Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman took to Twitter again to remind Chicago Cubs fans how eager he is to play in the Windy City – and how glad he was to leave the New York Mets.
“Very very thankful to be out of there for several reasons,” Stroman wrote. “God always got me. Beyond excited to perform for an incredible fanbase who appreciates their players!”
So how did he enjoy Mets fans?
“Endless death threats, being called a (N word) often, hearing black lives don’t matter, and playing for a front office who didn’t care about any of that,” Stroman wrote.
After opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, Stroman returned in ’21 with a strong season for the Mets: 10-13 with a 3.02 ERA in 33 starts.
That success made him a Person of Interest to many Cardinals fans monitoring the pitching marketplace. But Stroman targeted the Cubs as a preferred destination and signed a three-year, $71 million contract with them as a free agent just before the lockout hit.
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As you may recall, the Mets organization became a dysfunctional mess last season. Owner Steve Cohen looked at many, many general manager candidates before finally settling on for Los Angeles Angels GM Billy Eppler, the architect of a perennial also-ran in Orange County, to clean up his mess.
“Just look at who the Mets hired as their GM . . . that tells you enough," Stroman wrote in a tweet he later deleted. "His lack of awareness in his previous position is being exposed to the public now. I'm beyond thankful I'm gone from that organization. God got me!”
Stroman's return to New York this season to face the Mets should be fun.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering if Jordan Binnington is all better now:
- Now that the owners and players are on the brink of losing some real money, will they final sit down and settle this contract?
- Is America ready for Tom Brady’s filmmaking career?
- Can ever-ambitious Lindenwood help save the Ohio Valley Conference with its move to Division I basketball?
TALKIN’ BASEBALL
Here is what folks are writing about Our National Pastime:
Elijah Ackerman, Baseball Prospectus: “The Winter of the Shortstop has been on a long, lockout hiatus. Once the offseason revs up again, though, a pair of All-Stars in Carlos Correa and Trevor Story will need to quickly play matchmaker and sign what are expected to be rather large contracts. The questions surrounding Correa’s eventual deal will resemble those of his days in Houston: Can he stay on the field for a full season? For Story, it’s a bit more complicated, largely because of Coors Field . . . PECOTA projects Story for a .263/.338/.497 line. It’s one tiny notch below his career numbers of .272/.340/.523 and certainly a believable outcome for one of the game’s most complete athletes. Last season, Story hit .251/.329/.471. He struggled by his standards over the first half-plus of the year, but the former first-rounder turned on the jets in August and September to finish with respectable numbers.”
Buster Olney, ESPN.com: “Correa is 27 years old, is regarded as one of the best at his position, and he recently linked up with Scott Boras in hope of a megadeal in the same neighborhood as Francisco Lindor 's ($341 million) and Corey Seager 's ($325 million). Whoever signs Correa will want to be comfortable with whatever information can be gleaned about his lower-back issues. And any team interested in Story is going to want to place eyes on him to see if the throwing issues that popped up last year have improved and assess whether they think he might have a lingering arm problem.”
Ryan Fagan, The Sporting News: “This is almost certainly the most obvious fit (for Freddie Freeman). Yes, (the Yankees) have Luke Voit to play first base, but is he part of their long-term plans? Didn’t seem like it at times last season, even though Voit was injured much of the year. The club has shown interest in bringing back Anthony Rizzo, last July’s trade-deadline acquisition, but Freeman is a much better hitter than Rizzo at this point in their careers. The idea of Freeman smacking the ball over Yankee Stadium’s short wall in right field has to be appealing, to the player and to the team. And with the DH now in the NL, that’s more potential teams that could be interested in trading for Voit.”
R.J. Anderson, CBSSports.com: “Matt Olson is the both the most obvious and the most appealing candidate to replace Freeman. He's a two-time Gold Glove Award winner who has homered 89 times since the start of the 2019 season. Additionally, he's coming off a season that saw him greatly reduce his strikeout rate (from 31.4 percent to 16.8 percent), suggesting his career-best 153 OPS+ could be the beginning of a sustained run of MVP-caliber play rather than a one-off career year. The Athletics figure to start dismantling their core right after the lockout is lifted; Olson, two years away from reaching free agency, might end up being their most sought-after player.”
Ishaan Tipineni, FanGraphs: “This past year, (Joc) Pederson slashed .238/.310/.732 OPS between his stints with the Cubs and Braves, finishing the season with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs, two stolen bases, and an OPS+ of 93. If we dive a bit deeper we can see that despite modest traditional numbers, Baseball Savant has him ranked in the 80th percentile for average exit velocity and the 90th percentile for max exit velocity. His ability to hit the ball hard is nearing an elite level, and though a subpar batting average is certainly not helping his case, his skill at driving the ball may entice a team in need of some lefty power. Although many fans consider Pederson a clutch postseason hitter, primarily because of his self-proclaimed ‘Joctober,’ his stats looked grim as this postseason winded down. Pederson went 5-for-22 with one bomb in the NLCS, which is not especially great for a postseason power hitter of his caliber. He was worse in the World Series, going 1-for-15 with no homers. Despite having won a pair of championships, ‘Joctober’ seems to have been a classic case of small sample size. His recent performance, or lack thereof, will weigh heavy on the mind of executives and undoubtedly bring down his value. Regardless, there are quite a few factors that may boost Pederson’s value among MLB teams. First is the potential for the universal DH being introduced during the MLB CBA negotiations. I’m not going to sugarcoat it; Pederson’s fielding is atrocious.”
MEGAPHONE
“It’s a great experience for both of us. I like the fact that more ex-pro guys are getting involved in college baseball. You’re seeing that as a trend in the nation. We’ve got some learning to do ourselves. It’s a challenge, it’s a new career and we’re both excited about it.”
Houston Baptist manager Lance Berkman, to MLB.com, on himself and Rice manager Jose Cruz Jr. running college programs.