11
2013
Niese Still Hasn’t Allowed A Run, Den Dekker Gloves Another, ‘Spin Homers Then Gets Drilled
An article by 
The Mets had an absolute field-day this afternoon with an 11-0 romp over against the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Fla.
Jonathon Niese got the start against Detroit and continues to roll, tossing four and two thirds innings of scoreless ball and allowing just one hit while walking four. Niese has yet to allow a run this Spring. It won’t be long until he ‘s officially tapped as the Opening Day starter. I sense a big season in 2013 for the southpaw.
Matt den Dekker played a big part in preventing any damage with yet another spectacular grab in centerfield. His solid effort on that play did not go unnoticed by his teammate Niese. “Oh, it was amazing. He plays a great outfield. It’s great to have that defense behind you.”
If Den Dekker can find a way to show Terry Collins that he could hit better than Mike Baxter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis (still nursing an injury), Marlon Byrd or Collin Cowgill, the lefthanded human highlight reel would stand a good chance to make the team. But after two more strikeouts today, he now has ten in his last 27 at-bats and for a team starving for outfield offense, his chances are slim to none.
SPIN THE THROTTLE: Jordany Valdespin wasted no time making news today after leading off today’s game with home run off Tigers ace Justin Verlander. Later in the game during the fifth inning, Verlander drilled Valdespin with a 95 mph fastball right in the groin (ouch!). But the kid just laughed it off and then created some comic relief on Twitter when Mike Puma of the NY Post asked him where the pitch hit him. “On my d*ck,” replied Valdespin, who could probably star in his own reality show at this point. He leads the team with three homers and is batting .370 this spring.
HEFNER IS THE MAN: If you haven’t figured it out already, Terry Collins made it crystal clear when he said that Jeremy Hefner will be the replacement for Johan Santana if he ends up on the DL to start the season. ”We’re getting Jeremy Hefner ready,” Collins said. The Mets will now focus on stretching Hefner out so that they can get 6-7 innings out of him when he gets the nod. So far, the righty has 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched and has held opposing batters to a .189 average.
NO NO-HAN: There is nobody in camp that believes Johan Santana will avoid the DL to start the season. Even though there has been no official announcement yet, it looks like Sandy Alderson is the only one holding out any hope, while Collins is planning to start the season without him.
SWELTERING HOT: Ike Davis smacked a two-run single to right in the fifth and is now batting .364 in Grapefruit League play. Catcher John Buck went 2-for-3 and scored twice while notching a pair of doubles. After Valdespin was removed from the game, he was replaced at second base by Brian Bixler who had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs, including an eighth-inning solo homer. Three deuces beats aces and kings all the time.
THE WRIGHT STUFF: If you’re concerned that David Wright isn’t getting enough work in while competing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, put your mind at ease. Wright is batting .455 with five RBIs through three games and carried his team through their last two victories. Team USA has advanced to the Semi-Finals and faces the very tough Puerto Rican team on Tuesday at 8:00 PM.
ON DECK: The Mets are off tomorrow, but RHP Matt Harvey looks to continue his hot start against the Washington Nationals squad at 1:05 PM on Wednesday. Harvey is coming off a four and a third hitless innings in his last appearance. Word has it that Harvey won’t ever win a Cy Young Award so temper those expectations.
CONGRATULATIONS: The Mets, SNY and the local papers are stealing all our talent on MMO so far in 2013. Just kidding, I think it’s a credit to all of us at Metsmerized. Our latest congratulations go out to Elliot Chester who recently wrote this post on Collin McHugh last week for MMO. Elliot was chosen to intern for the Mets Media Relations Department this Summer. We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing him at the park this season. Say hello to Jay, Shannon, Danielle and Ethan for us.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.0 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 6.5 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Its tragic that Den Dekker can’t hit. Its really too bad because it would be awesome to have him in center.
In my view, it’s way to early, like pre-mature to posit that MDD ‘can’t hit’. He HAS hit at every level, past few years, ‘cept AAA last year. He CAN hit, he will, and he should be our starting CF’er, period & Xclamation point!!!
not out of spring training he shouldn’t
Can’t be promoted to the MLB after hitting .210 the season prior in AAA. Kid needs at least a half a year in AAA before we think of promoting him.
If he can hit .250, get on base a bit and hit 10-15 HR, even if he strikes out 150+ times the glove will absolutely be worth it.
Hi oleo, i’m with lifelong on this one. How often does a ‘glove’ like this come along ‘for us’? And i know Joe D says nonstop: ‘no way for MDD when this team is starving for offense in the OF’. Or Joe says ‘something’ like that…but i say: yes, there’s a way when this team is STARVED & THIRSTY to death after miles in the desert for a CF ‘glove’ like his to support and enhance the pitching. Niese said it today!
If he does that Oleo, he will be Michael Bourn. without the commitment.
Michael Bourn is a bonafide leadoff hitter and GG level CF, he has played the OF for over 10 years.
JV1 is a converted SS who at his best is Carlos Gomez at the plate and a work in progress in the field.
I would rather see JV1 at One position for an entire year.
They are giving him the exact same treatment they gave Murphy in 2009. Then when he looks silly in the field, folks make it about the player.
Sorry bud. K rate is way too high. He’s 25 years old. He’s not a starter. Defensive replacement absolutely.
“rates” don’t matter. Yes he strikes out a lot but if he can stay decently above .200, learn how to adjust at the big league level while batting 8th he will save Mets pitchers just as much runs and win games that way just as if his “rates” improved and he drove in runs while hitting. As long as it translates to winning ballgames i’m not concerned with “rates” or any other new saber lingo.
I’m just interested in putting the best team possible out of this lot that can win the most games. To me that increases the “win rate”
Well….when you strikeout once every 4 at bats in AAA, that’s a pretty significant problem. You cannot have an automatic out in the 8 hole when the rest of the lineup is pedestrian as it is. If we already had good hitters in LF and RF it would be one thing, but alas.
Well his defense more than makes up for that. And I would rather work with Den Dekker now instead of having some “filler journeyman” who walks more, offers “capable” D. I don’t want “capable” I want excellence. And Den Dekker offers excellence in the field. And he wins games in the field (which i know is hard for saber goons to comprehend) He has the potential to be better than Carlos Beltran defensively and unless he hits .082 I would dedicate a LOT of time to Den Dekker starting now.
Sabermetric goons, eh? I’d say you were instigating there Bayonne. Going for #9 are we?
Just stick to the topic and let the admins do their job. I always say it. I hate saber, what can i say? And yet another nice try to get me banned because of my beliefs.
Oooohhhh how shocking, how sexist, how deplorable, how horrible – saber goon. Ooohhhhh the horror
Be a man, take a hit…shut up, and stick to the topic! I would say that was a mighty cowardly act by you just because of my beliefs. Weak.
The irony is there are sabermetric measures of defensive performance. The whole “wins games on the field” thing.
I realize Den Dekker saves runs. All I am saying is, in a lineup devoid of offensive production, it hurts too much to have Den Dekker in there.
WAR has a huge defensive component to it.
as to carrying a glove only guy, you can get away with it if the rest of the lineup can cover, but you have to have a certain level of team offense, so can’t really have multiple black holes if you expect to ever score.
Hi Van,
Sounds like WAR is telling us something we didn’t already know. So many teams – just from my own memories dating back to the sixties – often employed a no-hit great fielder as a regular for they recognized his importance day in and day out with saving runs and helping the pitchers than they did his offensive liability which literally created two holes in the order – the 8th and 9th spot – which curtailed many a big scoring opportunity.
Other teams employed the opposite – a fair (not great) hitter whose timely hitting was more important than his glove having some defensive holes in it.
WAR cannot begin to measure a player’s total contributions to their team in one statistic. There are the intangeables that are not captured in statistics but seen and felt every day. A perfect example is the 1969 Miracle Mets and Ed Charles. About a year ago I was blasted by some for commenting on how vital the Glider was to the team – it was ludicrious to infer that a 36 year old .207 hitter who played in just 61 games and drove in 18 runners could have been of any iimportance, especially a signficant role as I was suggesting.
Yes, based on the stats, he was a scrub. Based on what he meant to the young team in the clubhouse, dugout and the times he was on the field was immeasurable as many of the young players acknowledged his veteran leadership helped turn them into Champions.
Read up on what the players had to say and you’ll understand why many of us say one needs not to look at a mathematical formula but would find more pleasure and deeper appreciation by watching a player perform within the framework of his team and seeing all those intangibles first hand. Or, does WAR have a factor for chemistry and leadership factor to account for it’s calculations?
That’s why stats are fun but don’t lose sight that the real joy of the game is that it is a past-time with a human soul unlike any other sport in the world and looking at players, teams and strategy in terms mainly of stats ignores all that spirit – as we have seen with this front office for example.
No the irony is that DESPITE the fact Saberrattlers have tried many times over many years to come up with all these defensive metrics you hear people spout, almost ANYONE who knows anything about Sabers doesn’t trust a single one of them as accurate!
Forget about the runs saved by his glove….
The question of MDD is CAN he hit MLB Pitching, Does he need time to adjust to it the same as when he needed each time he jumped a level in the Minors and if so does it make sense to wait till he ajdusts to AAA and have him struggle again when he finally DOES come up or does it just make more sense to let him play everyday. KNOW the glove is sound and give him time to show he can hit MLB Pitching in a year where even if he doesn’t it won’t cost this team a Playoff it never had a shot at no matter WHO you played out there or bat 8th?
I would be fine if they made MDD the everyday CF, Duda in LF and let Cowgill and Valde/Baxter platoon in the RF position until such time as one of them wins it outright or we make a trade for a guy like Stanton who can beat everyone else involved….
If the Latter happens and MDD still isn’t hitting then you got Cowgil, MDD and Valde to fight for playing time at CF.
actually, if anything, the saber people are the ones that would actually value the work in the field. UZR and WAR and all that.
Not that big of an issue if it was his first time facing that level of pitching…
Which seems to be what his book says about every jump in level….
rate is a synonym for average. So yes, they do matter and no, they are not some new saber thing.
If the kid can’t provide adequate offense, he’s going to have to spend time in the minors until he can. Especially since he’s a lefty trying to get onto a lefty heavy team.
I would like to see Den Dekker open the season as our starting CF. If the Mets can get Dekker consistent playing time at the very least we’ll have trade-meat and at the very best of scenarios, a young dynamic developing major league center-fielder. How old is Dekker now? 27′ish? I’d say make it or get a real job time is approaching fast for Dekker.
No disrespect to Marlon Byrd but why is he here? When I think of Marlon Byrd I think a perennial Cubs-Royals veteran professional baseball player hired to legitimize not win.
Dekker doesn’t have to hit lead off. He could fit nicely in the 7 or 8 hole. right? Well, the striking out.. is gonna kill him….. maybe not. Just play the guy and leave him be for a month or so.
People don’t seem positive about Dekker. That puzzles me. People were so high on Thole and Murphy when they were rookies. I see Dekker having way more of a higher ceiling than Murphy and Thole combined if Dekker can limit the K’s.
This is my formal petition to take your nickname and make it official.
We should all refer to Den Dekker in the future as none other, than “The Left-Handed Human Highlight Reel” or some variation of it.
I like MDD’s glove and hate his bat, at this stage. I tihnk par tof the reason why there’s such a “push” for him to make the team or even start the seaosn as our CF is because we have gotten used to flawed and incomplete players as Mets fans. There is absolute no rush for this kid. Let him go to AAA, develop some more, improve his approach, and actually produce with the bat. The glove is not going anywhere for probably the next decade. The bat should be given chance to further develop. Placing him on a big league roster stunts his growth. To me, this is akin to the Mejia fiasco a couple of years back.
Leave the kid be. Give him until June in the PCL. And come July, you’ll know what you have in him, and in your MLBers.
I could agree with this, except I don’t think starting in the Majors would have the same effect on him as it did Mejia. Mejia’s arm got torn up because he was starter in the minors, they pulled him up to relieve in the majors, he struggled and they sent him back down to start, messing with his arm, resulting in energy.
With “The Left Handed Human Highlight Reel” the only thing that would be stopping him currently is his bat, but he has proven that he can adjust at the next level, EVERY step of the way. There’s no reason to think that he won’t be able to adjust to Major League pitching after a month or two, rather than have him go dominate AAA only to come up here and have to go through the same adjustment period. We could just skip an adjustment period.
I wonder if Verlander hit Valdy on purpose. His hotdogging is getting atttention from pitchers.Did he show Verlander up when he hit the homerun?
Nice to see Mets catcher John Buck continue to put together a good Spring as he tries to get ready for the season and get accustomed to a new team. Mets catchers overall have looked good this Spring. So far this Spring Mets catchers lead MLB in Avg, Slg, Ops and tied for 1st in Hr’s.
Considering we were last in most offensive categories at the catcher position hopefully this season they can improve upon that.
Den Dekker has no reason to go to triple-a…ok so he goes there and proves he can hit triple-a pitching, but then when he’s called up will have to adjust to big league pitchers anyway.
My thoughts exactly, he has an “adjustment” period at every level, why wouldn’t we just want to skip the AAA adjustment period and let that be his MLB adjustment period, he’ll be fine after 2 months, and he’ll still hit .200-.220 in that time with a little pop before he finally starts turning it on.
who knows how he will handle that big of a jump though. Maybe he needs to do it in a more incremental manner?
It’s March 11th and still a couple more weeks for Den Dekker to make adjustments. For him to make up the runs he’s saved with his glove so far this spring than the equivalent would probably him hitting over .300 with about 5 or so more RBIs. I still think Den Dekker has a chance to make the team if he can continue to make such a difference with his glove.
I honestly don’t see how they could send him down…they severely lack defense in the outfield and his bat will be sufficient enough in the 8 hole as he adjusts and should be markedly improved after he gets experience at the big league level.
I could care less about how he hits in AAA and even if he succeeded in AAA it would not translate to success at the big league level anyway. His glove is more than ready so let him work it out offensively in the bigs.
It’s not like letting him adjust to MLB pitching is going to ruin our playoff chances or anything like that….
If he needs to adjust to every level he jumps then might as well let him get adjusted now to the MLB pitching instead of waiting till next year when his bat is going to be more important because they are expected to be doing something good next year…..
But if they bring him up they HAVE to play him everyday….
If they are just going to give him spot starts then he WOULD be better off in AAA getting regular playing time…
Which is my big worry if they keep him up…
Agreed
Besides, I wonder if anyone is talking to him about shortening up (choking up) with 2 strikes? Seems that’s a lost art these days and it’s a shame because it shouldn’t be. He could choke up with 2 strikes, learn a little more about “bat handling” and be able to put the bat on the ball trying to move runners around because he’ll be in the 8th spot. He could learn some versatility there and become an even more rounded ballplayer. And if he gets his stride then he can start going back down to the end of the bat once he’s seeing the ball better.
I think that should be incorporated into his repertoire if he’s to bat 8th. Teach him versatility and get all those statistics the hell out of his head and everybody else’s. Just concentrate on being a versatile bat handler for awhile
It depends on why he is not hitting…
If it’s just because he is a little overmatched and all about pitch recognition then choking up will help foul off pitches but it also won’t get him adjusted to swinging the way that got him here…
If there are problems with his swing (not apparanet from his past ability to hit) then you tweak it but considering his problem has always been the jump up which then settles in and starts hitting again I don’t know if you need to make him change what he does, just get used to it so he can naturally swiing at it.
I am convinced it’s just a problem with him catching up to the speed of each level which is why there is no reason to NOT let him get himself sorted in the MLB since he is going to go through it at some point, might as well be now when it doesn’t hurt.
The issue of denDecker’s hitting has to be evaluated against the other available options in centerfield. If Kirk isn’t ready or even if he is and he hits as he did at the close of his 2012 time in the big leagues or in his early trial this spring, then denDecker becomes a more viable centerfielder option. Taking away runs could be a deciding factor determining who stays and who goes if two outfield candidates both struggle at the plate. That seems to be the case with the two young Met lefthanded centerfield candidates. Both run the bases well, but denDecker has better stolen base potential..
He leads the team in homers and penis jokes!
I do have to say though I’m much more amused at his response than I am upset!
I am sure he is going to hear it from the players in the lockeroom for that quote for awhile…
Maybe it will bring them together!
I don’t find it that terrible of a joke, he’s an adult. He can joke around like he’s one, and what exactly did you expect him to say? He’s not David Wright.
I am quite curious what your opinion would be on Alfredo Aceves
I dont think it was a joke so much as a poor choice of words and a cultural gap.
But im sure if i took u to another country where u barely know the language, in the biggest and hungriest media capital on earth, nothing u say would ever be taken out of context.
It wasn’t meant as a joke but sometimes the funniest things said are not ever meant to be funny they just are….
He wasn’t in front of a camera and was probably just standing next to the guy when he said it and didn’t expect the reporter to tweet it word for word!
Your right though JDD….You do have to cut him some slack for the language a bit…
I thought it was just hilarious myself….
Almost as good as Casey saying if you don’t have a catcher your going to have a lot of passed balls….He was being serious when he said that too!
Much ado about nothin…
The fact Verlander Drilled him might be a bit more telling…..But maybe thats what the kid needs to see showboating in the MLB when you haven’t proved anything is not the smartest thing to do.
If the Mets host the Tigers this season, Valdespin’s walkup music should be “My Dick” by Big Pun.
this would be a better choice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksgm1RgvAms
im sorry but the kid should be the starter. we need the D in the outfield. last year we put up with tholes lack of hitting in the line up and he even had a shitty glove.
I am very surprised how Valdespin is not getting hammered by you guys for his poor judgement in language. I think he is a clueless punk and I hope he keeps some useful production this season. Maybe his “dick” can be packaged with blow-han at the break for some real talent.
I would like to clarify when a person represents an organization and is a role model for children he should refrain from acting impulsively, think before he speaks, save the jokes, and have some class. Maybe if david wasnt at the WBC he would have more positive influence on his behavior.
I did not even see it as any kind of a joke. He just used an unexpected slang word that came out oddly. Really not a big deal.
First off…If you let your kid use a sports figure as a role model YOUR to blame when he screws that up for you not him….
Second he wasn’t on camera and did not expect someone to tweet it word for word….
Perhaps they did because of His poor attitude in the past perhaps not….
But if me and you were playing a game in Central park and you asked me I probably say the same thing to you!
When he says something like that on camera thats broadcast live then there is something to chastise him for.
A reporter asked a dumb question and he got an answer….
Just an unexpected one and one unsuitable for media yet notice the media didn’t think twice about putting it out there did they?
honestly,
the OF should be
Duda
Matt Den Dekker
JV1
Bench
Marlon Byrd – RHB
Baxter – LHB
done and done
if they keep dekker and Spin, it almost would guarantee that Baxter did not make the cut (cowgil would), since it is highly unlikely they would run with 4 LH hitting OFs, considering there are a lot of splits going on.
though if Spin actually won the MI backup job, that would let them essentially keep 6 OFs, but you better hope Tejada never takes an inning off!
SS is 1 position we have absolutely no depth in at ALL
they have plenty of backups, but no one close to ready that you can look at as a viable starting alternative at this point. Tovar could handle it defensively, but not hitting. Anyone else seems to be a couple years away at least.
so if Tejada went down, expect to see filler like last year.
Conspicuously missing is a certain someone who’s performing as good as Valdespin in ST. Hmmm.
No the outfield should be Duda Cowgill valdespin. With Bryd and Baxter off the bench, den dekker needs seasoning in triple a, he can up mid season. Cowgill should be centerfielder and lead off hitter
I didn’t see the game – did Spin do something to show up Verlander? I can’t see why a pitcher would deliberately throw at somebody in a spring training game unless egged on, but then it could have just been a case of the Tiger ace stickin’ it in his ear and saying “welcome to the majors, kid”.
I think the saber stats allows the average fan to get a better picture of a player but adds little to what those in the field already know except for reference. So, Bayonne, I don’t mind if it’s matter of baseball becoming by-lingual as I do making those stats appear as if they reveal things those in the front office discovered that makes them understand how the game should be played better than those on the field (who, of course, have the baseball smarts and are not the Lastings Miledge and Jerry Manuel types) and use things like WAR over wisdom..
An Outfield of Cowgill, DenDekker and Spin would give you much better defense and once MDD gets adjusted to hitting at the mlb level it wont be that bad an outfield. Yeah you won’t have a classic thumper but, you could get 45hrs, and 90 stolen bases out of that group. That’s not too shabby. Honestly Duda is not going to hit the way certain members of the front office dream he will hit and in actuality, I firmly believe that is Duda wants to ever be a productive major league hitter the player he should emulate the most is former Yankee Paul O’neil. Why? Because like Duda, when O’neil came up with The Reds everyone was pushing him to become a masher type of hitter and what Paul actually did best was make solid contact with occasional power.
If the Met’s could be happy with Duda doing that, he could probably hit between 280 and 300 with 15 to 25 bombs a year and drive in 90 rbi. Sadly they are pushing the mild mannered Duda to be something and someone he is not meant to be. Home Run hitters are born that way and it’s not just having power but, its also a mentality. Duda does not have it. He also does not seem capable of handling the NYC spot light.
MDD needs to play everyday if he makes the team thats only way he will become a more discipline and selective at the plate, his defensive skills are the best among the outfielders that the Mets currently are planning to use this season,to make the team and be used as a defensive replacement late in the game will not improve his hitting.