Last year’s holiday party photo had Buck Showalter and Daniel Vogelbach featured prominently, meaning that the jinx is alive and well. At least they didn’t get traded right afterwards, like what happened to Kris Benson and R.A. Dickey back in the day. Keep Quintana and Mendoza in your thoughts and prayers – they’ll need all of the good karma they can get.
As Mets fans, we didn’t get what we wanted in 2023. Hey, it happens. And, barring a miracle, it won’t be much different next year. But, after all, it’s the season of miracles and maybe if the individual Mets players get what they want, it will turn out differently for us next season. So, thru the power of the keyboard, here are my gifts to the Mets. It may not be what they want but it’s what they need.
Pete Alonso – The ability to quit chasing low and away on 0-2 and 1-2 pitches.
Francisco Alvarez – To hit LHP at a better rate than Wilmer Flores.
Brett Baty – Tough love from someone in the organization who won’t accept dismal results.
Jose Butto – A chance to take the ball every fifth or sixth day.
Edwin Diaz – A continuation of being good in even-numbered years.
Adrian Houser – A defense that catches all of his balls in play.
Francisco Lindor – A home BABIP (.243 last year) to match his .305 road mark.
Jorge Lopez – Whatever they were feeding him in Baltimore the first three months of 2022.
Joey Lucchesi – A chance to take the ball every fifth or sixth day.
Starling Marte – A short leash so neither he nor the fans have to have a repeat of last year.
Jeff McNeil – For people to tell him 10X a day that he’s a better player when he pulls the ball with power.
Tylor Megill – A full season’s worth of starts like his last six of 2023.
Omar Narvaez – For the Mets to have a better winning percentage in games he starts than last year’s 37.5%.
Brandon Nimmo – The .505 SLG he posted in his last 76 games in 2023.
David Peterson – A quick recovery from surgery.
Jose Quintana – A year with 30+ starts and the 130 ERA+ he’s posted the past two seasons.
Brooks Raley – A repeat of his 2023 success versus RHB.
Yohan Ramirez – Better results with his slider.
Kodai Senga – Fewer distractions this year when he pitches on the West Coast.
Luis Severino – A healthy oblique, and rotator cuff, and ACL and groin and lat.
Drew Smith – A bunch of low-leverage appearances where his gopher balls won’t be so crushing.
D.J. Stewart – For fans to realize that his last 75 PA produced a .182/.280/.273 line.
Tyrone Taylor – For the Mets to sign a free agent to push him to the fourth OF role.
Michael Tonkin – A season without a September meltdown.
Mark Vientos – A year with at least double the PA of 2023’s MLB total of 233.
Joey Wendle – The return of a healthy BABIP, compared to last year’s 48-point deficit.
*****
Carlos Mendoza – The foresight to add leverage to his bullpen moves.
David Stearns – For one or two of his depth signings to make a difference.
Steve Cohen – With all of the love in my heart my gift is the serenity for him to step away and let Stearns run the club with zero interference.
*****
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of the readers here at Mets360! I’m very happy that you come to our site on a daily basis. And I’d like to give an extra special thanks to loyal readers ChrisF, T.J., Metsense, Steve_S., TexasGusCC, Mike W, Boomboom, Woodrow, James OBrien, Dan Capwell, Footballhead, Bob P, Longtimefan1, Jose Hunter, John From Albany, Hobie, AgingBull, John Fox, Name, IDRAFT, Paulc, Jimmy P, JerseyJack, JimO and anyone I may unintentionally be forgetting. After a terrific 2022, it was a tough go all the way around in 2023. May 2024 bring us better things. And finally, thanks to all of the writers at the site.
May you have a wondrous holiday season.
I have one: For the Mets organization to tell Jett Williams that he’s an everyday CF right now and for him to play every inning out there for now on.
They cannot continue to make the same stupid mistakes of playing guys in the wrong positions all through the minors. Mauricio had been playing balls to the wall for the past two years. Some defended the DR league because he needed reps at 3B. He’d only played 5 games there. The shame of that is on the organization, sticking him at SS for far too long, error-prone and with the wrong body.
The entire organization, top to bottom, needs to get smarter.
And, yes, I may have applauded the McNeil wish. I don’t think people fully appreciate how useless he was last season.
And, also: May just one of the mediocre pitching prospects in the system fully step up and surprise us. I’m quietly putting down $2 on Scott.
Have a happy & safe holiday.
With Jett Williams – who is my favorite prospect who’s yet to play in the majors – my wish is that he split time at CF and 2B. I think he needs time at both positions. He’s probably a better bet than Acuna to be able to cut it in CF. But there’s reasonable doubt in my mind (if nobody else’s) that Acuna won’t be a worthwhile starter at 2B, so I’d like Williams to have significant reps there, too.
I am equally high on Williams. We need him to succeed in CF. It’s a much harder spot to fill that 2B. Don’t yo-yo this guy. Put him in the best position to help the club and get out of the way.
What happens with Acuna, happens with Acuna. I didn’t love his results in Binghamton, but I’m hopeful.
Both came thru here. I deleted the second one because it wasn’t necessary.
Great list, Bryan! And Merry Christmas to you and your family!
And a further wish for Senga: To outpitch Yamamoto in a head-to-head matchup or two! And to have Imanaga join him on the Mets staff.
That would be great fun if Senga and Yamamoto square off in 2024!
Brian, thanks for the wishes and thank you for all of your time and hard work to keep Mets360 up and running and humming along.
I hope we sign Justin Turner. He would be a great short term compliment to the team.
I hope we also add a true starting left fielder, a reasonable starting pitcher and a reliever or two.
Here is to hope our prospects continue to develop. I am especially high on Jett Eilliams and Christian Scott.
I hope that Houser is a wild card. Bob Ojeda was 9-11 the year before at Boston before he flourished with us with his 18-5 record in our championship season.
Agree; Agree; Agree; Agree; Agree!
Merry X-mas and Happy New Year, Mike!
It’s going to be interesting to see how the guys who pitched at BNG last year fare in 2024. Scott seems to be the one that everyone is high on – Baseball Prospectus’ list just came out and they had him at #5.
One guy who gets a little forgotten is Dominic Hamel. He got off to a lousy start last year but was terrific at the end of the year. In his last 14 games, he had a 2.66 ERA with a 3.6 K/BB ratio, with 96 Ks in 74.1 IP.
I am curious about Joander Suarez (23 years old), who was promoted to Binghamton after starting 19 games at A+ with a 5.08 ERA (but a 3.81 FIP), and then started 3 AA games, allowing 3 hits in 18 innings! And he’s only the 34th best Mets prospect!
He only has a 93 mph FB, but changes speeds well, I’ve read.
It looks like he might have figured things out, getting ahead in counts and having better command, post-Tommy John surgery.
I always feel such pride when i see my name in your callouts on xmas. it’s a pleasure to read and comment on this site – truly a unique and cherished one in the mets a verse / blogosphere.
Appreciate all you do.
This was one of the toughest sports seasons of my 42+ years of fandom being a Mets and Jets fan relative to pre-season expectations. My xmas wish is that 2024 can only be better right?
If you’re looking for a great holiday book to read, So Many Ways to Lose, by Devin Gordon. It will help.
happy holidays!
Boom Boom, I have been a Jets fan for 54 years, argh. Serious disappointments year after year. I have to say that Zach Wilson is my despised Jets QB ever.
Looking forward to see what Stearns can do without handing out a ‘stupid” contract. My feelings wouldn’t be hurt if they traded McNeil.
Great list Brian!!
And a special best wishes to you for the holidays and a wonderful 2024. Despite the endless ups and downs, thanks for making this hands down the best place on the web for serious Mets content, all while doing this for no compensation. I’d say the only place even close is the Athletic which has 2 well paid, full time, beat reporters. I know we are an ornery bunch at times, but the persistent high quality articles generates genuine passion from the fan base. Thanks for making this the best Mets site available.
I’m overwhelmed with this high praise!
I echo Christmas and holiday greetings to all. I also Boomboom’s first two paragraphs, he nailed my sentiments perfectly.
Regardless of how this offseason has progressed to this point, 2024 is far from a write-off.
My wish is that at least one and hopefully two of the kids step up and show they can be contributors going forward. Baty, Vientos, Vasil, Scott, even Williams. To me, nothing is more depressing that watching underperforming high paid veterans. Nothing is more exciting that watching young controllable kids excelling. I think this is the case regardless of ownership wealth. 2023 felt odd before the season began with the insane payroll and mercenary pitchers. Is it really great to be a Dodger fan right now? Anything less than a WS victory is a failure. My other wish is that they spend a little but prioritize the pipeline.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious how it would be if the Dodgers were knocked out in their first playoff series for the third time in a row after springing for Ohtani and Yamamoto.
As for the Mets, it’s hard to believe they won’t continue to prioritize the farm system, another reason that signing Snell seems like a real longshot.
Brian, Best Christmas Wishes to you and your family.
And Best Christmas Wishes to your extended family at Mets360, the writers, commentators and the Chatter fans.
Brian , you built it and we came. Mets360 is a Field of Dreams for us.
Happy holidays from the “unforgettable” Steven Shrager. Keep the faith. I’d like a bat under the tree, one more starter, and a few of those pitchers who finished the season strong, to start the year the same way. Brian, thanks for being the engine that makes this all work.
My wish for all of us is that your screen name gets a couple of characters longer within the near future! Happy holidays!
Merry Christmas to you also Brian, and to all the writers and commenters that give us plenty to banter about and pass our time.
Not one problem with the list, but may I add a couple of presents to the team as a whole: May they pitch inside often, very often, and not worry about hurting the other guys feelings, and may they have alot of fun this year without stress, expectations and the press weighing them down.
And! may they get under the cap wisely so they can sign Soto next year without losing top drafts picks and international signing bonus money. And, may they pick last in the 2025 draft!
They may have the ability to do that. The money owed Scherzer and McCann will be off the books and potentially Verlander, too. If Alonso is not on the team, they could potentially sign Soto and be under the draft pick threshold.