Your assumptions for the storylines are correct, and yes, we are a big circus over here on Long Island...

For the life of me, I can't figure out why the Cardinals fired their manager. Everyone loved him..the vets, and the younger players.

Now, with Ollie Marmol being the youngest manager in baseball, he's going to struggle to gain the respect of the club..and this is a club that won 90 games last year, despite losing FOUR starting pitchers to injury, for big chunks of the season. With Flaherty, Dakota Hudson, and others healthy for the season, they would easily have won 100 games.

"Joe Espada, Matt Quatraro and Buck Showalter are the finalists for the Mets’ managerial opening, a source familiar with their process said Sunday. That trio will interview in person with owner Steve Cohen and others in New York in the coming days, with a hire possible by the end of the week. The freshly pared list includes one veteran manager (Showalter) and the bench coaches from two of the majors’ most successful teams in recent years (the Astros’ Espada, the Rays’ Quatraro)."

Today's NY Daily News headline, which could be used annually for the Amazins:

"The Mets have the pieces in place for a tremendous season or another classic heartbreak"

Look, at least they are somewhat optimistic at this point about the team. Take a scan of some other current headlines about New York teams. I can't remember any other period of prolonged, widespread incompetence as we are seeing these days in New York sports. (Exception, of course: NYCFC's recent championship. But while I do not want to downplay their achievement, I don't see theirs as a major professional sport in this country, yet.)

Weirdly, Ron Swoboda was on of my all time favorite players. Seriously.

"BetOnline, an internet gambling company, had him listed Wednesday as the 1/5 favorite. The odds were much longer for Espada (3/1) and Quatraro (7/1)."

And, heh:

Not weird, just a classic story of early hype and promise followed by mundane career , but ahhhh....one great moment in the World Series.

His name was very close to mine, alphabetically. I like Dansby Swanson, too. Heh heh heh.

Steven Cohen
@StevenACohen2
I’m pleased to announce Buck Showalter as the new manager of the New York Mets

Remains to be seen how the kings of bling are going to get along with him.

Attachment 838347

The Mets choosing Buck Showalter as their new manager hardly was a shocking development. Neither was owner Steve Cohen announcing the hire on Twitter early Saturday afternoon.

And that’s exactly what these Mets, now in their second year of the Cohen Era, need at this time.

No surprises.

They’ve had far too many of those, some the product of deficient background checks, others the ghosts of past bad behavior. "No surprises'' also applies to wondering what you’re going to get on a regular basis from the manager’s perch in the dugout, the nightly dice roll that’s part of the deal with a first-timer.

While it’s true that Showalter is guilty of never making it to a World Series — he has only one playoff series win on his resume — he’s quickly turned losing franchises into contenders, He built up the expansion Diamondbacks from the desert floor, and both the Yankees and D-backs (in their fourth season of existence) won a ring the year after his departure. When we last saw the Mets as they spiraled into September oblivion, they looked (and behaved) like a club tailor-made for a Showalter intervention.

"I told you last year I wanted to win," Cohen said at Scherzer’s introduction. "I talked about sustaining winning and winning championships. And I mean it."

We’re believing it now. Even during baseball’s nuclear winter, with the sport currently frozen by the owner-driven lockout and others chilling out during the holidays, Cohen is backing up those words. Just as giving a record contract to Scherzer signaled the Mets are done being punchlines, hiring Showalter brings a level of gravitas few in the game today can match.

I'm good with the Buckeroo.

I did a quick analysis of Buck Showalter, using baseball reference dot com.

Let me start by saying that I don't have a dog in this hunt. I neither like nor dislike the guy.

1551 wins, and by looking at his season by season stats, his wins vs. pythagorean (expected wins) is plus five, total, over 3000 games managed.

Not sure what his means. To me, he is a perfectly normal, nothing special manager.

Next is stealing. Only once in his career was he ever anywhere near league average in steal attempts, and that was the year he had Womack steal 72 bases. For his career, outside of that one season, his players attempt to steal second at about half the rate of the rest of the teams in the league.

Same with sacrifices...about 55% of league average for his career. Not sure what he is doing in the dugout..as it appears to me that he sits on his ass and lets the players do their thing, with little additional "strategy." Now...I'm not a big fan of either stealing second (unless your success rate is 80+%) or sacrificing, so this may be a positive.

His IBB rate is league average, for his career.

Edit to add...he has used about 14% fewer pinch hitters than the other teams in his leagues. Could be that he was mainly in AL, not sure how that stat is generated.

So..you have a low key manager that doesn't take chances. Is this what the Mets need?

Two of the last three Mets managers took chances. One harassing women trying to get lucky, the other cheating to win a World Series.

Rojas, I don't hate that the Mets tried someone new but at some point if you give a rookie a chance and he's not setting the world on fire, you have to cut bait. Giving the Mets another record in infamy - the team to spend the longest time in first place while finishing the season below .500 - that was something we could have done without.

Gimme some of that low key.

Also, maybe low key gets to the heart of this matter. I am not just talking about the "fans are sacrosanct" notion. I am talking about being able to dampen down player emotions and players being able to handle adversity better. The melding of personalities and egos into an effective team. These are intangibles that an experienced manager like Buck Showalter can bring to bear.

Mets will retire Keith Hernandez' number this year

Good! That leaves Gary Carter as an obvious one from long ago, which they also could have done while he was still alive.......

Mets! :sleep:

These are "The Mets most adversely affected by a shortened season" according to a newspaper that is behind a paywall. I give you the gist:

RHP Jacob deGrom:

First, in the near-term, money matters: Because he has an opt-out clause in his contract for after this season, deGrom might be a free agent come November.

But before he decides to hit the open market for the first time, he’ll want to prove he is healthy and durable by pitching a (mostly?) full season. Those red flags from last year, when he missed the entire second half because of a series of arm injuries, won't just disappear.

Second, in a bigger-picture way, legacy implications: What about his eventual Hall of Fame case? DeGrom already has missed so much of his early 30s — his 2020-21 combine for less than one full season — that his potential Hall of Fame track has taken a hit.

OF Brandon Nimmo:

A free agent next offseason, Nimmo could be in line for a nine-figure contract — but he needs to show he can stay on the field first. And staying on the field is difficult if nobody is allowed on the field.

1B Pete Alonso:

Remember when then-general manager Brodie Van Wagenen did the right thing by putting Alonso on the Opening Day roster in 2019, ensuring that his service time was not manipulated and that he would be a free agent after six seasons instead of seven? That might’ve been for nothing.

If another nine days of season — 16 total — are canceled, Alonso would be at risk of having his free agency delayed a year until after the 2025 season.

RHP Carlos Carrasco:

This is the last guaranteed year on Carrasco’s contract, but he has a vesting option for 2023. If he throws 170 innings in ‘22 and is expected to be healthy entering ‘23, he’ll be due $14 million that year.

Already, 170 innings will be a tough milestone to reach.

2B Robinson Cano:

When you are away from the majors for 18 months, maybe stretching it to 19 months or 20 months doesn’t make a difference.

But Cano, who was suspended last year because he tested positive for a steroid, has been gone for a long time that is only getting longer. And his remaining ability at the plate and in the field is a major question. A shortened spring training — the usual six or seven weeks will be cut in half — won’t help his reacclimation. His mediocre performance in the Dominican Winter League didn’t inspire confidence, either.

3B/LF Mark Vientos and SS Ronny Mauricio:

These are two of the Mets’ top four prospects, but they were added to the 40-man roster in November to protect them from the Rule 5 draft

Because they are on the 40-man roster, they are not allowed to attend minor-league spring training, which is happening as scheduled, or play in minor-league games, which will begin in early April, until the lockout is over. That means crucial missed development time for the second time in three years after the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor-league season.

Thank you for reminding me that we are still burdened with Robinson Corpseno.

Thanks again, Mets!