Let’s see what we’ve got in the outfield:
Cespedes in left. Lagares in center. Granderson in right.
No, Conforto in left. Cespedes in center. Granderson in right.
Wait, Cespedes doesn’t want to play center. As dinged up as he’s been, and given how important it is to keep him in the lineup, it’s probably best to accede to his wishes.
Though he’s supposed to be in center tonight. But not much more after tonight.
Cespedes has such a great arm. He showed it off Monday night. It’s a perfect right fielder’s arm. But he wants to play left, where he’s really good…though he made a bonehead play there in the same game that he made the great throw.
He tends to make those bonehead plays in center.
So Cespedes is in left. Which is where Conforto played before being sent down. He wasn’t great at it, but it was the position he knew how to play best.
Like with Cespedes, we’re mostly concerned that Conforto hits. He hit in Vegas. He hit to the opposite field in the Mets’ last-chance, mostly useless ninth-inning rally just before the Mets lost Monday night’s mostly useless game to the Cubs. That was useful to see. Along with Cespedes’s early throw to nail a runner at home, and Flores’s homer, Conforto showing he had honed his approach while at Triple-A represented the highlight of the game.
We shouldn’t overlook Lugo’s solid relief, either, though when you identify “Lugo’s solid relief” as a highlight, it’s probably a bad sign for the night overall. No offense to Seth Lugo, but I actually forgot he was on the active roster.
Anyway, can Conforto play center? Can he play right? He played a little right in Vegas, didn’t he?
What about Granderson? Granderson used to be a center fielder. As is, he’s a really good right fielder, except for throwing. He throws like a barely adequate left fielder, which is the opposite of Cespedes, who’s primarily a left fielder, who throws like a really terrific right fielder. He throws well from center, too, but he’d rather not play center.
Conforto’s not a center fielder, but he might be.
Which leaves Lagares where again? Lagares was the best defensive center fielder the Mets ever had for a couple of years, then not much of anything offensively or defensively last year when he was hurt, lately better at both, even though he’s been battling his own injuries.
Lagares should be in center most of the time. Unless you can convince Cespedes to go back there. Or get Conforto used to it. Or get Granderson over there from time to time. Or make room for Nimmo.
Oh wait, Nimmo is back in Vegas. Lugo is here, Nimmo isn’t. Nimmo will be back soon, I imagine, though where he’ll play doesn’t seem obvious.
Same could be said for Flores, who hits when he starts, which isn’t often. Wasn’t there some talk at some point of trying Flores in the outfield? That ended quickly.
Come to think of it, didn’t they say something similar about Reyes, that he was going to play some third, some short, some second, some center, even though all he had ever played was short and a bit of misguided second a long time ago? Reyes somehow became the everyday third baseman at the same instant Flores became red hot.
Reyes has played a pretty good third base, but the leadoff catalyst element of his game has been a work in progress. Then again, neither Granderson nor Lagares nor Nimmo, albeit in a small sample size, was setting the top of the order on fire.
So Reyes isn’t playing the outfield, which is OK, since he’s not an outfielder and we have plenty of outfielders, but it seems to cramp Flores’s playing time. Flores isn’t an outfielder. He was a shortstop most of last year who was moved to third this year when Wright got hurt, and he occasionally plays first, but not much, because we have Loney. Plus Walker and Cabrera, who play Flores’s other positions, never sit. Walker, I heard, could play some third, but he hasn’t yet. Also, Johnson can play everywhere but never plays anywhere anymore.
That’s Kelly Johnson, in case you’d lost track of him. I have to admit I did. I saw “Johnson” was pinch-hitting last night, and for a moment I wondered who Johnson was.
Johnson didn’t get a hit. The Mets got only six hits. One of them was Flores’s home run, which came with nobody on. The Mets lost, 5-1. They have lots of potential outfielders. They could use more actual hitters.
Have to wonder what Sandy was thinking, on day Cespedes says he doesn’t want to play CF, that he sends down guy who has played CF, Nimmo, and brings back Conforto, who does not. And then we hear they may try him out there. And Reyes too. This for a team that has to live or die with pitching–and defense.
Sandy’s other problem is this: He needed to start making moves for SP and RP a week ago, with Harvey out and Matz sure to struggle and bullpen depth still weak, to try to improve for wild card. He did not, and not in worse position. I predicted, and still predict, that actually he fears that by July 30 they may be heading so fast in wrong direction that actually they should be sellers, not buyers. But, of course, you get to that position by doing nothing further in July. So he is, as they say, “stuck in- between.”
They need to be looking at trading an outfielder for a pitcher. Probably one of Nimmo/Conforto/Lagares. And they can probably throw deAza in. But maybe a different approach. What about trading Granderson? Go with the slick fielding, OK-hitting guy in center and put one of the young guys in right?
Wow, I completely forgot about Alejandro De Aza.
I have no regrets.
Who’s De Aza? LOL
There’s just one thing Lou Costello wants to know about the outfield situation:
Why?
i have no prob with cespedes out of center field. he has been overmatched there on more than one occasion. left is his best outfield position, i think, although with his gun, it would be great to have him spell grandy in right.
i’m okay with lagares in the lineup more — i think his at bats have gotten better the more time he’s out there.
really, this comes down to wondering where to play conforto, and whether he is better in the lineup than granderson. it can’t be that hard to platoon four fielders in three positions, can it?
and i’ve totally forgotten about de aza, too.
Sandy has more than proved his acumen at this point. Nimmo was a nice story for a couple of weeks but is not nearly the threat at the plate a rejuvenated Conforto should be. And he proved last year that patience is preferable to haste when it comes to making mid season moves.
If we could just re-sign Kaz Matsui, all the positions should then fall into place :)
But seriously, folks, if Cespedes could (would) play RF, that is the position he was born to play. Conforto/Legares/Ces would appear to be the ideal setup. Not sure who to trade, as they may be needed next year.
If Flores is in the plans for next year, by default (would have to be), then do not trade him, as there will be a next year, won’t there?
You’re not the only ones who’ve forgotten about DeAza. His name was not mentioned once in all the pregame/postgame discussion of possible outfield configurations. Not by any broadcaster nor TC either.
And for a brief time this winter, he was our sort-of platoon starting center fielder or something.
It’s amazing how one guy, whom we’ll call The Catalyst (although he’s been anything but), has cost two people so much playing time.
Because of The Catalyst, the MLB Leading Home Run Hitter in July (not a typo) can’t get in this lineup. A valuable bench guy from last year hasn’t played in like a month, it seems.
And, yes, my reaction too..Lugo’s still here??
Of course, I’ve been thinking that about De Aza since early May. I think De Aza is Dominican for “nine lives”.
Reyes, even while playing through some rust has already been a pretty clear upgrade over Wilmer. All due respect to Wilmer and his streaky bat, but he has zero speed, is mediocre defenstively, and hasn’t done enough to warrant every day playing time. I say all that even though I am a Flores fan….but I’m first and foremost a Mets fan. Reyes is an upgrade defensively, athletically, on the bases and probably even at the plate. Already there have been several games where he has been the whole offense, and he hasn’t even gotten in any kind of groove yet. I think this may prove to be yet another rabbit out of the hat move by the extremely underrated Sandy Alderson.
Greg-
Makes sense to me..
Whos on 1st?
Met Fan since Polo Grounds-1963
Lets Go Mets!
What do you put in your scorecard for an error by the TV booth?
During last night’s game, the great scoreboard in Wrigley Field was the subject of conversation between Gary Cohen and Ron Darling. They pointed out the detail that not all of the out of town games could be displayed on the scoreboard due to lack of space. Eventually, Gary mentioned that for the games which were posted, the numbers listed for the current pitchers (or prospective starters in later games) were not the actual uniform numbers found on the backs of those pitchers. They were, instead, numbers denoting where those pitchers’ names landed on their teams’ alphabetical listing of pitchers’ last names. The bottom line was that one had to buy a scorecard in order to decipher who was pitching.
Gary mentioned that at neither Shea Stadium nor Citi Field have the Mets EVER listed anything but the pitchers’ uniform numbers on the scoreboard. (He made no reference to the Polo Grounds.) However, that is not true. As a fan in the early days of Shea, and, more importantly, as a vendor there during the 1969-70 seasons, I know for a fact that the scoreboard did the same thing as Wrigley Field is currently doing — listed the pitchers’ numbers according to where their last name fell alphabetically on their respective teams’ rosters.
I don’t know how much extra cash I made by selling scorecards back then due to this procedure, but I would guess that once in a while someone bought a scorecard for just that reason. I don’t remember when that policy changed at Shea, but it was long before the old ballpark closed in 2008.
So, I guess its a big “E” for the broadcast booth.
That was surprising; if anything, I would guess Gary would think of that format first since it’s the one he grew up with from his General Admission perch in the Upper Deck. My first game at Shea was in 1973, and it was still the policy to sync the OOTS pitchers to their listings in the scorecard, not their uniform numbers. Since it was one of those things I wasn’t aware of until I came to the ballpark, I thought it was a great secret thing to be in on that those who were watching on television or listening on radio didn’t know about.
Tim is exactly right…that’s how I kept track of other teams’ pitchers when I was a kid. Kind of surprised Gary didn’t remember that.
I don’t know what I hate more…the DH or having to admit that the Mets would be much better off if the National League used the DH. I still think Wilmer is going to be a big time hitter, but will always be one position short of being a position player.
I agree. Maybe it’s time. It would certainly help the OF situation and enable them to play all four of Cespedes, Lagares, Granderson, and Conforto. Though Conforto looks like he’s still in that slump he left with a couple of weeks ago. He misses hard stuff inside and soft stuff away. I feel like he’s trying to jack every inside pitch out of the ballpark. What happened to him?
I really like Wilmer Flores (what Mets fan doesn’t?) but he appears to be the new Daniel Murphy – the man without a position. Murphy eventually found second base, but even as late as the World Series last year, he never looked truly comfortable there.
Flores seemed a serviceable fill-in for Wright, who may never play there again, and deserved a true tryout to become the permanent replacement for Wright, whether next year or in the near future. But aside from the sentimental affection for Flores, I can’t really say that Reyes has been any better or worse than Flores.
I just watched the Mets score the prototypical “Reyes run:” Jose legging out a triple, Granderson sacrificing him home. Flores wouldn’t have been able to do that; he has no real speed, would have been lucky to reach second on the same type of hit, and would never have been able to score on the sacrifice fly. Reyes has been just as serviceable as Flores at third, although without Wilmer’s upside potential in the future.
If you don’t play Flores at third, he’s limited to occasional guest appearances around the infield, as Cabrera and Walker are not going to be displaced. He’s dispensable, as are De Aza (please, any time now), and at least one of Loney/Johnson. A lot will depend on if/when Duda comes back; assuming he’s back before the trade deadline, my own preference would be to keep Johnson, who’s more versatile; otherwise, the Mets need Loney to man first most of the time.
As for the outfield, you have one superstar in Cespedes, who as long as he’s standing will always be playing. I don’t think switching him to right field in the middle of the season is wise; it might mess with his head and affect his hitting. Leave him in left if that’s where he wants to be. You are then left with some combination of Granderson, Conforto, Lagares and possibly Nimmo after the September call-ups. For now, leave Nimmo in Vegas and rotate the other three between center and right. I would not trade Curtis who I think is an important part of whatever chemistry the team has. If Cespedes needs a game or two off, you can naturally go with an outfield of Conforto, Lagares and Granderson from left to right, respectively. The Mets don’t need any experiments with either Flores or Reyes in the outfield just to get them playing time.
Most importantly, I think Terry needs to stop all the endless experimentation and shuffling, and let guys know what their roles are. Flores was fine with being a “super-sub” but now he has to be mystified about what he needs to do to break into the lineup. Decide between Flores and Reyes at third and let the other guy be the super utility guy. Give Cespedes a position and stick with it, and stop moving him between center and left. Make sure that Conforto, Granderson and Lagares all understand what the rotation is and that it will not change every day, barring injury/suspension/paternity leave and what have you.
In my observation, most teams that have a chance to win have players who will accept a somewhat limited role, as long as they know exactly what it is. It frees Terry up to worry about other things, like the starting and relief pitching and how he’s going to bring this ship into port without Harvey and with Matz and Thor fighting bone spurs. And even as I type this, Familia just walked the first two Cubs to lead off the ninth inning in a one-run game.
The Mets can resolve some of their dilemmas and they should solve the ones they can, because one thing is certain – others that we haven’t even thought of will be around the corner. The key to a winning season is which team or teams can solve them the best.
Mets should trade Granderson, acquire a right-handed OF, cut De-Aza, and call up Nimmo….this will enable them to go with an outfield of Cespedes in LF, Lagarus/Nimmo in CF and Conforto/right-handed complimenet in RF.
Granderson should have trade value to a potential contender, like Baltimore, and the Mets need to clear the way both in the short and long-term for Conforto, Lagarus and Nimmo to play.
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