Mack’s Mets welcomes former Mets pitcher Vic Black, pitcher Andrew Church, and ex-relief pitcher Chris Hillard to its family of followers.
I
always wished the Mets would have given Black a minor league contract when he
recovered from his injuries.
The
6-3, 185 pound righty has been a free agent since 11-6-2017. His best year came
in 2014 when, as a Met, he stat lined 41-appearances, 2-3, 2.60, 34.2-IP. 32-K.
Vic is
very active on Twitter and you can reach him at @Vic_Black_2.
The
6-2 RHP Andrew Church was a heralded 2nd
round pick in the 2013 draft, out Basic HS in Henderson, Nevada.
He’s
been in the Mets system for seven years, stat lining at 87-G, 78-ST, 30-33,
4.84, 1.42, 454-3-IP, 308-K. It included a short-lived retirement in 2018. He
returned the following year and ending the 2019 season at the AAA level.
The Chris Hillard sage reminds us of how fragile a
baseball career is.
The
six foot left was drafted by the Mets in the 38th round of the 2008
draft, out of Itawamba Community College (Fulton, Mississippi), and Meridian
Community College (Meridian, Mississippi).
His 4-year
minor league line was 49-G, 28-starts (including a 9-1 record in Brooklyn in
2010), 18-7, 3.30. He was promoted to St. Lucie and pitched in only one game,
giving up 3-ER in 1-IP. He was diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury and his
career came to an abrupt end.
Sad
ending to a great career.
https://www.12up.com/posts/mlb-playoff-chokers-kershaw-morgan-canseco-01e8ccvbe49p
- MLB.com wrote an article on the 6 biggest chokers in playoff history. Not a list
you want to make.
One
was:
4. Jeurys
Familia
Before the 2015 World Series, Familia didn't allow a single
run in eight possessions appearances. After that series, his name became
synonymous with the likes of postseason failures Mitch Williams and Mark
Langston. Familia blew three separate saves in one World Series, the first
player to ever pull off that dubious feat. The Kansas City Royals won all three
games in which he blew a save, and in the NL Wild Card game against the San
Francisco Giants next year, he surrender a three-run home run to Conor Gillaspie
that sunk the Mets.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/no-the-mets-do-not-have-a-good-designated-hitter-situation/ Craig
Edwards offers his opinion of a proposed Mets designated hitter –
The Mets have a solid team with decent options, but
ultimately they are limited in the same way most NL teams are. They don’t have
an extra, high quality hitter just sitting around, because that doesn’t make
sense for roster planning when there isn’t a DH. They also don’t have extra
starter-quality players who can come in to replace a DH-level hitter in the
field. They have some good mix-and-match options, but the projections aren’t
bullish enough on them to make a significant difference on paper. For the NL
that’s fine, but if they have to compete against teams in the AL — particularly
the Red Sox and Yankees — they will be at a serious disadvantage.
Familia as choker: I remember a KC team that was tremendously hard to get strikes past. Syndergaard did by throwing 100 MPH, but they even fouled a lot off him. And one of Familia's blown saves involved the stunningly bad Lucas Duda throw past d'Arnaud that is still orbiting Venus somewhere. Familia didn't get it done - but KC was to me a surprisingly tenacious and dangerous squad. The Mets were a better team - but KC was excellent in that series.
ReplyDeleteVic Black and Hillard - Vic got further before his body broke down. With all the talk of flattening the curve these days, I'd like to see baseball flatten the salary curve - so many pitchers get hurt before they can earn big bucks. Pay them more early, cap them somehow later to balance it out.
I still wonder if Andrew Church can defy the odds and have a big league career. Why not?
I was always a Big Vic Black Fan. Cheers to you Vic!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Tom, they should cap the top and spread the wealth.
How are we not prepared with the DH? I think that is a position of excess?
I totally disagree with Craig Edwards in his thoughts about the DH. The Mets have drafted and traded somewhat poorly to fill their bench with multiple DH options, including Yoenis Cespedes, J.D. Davis, Dom Smith, Robinson Cano and even Jed Lowrie. No team needs that many players who are not suitable to play the field.
ReplyDelete1- I thought that Vic Black (+ DD. Herrera) trade was going to be in the pantheon of steals...coulda/woulda/shouda. Saw Vic in Richmond (Giants AA) later & thought he's come back. Always liked him.
ReplyDelete2- Cano & Yo as the alternate DH's (yes they'll play some in the field too) giving JD & Dom significant AB's strikes me as something to look forward to.
The Mets "don't have an extra high-quality hitter just sitting around'? What team has he been watching? With an OF of Davis-Nimmo-4to, we've got Smith and Yo doing nothing. If Alonso needs a day off, or Ramos, they can DH as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's been discussed all Winter that we have more hitters capable of playing regularly that we have spots for them to fill.
As for Black, I, too, had high hopes for him and hope he can regain his form. Where has he been for the past 3 years? With so many Indy leagues, plus Asia and Mexico, there are plenty of places to play. Hopefully he will take any available opportunity to showcase his skills and regain a path to the majors.
Agreed with all of the above. DH for the Mets will be a clear strength, more so than at almost any time in their history
ReplyDeleteIt was Vic's Birthday yesterday. Welcome aboard Vic. Today's Birthdays: Born on this date: Bill Wakefield (1941); Jerry Dipoto (1968); Bartolo Colon (1973); Jae Seo (1977); Justin Hampson (1980); Wilmer Font (1990)
ReplyDelete