Confession: I didn't hate pulling Lucchesi, maybe in part because I expected it. But given the context of a short pen (it wasn't THAT short, honestly), it was bizarre that Rojas felt compelled to push Familia so hard when obviously it wasn't going well. I mean, he wouldn't push the guy who was rolling! Barnes in that exact situation is about the worst use of him imaginable. So given all that context, it seems obvious that they should have rolled Lucchesi back out there. It's like they pulled him and then, blink-blink, suddenly realized they needed to get 12 more outs. The "plan" was for Familia to go 2 innings. And that's where I think Rojas struggles at times. There's a "plan," probably discussed in meetings, and he can be slow to deviate when that plan proves untenable. Or, hey, maybe he just had faith that Familia would find a way out of it -- he often does. Reid-Foley needs to be with the team.
Pragmatism may dictate that 33 games in 32 days is the time we may have to let Lucchesi try to go three times through the order. And watching Familia on fumes lose that though battle to Profar and then be forced to try to go after Pham -- that is all on the manager. He was gassed.
I strongly hope that McNeil does some rehab in LF/RF and moves into more of that flex-utility role. People talk about the Mets winning with "smoke and mirrors" during all the injuries, but that's not true: it's been done with pitching and DEFENSE. Across the board, the subs have been better defensively than the players they replaced. It would be a massive failure to ignore that lesson. In sum: JD is a bat off the bench, sometime starter; 2B is most Guillorme & Peraza; and Dom Smith absolutely must get off the field. If the team were healthy, including McNeil, Smith counts as my 6th best option in the outfield. Defense matters. I'd like to see Jeff out there.
I totally agree on the point about pitching and defense. Defense is undervalued, and the replacements have been superior defenders, which is a huge part of the team's success so far. I do like McNeil at 2B, though, so I hope that he plays there primarily. I also think JD's bat has earned him a chance to keep his job (.390/.479 w 1.089 OPS) to start the year. I'd like to see if his defense comes along, and I like having Villar there to play as a regular backup (3 starts a week?). I love Dom, too, but if his bat doesn't come around by the time Nimmo or Conforto return, his defense in LF becomes untenable.
While you recognize that defense is undervalued, you are proposing weakening the defense at three positions. Dom has been a 0.0 at WAR this year, last in RC+, and has gotten the 2nd most ABs on the team -- while basically being Lucas Duda out there in LF. It doesn't work, it will never work. Seems like a nice young man, fun personality. As for JD, I've been a big supporter of his all winter. I wanted him to work at 3B. But it's been undeniable what we've seen with infield defense over the past month. Stroman has, in particular, benefitted. I can't close my eyes to that. I see JD as the sub who gets starts, not the starter. And over time, we'll see. With McNeil, I think there's no question that Lindor prefers Peraza or Guillorme at 2B over Jeff, who is at best a mediocre glove. I'd 100% rather see McNeil in LF over Smith, who really cannot make a difficult play out there.
*** NOTE: The 25% off only applies to 6 secitons of which 4 are 500 and in left field
Confession: I didn't hate pulling Lucchesi, maybe in part because I expected it. But given the context of a short pen (it wasn't THAT short, honestly), it was bizarre that Rojas felt compelled to push Familia so hard when obviously it wasn't going well. I mean, he wouldn't push the guy who was rolling! Barnes in that exact situation is about the worst use of him imaginable. So given all that context, it seems obvious that they should have rolled Lucchesi back out there. It's like they pulled him and then, blink-blink, suddenly realized they needed to get 12 more outs. The "plan" was for Familia to go 2 innings. And that's where I think Rojas struggles at times. There's a "plan," probably discussed in meetings, and he can be slow to deviate when that plan proves untenable. Or, hey, maybe he just had faith that Familia would find a way out of it -- he often does. Reid-Foley needs to be with the team.
Pragmatism may dictate that 33 games in 32 days is the time we may have to let Lucchesi try to go three times through the order. And watching Familia on fumes lose that though battle to Profar and then be forced to try to go after Pham -- that is all on the manager. He was gassed.
The score, my friends.
I strongly hope that McNeil does some rehab in LF/RF and moves into more of that flex-utility role. People talk about the Mets winning with "smoke and mirrors" during all the injuries, but that's not true: it's been done with pitching and DEFENSE. Across the board, the subs have been better defensively than the players they replaced. It would be a massive failure to ignore that lesson. In sum: JD is a bat off the bench, sometime starter; 2B is most Guillorme & Peraza; and Dom Smith absolutely must get off the field. If the team were healthy, including McNeil, Smith counts as my 6th best option in the outfield. Defense matters. I'd like to see Jeff out there.
I totally agree on the point about pitching and defense. Defense is undervalued, and the replacements have been superior defenders, which is a huge part of the team's success so far. I do like McNeil at 2B, though, so I hope that he plays there primarily. I also think JD's bat has earned him a chance to keep his job (.390/.479 w 1.089 OPS) to start the year. I'd like to see if his defense comes along, and I like having Villar there to play as a regular backup (3 starts a week?). I love Dom, too, but if his bat doesn't come around by the time Nimmo or Conforto return, his defense in LF becomes untenable.
While you recognize that defense is undervalued, you are proposing weakening the defense at three positions. Dom has been a 0.0 at WAR this year, last in RC+, and has gotten the 2nd most ABs on the team -- while basically being Lucas Duda out there in LF. It doesn't work, it will never work. Seems like a nice young man, fun personality. As for JD, I've been a big supporter of his all winter. I wanted him to work at 3B. But it's been undeniable what we've seen with infield defense over the past month. Stroman has, in particular, benefitted. I can't close my eyes to that. I see JD as the sub who gets starts, not the starter. And over time, we'll see. With McNeil, I think there's no question that Lindor prefers Peraza or Guillorme at 2B over Jeff, who is at best a mediocre glove. I'd 100% rather see McNeil in LF over Smith, who really cannot make a difficult play out there.