Tom Brennan - SILVER LININGS - DAVID THOMPSON

Tom Brennan - SILVER LININGS - DAVID THOMPSON

David Thompson was drafted in the 4th round in 2015, reportedly lower than he otherwise would have been had it not been for a collegiate injury.

Up through 2016 as a Met draftee, he was an RBI machine:

In his 638 official at bats in 2015 and 2016, he had 117 RBIs, which definitely falls into the "not too shabby" department. 

Like dude, how do you spell "RUN PRODUCER"?  Whoa!!

But the journey towards the big leagues can have its hiccups.

In 2017, he jumped to AA, and the 23 year old Thompson got off to a very slow start - through May 12, he was hitting just .190 (22 for 116) with just 4 doubles and 2 homers.  Was he hitting his ceiling?  Nah!

His next game on May 16 was in fact the "ON" switch for David: in 127 at bats after his May 12 nadir, he has hit .323 with 13 doubles and 5 homers and 24 RBIs.  And just 4 errors at third base in his 67 games this year.

So now, with 881 official at bats, Thompson has compiled 61 doubles, 3 triples, 21 HRs and 14 of 17 in steals.  Nice #'s. 

Another way to slice-and-dice his numbers, subsequent to his first struggle, in his inaugural season with Brooklyn, he has had 675 official at bats with 133 RBIs!!

He could be a viable starting Mets 3B as early as the middle of next year - that's how I see it.  I'd promote him to Vegas ASAP and let him play everyday there NOW.

How do you, dear reader, see it? 

His closest competitor for 3B is Jhoan Urena, who is having a fine offensive season with St Lucie, but playing a lot of (quality) 1B after being extremely error-prone at 3B.

I'M IMPRESSED:

With what?  With Champ Stuart.  I had pretty much written him off after a horrific stretch in AA in May, with lots of Ks.

In June?  Lots better.  He's been to the plate 63 times, fanned a high but improved 21 times, and has a .397 on base % and .472 slug % over those 17 games.  Maybe the high speed speedster is figuring things out.

Reese Kaplan -- (Not So) Deep Thoughts

Rafael Montero's issue has always seemed to be more mental than physical.  Look at the minor league record.  His WHIP is fantastic and he averaged just 2.6 walks per 9 IP.  Maybe he can't handle the stress of being in the big leagues, but control is not his endemic issue.  

Perhaps he's been told to do something different than what got him to the majors and he went away from what was natural for him early on.  Now if you want to say people who fanned on his pitches in the minors are teeing off on them in the majors, then that's another matter entirely.  I've always felt he was a head case, probably not helped by the dynamic duo of Collins/Warthen, but also not showing the mental toughness to succeed. 

While another good start will have people jumping on his bandwagon, I'm more curious if he has a bad start what happens the next turn in the rotation?  Does he take it in stride like Jacob deGrom or does he crumble as he has in the past?  Of course, given the Skipper's predilection for veterans, Montero's on the thinnest of ice as it is.  He'd probably rather see Kevin Plawecki back on the mound again than give a shot to Montero should Rafael suffer a bad outing,

In oddball news, I just stumbled across a tidbit today about something that happened to the Skipper’s former favorite player, Ruben Tejada last year.  We all (well, all but Terry Collins, anyway) knew he couldn’t hit, couldn’t run, had no power and was at best an adequate fielder.  Add he can’t pitch to his resume, too.  Apparently last year the St. Louis Cardinals threw him into a game in mop-up duty for the 9^th inning when they were already trailing.  He gave up a pair of home runs and now owns a career 18.00 ERA as a pitcher.  That’s the difference between winning and losing ball clubs.  Winning clubs see someone who doesn’t get it done and cuts him loose after 34 ABs.  Losing ball clubs give him 1931 ABs before coming to the same conclusion.  History seems to be repeating itself with Jose Reyes. 

A friend (and frequent visitor to this site) opined that Terry Collins brilliantly handled Wilmer Flores and thus gave him the opportunity to develop into the solid hitter he has become.  I countered that when the competition was the likes of Ruben Tejada and Eric Campbell the manager squandered quite a few ABs on people who were vastly inferior.  In this case I’m not going to argue the glass half-full or half-empty side.  I’m just happy he’s hitting and getting the chance to play, though I am sorry it’s due to a multitude of injuries to other players. 

No one has to be happier than Sandy Alderson that Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce are flourishing and thus theoretically attractive to a club in need of some left handed power.  I’m amused by the many fans who have now catapulted themselves onto the Bruce bandwagon after going after him with torches and pitchforks after his less than stellar 2016 debut.  In Granderson’s case, everyone acknowledges he’s a great guy and an asset as a teammate but there better not be a Mets future for him on the playing field (though as a coach or manager at some point is certainly not a horrible idea).  As such, I hope the Mets can pick up a chunk of his salary and move him elsewhere for a prospect.  On the Jay Bruce front, remember all that the Mets gave up to get him was Dilson Herrera who is currently batting just .248 for Louisville, Cincinnati’s AAA team.  At the time he was acquired he was leading the league in RBIs.  This year he’s on pace for 40/100 but don’t expect the second coming of Mike Trout for a half season rental unless you’re willing to roll the dice on someone in the lower minors. 

In the bullpen, the media’s been ablaze with salivating fans ready to push hard to sell the attractive pair of Addison Reed and Jerry Blevins.  Reed, as you know, is a FA at year’s end, while Blevins has a $7 million team option.  For a team holding its starting pitching together with spit and glue I can’t see them moving both of them.  Of the two, Reed is the more likely to go..  The thinking would be that Jeurys Familia will be back either later this year or certainly in 2018.  Reed has succeeded as both a setup guy and as a closer.  Right now Reed earns more money than does Familia and will be due a raise.  Familia is likely going to earn the same in 2018 as he did in 2017.  Blevins will cost less and fills a specific need – LOOGY.

Lucas Duda is an interesting case.  The Mets decided he was the better bet than Ike Davis despite Davis having come off a 32 HR year in 2012.  While Duda can be frustrating when he’s slumping, he can also carry a club when he’s hot.  He plays an adequate first base and actually has proven the Mets right in their choice between the two left handed sluggers.  While there’s not as much buzz about Dominic Smith as their has been about Amed Rosario, the fact is that the team has a superior defensive candidate who will earn minimum wage available next year, so Lucas’ days as a Met are likely numbered.  To another club looking for a lefty half of a platoon (the Yankees, for example), or a team in need of a DH they could do a lot worse.  Like Granderson, the Mets should be prepared to kick in a chunk of salary to sweeten the level of prospect coming in return. 

To some people Asdrubal Cabrera came across, to use Bill Maher’s phrase, “a whiney little bitch” when he demanded a trade rather than play second base to help the ball club.  As usual, there were two sides to the story.  First, Cabrera was willing to make whatever change the team wanted but asked that in return the Mets exercise his option for 2018.  That’s called quid pro quo.  The Mets are not too adept at being pros at anything and balked.  Furthermore, the player first learned of this proposed change the day he was returning from the DL.  For that I place the blame squarely where I usually do – on the white haired guy with the lineup pencil.  Granted, the advent of the cell phone may have passed him by, but even a landline could have been used to reach out and touch Asdrubal  while rehabbing to suggest he might want to prepare to play a new position.  Don’t get me wrong – Cabrera is no angel here and is taking a me-first instead of team-first attitude towards the situation.  Fortunately he’s not letting it affect him on the field as he’s returned with a vengeance which could help the Mets fulfill his wish.  I’m sorry to see it end this way as Cabrera was terrific last year and by all counts is a great clubhouse presence.  He would have been a good mentor to Amed Rosario playing alongside him at 2^nd or 3^rd next year.(c’mon…you really don’t expect Wright to be back, do you?)

The one that actually hurts the Mets the most right now is Neil Walker.  Not only are they saddled with his outrageous $17.2 million contract, the fact he’s on the DL at the time when he could have been showcasing his abilities and enticing another club in need of a 2^nd baseman suggests that he’s here for the duration.  You can’t trade a player on the DL and even if you could, how much could you expect to get when the opposing club doesn’t know how soon Walker will return? 

A man I’ve derided as the Hispanic version of Anthony Recker is quietly putting together what could be the finest season of his big league career.  Rene Rivera has always been solid behind the plate and in working with pitchers to call a good game, but his bat is speaking volumes (by Rivera standards, anyway) this year.  He’s slated to be a FA and given the fragile and unrealized state of Travis d’Arnaud’s talent, the club can ill afford to let Rivera depart.  I’ll take my crow slow roasted with red wine and garlic.  Offer to extend the man a contract now before he gets to the open market. 

The other Mets free agents to be –Jose Reyes and Fernando Salas – would be classic cases of addition by subtraction.  Reyes is STILL looking up at the Mendoza line yet STILL is playing nearly every single day.  Salas was brilliant late last year but the bloom has most definitely come off the rose in 2017 as he’s letting opposing players hit ..294 against him with a deplorable amount of walks and an ERA approaching 6.00.  Cutting ties with Reyes is easy – promote Amed Rosario.  Cutting ties with Salas is a little tougher.  They’re already scraping the bottom of the barrel with  the recent promotion of career 4.22 minor league pitcher Chasen Bradford.  They’ve already promoted Erik Goeddel, too.  They still have the immortal Neil Ramirez in the majors.  Josh Smoker is still hurt.  After that the cupboard in AAA is pretty empty unless they want to try to convert Tyler Pill into a reliever. 

Richard Herr - Something's Wrong

Something’s Wrong

I’m writing this on Sunday morning, and in part, I’m drawing my conclusions from the events of the pat few days. The results of this afternoon’s game may somewhat color what I’m saying, but I don’t think by that much.

Something’s wrong. Something has knocked off the very fine balance of the great game of baseball and sent if spiraling wildly away from its carefully balanced center. Something has knocked it off its center of gravity and sent it wobbling around like a billiard pin that’s been grazed by a bowling ball.

Take the example of this Sunday morning’s perspective. The Mets recently concluded a four-game trip to Dodger Stadium where they got totally bitch-slapped. The games weren’t even close. The Dodgers were launching home runs all over the place. The Mets looked like the sorriest sad-sacks you’ve ever seen. They crawled out of town (didn’t even have the power left to limp) and headed north to San Francisco where you figured Buster Posey would chew them up like a plate of appetizers.

What happened? The first game in SFO the Mets sprayed twenty hits all over the ballpark and won handily. The second game, they won rather easily 5 to 2. (It was actually 5 to 1 plus a ninth-inning who-cares? run.)

The tables were entirely reversed. It appeared that the sad-sack Mets suddenly said the word “Shazam!” (google it) and turned into super heroes.

The trouble is: that sort of thing is happening throughout the game. Teams either get incredibly hot, or they go on dismal losing streaks. One team beats another by a lopsided score, then loses just as badly to the same team the following night. Many baseball scores are beginning to resemble football scores. I’m sure this year will show a record of many more teams are scoring double-digit runs in a game.

The major thing I find shocking is what’s happening with ERAs. Time was, (last year) if you looked at the ERA of the starters on a team, you’d see that their number one guy had an ERA somewhere around 3.0. The better ones were below. As you went down through numbers two, three, and four, you’d see the number go up to the high threes. If you had a particularly bad number five, he’d be up there in the fours.

This year the ERAs have skyrocketed. Starters are sporting ones that go into the 5’s, 6’s, and even 7’s! Pitchers who were previously well established number 2 and 3 starters re up there in the 5’s and 6’s. Runs are proliferating all around the league.

And it’s becoming harder and harder to put up good pitching numbers.  Jacob deGrom is coming off three terrific starts. However, just before that he put up a couple of stinking performances where he put up close to ten runs in each game. It used to be difficult to travel that narrow path to a good pitching performance. Now the path has become razor thin.

Something’s wrong. Somebody’s tinkered with something. Somebody decided it would be great to push things a tiny, little bit further to make the game more exciting, add a little more pizzaz to the game. I don’t know whether it’s juicing the ball, making the seams a little tighter, cutting down the strike zone, but the game is careening out of order. It’s turning into a parody of itself. It’s becoming a flash-and-trash, glitz-and-tits, super wound-up, neon-blinking video game.

It’s got to be fixed. We need to return the game to the national pastime.   

Whenever Richard Herr isn’t solving all the Mets’ problems, he spends his time writing humorous science fiction novels.

You can see his books at https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Herr/e/B00J5XBKX4.

Peter Hyatt - Tim Tebow's Promotion

I was not a Tim Tebow fan when "Tebow Mania" was in full bloom years ago. The story of his mother not aborting him was moving, but  I felt that that all the spotlight on him was going to end in embarrassment for the young man. 

It didn't. 

The New York Jets did not even give him a chance to prove his worth.  

When the Mets signed him, the reaction was strong and in many cases, emotional.  Among them there was a natural break down:

1.  Publicity Stunt takes the place of a prospect
2.  Publicity Stunt, takes the place of a prospect and personal hatred of Tebow and Religion 
3.  Wow, this is great for baseball (emotional)...or...
4.  Yawn of Indifference 

Tim Tebow was promoted after hitting .222 in Columbus. 

 How is this even possible?

Sandy Alderson said it was due to "exit velocity."

Seriously.  Remember, besides an addition to the waiver wire, Anderson loves his bases on balls.  

"It's not like he's tearing up the league, but at the same time all of the indications are positive in terms of various things we look at -- chase rates and exit velocity.  The bottom line is the average isn't there, but he's improving."

Take it with a lump of salt.  What one tells us in the negative is more sensitive than what is reported in the positive.  Above, Alderson tells us what Tebow is not doing and what his average is not, with immediate rebuttals of both.  It's a stretch.  

Earlier talk of a possible promotion came after a hot streak at the bat, but Tebow continues to struggle both offensively and defensively and is a reminder of just how high quality a level professional base ball really is played at:  even in low minors, these kids are really good.  

So, why did Sandy Alderson promote Tim Tebow?

Was it so that Alderson could then say, "See?  I told you that this was not a publicity stunt!"? 

Did Alderson find a stat to allow him to promote Tebow against the financial howls of Columbus?

The Mets recognize that there is a reason for promoting Tim Tebow of which they may not want to emphasize heavily with the public  at this time. 

Why might the Mets have promoted a .222 29 year old designated hitter?

Tim Tebow's impact upon young prospects outweighs Alderson's dislike of conservatism in general.  

It  has been said of Tim Tebow that not only did he impact ticket sales everywhere, but he got young players to concentrate and dedicate themselves to baseball and to avoid ruining themselves in  party life.  His enthusiasm and competitiveness are contagious. 

 He is so well liked in the organization that even those who despise his religious views respect him.  

Young kids on their own, including those from foreign countries, can get themselves into a lot of trouble in baseball.   

The Mets have been slowly reawakened to issues of character, hard work, ethics, and team sportsmanship.  They saw what trouble can bring to the '86 Mets youngsters, Strawberry and Gooden, and have had a distaste for trouble bringers ever since.  

Some of this reawakening has been due to positive influences while others have come the way of warnings from headaches that head cases bring.  

The Mets' brass, top to bottom, loves Tim Tebow.  

There has been plenty of discussion about hiring him in some coaching capacity but there is one main objector:  Tebow himself.  

Tebow believes in giving it everything he can before throwing in the towel.  His character is such that he will have to have the towel thrown in for him before he gives up. 

As much as Columbus wanted him to stay, the prospects at St. Lucie are in need of his leadership and dedication to the game.  

Tom Brennan - WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?

Tom Brennan - WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?

The Mets return from their left coast swing with a 3 game winning streak after losing 7 of 8 to top tier opponents, essentially slamming the playoff door in their face, or so it seems.

But, with all of the injuries within the season's first half: 

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?  REALLY?

DAVID WRIGHT has not played all year.

YOENIS CESPEDES has only played in 32 of their games so far.  Those of you who are proficient in math know that is only about 40% of the games so far.  Which is almost 60% too little.

JEURYS FAMILIA due to suspension and blood clot only pitched in 11 games and may pitch in no more this year.  The irreplaceable closer was in 78 games last year and saved 51 of them.   Hansel Robles (6.23) and Fernando Salas (5.88) have pitched far worse than expected, compounding the Familia-less bullpen problem and leading to Robles being demoted.

NOAH SYNDERGAARD was the co-pillar in the rotation with Jake deGrom, but got hurt early in his 5th start and likely will miss 20 starts this year, more or less.  Until Rafael Montero started to pitch very well this month, Thor's replacements represented a massive downgrade.

MATT HARVEY came off of thoracic surgery, which usually degrades at least temporarily a pitcher's effectiveness.  He was not exempt from struggles, pitched weakly, and is now pretty badly hurt, and likely will miss 15-20 starts.

STEVE MATZ and SETH LUGO both started the season on the DL and have only pitched 3 games apiece with the season's first half nearly over.  That forced the healthy Rob Gsellman to sink or swim - and he has a 6.04 ERA to show that more than his pitches have sunk.  Their unavailability caused the Mets to pitch Zach Wheeler to pitch more than intended and he recently hit a wall and is hopefully just slightly injured.

LUCAS DUDA and TRAVIS D'ARNAUD got injured at almost the same time - Duda missed about 20 games, and d'artaud about 3 weeks.

JUAN LAGARES, the flying Wallenda, got hurt while crashing to earth and likely will miss several weeks just when his bat finally woke up.

ASDRUBEL CABRERA has played hurt when not asking to be traded, and has only been in 52 games.

NEIL WALKER was healthy after back surgery, but on June 14, got hit with a hammy injury whammy, and likely will miss several weeks.

So, again I ask: what did you expect, really?   All told, they've done well, given the drastic level of injuries.

Sadly they are in the NL East while this is happening.  

Eleven games behind the Nats with a 34-41 record, they'd be 5.5 back of the Brewers if they were in the NL Central.  In the NL Wild Card, they are 11.5 games back.

If they were in the AL Central, they'd be just 4.5 games out and 5.5 games out of the Wild Card.  Well within reach.  

Lots of bad luck this year.  I did not expect THAT this spring.

Thomas Szapucki Named SAL Pitcher of the Week

MEDIA RELEASE

         Contact: Kevin Fitzgerald

kfitzgerald@columbiafireflies.com

803-888-3040

Monday, June 26, 2017                                     

Thomas Szapucki Named SAL Pitcher of the Week

Columbia’s Left-Hander Struck Out 10 in Latest Start on June 25

COLUMBIA, SC – Fireflies starting pitcher Thomas Szapucki was named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 19-25, the league announced. The 21-year-old struck out a season-high 10 batters in his start on June 25 against the Kannapolis Intimidators

Szapucki issued just two hits over six innings on Sunday. The 10 punch-out performance is no anomaly for the southpaw. Szapucki struck out 10 or more hitters in five of his nine starts in 2016. The Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, native led all short-season pitchers in 2016 with a 14.9 K:9 IP ratio. Over three seasons with the Mets, Szapucki owns a 2.23 ERA and has struck out 110 batters compared to just 27 walks.

Szapucki was drafted by the New York Mets in the 5^th round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Dwyer High School. Baseball America calls Szapucki’s curveball the best in the Mets organization.

“My brother, Nicholas, introduced the grip to me,” Szapucki said of his curveball. “I stuck with the grip all throughout high school, started getting better at throwing it. It turned out to be a very good pitch for me.”

Szapucki is the second Firefly this season to garner a league award. Merandy Gonzalez was named South Atlantic League Player of the Month for April.

Alonso Named FSL Player of the Week

The Florida State League announced on Monday that St. Lucie Mets first baseman Peter Alonso was chosen as the League’s Player of the Week.

Since returning from the FSL All Star break, Alonso has gone on a tear. Last week he played in eight games and went 12 for 29 (.414) with three home runs, six doubles, 14 RBI and nine runs scored.

In the Mets 19-7 win on Friday, Alonso went 4 for 5 with a grand slam, three doubles and five RBI.

Alonso, 22, was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Florida. The former Gator is in his first year with the St. Lucie Mets. He missed nearly two months early in the season after suffering a broken hand in the first week.

This is the second FSL weekly award won by a Met this season. Nabil Crismatt was the pitcher of the week in the middle of May.

ROSTER MOVES - Columbia

Please note the following New York Mets minor league transactions.

Effective Monday, June 26, 2017

                - RHP Thomas McIlraith activated from Advanced-A St. Lucie’s roster and transferred to Columbia

                - OF Tim Tebow transferred from Columbia to Advanced-A St. Lucie

                - INF Vinny Siena transferred to Columbia from Advanced-A St. Lucie

Peter Hyatt - Michael Conforto: Part Time All - Star

Prior to cooling off, the Mets were promoting Michael Conforto for write in ballet for the 2017 All Star Game; deservedly so. 

Yet, with the puzzle to some beat writers, and others overly cautious on writing and jeopardizing their access to the club house, it is no mystery. 

24 year old Conforto sat four of five games, even as he was heating up, including the game after gaining 3 hits in place of 36 year old Curtis Granderson, who has no active player future with the mediocre Mets.  

Infield Fungos

In other news, Mets fans are seeking a Go Fund Me to help Astrubel Cabrerra provide for his family. Poverty takes its toll and New Yorker's compassion seeks to alleviate Cabrerra's suffering. 

Yoenis Cepedes stood at home plate and refused to run out a routine fly ball to left field.  

The wind almost turned it into a circus where Cespedes may have been called out, had it dropped, due to his running out of the base paths to the dugout.  

Terry Collins has no comment though media forgot to ask for one. 


Mets Twitter account continues to promote Jose Reyes (.191) as the face of the franchise as did Fox Broadcast last night, replete with Reyes' ostentatious face paint.  Who better to best represent Alderson's 2017 Mets?

Jacob deGrom continues to show what happens when brains meets hard work.  How long ago was this?

Was Sandy displeased that deGrom sought out Clayshaw for encouragement?  Can't have that influence in the clubhouse, can we?  Water, as they say, seeks its own.  

Wilmer Flores' defense is routinely criticized while the Mets have never let him learn a single position.  We are still searching for Flores' whining, complaints and protests to the media.  We'll report it just as soon as we find them.  

Rumors of several clubs interested in Cabrerra.  They must first prepare a detailed strategy of their farm system first, for Cabrerra's approval. 

Should Conforto continue to make the most of his limited playing time (he is scheduled for today and Tuesday according to Collins), he may make the All Star team in spite of the mismanagement in New York.  Teams drool over his meshing of talent, character and hard work.  

He had to get a new room mate.  It is who this young man is.