Good
morning.
Mets
manager Terry Collins speculated
out loud what his lineup might look like this season through the first seven
batters. It came out of his mouth like this:
1. RF Curtis Granderson .821-OBP
2. 3B David Wright .813-OBP
3. CF Yoenis Cespedes .941-OBP
4. 1B Lucas Duda .838-OBP
5. 2B Neil Walker .755-OBP
6. LF Michael Conforto .841-OBP
7. SS Asdrubal Cabrera .745-OBP
It
seemed to me that Collins forgot to slot in catcher Travis
d’Arnaud (.825-OBP)
into this lineup. I don’t see d’Arnaud as the eight hitter and he could hit as
high as fifth. Your discussion needed here.
Yoenis
Cespedes has arrived to the Mets camp
and he did have a few choice things to say to the beat presss upon his arrival –
“That’s exactly what it is, just
coming home. The chemistry was natural. Everybody just worked together.”
Mack – There’s
still a couple of guys out there that haven’t reported yet (De Aja, Cabrera,
Taijeron), but they will. The good news is the ‘Big Guy’ is in the house.
It seems more
obvious every day that Cespedes orchestrated his return to The Big Aplle. He really
loves being a Met.
Want
the Mets to draft a college outfielder in the mold of Michael
Conforto?
According to D1
Baseball, here are the top 10 ranked outfielders available in June’s draft:
1 Buddy Reed, Florida .305/.367/.433,
4 HR, 18 SB
2 Corey Ray,
Louisville .325/.389/.543, 11 HR, 34
SB
3 Bryan Reynolds,
Vanderbilt .318/.388/.462, 5 HR, 17
SB
4 Kyle Lewis,
Mercer .367/.423/.677, 17 HR
5 Nick Banks,
Texas A&M .354/.450/.536, 8 HR
6 Stephen Wrenn,
Georgia .324/.400/.482, 8 HR, 28 SB
7 Jake Fraley,
LSU .307/.372/.495, 2, 23 SB
8 Ryan Boldt,
Nebraska .344/.429/.408, 1 HR
9 Keston Hiura,
UC Irvine .330/.392/.520, 7 HR
10 Jeren Kendall,
Vanderbilt .281/.394/.530, 8 HR, 19 SB
Mike Puma @NYPost_Mets - Terry Collins says
he will probably want Juan Lagares in CF
"when the game is on the line" in the late innings.
“First and
foremost, we brought him back because we thought he could contribute on the
field. The downside for us is minimal because he can and is willing to perform
different roles, which gives us some flexibility that you don’t typically have
with someone of his ability and experience. But then secondly, the leadership
that he provides in the clubhouse, the mentorship that he provides, is
invaluable. I don’t even know how you estimate the impact and the value. He’s ageless.
You’re not necessarily relying on pure stuff with someone like Bartolo. You’re
relying on his experience, his guile, his ability to make adjustments. I’m
really happy to have him back.”
Mack – I still have
questions regarding whether it was the right decision to bring back Colon. We’ll
just have to wait and see.
Grandy-David-Conforto-Cespedes-Lucas-TdA-Walker-Cabrera.
ReplyDeleteMaybe drop Conforto down vs some LHP's
Like it, Hobie.
ReplyDeleteLove the line up.
Great having Cespedes back.
100 wins. That's my goal, not my prediction. This team wins 100, and it wins world series too.
I too agree that Walker and Cabrera should bring up the rear
ReplyDeleteIn Big Sexy I trust........... Bart will not hurt the team this year.
ReplyDeleteIm still not worried about the lineup. I'd have Conforto 3rd and TDA 5th but let Terry have fun playing with lineup daily based on matchups and righty lefty.
FYI my friends I have plans to be at tradition field tomorrow to watch the workouts. Feel free to monitor my glorious tweets (@ernestdove) and look for a post after that about my amazin thoughts and non expert analysis.
As anal as Collins has been about making the lineup go L-R-L-R whenever possible, I find it hard to believe that he would go Duda-Walker-Conforto.
ReplyDeleteYeah, yeah, yeah -- I know, Walker's a switch-hitter. But there's a stretch that's just begging for a lefty specialist to be used in the late innings.
Originally, I thought they would bat Walker second, with Wright third and Cespedes fourth. I like Collins' lineup much better. I'd stick Td'A in #5 after Duda, with Conforto #6, and Walker and Cabrera at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteMack, I think Colon was exactly the right move. He may be the only experienced, quality starter who would give us the flexibility of starting early in the year, then moving to the pen later, while still making spot starts when needed. His intangibles are hard to put a number on, but he really loosens up the clubhouse and he is a true mentor to the young Latin players. And he only required a 1 year deal.
It will probably be a few years before a 2016 draft pick is ready for MLB action, but we sure could use a quality outfielder who can steal some bases. Corey Ray looks like the real deal. Could he still be available when we pick? I guess it is too early for mock drafts yet.
All of those off-season comments regarding Cespedes being a poor team mate appear to have no basis in regards to his time with the Mets.
ReplyDeleteIn fact from the manager to Wright and Sydergaard, I have only heard positive remarks about Cespedes fitting into the Mets family and team.
Good morning gents. I am fine with big Bart. At some point he will no longer be able to do it, but this risk is only money and a small commitment by today's standards.
ReplyDeleteCollins had to simply forget about TDA in that moment. Regarding Confirto, he certainly looks like a future #3 hitter, but let's back off a bit. This is a team with huge expectations, and he us only like 23 with much less than - year of MLB experience against almost exclusively RHP. He can start out lower in the lineup and perform his wY into that #3.
My lineup.
ReplyDeleteGranderson
Wright
Cespedes
Duda
Darno
Walker
Conforto
Cabrera
I think Travis is a much more potent bat then Walker. He has a ton of raw power and is a run producer, thus belongs in the middle of the lineup.
I also think that by mid May, Conforto will be batting 5th or 6th. They are going to want his bat as close to the RBI positions as possible.
This is a good lineup and a lot of players can hit in a lot of spots. We're going to see a lot of adjustments so half of these guys won't have "their" spot on a daily basis. I think Grandy, Cespedes, and Duda are really the only one we can kind of know where they'll be.
With Wright, who the heck knows what he'll be able to give the team. I just hope Terry doesn't stick with a dead bat in the two hole for half a season because it's David Wright. Terry will do that.
Duda, also should be moved down if he's in one of his dead two month slumps that he has. Sure enough, he'll have a three week period where he hits 10 homers. That's when you need him fourth. I hope Terry doesn't blindly leave him there because "he's dangerous". We know he's dangerous. We also know he couldn't hit the ground if he tripped for half the time. In those times, move Darno up and Duda down.
Duda Walker Conforto may "become" Duda-Flores-Conforto...or Duda --Flores---Lagares,,, or......
ReplyDeleteBeats asking "where will you bat Soup Campbell and Mayberry in the line up" doesn't it? This team will H..I..T
ReplyDeleteHerb -
ReplyDeleteI hope you are right about Colon, especially in the second half of the season when we can use him in the pen.