Good
morning.
Mark Carig
writes about Alejando
De Aza –
Last season, De Aza posted a
.278/.351/.448 slash line against right-handers. But the Mets don’t have a
glaring need in that department, since Cespedes, Conforto and Granderson have
all generally enjoyed better success against righties.
Nevertheless, barring an injury
or an aggressive trade offer from another club between now and Opening Day, the
Mets appear content to keep De Aza, who hit .262 with seven homers and 35 RBIs
last season with the Giants, Red Sox and Orioles.
Mack – Many Mets
fans have short memories and don’t remember that they have had up to 10 members
of their primary 25-man squad on the disabled list at the same time.
Shit happens and it always seems to
happen to this team.
De Aza could be the
insurance against one run into one wall by one of the other outfielders.
2B
Dilson
Herrera and P Nabil Crisbatt will be leaving camp to join
Team Columbia in the World Baseball Classic. SS Luis
Guillorme will do the same for Team Spain
Adam
Rubin –
Yoenis Cespedes is
due to arrive at Mets camp on Sunday -- three days ahead of the official
position-player report date. That leaves only Alejandro
De Aza and Asdrubal Cabrera yet to arrive.
Mack – Having Cespedes
arrive two days early is a great sign, but not having Cabrera in camp isn’t.
Lastly, I’m not sure what the motivation would be to get De Aza in early.
Mike
Puma @NYPost_-
The Mets have Addison Reed penciled
in as the eighth-inning guy to begin the season, according to pitching coach
Dan Warthen
Mack – This is the
logical move, though I also would consider Bastardo. Either way, look for those
two and Familia to dominate the seventh through ninth inning, at least until
after the all-star break when the suspension of… err… oh, yeah… nevermind.
Pale
Hose: Is it
possible the Mets have the hardest throwing starting rotation ever? This would
be despite Bartolo Colon.
Jeff
Sullivan: I think I’d be a little surprised if they
didn’t
Mack – It is
amazing what this season is going to be like, rotation wise, especially once Zack
Wheeler returns. I wrote about this
happening for years and it’s really going to happen.
"His history is very
intriguing," Collins said. "I know he is a couple of years out of
surgery now, which we're hoping makes a big difference. I saw him in Milwaukee
and he was very, very good. I'm just hoping maybe we can catch lightning in a
bottle after a couple of years and he reestablishes some strength in his
shoulder and he's the guy he once was. Now, is he ever going to be that 96 mph
guy? I don't know. But I know one thing: He's pitched in the big leagues and
he's had success in the big leagues. You can't find guys with that kind of
experience."
Mack – The article
says that Jeurys Familia,
Addison
Reed,
Jerry
Blevins, and Antonio
Bastardo are a lock for the pen. It also
says that Hansel Robles looks safe.
I agree.
That leaves Dario Alvarez, Sean
Gilmartin, Erik Goeddel, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, Rafael Montero, Akeel
Morris, Josh Smoker, Logan Verrett, Jeff Walters,
and Gabriel
Ynoa as
members of the 40-man squad eligible to fill the remaining two slots in the
pen.
Henderson is currently not on the
40-man.
My guess is always go with veterans when
it comes to a TC team: Goeddel and Verrett.
19 comments:
Says a lot about Nabil Crismatt to be on one of those world teams. Pitched great in Kingsport last year. Birthday is Christmas, so it is a late Christmas present for a name which will get more attention this year.
Keep de Aza until Nimmo is ready. That could be a long time.
Akeel Morris in 2016? Hope so.
If jim Henderson comes out throwing 95mph that might lead to another solid and decent 2015 mets reliever returning to the minors.
I still kinda always thought that goeddel and verrett were the same pitcher so I guess I don't see them both in the pen.
I find it very interesting that the went with Henderson but passed on Parnell as a non-roster invite. Collins' comments one Henderson were virtually identical to Ausmus' on Parnell.
Still think that Montego, Gilmartin & Verrett will be the in the "in case of emergency break glass" cabinet of starters in LV.
Tom -
I hope Akeel gets another shot someday
Hobie -
Yiu might be right about that
Barring a spring training meltdown, I think that Robles has a spot locked up. I believe they have high hopes and big plans for the kid. Nice to see Cespedes reporting a little early. I think that he's going to do whatever he can this season to undo his apparent reputation for selfishness. That opt out is going to be a huge motivating factor for him. De Aza is likely to be kept around, if nothing else, because the Mets don't have a single ready-for-ML OF in the minors, and injuries happen. That could change if a non OF shows in spring training that he's a viable option out there, (Matt Reynolds, anyone?) though De Aza's relative speed on a team devoid of it will make him even tougher to jettison. De Aza becomes available at the deadline if Nimmo has a breakout year - though that's not starting off so well, is it? Jim Henderson is interesting - given his history - but I'm glad we're not depending on the resurgence of a 33 year-old former power pitcher coming off of two years' recovery from shoulder surgery. Finally, we're going to need a nickname for the starting rotation (or possibly for Citi Field itself) once Wheeler gets back and everyone is throwing mid-90's or above. This really may be the hardest throwing staff ever assembled anywhere on earth. The Gashouse (Gang) has been used (though gas is what we'll be serving up). Thoughts, anyone?
I've never understood your position on De Aza. A $5.75 million insurance policy?
Sure, if someone runs into a wall and suffers a crippling injury, he'll help. But do the Mets have that luxury? Is that the best way to spend the money? Or fill the roster spot?
Club really needs a RH bat to play OF corners and !B, a slot they've ignored. People say De Aza can sub in at the OF corners, but that makes zero sense. He can't hit LHP. Can't do it. Are we really going to give Conforto or Granderson a day off against RHP? That would foolish.
De Aza has no meaningful role unless either Curtis or Michael suffers a cataclysmic injury. Otherwise, it's $5.75 million down the drain. Yet Mack, you keep defending it as if this was a good move. I'm not attacking you or anything. We are all free to disagree here. I'm just surprised.
James Preller
@ Adam Smith: FLAMETHROWER FIVE
The Five Heartbeats ?
If the Skipper is prone towards veterans then Gilmartin should have a leg up on Verrett as he had more time in the big leagues and directly under his sexagenarian eyes.
I'm not sure about the options details, but wasn't Gilmartin out of options when he was made available via Rule V?
Besides, a 2.67 ERA suggests he knows how to pitch.
They're still doing the WBC, huh? When it first started, the Mets had a ton of guys going. Haven't heard who is going for the U.S. team but I'm guessing neither Harvey nor JDG are going because we would have definitely heard about that.
I sincerely hope none of our current pitchers waste their bullets or risk their arms in the WBC. Save them for the World Series.
Just remember that verrett has always been very homer-prone. I am skeptical until proven otherwise.
Did you notice Nats are mouthing off about the Mets? Kind of like Jeb Bush was with Trump. The Nats similarly are losers who will be put in their place soon enough by a superior Mets squad. They are trying to psych themselves up for the rough ride ahead. They will not enjoy reality. This is Mets 1986 all over again.
Please please please.
Let's be careful of making any comparisons that place the Mets in the role of Mr. Trump.
I would love to talk politics but Macks Mets is not the place to do that.
Ignore what is coming out of the mouths of both the Nationals players and press. Leave your response to the field.
I hate having to have to play this team as many times as we have to in spring training. I simply hate it.
Possible nicknames: (Yes, these are mostly terrible)
For Citi:
The Cheese Factory
The Gashouse
The Gas Station
The Inferno
The House of Heat
The Staff:
The Giddyup Gang
The Supersonics
The Flushing Five
The Aces of Queens (The Queens Aces?)
The Filthy Five
The Kings of Queens
For people who are old enough to remember, that was the name of Archie Bunker's bowling team/lodge, not a pluralization of the Kevin James sitcom.
I remember, Reese. And the punchline was something about the fact that the Queens of Kings was a gay organization in Brooklyn. I almost went with the Kings of Queens, but went with Aces instead. Either works, I think.
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