It’s a “Runnin’ on Empty,” kind of day for me, so Spotify is playing me the entire album. The second track is “The Road,” and I’ve always loved these two lines:
“You write about the moon
And you dream about the stars”
And later on comes this clever follow-up:
“You’re right about the moon
But you’re wrong about the stars”
So, in a Mets context – who or what are the moon and the stars?
Maybe the moon is the 162-game season and the stars are, well, the stars? And is there a star that has been written and talked about more than Juan Soto? Are we wrong about him?
They talk about Soto as if he is the moon and the stars. My question is, in year five of his contract when he is 31 years old will Soto start to decline? Or our generational stars immune to the aging process?
That’s certainly a question that should be asked.
FWIW, Bryce Harper just had his age-31 season and put up a 5.2 fWAR, the third-best mark of his career. And that came with him playing 1B, not the position he played when signed.
Two things out of me:
1. Baseball America just released their Top 20 Mets prospects. That really isn’t interesting as we will see many and some of us have our own. What was interesting was the Q&A with Matt Eddy about the prospects and his responses with regard to the prospects’ talent level. I don’t want to give too much away, but the two things that jumped out at me were Gilbert is considered a tweener because he doesn’t have a standout tool but does many things pretty well, and Jonah Tong is not viewed higher than a back-end starter due to his velocity and lack of repertoire,
2. I like Soto but I don’t love him. He walks alot, he has pretty good power but I don’t see a 40 homerun hitter, and I think he will be good through 35. After that, I’m not sure. Will his bat age like Adrian Beltre or like JD Martinez? I don’t see the Mets signing him until his 40th birthday, nor do I see a leader in him like Bryce Harper was considered. I don’t know if this guy has the chops to play in New York and be criticized or will he have that Bobby Bonilla smile and attitude. I’m not looking at this past season and the pass he got from everyone with a pen…. Certainly the Mets are better with him unless they overextend themselves for this “generational talent” that ten minutes after his team lost the World Series he was so heartbroken that he flatly said that now he is a free agent and will give all 29 teams a chance.
I really like Soto, but I dont like his price tag. He is not a 50/50 player like Ohtani, who also pitches.
Soto is also not a gold glove outfielder.
The decision to sign him depends on Stearns big picture and what the non Soto Mets could look like next year.
Stearns needs to figure out how to compete with the Braves and Phillies in the division and how to get through the Dodgers.
I do not like the idea of a six man rotation.
Soto has a legitimate chance at 100 WAR. Im not sure what you all are on about. If you told me hes gonna give you 60 WAR in the next 10 years, sign me up. And then say 10 WAR in the 5 years, well, that Seaver territory.