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morning.
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Tidbits –
Las Vegas RP Dario Alavrez had his 21.1 scoreless inning streak
ended when Zack Thornton allowed an inherited
runner to score. .085/.198/.113 slash line with 36 strikeouts over his last
22.2 innings.
Jose Reyes cleared
waivers
Jon Niese's last 32
starts: 11-13, 200.2 IP, 141 strikeouts, 50 walks, 211 H, 22 HR, 6.32 K/9, 2.24
BB/9, 0.99 HR/9, 3.54 ERA, 4.00 FIP
Curtis Granderson is 1 of 5
outfielders with 20+ homeruns & 50+ walks. Other 4 are Mike Trout, Bryce
Harper, Jose Bautista, & Joc Pederson.
Zack Wheeler: "good
to get throwing again, arm feels good and strong, and I don't have any pain,
which is weird for me"
Comment From
Chinese Explosions - Cargo: “deGrom the best pitcher in the league”
Eno
Sarris: Eno: “All his pitches get an 80 grade”… (I will say maybe I was a bit overexcited. the
curve is more of a 60, and the change and slider probably 70s. But that
fastball, with the command, and velocity, is an 80.)
Mack – Greinke…
Scherzer… Kershaw… deGrom… is it possible to determine which one of these four
guys are better than the other or can we just agree to agree that they are all
in a league of their own?
There were 271
baseball players drafted in 2010 before this ex-shortstop from Stetson
University. Don’t ever say you can’t find a gem in the later rounds.
Comment From
The Forgotten Met - Does Rafael Montero have a
chance to contribute at the major league level this year?
Eno Sarris:
Heard he was 88-89 in last rehab start… Probably not.
Comment From
Andrew - Can you elaborate on the Mets clubhouse situation? It’s hard to put
those things in perspective when traditional media sources keep saying how
established veterans make great clubhouse presences.
Eno Sarris:
I was in there before Uribe, Kelly Johnson, and Cespedes arrived, so maybe it’s
better now. But really, the thing that is missing is David
Wright. Everyone wants a veteran star position player in their clubhouse
because people defer to that player. And — this part may annoy people — but a
big part of the job is taking questions. Remember Carlos
Delgado? He got annoyed that the media blasted him on not standing for
the national anthem, so he stopped talking. The media was forced to talk to Billy Wagner a ton. Billy Wagner often said, guys I
didn’t pitch tonight, what do you want? And if the media doesn’t get any
quotes, they get in a bad mood, and have to scrounge for quotes, and the tone
of the coverage changes. And beyond that, if you walked around the clubhouse
with Wright gone and those new guys not in place yet, there wasn’t anyone
around. Tumbleweeds. So… that’s why it’s not a big deal in sum. it’s just a
workplace, and people have numbskulls at work. But it can be the difference in
the coverage of your team, and it can make a tiny bit of difference to a young
guy coming up, or to how excited you feel for the game.
Mack – very well
explained and said… one thing I do want
to say about the Mets clubhouse, beat reporters and who is interviewed. All of
that is controlled by the Mets press secretary, Jay
Horwitz. You simply can’t, on your
own, walk over to a ballplayer and start your own Q and A.
Horwitz never liked
me because I was a blogger that also wrote for a newspaper. He had to give me
press credentials even those some of the ‘legitimate’ beat reporters from NYC
complained to him that I was live blogging from the press room.
Still, he runs a
tight ship and runs most of the tough questions through Wright.
Manager Matt Williams alluded after Thursday night’s game in
San Francisco to some potential changes for Friday night’s contest against the
Giants. He most likely means some lineup juggling and perhaps the insertion of
one or two bench guys. The odds of some truly dramatic shakeup seem unlikely at
this point.
Williams only has so many
reasonable alternatives at his disposal. Want to bench Werth, now 8-for-56
since coming off the DL and owner of a .185 batting average, .256 on-base percentage
and .530 OPS for the season? OK, your backup left fielders are Clint Robinson and Tyler Moore.
Fine, prefer simply to move Werth
down in the lineup where he can’t kill as many rallies? Well, who are you going
to move up to the No. 5 spot? Your choices are Ian
Desmond, Wilson Ramos and Michael Taylor.
This is where the continued
absence of Denard Span really devastates the
Nationals. If Span is healthy, Taylor falls into the fourth outfielder role,
available to take over for anybody else who is struggling. Instead, Taylor is
forced to play every day as the only true center fielder on the roster.
Mack – We tend to
forget that the Mets rise to 4.5 games ahead of the Nats in the standings is a combination
of Mets wins and Nats losses. Winning means nothing if the team you are trying
to catch is also winning.
Washington has big
problems right now and the Mets need to keep pouncing on this situation.
24 comments:
The Nationals have had problems since the very start if the season.
Imagine if the Mets lineup was filled with major league players from the beginning of the season.
The 4 1/2 game lead could have been a 14 1/2 game lead.
Can't win them all, but I hate seeing us lose close ones where clutch hits are missing.
Dario Alvarez getting some good attention.
DeGrom is the best. Why? 'Cause I said so.
After 2 hits last night, hopefully Wright is close to returning. Hopefully he will answer more questions than he raises.
Steve Matz today!
Kudos to Granderson, too, who I blasted last year as a bad signing. Looks OK now.
The Mets are for real......bottom line.........
Im worried about Parnell and wonder if a healthy goeddel or even Vic black could potentially take his spot in playoff roster.....
And my buddy Scot and I continue to agree that Mets need to find a way this offseason or whatever to back up the truck and dump 7yrs of money at deGrom
Three things:
1) I thought the comments about the clubhouse addressed it only from the limited view of a reporter, but it didn't "report" anything about the dynamic of veterans in the room and how it effects players (outside of in relation to the media). I thought he missed the point.
2) On the Nats, I totally agree with Bob Gregory. I don't think Sandy intended to compete this season, and he wasted a lot of time using non-ML players like Muno, Campbell, etc. A big part of this fabulous season is a result of a dismal failure by the entire Nats organization. They left the door wide open to the point where, finally, Sandy had to act.
3) Ernest, I would love to see the Mets extend deGrom. But that's not a seven-year deal. That kind of crazy money only happens when a player is a true free agent. The advantage to the extension is that deGrom does not face a big bump in salary until he is arb-eligible, a couple-few years from now. That's why he might be tempted by, say, a 4-year extension at a more reasonable rate. He gets some big, life-changing money now . . . at the cost of waiting an extra two years before he can become a full-blown free agent. He's got to look around and see these pitchers getting injured. There's a lot to be said for avoiding that risk. So the Mets organization has some leverage here. A four-year extension does not have to be crazy money (compared to what the big pitchers get), which is why they should attempt to do it. I'd try the same thing with Harvey, except given that his agent is Boras, I think he's about maximum bucks.
Bob - As I have said, it takes two to tango and the Nats are doing everything they can to hand the Mets the pennant.
Tom -
It will be interesting to see how they allot field time to everyone once Wright comes back.
Ernest -
Vic Black's rehab may be the longest in the history of baseball :)
I don't expect him back
James -
I expect deGrom will be much more approachable for an extension than Harvey and I agree on your suggested length
I definitely hear what u sayin James. .......
My thought process is in having Mets lock up deGrom through his age 33/34 season.....and I believe other teams have selected certain players recently to 'buy out' right through arb years and beyond to truly reward there efforts in 'outplaying' their rookie contracts so to speak.....
Its a risk giving any player especiAlly a pitcher 7yrs.......its also a risk waiting 2yrs and maybe seeing deGrom win a Cy Young. ...at that point, if im his agent, no way in hell im letting a 28-29yr old in his prime sign a contractfor less than $20+mil/yr at that point.
I still think you are jumping the gun, Ernest, and taking on too much risk prematurely. Jake is not arb-eligible until 2018; he won't be a free agent until 2021. If they do nothing, the Mets control him for five more seasons.
James Preller
I don't like extending pitchers who have had TJS. Coming back from one is almost automatic. Coming back from a second one though?
Name the ones who have and have been great again?
Medlen, Beachy? They still aren't back to full strength and likely won't ever be the same.
I read something where Chris Capuano is the most successful pitcher ever after having a second TJS. And he sucks! And I'd say the only reason he's still pitching is because he's always been a soft tossing lefty.
So, if ride out deGrom, Harvey, Wheeler, and Matz as long as they keep pitvhing great and are under the Mets' control. But I wouldn't give any of them a long term contract. EVER!
Get to that last year of control, and if they are still great, trade them for your next Thor and DarNo.
.......or the mets follow that model, and trade a stud free agent to be for the next FMart, Milldege, Olt or Profar........the uncertainty certainly goes both ways...........
How is Harvey out of the conversation as far as top pitchers? Two years ago he was IT. I realize he was out and struggled (by Harvey standards) upon returning but he's been back to form and dominating teams.
The National were beat up by injuries too - not as bad as the Mets, but they have had their share
Can Uribe play 1st? I am sure he could - but has he - nice back up corner infielder
He is making a case lately - that's for sure
He is making a case lately - that's for sure
The Mets shouldn't be following anyone's model, they should be creating their own using a hybrid of ones that have worked. Create your own talent and lock it up a la the Indians of the 90's. Use dominant pitching to win just like the Giants recently, but don't settle for 'just enough' offense. Spend as much as necessary to retain your key pieces as well as add parts, trade off excess to bolster the farm like small market teams.
In a large market and with a young, deep, and dominating pitching staff as well as a deep farm system, the Mets are in a position to carve their own path and become THE model franchise.
Montero:
"Heard he was 88-89 in last rehab start… Probably not."
You mean Terry Collins' pep talk didn't make the pain go away and make him able to throw 94 again?
All the more reason to never enter a MLB season with a roster that does not include major league talent throughout the lineup.
Well said
Thank you Bob. I can only hope that ownership takes a look at the increased attendance recently and realize it's only the tip of the iceberg. A winning franchise creates a ton of bandwagon fans and that leads to increased revenues. Look at the Red Sox, when they finally started winning, it was "cool" to root for them and they created a national following. If the Wilpons are willing to invest in this team they won't only see their revenues explode, they'll have a national brand and the overall value of the franchise will skyrocket.
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