The Mack Attack - 2-22-9

Mets News:


From Mike Silva:

The Mets desperately needed Manny, and Manny at least needed them to compete for his services. Both sides will go unfulfilled in this winter's "Manny Mania". Now that it's clear that the Manny dream is over, what do we make of the 2009 Mets on offense? It's the same team that scored 799 runs with two key contributors missing half the season, Carlos Delgado MIA for three months, and two infielders playing left field. How can you expect improvement for this cast of characters? It will have to come from the "core", specifically Reyes and Wright. Jerry Manuel has already challenged Reyes on two counts: leadership and selfishness. This will be put to the test early as the manager may bat Reyes somewhere other than leadoff, and demand he captain the infield. Reyes talents have been on display, but he has yet to combine his massive talents with common baseball sense. Just like Oliver Perez on the pitching side, at some point in your career you become "who you are". Is Reyes an immature sparkplug, or the core of a championship team? I think Reyes is capable of improving his baseball acumen on the field, but I have doubts about whether he can become a leader in the clubhouse.
Mack: I think it's time to stop writing about Manny. He's never going to be a Met however much many of us want him to be. Let's move on to F-Mart…

Rotofield on:

I continue to be unimpressed by the moves the Mets are making with regard to their starting rotation for 2009. They've now signed Livan Hernandez to a one year deal, and he'll be given a chance to compete for the last spot in their starting rotation. Livan Hernandez used to be overrated. Now he's gotten so bad that everyone (except MLB general managers) realizes his shortcomings. In 2008 he struck out 67 and walked 43 in 180 innings. He actually wasn't quite as awful as the previous year, because at least his groundball rate increased (to 43.7% in the AL and 47.1% in the NL). Livan turns 34 years old next week, and it appears that his arm has been pretty much used up by managers who didn't understand the impact of overuse. If he makes the Mets rotation, Livan will be one of my favorite targets for opposing hitters in daily contests, especially when he's on the road.

Mack: Nothing wrong with having this kind of experience at AAA, just in case. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't become a Mets coach in the minors.

Prospect :

InsidePitch on: C/1B Jordan Abruzzo - He's got good pop for his size, better from the left, very sound tools behind the plate but nothing that really stands out. Good plate coverage allows him to put a lot of balls in play. He does not strikeout much, but is not very patient either--doesn't work deep into counts. This was not in the piece, but warrants being mentioned: Even though he missed almost all of his first season, don't look at his time in Brooklyn this summer merely as a "demotion" or a dig at his value. It was more important that Abruzzo get consistent time behind the plate and Brooklyn was the only place that really afforded that. He was in the long-season leagues for the first half of the year and showed he can hit there by posting .300 average in 70-odd games. He shared time at St. Lucie early, but more so DH'ed in Savannah because of the need to get Pena behind the plate every day and Thole's ascension took playing time away from him in St. Lucie later on. Now he'll likely run into similar issues again in 2009 with Pena likely going to St. Lucie and Thole to Bingo, but there is a fairly good chance he goes to Bingo right out of camp. But the onus is on him to make the most out of his playing time. If you want me to tag him, he's just outside the Top 50.

Mack: Word I keep getting is Pena is returningto Savannah, but if he does go to Lucy, I would hope Abruzzo get's the full time gig for the Gnats in 2009.


Toby Hyde on: #5 - RHP Jenry Mejia - Why Ranked Here: A very late comer to baseball, Mejia brings a special fastball. Virtually unknown entering 2008, the broad chested and big shouldered Mejia introduced himself with a 93-95 mph heater that easily allowed him to conquer the GCL and then New York Penn League. His second pitch is a hard changeup with a little sink at 87-88 mph, an offering with the same velocity as some of his teammates' fastballs. It's just enough off his fastball to catch hitters out in front and induce lots of groundballs. His curve is his third pitch. In the NYP, he struggled to find his release spot at times, but when found his release, he snapped off a short tight bender that showed plus potential. There's some effort in his delivery, raising concerns about command down the road and a risk of injury. However, given his age (20 in October 2009) and experience (slight) his command is ahead of where one might expect it. The Mets' staff raved about Mejia's work ethic and intelligence. 2008: Mejia made clear with three dominating starts in the GCL that the rookie league simply did not provide enough challenge for him. Promoted to Brooklyn in the first week of July, Mejia walked a season-high five batters in his first NYP League start and 11 batters in his first 18 innings (5.5 BB/9). In his final 38.2 IP in the league he walked just 12 batters (2.8 BB/9). That's an impressive adjustment for a very young pitcher. When he reached the NYP, he tried to pitch with his curveball instead of his changeup as his second pitch. Once he returned to his change as his second offering, he threw more strikes and worked himself into better counts. Also, his curve improved over the course of the summer. Projected 2009 Start: Savannah rotation. St. Lucie is a possibility, but given Mejia's age, and the number of older, other slightly more experienced arms fighting for time in the FSL, I see no reason to push Mejia to advanced-A yet.

Mack: I have yet to see Mejia pitch, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in Savannah.

MWOB on: - 2008 Top Pick: - Ike Davis 1B - The Mets were rewarded with this pick when the Braves felt nostalgia was in order and signed Tom Glavine as a free agent. Ike signed for $1.575 million and is the son of Ron Davis. Like his dad, he was a closer for Arizona State as well as a slugging first baseman. The Mets drafted him and have him playing first base. In 215 at bats for the Brooklyn Cyclones Ike forgot to be that slugging firstbaseman, failing once to send a ball over the wall. He did hit 15 doubles, but most teams are looking for better than a .326 slugging average from their first baseman. The Mets are hoping to see a little more pop in 2009. His could move to the outfield, but his speed restricts him to left field, and that is also a power position.

Mack: I really have no opinion on this kid yet. So far, he is definitely a first round dud, but we'll give him a year at Lucy with Tim Teufel and we'll see then what the team has…


Mets Alumni:

From GopherBall: Joe Smith isn't even the most anticipated offseason addition to his own bullpen (that honor goes to Kerry Wood) but Smith may have just as much impact on the back end of the Tribe's pen. So... here are three reasons why Joe Smith is this year's most underrated offseason acquisition:

1) Smith locks down right-handed hitters. He held righties to a .192 BA in 2009, more than 100 points lower than the Indians primary set up man, Rafael Betancourt, was able to do in '08 (.295). Both of the Indians top set up men, Betancourt and Rafael Perez excel against lefties (Betancourt held them to a .252 BA, Perez .222). The addition of Smith allows the Indians to use the two "Rafaels" in more favorable matchups, rather than forcing them to take on opponents top right handed hitters.

2) He's cool, calm and collected under pressure. Last season only two pitchers inherited more runners than Smith (63) and of the 44 pitchers to inherit at least 40 runners no one allowed a smaller percentage of them to score (17 pct).

3) He's consistent, regardless of the situation. With the bases empty, Smith held opponents to a .195 BA. With runners in scoring position, the BA climbed only to .206.

P Neal Musser was waived by KC…

Full name is Neal Gordon Musser..resides in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and was married to Valerie Martin in January, 2007...Graduated from Benton Central High in Oxford, Ind. 2007-Had a successful first full season in the Royals organization, dominating hitters at Omaha (AAA) and pitching well with the Royals...Between stints with the big league club, went 4-1 with 8 saves and a 0.49 ERA in 32 appearances for Omaha...did not allow an earned run through his first 45.2 innings for Omaha...Opened the season at Omaha (AAA) before being recalled on April 20...Recorded at least 1 strikeout in 9 of his last 10 appearances (15 total)...The Royals were just 2-15 in his 17 appearances...Made his Major League debut on April 21 vs. Minnesota, allowing an unearned run on 2 hits and recording 1 out...Optioned to Omaha on April 24 after making just 2 appearances (0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB)...recalled on May 1 and made 4 more appearances before being optioned a 2nd time on May 12...Allowed 4 runs on 2 separate occasions, including May 10 vs. Oakland when he also was touched for 3 home runs in 1.0 inning of work...Recalled on June 14 and was 0-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 11 appearances (18 IP, 4 ER) the remainder of the season...Pitched a career-high 3.1 innings on June 19 at St. Louis, allowing 3 hits and striking out 2...Optioned on July 14 only to be recalled on July 16 where he tossed 2 scoreless innings at Boston...was optioned on July 17 and recalled for a final time on Sept. 1 when the rosters expanded...Fractured his right hand on Sept. 10 and missed the remainder of the season, though he was not placed on the disabled list.