Coming Up –
10
am - Reese
Kaplan - Anatomy of a Winner
12
noon – Mack
– A Plea For Campbell
2 pm – Herb G: Jimmy Durante’s take on the Mets’ shortstop
situation.
4 pm - BTBS - Top 37 Prospects - Atlanta Braves
6 pm - Michael Chavis, J.J.
Schwartz, Chase Vallot, Trenton Kemp
8 pm – SS Trae Turner - NC
State
Jesse Spector @jessespector - I am
not optimistic about the Phillies, as I do not think they have any semblance of
a plan
Rich Coutinho @coutinho9 - Rumor reporting has now become more important than reporting
on the game.Bad thing about false rumors is they stay out there forever
Mack's Mets @JohnMackinAde - @coutinho9 can I report this rumor ? :)
Rich Coutinho @coutinho9 - @JohnMackinAde Pretty funny made me laugh
Huff –
Two-time World Series Champion and former San Francisco
Giant Aubrey Huff is making the leap to radio.
Entercom’s sports “95.7 The Game” KGMZ, San Francisco has hired the Huff to
join its new morning hosts Ric Bucher and Chris Townsend. Huff, who retired
from baseball in 2013, is known for his colorful personality. That color, by
the way, may be red: Huff let it be known he wore a red “rally thong” during
the Giants’ 2010 playoff run.
Some interesting quotes on Nick
Franklin playing shortstop (from Jeff Sullivan/Fangraphs)
–
John Sickles - All told, as a shortstop I would describe him as
“adequate, has a chance to improve, workable if he hits enough.” On the other
hand, I have no doubts at all about his ability to be an above-average, even
excellent, gloveman at second base.
Keith Law on playing short - I actually do. Maybe somewhere between 0
to -5 runs a year on defense, but with his bat, that will work – and I won’t
rule out the possibility that he can be more than that. He has unusually good
instincts out there.
Mark Hulet - Franklin is reliable at shortstop, fielding everything hit
to him, and has good actions but both his range and arm are fringe-average for
the position. Second base would probably be his best position but Dustin Ackley
is far more secure in his job than Ryan.
Baseball Prospectus - He is limited at shortstop, offering
only modest range and an arm that earns below-average to fringe-average grades.
He has decent hands and solid instincts but they are not enough to make him a
palatable defender on the left side of the infield long term. If he is shifted
to second base permanently, a position he has played extensively in the minor
leagues, Franklin could be an average defender with an average arm for the
position.
It’s close to impossible
to not think that there is a problem that’s beginning to develop between the
Mets management (Sandy Alderson in particular) and Matt Harvey. Let’s all remember that Harvey was a Minaya
pick and we all know that Alderson is not that keen on individual thinking.
Harvey is testing the waters in three areas these days. One, he keeps talking
directly to reporters when management has repeatedly asked him to hush up. Two,
he keeps repeating that he’s going to pitch some time this season. And three,
he wants to rehab in New York, with the team and his teammates, and not at the
Port St. Lucie complex. The odds of Harvey giving in on even one of these issues
seems impossible right now, no less all three. Is there a long term problem
here? Well, I’ve only been around this game for over 50 years and these are not
the signs of someone that is going to hang around with the team that drafted
him. I think all you Mets fans should enjoy the hell of him while you can, but
don’t look for some long term extension (especially if Alderson hangs around) before
free agency comes along, which in his case, is 2019.
Sully-Chat –
Comment
From Andrew - What would the ideal yet reasonable return for Nick Franklin look
like for Seattle?
Jeff Sullivan: Second-tier big-league starter or
second-tier big-league outfielder. Young. Sort of a SP or OF Nick Franklin
equivalent
Comment
From Shube - Where does Chris Owings go and what
is his upside?
Jeff
Sullivan: Heard a Michael Young comparison over the weekend. Not sure he’s
going — Arizona needs to make a decision and Owings/Gregorius is 50/50 even
though they’re basically opposite players
Comment
From Jack - odds Taijuan Walker has “Matt Harvey”-level impact this year?
Jeff
Sullivan: You mean be maybe the best pitcher in baseball?
Comment
From ZacKKK - What do you think of Zack Wheeler?
Jeff
Sullivan: Talented, a little overrated
Beane –
On
the long list of days that changed the game of baseball, October 17, 1997,
might not stand out to many people. It was a milestone, though: That’s when the
Oakland A’s hired a 35-year-old busted former outfield prospect named Billy Beane as general manager. The team has been
remarkably successful since, winning six division titles and making seven
playoff appearances in the past 17 years. The A’s have managed that
sustained excellence despite consistently fielding one of the game’s smallest
payrolls, and they’ve done so by constantly staying ahead of the curve when it
comes to talent evaluation and roster building. That success, coupled with the
popularity of Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, has
elevated Beane’s status from successful MLB GM to statistical rock star in both
the sports and business worlds. http://grantland.com/features/beane-counters/
There I some late Tuesay
nine chatter that there is a request for Juan Lagares in a trade for Nick Franklin. I can not confirm where
the chatter started nor can I find a second person who can substantiate it,
but, since I’m well known for being consistently wrong, I thought this would be
a doozy to throw out there…
Cam-Chat –
Comment
From El Jefe - I agree that the Mets should be trying to trade for Gregorious,
but who do you think they should give up? I’m having trouble pegging his value.
Montero seems to be too much, but is a guy like deGrom too little?
15 comments:
You have to read a guy like Harvey, and I would bend to his demands. What he wants to do (talk, pitch this year, if ready) and rehab in NY...Mets want to protect this gem, but it is also Harvey's career - since he stands to be a mega-millionaire and has made no real $$ yet, one would think he won't be stupid - but he will go when he can if he is disrespected.
Of course, he may go anyway if he wants an 8 year, $200MM deal - the Yanks would love him.
Andy Martino had a spin on this last night online and said that maybe it's a good thing... that the Mets haven't had someone with an edge like this in years.
I will assume that he will listen to both his General Manager and his agent and then do whatever the hell he wants to do anyway. That's how he has come off so far and maybe that personality is what is making him into the best pitcher in baseball.
We all know that 60% of this game is mental... and no one knows mental more than me.
I still kinda wish Harvey would actually pitch a full season in this league before he walks around like the greatest of all time. .....................
I'm a HUGE Harvey fan, but you know what I'm sayin.
Hey - Aroldis Chapman serious liner off the face - broken bones - should pitchers wear a hockey-style plastic shield? Just throwing it out there for discussion. A little over and maybe Aroldis is dead.
Re: Mask
No, this isn't hockey.
I am surprised this doesn't happen more often. He's even closer to the batter by the time a pitcher is done with his wind up.
This probably falls into the 'shit happens' category.
Thomas -
Do you have an desire to become one of Mack's Mets writers?
I'm starting to wonder (fear) if there's an enormous ego issue with Harvey. I realize it's the Twitter era and everything a public figure says can be taken out of context, blown out of proportion and abused by anonymous "sources". Still, I do wonder. I think Ernest is dead on about him pitching a full year before
he's the greatest. I mean Cassius Clay knocked out Sonny Liston first.
I got a question though on a completely different subject. Why wasn't Jayce Boyd invited to camp? His year mirrored Plawecki's.
Boyd is in the complex but he is still technically rehabbing
Thanks, Mack
Is the Harvey thing really something to worry about?
Yes he has an ego. and yes it is really really BIG!
but that ego is what drives him to excel.
It is his enormously large ego that drove him to prove numerous scouts and experts wrong when they insisted he was at best a #2 starter and that Wheeler would be better ace material.
Don't squash his ego.... the Mets just need to find a way to direct it. Direct it towards his rehab and legacy as THE pitcher that turned a losing team around.
Harvey definitely is headstrong, has an ego, and an edge, and the Mets have been in need of both for a while. I don't know him personally, and don't have to deal with him personally, so as a fan the ego thing is no big deal so long as he can back it up. I realize that he has barely one year in the bigs, but it really isn't his fault in this media age if his every move is followed..that's modern life now as a public figure. He is young and will stub his toe, but I don't understand why they would want to bury him in Port St. Lonely for the entire season. Unless he is really causing problems, I would want him mostly with the club, coming to the games, being close to the action, continuing to support the team and study the hitters and how they are pitched to. I understand Alderson doesn't want everything to be about Harvey, but IMHO the positives far outweigh the negatives. Add to that the fact that the Mets can force him to PSL based on the collective bargaining agreement, and they need to lighten up a little and spend their time focused on SS, 1B, and a reliable 8th inning arm.
Hey Mack - as a follow up to IB's Boyd question, curious if he is playing in any of the minor league games for which we hear virtually nothing (unless it is that scouts are watching our pitchers there). The real proof will be if he is starting when the season opens, but just curious, as it would show if he is past, or in the midst of, rehab.
I still think if Boyd does not hurt his shoulder mid-year, maybe he hits .350 for the year and not the .330 he did hit in 2013 - which still is pretty danged good
Bob:
It's something to worry about if the story keeps getting bigger.
Harvey needs to push aside a few microphones and all this could calm down.
There is close to nothing to do in St. Lucie. You have the beach, Duffy's and 1,000 thrift stores...
The average age there is 108 and there is no hockey games
Mack
I put the responsibility on the Mets front office to figure out how to direct Harvey's ego productively.
If this continues to be a media story it is a front office failure that they can not manage their players as individuals.
Post a Comment