New York Mets 2019 Preview – Intro

As many of us struggle adjusting to daylight savings time, waking up an hour later then we should (is that just me?), another marquee date looms. No, not tax day. You’re probably screwed if you’re still trying to put together taxes. No, I’m talking about baseball, America’s past time.

Ok, you got me. Baseball is no longer America’s past time. Nobody gives even the smallest shit about the “sport”. Football reigns king. Fantasy football is the second biggest sport in America, and I don’t think it’s that close. Afterwards, you have some combination of Basketball, E-Sports, and watching whiny Youtubers play shooting games. If we’re considering the world, Soccer would reign first, and fantasy football would be bumped out, unless it’s spelled futbol.

Seriously, why did we name American Football, “Football” anyway? So we give the kickers more importance? We really should have re-branded during the merger.

Baseball is no longer the national phenomenon it once was. However in certain regions of the country, parts with teams, it’s still huge. Nobody is going to watch a baseball game over the Rolling Tide in Alabama. However, in the Tri State area, there’s not just one, but two teams to watch. People here care about baseball, still holding its relevance despite the fact it’s boring. God, is it boring. Plus, these aren’t the pinnacle physical specimen’s we see in other sports. I mean, how many obese players need to sign contracts before we stop referring to these “athletes” as such? Vlad Guerrero Jr is going to be a mega star, and he’s built like a darts player. Maybe we should call them highly skilled players instead of athletes.

This is completely off topic mind you.

One of the teams in the New York area is young, exciting and coming off a wonderful 2018. They made several off season moves and looked poised for a bright future. The other franchise is the New York Mets. If you read the title, you’ll never guess which team we’ll be talking about for the next week.

If you’re here for coverage on baseball, you won’t find it. I don’t care about baseball as a whole. Truly, I don’t. If you want to hear my opinions on the Yankees, I don’t have many, other than Derek Jeter is a dick, and wasn’t the best Shortstop on his own team for about 12 seasons. No, the only part about baseball that I care about is the Mets, the clear team of my youth. It’s the one franchise I can say I follow as closely as possible. Yes, I am also a Jets fan, but my Mets loyalty comes first and foremost. Plus, you know, the Mets sometimes luck themselves into a good season. The Jets willingly drafted Christian Hackenberg.

It’s with a heavy heart that I have to admit I committed a grievous mortal fan sin last season. After a dismal run in May and June, where the team went 15- 39, I gave up. I completely stopped watching, save for some Jacob deGrom starts, Conforto and Nimmo at bats, and to boo Jay Booce whenever he waddled to the plate to go 0-4 with 7 strikeouts on the day. Even for a Mets fan, last season was an abomination. Just off the top of my head, here’s what I remember.

• After being marketed as an all in run to the postseason, the Mets added players such as Todd Frazier and Jason Vargas. Both players provided about as much impact as the polio virus would to the organization. Frazier was praised for his clubhouse leadership, which provided as many RBIs as his bat. Vargas was a welcomed addition to the rest of the NL East. Ronald Acuna is still accumulating statistics from his last at bat against Vargas in July. These were our two biggest splashes in free agency last season. Great start, right?

• Matt Harvey, former king of New York City, couldn’t tell the difference between an out and a three run homer. In his defense, he pitched after Vargas a lot, so he may have been following his lead. Harvey was so horrific, he was demoted to the bullpen, where he continued to suck. After outright refusing to go to the minor leagues to reinvent himself, he was traded to the Reds for Devin Mesoroco. Mesoroco hit for a slightly higher average than Harvey, so this was a net positive for the team.

• Yoenis Cespedes came up limp (hey now) after running the bases in an early May game. This seemingly routine hamstring pull would likely leave Cespedes on the DL for a month. Sadly, this is the expectation for Mets players. However, somehow this led to heel surgery on both of Cespedes heels… AT THE END OF THE SEASON. Why the hell didn’t he get this in May? This condition, which has a 10 month recovery time, was known by the organization at the time Cespedes signed a 4 year deal in 2017. The Wilpons decided to eat this $110,000,000 figure knowing they’d recoup it through insurance. From reports I’ve read, Cespedes could have had this surgery in 2017 when he landed on the DL, and have been ready for opening day 2018. Instead, there is no timetable and all of the Mets brass seem to doubt that he’ll play this year. As of 3/10, he hasn’t resumed throwing, which typically does not invovle the feet. At least we don’t need a power hitter. Or a good right handed bat. Or, you know, our best hitter. Fun fact – I was at the game Cespedes got hurt.

• Jose Reyes, former Mets great, continued to receive regular at bats despite not knowing what to do with them. Reyes, who not only lost his ability to play, but the respect of fans for a domestic abuse incident, became the face of the 2018 Mets season – meaning nobody wanted to look at him.

• Matt Harvey came back to Citi field with the Reds, and the team gave him a video package! Are you frigging kidding me! Here, I’m just going to link my old article about Harvey to save word count, but holy shit did this piss me off. I’m angry all over again

• During the best pitching season of the 200s, the Mets struggled to get Jacob deGrom to 10 wins. deGrom, who’s ERA was 1.70, and only gave up more than 3 runs in one start all season, finished with a record of 10-9. He won the Cy Young, but he should have received the MVP for not murdering any of his teammates. A personal shout out to Jeruys Familia, who before being traded, went out of his way to blow every deGrom lead.

• Noah Syndergaard, hyped relentlessly in the preseason for a big comeback 2018, missed a huge chunk of the season due to injuries. While his on the field performance was solid, he failed to reach his lofty potential, especially when compared to deGrom.

• Nobody punched Harvey in his face when he showed up to Citi Field. Where were you, 7 Line army? Huh?*

• Rushed back from a devastating shoulder injury, Michael Conforto homered in his first at bat in April. This was the only first half highlight Conforto had, who struck out nearly every other at bat. He did not round into form until August.

• The Mets batted out-of-order in a professional game. This actually happened.

• David Wright finally returned to the field for a final series in September. He received an unparalleled response from the fan base and understandably teared off. Thus ended the career of the second greatest Met of all time. A series of obscure injuries that cut a potential hall of fame career short, through no fault of his own.

This doesn’t even begin to address the tragic illness of Sandy Alderson. Alderson was forced to step down from the position, though fortunately, it looks like he is recovering.

While we’re on the somber topic, Tom Seaver, the greatest Met of all time, was diagnosed with Dementia earlier in March and will retire from the public eye. Truly depressing news. I think I speak for all Mets fans when I wish both men the best.

Ok, I’m going to go back to being ranty now.

2017- 2018 couldn’t have went worse for the organization. After 18 months of relevance, we devolved right back to bottom feeders. Naturally, we had a winning record (38-30) after the all-star break. The Mets excel after being eliminated from competitive play. Oh, and opening day. We have the best record on opening day. No, seriously:

https://www.mlb.com/news/opening-day-wins-by-mlb-team-c268497122

So, great. We’re good at something.

However, much like Daylight Savings brings about longer days, hope springs eternal during Spring Training. The 2018 season wasn’t all low lights. Here were some honest to goodness highlights.

• Jacob deGrom proved he is, at worst, a top 3 pitcher in baseball.

• Zach Wheeler had his best season of his professional career, and has put himself in the upper echelon of starters. It’s fair to argue that Wheeler is a top 25-30 pitcher, capable of being low-end #1, great #2, and an amazing #3. The Mets top 3 starters give the team some hope for 2019.

• Brandon Nimmo was a revelation. Everyone knew he would walk, but his power was a surprise. For a time, he lead the NL in OPS. Nimmo is the lead off hitter the Mets haven’t had since Jose Reyes (the good one), except Nimmo actually walks.

• Jeff McNeil left an impression, hitting .329 during his debut season. While it was a small sample size, he showed a similar offensive skill set to players like Daniel Murphy – great contact, low strikeouts, and middling power.

• Michael Conforto did rebound in the second half, showing his 2017 form. He also hit 28 home runs, so fear of his power disappearing should be alleviated.

• THE METS TRADED JAY BOOCE! COME PEOPLE LETS CELEBRATE! ALL NIGHT LONG!

So yeah, there’s some positives, though the negatives still outweight them. As of this writing, no good Samaritan has placed the Wilpon’s under house arrest. As long as they own the team, I don’t believe the Mets will ever be consistent winners. There’s too much negative juju surrounding the Wilpons. Sorry for the technical term there.

In the offseason, the Mets hired Brodie Van Wagenen after a tumultuous GM search. Reports were leaked from several candidates who stated they would never work under the Wilpons. So yeah, that’s great. Brodie himself is an odd signing, with the biggest red flag being he’s a former agent. He also has ties to the Mets players, most significantly the former agent of Jacob deGrom. Van Wagenen famously said in 2018 that the Mets should either pay or trade deGrom. Now, he’s facing that same dilemma. Good luck with that BVW.

It sounds like a really shitty off brand car, doesn’t it? Kind of like the Mets with the Yank…. you know what? Never mind.

In his first off-season, Brodie has done a pretty admirable job… in a vacuum. The end result looks pretty good, if not great, but getting there was a bumpy ride. For about a month, Brodie dangled Syndergaard out in every possible trade rumor. He considered trading two of Conforto, Nimmo and McNeil for JT Realmuto, an above average catcher. He brought in a 36-year-old 2B who was busted for PEDs as his signature transaction**. He then, again, tried to trade Syndergaard after acquiring said veteran, sending mixed signals on the “all in” or “Rebuild” plan. The end results screams all in. In fact, the Mets are already in midseason form. Here’s how the year has started.

• Jacob deGrom has asked for a contract extension, saying he wants to be a Met for life. He also implied he will cut his innings load without financial security. When asked about this BVW kind of shrugged and had no counter. You must have been a force in negotiations Brodie!

• Brandon Nimmo was sidelined for several days for eating undercooked chicken. Later it was revealed to have been a virus, but that hasn’t stopped fans from sending Nimmo meat thermometers and recipes.

• The rival Phillies signed Bryce Harper to the largest contract in history. Later on in the week, the Mets counterplots, Jeff McNeil, horrifically misplayed a routine fly ball in left field.

• Jed Lowrie, one of the Mets key off-season acquisitions, almost immediately got hurt on the first day of Spring Training. His knee injury remains a mystery. Lowrie has no time-table for a return.

• Todd Frazier is sidelined with an oblique injury with no timetable to return. Hey, I didn’t say all the notes were negative.

But does the team have enough talent? Should they have went all in on a Manny Machado or a Bryce Harper instead of chipping in at different positions? Well, that’s why we’re here.

For the next couple of weeks, Smash Ultimate will take a back seat as we prepare the 2019 Mets Preview. We’ll take a look at each position and see how they stand. At the end, I’ll give my prediction for the season. We might even make a joke or two on the way, but no joke could compare to the Wilpons.

Tune in, as we’ll start tommorw with a Catcher preview, and work our way around the diamond. Baseball is back everyone.

Oh, you fell asleep reading this. Yep, baseball is definitely back then.

*I do not actually console violence against athletes. At least I think I don’t. Ask me the next time Harvey’s pitching in Citi Field.

**Yes, I know he also acquired a 23 year old fireballer closer too. That’s not a funny sentence though.