Morning Report – 3-13-14 – Roster In Camp, ST, Best Defenders, My Team, Dee, Dom, Ike, Game Notes

Morning Report – 3-13-14 – Roster In Camp, ST, Best Defenders, My Team, Dee, Dom, Ike, Game Notes

Coming Up –

          10 am - D Whit - One Man's Opinion-The Kids Are Alright

          12 noon – Jack Flynn - A Funny Thing Happened To Me Today

2 pm –  BTBS - Top 43 Prospects - Houston Astros

4 pm -    MLB Draft Insider - Mock

6 pm -   Dylan Davis, Trea Turner, Kyle Freeland, Derek Hill

8 pm –   C - Kyle Schwarber - Indiana

Through his first two starts, Tyler Kolek's line is : 11 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 24 K/1 BB.

Kevin Kernan ‏@WheresKernan  - The Ruben Tejada Project goes into full swing the next 2 games as the Mets will try to get him going. Worked with Wally today on setup. I'm told by scouts that have seen Nick Franklin play that SS is a reach for him. As for Stephen Drew I would have signed him a month ago.

In many ways, spring training is an outdated ritual. Players work out year-round, so the notion that they need to run wind sprints with teammates to get back into shape is pretty antiquated. Hitters do benefit from facing live pitching, and pitchers do need to rebuild their arm strength after resting over the winter, but few major leaguers would suffer if teams cut spring training in half.

For one group, however, spring training remains essential. It’s a chance for these players to make a first impression with the major league manager and coaching staff, an opportunity to work on their still-developing skills and maybe perform so well that the decision-makers are compelled to put them on the big league roster. Spring training is, more than anything, about the prospects. http://grantland.com/features/mlb-prospect-philosophies-twins-red-sox-rays-marlins/

Best Defenders in 2014 per Bill James -

          Position      Player                 Projected Runs Saved

   P    Mark Buehrle, Blue Jays       6

R.A. Dickey, Blue Jays 

  C     Welington Castillo, Cubs       9

 1B    Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers     10

 2B    Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox        12

3B     Manny Machado, Orioles      21

Nolan Arenado, Rockies        

 SS    Andrelton Simmons, Braves   32

LF     Alex Gordon, Royals    17

CF    Carlos Gomez, Brewers 19

RF    Gerardo Parra, Diamondbacks       16

Shane Victorino, Red Sox      

I mentioned as a comment on my ‘Roster Cuts’ post yesterday that I would begin to build my team with four defensive chess pieces… C Travis d’Arnaud, 3B David Wright, CF Juan Lagares, and RF Curtis Granderson. I give each of them one point for defense. I then give Wright and Granderson a full point for offense, followed by a half point for d’Arnaud and Lagares (they may do better than this, but, for now, it’s an accurate projection).

I’m now at 4 starters, 4 points for defense, 3 points for offense.

My next move would be for a full point on offense… I choose 2B Daniel Murphy, who also brings along a ½ point for defense…

5 players, 4.5 points for defense, 4 points for offense.

For now, I have to let first base and shortstop play itself out in camp and on the phones with agents and General Managers. I’ll get back to these two positions 72 hours before opening day.

This leaves LF, and a pure balance would be a full point for offense and a ½ point for defense.

Dee Gordon –

Yes, that Dee Gordon, the one who has been one of the worst players in baseball on both sides of the ball over the last three seasons, and the same one who essentially lost his job to Nick Punto last season when the team decided it could no longer stomach him at shortstop during Hanley Ramirez‘ semi-regular absences. Since the Dodgers have a payroll of something like $750 billion, and Gordon has been so inadequate in his career, the fact that this might be the best they can do at second base is obviously a bit shocking. Jeff Sullivan called it “incredible” in his chat yesterday; Dave Cameron had a similar reaction in his podcast appearance. I’ve talked about it some at my site. Now we share it with you. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dee-gordon-and-winning-a-spring-battle/

Dom Smith –

        Dominic Smith, Mets: It's hard for a player to stand out for his defense at first base, the lowest position on Bill James' famed defensive spectrum. It's also rare that a teenager showcases the hands and polished footwork necessary to earn rave industry reviews at first."Elite" is how a rival front office person described Smith's defense this offseason, adding he had the "potential [to win] multiple Gold Gloves." The 18-year-old was the Mets first-round pick (11th overall) in 2013 primarily because of his offensive promise, but the left-hander's potential and polish at first is also a big part of the package. For starters, the Los Angeles native has some of the softest hands in the organization. During the instructional league last fall, it wasn't uncommon for Smith to compete against and best middle infielders in skills competitions that tested players' ability to field, transfer and throw a ball quickly and accurately. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140312&content_id=68720578&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb

Re: Ike Davis –

        Sandy – ‘should DH next week…”

        Ike – ‘I don’t know… have to run first…’

Mack – once again, Davis forgot to put the band aid over his mouth when he came out of the car…

Game notes –

                   It was all about pitching early on and one David Wright error. John Lannon pretty much sewed up a 25-man spot, with four excellent innings… he was followed by Carlos Torres who pitched two more scoreless innings and kept his spring training ERA at 0.00…Kyle Farnsworth might have pitched his last outing, giving up a 2-run homer to Kolton Wong…Joel Carrero just had a very unlucky outing… forced in a run with a bases loaded walk and then was charged with a second run when Jeff Walters threw a wild pitch (Carrero really hurt his chances here… you have to be perfect at his level to make and break camp)…

                   Eric Campbell played first base had another hit…you have to at this point in the spring admit that Juan Lagares has done everything he could… with a bat… to win a starting job in the Mets outfield.

                   Kirk Nieuwenhuis (.273) doing everything he can to beat out Matt den Dekker, tripled in the eight inning.

Bobby Parnell came in for the 9^th, and his fastball only hit  in the 88-89 range… hmm…

Josh Satin singles in the 9^th… no outs… down two… and tries stealing… WTF?

Stupid ending.

TTF –

                   Prediction - The Mets have assembled a few winning ingredients: pitching, prospects, veteran leadership and bona-fide superstars. The National League East is still a division in flux, but it’s also a division with lots of talent. Depending on how they address their remaining needs, the Mets could finish anywhere from second to fourth place. It seems likely they will stay in the wild card race as a dark horse, but they’re still a few moves from being a serious contender. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/new-york-mets-preview/41599#UYtEyGHExXK2VmgE.99