Tom Brennan - WE ARE THE MENDOZA MEN
Every spring, there are Mets guys who struggle during the spring to reach that .200 Mendoza line. Some never make it.
AYE CHIHUAHUA!
So far this spring, we have several sub-Mendoza's - which, really, is too many at this point:
Adrian Gonzalez - 200/.256/.225 in 43 plate appearances. OK, it is not sub-Mendoza - but Ugh!
Todd Frazier - the ToddFather is hitting slightly below last year's barely above .200 average, with a 7 for 37 (.189), 3 walk, 14 K performance. Time to hit better - the Mets need his big bat.
Juan Lagares - almost identical to Mr. Frazier, Juan is 7 for 36 (.194), with 2 walks and 13 Ks. Hey, he has a double and an RBI, so he is only 14 RBIs behind last year's total. Hopes that he will hit better seem to be dimming a bit.
Matt den Dekker - reinforcing his good glove, bad bat reputation so far this spring, Matt has gone 6 for 36 (.167), with 5 walks (nice) and 14 Ks (typical).
Kevin Kaczmarski - his big early chance to impress the brass was not so impressive, with the AA hopeful going 3 for 23, but with 5 walks. Here's hopes that he tears it up in AAA.
Jose Reyes - after his late season surge helped the Mets slip to a # 6 draft slot, aging Jose is 5 for 35 this spring (.143/.211/.229) - maybe the end is near?
Maybe not. Only Jose knows.
Peter Alonso - no miracle breakthrough in trying to snatch the first base job during Dominic Smith's absence; Pete has gone just 2 for 15 (.133) with 2 BBs and 6 Ks. More fine tuning and he'll be fine.
Peter Alonso - no miracle breakthrough in trying to snatch the first base job during Dominic Smith's absence; Pete has gone just 2 for 15 (.133) with 2 BBs and 6 Ks. More fine tuning and he'll be fine.
Tim Tebow - winning this spring's Overmatched Award, Tim went 1 for 18 with a walk and 11 Ks in his appearances. Back to the drawing board.
8 comments:
I know we get to hit the reset button the morning before the season starts. but this is a lot of guys that need to turn their hitting around.
My fear is that we need to pray for pitching, especially three out of every five games.
Forgive me for being put in the awkward and rare position of optimist, but of that list only two are slated to start -- A-Gon and Frazier. Frazier is what he is -- low average/high power -- a slicker fielding version of Dave Kingman (who incidentally tried his hand at 3B after pitching and before OF and 1B).
A-Gon is probably on a pretty short rope whose length depends on Brandon Nimmo's offense, Dom Smith's development and Michael Conforto's return to health. If Nimmo is clicking when Conforto returns then Jay Bruce may get the 1B gig.
It is a little unsettling, even though (as Bill Metsiac might sagely note) it is the last 10 days that really count. To me, when a guy like Flores is hitting as of this date, it counts already. When other guys getting older like Jose, Todd, and Adrian are not hitting, it can begin to be worrisome even now. Sometimes it gets late early.
If you look for hope based on stats to date, look at our catcher tandem.
If you agree that ST stats start counting today, check out Matz. 6 IP, 2 R 9 K, 0 W. Or do you prefer to look only at his pre-today #s?
Matz great. Felt that was coming. Catchers great. See my article tomorrow.
Gonzalez and Lagares? Increasingly disturbing.
Where is Dominic Smith, and what have they done with him?
The Mets get shut out and Phil Evans still gets on base with 2 hits and two walks. Will he make the opening day squad? .429 on base %. Not striking out. Hit great in July and August in AAA, then in September with the Mets. DARK HORSE.
While 4to is out, it's him vs denDekker for the #5 OF spot. But barring trades or injuries, there's no room at the inn after that.
A-Gon is rusty, but should be fine. Lag seems to be pressing, and hasn't looked good at bat at all.
If Lagares has options, a nice stint in AAA playing every day for a month could be just what the doctor ordered to resurrect his bat.
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