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10/18/15

Mack’s Morning Report – 10-18-15 – Desmond Lindsay, Fan Fight, Utley Revenge, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Reynolds



Good morning.


 Rotographs thoughts on OF Desmond Lindsay – 

The ’15 Draft Pick: Desmond Lindsay, OF: The Mets didn’t pick until the second round of the 2015 draft but the club found Lindsay available and snapped him up. A Florida prep star, he had a solid pro debut and showed a little bit of everything. With that said, he struggled to make consistent contact at times and whiffed 40 times in 35 games. A strong spring could push him to full-season ball but he might need some time in extended spring training to work on his contact and pitch-recognition issues.

Mack – Obviously, it is far too early to project Lindsay; however, we said the same thing about Michael Conforto this time last year. The difference here is his age and the fact that he will only play 2016 at 19-years old.

My guess is he will be extremely lucky to start the 2016 season in Columbia, but, right now, he looks like a good draft pick.



I missed this one from  ABC News LA -

A violent fight broke out between Dodgers and Mets fans outside of Dodger Stadium, leaving a Mets fan in critical condition Friday night. Witnesses said the New York Mets fan was punched and then fell, hitting his head. The fight happened in the stadium parking lot after the National League Division Series opener between the two teams. People rushed to help the victim and one person, Maria Cerecer, caught the scene on camera.

Mack – I have attended a lot of sports events in my life and I think the dumbest thing in the world is for a fan of the opposing team to get drunk, wear his colors, and then depart the event surrounded by local fans of the other team.

I’m sure there was an Utley remark somewhere here and I hope those on both sides are okay in the long run, but frankly, moderate your drink and keep your mouth shut as you head to your car.



Tim Kurkjian said on ESPN that the Mets will eventually retaliate for the bogus Chase Utley slide, be it in the last game of this series, or the first game of next year. The thing about waiting until next year is both Utley and manager Don Mattingly could both be gone and it just won’t have the same effect.

Frankly, the moment has past. You saw Monday night that even a 10-3 lead came close to not being enough.

I would move on here.



Most of us Mets fans know the story about Noah Syndergaard’s slider, but  Jeff Sullivan added his thoughts, including this about that explosive first inning in Game 2 - 

One thing to talk about: Syndergaard made an immediate impression. There’s evidence that pitchers throw harder in the playoffs, and Syndergaard didn’t do much to hide his own adrenaline. According to Brooks Baseball, during the year, Syndergaard’s fastball averaged 98.1 miles per hour in the first inning, and 97.7 in the second. Against the Dodgers, it averaged 100.2 in the first inning, and 99.5 in the second before settling down. Of Syndergaard’s 20 fastest pitches of the year, he threw 13 on Saturday, all in the first three frames. Syndergaard was very conspicuously feeling it, and it took the Dodgers a while to catch up.



And lastly, Chris Mitchell Chris MItchell had this to say about Matt Reynolds

Reynolds spent the 2015 season in Triple-A Las Vegas, where he hit .267/.319/.402 in 115 games. There wasn’t much remarkable about Reynolds’ minor league line this year. His power and walk numbers were both worse than the PCL average, and he struck out a bit much for someone with so little else going for him offensively. He showed a touch of speed with his 13 stolen bases, but not enough to really get excited about. For what it’s worth, he hit a much better .335/.395/.444 in 2014, when he split time between Double-A and Triple-A, although those numbers were inflated by a .407 BABIP. If you strip away some of that BABIP luck, Reynolds’ 2014 numbers look awfully similar to those from 2015.

Due to his unremarkable stat line, KATOH isn’t particularly enthused with Reynolds’ game. My system pegs Reynolds for just 1.4 WAR through age 28, and gives him just a 8% chance of accumulating even just 4 WAR over that span. The statistical comps, calculated by way of some Mahalanobis distance calculations, share KATOH’s pessimism.







30 comments:

  1. The Utley/Dodgers ship may have sailed, but that bastard needs a heater in his earhole......if he plays next year and the opportunity presents itself, I think it will happen, followed by a nod to Reuben. With MLB not addressing the suspension appeal, the situation went unpunished and that is unacceptable, IMO.

    Great start to the series last night......Arrieta is a beast but we've already tangled with Kershaw and Grienke twice, so I don't see our lineup being intimidated. We need to be patient and capitalize on mistakes. It would be nice if Duda and Cespedes would hit just a little (the OF assist was awesome, however).

    Lastly, a point a lot of folks are overlooking about Harvey....his rehab was almost a year and a half by the time he pitched this year (remember the flap over not letting him pitch in September of last year to,test his arm). He is not your normal TJ case/recovery study as a result........still,don't think the excess of innings over 180 is a good thing, but how many chances do you get to possibly win a championship?

    Definitely a catch-22.......Mike

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  2. Obviously the plan is for matt Reynolds to never step foot on the field or the plate in the off-season. .......
    Mets are basically kinda going with a 24man roster but these Mets starters have been Amazin so right now it doesn't matter. They're needing less relief work and less pinch hitters which is awesome.
    Thor turn to go at least 7 innings !!!!

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  3. Yes, it's a 24-man squad with an unproductive Wright and Duda... even Cespedes is hitting poorly

    sorry for the canned Morning Report... just got back from Florida seeing my wife's 86 year old month when we found out she had a heart attack just before game time last night. Heading back down there for 2/3 weeks tomorrow morning -

    I'll come up with something for next Fri/Sat/Sun UNLESS ONE OF THE WRITERS WANTS TO STEP UP AND FILL IN FOR ME.

    Let me know.

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  4. They've got Matt Reynolds all wrong. - he still can be World Series MVP :). Kidding aside, hope they get him at least a PR appearance at some point.

    Will Uribe be ready for World Series?

    If the next time the Mets. Face Utley is an Old Timers game, he should be drilled. Noah, save some 100 MPH for Chase.

    Murphy is a genius. He convinced many that he was a singles-hitting bonehead. And then showed the real Murph in the playoffs. Love the guy.

    Hopefully Lindsay is a star in 3 years. Hopefully, Dom Smith is Conforto next year.

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  5. They've got Matt Reynolds all wrong. - he still can be World Series MVP :). Kidding aside, hope they get him at least a PR appearance at some point.

    Will Uribe be ready for World Series?

    If the next time the Mets. Face Utley is an Old Timers game, he should be drilled. Noah, save some 100 MPH for Chase.

    Murphy is a genius. He convinced many that he was a singles-hitting bonehead. And then showed the real Murph in the playoffs. Love the guy.

    Hopefully Lindsay is a star in 3 years. Hopefully, Dom Smith is Conforto next year.

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  6. My unsolicited opinion, Mack, but I think you worry too much about putting up content.

    The Mets are in the freaking NLCS -- why not just stick with that? I think you could do a game report and invest in the comments section.

    Again, I might be in the minority here, but I know I"m not in the Mets World of Fans. We just don't give a rat's ass about Winter League Ball right now. You can recap that stuff two weeks from now and that would be good info. But again, relax about the blog, enjoy the here & now. This just isn't the time to wonder about whether Desmond Lindsay was a good pick or not. I know that some folks might disagree, but I don't think they represent the overwhelming majority of potential readers out there.

    At this rate, on the day the Mets will the World Series this blog will have a piece about organization depth in the outfield. You'll literally be missing the parade.

    Respectfully,

    James Preller

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  7. If anybody thought Murphy was a single-hitting bonehead, they didn't understand baseball. Guy has more passion and character and love of the game than anybody on the club -- and that's been true for years. The mistakes have been way overstated.

    And btw, he's what, second all-time in doubles for the Mets?


    James Preller

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  8. James just my personal opinion but...........
    I hear what you're saying but your missing the point of what sports websites/blogs do.
    And your kinda disrespecting the writers on here because your basically just suggesting that one person write about the results of game and then comment all day on that one post. People like myself enjoy writing on the site.

    I myself think its ridiculous when guys on TBS last night inform us that cubs haven't come back from a postseason deficit after 8 innings since 1910....means nothing but its information and they felt like pointing it out.
    Many other sites have written about the '69 and '86 Mets which means nothing in 2015 but its information a Writer wanted to point out.
    If u want a person like myself with a twitter account can tweet u back and forth about the game......but for the site its interesting for me to learn about winter league stats, especially since its like 10am and there's no Mets game on.

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  9. James -

    With all due respect. why don't you mind your own business about what the content should be on MY site, something you didn't seem to do on the defunct site of your own.

    We have multiple writers here that sometime go in different directions while sometimes (i.e. Murphy) all go back to the same subject. Who cares? And why should you care how many posts we have up?

    Solution.

    DON'T READ ANY OF THEM.

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  10. Getting back to Murphy...

    I like Tom's 3/33 offer but my guess is, after last night, that will be low. One more game like he's having and he will be any to win in Iowa and New Hampshire against Trump

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  11. James, I think Tom may have been exaggerating a bit for effect. Although he did way more than hit singles, he wasn't known for his HR- power and you have to admit he did make quite a few head scratching plays.

    In any case, what he's doing now is 2 or 3, or maybe 4, levels higher than his usul gam . It's great. You always need some guys to step up like that in a playoff series.

    Question for you - what is the Mets World of Fans and why aren't you in it?

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    Replies
    1. I actually joined the Mets' Workd of Fans, MWF for short, and quickly canceled my membership.

      Seemed like a bunch of bandwagon hoppers to me. Not like the folk who read or write for MM, the most loyal there are...

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  12. Of course I refer in my comment above to Daniel Murphy, not to Thomas Brennan. Tom is well-known for his power, and makes very few headscratching plays.

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  13. Alex -

    Morning (evening?... I never know with you...)

    The fact remains is that every team only has so many great bats and the Mets need to think twice before getting rid a professional one like Murphy is.

    BTW...

    BAez playing short... Castro on second with big hit over Lagares' head... Russell coming back next year.... just too many middle infielder and a need for an upgraded catcher (Plawecki) and a starting pitcher

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  14. I would think the front office will absolutely sign Murphy unless he asks for too many years.And I'd even have to agree with them.

    What we don't have is their long term financial model, so we can't see the effect of piling up bigger contracts on top of arbitration raises etc. But I doubt the Mets with this recent success will try to penny pinch Murphy just on the annual salary rate. But then, what do I know?



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  15. James, I agree with your earlier comment on last night's game summary that Collins should sit David Wright. This is where it's such a shame we are missing both Uribe and Tejada, so we'll have to start Kelly Johnson. Who may do fine, and it may be a good idea to get him in the running anyway.

    Wright looked completely helpless especially that one at-bat where he struck out looking. I would guess that he is not feeling 100% a spring chicken and could use two days of rest.

    Alex

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  16. Utley needs to be hit. It's not about fan reaction or if the moment has passed or whether he's on the Dodgers or not. It has to be done because if it's not, it sends the message "you can hurt one of our guys in the playoffs and get away with it".

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  17. As far as the fan fight, I remember a SF Giants fan getting beaten there a few years ago. I also remember going to a Mets-Dodgers game there in '09 and one of their fans trying to start trouble with me. As soon as he realized I had 5 other people with me he quickly went away. LA has some great people living out there and some real POS's.

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  18. Alex/James -

    We are a little short on the 25-man for bats that are working. Guess the team will have to tough it out with this horrible (sic) pitching staff

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  19. The cream us sure rising to the top.

    Murphy has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that his game rises in the big game.

    Heck I would dare to make the comparison to New York 's previous "Big Game Player"..... Derek Jeter.
    Of course in my comparison, maybe biased as a Met fan, Murphy ' s play this post season has far surpasses any of Jeter's individual post season heroics.

    I would even say Murphy's heads up run to 3rd base was more "heads-up" and more impact full than Jeter's play at home against the Oakland As in the post season.

    Wright has always been compared as the Met's Jeter.
    Maybe, during all this time, it is and has been Murphy that should have been compared in this way.

    Food for thought?
    Anybody else have any thoughts here?

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  20. Hi Mack, sorry to hear about your mother in-law's health issues. I hope that her recovery is swift and complete.

    On Murphy, I've said it here (and elsewhere) before, but I think they need to sign the guy, if he can be had for any reasonable price. At the very least, they have to make him a qualifying offer. He may not be a perfect player, but he's a Met lifer who has done everything that's been asked of him, while showing now that he can virtually carry the team under the pressure of a NYC post season. He seems well liked and a great fit in the clubhouse. He also fits incredibly well with the needs of a team that has question marks (performance or health-wise) going into next season at each of the three positions that he can play. In the meantime, I'm having a great time watching him carving his name into NY Mets lore.

    Wright could probably use a day off, but given that there have been lots of days off over the past couple of weeks, my fear is that what he really needs is two weeks (or longer). I have no doubt that he's likely playing in some pain.

    Arrieta is a beast, and we're going to need to scratch out whatever we can against him, but I also don't envy the Cubs' task of catching up to Thor's heat in the freezing cold tonight. Here's hoping the kid steps up and pitches like we k ow he can.

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  21. Just play .500 baseball over the next 6 and the Mets are National League Champions. With our pitching staff, and only having to face Arrieta once in the next 5 games, I like their chances.

    Let's not go to Game 7. But, even if they do, this team finds a way.

    I think Wright is pressing and more importantly, "thinking" to much. He let a fastball go by last night with two guys on and struck out without even an attempt to hit it. Two strike count and he was guessing breaking ball with Murphy on deck. What the hell is that? What ever happened to see ball hit ball?

    At this point, he needs to realize his approach isn't working, other than drawing a few walks, and get back to basics. Sit on fastball and send it the other way.

    Cespedes seems to be all or nothing this post season. I don't know if he can help himself up there from seemingly wanting to hit it into the upper deck every at bat. When he's going good, he's driving the ball the other way and with his power, the ball can go out. I'd like to see him stop selling out for homers every at bat and try to make contact. His power plays regardless.

    Hope everyone has fun watching the game later. Take care.

    Hope everything works out Mack with your mother in law. You and your family are in my prayers.

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  22. Though it doesn't show up in the box score directly, David has had some key at bats where he forced the pitcher to throw ten or twelve pitches instead of two or three. His defense has also been stellar. I'd ask David if he feels he needs a breather for a game, but I'd expect him to say no and, if he says he wants to play, I play him. He's the Captain and he does a lot more for the team than shows up in a box score.

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  23. I for one do NOT think of Murph as a singles hitting bonehead. Never had. It's called subtle humor. I love hearing about Des Lindsay, it all goes in the memory bank. Doesn't matter when. We'll have plenty of off season content, we did last year, and last off season was a WHOLE lot longer than this one would be.

    Collins is playing a Stradivarius (know I spelled that wrong) this off season, but I would start Kelly J in David's slot in the line up. And Duda of course. Let's beat their Jake, knowing they can't beat ours.

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  24. I'd go higher than 3/33 for Murph, Mack. Yanks kept Jeter, let's keep Murph.

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  25. Thomas

    Are you saying you think Murphy is/has/could be more like Jeter for the Mets than Wright is/has been/could be?

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  26. I'd go higher than 3/33 for Murph, Mack. Yanks kept Jeter, let's keep Murph.

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  27. Bob, no, because Jeter was so good for so long. But Murph is great.

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  28. Adam/Charles -

    Thanks for your kind thoughts

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  29. Sadly, I believe that the great Bat speed is gone for Wright. It looks like he knows that he needs to be a guess hitter. He no longer lets the ball come to him...he's now a "Jumper". He's a good enough player to remain effective, but he's no longer an Anchor Player.

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