Willie Harris played five positions -- six, including designated hitter -- but spent most of his time in left field. He is a point of contention amidst the alleged sabermetric groupthink that is Amazin' Avenue. Harris was a leading vote-getter for the AA Mets' Worst Hitter Award, yet I don't think he was as horrible as alleged. He posted a .351 OBP as a reserve while playing, in my estimation at least, solid defense. Yes, his power was Tholian and he probably played a bit too often but Harris wasn't the catastrophe that many made him out to be. That said, securing a Harris return in 2012 should not be an offseason priority. - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/10/25/2494933/2011-postmortem-left-field
In an era when 40 home runs might lead a league, Dave Kingman stood out. The 6-foot-6 slugger, nicknamed Kong for his larger-than-life displays of power, was a prodigious longball threat, bashing 442 homers over the course of a 16-year career from 1971-1986. He led his league just twice, but only Mike Schmidt (495) and Reggie Jackson (448) went yard more often during that timeframe. And while HitTracker had yet to be invented, few people produced the distance that he did with his homers; his April 14, 1976 shot is said to be the longest in the history of Wrigley Field; it left the Friendly Confines and struck the third house beyond Waveland Avenue, some 530 feet away. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15364
You can generously say the Mets' timetable for returning to division-title contention is 2013, when pitching prospects Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Jeurys Familia might be legitimate major league contributors. But it is not until the following season that the Mets get true liberation from their weighty contracts, when Johan Santana is off the books and Jason Bay may be cleared off as well (assuming what may be a controversial vesting option based on plate appearances over the next couple of seasons does not kick in for 2014). Too often in the past the Mets made decisions based on public perception. That's how they got into the predicament of their cumbersome contracts in the first place. Rather than make pure baseball decisions, they signed big-ticket players to appease the fan base and sell tickets with little consideration for the down-the-road ramifications of those payroll commitments. www.espn.com
10-26-11: - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mike-newman-prospects-chat-102511 - Comment From Robert Carson - Is my fastball and slider enough to be a MLB middle reliever? Mike Newman: Fastball has enough giddy-up, but the slider still falls short. I guess I can mention this now since it was a couple of years ago, but near the trade deadline, I was specifically asked if he could be a guy who sat at 94 out of the pen as an adrenaline reliever. I thought he could at the time and still think he'll get a big league shot at some point.
Phil Humber:
Phil Humber had to make the Chicago White Sox's roster in spring training. Then he was expected to be a rotation fill-in while Jake Peavy was on the disabled list. Now, he's emerged as the team's best starter. Humber pitched seven shutout innings Saturday and the White Sox reached .500 for the first time since April 16, beating the Cubs 1-0. - http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310702116&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines
Dave Kingman:
Kingman has the most career homers of anyone on this bottom eight list, with a total of 442. But the 18.0 WAR he posted over his 15 year career was horrible, thanks to some awful defense in the oufield and a first base. A quarter of his career offensive value was lost due to that defense, using bWAR. He posted just three over 3.0 bWAR in his career just once, that beign 1979 where he led the league with 48 homers and a .956 OPS. But the awful defense and relatively short career ended up doing him in. - http://bloguin.com/theoutsidecorner/2011-articles/june/the-eight-worst-hitters-with-300-homers.html
Chris Schwinden:
7-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/07/best-mets-minor-league-surprises-mid-season-edition.html - Chris Schwinden – Buffalo, after two relief appearances with Bingo to start the season, the 6’3″ righty was quickly called up to Buffalo and placed in the starting rotation. He is the only prospect to show positive development at AAA this year while at the same time staying healthy. In 15 game starts, he is 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA. In 87.2 IP, he has given up a paltry 67 hits, with 75 K and 30 BB. His AAA opponents are hitting only .211 against him, and his WHIP is 1.11.
Juan Carlos Gamboa:
7-3-11: - The best bat so far on the GCL Mets team is shortstop Gamboa (.371/.436/.457/.893. The 20-year old played earlier this season in the Mexican League (.265), but his game has gone up a notch in Florida. He’s only 5-7, but he can run with the best of him.
Cory Mazzoni:
Mazonni made his first professional appearance for Brooklyn last night.
Mazzoni is an innings-eater: He has logged 1062/3 innings this year, 411/3 innings more than anyone else on N.C. State's staff. By having him pitch on Saturday, the Wolfpack bullpen could be saved for extended innings on Sunday. The junior right-hander has not given up a run in his last two starts covering 15 innings, victories over Boston College and Florida State. http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/03/1244333/avent-wont-gamble-again-will-play.html#ixzz1Obm2ZYVP
MAZZONI outdueled Clemson ace Scott Weismann in the 4-0 series opener, with the 4-hit shutout vaulting the Wolfpack on to a series victory over the #16 Tigers. It was the first shutout posted by N.C. State since a combined shutout vs. Texas in 2004. The 6-1, 195-pound righthander matched his career high with 10 strikeouts in the impressive series opener, while facing only 35 batters, with a pair of walks. Clemson ranks among the nation’s top offenses, currently owning a .318 team batting average while averaging nearly eight runs scored per game. Clemson managed a 2-out double by Jeff Schaus in the opening frame and Richie Shaffer had a leadoff single up the middle in the 2nd – but Mazzoni then retired 16 consecutive batters (and 20 of the next 21). The Tigers tried to rally, loading the bases with 2-outs in the 8th, but Schaus popped up to shortstop to extend the shutout. Two runners were aboard in the 9th, but Mazzoni closed things out on a Will Lamb groundout and Jason Stolz flyout to right field – http://collegebaseball360.com/2011/03/30/georgia-tech-corner-infielder-matt-skole-n-c-state-ace-cory-mazzoni-lead-week-6-primetime-performers
Cory Mazzoni has made strides this season, but he still lacks true upside. His fastball lacks movement and ranges from 89 to 93. He throws a workable changeup and a breaking ball that can be good at times. Mazzoni’s delivery is smooth and easy and he uses a 3/4 arm slot. His command has been inconsistent. http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/04/25/cory-mazzoni-draft-profile
4-18-11 from http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=410:college-baseball-weekend-09-observations&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11 on Cory Mazzoni: - Average height; thin and athletic; not projectable 3/4 arm slot with a low effort delivery Fastball without much movement; showed some good arm side run in the third but didn't last; 92 & 93 in the first, 92, 91 & 92 in the second, 89 in the third, 89 & 90 in the fifth, 91 in the sixth, 93 in the seventh (via announcer) Slider had hard 2-8 break early in the outing; worked well as a chase pitch; 81 in the first (via announcer) Curve ball has good shape and 1-7 movement; 79 & 81 in the first, 81 & 80 in the second (via announcer) Curve ball & slider started to blend together by the middle innings to the point where I started to wonder whether they were variations rather than unique pitches Straight change-up with some arm side run and drop; used judiciously and had hitters ahead of the pitch when he threw it; 81 in the second (via announcer) Fastball command was good in the first inning, but deserted him from that point on Fastball from the second inning on tended to be left up in the zone; hittable when he wasn't hitting his spots Command of his breaking ball(s) was significantly better; he often froze hitters with pitches on the black on both sides of the plate Got more aggressive in the strike zone when his command wouldn't let him hit corners with consistency
6-14-11: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/6/14/2222649/2011-mlb-draft-new-york-mets-review#storyjump - 2) Cory Mazzoni, RHP, North Carolina State: Low-90s fastball, sometimes faster, good breaking ball, good splitter, interesting stats. Note outstanding K/BB and K/IP ratios. 3.30 ERA, 137/29 K/BB in 115 IP.
6-22-11: - Draft Update: - 2nd round (71st overall) pick, SP Cory Mazzoni, signed for $437,500. Slot figure was $514,800. That’s called under-slotting.
