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McCann Can't

batmagadanleadoff May 20 2021 02:09 PM

James McCann losing grip on starting job after signing $40 million deal Excerpt: The one position the Mets clearly had to upgrade from last season is still a work in progress. James McCann has brought a presence at catcher and big arm, but offensively appears lost – even more so than the team's star shortstop – and his pitch framing hasn't been what the Mets might have anticipated. The veteran catcher will take a disappointing .202/.269/.242 slash line with one homer and eight RBIs into Friday game's in Miami. Statcast places him in the 28th percentile among catchers for his pitch framing. It's hardly what team officials had in mind when they bypassed the top free-agent catcher on the market, J.T. Realmuto, and signed McCann to a four-year contract worth $40.6 million. Team president Sandy Alderson at the time indicated the Mets didn't want to risk a protracted negotiation with Realmuto and the possibility of getting shut out in the market if they missed on him. McCann has enjoyed some level of protection early, his struggles obscured by Francisco Lindor's lack of productivity at the plate. The shortstop, who agreed to a 10-year contract extension worth $341 million before the season, owns a .189/.301/.280 slash line as maybe the biggest factor in an underperforming lineup that ranks 29th in the major leagues in scoring at 3.51 runs per game. But McCann's troubles can't be overlooked. https://nypost.com/2021/05/20/mets-james-mccann-not-yet-living-up-to-40-million-contract/

Edgy MD May 20 2021 02:16 PM Re: McCann Can't

Hopefully the upside to Nido and other guys stepping up will somewhat counter the failures. The lack of stability won't help. I've got to give credit that the team demoted Amed Rosario to second string last season, and seem to be pretty close to doing it with McCann this year.

batmagadanleadoff May 20 2021 02:27 PM Re: McCann Can't

Edgy MD wrote: I've got to give credit that the team demoted Amed Rosario to second string last season... Yeah. Enough was enough already with Rosario. It was like the Emperor's New Clothes with him. Boy was that Met on my shit list. It was like watching the first beyond dreadful coupl'a months of Jose Reyes's career -- but for like four years running.

batmagadanleadoff May 20 2021 02:57 PM Re: McCann Can't

Edgy MD wrote: Hopefully the upside to Nido and other guys stepping up will somewhat counter the failures. The lack of stability won't help. Another excerpt: Nido also provides a strong option behind the plate, with a framing rate that ranks in the 94th percentile among MLB catchers, according to Statcast.

Ceetar May 20 2021 03:04 PM Re: McCann Can't

I talked myself into McCann a little bit looking at some of the metrics, but damn, it'd be nice if the Mets hadn't cheaped out on Realmuto.

Lefty Specialist May 20 2021 03:21 PM Re: McCann Can't

More Nido, please. McCann has to play, but Nido needs to get 2-3 starts a week.

bmfc1 May 20 2021 04:04 PM Re: McCann Can't

I talked myself into McCann a little bit looking at some of the metrics, but damn, it'd be nice if the Mets hadn't cheaped out on Realmuto. Agreed b/Cohen doesn't cheap out on anything (he owns a Zamboni!). They didn't want to wait on Realmuto and McCann said "yes" right away so they decided to take the #2 FA C and use the extra $ on another FA which they didn't (unless you want to argue that Lindor was a FA to-be so they really did). The Mets could have signed someone or everyone, but I THINK that Cohen promised Manfred that he wouldn't "spend like a drunken sailor" in year one, a year when the other owners were whining about lost revenue from last season ("then why did they go after Bauer, smartypants?"... yeah, that kinda blows up what I was just saying).

Ceetar May 20 2021 04:56 PM Re: McCann Can't

Oh sure, I mean, I wanted steak but it was going to take 20 minutes so I just ate out of the dumpster in the back. It's not like McCann was 1a or even b. He was such a step down that you had to squint to even find a way to justify it as a signing, never mind for four years. And they lost out on Springer too. And Bauer. Money could've gotten those done.

batmagadanleadoff May 20 2021 05:52 PM Re: McCann Can't

=Ceetar post_id=64895 time=1621551416 user_id=102] Oh sure, I mean, I wanted steak but it was going to take 20 minutes so I just ate out of the dumpster in the back. It's not like McCann was 1a or even b. He was such a step down that you had to squint to even find a way to justify it as a signing, never mind for four years. And they lost out on Springer too. And Bauer. Money could've gotten those done.

I gotta tell you, this is exactly how I felt. And those WTF posts about how Cohen might not be able to afford all those FA's definitely upped the infuriating factor.



The lost FA that I tolerated the most was Bauer, who might've been merely using the Mets to up his deal with the Dodgers. But then there were the posts that he wasn't good enough, as if Bauer could've had a season as sublime as 2020 by pure luck and randomness.

Edgy MD May 20 2021 08:42 PM Re: McCann Can't

It ain't random. But an occurrence not being random doesn't make it sustainable.

Marshmallowmilkshake May 20 2021 09:56 PM Re: McCann Can't

=Ceetar post_id=64895 time=1621551416 user_id=102] And they lost out on Springer too. And Bauer. Money could've gotten those done.

Wasn't the Mets' offer to Bauer more than what the Dodgers paid? Buster Olney spoke about Springer and Realmuto, saying neither wanted to play in New York.

Ceetar May 21 2021 08:07 AM Re: McCann Can't

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=64899 time=1621554732 user_id=68] The lost FA that I tolerated the most was Bauer, who might've been merely using the Mets to up his deal with the Dodgers. But then there were the posts that he wasn't good enough, as if Bauer could've had a season as sublime as 2020 by pure luck and randomness.

Bauer's also a whiny asshole, so there's that. There's very little truth to the 'handle New York' nonsense, but this feels like one case where it would've been true.



Also it wasn't luck and randomness so much as pine tar.

batmagadanleadoff May 21 2021 10:29 AM Re: McCann Can't

=Ceetar post_id=64913 time=1621606041 user_id=102] Also it wasn't luck and randomness so much as pine tar.

That could be the main risk to having signed Bauer: that much of Bauer's recent dominance is due to illegal substances Bauer's applying to the baseball and that MLB is about to crack down on that.



But Steve Cohen's very wealthy and can afford to move on from Bauer (or anyone) and it's not as if I'm aware of this risk but the Dodgers aren't.

Ceetar May 21 2021 11:07 AM Re: McCann Can't

it could be the other way, presumably if he gets suspended for it they get some salary back? so either he's cheating and good-great, or he's a little above average but you get some salary back too.

batmagadanleadoff May 21 2021 11:12 AM Re: McCann Can't

=Ceetar post_id=64920 time=1621616874 user_id=102] it could be the other way, presumably if he gets suspended for it they get some salary back?

Didn't think of that one!

nymr83 May 21 2021 04:30 PM Re: McCann Can't

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=64899 time=1621554732 user_id=68] =Ceetar post_id=64895 time=1621551416 user_id=102] Oh sure, I mean, I wanted steak but it was going to take 20 minutes so I just ate out of the dumpster in the back. It's not like McCann was 1a or even b. He was such a step down that you had to squint to even find a way to justify it as a signing, never mind for four years. And they lost out on Springer too. And Bauer. Money could've gotten those done.

I gotta tell you, this is exactly how I felt. And those WTF posts about how Cohen might not be able to afford all those FA's definitely upped the infuriating factor.



The lost FA that I tolerated the most was Bauer, who might've been merely using the Mets to up his deal with the Dodgers. But then there were the posts that he wasn't good enough, as if Bauer could've had a season as sublime as 2020 by pure luck and randomness.


I think thats an oversell. It was more like Realmuto was the steakhouse, buy he was not taking reservations. McCann was the decent neighborhood burger joint.



If you drove to the steakhouse and didnt get in, the hurger joint wouldnt have table when you got back and you would be eating at McDonald's

Ceetar May 22 2021 08:12 AM Re: McCann Can't

sure, but that's a still a poor way to get the best meal you can tonight. Especially when just slipping the person at the door a $50 gets you a seat pretty reliably.

nymr83 May 22 2021 09:30 AM Re: McCann Can't

Are you suggesting we bribe his agent? Cohen's other businesses may have more experience in that type of thing...