8/12/14

Morning Report – August 12th – Noah Syndergaard, Sand Gnats, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Michael Conforto, Wilmer Flores




Jonathan Niese and Curtis Granderson cleared waivers.


Adam Rubin explains why you aren’t going to see Noah Syndergaard this year - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/93044/the-case-against-noah-in-majors-in-2014?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

It’s spelled out pretty simply. Thor is one of the young arms that the Mets need to shut down early, especially in a year that means nothing. I don’t know what ‘your plans’ are for this guy… IMO… he’s either going to be a front end (probably SP3 for Mets) pitcher or the guy that can get you a premier solution for shortstop of left field

No, the Mets need to shut him down after the next dominating outing and leave the baseball world with that taste in our mouth. 



Article on the possibility of the Savannah Sand Gnats leaving Savannah… featuring Mack’s Mets Wally Murphy - http://savannahnow.com/news/2014-08-09/all-its-charms-grayson-stadium-again-issue-savannah-sand-gnats-future#.U-diV_ldWLx

One more big problem in Savannah… the weather here is Africa hot. The heat index yesterday was 105 and, like most summer days here, there were severe afternoon thundershowers. There always has been a lot of rained out games in Savannah, but now the games are being called because of ‘poor field conditions’ even before a drop of rain falls that evening. The place is still soaked from the night before.



Regarding Jacob deGrom and Jenrry Mejia’s ‘soreness’, this is why you shut down young arms early in seasons you are not competing in. Bring up any combination of John Lannan, Giancarlo Alvarez, or Ryan Reid and put these kids on the shelf until the Instruction League. That is, if you just survived any TJS scare. And don’t forget Dice-K, who will be available soon and could replace Zack Wheeler.

The Mets set deGrom’s pitch limit this season at around 180 innings. Right now, he’s at 138.2. Do you want to risk an operation and 12-15 months on the shelf all for a few more starts to help come in second in the Rookie Of The Year voting? DeGrom has nothing more to prove this season. He’s either a sure fire SP3/4 for the Mets next year of the primary trade chip in the off season. Go pitch him if you want to mess this up.



While we are talking about potential great future Mets rotation pitchers, this might also be a good time to consider shutting down Steven Matz for the season. He’s had a wonderful season so far in 2015, combining for a 9-7, 2.48 record for St. Lucie/Binghamton (which includes a fabulous past Sunday star of 7.0-IP, 0-R), but we do need to remember that Matz was lost for two whole seasons due to past arm problems which included Tommy John Surgery in 2010. True, he hasn’t been hurt since, but I’ve seen enough this season and, after the deGrom scare, I’m ready to baby all by big arms for the remainder of the season.

The real interesting decision here could be if the Mets trade Jonathan Niese in the off-season, which would leave them without a lefty in the rotation. Matz will pitch as a 24-year old next year and, age wise alone, would be ready to take on the task.
Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard, Montero, Matz… yeah, I could live with that.




We’re getting close to the mid-point in August and it’s starting to look like that Brooklyn Cyclone OF and ex-first round draft pick, Michael Conforto, is going to remain in Brooklyn for the remainder of the minor league season. You might remember that his bat caught on fire the minute he arrived and everyone speculated that he would probably end the season with Savannah and help them achieve their second championship in-a-row; however, the hot bat has turned stone cold as of late. Yes, he’s still hitting .301 for the short-season, but he’s only recorded .179 over the past 10 games. However, I am a convert here and can only speculate at this point the level he will begin the 2015 season. My guess: St. Lucie with a possible Queens ETA of opening day 2016.



We’re getting that daily look at Wilmer Flores that many of us wished for, but we also are reminded of the fact that he does not grade out as a major league shortstop defensively.  Flores would have to win this job with his bat, which has not even begun to heat up. I did find the Twitter world pretty cruel to him after Sunday’s collapse to the Phillies. Sure, he booted a critical play, but so much more happened to lose that game, including umpires that seem to be on the Philadelphia payroll.

No one wishes he would start hitting three home runs a game, but let’s remember I was the guy that saw him fail at this position for parts of three seasons in Savannah. The fact remains that Wilmer Flores is not a shortstop and, at best, deserves to be a DH in the American League.

Let’s hold our breath and 86 the negative Twitter chatter for the remainder of the season and give him, Kirk, and dD a chance to prove they deserve to stick around next year. Having people cheer for you rather than troll after every game wouldn’t hurt either.


11 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Agree...treat arms with TLC. A guy who has pitched little 2014, but well of late, is Mazzoni. Slot him in for late season Met rotation?

holmer said...

Mack-your thoughts are well thought out but, while I agree the young pitchers should not be pushed to the point of injury, babying them is not the answer either. Pitching requires stamina from year to year. If you shut down deGrom now, at 138 innings, when he doesn't need to be shut down, will only create a stamina problem for next year. An effective starter needs to get at or near 200 innings and if you shut them down too early year after year they may never get there.

Mack Ade said...

thomas/richard -

morning -

you make a good point, Richard... but I'm just overly worried this year... I would be happier if I shut them down early in their first MLB year and get them back to their 200 innings goal in year 2... that's just me

it seems to me that I'm surrounded with bad Met arms all the time

That Adam Smith said...

I think that you'd want to stretch these guys out innings-wise, while probably keeping them on pitch counts of around 95-100 for each outing.

That said, the guy with the balky calf and the hernia should probably not be out there (seriously? why would we push this?) and I'd be uber cautious with deGrom's shoulder. (Just typing "degrom's shoulder" is making me shudder.)

I'm pretty willing to concede that Flores isn't a big league SS, though I'd have him out there over Tejada on this team every day of the week. but I'd be happy to keep him in the mix for a starting 2B job next spring. Yes I still think we need to deal from organizational strength and trade Murph.

As to Savannah, aren't they building a new stadium down there? I thought we were going to stick it out in order to get in on that? That said, it's kind of sick watching the rainouts and doubleheaders pile up on that squad.

Finally - I'm not convinced yet that MdD isn't at least half of our 2015 LF answer (actually, make that RF, with Curtis moving over.)

Mack Ade said...

Adam -

There is no stadium currently being built in Savannah. The Coty of Savannah moves very slow on issues like this and the owners of the team, who come out of Atlanta, still won't even commit to the city verbally if the town does agree to build a new one (which would be 2 seasons off being completed)

The attendance has always been sub-par here (this is a Braves town) and the only nights that pull more than 1500 people are the 'buy one get one free" drunk fests.

The Gnats need to move on to Columbia and so do the Mets

The Closer said...

So with Justin Verlander potential having shoulder issues that could be an issue for Detroit since he was removed in the 1st inning and there recent slide out of 1st place, I have to believe a trade for Bartolo Colon makes perfect sense for them. They have some interesting prospects that would be welcome additions to our farm system and considering they went all in for Price, you gotta believe they are going for it this year, so moving prospects shouldn't be an issue for them. Guys outside of their top 5, which I don't expect for Colon like Steven Moya, Austin Kubitza, Buck Farmer, Jose Valdez, Melvin Mercedes, James McCann, etc..

Hopefully Colon clears waivers and doesnt get blocked by someone like the Yankees or Phil's before the Tigers can either make or claim or even better, he clears waivers and we can have a little bidding war with Detroit, Seattle. Kansas City, Cleveland, Milwaukee, etc..

Something to keep an eye on...

Mack Ade said...

Closer -

good observation... you should write for the Morning Report :)

Steve from Norfolk said...

Mack, Do you remember the old Columbia Mets (1983-1992)? They changed their name to the Capitol City Bombers, played under that name until 2005 in Columbia, still a Mets franchise. After a little research , I found out that (surprise) that they left Columbia over a dispute over a new staduin. Not with the city, but the University of South Carolina, who they were going to share th stadium with. Funny how no matter how much things change, they stay the same.

Mack Ade said...

Omar Garcia, Ricky Otero, Hecter Ramirez, Jason Jacome... won their championship in last year (1992)

Anonymous said...

maybe Jose Iglesias if another chip was thrown in

ReneNYM1 said...

I think Steven Moya from Detroit is a fair trade for Colon ,Moya is coming off an injury and Colon has pitched well for us.