1
2012
Could Chris Young Be Back In Time To Face Yankees In Subway Series?
An article by 
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports that starting pitcher Chris Young is expected to remain with Triple-A Buffalo for one or two more starts as Sandy Alderson predicted earlier in the week.
Young took a huge step toward re-joining the Mets rotation after he tossed six scoreless innings yesterday in a start for Triple-A Buffalo. The 33-year old right-hander threw 87 pitches and allowed just two hits and three walks.
The Mets have been struggling to replace Mike Pelfrey since losing him for the season to an arm injury and have already had the likes of Miguel Batista, Chris Schwinden and Jeremy Hefner take turns trying to replace him until the Mets could get Chris Young ready. It appears that the wait is almost over.
Bisons manager Wally Backman assessed the situation as follows:
“If he can do the same thing he did today five days from now, he’s pretty close to being ready. He’s a smart pitcher. That’s why he’s had the success that he’s had in the big leagues. Now, all we hope for is that we keep him healthy.”
Young dazzled in four starts for the Mets last season before his shoulder surgery and went 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA to lead the rotation at the time.
Rubin quoted Josh Thole who happened to catch Young for his start yesterday and came away very impressed with Young’s performance. ”I thought his velocity, to be honest, was better than it was last year.”
If Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey could continue to pitch as they have, the addition of a very effective righty in Chris Young, could make a huge difference in how long the Mets continue to contend for that second wild card spot.
I took a quick glance at the schedule… Assuming Young was to make two more starts for Buffalo, he could return to the Mets in time to get the Sunday start against the Yankees during the Subway Series on June 10.
That would make things pretty interesting…
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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I am rooting for this guy big time. I absolutely love the fact that he came back to the Mets, it almost comes off as he knows he let the organization down last year.
I forget which pitcher it was, but Howie Rose was telling a story about a pitcher who had a temper problem and that pitcher credited his time with Chris Young as working with him to make him a better pitcher.
You know it might have been Clayton Richard but honestly as I am trying to recall, it may have been RA Dickey. I wish I could remember.
Rooting for him, for sure.
Say he pitches above average, doesn’t get hurt for the rest of the year. You think he signs a 1 year deal with an option to stay with the Mets? It’s pretty obvious Pelf is gone, but with the kids pushing their way up, I wonder if Young would worry about a rotation spot. Better to have the numbers, so I’d be for signing him, again on the assumption he pitches well and proves health through the remainder of the season. (then, when he breaks down, the kids will be there to jump into the rotation!
)
If he comes back and is effective and healthy the rest of the year then sure you can offer him a Dickey like deal.
Would be great to see him return and pick up where he left off for us last year. C’mon CY!!!
OFF TOPIC ALERT:
I was thinking while listening to MLB Radio discuss the Pirates that if they hang in maybe there is a fit to dump Bay? We would still have to pick up most of the contract but even Bay would be an upgrade in that offense. Maybe a return to Pitt would help him take off a little as well.
trs: I really cannot buy into the rush to dump Bay without seeing him come back from the DL. First, you’re not dealing him until he gets back and shows he’s healthy. So you have at least a few weeks before it’s even reasonable.
Second, who plays LF? Hairston everyday? The Mets need a run producer. They need Bay to be that guy. I think Bay actually showed leading up to the injury that he could have a decent year.
I just don’t see what dumping him and picking up his salary at this point does for the Mets to be honest.
You platoon Hairston and Baxter.
Sorry TRS, I really like Hairston and Baxter. I do. And I want them both on the roster, but I think you stick with Bay here. Hairston and Baxter have a role, and they are good at that role. I think getting giddy and acting like Hairston is suddenly an everyday LF is dangerous.
You can’t think about Bay’s past, it’s 2012. You have to look at what he can do for this team right now. I’m not suggesting he’s a lock to have a decent year right now.
I’m saying you cannot deal him for a minimum few weeks anyway and by then his value will either hit rock bottom (again) or he’ll turn it around and be too valuable to the Mets to dump his salary.
What can he do now? well, as I detail below, that is play vs. LHP.
stick: I guess my point is this.
Lets say Bay returns on Monday June 4. If you’re the Mets you gotta put him in LF off the injury. Right? I mean we can say we don’t want to, but you know part of this game is a business and they NEED to get something out of Bay.
You also know nobody in MLB is trading for Bay right off an injury. They would need to see something out of him.
So you’re talking a few weeks minimum before you can even talk of dealing Bay.
So by then you have 2 scenarios
Either A) Bay turns it around and becomes too valuable to the Mets to trade away
or
B) Bay continues to hit rock bottom and just gets sent out of town for nothing… but that still leaves the Mets with a questionable LF platoon.
not sure where you are going here, but it sounds like the “he needs to put up #s so some GM will bite on taking him”.
My point is, the only way he does that is to basically only face LHP.
I also don’t think he is ever going to have trade value, unless he is dumped for $.10 on the dollar, and you expect nothing back.
So, no, they do not have to feel obligated to immediately put him out in LF against all pitching. Bring him back slowly, against LHP and maybe a crappy RHP or 2.
I have pretty much written Bay off as useful, so I don’t want to see him in LF vs. RHP doing his customary 0-4 with 2K routine, without getting the ball out of the IF, when there are guys on the bench that can out D him, and actually hit well vs. RHP.
Heck, they are platooning Ike now, and he is a big part of the future, so they sure as shooting can platoon Bay.
And I just don’t see what good it does to lose either Baxter or Hairston just to keep Bay around to hopefully dump later. Obviously a team would need to be interested…
I did say in my post yesterday that I think the OF will end up being
Duda-Kirk-Bay-Hairston-Baxter by the end of the trading season. I think they are gonna dump Torres somewhere, use Hairston to back up Duda/ or cover for Bay if necessary and then use Baxter as they have with pinch hitting and occasional v RHP.
I think Torres’ “future” with the Mets was pretty much washed away when Kirk came up and played how he did.
I agree about torres. I hope he is the odd man out.
Terry Collins has said he won’t let his players lose their job due to an injury. When Bay returns he’s going to be the starting LF.
If as time goes on he only proves valuable v LHP then he still has value to the Mets.
If Jason Bay gets traded it’s because a team thinks NY just messed with him and he’s worth a shot, but I don’t think anybody is doing that until closer to the deadline and by then, who knows where the Mets and Bay will be.
Hasn’t Bay already proven in the time he’s been here what his value is against RH?
yes. he isn’t going to lose his job, it is just going to have a little different title…
hey, pretty sure Ike wasn’t supposed to platoon either, but that is happening.
Bay has proven to be a LHP only guy. And one of the big questions pre-season (and we had this discussion) was, he would not platoon until there was a LH bat that would force the issue. Well, right now, they have 2 making a strong case that they should be getting those ABs!
I really think he will. There are plenty of teams who could probably use a 4th OF type. The problem for the Mets is they have 3 4th OF. I don’t think they’d trade Baxter (nor do I think he has any market right now).
I don’t think Hairston is going anywhere solely because of Bay… so that leaves Torres. This is also why I think they are giving him more playing time than Kirk right now. I think they want to try to build up any market they can for him.
I would bet the farm that a platoon of Hairston and Baxter would out perform Bay playing every day.
even the early season #s people keep citing support that. Of course, 56 PAs or so is a tiny sample, but in that he was useless vs. RHP (big surprise), and off the charts good vs. LHP.
I did detail all the #s a few weeks ago, but off the top of my head it was ~ 56 PA (44/12 RH vs. LH pitching). 3 HRs/5 RBIs? But of that, only 1 RBI was vs. RHP (with an OPS in the .600 range), with all his production (and a 1.200 or so OPS) vs. LHP.
his #s last year screamed platoon, and if anything, his early season this year was supporting it even more!
so fine, if he comes back he can be the RH half of a platoon with Baxter (or Kirk, if thye somehow decide to keep running Torres out there too)
I throw up a little in my mouth even thinking about this, but the Mets actually need his bat in the lineup, for the Right Hand hitter factor. His batting is better than Ike’s…. I know that doesn’t mean much, but I’m grasping for positives here.
I found his #s. overall, hitting .240 with a .314 OBP and low .400 slg, overall a .730ish OPS. so not good.
but, his splits are crazy (small sample size at work!)
11 ABs vs. LHP – .273/.438/.818 (OPS = 1.256!)
39 ABs vs. RHP – .231/.268/.359 (OPS = .627). with 1 RBI (ouch)
sadly, the RHP #s look like last year. The LHP #s are obviously a SSS fluke, but even last year he was vastly better vs. LHP.
Bay in a platoon works for me. Wasn’t there a post just recently showing just how many positions the ’69 and ’86 were platooned? Anyway, if that makes a better Met team, I hope Terry opens his eyes and brain to get that done.
One could only pray that Young stays healthy for the rest of the year. Like others have mentioned, I’m rooting for him and hoping he picks up where he left off last season.
anything you get out of a guy like this (a MiL signing of a player coming off a major injury) is like found money.
If he is pitching well this team could certainly use him…
The only fear with him is can he really last the rest of the season (same issue we have with Santana)
Both are similar in that they know HOW to pitch and it’s not just all about velocity and physical properties.
So both can succeed even with a loss of velocity as they know how to set up batters mix up thier stuff and locate.
But we have to understand how quickly having two guys coming off the same surgery could blow up on us!
Considering how our most recent chokes had as much to do with Losing good starters late in the season to injury We really need to pray that they can finish the season without any setbacks to health!
Thats my only concern with Santana’s good results so far and Young’s eventual return.
Yes they will be good but we still don’t know for how long!
And if they both go down in August or September whatever playoff chances we have will blow up with them!