The Morning Report 9.8.2015 | Niese Continuing to Make Mistakes, Cespedes Scorching HOT = Payday is Rising, Harper Calls Out Nationals Fans, More Reinforcements from AAA

Marc Carig | Newsday- Jonathon Niese retreated to the dugout, where he waved his arms and muttered as he slammed his glove into the bench. "We're going to get this thing right," said Niese, who was shelled for five runs in 31/3 innings in the Mets' 8-5 victory. Niese's anger stemmed from the curveball he threw to Wilson Ramos, which came to rest above the Mets' bullpen. The grand slam shaped Niese's five-run implosion in the fourth. "I promise you guys I'm not insane because I've been making the same mistake the last three games trying to get different results," Niese said. "It's just not working."

(Chris Soto: As of right now...Johnathan Niese is not in this club's playoff rotation. Colon's improvement over the past few starts at the same time of Niese's demise has all but sealed the deal. Even if Niese does right the ship during the rest of the season, it's going to take a massive collapse by Colon to jump over him in the depth chart at this point.)

Kristie Ackert | NY Daily News- Yoenis Cespedes may not be in a Mets uniform next season, but the slugger is certainly doing everything to extend his time with the team this season. “I don’t really know what they are thinking, but my plan is to go out there and have fun,” Cespedes said of possibly re-signing with the Mets. “I enjoy the team. It’s a really great team. I love the city of New York, I love the fans and what we’ve got going here is a really good thing.“I don’t really think about (the future), I just want to go out there and do my job and produce and get great numbers.”

(Chris Soto: Folks...I'll be the first one to say it....With Cespedes performance since coming over to NY, I don't think there is any way imaginable that the club is going to be able to re-sign him. If you remember back in 2004, Carlos Beltran had an unbelievable September and October for the Houston Astros. Despite hitting .267 on the season his ridiculous .417 AVG and 8 HRs in October led to a massive contract offer from the Mets that many others were willing to match. Cespedes may be looking at a $22-25M payday per year with his performances, something I'm not sure the Mets can, nor wish, to match.)

Mikah Sargent | TCPalm-  Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is known for his brash attitude, but on Monday he may have crossed a line — by calling out the home fans. Asked after the Nats' Monday loss to the New York Mets about the game's atmosphere, he quipped, "I mean, [the fans] left in the seventh, so that was pretty brutal." Harper isn't even the only Nats player to call out their fans recently. Closer Jonathan Papelbon said he had a "bone to pick" with fans who weren't enthusiastic during a recent extra-inning win Friday.

(Chris Soto: The frustrations continue to boil over for the Nationals. Anytime they score 5 runs with Max Scherzer on the mound....they expect to win. However, the Mets offense came out and punched the Nationals right in the gut by scoring 5 on Scherzer and another 3 on their bullpen to drop the magic number by 2 in one night. With Harvey and deGrom scheduled for the next two games...the Nationals have their backs to the wall and are going to be swinging like hell. It's the Mets job to kick them through that wall and FINISH THE JOB!)

Avery Decker | Metsmerized Online- The Mets announced they have recalled infielder Dilson Herrera, catcher Johnny Monell and RHP Logan Verrett from Triple-A Las Vegas following Monday’s game. The Las Vegas 51′s season came to a close after they were eliminated from postseason play, so the timing here made sense. Verrett appeared in 10 games for the Mets in 2015, going 1-0 with a save and a 1.93 ERA. Monell hit .178 with four RBIs in 24 games earlier this season for the Mets. Herrera was with the Mets at the beginning of the 2015 season, hitting .195 with two homers and four RBIs before being sent to the minors in June.

(Chris Soto: Some more reinforcements for Terry Collins bench. Verrett may be the most important guy here as they look to continue to limit Harvey's innings. Verrett and Harvey may end up in a piggyback system like the ones used down in the Savannah and Port St. Lucie minor league teams; Harvey for 4 IP, Verrett for 3IP, then turn it over to the bullpen.)

Baseball: Jarrod Parker, Mike Montgomery, Dominican 16-year olds, Bryce Harper

Jarrod Parker, A's: Parker put his 2010 Tommy John surgery behind him last year, particularly in the second half, earning a September callup and a spot on the D-backs' postseason roster. He was then the key prospect sent to Oakland in the Trevor Cahill deal, immediately becoming the A's top prospect. He has a very good four-pitch mix and his stuff was all the way back. He also came back a more mature and complete pitcher, one who used his time away from the game wisely. He profiles as a top-of-the-rotation starter and should get an opportunity in Oakland in the very near future. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120112&content_id=26330142&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26330142

Mike Montgomery, Royals: Little seemed to go right for Montgomery in 2011. He headed into the year at the front of an impressive group of pitching prospects in the Royals system, with many thinking he'd be the first to reach Kansas City. The Triple-A Pacific Coast League handed Montgomery a healthy serving of humble pie, as he struggled with his command for much of the season. His pure stuff is still as good as it ever was, with the potential to have three plus pitches, and he did stay healthy all season. Montgomery seemed to learn from his tough season and it could serve him well this year, when the 22-year-old should break through to the big leagues. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120113&content_id=26339048&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26339048

Segura goes on to argue that organizations are mistakenly placing a premium on youth in the Dominican because only six players that were signed at age 16 made big league debuts between 2008-2011, while 17-year-old signees had 23 debuts and 18-year-old signees had 24 debuts. Organizations do not sign Dominican teenagers to six-figure deals merely to have them scratch the big leagues, though. They wish to exploit the perceived inefficiencies of the Latin American market and buy premium talent at a fraction of the market value.

Keep in mind an important caveat to this discussion of “value” in regards to Dominican prospects. The lavish bonuses dished out to 16-year-old players are not always directly tied to their skill level. Teams sometimes need to vastly overpay if their connections with the local buscones (or trainers) are not well-established. These buscones also serve as the young players’ agents, drumming up interest and creating an auction-like atmosphere of unfettered capitalism that drives up asking prices. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/younger-is-not-always-better-in-the-dominican/

Bryce Harper, Nationals: Harper might play all of the 2012 season at age 19, but it would be a mistake to think that's a reason he won't be in Washington this year. All signs point to him getting every chance to make the Opening Day roster, and why not? Harper has already shown an ability to make adjustments. He started out slowly after his double-jump to Double-A last summer, but was just heating up when he got shut down by a minor hamstring injury. No matter, Harper simply went to the Arizona Fall League and raked there. His plus power shows up in games consistently, and he didn't strike out quite as much as some thought he would. Harper gets on base, is an aggressive base runner and is improving in the outfield, where his plus arm works very well. He could be ready to take the nation's capital by storm on Opening Day. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120120&content_id=26407614&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26407614

Drew Storen, Harmon Killebrew, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strassburg, Bryce Brentz, Yonder Alonso

Drew Storen: Storen, 23, wasting no time making it to the majors after being selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft. He was a spot-closer as a rookie in 2010, recording five saves in 54 appearances. This year he’s taken over closing duties full-time and is next to unhittable. The righty has surrendered just one earned run all season in 19.2 innings (0.46 ERA) and has already topped his 2010 total with eight saves. This may be one of the best young closers in the game. bleacher report  



Harmon Killebrew: "It is with profound sadness that I share with you that my continued battle with esophageal cancer is coming to an end. With the continued love and support of my wife, Nita, I have exhausted all options with respect to controlling this awful disease. My illness has progressed beyond my doctors' expectation of cure. I have spent the past decade of my life promoting hospice care and educating people on its benefits. I am very comfortable taking this next step and experiencing the compassionate care that hospice provides. I am comforted by the fact that I am surrounded by my family and friends. I thank you for the outpouring of concern, prayers and encouragement that you have shown me. I look forward to spending my final days in comfort and peace with Nita by my side." mlb



Bryce Harper has received his fair share of attention over the years, coming as close to being labeled a prodigy as anyone in recent history. As a sophomore in high school, he was launching 500 foot home runs in Major League Stadiums. At 16 years old, Sports Illustrated put him on the cover of their magazine. At 17, he left high school a year early to compete with wood bats against Junior College players and hit 31 home runs, breaking the previous school record for homers in a season… which was 12. He also won the Golden Spikes award as the best amateur player in the country during the year in which he should have been a Junior in High School, and then was the first overall pick in the draft last summer. fangraphs



Stephen Strassburg: Washington Nationals righthander Stephen Strasburg is almost ready to throw off a mound as he continues to his recovery from Tommy John surgery, The Washington Post reports. Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty told the newspaper that Strasburg "feels great." And McCatty added: "I know he's bored. I know he's probably going nuts. But he's sticking with it." Washington Nationals righthander Stephen Strasburg is almost ready to throw off a mound as he continues to his recovery from Tommy John surgery. (AP Photo)Strasburg's sensational rookie season (5-3, 2.91 ERA, 92 strikeouts in 68 innings) ended after just 12 starts last season when he felt discomfort in his elbow during an Aug. 21 outing. He had ligament-replacement surgery Sept. 3. The typical recovery and rehab period takes between 12 and 18 months. Sporting News



The Red Sox supplemental first-round pick last year, (Bryce) Brentz had a pretty disastrous pro debut—he finished the season at .198/.259/.340 with strikeouts in 29 percent of his at-bats. He's still striking out more than one would like, but he has cut his strikeout rate to 20 percent this year, and when he does make contact, he's stinging the ball. Brentz now has a 24-game hitting streak, which faced serious jeopardy on May 3 when he walked three times but managed to go 1-for-1 in his only official at-bat. He's had no such drama in the past four games with at least three hits in each game BA  


Yonder Alonso - I do believe it’s officially time to start a Free the Prospect campaign here. Alonso, the Reds’ top pick in 2008 (No. 7 overall) is just going off. Last week, he hit .433 (13-for-30) with a homer and 7 RBIs. In May, Alonso has hit .404 with a .475 OBP and .692 SLG. He’s got a 10-game hitting streak going and you can see his season stats below. Really a first baseman, he’s not going to see any time there in Cincy, so he’s been playing left field. Sure, Jonny Gomes has struggled, but there’s also Chris Heisey up there, so there doesn’t appear to be an opening for Alonso. For now, at least, he’ll have to just keep on raking in Triple-A. mlblogs