC. Anyways, starting Monday I hope I’ll be able to continue this pastime, which come to think of it I only started on Wednesay or Thursday.

 

A.G.

I still love the Mets.  And I suspect the Mets on the field are going to start being easier to love now that the multi-year phase Sandy Alderson recently dubbed the “gestation period” is coming to an end.

Even though the team is still several players away from contending for the post-season, it’s a nice feeling to be optimistic about the team’s short-term and future potential.

Like a lot of other people, I’m starting to get the feeling the Mets could become contenders with a couple of offensive additions and a few tweaks and/or minor league promotions to the pitching staff.

Carpeting

I’ve come to the realization all the work I’m doing is to one day be able to afford a quiet room, with this carpeting, a comfortable chair, and a high-end television to watch sports, Dr. Who, Breaking Bad, and classic movies.