I told myself I was gonna stop writing - but....
Sometimes, the Mendoza Line is a thing to be treasured.
Most teams, u see, have guys hitting from the low .300s to the low .200s.
Normal baseball.
But...
The Mets demoted (for reasons unknown to me) Khalil Lee THREE LEVELS, from AAA to Low A ball.
I guess an organization that can promote Wyatt Young 30,000 levels, give or take a few, can also demote a guy 3 levels.
After all, in AAA, Lee was "hitting" just .149 with 32 Ks in 74 ABs.
Not very normal. Gotta try something.
It's either that or the electric paddles.
So, with Lee demoted, I look at today's AAA box score, late in the game.
What do I see, from those that Lee left behind?
Glad I was sitting down.
CF Fargas .133
SS Lin .077
LF Blankenhorn .180
2B Katoh .056
DH Cortes .177
RF Brodey .176
3B Bohanek .147
The Not-So-Magnificent Seven.
Khalil's .149 makes it the "Not So Great 8."
Have you EVER seen such offensive impotence?
I have been a baseball fan for roughly 60 years...
Ain't never seen nuthin' like it - ever. Not even close.
Somewhere, oft-mocked slugger Tim Tebow is praying for the safe return of the real players.
I expect that the ones on the field are Putin-installed body doubles.
Either that or the blindfolds are fastened too tightly.
My recommendation?
Demote the above 7 whiffers to Low A ball too.
Tomorrow. It's nice in Florida.
If ya gotta stink, nice to at least see palm trees and work on a tan.
I'd suggest demoting them 4 levels down, to the Florida Complex League, but they are not playing yet. DSL, anyone?
Not sure Lee and the above 7 could hit in the FCL either.
But it is worth a try.
Kumar Rocker would like to pitch to them, so he can rise in the draft ranks.
For once, I'd love to see our minors hitters completely defy the law of averages in the OTHER direction, with everyone hitting from the low .300s to the low .400s.
P.S. DANIEL PALKA IS CRUSHING BASEBALLS IN SYRACUSE:
I feel bad for some minor leaguers. The ones who hit like the dickens yet are stuck under a glass ceiling.
Met's Syracuse 1B/RF Daniel Palka, who is 30, has 9 HRs this season already. The Brooklyn Cyclones have 5.
Palka played one good MLB season (2018 White Sox - 27 HRs, 67 RBIs in 417 ABs).
In 2019-22, now stuck in AAA, he has a very solid on base % of .368, and in 846 at bats in that span, has a huge 47 doubles, 54 HRs and 153 RBIs - and 150 walks too. Hope he finds his way back to the majors. Too much talent to not be in the bigs somewhere.
Hugh Quattlebaum hard at work as the Mets minor league hitting instructor, no doubt. Please go back to comedy writing, Hugh, and leave the Mets hitters alone.
ReplyDeleteBob W
Bob W www
Glad to see you still have pen in hand
ReplyDeleteMack, I am not sure it is a pen - it might be a flamethrower.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just Syracuse hitters. A few at AA are way below .200 (much closer to .100) in the first 20% + of the season, and Brooklyn has several hitters still struggling mightily.
Fortunately, you only need to promote some in every organization over time - the rest are filler, to state the sad facts of the matter - and Baty, Mauricio, Alvarez, Ramirez, Vientos and Mangum, to name 6, are doing well. Except for Ramirez, not great, but solid - they are the future - hopefully, they all pan out. Oh, and of course, Wyatt Young! Those are the current Almost-Magnificent Seven.
I don't worry as much anymore about prospect talent.
DeleteLook what Steve's checkbook did this off season
Bob W, players should hear Hugh's instructions and say, "I'll do the opposite - thanks".
ReplyDeleteIn fairness to the prior post, Plummer also has shown some promise hitting in AAA this year. Let's see where he is at with a full season of ABs at AAA.