Mack’s Morning Report – 2-3-14 – Spring Training Stats, Nate Schierholtz, Dave Hudgens

Coming Up –

            11am – Christopher Soto – Mack’s Mets #25 Prospect

              2pm - The LTJ Editorial: “Wilmer Flores, the Shortstop?”

              5pm - Mack Ade - Didn’t I Say I Would Never Talk About This Guy Again?

Joseph Anthony Olivio‎ -

45 years ago our Mets finished the 1968 season in 10th place then came Spring Training 1969 and our Mets were picked to finish 10th again. Mets fans that Spring had little hope their beloved Mets would be any better in the 1969 season. But this is baseball with a 162 game season to play Amazing things can happen and in 1969 it did 100-62 1st place then World Series Champs. Hope is baseball and hearts have hope every season. In 2014 we again have Hope.

Well, I think it’s time to start lining up the flow charts by position that the Mets will be working with during spring training.

This is also the time of year that I add the box on the right had side for all the pitchers that will be trying to win out one of the rotation spots out of camp (yeah, I’m a little early but how many more times can I talk about Stephen Friggin Drew?).

I’ve aligned the position battles as follows (feel free to suggest me moving some of these players around to other positions):

1B – Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Wilmer Flores, Josh Satin

2B – Daniel Murphy, Eric Campbell, Anthony Seratelli

SS – Ruben Tejada, Omar Quintanilla, Wilfredo Tovar

3B – David Wright, Zack Lutz

C – Travis d’Arnaud, Anthony Recker, Taylor Teagarden, Juan Centeno

LF – Eric Young Jr., Chris Young

CF  - Juan Lagares, Matt den Dekker

RF – Curtis Granderson, Anthony Brown

I probably could use a few suggestions where to place the outfielders . I’m not sure at this point where the Young boys are slotted in.

Once we all agree on this, I’ll add it to the right side of page one and we’ll keep daily stats once spring training opens.

     (note to other blogs… come on guys… let me have this one please…)

Now on the relief pitchers, which are even harder:

My potential list pf pitchers that have a chance to stick on opening would be:

RP – Bobby Parnell, Vic Black, Josh Edgin, Jeurys Familia, Gonzalez Germen, Erik Goeddel, Ryan Reid, Scott Rice, Carlos Torres, and Jeff Walters (guys like Jack Leathersich would be 40-man add ons later in the season).

You agree?

Let me know so I can set up the work sheets.

Nate Schierholtz -

After Nate Schierholtz was non-tendered by the Phillies after the 2012 season, the boss man, Dave Cameron, implored some team to give Schierholtz some regular playing time. The Cubs obliged by signing Schierholtz to a one-year deal for $2.25 million and giving him 503 PA. And the Cubs were rewarded with Schierholtz producing 1.4 WAR for them. Schierholtz hit for power like he never has before. His ISO prior to last season was just .139, but his ISO was .219 last year. The move to Wrigley had to have helped, or, rather, the move away from San Francisco had to have helped. Wrigley’s HR as L park factor last year was average at 100, but San Francisco’s HR as L park factor was the lowest in the league at 85. His average home run and fly ball distance last year was right in line with where it was from 2009-2011 (it dipped in 2012), but in Wrigley that distance led to 21 home runs whereas he only hit 23 home runs in 1,316 plate appearances as a Giant. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/the-cubs-outfield/

Dave Hudgens on hitting -  

“We want hitters to look for their strength, especially early in the count, from the first pitch to the fifth pitch, to the sixth pitch, when we’re in hitters counts we want to be aggressive on our pitch. I mean, obviously, I’d rather see a double in the gap with two guys on than a walk. But, there’s sometimes during the game, David Wright‘s not going to get his pitch. I would rather him take the walk as opposed to swing at a marginal pitch and hit into a double play.”

Mack – I understand what he’s saying here, but I don’t agree that every member of the lineup should address the pitcher this way.

I was a leadoff hitter. My job was two-fold. The secondary one was, if I made out, to go back to the dugout and let the rest of the guys know what was coming down the pipe, but my main goal was the get on base under any condition.

I happen to think that hitters with exceptional power shouldn’t be worried about how many walks you get. Then, all you wind up with is Lucas Duda.

I need three guys in my lineup hitting .250 with 500 at-bats. That’s 125 hits. If these guy are true power hitters, half of these hits will be extra-base ones, giving me 62.5 per player. That’s 62 doubles, triples, and home runs times three players. Throw in some walks and sacrifice flies and I have something to build on, especially if the guys hitting before me are following what Hudgens is trying to sell here.

Anonymous asked –

                       Is there any chance Danny Muno can play shortstop?

Mack – There is a chance that any baseball player that has already successfully reached at least the AAA level could also play a multiple amount of other positions at a level far better than you or I could, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.

And, you can’t do this kind of experimentation without at least one solid year of playing that ‘new’ position at a level below the major league level.

The Mets best defensive shortstop in the organization has been the same one for three years… Wilfredo Tovar. He also hit .263 for Binghamton last year and .270 for St. Lucie/Binghamton combined in 2012.

I just don’t understand why we never read much about him. He was a late addition to the Queens roster last season and I’d much rather see him play the entire 2014 season in AAA-Las Vegas at SS.

He will turn 23 in August.