Adam Rubin | ESPN New York-“Mets officials said they were continuing to await word Sunday from team doctor David Altchek about the state of Zack Wheeler's right elbow. Still, Terry Collins reiterated that he does not expect anything beyond tendinitis to be found. "Everybody gets MRIs today. That’s the nature of the beast. You come in with an upset stomach and they give you an MRI. And then you have an abdominal strain. It’s what you do to protect yourself."
(Chris Soto: It continues to sound like this is just a recurring problem that just needs general maintenance. That said, the strange volatile career of Zack Wheeler continues. About a week ago, Mack talked about who amongst the core young pitchers could be viewed as the potential "bust candidate," for me that guy has to be Wheeler. Of all the young arms we have, Wheeler has the worst control and the most inefficient performances both in the minors and so far in his career. For someone that we all thought could be a solid #2 guy, it's looking more likely that he will end just being a superb #4 or an average #3.)
Scott Cohen | Amazin Avenue- After a few days of thinking about whether to rest and rehab the stretched ligament in his left elbow or haveTommy John surgery, Josh Edgin has decided on the latter as his best course of action. Edgin will miss the entire 2015 season, which leaves Scott Rice as the only left-handed option in the bullpen with any extensive major league experience.
(Chris Soto: That is a shame...Edgin had himself a really strong 2014 campaign and was the primary reason that Alderson felt comfortable going into the 2015 season with him as the only experienced lefty in the pen, flanked by a 2nd non experienced lefty. Now the club is in a tough spot with having to rely on unproven internal options as the lefty free agent market is all dried up now. Alderson could also wait until roster cuts are made by other teams and pick up a potential LOOGY via that avenue as well.)
Adam Rubin | ESPN New York- Matt Harvey feels fresh. He felt “a little sluggish” in his last outing, when he allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in 2 2/3 innings in a 49-pitch effort against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.“Certain weeks you feel a little bit better than others, especially during spring training. I talked to Dan [Warthen] about it. And he said a lot of the time, the second start is a little sluggish. For me, I definitely felt that. Other than that, everything feels great.”
(Chris Soto: Who's ready for another Harvey Day! I know I am. It's going to be fun looking forward to every 5th day that he's on the bump. The swing of emotions from fans this spring has just been absurd. It's only March 16th, and people are worried about Duda, Wheeler, Colon, the lefty situation, but also excited about how Wright, Cuddyer, and Flores look. Whether your pessimistic or optimistic, the closer we are to games the more exciting it becomes. 2015 is going to be a special year.)
Tommaso Di Blasi | Shea Dugout- The most significant difference for the Mets between last year’s lineup and this year’s is the addition of left fielder Michael Cuddyer. In Grapefruit League action, he has had four hits in his fourteen at-bats thus far, two of the hits coming in the form of solo home-runs. It’s only spring training, but this is definitely a good sign, and one of the many reasons why Cuddyer is an essential presence on the roster this season.
(Chris Soto: Cuddyer is being overlooked a bit so far this spring. I know the guys in my fantasy league laugh at my perceived value of him, but, Cuddyer is going to be a major piece of the Mets push for the playoffs. When he was healthy last season, Cuddyer was posted ridiculous numbers. In 205 Plate Appearances, Cuddyer was hitting .332 with 10 Hrs and a .955 OPS. Even when you sparse out the home and away splits, he was still batting a very respectable .282 AVG with a .734 OPS. That's 13% better than the average MLB OF'er and way better than anything the Mets have had in LF over the past 2 seasons.)
In reverse:
ReplyDelete* On Cuddyer: His value cannot be measured strictly by numbers. I know that some folks will stitch together platoon splits of, say, den Dekker and Mayberry, but I don't think raw numerology speaks to his potential value as a veteran presence. What will be his effect on David Wright? How do we measure that? I don't know.
* On Edgin: In his ML career, he's never thrown more than 32 innings a season. The idea that this guy was going to be effective all season for the Mets as their #1 LH reliever was always a mass fantasy as far as I was concerned. He was always going to be a giant "maybe."
* On Wheeler: Yes, I agree, he's a candidate for struggles. Last year, I wrote a post saying that he'd remind us of Mike Pelfrey at times. But moreso, as a groundball pitcher, he is going to be the Mets pitcher most undermined by a porous infield defense. Given a quality defense, I think he'd also be a candidate for top 10 pitcher in MLB. I love his potential. Could go either way in 2015. Right now, I'm just hoping he's healthy.
James Preller
That Scot Cohen guy seems like a decent writer..........oh wait, that's my buddy of 20+years................
ReplyDeleteIm tired of worrying about lefty relief. Can one of them please pitch scoreless relief for remainder of spring?
Perhaps cuddyer and grandy will go on to exceed expectations this year.
He's not bad...
DeleteInteresting looking back at Edgin last year - he goes down for 2 1/2 weeks in late Aug - early Sept due to a barking elbow, and then does not pitch in any of the last 5 games.
ReplyDeleteOne would think his injury was already there...if diagnosed before being signed for 2015, is it possible he'd have not been signed?
Amazingly, for a guy who was in 47 games with Mets last year and threw to a 1.32 ERA, team was 12-35 in games he pitched in.
Former venerated Braves pitching coach was on the FAN yesterday - I only heard 2 minutes of it, but the subject of Tommy John incidence seemed to be getting heavily discussed. One thing he said was if a guy is slated for 2 innings and 35 pitches, and gets his 2 innings in with just 12 pitches, no after-throwing to make up the other 23. Anyone hear the rest of it? Comments?
Saw clip of one of Cuddyer's 2 homers this spring - it was a very healthy shot.
Duda needs to keep a close eye on Mayberry Pipp.
I'm thinking on the "sit Duda against a lefty" days Mayberry plays the OF and Cuddyer moves to 1B.
ReplyDeletePer the Mets official blog, Wheeler has a torn UCL and will travel to NY for options.
ReplyDeleteIf he opts for surgery, does Gee or Montero get his spot in the rotation? I'm guessing they go with Gee, though I think Montero has the potential to be better.
Damn it!!! Wheeler is gonna be gone for a year? I would start Montero but can understand why we start gee instead and maybe bring up his trade value?
ReplyDeleteI really hope this does not start another season of putting off winning expectations like the Mets quickly hid behind last year when Harvey was lost for the season
ReplyDeleteBTW, this is why I never predict win totals until the season begins. So much happens.
ReplyDeleteJames Preller