Good
morning.
The
Mets took no chance with Yoenis Cespedes’ sore
hip and sat him yesterday.
I
have talked recently about the concern the Mets might be having about middle
relief. Metsmerized
did a feature story on this, in general, and Antonio
Bastardo, in particular –
“Like Dan said the other day,
he came in and threw his changeup and his slider and today he went back to his
fastball,” Collins said.
“Maybe that was part of his
game plan. I haven’t talked to him about it. But we have to get to the corners
that’s for sure.”
Said Warthen, “His velocity’s
been decent. He’s been 89-to-92. I’m worried about his location right now and
he’s not using his pitches properly. But I’m sure we’re going to get to that.”
Mack – I noticed
something about his last outing… he gave up a triple and double, both of which
produced runs scored. But both were in reach of Juan Lagares’ glove. One
actually hit off the top of it. Take both these plays, turn them into outs, and
this whole story takes a different turn.
Still, I agree
that Bastardo has turned very few heads this spring.
Adam Rubin - Yoenis Cespedes reportedly having team
barbecue today at his ranch. So I think we know the pig's fate.
The funny baseball news story of the day goes to the back field
batting practice home run contest that the Marlins players (including Stanton)
had yesterday. Winner? Barry Bonds.
A nice story on Zack Wheeler
–
The Mets have targeted a July 1
return for Wheeler, who underwent Tommy John surgery last March. Still just 25
years old, he will reenter the rotation at that time, likely bouncing Bartolo Colon to the bullpen if everyone else is
healthy. In his only full big league season in 2014, Wheeler went 11-11 with a
3.54 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning pitched.
Mack – It feels
like this guy turned 40 sometimes and has pitched for this team for a decade.
Just more talent and youth.
A different spin by David Wright
-
Wright,
who played in just 38 games last season after battling spinal stenosis, is
clearly at the tail end of his career. There is no getting rid of the injury,
which is said to be degenerative.
“I think it’s the thing I’m
starting to come to terms with: It’s not an injury, it’s a condition, so I’m
not going to wake up one day and it’s going to be cured,” Wright said Monday.
The captain can only do his
best to maintain it, keeping the amounts of swings he takes prior to a game
down, but his treatment up.
Mack – He’s just now coming
to terms with this?
Amazing.
This might (and
probably should) be the next Mets contract that a Mets player walks away from
someday. You might be witnessing the last year that the Mets try to market him
as a starter. Sitting someone like this on the bench would make even the Michael Cuddyer contract look like a good
one.
For now, I wish
him well, but the Mets need to start thinking about (and planning for) a new
third baseman in 2017.
Ex-Mets
SP Michael Fulmer threw
5.0, 0-ER yesterday for Detroit…
Mack – Don’t miss
this guy. This trade got you Cespedes and then allowed him to fall in love with
the Mets, his teammates, and the city of New York
8 comments:
Hopefully, Mets win in 2016 and David can walk away.
3 1/2 months to Wheeler. Not so long.
Will Mets pick TJ? That would be amazin'.
They had their day off yesterday, time to pick up the pace.
It'd be interesting to see how David sees this out. Hes been the ultimate pro. A true loyal professional. I wonder if he would work out a bobby bonilla type contract to stay on a few more years even if just as a back up or if he would seriously walk away from millions via a buyout.
TJ Rivera offers more positional versatility than does Eric Campbell and a higher batting average. Since Campbell and Reynolds are already on the 40-man roster it's doubtful it's a real competition. However, they can transfer Zack Wheeler to the 60-day DL and create room for Rivera, but we know how the Skipper favors the familiar over giving anyone new a chance (unless, of course, injuries force his hand).
I expect that the clubhouse was a lot more business like after the sell off of Tejada.
It will be a good reminder to all that this is still a business that takes performance to hang around
Tejada hit .287 with a .362 OBP and .724 OPS in 2nd half of last year.........but who cares about stats, right?
Gents,
A little late to the comments today, but to reiterate, most if not all of MLB sees Ruben as less than a $3 mil player. Every team and player knows that a team can terminate an arb signing in spring training and only owe one-sixth. I wish Ruben well, and he will land a role somewhere, but I can't blame the Mets for saving that coin if they have other alternatives, which it looks like they do. This isn't quite like having to hit John Mayberry 4th. It's a good time to see what Reynolds and Rivera can do.
I miss Fulmer but it was a good trade. You have to give up something to get something. I don't know how I would feel about it if the Mets didn't resign Cespedes. Would going to the World Series but losing it be enough to give up a pitcher who may end up being better than one or two of the fab 5?
Last year I subscribe to the minor league tv package over the internet to watch Matz pitch. After Matz got called up I started watching Fulmer's games. One of the nastiest sliders I have seen. I think he is in Matz and Wheeler's range.
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