The Beast that is/will be the NL East
I just got to talking with a Philly-fan friend of mine on the up and comers in this division. From Mike Pelfrey to Stephen Strasburg. From Jason Heyward to Stanton in Florida. Can't leave out Ike Davis either. Hitting has been around the division for a while with guys like David Wright, Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Carlos Beltran, etc. Now some fresh faces in the division who are also hitting, Stanton, Davis, Jason Bay, Jason Heyward etc. Pitching is also becoming a premium with guys like Johan Santana, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson leading the pack followed by newer guys such as Mike Pelfrey, Stephen Strasburg and Ricky Nolasco. The Mets featured an infield yesterday (excluding the catcher) of all home-grown guys under 30. David Wright, Jose Reyes, Ruben Tejada, Ike Davis and Mike Pelfrey. With as young as a majority of these teams are, the NL East could be a pretty damn competitive division for years to come. This could be fun to watch for the next 10 years. Thoughts?
almost 2 years ago
EMSfan9
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I appologize in advance for the formating
I tried to break it up using but it didnt work.
I support Jenrry Mejia as a starter. Screw you Jerry Manuel for thinking he's a set-up man.
If anybody could, I'd love some help
I support Jenrry Mejia as a starter. Screw you Jerry Manuel for thinking he's a set-up man.
I like the Mets going forward.
Barring any more stupidity by management, we’ll have an excellent home-grown infield along with good pitchers like Pelfrey, Niese, & Mejia(I’m still holding out hope that he will somehow get back to being a SP)
"I want to win now, not 3 years from now. That's my stance." - Kevin Burkhardt
I like our future going forward
I said earlier last year, to an effect, that the purpose of the 2010 Mets is to prepare us for the 2011 Mets. If we make the playoffs this year, consider it a bonus. But for next year, playoffs are a must!
A proud purveyor of MS Paints since Sep 09, 2009
I wish I could be that optimistic.
When you say an “excellent home-grown infield” I’m just not seeing it. Tejada’s upside is a good but not great fielder with almost zero power. Davis has very little star potential and has a great deal to prove. His OPS in his last 100 PAs, his second time around the league, is all of 700. I think he’ll be a solid regular and put up the average OPS for his position given time, but that’s his upside, imo. If we’re lucky Thole will develop into an average hitter for the position of catcher with below average but not ruinous defense. Reyes and Wright are terrific, of course, but we can’t separate talent from contract, and in 2011 we’ll be paying close to market value for both players. Finally, as much as I like Pelfrey and love what I’ve seen him do this year, that has been in all of a dozen starts. It would surprise no one if he reverted to being a durable, middle of the order starter. That’s extremely valuable when we’re paying him next to nothing, but very soon he’ll also be getting a market salary.
I appreciate your optimism. I wish I shared it.
Don't forget, though
Aside from talent already on the team, this year’s upcoming FA market offers some promise. Unfortunately, however, there are no legit slam dunks there, without some substantial price to play.
Don’t be too pessimistic, though – a few of our prospects are almost bound to break out at some point.
A proud purveyor of MS Paints since Sep 09, 2009
Why can't you be optimistic?
Who says that Ike has to be a ‘star’ like Stanton, Strasburg, etc.? I think it’s important for the Mets to have a guy like Davis…who has above average D and has some power.
Also, on Pelfrey, what is saying that he is going to regress? The man looks like he has turned a corner so far this year. I think we shouldn’t worry about him going back to his old ways just yet…
Tejada is actually supposed to be a great fielder at 2nd
and with an obp/contact skills high enough to post league average ops/wOBA.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
along with decent base running steals
not Reyes skills but something like 20 or so steals a year
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
Last night I was thinking of a long history of Pelf/Stras duels
And watching the highlights of the Nats game it felt like the electricity I used to feel watchnig Doc in ’84
i would like the mets going forward better
if Meija wasn’t being broken. But one of Havens/Tejada has to stick, and hopefully one of F-mart/Captain Kirk, plus Pagan who’s only 28. And maybe we can trade the surplus for a young impact arm ala the dan haren trade.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
Pagan is looking very good for the future now.
Bay, Pagan, Beltran, Fart, Kirk sounds good. If we could just get rid of K-Rod and Ollie P. I don’t think that its definite that one of Havens/Tejada will stick.
i think tejada will stick
he might need be a world beater but I think he can at least be an averagish player with his defense.
And maybe we can make Ollie the closer next year.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
What better way to not waste $12 million
then to assign Ollie to closing duties? After we get K-Rod that vest, then we can re-focus on our closer of the future. It’s a win-win.
A proud purveyor of MS Paints since Sep 09, 2009
Pagan may be only 28
which is actually getting into his post prime years, but he’ll also be a third year arb guy next year, meaning we’ll be paying him around 80% of market rate. It’s great that we have rights to him, but in 2011 and 2012 his salary will be around what he’d be getting as a FA.
Has he ever said whether he wanted to stay in NY?
I also have the feeling that players like Pagan who bloom late often have short peaks. By the time we lose rights to him he’ll be 30. I’d be very leery of keeping him after that, and certainly not for a three year deal which someone will give him if he keeps playing as well as he has for the last two seasons.
I don't think there's actually any proof to that
I also don’t think Pagan is really blooming late, his rate stats have been the same since 06 the difference is he’s finally getting playing time.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
Well his defense has way improved but thats probably more from consistent
playing time and improved route taking than blooming.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
28 is not post prime.
It’s the beginning of your prime.
"Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring; besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls. It's more democratic."
- CRASH DAVIS
"Prime" is like 26-29, no?
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Jun 11, 2010 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Dusty Baker and Joe Morgan agree.
May you be locked in a battle of wits against Jerry Manuel.
by BobbyV_Incognito on Jun 11, 2010 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Also as sad as it is
I imagine the Marlins are going to end up shipping off a significant part of their team before guys like Stanton/Maybin reach their full potential.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
That would seriously piss me off
If they continue to sell off their high end talent even after they have gotten their precious stadium deal, then I would lead the brigade to tar and feather the clowns in charge of the organization.
meh loria claimed poor and got the league to buy the expos
and give him the marlins, won a championship and then claimed poor again and sold off the team. there’s not much more he could do IMO to make himself slimier.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
Connie Mack pulled it off twice too
He was called lots of things, but I’m not sure slimy was one of them.
From Fred to Jeff
and O to Jerr
Funny things
Are everywhere
- Dr. Seuss (if he were a Mets fan)
Maybe take a swim in the Florida Everglades
He’ll fit right in
A proud purveyor of MS Paints since Sep 09, 2009
The one quote about Strasburg
that really struck me was Joel Sherman comparing it to Orson Welles making Citizen Kane as his first movie. It really reminded of when in 1985 Gammons called Gooden “baseball’s Mozart.” I don’t think Peter knew exactly how prescient he was.
As a baseball fan, I hope Strasburg beats that and has a long and outstanding career ending with a plaque in Cooperstown. As a Mets fan, I hope he saves his A game for the Phillies, Braves and Marlins.
From Fred to Jeff
and O to Jerr
Funny things
Are everywhere
- Dr. Seuss (if he were a Mets fan)
East coast baseball is just better. Case in point: NL East/AL East
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Jun 9, 2010 11:20 PM EDT reply actions
Which is usually the opposite of basketball
The Western Conference in the NBA tend to dominate the Eastern one. Call it the feng shui of sports, if you will.
A proud purveyor of MS Paints since Sep 09, 2009
that was really only true from like 1999-2005
The East still isn’t as deep as the West, but the gap has closed majorly. The years when the Nets were making the finals, they were probably the 7th or 8th best team in the NBA, if that. Now, the Celtics, Magic, and Cavs are all capable of playing with the elite of the Western Conference.
2009 Did Not Happen
I'd disagree about the Cavs
but the problem is the middle of the pack in the west is probably still capable of playing the elite in the East. In fact I’d wager Utah and the Spurs might have given the Celtics/Magic/Cavs a run for their money.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
Although I also think a big problem is
vastly superior coaching and roster building. The top 5-6 players on the top eastern/western teams aren’t that different but when you’ve got Mike Brown and SVG, who I love but him and his brother are like anti adjustment anti getting away from their game plan leading the top teams, and when the squads only go about 5-6 deep, the differences in a 7 game series can look huge.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
I'm not really talking about 7 game series though
In the early part of this decade, if you took the Nets or the Pacers or the other “good” Eastern Conference teams and put them in the West, they’d have been struggling to make the playoffs. The Cavs, Magic, and Celtics wouldn’t be struggling to make the playoffs now – they might not be as good as the Lakers, they might not even be the 2 seed, but all 3 of them would be right there in the hunt in the West.
The Western Conference was WAY more superior to the Eastern Conference 8 years ago than it is now, and the West is getting older.
2009 Did Not Happen
the top of the west is getting older
but then they have teams like OKC, Portland, and Memphis who’s average ages are like under 26 who might be top play-off teams in the east but have to sneak in in the west. Where as the only young good team in the East is the Hawks and they’re in ownership flux and really only have 3 young players. The East’s top are pretty much just as old.
I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.
don't forget coglan
he could still come on strong in the second half
"Being an Orioles fan is like having very painful genital warts."
"harden the fuck up mike gonzalez."
The Signing Bonus: We're back in business.
Sweet post.
"(Jason Heyward) is like the Grim Reaper -- You know he's gonna get you, you just never know when or where."
by Scott Coleman on Jun 10, 2010 12:17 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
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