Morning Report – August 8th –Matt den Dekker, Noah Syndergaard, Cubs, Sandy Alderson

I read Sandy Alderson’s 180 degrees out of logic regarding why Kirk Nieuwenhuis was called up instead of Matt den Dekker… something about Kirk being used to being on the bench and why fuck with nature when September is just around the corner. September is just around the corner??? IT’S AUGUST FUCKING SEVENTH.

            Then, just to make sure I know what I’m talking about, I go back and 

check the PCL stats and, yep, there he is… Matt den Dekker leading the league in batting average.

            So, this is the second guy (Wilmer Flores) we had that led the league in at least one major category and never made it as a Mets starter, Who knows, by the end of the month, we could have a third (Matt Reynolds).

From Paul West/TTF - This year’s Mets don’t seem like they’re going to fade down the stretch, as they have in recent years. But they still have needs to address, particularly their left field situation. Nobody has distinguished himself enough to take firm hold of the position. Eric Young is a middling defender (albeit with exciting flashes) whose primary value lies in his presence at leadoff — where Curtis Granderson has become a daily presence. Kirk Nieuwenhuis is a great outfielder, but his approach at the plate is still too flawed. Chris Young has been awful. But as with Duda, the Mets’ left field solution might be in their own system in the person of Matt den Dekker. In den Dekker, the Mets would be adding another outstanding defender to a defense that’s helped their pitching become a real strength. After struggling in his earlier visits to the majors, den Dekker is now destroying the ball in the Pacific Coast League. Granted, the PCL is a known hitter-friendly league, but den Dekker is one of the best hitters in the entire PCL, and that’s got to count for something. Den Dekker is fast, he’s got raw power and he’s an excellent defender. But if he can hit well enough to drive in runs from the fifth, sixth or seventh spot, the Mets might have their everyday left fielder. They also might continue to close the space between themselves and the second wild-card spot. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/matt-den-dekker-could-be-left-field-solution-for-mets/43751#kO37MBGDdoAdR6Pj.99

            Sandy… bubala… if we’re talking September already, would it be asking too much to purge the lineup of one of the Youngs and call this kid up? He’s turning like 50 and the least you could do is give him one more shot. Yeah I know he’s another lefty. That’s fine… let him and Kirk platoon with Soup in left. I really don’t care, right… remember it’s September…


Noah Syndergaard had another meh outing Thursday night... 5.0-IP, 102-pitches, four runs, four walks... as I mentioned below in the 'Minor Notes', scouts from both the Cubs and Rockies were on hand and Andy Martino speculated tonight that Colorado and the Mets could be working on a future deal for Thor in the off-season.

Ya know, all I want is the best five pitchers I can find for my rotation which usually means five guys that have already passed the test of time. Guys like, well, Jacob DeGrom and maybe not guys like Syndergaard who hasn't pitched one major league pitch yet.

The Mets need bats and every team wants the same guy... the one that threw 102 pitches in only five inning and gave up four runs and four walks. Maybe I could live with giving this kid up for a real shortstop who can hit


But, wait a minute. The Cubs had a scout at the game also. What he was scouting Syndergaard for a deal that could be made during this season.

Let's face it... Javier Baez isn't going anywhere as a middle infielder in Chicago. 

Baea and Starlin Castro are also going no where during the season due to the fact that are both on the 40-man squad and would have to jump through hoops to get with Addison Russell for Noah Syn dergaard, We can get it done beforemthemrocketd go back and maybe we wind up finding zjacj for SAUL
                                                                              

David Lennon of Newsday reported that it’s only a matter of time before Sandy Alderson is signed to an extension. Alderson also told Lennon that he has no plans on leaving on his own and considers his job with the New York Mets incomplete (got that in common).

Well, that’s that.

I expected as much. The Wilpons wouldn’t even know how to approach the process one must go through to find a replacement, now that Bud Selig is gone. I agree with him that the original painter should always be given the opportunity to finish the canvas, but I just wish I enjoyed the process more and the results so far of his actions.

I don’t ‘know’ Alderson, but I knew many people like him in the business world. I don’t like his cuteness with the press and what seems sometimes like his downright disrespect for the fan base. We talk all the time about what he has brought to the table and how better the system is now that he’s here but do we really have better players than Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes in the system?

I have real mixed feelings here. I know that, if you replace the General Manager, everybody else below him usually goes too and you have to start all over building the organization. It took a good two years to get past the Minaya team that was in place, including just about every scout the Mets employed back then.

I would feel much more comfortable about this impending extension if I saw some inevitable changes happen sooner than later. No one named Young is doing anything positive for the current team or the future of it. There’s also no reason for Juan Centeno not to be backing up Travis d’Arnaud for the rest of the season. Get the dead wood out of the clubhouse and replace it with some of the players that Alderson supposedly feels haven’t been part of the completed plan.

You couldn’t ask for a more perfect example of an incomplete team than yesterday’s game against the Nationals. The Mets tied this game in the seventh and the relief staff was splendid, but the bats simply could not produce another run through the 13^th inning. There never was a more important game in the season to win, but, once again, the bats fell silent (coupled with an amazingly stupid fielding play by CY that gave up a critical run).

You need to follow games like this with definitive personnel decisions to show everyone around you that you will not tolerate a half-assed effort in the field during a critical game that could have kept the Mets in a race for the pennant.

Will Sandy do anything after this game? Did Sandy do anything after this game? You’re going to read this a day after I wrote it so you tell me.

This is where Alderson fails me. We all know this team doesn’t have all the pieces yet. We also know he has added some good pieces as well. What he doesn’t seem capable of is making a decision that 2014’s goal should be finishing at a .500 percentage, using the players in the future.

mACK '[ WE,RE SITTING AROUND IP[ON OUT THUMOD ON OLDM DAY, WHAT WWATVTHEBNETAL MARGINNTHN,,

DFA Chris Young, Eric Young Jr., Dice-K, Anthony Recker, and Carlos Torres.

Add players like Matt den Dekker, Juan Centeno, Cesar Puello, Zack Thornton, and Chase Bradford.

Let’s use the rest of this year to see if we can find another Jacob deGrom or Juan Lagares in the system.

Please chime in. 

        

Minor Notes –

            The San Diego Padres announced the resignation of Vice President/Assistant General Manager of player personnel Chad MacDonald… MacDonald was the person that talked Sandy Alderson into drafting Brandon Nimmo, then quite them Mets a couple of weeks later to take the San Diego job… Terry Collins said there has been no discussion of sitting reliever Jeurys Familia to limit his innings…  Reliever Daisuke Matsuzaka (elbow inflammation) is throwing, including a flat-ground session Wednesday, and could be pitching in rehab games next week… The GCL Mets closer, Alex Pasha, recorded his 8^th save Thursday, while lowering his seasonal ERA to 0.93… Kingsport RF Wuilmer Becerra decided to become a slugger on Thursday, hitting his 2^nd and 3^rd home run of the season… SP Martires Arias’ Brooklyn debut was quite impressive: 6.0-IP, 0-R, 6-K… Colorado had two top scouts at the Las Vegas game on Thursday, tracking Noah Syndergaard… Cubs scouts were also there…