Morning Report - 3-14-14 - Cam-Chat, SPs, Aces, Chinaman, Umps, Game Notes

Coming Up –

        10 am -    Mack - Pick Up The Phone, Sandy

        12 noon – D Whit -  Unpopular Opinion-Don't trade for Franklin or Gregorious

2 pm –     Ernest Dove - The Forgotten Men In The Outfield

4 pm -    Top 10 LHP In 2014 MLB Draft - Updated 3-10-14

6 pm -   Derek Fisher, Carlos Rodon, Alex Jackson, Marcus Wilson

8 pm –   1B/C - Kevin Cron - TCU

10 pm – SB Nation – Mock

Cody Jones ‏@CJonesScout - #Gators RHP Karsten Whitson has been removed from the weekend rotation.


One of my sources told me that 'someone told him' that they thought they saw P Luis Mateo in camp and in uniform... how accurate is that?



Today's games - 

       NC State vs Florida State (Carlos Rodon vs. Luke Weaver)

       LSU vs. Vanderbilt  (Aaron Nola vs. Tyler Beede)

Dan Kirby ‏@DanMKirby  

Sprayberry (GA) 3B Michael Chavis with another HR tonight. Has 4 2B, 4 HR and a .621/.711/1.172 line over 10 G w/ 8 SB     

Cam-Chat –

          Comment From Guest - Now that it is down to Drew and Morales who signs first? Do both of these guys fall in as constellation prizes for Toronto and Baltimore respectively now that Santana has signed?

Dave Cameron: I’d guess Drew is the more likely of the two to wait until after the draft. I’d think Morales signs with Baltimore or Seattle pretty soon.

Comment From Chris - If you were the Mets, how would you handle your current SS and 1B situations?

Dave Cameron: Make a couple of trades.

SPs –

        Thanks to Jeff Zimmerman‘s excellent work, we know that teams averaged 360 days lost to the DL from their starters, in six trips. Knowing that there will be six trips to the DL that average 60 days long, can we find out how likely it is that two (or more) starters will be on the DL at one time? Matt Murphy helped slice the data, and it looks like the following things are true of the average team in a given year, given the information above:

* There’s an 11% likelihood that two starters will be injured at the same time.

* There’s a 4% likelihood that three starters will be injured at the same time.

* Teams will need to use an eighth starter for a six games a season, on average.

* There’s even a 1% likelihood that *four* starters will be injured at the same time.

* Even if a team only suffers four 60-day DL stints, that team will only have a complete opening day rotation for 36 games (22% of the season). http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/so-how-many-starters-does-a-team-need-then/

2 Aces –

Before Matt Harvey was hurt, he was virtually perfect. Before Matt Harvey was perfect, he was imperfect, just another talented young pitcher a bit rough around the edges. The emergence of Harvey took a few of the spotlights away from Zack Wheeler, but Harvey going down bumped Wheeler front and center. Wheeler, now, is the great hope for 2014, and should he be able to reach his lofty potential, then come 2015 one might observe one of the rarest of breeds, that being the optimistic Mets fan. Harvey’s an ace if he can come back healthy. Wheeler’s an ace if he can just polish his game. It’s exciting to root for a team with two aces. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/zack-wheelers-catching-and-zack-wheelers-pitching/

There was a time that comments like the ‘Chinaman’ bad joke stayed in the clubhouse. Most of this kind of humor comes from old guys like me that don’t realize that the Don Rickles type jokes aren’t kosher anymore… oops… sorry.

Anyway, Jon Niese got pissed and let his feelings be known to all the beat reporters hanging around like bad flys…

Anthony Rieber    ✔ @therealarieber - Jon Niese to a group of reporters: "Stop Tweeting about our clubhouse. That ----'s got to stop."

You just knew this info would get out via a tweet, didn’t you?

My opinions on the ‘quality’ of human beings being hired as Mets beat reporters has been long documented. Suffice to say, my generation left these kind of non-stories in the clubhouse. Nothing is sacred anymore and the youth being hired has no loyalties to anyone but their hand held. That’s the new world we live in.

Bill Metsiac –

Hi, Mack,I just had an idea for a new stat, now that we're entering the age of Instant Replay in MLB, and I'd like your thoughts. Suppose we track the number of challenges by mgrs per umpire, and then rated the umps by % of challenges that reversed the call. So if "umpire A" had 50 calls challenged in a season, and in 40 of them he was overruled, he'd get a 20% rating (10 of 50 upheld).My money'd be on Hernandez and Buckner to lead the majors in blown calls.What say you?

Mack – Actually, I like it. Trust me, there will be someone in MLB that will keep tract of the win-loss record by each umpire that raises his hand in the air for a decision that then becomes reviewed. My guess it will also clean up any personal bias against certain teams which will become more obvious as the seasons go on.

Game Notes –

Is it me, but does Dice-K give up a run every first inning he pitchers? Boy, it is an adventure watching this guy pitcher… two hits in the first two innings… a wild pitch… what exactly does TC see here? I’m never going to understand why or be comfortable with this guy on my team… 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 WP, 62 pitches (39 strikes)… I’m sorry, I just don’t drink the water.

Entire Mets offense first time around the lineup was a walk by Anthony Recker (.417) and a single by Matt den Dekker (.471).’DD’ is doing everything he can to win the 5^th outfielder.

Anybody tracking Ruben Tejada’s spring batting average?

I just looked and saw that coming up in the third is ‘Murphy, Wright and Granderson’… I like the ring to that! Got one single out of that from David… and then Josh Satin (.318) showed why he’s now a major leaguer.

Tejada had his 3^rd error on a routine grounder… came after hitting into inning ending double play… this is infield suicide

Rafael Montero came in for the third out in the 4^th inning. Sany Alderson has said that the Mets are considering Montero for the April pen… is this the first sign?

Noah Syndergaard struck out two in a 9-pitch 5^th inning… two more Ks in his second inning…  he did wind up giving up a run, but finished with 5-K in 3.2-IP… this was basically against the Nats’ ‘A’ team… are we sure about Vegas?

(this is exactly the six inning scenario I have talked about in the past…give up only one run in six innings and let the pen bring you home…)

The Mets scored three in the 8^th… but Thor (unfair 5.19-ERA) got in trouble and Jake deGrom (unfair 1.42-ERA) couldn’t hold the lead (3-R HR by Brock Peterson)…

          (my scenario only works if the pen works…)

Kirk Nieuwenhuis led the team back again in the top of the 9^th with a bases loaded single.

          (okay… one more chance for the pen…)

They let deGrom stay in to clean up his own mess, which he did.

Mets win.