The Mets' Remarkable 180-Degree Turn

The Mets' trade deadline "repurposing" of assets was even more stunning than their massive winter shopping spree. What happens next will decide how this is all ultimately viewed.

I must admit that I didn't foresee most of what happened with the Mets at this trade deadline. I knew David Robertson would be going and strongly suspected that Tommy Pham would be dealt. I was surprised when the Mets were willing to include so much cash in the Max Scherzer deal. I was less surprised when Justin Verlander was traded, although I had questioned whether owner Steve Cohen would invest millions more in acquiring more prospects. I am finally getting to the stage where I will no longer doubt the Mets owner's will to go to extraordinary lengths in doing whatever he feels needs to be done.

Wednesday Evening with Max

The Mets' decision to bump the rehabbing Scherzer's start back a day worked out well for this fortunate blogger.

When I heard the news that Max Scherzer was scheduled to pitch a rehab start in Harford, CT Tuesday night, I texted several friends to see if they wanted to go to the game with me. I live about 25 miles from Hartford. Unfortunately, by the time I found a willing accomplice, tickets to the game were sold out. I was disappointed but still wanted a chance to see Francisco Álvarez, Brett Baty, and Ronny Mauricio in action, so I bought tickets for the Wednesday night game. As luck would have it, the Mets decided to move Scherzer's rehab start back a day, so I would be watching Max and the three prospects that evening.

2021 Can't Be Another Lost Year for Mets Prospects

I've been writing a lot about minor league baseball this year, focusing mainly on the harm that the changes to the affiliation process will do to the towns and small cities left behind. Ultimately, I think that will backfire on MLB, severing a crucial link between the game of baseball and a significant chunk of America. There was a terrific piece on FanGraphs a couple of weeks ago showing how, by their calculations, the changes to minor league affiliations will cost 5.2 million people the chance to attend minor league games in person, as they will simply live too far away from an affiliated team.

The Ponies Rumble Onward

Somewhat lost among all of the other news from this week's Cohen/Alderson press conference was the news of which four teams would still be New York Mets affiliates going forward. If you missed it, the ones staying on are Syracuse, Binghamton, Brooklyn, and St. Lucie. This was especially good news for Binghamton, which earlier this year had been listed as a team likely to lose their affiliation. As I wrote a while back, the Mets' relationship with the city in south-central New York state stretches back almost 30 years.