1631 replies to this topic

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Your great genius is on with Francesa now. Sure has changed his tune on Murphy.

Which genius? Omar? I caught a little bit of Hernandez, but didn't really hear what he had to say...were you referring to him? What did he say about Murphy? I'm far from being a big Francesca fan, but I couldn't agree more with his criticisms of Murphy. Murph might be a great guy and the hardest of workers, but he should only be a full-time player on a bad team...he just doesn't do anything well.

[nmigliore]

Which genius? Omar? I caught a little bit of Hernandez, but didn't really hear what he had to say...were you referring to him? What did he say about Murphy? I'm far from being a big Francesca fan, but I couldn't agree more with his criticisms of Murphy. Murph might be a great guy and the hardest of workers, but he should only be a full-time player on a bad team...he just doesn't do anything well.

He was referring to Omar. In the interview Francesca really didn't say anything about Murphy, while Omar just explained how Murphy isn't going to be just handed the job and that's why Jacobs is in camp, or something to that affect. He also mentioned that Davis is a 'long, long shot' to make the team out of spring and its highly likely he'll start out in AAA (which is good news). You can tell Omar really loves the kid though, which really makes me believe we'll see Ike by July or August.

As for sabermetrics, they are loads more fun to discuss when talking about major league players.

Edited by nmigliore, 02 March 2010 - 10:27 AM.

[Derek21]

If you're looking for something positive, Ike Davis had 2 hits in the Mets' exhibition win over Hotlanta today.

[nmigliore]

Just to give a heads up, the Mets are putting out a decent regulars lineup today, and top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia is scheduled to pitch (knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is starting). I can't wait to see Mejia.

Game is on SNY and MLB Network at 1pm.

Edited by nmigliore, 04 March 2010 - 12:45 PM.

[Prucenterrules]

It's great having Mets baseball back!

[nmigliore]

Mets picked up Kiko Calero on a minor league deal; I love it. His peripherals with the Marlins last year were excellent, in fact, his career peripherals are very similar...

2009: 1.10 WHIP, 2.56 FIP, 2.29 tERA (1.95 ERA), .175 average against, 10.35 K/9, and an insane 0.15 HR/9 rate (!).
Career: 1.20 WHIP, 3.29 FIP, 3.27 tERA (3.24 ERA), .217 average against, 9.63 K/9

..its really just a matter of staying healthy with him.


Edit: btw, false alarm before on Mejia - according to Burkhardt he'll pitch tomorrow, not today.

Edit 2: Wow, Ike Davis just his a monstrous grand slam.

Here is a video link for Davis' 'slam from earlier today: http://web.sny.tv/me....pic_id=6479520

Edited by nmigliore, 04 March 2010 - 05:56 PM.

[nmigliore]

Fernando Martinez is ripping up the Nats today: 4-for-4 with 2 HR.

[overtime98]

Fernando Martinez is ripping up the Nats today: 4-for-4 with 2 HR.

Nice to see!

[DH26]

Mets picked up Kiko Calero on a minor league deal; I love it. His peripherals with the Marlins last year were excellent, in fact, his career peripherals are very similar...

I remember him being really underrated for St. Louis and Oakland a few years ago but then off whether it was due to injury or what not. low risk so good move any way you slice it

[nmigliore]

John Maine made his 1st spring start today, but Jenrry Mejia stole the show again going 3 shutout innings allowing 2 hits (1 of which was an infield hit that he misplayed), 0 runs, 0 walks, and 1 strikeout.

Jerry Manuel seems to be in love with Mejia; hes clearly pushing the Mets to let him use Mejia as part of the bullpen this year, which really would be awful. Mejia needs to be in AA working as a starter, period. Calling him up late in the season and having him work in a brief relief role ala Neftali Feliz, Joba Chamberlain, or David Price would be alright, but the entire season in the Mets' bullpen would really hurt his development as a starting pitcher. He should not be converted to a relief pitcher until he falls on his face as a starter. Hopefully the Mets don't F this up.

Edit, 3/9: I just noticed Baseball Prospectus has their top 30 organizational rankings up, the Mets ranked 15th. Heh, so much for people calling the system "bottom 5 in baseball".

15. New York Mets
Last Year’s Ranking: 18
Why They Are Here: The system is on the upswing, thanks to a nice group coming from the international market and, for the first time in a while, a draft class (2009) that looks like it will pay some dividends. With four Top 101 prospects and a three-star list that runs into the early teens, there's room for optimism here.

Where They Will Be Next Year: The Mets could add another Top 50-type with the seventh overall pick in the draft, their highest slot since 2004, and fourth-highest pick in the last 25 years. Top prospects like Jenrry Mejia and Ike Davis have more of a 2011 timetable, so Fernando Martinez is the only top prospect likely to lose his eligibility this season.

http://baseballprosp...articleid=10183

I should mention that I think their draft class comment is a typo - they must mean 2008, not 2009.

Edited by nmigliore, 09 March 2010 - 12:14 PM.

[Devils731]

I don't think having a young guy pitch an entire season from the bullpen necessarily hurts a player. It depends on the player, some guys with rubber arms it wouldn't matter with but some guys with pitch count sensitive arms wouldn't fair as well getting their routine changed up.

Davis hit another homerun today, apparently a big blast over the CF wall. I still doubt he'd be major league ready out of spring training but if he plays well enough then the Mets might as well keep him for a bit and then send him down if he stumbles after the fact.

Really in all sports that use minor leagues extensively I think it's beneficial to give top talent players a look at the top level, even before prepared, so that when they're sent back to the minors they better know what to work on and why they have to work on those things.

[nmigliore]

I don't think having a young guy pitch an entire season from the bullpen necessarily hurts a player. It depends on the player, some guys with rubber arms it wouldn't matter with but some guys with pitch count sensitive arms wouldn't fair as well getting their routine changed up.

I just don't see the incentive to do it with Mejia. Let him start in AA, if the bullpen needs help late in the year and you want to call him up, then sure. But the entire season as 1-inning reliever would just seem wasteful to his development as a starter.

As for Davis, he really is off to a blazing start, but I still would start him in AAA no matter what. 2-3 months in AAA won't hurt, plus you gain an extra year of his services due to the service time rules. I wonder if the Braves will do that with Heyward; as much as he deserves to be a starting outfielder for them come Opening Day, the best long-term move for the club would be to keep him in AAA for month or so just to gain control over an extra year of what is potentially going to be a superstar. Of course both players are in different boats - Heyward would be start out in AAA strictly because of the service time while Davis would start out there to hone his craft against breaking pitches and LH pitchers.

Nonetheless, wherever Davis starts, I do expect him to be the Mets' everyday 1B by August.

Edited by nmigliore, 09 March 2010 - 04:04 PM.

[DH26]

I just don't see the incentive to do it with Mejia. Let him start in AA, if the bullpen needs help late in the year and you want to call him up, then sure. But the entire season as 1-inning reliever would just seem wasteful to his development as a starter.

plus then you have to deal with all the indecision like with Joba. He's had a strict innings limit since, which hurts his development and Hughes is going to have a a small limit this year. Unless you win big, it's pointless

[NJDevs4978]

I just don't see the incentive to do it with Mejia. Let him start in AA, if the bullpen needs help late in the year and you want to call him up, then sure. But the entire season as 1-inning reliever would just seem wasteful to his development as a starter.

The incentive is quite simple, Jerry wants Mejia cause he thinks he can help him win now in the bullpen and Jerry knows his own neck's on the line so he's not inclined to care about the kid's long-term development. Omar to his credit doesn't seem as inclined to think short-term yet despite the fact his own neck's on the line too, then again maybe he's at least learned from Fernando, Carlos Gomez and even Pelfrey that you really have to be careful who you rush up.

Edited by Hasan4978, 11 March 2010 - 12:06 AM.

[Derek21]

The Mets lie again. Jose Reyes out between 2-8 weeks due to medication for thyroid condition.


Reyes to sit out

Edited by Derek21, 11 March 2010 - 01:26 PM.

[nmigliore]

It should be interesting to see what the Mets do here. Alex Cora hasn't been any good defensively at SS the past couple years (Castillo and him will make for an awful defensive middle infield, and Mike Pelfrey won't be pleased) and he was pretty dreadful with the bat last season. Ruben Tejada, by all accounts, has a good glove at SS, hes a decent contact hitter (.289 AVG, 12% K-rate in AA last season), though he hasn't shown much power, hes only 20 years old, and probably should start out in AA or AAA. I think I'd still take my chances with Tejada though.

Hasan - Well yeah, Manuel's incentive should be a given; hes trying to save his job, of course he wants every edge he can get to help the 2010 team. But from an overall organizational standpoint, I don't see the point in doing it.

Edited by nmigliore, 11 March 2010 - 04:39 PM.

[funetiklee]

First the Beltran fiasco.
Now this Reyes fiasco.
So much for turning the page on 2009.
Can't believe its March and the thoughts of wanting the Mets to blow the whole thing up are already back

[Devils731]

The goal of having a starter pitch relief his rookie year is to let him adjust to major league hitters with as big an advantage as possible. A guy probably learns more about being a major leaguer in the majors than in AAA. Being a starter is either something you have or you don't, players don't really develop an ability to be effective for 7+ innings so many teams use young starter prospects in the major league bullpen at first to get them the most valuable experience and growth that they can.

[Devils Pride 26]

god, just when i got excited about the season.

and the slogan this year, we believe in comebacks? ARE YOU KIDDING ME, thats gotta be a joke right? cartons new york mets: come get some, is much better hahaha

[nmigliore]

Great article from Fangraphs on the Mejia situation: http://www.fangraphs...-mets-and-mejia


As an aside, I read the Mets are holding a private workout for some Cuban players: RHP Reinier Roibal, SS Adeiny Hechevarria, OF Jorge Padron, and LHP Sergio Espinosa. Some scouting reports on them from a Cuban baseball blog:

Roibal:

Roibal is 20 years old and is listed as 6’1 and 214 pounds. Roibal has an excellent fastball that tops around 94-96 MPH. He also throws slider and sinker. He comes from the Santiago de Cuba pitching school which formed other Cuban great pitchers such as Braudilio Vinent, Norge Luis Vera and José Luis Alemán. Alemán has been Roibal’s pitching coach since he debuted in the Cuban season three years ago. In Santiago, Roibal was the number three starter this season. He allowed one single against Isla de la Juventud this year. His manager Antonio Pacheco also used him as a reliever after the Wasps relievers struggled mightily for most of the early season.

Hechevarria:

In my opinion, Adeiny Hechavarria was the best short stop prospect in Cuba before he left. Certainly, I was not alone. Certainly, the Cuban coaches thought along these lines when Adeiny was named the starting shortstop for the Cuban Junior team in 2007 World Junior Championship in Canada. Recent signed shortstop José Iglesias had to play second base for that team.

Hechevarria covers a lot of ground, has amazing quickness, great hands and his footwork is excellent.

Iglesias had a higher batting average in Cuba, but Hechevarria hit for more power and had a higher fielding average.

Hechevarria likes to hit behind the runners. During last season, he hit 50 times toward right field. He also hit 38 times to left field and 32 to center field.

I think Adeiny will land a contract higher than José Iglesias who signed a $8.2 million contract with Boston.

Padron:

Jorge Padrón is a young ex outfielder from Pinar del Rio. Padrón led the league in hits with 131 in the 46th Cuban season. This last season (48th), Jorge Padrón finished twenty six in average with 345. He has played mostly LF for Pinar de Rio. He has never made the top Cuban team because Cuba has many good outfielders now. As a matter of fact, the outfield is the deepest position in Cuba.

He hit 104 times to LF, 93 times to CF and 139 to RF. Padrón batted 375 against right handers with 16 doubles, 4 triples and 9 home runs. Against left handers, he batted 244 with 3 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs.

Espinosa:

Sergio Espinosa is a left handed pitcher who played for Isla de la Juventud. He was suspended alongside RHP Israel Soto for trying to escape. He has been away from baseball for quite some time until he managed to escape. Espinosa was a closer. He throws over 90 MPH and also has a sharp breaking pitch which is his best weapon. His K/9IP in Cuba was 7.17. His BB/9 was 4.15 and his K/BB was 1.73.

Hechevarria and Roibal intrigue me the most. Hechevarria is already getting some interest from the Yankees and hes already worked out for them. Haven't read anything on Roibal though.

Edited by nmigliore, 12 March 2010 - 11:25 AM.