11/9/11

Cutnpaste: - Mike Pelfrey, Jenrry Mejia, Chris Schwinden, Joaquin Arais, Heath Bell


When given the Opening Day assignment be Terry Collins, Mike Pelfrey spoke about what it felt like to replace Johan Santana and he said he was up for the challenge and looking forward to it. On Opening Day he folded like a cheap chair. On April 1st he only lasted 4.1 innings against the Marlins allowing five runs, and it got worse from there. Truth be told, if he is still on the team next spring he should not be assured of a rotations spot and he should earn it along with the rest pitchers vying for a spot. As far as tendering/non-tendering goes, the better question is why didn’t Alderson try and move him last season. Teams take chances on pitchers with potential all the time and if you’re waiting for Pelfrey to boost his value that may never happen while he’s a Met. I could think of a dozen other productive things the Mets could do with $5 million dollars than give it to Pelfrey. http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/11/2011-player-review-mike-pelfrey.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29

10-25-11: - http://www.minorleaguerundown.com/2011/10/25/2011-top-20-new-york-mets-prospects - 2011 Top 20 New York Mets Prospects - 1.Jenrry Mejia, RHP (AAA, Majors): At the ripe old age of 22, it’s clear that Mejia still needs a good bit of development time. It would certainly help if he was given some quality time down in the AA rotation to work on the finer points of pitching, as opposed to random action out of the major league bullpen. I hope Mets management won’t continue to view Mejia as a bullpen piece with quality starters like Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler on the way, as he deserves a shot at starting before they start knocking on the door. His 11 strong starts between AA and AAA the past two years (3.49 FIP, 44.1 IP/2.83 FIP, 27.1 IP) are a good indicator of his talent level as a starter, more so than his 4.72 FIP in 39 major league innings. 

11-8-11: - http://risingapple.com/2011/11/08/2011-season-in-review-chris-schwinden  - While his four starts in 2011 were a small sample size (4.71 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and 2.83 K/BB in 21 innings), Chris Schwinden showed some undeniable talent. He mixed in his four promising pitches well (fastball, cutter, curveball, and change-up), without relying on any one of them too much (he threw his fastball 45.3% of the time). Granted, his fastball’s average MPH was a little underwhelming (89.1 MPH), both his change-up (average of 81.3 MPH) and curveball (average of 74.4 MPH) kept hitters off-balance. There’s a good chance the 24 year-old will start 2012 in the Minor Leagues, but Schwinden showed enough poise to at least earn a look during Spring Training and throughout the season.

But there’s a specific look that comes from that sort of feeling, and that’s the look I saw on Joaquin Arais’ face. Here’s Arias, right — he had just been traded to a new, far away team with a month left in the season. He’s in a foreign country. He doesn’t speak English well, he didn’t seem to know any of his new teammates, and he wasn’t playing and he probably wasn’t going to play. His career hasn’t quite gone as expected. And now it’s raining and he’s trapped here for God knows how long tonight and he doesn’t have anyone to talk to or anyone who wants to talk to him and it can be paralyzing to be surrounded by people not talking to you. So he went outside and sat on this giant cube thing in the cold, just trying to run out the clock until he could come up for air again. http://www.patrickfloodblog.com/2011/11/08/another-brick-in-the-wall-part-1

Heath Bell: 3-4, 2.44 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 43 saves - Bell almost left San Diego last year on two occasions. He was rumored to be headed to Texas, and San Francisco claimed him off waivers, but could not work out a deal. Bell remained in San Diego where he has saved 132 games the last three years. Bell made $7.5 million and could be due for a significant raise. Bell has publicly stated his desire to stay in San Diego, but is reportedly believed to be seeking a three-year deal worth more than $25 million while the team is thinking of a two-year deal with an option. http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1019347--mlb-free-agency-fire-up-the-hot-stove

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