Tag Archive for Omar Narvaez

Grote to the Max

There’s a lot to talk about since my last update including the City Connect unis (should have used more 7-train purple, don’t like the hats but better than I feared they’d be) the “new” black look (terrible), the new guys (the miraculous Luis Torrens and the dazzling Jose Iglesias), and the old guys (Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, rocketed to eternity). Then there’s the whole month-of-May thing where it’s plausible the Mets might not have won any games and it seemed at times our rookie manager, whom I liked in April, was getting in over his head.

But what we should be talking about is what happens after we die.

Take Jerry Grote. He’s a Met Hall of Famer who passed away in April, and the the Mets haven’t done a thing to remember him, beyond (I assume) a pregame scoreboard video. Yet there’s a patch for Grote’s longtime teammate and fellow Mets Hall of Famer Bud Harrelson there.

The Mets haven’t missed the opportunity to pay tribute to a late Hall of Famer yet (though Tommie Agee‘s patch was a one-day thing). Yeah with the new sponsor patch taking up most of the available real estate it might take some creative arrangement but in this era where Steve Cohen cannot wait to deify Met stars from the past you’d think this was too good an opportunity to miss but so far its crickets.

Back to Iglesias for a moment: I was surprised he didn’t come north with the team in March and it was obvious a versatile infielder who could actually play the infield belonged on the team. Now he’s getting starts ahead of Jeff McNeil who looks like he’s getting the Daniel Vogelbach Treatment. I was also mildly surprised to see them cut ties with Omar Narvaez, despite his performance, being a David Stearns Milwaukee stock.

Goodbye Omar. You won’t be getting a sleeve patch either.

 

  • Twitter
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • StumbleUpon

Sour Patch Kids

So much for the Mets not screwing up the jersey-sponsor patch opportunity. It’s enough to desecrate the uniform itself with advertising; but to do so in the wrong color is inexcusable. The “white space” in the patch represents the allowable sponsor real estate on the sleeve but clearly doesn’t help the design, it’s an eyesore through and through and a tragic moment in Met uniform history.

On the bright side it looks like Francisco Alvarez will be here for the home opener ad Omar Narvaez lasted a week till needing the injured list. And just in– Alvarez has been issued No. 4 and the 50 he wore late last year. I don’t want to overstate it but this season seems teetering on the edge of going way wrong already.

  • Twitter
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • StumbleUpon

Switcheroo

Then oftentimes unreliable winter Mets roster has been updated.

Headlining the data is a change for Drew Smith, who appears to be surrendering No. 62 to new arrival Jose Quintana and moving to No. 40 vacated recently by Chris Bassitt. Quintana we noted has been a 62 for most of his career.

Another controversy appears to have worked out by giving Tommy Pham 28, with Darin Ruf now listed in the 33 made available by James McCann‘s departure.

Then there’s a few guys who hadn’t been listed with numbers now having them. Lefty Brooks Raley is 25; that number belonged most recently to Tyler Naquin. Omar Narvaez is taking the 2 formerly with Dom Smith. (Dom appears to be going back to No. 22 with Washington, if their roster is to be trusted).

Then there’s info on a few guys who appear to be retaining whatever they wore last year and shouldn’t necessarily be trusted. Pitcher Jeff Brigham is 43, same as he was in Florida; the number is vacant so we’ll go with it. But I doubt Danny Mendick keeps to No. 20 he’s listed in, so you gotta take this info with a grain of salt until camp opens.

  • Twitter
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • StumbleUpon

Feliz Narváez

Despite being handed a seemingly critical role for the 2023 Mets, Omar Narváez hasn’t gotten the try-on-the-jersey-for-the-cameras business yet.

Thanks in part to the merciful jettisoning of James McCann, the Venezuelan vet will presumably be our starting catcher most nights while serving as a sensei to a young Venezuelan catcher, Francisco Alvarez. Longtime reader Stu below brought up the question of what Narváez would wear; he was 10 the last three seasons in Milwaukee, but spent three years wearing 38 for the White Sox and one year in Seattle wearing 22.

As I tend do when these questions come in I check to see what guidance the Mets’ official roster would provide and the answer is often inconclusive. But in this case it’s also weird. The roster page lists Narváez as 10, as it does Eduardo Escobar who wore it last year and remains a Met for now. But when I click down on Escobar, look what comes up:

 

 

I’d like to think the Mets have folks working hard as me making this accurate but I’m sure some AI software glitch is to blame. I don’t think the Mets are giving away 5 ever again.

As to Narváez it looks like the available numbers are 2, 7, 15, 16, 18, 25, 29, 30, 33, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, before we get into the 50s. Alvarez may want one of those lower numbers himself. It’d be cool if Narváez gets 15, and Alvarez takes 16, while Escobar stays in 10.

  • Twitter
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • StumbleUpon