Monthly Archives: February 2007
Mets closer Billy Wagner tried out his splitter today in the Mets’ 5-4 loss to the Tigers, writes MLB.com‘s Marty Noble.
Wagner said of his new offering:
“I was giddy with it, Lo Duca wondered whether I’d
really throw it. When I did, it did exactly what I wanted it to do.
It’s a pitch they’ll probably take until they’ve seen more of it. I
want it to be a dead fish [an offspeed pitch away from the hitter].
It’ll probably be a work in progress all year. There will be some good
ones and some bad ones. I’ve just got to keep the bad ones away from
the bats.”
Noble also offers notes on the Mets spring uniforms and the pronunciation of Philip Humber‘s name.
…splitters and sliders are two pitches that if hung can go a long way—now wagner throws both—and a splitter puts a lot of stress on the fingers, which wagner has had problems with…
…i trust wagner and peterson, but at the same time am a little worried…we’ll see what the rest of spring training brings…
At his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin provides a recap of Mets 5-4 loss to the Tigers in their Grapefruit League opener.
In addition to the recap, Rubin provides a link to the box score and play-by-play.
Rubin has also posted an interview with new Met David Newhan, who talks about his likely role as left-handed pinch hitter.
On a team that already features David Wright and Jose Reyes, along with Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez and John Maine, the Mets also have Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber and Lastings Milledge as big time prospects whom the team is expecting big things from fairly soon, while Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez are seemingly just a year or two away.
Keith H recently sent in an e-mail asking…
“What are the odds of these prospects all panning out?”
Matthew Cerrone…
This is an interesting question, in that it is very unrealistic to expect that every promising, hight-touted prospect will turn in to Wright and Reyes.
Of the bunch, who do feel is most likely to succeed, and whose talent do you question the most?
Matt Meyers, of Baseball America, home of the 2007 Prospect Handbook…
It depends on your definition of “panning out.”
It is extremely unlikely that they all become stars like Reyes and Wright, but that doesn’t make them failures 
either because Reyes and Wright have set a very high standard. There is often a sense that if a top prospect does not become a star he has failed in some way, but that is not fair to the prospect.
I’d say Milledge is primed to become an above-average outfielder, but not a superstar. However, I don’t think an all-star appearance or two is out of reach.
I’d say the same for Pelfrey and Humber (above-average starters) with Pelfrey having a greater chance of being a dominant force because of his exceptional fastball. These projections may disappoint some Mets fans, but in a market where guys like Gil Meche are getting $55 million contracts, getting an above-average performance from your players before they hit free agency is incredibly valuable.
For me, Martinez is the most likely to approach the level of Wright and Reyes because his accomplishments at his age are so remarkable. A lot can go wrong between now and the big leagues because he is so young, but he proved himself to be a rare talent with his performance last season.
I question Gomez’s talent the most because the most important of the five tools (hitting) is his weakest tool. That doesn’t mean I think he is a fraud because if you read my Mets Top 10 Prospects List at Baseball America, I rated him as the Mets third best prospect ahead of Humber. Gomez, however, has the most boom or bust potential of the group in my opinion.
Regis Courtemanche…
Usually with a class of prospects being as large as the Mets have, not all of them will pan out.
I have seen Milledge play the most and have confidence that if he continues to develop, he will be a great major-league talent.
I have my money on Martinez, who, if he stays on track, I eventually see becoming better than Gomez and Milledge due to the power he already possesses at 18.
Evan Drellich…
Talent-wise, Martinez is the best prospect of the bunch, but he hasn’t had success above low A where he hit .192 in the FSL last season.
I’m sure he is capable of doing well this year at the higher levels, but until he puts up respectable numbers in St. Lucie and Binghamton, where the Mets may aggressively send him to start the season, and where I go to school, it’s hard to nuts about him.
I doubt if Gomez, like Milledge, will ever really be a power guy, but both players can be productive outfielders with speed. Gomez’s large frame is encouraging though.
It should be noted that there won’t be room for all three outfield prospects at Shea as long as Beltran’s around.
Anthony De Rosa…
I think if the Mets are able to harness the raw talent that Milledge has displayed, much like Reyes who was a wild colt when he first arrived, they will have something special on their hands.
Its a tough thing to predict the guy who will ultimately succeed, but looking at their abilities Martinez would have the highest payoff. The Mets would benefit the most from having Pelfrey or Humber succeeding because of the value of young pitching, especially given the age at the top of the Mets current pitching configuration.
Matthew Cerrone…
Exactly, which means the most important part of this equation could end up being the way Omar Minaya exploits and capitalizes on the hype surrounding all of these players.
John Delcos of the Journal News has posted the lineup for this afternoon’s Spring Training opener vs. the Detroit Tigers, starting at 1:10 pm EDT:
1) Jose Reyes – SS
2) Carlos Beltran – CF
3) Moises Alou – LF
4) Carlos Delgado – 1B
5) Paul Lo Duca – C
6) David Wright- 3B
7) Shawn Green – RF
8) Julio Franco – DH
9) Damion Easley – 2B
SP- Oliver Perez
…it seems like all is right with the world once again…thanks john…by the way, head on over to his blog to check out a funny exchange between him and Carlos Beltran…
In a column for the New York Times, Murray Chass argues against “new-age baseball statistics,” such as VORP, which he describes as “new-age nonsense.”
In the span of 150 words, Chass refers to these people who enjoy statistics as “stats mongers,” noting that their obsession “threatens to undermine most fans’ enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein.”
Chass also writes…
“I came across VORP spelled out. It stands for value over replacement player. How thrilling. How absurd. Value over replacement player. Don’t ask what it means. I don’t know.”
Meanwhile, in today’s column about the Mets offense for Newsday, Ken Davidoff actually uses VORP, and also references the team’s Pythagorean record, computed by using their runs scored and runs allowed.
…excellent…perfect timing…so, i guess davidoff is ruining the game of baseball, too…wow, i hope you are proud of yourself, ken…
Lastly, Nate Silver, the Executive Vice President of Baseball Prospectus, takes time to respond to Chass in a professional manner.
…look, i make no secret that i am not in to these sort of stats either, but i love that other people are…i enjoy the conclusions, i just don’t have the brainpower or attention span to do the computations…i’d rather spend time discussing the strategy and logic of in-game baseball, but to each his own…
…however, to say these people are ruining the experience for people like me is hilarious…i mean, listen, i think we all know what is going on here…yes, chass is an outstanding, veteran journalist, who i have a ton of respect for, but he is clearly paranoid…i love the work done by writers such as chass, but the future of news and information is changing, for better or worse, and to dismiss these ‘new age’ ways, as absurd is, well, equally absurd…
In the New York Post, Kevin Kernan writes about his trip up I-95 with Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, who recently took time 
away from camp to film a commercial for FOX to promote this season’s All-Star Game.
According to Kernan, “You could argue that Jose, David and Carlos are the modern day version of Willie, Mickey and the Duke, except they are all on the same team, the brightest of the bright, all placed in the same New York galaxy.”
Beltran, on the All-Star Game, as quoted by Kernan…
“Even though that was my third All-Star Game, I felt that was my first one. The excitement was just so great. It makes me want to work harder. You need to work hard, put up some good numbers and make it back to the All-Star Game. To be in the starting lineup means a lot. It means people are recognizing you and how you play the game, they know what you do. It’s a different thing being selected by the fans than being selected by the manager.”
…you know, i think we all saw this coming, right…remember that first day of camp for beltran, when we heard he took wright and reyes aside and invited them to work out with him before the team’s official workouts…from that moment, i think we all anticipated how these three would be the face of the franchise, collectively – and it is great to see this coming to fruition…
Today, the Mets announced their 40-date promotion schedule for 2007.
Highlights for the 2007 promotion schedule include:
May 11: Collectors Cup
May 18-20: Mets Cap Trade
June 24: Paul Lo Duca Bobblehead
July 14: Ralph Kiner night
July 27: Meregue Night
August 11: David Wright Jersey Bag
Check out Mets.com for the full promotion schedule.
At his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin provides a variety of notes out of Mets camp, including an update on Orlando Hernandez, who threw off a mound this morning.
Mets GM Omar Minaya, Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, and former Mets pitcher Al Jackson, among others, took part in the four-day tour of Africa to introduce the game of baseball to Ghana, and SNY was there.
Baseball in Africa: A Diamond in the Rough will air on SNY following today’s Mets-Tigers game and will take you from the dirt fields of Ghana, through the historic slave castles on the Cape Coast to a bush covered lot, that will ideally become Ghana’s true field of dreams for young baseball players across the region.
The Grapefruit League exhibition season begins today, as the Mets take on the Tigers at Tradition Field.
The game will air live at 1 pm on SNY, and will re-run at 6:30 pm.
The team has announced that Oliver Perez, Alay Soler, Billy Wagner, 
Aaron Heilman and Jon Adkins are scheduled to pitch in today’s game.
Tom Glavine will start against Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals tomorrow at Tradition Field.
On Friday, Chan Ho Park will start against the Cardinals, who will start Braden Looper.
…yes, you read that right…looper…the Cardinals are trying to convert him to a starting pitcher…
Lastly, Mike Pelfrey is scheduled to start on Saturday against the Dodgers, while John Maine will start against the Orioles on Sunday.
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