Mack’s Morning Report – 2-10-16 – David Wright, Delmon Young, Roger Bernadina, Mets Relievers

Mack Ade 

Good morning.

From P Dub's Sports Hub -

David Wright can finally move to the second spot in the order, for which he’s arguably most well suited; and on Wright’s days off, Walker can bat second capably. This lineup alternates lefties and righties from top to bottom, and if Cabrera were to get the Opening Day start at shortstop, then the seventh and eighth positions would be occupied by switch-hitters. Walker, Flores and Cabrera all have power that belies a lower-third position–in a National League lineup. To find legitimate double-digit home run power in the lower third of the order, you’d normally look at an American League powerhouse like the Toronto Blue Jays (or the 2014 Oakland Athletics, when Cespedes was in their lineup and they were putting up football scores before one of the more baffling deadline deals in recent memory). But the 2016 Mets will have just such a lineup, along with what’s generally regarded as the best starting rotation in baseball.

Mack – I have to tell you that it is quite exciting to read baseball writers compare the 2016 Mets to teams like the ‘Murderer’s Row’…

Bob Gregory will remind us all of this might be only accomplished if both Wright and Travis d’Arnaud stay healthy all year. Even under those conditions I see Wright starting in less than 130 games and d’Arnaud could be in the same range.

From  Local10.com -

A Major League Baseball player was arrested Sunday night in Miami after he choked and threatened to kill a valet attendant, police said. Delmon Young, 30, faces a battery charge after the alleged incident at the Viceroy Miami. According to a Miami police report, Young grabbed a valet attendant by his neck and started to choke him after the attendant refused to let him into an elevator to a club at the Brickell hotel. The attendant told Young that the club was closed, but Young became irate and said, "Stupid Cuban. Open the (expletive) door. I'm here. Now what?" the report said. Young walked away, but returned moments later, demanding that the attendant open the door. After the attendant repeated that the club was closed, Young told him, "I'm gonna (expletive) kill you, you Latin piece of (expletive)," the report said.

Mack – I was a proponent of the Mets taking a chance of Young this past off season, but many have said that he had the personality of a lug wrench. After reading this, lug wrench might be a compliment.

Don’t look for him to be playing at the major league level this year.

I don’t understand this one, but the Mets signed OF Roger Bernadina to a minor league deal. You may remember the ex-Nats 31-year old outfielder that hit two home runs off of Mike Pelfrey and Francisco Rodriguez on 5-12-2010. He spent last year playing for Colorado at the AAA level, hitting .276 (373-AB) with 15-HR and 62-RBI.

I would speculate that this could be a good sign that Alejando de Aza will eventually be traded to another team and you could see this left-handed hitter in Queens as the fifth outfielder.

 Brad Johnson on Mets relievers -

I grew up as a Phillies fan. In my experience, Mets fans may be the only group less patient than the Phillies faithful. Jeurys Familia is coming off an excellent first season as the Mets closer. He should return to that role without competition. I’ve seen some fans continue to call for his head after he “blew” the World Series. And by that, I mean he had one bad game and his infield had two bad games.

Former DBacks closer Addison Reed will hang around for setup duties. Antonio Bastardo was imported for those tough lefty matchups. He’s a full-inning southpaw, but he can still shutdown same-handed hitters.

Hansel Robles could also factor in the late innings. The righty hums at 96 mph and produced elite whiff rates with the fastball. He did allow a few too many home runs with the pitch. His slider wasn’t a stand out pitch, but it was good enough for late innings work.

Lest you forget, former closer Jenrry Mejia has 99 days left on his second PED suspension. Assuming he’s smart enough to stop using PEDs, he could be an excellent mid-season addition to the bullpen. In 7.1 innings last season, Mejia picked up where he left off with big whiff rates and an improved walk rate. The small sample success is a good sign that he’s recovered from the elbow injury that originally opened the door for Familia.

Mack – Brad Johnson seemed to have one goal here and that was to remind all of baseball that the Mets have more than the top starters in the league.

This is a hell of a pitching baseball team.