Exactly. Greinke to Arizona is evidence of that. No more chance of winning a championship there than where he was in LA.

(12-14-2015 07:26 PM)CoastGuardHawk06 Wrote:  Exactly. Greinke to Arizona is evidence of that. No more chance of winning a championship there than where he was in LA.

When he signed, probably, now, Arizona definitely has more of a chance

Arizona is legit now for sure.

(12-18-2015 10:18 PM)jumpinmullet Wrote:  Arizona is legit now for sure.

I would take Arizona over SF in the regular season, but I would hate to face SF and Bumgarner in the playoffs.

(12-19-2015 03:53 PM)bricksnivy Wrote:  

(12-18-2015 10:18 PM)jumpinmullet Wrote:  Arizona is legit now for sure.

I would take Arizona over SF in the regular season, but I would hate to face SF and Bumgarner in the playoffs.

Question is, can they west wrestle away one of those wild cards from the Central, and East?

(12-21-2015 01:01 PM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(12-19-2015 03:53 PM)bricksnivy Wrote:  

(12-18-2015 10:18 PM)jumpinmullet Wrote:  Arizona is legit now for sure.

I would take Arizona over SF in the regular season, but I would hate to face SF and Bumgarner in the playoffs.

Question is, can the west Wrestle away one of those wild cards from the Central, and East?

Exactly. Both those divisions are monsters right now. Hell, the central almost had 3 teams get 100 wins each last year.

I can't imagine the Pirates being as good this year. Cubs and Cardinals in the NL seem destined for playoff spots for sure. Meaning the NL West's chances of getting 2 would depend on whether the Nationals have a rebound season.

Then again, this is baseball/sports in general and anything can happen. Mets could very easily have a disappointing season. All it takes is an injury or 2.

Or not getting a bat. Let's not forget how wretched they were pre Cespy

(12-21-2015 09:32 PM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  Or not getting a bat. Let's not forget how wretched they were pre Cespy

Some Mets fans are worried about this, but its unwarranted. Even without Cespedes and Murphy this offense is worlds better than it was the first half of last season. Michael Conforto looks like an eventual 20+ HR guy (maybe as soon as this year), Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera are good contact hitters in the middle infield, and hopefully we won't have the kind of lengthy injuries we had to Wright, d'Arnaud, and Duda.

I also don't think Sandy Alderson is done. Expect the Mets to add either Denard Span or Gerardo Parra into the OF mix to join Granderson, Conforto and Juan Lagares. Not to mention....Cespedes still hasn't been signed by anyone yet. Just saying.

Oh, and we have solidly graded OF prospect Brandon Nimmo and 2B prospect Dilson Herrera likely coming up at some point midseason. They've both had a lot of time and money invested in them and had a lot of success at the AA/AAA levels last year. Walker was signed in part to be a "bridge" to when Herrera is ready. There are other prospects in the mix but those are the 2 that seem MLB-ready at the moment.

How much more does Wright have in the tank though? Seasons like last year for him will soon become the norm. He's no spring chicken.

(12-21-2015 10:22 PM)CoastGuardHawk06 Wrote:  How much more does Wright have in the tank though? Seasons like last year for him will soon become the norm. He's no spring chicken.

I would love for the Mets to begin transitioning him to 1B, as his balky lower back quite clearly was bothering him when fielding grounders. But that transition would need to begin now, meaning Lucas Duda would need to be traded to open up the hole.

Getting rid of the Captain is not an option, as his teammates fed off of him just as much as they did Cespedes and Murphy late in the season and in the playoffs.

I'm not sure how it could be unwarranted 08. Proof is in the pudding. Pre Cespy one of the worst offensive teams in the NL, post Cespy one of the best. I'm not saying you have to resign Cesy i'm saying if you don't you better somewhat replace him.

(12-22-2015 07:57 AM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  I'm not sure how it could be unwarranted 08. Proof is in the pudding. Pre Cespy one of the worst offensive teams in the NL, post Cespy one of the best. I'm not saying you have to resign Cesy i'm saying if you don't you better somewhat replace him.

Its unwarranted, once again, because this isn't at all the same offense pre-Cespy; that offense you saw wasn't even close to what the roster is shaping up to look like right now. We were throwing minor league talent out there every day, like Eric Campbell and John Mayberry Jr. That won't at all be the case this season.

We're steadily making improvements to make up for that loss, if he does indeed leave. As the Royals showed, you don't need a superstar hitter to win a title. You need good pitching and a lot of good contact hitters. That's what the Mets are building as we speak. We have depth basically at every position but catcher and 1B. Last year there was no such thing as depth until later in the season after the Cespedes and Kelly Johnson/Uribe deals, plus everyone getting healthy.

Not to mention his postseason play was suspect, and he very clearly isn't a true centerfielder. A long-term deal for him shuts out Brandon Nimmo from opportunities and means a lot of games where Conforto leaves the game early so that Lagares can come in at CF and Cespedes can move to LF. Not an ideal circumstance.

There's good reason why Cespedes wasn't signed in the first round of free agency. He could very well still end up a Met but if he doesn't, it's not the end of the world.

Top 5 pitching staffs heading into 2016 as of 21Dec (based on WAR):

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/160033952/...-offseason

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the BricksNIvy.

I value advanced metrics, and I am excited about next year, but I wouldn't make the argument that Chicago has the top rotation in all of baseball. If we do, to go along with three out of 20 of this past season’s best players (according to WAR), look out.

Just for comparison purposes, for instance, this was the Mets lineup on June 9, 2015:

1. Curtis Granderson RF
2. Ruben Tejada 2B
3. Lucas Duda 1B
4. Michael Cuddyer LF
5. Wilmer Flores SS
6. Juan Lagares CF
7. Eric Campbell 3B
8. Anthony Recker C


Our lineup, right now, would look something like this:

1. Granderson RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera SS
3. Wright 3B
4. Duda 1B
5. Travis d'Arnaud C
6. Michael Conforto LF
7. Neil Walker 2B
8. Lagares CF

Replace Lagares with Span or Parra and that's worlds better. And I also wouldn't rule out the Mets trading one of their big 5 arms at the trade deadline next season for someone like, say, Joey Votto.

(12-22-2015 11:17 AM)bricksnivy Wrote:  Top 5 pitching staffs heading into 2016 as of 21Dec (based on WAR):

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/160033952/...-offseason

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the BricksNIvy.

I value advanced metrics, and I am excited about next year, but I wouldn't make the argument that Chicago has the top rotation in all of baseball. If we do, to go along with three out of 20 of this past season’s best players (according to WAR), look out.

Tough to argue many, but i'd replace LA with AZ IMO.

(12-22-2015 11:20 AM)Seahawk Nation 08 Wrote:  Replace Lagares with Span or Parra and that's worlds better. And I also wouldn't rule out the Mets trading one of their big 5 arms at the trade deadline next season for someone like, say, Joey Votto.

Would you seriously trade one of your top 3 pitchers for Joey Votto and his contract?

(12-22-2015 11:20 AM)Seahawk Nation 08 Wrote:  Just for comparison purposes, for instance, this was the Mets lineup on June 9, 2015:

1. Curtis Granderson RF
2. Ruben Tejada 2B
3. Lucas Duda 1B
4. Michael Cuddyer LF
5. Wilmer Flores SS
6. Juan Lagares CF
7. Eric Campbell 3B
8. Anthony Recker C


Our lineup, right now, would look something like this:

1. Granderson RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera SS
3. Wright 3B
4. Duda 1B
5. Travis d'Arnaud C
6. Michael Conforto LF
7. Neil Walker 2B
8. Lagares CF

Replace Lagares with Span or Parra and that's worlds better. And I also wouldn't rule out the Mets trading one of their big 5 arms at the trade deadline next season for someone like, say, Joey Votto.

It's a better better but i wouldn't say significantly. you are right though 1 or 2 more would definitely improve. I think what you are taking for granted is how much having a Cespy in the middle effected the other guys too.

(12-22-2015 11:32 AM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  It's a better better but i wouldn't say significantly. you are right though 1 or 2 more would definitely improve. I think what you are taking for granted is how much having a Cespy in the middle effected the other guys too.

I absolutely recognize that. Murphy saw a lot of good pitches to hit in his awesome postseason run in large part because Cespedes was hitting behind him.

But we're operating as if both of those guys are gone. The front office is not willing to sacrifice defense, and both Murphy at 2B and Cespedes in CF represented liabilities in that department. Murphy had a negative defensive WAR for 3 straight seasons; he was costing us games at that spot with his defense, and that was shown for the world to see when he had a big error against the Royals. We replaced him with a solid hitter (Walker) who plays at least average defense, and made it possible for our future at the position (Dilson Herrera) to not be blocked off. We'll likely be replacing Cespedes with a true everyday CF for significantly cheaper, and without blocking Nimmo.

Our front office deserves the benefit of the doubt at this point, no? The acquistion of Cespedes was, in the first place, because of a steal of a trade where we didn't give up a "big 5" arm or a top 3-5 prospect. I think Alderson can do something similar again if need be at the deadline next season.

You can talk defensive upgrades all you want, that wasn't your problem. You lost a ton of 3-2, 2-1 games. And Cespy had a few mishaps but has one of the better arms in the league so he makes up for it with that. I just don't see how as composed this second, that this line up is any better than the team that was in the bottom third last year. You are relying on a whole lot of unknowns.