During the most difficult stretches that I have faced as a Mets fan, the one constant was my reaction after every loss: “Only the Mets find a new way to lose each night!” It wasn’t just me. Many friends and fellow bloggers also mirrored that sentiment. Only the Mets. And with the recent trade of Carlos Beltran to the Giants, once again this organization has me saying, “Only the Mets!”
Only the Mets would trade probably their best free agent signing in history (remember, Piazza and Hernandez were signed as free agents but only after they had already played for us, after being traded to us) in the midst of a five game winning streak, and be left with, or actually stuck with, arguably their worst free agent signing at the same time (if second, only to Oliver Perez). Five games, no big deal. But what if…? What if they go on an eight game winning streak? Ten games? Twelve? What if the Braves go on a five game losing streak? An eight game losing streak? Ten games? Twelve? That wild card spot looks so much more realistic, doesn’t it? But wait a minute, we traded away our best slugger. We have no power. Don’t tell me about Jason “K” Bay. (By the way, if you didn’t know, he’s the one I was referring to as the worst free agent signing in history.) And David Wright is always going to just be David Wright. (Conclude from that what you will.)
Now I know all this hypothetical stuff is a bit crazy. You can’t build a season — or a team — on “what if”s. But only the Mets would find themselves in a competitive position after trading away Beltran and basically giving up on their season. Only the Mets would fall one game short, yet again, of the playoffs after making such a deal. Only the Mets would give away proven, veteran talent now for a possible future star, which as we know, never works out in our favor. Only the Mets.
But none of this really matters anyway. Why? Because the Mets’ winning streak came to an end last night when they were shut out for only the fifth time this season. This, afer scoring eight or more runs in the four games preceeding last night, similar to when they scored 52 runs in the four games prior to the second series agains the Yankees earlier this year and then scored three runs in the first two games against the Yanks. Again, only the Mets.
This post makes no sense. Trading Beltran was an obvious move — the Mets would not have received compensation for him after the season. The Mets are 7.5 behind Atlanta, not ahead by 7.5. You seem to have no clue as to how highly Wheeler is regarded. I know two diehard Giants fans who feel like their team just got ripped off. Also, Ike Davis (though on the DL) is the Mets best slugger, not Beltran.
Are you ripping David Wright? Considering that you took the time to write a silly post with no real analysis (did you just start following baseball recently?), then I think you should be more clear with your opinion of Wright. If he keeps up his current statistical pace for another eight or nine years, he has a better than 50/50 chance of election to the Hall of Fame. Do you have a problem with that? He’s not Pujols offensively, but who do is? Who do you propose replace Wright?
One more thing: Are you complaining about the offense? The Mets are hitting .266 (2nd in the league) and are fourth in runs scored. Are you serious?
Perhaps you should take a sabbatical from commenting about the Mets (or baseball in general) until you get a clue. You sound like the type of person who could win 10 million in the lottery and then complain about having to pay five million in taxes.
Wheeler is highly regarded but he’s far from a sure thing. That walk rate is scary and he’s benefitted from his home park.
Wright was on a Hall of Fame path until he started striking out so much. A high BABIP masked his decline somewhat in 2009 but not so much last year. If he continues his pace from 2008-2010, there’s no way he comes close to the Hall. After posting a .420 wOBA in 2007, Wright was down to a .364 mark last year. That was the 40th-best mark in the majors, not anything that’s going to get him to Cooperstown.
Don’t like wOBA? He was tied for 45th in WAR. Don’t like WAR? He was 32nd in OPS.
I don’t see how you read this article and conclude it was complaining about the offense. It merely stated that they were shut out after scoring 8+ four games in a row. That’s not a complaint, it’s a fact.
I’m really glad you read the site and I’m extra glad that you took the time to comment. There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with what anyone writes here on the site. Disagreement is healthy and the last thing I want is for any type of group-think to develop.
But I wish you could disagree without being so disagreeable.
For starters, I’ll respond to your comments:
Are you implying that the Beltran for Wheeler trade was a bad trade? I ask because you are accentuating the negative with Wheeler while not commenting on the fact that the Mets were to receive no compensation for Beltran if he played out his contract. I never said Wheeler was a sure thing – what is a sure thing? But it’s obviously a great trade because there is almost zero risk but a big potential upside. If your scared over the control of a 21 year old in A ball …
More about Wheeler:
http://www.scoutingbook.com/players/p2512
Secondly, your argument about Wright is a bit convoluted. I wrote that at his current pace, he has a 50/50 chance of making the HOF. You cherry-picked his stats from 2008-2010. I agree with you that any player with those stats is not a Hall of Famer, but that’s not what I wrote. I obviously was referring to his current CAREER pace. You also referred to his current wOBA, WAR, OPS. Again, I am referring to his overall career pace. If he levels off somewhere in the middle of his 2004-2007 / 2008 – present stats, he still has a chance at the HOF, especially in the post -steroid era (something like .290 BA, 300+ HRs / 300+ SBs / .870 OPS etc.). I would hope though that the Mets turn him into a second baseman, as his overall fielding has declined considerably the past couple of years.
It is a fact that the Mets have scored a bunch of runs for a few games followed by a short dry spell, but what’s the point of writing about it? I will take this year’s version of the Mets offense over most in baseball. It’s pitching and defense that get it done — imagine the Mets “O” with the Philadelphia, Atlanta, or SF pitching staff? And for Denise to write “only the Mets” after commenting about the offense? Does she want them to score 10 runs per game? All teams have up periods followed by drought to some degree. That’s just statistics. So what’s the point if it’s not a complaint?
I also don’t need you or any one else telling me that “there’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with what anyone writes here on the site.” No @#$%^&!!! It’s called the First Amendment. If you don’t want comments, eliminate the “Comment” option.
I do find it interesting that your comment seems to be a defense of the nonsense written by Denise. You two can let it fly all day long — doesn’t bug me. I’ll take you both on. If she needs someone to back up her lack of logical analysis, then it’s just another reason for her to stop writing about the Mets.
— LLD
I want comments. I want the comments to be constructive and not of the douchebaggery variety. Is that too much to ask for?
We’ve had plenty of comments that have disagreed with the authors here. None of them have stooped to the level that yours did.
It’s up to you. If you want your comments to appear here, you need to be civil.
You have every right to disagree with my thoughts and not care for my writing, but when you start with the personal attacks, name-calling and derogatory remarks, you’re not exercising your First Amendment right; you’re simply being a jerk.
I don’t need ANYONE to back me up. Again, you are missing the hypothetical in my post. “If” Wright continues on this pace or “if” he doesn’t is also hypothetical, but you seem to have no problem debating that. Because that’s YOUR opinion. And Ike Davis might be the best slugger now that Beltran is gone “if” he comes back healthy and performs the way he once did. See my point? “If” you had any common sense, you’d understand that baseball IS a big “what if”. “If” Jason Bay wasn’t such a flop and “if” Mike Pelfrey was more consistent and “if” Johan Santana wasn’t on the DL. I know all teams struggle but as a Mets fan, I don’t care about the hard times of other teams. I’m not complaining, but if you see no point in me writing about a particular thing, then don’t read it!
LLD — If you had any comprehension skills at all, you would know that my post was a hypothetical one. I was trying to point out that the way the Mets’ luck goes, don’t be surprised if they ended up in the race after all and ended up regretting trading the Beltran. Only the Mets would have that kind of luck. And I wasn’t ripping Wright, but let’s face it, he’s not all he’s cracked up to be. Still a great player, but he can’t carry this team. Maybe Beltran couldn’t either, but the Mets were never a team that relied on one guy to be a leader. With them, it always takes a village, as they say. We haven’t had a team captain. The offense is unpredictable and inconsistent. The pitching can be iffy, especially the bullpen. And the team isn’t ready to win. However, that’s where the “what if”s come into the equation. What is a playoff opportunity presented itself? They wouldn’t be ready. If you didn’t get that from this piece then maybe my writing is just too advanced for you. It obviously is if you resort to rudeness and putting down as your way of “disagreeing” when the truth is you just don’t get it. I have been blogging about the Mets for over 4 years, run three of my own blogs and have contributed to three others, besides this one, over my blogging career. Obviously I am doing something right.
Hi Denise,
After reading your reply, I re-read your post to see if I missed anything. Answer: “Nope”. Your blog still makes no sense.
You are obviously a genius because you spend so much time blogging. You must be doing something right because you have the ability, like anyone else, to start a blog and write innocuous tripe.
I’ve watched/attended an average of approximately 140 Mets games a year for the past 36 years. I don’t spend my time writing a blog, so that must surely mean that I’m not qualified to formulate opinions about the Mets. And how dare I criticize a sensitive New Yorker who writes a blog with a “comment” option. Boo hoo!
And your statement that your writing “is too advanced…” Holy crap, it’s true! It’s so darned advanced that you must have even confused yourself, seeing that the drivel you wrote is completely useless.
The next time I visit baseball-reference.com (which will be in about 60 seconds), I will make sure to ignore any and every link from the incredibly “gifted” but alarmingly sensitive writers at mets360.com.
–LLD
P.S. Gosh! I wish I had the ability to write as well as you!
Wow, that’s pretty amazing….all the comments I made about the team and you choose the very last part — about my blogging and how you compare to me as a fan — to reply to. It’s not about the Mets, is it LLD? It’s about personal acceptance and ego-boosting.
[…] better times ahead. The horizon looks clear, despite this franchise’s widely noted propensity to screw up the best of circumstances. Until that future comes into a little sharper focus, we fans are […]
LLD, wow you come across as if your so angry. Take it easy. There is no reason to be that worked up.
LLD – the name calling wasn’t called for. What Ms. Winter wrote was purely hypothetical and her opinion only. If you didn’t agree with it, that’s one thing but there was no reason to respond the way you did, especially with what could be considered sexist remarks.
Thanks Fred. Obviously you and Brian are gentlemen. I can’t say that for the rest of the guys who have commented on this thread.
You, Brian and Dan!
Wow, I was going to congratulate you on your first piece for Mets360 but it looks like I’ve missed some fireworks. So I’ll congratulate you on getting your first hater! You’re not a “true” blogger till you’ve gotten hate mail!! LOL
What Coop Said