Mack Ade – Morning Report – 10-9-13 – Playoff baseball, Dominic Smith, The Draw of Pittsburgh, Matt Harvey

 

Playoff Baseball –

                I talk about this same subject every year during the playoffs.

We Mets fans spend most of the season having tunnel vision. We are so involved with our own team and the players within it, that we never compare it to the talent level of some of the teams that play this game. We scrape and claw during games with teams like Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Miami, only to be overwhelmed when we play a series against teams like Detroit or the Dodgers.

We live in the NL East and out beast is the Atlanta Braves, but they barely could compete with the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Brian Wilson, Hanley Ramirez, Juan Uribe, and Yasiel Puig.

As Hyman Roth said, ‘this is the business we’ve chosen’ and the Mets are a long way away from competing at this level.

There will be some changes to the roster this off season and I’m sure the five least talented members of the 2013 25-man squad will be replaced by more talented players. They won’t turn this team into the Dodgers but it will get better.

You want to be the Dodgers?

                Current salaries:               $33mil

                1B Mike Napoli:                 $13mil

                2B Robinson Cano           $20mil

                SS Jhonny Peralta            $10mil

                RF Chin-Soo Choo            $13mil

                CF Jacoby Ellsbury           $15mil

                LF Marlon Byrd                 $6mil

                Total Mets salaries before ARB additions - $110mil

Enjoy October.

 

Dan Kirby -

A 6’-0” left-hander out of Serra HS in Gardena, California, Dominic Smith was considered the best pure hitter available in the 2013 MLB draft by many. The first baseman proved everyone right in his first go-around in pro ball, hitting .301/.398/.439 over 51 games, mostly for the GCL Mets. He got promoted to Kingsport of the Appalachian League late in the year and went 4-for-6 with four doubles and two walks over three games. Dominic Smith is a kid who should contend for batting titles at the next level and has power still developing. His success in his first season already has some ranking him in the top five among Mets prospects — not too shabby for an 18-year old. I recently had a chance to bounce some questions off Dominic Smith and would like to thank him for his time... http://throughthefencebaseball.com/interview-new-york-mets-top-prospect-dominic-smith/38609#eZSHiM4Ih8LxXQoJ.99

                Mack – Smith is turning out to be a good choice as a number one draft pick. As I have said in earlier posts, it will be interesting to see where he starts off in 2014. Some feel he could go as high as Savannah. My guess is Brooklyn, but suffice to say, the Mets made a good one here.

 

Jared Diamond –

                The question now becomes whether the Pirates will be able to attract other veterans to come aboard. The players seem to think so. When asked if he has seen willingness in recent years among veterans to consider smaller markets, Burnett nodded and responded, "100%." Based on how this postseason has gone, Pittsburgh certainly looks like a desirable destination. The atmosphere at PNC Park has been more like college football than baseball. Melancon said seeing these crowds "is going to be huge for free agents." That remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: The players who have taken the plunge are sold. "When guys ask me about Pittsburgh, I'll say, it's a great place to play," Byrd said. "If you can come, come - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304441404579121382499677464.html?mod=rss_newyork_sports

                                Mack – I’ve said this time and time again. This is the tie-breaker when agents bring the deals they have negotiated for their clients to them. Pittsburgh is rocking the house and there isn’t a player in baseball that doesn’t want to be part of this kind of atmosphere in the near future (or, until it goes away). You can’t compete with this when your team is playing below .500 ball and your top pitcher is under the knife. You just can’t.

 

Mike Podhorzer -

Strikeouts – Matt Harvey - From my initial write-up, a bit of prophecy? His innings total will be key here… He ranked third in the National League in strikeouts per nine innings, but of course he had no chance of taking the strikeout lead after his season ended early due to the elbow injury. Still, it would have been nearly impossible to overtake Kershaw anyhow as he would have had to pitch 220 innings with the same K/9 to beat him. I highly doubt he would have been allowed to throw that many innings even if he remained healthy. He’ll undergo Tommy John surgery later this month and we’ll have to cross our fingers that he doesn’t miss a beat when he returns. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/reviewing-my-2013-bold-pitcher-league-leaders/

                Mack – A bold pre-season prediction. One thing we haven’t discussed about Harvey. There is no way the Mets will allow him to pitch 200+ innings in 2015, so his first ‘full’ season will be 2016.