He looked a little chubby.

To quote the Hawk....A, gone!

To quote the Hawk....A gone!

sh*t, the awkward, I'm on holidays in the Czech republic with dodgy internet double post....

I see he's been slumping lately. Still hitting better than Bruce.

123rd in career HR, 317. tied with George Brett.

154th in career RBI, 1202. trails Will Clark by 3.

259th in Hits, 2050. trails Indian Bob Johnson by 1.

129th in 2B, 437. tied with Jim Edmonds.

strong career, but thought he might rank higher in these categories.

Brett is HOF+HOM, Clark and Edmonds are HOM, and Johnson is one of the all-time leading HOM vote-getters who won't get in.

Made $167,746,500 in his career, should enjoy his retirement.

Made $167,746,500 in his career, should enjoy his retirement.

That'll buy him a lot of meth and hookers.

Then again, he may not be interested in meth and hookers.

Not a great sign for the team's decision-making process when a guy improves his OPS+ by 17 points over the previous season's number, and it's still bad enough that he gets released in mid-June.

That'll buy him a lot of meth and hookers.

For $170M he should at least get coke and escorts.

Indian Bob Johnson

Indian Bob Johnson was a hell of a ballplayer. If he had reached the bigs at 22 or 23, instead of 27, he'd be in the Hall.

Not a great sign for the team's decision-making process when a guy improves his OPS+ by 17 points over the previous season's number, and it's still bad enough that he gets released in mid-June.

Meh, he was injured last year and the idea was to see if he had any life left in his bat. It says worse things about the current state of the roster that it took them more than 1/3 of the season to conclude that he was no longer useful.

For $170M he should at least get coke and escorts.

But a lot less of them than the meth and hookers.

123rd in career HR, 317. tied with George Brett.

154th in career RBI, 1202. trails Will Clark by 3.

259th in Hits, 2050. trails Indian Bob Johnson by 1.

129th in 2B, 437. tied with Jim Edmonds.

strong career, but thought he might rank higher in these categories.

Brett is HOF+HOM, Clark and Edmonds are HOM, and Johnson is one of the all-time leading HOM vote-getters who won't get in.

He also has 2 fewer HR than the Fielders, and 2 more than Jeromy Burnitz

He has 10 fewer hits than Wally Joyner and 2 more than Dummy Hoy

He has 5 fewer RBI than Raul Ibanez and 8 more than Ryan Howard

He has 1 more double than Edgar Renteria and 3 fewer than BJ Surhoff

AdGonz is also No. 175 in OPS+ at 129 along with an interesting collection

Active: Nelson Cruz
HOF: Eddie Murray, Mickey Cochrane, Zack Wheat, Buck Ewing
HOM: Joe Torre, Jimmy Wynn
Moderns: Josh Hamilton, David Justice, John Olerud, Bobby Bonds, Fred Lynn, Bob Watson
Earlier: SidGordon, Riggs Stephenson, John Reilly (AA)

True, AGon lacks both the longevity and the peak that make a hall of famer. However, for a decade he was a durable, consistent, championship-caliber player. His average season from 2006-15 looks like this:

677 PA
28 HR
103 RBI
137 OPS+
.646 OWn%
4.3 WAR
2.2 WAA
6.5 Rfield

He played in 5 ASG and was awarded 4 GG and 2 SS. He had top MVP finishes of 4th-7th-7th-12th.

I'd put him in the Hall before Steve Garvey.

strong career, but thought he might rank higher in these categories.

I agree. Worth remembering that he played in pitcher's parks nearly his entire career.

I'd put him in the Hall before Steve Garvey.

So, he's a "Hall of Good" player? I wouldn't put Garvey in the "Hall of Very Good".

Dominic Smith is going to get the first shot at first but he has not hit well in AAA. With Alonso playing well in AA, how much rope does Smith get?

At this point, I'd guess the team isn't in a rush to start his service clock.

So, he's a "Hall of Good" player? I wouldn't put Garvey in the "Hall of Very Good".

JAWS rankings at 1B:

#42 Adrian Gonzalez
#43 Joe Judge
#44 Paul Goldschmidt
#45 Fred Tenney
#46 Bill White
#47 Boog Powell
#48 Dave Foutz
#49 Harry Davis
#50 Steve Garvey

Mets do not appear eager to bring Alonso up before Sept. they'll try Smith, Flores, and/or Bruce and see what sticks. the rotting corpse of Joey Bats has 28 career games at 1B

He's a very good player, but he's a bit overrated by traditional stats. Ozzie Smith has 290 more career walks.

He also has 2 fewer HR than the Fielders, and 2 more than Jeromy Burnitz

Going off memory, Fielders had MVP winning season(s)?

Going off memory, Fielders had MVP winning season(s)?

No, why do you ask? Cecil had 2 seconds, Prince had 2 thirds.

Meh, he was injured last year and the idea was to see if he had any life left in his bat.

Sure, fine, but he'd only had a 111 OPS+ in the full and healthy age-34 season before that, so if that was the rationale, it still doesn't seem like a particularly high-percentage bet.

Sure, fine, but he'd only had a 111 OPS+ in the full and healthy age-34 season before that, so if that was the rationale, it still doesn't seem like a particularly high-percentage bet.

You don't get high % bets for the MLB minimum.

5th best bWAR for an overall #1 pick. Harper, if healthy, will catch him in 3-4 years. I was hoping he'd get the 1000 runs & ribbies mark, but looks to be coming up 3 runs scored short.

I don't think the plan was to have A-Gon as the starting 1B--they wanted him as a backup for Dom Smith, to sort of light a fire under him. Smith was hurt for a lot of spring training, so Gonzalez received the bulk of the playing time, and Smith took a lot of time before he was ready. When Smith failed to hit much at Vegas, he didn't do much to pressure them to push A-Gon aside.

That said, the timing is weird, given that Smith was just sort of muddling along at Vegas when they promoted him, and Gonzalez was doing what he had been since the start of the season--hitting a little, then slumping a little. There's currently no timeline for Cespedes to come back, so it looks like Bruce, Conforto, and Nimmo going forward, with Smith and Flores (back soon!) in a platoon at 1B, at least until Cespedes returns and they have some crowding in the OF.

This team is just a mess right now though, really frustrating to watch. Wheeler was solid for five last night before imploding. At some point the offense needs to break out, but with Conforto and bruce slumping, effective zeros from C & SS, and middling production from 1B, it's tough to see how that's going to happen. FWIW Granderson's putting up a 119 OPS+ this year (.240/.364/.435), compared to Bruce's 77 (.220/.298/.332). I understood the decision to sign him with Conforto expected to miss a lot of time at the start of the year, but it seemed like a long-term commitment to solve a short-term problem.

He'd still be one of the best players on the Orioles.

sh*t, the awkward, I'm on holidays in the Czech republic with dodgy internet double post....

Hmm, you're in the Czech Republic, saw Moses is in Poland (?), I'm in Spain -- how many BBTF posters are currently abroad?

how many BBTF posters are currently abroad?

bbchick is one

I'm in Iowa, which often feels like a foreign country.

how many BBTF posters are currently abroad?

I just got back from Germany on Monday, but by your standards I'm still abroad.

(If you're ever flying within Europe, under no circumstances fly with Eurowings by the way.)

bbchick is one

*rimshot!*

You don't get high % bets for the MLB minimum.

You don't have to be all that high-percentage a bet in order to be a better bet than a 36-year-old with marginal numbers who appears to be in clear physical decline.

Adam Lind is two years younger than Gonzalez, and in better health than Gonzalez, and hit .303/.362/.513 as a part-timer for the Nats last year, and all he got this offseason was a minor league deal with a NRI.

Adam Lind is two years younger than Gonzalez, and in better health than Gonzalez, and hit .303/.362/.513 as a part-timer for the Nats last year, and all he got this offseason was a minor league deal with a NRI.

I didn't believe you until I looked it up. What's up with that?

You don't have to be all that high-percentage a bet in order to be a better bet than a 36-year-old with marginal numbers who appears to be in clear physical decline.

Adam Lind is two years younger than Gonzalez, and in better health than Gonzalez, and hit .303/.362/.513 as a part-timer for the Nats last year, and all he got this offseason was a minor league deal with a NRI.

IIRC the Mets snagged A-Gon earlier on in the offseason--when Lind was presumably holding out thinking he'd get more. The Mets prob would have preferred Walker or Duda to Gonzalez, but the expectation was that both of these guys would command better money than they ended up settling for.

IIRC the Mets snagged A-Gon earlier on in the offseason--when Lind was presumably holding out thinking he'd get more. The Mets prob would have preferred Walker or Duda to Gonzalez, but the expectation was that both of these guys would command better money than they ended up settling for.

That and with Bruce and Vargas. They moved early, which was a mistake. If they had waited longer, there might have been some better options, as when Frazier fell into their lap.

But then they might have lost out on all the wonderful things that Bruce and Vargas contribute.

But then they might have lost out on all the wonderful things that Bruce and Vargas contribute.

And not only for this year, but for the next 2 too!!!

I don't think the plan was to have A-Gon as the starting 1B--they wanted him as a backup for Dom Smith, to sort of light a fire under him. Smith was hurt for a lot of spring training, so Gonzalez received the bulk of the playing time, and Smith took a lot of time before he was ready. When Smith failed to hit much at Vegas, he didn't do much to pressure them to push A-Gon aside.

That seems like an odd roster choice for 2018. Both are lefty hitters so you can't platoon. You don't have a DH and both really shouldn't play anywhere except DH (though I see Smith has a few AAA games in the OF). Back in the old days teams had roster space for a regular 1B and a guy who can back up or pinch hit, but in 2018 seems most teams would prefer another short reliever.

They signed Vargas in mid February--that's late for a normal off-season. I didn't agree with it at the time, but it's not like they jumped the gun or anything.