Your 2026 former New York Mets: Oh, that was the problem, before the deadline the Mets had ’winning’ way lower on their priority list. Glad, the Mets brass caught that so they can begin their 2015-esque run
“My first priority [said that day] is winning.”” -Bo Bichette [New York Mets]
Full disclosure, I’ve been on vacation the past two week with (thankfully) spotting internet, so I’m literally catching up on who was traded and who remains as I blog…
“Any time you find yourself in a situation like this,
it’s not the most fun thing. You see people leave that you have good relationships with. It means that you’re not in a great place in the standings. But for us, we still have to show up and try to win every day, continue to be professionals. That’s what we’re looking forward to doing.” -Bo Bichette [New York Mets]
…so with h/t to David Roth of Defector, Let’s Remember Some Guys!
First, do you guys remember Bo Bichette? I remember him as well as his father Dante Bichette, who had a four-year run where he drove in 514 declines Rib Eye Steaks that paired with a somewhat edible four-year cumulative 0.6 fWAR. Which is just a wonderfully perfect mid-90s stat line that Dante was able to parlay into a three-year, $21 million extension for his age 35, 36, and 37 year old seasons. The contract ended up being a steal…/checks Baseball-Reference/…oh, wait, it went immediately south and the Rockies bailed one season into the three-year deal.
“I think [Bichette’s] in a good spot — as good as you can be. His intent coming here was competing for a World Series, and I think that is heavy on a lot of guys where we find ourselves at this moment. At the same time, carrying that heavy burden doesn’t make you perform well. Going out and believing you’re one of the best players on the planet and swinging the bat like it does.” -Mets Manager Tom Andy Green [Mets]
Anyways, absolutely not apropos of Remembering Some Bad Contracts to players with surnames of Bichette, Bo Bichette knows he’s having a down year and doesn’t feel great about it. But I bet he was Remembering Some Contracts and can console himself knowing his contract has $84 million guaranteed after this season and he will still have leverage to opt out if somehow that’s will be lead to being paid more than $42 million.
In other words, we’re going to start getting lots of quotes about how much he loves NY because he’s not opting out and no team will trade for him unless Cohen/Stearns eat at least the worth of 514 Rib Eye Steaks of his contracts.
“The way I look at it is, I think there’s no doubt this team is going to be better next year. I really believe that. There’s still a lot of talent in this room, a lot of young talent that’s really hungry, combined with guys that have been around who have done a lot of great things in this game. And then on top of that, typically when you have a season like this, people show up a little bit more motivated. So I think that this group is going to be well prepared to be better next year.” -Bo Bichette [Mets]
Honestly, I don’t really Remember Andy Green as A Guy and it might be tough for him to earn a spot as in Let’s Remember Some Former Mets Managers but he’s trying to hit the ground running because his use of MBA Buzzwords during post-game interviews might be making David Stearns roll his eyes.
I had to read additional context prior to the quote to realize Andy Green was talking about Jorge Polanco (another Guy I might not Remember) breaking out of a slump and not that the Mets might be paying his salary via some kind of equity in lieu of cash agreement.
“Sometimes, the sweat equity gets you rolling again.” -Andy Green [Mets]
I know the season is lost, but it’s nice the Mets are brought in former rival Placido Polanco to have the Farewell Tour he always wanted while giving Mets fans a chance to Remember him.
“It feels great to come through after putting a lot of work in.” -Jorge Polanco [Mets]
I’m going to level with you, while I think I’m pretty good at Remembering Some Guys, specifically former Mets from the mid-90s through today [Eric Valent, Desi Reliford, Bartolomé Fortunato]; I’m no David Roth.
Because while I’m confident David Roth will be able to Remember Jefry Yan in the future; I’m going to need Jefry Yan to do something so good or so bad in order for him to earn a spot in my brain where Guys like Dae-sung Koon have permanent residence.
“Once I had him at two strikes, I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to throw that slider,’ and if I freeze him, which is exactly what I did, I’m going to celebrate accordingly.” -Jefry Marte Yan [Mets]
“Honestly, I don’t think about [the Cleveland booing him or something, I did not see the game TBH]. They can do whatever they want there. They’re paying their tickets, so if they want to yell at me, they want to boo me, they can do whatever they want. I’m in my zone, and I’m going to enjoy my game any way that I want to.” – Jefry Yan Gomes [Mets]
The Mets should have Remembered Some Guys with real stuff instead of the fake stuff they went with in the first half.
“It’s real stuff. The fastball is alive.” – Shawn Andy Green [Mets]
Of course I Remember Kodai Senga. I also remember convincing myself his injury plagued 2024 was a blessing in disguise because /putting on my David Stearns-Andy Green MBA fedora/ it meant Senga could not opt out and the Mets were going to get SOOO much Surplus Value.
“Whatever role is given to me, I’m going to throw in that role — regardless of what I say,” Senga said through an interpreter. “If I say I want to be a starter, the team could tell me, ‘Just look at your stats.’ And I don’t have anything to say back to them.” -Kodai Senga [Mets]
I’m not in the ‘giving up’ on David Stearns camp yet, but when I Remember Some Front Office Guys, I remember how excited I was when Sandy Alderson was hired. To be fair to Alderson, he was dealt a bad hand with a barren farm, bad contracts and *cough /The Wilpons/*. With that said, and to put it very lightly, the second Sandy Alderson run included some notable missteps.
I know these Mets are not going to go on a run, but I’m going to continue to watch as is my wont, so Godspeed Jared Young or Chase Chac Chaise Chayse Chayce McDermott, you have a chance to do something that can earn you a coveted spot in Mets Sickos Fans’ Remember Some Guys rolodex.
“First and foremost, we added a tremendous amount of talent all throughout our system. Different shapes and sizes, different positional groupings, arms and bats, really good defenders. So overall, we believe that we’ve added to our system. We added players that will help us in New York and overall strengthen the quality of our farm system.” -David Stearns [Mets]
