18
2012
Should Chris Young Be Brought Back?
An article by 
Chris Young took the loss on Sunday, but worked into the seventh inning, and in doing so passed 100 innings for the season and received a $150,000 bonus.
More importantly, he’s probably showed enough to warrant a contract for 2013, if not from the Mets, then somebody else.
“It means I’m healthy,’’ said Young. “I think I’ve pitched pretty well, better than my record probably indicates. But, there’s a lot of room for improvement.’’
There is, because although Young had his moments when he worked deep into games like today, there were others when he was rocked. Still, he started 18 games, his most since 2008.
Veteran arms are important, so we shouldn’t write off Young returning even though he’s not included in next year’s rotation. Although the Mets have ideas as to how their rotation will look, there are significant questions that make Young’s presence desirable.
Both Johan Santana and Dillon Gee are coming off injuries so there will be caution with them. You have to like Matt Harvey’s future, but it is premature to label him an ace right now.
Something will happen next year, you know it, so having depth is essential. If not Young, then the Mets will shop in the bargain aisle for veteran pitching depth.
The advantage of bringing back Young is the Mets’ familiarity with him.
Other Mets Matters…
* Terry Collins said Jeremy Hefner would likely get the start Wednesday against the Phillies. A couple of weeks ago this series meant nothing, but the Phillies, like the Brewers, have become wild card contenders.
* David Wright now has 1,411 hits, seven shy of Ed Kranepool, the franchise’s career hit leader. Yes, statistics is what it has come down to for the Mets this season. I’d also like to see Wright finish with at least 90 RBI. He has 81. Another milestone would be Ike Davis hitting 30 homers, joining Eddie Murray, Carlos Delgado and David Kingman as Mets first basemen with 30 homer seasons.
* After Jenrry Mejia was shelled Saturday, pitching coach Dan Warthen said he views him as a reliever, claiming he didn’t believe he would be able to throw 200 innings year after year. I wonder how Warthen can make that assessment when the organization keeps bouncing Mejia around from being a starter to the bullpen.
* The opportunities are getting winding down for R.A. Dickey’s bid to win 20 games. He’s scheduled to start tomorrow night against the Phillies and maybe two more after that. He’s stuck on 18 victories.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
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Young, just don’t really see enough to warrant bringing him back, unless he comes in on a cheap deal like the last 2 years. If they have to spend “real” money, try for someone better.
And the comment about Mejia sounds like it is purely based on projections. Mechanics, body type, etc. put it together, and the PC does not think he is likely to be a 200 inning guy. Certainly can be wrong, and of course there is no way to know unless you actually try.
I would say he is not a viable SP option now simply because he does not have enough ML quality pitches he can use effectively.
Nope.
For what??? So we can watch his 83 MPH fastball be hit out of the ballpark like it was batting practice? No, thank you…. Shouldn’t have been signed in the first place… But hey, low cost type pitchers is what we look for…
just about every team has to sign guys like this to fill out the rotation, and have depth coverage. Even the Yankees do it. So for what he was signed for, he did his job.
I would like to apologize to xtreemicon, back a while ago he said the mets needed to sign Chris young, that it was a must, while i wholeheartedly disagree with him i see now his point…
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/06/young-outduels-capuano-in-3-2-victory-over-the-dodgers.html
All that aside, with the emergence of Harvey and the viability of McHugh along with the AAA progression of Wheeler, Young is less of a necessity for 2013 than he was for 2012. If he’d sign a similar deal and be ok with starting the season 7th or 8th on the depth chart, sign him up. If he’s going to go all Capuano on the Mets, I wish him well.
Lmao….
Alex, your friends Jessep and Extreme went to the same school. I know of no others who can search back 4 months just to find a comment and have their A-HA moments. lol
Maniac, that is why i keep in mind the guy most famous articles and quotes.
Bayonne made that famous. He goes back years sometimes. But with him it’s life and death because of his inferiority complex. For me, it’s not an A-HA moment. It’s just having a good time with my guy Alex, Sluur per to Core.
Xtree talking to Xtree. Seems pretty serious to me. The Mets really do get to us, don’t they? Maybe a night off at the movies is needed.
I can agree with Xtreems point, both of them. He was needed this year because he cost basically nothing and could go into hiding until needed. Next year that is not the case and he would not sign to be AAA depth or a longman so no he isn’t needed. However, a guy like Pelfrey, who won’t be ready to start the season would be an example of this move that could work next year.
Um, no.
What’s that expression? “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Yep, that one.
Would he be willing to sign the same deal, maybe for some more cash? He’s the type of guy it is good to have available, but I don’t think he should be guaranteed a spot in the rotation.
No.
The Mets would be better off bringing back Pelfrey than Young since the money would be around the same. Pelfrey pitches very well when Santana is also in the rotation and takes the pressure off of him. So it is a question of Young at 84mph or Pelfrey at 90+. If is me making the decision, I would take Pelfrey.
I said the same thing above. Pelfrey fits better because he won’t be ready to start the season so he wouldn’t take a roster spot or have any immediate demands.
Young isn’t going to take a minor league contract. And if Johan and Gee are healthy and there are no trades to the starting 5 (Johan/Dickey/Niese/Harvey/Gee), we don’t have room for him at the ML level.
Yup, and honestly he is barely replacement level. 4.50 ish ERA, more hits than innings pitched and 5 2/3 innings per start. How much worse could a McHough or Heffy do? As the guy above mentioned I can’t imagine Pelf would be more expensive and there is at least upside there.
You have to figure that some team will offer him a guaranteed spot in their rotation, which the Mets wouldn’t and shouldn’t do. Besides, they’re okay depth-wise; they’ll have Jeremy Hefner and Collin McHugh ready to go if one of the starter’s goes down, and by mid-season you can add Zack Wheeler to that list.
HEFNER sucks….
He’s about as good as you can reasonably expect a sixth starter to be.
I agree, he is Figgy light to me. Depending on him to be more than a #7 starter is dangerous in deed. But honestly, what number starter is he for us this year? In a year with little SP depth.
Figgy – your favorite Met pitcher of all time if I remember correctly…..
Lost count of how many times on how many days you kept telling us he sucked. And you were right…..
I second Alex!
Just say no!
We should have traded him at the deadline!
Just another guy who got to restart his career on our dime!
If there had been any value then yeah I guess trading him would be better. However, what team in the playoff hunt needed a pitcher like Chris Young? I can’t think of one but hey, maybe there was one out there.
I’ll bet the Yankees would have taken him.
Think so? I think that would be a disaster unless they were only going to pitch him on the road. 16 HR in 103 innings pitching in the NL and in Citi?
Why does the return always have to be some top B lister or a deal is impossible to make with you guys?
No you wouldn’t get Wheeler!
But you might get the next BP arm that is as good as what you paid 6 Mil per year for out of it!
Again Metsie, what team in the hunt needed Chris Young? I can’t think of any team in the playoff hunt that would have traded anything at all for Chris Young. I don’t mean a top prospect, I mean a bag of balls.
Ahhh I wasn’t aware that only teams “IN THE HUNT” were allowed to make deadline deals!
Cause if not for that rule Colorado and the Astros were desperate for cheap pitching and are likely prime candidates to resign Young in the offseason!
So you think a team not in the hunt would have traded for Chris Young at the deadline? Why?
Because they are the ones looking to rebuild for next year and don’t want to have to get into a bidding war to do it!
They would have a half a season of exclusivity to resign him for a reasonable salary and not cost them much in kids!
Who do you think the teams who WERE in the playoff hunt traded with?
Same teams!
Also, that’s what stop gaps do. Try to sign for cheap and improve value. However, is restarting your career consist of averaging 5 2/3 innings, 4.50ish ERA and giving up more hits than innings pitched while tossing 83-85 mph?
well, in Young’s case, the bar for restarting it was “his arm did not fly off his body at any point of the season”. So by that measure, yes he did!
1st time to break 100 IP since 2008? that is a guy scrapping to hang on.
Oh, I agree in this case, better to let him go to a team that wants to pay him like a reliable mid-rotation starter, and sign a couple of cheap replacements (and pelf can be one of them) to serve the same purpose.
Funn I thought it was Omar who did all the STOPGAP short term signings and we were on the path to a LONG TERM PLAN with LONG TERM BENEFITS?
Nope all teams have to have stop gaps, especially those who are trying to develop younger players in the minors that aren’t ready yet.
So a guy signed for a year is going to buy you time to develop kids?
Kids only take a year to develop?
Goes back to what I always say…
If the guy is cheap and worth having for a year then he is worth signing to TWO years minimum so if and when that Kid replaces him you have either bench or someone to trade for something you need that hasn’t developed yet!
Uh no. You can get him for cheap and little or no risk for one year and then go out and find the next Chris Young the next year while you wait on those kids to develop. In the case of Wheeler, perhaps one year of Chris Young WAS all you needed.
WHy ind the NEXT Young at 4 Mil a pop when you have the original making less than 2 Mil per year and could have him for TWO years at the same price or less than him and his replacement?
Think about it if you signed young to a two year deal you would have gotten him for 4 Mil total, Now your going to pay 6 Mil for the two years when you could have spent just 4 and saved 2 Million dollars to spend someplace else!
Same no risk!
Chris Young offers about 5 good innings per start. Given the uncertainty about the Mets pitching staff, once we get past the normal hype, Young’s contribution is nothing to sneeze about. Sign him up if a reasonable contract can be reached.
Young reminds me in some ways of a baseball great from the years past — Warren Spahn. In his last season with the Mets, Spahn’s in-game pitching showed him to be a very good pitcher early in a game. After that, the roof would cave in, and Spahn would get pounded as his stamina eroded. His two managers that year, Casey Stengel and Wes Westrum, repeatedly left him in the game too long. I think the same kind of lack of decisiveness in taking place today. Terry leaves Young in too long and Chris’ early game work is often overcome by his later inning mediocrity.
During innings 1-3, Young has a SO/BB ratio of 2.38 and an opponents BA of 2.33.
During innings 4-6, Young has a SO/BB ratio of 1.86 and an opponents BA of 2.93.
His innings 1-3 splits are: .291—.381—.672
His innings 4-6 splits are: .348—.533—.881
These days, Young is a good five inning pitcher.
Getting back to Young’s pitching differentials as the game progresses:
Pitch 26-50 numbers: SO/BB 4.60, BA .217, splits .248—.374—.622
Pitch 51-75 numbers: SO/BB 2.10, BA .295, splits .362—.486—.848
The Mets have become a facility for injured players to get paid to continue their rehab, and we nurse them back to 100% health. After we pay them and they prove to be healthy, they move on like Capuano. Young wont be a Met because he’ll want to get paid as a healthy sound arm, and we just cant afford those types now can we?
Wait a minute, what do you mean become? They have been that for years now.
No just since Sandy took over!
Delgado, Beltran, K-Rod and Wagner were not rehabs trying to reclaim thier careers.
OK.
“After Jenrry Mejia was shelled Saturday, pitching coach Dan Warthen said he views him as a reliever, claiming he didn’t believe he would be able to throw 200 innings year after year.”
Warthen only bets on the obvious, doesn’t he? In the most recent twelve completed seasons (2000-2011), only 14 times have Mets pitchers thrown 200 or more innings. So that averages out to about one pitcher per season. Recently it’s be RA Dickey.
For 2012, it’s Dickey once again. Only Jonathan Niese has a shot at 200, but with his current total of 177, he’s no sure shot to join Dickey. Only 16 games remain.
Well at least now you know who it was that decided to promote and throw Mejia in the pen back in 2010 don’t we?
Metsie — I think Jerry and Omar had large roles in it. Both were concerned about their jobs. Both got canned in October 2010 after the season was over.
And Warthen wasn’t?
I don’t think Omar wanted to but the coaches wanted help and were under fire so convinced him.
And Manuel relied on Wrthen for his pitching advice…
Thats where it all started! And they are gone but that sentiment still remains doesn’t it?
Metsie — Your conviction and certainty without evidence is something to behold. So if you want to believe it, do so. I don’t.
By the way, I said, “I think Jerry and Omar had large roles in it.” I didn’t say Warthen had none. I also didn’t say that Jerry and Omar had exclusive roles. I hope this helps to clear the matter up.
Hello Pot state your evidence it was Omar and Manuel not Warthen who put the idea in thier head in the first place!
Go ahead!
If not your entire first sentence just goes to show how much of a hypocrite you really are when it comes to evidentiary hearings!
Metsie — You’ll seemingly never pass up an opportunity to have an argument. Get a life.
You seemingly can never pass up accusing someone of having no evidence despite your constant lack of any!
You started this argument with you snide remark!
And here is something you should remember about me…
If YOU start it…I WILL be sure to see it out till it is concluded!
And I won’t pull punches…
Put it up on your refrigerator where you can’t forget that!
Lmao, gotta love those back and forth between Metsie and TRS…..
My favorite back and forths have always been Alex vs Jessup or Xtreem, Bayonne v Des or Kay, Ghosts of Omar vs Donal, Joey D vs Fonzie, Metsie vs TRS, Alex vs Desert, Izzy vs Delcos, and the long forgotten Joe D vs James K. and Martin from AA. Some of the best reading ever on this site. LMAO!
Eh, I like to debate Alex actually more than Metsie. I think I am going on moratorium there and focus on Alex again. He still has hope.
Hope for what that you might get a point accross? LOL
Or that you might still turn him into resigning from the CORE?
Your issue really isn’t with me…
It is with making your statements all fit together into a clear picture of what you actually believe!
You try so hard to be on the fence that you often don’t make sense with what you said just 5 minutes ago!
LMAO Metsie I may be wrong, but I think TRS just threw you under the bus.
LOL well if he could he would..He sure doesn’t have the strength to win a debate!
To play last man standing? You are right. I don’t.
You play it everyday and if it isn’t me you pick for your playdate it’s Alex!
Your fooling no one!
Alex vs Desert”
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hahaha – It’s too hot for Alex in the Desert.
Lmao, it is.. i ain’t walking in there. first of all it’s hot, lonely and no water.. I’d be hallucinating about things you know, kinda like SA being a good Gm
Hey one time you took a wrong turn and it ended up being Alex vs. the Dessert. I liked that one better. MMMMM… chocolate.
Yeah, one S is the difference between SRT and TRS right??? Lol, you gotta admit i’m the reason why your blog got some hit, you should send me a shirt saying “The Desert Salute the CORE”
Yeah, that was primarily a joke that you had anything to do with our hits. We still do pretty well for ourselves, it’s just hard to find committed authors. Ask Joe about that one. But that being said there have been a few that for sure know who you are.
lol, contrary to the conspiracy theory of some over the past year or so, we really are not the same person. I didn’t even get the connection until a poster over on TRDM commented SRT was TRS reversed…..
Yup, for years I didn’t even know you as SRT. Oh well.
What is it to be a Mets fan unless you believe in conspiracy theories right?
I am pretty sure i said the same thing about SRT being TRS backwards, specially since you 2 seem to share the same ideas or sort of… But again, this site to be honest had even better authors back then, then it kinda came down a little bit but it risen up once again, and by days it’s getting even better with guys like Mitch coming up this site has been great, lately it has been more articles about baseball and passionate baseball fans and less about a guy who’s nothing but a loser GM etc…
The CORE don’t salute your site, but one day i will dedicate a whole week myself to see what you guys are all about…
Oh my, make sure we know when you are coming and I will make sure the dog is put up, the rooms are clean and everyone has clothes on.
Ah and this isn’t just you playing Last Man Standing with a new target?
ROFLMAO!
Reading around the Mets blog sphere, there a many Met fans that believe SA was brought here as a result of a deal the Wilpons cut with Selig to save the team for them.
We are legion……
Well that’s what they say NOW since the job Alderson is doing has been so awful and getting progressively worse since his first season.
That’s not what they were saying in the beginning and you know it.
Well that’s what they say NOW since the job Alderson is doing has been so awful and getting progressively worse since his first season.
That’s not what they were saying in the beginning and you know it.
I will bring credibility to your blog for one week there… Settign everyone straight, and SRT, stop your sl*******, we know how you feel about SA and you go beyond to defend his moves.. If they’re bad he had no choice, if they’re good (Still waiting for one) then you guys shove those players down our throats as if he’s some sort of genius, why you think some people secretly in here root for some of “his” players to fail? It’s because of people like you who use every excuse in the book to defend him… 8 straight losing season … AND COUNTING!
Hey we were being peaceful today… Alex, you go right back to the well on SRT yet you haven’t shown even one post where she said Sandy was great or even good. One post. Come on. If not then what credibility do you even have?
LMS
TRS
SRT
BOR
ING!
This. I can’t be bothered repeating myself again – and again – and again – and again.
I can never understand this persistent and ongoing fascination with demanding to know who the person is behind the moniker. Why is that so important to the 4-5 of you who always bring it up? We have an open commenting policy here that doesn’t require a microchip embedded on their right hand or forehead, we don’t harvest anyone’s emails, we don’t use captcha codes, and we don’t even require a full registration process.
I could care less what anyone does for a living, where their loyalties lie, and whether they think the DH was Satan’s way of ruining the game. (It was, lol)
All I care about is that we all root for the same team, and that we all share the same thirst for another World Series – or two or three.
This fascination with wanting to know everyone’s personal details is creepy to me.
Joe D, nobody wanna know the identity of anyone in here.. Specially the guys/gals from the desert!
But, but the DH was Satan’s way of ruining the game.
I hate it. But some keep telling me it’s only a matter of time until the NL adopts it b/c of all the interleague play now. Bah….
She defends the guy to no end.. Who cares about being peaceful or not, it’s the true… Check every post where whenever someone say soemthing about the guy she goes and blames the wilpon right away…
Her personal belief that the Wilpons are responsible for the mess the Mets are in doesn’t mean that she likes all the moves that Sandy has made or thinks he is great. Not sure why you don’t get that. Does that mean that you support and defend every move the Wilpons are making because you blame Sandy?
No, problem is she NEVER sees fault on the guy, even on the moves he has made that badly fail she find fault with the wilpons never with the guy.. It’s ok if she <3 SA, good for her, but at some point she needs to start seeing the light…
Again, if she sees the root of all problems as the Wilpons and you see it as Sandy how is that much different? I don’t see you running around saying the Wilpons are great and do no wrong nor do I see her running around saying Sandy is great and does no wrong. It’s just two different sides to look at things. At this point none of us really know how much control the Wilpons or Sandy has so both options are on the table.
I get the need to defend your desert people, after all you need to be loyal to your few followers, but she along with SA has no defense. the job he’s done has been awful to say the least, we all know the wilpons are at fault, however, the guy was brought here to slash payroll (he’s done that at a historic pace) and to fnd undervalue players (still waiting) who can help the team. he’s done a horrible job as a GM of this franchise, yet it goes to the wilpons always. he knew how much he had entering last season, yet he decided that fixing the bullpen with 3 bums was gonna fix it all.. yea, keep defending her, just as you did your boy kingman..
I defend her not because she is of the desert Alex but because I have read her postings for as many years as I have yours and she is as level headed of a poster that I have found. Just as I defend you against those who say you are not a fan, I defend her because you have unjustly categorized her as something she is not and no matter what she says you are still doing it.
Again Alex, all I have asked for is ONE post where she says that Sandy is great or even good and that all his moves are gold. You just can’t separate the two. Just because one views the Wilpons as the problem instead of Sandy doesn’t make them ridding around holding a blow up doll.
You obviously have me confused with someone else, Alex.
The real problem is if one did not come out and rail against SA over and over – saying he’s the worst GM of all time and the rest of the insults – then we were all lumped in the category of supporting ‘our Lord’.
You just don’t seem to get there are those that were willing to give him time. And also such as myself, those that believe his number one job coming in was to save the team for the Wilpons, with everything else being secondary.
I still believe it’s about the money and nothing but the money.
Thats hardly true SRT…
Sandy didn’t get trashed daily until he let reyes go!
Up until then the guys who like Sandy were tripping over themselves to find good things to say about him that went unanswered.
It wasn’t until the THIRD ALL STAR in a row left with very little to show for it that Sandy started getting trashed on a daily basis!
The same week the GOOD DAY post was made to try and deflect everyone’s attention as Sandy letting Reyes go!
Up til then I was the ONLY one who ever took Sandy to task for giving up down only 7.5 games from the Wildcard in July!
Got crucified for doing so only to see the Cardinals come back from a bigger deficit followed by the Phillies doing the same this year!
Maniac — Try to have fun without getting me involved. I’ve taken my share of Excedrin for the day. By the way, Kay doesn’t need me to win an difference of opinion. She’s tough. LOL.
Dont know why you chose to include me in this. I’ve only had one big debate with James and it was on one of my Jeff Francouer posts over 3 years ago. That day I wrote him and told him in the future we should debate via email and we have ever since. I thought it was inappropriate for fellow Mets sites to argue like that openly to our readers. He actually emailed me last week about my opinion on Shoppach which he disagreed with. But one thing is for sure, either that day or even now we always kept our debates clean and never resorted to name calling. As for Martin, he takes his jabs at me and I let him. But I never really reply to him. I understand that not everyone will agree with me and that’s perfectly fine with me.
NO! Just let this guy go elsewhere. We have young pitchers who need to pitch at the Major league level already and start learning and adjusting. Plus this guys stuff i just getting weaker and weaker. He does know how to pitch and will make a great pitching coach one day (maybe he can teach some of the young mets pitchers how to throw a decent plus plus offspeed pitch.
Chris is a very intelligent guy but, his stuff couldn’t break a window and a 4th grader could turn on his fastball. R.A. Dickeys Knuckle Ball is thrown harder than a Chris Young fastball. NO, unless he wants to be a coach..
I gotta tell you John, I have no desire to see Young again next season. I want to see as many new faces, hopefully productive ones, as humanly possible next season. I have no more loyalty to many of the names on the backs of the jerseys only to the one in the front. Too many fringe players on this team. Too many that remind me of the last four forgettable seasons. If we are going to continue being bad, I want to do it with new blood either via trades or youngsters ready for an opportunity to break in.
Could somebody just ban metsie and Alex already? Seriously,(not exaggerating) I know about 50 people who avoid this site just because of all the arguments in the comments.
Why? Because they slam Sandy Alderson? Who are those 50 people? Sandy lovers?
What about AA which is really not a baseball site, it’s a “baseball based on a belief site” a cult site where everybody thinks the same and they accept no dissenting point of view and that there must be numerical data for every single action and move?
This site is about baseball first and that being said – Sandy has done a horrific job since day one.
*Head in hands*
We have no choice now but to re-build, the front office having created too many holes by moves made and moves that weren’t the past two seasons. In that sense, a Chris Young, would be needed just to fill out roster space as the kids develop. Two years ago I was against his signing based on his injury problem because I saw the Mets as a team that could still be a contender.
And I would not want to see the front office making a multitude of moves this winter to get us back to that position for we will be repeating the mistakes of the Marlins and later on the Dodgers as well.
The best strategy would be to obtain the necessary type players this winter and again the next, allow some members of the current club to improve with experience and hope that a few of the prospects live up to their promise. Then in 2014 we might again have a good team. The only problem is the first part – they will have to pay in order to obtain good players the next two seasons, otherwise, all we will see is a continuation of “inexpensive” type.
Not to mention the re-signing of Wright and Dickey.