Comments on: 2012 Mets Report Cards: Infielders

By: ronbo

ronbo — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:59:49 +0000

I agree with you on your ratings, the Mets have so have many holes that need to be filled and I believe that there strongest area can be in there young pitchers, remember to get talent you need to give talent no team is going to trade a strong all around player because they feel sorry for us.The Mets do not have a Strawberry in there minor leagues so we either have to trade or go into FA, the Mets are at least two seasons away before they come a contender.

By: Hitman

Hitman — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 05:02:58 +0000

You knew with the way he was playing this year, a slump was coming. I’m willing to bet, if Tejada didn’t make that faceplant down at 1st base and miss a good chunk of time while he was hot early in the year, I think this would be a moot point and his numbers wouldn’t have been lower or the same as last year. While I agree that his long drawn ABs didn’t lead to as much walks, his pitch selection will greatly improve and the walks will increase. Of all the ABs this season, one of the best/my favorite AB from a Met came from Tejada when he made Jonathan Papelbon work in a long drawn AB, which DID lead to a walk (and a few ABs later, a walkoff hit by Wright).

By: TX

TX — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:26:35 +0000

Nah, totally disagree. B+ at the worst, more like an A-.

By: MM

MM — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:16:09 +0000

This. 143 OPS+. And a 7.8 WAR. That’s A work….A- if you want to penalize the down points.

If Wright’s year is only worth a B, others need to be dropped some

By: Reese

Reese — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:12:04 +0000

How can you grade Valdespin when the “Genius” Collins kept trotting Bay and Torres out there every day instead of ONCE during the entire season giving Valdespin 3 consecutive starts to try to see if he could get into a hitting groove. It’s tough for veteran players to adjust when they only play sporadically. How is a guy coming off a 17 HR/37 SB season in his first taste of the big leagues going to learn except to play?

(And for the record, his final batting average was better than both Torres’ and significantly better than Bay’s!)

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 03:32:15 +0000

Sure, they weren’t too bad offensively if you like your #1 and #2 batters to have a combined .332 OBP, a slugging of under .400, and a combined 76 extra base hits…not-to-mention a total of 14 SBs, which means, since they hit for no extra base power, they basically have to go station-to-station on the bases…which, could be the reason why they only accounted for 198 total runs (runs + RBIs – HRs). Yeah…offensively they were really bad…but, hey, they hit for a decent average and didn’t strikeout much.

As for Valdespin off of the bench not being a B+…well, he had 6 pinch hit HRs, including a few game winners, and had a .523 slugging off of the bench in 65 at-bats…that’s B+ worthy for a rookie. As a starter, his slugging was a mere .373…however, I graded him highly based off of his bench play…as I thought I clearly noted.

Thanks for your opinion…feel free to back up your thought with actual facts. Thanks.

By: Connor O'Brien

Connor O'Brien — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:46:38 +0000

Well a B- isn’t way off
I just felt like his sharp drrop in walks and second half slump didn’t earn him a B. Most of his numbers were either the same as last year or slightly lower.

By: Connor O'Brien

Connor O'Brien — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:42:04 +0000

Yeah. I wrote that in the original draft ut I guess I deleted it by accident. Yes, he was TERRIBLE in the beginning but did improve a lot in the second half.

By: Hitman

Hitman — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:59:31 +0000

A C+ for Tejada? I’m sorry, but that’s way off. He should be at least a B or B-.

By: jerseymet

jerseymet — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:56:05 +0000

Conner your grading is harsh.

By: Jerry M

Jerry M — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:52:53 +0000

I wouldnt give Valespin a B+. He was good until the pitchers got his weakness and then was not that great. Murphy & Tejada werent that bad offensively

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:25:37 +0000

2012 End o’ season grades:

Starting pitching – B+ (What more could have been asked for from Dickey, Harvey, and Niese…even Gee showed decent potential)
Bullpen – D- (Parnell showed, yet again, he is nothing more than a middle reliever or mop up guy, they have no closer or setup man.)
Infield – C-/D+ (Wright was solid offensively and gold glove caliber defensively, Ike played well in the field and had a strong offensive second half, Tejada and Murph were weak offensively, and they have no catcher)
Outfield – F+ (Kirk had some promise early, Duda stunk, Bay is a zombie, Torres stinks, Hairston was better than anyone could have imagined)
Bench – B+ (Valdespin and Hairston were superb, Cedeno was good too.)
Manager/Coaching Staff – C (TC made some bad decisions but it’s hard to make chicken salad out of chicken shit…74 wins was about 10 more than I thought they would have in the preseason.)

By: Jerry M

Jerry M — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:50:57 +0000

Connor you are a tough guy for a 15 year old in marking players. Most other writers gave all the infield higher marks. Murphy a B, and Tejada a B. Wright a A-. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you have your ideas for the players & how they did. I think you could have said that Murphy was doing better in the 2nd half at defense as this was his 1st full year at 2nd base and he worked hard to succeed.

By: Connor O'Brien

Connor O'Brien — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:41:42 +0000

Yup

By: D. Meeker

D. Meeker — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:36:10 +0000

Look at it this way. An A+ in the first half plus a C- in the second half, equals a B overall.

By: Gina

Gina — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:26:19 +0000

I disagree with on Wright. You have to grade his overall body of work for the year. He batted .306, 21 home runs, 41 doubles, 95 RBI, 93 R, 15 stolen bases, and you call that a B? I call it an A- at worst.

By: D. Meeker

D. Meeker — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:20:00 +0000

Usually when I see these types of report card posts I almost always disagree with them, but I must admit you did a very fair job here in your assessment. It’s certainly beats the few of these they did at Bleacher Report where Wright got an A or A+ and no mention off his horrid second half. I thought you were very fair with Ike Davis too.

By: Reese

Reese — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:21:57 +0000

Unfortunately I don’t see the dynamic changing much this coming season. You’ve already lost a significant amount of power with the departure of Hairston, they seem loathe to trade Wright and/or Dickey to replenish the roster and give them financial flexibility. We’ve been told again and again there is no money for FAs, so you’re going into the season with what you had last year plus a few Filene’s basement bargains looking to reestablish themselves (like Grady Sizemore, for example).

See you in 2014. Of course, we were told when Perez and Castillo’s money were off the books there would be room to make personnel moves. It didn’t happen. Now we’re being told when Santana and Bay are off the books there will be money to spend…and there will. Fred and Jeff have bills to pay. Yacht club dues keep going up. Oh, you thought they’d spend it on the ROSTER?

By: hotstreak

hotstreak — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:42:49 +0000

Power C-
Speed D
Defense C- (Note)
Team Leader D
Spit and Fire (Turner and Murph) C-
Manager C at best

Even with Wright and Ike

By: hotstreak

hotstreak — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:07:47 +0000

SP B-
Infield C+ ( Note 1)
Outfield D (Note 2)
Bench(Hairston Valdy) C+ (Note 2)
Bullpen D
Overall a forth place team with mid 70 wins

Note 1: This rating includes D- for catcher and therefore overstated
Note 2 A comparable to Hairston must be replaced or rating dropped