Extended Camp:
Don’t look for the Mets to start bumping players up in April or early May, even though some managers wished they could change a few names on their lineup cards. It simply is too early, especially for the SPs who are all still on a limited pitch count, and in some cases, still piggybacking.
SP wise, Buffalo looks back in control (Nelson Figueroa, Freddy Garcia, Dillon Gee, Jonathan Niese, and Brandon Knight). The addition of Wily Mo Pena and Mike Lamb should help, but this is a bad team to pitch for.
The B-Met rotation (Jose Sanchez, Mike Antonini, Dylan Owen, Ryan Coultas, and Eric Brown) are also set; however, Brown is still on the ropes and this could represent the slot when the first promotion from Lucy comes through.
Lucy wise, still too many starters and no decisions. There’s six in rotation right now (Brad Holt, Jenry Mejia, Scott Shaw, Edgar Ramirez, Angel Calero, and Eric Niesen), and that still leaves Brant Rustich, who was supposed to be a starter. My guess, Calero will be the first one sent to New York State.
Regarding Savannah, it gets even more crowded. At last, there are 8 starters, and only two are stumbling. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either Kyle Allen or Robert Carson sent to Brooklyn for more maturing.
Other positions to keep your eyes on (but again, don’t expect anything before May 15th) are:
RP – I really hope the Mets don’t do the same fast tracking to Roy Merritt that they did with Eddie Kunz last year. Leave him in Binghamton.
2B – The B-Mets are in desperate need of bats, especially at this position, and I expect Greg Veloz to be there by the ASG… that will give the opportunity for either Jordany Valdespin or Josh Satin to move up from Savannah.
The Herd:
Both OF Wily Mo Pena and 3B Mike Lamb should be reporting in today… that means two must go… I’ll update the blog as soon as the names come over the wire…
I’m no giving up on him by no means, and I’m not dropping him out of the top 5 Mets prospects, but it is time to start worrying a little about SP Jonathan Niese. He got removed in the fourth on Saturday, another in a series of bad outings.
Niese is also experiencing what it’s like to play for the worst team in a league. Not much support here, but that doesn’t stop Johan from putting up the numbers.
Gotta hand it to the Buffalo Bisons. They found a new way to lose Saturday in Coca-Cola Field. Pretty tough to do since most of their games have followed the same pattern.
But for once, the moribund offense showed some life as Buffalo burst to a 5-0 lead through two innings. Even that wasn’t enough for this group.
The Syracuse Chiefs roared back to take the lead and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth to nip the reeling Herd, 6-5. Buffalo fell to 2-13 overall and 1-9 at home.
An exasperated manager Ken Oberkfell asked his own question of the media when he emerged from his office for his postgame chat.
“You guys gettin’ tired of this?” Oberkfell asked. “ ’Cuz I am. I was pleased with the fact we came out swinging the bats beginning the game. First couple of innings we were on the ball swinging at fastballs. After that, it just seemed like we shut down.
“We picked it up again in the ninth, which is a good thing to see but it’s the same broken record. We’re not getting that hit with men in scoring position.”
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bisons/story/652026.html
Lucy:
Have you noticed that the bats are starting to dry up in Lucy?
As of the close of Saturday night’s game: Greg Veloz: .286… Reese Havens: .288… Ike Davis: .271… Carlos Guzman: .315… Kirk Biewenhuis: .222… Jeffrey Lutz: .269…
Gnats:
The RiverDogs (9-7) scored seven unanswered runs to defeat the Savannah Sand Gnats, 7-5, on Saturday night in front of 5,709 at The Joe. Savannah led 5-0 at one point before Charleston mounted their comeback. The deciding blow came in the eighth with Savannah (10-6) clinging to a one-run lead. Brian Baisley, who cleared the bases with a double in the fifth off starter Kyle Allen, singled off Eric Beaulac (1-1) to start the frame for the RiverDogs. Beaulac (1-1), trying to keep the pinch runner Dan Brewer close at first, threw the ball away on the pickoff attempt and Brewer advanced to third. He battled to strike out Abraham Almonte but then surrendered a two-run home run to Taylor Grote that pushed Charleston ahead for good. They added an insurance run later in the inning. Pat Venditte, the switch pitcher, picked up his fifth save in the ninth and recorded three strikeouts. It was all Savannah early on as they scored the first five runs of the game. Sean Ratliff led off the third inning with a double but would score on the same play as the throw into the infield from Ray Kruml was off line. At the time, Savannah was up 4-0. Rafael Fernandez finished 3-for-4 with a stolen base while Josh Satin and Juan Lagares each added a pair of hits. Allen worked 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
Draft:
It is becoming like a broken record, but Stephen Strasburg improved his record to 9-0 in leading the 19th ranked Aztecs to an opening 4-3 win over number 16 ranked TCU. Strasburg lasted 7 innings, walking one and striking out 14. He only gave up four hits. TCU scored all three runs in the seventh on a 3-run homer by Bryan Holaday to close a 4-0 gap to 4-3. Brandon Decker drove in three runs to lead the offense, contributing a 2-run single in the second and then an RBI single in the sixth. Addison Reed came in with two outs in the eighth with the bases loaded and struck out Jimmie Pharr looking to end the inning. He retired the side in order in the ninth, two via the strikeout to pick up his 14th save. Addison leads the country in saves and his 0.52 ERA will have scouts paying attention to not only Strasburg.
http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?m=200904
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