1
2013
Mets’ Outfield Remains Muddled
An article by 
After a handful of games, this much is certain about the Mets’ porous outfield situation: Nothing has been settled.
We know Lucas Duda is expected to play left field, but center field and right field are open. Wide open, it seems.
Going into spring training, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Collin Cowgill were penciled in as a platoon in center, while veteran Marlon Byrd and Mike Baxter were going to be a right field platoon.
“The outfield is definitely a question mark, collectively,’’ Sandy Alderson said. “I think we’ve liked what we’ve seen from Cowgill. I don’t think that (Andrew) Brown and (Jamie) Hoffman have had much of an opportunity to play at this point.
“Nieuwenhuis, (Matt) den Dekker, still have some work to do offensively. Marlon Byrd is what he is (which hardly qualifies as an endorsement. Mike Baxter is certainly in that mix- expect him to be on that team.’’
Nieuwenhuis if off to a horrible 0-for-12 start with six strikeouts, and both Cowgill and Jordany Valdespin have outperformed him offensively. Nieuwenhuis was given the first opportunity to with the leadoff spot because of his speed, but he’s shown nothing in that regard. Last night, he batted fifth.
Den Dekker has a great glove, but Jim Edmonds comparisons quickly end when his bat is mentioned.
“The classic outfield offensive player, we don’t have at this point,’’ Alderson conceded.
The outfielder with the greatest potential upside offensively is Duda, but he struck out six times in his first seven at-bats this spring. So far, Alderson isn’t concerned about Duda, despite striking out 120 times last season.
“We think Lucas Duda, offensively, is going to be fine,’’ Alderson said. “His defense is a question mark. The balance there is difficult to maintain. He really has to produce offensively.’’
Alderson said he can live with the strikeouts if the on-base percentage and run production numbers are high. Bluntly put, 15 homers won’t cut it. For Duda to be worth his strikeouts, and remember, he didn’t play a full season, he’ll need to approach 30 homers with 100 RBI.
Valdespin entered spring training with the Mets unhappy about his attitude, but he’s off to a good start. He’s been getting reps at second – in anticipation of Daniel Murphy not being ready – but will get time in the outfield. If he sticks, it could be at the expense of Nieuwenhuis.
“Center and Right, we have to see,’’ Alderson said. “I wouldn’t eliminate Valdespin as a potential outfield candidate either, that’s how open things are.’’
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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Again, Michael bourn would’ve fit perfectly for the reasons I’ve stated many times, speed, great glove and also, he’d be our leadoff, but that ship has sailed and now It’s time to move on and see what we got. Byrd, valdespin , kirk and duda should round out the OF positions, with baxter, cowgill and someone else to be the backups.
Kirk is so damned clueless right now, swinging at stuff he should take, taking pitches he should be swinging at. It’s painful to watch. They’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by having him “audition” for the lead-off spot and it’s messing up his head. The kid needs to work on his vertical line of sight — he needs to figure out how to track breaking pitches. The coaching staff is talking about attacking the zone and honing in on your pitch and not swinging at anything outside your zone but none of that stuff is going to work as long as Kirk keeps getting lured down and away by breaking pitches that set him up for that high and tight fastball that gets him every time. One thing at a time I’d say with Kirk, keep it simple, figure out how to track that breaking pitch right into the glove then graduate to either laying off of it or punching it into left field if you can reach it. Forget all the OBP mumbo jumbo with Kirk, he’s just not the type of player who is all of a sudden going to develop an excellent eye at the plate … it rarely happens anyway, what makes us think Kirk will pull it off? He’s got some redeeming qualities, some gap power, speed, good fielder, so what if he doesn’t get on base, put him in the 6 spot and let him swing away and help him figure out the breaking pitch and be glad you have a half-way decent CFer … any offense is a bonus.
But if Den Dekker hits, even a little bit, I’d stick him in center with Valdespin in right and Duda in Left. That is if Duda ever finds his stroke again.
This guy Brown sure takes a big cut. He’s another one to keep an eye on, he got a hit last night I think.
I am stunned Matt. OBP mumbo jumbo? I almost fainted. But i agree on Kirk AND d’Arnaud although my take on d’Arnaud, a ballplayer I’ve never seen before, is to at least wait and see what he does in spring training before deciding if he goes to AAA or not.
But that’s been happening a lot around here the last couple of years with people deciding on ballplayer’s fates long before ST ever starts.
And back to Kirk, I can’t for the life of me see why this administration can’t see that he is a run producer not a leadoff hitter. Wait, I’ll tell you why, it’s because they think they can turn water into wine with their philosophy not that Kirk is water, no but just in a manner of speaking.
To Kirk it’s mumbo jumbo, gobledegook, jaberwocky, like trying to teach a chimp to play chess.
I have my fingers crossed for denDecker. He’s a highlight real major league defensive player. I watched him in parts of two seasons in Binghamton and this kid can go an get a baseball. He hit like crazy in his second stint at AA but had a tough time adjusting to AAA. he did get it going towards the end of the summer with several double hit games. Hit speed on the bases, defense and power give him the attributes we need in centerfield if he can just cut down on the strikeouts. The kid has basehits in each of his last two spring games.
Maybe. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
So far Byrd n Cogwill look the best. Excuse me I just threw up in my mouth. I’m not sure why they want to move Valdespin back into the infield but it’s stupid. He looked good in the outfield & didnt look bad in Center either. He will only get better with repitition. By no means do I think he should play center but on opening day if he is not starting somewhere in the outfield i’d be upset. Cowgill looks like he has a slight advantage over Capt Kirk right now. The way Kirk is striking out he’s starting to look like dendecker.
I was reading an article somewhere the other day that was talking about Hudgens approach. While it’s good & you want to have lots of guys with high on base percentages when it comes to guys who are strikeout prone maybe it needs to be altered a little bit. Especially in the case of a guy like DenDecker they should say take a strike but then if you can square up a pitch go for it. Where as now they have him waiting for his pitch then when he has 2 strikes he’s defensive. It works for some people we seen the Yankees do it for years and wear out pitchers. However, even though there emploring patience & working counts to square up your pitch maybe a couple of exceptions can be made. Maybe they can let DD & Capt Kirk try being aggressive. Do I say this is the answer & will fix what ails them? No. But cant hurt to try. There also in 2 very different stages where DD may just not be ready.
Then that last outfield spot Byrd is looking okay. Yuck. I was haopin Lutz would get a chance to win one of those spots. They have had him playing a lot of of and supposedly he has looked pretty good. Then theres Baxter & Duda. Baxter I dont know why but I like.
Projected order as of Now:
Cowgill
Murphy
Wright
Davis
Byrd
Valdespin
Buck
Tejada
Any thoughts? I’d love to see Flores & Lutz bats in these line-ups somehow. But Duda cant sniff the line-up when he’s striking out more than half the time he’s up.
reasonably dynamic and athletic lineup. A few guys with speed, and overall the D should be much better than in recent years.
Like on true power hitting.
and I have no faith in Byrd not being a ST mirage, but you could easily plug Duda in there (or split time).
Lutz has no real spot unless he beats out turner, and even then, no place in the lineup.
Flores, he would have to be replacing Murphy.
RF Valdespin
CF Cowgill
3B Wright
1B Davis
2B Murphy/Flores
LF Byrd/Duda
SS Tejada
C Buck
Much more realistic right now.
That’s just not a good lineup. With all the pitching coming up for this team It needed 2 more veteran players in it or at the very, very least one more. This team was neglected by Alderson.
That lineup should not only have 2 more veterans in it but whoever they decide to be the manager when they feel it’s time to turn it around should already be here. I’m not saying they could have won the World Series or even get into the post season but the team was ready for some necessary additions now instead of fiddling around with all these journeyman and minor league signings.
When Keith Hernandez was acquired in 1983 the pitching staff was Craig Swan, Mike Torrez, an aging Tom Seaver, Ed Lynch & a couple of others. Compare that to now? This current roster was neglected.
I agree with you. I’m not comfortable with how the lineup’s shaping up either, mainly the LF situation. I don’t like Duda in LF at all. I said not all that long ago, I’d bring in a vet like Alex Rios on board, so Valdespin could at least move to LF and the Mets could have a 25+ HR right handed bat like Rios after Davis.
Just like that? Just call Kenny up and bring in Rios? What makes you think they’d trade him?
At this point I believe things are becoming a bit more clear contrary to most reports regarding this outfield. In my opinion Kirk should be starting the season in AAA to try and regain his approach from previous years. I think he may be one of those players who does best when being aggressive at the plate. Both he and Duda suffered from the Mets trying to push everyone on the team to adapt the patient approach. By taking pitches they’d normally swing at Kirk and Duda fell behind in counts, losg their aggression and confidence, and racked up the Ks as a result. Duda needs to just get out there play with all he’s got and we can judge from there after a health chuck of playing time in left. As sensitive a player as he appears to be I also feel his inept defensive play was taken with him to the plate and hindered his offensive production. Cowgill needs to at the very least be playing CF in a platoon situation come opening day. He seems to do all the little things this team needs to survive and he does them with pride. He’s certainly earned his spot in the lineup somewhat regularly. Byrd should stick just to see what he has left in his tank. He hasn’t done anything spectatcular but if he can be a sound, solid producer (not HR guy or defensive genius) he’ll be worth his contract. Valdespin in my opinion has earned the starting RF job as of right now. I get that his attitude leaves much to be desired but he’s very talented, he has the speed and electricity this team needs, and he has a flair for the clutch. Id like hi to at least get regular reps in the OF to show other teams that he can be a solid trade piece. If he produces beyond expectations he can stay, so long as his attitude takes a turn for the better as well. Lastly, I would put Lutz on this team above Brown and Hoffman. He’s always been a hitter with pop, and he’s a righty so the advantage is already there for him. Id love to see him stay on as a utility player and work on his OF defense along the way to maximize his versatility.
selective, not patient. there is a difference.
and they were not falling behind because they were watching fat FBs down the middle. The real problem (and this goes for Ike also) was fishing for bad pitches early, and putting themselves in a hole that way.
No one is telling them to watch crushable pitches early. Not happening.
Oh, and Duda through the minors was actually always a patient (if not passive) type of hitter, so in his case, even telling him to be patient would not be trying to change him.
If you want to hear Kirk being told to atttack pitches that are in the hitting zone, everything said by Hudgens and players on the Mets absolutely supports that.
I agree that Duda has historically bee a patient hitter, however, I feel that he may have become overly patient with the constant preaching of plate discipline that we heard about all season long. I recall a number of times seeing Luke take very hittable pitches early in the count, only to get behind and chase something out of the zone or nearly impossible to hit out of desperation. His patient approach seemed to be taken overboard and turned into almost lethargic turns at bat. Also, if MDDs developmental history holds true he belongs right back in AAA as the starting CF because this season should be his time to get comfortable and excel. He’s always struggled upon advancing up a level and not really gotten comfortable there until his following season at that stage. If this remains true his offense may catch up with his defensive prowess this season.
Im trying to see the value of Baxter on this roster at this point. I genuinely like the guy, he was solid for stretches, and his catch in johans no-no was huge. However he’s a left handed batter on a team with way too many lefties, he doesn’t offer much in terms of speed, homerun power, or potential to bat for a high average. Its pretty much a given that Duda will be here when camp breaks, Byrd has looked promising thus far and has a solid track record, Cowgill has impressed, and Valdy is doing everything he can to open eyes. Based on performance if those are your 4 outfielders where does Baxter fit?