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Cynical Take

Centerfield Nov 27 2018 09:06 PM

All these trade proposals are basically smokescreens for the fact that the Mets won’t pursue elite free agents and significantly increase payroll. They’re floating them out there until they find one that isn’t met with vicious opposition. They’ll land a somewhat recognizable name and describe their offseason as “creative” and “out of the box”. While still not spending enough to justify playing in the largest market in the nation. True? Or too cynical?

d'Kong76 Nov 27 2018 09:30 PM Re: Cynical Take

Probably true; we'll get three-day-old sushi when the smoke clears.

Edgy MD Nov 28 2018 06:27 AM Re: Cynical Take

I think it takes far more work than it's worth to construct and feed false stories of dealings to the media. What possible benefit is there?

smg58 Nov 28 2018 06:28 AM Re: Cynical Take

It's tough to read too much into anything, especially before you know the end results. It sounds like Brodie is willing to get creative to make something happen, which is fine if the "something" turns out to be beneficial. I don't think he's GMing by opinion poll, or at least I certainly hope he's not. What fans think of a deal immediately matters a lot less than if they're happy or angry a year from now. On the other hand, I hear all these WATPs and I can't help thinking, "or they could just sign somebody."

Benjamin Grimm Nov 28 2018 07:11 AM Re: Cynical Take

That's too cynical for me.

Centerfield Nov 29 2018 07:33 AM Re: Cynical Take

More thinking. Super Optimistic Take. Brodie is a genius. Has no intention of trading Syndergaard, but has floated his name out there to entice offers. He fully expects to be underwhelmed, but this way other teams show their hand. He figures out which teams value starting pitching and which teams are willing to give up the most. Then he goes back and tells them they haven't offered enough to justify giving up Syndergaard, but would they be interested in Matz or Wheeler? He uses his super-smart analytics people to show that Wheeler was much better than Noah last year. He has multiple bidders now, and he leverages three good months of Wheeler. At the same time, Noah, who might have felt a bit comfortable knowing his former agent is now running things, gets a reminder that he doesn't walk on water, and maybe is open to talking about an extension in exchange for security. He trades Wheeler at the height of his value, takes the money he saves and invests in elite free agents (including Corbin to offset the loss of Wheeler), and puts together a 100 win monster for 2019. Too optimistic?

Benjamin Grimm Nov 29 2018 07:40 AM Re: Cynical Take

Probably! I think the reality is most likely, as usual, somewhere between the two extremes. It's hard to judge Brodie yet because he hasn't made any significant player moves yet, and that's okay too, because it's still only November. But we've seen signs that he's beefing up the front office, the analytics, and he's made some changes to the coaching staff. He's definitely doing stuff, working on at least a few of the mysterious Eleven Points. I think it's too early to be cynical or snarky about him, but also too early to proclaim him a genius. I hope he's a genius. (A very stable genius!) I'm confident that he's a pretty smart guy, but the question is whether his smarts and his skills will suit him for his new role. Fred and Jeff seem to think so and, well, um...

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 29 2018 09:05 AM Re: Cynical Take

Edgy MD wrote: I think it takes far more work than it's worth to construct and feed false stories of dealings to the media. What possible benefit is there? You're probably right. But assuming that means that it's unlikely to have been done by these Mets assumes that they are good at determining/recognizing actual value of things, and acting accordingly. That hasn't exactly been the case with... MANY things in Metland these days (especially those of a public-relations nature). Too optimistic? Probably. Maybe. Maybe no? Let's put it this way: I have more confidence in BVW's ability to run/maintain an effective baseball-operations organization than I do in the owners' ability/inclination to give him the proper ambit to meet his ambitions. Unfortunately, the latter of these things has a pretty direct, significant impact on the former.

Centerfield Nov 29 2018 05:37 PM Re: Cynical Take

This is what I get for being optimistic. I am fully convinced that the Mets will make not one, but two, catastrophic trades this offseason. One of them (Syndergaard) will be one that people talk about for generations. Ryan. Seaver. Will this franchise never learn?

MFS62 Nov 29 2018 05:54 PM Re: Cynical Take

And how much,if any, of this money will come back to the Wilpons? https://abcnews.go.com/Business/doj-dis ... d=59498757 Where's Howard Megdal when we need him? Later

metirish Nov 29 2018 06:27 PM Re: Cynical Take

BTW , CF on Twitter is great to follow

Edgy MD Nov 29 2018 09:58 PM Re: Cynical Take

I'm certain we don't need Howard Megdal

Centerfield Nov 29 2018 10:00 PM Re: Cynical Take

metirish wrote: BTW , CF on Twitter is great to follow Thanks Irish!