Mack’s Morning Report – 9-25-15 – Updates on Pitches Traded, Robert Gsellman, Playoff Pitchers

Good morning.

TJ Rivera now owns best career batting average in B-Mets history (.349). Jumped over Jay Payton (.337)

Mets pitchers traded away this year and what they had done for ‘them’ lately…

Michael Fulmer –– for Yoenis Cespedes

          Fulmer - 6-games, 6-starts (AA), 4-1, 2.84.1.07. 31.2-IP, 33-K

Luis Cessa for Cespedes –

          Cessa – 7-games, 7-starts (AAA), 1-3, 5.97, 1.62, 37.2-IP, 32-K

Cory Mazzoni - for Alex Torres

          Mazzoni – 26-appearances (AAA), 1-3. 3.97, 1.09, 34.0-IP, 56-K

                              8- appearances for MLB/Padres – 0-0, 20.77, 3.23

John Gant –– for Uribe and Johnson

          Gant – 7 starts (AA), 4-0, 1.99, 1.03, 40.2-IP, 43-K

Rob Whalen –– for Uribe and Johnson

          Whalen – 3-starts (A+), 1-2, 3.29, 1.10, 13.2-IP, 7-K

Matt Koch –– for Addison Reed

          Koch -  1-start (AA), 1-0, 0.00, 0.82, 7.1-IP, 6-K

Casey Meisner - - for Tyler Clippard

          Meisner – 7-starts (A+), 3-1, 2.78, 1.05, 32.1-IP, 24-K

Brad Wieck - for Alex Torres

          Wieck – 2-starts (A), 2-0, 2.61, 1.06, 10.1-IP, 12-K

                     11-starts (A+), 2-6, 5.21, 1.53, 57.0-IP, 53-K

Miller Diaz – for Addison Reed

          Diaz -  2-starts (A+), 0-1, 5.25, 1.25, 12.0-IP, 15-K

Q and A  with SP Robert Gsellman –  http://mets.tumblr.com/post/129648474607/on-the-rise-robert-gsellman?partnerId=as_nym_20150922_52840816&adbid=10156130306755078&adbpl=fb&adbpr=94421890077 

Robert Gsellman, the Mets 13th-round pick in the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft, joined the Mets organization at the age of 17. He has worked his way through the system, winning the Sterling Award in 2013 and finishing last season with the third-lowest ERA and most complete games in the South Atlantic League. Now with Double-A Binghamton, we got to know the righthanded starting pitcher and discuss the success he’s had in the minors so far.

The  Wall Street Journal interviews Billy Beane and Bill James on ‘Big Data’ in baseball –

Billy Beane walked up to the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning, handed his driver’s license to a security guard and was reminded once more of his “Moneyball” fame. “You do a good job,” the guard said. “Not this year,” Beane said, with his Oakland Athletics bound for a last-place finish in the American League West. Bill James walked in just behind him, his name and face eliciting none of the same reaction.

They are two of the most influential figures in the evolution of Major League Baseball, and they are inextricably linked. The data-driven decision-making that made Beane a celebrity was rooted in the work of James, whose early writings on baseball statistics formed the foundation of modern statistical analysis.

But until Friday, the two of them had never actually appeared together in public. The occasion was a conference on the disruption of business models hosted by NetSuite, a software company whose board of directors includes Beane, the longtime Oakland GM.

Before appearing together at the event, Beane and James, a Boston Red Sox senior advisor, sat down with The Wall Street Journal to discuss the future of sabermetrics. Following are edited excerpts 

from the interview.

Bob asked –

                   Mack - And whoever would like to ponder.

An option If Colon, Niese, and Matz are viewed as pitching better than the mid relievers.

Go into (knock on wood) the playoffs being able to address limiting the workload on DeGrom, Harvey, and Syndegaard by using the "piggy-back" scenario brought up yesterday.

Mix and match so the young pitchers only have to pitch 4-5 innings. I'm sure Colon and Niese can adapt if they are informed early enough (after all history has shown all kinds of pitching adjustments like starters becoming closers). I believe just this past minor league season might have started with Matz piggy - backing in the minors.

My thought on benefits:

1) reduce workload on young pitchers 

2) still allows all starters to contribute.

3) maximizes use of best pitchers in the games (starters plus Familia, Reed, Clippard )

4) Niese and Matz being lefties completely disrupts opponent lineups that are set as a lefty vs righty much earlier in the game than the opposing manager would want to make substitutions.

Any other benefits that can out weigh the opposing view of it not working because the pitcher's are not accustomed to it?

                             Mack – Bob, thanks for the interesting question.

Everybody will have a different way to approach this, but mine would always be by dealing up my strength first…

Regarding the Division Series, the five games are scheduled for Friday, 10-9, Sat 10-10, Mon 10-12, Tue 10-13, and Thur 10-15.

Harvey, deGrom, and Syndergaard can handle the first three games. I would deal up Matz on 10-13 (if necessary), come back with Harvey on 10-15, and have Colon, Niese and Verrett coming out of the pen as long men.

The League Championship is schedule for Sat, Oct 17, Sun 10/18, Tues Oct 20, Wed 10/21, Thur 10/22, Sat 10/24 and Sun 10/25. It’s impossible to set up until we would first see how the Division Series goes, but if it did go the full five games, I would start deGrom on 10/17, followed by Syndergaard on 10/18.

                                    This sets up Matz on 10-20 with six days rest.

As for platooning, it wouldn’t be the way I would go. My target would always be to get at least six innings out of my starters.