Comments on: RA Dickey – From Journeyman to “The Man”

By: Metsie

Metsie — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:41:28 +0000

Well if I had to choose who I would rather pitch in the ASGbetween Dickey and Santana, Dickey wins hands down!
Aside from some freak occurrance he is less likey to suffer any injury or have the lack of time off affect him For this year I would prefer Santana gets all the rest he is due and not be forced to do anything extra especially for an exhibition.

By: jessep

jessep — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:11:36 +0000

yah there ya go… So as of now I believe Niese is scheduled for that last Sunday game.

I think Johan has to get some Ws to have a change though. Just too many pitchers out there…

As of now the starting spot is between Cain, Dickey, Strasburg and Lynn. Their last 4 starts will play a huge deciding factor.

So right there you already have 4 pitchers on the team and you need to find space for:

Capuano, Gio

Then guys like Hamels, Greinke, Kershaw, and James McDonald all likely have a better ASG resume than Johan.

By: Metsie

Metsie — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:05:39 +0000

I thought they could not select a pitcher unless he last pitched 5 days before the ASG?

Ok I found it…If they pitch the Sunday before the ASG they can not pitch but are called All-Stars.

By: jessep

jessep — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:53:27 +0000

In terms of days of rest, both are on pace to be fine for the AS Game. There will be 3 regular games played by the Mets after Dickey’s final 1st half start and 2 for Johan.

Which gives Dickey 4 days of rest and Johan 3.

By: Metsie

Metsie — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:48:43 +0000

You know what the most exciting thing is watching Dickey?
It isn’t all the K’s 1 Hitters and potential Perfect games….

It’s watching a pitcher EVOLVE right before your eyes!
Next time one comes up watch a game from Dickey two years ago…
Then something from last year…
Then re-watch last night’s game!

You would almost swear it was three different pitchers!

This guy is PERFECTING the Knuckleball in a way no one else has!
And he is the personification that proves if you pitch with your head you don’t need all the STUFF and VELOCITY that seems to be the only basis anyone gets drafted for these days.
Knowing HOW to pitch is better than knowing 4 or 5 pitches!

By: Metsie

Metsie — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:39:12 +0000

It will be difficult to get both on the team…
Remember there are restrictions put on how many games between their last start before they can be selected.

Not sure how the rotation plays out but one or the other will probably not be eligible.

And quite Honestly I’m not so sure I want to see them pitch in one unless it falls on thier regular day to pitch. We have not had much luck with guys who were hot and make it into the ASG in the second half as it seems they cool off after that!

By: srt

srt — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:51:10 +0000

Agree with you on the weather affecting his knuckle ball. The one bad start he had this year was in a rainy type day.
The slow start he got off to last year might be attributed to a rainy and cold type spring we had last year.

By: USMF

USMF — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:48:59 +0000

I don’t think the contract thing has anything to do with what he’s doing now.

If you look at what he’s doing and how he’s doing it, he hasn’t changed all that much since he first came up. Yes, his command is better, but it’s not like we haven’t seen glimpses of this type of performances the past two seasons. The surprising thing is, he hasn’t had many bad, or even mediocre starts this year. Take away this bad start in Atlanta and two average 6inning 3run starts and he’s been fantastic.

I personally think that of of the biggest factors in RAD’s success this year has been the great weather we’ve seen. We know that rain is RAD kryptonite, but I think it’s a pretty fair to assume that cold weather makes it hard to grid that knuckler properly. Last year when RAD started slow, we had some pretty cool weather, but this year the weather has been pretty great. I think great weather helps RAD in each individual start, but also has help RAD find and keep his rhythm.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:23:46 +0000

It’s a pretty cool progression. 1. Journeyman, 2. The Man!, 3. 2012 Cy Young

Those are my kind of numbers!

By: Mack Ade

Mack Ade — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:07:34 +0000

Rob, I was there the day he pitched his first warmups on the first day of pitchers/catchers… a bunch of us, including Rubin, we’re laughing at his mechanics and asking each other who the hell was that?

We all agreed he would be the first cut out of camp.

By: srt

srt — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:02:35 +0000

Truthfully, the contract extension didn’t even occur to me. Much like Wright, team has an option on RA for next year so technically it’s not a ‘walk’ year for RA.

In the case of Dickey, I’m thinking it has more to do with him just getting much more comfortable with his knuckle ball and now adding speeds to it as well.

And you’re right….what Met fan doesn’t love RA Dickey?

By: srt

srt — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:59:31 +0000

All 3 of which has provided needed depth given the injuries. And in the case of CY, replacing Pelf in the starting rotation.

By: Alex68

Alex68 — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:58:42 +0000

SRT, one thing i must say, i did not see dickey being this good with this, give credit to omar and co, but you also put the “extension” factor in it, maybe he’s pitching this way trying to lock up a contract extension, hope i am wrong but it seems the norm for players to overachieve in walk off/contract extension years…
With that being said, me and i am sure a lot of us are glad to see this guy doing well for us…

By: jessep

jessep — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:58:29 +0000

See what you did there? You turned this into something it doesn’t need to be because you’re obsessed.

By: srt

srt — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:56:02 +0000

I, for one, am so glad ‘Omar Minaya, took a flyer on the aged hurler’.

By: Alex68

Alex68 — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:53:51 +0000

Great job by the pro scouting team and Minaya on taking a flyer on him”

Yep, same goes to the pro scouting team and sandy for their AWESOME job in finding quintanilla, hefner and chris young….

By: jessep

jessep — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:52:17 +0000

By the way, you can lock Dickey up as an All-Star now officially. There’s no way he doesn’t make the team. So that means you have Wright and Dickey plus Terry. Is Johan next, tough call… lots of good pitchers out there.

The only question with Dickey now is, will he be the starter? I think Cain is the starter right now followed by Dickey but I do think there is a chance LaRussa rewards a guy like Lance Lynn or takes the Strasburg bait.

By: jessep

jessep — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:38:16 +0000

nice job.

RA by the way is exactly why GM’s around the sport sign guys to minor league deals. Especially guys who had potential and never reached it.

Great job by the pro scouting team and Minaya on taking a flyer on him. I don’t think there is any way they really could have known it’d go this well, (nobody could have) but I hope Dickey is in a Mets uniform for the next 5+ years.