The first article at this site in 2020 was about where Jacob deGrom ranked among 21st Century pitchers. Here’s the blurb from that piece on a certain Dodgers hurler who played a big part in the team’s first World Series championship since 1988:

2. Clayton Kershaw (2013-15, 23.7 fWAR)
We almost take it for granted how magnificent Kershaw has been in his career. This three-year run was amazing but from 2011 to 2016, he was over 6 fWAR each season. And he put up a combined 8.7 the two years before this streak and 11.0 in the three seasons since, despite battling injuries in the latter years. Kershaw hasn’t had success in the postseason, the only thing missing from his career. My hope is that the Mets win the World Series in four of the next five years, missing out once because of an incredible performance by Kershaw in the NLCS.

Kersahw was 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA during the regular season. In the playoffs, he was 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA, including a 2-0 mark in the World Series. It seems we can remove that “hasn’t had success in the postseason” bit from his resume. Today, let’s be happy for Kershaw. Tomorrow, we can go back to hating LA and plotting ways for the Mets to eliminate them from the postseason.

26 comments on “Wednesday catch-all thread (10/28/20)

  • Pete

    Why must we be ingrained with systems that we think should be normalized? I’d rather see deGrom pitch every 4th day even if it means reducing his pitch count. Why dig the bottom of a barrel and waste 3,4 or 5 million dollars for a crappy pitcher we hope will give the Mets maybe 4 or 5 good innings at surrendering 3 runs? At least until Thor comes back. Why waste payroll on maybes when you already have deGrom? Which would you rather have?

    • Metsense

      deGrom averages 6+ innings per game. The problem is the crappy pitcher that enters the game afterwards. He should be used every fifth day not every fifth game and pitch longer in some games.. Pitch counts are not one size fits all. Managers and pitching coaches should base their decisions on what they see during the game and act accordingly. Anyone can count pitches.
      Last night in WS #6 is a perfect example of a dominant pitcher cruising and being pulled without an indication that he was losing his dominance.

  • Brian Joura

    I’ve long been a proponent of returning to a 4-man rotation. My belief is that the danger is consistent high-pitch outings, not going every four days.

    But the Mets have been very conservative when it comes to deGrom. Maybe that’s the right approach. At the very least, they would have to run it by him to make sure he was on board with it.

  • Name

    Sorry Clayton, unfortunately the title, ring, and stats you just collected is about as legitimate as the designer handbags they sell on the streets of chinatown. Ultimately, everything about the 2020 season needs to be expunged from the official records books and from our memory.

    I’m glad the prospect of no DH in the NL is still on the table – here’s to hoping no one screws that up.

  • TJ

    Kershaw is an all-time great, and he got his title regardless of the circumstances, so I suppose baseball fans can stop losing sleep over at least one all-time great, incredibly wealthy championship-less athlete.

    I am as against the DH as anyone out there, but I agree with Name in that if every there was a time to make the change, it is now. Having no DH in 2021 due to labor politics, just to install it permanently afterwards, is rather senseless. But, we do know MLB is not immune to senselessness.

    I do hope that the mayor of NYC can at least make a quick determination as to the intervening in the pending sale of the team. Let’s turn the page and bring on the hot stove.

    • Brian Joura

      My opinion is that if push came to shove, there’s really no basis for the mayor to be able to stop the sale. But, it’s easier to “buy him off” than to go through a legal proceeding. So, the question becomes what does he ask for to make this go away.

      • TJ

        Precisely.

  • Mike W

    I really hope that DiBlasio doesn’t screw this up on us. That would be awful.

    • Rob

      I just read from post he doesn’t want MLB to approve sale. Not sure but my gut says there is a personal history with these two.

      • TexasGusCC

        Watching DeBozio govern is like watching a spoiled brat trying to share – neither can. DeBozio just craves attention and by making himself the news, he’s getting it. I wasn’t surprised to read that he’s opposed to the sale because tell me exactly what that clown has done that was admirable.

        • Mike W

          He is buddies with Arod, who still has hurt feelings from being rejected.

      • Brian Joura

        Here’s the link to the Post story

        https://nypost.com/2020/10/28/bill-de-blasio-is-trying-to-kill-mets-sale-to-steve-cohen/

        And it details what the bribe will be:

        “These are disturbing new revelations about a once-in-a-generation sale of City-owned land,” one person inside the opposition group told The Post. “It is urgently important that any deal includes a generous, comprehensive community benefits package that actually serves the people of the surrounding neighborhood and all of New York City.”

        The conclusion is the part to focus on, in my estimation — ““De Blasio can make this ugly and he can even try to stop it,” said one lawyer with knowledge of the situation. “But he has no real standing, and Cohen will sue him. And Cohen will win.”

        • Steve S.

          Oh happy day, Mets fans! The owners approved Cohen, and the mayor had “no objections”! LGM!

  • Jos☺

    Schoenfeld of ESPN just posted his latest power rankings and, incredulously, tabbed The Mets at number 9.

    I like Dave, but this ranking seems insane.

    Any thoughts?

    • TexasGusCC

      We all know the Mets are #1! The Dodgers, Braves, Rays, Yankees, Phillies, Astros, White Sox, Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, Reds, Marlins, A’s, Blue Jays, Indians, Twins, Padres and Brewers were just luckier this year.

  • Metsense

    The financial crunch has started with team options not being pick up. The market may be flooded and should be a buyer’s market. It will be interesting if teams don’t tender a majority of the eligle arbitration players which should depress salaries further. Will players that get a QO offer take it in these financial times? The 2020 offseason may restructure player’s salaries and the way the owners conduct business.

    • TexasGusCC

      I believe Fauci’s comments out today of how even a vaccine shouldn’t lift all protective measures in place will scare off many owners. Further, Fauci says that full capacity shouldn’t return again in just about any industry but schools. I can see money being hard to find for many players as owners lost this year and will undoubtedly lose next year too.

  • TJ

    I am no defender of owners, but there is no doubt these guys lost a ton of money last year, and have significant revenue uncertainty going into next year. This will absolutely impact the payrolls. From the looks of it, most of the non-tenders would have occurred in any economic climate as they guys underperformed.

    This does not bode well for labor peace post 2021, but it could be a huge advantage for the Mets under new ownership, eager and with resources. So, the beloved major just needs to deliberate over the morality of the potential buyer, and when said potential buyer provides some “incentives” to the city, it is very likely that the mayor will then deem him a “ok by me”, and away we go.

  • Pete

    TJ are you sure owners “lost” tons of money? Or they just didn’t receive the same revenues they would of gotten from in person fans? Teams didn’t have to pay for minor league affiliates and I’m fairly certain they furloughed a number of office personal that were non-essential of their respective teams. What was Tampa Bay’s payroll? Not even 30 million dollars. Teams just didn’t generate the kind of revenue they’re accustomed to seeing year in and year out. Let’s see how much revenue the tv and radio contracts provided for each team before shedding any tears.

    • TJ

      I don’t have access to the books, but it is very likely that fixed expense and debt service pushed them in the red. I’m not shedding any tears, they can handle it as in industry, but most will spend cautiously going forward with all the uncertainty, where totally justified or not.

  • TexasGusCC

    I’m not sure I will read a more accurate two paragraphs this entire winter. From Tim Britton’s piece in The Athletic this morning:

    “ The Mets were better at emphasizing depth in the last two years under Brodie Van Wagenen than they were toward the end of Sandy Alderson’s tenure as general manager. (The 2018 Las Vegas 51s were about as makeshift a Triple-A roster as you’ll come across.) But Van Wagenen has struggled at times with maximizing his 40-man roster spots, losing talent for little return in the process. The Mets are getting to the point that the front half of their roster can be competitive in the National League, especially with a big addition or two. Concentrating on spots 21 through 40 on the roster, though, is necessary to compete with teams like the Dodgers.

    What does that look like in practice? It means not trading away pieces like J.D. Davis and Amed Rosario just because you may not have an everyday spot for them right now. It means not handing a starting spot to someone like David Peterson or a bullpen spot to Brad Brach and Robert Gsellman. It means bringing in major-league caliber players who will flood the market once the non-tender deadline hits.”

    • TJ

      Bingo. Thanks Gus, very will put by Britton. And the key to those roster spots is having a deep upper minors system and guys with options. Too often, due to a thin upper minors, the Mets get stuck signing vets to guaranteed contracts and lose out on the roster flexibility needed to swim in the deep end of the pool without drowning,

      • TexasGusCC

        TJ, on what you said, one of my biggest problems with the Mets these past ten years is how they are always blocking their kids with scrubs. The Dodgers let a rookie be the catcher, have rookies in their rotation and have no problems giving youngsters a chance. The Mets… don’t get me started.

        • Steve S.

          Generally so! They should have trusted McNeil to play 2B (no Cano or Lowrie!), but at least they brought up Alonso in the beginning of last season. And they didn’t get rid of Smith or Conforto when they looked lost. Rosario also was brought up and installed at short at a young age (with the same true of Gimenez).

          And, yes, they’ve signed too many vets.

  • MattyMets

    With trade chips, money to spend and hopefully a smart GM, Mets are in a great position to boost roster talent. A lot of options have been declined and a lot of arb eligible players will be DFA’d. Half the teams will be looking for ways to cut payroll. Lots of options to explore beyond 100mm FAs.

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