Mack’s Morning News – 10-30-15 – Jacob deGrom, Jeurys Familia, Bobby Ojeda, Yordano Ventura, Mets Tickets, Billy Joel

Good morning.

Fangraphs http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-mets-werent-throwing-swing-and-miss-pitches/ had a great analysis on the Jacob deGrom outing which featured far less strikeouts than we are all used to:

Here’s a lesson in baseball fundamentals you don’t need. You can, without doubt, get hitters to swing and miss at strikes. Really overpowering pitchers will do that, just to show off. It’s a great skill to possess. But, for everyone, there are more swings and misses out of the zone. That’s the whole idea behind the zone. The zone is supposed to represent the hitting area. Hitters will do worse outside of the area designed for good hitting.

Mack – Write all you want. It was a bad outing. DeGrom dominates when he overpowers batters and he simply didn’t do it Wednesday night. I’ve read a number of excuses why but I’m sticking to the theory that he simply is overpitched at this point in the season. I know it’s the World Series and all that, but adrenaline can only get you so far.

MLB.com http://m.mets.mlb.com/news/article/155819488 had a great story on how the Mets found Jurys Familia in the Dominican…

                       Sandy Rosario, now a top scout in the country for the Blue Jays, used to make the 2 1/2-hour drive every morning from his home in the capital city to this southern part of the island, searching for teenage prospects while with the Mets. Sometimes, he would take his buddy Guillermo "Penaco" Valdes with him to keep him company.

Mack – Rosario was one of the many talented international scouts under Omar Minaya.

I got to know Familia in 2009 when he pitched for Savannah (24-G, 23-starts, 10-6, 2.69). He was a quiet guy like many of the Latin players that suffered with a language disconnect, I also remember him being a little wild (17-WP), but he already had a fastball that touched 97 and we wrote a lot of positive things about him becoming a future part of the Mets rotation someday.

Bobby Ojeda http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ojeda-criticizes-mets-stop-pitching-scouting-report-article-1.2416279 had some interesting thoughts on Mets World Series pitching –

                                   “I’m watching two outstanding Mets’ pitchers pitch to a scouting report rather than be who they are. It’s been pretty frustrating to watch. “I love scouting reports but I am not going to go away from who I am because of them. Especially those guys, with the fastballs they have, they should make the Royals prove they can hit it before they go to Plan B.”

Mack – Look, I like Ojeda and miss him on SNY but probably the last thing Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom needs right now is an armchair quarterback on the phone with a beat reporter.

Just put the phone down Bobby and watch Mike Piazza throw the first ball out…

Here’s an entertaining story on the Royals starter in Game 3, Yordano Ventura http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-playoffs-world-series-yordano-ventura-mets-royals-mind-games/ -

                                   Luckily for the Mets, I have just the strategy. I know how to beat Yordano Ventura. To be clear, I don’t know how to hit Ventura. The Royals’ Game 3 starter can throw 100 miles an hour when he wants to, and I’m terrible at baseball. He struck out 22.5 percent of the batters he faced this year, has the second-highest fastball velocity among qualified starters, and offsets it with a curveball that’s good enough to make you lean out over the plate to chase it and allows him to come right back in on your hands with the heat. The only current Met who’s faced him in the big leagues, Yoenis Cespedes, is 1-for-7 off the 24-year-old righty, so Ventura will be a new experience for everyone else, and an unpleasant one for most. If the Mets are going to beat him fair and square, they’ll have to do it on their own.

Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/jesselawrence/2015/10/29/down-0-2-mets-world-series-tickets-at-citi-field-dropping-in-price-on-secondary-market/?ss=sports-money reports that secondary ticket costs to the three Mets home games are dropping –

                                   With the Amazin’s down 0-2 and on the verge of entering crisis mode, World Series tickets at Citi Field have started to fall in price on the secondary market. According to TiqIQ.com, the average price for Mets World Series tickets in Queens is now $1,534.99, down 5.6% from last week’s average of $1,626.70. However, the possible three-game stretch is still the third most expensive World Series home average recorded on the secondary market since 2010, when TiqIQ began tracking secondary market ticket data.

Mack – I was supposed to be at Friday’s game but had to pull back due to a family illness. Thank God my friend who offered to foot the tab for my trip home didn’t have to pay full ticket here.

Lastly, the husband of the daughter of a close friend of my wife is going to sing the Star Spangled Banner on Friday night… Billy Joel. The Mets also have Mike Piazza throwing out the first pitch. All stops being pulled out for this one.