The Herd:
The Mets released RHP Elvys Quezada, and SS Matt Smith.
Buffalo Bisons (New York Mets)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Bisons lost their first four games last week before splitting the last two. At 3-18, they own the worst record in the league and are sixth in the North Division.
WHO'S HOT AND WHO'S NOT: OF Jesus Feliciano has hit .346 in his last nine games. ... As a team, the Bisons have batted .207 in the last 10 contests, totaling only 22 runs. ... Nine position players have a batting average at or below the Mendoza line in the last 10 contests, including 3B Mike Lamb (.118), 1B Nick Evans (.050) and 2B Andy Green (.182).
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "This team's record is something that's very unexpected. We're very disappointed as an organization. The whole Mets organization is disappointed that this has to happen like this. We are doing everything possible to change it around. ... This team is not as bad as this. We're in a collective slump and we're trying to bring in some players who can help us." -- Mets vice president of player development Tony Bernazard to the Buffalo News. The culprit behind the team's poor start is an offense that has scored a league-low 53 runs in 19 games.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK, PART II: "My lawyer told me a month and a half, two months here. But if they need me up there [in New York], I'll be ready. I don't know what's going to happen. I'm just playing first base and outfield here and I'll keep playing. If something happens, I'll be ready." -- Bisons OF Wily Mo Pena to the Buffalo News. Pena hit .385 in his first four games with the Herd.
Gnats:
South Atlantic League - Sean Ratliff, Savannah - .552 (16-29), 10 R, 8 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 SB, 1.034 SLG - Mets prospect Sean Ratliff put together three four-hit games this week, doubled on four of seven days, and boosted his season batting average from .257 on April 27 to .354 on May 3. He missed the cycle by a triple, knocked in two runs and scored three times on April 29. The 2008 fourth-round Draft pick had at least one hit and at least one run scored in each of the next four games. On May 2, he doubled three times and went 4-for-4. The next day, he homered, knocked three more doubles, collected three RBIs and scored three times.
Though David Wright is normally one of the more dependable sluggers in the game, he has struggled in the early going in 2009. While much of the time disappointing early-season numbers can be misleading or the result of a statistical blip, in Wright's case there may be something more serious involved, and need for some work on his swing.
Consider the power outage itself. Wright has posted Isolated Power figures between .217 and .230 in each of his five major league seasons, but currently his production sits at the .114 mark. While the immediate reaction may be to blame his new, pitcher-friendly park, the numbers don't agree with that premise for now; Wright has one more extra-base hit at home than on the road in a nearly identical number of at-bats. This could turn out to be an issue down the road, but when Wright isn't hitting for power anywhere, it's tough to tell the difference. He may also have seen a dip in his numbers since he normally crushes lefties (.342/.444/.607 from 2006-2008) but has faced them in just six at-bats this season. That doesn't account for his abnormal struggles against right-handers though.
Not everything is wrong with Wright's game. He's walking in nearly 15 percent of his plate appearances, which has allowed him to post an on-base percentage similar to last season's. Wright has also whiffed in 26 percent of his PA, which is roughly 9-10 percentage points above his last four seasons' worth of work. He's managed to hit .284 despite the dip in power and the major jump in punchouts thanks to five infield hits on the season already; Wright moves very well on the basepaths, and he did have 16 infield hits last season. He's had more opportunities for beating the throw to first thanks to a higher rate of grounders; his current ground-ball rate (44 percent) and G/F ratio (1.4) would both be career highs.
When Wright does put the ball in the air, he isn't driving the ball with authority. His rate of line drives is impressive as always, and his BABIP is at .400 thanks to this and the aforementioned infield hits. The problem is that those liners have generally been singles and not extra-base hits. He's dealing with a similar problem when it comes to fly balls. Not only would his fly-ball rate represent a career low, but 15 percent of those have been popups that easily dispatch him back to the bench. When you combine the increased ground-ball rate, the popups, and the alarming rate at which a player known for his contact skills is now striking out, you get the impression that something is off in his swing, and it's throwing off his timing.
Takahashi is a 40-year old rookie, something you don't see very often. Even though he was just recalled, he's already being considered to replace Oliver Perez in the rotation. He's hurled 2.2 innings so far, allowing one hit and one walk. He only throws his fastball 88 mph, so he relies a lot on his offspeed stuff. Indeed, he's only thrown his fastball 60.5 percent of the time so far on the year. He predominantly throws a changeup at 81 mph and mixes in a slider and curve.
The lefty was rather impressive in 11.2 innings at Triple-A. He struck out nine and walked six—not exactly a great ratio—but limited batters to 10 innings and a 1.17 ground ball/fly ball ratio. He had been signed by the Toronto Blue Jays to a minor league contract earlier in the year but was released in February. Over 14 seasons in Japan, he notched a 4.23 ERA and 66-87 record. Certainly not someone that makes MLB teams fall all over themselves to acquire, but he's impressed so far. Deception is likely a factor, as he has a high leg kick and hides the ball extremely well as a result.
I'm bearish on his chances to stick as a starter, but as a reliever, he can be a dependable lefty for the Mets.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/lost-in-transactions-4-27-5-3-09-teams-shuffle-rosters
Mets Alumni:
Xavier Nady - The news broke on Sunday that Nady was having PRP, or platelet-rich plasma therapy. It's a very new technique that involves spinning out the blood's plasma, then injecting it back into the partially torn ligament in Nady's elbow. As Peter Abraham notes in his article, it's not a fun therapy, with the needles digging in. This technique was used with Takashi Saito for a ligament, for football's Hines Ward before the last Super Bowl, and in Cody Ross back in 2007 to help him with a hamstring strain; it comes with no guarantees. (I learned today that Andrew Miller is also having similar therapy done to help with his oblique.) While Saito is healthy and pitching well, there's nothing to compare this to. It's a worthwhile course even if it's just a temporary fix, though the results are "stunning" according to one source in regards to Saito's recovery. Nady could be back as early as late May as a DH, and playing in the field by the end of the year.
Arizona traded P Evan MacLane to St. Louis…
-I always liked MacLane and thought he got a raw deal with the Mets… did very little wrong when he pitched for Omar…
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