Mack - Old Interview - SP Robert Gsellman

I met with the Savannah Sand Gnats’ 2014 opening day pitcher, RHP Robert Gsellman. Gsellman is another of the premier crop of High School seniors that the Mets drafted in 2011. This one, was a 13^th round pick out of Hawthorne (CA) High School and was immediately assigned to the GCL Mets (7-G, 1-ST, 0-0, 4.15) after he signed. He shrugged off the ‘grind’ drag and put up impressive numbers in 2011 for Kingsport (11-G, 5-ST, 1-3, 3.92, 1.37), but it was 2013 in Brooklyn where he really began to get his game in shape (12-G, 12-ST, 3-3, 2.06, 1.01).

Gsellman did finish last year in Savannah, where the jump in levels created a drop in effectiveness  (K9 – 8.23 in Brooklyn; 4.33 in Savannah… BB9 – 1.54 in Brooklyn; 1.86 in Savannah). Still, his five Class A starts created a 3.72-ERA and led to him starting opening day yesterday.

Robert and I talked on the field after lunch this past Tuesday.

Mack – Robert, thanks for talking to me today. First of all, the same question I asked Chris (Flexen). How do you feel about being in such a pitcher rich organization which could lead to you being traded to accomplish your goals in this game?

Gsellman – It’s part of the process. I’m here to seize the opportunity and you never know what can happen… trades… injuries. I’m not worried. I’m young and I have a long way to go.

M – You weren’t picked until the 13^th round in 2011. At what point in the draft did you start worrying you weren’t going to hear your name called out?

G – I had no worries. I try not to worry about things like that. Whatever happens, happens.

M – You pitched well here in Savannah last year; however, your K9 did go down and you BB9 went up from low-A. Did you find the jump from Brooklyn a whole new ballgame?

G – No, but I worked hard last year with Marc Valdez (this year’s pitching coach) on some things.

M – On the same subject, what did you do in the off-season to help improve these numbers?

G – I worked on flexibility, on getting stronger, and my focus.

M – Scouts told me that your breaking ball needs some consistentcy. Will we see more of that pitch this year?

G – I did recognize the problem with that pitch and I also worked on it during the off-season.

At this point, the interview just sort of ended. Gsellman is a man of few words and, though I found him to be a very nice person, he was very guarded and what we call in the industry a ‘hard interview’.

I hope he brings this same business-like approach to the mound this year.

Richard Herr - So Whaddya Think? - 16

Signings

“So whaddya think?”

“Whaddya mean? What do I think?”

“Whaddya think about this sudden signing of three relievers?”

“When you think about it, it’s to be expected with Sandy.”

“Why?”

“What does Sandy avoid like the plague?”

“Spending money.”

“Yes, but I’m thinking of one aspect of that.”

“Well, let’s see...”

“I’m from New York. I can’t wait for you. The thing Sandy hates is long-term contracts.”

“That’s true.”

“So what you’re going to wind up with is a lot of lapsed contracts. That means a lot of guys become free agents and test the market.”

“Yes.”

“Then Sandy’s got a whole bunch of lapsed contracts he’s got to either renew, or find someone else to replace the player who’s left. Okay, we hope there’s going to be fewer and fewer of those, because we got rookies coming up to replace those larger contracts.”

“We gonna have that many rookies coming up the pipeline?”

“Not realistically, so you’re going to have a lot of late signings as both Sandy and the players test the market. Look for it in the future.”

Whenever Richard Herr isn’t solving all the Mets’ problems, he spends his time writing humorous science fiction novels.

You can see his books at https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Herr/e/B00J5XBKX4.

Tom Brennan - TOP 25 METS' PROSPECTS: # 19 DAVE ROSEBOOM

Tom Brennan - TOP 25 METS' PROSPECTS: # 19 DAVE ROSEBOOM

Dave Roseboom - like good, old reliable Paul Sewald, Dave is also not a blazing reliever.  Like good, old reliable Paul Sewald, Roseboom's lack of extreme velocity did not hinder him either.

The 6'2" 225 pound lefty (drafted in the 17th round in 2014) had a phenomenal AA season in 2016.  I don't know what else you'd call 52 games, a 1.87 ERA, a K per inning, a tiny 0.90 WHIP and an almost perfect 14 of 15 saves.  I call it phenomenal. 

Overall in his 3 year career,  he is 5-3, 2.29 with 26 of 29 saves.  In other words, he has gotten it done.  Almost every time.  Which is what you want from your relievers.  As close to perfect as possible.

Turning 25 during the season in 2017, he will face the "challenge that is Las Vegas", and hopefully he will be up to that task and have another great year. 

If injuries strike our major league lefty pen guys in 2017, Dave may get the call. Having "Phenomenal" at the top of your resume is always a plus.

THE BOOMER!  YEAH! 

Eddie Corona - The Unconventional Pitching Plan

Every MLB expert believes the Mets have one of the best Rotations in baseball. Most agree they could be one of the top 3 pitching staffs and several believe that if they pitch to their potential it could be the best starting five ever.

IF Healthy

This is the elephant in the room for the team in queens. All of the young aces are just as likely to win the CY Young as they are to end the season on the disabled list. From Syndergaard’s bone spur, Harvey’s Tommy John and thoracic outlet syndrome, deGrom’s ulnar nerve surgery, Matz’s bone spur and Wheeler’s Tommy John, they all have the asterisk of “if they can stay healthy”, they could accomplish greatness. The talent has never been debatable.

Therefore it is the objective of the front office to develop a plan that can possibly help these young thoroughbreds remain on the field. I believe the days of the 220 Innings, 30 plus starts starters are over (as hard as this is to admit). In 2016, only 16 pitchers reached 200 innings. That is 1 pitcher per half the teams.

So I propose an out of the box thought… Say we list the starter 1-5 as Syndergaard, Harvey, deGrom, Matz and Wheeler (order doesn’t matter in this example). Here goes…

A starter pitches every 5 day or in essence receives 4 days off between starts. I propose that once a year you give ever starter 10 days off, around the 60th. In this plan you need a 6th pitcher to step up for about 5 starts. Fortunately for the metropolitans, this works out perfectly since we have a Gsellman ready to take the ball. It has become universally accepted that every team uses between 7-10 starters a year. I believe this happens because there is not enough recovery time for these athletes.

So how would this look like for the Mets…

Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
Syndergaard	Gsellman	Gsellman	Gsellman	Gsellman	Gsellman	Syndergaard
Harvey	Harvey	Syndergaard	Syndergaard	Syndergaard	Syndergaard	Harvey
deGrom	deGrom	deGrom	Harvey	Harvey	Harvey	deGrom
Matz	Matz	Matz	Matz	deGrom	deGrom	Matz
Wheeler	Wheeler	Wheeler	Wheeler	Wheeler	Matz	Wheeler
rest	Syndergaard	Harvey	deGrom	Matz	Wheeler

As you can see in this chart, beginning with rounds 2,3,4,5 and 6, you begin to swap out a starter giving each pitcher 10 days to recover and recharge.

I do not believe a 6 man rotation is the way to go. Pitchers are accustomed to pitching every 5 days, but there is a wear and tear of a long 162 game season that takes a toll on a pitcher.  I think with the new MLB collective bargaining agreement having a 10 game disables list, this plan or a version of it can be implemented. I also believe this plan suits the current Mets roster perfectly. 

I admit I am no doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once…

JEURYS FAMILIA RANKED 9TH ON MLB NETWORK’S TOP 10 RELIEF PITCHERS RIGHT NOW!

February 6, 2017 – New York Mets relief pitcher Jeurys Familia was ranked 9th on MLB Network’s Top 10 Relief Pitchers Right Now! program yesterday. Familia finished one spot ahead of the Astros’ Will Harris and one spot behind the Yankees’ Dellin Betances.

Taking into account player performance over several seasons with an emphasis on 2016, a number of offensive and defensive metrics both advanced and traditional, and projected performance for the upcoming season, MLB Network’s Top 10 Right Now! series ranks the top players at each position heading into the 2017 season.

In addition to Familia, Mets teammate Yoenis Cespedes previously ranked 2nd on MLB Network’s Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now! list, while Noah Syndergaard ranked 9th on the Top 10 Starting Pitchers Right Now! list.

The complete ranking of relief pitchers is listed below, and an embeddable video recap on Familia can be seen here:

Top 10 Relief Pitchers Right Now!

1.    Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians

2.    Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees

3.    Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles

4.    Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

5.    Wade Davis, Chicago Cubs

6.    Mark Melancon, San Francisco Giants

7.    Seung Hwan Oh, St. Louis Cardinals

8.    Dellin Betances, New York Yankees

9.    Jeurys Familia, New York Mets

10.  Will Harris, Houston Astros

Now in its seventh season, MLB Network’s Top 10 Right Now! series is hosted by Brian Kenny with contributing analysis from MLB Network on-air personalities, Boston Red Sox senior advisor of baseball operations and renowned sabermetrician Bill James, President of SABR Vince Gennaro and MLB.com analyst Mike Petriello. The rankings will continue next Sunday, February 12 with MLB’s top ten center fielders unveiled at 9:00 p.m. ET, featuring analysis from MLB Network’s Preston Wilson, and the top ten catchers at 10:00 p.m. ET, with analysis from MLB Network’s Dave Valle.

About MLB Network:

MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, featuring the multiple Emmy Award-winning MLB Tonight, live regular season and Postseason game telecasts, original programming, highlights, and insights and analysis. MLB Network debuted on January 1, 2009 in a record-setting 50 million homes, is currently distributed in approximately 68 million homes throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and is available for live, authenticated streaming via MLB.com At Bat and MLBNetwork.com. For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to www.MLBNetwork.com.

Contact: Amanda Rodriguez (amanda.rodriguez@mlb.com )

BREAKING NEWS - Adam Rubin

Adam Rubin ‏@AdamRubinESPN  

3 hours ago

After 15 years covering the Mets, I'm leaving the beat ... and journalism. Thanks so much for the long-standing support! Joining PR world.

Richard Herr - So Whaddya Think - 15

The Dude

“So whaddya think?”

“Whaddya mean? What do I think?”

“Whaddya think about Lucas Duda for next year?”

“He’s coming off an injury.”

“True.”

“An injury to the back.”

“I know.”

“It’s hard to tell with those things, but I’m leaning toward he’ll be all right.”

“Why do you say that?”

“First off, let me talk about my dear friends in the New York Press, or as I like to call them ‘The grass is always greener guys.’ They don’t give Lucas the credit he deserves.”

“For instance?”

“They’re always whining about his shortcomings. I won’t list them here, but I’ll get to them.”

“You always do manage to get around to saying things.”

“It’s a talent I have. Anyway, the press is always questioning his abilities. They think we should get someone else. Let’s remember something: in 2014 and 2015, he was one of the ten best first basemen in the majors. The press keeps holding him up to some standard, like he should be Babe Ruth or something. There’s 750 guys on the active rosters at any given moment. None of them is Babe Ruth.”

“So we’ve established what he’s not.”

“To a very demanding standard.”

“So what, in addition to being one of the 10 best, is he?”

“He’s a guy who has hit about 30 homers a season when well.”

“The ‘when well’ thing is the sticking point. Let’s remember he’s coming off back injury.” 

“Let’s address that.”

“You mean you’re actually going to stick to a subject?”

“Sometimes I have to pause in my narrative to give you some background on the story,--Now that reminds me of the time when--”

“--Yes, I certainly admire how you stick to a story.”

“You bet. Now what was I saying?”

“You were going to talk about Duda’s injury.”

“Oh, yes. He had a back injury, and everyone’s worried that he won’t have as much torque in his swing. This is a consideration. It was a consideration with Don Mattingly when he played. However, if it were a problem, it might work to Duda’s benefit.”

“How’s that?”

“I have never seen anyone smack so many shots into the middle of a shift and make out as that guy. If he’s going to lose some torque in his swing, it could have him spraying balls all over the place, and force the fielders to cover the whole field. He’d use the Wee Willie Keeler philosophy a little more often.”

“But he’s a homerun hitter.”

“He certainly is. And so is Ryan Howard. But both Duda and Howard have the power to send the ball over the fence in the opposite field. Howard makes a living off it, and Duda’s hit enough to shoe he can do it too. Lucas does not necessarily need that much torque.”

“You like the idea of hitting to the opposite field?”

“Not to be sneezed at. I’ll go back to my example of a tie game, bottom of the ninth, two out, guy on third; you only need a single. Is it smarter to try to hit to the right side with three guys over there, or to the left side where they’ve got a Lonely Guy?”

“But can Duda do that?”

“He’s done it.”

“Huh?”

“Back in 2011, when he was just a rookie, he hit .292. He managed that by hitting an awful lot of balls to the opposite side. Once he was established, he started concentrating on home runs and pulling. Average went down; homers went up.”

“Homers buy you Cadillacs, single buy you Chevies.”

“Both buy you MVPs.”

“Yeah, but how do you manage that?”

“Be smart. Look at the numbers. Duda kills when he’s got no strikes on him, he’s OK with one strike, and stinks when he’s got two strikes. I think he’s got to pull back on the swing when he’s behind in the count, particularly with a guy on third with less than two outs.”

“So that’s all he’s got to do?”

“No. The last part he needs help on. The Co-Chairmen of Swagger on this team, Cespedes and Syndergaard, need to take Lucas aside and teach him self-confidence. They’ve got to transform him into a fire-breathing, pitcher-eating monster when he comes to bat. We all know he’s a gentle giant, and he can continue to be that in the clubhouse, but I think he can stand to be a little more aggressive when he’s hitting.”

“To summarize...?”

“Be aggressive. Be smart. Let’s see how you’ve recovered from the surgery. Don’t listen to all those people who think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.”

“I’m shocked.”

“Why?”

“You were clear and concise.”

“You should see how clear and concise I am with a fresh drink in front of me.”

Whenever Richard Herr isn’t solving all the Mets’ problems, he spends his time writing humorous science fiction novels.

You can see his books at https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Herr/e/B00J5XBKX4.

Tom Brennan - TOP 25 METS' PROSPECTS: # 20 PAT MAZELKA

Tom Brennan - TOP 25 METS' PROSPECTS: # 20 PAT MAZELKA



Pat Mazelka is a 6"3, 210 lefty hitting catcher who had a phenomenal 2015 hitting season (.354/.459/.540 in 62 games) in Kingsport after he was drafted as a 21 year old in 2015. 2016 in full season ball with the Columbia Fireflies proved challenging, as he was hurt, limiting him to 70 games, but with a .305/.414/.402 line. 

He finished the season on an absolute tear, going 19 for 41 in his last 10 games.

Just 64 Ks in over 550 plate appearances in his career.   Nice! In his career, a stellar .329/.432/.469.  Certainly has to be one of the very top batting averages for anyone in baseball's minor leagues with at least that many at bats.

Pat has to be slated for St Lucie to start 2017, now that Tomas Nido will certainly be promoted to AA in 2017.  A lefty hitting catcher that can really hit has to be attractive, and most likely, this gent will show up in the majors by late 2018 or 2019.  

Negatives?  Will he be able to stay at catcher, having only tuned down 36 of 120 runners in just 67 games behind the dish.  He did play 11 errorless games at 1B in 2015.  Having him down the road as a back up catcher and 1B and pinch hitter is a possibility, if he can not hit enough to snag a major league starting catcher or 1B slot.

I'd like Pat to replicate Tomas Nido's feat of 2016, and win the FSL batting title as a catcher in 2017, and add some more long ball pop, to move him towards becoming a bona fide major league hitter.

Mack Ade - Addison Reed

Ya know, if you ask 100 Mets fans how pitcher Addison Reed became a Met, at least 90 of them would tell you via free agency.

It simply isn’t true.

On August 30, 2015, the Mets traded Matt Koch and Miller Diaz to the Arizona Diamondbacks for the then 26-year old Reed. How did that work out?

Koch finally made it to the majors in 2016 where he went 1-1, 2.00, 0.72, 7-G, 2-starts, 18-IP, 10-K. Diaz still is pitching at the AA level, though he did have some decent success at that level last season (17-relief appearances, 2.82).

But all this pales at the success that Reed has brought to the Mets. He pitched in 17 games for the Mets in 2015 and posted a 1.17-ERA. He followed this last season with 80 appearances and a stat line of 1.97, 0.94.

Rylan Edwards, of Rotographs, wrote an article in October 216 about the top relievers in baseball and had Reed on the top portion of the list –

Addison Reed seems to have figured something out, posting career bests in both K/9 and BB/9. He induced hitters to chase more often than at any point in his career and Reed’s first-pitch strike rate ranked third among qualified relievers. With improvements like those, I can overlook some of the good fortune he experienced with respect to strand rate and HR/FB%.

         Former Mack’s Mets writer, Jack Flynn, who has re-joined the site this week, had this spin –

            Forget about Matt Harvey and how his recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome will go. Forget about Zack Wheeler and the very real possibility that Tommy John surgery has robbed him of the chance to ever be a productive major league pitcher.

The most compelling comeback story in Flushing for 2017 is that of Addision Reed – and if he can sustain the magic that has transformed him from a failed closer into an elite set-up man.

It’s easy to forget that Reed came to the Mets as an afterthought – a late August 2015 transaction that went relatively unnoticed given the expectations that New York had for him. The Mets didn’t expect Reed to replicate his performance during his first three full years in the big leagues, when he saved over 100 games. They simply hoped he would be one of the bridges from their emerging young starters to their fully emerged closer Jeurys Familia.

Reed did just that over the last month of the 2015 season and through the Mets’ unexpected run to a National League pennant. Despite being lit up in the final game of the World Series, Reed emerged as a dominant set-up man in 2016, putting up the best single-season ERA and WHIP of his career.

Was it the move to a less pressure-filled role that allowed Reed to blossom? Was it the gradual transformation from a fly ball pitcher to a ground ball pitcher that began while Reed was in Arizona? Or is it simply a matter of a young man fully harnessing his talent as he matured into life as a professional baseball player?

The Mets may not even know the answer – and they very likely do not care. Reed will likely be given a chance to close if and when Familia misses time to begin the 2017 season as a result of an off-season domestic violence dispute. Reed has a closer’s pedigree, which sets him apart from the rest of the Mets’ bullpen right now.

Another factor to consider is Reed’s impending free agent status (the Mets control him only through 2017). Closers get paid more than set-up men – and Reed must know that the more time he spends in the eighth inning means the less money he will be spending over the next three to five years. Will Reed be able to ignore that and put in another dominant campaign for the Orange and Blue? Or will the desire to maximize every dollar in free agency become a distraction that affects his performance?

Reed’s ability to hold down the closer role in Familia’s absence – and then slip seamlessly back into the set-up role he was so successful in last year – will go a long way toward determining of the Mets can challenge Washington in the NL East this year. It will also go a long way toward determining him how the Mets – and the rest of the major leagues – will view him in 2018 and beyond.

And Reed is far from being over the hill. He will pitch 2017 as a 28-year old and we all know that relievers can last in this game far longer than starters. He is scheduled for free agency in 2018 and I can’t imagine the Mets finding a better pitcher to handle the 8^th inning than Reed would in 2018 and 2019.

Opinion: Why is it that teams in general and the Mets in particular just don’t commit long term money to good relievers? You need at least seven of these guys on your 25-man squad and three of them better be shut down fireballers.

I never understood why a team has no problem keeping a kid through his arbitration years, but won’t invest money past that if he developed into a premium player at the position he is playing. It has to be money, right?

Two good things have happened this past week to strengthen the pen. 

The re-signing of Fernando Salas and Jerry Blevens will help set up a 6th-7th-8th-9th inning back-end bullpen of Blevens-Salas-Hansel Robles-Reed until Jeurys Familia returns from his impending suspension.

As for Reed, lock this guy down through the 2019 season and pray that Jenrry Mejia can return someday to join Reed and Jeurys Famila as a killer back end bullpen.