Minors Stuff

Extended Camp:

New Met:

Julio Rivera C 5-11 178 R/R 7-20-87 Puerto Rico Baseball Academy - Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Oakland drafted Rivera in the 19th round of the 2005 draft. He played four years in the A’s system, rising to A+. His combined minor league stats are: .201/.271/.331


The Herd:


The Buffalo Bisons have had four attempts to go on a winning streak this season, and they've failed each time.

Chance No. 4 came here Tuesday night. The Bisons dropped a 3-0 decision to Lehigh Valley in Coca-Cola Park, being shut out for the seventh time this season. It was the first game of a doubleheader caused by Monday's rainout; Tuesday's second game was rained out.
In the first game of the season between the teams, Buffalo's batters could not solve IronPigs pitcher Justin Lehr, who was brilliant. He allowed only three hits in pitching a shutout. Lehr improved to 4-1 while striking out four and walking only two. He retired the first nine batters he faced.

Lehigh Valley got all of the offense it needed in the bottom of the third inning. Lou Marson walked and moved to second on a passed ball. Lehr walked, and Rich Thompson singled to load the bases. Mike Cervenak singled to right field to plate two runs.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bisons/story/662264.html


B-Mets:


Wednesday, May 6 Portland 6:35 pm RHP Fernando Nieve (0-0, 6.75) vs. RHP Junichi Tazawa (2-2, 3.76)

Thursday, May 7 Portland 6:35 pm LHP Mike Antonini (3-1, 5.84) vs. RHP Blake Maxwell (0-1, 8.59)

Friday, May 8 at Trenton 7:05 pm RHP Dylan Owen (0-2, 6.66) vs. TBA

Saturday, May 9 at Trenton 7:05 pm RHP Jose Sanchez (1-3, 7.40) vs. RHP Zach McAllister (1-1, 2.53


THE SEASON SO FAR: The Mets are 11-10 and in second place in the Northern Division, two games behind New Hampshire.

WHO'S HOT: C Josh Thole strung together three consecutive multi-hit games in a recent three-game series at Portland, going 6-for-13 in the series with three doubles and an RBI. With eight multi-hit games on the season, Thole has hits in all but two of his 14 starts. Thole's .343 (23-for-67) batting average ranks fifth among league leaders.

WHO'S NOT: RHP Jose Sanchez has had a difficult time beating Portland over the past two seasons. In five starts against the Sea Dogs since 2008, he is 0-4 and has allowed 26 runs in 24 innings. But Sanchez is not the only one. The B-Mets' pitching staff as a whole has struggled with Portland's sluggers over the same span. Last season the staff posted a 2-9 mark with a 4.98 ERA vs. the Sea Dogs. This year, they are 2-4 with a bloated 6.49 ERA.

DID YOU KNOW?: 2B Jonathan Malo led the league with eight runs scored last week. In six games this season he's batting .333 (7-for-21) with a home run and four RBIs. ... LHP Roy Merritt is tied for the league lead with nine saves on the season. In 11 appearances, he has struck out 12 and allowed just three earned runs.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090504&content_id=576538&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp


Ryan Coultas gave the Binghamton Mets' bullpen the rest it required, and the team the victory it needed Tuesday night.

Coultas was ruthlessly efficient over seven innings, leading the Binghamton Mets to a 4-1 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs in the second of a four-game Eastern League series at NYSEG Stadium.

Coultas struck out five, walked only one, and scattered four hits in the longest outing by a B-Mets starter this season. The victory snapped a season-long three-game losing skid for the B-Mets (12-11).

"That's the main goal of the starter- get as far as you can while keeping your team in it," Coultas said. "I was just getting ahead of guys, which really helps on the pitch efficiency."

Coultas needed just 87 pitches to work through seven innings. By contrast, Portland starter Felix Doubront (2-2) threw 91 pitches in five innings.

In all, Coultas threw 61 pitches for strikes.

"Leaders do that stuff when your team is struggling," B-Mets manager Mako Oliveras said. "We needed a big game from him, because our bullpen is short one guy. He showed the rest of the staff what it does for you to be ahead in the count, to be aggressive, to go after hitters."

With a bullpen that's been forced to throw a lot of innings lately and is shorthanded due to Adam Bostick's sore elbow, Coultas was determined to give the B-Mets a long start.

Coultas, a converted shortstop in his second season as a pitcher, retired the first eight batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until Matt Sheely's two-out double in the third inning. Relying primarily on his fastball, he didn't have a three-ball count until the seventh inning, when he walked Aaron Bates.
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090506/SPORTS02/905060388/1118/Sports


Queens:

Tough decision for the Mets after the season: do they exercise J.J. Putz's $9.1MM option for 2010? Cot's Baseball Contracts says it's an $8.6MM club option with a $1MM buyout.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com


International:

Miguel Angel Sano, a 15 year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is coveted by all 30 teams according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He'll turn 16 in May. The signing period for international free agents begins July 2nd. Kovacevic says Sano could command a bonus of $3MM. Kovacevic says the Pirates are one of the favorites for Sano. GlobalPost has an informative video about the kid. In the clip, Sano wears apparel representing the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Cardinals at various times, for what it's worth. He was wearing an A's jersey when ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. and Luke Cyphers saw him. Sano is not worried about proving he's 15 years old, saying in the video, "Let them investigate me."

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com