Back up a truck.
—Giants manager Leo Durocher's player personnel report to owner Horace Stoneham, 1948
The Mets need a heart transplant, a new set of guts and a severe makeover. There are two trades that will never happen, probably couldn't happen, maybe shouldn't happen, but let's say they did.
1) The Mets send David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Tim Redding and Ramon Castro to Philadelphia for Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard.
2) The Mets send Carlos Delgado, Brian Schneider, John Maine, Brad Holt and Ike Davis to Toronto for Roy Halladay, Rod Barajas and Kevin Millar.
In concomitant moves, the Mets shift Daniel Murphy to third base, call up Fernando Martinez and have Oliver Perez and Bobby Parnell switch roles.
Our new starting lineup:
Rollins SS
Victorino CF
Sheffield/Martinez LF
Howard 1B
Millar/Church RF
Tatis/Murphy 3B
Barajas C
Castillo 2B
The bench would include Jeremy Reed, Omir Santos, Alex Cora and the platoon third baseman, leftfielder and rightfielder who aren't starting on a given day.
Rotation: Johan Santana, Roy Halladay, Mike Pelfrey, Bobby Parnell and Livan Hernandez (until Jon Niese merits replacing him)
Bullpen: Frankie Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, Oliver Perez, Sean Green, Brian Stokes and Pedro Feliciano (with Nelson Figueroa on speed dial should another arm be deemed necessary)
Why would the Phillies go for it? Castro gives them some catching depth, with Ruiz recently injured. Redding, once he heals, is another arm for a club that desperately needs arms. Those guys are deadwood on this team. Obviously it's the three bigger names that will make this happen, three players with a world of talent and a pretty impressive track record, all of whom have produced at Citizens Bank Park. Reyes is younger than Rollins. Beltran is a bigger power threat than Victorino. Wright sends Feliz to first to platoon with Dobbs, potentially making up for Howard. They still have a batting order with four legitimate all-stars, including Chase Utley. Wright and Reyes are still relatively inexpensive for a while. That franchise has already won a World Series. The can think long-term.
Why would the Blue Jays go for it? They're not going to stay in first place. They're probably not going to compete for the playoffs. Halladay's a free agent after 2010. It's unlikely they'll hold onto him. Carlos Delgado is going for 500 home runs. He was a big deal in Toronto and his milestone march where he established himself would create great goodwill. That's for the short term. Maine and the two prospects are for the longer term, understanding you have to give up a lot to obtain a Roy Halladay.
Why would the Mets go for it?
Why not?
All right, seriously, why not? Where are we going with the core we have? The core four, we can all agree, includes three of the most talented players in the National League plus an all-time power hitter with some legitimate pop left in his bat. But the Mets, it should be painfully apparent by now, aren't going anywhere as presently constituted. So why pretend anymore?
Rollins and Victorino are exactly the kind of players we're always crying out for, guys who talk the talk and walk the walk. Rollins isn't as fast or as dynamic as Reyes but he brings us similar dimensions, plus more power and maturity. Victorino is close enough defensively to Beltran and surely knows enough to slide. Wright, the face of this franchise, is becoming, no kidding, a frowny face. As productive as he's been, he may have peaked in New York. He's no longer draped in Teflon. Howard strikes out more than Wright (though not much more) yet he may possess the one power stroke in baseball that could thrive at Citi Field. We've already seen anybody can triple here, but he may be the only guy who can consistently homer here. We'll be down a little in overall power, but have you seen how this place plays?
Halladay is in Santana's class. The two of them, with a few runs behind them, give you a leg up in every series in which they pitch. You have Johan under contract, you get Roy under contract. Barajas for Schneider, I confess, is dog and cat. Millar, however, comes for much the same reason Victorino and Rollins do: fire, dirt, the whole bit we're always despairing we're missing. These are guys who play to win, not to simply get one more game crossed off the schedule. At this stage of Millar's career, that's almost his sole equity. It's a valuable one to have on this club.
As for the internal moves, if Fernando Martinez is going to be the future of this club (along with Ryan Howard), let's get him out there and see what he can do. You've got Sheffield for a year, so it's not all on the kid. Murphy needs to forget about left field. Eventually he becomes the everyday man at third. Until then, let him be spelled by Tatis, who deserves more at-bats and, more to the point, helps the club by playing, not sitting. Millar might not have much left, but let's maximize him and Church. Jeremy Reed should get some starts somewhere along the way as well. He and Tatis can add outfield depth should Martinez falter and need a brush-up in Buffalo or Sheffield go kaput (though his bat speed and eye still seem fine).
Santana and Halladay explain themselves. Pelfrey's too promising to trade, thus he stays over Maine if the Blue Jays want a pitcher. Parnell's too promising to waste in the bullpen; he was a starter his whole career 'til the end of last year. Perez is too risky in the rotation. He could be an incredible set-up man to Rodriguez in short spurts (Putz is only signed through this year and I can't believe he'll want to stay in an eighth-inning role). Like Castillo in the offseason, you simply can't move him, so you have to hope he finds himself and you have to help him find his way. With as much upside as this new rotation should have, let's carry one fewer pitcher in the pen and see what happens.
There. Done. New team. Grittier team. Less talented lineup but still capable (particularly in Citi Field) and probably way heartier — to say nothing of being able to throw two absolute aces every five days. You'd miss the guys you've grown to love, but there was a time you didn't love them. There was a time you'd never heard of them. You'd love a different brand of baseball, a winning brand of baseball, if it introduced itself to you, whoever was making the introductions. There was a time a couple of these new guys weren't your enemy. If they do for you what they've done to you, you'd grow to like them plenty.
These two trades are never going to happen. But let's say something like these trades were to happen. Seriously. How about it?
Don't wait on Omar to make this acquisition: Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or a bookstore near you. Keep in touch and join the discussion on Facebook.
Ummm…WOW!
This makes soooooooooo much sense, and yet…
I can't shake the thinking that if this out-there scenario actually were to happen, then anybody we'd get would drown in the organizational pool of suck: Rollins would morph into Alomar, Howard would become Eddie Murray, Victorino a drug-free Joe Foy and Halladay a latter-day Saberhagen.
I'm a Met fan: it's how I (J-)roll.
Honestly, this is really, really a bad idea. I mean, I'm guessing this is something of a joke, but seriously now- you're gonna trade Wright, Beltran, Reyes et. al for Phillies players that are older/worse, and not even get Utley in return?
i wouldn't do it, but that i'm thinking about it says a lot.
Would have to have Utley for it to even be acceptable, but..
I understand you're frustrated, but you are severely overrating these players, as well as the 'grit factor'.
This happens, Rollins puts up slightly above average numbers, but consistently less than Reyes does with his eyes closed (never mind in CBP). Howard sets another Major League record for K's, with less home runs year after year. Victorino has a decent first year, but quickly fades as his legs get a little slower, and we soon learn that when he doesn't quite have that explosive speed, his defense falters a bit too. Beltran wins gold glove after gold glove.
Seriously, if they made that trade with the Phillies, it'd be the 2002-2004 Mets all over again.
They'll sweep Philly this weekend. We've got a new hitting coach, called Citizen's Bank Ballpark and Chan Ho Park. Wright will put up more power numbers than April combined this weekend. You can take that to the bank.
Shoot, I'll take Utley and they can have the revivified Luis Castillo with my compliments. I'm just trying to keep this within the outer realm of remotely possible and I see no reason they'd give him up. They're not the ones who desperately need to shake up their core of young, talented players. We are.
Victorino's no Beltran, but he is younger. For what it's worth.
hope you're right, because if the sweep goes the other way, i think this chapter in mets history will come to a close.
Yeah, I dunno Greg. Beltran for Victorino? Gross!
Reyes is hitting way too many infield pop ups, Wright is striking out too much. But, both of those guys got off to very similar slow starts last April, and then were fantastic for the remainder of the year. They both can have their streaks, but they will both produce, and they’re both still young.
I’m sticking with my “It’s April” line. Come on, folks. Perez, Maine and Pelfrey all got off to slow starts, which has been a big part of the problem so far. They’re all young and Maine’s coming off surgery. Perez, I think, was hugely affected by his weird stint in the WBC and fragmented training this spring. That’s hardly an excuse, but it is what it is.
These losses have been frustrating to watch, but I kind of don’t understand why people are criticizing the team for not being pumped in April, when they really haven’t had anything to rally around yet. And, I really don’t understand calls to trade our stars or fire managers in April.
This note on Metsblog this morning blew my mind:
“Lastly, the following was sent to me by MetsBlog reader Derek R:
‘In the 11–month span of games from June 2007 through today, the Mets are 151-141. Take out a brief two month boost from new manager Jerry Manuel last season, and the Mets are 112-122.’”
What!?
So, let me understand. If you subtract the months when the Mets were doing awesome last year, and just look at the times when they were doing badly, then you’ll discover that Manuel is an awful manager and this team is crappy?
This is Manuel’s first full year running things, and I thought he did a fantastic job of holding the team together in August and September when everything was falling apart due to injuries. September 2008 was nothing like September 2007, I don’t care how many times people compare them. Manuel deserves a shot here, and so far, I think he’s doing all he can to help (openly pondering the benching or sending to the bullpen of Perez after his last game, moving Wright to the fifth spot the instant it was clear that he was cold and Beltran was hot. Continuing to juggle starts for Sheffield, Tatis, Murphy, Church, et al in a way that seems like it’s keeping everyone engaged and ready.) I mean, none of that stuff is as exciting as the hypothetical fire breathing a-hole a lot of folks seem to want in the dugout, but I think Manuel’s approach is best for the grueling marathon that is a baseball season. There’s still 141 games to play.
One other thing. I love my brother-in-law. I was best man at his wedding last year. But he and his wife are lifelong, unrepentant Yankees fans. And you know what unrepentant Yankees fans do? They talk shit about how awesome their team is even if they’re down by 10 games on September 1. It’s annoying as hell, and I’m not saying I want to be THAT way. But god, I still don’t understand why Mets fans are always so doom and gloom!
did mike francesa become a secret guest blogger? did i miss the blatant satire?
Ugh, this is in poor taste. The Mets, with roughly this current “core” have posted FOUR straight winning seasons. They've given us three straight years of edge-of-your-seat baseball in October. How many teams in baseball have posted four straight winning seasons? Only five (NYY, BOS, LAA, PHI, and the Mets). That's a good Core we have.
Do you not remember what it was like before the current Core? Do you not remember 2001-2004?
I'll take the over-.500, in-the-playoff-hunt core over any fantastical trade. These Mets, despite a rocky start and some bad luck, are currently a team built to make a run at the playoffs.
I'll take 89 wins every single year for the rest of my life. That's a fun season of baseball! How many times have the Mets won 89 or more games? Nine or ten times in over 40 years?
Maybe it's just because I'm a younger fan. I didn't get to exult in those 1984-1990 times. An 89-win season, to me, seems like a rare gem. Sure it was sad that they lost the last game, but just because it was the last game didn't make it any more meaningful than the 59th game.
“Heart” and “guts” and “grit” are all concepts made up by broadcasters who need to fill up three hours of airtime every night. I've never bought into it. A player is the sum of his stats. I'll take our stats against anyone else's.
-MJ
(not registered / rarely comments)
I have a better (and more realistic) idea. First, call Doc Brown and have him fire up the old Deloreon. Then go back to the year 1951 and kidnap both Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson. Having Robinson would surely make the Wilpons happy, and Mays would give you the Giants connection you've been campaigning for at the new park. Then, if you've got enough plutonium and room in the back of the Deloreon, travel to 1965 Los Angeles and scoop up Sandy Koufax. When you get back to New York, trade Sheffield, Castillo and Ollie Perez to the TECMO corporation for Video Bo Jackson and cash considerations. Use the cash to score more opium.
My office network does not like the site. I could walk downstairs and give Jason my comment in person quicker than I can post these days.
The larger point, I think – maybe this your larger point? – is that This Isn't Working. We have very few real clunkers on this team (hello, Ramon Castro). However, as an ensemble, they are not working well together.
Adding players piece by piece is not doing it. It's like when a computer fails. You add RAM, and you add memory, and you borrow someone's video card to see if that helps, and then you think about overclocking the BUS…
and then you realize that it's just broken and you take the pieces apart, throw some out, and start again.
Bad analogy? probably.
Hard to tell if you're kidding here. The trade for Phillies say yes, the trade for Halladay says no.
C'mon everyone, we've been down this road before. Wright will be fine. By August we'll be back to putting him and Reyes in the hopeful “forever Mets” category, thinking of the day when Wright takes Straw's HR & RBI record (WAY sooner than a lot of people expect), and wondering which one will get to Kranepool's hit record first.
And if we don't make the playoffs this year—so what? Are we not used to that? Of course it's disappointing when there's so much talent out there, but we should know by now: if we're going to win a World Series, we need to catch lightning in a bottle. We had it in 2006, but the plague of complacency caught us too early (right after LoDuca doubled in Reyes from first, Game 2, 6th inning, IMHO), and we haven't been able to shake it since, despite the NLCS, despite 2007, and despite 2008.
Maybe all they learned from the past 2 years is “we'll get there, we just have to finish the job,” and they're dangerously expecting to coast to a division lead by Sept 17. Maybe they need a 76-win season to get the hunger back.
Maybe we're playing well but aren't catching the breaks yet (the Marlins did have diving stop after diving stop yesterday, after all). Maybe we'll go on a 40-15 run in Jul/Aug like the '99 squad (we're certainly built like them, plus a bonafide ace).
Or maybe, baseball is just a crazy game. Whatever will be will be. Are we going to cut the cord if the Mets go 62-100 this year? Probably not (and for those that do, you won't be missed). People, just sit back and try to enjoy the ride. We'll get back to the promise land again, and the years of suffering will make it all-the-more meaningful. When it happens, I'll be blasting The Scientist and cheering my head off.
I am intrigued by the replies to date. I don't usually do these sorts of posts, but, well, it's an off day and I wanted to go beyond restating the lingering suckitude of this team.
Not to deny in my wilder dreams I'd be willing to do this (I'd never dreamed the theoretical acquisitions of two MVPs and a Cy Young would seem so distasteful), yet I recognize the unreality of the scenario I've presented. However, yes to Caryn's analogy: there is a System Error at work here. The Mets do not compute. I offered up my two favorite players, Reyes and Beltran, to the gods of hypothetical tradedom as a way of saying nothing is or should be off the table. Beltran's great, Reyes and Wright have been great and might be again, but the notion that all they need is one or two dirteaters to make them go, I think, is absurd, or at least as ineffectual as I was on the Joey Reynolds Show the other night. This team needs to do something drastic: not because it's been 21 games, but because it's been two years plus 21 games. And counting.
I prefer 89-73 to 71-91, to be sure. But I don't prefer an alibi-laden, defeatist 89-73 being our ceiling. If we're lucky, at this rate, we'll just miss the playoffs. If we're lucky.
Jerry needs to go. We need someone who will throw a couple watercoolers and demand grit. Someone who will come out and say to the fans, “look, we might not make the playoffs this year, I don't know, but what I do know is that we are going to be the most aggressive team in baseball and if I have to bench a high salary to do it, I will as long as I am managing this team.” That would win him instant respect and do a lot for the franchise. The Wilpon's will suffer a media savvy manager long enough to get some seats sold. The Mets need a media makeover — we need to be scrappy. Someone needs to simply say, “f*ck the Phillies, f*uck the Marlins, we are coming for you this season.” If we lose, we lose, but at least we will be a target and at least Mets fans will feel like Mets fans again. It kind of feels like we traded up to nicer sadan when in reality we should be driving the v6 scrapper that always did its best. I don't want an Acura team. I don't want a team that is comfortable. Alas, so says I. End.
so this was serious? thats awful. trades are made based on future projections, not past preformance. beltran, wright and reyes will without a reasonable doubt provide more value to whatever franchise theyre playing for in the next 5-10 years than howard, rollins and victorino. replace victorino with utley and it doesnt change anything. so even ignoring the realties of contracts and payroll, this proposal is a terrible idea.
i understand the frustration, but this plan blows. it guarantees that not only will the mets not win a world series this year, but they wont contend for the next decade. in a word: woof
My only issue with Jerry is he would say that–and not follow through.
Remember when Wright was going to get days off? HA!
Jerry is Willie with a better sense of humor. You can't trade the whole team, so you fire the boss.
Wright and Reyes are the Mets. You don't trade them, you find someone who can make them even better. Someone who can motivate them, who can fix the loop in Wright's swing, who can get on Reyes (and Beltran, and everyone except Delgado) to start running the damn bases more. And get guys to to slide, and knock catchers off the plate, and dust opposing hitters who get too comfy in the box. It's too bad Keith isn't more serious, I bet he'd make a great manager, much as I'd miss him in the booth.
The biggest problem is there is more passion here in this comments section than there is coming from the first base dugout at $iti Field. That my brothers and sisters in Blue and Orange is very very sad :>(
If the Phuckin' Phiils throw in a reneg on the Dykstra-Samuel deal and never show pics of Tug McGraw in powder blues ever again then I vote YEA on the deal
My question is: If Jerry is Willie with a better sense of humor, did you really fire the boss? Maybe that shake up has yet to happen and still needs to. (that I think Willie was a better manager than Manuel is of no consequence)
I'm not calling for a fiery angry manager, I just want a fresh perspective, because it's obvious the internal ones aren't working. If Manuel had the answers, he would've brought it up as the bench coach. He didn't, and he isn't.
Because you're not going to make a trade like proposed here (and I'd probably mentally check out this season if they did), you have to change the management up. You can say they did that already and it didn't work. I'd say they didn't, and even if they did, you have to do it if they fail again and you it won't get worse by doing it now.
I know some are going to say Manuel's not the problem, however, he's not the solution either.
That's my point exactly. They rearranged the deck chairs a little bit. Time for a whole different manager. I dunno if it's Oberkfell, or who it is, but if Jerry doesn't right things soon another season is gonna get away from us.
I can't trade Reyes and Wright. I just can't. I don't care who we get in return. These guys are too young and too talented to give up. What the Mets need to do is change the core around the inner core– I guess you could say it's time to change the mantle. They need to infuse a Hernandez-type, Carter-type, Piazza-type player or two into the mix. Beltran should stay; he can clearly rake. Delgado, I doubt, will be here next year. Let's get a decent first baseman who can hit and lead. Let's go out and bring in a scrappy second baseman and a rightfielder who can complement either Murphy or F-Mart in left field. They don't need to get rid of Reyes or Wright; they will be sorry if they do (see the Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan trades). They need to change the mix around them; they're young enough to be swayed by such a change.
Wait, so this was a serious post?
Mets are playing soft, without heart on offense. Mets need an impact player, able to quickly assume leadership on the field and in the clubhouse. Consideree ought to be fluent in English and Spanish. Available position, second base.
There, problem fixed with minimum turmoil. Now, who fits the bill and what does he cost ?
I agree with CharlieH, Greg; you're not taking the bad juju factor into account here. Too many good players have gone bad the minute they put on the blue and orange. Too many players who have stunk for us have gone on to not-stink elsewhere.
I say they move the entire team and stadium to Portland. It's the only way.
How many teams in baseball have posted four straight winning seasons? Only five (NYY, BOS, LAA, PHI, and the Mets).
That is an amazing stat right there. Really.
Anyway, I'd love to know how to “demand grit” out of a team that's losing. This isn't a Little League team, seriously; pep talks and throwing the water cooler make good copy, but they don't make winners. MLB managers can fuck up a team by grinding their pitchers' arms into powder and by employing unusually stupid-assed on-field strategy and by alienating guys who they don't realize could be helpful to them; that's about it.
Major league teams look and act gritty when they're winning and not gritty when they're not, it's that basic. They had plenty of “grit” in 2006 and did that get us a pennant? (And you can't possibly mean that Paul LoDuca is the missing element here, could you?)
I'll take a team that treads water for five months and turns it on in September, like the 1973 Mets and 2007 Rockies, and so will you.
Mets go to LA in two weeks or so. That's usually the right time to fire guys.
I like your solution, Greg, because I think every other solution from every other armchair GM is just as lame and banal than what they think Jerry's doing out there. Frankly, I think he's trying some stuff that makes us all scratch our heads PRECISELY because the right stuff (sorry) is not working, so try the opposite.
The other thing is, how is it so impossible that people take what players and managers say to the press as gospel truth? It's all highly varnished spin. Even the base-throwing ,screaming manager types are playing a part that's been assigned to them, and they do not waiver from that point.
Willie was not a smart guy. Jerry, however, IS a smart guy.
He's not going to get fired one month into the season. He'll get this year. At least that's what I'll bet on. I also think it's just way too soon to start firing anyone, even Dan Warthen.
It's not the management. It's the players. Stop trying to be heroes. Just play the fucking game, one hit at a time.
Personally, I really like Dan Warthen. It's not like I have any clue about what he does every day, but I thought that he helped chill out Perez almost immediately after coming on last year. That little bow he introduced to his windup? It was like, slow down, think about what you're doing, and then throw. That little stopgap measure did more wonders on that dude than any of Rick Petersen's “You're banned from throwing these two pitches” and whatever other tuscan tile zen bullshit he was preaching. There's no bow now, but I kind of think that was like Pelfrey getting rid of that distracting mouth guard for boxers or whatever that was.
Perez is going to blow everyone's mind this year. A 27 year old lefty that has, in his past, looked frequently wild and frequently unhittable, but always looks devastated when he isn't throwing well? With tutelage under Martinez and now Santana?
He WILL kick ass.
I really hope not. This was one of the worst blog posts I've ever read. Trading Wright/Reyes/Beltran?!?!?
I guess even this blog has turned into metsblog/WFAN. Too bad.
For those few intelligent mets fans still around: there's one good blog left, but I'm sure as shit not linking it here. I don't want this poison leaking onto it. Ridiculous.
No, god forbid.
You can't fire Floyd, The Barber!
Our loss…
I hear Roberto Alomar is available…(ducks flying debris)
Very funny, Greg. And you obviously make an important point. In a chapter of my upcoming book, I have a piece in which I imagine that the players on the 2008 Phillies were the 2008 Mets and the players on the 2008 Mets were the 2008 Phillies and I imagine what Mets fans and Mets bloggers would have said about “our Mets,” if that's the way it had been.
hate to keep piling it on but, you do realize that “shake up the core” is code for “throw the baby out with the bathwater” right?
“Heart”? “Guts”?
Worst blog post… ever?
Does anyone else use/know about the Brian Eno Oblique Strategies cards? They're creative prompts that are designed to try to get you thinking differently when you're stuck. They suggest things like “do the opposite” or “why not?” and they were what he used to help get U2 to finish what ended up being the masterpiece that is “Achtung Baby,” where they completely reinvented themselves.
(there's an online version here: http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/oblique/oblique.html)
To me, that's what Greg was doing here. The fact that it angered so many people means it was successful. The fact that so many people took you straight and literal means it was successful. The fact that it's making people swear to never read you again… that, too, successful, much like playing Metal Machine Music to clear the party at 3:30am. the people who stick around to listen are the ones you really want to get to know. The ones who leave, covering their ears – don't fall asleep on the D train.
And until Greg abandons his use of punctuation completely, this is not Metsblog.
LOL!
“The Mets have to shake it up. The chemistry isn't working. Time for change we can believe in. They have to stir the pot. The results say that we haven't made the playoffs so obviously something isn't working. That means we have to do something different.
So therefore, we should trade Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Tim Redding and Ramon Castro for Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins. Now, Howard<
That last good blog left has gotta be Amazin' Avenue. Those guys ares awesome.
Really disappointing to see Faith and Fear descend into Metsblog idiocy. Thought this place was rational. Done reading here, see ya.
No! Please! Come back!
You are an idiot. Anyone who agrees with this proposal is an idiot. Go back to your fantasy league basball dreams so we can make some room for logic and intelligence.
Thanks for your feedback.
I'm glad I could help clarify things. That's what I do.
Clarity, specificity, focus…dude, you've got it all.
I think this post and some of the posts linking to it that are mocking it bring out the civil war brewing among metsfans, no doubt occasioned by 2 yrs of malaise right during the time we assumed would be a Flushing renaissance. But the incivility is finally getting to me and turning me off from the whole shebang.
There are several positions that blur together, including the traditional pessimistic 'our bums' position that cheerfully gripes about most everything, and the reactionary optimists who take any criticism of the team as evidence the terrorists have won and set themselves to shouting it down. In my experience the later group skews younger.
I submit that what is new since the great, internet abetted 2006 bandwagon influx of fans is the entrance of many video gaming, Bill James-types who never took a college class in statistics yet enjoy experiencing the game solely through win shares and the like. They just see the game differently from the old fogies and they promote their new identity with a missionary zeal. Fire Joe Morgan is their Valhalla. You will never convince this bunch that heart and grit matter a whit, and to some extent, its a defensible position when promoted responsibly. Unfortunately, give someone a hammer and everything looks like a nail. So instead of using statistics to try to come up with answers, they use them to deny there is a problem, and have to content themselves to smugly ridiculing anyone who gestures at intangibles because their lying eyes still see an underperforming squad less than the sum of its parts. The tragedy is that they have devalued wide swaths of the game that don't comport with quantitative measures because they have become irrationally rational, the symptom that Nietzsche identified more than 100 yrs ago. On the other hand, you have an influx of new young fans who are having a hard time adjusting to their team's mediocrity and deal with it by spouting off on Metsblog, blaming the wrong factors, etc. Amidst the zealotry, who wants to give the reasonable a hearing?
Having said that, i think is driving the violence of the reaction to this post is in part experience. Older fans have seen GMs in different sports break up teams or deal the previously unthinkable when chemistry isn't right before. It is incredibly traumatic to see favorite core players dealt, often for less than they should bring back. The stakes are high, because you can end up with the world series Red Sox after getting rid of Nomar, or you can end up with a franchise in a tailspin for years. But it happens when management realizes, or comes to believe at least, that there is a chemistry issue.
But the vehement, rude reactions above are also because Greg's post vocalizes a certain truth. If your expectations involve playoff glory, then it is hard to avoid the conclusion that there is a core chemistry problem with the Mets. If the team can't “find a spark,” sooner or later there will be some catastrophic changes involving some favorite players.
The Mets fan blogosphere is a house divided. Metsfans need their own Abe Lincoln, but our chat rooms are filled with Pat Buchanan's.
Your post is a bit over the top, don't you think? Abe Lincoln? Zealotry? That's some fancy book-leanrin' you have to write such a deep, meaningful post.
Are you trying to be our Honest Abe, sir? When do you deliver the E-Mets-ipation Proclomation?
yeah it is pretty pompous. but this is the blog for fans “who like to read,” right? I thought i'd go for it.
plus I have to watch oliver perez now, so i deserved to have some fun.
Pat Buchanan, James Buchanan, ten-minute Met Brian Buchanan, Jimmy Wynn (a.k.a. the Toy Cannon)…I don't know. But if the house is going to be divided, I'll enjoy watching the game (now tied 4-4) in the same wing as It's Mets For Me. Bravo, sir. I don't suspect there's much left to say in this particular thread.
Except for Let's Go Mets.
Closing the comments on this post because, unlike the versatility to be found in Alex Cora, I don't see a great deal of utility in continuing. Occasional lapses in tone notwithstanding, I enjoyed the passion and substance of the feedback. To those who are not familiar with the complete FAFIF repertoire, by all means stick around and get to know us. To paraphrase those old Martin Paint commercials, we ain't just outlandish hypothetical trade proposals.