Some fans say, "wake me up on Opening Day, don't bother me with this spring training stuff." Not me.
I LIKE to follow spring training, as it is fascinating to see how things unfold with different guys. So this is what I see as just some interesting Spring Things:
SOME GUYS MAKE CONTACT, THAT'S ALL
Phil Evans is proving he is no 2016 fluke, going 11 for 33 with just 4 whiffs. No walks, either. Like those 2 dingers and 8 rib eyes.
Gavin Cecchini is proving he is no 2016 fluke, hitting .409 in 24 PAs, with 2 doubles, a homer, and just 3 whiffs.
Brandon Nimmo was proving he was no 2016 fluke, going 10 for 21 prior to the WBC, with just 3 whiffs...then the hammy whammy hit. Heal thee up quickly, thou fine and stalwart young man.
Travis Taijeron started out 1-7 with 4 Ks, and it wasn't looking good. Since then, he is 9 for 26, with just 4 more Ks. Maybe, just maybe, he is in the process of scaling back on his fanning extremes.
Asdrubal Cabrera is hinting at what playing healthy in 2017 could look like, hitting .355/.412/.710 in 12 games, and yes, just 4 Ks in 34 PAs.
Luis Guillorme has been in SEVENTEEN GAMES, folks. Hitting .290, 3 strikeouts in 33 PAs. Somehow, I feel Terry Collins is truly impressed with LG, which also stands for Lethal Glove.
SOME GUYS WHIFF AN AWFUL LOT
Champ Stuart has fanned a ghastly 11 out of 22 times. Disappointingly, 2 lefties, Dom Smith (11 in 36 PAs) and Michael Conforto (10 in 43 PAs), have fanned too too mucho, although of the two, Conforto has hit much better. But Mike, just 1 walk in 43 plate appearances? Ya Gotta Walk Like a Man, in all Four Seasons.
JUST A BAD SPRING
Matt Reynolds, he of the suspect bat, is 3 for 30 (and 6 walks, to be fair). That whizzing sound he heard was Luis G passing him by.
TWO BACK GUYS ARE BACK, AND ONE IS NOT
Neil (the Real Deal) Walker is hitting a power laden .313 with 12 RBIs in 35 PAs. I am hoping the healed back of Walker results in an astounding 2017.
Lucas Duda is 7 for 24, with ALL SEVEN for extra bases. Bad backs don't do that.
David Wright's shoulder impingement (saw an article about it) sounds like another major ordeal. Somewhere, Frank Sinatra is singing, "And now, the end is near..."
AN MVP IS IN OUR MIDST
Yoenis Cespedes is the Cuban Superman. I earlier said my projection for him is 45/125/.295 in 2017. His hitting .419 with a .935 slugging % this spring seems to support my happy projection.
WILL THE REAL RAFFY MONTERO PLEASE STAND UP?
Rafael Montero has seventeen strikeouts in just 11.1 IP? Even Met-turned-Cubbie Jack Leathersich is impressed! But like Jack, Monty walked a bunch - 4 in 1.2 IP the other day, and allowed 2 hits, too, in his first BAD spring outing. Will he shake it off and get back to being lethal?
PJ Conlon went to the other extreme, throwing 7.2 pretty decent innings, but with ZERO strikeouts - maybe he can borrow a few Ks from Raffie.
JAKE THE BEST (OTHER GUYS AIN'T CHUMP CHANGE)
Jake Degrom, when healthy, is prime time Tom Seaver... there, I said it. Healthy, he is our BEST pitcher, and he is healthy. 10 innings, 5 hits, a walk and 13 Ks...OMG!
Thor and Matz - both pitching well, but I just believe no matter how good they are, a healthy Jake is the Ace of Aces.
Matt Harvey - leads the league in dating beautiful women.
Josh Smoker and Paul Sewald have much in common...as in both major league ready relievers having 9.1 IP so far and matching, miniscule 0.96 ERAs. And friggin' Corey Taylor (can I say friggin'?) has been truly exceptional in late inning relief situations.
EIGHTEEN AND I LIKE IT
Andres Giminez will play all of 2017 as an 18 year old. He's gotten up 4 times, with one hit, in three games, despite only having played in the DSL last year.
But Ed Kranepool is not impressed...he had 6 at bats with the Mets in 1962 as a 17 year old and got to the plate 294 times as a Met at the age of 18 in 1963 and hit .209. And at age 19, he played almost a full season and hit .257. His suggestion to Giminez? Quit dawdling.
Do you think the Mets like this guy? Oh yeah.
But Ed Kranepool is not impressed...he had 6 at bats with the Mets in 1962 as a 17 year old and got to the plate 294 times as a Met at the age of 18 in 1963 and hit .209. And at age 19, he played almost a full season and hit .257. His suggestion to Giminez? Quit dawdling.
EASY, BREEZY
Young guys are supposed to struggle in spring training games, so why are Kevin Kaczmarski, David Thompson, and Luis Carpio a combined 10 for 17 this spring?
"Hey, give us something HARD to do, will ya?"
Not paying attention to the Yanks at all this spring, I took a look and boy, they have some fireworks going on: Tyler Wade, Greg Bird, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez and Mr, McKinney are a combined 58 for 139 (.417), with 13 homers. Years of an intense rivalry in NYC between NYY and NYM are about to ensue, that's my take.
OVER IN THE OTHER BOROUGH
Not paying attention to the Yanks at all this spring, I took a look and boy, they have some fireworks going on: Tyler Wade, Greg Bird, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez and Mr, McKinney are a combined 58 for 139 (.417), with 13 homers. Years of an intense rivalry in NYC between NYY and NYM are about to ensue, that's my take.
I'll stop now, I'm off to the Thoracic Outlets to go shopping.
So, folks, is it just me, or is all of the above interesting stuff?
So, folks, is it just me, or is all of the above interesting stuff?
5 comments:
Wait a minute!!!
Did Brennan actually write something without mentioned that guy Tee-Ball???
Tebow is always a pen stroke away! The good news, Mack, is with Nimmo out, Collins plans to get Timmy Boy into MORE spring games.
argh
So Tom I guess this all falls under the heading "We better not screw this up".
You bet Gary
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