2/16/10

Wright's Loss Of Power. Endy Chavez, Ike Davis, Reese Havens... and Swagger

Wright’s Loss Of Power:


Richard did a good job looking at the Mets (lack of) offseason moves through an optimistic prism, so let’s look at some players with our rose-colored glasses on, right? A lot has been made of David Wright’s loss of power last year, but was it so bad? Maybe not. First, let’s take on this idea that Citi Field stole his power. Sorry to be short, but it did not do any such thing. Consider the following picture. It shows all of Wright’s 2008 home runs on top of the Citi Field map. I’ll let you consider it for a second. - link

Endy Chavez::

Rangers signed OF Endy Chavez to a minor league contract with a $1.25 million club option for 2011. Chavez will earn $1 million if he makes the major league roster this season. He underwent right knee surgery last July and hit just .273/.328/.342 last year in the 182 plate appearances he was healthy for, but he's always been a solid defender and he still boasts some speed on the basepaths. That said, the 32-year-old Chavez shouldn't register on most fantasy radars - link

Ike Davis:

L-L - 6'5 195 - NYM - 3.22.87. A teammate of fellow 2008 first rounder Brett Wallace at Arizona State, Davis went his entire professional debut season without a HR, hitting only 15 2B, and posting a pedestrian SLG of just .326. Something clicked with Davis in 2009 however as he smashed 20 HR, slugged .524 and posted a .905 OPS. Even with just a half season of AA under his belt, Davis might be the best first base option in the entire Mets organization. While Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis may start the season as the options at that position, Davis should finish it. - link

Reese Havens:

SS, South Carolina, #22 Overall: Havens was perhaps more well-known as Justin Smoak’s teammate in 2008, but he was a first-round talent in his own way. He didn’t really have any plus tools, as there were even some questions about his hit tool, but he was widely considered to be better than the sum of his tools. Following players selected: Allan Dykstra, Anthony Hewitt, Christian Friedrich. Signing bonus: $1,419,000. - link

Swagger:


I remember the 2005 season, I was 15 and a freshmen in high school. At the time, I was real big on basketball and football as I was all about the up-tempo sports and having that adrenaline rush (something I never really experienced playing baseball). The Mets were coming off of an abysmal season and the future wasn’t looking too bright. We gave Kaz Matsui the everyday shortstop job the previous year, and our highly touted prospect Jose Reyes spent much of the year banged up with hamstring and back issues. I didn’t know what to expect from my Mets, and before the 2005 season started, I had actually quit baseball my freshmen year to focus on basketball (For some reason I thought I was going to be the starting point guard for Duke University) and didn’t really have baseball in my plans for my future. After quickly figuring out basketball wasn’t going to do it for me, I resorted back to the seams and lumber, and played summer ball while watching every Mets game that season. I was fascinated. I remember turning on the television every day knowing Jose Reyes and David Wright were going to be in the lineup everyday along with Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez. This team had a young energy I had never before seen in a team. It was like kids were out there playing the sport. I saw Jose Reyes as an extension of myself out there, laughing away, giving his 1 minute personalized handshakes to every player recognizable on the bench and I remember thinking to myself, wow they are having fun out there - link

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