From Press Release:
Savannah Sand Gnats (13-8, 1st, Southern) vs. Lexington Legends (11-10, 4th, Southern)
Game #22 - Home Game #14 - Thursday – 7:05
LHP Jimmy Fuller (3-1, 1.26) vs. RHP Zach Grimmett (0-0, 0.00)
Historic Grayson Stadium - Savannah, GA
Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, http://www.sandgnats.com/
Tonight: The first-place Gnats play game two of a four game set with the Lexington Legends. It is the sixth game of an eight-game home stand on which the Gnats are currently 3-2. The Gnats lead the Greenville Drive by one half game and the Augusta GreenJackets by one full game for first place in the SAL Southern Division.
Last Night: Wilmer Flores was 3-for-4 with a triple and Armando Rodriguez threw 6.2 strong innings to lead the Gnats over the Legends 4-1. Rodriguez allowed just one hit through the first five innings before surrendering a run in the sixth and departing the game with two outs in the seventh in his longest outing of the year. .
Now Pitching: Mark Cohoon will make his fifth Sand Gnats start of the year. The Gnats are 4-0 in Cohoon’s starts and have supported him with 6.3 runs per game. His 1.90 ERA is ninth-best in the SA and he is tied with five other pitchers for the league lead in wins with three. He spent all of 2009 with Brooklyn in the New York-Penn League where he was 9-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 14 starts. He fanned 70 and walked 20 in 92 innings. His 2.15 ERA was 6th in the League and the Mets recognized him with the team’s Sterling Award as the Cyclones MVP. In 2008 with Savannah, Cohoon was 2-2 with a 3.82 ERA in seven starts after moving directly from the Kingsport Mets, skipping over Brooklyn. The Mets drafted Cohoon in the 12th round of the 2008 draft out of North Central Texas College.
First is not the Worst: The Gnats have had at least a share of first place for eight days, since pulling even with Augusta after beating the GreenJackets 9-4 on April 21. The Gnats have been tied for first on five of those seven days, and had first all to themselves three times.
Roster Update: Thursday, Sam Honeck was assigned to the Savannah Sand Gnats roster from Extended Spring Training. OF Rafael Fernandez was placed on the Gnats’ disabled list with a strained left neck. Honeck, the Mets 11th round pick out of Tulane hit .250/.339/.305 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 65 games for the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League in 2009.
Flo - tastic: Gnats shortstop Wilmer Flores has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games. The 18-year old is fourth in the SAL in batting average (.357), sixth in slugging (.560), third in hits (30), fifth in doubles (9) and third in total bases (47) while maintaining his spot as the fourth-toughest hitter in the league to strikeout (SO/PA -10%)
Pitching and Defense: Gnats have the second-best ERA in the SAL (2.94), but have allowed the fewest runs (71) in the league. West Virginia has allowed the second-fewest runs (77). Only Asheville (9) has allowed fewer unearned runs than the Gnats 10.
Who’s Hot: Alex Gregory has hit safely in his last five games over which time he is 9-for-29 (.310) with one double and two RBI…Jefry Marte has hit safely in three straight games, going a combined 4-for-12 (.333)…. Kai Gronauer remains the hardest hitter in the SAL to strikeout (6% SO/PA).
Who’s Not: 1B Jeff Flagg, who delivered the game winning hit Sunday is hitting just 152 (5-for-33) in his last eight games.
Four for Sure: Savannah is 13-1 when scoring four or more runs and 0-7 when scoring three runs or fewer. When Gnats pitching allows fewer than four runs, the team is 10-3. When the Gnats allow four or more runs at home, the team is 1-3.
Mack’s Mets – the premier site for information on the New York Mets talent pipeline and dialogue on Mets prospects, Mets news, and Mets opinions.
4/29/10
DRAFT: - Chad Lewis, Cameron Rupp, Bryce Brentz, Alex Wimmers... and Greg Brodzinski
Chad Lewis:
4-28 from: - http://www.baseballrumormill.com/ - Marina High School, 3B - Lewis has the prototypical big league third baseman’s frame at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds. Concentration lapses affect his fielding consistency, but Lewis profiles as a plus defender. His range may be a tad short, but Lewis has buttery smooth actions, outstanding play making ability and a strong, accurate arm. While his running speed is below average, Lewis shows interesting potential as a hitter, for he possesses both power and bat speed. At this stage, Lewis struggles with pitch recognition and has a habit of over striding and pulling his front side off of the ball, resulting in weak ground balls to the left side. Nonetheless, it is not difficult to imagine Lewis becoming an impact hitter as he progresses through pro ball, which will provide him the chance to play every day and get his swing in a groove.
Cameron Rupp:
4-26 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/26/phillips-66-big-12-baseball-weekly-honors-2 - C Cameron Rupp from Texas was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Player Pitcher of the Week for games of April 19-25. Rupp recorded three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI while compiling a 1.286 slugging percentage to lead Texas to a 4-0 week. In the Longhorns’ three-game sweep of Oklahoma State, he went 3-for-3 with one double, two home runs and seven RBI in his three first-inning plate appearances. Rupp connected on two-out, three run home runs in the initial inning of the first two games to give UT a lead. The junior catcher posted two doubles, two home runs, four runs and 11 RBI to help Texas register the Big 12’s only sweep of the weekend. He also hit a two-run home run in the third inning to put the Longhorns on the board first in a mid-week victory over UT-Arlington. Rupp went 2-for-4 with one double, one home run, two runs and two RBI against the Roadrunners. Behind the plate, the junior called pitches for a staff that allowed just six runs (five earned) over 36.0 innings for a 1.25 ERA on the week.
4-28 from: - http://collegebaseball360.com/2010/04/27/cb360-primetime-performers-10-april-27 - Texas junior catcher Cameron Rupp (Plano, Texas) and Florida freshman lefthander/DH Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) headline the nation’s players who turned in noteworthy performances during the past week, as the college baseball regular season entered its final month. Rupp has been named the national Primetime Player of the Week and Johnson is the Primetime Pitcher of the Week, while 17 others (listed below, with headshots and info. capsule) join them in comprising the Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll, as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com.
Bryce Brentz:
4-27 from: - http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/MLB_Draft - Middle Tennessee State outfielder/pitcher Bryce Brentz returned to action April 13 after suffering a hairline fracture in his ankle in late March. He struck out as a pinch hitter against Vanderbilt in his first at-bat. Brentz (pictured) missed 11 games because of the injury. Before he got hurt, he was batting .354 with eight homers and 17 RBIs. But scouting directors who evaluate players with injury concerns pay as much attention to how the players rebounds off the injury as the severity of the injury itself. In the eight games after that pinch-hitting appearance, Brentz went 9-for-32 (.281) with three homers, 14 RBIs, 10 runs scored, six walks and two doubles.
Alex Wimmers:
4-28 from: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/04/28/lincolns-2010-draft-board - Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers has solidified himself as a potential first round pick with a dazzling spring, striking out 29.4% of batters and walking 7.5%. He also has yet to surrender a home run in 265 batters faced. Wimmers has drawn a few Mike Leake comparisons as an undersized righty without plus velocity but good control. Wimmers isn’t as good as Leake, but is still a good prospect. His fastball works 89-91 MPH with solid sink and excellent command and his curveball has shown plus potential with big break coming from his over-the-top arm slot. Also featuring an above-average changeup, Wimmers has a quality three pitch mix. While his upside may not be more than a good No. 3 starter, he’s pretty likely to reach it.
Greg Brodzinski:
4-28 from: - http://baseballbeginnings.com/category/2010-draft - Greg Brodzinski decided a long time ago that he didn’t want to let the weather get in the way. I first saw him in Southern California last summer. I immediately thought he was a hitter. Turns out, so does every area scout working the Northeast. Defense was something that he needed to work on, so he committed himself to improvement this winter. That means living in the tunnels, getting the shovel out to play long toss, and making appointments for scouts to come check you out under light bulbs instead of the sun.
4-28 from: - http://www.baseballrumormill.com/ - Marina High School, 3B - Lewis has the prototypical big league third baseman’s frame at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds. Concentration lapses affect his fielding consistency, but Lewis profiles as a plus defender. His range may be a tad short, but Lewis has buttery smooth actions, outstanding play making ability and a strong, accurate arm. While his running speed is below average, Lewis shows interesting potential as a hitter, for he possesses both power and bat speed. At this stage, Lewis struggles with pitch recognition and has a habit of over striding and pulling his front side off of the ball, resulting in weak ground balls to the left side. Nonetheless, it is not difficult to imagine Lewis becoming an impact hitter as he progresses through pro ball, which will provide him the chance to play every day and get his swing in a groove.
4-26 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/26/phillips-66-big-12-baseball-weekly-honors-2 - C Cameron Rupp from Texas was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Player Pitcher of the Week for games of April 19-25. Rupp recorded three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI while compiling a 1.286 slugging percentage to lead Texas to a 4-0 week. In the Longhorns’ three-game sweep of Oklahoma State, he went 3-for-3 with one double, two home runs and seven RBI in his three first-inning plate appearances. Rupp connected on two-out, three run home runs in the initial inning of the first two games to give UT a lead. The junior catcher posted two doubles, two home runs, four runs and 11 RBI to help Texas register the Big 12’s only sweep of the weekend. He also hit a two-run home run in the third inning to put the Longhorns on the board first in a mid-week victory over UT-Arlington. Rupp went 2-for-4 with one double, one home run, two runs and two RBI against the Roadrunners. Behind the plate, the junior called pitches for a staff that allowed just six runs (five earned) over 36.0 innings for a 1.25 ERA on the week.
4-28 from: - http://collegebaseball360.com/2010/04/27/cb360-primetime-performers-10-april-27 - Texas junior catcher Cameron Rupp (Plano, Texas) and Florida freshman lefthander/DH Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) headline the nation’s players who turned in noteworthy performances during the past week, as the college baseball regular season entered its final month. Rupp has been named the national Primetime Player of the Week and Johnson is the Primetime Pitcher of the Week, while 17 others (listed below, with headshots and info. capsule) join them in comprising the Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll, as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com.
4-27 from: - http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/MLB_Draft - Middle Tennessee State outfielder/pitcher Bryce Brentz returned to action April 13 after suffering a hairline fracture in his ankle in late March. He struck out as a pinch hitter against Vanderbilt in his first at-bat. Brentz (pictured) missed 11 games because of the injury. Before he got hurt, he was batting .354 with eight homers and 17 RBIs. But scouting directors who evaluate players with injury concerns pay as much attention to how the players rebounds off the injury as the severity of the injury itself. In the eight games after that pinch-hitting appearance, Brentz went 9-for-32 (.281) with three homers, 14 RBIs, 10 runs scored, six walks and two doubles.
4-28 from: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/04/28/lincolns-2010-draft-board - Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers has solidified himself as a potential first round pick with a dazzling spring, striking out 29.4% of batters and walking 7.5%. He also has yet to surrender a home run in 265 batters faced. Wimmers has drawn a few Mike Leake comparisons as an undersized righty without plus velocity but good control. Wimmers isn’t as good as Leake, but is still a good prospect. His fastball works 89-91 MPH with solid sink and excellent command and his curveball has shown plus potential with big break coming from his over-the-top arm slot. Also featuring an above-average changeup, Wimmers has a quality three pitch mix. While his upside may not be more than a good No. 3 starter, he’s pretty likely to reach it.
4-28 from: - http://baseballbeginnings.com/category/2010-draft - Greg Brodzinski decided a long time ago that he didn’t want to let the weather get in the way. I first saw him in Southern California last summer. I immediately thought he was a hitter. Turns out, so does every area scout working the Northeast. Defense was something that he needed to work on, so he committed himself to improvement this winter. That means living in the tunnels, getting the shovel out to play long toss, and making appointments for scouts to come check you out under light bulbs instead of the sun.
St. Lucie Roster Moves
Place IF – Matt Bouchard on DL
Add OF – Seth Williams to roster from Binghamton
Add OF – Seth Williams to roster from Binghamton
DRAFT: Sam Dyson, Nick Ramirez, Christian Bergman, Jake Magner... and Kendall Lewis
4-27 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/27/sec-players-of-the-week-10 - PITCHER OF THE WEEK - Dyson hurled a three-hit complete game shutout and earned a victory in seven innings in the 5-0 win vs. Georgia on Sunday, April 25 in game one of a doubleheader. He is only the third SEC pitcher to record a complete game shutout this year and the second this season to do it in SEC play. Dyson finished with 69 strikes out of 96 pitches and allowed just one runner from Georgia to get in scoring position in the seven-inning shutout. All 21 putouts by the Gamecock came from the diamond, as Dyson struck out five batters and recorded 14 ground ball outs.
4-27 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/27/big-west-players-of-the-week-7 - Cal State Fullerton sophomore Nick Ramirez (Anaheim, Calif./Katella HS) garnered Big West Baseball Field Player of the Week honors after hitting .643 to help his team to a 4-0 record. The first baseman hit safely in all four games and now owns a hitting streak of 16 straight. He scored six runs and had five RBI as the Titans defeated Pepperdine in a midweek non-conference game and swept Cal Poly in a Big West series. Ramirez belted four doubles among his nine hits for the week, including a pair of RBI doubles in CSF’s 12-5 win over the Waves Tuesday. He went 4-for-5 with three RBI in that game.
4-27 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/27/big-west-players-of-the-week-7 - Christian Bergman (Altadena, Calif./St. Francis HS) threw a near perfect game for UC Irvine to claim Big West Pitcher of the Week accolades, using an economical 89 pitches to shut down UC Davis in a 13-0 victory Saturday. Bergman faced the minimum 27 batters in the complete game effort, allowing just a leadoff single in the first inning to Daniel Cepin. Following a caught stealing on Cepin in a stolen base attempt, Bergman retired the next 26 batters he faced in hurling his first complete game shutout.
4-27 from: - link - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 25, today. North Dakota junior first baseman Jake Magner was named National Hitter of the Week. Magner set school records for home runs and RBI in a single game as he went 4-for-6 with four home runs and nine RBI to lead the Sioux to a thrilling 20-19 victory in game two of a Saturday doubleheader against New York Tech. Two of his four home runs in the contest were three-run shots and he opened the scoring with a solo blast in the first. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native finished the doubleheader with six home runs and 13 RBs, going 7-for-10 with seven runs scored in the two games. His five runs in the nightcap tied a UND record and he was the first player in DI this season to hit four homers in a game. For the series against NYIT, Magner hit .556 (10-for-18), scored 10 runs, hit six homers and drove in 14 runs.
4-27 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/27/ncbwa-national-players-of-the-week-6/#more-25736 - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 25, today. Eastern Michigan sophomore right-handed pitcher Kendall Lewis was named National Pitcher of the Week. Lewis had a record setting performance in the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over Western Michigan, April 24, as he went 11 innings, giving up just three hits and one walk, while striking out a career-high 10 batters in the shutout win. The Huntsville, Ohio native’s 11-inning outing is the longest by any pitcher in the nation this season.
Bisons Notes 4/29/10 - Durham at Buffalo (6:05 p.m.)
*Tonight’s game is the first of the Bisons’ 5-game SNY schedule for 2010. SNY will feature the LIVE broadcast of Bisons/Bulls, starting at 6pm.
The Bisons/Louisville Bats game on Sunday, May 2 will also be aired LIVE on the SNY network (1:05 p.m.)
Buffalo Bisons (11-9, 2nd(-2.0), North) vs. Durham Bulls (15-6, 1st(+6.0), South)
Thursday, April 29, 2010 (6:05 p.m.) - Coca-Cola Field
RHP R.A. Dickey (2-1, 3.03) vs. LHP Heath Phillips (1-1, 3.42)
TV: SNY, Time Warner Cable SportsNet 13 Radio: WWKB AM 1520, http://www.bisons.com/
TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons host the Durham Bulls in the third game of a four-game series from Coca-Cola Field (6:05 p.m.). Both teams have collected a win in the series as the Herd won 9-5 on Tuesday before the Bulls rebounded with a 9-2 victory last night. After tomorrow’s game, the Bisons will welcome in the Louisville Bats for the start of another four-game series on Saturday at 4:05 p.m.
vs. THE BULLS: This series will be Durham’s only trip to Coca-Cola Field in 2010. Last year, the Bisons won three of four from the Bulls in Buffalo and split the season series, 4-4. The Bisons haven’t lost a season series to the Bulls since 1999, with five season-series wins over Durham and five splits.
R.A. IS A-OKAY: RHP R.A. DICKEY has worked eight or more innings in each of his last three starts. On April 24 in Pawtucket, the knuckleballer allowed just two runs in eight frames to collect his second victory of the season. Dickey also has one of the International League’s two complete games, April 14 against the Red Sox. Dickey’s 29.2 innings of work trails Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s RHP IVAN NOVA by just a third of an inning for the IL lead.
LEADING OFF: OF JASON PRIDIE enters tonight’s game with a seven-game hit streak. The outfielder is 12 for his last 30 for a .400 batting average. Pridie leads the club with 26 hits and six stolen bases on the season.
METS UPDATE: The red-hot Mets (13-9) completed an amazing 9-1 homestand with a 7-3 victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday. Former Bisons’ OF ANGEL PAGAN had a two-run triple and INF IKE DAVIS had two more hits to raise his average to .355 for New York. The Mets have an off day today before starting a six-game roadtrip tomorrow night against the rival Philadelphia Phillies.
Minor Rags: - Jeremy Hellickson, Zach Lutz, Sean Ratliff... and Armando Rodriguez
The Buffalo Bisons were enjoying a bit of a run-scoring surge for nearly two weeks, but it finally came to a halt thanks to Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson, one of the game's brightest young prospects, pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up two runs as the visiting Bulls defeated the Buffalo Bisons, 9-2, Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Field. Chris Richard, Angel Chavez and Rashad Eldridge all went deep for the Bulls (14-6), who rebounded from a 9-5 loss to the Herd on Tuesday. The right-handed Hellickson (4-0) struck out five and gave up six hits. - link
With a stiff wind blowing from left to right at NYSEG Stadium, it was surprising that there were no home runs to right field on Wednesday. As it turned out, Zach Lutz didn't need the breeze's help. In fact, he defied it with a towering three-run home run that cut through the wind to left-center and locked up the Binghamton Mets' 9-3 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs on Wednesday night. "I was getting some good pitches inside, and had a full count," said Lutz, who was 3-for-3 and a triple short of the cycle. "I was really looking to just put the ball in play somewhere, and got a slider up in the zone and put a good swing on it." - link
The St. Lucie Mets scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 3-2 deficit and go on to win 5-3 over the Charlotte Stone Crabs on Tuesday in Port Charlotte. Sean Ratliff hit a two-run home run and Eric Campbell added an RBI single to pace the Mets rally. The Mets used the long ball to score their other runs. Joshua Satin and Campbell had solo homers in the third and fourth innings respectively. Jimmy Johnson (1-0) got the win and Manuel Alvarez recorded his sixth save. - link
Savannah Sand Gnats right-hander Armando Rodriguez has one of the best fastballs in the New York Mets' organization. But the organization wants to see Rodriguez complement the fastball with something off-speed. What better place to work on it than Class A baseball? Rodriguez had everything working Wednesday night at Grayson Stadium and he showed determination during a 109-pitch effort. - link
Doubles, Brad Burns, Bobby Gagg, Twitter...and Fernando Nieve
My good friend Jim Storer just called to ask me who I thought held the Mets record for doubles. My response was Ed Kranepool, simply because Ed is the only hitter to have a long career with the Mets. I would have been correct two hours ago, but Wednesday afternoon, David Wright doubled, the 226th of his short career. That broke the tie with Kranepool, giving David the all-time record for doubles by a Mets player. Jim and I both found this fairly amazing, but when you think about it, the Mets really never had a franchise hitter. The Padres had Gwynn, the Astros had Bagwell and Biggio, the Twins had Kirby Puckett. Ed Kranepool was the Mets franchise hitter, and he’s remained in that position for 30 years. New York either picks good hitters up late in their careers (Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter) or lets them go early (Lenny Dykstra, Kevin Mitchell), or has them get into trouble (Strawberry). It’s tough to accumulate team records when you aren’t around that long. - link
The Mets released RP Brad Burns. From “The Keepers”…
82. Brad Burns – RP – A+ - 24/yrs.
Burns was drafted in the 26th round of the 2007 draft by the Mets.
Oklahoma right-handed pitcher Brad Burns was the sixth and final Sooner taken in the 2007 MLB Draft on Friday. Burns was selected 813th overall in the 26th round by the New York Mets. The organization also drafted the junior back in 2004 in the 37th round following his high school career at Lookeba-Sickles.
From: www.soonersports.com: - The Gracemont, Okla., native has 22 career starts under his belt at Oklahoma, including seven in 2007. Overall, Burns made 16 appearances this season and finshed with a 1-1 record and a 5.75 ERA. He earned his first career victory in 2007 on April 11 against Dallas Baptist after tossing a five-hit shutout with eight strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings.
From: www.metsbaseball.blogspot.com: - Most Mets fans probably don't know who Brad Burns is, but that will change if he keeps on pitching as he has for the Kingsport Mets. On Friday night, in an away game against the Princeton Devil Rays, a game the Mets won 2-1, Burns pitched five innings of four-hit ball. In the seven games in which he's pitched in his first season of pro ball, righty Burns gave up two runs once, one run twice, and no runs four times. His ERA now stands at 1.71, the fourth lowest in the Appalachian League. He's been particularly effective in home games and against lefties. His ERA in both situations is 0.00, which is also what his ERA is when the bases are empty. Thus he hasn't given up any solo shots. In fact, he hasn't given up a homerun.
Burns pitched 2009 with Savannah and St. Lucie, combining for 1-2, 1.45, in ten games, one start. He also had 24-Ks in only 18.2-IP. His combined three year stats are: 4-7, 3.88, 1.52, in 31 games, nine starts, 77-K’s, 81.1-IP.
The Mets released RP Bobby Gagg.
Gagg came to the Mets last year as an undrafted free agent, even though many of us draft weenies had him prior to the draft as a 20-35th round pick. He was immediately signed and split time in 2009 with the GCLMets, Kingsport, and Brooklyn.
His combined 2009 stats were: 2-1, 1.60, in 16 appearances, with 24-K and only 6-BB in 24.0-IP.
Multiple sources have confirmed to me that Major League Baseball is cracking down on Twitter usage, ordering MLB.com writers to cease tweeting about all non-baseball topics and scolding players for their Twitter usage in general. As someone who has every MLB.com beat writer and several MLB players in my Twitter feed, this is very unfortunate and strikes me as a massive overreaction. Allowing the writers and players to show a bit of personality and interact with fans/readers was a positive thing and certainly caused me to become a fan of those who did it well. - link
Oh, there’s a bunch of reasons why the Mets are playing so well this home stand, but let’s give a special “stock up” to relief pitcher Fernando Nieve. If I remember correctly he had a horrible outing the first week of the season but, since then, he’s been lights out for a manager that seems to use him every game. Most of the Mets starters have serious trouble getting past the sixth inning, maining doe to the amount of pitches they throw. Yes, the team ERA looks nice, but the WHIP is bloated. Pitchers like John Maine, Oliver Perez, and especially, Mike Pelfrey, have had to scramble to get out of innings that produced many baserunners, though little runs. In most cases, it was Nieve that came in from the pen first and settled things down with somewhere between one and two innings pitched. Hats off to Fernando.
Binghamton 9, Portland 3
Kirk Nieuwenhuis helped Binghamton (11-9) out to an early lead in the first when he singled leading off against starter Casey Kelly. With Jose Coronado at the plate, Nieuwenhuis stole second to move into scoring position, his fourth stolen base of the young season. Coronado moved him up to third with a groundout to the right side of the infield. Lucas Duda gave the B-Mets the lead with an RBI single to center, raising his Eastern League-leading total to 19. Luke Montz chased home another run in the inning on a bases-loaded sac fly to left that took leftfielder Ryan Kalish to the warning track, making it 2-0.
Lutz got the third inning rolling with a one-out double off the right field wall. The two-bagger marked the end of the night for Kelly, who tossed 2 1/3 innings. Right-hander Eammon Portice was summoned and promptly allowed Lutz to reach third on a wild pitch. After striking out D.J. Wabick, Portice surrendered a two-out, RBI single to Montz to push the lead to three.
Binghamton’s scoring onslaught continued in the fifth inning with a three-run outburst. Duda and Lutz led off the inning with singles. After Wabick popped out to second, Montz laced a double into the left field corner to score Duda from second. Then, Guzman cleared the bases with a double down the first base line to double lead.
Kunz faced two over the minimum through the first five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth. Kunz walked Jason Place, hit Nate Spears and gave up a single to Ray Chang to load the bases. With the bases juiced, Kunz exited in favor of Jose De La Torre, who did not have his best stuff. De La Torre misfired with Kalish at the plate, uncorking a wild pitch to score Place. After walking Kalish, he issued another free pass to Luis Exposito with the bases loaded to chase home Spears. The next hitter Che-Hsuan Lin lined a single to left-center to plate Chang. The Sea Dogs had cut the Binghamton lead in half and still had the bases loaded with no one out.
However, Roy Merritt relieved De La Torre and put out the fire retiring the next three men in order to strand the bases loaded and keep the score at 6-3.
In the home half of the frame, the B-Mets got those three runs back on one swing of the bat. T.J. Large came on in the sixth in relief of Portice. Nieuwenhuis singled to open the inning. After Coronado sacrificed him to second, Large issued a walk to Duda, putting two on for Lutz. Binghamton’s third baseman launched a Large slider over the left-centerfield wall for his league-leading sixth homer to put the lead back at six.
The bullpen would take it the rest of the way for the win. Merritt retired all six men he faced, Clint Everts tossed the eighth in scoreless fashion and Edgar Ramirez worked around a Jose Iglesias leadoff double to hurl a scoreless ninth, securing the 9-3 victory.
Kunz allowed three runs in five-plus innings to pick up his second win. The righty allowed four hits, walked three and struck out one.
Q&A: - Jenrry Mejia in the Pen, Reese Havens, and the Mets Pick in 2010 Draft
CJ asked: - I am still unsure why Meija is with the big league club besides Omar and Jerry wanting to save their jobs. He has looked good throwing primarily fastballs, but he clearly needs a secondary pitch to complement the fastball. Even if the team views him as a future closer, it seems silly to have him in games that matter with the big league club where he can't work on his secondary pitches. It is great that K-Rod is supposedly mentoring Meija in the bullpen, but Meija is not Johan Santana, Liriano, or even Joba - pitchers that had refined secondary pitches when they were eased into the big leagues in a bullpen role. I may have missed it, but I have yet to see Omar address how Meija will continue to develop into a future starter in his current role. Is there any logic to this, especially considering the glaring need of high upside starting pitching in the upper levels of the system?
Mack: There is no logic on the Mejia move. Logic doesn’t play into what comes out of some of those meetings.
Right now, I don’t think anyone wants to screw with the karma, but the fact is, Nieve and Takahashi are sort of setting the table right now in the pen. They, followed by Valdez, Feliciano and K-Rod, are getting most of the work, leaving very little for Mejia in the past 10 games.
On the other hand, the Mets ERA, is 3.21, third in the league, and Mejia’s is 1.80.
I don’t see much changing while things are going well, though someone will have to go down when Igarashi comes back. Right now that would be Acosta, but it could be Mejia, especially if the AA and A+ SP prospects don’t start turning things around.
Mack: Havens started the season on the injured reserve list with, as the Mets released, “an oblique muscle” problem. I have reached out a number of times to peeps I know, trying to find out what’s up but have had no response to my inquiries. As I have mentioned before, the Mets stay very quiet about injuries and I’m sure they tell their people to not respond to press questions regarding the health of their players. At this point I can categorically state that he’s still receiving a Mets paycheck. After that, it would be all opinion and speculation.
Another CJ question: - Any buzz yet on any organizational strategies for the upcoming draft? Without any sandwich picks or a 2nd round pick, the Mets need to try to compensate with at least a few guys who drop because of signing concerns. However, I feel that fairly soon we should start hearing reports that the Mets do not planning on going overslot for many players.
Mack: You seem to have figured out the Mets “non” strategy already…
I will say this. I think the Mets brass have learned from the Ike Davis pick that a quality player is tantamount to the future success of this team.
Secondly, there was a little subtle move a few months ago. The Mets gave their first pick (2nd round) last year, P Stephen Matz, an $800,000 bonus, but did not sign their next two pitcher picks, Damien Magnifico at 5th and David Buchanan at #6. LHP Darin Gorski did sign at #7, but the next pick, a local boy here named Zach Dotson, out of South Effingham High School, didn’t sign. Instead he went and pitched lights out in the off-season.
Not only was this #2 bonus money by the Mets, it was for an 11th rounder…
Regarding their first round pick, it looks like SP Anthony Renaudo may fall to that pick due to an off-season injury and a poor performance against Ole Miss this past weekend. Renaudo was the lock #2 pick overall after Bryce Harper, and I’m sure the Mets won’t let this kid go if he’s there.The other good news is it’s hard to screw up a 7th pick overall. This draft only has around 9 top quality players, all of which are either Harper or pitchers. LHP Drew Pomeranz and RHP Jamerson Taillon will be long gone, but, if Renaudo is picked in the first six picks, that leaves only two slots before the Mets, with RHPs A.J. Cole, Deck McGwire, Karsten Whitson, and LHP Chris Sale to chose from.
Believe me, none of their four suck and the Mets will definitely pick one of them.
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