I also think Brown is a lock for a righty OF unless his just a horrible spring. As solid as Baxter is and somewhat logical to platoon i think Spin gets the be the starter vs righties, he has some infield versaltility too and had some awesome ph appreances and i think the odd man out just to start the season will be Kirk, giving full cf duties to Cowgill, he has speed and def hopefully he can hit. Duda in LF with Baxter spelling them for occasional starts, late inning def and ph..

As bad as OF looks on paper i think Duda 2013 will be better then 2012 version, cf was horrible last year maybe Cowgill will be a uptick, replacing Hairston productivity will be tougher task but maybe the Spin/Brown combo can match it so, maybe they sign Bourne for 3 years and things change and bullpen best case id like to see them sign a Rauch-type to upgrade over Burke..and then, hey, you never know !!

When you have time, look at the videos provided above and check out his stat line on the Baseball Cube: Here’s a link…

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=Andrew-Brown-2

It appears that he came up in the Cardinals organization (which means he was well-trained) and was somehow acquired by the Rockies.

He mutilated AAA PCL over the past 2 years. When you look at his stats and then observe the videos, you may conclude, as I have, that Andrew Brown just needs experience at the ML level.

He does things only really good ball players do:

- Has power to all fields – hit a moon shot OUT of Coors Field.
- Hits homeruns when they matter.
- Hits homeruns off pitchers like Zigler, who hadn’t given up a home run all year and Josh Beckett at Dodger Stadium to break a 0-0 4th inning tie.

Defensively, its not just that he has a great arm, but its the angle he takes on the ball to position himself to throw properly, he keeps the ball down and never airmails it.

In the video where he throws out Parra, the announcers were also referring to another great throw he made earlier in the same game. In the video where he tracks a very tricky fly ball, he made a potential adventure look easy as only a good outfielder can.

And the Dude plays first base, where he can spell Ike against tough lefties (which was another reason why I thought Hairston would’ve been a good signing to pick up the slack in the outfield – oh well…)

So, when you observe the videos and analyze his recent numbers, albeit enhanced by the hitter-friendly PCL, (@ 50 homeruns b/w AAA & MLB, and over 200 RBIs), at the very least, I’m not formulating my opinion without solid support. There’s a lot of data to suggest he’s ready to break out. If that happens, then we got an impact player on the cheap.

Based upon all of the available data, Andrew Brown is an opportunity away from making a strong impact at the ML level.

Thanks, Joe

I expect at least one OF and RP brought in as there are still some guys that could easily make this roster on the free agent list like Brandon Lyon, Jose Valverde, LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Capps, Chad Durbin, Juan Cruz, Kameron Loe, Mark Lowe. Heck even Rauch, Ramirez, Isringhausen and Contreras would be upgrades although Rauch probably couldn’t wait to leave here…

If I’m Sandy I hold out as long as I can and try and get Lyon or Capps on a 1 year deal and get Mark Lowe as well and if that’s not possible throw a minor league deal to Izzy or Contreras and see if they have anything left in the tank…

This team will strike a very healthy balance with Wright, d’Arnaud, Brown & Tejada from the right side, and Murphy, Davis, Duda & Bourn (?) from the left side. The team will be strong defensively, I expect Duda and Murphy to perform competently at their positions, and to be supplemented by late-inning replacements in late & close situations.

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/search/media.jsp?player_id=518500

He has enormous power, has the ability to track fly balls with ease and has an absolute cannon for an arm. He would do very well playing beside Michael Bourn. The footage illustrates his pull power, opposite field power, his ability to deal with windy conditions and his ability to throw out runners in scoring position. He’s really, really good.

Given our present-day options, here’s what I’d do:

Left field: Modified platoon (Duda, Turner, ‘Spin, Kirk)
Centerfield: Michael Bourn OR Kirk/Cowgill
Right field: Andrew Brown (Baxter, Kirk or ‘Spin v. tough righties)

In my estimation, the odd-man out will be among Cowgill, Kirk or Valdespin. I think Baxter and Duda have a spot on the Opening Day roster, as does Brown.

And remember, Spring Training always has its share of surprises both positive and negative, as well as its share of injuries.

2012 : 3 Errors
2011: 3 Errors
2010: 5 Errors
2009: 4 Errors
2008 : 7 Errors

In 2007 he committed 12 Errors playing 2nd base and had 13 playing 3rd base in 2006.

But I nominate the 2000 Mets for slowest team I remember. Ventura – Piazza – Zeile were all incredibly slow, and guys like Fonzie, Bordick/Ordonez were pretty slow as well. The team leader in stolen bases had 8. The probably the only guy (other than Rickey who got sent packing early) on that team who was at all speedy was Payton…but he got caught stealing 11 times in 16 attempts. Though back in those years the ball (and players) were juiced and everyone was hitting a ton of HRs, so speed was even less important.

But anyway, hopefully some of the young or relatively young players will have some nice years. I think Duda is a big key. If he can do what he did in 2011, that will help the lineup quite a bit.

I don’t think its a big deal either way where d’Arnaud hits when he comes up. If he’s ready…he’s ready – it shouldn’t negatively effect him if he’s hitting 5th-6th instead of 7th-8th. You don’t go out there and tell the kid he needs to save the team, but you can put him where you think he can help and succeed. And sometimes it can be more difficult and take some extra adjustment if you put guys like that in the 8th spot…hitting in front of the pitcher, when they aren’t used to it. (Though I suppose that can also help them learn some plate patience)

I also stated I think they should bring in Krod, Valverde, or Wilson in a few posts to compete for closer to deepen the bullpen because of what you are saying. Plus he is coming off surgery as well so there is know guarantee he will be ready to start the season. But there is reason for optimism for this bullpen for that reason alone. Plus Edgin, Carson, Laffey, Gorski, and Feliciano provide depth that we did not have last year from the left side which is going to be huge. The right handed pitchers will not be put in as many situations to fail with bad match ups vs leftie hitters with runners on base because of this. There is potential here and as a fan you only have so much power. I know the negatives but I lean on being optimistic and positive since I have no power on roster decisions.

I also cannot see Baxter in a starting role. If the Mets don´t re-sign Hairston or even sign Bourn or trade for an established outfielder, I wouldn´t be surprised at all to see Andrew Brown winning that spot. He hit 29 HR between AAA and the majors last year. And while it came in the thin air of Colorado, it´s not as if the Mets couldn´t use an outfielder with the potential to hit at least 20 HR. Plus, you´d want to have at least one lefty bat on the bench anyway where Baxter seems like a nice fit.

Valdespin probably is better off at AAA initially, working at both 2b and the corner OF spots.

But as many have pointed out, Francisco’s better performances came not as a closer but a middle or set-up man.

He’s not the bad pitcher we saw last year but for him to be a dependable one, he needs to be moved out of that closer spot.