How Much Money To Keep Lin?
There’s a big stink being made by Knicks fans about the team letting Jeremy Lin go to the Houston Rockets as a restricted free agent. Anger is being aimed toward the team, owner James Dolan and even at Lin himself over this issue. But the anger here is ridiculous.
Lin played regularly for just 26 games this past season before getting injured. It was the first regular playing time of his career. He showed fans that he can play at an elevated level and the fans loved him for it. But it was just 26 games.
I don’t mean to demean Lin or minimize the tremendous contribution he made to the Knicks last season but after just 26 games of regular playing time I think it would be fair to say he’s still a developing player. Yes, a developing player with some solid cred to build on and a starting job going into camp. But still a developing player.
Should a developing player be given a $25.3 million contract over 3 years? And what about the luxury tax hit the team will take for Lin? (The luxury tax could be as much as $50 million.)
If Lin started all last year and managed to keep up a consistently high level of play I’d be all in. But this is an awfully large sum of money to invest on a player based on such a small sample size of games regardless of the level of performance in those games. I’ll be happy if the Knicks end up signing Lin but not upset at them if they don’t.
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Home Run Derby IS The All Star Game
I was watching some of the Home Run Derby last night with my son and marveled at his fascination while he watched. The enthusiasm he had whenever a ball went over the wall, especially when they fell into the fountain at Kansas City’s Kaufman Stadium, was off the charts. (Maybe I can get him to CitiField next year to see balls hit to Shea Bridge.) To him the Derby was electric.
But when I checked my Twitter feed I got a whole different view of the Derby. It was a negative view. People saying how it was useless and a waste of time and other things that I won’t repeat. But seeing my son watching I’d beg to differ. In fact his excitment is exactly the reaction that fans used to have for the All Star Game.
Much has been said about the All Star Game over the years. It used to be a showcase of the best talent in the game. But as salaries rose and players attitudes changed and the process for choosing players came under fire the game devolved. Making the game count for home field advantage in the World Series didn’t help things either. (It may have made things worse.) The game is barely watchable anymore.
But the exuberance my son displayed as he watched the Derby was the same I had as a kid watching the All Star Game in the 1970s. So while the act of a home run derby may seem silly to many it appears to be accomplishing the original goal of the Game: put on an exhibition to showcase the talent and excitment that is Major League Baseball.
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Rooting Against Bay?
For various reasons I don’t get to watch very many Mets games. And most of the games I do watch I watch alone. To help make the experience less lonely I often watch with my laptop open and monitor my Twitter feed during the game. The interaction with other fans helps make it feel as if I’m watching with a group (which is always a better way to watch a sporting event). Last night I watched a game like this for the first time in a few weeks and it was a very revealing experience.
One of the hot topics of discussion by Mets fans over the last few years has been the performance (or lack thereof) of Jason Bay. Since being acquired by the Mets Bay has hit .245 with 21 home runs and 109 RBI. His OPS with the Mets is .713, well below his career mark of .859 and the .915 he had in a year and a half with the Red Sox. He’s also spent 40% of his time with the Mets on the disabled list. Did I mention he’s getting paid $66 million over 4 years for this performance?
As Bay went 0 for 5 last night, extending his hitless streak to 16 at bats since being activated from his latest stint on the DL, fans are growing more and more frustrated. I’m with them on that. He’s being paid a lot of money to fill a role that he has not been able to perform in. But what finally sank in to me last night as I watched my Twitter stream is that many Mets fans are actually rooting against Bay.
This was a revelation to me. How can you root against a guy on your team? I can understand if a players poor performance, whether on the field or off, makes it hard to root for him. But against him? What does that accomplish?
It’s obvious that Bay is not working out for the Mets. It’s obvious that fans want him gone. But is rooting against him going to hasten his exit? Or just prolong his stay?
And what about the team? Isn’t rooting against one of the players akin to rooting against the team?
I take the opposite approach. I root for him. I want him to turn it around. I want him to succeed. I want him to get hits, knock in runs, etc. The more the better. Why? Because every hit he gets helps the team. Every play he makes helps the team.
And if you’re one of the people who want Bay off the team (and I’m not saying that would be wrong) then you should be rooting for him too. Why? Because nobody will take him off the Mets hands unless he starts performing.
So I ask once again: How can you root against a guy on your team?
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ARod: 23 Grand Slams = 23 Home Runs
A lot is made of the grand slam. It’s one of the more exciting plays in an otherwise mostly staid game. It’s the most runs you can score with one swing of the bat. And now Alex Rodriguez has more of them than almost anyone ever with the exception of Lou Gehrig, whom ARod tied with his 23rd grand salami last night.
But when you boil it down to its core what does the grand slam really mean? It means that the players ahead of the grand slam managed to get on base. The player who hits the grand slam is merely the beneficiary of good hitting (or poor fielding) ahead of him in the batting order.
I don’t mean to take anything away from ARod. I believe in giving credit where it’s due. I give ARod credit for 639 home runs in his career (so far). But I don’t focus on the 23 he was fortunate to hit one with the bases loaded.
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Two Of My Favorite People Were On TV
Two of my favorite people, Jerry Seinfeld and Mr. Met, were on a TV show I’ve never heard of (and not likely to hear of again). Here’s the aftershow webshow.
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Hit Braun = Hit Wright?
People are talking a lot about Terry Collins taking David Wright out of last night’s game as well as Wright’s reaction. Honestly I’ve been waiting to see Wright behave that way for years.
For those who don’t know what happened: After a solo home run by Rickie Weeks in the seventh inning Mets reliever D.J. Carrasco hit Ryan Braun (don’t call me Lloyd) with a pitch. Though both Carrasco and catcher Mike Nickeas said it was not intentional Collins feared reprisal by the Brewers pitcher the next time Wright would come to the plate.
Why Wright? Because Wright is the Mets best player and the Brewers best player, Braun, had gotten hit. You hit my best guy I’ll hit yours. Tit for tat. Very simple.
Collins, knowing it was coming, took Wright out of the game. Collins had the right idea. The game was already a lost cause with the Mets down 8-0 and why risk Wright getting injured (getting hit in the hands or the head) in such a situation?
For his part, Wright was visibly upset about being taken out of the game. And this made me proud. Though Wright acknowledged after the game that it was “heat of the moment” stuff it was nice to see his fire. He wanted to take the at bat knowing that he was going to get hit. He wanted to show his team that he’s the leader everyone says he is.
I’ve always been a Wright fan but have always felt he was too quiet. Not fiery enough to be a proper leader on a teams that have lacked that kind of fiery personality all teams need. The Mets haven’t had a fiery personality on the team since Paul Lo Duca. Last night Wright showed me that that fire can be there when needed.
Though I agree with Collins’ decision to take Wright out of the game last night I can’t help but wonder if that’s just staving off the inevitable. These two teams don’t play again until September so I’m sure Collins is hoping this incident will be dead and buried by then. But baseball players have long memories. What if it’s not put aside? What if it just festers? Wouldn’t Wright end up in the same situation in September?
One thing for sure, if Wright is hit in September there will be suspensions. I just hope there’s no injury.
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Booing Reyes Was Wrong
I don’t get it. I must be missing something. As I was growing up I was always taught to say thank you. So why was such a big deal made of the Mets video tribute to Jose Reyes before last night’s game, his first game back at CitiField since signing with the Florida Marlins? Why all the booing when he was introduced?
I totally understand that people feel slighted by how he left the Mets. Signing the big contract the first chance he got. Slamming the door on the organization he came up with. But nobody is asking Mets fans to like him and/or root for him anymore. A simple ‘thank you for all you did while you were here’ was all the Mets were giving him with the video tribute. And it wouldn’t have been much for fans to have similarly given him a thank you with a quick cheer before the game.
Another lesson I was taught as a kid was that if you don’t have anything nice to say you shouldn’t say it. Those fans who didn’t want to cheer should have just stayed silent instead of booing.
Of course, once the game began all bets were off. Reyes is an opponent now, after all, and you don’t root for the opponent.
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Enjoy It While It Lasts
The Mets are a mess and it’s my fault. This year I have watched 4 Mets games live (as opposed to watching on DVR or just highlights on various sportscasts). Three of those games are the Mets 3 losses so far on the season. In the fourth game the Mets were losing while I watched and then came from behind to win late in the game when I had stopped watching.
I jest, of course. Not that the Mets are without their problems (I have some sharp criticisms of the way David Wright‘s fractured pinky is being handled by the team) but to be 6-3 nine games into the season is a good start. I don’t think anybody expected that record before the season began.
So enjoy this record before it goes south. With the start of a 3 game series against an Atlanta Braves team that’s playing a whole lot better than they were in the opening series of the season the Mets could start meeting that expectation pretty soon.
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Torres Injury Rattles My Faith
Every time I start buying into the Sandy Alderson Mets being different than the Omar Minaya Mets something happens to bring things back into focus. This time it’s Andres Torres.
Torres tweaked his already hurting left calf during yesterday’s opening day win over the Braves and will be placed on the disabled list. Kirk Nieuwenhuis will be called up to take his roster spot and Ruben Tejada will be moved into the leadoff spot while Torres is on the shelf.
Torres hurt the calf 16 days ago and took some time off. He just resumed game activity on Monday and proclaimed himself ready for the season. Perhaps I’m jaded from the Minaya years but it seems to me that a player saying he’s ready isn’t enough. I don’t pretend to know how the medical and training staff work but I’d have felt more comfortable if someone on that side of the operation would have made that proclamation. If we learned anything from the Minaya years it’s that players, who are competitive by nature and want to get back into the game as soon as possible, should not be taken at their word when they say they’re ready to return.
I really don’t know if this is what happened in this case so I don’t want to sound accusatory. I’m just saying it seems eerily similar to what happened during the Minaya era. And we can’t have that.
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Opening Day Lineup
Here’s the lineup for today’s opening day game against the Braves:
| 56 | Andres Torres | CF | ||||
| 28 | Daniel Murphy | 2B | ||||
| 5 | David Wright | 3B | ||||
| 29 | Ike Davis | 1B | ||||
| 15 | Jason Bay | LF | ||||
| 21 | Lucas Duda | RF | ||||
| 30 | Josh Thole | C | ||||
| 11 | Ruben Tejada | SS | ||||
| 57 | Johan Santana | P | ||||
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