Asked about the Mets' rookie team, Rodney Dangerfield fidgeted, adjusted his tie, sweated a bit, and said...
"Hey, it's complex, I tell ya, it's complex. Now, you wanna talk complex, my wife, she's complex I tell ya..."
No, I'm not creating a new Dangerfield monologue (hey, maybe I oughta), but the Florida Complex League has a Mets squad that, through July 1, was 11-7.
Mets star players even Rodney could respect are as follows:
Layonel Ovalles - just had a 3 run relief outing, breaking ranks with several truly outstanding prior outings. Overall, he is at 15 IP, 10 H, 1 walk, 24 Ks for the 6'3", 215 righty, who is 19.
CF Hector Rodriguez is hitting .400! Wow! .400/.422/.567, just 4 Ks in 15 games! 6 of 8 in steals. Lefty hitting 5'8", 190 who turns 19 next March.
One forgotten name is outfielder Blake McIntosh, a 13th round pick out of high school, who hit .228 that year and, 2 years later in 2021, he hit .121 in 17 games. I think injuries impacted him. This year, in still limited plate appearances in 15 games, he is hitting .265, with a .490 OBP due to 10 walks and 5 HBP, and just 5 Ks, in 49 PAs and none in his last 5 games. The 6’4”, 190 lefty hitter statistically seems like he should get a bump to St Lucie soon.
Of course, the Yankee team has 31 HRs in 18 games, while the Mets team has 10. Purely a coincidence that this happens - oh - roughly 100% of the time.
Yanks hitting .284, Mets .228. Typical.
Mets have scored 85 runs (solid) while the Yanks have scored 144 runs (8 runs per contest). Typical.
Considering H Rod's .400 average, the rest of his teammates must be hitting ..200 - .205.
Why so many Mets Guppy Guys guys struggle at the plate is, well, a complex subject, I’m sure.
Steve Cohen, a question for you:
Where are our lower minors standouts, the ones the Yanks always seem to have? Yanks have one Complex guy who in just 11 at bats had cracked 3 HRs, as many as Boston's entire team cranked out in 19 games!
The Complex Mets' team ERA is 4.01.
Jose Acuna has tossed 21 innings, fanning 31, with a 2.53 ERA. A 19 year old 6’2” righty.
Teams that, due to their superior draft positions, one would think would thrive, Orioles and Detroit, are not here - they have ERAs of 7.65 and 8.27. My guess is they face the roaring Complex Yanks a lot.
More of an update on the Complexities later.
Rodney wanted me to write more, but he can't get no respect, no respect at all.
BLANKENHORN BLATHER
So Travis tears up AAA in June and wins International Player of the Month. Yet, no call up to the big leagues, while watching a pitchers' carousel of guys go up and down. It has to be very frustrating to hitters in the minors to see that.
As such, I still advocate for a 27-man roster.
CANO BLOW BY BLOW
Dude has been hot in AAA El Paso and was picked up by the Braves. Four things: his hot bat has been almost entirely producing singles; he walks very little; he fans very little; and El Paso is a hitter's paradise.
Which does not mean he couldn't be a Staub or Kranepool-like pinch hitter.
ROD STEWART
Rod Stewart walked past me and sang:
HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY I LOVE EDWIN?
I love Edwin, too..how about you? Supreme strikeout machine.
Our Max is better than their Max. Way better.
Our Max was mighty mad, and he showed it mightily.
But...Robinson Cano had 2 of the Braves' 5 hits? Bizarre.
And:
Guillorme Gwynn was Slugger of the Night.
Tape measure shot. Maybe I need to start calling him Big Tony.
And on a night Pete didn't hit too well, he still got 2 key ribbies, like Big Tony did.
I love to beat the Braves…don’t you?
Boy, we sure do still have a ton of games left against the Braves and Yanks, though.
Jakey, come home soon. We need fire to fight fire.
Classic game.
ReplyDeleteMost of the Yankees excellent low minors came out of the International market, which they have always been committed to.
On the way to Charleston.
Clear sailing on your travels, Mack.
ReplyDeleteYanks have been smart. They win a lot, too.
Interesting that # 2 overall Jack Leiter is in the Futures game. Started his career in AA, 50 innings, 2-7, 6.30. Glad to see he earned it.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Blankenhorn is on a tear. I'm sure he would love to be sent up, but if he was not going to get regular playing time, let him tear it up in AAA and build confidence. His time will come - it is a long summer.
ReplyDeleteMets-Braves was a heavyweight battle. So happy to see that they were up to it, as the latest stretch was not too impressive. Scherzer earned a big chunk of that paycheck last night! The only disappointment in a well played game was watching Escobar at the plate. He's lost - you could see it in his face after a second swinging strike in one of his at-bats. When a player is questioning himself while in the middle of an at-bat, it's time for a break.
Thats just what we pay the man for and you add in Mariano Diaz and Legit Luis and it was in the bag right Tom. Can we now PLEASE remove the "utility" tag from the poor guy. Tom I know we can't drive up to get Francisco yet but how about we pick up Blanks? Also anybody seen Mangum or Mauricio lately?
ReplyDeletePaul, we need to solve the Escobar situation - Open Thread at 11 AM.
ReplyDeleteBlankenhorn is probably telling himself, I can do better than Eduardo.
Somebody removed me why we have a hitting coach. EE needs All the help he can get.
ReplyDeleteGary, Blankenhorn would be glad to take the ride, even if it is to Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteMangum? Found at your local bodega candy counter. Just watch out for Bodega Bad Guys.
Mauricio? Still listed as active, so maybe he is on COVID time out and it's being kept low key? Hasn't played since July 3.
Luis is literally a guy who has gotten 100.00000% out of his abilities. Good for him. May he play more and Escobar less.
Escobar needs a shrink to expand his average, perhaps? Ray, Open Thread at 11 AM on Escobar. Join in.
ReplyDeleteI think the Mets are trading for Contreras.
ReplyDeleteAs of Jul 15, Yankees had 7 guys in the FCL with 3 or more HRs, the Mets had none.
ReplyDeleteYanks were hitting .286 with a .506 slug, while FCL Mets were at .221 with a .352 slug. Why does this always happen?
Yanks 40 HRs, Mets 15.