Fans Demands: Logical or Ludicrous?

Well, Here I am again. This time, Talking about the fans demands and whether they are Logical or Ludicrous. 

Lets begin.

"Sign Keuchel/Kimbrel"

While a lot of Fans want The Mets to sign one of Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimbrel, There are reasons as to why the Mets haven't given into the Fans demands. While it is Logical to sign one of them to make the Rotation or the Bullpen better, it is Ludicrous to sign them to what they want!

Keuchel's demands (Thanks to Scott Boars) is a 1 year Deal worth almost 18 Million Dollars. What some fans may not know, is that signing Keuchel, comes with an additional price. It comes with the Price and the price is the signing teams 2nd round draft pick of that years draft and possibly International slot money. Also, Keep this in mind. Keuchel, if signed, wouldn't be able to start in a rotation right after signing the piece of paper. He would need at least 3 Minor League starts to get himself into game shape and ready for Major League Action. 

Remember, Keuchel hasn't pitched in 6 months, did not have a Spring Training and is pitching Simulated games. Simulated games (For those who don't know) are basically practice games with 2 or 3 live batters to help the pitcher through an injury to test his arm whether it's to recover from an injury or needing work. Keuchel, According to his agent Scott Boras, is saying that Keuchel is throwing 95 Pitch Simulated games. 

Simulated games are good, but they do not mean that said player is ready for Major League action. A Pitcher who hasn't had a Spring Training and Pitched in 6 months needs a routine, which will most likely include a start, Bullpen sessions, throwing sessions and rest in between. 

Overall, if the Mets or any team wants to sign Dallas Keuchel, He will be in the Minors for at least 1 Month before sniffing the Major Leagues.

Kimbrel on the other hand is another case and is now in the same situation as Dallas Keuchel. He hasn't played since the World Series, Didn't go through Spring Training and wants Length with a team he signs with as well as money.

Kimbrel, Unlike Keuchel, wanted somewhere close to a 6 year and wanted "Closer Money." Now he has lowered his asking price down to a 3 year deal and around 39 Million Dollars to 52 Million Dollars.

The issue with Kimbrel, is that he wants to be a teams closer. The issue with the Mets is they already have a closer, the Best in the game right now, Edwin Diaz. He has 4 years of Control and recorded 57 Saves last year for the Seattle Mariners. He earned the Job of Closer in Spring Training. To just sign someone and give the Closing job to them would be a direct slap to Diaz' face. That's something The Mets wouldn't want to do to Diaz.

So, While fans Think it is Logical to sign either one of them, We don't know how they'll be after the Month of getting ready. They could be great, or they could be terrible! The Contracts they demand and the cost of a draft pick and International Money attached to them is what is turning off all 30 teams to signing them.

"Trade Todd Frazier to the Yankees for Bullpen Help"

This one makes me want to scratch my head with a rusty pitchfork.

While I understand the Fans frustration with Todd Frazier and is low Batting average, Todd Frazier, like some other players around the league, is known as a "Power Hitter." A Power Hitter, is a player that doesn't hit for average. They hit home runs. That's pretty much it. They have the Ability to drive the ball over the fences and drive in runs at the cost of a Low batting average and multiple Pop ups and Strikeouts.

Why do Mets fans want The Mets to trade Todd Frazier to the Yankees?

They know the Yankees have a Plethora of injuries and recently lost their Young Third Baseman, Miguel Andujar to a Shoulder injury and recently shifted DJ LeMahieu, who was signed to a 2 year 24 Million Dollar Deal in the offseason to 3rd Base. So far, LeMahieu is a good Fill-in for the Yankees at 3rd Base, but will it be long term? The Answer remains uncertain for the Yankees. 

My Question to this is, Why would the Yankees inquire about Todd Frazier?

I've been told that Frazier has a "Connection" with the Yankees Clubhouse and the Fans because he spent the 2nd half of the 2017 season with them.

That's all fine and dandy, but what Value does Frazier have that would benefit the Yankees and have them relinquish Bullpen Help to the Cross Town Rival Mets? 

The Wilpons want nothing to do with the Steinbrenners, so why would they want to help their team out or even approve for Brodie Van Wagenen to make a deal that would benefit them? 

There's a reason why the Yankees didn't bother bringing Todd Frazier back for the 2018 Season. Despite the fans supposedly loving him, Him being a long time Yankee fan and him having a Good Clubhouse Chemistry, The Yankees didn't see him in their plans for the Future. So why, Why would the Yankees want to bring back a player in which they have no plans of wanting back? To address a problem that they seemed to have solved for the time being in the Form of having DJ LeMahieu at 3rd Base?

The Yankees don't seem to be desperate enough to be calling every team or even their cross town rivals to inquire about a 3rd baseman and in no way would they try to help the Mets by giving them a part of their Bullpen.

"Fire Callaway, Put Riggleman in as Manager"

This makes me laugh. 1 Season after his rookie year as Manager, Fans are demanding that Mickey Callaway be given the Pink Slip and marched out of Flushing. 

In his First Season as a Major League Manager, Mickey Callaway did make some Head scratching decisions with his Bullpen and The Mets went through a Horrific June winning only 5 games while the Bats decided to take an unnecessary Vacation. Couple that with a ton of Injuries. 

The Point is, That the Staff Callaway had last season had virtually 0 Managing Experience to help him out in the different nature of the National League instead of the American league in which he was accustomed to for so many years under Terry Francona as Cleveland's Pitching Coach. 

From April-May and from July-September, The Mets were pretty good! They had one of, if not the Best 2nd halves in the league last season under Callaway. 

This season, He has a completely overhauled Coaching staff to support him. Reds Interim Manager, Jim Riggleman was brought in to Assist Callaway, not replace him! If Callaway gets ejected from a game (which he did Last night against the Braves), The Mets have an experienced Manager as Bench Coach to run the team for however long the game is after the Ejection. In Saturday's case, the 1st Inning till the end. Riggleman also helps with his Knowledge of the National League and how to Manage the Bullpen, put together lineups and how to Manage the game as a whole.

So, to fire Callaway 14 games into his 2nd season after a So-So season is quite laughable and Ludicrous.

"Why sit Alonso? He's hot and needs to play everyday!!!"

Something Fans don't understand. Giving the Young gun First baseman Pete Alonso a Scheduled day off. He's hot, yes. But understand this, As hot as Alonso is, Remember, This is his first season in the Major Leagues. He is not used to the Major League Schedule, He played in Triple-A, then in the AFL (Arizona Fall League) as well as Spring training and is getting the Lion's share of starts at First Base. 

To Play him until he's cold would be a major mistake. 

Why would it be a Major Mistake?

If you don't give him a day for him to rest Physically and mentally, You'll run him into the ground and possibly Injure him. If he gets injured due to playing too much without rest, Fans will then turn on Callaway and question why he wasn't rested properly. 

This Mini Platoon of Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith works perfectly! Both players play every day. Alonso gets a majority of the Starts, While Smith gets his Pinch hitting opportunities and gets subbed in the Later innings for Defense. 

Fans are also demanding that Smith should play the Outfield and that Alonso should play First Base that way they both get playing time. Does anyone remember how awful Smith was in the Outfield? I'm thankful that Smith will be playing his Natural position of First Base and not Left Field. Smith is adapting to his Role as the Backup First Baseman to Alonso and Both Alonso and Smith support each other in their respective roles and are happy for each other when they perform well.

To have this Platoon where Alonso gets scheduled days off where he knows he's getting an off day and Smith knows he's starting is actually very Smart. It Keeps them both Sharp and Alert and gives them time to get ready for their start/rest day.

"Don't play d'Arnaud, Ramos needs to Catch Everyday!!!"

I see I'm gonna have to explain this one too. Very Well.

With the signing of Wilson Ramos in the Offseason, The Mets Catching problems were solved! With that being said, Ramos comes at a price. He is incredibly Injury prone. Ramos has a history of bad knees and is prone to injury. Giving him days off will save him and his knees. Demanding he play every day is a little ludicrous. As for d'Arnaud, he is coming off of Tommy John Surgery and is back after missing a little less than a year, an incredible recovery! Travis has only played 3 games this season, one of them being a Jacob deGrom start. The fans have gotten so bad, that they blamed d'Arnaud for calling a bad game which they believe caused deGrom's miserable outing against the Twins. Really? Blaming the catcher? That's a new low! 

Fans have said they preferred to have Mesoraco as the backup, but I already went over that in a Previous Article which explains everything about Mesoraco. 

If Ramos goes down, Guess who's the next man up? That's right, Travis d'Arnaud with most likely Rene Rivera as his backup.

So, While I understand the fans Frustration with d'Arnaud, Understand that playing d'Arnaud benefits Ramos!

Do you really want Ramos to get injured? If your answer is No, then Playing Travis every now and then is a must!

Conclusion: 

While I find the concerns logical, I find the demands ludicrous. These Demands are ones that make no sense and can be considered "Panic moves." I get we're all fans, but to make these panic demands that make 0 sense is indeed deemed "Ludicrous!" With all of that being said it is time end this one.

Until the Next Article my Friends,

LETS GO METS!!!