3-6-13 – LaTroy Hawkins, Sean Kazmar, Hugo Chavez, Pitching Mess

P LaTroy Hawkins pitched two innings in the ‘B’ game played at the Marlins complex on Tuesday morning: 1-R, 1-H, 1-K, 1-BB.

The important thing is he’s back on the mound which is a first for Hawkins this spring. Again, it seems like the veterans have their say during this extended spring training.

Hawkins, though 40-years old, still has the skills (2012 LAA: 48-G, 3.64) and is expected to make the 25-man come April 1^st.

SS Sean Kazmar was signed to a minor league contract by the Atlanta Braves. Kazmar played the 2012 season for both Binghamton (57-G, 195-AB, .236) and Buffalo (11-G, 29-AB, .138). He was released by the Mets at the end of the season.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died.

       There will be some baseball ramifications here. No one loved baseball more than Chavez and, though his government was very anti-American (no diplomatic relations/no ambassador) he still welcomed the VSL association with the MLB and welcomed Americans to their winter ball program. There has been kidnapping problems in the past, but the incidents have been minimal. We’ll keep an eye on this, especially regarding recently signed Venezuelan prospects, like LHP Adrian Almeida, RHP Ronald Guedez, and SS Miguel Patino.  The Mets could consider sending them to the DSL program until things calm down.

Starting pitching was supposed to be a strength — perhaps the only strength — for the Mets this season. But now the starting pitching, in addition to the bullpen, is just a mess. Think about it; the rotation was supposed to be Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey, Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee and Matt Harvey. Pretty solid. But of course, Dickey was traded. He was replaced by Shaun Marcum, who got beaten up in his first Spring Training start, then asked to be held out of game action. He finally returned to the mound on Tuesday, pitching two scoreless innings in a “B” game. But by all accounts he is not close to being ready.

       This comes from one of the ultra-negative Mets sites which seem to be growing. Things aren’t getting any better in camp and we should read a lot more of stuff like this well into the season.

Mets: Sean Kazmar, Danny Muno, Daniel Murphy, Off-Season Grades

 • Jan 10: MI Sean Kazmar - The 27-yr old '04 fifth rounder of the Padres is one of the few players on this list who never really had many expectations. Very early on he proved he wasn't much of a hitter, evident by his .255 career minor league average. However, Kazmar had two things that kept him moving up the ladder: He had decent plate discipline and he was a good fielder between short and second. Once again, he had 39 major league at bats and he batted just .205. Pretty much a pure minor league depth pickup. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/31/2753903/taking-inventory-of-the-mets-minor-league-free-agents  

1-30-12 - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/30/2757346/2012-amazin-avenue-top-50-mets-prospects-21-30  SS Danny Muno - To this point, it looks like the Mets got a steal in Muno, their 2011 eighth round selection who signed for just $10,000. The soon-to-be 23-yr old switch-hitter out of Fresno St. would go on to have one of the most impressive debuts of any player drafted in a season for the Cyclones reminiscent of Ceciliani's 2010. Muno would lead the league in average, OBP and doubles while ranking third in SLG. However, like Ceciliani Muno would post an unsustainable .435 BABIP; but his unheard of 16% walk rate will help cushion the blow as he regresses. Though he has a strong arm there are questions if Muno has the lateral quickness to stick at short. Additionally, scouts don't see him developing a ton of power and so some see him more as a utility infielder with good on-base skills, not unlike Royals utility man Chris Getz. He probably sports a little more power/overall hitting ability and while it's not the sexiest comp, for $10k it'd definitely be a win for Sandy and Co.

Daniel Murphy was in Manhattan on Tuesday night to be honored at the Thurman Munson Awards Dinner. He said he was continuing to work on his timing at second base, where he is expected to start spring training. He said that he had been in touch with several of his teammates and that they were all just as eager as he was to start the season. Murphy said he recently sent Ike Davis a text message saying he was hoping to bat in front of him in the order for the additional protection. Murphy said Davis responded with a text that read, “Let’s go dominate.” http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/mets-murphy-looks-on-the-bright-side/#more-56873

Mets: Considering the financial mess the Mets are in right now, their offseason has to be taken in that light. They’ve added a few spare parts but nothing that will impact the team enough. I don’t understand the idea of giving Frank Francisco two years at $12 million to close, considering their situation. It would have taken a minor miracle to do anything with the bad contracts of Johan Santana and Jason Bay. The one thing I would have explored is the market for David Wright. He’s still in the prime of his career, and a change of scenery would do him well. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/offseason-grades-nl-east/16870/