Bluefield 4, K-Port 1

Somebody named Gered Mochizuki played shortstop for K-Port tonight. According to Google, he played for the Orange County Flyers, the same team P Matt Durkin played for last year. I also found that he’s 5-6, 160 pounds, bats left, throws right, and turns 24 on July 7th. He also had 346 at bats with Evansville of the Frontier Indy league and batted .314/.409/.392/,801. I assume this is same Gered Mochizuki that played tonight, though I have no idea why the hell he’s on the team.

Chris Hilliard got the start tonight. We were all over this kid last year when he posted stats of 1-0, 2.87, in ten games, as a reliever for the GCL Mets. Guess they turned him into a starter this year in extended camp, though he could be just piggybacking… we’ll see by mid-July. Hilliard gave up four runs in seven innings.

Looks like Zach Rosenbaum did piggy up with Hilliard and pitched the last four innings scoreless.

Herd 7, Gwinnett 4

Well, there are a few constants in the world. The sun comes up every morning, Americans have to pay taxes, and Nelson Figueroa will pitch another good outing. He did give up eight hits, but only one earned run in six innings.

Hitting wise, Javier Castillo hit a homer in the 6th, Cory Sullivan went 4-5, and the Herd had 16 hits. Actually, the team has been playing pretty good lately.

Adam Bostick pitched 0.2 scoreless… he’s still 0.00 in the AAA.

RP Arturo Lopez almost gave it away but Eddie Kunz came in and closed it down for his first save of the year.

Brooklyn 9, Aberdeen 2

One of my favorites, SP Mark Cahoon started for the Clones tonight. I first met him in Savannah last year and was bummed when he wasn’t on any of the rosters in the spring. He did well tonight… 6.2 IP, 1-ER, 6-K, 2.31.

DH Ralph Henriquez hit his first home run of the season, and that includes playing for three different teams so far. Henriquez was a big-time 3rd round prospect pick in 2005 by the Houston Astros, and was purchased by the Mets in a trade for pitcher Josh Appell. He played last year for Brooklyn and Savannah, batting .270 in 95 at bats. Henriquez turned 22 in April.

SS Luis Nieves also homered, which might be the first one he ever hit in his life.

C Cesar Centeno (.471) continues to rake, going 3-4.

Akron 3, B-Mets 1

Eric Brown is starting tonight.

Look, I’ve never met Eric Brown and I’m sure he’s a nice guy, and all that, but I’ve ranted about this in the past so here I go again.

Eric Brown has no chance of pitching in the starting rotation for the New York Mets. Ever. Nada. No mas.

That being said, and trust me, he will never make the Mets rotation, why in the hell do you keep pitching him for Buffalo?

Eric Brown has a 2009 ERA of 5.72, not to be confused with his 2008 AA ERA of 5.50, or his 2007 A+ ERA of 4.13. Do you notice it keeps going up?

This is the 5th year Brown is a Met. He is dead man Rule V walking.

Put Jake Ruckle back in the rotation and at least we’re pitching someone that has a chance of sticking around next year. Sure, the Mets would have to protect Ruckle, but there’s an outside chance Jake could run off ten wins, isn’t there?

Eric Brown is not going to run off ten wins.

(okay… now the game is on… )

Brown didn’t disappoint me, though this would be considered a good outing for him… 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4-BB, 5.54.

Akron picked away for three runs and Binghamton got back one in the 8th on an Ike Davis single.

Gnats 5, Charleston 0

This was a quick one

Evan LeBlanc started tonight in left field. LeBlanc was a 23rd round draft pick in 2008 that had to sit out the entire year due to a wrist injury. It didn’t take him long to contribute, when he signled in the 2nd inning, and drove in one of three runs scored. Rafael Hernandez followed with a double, scoring LeBlanc. He ended the night with three RBIs

SS Wilmer Flores continues his hitting surge, going 3-4, 1-2B tonight. BA is up to .277.

3B Jenry Marte still struggling… 0-3, .219.

SP Robert Carson continued to string a bunch of good outings, though he still walks too many batters. Tonight his stats were: 7.0 IP, 0-ER, 5-H, 3-K, 3-BB, 2.39.

GCL Mets 5, Nats 3

Lastings Milledge played against the GCL Mets today… I love it! Milledge walked twice before he was pulled for someone that can hit the ball.

One of last year’s VSL Mets sensations, P Orlando Tovar, started today and didn’t fair as well as he has been used to: 4.0-IP, 3-ER, 5-BB, 0-K, 6.75. The good news is he was relieved by Panama’s Ramiro Peralta, who threw two scoreless innings for the win.

Mets draft pick C Nefli Zapata is making a quick name for himself. Went 3-3 today, raising his BA to .556.

By my estimate, only one Met that played today spoke English.

B-Mets Game Notes

LAST GAME:

For the fourth time this season, the B-Mets were
shutout, this time by a 2-0 score in the rubber match of the
three-game set with Bowie at NYSEG Stadium. Radhames Liz
was in control from the outset and went on to throw seven
innings facing four over the minimum allowing three hits and
a walk. Eric Niesen provided his best outing of his AA career
by tossing six innings allowing just a run on six hits with six
strikeouts, but took his third straight loss. Miguel Abreu hit a
two-out double in the fourth to score Robert Valido to put the
Baysox on top 1-0. Later in the eighth, Guillermo Rodriguez
tripled off Edgar Ramirez and scored on a Jonathan Malo
error. Josh Thole was the lone offensive superlative for Binghamton
as he laced two doubles in four trips to the plate.
After blowing the save last night, Josh Perrault pitched a perfect
ninth innings for his 13th season.

STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP:

RHP Eric Brown will make his
seventh start of the season for the B-Mets tonight at Canal
Park. Last time out, Brown suffered his worst defeat of the
season as he allowed nine runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings in
Game 1 of the doubleheader with Trenton June 21. For the
season, he is 4-6 with a 5.72 ERA in 61.1 innings. As a
starter, he is 1-4 with a 6.82 ERA in 33 innings. Brown worked
as both a starter and as a reliever in 2008 for Binghamton
and recorded a 5-8 record with a 5.46 ERA in 17 starts spanning
94 innings. He was the Mets’ 18th-round choice in 2005
out of Wingate University (NC).

RHP Hector Rondon is due to make his 12th start of the year
tonight for the Aeros. He was on a short leash last start as he
went just 4.2 innings scoreless allowing just three hits with six
strikeouts. He is 6-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 60.1 innings. To open
the season, Rondon won five straight starts and recorded a
1.17 ERA in 23 innings in the month of April. Left-handed
hitters have struggled against the righty, batting just .179 for
the year. The 21-year old starred for Kinston (High-A) last
season totaling an 11-6 record with a 3.60 ERA in 145 innings.
He finished second in the Carolina League in strikeouts
(145), fourth in wins (11) and eighth in ERA (3.60).

JADED FROM JUNE:

June has been the worst month for the BMets
all season winning just six of the team’s 24 games.
Binghamton has been outscored by over two runs in the
month, 133-81 in 24 games.

THOLE TERRIFIC:

Despite the B-Mets up-and-down nature,
Josh Thole has maintained his tear at the plate, including two
doubles last night. He’s leading the Eastern League in hitting
with a .349 average. He is tied for second in league in hits
(84) and is third in doubles (21).

Bisons Notes

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons take on the Gwinnett Braves in the final game of a four-game series from Gwinnett Stadium (7:00 p.m.). The Herd needs to win tonight to earn a split of the set as the G-Braves took the first two games (5-4 and 7-3) and the Bisons won yesterday, 5-1. Buffalo is currently 3-4 on this eight-game roadtrip that wraps up tonight. The Bisons will return home to face the Charlotte Knights at Coca-Cola Field, June 27-30. vs.

THE BRAVES: The Bisons are 3-4 against the Gwinnett Braves so far this season. The two teams split a four-game series at Coca-Cola Field from May 12-15. Prior to the Braves move to Gwinnett, Buffalo posted a 48-38 record against Richmond (.558 winning percentage).

FELICIANO FEELIN’ IT: OF Jesus Feliciano has been the Bisons most consistent hitter all season and had his team-leading 18th multi-hit game last night. Feliciano has hit safely in 23 of his last 28 games since May 23. During this stretch, he has averaged .379 (39-103) with seven doubles, 17 RBI and 19 runs scored. The solid month stretch has raised Feliciano’s average 54 points to .314, which is currently 8th best in the International League.

FITTING IN FINE: INF Luis Rivera has been impressive both in the field and with the bat since joining the Herd on June 3rd from Binghamton. Last night, Rivera was perfect at the plate going 3-3 with two walks. With Buffalo, Rivera is hitting .327 with six runs scored and four RBI through 17 games.

BULLY IN THE PEN: RHP Tim McNab pitched two more scoreless innings in relief last night. Over his last nine appearances, McNab has pitched 11.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. McNab has an impressive 1.29ERA, which leads the Bisons staff among pitchers with at least 20.0 innings of work this year.

NIESE ON A ROLL: LHP Jonathon Niese saw his impressive 24.1 consecutive scoreless innings streak end in the 7th inning of last night’s game. Still, Niese collected his third consecutive victory as he allowed just one run in six innings of work. In his last four starts, the southpaw is 3-1 with a 1.03ERA. He has struck out 25 and allowed just 20 hits in his last 26.1 innings of work.

Prospect Update: Under The Radar

Dillon Gee – SP – AAA – on the DL. Gee’s stock has faded in 2009 and his future as a Met is in question. I believe the best he can hope for is a trade or a pen slot. Has pitched only 9 games so far this season and sits at 1-3, 4.10, not a bad start for a new pitcher at the AAA level.

Mike Antonini – SP – AA – Antonini was demoted to the pen this past week, which is quite a fall since pitching in spring traing against the parent club in one of the charity games. 5.26 ERA at AA and 12.27 at AAA. He’s back in Binghamton, where he’s trying to work out his problems in the pen.

Emary Frederick – RP – A+ - Frederick has been under the radar all his Mets career and I think I’m the only Met writer that ever has anything nice to say about him. Has consistently had one of the highest K/IP ratio in the organization, so far this season he’s a combined 2-4, 3.00 at AA/AAA. Will return to AAA as soon as all the rehab cases go through the system.

Greg Veloz – 2B – A+ - went 1-5, 1-RBI, 2-K on June 23… June 24: 0-1, picked off, pulled, and never came back for game two… has laways been my pick as the future 2Bman of the Mets, 2009 so far has been a quiet year for Veloz. Always a streaky hitter, got in the dog house last week for being picked off. Watch him light up now.

Kirk Nieuwenhaus – OF – A+ - 6-24: 2-5, 1-RBI… June 24: 1-3 in game one… 6-25: 0-4… Niewenhaus is like most outfielders drafted by the Mets; okay, but not good enough to make a prospect list. So far, just trudging along in the .250 range, and showing occasional pop.

Scott Shaw – SP – A+ - June 23: 2.2 IP, too many pitches, 3 ER… 6 walks, 2 Ks… control pitcher who everybody easily forgets about… 13 starts so far at Lucy this year, the 6-5 Shaw is 2-4, 3.63, but opponenets have hit .250 against him. Again, typical of a Met draft pick, okay in Pittsburgh, but not in New York.

Jeffrey Kaplan – SP – A+ - Kaplan pitched extremely well the first half of the season at the A level (4-2, 1.46) and is now making the difficult adjustment to A+ (0-2, 5.06). He’s a converted reliever who we knew very little about until this season. We’ll see.

Jenry Marte – 3B – A – All the hype and all the rookie ball stats couldn’t put Marte together again… .222 batting average, easily leads the team in both errors and strikeouts (69 in 279 at bats). Has walked only 11 times. Years away, if ever. But, he’s only 16, so we’ll give him a push this year.

Sean Ratliff – OF – A – June 21: 2-3, 1-RBI… June 25: 2-4, double, 2-RBI – definitely the hitting star for Savannah this year. I was surprised he wasn’t called up to St. Lucie at the all-star break, especially since they could use a good hitter in the outfield. His next big test is the adjustment to A+.

James Fuller – RP – A-rookie –June 24: 6.0, 0-R, 0.00… 21st round pick in 2008, he impressed last year in Brooklyn (2-0, 1.00 in 8 appearances, 1 start) and is off to a good start on the Cyclones this year.Only 5-10, but he looks like someone we should keep an eye on.

Michael Powers – RP – A-short – 31st rounder in 2008, pitched relief last year for Kingsport and Savannah (2-2, 2.88, in 18 appearances), and so far this year, combined at Savannah and Brooklyn, he’s 1-0, 2.81, in ten games. Another of the many talented, young relievers in the system.

Cesar Puello – OF – Rookie – Puello had an outstanding rookie year in 2008 after receiving his visa… I expected higher movement this season from him, but he’ll be a star at K-Port this season. June 23: 0-4, 1-K…

Alonzo Harris – 2B – Rookie – Harris was a late signing draft pick that had a very good season in rook ball in 2008. I had expected him to play in Brooklyn this year, even possibly Savannah, but he never came out of the extended camp, quite possible because of an injury. The Met never talk about injuries to kids, so, the good news is he’s healthy now, and playing for K-Port… June 23: 2-4, 1-RBI…