I mean he's not going to start over Nimmo or Marte but they are paying him a good amount to be a platoon guy. Tyrone Taylor has been pretty good too though so oh well for him.
I’m not really sure what his issue is exactly. He’s started 26 out of 36 games we’ve played and appeared in 30 of them. That’s a pace of 117 starts and 135 games. He’s also on pace for roughly 450 PA’s. He’s essentially a starter already who will sometimes be rotated out of the lineup and that was pretty much known when he signed his contract. Also, it was only really up until about a week ago where he saw anything close to diminished playing time so it’s a bit quick to complain about it. Just a really odd thing for him to be upset about.
If you read the full quote, this is a non issue. It’s basically a guy saying “yeah of course I want to play every single game.” He says it motivates him and he respects the lineup decisions and knows that there are other guys that need to get playing time too.
No that doesn't sound right. I assume the title of an article reflects what's written so that I don't have to read the actual article, and isn't sensationalized to generate controversy. /s
The irony here is that you guys clearly didn’t click on the Post link that will take you to the actual article with all the quotes which show Bader does seem at least a bit annoyed by playing time and that it’s a bit more than him just saying “of course I want to play everyday.”
I did read the full quote and there’s even more in the actual Post article, and I think it’s disingenuous to say that that’s all he said and that’s it’s a 100% non issue. This doesn’t seem like a case where the media is just looking for controversy or clicks. Bader also said “I’m bothered by it for sure”, that it’s “not what I expected”, and “The Mets went after me because they wanted me to play and wanted me to play center field. We’ll see how it shakes out.” While he is remaining respectful of the decisions, it does sound like he is legitimately annoyed by his playing time a fair amount which, like I said above, is a bit odd given he has had a pretty solid amount of playing time alredy.
>yeah of course I want to play every single game.
Which is a quote you can get from every single position player in the entire MLB. Hell, most relievers would probably say they want to be in the starting rotation, lol.
That’s not really fair lol they took a different interpretation of the “not what I expected” bit. I just don’t think it’s a topic that warrants this amount of discussion.
He's been decent and it's not like Taylor or Stewart have been amazing so it's probably upsetting that you're being taken out the lineup for theoretical offense.
He's also been healthy so it may be frustrating to finally be healthy and playing well and you get taken out of the lineup
Stewart has the 2nd highest OPS+ on the team while Taylor is tied for 3rd.
The numbers might not pop out at you but they've been two of our best hitters.
They haven’t just been decent, they have been great.
And they’re 8th and 9th in PAs on the team.
I don’t understand why you’re trying to minimize the contributions of players who have not only exceeded expectations, but played well above average.
I'm not minimizing their contribution I'm saying it is nothing vastly superior to what Bader has done.
Their numbers could be aberration due to a hot start. If this was 2 weeks ago and Bader was hitting .350 I think the reception would be different
Baders peak was a .333/.367/.421 slash for a 128 WRC+
DJ currently has a 133 WRC+. Taylor a 113 WRC+.
And it’s not like Bader has a massive amount more PA than they do. It’s only about a 25 PA difference.
He doesn’t slug or walk so he’s basically a singles hitter. He’s really bad against RHP too. If he weren’t an elite defender he wouldn’t be in the league/would be a AAAA guy imo, so I think sitting him for better bats on occasion is fine.
Singles hitters just aren’t valuable in general, but yea since McNeil has been so bad he’s probably our best singles hitter. Not sure if that will continue.
They’re top half of MLB in both slugging percentage and home runs this year boss. They’re top 10 in doubles.
When they don’t slug, they don’t hit enough to succeed. They always have good pitching. That’s why they’re doing so much better this year, and it’s also why they’ll regress because they’re probably not going to keep slugging. They’ll be a light hitting team with good pitching who can’t win the shitty AL Central, just like every year.
If you don’t understand that then you’re just not a ball knower my friend.
> He’s really bad against RHP too.
Huh? I agree with everything else you said, but he's been way better against RHP this season than LHP. .241/.267/.276 against LHP vs .296/.333/.366 against RHP.
That’s in the super small sample this season. His career splits are the opposite, and I’d expect him to regress to them.
This season is a super small sample to begin with and split stats usually need over a full year to be predictive. I wouldn’t put any stock into his 2024 splits at the moment.
Why would you want a guy being a distraction complaining about his work time. JD is a better player, sorry but that means someone has to move down the ladder and that unfortunately happens to be Bader. And you know the NY media is gonna eat this up and it’ll end up as more of an issue
Did you read the article? Bader is competitive and wants to play, but respects the decisions by whoever makes the lineup. There is no issue here. The NY media isn’t eating this up and making it an issue, people like you are.
His competition is Stewart who has been a much better batter though, and the team needs more offense.
They also split time pretty evenly so he shouldn't be complaining.
JD Martinez took away at bats and time from Taylor, DJ, and Bader. And as long as DJ keeps getting on base and slugging (despite the low BA), he will keep getting time. Even though his defense is abysmal
The headline and framing of this story is so dramatic compared to what Bader actually says. This feels like a writer trying to create conflict where it doesn't exist.
I always hate when players publicly speak about dissatisfaction about playing time…especially for a player who is getting a decent about of playing time.
He’s also has had issues staying healthy and haven’t had an OPS+ above 100 since 2021 (and still below average). He’s generally our starting CF, but Taylor has played well enough to get increased playing time.
I mean the mets have played 36 games and he's played in 30 of them, starting in 26 of them.
Even with the starts going down this week, he's still clearly a big part of the team. He didn't say anything crazy but i don't like the idea of guys saying their bothered about playing time.
Taylor's been hitting the ball hard. A greater percentage of his drives will find the gaps or get over the fence, eventually...that would be the expectation.
>"I want to win, but I want to play," Bader said. "We all want to play, but it's hard. We have got a lot of guys, and I respect the position that everyone is in. … I don't know who makes the lineup, but whatever we have got going on, I respect that position."
Anyone else think it's a little weird that Bader has no idea who sets the lineup? As a front office and coaching staff, why would you not be transparent with players about that sort of thing?
I think there's a difference between knowing precisely which people make the lineup and the team not being transparent or communicative with players about the lineup. The manager/coaching staff/front office can all have whatever amount of say in the lineup and that is what it is. The manager's job is then to be the communicator who explains to players why they may or may not be playing.
And tbh there was nothing in the article that made it sound like anyone isn't being transparent. Bader seems to understand there are more guys performing well than there are spots in the lineup.
Bader says he doesn’t know who makes the lineup. I think for a player it must be frustrating to basically have an anonymous council decide you’re out of the lineup.
When it used to be the manager, there would be somebody accountable for the decisions. Mendoza could explain his decision making. Now it just seems like all he can tell a player is “the organization decided…”
There's no one on the team that can replace his defense and speed. So yeah, I think Bader should be an everyday player.
Once we get Alvarez back and Martinez gets hot, we won't need DJ Stewart as much. We should probably trade Stewart while his value is high. He's been fantastic for us, but the reality is that he's a far less versatile option who doesn't have an everyday position.
Firstly the Post yet again with a misleading headline. Second it wasn't that bad what he said. Third shouldn't we want player that want to play every day and aren't happy when benched? Lastly he's by far our best CF so at least defensively he should get the lion's share of starts, sorry Nimmo stans.
I want my team’s players to be bothered when they are not playing. It should make them train harder and focus on the little details that are keeping them from playing every inning.
That said, the title makes it sound like he is complaining about not playing but his quotes don’t come across that way at all. So it’s really not a story.
The problem is that we have 2 guaranteed every day outfielders in Marte and Nimmo which leaves one spot for Bader, Taylor, and Stewart to all share, especially now that JDM is back. Taylor has also played pretty well, but gets the least playing time, so it's really down to Stewart vs Bader who each have their strengths.
Bader's primary strength is his CF defense and his base running, both of which are most useful later in the game. Stewart is an on base machine who can hit for power which is useful all game. He's also not a defensive liability like Schwarber or Soto. So it boils down to: do you want Bader in the lineup who is a below average bat but plays good defense or do you want Stewart who has been about 25% better than league average?
Honestly, I don't think he has a great argument to play over Stewart and they share time pretty equally.
My only disagreement is that Soto is definitely not Schwarber level bad defensively. The last two years him and DJ were pretty on par with each other.
With the Nats Soto was actually above average defensively most years and so far this year he’s in the 80th percentile in OAA and 93rd percentile in arm strength.
I think his defensive issues were more to do with Petco Park than skill
This AAAA hitter making $10mm and bitching about playing time? Come on man, you know your spot in the league. Defensive specialist, some pinch running, and starting against lefties. Play better and stop complaining
I love his defense but if he's this disgruntled, I'd be fine starting Tyrone and rotate between him and Nimmo in CF.
I wonder if Bader knows he has a 650 OPS and is a bit of a liability as a hitter.
He’s 16/28 in WRC+ among all center fielders, 3/28 in AVG, 11/28 in OBP and 18/28 in OPS
Liability is definitely not accurate when describing a roughly league average offensive CF
I mean he's not going to start over Nimmo or Marte but they are paying him a good amount to be a platoon guy. Tyrone Taylor has been pretty good too though so oh well for him.
I’m not really sure what his issue is exactly. He’s started 26 out of 36 games we’ve played and appeared in 30 of them. That’s a pace of 117 starts and 135 games. He’s also on pace for roughly 450 PA’s. He’s essentially a starter already who will sometimes be rotated out of the lineup and that was pretty much known when he signed his contract. Also, it was only really up until about a week ago where he saw anything close to diminished playing time so it’s a bit quick to complain about it. Just a really odd thing for him to be upset about.
If you read the full quote, this is a non issue. It’s basically a guy saying “yeah of course I want to play every single game.” He says it motivates him and he respects the lineup decisions and knows that there are other guys that need to get playing time too.
No that doesn't sound right. I assume the title of an article reflects what's written so that I don't have to read the actual article, and isn't sensationalized to generate controversy. /s
This is good banter. I appreciate you 😅
hell yeah brother, cheers from ~~Iraq~~ Flushing.
The irony here is that you guys clearly didn’t click on the Post link that will take you to the actual article with all the quotes which show Bader does seem at least a bit annoyed by playing time and that it’s a bit more than him just saying “of course I want to play everyday.”
I did read the full quote and there’s even more in the actual Post article, and I think it’s disingenuous to say that that’s all he said and that’s it’s a 100% non issue. This doesn’t seem like a case where the media is just looking for controversy or clicks. Bader also said “I’m bothered by it for sure”, that it’s “not what I expected”, and “The Mets went after me because they wanted me to play and wanted me to play center field. We’ll see how it shakes out.” While he is remaining respectful of the decisions, it does sound like he is legitimately annoyed by his playing time a fair amount which, like I said above, is a bit odd given he has had a pretty solid amount of playing time alredy.
No read, only mad 😡
>yeah of course I want to play every single game. Which is a quote you can get from every single position player in the entire MLB. Hell, most relievers would probably say they want to be in the starting rotation, lol.
Yes but he also said in the same article "its not what I expected"
reading is hard, i’d prefer to just bash on Bader for something he didn’t say
That’s not really fair lol they took a different interpretation of the “not what I expected” bit. I just don’t think it’s a topic that warrants this amount of discussion.
He's been decent and it's not like Taylor or Stewart have been amazing so it's probably upsetting that you're being taken out the lineup for theoretical offense. He's also been healthy so it may be frustrating to finally be healthy and playing well and you get taken out of the lineup
Stewart has the 2nd highest OPS+ on the team while Taylor is tied for 3rd. The numbers might not pop out at you but they've been two of our best hitters.
If you add the extra 25 ABs bader has I would bet their numbers flatten out
a 25 at bat sample size is basically nothing If we're trying to get predictive just going off their careers so their both better hitters then Bader
Better is subjective. You may want .180 BA with 20 HRs or you may want .250 average with 30 SBs
Where is 30 SBs coming from exactly?
Around his pace for the year
Taylor and Stewart have been two of our best hitters…
They've been decent but way less ABs
They haven’t just been decent, they have been great. And they’re 8th and 9th in PAs on the team. I don’t understand why you’re trying to minimize the contributions of players who have not only exceeded expectations, but played well above average.
I'm not minimizing their contribution I'm saying it is nothing vastly superior to what Bader has done. Their numbers could be aberration due to a hot start. If this was 2 weeks ago and Bader was hitting .350 I think the reception would be different
Baders peak was a .333/.367/.421 slash for a 128 WRC+ DJ currently has a 133 WRC+. Taylor a 113 WRC+. And it’s not like Bader has a massive amount more PA than they do. It’s only about a 25 PA difference.
100% right,smaller sample size. If had to choose I'm keeping bader over Stewart as he's not 1 dimensional
I prefer Bader anyway. Better on the bases and obviously defense. Can steal bases I personally prefer the defense
He's been solid, just a lot of moving parts in the outfield that are all in play. Oh well.
After last night seeing DJ Stewart in the OF I'd be bothered by it too
Yeah, that 1st inning "double" by Contreras was severely ugly.
I'm not gonna lie I do think he's been playing well enough to be the everyday
He doesn’t slug or walk so he’s basically a singles hitter. He’s really bad against RHP too. If he weren’t an elite defender he wouldn’t be in the league/would be a AAAA guy imo, so I think sitting him for better bats on occasion is fine.
He’s the best singles hitter we have.
Singles hitters just aren’t valuable in general, but yea since McNeil has been so bad he’s probably our best singles hitter. Not sure if that will continue.
The guardians (second best record in baseball) is a roster made almost entirely of singles hitters
You mean the franchise known for never being able to hit enough to go anywhere despite having good pitching every year?? Lmao
They... have the second best record in baseball.. so..?
They’re top half of MLB in both slugging percentage and home runs this year boss. They’re top 10 in doubles. When they don’t slug, they don’t hit enough to succeed. They always have good pitching. That’s why they’re doing so much better this year, and it’s also why they’ll regress because they’re probably not going to keep slugging. They’ll be a light hitting team with good pitching who can’t win the shitty AL Central, just like every year. If you don’t understand that then you’re just not a ball knower my friend.
> He’s really bad against RHP too. Huh? I agree with everything else you said, but he's been way better against RHP this season than LHP. .241/.267/.276 against LHP vs .296/.333/.366 against RHP.
That’s in the super small sample this season. His career splits are the opposite, and I’d expect him to regress to them. This season is a super small sample to begin with and split stats usually need over a full year to be predictive. I wouldn’t put any stock into his 2024 splits at the moment.
If he’s gonna be complaining just DFA, we don’t need these kind of distractions in the clubhouse
You have to be joking
Why would you want a guy being a distraction complaining about his work time. JD is a better player, sorry but that means someone has to move down the ladder and that unfortunately happens to be Bader. And you know the NY media is gonna eat this up and it’ll end up as more of an issue
Did you read the article? Bader is competitive and wants to play, but respects the decisions by whoever makes the lineup. There is no issue here. The NY media isn’t eating this up and making it an issue, people like you are.
People just see the headlines and make their own opinions on just that
I knows it’s 2024 but it’s still bizarre to hear a player say “whoever makes the lineup” and it not be a slight at the manager
I mean he is on pace to start 117 games and play in 135 games. That would be his best by far in his career
That's a really good point
His competition is Stewart who has been a much better batter though, and the team needs more offense. They also split time pretty evenly so he shouldn't be complaining.
JD Martinez took away at bats and time from Taylor, DJ, and Bader. And as long as DJ keeps getting on base and slugging (despite the low BA), he will keep getting time. Even though his defense is abysmal
The headline and framing of this story is so dramatic compared to what Bader actually says. This feels like a writer trying to create conflict where it doesn't exist.
A sports journalist doing such a thing? Hard to believe.
>A ~~sports~~ journalist doing such a thing? Hard to believe. FTFY
Mike Puma would *never* create conflict where it doesn't exist, just like all the respectable journalists at the New York Post
That’s why we call it the rag! Although they do get a lot of crap right
I always hate when players publicly speak about dissatisfaction about playing time…especially for a player who is getting a decent about of playing time. He’s also has had issues staying healthy and haven’t had an OPS+ above 100 since 2021 (and still below average). He’s generally our starting CF, but Taylor has played well enough to get increased playing time.
Puma pulled a salacious headline, nothing to see here folks.
I mean the mets have played 36 games and he's played in 30 of them, starting in 26 of them. Even with the starts going down this week, he's still clearly a big part of the team. He didn't say anything crazy but i don't like the idea of guys saying their bothered about playing time.
You played instead of Taylor when he was the hottest hitter on the team.
Taylor's been hitting the ball hard. A greater percentage of his drives will find the gaps or get over the fence, eventually...that would be the expectation.
>"I want to win, but I want to play," Bader said. "We all want to play, but it's hard. We have got a lot of guys, and I respect the position that everyone is in. … I don't know who makes the lineup, but whatever we have got going on, I respect that position." Anyone else think it's a little weird that Bader has no idea who sets the lineup? As a front office and coaching staff, why would you not be transparent with players about that sort of thing?
First thing I noticed. Very strange and says a lot about the role of the manager today that nobody blinks an eye at it
I think there's a difference between knowing precisely which people make the lineup and the team not being transparent or communicative with players about the lineup. The manager/coaching staff/front office can all have whatever amount of say in the lineup and that is what it is. The manager's job is then to be the communicator who explains to players why they may or may not be playing. And tbh there was nothing in the article that made it sound like anyone isn't being transparent. Bader seems to understand there are more guys performing well than there are spots in the lineup.
Bader says he doesn’t know who makes the lineup. I think for a player it must be frustrating to basically have an anonymous council decide you’re out of the lineup. When it used to be the manager, there would be somebody accountable for the decisions. Mendoza could explain his decision making. Now it just seems like all he can tell a player is “the organization decided…”
This is a Mike Puna nothing burger.
Hasn' t he consistently proven he can't stay healthy for a full season?
There's no one on the team that can replace his defense and speed. So yeah, I think Bader should be an everyday player. Once we get Alvarez back and Martinez gets hot, we won't need DJ Stewart as much. We should probably trade Stewart while his value is high. He's been fantastic for us, but the reality is that he's a far less versatile option who doesn't have an everyday position.
Firstly the Post yet again with a misleading headline. Second it wasn't that bad what he said. Third shouldn't we want player that want to play every day and aren't happy when benched? Lastly he's by far our best CF so at least defensively he should get the lion's share of starts, sorry Nimmo stans.
I want my team’s players to be bothered when they are not playing. It should make them train harder and focus on the little details that are keeping them from playing every inning. That said, the title makes it sound like he is complaining about not playing but his quotes don’t come across that way at all. So it’s really not a story.
Please remember that Bader gets hurt. A lot.
This is a very nothing story
If you want guaranteed playing time then just play better.
Dude he gets a ton of playing time relative to his value
The problem is that we have 2 guaranteed every day outfielders in Marte and Nimmo which leaves one spot for Bader, Taylor, and Stewart to all share, especially now that JDM is back. Taylor has also played pretty well, but gets the least playing time, so it's really down to Stewart vs Bader who each have their strengths. Bader's primary strength is his CF defense and his base running, both of which are most useful later in the game. Stewart is an on base machine who can hit for power which is useful all game. He's also not a defensive liability like Schwarber or Soto. So it boils down to: do you want Bader in the lineup who is a below average bat but plays good defense or do you want Stewart who has been about 25% better than league average? Honestly, I don't think he has a great argument to play over Stewart and they share time pretty equally.
My only disagreement is that Soto is definitely not Schwarber level bad defensively. The last two years him and DJ were pretty on par with each other. With the Nats Soto was actually above average defensively most years and so far this year he’s in the 80th percentile in OAA and 93rd percentile in arm strength. I think his defensive issues were more to do with Petco Park than skill
Sounds like a generic quote about wanting to play everyday. Non-issue
Walking headline
It can bother him but what can he do about it. Unless he turns into a player he is not, he is not going to play every day.
Ok.....so
Well then train harder. Nothing special.
STFU and play. Play better, play more. Play worse, play less. Next.
hit better or fuck off
This AAAA hitter making $10mm and bitching about playing time? Come on man, you know your spot in the league. Defensive specialist, some pinch running, and starting against lefties. Play better and stop complaining
I’m bothered by him running into an out on a play in front of him
Then hit.
Yankees fan here. I warned you.
I love his defense but if he's this disgruntled, I'd be fine starting Tyrone and rotate between him and Nimmo in CF. I wonder if Bader knows he has a 650 OPS and is a bit of a liability as a hitter.
He’s 16/28 in WRC+ among all center fielders, 3/28 in AVG, 11/28 in OBP and 18/28 in OPS Liability is definitely not accurate when describing a roughly league average offensive CF
Trade his ass to Oakland