Mets

[Westheim]

Eh, I was just looking at things. Although the wrenches almost sold me.

Those wrenches almost make the rotation.

72-90.

[Amazin69]

Mets officially re-signed Ottavino, designating Tyler Heineman for assignment.

(I guess they didn't like my "Heiney-man and Butt-o" jokes? No appreciation for juvenile humor, grumble-grumble.)

So, in one day, the Mets brought back Ottavino and ensured a spot for Narvaez? What could be better than that?

(Insert Bouton's line about a July 4th doubleheader in Kansas City here.)

[Amazin69]

Mets invite a dozen NRIs to camp, including Nido, Kyle Crick, Drew Gilbert, Jett Williams and Kevin Parada.

Mets sell Heiney-man to Bahstahn for a dinner at Jimmy's on the Pier.

(Is Jimmy's still there? Let me check.

Nah. It closed in 2005, and "on the pier" was only ever a nickname. It was Jimmy's Harbor Side, as seen below.



That said, it was a popular nickname. There is a "Jimmy's on the Pier" in Galveston TX of all places, and I presume they are inspired by the Boston original.)

[Amazin69]

Mets are poised to sign Jake Diekman to a 1-year, $4 mn deal, pending a physical.

If Diekman, who bombed with the ChiSox before getting his stuff together in TB last year, can hit his vesting option, the deal will expand into the 4-years/$16.5 the Mets offered Wandy Peralta before he chose SD instead. Given that Diekman is 37, I'm not sure about options that expand the deal to age 40, but still.

Speculation is that Sean Reid-Foley might be DFA'd to clear space. Aw, shucks.

[Amazin69]

Billy Eppler suspended by MLB for faking injury reports to open roster spots.

Last three Mets GMs:

Jared Porter—fired for harassing sexts. (60 "no"s mean NO, JP!)
Zak Scott— arrested for DUI. Unclear if he also GMUI.
Eppler.

Looks like Uncle Stevie needs to upgrade his hiring practices.

OTOH, I'm almost intrigued to see what David Stearns can add to this list.

[Westheim]

They oughta add that to OOTP pronto rapido!

[Amazin69]

Do they have the Jeff Luhnow "hacked into his old club's server to steal scouting reports" deal in there, yet? I haven't been playing the game so much.

[Amazin69]

Mets sign Shintaro Fujinami. Because relievers with ERAs of 7.18 are just what this team needs!

Perhaps he had trouble adjusting, and Stearns thinks Senga can help him out. Heck, perhaps Senga is his boyfriend. But going on stats rather than speculation, this is a move that makes signing Lopez and Ottavino Redux look comparatively smart, IMO

BTW, it turned out to be Austin Adams (rather than Reid-Foley) who took the bullet so the Mets could get Diekman on the 40-man. (Adams is still invited to Spring Training, however.) No word on who takes one for Fujinami.

(No, Westheim, you are not allowed to nominate Ottavino. Sorry.)

[Westheim]

This team managed to suck all the "well maybe" out of me in January, why would I bother now?

Yes, I'm still gonna watch hundreds of hours of Mets baseball this year. Because I hate myself *that* much.

[Amazin69]

Revised 40-man:

SP: Kodai Senga
SP: Jose Quintana
SP: Adrien Houser
SP: Sean Manaea
SP: Luis Severe-No

SP (other): Joey "46 awesome IP" Lucchesi, Jose Bútto, Tylor Megill, David Peterson (INJ)

CL: Edwin "I know it was YOU, Frankie!" Diaz
Set-up: Adam Ottavino, Back by Popular Demand!
RP: Brooks Raley, Scourge of the Homosexuals
RP: Drew Smith, the Legacy of Lucas Duda
RP: Creakin' Jake Diekman, one good year away from three more guaranteed

RP (others): Phil Bickford, Shintaro "7.18" Fujinami, Reed Garrett, Grant Hartwig, Max Kranick (really?), 2022 All-Star Jorge Lopez, Yohan Ramirez, Sean Reid-Foley, Michael "Ka-Boom!" Tonkin, Josh Walker

C: Alvarez
Incredibly Overpaid Reserve C: Narvaez

1B: Kingman
2B: Squirrel
SS: Francisco "30/30/34 million" Lindor
3B: Mauricio, I guess
reserve 3B: Baty
reserve reserve 3B: Vientos
reserve reserve reserve 3B: Wendle, with reservations

reserve DP guy: Zack Shortstop

down on the farm: Acuna

LF: Bader/Stewart platoon. (Note: this will probably never happen)
CF: Mr. Pointy
RF: The Broken Corpse of Starling Marte (in theory)/Tyrone Taylor (in practice)

Back to Brooklyn, kid: Alex Ramirez.

As my ancestors would say, Oy, gevalt

[Westheim]

Mine would say something like "geh, mach mer noch an auf". Loosely, pour me another one, because it's hopeless anyway.

[Westheim]

Hah! Mets also get City Connect uniforms this year. No designs out there yet.

How about white shirts with red sleeves and a green hat that will disturbingly remind you of the Philly Phanatic.

...who can probably pitch better than the entire damn roster.

[Westheim]

Thanks for offering help, Tony, but I am sure the boys can break down all by themselves.

[Amazin69]

Jorge Soler signs with the Blind Squirrels, ending the small possibility he would land with the Mets.

Rather surprised Stearns hasn't been more active. A bunch of rotation fillers who range from "adequate" (Houser) to "oh, FFS!" (Severe No) and couple of half-outfielders (Bader, Taylor) hardly seem like a winter's haul.

I wouldn't want to be the sucker that Boras is looking for wrt Bellinger, but why aren't the Metsies vying for Snell?

Honestly, I'd settle for J.D. Martinez or even Matt Chapman or Adam Duvall. Spend some ducats, Uncle Stevie!

[Amazin69]

No J.D. Martinez (the reason the Giants signed Soler is because J.D. turned them down), but Luke Voit is coming to camp as an NRI! And so is Ji-Man Choi!

Feel the excitement?

Ah, who needs J.D., anyhow? .893 OPS, 33 dingers (in Dodger Stadium, mind) despite missing a few weeks with injury? Feh! I'm sure random ABs by Vientos and Marte will produce just as well, right?

[Westheim]

I kinda like the chubby Korean guy.

But it's not like this season is salvageable anymore. I'm still with 72-90.

[Westheim]

Kodai Senga to miss the start of the season and who-knows-how-long with a bum shoulder.

68-94.

[Amazin69]

Yeah, but at least this opens up a rotation spot for Lucchesi!

(Scott Boras just put an extra 0 on Snell's demand, I bet. Or perhaps it's that you have to take Bellinger to get Snell?)

ETA: No, wait, Bear Stearns has already said the Mets will deal with Senga's injury "internally". No Snell, no Jordan Montgomery. The days of big spending are over.

Which is why there are now articles talking up "solutions" such as Michael "Might be Better in the Outfield" Lorenzen, The Ghost of Rich Hill (remember, I called him that three years ago) and…Future Hall of Famer Zach Grienke.

Yes, the Grienke who went 2-15, 5.06 for Kansas City last season. He'll fit right in!

[Amazin69]

Mets acquire LHP Kolton Ingram on waivers from Detroit!

The tiny lefty (5'9", 170lbs) was a late-round Detroit draftee in 2019, but was cut loose after a single year of rookie ball. He then pitched decently in working his way up Angels chain the past 3 seasons, but getting knocked in 5 September cameos (8.44 ERA) made him available again, and the Tigers brought him home at the start of the month.

Three weeks later, the Tigers have sobered up, and Ingram is now headed to PStL, instead.

Yes, pitchers discarded by the Angels and the Tigers is definitely the way to fine-tune the staff, you betcha!

(Oy. This isn't shopping in the canned fruit aisle, this is dumpster-diving!)

[Westheim]

Who came up with the Mets schedule??

The Mets, in the first six weeks, play the Barves for one series, and apart from that ... nobody from their division.

The Mets will play every single NL Central team, including the Cubs and Cards home and away, before they'll ever face any of the Philthies, Fish, or Gnats.

Despite all that, the Mets still play more games in September out of their division than inside it (13-12, but I'm mid-rant, so it counts!!).

I blame Rob Numbfred for this. Rob Numbfred is to blame for every evil in the world!!