Yes, folks, it's that wonderful time in mid-September, with days and nights full of heady good weather, when we can shake off yet another lethargic, Yankees summer and dream of Octobers past. The Yanks have once again clinched a playoff spot and a winning record, and we can all wonder if maybe Brian Cashman isn't right after all that the postseason is just a crapshoot ("I, uh, didn't say that.") and we will win the whole World Series.
We won't. But at least, as our Peerless Leader points out, we can all thank the Good Lord that we weren't made Mets fans.
This week has been pure torture for our Metsian brethren (say that ten times fast), beginning with a Monday night game when, once the Polar Bear took his last swipe at a 300th home run, the fans started streaming for the exits—in a game tied 1-1 in the 8th.
Last night, when Alonso got that 300th dinger, erasing a one-run Mets lead in the ninth against Kodai Senga, a failed starter who the Queens team is hoping to turn into their closer, Pete got a standing ovation and a curtain call—the only time I've seen anything like that since I was at the Stadium in 1982, when a returning Reggie Jackson belted a home run off no less than Ron Guidry.
(Even Guidry later admitted that he was quietly applauding in his glove.)
The Mets went on to lose the game, remarkably, with two out in the 11th inning when A.J. Ewing, actually a terrific young outfielder, turned the wrong way and hit the centerfield wall, allowing one Coby Mayo (a lifetime .215 hitter), to belt the rarely seen, inside-the-park, standing three-run homer.
Oh, Mets.
Afterwards, the estimable crew on SNY's Sportsnite was divided over whether or not Mets fans should have given the Polar Bear his standing O. Sean Manaea, the Mets' starting pitcher on the night, seemed a little stunned afterwards, wondering—very cautiously—why it was the fans would do such a thing.
With all due respect to Sean Manaea, who lasted all of 5 1/3 innings last night, and is a 34-year-old, journeyman 84-73, 4.15 starting pitcher who has nonetheless accumulated nearly $100 million in that mediocre career, and who is actually making more than Alonso this season ($25 million to $21 million)—okay, I admit it, there's not a speck of respect for Manaea in here—this ain't State v. Tech.
Okay, college sports are now so professionalized that that's not a good analogy. This is not high school, it's not Little League. We're not root-root-rooting for the home team.
And what Mets fans did was actually a good thing: a proof that, contrary to Jerry Seinfeld's maxim, it's not just "rooting for the laundry."
It seems like a moment ago that Pete Alonso broke Aaron Judge's record for home runs as a rookie, 53-52. Alonso was actually a year younger than Judge when he broke in, and for a while there was lots of speculation as to whether Alonso would be the greater star.
Well, that proved not to be the case. Alonso is not the all-around hitter or even the slugger that Judge is. He has never cleared a .900 OPS in a single season, much less his career. He does not steal bases, as Judge can and does, and he is a mediocre first baseman, where Judge is an outstanding outfielder.
He strikes out less than Judge does—but also walks much less. He is much less injury-prone—despite getting hit a Mets-record 100 times with a pitch in his career—frequently playing every game on the schedule, but has not come close to winning a single MVP, as opposed to the three Judge won (and the four he deserved to win, you little cheating SOB, Altuve).
Alonso will also be 32 this December, and despite the excellent year he is having for the Orioles, it was not beyond the bounds of reason for Mets GM David Stearns—more on him, later in Schadenfreude Week—to not want to be stuck with a huge contract for Pete's declining years.
The really dick Cashman move by Stearns was letting the Polar Bear lope away, rather than getting something, anything in return. The result has been another, dismal Mets team that has not come close to replacing Alonso in the lineup, or even at first.
Yet who is the greater fool here? When Stearns was trying desperately to let Alonso walk the year before, the Yanks refused to take a one-year gamble on him—even though Steve Cohen had just stolen away Juan Soto (more on him, too, coming up in Schadenfreude Week).
Think Alonso, with his NL-leading 41 doubles, 38 homers, and 126 ribbies in 2025 just maybe would've got the Yanks to the Series again? Does a polar bear, uh, gambol on the Arctic ice?
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3 comments:
Pete Alonso is a good player overall. I think his defense is probably somewhat below average as a first baseman. And his offense is a bit more of an "accumulator" than our current first baseman, Luis Garcia. But Alonso does have a knack for hitting some big home runs in big spots. In my opinion, he has been "clutch" through his career. And like you say, Hoss, he is very durable. And that ain't nothing, as one Giancarlo Stanton has proved.
We certainly could've used Alonso. I wanted him when he was available. Then, we'd have a lot less imbalance here with the lineup. Rice and Alonso could've been alternating 1B/DH. Luis Garcia would not be here. Paul Goldschmidt would not be here. And I would've cut Stanton loose. Getting Alonso would've meant a very different trajectory for the Yankees. I think it would have been the better way.
Shame on the Mets for kicking Alonso away. It must have felt terrible for Alonso: to have given everything he had for the Mets but, come new contract time, to be completely unwanted by management. He must've felt like an unloved stepson. I felt bad for him. It was the wrong move by the Mutts. Alonso should've been a lifelong Met. Good for him that he picked up the pieces in Bal'more and is having another really good year. I feel good for him that he got some revenge against the Mets. Again, proving himself to be a clutch player.
It is really interesting to muse about Alonso with the Yankees. He would've been the player that Stanton never was. I think Alonso would've been a great Yankee. A big righty bat, hitting clutch home runs, providing a tremendous amount of protection for Judge. And never getting hurt, playing every game. A gamer, as they say. The last couple of years of his contract? That's a throwaway bonus that happens with every free agent. The price you have to pay to get the player you want. You just eat it and throw it away at the end. You don't hang on to an ineffective player, if you really want to win World Championships. You cut them loose, when they can't cut it anymore.
The Orioles really got a bargain. For some nutty reason, the stat nerds hated Alonso. But he really was a very good player for the Mets. Now a very good player for the Orioles. Too bad for the Mets. That's why they're the Mets.
Of course, the Yankees damn near did the same kind of mistake with Aaron Judge. They got lucky that Judge took less money and stayed here. Cashman made that crazy Jordan Montgomery trade just to get a half ass injured centerfielder Harrison Bader. Crazy move, but Cashman told HAL that it worked, which is why HAL rewarded Cashman with a big contract. Judge probably could've got 450 mil/10 years elsewhere but signed with the Yankees for only 360 mil/9 years. Looks like a mighty huge bargain now, don't it?
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