Porcelain Dolls, Why Do They Keep Breaking?

Again TC is babying a young player. Last year he refused to move Flores off SS even though it made no sense to play Tejada at 3B, because it would be too much to ask of Flores. Now, Flores is struggling with the adjustment to being a utility IF, which is his obvious role on this team and could have been last year. 

Conforto has volunteered to try 1B. Why not let him practice the position and at least see what he looks like. Why make a blanket statement? I'm so tired of watching MLB teams treat players like porcelain dolls. 

If TC really won't try Conforto, how about Granderson? The guy plays fundamentally sound defense, is a great team player/leader, has a poor arm, and is an aging player with only 1.7 years left on his contract. 

Really, just buy a box of righty and lefty 1B mitts and toss them around the clubhouse. 4-6 weeks of Duda-free baseball requires more than Eric Campbell and Wilmer Flores to chip in.

Not to mention the need for a semi-regular 3B to keep Wright fresh. Mets, please be active instead of dragging your feet for a change.

The Blown Statistic

It has bothered me for years that a relief pitcher could get a blown save in the six inning, even though he had no chance to stay in the game long enough to get a save. 

Then last night, Jeurys Familia, the dominant Mets' closer, blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning, and did not get charged with a blown save, because it was not a save situation. 

It is time for some statistical redefinition. If you are a relief pitcher and you allow the tying run to score, you should be charged with a blown lead, regardless of the score or inning. 

When a reliever enters the game with a lead, his statistical possibilities would be:

hold

save

blown lead

none 

I would also like the Hold Rule to be amended to allow the official scorer to withhold a hold (dehold?) if the pitcher was ineffective. I have seen pitching lines where a reliever came in with a three run lead, and proceeded to allow two runs in less than one inning. If the team wins, it is in spite of that performance, not because of it. 

Winter Meetings

I wish I were at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida, right now. Mostly because it's warmer there, but also because I want to know everything that is going on. This is the time of the baseball year that is the most interesting to me, because I really enjoy the team-building planning process.

Of course, watching the games is great, but as I've gotten older, I have found that I think about being a GM rather than a manager or player. Not much has changed in the personnel department for the Mets, but everything has changed in the front office, and for that I am truly grateful and excited. There are no guarantees in sports, but I trust Sandy Alderson and his staff a lot more than any regime since the Frank Cashen era of the mid-1980s.

2011 will be a year of rebuilding to some degree, but mostly a year of taking stock of the organization from top to bottom. This is something that I have been requesting for a long time, and I finally trust the front office to do it properly.

At first, I was not happy with the selection of Terry Collins, but after seeing him and listening to him, I am more than willing to give him a chance. His job, as I see it, is to change the culture. I'm really glad Wally Backman and Chip Hale are still with the organization, because I expect one of them to be the manager with a few years. Terry Collins taking over now will make the manager's job of the New York Mets a lot easier in the future.

This really is no job for a beginner. Terry Collins sounds like just the drill sergeant the clubhouse needs to get kicked into a higher gear. My hope is that the Mets use this year to rid the clubhouse of all the guys that are not championship caliber, meaning having a winners' mentality.

The Mets of October 2011 will be very different than the current Mets, and I am looking forward to watching the evolution of the team over the next 10 months and beyond. Being a Met fan means having patience and an open mind. Fortunately, my job has provided me with opportunities to learn both on a daily basis.




© Judy Kamilhor 2010