Not a fan, primarily because I have Brewers starting pitchers and their reliever in my fantasy league. He'll go a week without using the closer. If he can bring Mike Maddux with him I would say yes. I don't understand the appeal of Hafner.

Lindor wants them to keep Buck, but when you have players saying that a lot of guys weren't working hard that's not a good sign for the manager. I don't know if the WBC had something to do with it, but they made a lot of dumb mistakes for most of the year.

First, I thought Counsell wanted a year off.  I can see Stearns keeping Buck for an uncertain year and then replacing him with Counsell.

Second, what Pham said was crap.  I don't believe it for a minute.  Part of why he's been on so many teams briefly.

Third, I do agree that Buck has not been as sharp this year as he was last year.  Last year all the talk was about spreading his guru knowledge of the game, and this year I have seen some fundamental mistakes.  

Finally, it's nice to see that now that there are options he isn't playing Vogelbach.  If he was still sticking with him instead of playing the young guys at this point I'd be scratching my head.  

DanDietrich said:

First, I thought Counsell wanted a year off.  I can see Stearns keeping Buck for an uncertain year and then replacing him with Counsell.

Second, what Pham said was crap.  I don't believe it for a minute.  Part of why he's been on so many teams briefly.

Third, I do agree that Buck has not been as sharp this year as he was last year.  Last year all the talk was about spreading his guru knowledge of the game, and this year I have seen some fundamental mistakes.  

Finally, it's nice to see that now that there are options he isn't playing Vogelbach.  If he was still sticking with him instead of playing the young guys at this point I'd be scratching my head.  

the weird thing about the Pham comments is that he excepted Lindor, Alonso, and Nimmo (and presumably himself). The article also suggested that Escobar was part of the conversation, so he probably wasn't one of the non-workers Pham was referring to. The pitching staff raved about Alvarez's work ethic, so he probably wasn't talking about him.

so who's left?

McNeil -- hard to believe he isn't working hard, but maybe he isn't doing a lot pre-game. Which to me would be ok if it means he's saving his energy for the games. Because he definitely gives 100% between the lines.

Marte? He's been injured all year.

Narvaez? He was also injured most of the first half.

Baty, Vientos? They were up and down between Syracuse and NY all season.

I can only figure he meant Canha and Vogelbach, and Canha is gone.

ml1 said:

the weird thing about the Pham comments is that he excepted Lindor, Alonso, and Nimmo (and presumably himself). The article also suggested that Escobar was part of the conversation, so he probably wasn't one of the non-workers Pham was referring to. The pitching staff raved about Alvarez's work ethic, so he probably wasn't talking about him.

so who's left?

McNeil -- hard to believe he isn't working hard, but maybe he isn't doing a lot pre-game. Which to me would be ok if it means he's saving his energy for the games. Because he definitely gives 100% between the lines.

Marte? He's been injured all year.

Narvaez? He was also injured most of the first half.

Baty, Vientos? They were up and down between Syracuse and NY all season.

I can only figure he meant Canha and Vogelbach, and Canha is gone.

Guillorme and Nido? Marte didn't look motivated all year. Maybe he felt McNeil should have been working harder to get out of his slump that he was in until a month ago. He could have also been referring to the pitchers. 

Everytime I think they're crazy for not signing Pete long term he ends up going in a long slump. I don't know if he's pushing to try to get to 50 HRs. 

jfinnegan said:

ml1 said:

the weird thing about the Pham comments is that he excepted Lindor, Alonso, and Nimmo (and presumably himself). The article also suggested that Escobar was part of the conversation, so he probably wasn't one of the non-workers Pham was referring to. The pitching staff raved about Alvarez's work ethic, so he probably wasn't talking about him.

so who's left?

McNeil -- hard to believe he isn't working hard, but maybe he isn't doing a lot pre-game. Which to me would be ok if it means he's saving his energy for the games. Because he definitely gives 100% between the lines.

Marte? He's been injured all year.

Narvaez? He was also injured most of the first half.

Baty, Vientos? They were up and down between Syracuse and NY all season.

I can only figure he meant Canha and Vogelbach, and Canha is gone.

Guillorme and Nido? Marte didn't look motivated all year. Maybe he felt McNeil should have been working harder to get out of his slump that he was in until a month ago. He could have also been referring to the pitchers. 

Everytime I think they're crazy for not signing Pete long term he ends up going in a long slump. I don't know if he's pushing to try to get to 50 HRs. 

Pham said position players, so he didn't mean the pitchers.

If he didn't realize Marte was never physically right all season, then he's not paying attention. 

I don't put much stock in that criticism from Pham because he left so many players out of it. Was the Mets' problem this year really that an injured Marte wasn't doing a lot of pre-game work? Or that bench players like Nido or Guillorme weren't?

not likely

ml1 said:

Pham said position players, so he didn't mean the pitchers.

If he didn't realize Marte was never physically right all season, then he's not paying attention. 

I don't put much stock in that criticism from Pham because he left so many players out of it. Was the Mets' problem this year really that an injured Marte wasn't doing a lot of pre-game work? Or that bench players like Nido or Guillorme weren't?

not likely

Pham made his fair share of dumb plays as well. As poorly as they have played they would probably be in the playoffs if they had a full year of Quintana and Diaz.

Good to see Petersen finish strong.

(deleted as moot)

Thanks, Buck. 

Soul_29 said:

Thanks, Buck. 

would you welcome Counsel?

jeffl said:

Soul_29 said:

Thanks, Buck. 

would you welcome Counsel?

I'm always open to advice. 

See what I did there?! 

Look, the role of a manager has changed a lot in recent years. I'm not sure who is good and who isn't. Gabe Kaplan sucked in Philly but was great in SF. Buck was MANAGER OF THE YEAR and out of a job less than a year later. I think if the infrastructure is sound the organization will have long-term success. I think today was  a big step in that direction. 

Let's Go Mets!

Rest in peace. 

So Eppler resigned.  I'm surprised.  I get that he has baggage, but I thought he and Stearns were actually friends.

DanDietrich said:

So Eppler resigned.  I'm surprised.  I get that he has baggage, but I thought he and Stearns were actually friends.

I thought they were keeping him on for the past year just waiting for Ohtani to become a free agent. The news that he forced Buck to play Vogelbach, which I think everybody knew already, may have made him feel like he should leave also. He never was able to admit when he made a bad move. 

Looking at the balance sheet he actually did okay.  The Ruf trade was a disaster, but Scherzer and Verlander should have been good signings.  Robertson was.  Not signing deGrom or Correa were great moves.  Did he sign Escobar, Canha, and Marte?  Those were good moves, except maybe Marte but he might have been playing hurt.  Resigning Diaz, Nimmo, and McNeil were good moves.  Quintana and Senga, good moves.

DanDietrich said:

Looking at the balance sheet he actually did okay.  The Ruf trade was a disaster, but Scherzer and Verlander should have been good signings.  Robertson was.  Not signing deGrom or Correa were great moves.  Did he sign Escobar, Canha, and Marte?  Those were good moves, except maybe Marte but he might have been playing hurt.  Resigning Diaz, Nimmo, and McNeil were good moves.  Quintana and Senga, good moves.

You think Quintana being out for half the year didn't hurt their chances at the playoffs? They would have been better off keeping  Walker or Bassitt. We'll see about McNeil. .270 with 10 HRs isn't exactly eyepopping. And if he's going to play the outfield going forward those aren't exactly corner outfield numbers, though they are almost the same as Canha. 

When you sign or trade you look at the track record and potential.  There is no way to predict under performance or injuries.  The only truly safe bet is to sign no one.

DanDietrich said:

So Eppler resigned.  I'm surprised.  I get that he has baggage, but I thought he and Stearns were actually friends.

Coming out now that Eppler was being investigated for improperly using the Injured List.

Wonder how real that is? 

Betcha Buck tossed him under the bus 

What goes around comes around.

Bugs the hell out of me that the manager they described in the press conference is Buck.

Unless they just want a younger ex-player.

DanDietrich said:

Betcha Buck tossed him under the bus 

I heard it was somebody that he fired. Why would Buck do it? He didn't fire Buck.

17 years ago today. Top 10 moment in Mets history. 

Soul_29 said:

17 years ago today. Top 10 moment in Mets history. 

And Ollie only just retired last year and Wainright this year. Crazy.

Spring training 2018.

Train_of_Thought said:

Spring training 2018.

you know how to hurt a guy.  (Cards fan)

jeffl said:

Train_of_Thought said:

Spring training 2018.

you know how to hurt a guy.  (Cards fan)

Oops. Sorry. Nothing but respect for the Redbirds and you.

Name that Met. (WS edition)

Mets Fix

A new Mets Fix... Podcast

Morning Dose: Friday, November 3

JEFFREY BELLONENOV 3, 20239

☕️ Good Morning,

Let the offseason begin!

Whether you were rooting for or against Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and the Texas Rangers, the World Series has been decided, and free agency has begun.

To get you ready for the offseason, we have an exciting announcement: