There Is No Replacement For Jose Reyes Tweet This Post
There is an interesting juxtaposition among Mets fans that talk about things like trading Wright or letting Reyes walk. The same people that justify this with statements about not competing for years and being in rebuilding mode seem offended that some (I’d say many) Mets fans suggest they’ll be much less interested in the Mets if Reyes leaves.
There’s always a lot of comparison, as well as attempts to avoid comparison, to the Yankees with the Mets. They share a city and compete for the same entertainment dollar. The common rhetoric among Mets fans is that the Yankees fans are front-running morons that only care about yelling about how many rings they’ve won and that Mets fans are truer fans that love the team, good or bad. If a vastly diverse group of millions of Mets fans can agree on anything, it’s that Jose Reyes is a talented baseball player that’s fun to watch. At what point does it stop being about watching your favorite players play your favorite game and start becoming about being a consistent winner?
What is baseball without the season, with the ups and downs of a 162 game scheduled filled with bad breaks and huge hits and the ebbs and flows of stress and emotion? I don’t follow the Mets for optimal lineup constructions and high-value controlled commodities. I watch the Mets because I love baseball and I’ve formed an attachment to the players that have worn the uniform year after year. Jose Reyes is one of those players. He’s a life-long Met and it’s hard to imagine him anywhere else. The Mets have other good players, but there is something special about Jose Reyes and his fun-loving attitude. Perhaps it’s the way he seems to love playing the game as much as we love watching him play it.
Sure it’s possible to make arguments about injury risks and long contracts that suggest perhaps giving Reyes too much money or too many years may be detrimental to the long term success of the franchise, but frankly I’d rather take my chances with Reyes. Those risks exist with every player in every circumstance, and if you’re not going to take a chance with a fan-favorite and top of the line player at a sparse position, what are you even doing? Reyes is already bordering on legendary Mets status, and that’s not something that comes along every day. Mike Piazza came here when he was great, Dwight Gooden left in 1994 and Darryl Strawberry before him. Ignoring that there is long-term financial value to having legends to invite back to Citi Field in the future, do we really want to let one walk away for what’s some kind of ’smart process of value contracts and prospect development’? A couple more years and the Mets record book will be Jose Reyes’ biography, with a guest appearance by David Wright.
The Mets have struggled for years now with collapses followed by injuries followed by just about everything else. Now you want to take the most exciting player on the team away too? While I’ll always be a Mets fan, there comes a point when it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s easy to say that we need things to stabilize, for bad contracts to work their way off the payroll and for prospects to mature and contribute at the fraction of the cost, but in the meantime other teams are playing baseball and competing for the postseason and doing all sorts of wonderful things. Taking seasons off is not the way to build a perennial contender. Every year the Mets spend in rebuilding mode, defined by me as letting Reyes go and not replacing him with at least as much talent, is a year that customers find other ways to spend their entertainment dollar. Some will go to the Yankees, some will switch to other sports. Some will stop watching with their kids who will spend more time on video games, movies, or something else entirely. Husbands will take their wives out to a nice dinner instead of to Citi Field, because maybe without Reyes, and winning, they don’t feel it’s worth the traffic and the rushing home from work.
Building a winner will eventually repair the damage, but even if you could guarantee repeated success it takes time to rebuild a fan base. The Yankees had a healthy amount of fans show up, but even in 2000 they were 8th in total attendance. The difference was that payrolls hadn’t yet skyrocketed to the levels they are at now. The Yankees payroll in 2000 would be the 13th highest payroll in 2011. It was still possible for teams to maintain a rebuilding payroll and keep some talented stars while keeping revenues at or above payroll. The way I see it, the Mets can’t easily get their payroll down that low, so they need to work on keeping revenues up. Reyes can’t do it all by himself, but coupled with the right moves he could be the difference between the Mets raising attendance to 2.6 million or it dropping to 1.7. Just in ticket prices alone, a swing like that more than pays Reyes salary per year. Factor in revenue associated with advertising prices based on TV ratings and fans in the seats viewing them on the walls and it’s an even starker difference. I find it hard to believe that having Jose Reyes playing baseball in New York can’t be profitable, and it’s certainly possible, even likely, that Jose Reyes can be a part of the success even four years from now.
There is never a guarantee that smart moves focused on the long term will lead to continued success. There is no formula Sandy Alderson can follow that means the Mets will definitely be a perennial contender in 2014 and beyond. Prospects, even highly touted ones, hurt themselves or flame out. Free agent acquisitions that look like can’t misses age badly or under perform in a new environment. Other teams in the division and/or league do a better job, or get luckier, in scouting and signing players and suddenly no one knows what the solution is for out-performing them. It’s not hard to get into a cycle of suck like the Pittsburgh Pirates, constantly looking for All-Star prospects that maybe have a good year or two and than take off for greener pastures while the team struggles to even play at .500. The best you can do is put yourself in a situation every year where the right set of circumstances gets you into the playoffs. For the Mets that means keeping Jose Reyes. It probably also means hoping Johan Santana stays on the field and is still pretty good at pitching, and that other players stay healthy as well. It may be a long shot, but if you don’t keep yourself in the game you often miss opportunities.
I was at the game this year when Jose Reyes felt that first hamstring tightness and left the game. It was a packed house for a Subway Series game, and Tejada jogging out to shortstop was like a punch in the gut. I watched the rest of the game in a daze, barely caring about the result. Reyes had such a great first half that there were road games in May that I was reminding myself to make sure I turned the game on in time, because Reyes would lead off and I might miss something special. There are reasons to watch bad teams because even bad or average players hit for cycles, throw pitching gems, and smash home runs. They can stage remarkable comebacks and rock opposing aces and there’s always the looming possibility that someone will throw that no-hitter. Without Jose Reyes the chances of something magical happening go down.
Faith and Fear in Flushing, in an awards presentation to Jose Reyes, makes similar points and sums up my feelings pretty well in this quote.
except for habit and a lifetime of devotion, I can’t think of a good, rational reason to get squarely behind this team if you’re not on it.
Tags: Baseball, how to rebuild, Jose Reyes, jose reyes is awesome, jose reyes' replacement, major league baseball, mets payroll, mets reyes, New York Mets, please stay jose, re-sign reyes, rebuilding, reyes, rooting for the mets, watching baseball
A Week Later: Hopeful for the 2012 Mets Tweet This Post
No Met has made an error, hit a home run, or struck out looking in over a week. With a week of the offseason under my belt to let the highs and lows of emotion mellow out with time, it’s time to take a closer look at what transpired in 2011 and what hope there is for 2012.
The team played harder than was expected. They didn’t give in, whether because of a tough loss, a rough week, or a poor start to a game. They’d battle back late in games, and bounce back from a tough loss with a solid win. There were plenty of times late in the season where they did seem to be going through the motions a little bit, but they seemed to bounce back from that as well. Hopefully 2012 avoids any long periods of being out of it and prevents the team from getting complacent.
The bullpen, while successful for some stretches of times, was mostly a failure. Part of this was the trade of Francisco Rodriguez, part of it was the depression of Taylor Buchholz. Part had to do with the starters rarely giving length, as was the main problem in April. The Mets are aware of this problem, and with some good scouting and analysis, there are relievers out there that you can get for reasonable prices. I would expect at least 2-3 new faces in the pen to compliment the ones that stay. The Mets lost a lot of games late last year, and strengthening the pen will go a long way in 2012.
The starting rotation is what’s going to be the big deal in 2012. This is what’s going to make or break the team as a contender. Niese and Dickey are locks. Mike Pelfrey is also pretty much a lock, although he does become a trade candidate as well. I wouldn’t be against keeping Capuano, but I suspect he’s priced himself out of what the Mets want to pay him. Johan Santana is supposed to be ready to go as normal during Spring Training, but I’d put the certainty of that at somewhere around 75%, and that may be optimistic. Right now he’s penciled in, and it won’t be until February before we know if he’ll be able to progress normally towards an Opening Day start. Therefore the Mets need a backup plan. Adding Santana would certainly help, but it’s likely the Mets need to upgrade further. Finding another quality starter and reassigning Dillon Gee to be depth for Santana could be the way to go. However, Dillon Gee may have earned a major league job. If the Mets can get to the regular season with a healthy Santana, and everyone else, having to send Gee to the minors to start the season would be a nice problem to have. From there they could reexplore trading Mike Pelfrey. Other teams will deal with injuries, and many teams could make good use of a guy that will throw 200 innings of slightly above league average value pretty consistently.
Then there is the offense. The offense was very good last year, despite few home runs and a lot of injuries. 2012′s hinges on Reyes staying, but if he does the Mets offense again looks to be very potent. The biggest concern would be if Pagan can shake off the bad defensive year, and if Duda can take a step forward out in RF. Thole needs to improve as well, and there’s something to be said for having a veteran right-handed catcher to work with him. The Mets are discussing moving the walls in a bit in right and left, which will probably help the home run numbers, although they may shrink the gaps a little bit. It looks like the Mets should still have a top-flight offense next year, capable of dealing damage to opposing pitchers.
The Mets could be competitive next year. A lot hinges on Reyes re-signing and Johan turning up healthy. The Mets do need to revamp the bullpen, sign another starter, and address the bench, but those are all reasonable expectations. It’ll be an interesting offseason, and hopefully it will be a launching pad for a good season to come.
Tags: 2011 mets, 2012 mets, Baseball, Jose Reyes, mets bullpen, mets offense, mets rotation, New York Mets, re-sign reyes, resign reyes
Baseball’s Over, Time For Vegas Tweet This Post
Disclaimer: I’ve truly left for the airport. If the Mets do something crazy like play a 20 inning final game and are still playing at the time I’ve scheduled this, read this tomorrow.
I find it somewhat poetic that as the Mets threw the last pitch of their 2011 season I was arriving at JFK to board a flight to Las Vegas to gamble and drink the sorrows of the season away. Last year I got married within a week of the end of the season and went on my honeymoon shortly after. When I got back to paying attention to the Mets Omar and Jerry were gone and the Phillies and Yankees had been eliminated from the playoffs.
I’ll still be posting some, mostly scheduled stuff, but here’s what I want to happen while I’m gone. The Phillies and Yankees are bounced in the first round and I can enjoy the rest of the playoffs when I get back from vacation. Dan Warthen has been let go, in favor of someone that’s going to be better. The Mets have worked out a deal with Jose Reyes, and he’ll remain a Met for a long time. Johan Santana has pitched some in winter ball and has no set backs.
This probably all won’t come to be, but one can dream. After I’m in Vegas I’ll be in San Diego for a couple of days. It’ll be my third trip to that city and I have yet to see a game at Petco Park. I’ve toured it though, and it’s a great place. Look for randomly tweeted pictures from around Petco next week during the day. I’ll return the following weekend for a bachelor party, a wedding, and my own anniversary before diving back into baseball. It’s going to be an interesting offseason for the New York Mets this year.
Tags: 2012 mets, Baseball, las vegas, Mets, mets offseason, petco park, san diego
Only Two Games: Enjoy Them Tweet This Post
There are only two Mets games left on the season. Tune in and watch or listen to them. There are only two and we’ll be missing the Mets before you know it. The DVR’d episode of How I Met Your Mother will wait.
Watch Jose Reyes compete for a batting title. See some of the young guys make a case for inclusion on the 2012 team. Nick Evans looks like he’s got a better than fair shot at making the team next year. Jason Pridie is finish strong, perhaps making a case as the 4th outfielder.
It’s not a given that Reyes returns. This could be his last two games. Last night could’ve been the last time David Wright will have driven in Jose Reyes. If you make it out to Citi Field, make sure to give him a big hand.
It’s a long way to April 5th. There will be a lot of unpleasant stories. A lot of “The Mets can’t do that” and “The Mets can’t afford that” type stories. They’re starting already, but at least we have two games left to enjoy before all the rumor and speculation.
Let’s Go Mets!
Tags: 2011 mets, 2012 mets, Baseball, batting race, Citi Field, David Wright, jason pridie, Jose Reyes, Mets, mets games, New York Mets, nick evans, nl batting race, nl batting title
2011 Mets fading into the Sunset Tweet This Post
The local football teams played Sunday night, marking the beginning of the end of baseball. With the Mets eliminated from the NL East and almost eliminated from the Wild Card race, Mets related traffic and discussion has slowed to a crawl outside of the die-hard in Metsopotamia.
But we’re going to miss them when they’re gone. The New York Mets now have as many games remaining as the New York Giants; another sign of the end. Time is ticking down, the Mets are playing poor, sloppy and uninspired baseball and even Reyes isn’t hitting like he was for most of the rest of the season.
As much as it’s not much fun to watch lately, I’m going to watch. You never know when something crazy will happen, and this team probably still has a couple of fun wins in them. I’m going out to Citi Field tonight for Star Wars night, which should be interesting at least.
Much thanks to the Mets for including Optimistic Mets Fan in the final issue of Mets Magazine. It’s very cool to see this blog in the Mets program. If you happen to buy the final issue of the season, flip over to page 153 and check it out. Then turn to page 154 for Faith and Fear in Flushing‘s entry. I love that there is a Spanish translation as well, although anyone that needs it isn’t going to find the site too readable. Maybe I need a ‘translate to Spanish’ widget for Fanáticos Optimista de los Mets?
Tags: 2011 mets, Baseball, football, Mets, mets fading, mets megazine, mets optimism, new york football giants, New York Giants, New York Mets, optimistic mets fan
Links From Metsopotamia Tweet This Post
Shannon at Metspolice notices a decrease in Mets related traffic and twittering and ponders if anyone’s still here. Well, I am. It’s still baseball, it’s still the Mets, it’s still Citi Field. I’m going to at least two more games this year. I’m going to enjoy watching Duda seem to become a serious major league slugger, watching Reyes and Wright be Reyes and Wright, and looking for signs from guys like Bay, Pagan, Thole, Parnell, etc to see what we can do about next year. You know you’re going to spend all offseason yelling about some of these guys, at least be informed and see how they finish the season with your own eyes.
Kerel of On The Black discusses Google Plus (add me to your circle if you like) and how well it worked for his weekly Mets chat with Dave Doyle of Mets Report.
Randy at The Apple says a humorous goodbye to the err, umm.. *pickastadiumname* the Marlins play in.
In a fanpost at Amazin’ Avenue, nerfan breaks down the top 10 completely wrong arguments about the Mets. Also known as ‘debunking sports radio’.
The Dilemma ofMeaningless West Coast Baseball Tweet This Post
The Mets are on the west coast to play the San Diego Padres and tonight and tomorrow the game doesn’t start until after 10. I’m not usually one to complain about this; normally I like the quiet nights when everything else has been done for the day and there is nothing left to do but sacrifice sleep to the Mets.
But this Mets team is out of the playoffs. The Padres are out of the playoffs. These games have almost no meaning and the Mets are missing some of their most watchable stars to injuries. Additionally it’s early enough that I don’t feel the panic of “Pretty soon there will be no more baseball games, so I better savor every one” that comes mid-September. There are still over a month worth of games to watch and they’ll happen at much better hours of the day and the Mets aren’t even playing well right now.
So while baseball, particularly Mets baseball, is always worth watching, if there was a game or series to skip and get other things done, it’s this one.
Tags: 2011 mets, Baseball, late starts, meaningless games, Mets, mets on the west coast, mets west coast trip, New York Mets, watchable games, watching the mets
Get Me Fernando Martinez Tweet This Post
Photo by Michael Baron
It’s not like we’re expecting Mike Baxter, Nick Evans, or Scott Hairston to be the solution in right field, so why not bring up our oft-injured forgotten prospect Fernando Martinez? He’s back from his latest injury, is already on the 40-man roster, and has already had his option burned for this year. He’s 11/36 with 2 walks, 1 HR and 5 doubles since returning to Buffalo.
I had wondered if he may be out of options. The rule is a little confusing, but it seems to state that a player is on optional assignment in any year that he is on the 40 man roster but spends 20 or more days in the minors. This would apply to 2011,2010, and 2009 for Martinez. A player may be optioned a fourth season if he has less than five years of professional experience. Martinez first year of pro ball was in 2006 at 17 with three different Mets minor league teams, which would give him six years of experience, so it seems like he cannot be optioned next year. A little digging seems to find an interview with Paul DePodesta saying he does have another option for next year, so it’s probably not D-Day for him yet. It looks like him being injured in the majors in 2009 prevented it from counting as an option year. If you’re curious about which players do and do not have options, there appears to be a handy little list right here by tpgmets.
Still, it’s growing close and 2012 will be the last season you can easily bring him up and down. Obviously the biggest concern is injuries keeping him from getting full seasons of plate appearances in the minors. He’s never played 100 games in a season, although if he doesn’t have another injury this season he will. He can prove he’s healthy just as easily in the majors as in the minors, and it seems like giving him the opportunity to prove he’s ready is pretty much win-win for the Mets.
Trading him is certainly an option too, but he’s had DL stints this year and hasn’t exactly destroyed AAA although his .766 OPS isn’t bad either. You’d basically be trading low, given his history, unless he shows you something through the rest of the season. The best way for that to happen is for him to show it at the major league level where it has the most clout. If he can hit major league pitching over the next six weeks in the majors, it only increases his value and the options Alderson will have regarding him.
As the Mets injuries pile up and they continue to prove they’re not going to make a significant break with .500 and legitimately chase the Braves, it seems like it’s in everyone’s best interest to promote Fernando Martinez to the big club. At this point I’d suggest just releasing Willie Harris, who isn’t very good and isn’t part of a solution.
Tags: 2012 mets, Baseball, fernando martinez, fernando martinez options, Mets, mets 2012 outfield, mets outfield, mets outfielders, mlb options, New York Mets, options
Redirecting the Optimism Tweet This Post
I don’t quite want to eulogize the Mets just yet. While the chances of making the playoffs just went on the DL with little hope of returning this season, there is still baseball that’s being played, and out of the playoffs is not the same as no longer playing. There will be plenty of time to deconstruct and over-analyze 2011 in the offseason, while we’re rooting against all those evil teams that made the playoffs.
So where do we direct that optimism that failed us in 2011? For starters, the rookies and prospects that will get some extra time will go a long way towards being able to make informed decisions about the 2012 roster. How feasible is Lucas Duda going to be? Has Josh Thole rebounded from a poor beginning to the point that we don’t need to look at other options? There are enough guys that will get some playing time to have a lot of options for the future.
The other place to direct the optimism is at the teams we hate. The Phillies, despite the pitching, tend to look like they can be had if the opposing team’s pitching is on. Given that they may have to face the Giants and the Braves, they certainly could be looking at an early exit from the playoffs if they hit a hot pitcher in a short series. The Yankees look more well rounded than the Phillies, but they also seem to lack a certain depth that may leave them exposed if everything is not clicking when they reach the playoffs.
Personally I’m rooting for Carlos Beltran and the Giants over the Red Sox in the World Series.
Tags: 2011 mets, 2011 mlb season, Baseball, Mets, mets optimism, mets prospects, mlb, New York Mets, optimism
Random Stuff About the Mets Tweet This Post
This is from last week. Why is there a phantom NYY on the out of town scoreboard?
There are plenty of parts of Citi Field that remind me of Shea Stadium. Being able to watch fans wind their way into or out of the stadium is one of them.
I always love taking random shots of things and areas around the stadium. Citi Field doesn’t create standing pools of water like Shea did, but here’s a part that does accumulate some water.
Tags: Baseball, bill gallo, Citi Field, citi field rain, Mets, mlb, New York Mets, Shea Stadium