Morning Report – September 8th – Rule 5, Sand Gnats, Firing TC, San Francisco Giants, Minnix-Chat

Kingsport Rule 5 Eligible Players –

            Gaby Almonte, Leon Canelon, Oswald Caraballo, Josh Dunn, Ramon Estevez, Jose Figuera, Juan Carlos Gamboa, Audry German, Carlos Gomez, Vincente Lupo, Yoryi Nuez, Luis Ortega, Persio Reyes, Ruben Reyes, Jean Rodriguez

Sadly, the Savannah Sand Gnats season came to an end on Saturday afternoon. The team really wasn't same as they were in the first half of the season before the majority of their offensive talent (LJ Mazzilli, Jeff McNeil, Gavin Cecchini, Cole Frenzel) were promoted to St. Lucie.

Even the playoff promotions of Michael Conforto and Jhoan Urena and Amed Rosario were too late to help.

A lot of talent came out of Savannah this year, especially the pitching. Both John Gant and Robert Gsellman have established themselves as future Mets starters to keep an eye on. A third, Robert Whalen, may be left behind next spring due to loss time this year due to an injury, but he may turn out to be the best of the three.

Three future prospect starters on one lower level team is a big deal in baseball.

A fourth pitcher, RP/CL Akeel Morris, looks like a winner also and could rise as high as Binghamton next season as their closer.

Lastly, 1B Dominic Smith will play St. Lucie next season and get in line behind Jayce Boyd as the possible replacement for Lucas Duda someday.

As I said, a very talented team with a very sad ending

.I’m now starting an ever-growing chatter field regarding the future employment of Terry Collins as the 2015 Mets manager. Please someone alert Reece Kaplan’s wife to get the Viagra out of his hand of this could be a double whammy of biblical proportions.

Adding to this today were addition reports that Sandy Alderson’s job is in jeopardy due the lower pitch counts coming from the Mets rotation pitchers.

I really find this somewhere between funny, stupid and downright insulting. Is ther actually a writer out there somewhere that truly believes that the General Manager of a major league baseball team has the ability to make pitchers throw more pitches early, be them out of the zone, or knicked off as a foul ball by some batter.

I will tell one thing that is etched in stone.

No one gives a rat’s ass if your starter have thrown 110 pitches through his first six innings and the team is winning 7-1.

Oh, I’m sure if he does this three or four times in a row after accepting his new dominant role in team pitching statistics, that a cup of coffee meeting could be beneficial between the catchers used in those games, the pitches called for, and the results of where they would up. Still… let’s remember all these games had the starter willing at 7-1 after 6.0-IP and 110-IP.

I’ve said this a number of times this season in a number of ways… you get me five starters that hold their opponents to under three runs for six innings… and I’ll win you at least enough games to finish the season at a .500 record.

Take it another step… if my team averages 5-6 runs a game using the same numbers. Well, this is simply math… I win 100+ games.

Yeach I know. Some of the relievers will screw up a few. Trust me…spot me 4-5 runs a game through 6… hold the other team to 3 through 3…

We’re in the playoffs and no one is saving fire no one.

We’re going to continue our annual breakdown we do of other teams before the season ends. All of this will target on possible trade or free agent candidates for left field, shortstop, or young pitching.

We started on Saturday with the Los Angeles Dodgers and we move on today to the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants spend around $150mil a year on salaries and are dominated by long term deals with untouchables like RHP Matt Cain, RF Hunter Pence, and catcher Buster Posey.

Free agents this season include RHP Jake Peavey, 3B Pablo Sandoval, RHP Sergio Romo, LF Michael Morse, and RHP Ryan Vogelsong.

Morse will play 2015 as a 33-yr old and is currently hitting: 436-AB, .280/.340/.477/.817, 16-HR, 61-RBI. He has started in left field since 2012 and was paid $6mil this year by the Giants.

Middle infield wise, it can probably be said that the Giants are looking for new players here as well. Ex-prospect Joe Panik (179-AB, .318) seems to have implanted himself into the future second basement for the team, but the job of shortstop is wide open. Currently, Brandon Crawford is the starter there, hitting only .228 in 429 at-bats. 23-yr old Matt Duffy (AA: .332) offers them a 2015 alternative

Their outfield is two-thirds set with Pence and the oft injured Angel Pagan. Gregor Blanco ($2.525/yr., 2015-ARB3) has filled in well (.260) while Tyler Colvin (.223) has moved up to the fourth outfielder while Pagan was grounded.

Mack summation: - It seems to me that the Giants have similar personnel problems with the Mets. They also have a ton of young pitchers down their pipe (Kyle Crick, Tyler Beede, Adalberto Mejia, Keury Mella, Ty Blach) that they can use in trades to fill in their lineup holes.

Their biggest problem may be two fold… one, they have a shit farm system and two, they have an arrogant VP regarding the talent that others feel isn’t in the system. “We always have what we need,” said club vice president Dick Tidrow. “We have turned down trades for all of these guys.”

I would move on if I was the Mets here, unless you want to make one phone call to Duffy’ agent to see if he would take a similar one-year deal the Mets paid this year to Chris Young.  

Minnix-Chatt -

Comment From Guest - Please share some sleeper wire picks for offense. Thanks!!

Nicholas Minnix: Juan Lagares is one of my favs, for speed.

Comment From Bomok - Who would you rather trade Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard, or deGrom?

Nicholas Minnix: Right now, Syndergaard, because I have seen the others have success at the MLB level, and it’s believable. All I can say on that, haha. Wheeler if Syndergaard wows as well. I’d want a chance to evaluate his pitch mix. … (Syndergaard)

Comment From Rated Rookie - Is there going to be room for Steven Matz in the 2015 Mets rotation?

Nicholas Minnix: I cannot see that. He’s like a might debut guy, to me.

Comment From Bomok - Wheeler for Russell- unfair for the Mets or Cubs

Nicholas Minnix: Um. … a little for the Cubs. Establishment in MLB carries some perceived weight, probably some real weight. Wheeler’s ceiling is debatable, perhaps, though. Cubs throw in a small piece, maybe that’d do it. But I don’t think they’d do that deal straight up, right now anyway.

            Mack – Look, this guy Minnix isn’t considered some grand bo-pa expect on all thing Mets. He just writes for a web site that has a lot of New Yorkers who’s entire live seems to be tweeting into their hand.

I agree with most he said and I especially like all the collective buzz about this team without one mention of Wright, Gundergroin, and Murphy.