2021 MLB Season / 21-22 Offseason Thread

[MalaCloudy Black]

 

[The Buscher]

Tyler Gilbert of the D-Backs throws a no-hitter against the Padres in his first career start

[MalaCloudy Black]

9 hours ago, Buschie Kay said:

Tyler Gilbert of the D-Backs throws a no-hitter against the Padres in his first career start

This shit is so cool. 

[The Buscher]

After waiting all year for him to arrive, Carlos Carrasco has rewarded the Mets with a 10.32 ERA in his first 4 starts with no semblance of command to be found.

Most trade evaluators felt the Mets would’ve won the Lindor trade giving up what they did for Lindor only, Carrasco being included turned it into a perceived highway robbery.

Think we know now why he was basically a throw in.  It sure looks like he was damaged goods.

[ThrillhouseMAX]

^me, watching the Mets lately.

 

[The Buscher]

There's just so much wrong with this team it's hard to keep track.  Starting pitching is broken.  deGrom has had 8 MRIs come back clean yet inexplicably can't pitch without elbow pain and multiple doctors can't figure out what's wrong with him.  Chances are he won't throw again until 2022 and everyone will just hold their breath that he doesn't need TJS that takes him down until late 2023.  Stroman is a free agent.  Syndergaard is also a free agent but hasn't pitched so if you give him a QO he's a big question mark next year.  Carrasco, as mentioned, looks like damaged goods.

Watching these guys "hit" is pure torture.  They don't ever work the count, everyone in this lineup takes first pitch hacks all day.  And the stat people keep pointing out they have a .900 OPS when swinging first pitch, but pitchers know they're swinging first pitch too and so they're usually sending an off-speed pitch in to start the AB, often resulting in either a swinging strike or a weak infield pop up.

And lastly, that Lindor contract is looking like an all-timer.  I can't kill the Mets for it, I was thrilled with the signing and so were most fans, and the media all agreed it was a great deal for them.  But as we sit here on August 16th he's hitting .229 and has been on the IL for a month.  Had he not been extended he would've cost himself countless millions.

In fairness over the last month and a half before his injury he showed signs that he was figuring it out and starting to hit like Lindor.  It's not an unrealistic expectation to think he'll be back to being a superstar next year with the first year jitters out of the way.  But that contract is looking like a blunder at the moment if only because the Mets seem like a team a lot closer to needing to tear it all down and start over than most of the fanbase wants to admit.

[ThrillhouseMAX]

2 hours ago, Buschie Kay said:

There's just so much wrong with this team it's hard to keep track.  Starting pitching is broken.  deGrom has had 8 MRIs come back clean yet inexplicably can't pitch without elbow pain and multiple doctors can't figure out what's wrong with him.  Chances are he won't throw again until 2022 and everyone will just hold their breath that he doesn't need TJS that takes him down until late 2023.  Stroman is a free agent.  Syndergaard is also a free agent but hasn't pitched so if you give him a QO he's a big question mark next year.  Carrasco, as mentioned, looks like damaged goods.

Watching these guys "hit" is pure torture.  They don't ever work the count, everyone in this lineup takes first pitch hacks all day.  And the stat people keep pointing out they have a .900 OPS when swinging first pitch, but pitchers know they're swinging first pitch too and so they're usually sending an off-speed pitch in to start the AB, often resulting in either a swinging strike or a weak infield pop up.

And lastly, that Lindor contract is looking like an all-timer.  I can't kill the Mets for it, I was thrilled with the signing and so were most fans, and the media all agreed it was a great deal for them.  But as we sit here on August 16th he's hitting .229 and has been on the IL for a month.  Had he not been extended he would've cost himself countless millions.

In fairness over the last month and a half before his injury he showed signs that he was figuring it out and starting to hit like Lindor.  It's not an unrealistic expectation to think he'll be back to being a superstar next year with the first year jitters out of the way.  But that contract is looking like a blunder at the moment if only because the Mets seem like a team a lot closer to needing to tear it all down and start over than most of the fanbase wants to admit.

So, what do you think happens next? You think they'll try and extend Baez? Is Rojas going to be back next year? As far as Rojas is concerned, Im kinda hoping *not*. I know some of this stuff isn't his fault, but he doesn't manage the bullpen well, and he is way too soft on the players for my liking. I'm just kinda hoping for ANY positive change at this point. 

[GhostMachine]

deGrom's situation could be explained by him finally realizing he's a Met.

The pitcher I am mortified is crap right now? Yu Darvish. One of my favorites, and he's 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA.

 

[gunnar hendershow]

The Orioles are playing like a team that's going to struggle to make it to 50 wins. Currently 9 games remaining against teams under .500 and that might shift to 6 if the Angels get hot before next week.

Pathetic frankly. They play great teams in their division but this is still a conscious effort to be this bad. Put forth some effort in roster construction and they're a 65 win team. Still terrible but at least there aren't these stretches where they are getting utterly humiliated for a dozen straight games.

[Your Mom]

And the Padres already signed Arrieta!  

[MalaCloudy Black]

Got an email about a Wrigley Field NFT.

🤮

[The Buscher]

22 hours ago, El Tibby Lee said:

So, what do you think happens next? You think they'll try and extend Baez? Is Rojas going to be back next year? As far as Rojas is concerned, Im kinda hoping *not*. I know some of this stuff isn't his fault, but he doesn't manage the bullpen well, and he is way too soft on the players for my liking. I'm just kinda hoping for ANY positive change at this point. 

Hard pass at extending Baez.  I don't want to see this dude striking out a billion times a season for the next 4 years.  I know that players care less than ever about striking out but it's such a bad brand of baseball to watch.

Also this fanbase was screaming for Kris Bryant.  Could play all over the field, helping to supplant JD Davis' terrible glove at 3B or replacing useless Conforto in RF.  Giants got him for two nothing prospects meanwhile the Mets traded a top five prospect in their system for Baez, all to appear Lindor.

Baez has played in just 10 games, struck out 14 times and hitting .171 before going on the IL.  Bryant has been one of the best hitters in baseball since the trade and of course hits two bombs against the Mets yesterday.  What a disaster.

[gunnar hendershow]

They might still sign Bryant in free agency. Phillies presumably will get one of Correa, Story, or Seager but if those chips don't fall in place they could easily bring Bryant there to play 1B or in the OF. Especially with his pal Harper on that team.

My point is it would look doubly bad if the Mets traded for Baez, then let him walk, and were unable to secure Bryant while he went across the division to the Phils.

[The Buscher]

As it stands right now the Mets will have Lindor's new contract kicking in, Cano's money coming back onto the books, Alonso/McNeil/Dom Smith among others being arbitration eligible for the first time, they are probably giving Syndergaard a QO that he'll take after a year of not pitching, and they'll need to acquire at least one more big starter or pay Stroman.  Blowing past the luxury tax seems unavoidable, and depending on what the new CBA does about penalties (hopefully no draft/IFA penalties) I could see them going over the tax for the foreseeable future.  So they should definitely try to get Bryant.

In fairness to Baez I haven't yet gotten to see him play next to Lindor which is the main reason he was brought here.  Maybe they make such a fun tandem my aversion to locking him up will go away.  They might both be on the field by the next homestand.  Problem is they may well be six games under .500 by the time this west coast trip ends so I don't know how much it will matter or, quite frankly, how much more Mets baseball I'll even be watching the rest of the way.  I've no idea if PCA will pan out but trading a top prospect for a pure rental only to watch the season torpedo immediately makes me more annoyed with Baez by proxy.

Kinda wonder what a Baez contract even looks like given there are obvious flaws in his game that would make many teams averse to dropping the 9 figure deal he once looked like he'd get.  Maybe he's someone that goes the Bauer route contract-wise and seeks a big 1 or 2 year deal vs. a long-term commitment.

[GhostMachine]

14 hours ago, Your Mom said:

And the Padres already signed Arrieta!  

Had a feeling he wouldn't be without a job long, but did not expect the Padres to get him. 

Though I'll be surprised if he's still a Padre next season.

[gunnar hendershow]

Padres are looking to catch lightning in a bottle somewhere since it's starting to feel like Cincy will catch them for the 2nd wild card.

[Lowerdeck]

It's like ever since the Yankees got Rizzo, the Red Sox have just fallen apart.  Aside from beating up on the Orioles, they can't win.

The general feeling here is that the team refused to invest in this years roster, to the point that winning was inconvenient to the front office.  Fans are angry and tuning out, and the on field product is suffering as well.

[The Buscher]

I'm not a Mets fan who roots against the Yankees or chants "Yankees Suck!" at Met games or anything, I grew out of that stage.  But their resurgence coming at the same time the Mets have torpedoed just adds another layer of misery to the whole thing.  It's no wonder an entire generation, hell probably two generations at this point, grew up perceiving the Mets as second rate.

[MalaCloudy Black]

[gunnar hendershow]

Nobody under the age of 35 can even have faint memories of a time when the Mets and not the Yankees were the best team in New York. It's why their fanbase constantly gets associated as baby boomer Long Island sprawl.

Usually the NY-area teams swing back and forth in terms of who the best one is. The only close parallel is in the NFL maybe, but the really good Jets teams typically run up alongside the really good Giants teams. And when one sucks usually the other sucks as well.