5/18/15

The Morning Report 5.18.2015 | Marlins Fire Mike Redmond, Flores Being Flores, Murphy on the Trade Block?, Campbell Provides a Spark



David Wright Injury Tracker | Scheduled to Resume Baseball Activities Today

Adam Rubin | ESPN New York- The Miami Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond on Sunday and plan to announce his replacement Monday at 11 a.m. ET. But they have not contacted the New York Mets about hiring Triple-A Las Vegas manager Wally Backman as Redmond's successor, two Mets officials told ESPN.com. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria reportedly was asking about Backman in April, when Miami was playing at Citi Field and the Marlins were stumbling to open the season. Las Vegas entered Sunday with a 25-12 record under Backman.

(Chris Soto: Boy...the favorites to win the 2nd Wild Card this season are really having a tough time so far this year. Honestly though, Can't really say I'm surprised by it. All off-season while the Marlins were getting so much love...pundits were quick to point out that the club's SP was probably the weakest in the division. With no Jose Fernandez until late June, damaged goods in Mat Latos, and injuries to Henderson Alvarez, who's periphals pointed to regression anyway, the Marlins were always pegged to struggle to limit runs.)

{UPDATE: The Marlins have hired their General Manager Dan Jennings as the club's new Field Manager.}

(Chris Soto: Huh.....ok.....talk about a shocker to top all shockers. Jennings has zero professional managerial experience and is coming into a situations were the Marlins need to turn it around and quick or else risks losing too much ground on the Wild Card race.)

Matt Turner | RantSports- When Wilmer Flores was chosen as the starting shortstop of 2015, the New York Mets knew exactly what type of player he was: one who could give you offensive production, while simultaneously giving you sub-par play in the field. Nearly a quarter of the way through the season, he’s fit the script perfectly. Although his .250 average isn’t quite what the Mets would like, he does lead the team with six home runs. In fact, he’s the only shortstop to be leading his team in home runs. It says something about the Mets’ offensive production, yes, but it also shows that Flores is no slouch at the plate. If he continues at this pace, 20 home runs by the end of the season is more than probable — it’s likely.

(Chris Soto: Thank you for pointing out what should've been pointed out weeks ago. This is Wilmer Flores folks. Anyone who was expecting anything different was kidding themselves. Flores currently T-1st in HR, 10th in Runs, RBI, K rate, and 5th in Isolated Power. The odd thing is that Flores still has a +2.0 defensive value.....but how? Well put simply, WAR stands for Wins ABOVE replacement. Surprisingly, SS around the entire MLB seem to be struggling defensively. Flores' +/- 0 Defensive Runs Saved is still good for an 11th place tie. The guys behind him, Didi Gregorius & Jhonny Peralta [-1], Starlin Castro, Alexei Ramirez, & Everth Cabrera [-3], Ian Desmond [-4], Elvis Andrus [-5], and Danny Santana [-8]. Be aware folks.....this is a problem not just affecting the Mets.)


Joe D. | MetsMerized Online- The Mets could eventually trade Daniel Murphy so that they could promote infielder Matt Reynolds to play shortstop and then have Wilmer Flores slide over to second base. Any change would not happen right away until a market for Murphy developed. Additionally it would all hinge on having a healthy  David Wright back in the lineup. The Mets have resisted promoting Matt Reynolds, mostly because they want to ensure he plays everyday, and with Murphy on the team it’s unlikely he would get enough playing time. One other potential concern is a divided feeling in the front office on whether Reynolds can be an everyday shortstop.

(Chris Soto: At this current point in time....I don't know how you can afford to trade Murphy with Wright and d'Arnaud still on the shelf. That said, if both guys come back healthy and producing...it becomes far more likely. I too though have heard the concerns about Reynolds as a full time SS. The difference between concerns for him and Flores though is that, Flores is defensive liability with the glove and his footwork. The concern with Reynolds is around his arm strength and whether he is able to gun down the speedier guys in the league from deep in the whole. )


J.P. Pelzman | NJ Advance Media- Eric Campbell got on a red-eye flight Friday night in Las Vegas and landed at LaGuardia Airport at 6 a.m. Saturday. But as you might imagine, he really didn’t mind the trip. "It’s better coming this way than going that way," Campbell said with a smile Saturday afternoon after being recalled by the Mets from Class AAA Las Vegas for the second time this season. Campbell said he made some "minor adjustments" to his stance during his stay in Vegas, but didn’t change his swing.



(Chris Soto: I was saying last week that the Mets needed to bring someone who was HOT down in AAA to provide a short term spark in the line-up. Campbell was cruising along with a .367 AVG and a 1.203 OPS during his latest stint in AAA so he was about as HOT as you can be. The Mets bring him up and what happens? How about 4 for 9, 3 runs scored, 2 doubles and 2 RBIs in his first 2 games back. Total Mets runs scored....19. Hang with em Soup!)

12 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Souper Man is doing well. Good for him, and the Mets, who needed offense.

To those looking to toss Wilmer overboard, his stats at SS and 2B for the Mets defensively were much better. Why can't he improve at the bat AND in the field? He'd get lots of love then.

Wally for prospects? Worth considering then.

Dilson's finger injury certainly impacts any Murphy move chances.

Carlog Gomez should donate to the Earflap Foundation, that earflap sure saved him From Thor's mighty hammer.

eraff said...

I'm not sure that Flores Glove plays better at 2b..... his "range problems" are speed related, but the big gaffs are the throwing and "movement"--- all of these more related to foot speed and dexterity, and in high concentration at 2b.

My call is that he's WORSE at 2nd than SS. As for USEABILITY--- I believe his top end is ZOBRIST---that's a very useable guy!!!

The DH would help!!!

Christopher Soto said...

@eraff

I actually think that Flores' range hasn't been too much of a problem. His 1st step reactions have actually surprised me enough to claim that it overshadows his overall foot speed.

However, his glove work this season has been below average and surprisingly (on the other side) his arm accuracy has been atrocious. (Yips maybe?)

I doubt he would be worse at 2B than at SS as his arm accuracy problems are mitigated there.

I wouldn't go as far as to call him Ben Zobrist. Zobrist is at least average to above average defensively at multiple positions.

Tom Brennan said...

If we get the DH, we may regret it. After last year's awful hitting by pitchers, we will soon have Jake, Thor, Matz, maybe Pill....all way above average hitters, and competitive Harvey isn't shabby either.

Tom Brennan said...

Wilmer made 5 errors in 67 game starts at SS and 2B for Mets last year, so keep that in mind. "Yips" is probably the reason for 2015 so far.

Mack Ade said...

As I've said in other posts, Flores' problem is primarily in his head. He simply can't execute the position.

eraff said...

Chris...my point is that RANGE is the acceptable concession you make with a guy lkike Flores. The throwing problems are a direct result of his slow feet and lack of dexterity. Those specific issues are more pronounced at 2b.

Sophisticated defensive metrics --- used to be known as EXPERIENCE & POSITIONING---- reduce the negative impacts of reduced range. The "small space movement" is the thing that is biting Flores on D....that plays bigger at 2b

Reese Kaplan said...

I'm glad Chris pointed out something I've been trumpeting ever since they chose to pick up Collins' options and then inexplicably renew him. He has systematically been given hot hitters from AAA and then buried them until they grew cold. The whole "ride the hot hand" seems to be an alien concept to him and now it's happening not due to some epiphany of clarity but due to Dilson Herrera's injury.

I should be thankful for small favors. At least he didn't play Tejada over Campbell (not yet, anyway).

Anonymous said...

Mack
I've been reading but not commenting due to busy schedule. First, I'm not trading Thor or Matz or any of the other current rotational young guns. They keep you in games and with the amount of injuries, the Mets need them all. As for Flores, I think he needs to be given an entire season to see what he can produce. I love his swing and want his bat in the lineup. Defensive upgrades in the infield should come at 2B. The Dodgers went out and got Howie Kendrick, just the type of guy the Mets should use. Maybe look into getting Zobirst when he comes back.

eraff said...

psst..Zobrist is an Horrendous defensive player.

Team is in an odd position--- DEE GORDON would have made sense. Lead off batter---pushes Grandy to 5/6/7..

Christopher Soto said...

@Eraff

I am curious what you base that claim on?

Zobrist has positive or flat metrics at every position he's played outside of SS.

Even by traditional stats....Zobrist has never had a season in his career where he committed more than 12 errors. During his 10 year career, on average, he only commits 6-7 errors per season.

Michael S. said...

It's nice to have pitchers who can hit, but I wouldn't be upset with a 3-headed catcher-1B-DH monster of d'Arnaud-Duda-Plawecki.