It’s been established in everyone’s mind that Steven Matz is a riddle, someone who’s consistent only in his inconsistency. It seemed like more of the same for Matz in 2019. However, a look at the numbers show he was extremely consistent over five of the six months of the season. It was only the cursed [...]
"Here goes MattyMets again with his far-flung optimism," I can hear Chris F saying from miles away. My optimism has as much to do with the state of the National League as my confidence in our current team. Having read through every season preview I can get my hands on, I have a pretty good [...]
Spring Training is the time for optimism and generally speaking, my preference is to be optimistic whenever possible. But this year the optimism seems especially over the top. Maybe I’m just too cynical right now. Or maybe new manager Luis Rojas is still working out the kinks in his briefings with the press. Rojas in [...]
News came out recently that the Mets are toying with the idea to use multiple people in the fifth starter's role, playing matchups with Steven Matz, Michael Wacha and possibly even the two relievers who wish to be starters. As stated here many more times than once, the idea is to run your team to [...]
Everyone needs to care about the name on the front of the uniform more than the name on the back.
Amed Rosario has made steady improvement since making his MLB debut back in 2017. That season he put up a 76 OPS+ in 170 PA. The following year his OPS+ rose to an 88 and last year it was 102, a really nice number for a 23-year-old shortstop. Over his final 372 PA, Rosario slashed [...]
Every team has roster turnover from one year to the next. Ideally, you clean out the dead weight and don’t lost anyone too important from the previous year. Let’s take a look at the guys who saw at least some playing time – defined here as hitters with a minimum of 20 ABs in 2019 [...]
It feels like ages since the Mets entered a season with an offense widely considered to be a potent weapon, but that's the case as we head into a 2020 campaign replete with high expectations. A lineup stacked with reigning Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso, a resurgent Michael Conforto, a rising J.D. Davis, a [...]
What's important to you -- youth, legacy, no downside, extreme wealth?
When Brian was looking for 2020 monthly contributors, I suggested a monthly item in the form of a song since that fits in with what I’ve been doing over the past couple of years. This first song emanated from an Art Shamsky trip to go see Tom Seaver. There were some photographs taken at a [...]
Following the 2019 season, the Mets cut ties with Juan Lagares, choosing to pay him a $500,000 buyout rather than pick up the $9.5 million option on his contract. While it was the right move to make, the club still needed to fill his role on the roster - a defensive specialist to play CF. [...]
Let’s take a look at the offenses of the three teams in the NL East to finish above .500 last year. But instead of just listing the raw numbers for the team, let’s look at the guys who received the bulk of the playing time. Below is a chart that lists the top nine guys [...]