Carlos Beltran Should Be the Mets next Bench Coach

Author: Frank Caggino

The New York Mets hiring of Buck Showalter as their next manager got positive reviews across all of baseball. However, the Mets still have multiple vacancies on their coaching staff. One of the most glaring ones, is bench coach. While the bench coach does not have an impact on wins and losses, this is still an important decision for the team to make. The Mets are in a unique position since they hired an older manager, they are going to need another new manager in the not too distant future. This is a perfect opportunity for a candidate that is young and does not have any coaching experience.

There were some Mets fans that wanted Carlos Beltran as the manager after Luis Rojas’ team option was declined. As the search went on, fans wanted a manager with experience and credibility which made Showalter the best candidate. The Mets could not take the risk of hiring a third straight rookie manager. Former players such as Mark Texiera have talked about how Buck is one of the smartest coaches in all of baseball. It would be great for Beltran to learn from someone with as much knowledge as Showalter. Carlos can still help some of the Mets players without being the manager.

The player that can benefit the most from having Beltran in the dugout on a daily basis, is Francisco Lindor. Obviously Lindor’s first season as a Met was disappointing, since he did not put up the same offensive numbers he did in Cleveland. The most frustrating part of Lindor’s season was that he showed flashes of the player the Mets traded for. His three home runs in an important national television game against the Yankees showed that Francisco still has the talent. Most of his struggles were mental and at multiple times during the season, mentioned how being booed affected him. Playing in New York is very different than playing in Cleveland and Lindor could use someone that can relate to him to help with his struggles. Beltran is very relatable since both players are switch hitters, Puerto Rican, and great players before arriving with the Mets. Carlos can talk to him about playing in New York and help get him back to the player he used to be. If somehow Lindor can perform close to the player he was before the Mets, it would make a huge difference. Lindor is not the only player Beltran can relate to.

There are several Spanish speaking players on the Mets. Beltran speaks Spanish fluently and can be able to communicate with all these players on a daily basis. If the Mets do not want to have clubhouse issues again, the coaches and players need to communicate better. Adam Jones played for Showalter for years and said that fights on the team would not happen with him in the dugout. Buck would be able to keep the team under control, but he will not be the manager for that many years.

Even if Buck Showalter does an amazing job with the Mets, he will not be the manager for 15 years no matter how well he does. When he retires, the Mets will have to find a new manager again. It would be ideal if the Mets had the answer immediately and can promote Carlos Beltran. By the time Buck does retire, Beltran will have learned under Showalter for years and will be much more equipped to be the manager. Alex Cora has done a great job as a manager for the Red Sox and his coaching experience was as a bench coach. If the Mets can have two straight good managers, they may finally have sustained success which is what all Mets fans dream of.

Sports Are Our Universe

Fanatics Makes their 2nd Biggest Acquisition in a Decade

Author: Spencer Reyes

Fanatics is one of the biggest sports retailers in the world, having the rights to produce and sell merchandise for the NFL, NCAA, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLS, US Soccer, and the Champions League.

This sports powerhouse purchased their old competitor, FansEdge, for $183 Million in 2012, and as of January 4th, 2022, Fanatics bought out Topps for $500 Million. Topps was founded in 1938 and started selling trading cards with pieces of bubble gum. They unintentionally started the sports card industry by promoting the game with their bubble gum sales. Topps has been known as the card producer for all major sports and movie franchises like Star Wars and have even continued their Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages trading card sets.

Just this past August, Major League Baseball has decided to not renew their contract with Topps and has given their right to make trading cards to Fanatics. Roughly four months later, Fanatics bought out Topps, and it seems as if the cards will look the same, but they will most likely include the Fanatics logo as well.

This purchase will help accelerate the sports trading card community as now MLB cards made before the 2022 season will increase in value as the only way to acquire any of these cards will be through resale. Card collectors will see a similar bump in the community in the next year, just as we all experienced in 2020. This time, retailers will be ready and prepared to limit how many cards or boxes a customer can buy per transaction or day. Hopefully, this will bring more sports fans to the trading card industry and not scare them away. Do not be surprised when Fanatics/Topps becomes the only card company available to purchase sports cards in the future.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Who Should The Mets Target Next?

Author: Frank Caggino

While the Amazin’ Mets acquiring Max Scherzer is amazing, they still need more pitching help. With Marcus Stroman, Rich hill, and Noah Syndergaard leaving in free agency, the Mets have even less depth. This is problematic because all the Mets have essentially done thus far, is replace Stroman, who was top 10 in ERA this season with Scherzer. If the Mets do intend on reaching the postseason this year, adding another starter would go a long way.

As currently constructed, the Mets starting rotation is Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Taijuan Walker, Carlos Carrasco, and Tylor Megill. No other team can match the two Mets aces at the top, but there is a significant distinction with the next three pitchers in the rotation. Walker, Carrasco, and Megill all have question marks attached to them.

The signing of Taijuan Walker right at the beginning of spring training looked like a home run. Jacob deGrom was the lone All-Star for the Mets this season, and he gave up his spot for Taijuan Walker to reward him for his great first half. In the second half, Walker struggled to put together consistent quality performances. He had some good starts occasionally, but most of his starts were cause for concern. The Mets were fortunate that Walker got through the whole season healthy, since he is a player that has had several injuries throughout his career. Perhaps Walker’s arm was fatigued pitching in a 162 game season compared to the 60 game season in 2020. Taijuan was not the only Mets starting pitcher to underachieve in the second half.

Carlos Carrasco being a salary dump in the Francisco Lindor trade seemed as if it would be a steal for the Mets. That was not the case, as Carrasco tore his hamstring in spring training and took a long time to come back. Even when he returned, he did not look like himself. The Mets can not guarantee that Carrasco will return to his original self in 2022. He will be 35 next season and relying on a pitcher his age to make it through the season is too risky. This does not necessarily mean that a player who is very young is the answer either.

Tylor Megill was a pleasant surprise for the Mets this year as a rookie. Megill experienced some inconsistency in his performances as well, which is expected for a rookie. Megill’s 4.52 era is an example of his inconsistencies, he was not great, but also not bad. Regardless, counting on a second-year player is not ideal for a team that has playoff hopes.

The player the Mets should add to their rotation should be young, durable, reliable, and most importantly good. A player that stands out who is not being talked about and should not cost much, is Tyler Mahle from the Cincinnati Reds. Mahle had a 3.75 era which would fit in nicely as someone towards the back end of the rotation. The most appealing aspect of Mahle is he made 33 starts in 2021 which shows how he stayed healthy the entire season. Another positive about Mahle is his era was 3.68 in the first half and 3.83 in the second half. While that is not terrific, it is solid and consistent which is what the Mets need. Mahle has one year left on his contract with the Reds for around three million dollars. It is unclear what Cincinnati would want in return in a trade for Mahle. With the additions the Mets made to their offense, players such as J.D Davis and Dominic Smith are more expendable. Trading away depth is not great, but starting pitching is very important for a team to be successful.

The main reason the Mets got into the World Series in 2015 was because of their starting pitching. Tyler Mahle starting a playoff game is unlikely, but he would certainly help the Mets be able to reach the playoffs. Other trade candidates are Mahle’s teammates Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo. The Oakland Athletics also have intriguing pitchers such as Sean Manaea, Chris Bassit, and Frankie Montas. The free agency market is filled with pitchers who are older or injury prone which is what the Mets should avoid. Two veteran free agents that can be productive at a decent price, are Danny Duffy and Drew Smyly. It would be satisfying to see the Mets add a new starting pitcher and Tyler Mahle could be a hidden gem. Having two aces is great, but hidden gems is what truly makes an amzin’ team.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE