Andres Torres To Be Activated From DL On Monday

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• Metsie April 29, 2012 at 10:47 am

  I have some trepidation over this stance by Collins.
  Yes you have to use the players you have and Torres is the most credible leadoff batter we have, but it does throw the linup into a bit of a tizzy and I’m not sure moving Kirk to a position he has never played will be good for him.

  Granted I like putting Kirk in LF better than upsetting both him and Duda by putting Duda in LF and Kirk in RF.

  I personally would rather see Collins ease Torres back into the lineup just to be sure that calf is fully healed and maybe platoon Kirk and Torres in CF while putting Kirk into LF on days that Torres starts.

  I personally would prefer if Collins just said nothing in regards to CF as it will only serve to hurt Kirk’s spirits while he has been a major player in our winning so far!
  When Torres gets back then it can be an issue to discuss when he finally starts not before then!
• Russell Zanca April 29, 2012 at 12:05 pm

  No good feeling about his return. Don’t miss him at all. Be interesting if he adds or subtracts from what we’ve got going.
• any April 29, 2012 at 12:35 pm

  don’t like this overall. One thing to play him (since it is in place of Baxter/Hairston), and it is good for the defense, but Kirk has played very well in CF. Since Torres has experience on the corners, seems much less disruptive to to play him in LF. He has a lot of games in LF as a ML player (in 2009, he played more LF than CF)

  and BS they got him to be a key starter. he was a 4th OF fill-in until someone else (as in Kirk) was ready. Well, he appears to be ready.

  The guy never did anything in his career, and certainly not in his 1 game with the Mets, to be guaranteed a spot. Kirk at least has a future, and is someone to get excited about, so better not to screw around with him. Not that he can’t play LF, but why disrupt more than you have to? At 34, with bad wheels, is Torres possibly going to play a better CF than what we have seen out of Kirk?

  and lead off? He might be a little quicker, but he is not big base stealing threat, and Kirk is not slow. But Ruben and Kirk have been getting OB at a higher clip than Torres ever had.

  sorry for the ramble. I just don’t like messing with the good vibes the team has had overall, just because a bench guy like Torres comes back.

  could be worse, they could be sending Kirk down to play Bay and Torres!
• Joe D April 29, 2012 at 12:54 pm

  I cant get on Collins about his stance and it was Alderson who first said Torres would replace Reyes at lead-off and start in CF the day he traded for him. So there might be some pressure on Collins to see this through. I’m from the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it camp. I hope it doesn’t impact the team negatively.
  • Metsie April 29, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    Well I agree Sandy is putting some pressure, He needs to show justification for the move as ramirez sure hasn’t done that.

    And while we all know Torres is a 4th OF on most teams I can not say it was not always Sandy’s intention to have Torres be the #1 CF cause if it wasn’t his intention there would have been a move for a more proper CF made. Kirk was always considered an OF prospect but many were doubtfull of his ability as a CF.
    I can see glimmers of why they felt that though in his play. He’s made some spectacular plays and botched a few routines as well. Rookies do that so it’s not a major concern to me.

    And while I think it is good and necessary that OFs should be given experience at all three OF positions for the mere fact that one third of your lineup is OF and to be flexible you must be able to move them around whenever needed, the timing of those moves is most important and it should be done long before they get to the MLB and most certainly NOT a mere month after the player has been promoted to the MLB.

    He has many more concerns then than having to get used to and learn a new position.

    They should rotate their OFers in the minors and swap positions often (even in different innings of single games) which would do more for preparing them for any OF position that trying to just throw them something new in the MLB.

    I don’t see where Torres contributes more than Kirk does truth be told and if it wasn’t for Bay being injured we might have gotten a different answer about Torres when he returns.
  • Mr North Jersey April 29, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    Thx for the assist Joe D.

    I’m just a troublemaker.
• Mr North Jersey April 29, 2012 at 12:58 pm

  This should all sort itself out soon enough. The Mets should be better having both Torres and Kirk in the OF in my opinion and you have to believe Kirk will gain from Torres experience playing the OF in the NL Ballparks.

  One could make the case that what should be done is platoon the 2 in CF with Kirk’s early struggles vs lefties but as with Ike I’d rather see him play so he can work on getting better.

  By the time Bay is scheduled to get back the team should have a clearer picture as to how to move forward and if Torres isn’t doing it he will most likely find himself the 4th Outfielder.
  • Metsie April 29, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    Well something we can all agree on I think is we are better off with Jason Bay on the bench!
    When he comes back will be when the real controversy (and quandry) over what to do with Kirk will begin.

    They can’t just sit Bay, they need him to perform to try and trade him if they can. Which I expect to lead to a platoon at CF with Torres and Kirk unless they make the bonehead move to send Kirk down (to play LF I hope if thats what happens) or find a trade partner for either Torres or Bay.

    I’m not going to sweat it until either come back and if Kirk keeps on performing I don’t see how they can justify sitting him!
• L.J. Phipps April 29, 2012 at 4:03 pm

  I tend to agree more with the people that said Torres should be moved to left and leave Kirk in center. Torres is definitely not the future of this team and I like what I have seen of Kirk so far. In a transition season such as this one I think Kirk and Duda will have their growing pains in the outfield but they need to learn. Bay’s injury, while untimely, may allow the Mets to see what they have in Kirk and Duda. Provided Torres stays healthy, this may be the better defensive group in the field for now. I would just rather leave Kirk in center.
• chuck April 29, 2012 at 4:37 pm

  Kirk should stay in center. This guy could be the real deal. Best thing about him is hes physically big and could become a real impact player and hit for a solid slugging percentage in time. Despite the harsh criticism The Mets have enough of a nucleus that they could be real good within two yrs.
• Bayonne Mets Fan April 29, 2012 at 4:51 pm

  I don’t know why Collins is so fixated on making early decisions on things. After that great play today by Kirk, and he’s done that already before, how much better in CF can Torres be? Just put him in LF and let Kirk develop into the Mets everyday center fielder. It’s about winning not people’s feelings.
  • Metsie April 29, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    It’s not that Bay…
    Its that he is a hyper guy by nature, loves to talk and when they hear Torres is going to be activated and ask him the question he answers as honestly as he can when he really should just say I only deal with the guys who are here and when he gets here I’ll decide then!

    This is why he reverses himself so often in the past.
    He hasn’t decided he just gives a flippant answer based on what he would do if the decision was made today because he hasn’t really thought about it at all since it isn’t a decision yet and then when he does he goes back on what he says after thinking about it!

    Collins hasn’t decided a thing yet!
    • stick April 30, 2012 at 9:12 am

      there is also a lot of tradition in MLB (the old book), so a veteran not losing his job to an injury is part of that. But, it only goes so far, and managers can certainly change their mind.

      it should sort out pretty quickly, depending on what Torres shows as being left in the tank.

      But I agree, sometimes collins should just deflect/defer a question.
      • Metsie April 30, 2012 at 11:00 am

        yes there is that tradition but the key point here is there really is no controversy regarding who to play in Center because Bay is out and they will simply put Kirk in left!

        He won’t be any more out of position than Valdespin is when you come right down to it!
        Collins hasn’t really thought about it at all he has games to play and consume him.
        When Torres gets back the most difficult decision he has to make is where to play him either CF or LF.
        But Kirk will still be in the lineup only other difference of note is he won’t leadoff!

        The question about Kirk won’t come up until Bay comes back!
        Thats really when Collins has to make a hard decision and truth is he isn’t going to make it most likely Sandy is going to make it for him!
        Either via a trade or by sending Kirk down until a trade is made!
        I am not up on the latest but I don’t think Bay is due back soon. Probably right around the ASB.

        That means sending Kirk down might only last 2 weeks to a month until Torres or Bay gets traded. I suspect it will be Torres unless Bay comes back and starts hitting HRs like they are singles!
        • srt April 30, 2012 at 11:10 am

          Unless Bay has a setback, he should be back long before the ASB. They were talking about it yesterday and estimated it at 2 weeks.
        • Metsie April 30, 2012 at 11:33 am

          Well Srt is that in Met Weeks or the ones the rest of us humans use? LOL

          Santana was spposed top be back last August in the Met space/time continum!
          LOL
• Chris April 30, 2012 at 12:14 am

  I don’t agree with shifting Niewy to left and putting Torres in center. I don’t agree with it at all. If Niewy is the centerfielder of the future, which he clearly has the potential to be, than why not keep him there and put Torres in left, who will probably be gone next year.
  Niewy has shown he has the range to handle center and will do anything to catch the baseball. That’s something we never saw from Pagan and it was frustrating as hell to watch. Haven’t really seen Torres play all that much. I know he has a good reputation. But can he really do what Niewy did in the fifth today? I hope so. I don’t like this move at all. What, was Kirk playing too good?
  • stick April 30, 2012 at 9:13 am

    I know Torres is well regarded as a CF, but reps get built over time. Remains to be seen what he has left at age 34, coming off 2 bouts of leg injuries.