Sorry, Skip, can’t go today.
Is that how it works when Addison Reed or Jeurys Familia has pitched a bunch of days in a row and the announcement is made that they’re unavailable? I regret to say that’s my status today.
You may know I pinch-hit with columns for Matt on Friday and Rob on Saturday. You may also know that I’m the official scorer for a summer collegiate baseball team. Last night we had a double header. At game time of the opener, it was 96 degrees on the field and seemingly hotter than that in the press box, where the ancient wall unit AC was unable to keep up, especially when everyone and their brother kept opening up the door. The poor mascot came in and took off his giant head and was covered in sweat and looked like he was going to pass out any second. And to top it off, the second game was scheduled for seven innings but went 12 instead.
Got home shortly after midnight when my wife informs me the kids are performing at church today and we need to go.
So, no article today. Please use the comments section to discuss any topic you’d like. Let’s Go Mets and let’s take this road series with a win today.
Its Mike Piazza Day! All hail Mike! Huzzah!
Yes, let’s discuss Piazza! (I spoke about Granny yesterday)
I understand why the Mets couldn’t resign him, but it sucked to see him with the Padres because they are a National League team too. I understood the A’s, but the Pads hurt.
Second point is that for all the trash Piazza gets for his defense, it seems he was a heck of a pitch framer. Indeed, an article on ESPN yesterday was on the very topic. Also talks about his MVP race with Larry Walker in 1997.
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/72420/ten-memories-that-defined-mike-piazza
My first MLB game was in 1968, a 16-inning affair between the Mets and Braves. Seen a lot of baseball since. And no one — no one — hit the ball harder than Mike Piazza.
He swung so hard every time, but didn’t break many bats – except for the one time an idiot got his hands on it during the World Series. Always got the barrel on the ball.
Wish they would have played him at first like they do Posey. I know they tried, but…
Great story about the trade, as told by those involved.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/amazin-days-oral-history-piazza-trade-route-mets-article-1.2721781
Yeah, that brings back memories. Though it’s a little thin in the reporting.
My distinct memory was that Wilpon was reportedly negative on getting Piazza, that there was talk — and this is the exact word — that because the Mets already had Hundley, they didn’t want to “duplicate” talents.
Which was an obscene joke.
An aside to that was the incredible spectacle to trying to convert Hundley to the outfield, a position he simply could not play whatsoever. He couldn’t get a ball. It would bonk off his glove.
Anyway, again, it was Doubleday who pushed very hard for Piazza. He understood star quality and what it takes to win in NY. The Wilpons eventually relented.
I understand that Phillips tells a slightly different story, but Phillips is IMO an unreliable narrator.
Later, ironically, we watched again as the Mets tried to convert Piazza to 1B. And once again, we learned that baseball is a lot harder than it looks. Mike couldn’t play 1B to save his life. Not everybody can be Craig Biggio; not easy to convert a catcher to a new position. Worth keeping in mind when the talk turns to Travis d’Arnaud (whom I still love, btw, and still consider a tremendous asset).
Mike Piazza was truly a HOFer, and anyone who watched him play knew it at the time. I also appreciated his intelligence and demeanor. Just a great player all around.
I listen to Phillips every morning on MLB radio. I think it is fair to say he has a very pro-Wilpon perspective from all I hear. So your idea that he might not be fully reliable makes sense. He’s interesting to listen to.
Wilpon is still alive, still influential, still owns a team and a network.
Nelson is dead.
It’s in Steve’s best interest to be support the Wilpons, even if that means massaging the facts here and there.
Off-Topic: Conforto in CF today. TC says that the hope is that he hits 2 homers, plays 6 innings, and they get him out of there.
If that was the case, wouldn’t you assume that the team was talking about a potent bat? As in, maybe if we bat him 3rd he’ll get three ABs — since, of course, you are clearly sacrificing defense in order to get that big bat into the lineup.
Terry is batting him 7th.
There’s a disconnect here. I’m not saying that 7th is the wrong spot for him today, the way the season has gone for Conforto, 7th is appropriate. But this is certainly a far-from-ideal situation.
I’m not really blaming TC for any of this, frankly. I don’t know where he should bat today, and I don’t know how to get him on the field on a regular basis.
I don’t think he’s a CFer.
And I do know, sadly, that Lagares can’t seem to even compete against RH pitching. With Flores in a similar situation. There’s a lot of funky pieces to this club right now, and juggling the talent is not a simple matter.
two days ago, TC said Miami way too big an outfield, so he would begin this experiment in NY. How fast that changed…and what exactly this tells Lagares is a mystery to me. No worries, we will bench a GG CF for a guy thts never played there, and does not profile as a CF at any level. What in hell is going on?
All this unplanned out of position mish mash does very little for me.
I think Lagares has forced the issue with his horribly non-competitive bats against RHP of late.
He hasn’t been bad. He’s been brutally overmatched.
Sad thing is, I think in some ways the Mets created this situation.
That said, it’s an age-old problem in baseball with no easy solution. What to do with the player who struggles against one side of the mound. Keep him in there to learn, develop, and grow (maybe). Keep him in there to continue to hurt the offense (maybe). Or decide that he’s only half a player, and limit him to his most productive match-ups. Not an easy call. A lot depends on where your team is at the time. When the games matter, there’s more pressure on the short-term result.
Yet Lagares’ splits are inverted. He is hitting right handed pitching better than left-handed pitching. He should be in center field today. Grandy should sit and Conforto should play right. Collins is not handling the personnel as good as last year.
In BA, Lagares has hit .231 vs. RHP and .277 vs. LHP. However, he has hit for more power vs. RHP, giving him a higher overall OPS vs. RHP.
I still see him as a better hitter vs. LHP and his career numbers support that.
I should also add — as just another data point to the dumpster fire of opinion — that I thought one of the major keys to the Mets late-season push last year was getting Lagares off the field against RHP.
Conforto’s arrival was huge. Lagares on the bench was just as significant. He’s got a .635 OPS career vs. RHP. Last season, I think Conforto was close to .900 against RHP. Big difference.
They got away with Conforto in CF today. I don’t think they can go to that well for too long. We shall see.
Conforto just got booted to the minors because his ABs have been so tragic. Its not like hes an instant boost, and his lefty hitting is now particularly atrocious. Its easy to lay this at the foot of Lags, but the whole team is terrible, and I’d take the steady rudder in the water defensively who might dace you a run or two.
Nice ESPN story on Mike P.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/17120537/mike-piazza-went-62nd-round-pick-hall-famer
Rumor mill is that SA offered TdA straight up for Lucroy. but it went nowhere. Brewers actively scouting Mets minors.
TDA for Lucroy??…why would that make sense?….at this point, he’s a high upside throw-in with a High Level Prospect.
Well, the Brewers would save $4 million+ next year and then have d’Arnaud two years after that, while Lucroy is likely gone to greener pastures after 2017. The Brewers won’t be contending next year. And if any team knows the value of not giving up on a catcher who’s had injury problems, it’s the Brewers, who went through the same thing with Lucroy himself.
It’s not a deal I would pull the trigger on, but it certainly makes sense.
Not happy. Besides, they want more than TDA.
Oh the dilemma for poor Terry. Now who bats eighth?
Id make that trade and throw Nimmo in to get it done.
It is very difficult to trade an offensive catcher who posted an .820 OPS last year and the team controls until 2020. Lucroy adds to the 2016 offense which TDA is failing to do. Reluctantly I would trade TDA and a prospect to solidify the chance at the playoffs.
Lucroy under control next year too. It would be exactly the kind of front office home run we need.
But alas, all the reports are that there is no deal. So, a dream of getting important improvement remain just that, a dream.