Porter as GM and McCann at Catcher — Is Trevor Bauer Next?

I'm not gonna lie, I had no idea who Jared Porter was before the Mets hired him as the GM. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Not that I expected them to hire anyone I knew, or anyone that well-known.  With Sandy Alderson as team president overseeing the whole enchilada, you figured the Mets would go the route of the young, up-and-coming executive who speaks fluent analytics and hopefully has had some success.

In that respect, Porter checks all of the boxes. He was in the Boston front office for three World Series titles and added a fourth ring with the Cubs. He was an executive Vice President and assistant GM of the D-Backs, and has worked his way into this opportunity with the Mets. Steve Cohen has to like what he sees.

Porter's hiring comes on the heels of the Trevor May signing and the Mets' expected signing of catcher James McCann, and those moves taken together seem to point in one indisputable direction.

Trevor Bauer is next.

Call it a gut feeling, and this is coming from someone who until now didn't really think the Mets were going to go in on Bauer, who will command a princely sum and who would be a polarizing presence in New York.

But take a look at what has happened. First start with May, who worked with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner in Minnesota. He is all about data and mechanics, two things that Bauer has built his surging career on. Bauer and his dad are like mad scientists compared to traditional pitching coaches. They make Rick Peterson look like a community college dropout.

Then look at McCann, whose offensive numbers are impressive but maybe not much more important than his defensive work. He has become an expert pitch framer and has earned high praise for his ability to handle a pitching staff. Now he gets to work with Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard... and possible Bauer.

Toss in a youngster like David Peterson and maybe a reborn Steven Matz — with Bauer, that is an incredible  group of starters. 

Porter's background and approach fit right in with this new Mets front office, and you know Cohen has made it a priority to drag the Mets out of the dark ages. What better way to signal that commitment than by signing Bauer?

And this doesn't take into account the bouquets that Bauer continues to toss in Flushing's direction. Sure, he may just be doing everything he can to market himself and drive the price up, but why wouldn't he want to join the club owned by the multi-billionaire rebuilding in New York?

George Springer is still there for the taking, too.

It's a weird feeling to be a Mets fan and think anything is possible. But here we are.

I can remember where I was for almost every big Mets trade or player signing. I've got a feeling I'll know where I'll be when Bauer makes his decision.

Meet the Matz: LI's Own Is Tendered But His Future Is Still Unclear

My neighbor Nicholas is a huge Mets fan and loves baseball. The middle schooler can always be found playing catch with his dad in front of his house, usually wearing the orange and blue.

One of his favorite players is Steven Matz.

One reason is that his mom is a guidance counselor at my old high school, and Matz' mom was (not sure if she still is) a staff member there. So one day, she was able to get Matz to meet her son, which was a highlight of his young Mets fandom.

It all started out so great, do you remember? Matz making his debut at Citi Field, stellar on the mound and at the plate, the image of his family — led by his grandfather — going nuts in the stands. The future looked bright.

He had his injuries, and often struggled with his temper, but a young, hard-throwing lefty is valuable, and prior to 2020, Matz looked like he was coming into his own. He made 30 starts in each of the previous two seasons with a combined ERA of just above 4, winning 16 games and averaging just under a strikeout per inning. 

With Noah Syndergaard out getting Tommy John surgery, Matz, at age 28, was in great position to take a big step forward in 2020 and establish himself at the top of the rotation behind Jacob deGrom.

We all know what happened next.

In the COVID-shortened season, where no player had a chance to bounce back with a big second half because there was none, Matz was awful. Maybe beyond awful. It was mind-boggling.

Despite having the best K rate of his career, as well as his best average fastball and slider velocity, Matz was pummeled. Literally. His pitches were usually right down the middle and hitters hammered him. Their rates of barreling him up, hitting him hard and sending the ball out fast placed Matz at the bottom of MLB. 

His season-ending line: A 9.68 ERA, a 1.69 WHIP and an astonishing 14 HR allowed in just 30.2 innings.

Despite all that, the Mets tendered Matz a contract, and he will reportedly earn $5.1 million, although it is also reported that the contract is not guaranteed.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see them cut bait, but with pitching depth an issue, it made sense to keep him. He supposedly has met with former pitching coach Phil Regan to figure out what went wrong, and you'd hope that Jeremy Hefner has some ideas.

The Mets will undoubtedly acquire or sign at least one middle-to-top starter, whether it's Trevor Bauer or Jake Odorizzi or Blake Snell or whoever. Which means Matz is basically the fifth starter until Thor makes his triumphant return.

And while Seth Lugo really, really, really wants to start, he's just much better in the bullpen, and the numbers back that up. Figure Lugo to bolster the back of the pen with newcomer Trevor May and Edwin Diaz. 

I was surprised that lefty Chasen Shreve was let go as he was effective for much of the year and is a much-needed lefty reliever. Somehow Robert Gsellman is back.

Maybe Matz ends up in the pen as well, although with his first-inning issues, that may not be the best solution. But he's on the team, still a work in progress. He's approaching 30, and yes, sometimes lefties take longer to develop. 

Let's hope Matz figures it out. Fellow Long Islander Steve Cohen hopes so, too.

Steve Cohen Is Giving Us Plenty to Be Thankful For

A friend of mine this week bought a season ticket package, and he told the Mets sales agent that if the Wilpons were still the owners, he wouldn't have bought it.

The agent replied, "You're not the first person to tell me that."

Multiply that exchange by the hundreds or even thousands, and you understand that the impact Steve Cohen has had on the Mets franchise goes well beyond how much money he will spend on players. He's selling tickets himself. 

He doesn't play a position in the field and will never swing a bat, but fans are buying in because of the confidence he brings to the club, and the hope that sustained success is right around the corner, along with a World Series title or two (or several).

Cohen was interviewed on SNY tonight and if you weren't sold on Cohen, you sure are now. He may be the richest owner in baseball by several billion dollars, and has been known to drop eight figures on artwork, but when he speaks, you hear the fan in him. 

Maybe the highlight of the interview was when Steve Gelbs asked him if there was any piece of Mets memorabilia he'd like to own, and he casually said, "Oh, you mean like the Buckner ball?" And pulled it out of its case and held it up to his webcam.

"Funny story," he continued, explaining that an associate told him the ball was for sale and that it would cost around $150K. "OK, then buy it," Cohen commanded. When he was told the ball was his, Cohen asked what the final price was and was told it cost him $410,000. "I wasn't happy," he said. "But I'm happy now."

He said he'll put the ball in the Mets museum. Keith Olbermann, who apparently has Buckner's glove, said it would be nice to put the ball in the glove so they finally touch. Someone else has Mookie's cleats and said he'll donate those to the museum as well.

Cohen added that he wants to make the Mets a place where players want to play, "and not just for a check." He talked about taking chances and how it makes life less boring. He talked about making things better for everyone, from the players to the staff to the fans.

Free agents? "We're talking to everybody." He may even bring back the black jerseys, and my son will be thrilled.

The guy is the anti-Wilpon. He's been a fan all his life. Tom Seaver was his favorite player. He said he looks forward to an Old-Timers Day when Darryl Strawberry, David Wright, Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, Ed Kranepool and others can come back to Flushing.

It was an amazing interview, and provided fans with pure hope.

What's that ticket sales number?

Blake Snell Traded for Pete Alonso? You Gotta Give to Get, But...

After Blake Snell was yanked from game six of the World Series, he reacted the way millions of baseball fans and ex-Major League players across the country did — with a facial expression that matched the F-bomb that burst forth from his mouth.

Snell hasn't always said the right things, but after the game he took the high road and reminded the reporters present that Kevin Cash made a lot of right moves to help the Rays get to where they ended up, and he was right.

But Snell is a bulldog. He's not a five-inning, only-twice-through-the-order pitcher. (An aside: Tampa Bay has done an amazing job acquiring talent that others have undervalued and maximizing what they have, but for the life of me, I do not understand why you would want relievers, who are by definition not as good as starters, to pitch more innings.) He wants the ball, he won a Cy Young two seasons ago, and on that night he was DOMINATING THE DODGERS MY GOD...

(Deep breath)

Anyhoo, not soon after the Dodgers had their super-spreader celebration, there were rumblings that maybe the Rays would entertain trading Snell. On one hand, it doesn't make much sense since he is on a very team-friendly contract and a small market club like the Rays rely on those. On the other hand, the Rays have always been inclined to strike while the market is hot and deal someone sooner rather than later.

And so, it has come to pass that the Blake Snell trade rumors have begun. So we ask: do you want Snell on the Mets, and what would you give up for him?

Snell is under contract for the next three years at a total of just under $39 million, which Steve Cohen just found under the floor mats of his Lambo. Trevor Bauer is looking for that kind of cash for one season.

Snell would find a happy home in Flushing, where he would bond with Jacob deGrom and dare Luis Rojas to take him off the mound. Thor will be on a pitch count when he comes back, and Lugo and Stroman aren't throwing any CGs anytime soon, and Peterson is just a babe. So Snell and deGrom would form the dynamic duo at the top of the rotation, eating innings and giving the bullpen a break twice a week.

One of the teams reportedly interested in Snell is Seattle, and the Rays would probably want Jarred Kelenic, which is rich. 

So what could the Mets offer? Would you deal Pete Alonso? 

Let me state for the record that I am not in favor of such a move and why MLB and the MLBPA haven't yet determined whether the NL will have the DH next season (which I also don't like, but, you know, progress) is beyond me, because if they do, Alonso would be perfect as the mostly DH, sometimes 1B.

Maybe a package including J.D. Davis or other prospects would work. But a young and accomplished player like Alonso, who is from the Tampa area, would be very enticing for the Rays.

Again, it would kill me. There are other pitching options out there, like Jake Odorizzi and Taijuan Walker, so Snell isn't a priority like CF or catcher or the bullpen. And the Mets have some decisions to make as to who they're willing to deal and who they want to keep.

But it's something to think about, and something tells me next season, Snell will be on a mound throwing for someone other than a manager who thinks the third time through the order is a death knell.

Nine Years Gone, but a New Dawn Thanks to Uncle Steve

Nine years ago, my son was in fourth grade and thinking about playing soccer. Nine years ago, my daughter was 5 and thinking about Scooby-Doo. Nine years ago, the Mets had a losing record and Sandy Alderson was completing his first year as the GM.

Nine years later, my son is playing soccer in college, my daughter is a freshman in high school thinking about anything but Scooby-Doo, and the Mets have a multi-billionaire owner who has re-energized a franchise that has wallowed in the doldrums for far too long.

What a difference a near-decade makes.

Nine years ago was the last time I posted to this blog. I don't really remember why I stopped, but it was likely because I was tired of trying to stay optimistic and lauding the team's pluck when what I really wanted was wins and a championship.

Of course, the last nine years haven't been completely bereft. A year after I shut this bad boy down, R.A. Dickey had a season for the ages and won a Cy Young, and Alderson later traded him for a package that included Noah Syndergaard. The Mets swept the Cubs to make it to the 2015 World Series and deserved a better fate. David Wright's amazing Mets career came to a heartbreaking, injury-shortened end, but his last game was one we won't soon forget.

Mike Piazza was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame. Johan Santana threw the Mets' first no-hitter. We saw the rise of home-grown talents like two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Dom Smith. But playoff success continued to elude the Amazins.

However, a new day has dawned. The Katz-Wilpon ownership era, horribly undone by blind faith in a Ponzi schemer named Bernie Madoff, finally gave way and sold the team to Steve Cohen, a lifelong Mets fan who in his short tenure as owner has shown that he gets it. He's going to upgrade all aspects of the organization, drag it into the modern day, spend serious cash, and tweet back at the faithful. So far, it has been glorious.

So what better time to dust off the keyboard and get on this train?

After a pandemic-shortened, super-weird season, the Mets are in position not only to pay up for top free agents but grab the best of a motherlode of players who will have been made available by teams that are cutting budgets after losing a ton of money. Uncle Steve didn't take that bath, and the Mets will certainly benefit.

A Tom Seaver statue is coming, but unfortunately, The Franchise won't be around to see it. You'd think that in addition to Old-Timer's Day and possibly Bobby Bonilla Day, we'll see statues of Piazza and Wright outside Citi Field as well, and a few more numbers retired, starting hopefully with Wright, Hernandez, and Carter.

The hot stove season will be a wild one. The 2021 roster should be juicy. We don't know if we'll be able to attend games in person. But we'll be there for the ride.

All aboard.