Monday, June 24, 2024

Let's face it: the Mets are a better team.

 

Just to riff a little on what our Peerless Leader—and Hammer, in the comments—were saying:

The inter-city series is usually fraught with peril for the Yankees because the Metsies—the most truly cursed team in baseball—play it like their World Series. They go all out, guys who have wallowed in suckitude the entire season playing out of their heads. 

You go over to SNY, maybe half of the incredibly sucky, "Mets Classics" are the Flushing team beating our boys over the last ten years. They even have a "Classics" game that is a win from the Covid year, played before one of those eerie, silent, face-card "crowds." 

This year, though, if you look at it honestly, the Mets are better at 6 of 8 positions. Only Judge and Juan Soto—who is probably playing hurt, and now seems able to do little but draw walks—could crack the Metsies' lineup. After coming back from early-season slumps and injuries, they are better at catcher, first, second, shortstop (yes, Lindor is a better glove and more of a power hitter), third, and the remaining outfield spot.

Yes, we probably have better starting pitching—for now. And thanks to another, inexplicable Mets Folly, they just lost their closer, leveling another place where they had an advantage.

Much worse than all this, though, they also acquired an old nemesis to best us at DH. Yes, they have J.D. Martinez.

Some of you will remember when the Yankees decided they had a choice of acquiring Giancarlo Stanton or J.D. Martinez before the 2018 season. 

In the true Yankees way, I thought...why not get both? And indeed, if they had to get both, they would have almost certainly have won at least 4 more rings. But I digress.

If they had to get just one, Stanton seemed like the way to go. He had just hit those 59, garbage-time homers in Miami. He played much more outfield than Martinez did, and was two years younger.

Only our Dauntless Leader, Alphonso, stood up vehemently for Martinez over Stanton—and with what now seems like impeccable logic. 

Martinez, first of all, was a free agent, who could be got for a fraction of the years and money that Stanton's existing contract required. We would not have to give up second baseman Starlin Castro, a 27-year-old, good-fielding second baseman who had hit .300 in 2017. He could have been traded for a pitcher we needed, or who knows what prospects?

But no, Brian Cashman insisted on Stanton—in good part, it soon seemed, because he wanted to stick it to Derek Jeter, especially in a book Bob Klapisch was obligingly writing for him, telling us all what a genius Cashman was.

Well, the rest is history, of course. 

Martinez has drilled like a jackhammer everywhere he's gone, outhitting Stanton, out-homering him, out-everything him.

Cashie's mistake was evident even before Klapisch's book hit the stores, as J.D. hit 43 homers, batted .330, and led the league with 130 ribbies and 358 stolen bases in his first year at Fenway.

In their big, head-to-head confrontation that postseason, Martinez hit a homer and drove in 6 runs against us in the four-game ALDS, with a line of .357/.421/.571/.992. He drew 3 walks, and did not strike out once.

Stanton? Well, he did a little worse: .222/.222/.222/.444. No homers, no RBI, no walks; just 6 strikeouts. Including, most memorably, the last inning of the last game that year, when he flailed wildly at one Craig Kimbrel pitch after another outside the strike zone. 

Martinez led the Sox to a ring that year. Giancarlo has led us to nothing but the knackers' yard. Of course, there won't be another "showdown" because Stanton has just made his EIGHTH trip to the DL.  

But never forget—Brian Cashman is a genius! And he showed that Derek Jeter!

11 comments:

TheWinWarblist said...

"Cashie's mistake was evident even before Klapisch's book hit the stores, as J.D. hit 43 homers, batted .330, and led the league with 130 ribbies and 358 stolen bases in his first year at Fenway."

"358" stolen bases is a lot of stolen bases for a power hitter.

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Methinks it is 358 total bases.

Which is still a lot.

HoraceClarke66 said...

My bad! Yes, Warbler, I meant 358 total bases.

Though if he were running solely on Trevino...

HoraceClarke66 said...

Meanwhile, in case you guys didn't catch it on the comments to the last post, I just wanted to say that I can't thank you enough for your support for the book, and I wanted to thank Rufus and JM for their comments there.

Yes, there WILL be a second book out! In the spring of 2026. It is done, at least through 2022, and needs a good deal of editing. But it's finished, and there's even a planned cover for it already, though it will need a different subtitle, of course. Can't seem to get the mechanics to work, but I'll send you a look it a little bit.







BTR999 said...

Stanton is the epitome of the team’s failure. Can’t run, can’t field, K’s a ton, hits into endless DP’s, aging, hideously overpaid, untradable, and worst of all - lethargic.

BTR999 said...

And looking forward to Vol Ii!

AboveAverage said...

Hoss - allow me to be the first to say that I am also greatly looking forward to the third book!

HoraceClarke66 said...

Thanks, guys!

And...out 4 weeks. That's the latest from MLB, and I'm sure overly optimistic.

If only we had The Martian now. Oh, well.

Joe Formerlyof Brooklyn said...


Guys, I'm sorry to dim the lights here, but why would it be good to replace one oft-injured guy (Stanton) with another oft-injured guy (Man from Mars).

WTF is the plan? Assemble a decent OF/DH out of five or six players over a year? The stiff of the month club?

Incidentally......how is this working with DJLM and Anthony Vincent Rizzo? Did we harvest one decent player out of those spare parts? Or is Juvenile Delinquent Davis the third and essential component to this disaster?

Sorry to be a cranky old man. However, there is nothing that can enhance my crankiness like the present team.

HoraceClarke66 said...

No, Joe, you're completely right. I had been thinking that if Stanton went down, at least we could see some of Mars. But it seems like he's just a younger version of Injury Man.

And no, The General is no replacement for Rizzo.

Oh, and the plan? Heheheheheh.

There is no plan!

Rufus T. Firefly said...

Stanton can't run. That's his nickname. He also gets a lot of those hits and rbis when it just doesn't matter. Plus, he's the excuse for HAL not spending any money (at least intelligently).

Plus, he like the hot girl in high skool - it might be good occasionally, it sounds good, but it is more expensive, and you always need something always available as a backup when it isn't available -- which is a lot.

Plus, the MFer did steroids to hit those HRs.

Plus, the MFer did steroids to hit those HRs.

Plus, the MFer did steroids to hit those HRs.

Plus, the MFer did steroids to hit those HRs.

Plus, the MFer did steroids to hit those HRs.

Plus, the MFer did steroids to hit those HRs.

THAT'S why he keeps breaking down. EVERYONE knows that.