Not much.
The Mets meandered their way to the West Coast, as I had, playing below me (in San Diego) and above me (in Seattle) while I attended to business in San Francisco. I caught up with them when I could, but it was an inning here and an inning there. I couldn’t attend to their doings properly until I got home Saturday night, and then I wished I hadn’t — they played the kind of dull, listless baseball one would expect from a mediocre team spinning its wheels.
On Sunday Seth Lugo was bad, Neil Walker couldn’t field, nobody could hit, and newcomer A.J. Ramos had a crummy debut. If you want more go here, but why would you want more? It doesn’t matter. No scores matter until some undetermined date in the future. You’ll know when we’ve reached that date, trust us.
Ramos’s arrival, lackluster though it was, at least represented progress — he’s an actual part of an actual plan for next year. Same with the departure of Lucas Duda, whom I was glad to see go because he was out of tomorrows here, but sad to see go because I enjoyed many of his yesterdays. Simultaneously good-humored and laconic, Duda offered no complaints about being yo-yo’ed between corner outfield spots, worked hard to become a pretty serviceable first baseman, and it was a lot of fun when he connected.
And another shoe should drop soon: Addison Reed has most likely thrown his last inning as a Met, headed elsewhere before the Mets resume business in Colorado on Tuesday. Hopefully the price for his services will be something of future consequence.
If that’s it, the Mets will still have too much deadwood — trade talk is cool around Walker, Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera. And that’s where I get annoyed. If those guys are still here in August I’ll root for them because they’re Mets and I want the Mets to win, but that’s about all the engagement I’ll be able to muster. When the score of a Mets game matters again, those players (with Bruce a possible exception) will probably be wearing other uniforms — or on the golf course.
Want me to care about what’s left of the 2017 Mets? Then show me Amed Rosario and Dom Smith already. Give me a glimpse of the future I need to know is out there — even if that comes with a bumpy present.
That sneak preview should have come in June, when it was apparent to even the most besotted orange-and-blue observer that the 2017 campaign was lost. I’m tired of vague reasons it’s been delayed — just as I’m tired of watching lame-duck Mets trudge through interchangeable, meaningless games. Or not watching them do that, as was the case for most of the last week.
Give me a reason to care — and to hope, and to dream a little. Is that too much to ask?
I’ve decided Neil Walker must really like being a Met. He’s sure playing like he wants to make himself untradeable.
Today may be interesting but unfortunately it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of demand for our spare parts. I just hope we don’t trade Reed just to trade him. After the way our bullpen has pitched this year I’m perfectly happy to sign him for a 2-3 year deal this winter and go into next year with Reed-Ramos-Familia for innings 7-9.
Edgin DFA’d? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for Ramos to not report until Tuesday and maybe keep him? I suppose there may be a trade in the works.
The way Hernandez was talking about Walker’s possibly related back and hamstring problems made it sound like Walker may be playing on his last major-league contract right now.
Cabrera looks like he wants to stay too.
As banged up as he is I’ll be surprised if he’s gone as of game time tomorrow.
Funny when I heard the news about the Ramos trade I was almost glad the mets were able to move cespedes. Then I realized it was *that* cespedes!
Hopefully this planned change of conditioning routine will make yo into a less fragile divo! (Yes, Barwis and Ramirez for…geez a couple of bright sports med grad students!)
Sad to see reed go. Hopefully the haul proves good…and that he doesn’t perform so well as to become too expensive to bring back in ’18.
Last ditch reprieve request to Governor Sandy:
Don’t trade Reed. He and Conforto have been the two lights in the coal mine of 2017.
Yes. Time for Rosario. How can it not be ?
Trade Barwis and Ramirez for “prospects”.
Must trade Bruce–I know many dream of him “remaining a Met” but front office will never pay him after mortgaging future on Cespedes. But power hitters in such abundance can’t seem to get much of anything for him–and another reason not to expect they will sign him. All the other trade prospects also need to go but I fear Sandy has been too slow and now it will be too late, beyond Reed.
Also, why DFA Edgin who like Ramos IS signed for next year–and has pitched well considering massively overworked early.
Call me easily swayed, but a few weeks ago, Greg made a good argument that it didn’t matter if they brought up Rosario now or later. Now I’m on Team Now, if for no other reason than to give us something to watch. Seen enough Reyes. Cabrera isn’t going to show me anything I haven’t seen him do. Neither will be here next year. The 2017 Mets already reached the “what have we got to lose?” stage a while ago. Just do it.
Reed trade looks like exactly the type of thing they needed to do…stockpile young arms. For 2 months of Reed, considering a solid closer doesn’t come in very handy when you’re losing, seems like a good haul. Nice job, Sandy.
Regarding Rosario, later is now. I understood not calling up the primed prospects until the trade deadline passed. That’s today.
I want Smith and Rosario up now to experience a month of reps of pre-September MLB baseball.
Rosario now has 19 errors in 2017. I know Vegas is supposed to be a tough field, maybe some of these are ticky-tack scorekeeping, I admit I’ve never actually seen him play live, and maybe the team is working with him to adjust in-game footwork or throwing or something. But that’s still…a whole lot of errors? His bat certainly looks MLB ready, and I’d also rather see what he and Smith can do rather than watch veterans who won’t be here next year play out the string, but maybe his fielding really is an issue that the organization is trying to address before dropping him into the spotlight.
There’s not much of a spotlight on the Mets anymore. They basically have 1 reliable starting pitcher right now, even if he is a legit ace.
Plus, it’s been a long time since Ordonez and young Reyes played SS for the Mets. The recent high bar for SS play is Tejada and Cabrera last year. So, Rosario doesn’t need us to dazzle us with his glove.
The Mets can send along his fielding coach from Las Vegas, plus Rosario can be tutored by Reyes and/or Cabrera, who are skilled heady defensive SSs who just no longer have the youthful physical tools they once had.
I’m not a Mets fan who roots against the Yankees, but for those who do, it doesn’t hurt that Reed is on the Red Sox. On the other hand, I hope the Mets bring him back, which would be helped by Reed failing with the Red Sox.
I’d like to see Reed come back next year, but in the interim, it would be swell if he could help hasten Elmination Day.
To a lesser extent, Duda with the Devil Rays helps that, too. I’m curious to see how Duda, given his personality, plays with a small-market team.
Matt – I wouldn’t put too much weight on the number of errors…scouts say he is, as they say, a plus defender already. That said, the one time I saw him live on Coney Island, first batter up hit the ball right to him, went right through the wickets. Let’s just do this, even if it means DFA time for Reyes…or perhaps that HBP yesterday is, uh, a season-ending injury.
Totally. But I agree with Eric, too. I think it made sense for him and for the organization to wait until after the trade deadline.
I was about to write that it would be telling to see if they continued waiting on a waiver wire trade for Cabrera before calling him up. But then news just broke that he will be with the Mets tomorrow. I think Alderson has handled everything well.
Billy Beane made a big trade with the Yankees. It would be lovely to think that Brian Cashman is as stupid as Steve Phillips was all those years that Beane hosed him, but I’m not that optimistic.
It shows that I’m not a wonkish Mets fan that I didn’t know Amed Rosario is the top prospect in baseball. That’s a heavy burden of expectation even with the Mets out of the race this season. No wonder Alderson has taken greater care with his call-up than with, say, Cecchini and Reynolds. I thought Rosario was closer to, if better than a Dilson Herrera level prospect.
With Rosario planted at SS, I’m curious who’ll be the odd man out among Cabrera, Walker, and Reyes. Not to mention how Flores will be impacted with less playing time available at 3B and 2B when Smith comes up and takes over 1B.
Best of luck to our newest Met, Rosario. Let’s hope it’s the beginning of great things for the kid. I personally hope that Rosario’s promotion comes at Jose’s expense, as IMO it’s time to start phasing Reyes out of the picture, as he has no place in the future of this team. His recent “warm spell” aside, they wrung everything they could get out of him, he served his purpose, now it’s time to get younger and move on.
Reason to care, hope, dream, and most of all BELIEVE?
You’re a Mets fan.
I hope Duda and Reed have good days against the Yankees. Baseball is a business, even if it’s not to us.
Here is a good reason to watch the last out of the last game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1PNt5iktGE