I caught up with St. Lucie Mets infielder Danny Muno during St. Lucie’s off-day on Sunday. The St. Lucie Mets lead the Florida State League’s Southern Division by 9.0 games right now with a 28-8 record. We only had a few minutes for a quick couple of questions, but I thought you might find it interesting none-the-less. Here’s what we had time for:

Petey:  Hey Danny, what are some of the toughest things about playing in the Florida State League?

Danny:  The heat and humidity are the toughest things so far.

That’s something we don’t consider, the effects of playing a full summer season under that broiling Florida sun. And it’s still only May. I hope for his sake he gets to Bingo before the real heat arrives.

Petey:  What are you working the hardest on as far as your game right now?

Danny:  Working on my approach at the plate.

Well his offensive game seems to be on the right track. In 141 AB’s he has 18 runs, 40 hits, 9 2B’s, 1 3B, 5 HR’s, 22 RBI’s and 6 SB’s. His slash line for the year is: .284/.344/.468, with an OPS of .812. He’s also played a solid second-base committing just three errors.

Petey:  Who is the toughest opposing pitcher you have faced this year?

Danny:  Gerrit Cole was the toughest so far.

This past Saturday was the first time the Mets would get the opportunity to see Cole, last year’s 1st player taken overall in the draft. For the day Muno faced Cole three times. He struck out looking in the first inning. He took Cole deep over the left-field wall for his fifth home run of the season in the third inning, and grounded out third-to-first in the sixth inning. The homer would be the only run the Mets scored that game.

Petey:  What is the main thing you want to accomplish with the rest of this season?

Danny:  I want to make it to AA and continue to keep winning.

Something tells me Danny is going to achieve both those goals this year.

Wilfredo Tovar High-Fives Muno As He Crosses The Plate

The phone rang, and it was Mets RHP Matt Budgell who was relaxing with some of the other players in their hotel room at Port St. Lucie after completing their Tuesday workouts at extended spring training. Matt was the Mets 10th round pick in last years MLB draft, and was nice enough to spend a little time answering questions for all of us here at MMO. We spoke for about twenty minutes as Matt told me how he is looking forward to beginning his first full professional season as a Mets pitcher. We discussed what it was like getting drafted by the Mets, his first impressions of professional baseball, and his continuing development as a pitcher. Keep reading to see what he had to say:

Petey:  Hi Matt, thanks so much for taking the time out to do this interview for our readers and staff at MetsMerizedOnline.com.

Matt:  My pleasure.

Petey:  I’d like to start by asking about when the Mets drafted you out of Woodbridge High School in Irvine, CA, in the 10th round of the 2011 MLB Player Draft. How did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like?

Matt:  Well, I was anticipating getting drafted, I wasn’t sure really whether it was going to be the Mets or not. I’d been in contact with my scout Chris Becerra, who’s a great guy. We’d been in contact all day and I was actually watching the draft on the computer on MLB.com, and when they called my name the moment itself was indescribable honestly, it was a dream come true. Probably the most proud moment of my life to this point. Other than that, there’s not much I can say that really describes what I was feeling. It was a moment that I’ll always remember.

Petey:  Did you have an idea what round you might be taken in?

Matt:  Before the season of my senior year I was thinking top ten, but then when I didn’t pitch the last four or five weeks of my senior year, I was working out of the bullpen, I didn’t really throw that many innings, I wasn’t sure if I would get drafted before 15 or 20. But once draft day got closer I started talking with my scout with the Mets, he was pretty reassuring that I’d be picked up relatively early.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you have learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of one day becoming a major league baseball player?

Matt:  Yeah that would be my father Gregg, he’s been my coach from even before I started playing organized baseball. He was having me throw a ball around the house when I was three years old and swinging a bat. He was my coach up until high school, and a club coach through high school, and he’s definitely been a number one influence in getting me to want to be the best baseball player I can be. And you think I could throw in a thank you for my best friend Anneliese Droetti for helping me get through a lot of struggles to get to where I am today?

Petey:  Of course.

Matt:  Thank you very much, she’s a very important person in my life as well as my career. I just want to make that known.

Petey:  No prob, hey I saw an interview you did last summer where you described your arsenal as a 2-seamer, curveball, and change-up, is that right?

Matt:  Yeah I like to work off the two-seam mostly, ever since I got picked up by the Mets though they’ve been really, really encouraging that I command a four-seam as well as the two-seam. It’s really big in our organization. So now I mix in the four-seam quite a bit and the two-seamer is kinda shifted into more of a sinker. That’s what I like to get contact with. I’ll throw the four-seam when I got two strikes on a guy, and I’m not trying to get too much of the plate, I’ll throw the four-seamer up and out and try and get them to chase.

Petey:  Do you have any idea on the speed of the two pitches?

Matt:  The four-seam is about 88-91, and the two-seam’s right in the same area. My two-seam feels more comfortable coming out of my hand than the four-seam does. I have kinda small hand so it comes out just as well.

Petey:  When your pitching, and your “on” do you find you get a lot of ground balls with the two-seamer?

Matt:  Yeah I’m definitely a ground ball pitcher. With the two-seam it’s tough to square up, which is why I favor it so much. But I’m definitely a ground ball pitcher.

Petey:  Could you detail your curveball and your change-up for us?

Matt:  Sure. The curveball, is a pretty big breaker, it’s about 76-80 mph. It’s got a pretty sharp break, about a one to…it’s not quite a twelve to six, it’s more like a one to seven, so it’s not quite a slurve but it’s not quite a twelve/six either. The change-up I’ve actually been working on since I….I wasn’t actually sure how it was going to be after surgery on my hand. But it’s about 80-82 mph, got some pretty good movement, it’s got some good sink on it to my arm side. And the arm-speed on my change-up is on point with my fastball.

Petey:  You referred to surgery. When was that and what needed to be done?

Matt:  I had a freak accident in February, where I got my hand slammed in a car door. It wasn’t a major surgery, just a minor break in my fifth metacarpal which is your pinkie bone in your hand.

Petey:  Ouch. Yeah I broke the one right next to that, the fourth one, playing goal in soccer.

Matt:  Ok yeah, no fun.

Petey: Not at all. So it’s good-to-go now?

Matt:  Yeah it’s feeling a hundred percent, if something hits it obviously that doesn’t feel too good, because there’s four screws and a metal plate in there.

Petey:  Wow.

Matt:  But it was a minor surgery, just to make sure that everything healed exactly correct, and there were no skewed angles in my bones. But Dr. Weiland up in New York did a fantastic job with the surgery, and here we are two-months later gettin’ back at it.

Petey:  After signing with the Mets last July, you got your feet wet making your debut in the Gulf Coast League, tossing 15 and two-thirds innings. Was pro-ball what you expected? What was the most surprising thing about professional baseball that first season coming out of high school?

Matt:  As far as a pitching standpoint goes, I would say that the biggest surprise I had was the amount of free swingers that were in the Gulf Coast League. A lot of guys swinging at pitches you normally wouldn’t see guys swing at, at a high school showcase or a place like that. And I’d say the biggest surprise I had as far as a non-game performance goes would be how consistent the routines are. Every morning we’ve got our throwing program, and everything is perfectly on-point, on schedule and effective.

Petey:  It’s a way of life now.

Matt:  Oh yeah, now it’s a job, you know?

Petey: Yup, exactly. What is the most important thing you have learned about pitching so far in your professional career?

Matt:  So far the most important thing I’ve learned in my professional career is “get strike one.” First pitch strikes are the biggest thing I’ve learned. If you don’t get strike one, and your throwing behind on a batter, you’re in a big hole right away.

Petey:  That is awesome to hear. The guy who is known to all Mets fans as “The Franchise” has always said that throwing the first pitch for a strike was the most important thing in pitching also. And that is HOF Mets pitcher Tom Seaver.

Matt:  I don’t know if my name belongs in the same sentence as him.

Petey:  You guys do share the same pitching philosophy, and that’s not a bad thing.

Matt:  Well it’s the most important pitch in the at-bat, something they are trying to emphasize out here.

Petey:  What part of your game are you working the hardest on right now?

Matt:  Right now I’m just working on getting my mechanics back and you know, and getting comfortable on the mound again. Today was my first bullpen since surgery.

Petey:  How did it go?

Matt:  It went real well, I threw 21 pitches and 16 for strikes, so that was really good for me to see coming back. I wasn’t really sure what to expect honestly, so that was definitely a positive no doubt about that.

Petey:  What coach or coaches are you working with these days who have been helpful to you?

Matt:  Out here in extended spring, the coaches have been bouncing around but Guy Conte has been a really big help for me, and also Marc Valdes.

Petey:  Guy Conte was the bullpen coach for the Mets for many years.

Matt:  Yeah exactly, he’s an amazing, amazing coach, and he’s got nothing but good instruction for you, and every time he opens his mouth I try and listen to everything he says.

Petey:  Oh yeah, you know who really loved Guy, and working with him when he was with the Mets was Pedro Martinez. They are very close.

Matt:  Yup, he always refers to Pedro, Pedro is his prodigy. I mean I was born in Boston so I hate to say it but I was born and raised a Red Sox fan, and I always watched Pedro and always thought he was the man everyone wants to be on the mound. He was dominant, and intimidating, and pretty much the best in the game for a while there.

Petey:  Oh yeah he sure was. He sure was. Who was your favorite Red Sox player?

Matt:  My favorite Red Sox player was Nomar because when he was on the Red Sox I was a young ballplayer myself, and I always aspired to be just like Nomar. I didn’t start pitching ’til my junior year, I was a shortstop up until then so I emulated everything he did and tried to be just like Nomar. I wore number 5 from tee-ball, until my first year of professional baseball.

Petey:  Wow that’s great. Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself pitching like someday in the majors?

Matt:  I’d honestly have to say Tim Lincecum would be the closest thing because he’s rail thin and I’m rail thin. And not many people expect guys that are small in stature like us to be throwing with velocity and getting professional hitters out. But here we are.

Petey:  That’s very interesting. As a matter of fact I was going to ask you about that your listed as 6’2″ 150 lbs. Have those numbers changed at all?

Matt:  Yeah, at weigh-in this year I’m about 6’3″ and I weighed in at about 158 lbs., so if you wanna put down 155, 160, that works.

Petey:  If I could, I’d like to ask you a little bit about what’s going on there with extended spring training. Any pitchers there that have really opened your eyes with their stuff? Who looks good to ya?

Matt:  I’d have to say a fellow high school signee, Robert Gsellman, also a southern California native, he’s from L.A., he was our 13th rounder last year. He’s looking phenomenal, he worked his ass off in the off-season, and it’s definitely showing right now. He’s throwing the ball real well. A couple of the other guys are throwing the ball real well. Jake DeGrom, he just left extended, he got moved up to Savannah.

Petey:  He pitched last night, made his first start.

Matt: Did he now?

Petey:  He had a perfect game through 4.2 IP. Then he gave up a double, then got out of the fifth. He ended up going a total of 6.2 IP, he gave up just the one hit, no runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts.

Matt:  Wow. Good for him!

Petey:  Yeah! He made quite a splash.

Matt:  That’s not a bad welcome back.

Petey:  No he created a buzz on our website today. That’s funny though because I actually had a question here for you about Gsellman, and some of the other crop of high school right-handers that the Mets took in last years draft. There’s Gsellman, and you, and Christian Montgomery, John Gant, and Craig Missigman.

Matt:  Yup those guys are….that exact group of people you just named, are all sitting in my hotel room right now, playing video games. Us high school guys we stick together, we push each other, we’re a support group out here. We’re the youngest guys out here so we got to stick together.

Petey:  Definitely, that’s great to hear. Well when you get off the phone, I want you to tell all those guys that as soon as I finish up this interview with you, I’d like to do the same kind of Q&A’s with all of them.

Matt:  Yeah sure, definitely.

Petey:  Since I am assuming there are none in the room, have you gotten any impressions of the position players that are in camp? Like Joe Tuschak or Jeff Diehl?

Matt:  Tuschak and Diehl have actually had some nagging injuries. Diehl has a bad lower back that has been keeping him side-lined for quite a bit of extended. He’s only played in about six or seven games out here. And then Tuschak he’s sittin’ down right now with a bad hammy. He hasn’t played much but Tuschak is doing alright, he’s been swinging the bat ok and working hard, and we’re all here for the same reason so, it’s good to see the young guys bustin’ their asses.

Petey:  And I’m sure there’s been a Nimmo sighting. What do you think of last years number one?

Matt:  I think Nimmo has got the most potential of any of us out here. He struggled at the beginning of camp swinging the bat, and definitely he’s taken a lot of pitches, but lately he’s been swinging more and being more aggressive, he’s starting to show people. There were some doubters there for a while, and some nay-sayers, but he’s definitely starting to shut their mouths a little bit with his bat and he’s starting to swing it real well.

Petey:  I don’t suppose they’ve indicated to any of you guys where your going to be starting the season yet? I’d imagine they’ll wait ’til the last possible second for that huh?

Matt:  It’s a crapshoot. I’m pretty sure we’re taking 17 arms to Brooklyn, and 17 arms to Kingsport. So we’re all trying to write tickets to Brooklyn.

Petey:  I hope so cause I get to see a ton of Brooklyn games in person, but I don’t get out to Kingsport, TN very often.

Matt:  I don’t blame you, it’s not a very touristy area from what I hear.

Petey:  Well to finish up Matt, just a little personal info not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie?

Matt:  My favorite movie? If I had to pick a favorite movie that I could just sit down and watch anytime, it would probably be either Superbad, or shoot….I’d say Shawshank Redemption, that’s a good movie.

Petey:  I love that movie. If someone asked me that question, that would be my answer, followed closely by Finding Nemo.

Matt:  Yeah it’s phenomenal, I love Morgan Freeman, he’s an unreal actor.

Petey:  If there was ever a movie that came close to perfection, that would be the movie.

Matt:  Yeah, no doubt about it, it gets ya every time.

Petey:  Yeah it does, how about favorite musician, or band?

Matt:  Favorite musician or band? Woooo that’s tough too. Me coming from the west coast I’m a big Hip-Hop guy. I love my Hip-Hop so right now I’d say I’m really into a group called ASAP Rocky. And I like my Drake, I like anything that gets me moving around a little bit, I’ll listen to.

Petey:  Very cool. And one last question, how about your favorite food?

Matt:  Favorite food? Ohhhh man, favorite food is anything mom cooks is my favorite food.

Petey:  There you go! Good answer. Gotta keep mom happy.

Matt: Exactly.

Petey:  Hey Matt, I’ve taken up enough of your time, thank you so much! I hope they punch that ticket to Brooklyn for you soon, and I’ll get to meet you in person one of these days.

Matt:  Yeah of course, I look forward to it. Hopefully you can come down to Citifield. We can do a post-game interview after my major league debut.

Petey:  Oh I would love that. Absolutely, you can count on it.

Matt:  Awwright, right on.

Petey:  Alright, say hi to the rest of the guys for me, and I’ll send you a link to the article when it posts.

Matt:  Alright Peter I appreciate it.

Petey:  Take care Matt.

Matt:  Thank you very much. Bye bye.

I really had an interesting time talking to Matt, he’s a great guy, and I hope you enjoyed reading the interview. We’ll check back in with him once the season is underway and get a progress report. In the meantime, let’s all of us here at MetsMerizedOnline wish him the best of luck.

With Josh Thole going on the new 7-day DL with a concussion, Mike Nickeas will get a chance to show what he’s got as an everyday backstop over the next week. This is a wide open opportunity for Nickeas, who has never been known for much more than an above-average arm and a good clubhouse guy.

After being drafted by the Rangers in the fifth round of the 2004 draft, Nickeas worked his way up to Double-A before being traded to the Mets in ’06 for Victor Diaz. There he has bounced up and down before finally getting stints with the big club in 2010, 2011 and then finally breaking camp with the Amazin’s this year as a reserve catcher to Josh Thole.

I’ve talked to Nickeas on a few occasions, one of them being last September shortly after Ronny Paulino went down and Nickeas became the primary backup for a few weeks, creating an opportunity to prove he had the capability to be a major-league baseball player. Here’s one question I asked him on that very topic:

With Ronny Paulino going on the DL, do you feel any extra motivation to show the Mets what you can do in order to secure a spot on the 2012 roster?

“Sure, I want to be ready and put myself in a good position to compete for that role if it’s an opportunity for me, but anytime you’re up here, it’s just about winning, and the more I can be a part of that, the better.”

After the 2011 season ended, the Mets showed tremendous confidence in the 29-year old by not investing in any MLB-level catchers over the winter, indirectly giving Nickeas the reserve job. When I spoke to Nickeas again two weeks ago, I asked him about how that felt for him to know that the Mets had this trust in him going into 2012:

The Mets did not acquire any regular, everyday major league backstop this offseason. How did it feel that Sandy Alderson and the Mets had confidence in you that you could fill that role and be on this major league roster?

“It felt great. It felt like some of the things I did last year, –you never know if some of those things are looked at– some of the intangible qualities that I feel I brought to the team last year, and it was really nice that they recognized that, so it was a big vote of confidence for me and I’m hoping to make them look good.”

Now Nickeas finds himself in a position where he can show the Mets even more of those “intangibles” he mentioned, and show that he is not just a short-term patch to a long-term issue. He’s out to prove that he is in fact the solution to that long-standing issue for the Mets of finding a backstop ever since the reign of Mike Piazza came to a close.

If he can get more hits like that clutch double in the top of the ninth in Monday night’s 5-2 thriller against the Phillies, and continue to improve upon his call game and defensive skills around home plate, then you could be hearing the name Mike Nickeas in Flushing for several years to come. He no doubt has the heart and the drive, he just needs to put it all together at the major league level; and over the next week, don’t be surprised if you start to see exactly that.

This is a man who can recognize when opportunities are put before him and to this point has taken advantage of them over the past few seasons. Keep an watchful eye on Nickeas this week as this latest opportunity has been put before him; you may like what you see.

(click any photo to embiggen)

Last week I published the first half of the MMO Exclusive interview I conducted with Buffalo Bisons manager Wally Backman. Wally was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions about his current team. He was very candid about which of his AAA players he feels, are working themselves into consideration for big league time with the Mets this season. At times while talking to Wally about managing his players, he sounded a great deal like his mentor Davey Johnson.

In the first part of this interview Wally and I talked about his current rotation including: Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Jeremy Hefner, and Dylan Owen. We also talked about his sensation at second-base this year, Bobby Scales. In this second part of the interview, we talked in-depth about the bullpen, as well as the veteran leadership present on today’s Bisons team. I also asked Wally about players Valentino Pascucci, Jordany Valdespin, and Jenrry Mejia. Keep reading to see what Wally had to say:

Petey:  I wanted to ask you about a recent addition to the Bisons bullpen, Brad Holt. He was just called up from AA when you put him in last Monday in seriously adverse conditions. First and third, one-out in the bottom of the ninth, on the road against the Iron Pigs, and what was it hailing out at the time?

Wally:  It was tough conditions, you know I had Holtie last year. I’ve seen signs early in the year. He’s cleaned up his delivery this year, way too slow to the plate last year. He’s quick to the plate now. So he stops the running game a little bit. And he’s pitched better from what I’ve seen in Spring Training. I wasn’t really worried about putting him in yesterday. Even though we’ve been using Cabrera as our closer. You know just to put him in a situation that’s a tough situation, and see how he did and he struck out the next two guys. So it’s good for him and I think it’s good for the organization to see that he can do that.

Petey:  Absolutely and to command your breaking ball under adverse conditions like that. The weather….

Wally:  The weather sucked.

Petey:  Yes it did, to coin a phrase. What about Edgin are you going to use him as a closer?

Wally:  He’ll close some games. Yesterday I wanted to get his feet wet. He ended up getting the win, you know. He’s really a back-end 7th, 8th, 9th inning guy for me. From what I see I think he’s going to pitch in the big leagues probably this year.

Petey:  The over-under is June 25th.

Wally: Yeah. No, that’s probably pretty accurate you know?

Petey:  What do you know of the status of Jennry Mejia? I know he was shut down recently and the reason given was that he was over-throwing, what do you know about that?

Wally:  I haven’t heard anything about that. I saw Mejia pitch in Spring Training, and he was throwing his bullpens at 95 mph. So I think they’re just being really cautious with him.

Petey:  He’s feeling good I guess.

Wally:  He threw the ball really well in Spring Training in his bullpen sessions. There were no setbacks, it’s just that he’s coming back so fast, and I think that the organization’s probably concerned with him trying to push himself too fast. But I don’t see any issues with him at all.

Petey:  You think your gonna get him?

Wally:  Oh yeah, I think that we’ll get him here (Buffalo), and if he does well here, I don’t think we’ll have him for long.

Petey:  I know this place is starting to get a revolving door.

Wally:  Yup.

Petey:  Your bullpen is developing into something really impressive. I mean you got the veteran closer, Fernando Cabrera who has been sensational this year. You’ve got the newbie’s with the power-arms in Edgin from the port-side, Holt from the right. You’ve got the veterans, and it’s balanced with two lefty veterans: Chuck James and Justin Hampson, and the two righties: Jack Egbert and Jeff Stevens. You must feel really good about the depth, and balance, and the way you can mix and match now.

Wally:  Right now, it’s nice. To have three left-handed guys in the bullpen that you know can get guys out. The sleeper we got in the bullpen is Egbert, he’s a lot better than people understand. Very good sinker.

Petey:  He’s been very impressive lately.

Wally:  He’s got his velocity back up to where it was when he went to the big leagues with the White Sox. I like him a lot.

Petey:  He’s got kind of a funky delivery too.

Wally:  He does. He’s got the good hard sinker, a pretty good slider. I wouldn’t write him out from getting to the big leagues either. The bullpen is solid. It’s very easy to mix and match guys and put them in good roles where you know they’re gonna have sucess. And I take a lot of pride in that kind of stuff.

Petey:  This team all the way across has a very good mix of young guys and veterans.

Wally:  Absolutely, the veteran guys that we got, Valentino Pacsucci, Bobby Scales, guys like that, they lead the clubhouse. And to surround the prospects, I’m not saying that they’re not, but they’re a little bit older, and they’re veteran guys and a really good influence on the other players.

Petey:  Scooch is another one, he had a great year last year, team MVP. But this year he’s been fantastic, playing on a whole other level altogether.

Wally:  He’s a good player. These are great players to manage, because you don’t have to manage them. You know they’re going to go out there and work everyday. They’re not guys that you have to call into your office and say, hey you have to step it up a little bit. To me they are leaders, they lead by example, by their work ethics and things like that.

Petey: You can tell with Scales just the way he takes the field, there’s almost a sense of this is the way you do it.

Wally:  He’s a leader.

Petey:  Has anybody surprised you so far this year?

Wally:  Well to me the guy that has been much better this year than when I had him last year has been Valdespin. He had a tendency to get laid-back a few times. But I think with the veteran guys and the people he was surrounded with, and I know that they were talking to him. And that made him that much better, and it got him to the big leagues as quickly as it did. I mean the injuries are always a factor, but I think for him to go to the big leagues now, it’s a good time for him to go to the big leagues because he had proved to myself and the other coaches that he was playing the game the right way.

Petey: That’s something the fans have wondered about because everybody that’s been following him knows about his potential and his talent. But at the same time it’s been apparent that he needed to grow up a little bit in baseball.

Wally:  I really believe that. I think the kid can have a great career at the major league level, if he continues to go the way he’s going.

Petey:  You think he’s up there to stay now?

Wally:  Well he’s there due to injuries, it really depends on how much playing time he gets. You don’t want him to go to the big leagues to sit on the bench because there’s so much talent there. But if the need calls for it as a utility guy or whatever, he can play all the infield positions. I played him in CF probably ten games already when he was here. And he can definitely play the outfield, which is an asset, he did an outstanding job in CF.

Petey:  Well, to finish up Wally, how bout this? What do you know about the future of Mets AAA baseball in Buffalo? There has been much speculation that the Mets might be forced to leave after this year but it’s such a great baseball town. Are there any new developments?

Wally:  You know what? I wish I knew. Buffalo is a….if you’re not in the big leagues, Buffalo is the place you want to be, in AAA. Hopefully the organization can work it out because it would be sad to see us leave there. I know it’s awful cold there at the start of the year, but it’s a great organization. Great people in the front office, great ownership, they take care of not only the coaching staff, but the players, just like it would be at the major league level. It’s a very nice place to be.

Petey:  Well I wish you the best of luck. I’ll talk to you again Wally, thanks again.

Wally:  Ok, thank you, anytime.

I really want to thank Wally for taking the time to talk to us here at MMO. I had a great time chatting with him and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it. Presently, Wally has the Herd on a four-game winning streak, and they have won seven of their last ten games. The excellent play has leap-frogged them past Lehigh Valley and Scranton/Wilkes Barre, and into second place in their division, just 1.0 game back of the front-running Pawtucket Red Sox.

I had the pleasure of speaking by phone yesterday with New York Mets, 2011 7th round draft choice, minor league first-baseman Cole Frenzel. I was able to throw a great many questions Cole’s way, and he fielded them all sure-handedly, without so much as a bobble. Cole told me he had left the chilly clime of his native North Dakota, and headed for the sunshine of Arizona, in order to get a little warm weather hitting in. And he certainly sounds ready for spring training to begin. It was very nice of Cole to put aside some time to answer questions for the all of us at MMO. Check it out and see what he had to say:

Petey:  First of all congratulations Cole on a terrific year! From being the 7th round pick in the draft by the Mets, to making your professional debut playing in front of the awesome fans in Brooklyn and helping the Cyclones get into the New York Penn League Playoffs. It must have been a very exciting year for you, I would imagine. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions for our readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com. You are from North Dakota originally, do you still live there in the off-season?

Cole:  Yes I do. Yep, at the end of the season I go up home, and I live with my parents, my family. And I have brothers and sisters they live in Fargo, North Dakota. I’m from Dickinson, so I travel back and forth from Fargo to Dickinson.

Petey:  How far apart are the two?

Cole:  About a three and a half hour drive. Fargo is in the eastern part of the state bordering Minnesota, Dickinson is on the western side of the state bordering Montana. So you drive across the state but I got a lot of buddies that go to school at ASU, a lot of my friends from high school. and I got buddies that play baseball there, so I got to go see them quite a bit. So it’s not too bad. I get to hunt and fish a lot, it’s what I do most of my time in the off-season, when I’m not working out.

Petey:  So how are things going for you these days? Are you all ready for spring training?

Cole:  Yeah definitely, can’t wait. I’ve spent the off-season getting ready to go there and I’m pretty fired up. It should be exciting, I’m looking forward to it.

Petey:  Have you been able to take some swings and start getting your timing down yet?

Cole:  Oh yeah, I’ve been hitting, just taking BP in the cages, I haven’t seen live pitching yet. But when I was up in Fargo they have this new baseball simulator, which simulates a pitcher throwing and then it comes out of a machine from a projected pitcher. That thing was pretty cool. So I got to hit off that quite a bit. And then just BP down here everyday in Arizona, and take ground balls, and just get back into the swing of things.

Petey:  When the Mets drafted you in the 7th round of the 2011 MLB Player Draft, out of the University of Arizona, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like?

Cole:  Well it was actually a different kind of way for me cause we were at a championship game in the regionals that day. We were at Texas A&M, so during the draft we were playing a game. You know I wasn’t sure when I was going, it was the second day, so I wasn’t even sure if I was going at all. So we played the game and my focus at the time was with my team, and I wanted to win that game, and I wanted to advance. So we ended up losing the game, and then right after the game I had a whole bunch of text messages, and missed calls, and voice mails. When I read it I got a text from my dad who was at the game that I’d been drafted and all that stuff. So it was bittersweet, it was one of the best days of my life, at the same time it was a disappointing day because our team had just lost out of the regional and our season was over. But it was a great feeling you know, to be able to be drafted. I feel really blessed to have that opportunity, you know what I mean?

Petey:  Oh yeah.

Cole:  It was a real bittersweet day for me, I mean it’s definitely a day I’ll never forget, honestly, but it’s a day we all felt kind of disappointed that we lost.

Petey:  Boy that’s some story, to have two conflicting things happen like that on the same day.

Cole:  It definitely was, yeah.

Petey:  Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you beforehand?

Cole:  Yeah I did. I had talked to John Harriman, he’s the scout I talked to. I met with him a couple of times and talked to him so I knew they had interest yeah. But you never can know until it’s official, I was in the middle of my college season so I wasn’t trying to worry about it or anything, I just wanted to play baseball, and whatever happens happens, you know?

Petey:  Did you have a range in mind where you thought you might go? Any expectations going into the draft?

Cole:  I didn’t really have any expectations of where I’d go. I mean, everyone will tell you they want to be a first-round draft pick. I mean, I wasn’t extremely worried about it, I was a sophomore, I wasn’t caught up in it because I knew I had a whole other year. We had a good team this year in college at Arizona, and next year we’ve got a great team. So I wasn’t all worried about it and everything, but if I did get the opportunity to where it would be a good chance for me to play in an organization that would take a chance with me, then I would do it.

Petey:  Actually you were in a very good position to negotiate because you could still go back to Arizona for one, or even two more years if you had to.

Cole:  Exactly, that’s exactly right. It was a win-win situation.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of becoming a major league baseball player?

Cole:  Well I’d probably have to say growing up, my dad. We’d play catch in the backyard, whiffle ball every day. Everyone was a huge part of it, all my friends, when I grew up I was always fortunate enough to have good players to play with around me. As I graduated high school, we had good teams and won state tournaments. But my dad was always there, I’d go hit with him, and I’d work on things with him all the time. Even in the off-season, I played three sports, baseball, football, and hockey. So like, during hockey season I’d go hit in the cage with him when I had time. My dad was always there to help me out. He played college baseball and my brother played college baseball, so it was easier for me cause I was the youngest one coming up and I could talk to him about things. And my coaches in high school, I had coach Dobitz, who was a great coach for me. I always worked with him on stuff and he would help me out with things. Either defensively or just something to think about with my swing or something. And then my summer ball coach, Andy Emard was a really good coach, he helped me out a ton. And coach Hampton, he was a good coach too, they were co-head coaches, he was a great coach too. That was my high school days but they helped me get to where I could get a chance to play college baseball. Once I got to college, coach Lopez and coach Wasikowski really helped me. Was helped me out every day, helping me in the cage and getting me to work on things, and give me an approach at the plate. If you worked with him he was real open-minded about everything.  So, those people helped me out the most playing baseball, they were always there. Even if I still have a question, I can call any one of those guys. I know they’d still be there for you and try to help you out, cause they want to see you succeed as much as anybody.

Petey:  You played two years of college baseball at Arizona, where you played first-base for the Wildcats. In college you of course used aluminum bats, are you completely comfortable swinging wood now? Was it tough making the transition to wood?

Cole:  I would say no because North Dakota high school baseball is all wood bats. Strictly wood bat. So I had used wood prior and I was a little used to it. And then summer ball, we’d go aluminum. And then college they made that new rule this year, with the bats, so it’s a lot more similar to a wood bat. So it wasn’t a whole lot different, the only thing I noticed was a ball you hit off the end of the bat with aluminum, you wouldn’t break the bat and might find a base hit maybe a little better.

Petey:  Maybe not feel it in your hands so much.

Cole:  Exactly yeah, and aluminum bats you can still get away with stuff, just not as much as you used to be able to get away with aluminum. They have pop in them, you get it on the barrel it will still go, but you can’t hit it off the end and have it go out anymore.

Petey:  What are those new college bats you mentioned?

Cole: The BBCOR’s?

Petey:  Yeah.

Cole:  If you hit a ball perfect on a wood bat, and hit a ball perfect on a BBCOR, I think wood feels better.

Petey: Oh yeah?

Cole:  Yeah, I mean you can still get away with hitting the ball off the end a little bit. With a wood bat it will break and be a little flair to short, otherwise with aluminum it will be over the shortstop’s head. It’s hard to say, they definitely made a difference, but are more similar to wood I would say, than the old aluminum bats.

Petey:  What if any, are some of the differences between playing baseball at a major college program, and playing professionally in the New York Penn League?

Cole:  Well actually the PAC-10 had some great arms. It’s the PAC-12 now, but they had some really good arms, they had a lot of first round picks. You got to see Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, you saw a lot of arms, so you knew if you could match up with those guys, you’d have a good chance of matching up with most guys in the minor leagues. So I didn’t think they were that different. I mean obviously in pro ball you run into some guys who are “on” that day and throw. But ultimately it’s still the same game and it’s still a high level of play. You just got to keep your mind right, be prepared, and play your game. It’s still the same game. I didn’t notice a huge difference though. The New York Penn League’s a good league too, so it was a lot of fun to be able to play in that league and compete with those guys.

Petey:  Also, playing at Brooklyn must have been a lot of fun too.

Cole:  Oh yeah, that place was awesome. It was a great experience for me. Especially your first year in the minor leagues, your packing in the fans every night, and your in New York. It was the ultimate experience, New York. It was fun, a lot of fun. It’s a great place.

Petey:  Unfortunately the field there in Coney Island isn’t really conducive to left-handed power hitters.

Cole:  No, not really, no.

Petey:  The wind blows in from right and it must be tough to hit there when your game is power driven from the left side.

Cole:  Yeah the wind blows in quite a bit. Even in BP you’d notice. You’d get into balls and they wouldn’t even make the track sometimes. It was kinda weird, without a doubt.

Petey:  Well all that’s behind you now. Wherever you wind up this season, Savannah or St. Lucie, you won’t have to worry about that wind blowing in.

Cole:  Hopefully, no one wants to worry about the wind blowing in too hard.

Petey:  That’s right. You had a stellar .997 fielding%, at first base. Are you strictly a first-baseman now, or have the Mets discussed giving you some playing time in the outfield?

Cole:  I’ve never really sat down and talked to them where they said hey we’re going to move you to the outfield. But during instructs, I take ground balls at third, and I played shortstop in high school, so I can play there. I played first-base in college cause it was a chance to get in the line-up. I didn’t care whether I was playing first-base, DH, right-field wherever, you know? It didn’t matter to me, I just wanted to play. They put me on first, I wasn’t extremely experienced at the position, I learned it. The Mets had me at first, that’s where I played mostly at Brooklyn. But I could play corner outfield, third-base. I can play anywhere, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

Petey:  Wow you only had one error in 43 games at first, last year at Brooklyn? Pretty solid.

Cole:  Yeah, that error that I had? The sun was setting in left center-field and our shortstop got the ball back there, and he threw it, and I completely didn’t even see it. I turned my head, cause I knew it was coming at me, and it hit me right in the shoulder. Another minor league experience that I’ll probably never forget, how weird that thing was. He made a nice play on it too, he threw it and I tracked it for a second, but once I lost it I kinda ducked down so I wouldn’t get hit in the face, and right in the arm.

Petey:  Wow that’s almost like losing a ground ball in the sun! Say Cole, I have read the scouting reports on you as a hitter, and watched some video. You have a very promising power stroke from the left side. Good weight transfer, solid hip rotation, good bat speed and a strong line through the hitting zone. Give us a critique on yourself as a hitter.

Cole:  I just try to keep my approach simple at the plate. All the weight transfer and everything, is kinda how I grew up. I’m just fine-tuning it with hitting coaches. But for me, I just try to keep it as simple as possible, and just try to find the barrel of the bat. I mean if your barreling the balls up they’re going to find the gaps, and hopefully over the fence once in a while. So I just try and keep my hitting approach simple, and if I need to make an adjustment that day, I’ll just try and figure out what I need to do. But you summed it up pretty good I guess.

Petey:  If that’s your natural swing, that you’ve always done since you were a kid, then you’ve got a natural gift. Your lucky that you haven’t had a lot of other people tinkering with it. So what are the Mets working with you on as a hitter these days?

Cole:  Anything you know? Everything. Working on pitches you gotta get to, to drive. And balls up, don’t chase pitches, that a pitcher’s making to get you out. You want a ball that you can get hits on. Kinda that stuff, we work on it all, but we’ll work on two-strike approaches a lot. Getting your pitch to drive…..

Petey:  Situational stuff.

Cole:  Exactly. Pitches you should look for in certain counts, and you know if there’s a runner on second, what you need to do, if you need to move him over, hit the ball over to the right side. Everything. They kinda fine tune you, teach you the game. We’re still adapting and adjusting to pro-ball, we’re learning their system and how to do everything. In instructs that’s what we did a lot. We worked on that stuff everyday. Whether it was defense, or offense, or bunting.

Petey:  What would you say is the most important thing you got out of that experience, of going to instructs?

Cole:  I don’t think I could pinpoint one thing. I think it would be everything. Being able to work with hitting coaches everyday for an hour-and-a-half, is nothing but great for you because you can figure out everything, and you get to talk to guys that have been there and done it. You get exposure to those guys, and they help you out and they teach you things. Defense-wise they teach you how you even hold the ball when you throw it. It makes a difference. The little things that they can help you out, makes a big difference.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up?

Cole:  My favorite team growing up? I mean, I always liked the Boston Red Sox. The Minnesota Twins were always on TV cause we lived in North Dakota, we didn’t have a pro team.

Petey:  Yeah your closer to Minnesota.

Cole:  So the Twins were always on TV like every night. So I always watched them and I grew to like watching them. Mauer and Morneau when they were coming up, and Santana, I got to meet him and that was really cool to me cause I always watched him on TV. But yeah, I liked the Red Sox and the Twins growing up.

Petey:  Did you have a favorite player growing up?

Cole:  I liked watching Manny Ramirez, just cause he was such a pure hitter with such a sound swing. But then all the stuff he did and was into, now it’s like I don’t know if he was on steroids or what-not, but I liked watching him play. I enjoyed it. I like watching a lot of power hitters. I like watching Prince Fielder from the left side, Pujols, I like watching all the big hitters.

Petey:  Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself playing like someday in the majors?

Cole:  I’ve been asked that question before and I never really had a player I tried to model my game after or anything. But looking at film and talking to coaches, they’ve said that Jason Giambi had a similar swing to me kind of, with the back-swing, and my follow-though and stuff. Similar, not exactly the same but they said it was similar. I looked at my film, and I can see what they’re talking about, but I don’t really know.

Petey:  Your swing reminds me a little bit of Will Clark, first-baseman, San Francisco Giants.

Cole:  I’ve heard that before too actually.

Petey:  Have you? If you get the chance check him out, I’d love to know what you think about that.

Cole:  I definitely will yeah. I’ve never had the chance to look at him, I’ve heard it though, but I’m going to do that, I definitely will.

Petey:  What are your goals for next season?

Cole:  Just have a good year, you know? My goals, what I wanna hit, what I wanna reach for, what I wanna accomplish with the team that I’m playing with. So have a good spring, and make the best opportunity for yourself to advance. Work as hard as you can. As far as numbers and stuff…..

Petey:  You let that take care of itself?

Cole:  Yeah, I mean do things hard, do things right, things are going to go how they are supposed to you know?

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play this year at Brooklyn, and tell us what it was that made you take notice.

Cole:  Definitely Danny Muno man, that guy was always on base, always hitting, I hit behind him right when I got to Brooklyn and it seemed like he was always on base.

Petey:  That guy was on fire all season, he was.

Cole:  He would show up and he was good for two to three hits. It didn’t matter if he hit a ball off the wall or hit a bloop single, or a bunt single, he was just getting on base….

Petey:  He was walking like crazy too!

Cole:  He’d walk, yeah he really had a great year. It was fun to be a part of it and to see him do what he did. That was awesome.

Petey:  When I interviewed Danny for MMO, it was way back in October I think, I’m pretty sure he named Jack Leathersich as a guy that he noticed, when I asked him the same question.

Cole:  Yeah Jack was untouchable. The guy’d come in out of the pen and just mow people over. He was also really fun to watch, I would agree a hundred percent with that. Jack did a heckuva job last year.

Petey:  Awesome. Well, to finish up Cole, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie?

Cole:  My favorite movie? Man I got a couple of favorite movies. You know I really like Cinderella Man, I like Seabisquit, I like Shooter, I like the Book of Eli.

Petey:  Oh yeah!

Cole:  That’s a great movie. I like a lot of good movies. I like Gladiator. The Boondock Saints, I like that movie. I couldn’t even name them right now, I’ve got ten or fifteen movies I really like where when your done watching your like, “Wow! That was a good movie!”

Petey:  Yeah I refer to those as my “desert island movies.” If I’m going to be stranded on a desert island someplace, I want to have those movies on hand to watch.

Cole:  Yeah exactly. The Patriot, I like that movie. Saving Private Ryan. All those war movies are good movies too.

Petey:  Oh yeah, the Thin Red Line, ever see that one?

Cole:  I haven’t, the Thin Red Line?

Petey:  Yeah that’s a good one. I never saw the original, from the 60′s, but there was a remake in 1998 with Sean Penn which is really cool.

Cole:  I’m going to have to watch that cause I’ve been looking for some good movies to watch.

Petey:  Check it out, I think you’ll like it. I think it’s kinda under-rated.

Cole:  Alright, I’m going to remember that. Braveheart I like that movie too….

Petey:  That’s a heckuva movie….okay how about music? Have you got a favorite musician? Band?

Cole:  Right now music I like, Eric Church, Jason Aldean, I even like Taylor Swift. And then I like Rap, growing up I liked G-Unit and stuff. I have a broad range of music, I can listen to all music, all the time. Mike Stud.

Petey:  Nice.

Cole:  I listen to Lincoln Park. Pretty much everything. I just appreciate a good song. I don’t have just one group I follow and listen to all the time.

Petey:  Very good. How bout favorite food?

Cole:  Favorite food, probably steak and lobster.

Petey:  Whoa nice choice! A little land and a little sea!

Cole: (laughing) Yeah I’d say steak and lobster.

Petey:  I just got hungry….well listen, Cole I’ve kept you long enough, I really want to thank you for your time, it was a lot of fun talking baseball and movies with you! Hopefully our paths will cross sometime this season and I’ll get to meet you in person.

Cole:  Yeah definitely man, thank you, I appreciate this a lot and anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask, or give me a call.

Petey:  Thanks I appreciate that. We will definitely keep in touch. In the meantime, good luck with spring training, stay healthy, and have a great season!

Cole:  Thank you, I appreciate that man. Good talking to you, bye.

Well that was fun, and Cole should just about be getting to St. Lucie to start his 2012 spring training any minute now…. I’ll tell you one thing, I am very excited to see what Frenzel will accomplish this year in A-ball. That smooth, powerful left-handed swing should start to show what he is capable of producing now that he is free of the whipping winds of MCU Park. Remember, even though he only hit one home run last year with Brooklyn, that was one more than Ike Davis hit his first year in pro ball there, in 2008.

I look for Frenzel to open the year in Savannah, of the South Atlantic League, but a hot start for this advanced college hitter could propel him to high-A, St. Lucie by mid-season. Still a couple of years away from Citifield, the idea that he might be ready for a September call-up to the bigs at the end of the 2014 season, would not be out-of-the-question.

For more of my player interviews, and some other cool stuff, click here.

For a treat, CLICK HERE

The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip

A Fan’s Guide to Major League Stadiums (2nd Ed.)

I received an email about a week ago from Josh Pahigian, co-author of The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip: A Fan’s Guide to Major League Stadiums.

He wrote to tell me that his great selling book has been updated to include Citi Field and will be released later this month on March 27th.

In it he lists Mets Merized Online as one of the top three Mets sites on the web.

Here is a little more about the book:

They’ve done it again! Years ago two baseball fanatics set out to create a comprehensive guide to all the diverse and fascinating ballparks throughout the country. What they created—part travel manual, part ballpark atlas, part baseball history book, part restaurant and city guide—is every baseball fan’s epic adventure. On this, their second Ultimate Baseball Road Trip, the authors updated their information on every venue from Boston to L.A., and they wrote brand new chapters for the brand new parks—the new Yankee Stadium, Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the Mets’ Citi Field, San Diego’s Petco Park, Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., the Twins’ Target Field, and Miami’s Marlins Ballpark.

Plus, they’ve added loads of information on how new technology has enhanced the fan experience and changed the game. And they’ve recorded their very own colorful real-time stories and dialogue at the parks, among the local fans, and hanging out in the Big League cities. It’s like you’re right there with Josh and Kevin watching the game and yucking it up!

Ticket and travel information • The best and worst seats in each park • Folklore and statistics on each park • Each park’s trademark foods • Profiles of nearby sports bars and baseball attractions • All the information you need to navigate Major League Baseball on the Internet!

Funny, irreverent, and loaded with more than 100 photos, The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip is the go-to guide for every fan’s armchair or real-life baseball road trip.

Josh was also kind enough to answer a couple of questions for our readers:

1. What were the things you liked most about Citi Field?

I thought the food was excellent and I really liked that they had a food court on the upstairs level with nearly all the same premium offerings as down at the food court on the first level. At a lot of parks you have to walk all the way downstairs to get the good stuff. My favorites were The Shack Burger, Cascarino’s Pizza, the Premio Sausages, and the Blue Smoke Barbecue stand. All were excellent.

I thought the Shea Bridge in rightfield was pretty cool. It’s a unique ballpark fixture that reflects the local geography.

I liked the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum, though as a Red Sox fan I thought there was maybe a bit too much stuff related to the 1986 World Series. I really didn’t need to see the ball go through Buckner’s legs again on that endless loop video of the Game 6 comeback! There were a lot of neat artifacts in the Museum though, like the plaques honoring favorite Mets like Tug McGraw, Gary Carter, Doc Gooden, Daryl Strawberry, etc. And yes, I posed for a picture beside the Mr. Met statue!

I liked the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, though I can appreciate why some Mets fans think it’s a little weird for the team to be celebrating so profusely a player that never wore the orange and blue.

2. Compared to other baseball parks how would you rank the visibility/views of the playing field and sight-lines?

I thought sight-lines were excellent on most of the first level. I thought the view from the first level concourse was great too. I was disappointed though, that they have a bar/restaurant area directly behind home plate, preventing fans strolling the concourse from being able to enjoy the view from right behind the dish. Upstairs on the 500 level, it was a different story. As you head from either first or third base toward the nearest foul pole, there is a pronounced loss of visibility of the nearest outfield corner due to the underhang of the deck below your feet. Other new parks have managed this architectural challenge a lot better.

3. Besides a sense of history or tradition, is there anything fans will miss from Shea Stadium?

I miss the old plane races on the JumboTron. They didn’t do them on the day I visited.

Where’s the crowd? I know I visited during a down season for the Mets, but I remember the crowd being a lot larger and more vocal at Shea. I think the declining Mets’ attendance figures (since Citi’s opening) say something about the state of the team, but also something about the fan base not quite feeling quite as at home in the new park as they did at Shea–but you’d be better able to attest to (or refute) that theory than me.

I want to thank Josh for taking some time out to answer a few questions for me. You can pre-order his newly updated version of The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip at Amazon.com. It’s priced right and is a great resource for any baseball fan, and is especially handy if you’re planning on making any treks to other ballparks this season.

Here’s an interview I did with Mets pitching prospect Darin Gorski this offseason. We’ll be re-posting some of the 30 interviews I conducted this Winter as baseball gets back into full swing and many of our readers return from their offseason hibernation. Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * *

And the 2011 Sterling Award Winner: Mets Organizational Pitcher of the Year, is…. Darin Gorski. And he was the perfect choice because he simply had the best season, start-to-finish, of any pitcher in the Mets system. With a record of: 11-3 and an ERA of 2.08, Gorski finished 1st in the Florida State League in ERA, and WHIP (1.00), and finished 3rd in strikeouts with 140. I caught up to Darin in the days leading up to the Christmas Holiday, and he was kind enough to put aside some time for the readers and staff at MMO, to spread a little holiday cheer:

Petey:  Hi Darin, thanks so much for taking the time out to answer some questions for our readers and staff at MetsMerizedOnline.com. Congratulations on an awesome year in 2011. You are one guy that everybody who is a fan of the Mets has been talking about this year. I’m sure plenty of people throughout all of baseball have sat up and noticed what you accomplished. It’s amazing what hard work and perseverance can do. Are you back in PA for the winter holidays? How are things going, is your Christmas shopping done?

Darin:  Thanks a lot Pete! I am back in PA for the holidays and the off-season. Everything is going great, spending time with my family and friends as well as getting ready for next season. Christmas shopping is finally complete I like to do most of it online because I’m not really into the lines or trying to find a parking spot at the mall.

Petey:  Me too man, online shopping was invented for people like us! When the Mets drafted you out of Kutztown University in the 7th round of the 2009 MLB Player Draft, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you? What round(s) were you thinking you might be taken in the draft?

Darin:  We had some friends and family over for the draft that day and they were all listening to it on the computer. It’s hard not to pay attention to it when it’s on, I tried to keep myself occupied while everything was happening but I will probably never forget hearing my name called. I knew the Mets had interest in me, I had spoken to them quite a few times and I had been to Citifield for the pre-draft workout. But then again I was also in contact with a lot of other teams too so it was up in the air. Prior to the draft I was told I could be taken anywhere between rounds 4-10 so naturally you want to be the first pick of the 4th round. But regardless of when you’re name is called it’s an amazing feeling knowing that a team is willing to take a chance on you and give you the opportunity to play professionally.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you have learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of one day becoming a major league baseball player?

Darin:  I have been blessed with a very supportive family growing up. From my dad sitting on a bucket and catching me in the backyard when he got home from work to my mom travelling all over the east coast to get me to games and watch me play. They have both sacrificed so much to get me where I am today and I am so thankful for them. My dad was my coach for a couple of years when I was growing up, he taught me how to respect the game and to play the game hard and the right way. As far as a coach that has helped me I would have to say my pitching coach from St. Lucie, Phil Regan. He had a profound impact on my career in just one season. He really helped me refine my mechanics and on top of that he taught me how to pitch and study hitters. With all those things I learned how to get guys out and I became very confident in my ability to pitch.

Petey:  Several other pitchers have also told me really great things about Phil Regan. He is undoubtedly one of the best out there. What you accomplished this year was simply fantastic. I guess you can say the ‘cat’s out of the bag’, after you were the ace of a staff that went deep in the play-offs, were named to the 2011 Florida State League Mid and Post-Season All-Star squads, named the Florida State League Most Valuable Pitcher at season’s end, and in October, MLB.com named you 2011 Class A Advanced Pitcher of the Year. Whew! Holy-moly Darin what are you going to do for an encore? Haha! When did you first realize that things were going to be different for you this season? How did you maintain an even keel, and pitch well as consistently as you did? Was your mental state as important as you physical state when it came to giving a superb effort on the mound every start?

Darin:  Well this season was a lot of fun; we had a great group of guys in St. Lucie and it wasn’t a surprise to us at all that we went as far as we did. Wish we could have come away with the championship but we were right there. I think I realized things were going a little bit differently for me this season when I made a start against Bradenton early in the year. It was just supposed to be a spot start but then I had an opportunity to make a few more starts and it took off from there. If there is one thing I have learned since being drafted it is that you can’t let your emotions get the best of you. The game has a funny way of humbling you and it will tear you down just as quickly as it builds you up. For that reason I tried not to let a little success or failure change my outlook and ultimately my preparation from start to start. I tried to focus on doing what I needed to do each day to get myself ready to pitch and give my team the best chance to win. It was a lot of fun with the staff we had down there because every night you were going to see a well pitched game so when your number was called you wanted to go out there and do the same thing. I do believe it is important to have good mental preparation otherwise the game will speed up on you and you’ll find yourself it a bad situation pretty quickly. You need to take it one pitch at a time and trust your stuff to be successful.

Petey:  Let me ask you to assess your arsenal for us. Give me the most up-to-date scouting report on Darin Gorski LHP. What do you throw pitch-wise, at what speeds, and how do they move? Do you have a particular way, generally, that you like to go after hitters? Are you working on any new pitches?

Darin:  I throw a 4-seam fastball, which is usually in the 89-91 mph range maybe a tick or two higher at times. I also throw a slider and a change-up, both of which come in somewhere around the low 80’s. Both the fastball and the change-up have arm side run and a little sink to them. The slider naturally has glove side break. Personally I try to read the hitter, I believe his body language or how he takes a pitch says a lot about how you should pitch him. I like to get in on hitters at times because that will give me the opportunity to pitch more comfortably away without him leaning over the plate. I started working on a 2-seam fastball late last year and I have been throwing it since so we will have to see how it is looking come spring training.

Petey:  Ok, the big question, the one you’ve probably been asked a million times already, how did you do it? I have heard writers previously credit the development of your change-up, but could it really be as simple as that? You went from a 6-8 record in 2010 at Savannah, with a 4.58 ERA in 114 IP’s, to a record in 2011 at St. Lucie of 11-3, with an ERA of 2.08 in 138.2 IP’s. And you were the model of consistency all year, which says a lot about your mechanics. But tell us what changes you made between the 2010 and 2011 seasons that made such a dramatic difference for you?

Darin:  It’s funny what a little bit of confidence can to for a pitcher. I’d have to say the first big difference I noticed from last year to this year would be my fastball command, which is one thing Phil and I had worked hard on. Second is just being confident in my ability to pitch and trusting my stuff each time out there. The fastball command definitely helped all my pitches because when you’re ahead in the count you can expand the zone and keep the hitters off balance. If you’re always behind in the count, as I was quite often in Savannah, it puts the hitters in good fastball counts and they are ready to hit and that’s where I ran into trouble. The work that we did mechanically in the bullpen allowed me to make that adjustment and it translated in the game, which is when the confidence started to kick in.

Petey:  What’s next? I have every reason to think you will open next season in the Binghamton starting rotation. That’s a pretty big jump to go from Advanced A to AA. What are you focusing on right now to keep moving up and to be ready for those guys?

Darin:  That is what I have been told, everyone talks about that jump and I am excited to see what all the fuss is about. As far as I am concerned regardless of what level you are at the game never changes. Pitches that get guys out are still going to get guys out you just need to limit your mistakes as you go. You continue to work every day to be the best you can when you get out there and that means limiting mistake pitches, if you can do that you can get guys out and that is the name of the game.

Petey:  What do you like to do for fun over the off-season? When did your workout schedule begin? Can you describe your regimen?

Darin:  I like to hunt during the off-season. Archery is more my thing, I am not sure if it is because the weather is nicer or maybe just because I am a better shot with a bow than I am a rifle. That was made very clear this year, I missed a buck the first day of rifle season, haven’t been out since. I also like to play video games; MW3 and NHL 12 would have to be my favorite games as of 15 minutes ago anyway. My workouts started three weeks after our season concluded and I have been working out 4 days a week since then at Power Train near my home town. I started working out there about six weeks before spring training last year and I noticed a big difference in my overall preparedness for the season. We do a lot of work with bands and time under tension in there as well as running. I also just started throwing last week so I am getting excited for the season.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player? Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself pitching like someday in the majors?

Darin:  I really never had a favorite team growing up; I just like watching the game not so much cheering for a particular team. With that being said my mom was a Phillies fan and I found it amusing cheering for any team they were playing just to get under her skin. Since ’09 though she has become more of a Mets fan and I have stopped rooting for the opposing team, I guess we’ve both grown up a little. I was always a huge fan of the rocket, Roger Clemens, but in the past few years I found myself watching Cliff Lee pitch a lot more. I like the way he throws; his tempo and aggressive style are kind of what I like to do. At one point this year Marte told me I reminded him of Cliff Lee, I am assuming it is because we are both left-handed because I have a tough time associating myself with Cy Young winners at this point in my career.

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play this year at St. Lucie, and tell us what it was that made you take notice.

Darin:  This is probably the toughest question we’ve had because of the team we put on the field night in and night out in St. Lucie. But if I were going to pick one guy I would have to say Juan Lagares. I played with him last year and Savannah and started the year with him again in St. Lucie. I feel like guys only got him out when he didn’t want to have to run the bases. He put together an amazing season and it was no surprise to any of us that he finished the year in Binghamton and got some playing time in the fall league. He plays the game hard and the right way, he is a lot of fun to watch and have playing behind you.

Petey:  He’s another player that has put in a lot of hard work, and it has really been paying off for him lately. And now to finish up Darin, just a little personal info not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician or band? Favorite food?

Darin:  Because of it being the holiday season and I can hear Christmas music playing in the background right now I am going to add a Christmas twist to this question, I hope you don’t mind.

Petey:  Not at all, that’s a great idea! Ho-ho-ho!

Darin:  So my favorite Christmas movie, which I am about to watch, is National Lampoons Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. I love that movie I probably watch it 10 times each Christmas. My favorite Christmas musician would be Bing Crosby but I also enjoy Mariah Carey’s rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You”. And my favorite food would have to be the deep fried turkey my dad makes. I am making myself hungry just thinking about it.

Petey:  Yum! I’m getting hungry too. Thanks so much Darin, it was a lot of fun doing this interview with you. Have a really great, happy and healthy holidays, and new year. We’ll see ya in spring training!

Darin:  No problem Pete, it was a lot of fun! Happy holidays to you as well.

That was really nice. Darin is a great guy and his answers were outstanding. It’s really cool to see that despite his terrific season he states over and over how much he appreciates his teammates, and the people who have helped him get where he is. You have to root for a guy like Darin Gorski, and we all wish him continued success!

For more of my player interviews, and some other cool stuff, click here.

John Sickels, wrote a column called “Down on the Farm” for ESPN from 1996 until 2005. He now has his own site dedicated to baseball prospects, the one and only, Minor League Ball. John does a tremendous job analyzing individual prospects and evaluating all 30 MLB farm systems. His rankings and projections are always well received and respected. I am an avid reader of Minor League Ball, and I’d encourage all of you to check it out. John is also a very talented and accomplished baseball writer who wrote a biography of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller entitled, “Bob Feller: Ace of the Greatest Generation.”

Every year John puts out a book profiling roughly 1,000 minor leaguers. It includes each prospects stats, a brief overview plus a scouting report on the player, and of course grades for every player. It is a must read for any baseball fan and it is considered to be one of the most prominent annual prospect books.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER “THE BASEBALL PROSPECT BOOK 2012″ (BPB 2012) BY JOHN SICKELS.

Mets Merized Online: You are a big fan of Brandon Nimmo. How do you think his tools will eventually project to the major league level?

John Sickels: If he reaches his maximum potential, I see him as a guy who hits .280-.300 with 15-20 homers, 15-20 steals, and a high walk rate leading to a strong OBP. Add in an above-average glove. I could see him as a taller, lankier Nick Markakis.

MMO: What players in the Mets minor league system do you consider to be sleepers?

JS: I like Akeel Morris a lot. Very live arm. Drafted in the 10th round out of the Virgin Islands. People who follow the Mets closely are quite aware of him, but the casual fan probably isn’t. We’ll have to see if he is a starter or reliever going forward, but the arm strength and ceiling are impressive.

MMO: What do you think of Jenrry Mejia’s potential going forward after his Tommy John surgery?

JS: It is the same as it was before the surgery: if his secondary stuff is there, he could be a number two or three starter. At worst he should be a strong relief pitcher. Keep in mind that Tommy John recovery is far from automatic, so let’s keep expectations cautious until we see how his stuff and command rebound.

MMO: Can Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler make an impact this season or will we have to wait until 2013 to see them in the majors?

JS: Harvey should be a candidate for the second half of 2012, assuming he pitches as he should in AA and/or AAA. Wheeler is much more of a 2013 guy.

MMO: Other than Kirk Niewenhuis and Jenrry Mejia, are there any other Mets prospects that you think have a chance to make an impact this year?

JS: Reese Havens could if health allows. Harvey could. I’m a big fan of Jeurys Familia as well. With Harvey, Familia, and Mejia, the Mets have three power arms who could be/should be ready to do something positive by mid-season. If Dan Gorski performs well in his Double-A transition, you could see him sneak in there as well. Chris Schwinden doesn’t have the upside of the others, but he could be useful too as an inning-eater or long relief type.

MMO: You dropped Wilmer Flores from a B+ prospect to a B- prospect this year, which moved him from the Mets top prospect prior to 2011 to their ninth best prospect. Other than the possible position change from short to third, what was your basis for the drop?

JS: Lack of power development. His bat just isn’t coming along as projected and as a third baseman, he’s got to hit a lot more than he’s done so far. That said, he is still just 20 years old, and the fact that he makes contact is a good marker. It is way too soon to give up on him…all that talent in still in there, but they’ve got to unlock it somehow.

MMO: Based on your past assessments of Ruben Tejada, do you believe that he is a viable major league starter?

JS: I don’t think he’ll hit enough to be a long-term regular starter for a contending team, but he should have a very long career as a utility guy and occasional starter.

MMO: Would you say that the Mets farm system has improved over the years and if so, what do you believe is the biggest reason behind the improvement?

JS: Yeah, it has improved. They’ve been investing more in the draft, and I don’t think the farm system was ever as bad as some people felt to begin with. A big problem was just rushing people too quickly but they’ve slowed that down the last couple of years.

MMO: After one year of the new management, do you feel that the Mets have handled their prospects better than they have in the past?

JS: Yeah, I think so. But it takes 2-3 years until you know for sure, and with the financial situation of the team it will be very interesting to see how they manage prospect acquisition.

MMO: Where would you rank the Mets farm system in the NL East?

JS: I currently have them third, with the Braves and Nationals ahead of them. The Mets are in better shape than the Phillies and Marlins at this point. Overall, I ranked the Mets 15th in baseball, exactly in the middle.

I had the chance to talk to New York Mets left-handed pitching prospect Hamilton Bennett by phone the other day. Ham is taking care of last minute preparations at his home in North Carolina before making the drive to Port St. Lucie, for the start of Spring Training. After being taken by the Mets in the 29th round of the 2010 MLB draft, Hamilton has now logged two very solid years in pro ball. In our conversation we discussed how far Ham has come in the last two years, how he has sharpened his game and his mental approach. He even details how a teammate in the minors last year really helped him to accelerate his development, and how it is motivating him heading into the 2012 season. Keep reading to see what other interesting stuff Hamilton had to say:

Petey:  First of all congratulations Hamilton on a successful second pro season!  You threw lights out this past year at Savannah pitching as their closer, helping them win the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League, and pitching in the playoffs. It must have been quite an exciting year for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com. Did you spend the off-season back home in North Carolina?

Hamilton:  Actually in Charlotte, North Carolina, I did. I spent time with my friends and family, and had a good, relaxing time after a long season.

Petey:  That’s nice to hear, so you got your batteries all recharged huh?

Hamilton:  Recharged and ready to go.

Petey:  Okay, so when the Mets drafted you out of Tennessee Wesleyan College (TN) in the 29th round of the 2010 MLB Player Draft, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like?

Hamilton:  To be honest, I was playing summer ball at Winchester, Virginia, at the time. And I didn’t talk to a single scout, at all.

Petey:  Wow!

Hamilton:  I know, it was pretty shocking, and so after a game, I think I pitched the game and got a win, I checked my phone, and had about 20 phone calls, 30 text messages, and the first thing that popped in my mind was that something happened to my family. Either my mom, my dad, my sister, just because I never thought MLB Draft. And so after listening to some voice-mails and checking some text messages, and all that, I finally realized I was drafted. I couldn’t believe it and went online and actually saw my name was called by the Mets. It was a really surreal feeling just to actually now get the chance to live out the childhood dream that I’ve been pursuing since I was 8 years-old.

Petey:  That’s so awesome! Is there a person or two, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you have learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of one day becoming a major league baseball player?

Hamilton:  Well, probably two people baseball-wise. As the mental side and mechanically and all that, it was Tom Glavine. Growing up in Braves country, I mean all we got to see on TV was the Atlanta Braves. And so, that’s who I wanted to be. That’s the career I wanted to have. And then another gentleman, Greg Pandarvis, who was my high school coach, was real big on just pursuing your dream. Regardless of it being a truck driver, a baseball player, a student, whatever it is just chase your dream. So he really inspired me to push, and give all my energy towards my goal.

Petey:  When you came out of college you were throwing your fastball around 86-90 mph. After two years in the professional ranks has it gone up a few ticks?

Hamilton:  It’s probably in the low 90′s now. Cause out of college I was a starter. So I was sorta trying to make it through seven innings. Instead of now, as a reliever, to be honest I’m just going out there for one or two innings throwing as hard as I can.

Petey:  Yeah lettin’ it all hang out.

Hamilton: Really.

Petey:  Very cool. What kind of movement are you getting on your fastball?

Hamilton:  Actually my fastball has got a lot of movement. And it’s funny because down in Savannah, they nicknamed my fastball “The Invisible.” Just because it’s not like it was a trick 96 mile an hour fastball. But for some reason nobody could hit it so they kept calling it The Invisible. It moves. My fastball sorta has a little bit of sinking action to it. And I throw a circle change-up that has down and outward movement. And then my curveball is real slow and loopy, 12-6.

Petey:  When you started your pro career you said you wanted to work on your curve-ball, make it a priority. Tighten the rotation and sharpen the break. Would you say the pitch is where you want it to be now?

Hamilton:  Absolutely. With the pitching coaches and the resources that I have now, I’m constantly trying to develop my curveball to be at a professional level to face the hitters that I’m facing. For the past few years that’s one thing I’ve really tried to work on my off-speed, curveball and change-up. And with Glenn Abbott last year as well as my Brooklyn pitching coach, Rick Tomlin, they really helped me get the best of my off-speed pitches.

Petey:  Are you working on adding any new pitches?

Hamilton:  I am. I’m trying to get something along the lines of a cutter, a slider. I’m just trying to work with those two and see which one feels better for me. I want something that’s hard, that moves a little bit more.

Petey:  What is the one most important thing you learned, or accomplished last year while pitching at Savannah?

Hamilton:  Just the mental side of being in pressure situations. I had never been a closer before, and so when they moved me to the closer role I totally had to learn, basically start fresh, I had to realize how to throw again, mentally. Then when we made it to the playoffs it was another learning experience. Cause I had never been in such a pressure filled situation. With the tying run on second base, one out, in the 9th inning. Away at Greensboro, it was real big, mentally challenging, but I thought it really developed me for the future, whether that’s in St. Lucie, Binghamton, Buffalo, or Citifield.

Petey:  You spent nearly all of last season at Savannah and pitched really well there. Your numbers were: 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 14 Saves. In 54 IP’s you gave up only 30 hits, 1 HR, walked 15 and struck out 56. Those were some excellent numbers. But there was a monkey wrench thrown in there. You spent a little time on the DL, what happened?

Hamilton:  Yeah it was one of those freak accidents, to be honest with you. After a game I pitched in Greenville, South Carolina,  against the Drive. To get to the locker room you have to go on the field. The locker room is actually behind the first-base dugout, and we’re in the third-base dugout. And so I was walking up and there was a step, and I was talking to a teammate of mine, and completely missed the step, and sprained my ankle. It was just a fluke, and it wasn’t anything serious, they just kept me out…I was on the 7-day DL, and then when I came back it still wasn’t a hundred percent. We knew we were going to the playoffs and they didn’t want to rush me back, so they took their time, making sure I was healthy, and that way I could get a hundred percent strength-wise, and get back on the mound with a fresh ankle basically. And I came back, and everything was fine.

Petey:  Wow, that’s really something.

Hamilton:  It was a freak accident. I’m left-handed so I’m kinda clumsy anyway.

Petey:  I’m not gonna comment, some of my best friends are lefties. How bout this, do you have any goals for next season?

Hamilton:  I always try to maintain the same goals. I always want to keep my ERA under two, for the season. I try to keep my walks under, like one walk every five innings. I want to average a strike out of a batter an inning. And then in the long-term picture, I’d love to throw for the Buffalo Bisons this year if I can. Just because they play against the Charlotte Knights, and that was sorta the team that I grew up going to games.

Petey: That would be cool.

Hamilton:  Yeah that’s my long-term minor league goal, is to play against the Charlotte Knights.

Petey:  When did your off-season workout schedule begin, and when did you start throwing?

Hamilton:  When I first got back I sorta took my time to relax, just watching the World Series with the Rangers and all. I took my time, and then I started lifting again after…I’d probably say the 1st of November. Started lifting again to get back in shape, not heavy but just real light to get my strength back. And then about after Christmas, is when I started throwing again. So I gave my arm a good three months off so it could recover fully and here now I’m just trying to sharpen everything right before I head back.

Petey:  Excellent. When is your reporting date for Spring Training?

Hamilton:  I report March 3rd. So I’ll probably leave around the 2nd, this way I can get down there and get settled in before the chaos starts.

Petey:  What do you like to do for fun over the off-season, when you are not working out, or doing baseball related activities?

Hamilton:  For fun, I’m coaching. I love helping children. That’s basically what I want to do. My major was in Education so I love to teach, coach, and I’m helping children before the high school seasons and all that start. I’m kind of a lazy person to be honest with you, if I could sit on the couch and watch TV, or watch Jeremy Lin with the Knicks or something like that, that’d make my night.

Petey:  Hah! That was going to be my last question for you! Best point guard in the NBA, Jeremy Lin?

Hamilton:  Absolutely. Between him and Chris Paul. Just because Chris Paul is from the North Carolina area, and so I got to support my Carolinians. But I’m really thrilled about what Jeremy Lin is doing for, not only the state of New York, but for the NBA.

Petey:  And for the world, China’s going Linsane!

Hamilton:  It’s unbelievable! And that’s what I put on Twitter and on Facebook, I’m so happy the Giants won the Super Bowl. And the Knicks are on a winning streak now, and so it’s good to see all the New York teams doing well.

Petey: Yeah it really is. Now all we gotta do is get the Mets to follow suit.

Hamilton:  Give us a couple of years, we’re in a little bit of a rebuilding stage, but we got a lot of talent in the minor leagues.

Petey:  We definitely do. I’ve been keeping a close watch on all you guys down there and we are definitely moving in the right direction. And I think the talent level has really come up quite a bit in the last couple of years.

Hamilton:  We’ve got a lot of talent, and we’ve got great coaching staffs who know what they’re doing development-wise. We’ve got real good trainers and strength coaches, so it’s going to be a lot of fun in the future, that’s for sure, for not only for New York, but for the whole organization.

Petey:  Now for a very serious question, Hamilton.

Hamilton: Okay.

Petey:  What is this huge uproar about your mustache? When I told a few Mets insiders I was planning on doing an interview with you, they all said. “Find out about his mustache! Make sure he still has it! Ask him how it’s doing!” So ummmmm, how’s your mustache Hamilton?

Hamilton:  (laughing) I do have my mustache, I’m in the process of growing it right now. It’ll be back. It was funny when I got drafted, being from South Carolina and going to school in Tennessee, and they sent me to Brooklyn, NY which I’ve never been to in my life. When I got there, everybody was calling me, like players and friends and all that were calling me, “Hey your the hillbilly from South Carolina!” And I was like, “I’m not a hillbilly, I’m, as my dad would say, a rural southerner.” But I was like, “You want to see a hillbilly?” And I found out that the Mets only allowed mustaches, as facial hair.

Petey:  Really?

Hamilton:  In the minor leagues, nothing below the mouth. So I grew it. They said you cannot shave it. I had some fans love it as well. And then Brooklyn ended up giving me a promo night called “Hamilton Bennett’s Mustache Mayhem.” I mean it was one of those things that I just did as a joke, and now it stuck with me.

Petey:  That is really a great story. So what do you think? Best baseball mustache ever?

Hamilton:  Ever? It would be Rollie Fingers.

Petey:  Yeah, of course he’s a classic.

Hamilton:  Yeah you can’t compete with the whole twisty, curly, bees-waxed mustache, you can’t compete with it.

Petey:  You really can’t. But I gave it a little bit of thought, and I think I came up with a guy who deserves an honorable mention.

Hamilton:  Who would that be?

Petey:  I’m goin back a little ways, so I don’t know if you remember the Mad Hungarian, Al Hrabosky. He was a left-handed reliever who used to pitch for the Cardinals among other teams. He had a whole schtick where, in a big spot, he would go to the back of the mound and put himself into a trance, it was weird.

Hamilton: I’ll have to look him up, but I’d say Fingers sticks out, and then if you look back, if you watch a classic baseball game on ESPN classics, and watch one in the 80′s. I mean Wally Backman had a mustache. So there’s a lot of guys that had a mustache, I’m trying to bring the baseball pastime back to it’s original roots….

Petey:  …of the mustache! Wally still has his by-the-way. Well they say that fashion goes in cycles. Everything comes back into fashion eventually.

Hamilton:  That’s what I’m trying to do with the mustache. And then, I mean it caught on because the closer with the Milwaukee Brewers this past year had a mustache.

Petey:  Yeah, and look at what the beard did for Brian Wilson.

Hamilton:  Exactly, everybody’s got their own little thing going for them, and I guess mine is the mustache.

Petey:  Is there a major league player, past or present, that you would say you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself pitching like someday in the majors?

Hamilton:  Hmmm, honestly if you look at my mechanics, and put Tom Glavine next to me side by side, they’re identical. Just because when I was growing up, my father never played baseball, so what he would do is just record the Braves games, and telling me your doing this like Tom Glavine, your doing that like Tom Glavine, and that’s who I followed.

Petey:  Very interesting.

Hamilton:  And mentally, as a reliever, I want to have that role, I know it’s weird, but like a Mariano Rivera. I mean whenever they need Mariano Rivera to come in and get three outs, that’s who they call on.

Petey:  Yeah he’s money in the bank.

Hamilton:  And that’s the sort of mentality I’m trying to take on. Whoever my manager is whether it’s Terry Collins with the Mets, or somebody in the minor leagues, if they need somebody to come in and get three or six outs, that they say, “Alright Hamilton Bennett’s the most reliable let’s get him in there.” That’s the goal I’m trying to reach with my career right now.

Petey:  Thinking about you closing games for the Mets, reminds me a little bit of John Franco, the Mets all-time saves leader.

Hamilton:  Franco? Yeah I actually got to meet him, he’s very knowledgeable.

Petey:  Similar arsenal to yours, similar size, both lefties with a bulldog mentality.

Hamilton:  Yeah, he wasn’t an over-powering guy, but he knew how to command the strike zone, and make people sit. Yeah I wouldn’t mind that career.

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play last year, and tell us what it was that made you take notice?

Hamilton:  Josh Edgin. He’s from a small college just like I am. He was drafted one round after me, and me and him were actually roommates. All he does is sit on his computer and think of ways to make himself a better pitcher. Whether it’s mechanically, or working out, or stretching and every different detail. And then when I got there he was the closer for the Sand Gnats at the time. And as a roommate I’m writing down notebook paper after notebook paper, trying to get as much information about being a reliever as possible. So he really helped me as well as other people on the team. He’s one of those guys you can just walk up to and say, “Alright in this situation, blah blah blah, what can I do to help myself get better?” And he’d come right out and say, “You want to do this, this is what your mentality has to be as a closer, a reliever, whatever.” He really helped me out big time.

Petey:  That is so cool, he sounds like one day, when his playing days are over, he’d make one heckuva coach.

Hamilton:  He’s got the talent to have a very long career in the big leagues, that’s for sure, and I hope he does. But I could honestly see him being a very good coach.

Petey:  Wasn’t it after they called Josh up to St. Lucie, that they made you the closer at Savannah?

Hamilton:  Right, once he left I had to basically take his role. And after rooming with him for two or three months it really helped me get to where I needed to be.

Petey:  I got a chance to interview Josh a few months ago for MMO, and he is a very interesting guy.

Hamilton:  Well, we’re both left-handers, we’re kinda similar built, he’s a little bit heavier than I am and throws about 7 mph harder than I do, but he’s just very knowledgeable and a very good guy to talk to.

Petey:  When you see him at spring training give him my best.

Hamilton:  I will.

Petey:  And to finish up Hamilton, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie?

Hamilton:  Favorite movie…whooo! I mean it’s so hard, every time someone asks me that you got to pick a genre. But, my favorite movie…is probably gonna be Armageddon.

Petey:  Oh, great movie!

Hamilton:  I mean Bruce Willis, good actor, and everybody else in it. and there’s only one movie, every time I watch it, that I tear up, and that’s Armageddon.

Petey:  Yeah when he sacrifices himself at the end….

Hamilton:  Right, right, right.

Petey:  That is cool, you can’t go wrong with Bruce Willis. How about music, do you have a favorite musician or band?

Hamilton:  Favorite music? I’m a big Country listener. So I’d probably have to go Brad Paisley country artist, or,  I mean the Tim McGraw’s and all them are always good. So anything country’s really good.

Petey:  All right!

Hamilton:  But Brad Paisley’s my go-to.

Petey:  He’s the closer, hahahah!

Hamilton:  Yah.

Petey:  Favorite food?

Hamilton:  Chinese or Japanese. I’m a big sushi fan.

Petey:  It must be hard to find good sushi when your on the road, huh?

Hamilton:  Yeah, just because in the minor leagues, the sushi’s sort of an expensive dish, for what your getting. You don’t really want to spend all your money on six pieces of sushi, you wanna try and get more bang for your buck. There’s places to get it that’s for sure.

Petey:  Well I want to thank you again Hamilton….do you like being called Hamilton or Ham? What do you prefer?

Hamilton:  Oh it doesn’t matter, my friends call me Ham, or Hambone. So it doesn’t matter at all.

Petey:  Okay. Well listen thanks again for taking the time out for this interview. It’s been a lot of fun for me talking to you, and the readers and staff at MMO really appreciate it.

Hamilton:  Well thank you. Thank you very much.

Petey:  Good luck with Spring Training, stay healthy, and best of luck in the regular season this year.

Hamilton:  Thank you sir, bye-bye.

I had a lot of fun chatting with Ham the other day. He’s a great guy, very easy to talk to, and someone who is very easy to root for. More than likely he’ll be starting the season closing games for the St. Lucie Mets in the Florida State League. That should be a great experience for him, because the starting rotation in Lucey should be very good this year, and that will give Hambone the chance to pitch in a greater number of meaningful games. Making AAA in 2012 may be a bit of a stretch for him, but by 2013, he should be getting that chance he has been waiting for, to pitch against the Charlotte Knights. After that goal is accomplished, he can focus on that last remaining goal, of pitching in the major leagues one day.

For more of my player interviews, and some other cool stuff, click here.

I had a chance to do a Q&A with NY Mets catcher Mike Nickeas the other day. Mike was nice enough to take the time to field a whole slew of questions I threw at him, regarding his defense, his hitting, working with Josh Thole, and lot’s of other stuff. Mike is working hard this off-season getting ready for what should prove a very big year for him, and his answers are very interesting indeed. Keep reading to find out what Mike had to say:

Petey:  First of all congratulations Mike on a terrific year in 2011! Getting the chance to log extended time in the big leagues with the Mets, and even hitting your first major league home run! Happy New Year! Hope you had a very happy holidays, and thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com. Where do you live in the off-season these days?

Mike:  My wife, Rebecca, and I live in Atlanta, GA.

Petey:  When the Texas Rangers drafted you in the 5th round of the 2004 MLB Player Draft, out of Georgia Tech, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Rangers were interested in drafting you? What round(s) were you thinking you might be taken in the draft?

Mike:  I was with my parents and Rebecca in a hotel room right next to Georgia Tech, we were listening to the draft online with our fingers crossed. I had been in contact with teams throughout that entire season; there was really no way of knowing who was going to draft me. I remember feeling like the Rangers had more interest in me out of High school, but the draft is a crazy thing, anything can happen. I had heard a number of things, as draft eligible players typically do, but I thought I would be drafted between the 2^nd and 5^th round depending on the season I had, along with all of the other variables involved in the draft.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of becoming a major league baseball player?

Mike:  I’m assuming you mean as a child who inspired me? That question is difficult because I think there are a number of people who helped inspire me to follow my dreams including my Pop-pop (Grandfather) and my Mom. But if there was only one person I could choose it would be my Dad. He spent the entirety of his free time teaching, training and advising me about what it takes to become a professional athlete and I’ll always be indebted for the sacrifices he made for me.

Petey:  You are widely regarded as the best defensive catcher in the Mets organization. What aspects of your defensive game do you still have to work on in the off-season? Are things like footwork and throwing, and blocking balls in the dirt things that have to be constantly worked on to keep those skills sharp?

Mike:  I continue to do blocking, footwork and receiving as a base for my offseason training. I believe it’s the same as an infielder taking groundballs: the more often you do it, the better. Building arm strength and becoming more flexible are also top priorities for me. Yoga has been the best way that I have found to increase my flexibility.

Petey:  Going into spring training, as the Mets depth chart is configured right now, you are listed as the back-up behind Josh Thole. That is not just a reward for a job well done, but represents an opportunity for you moving forward as well. It must be very gratifying to you, heading into next year to know that after years of hard work and honing your craft, you have landed with an organization that appreciates all that you bring to the table, and has the faith in you to hold down a very important role in 2012. Do you look at this upcoming season differently than seasons in the past, with such a wonderful opportunity on the table? Or is it just another year that requires the same level of hard work and commitment as any other year? Are there things that you can work with Josh on next season to help him improve his defense?

Mike:  Thank you for the kind words. I really believe that all you can ask for as an athlete is an opportunity to play and show what you can do. I am in a great position to show what I am capable of doing as a player and a teammate. Every off-season presents new challenges to overcome, regardless of what is on the line. I try and work on sharpening my strengths and improving upon my weaknesses. In my opinion, Josh and I have always worked well together and I believe we will continue to help each other improve as much as we possibly can.

Petey:  As you prepare for spring training, what sort of things will you be working on regarding your hitting? Are there specific things you were working on at the end of last year, that you have continued to work on this winter? What Mets coach, or coaches have been particularly helpful to you regarding your hitting?

Mike:  I went into the off-season with the goal of improving my bat path. I have found that during this process I have also improved my lower half and the overall direction of my swing. Hudge has been a huge influence for me this off-season, we talk and email frequently. He lives in AZ and I am in GA, but I have been videoing myself hitting and sending it to him to review. He has come up with some great drills and advice for me and I believe it has helped a lot.  I also have to mention Luis Natera, as we wouldn’t be having this conversation if he didn’t take me under his wing in 2010. He is a big reason I ever got an opportunity to play a big league game.

Petey:  Let’s go back to the date April 21st, 2011, the day you hit your first big league homer in Houston off of J.A. Happ. Can you take us through that at-bat? How you felt that day before you launched it, and how it felt to go yard in a big league game? Do you remember what was going through your mind as you circled the bases?

Mike:  Honestly, it just feels like this big blur. I remember making contact, I remember the ball landing in the stands, the next thing I remember I was rounding third; it was a blackout moment and an indescribable feeling.

Petey:  Your father Mark, was a professional soccer player in England, that is very cool! Did you ever get to see him play professionally? Does he get to see you play in NY? What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player? Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself playing like someday in the majors?

Mike:  I saw him play professionally, but I was too young to remember, we have some of his highlights on video, and I’ve seen them quite a few times. He came to opening day last year in Miami, and has come to Citi a couple of times to watch me play. I grew up in Los Angeles and was a huge Dodger fan, Mike Piazza was the man, still is. I like to try and take bits and pieces from a lot of different guys, I think the best way to learn is to watch the guys that are doing it well.

Petey:  That’s a great answer to any Mets fan, Piazza is definitely the man. What do you do to stay in shape over the winter, can you describe your workout regimen? What do you like to do during your time off for fun and recreation?

Mike:  I started working with a trainer named Ryan Capretta of Proactive Sports in Westlake Village, CA and I have had a love hate relationship with Yoga all off-season. Brad Andress has also had some great stuff for me, I try and mix it all together to keep from getting bored with any one thing. I love to golf, and I like to play and practice as often as possible. My dad recently won the California Senior Amateur, and I would like to try and be better than he is one day.

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that hasn’t made his big league debut yet, who really impressed you with his play this year at Buffalo. Tell us what it was that made you take notice.

Mike:  I think Kirk Nieuwenhuis was having an awesome year until he got hurt, and I think he is going to be very fun to watch one day.

Petey:  Ah yes, Captain Kirk is someone whom the hardcore Mets fans have been patiently waiting for to arrive. To finish up Mike, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie?

Mike:  I like to read, and I like good representations of books in theatres. I thought The Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter were great. I prefer great television series to movies and my favorite is Mad Men.

Petey:  Favorite musician or band?

Mike:  I have always answered Incubus to this question but I really like the Black Keys and Kings of Leon as well.

Petey:  Favorite food?

Mike:  I love sushi and the best that I have ever had is at the Landing in my home town.

Petey:  Thanks again Mike for taking time out for this interview. The readers and staff at MMO really appreciate it! Have a very happy, and healthy New Year, and we will be looking forward to seeing you in spring training!

It was really great of Mike to take the time to talk to us here on MMO. He gave us an interesting perspective, and a glimpse into the dedication and hard work it takes to play baseball at such a high level. It’s a full time job, 365 days a year, but the work will be a lot more fun in just a little over a month from now when ST begins. LGM!

I contacted Rob Carson, left-handed pitcher for the New York Mets by phone on Monday, less than a week before he is due to leave for spring training in Port. St. Lucie. This year spring training will be a little different for Carson, because he will be in the big league camp for the first time, a result of being added to the 40-man Major League Roster this winter. Rob and I discussed a myriad of topics, his pitches, his focus heading into the new season, where he sees his career heading and we had a lot of fun just talking baseball. Check out what Rob had to say, I think some of his answers will really surprise you.

Petey:  We are talking today with New York Mets left-handed pitcher Rob Carson. Rob pitched out of the AA Binghamton starting rotation in 2011 and was 2nd on the team in game starts (24), and innings pitched (128.1), and was 4th in K’s with 91 punch-outs. After the regular season ended he pitched in the Arizona Fall League, in relief, and did so well that he was added to the Mets 40-man roster. Hey Robert!

Rob:  What’s up big dog. How you doin’ man?

Petey:  It’s Pete from MetsMerizedOnline.com. How you doin?

Rob:  Good man good, how you doin?

Petey:  Doin excellent!

Rob:  Good man. I actually just came back from working out, and throwing today, man. Got a good workout.

Petey:  How hard are you throwing right now?

Rob:  Like 75-80%, cause you know I’m trying to be spring training ready. I’m not trying to burn it up, just 75-80% to be bullpen ready, and I’m feeling pretty good right now.

Petey:  Did you spend the winter at home in Mississippi?

Rob:  I actually went to the Arizona Fall League, went out there first, and then I came back and have been working out and stuff ever since.

Petey:  Did you get some home cookin?

Rob:  Yeah it’s always good to come home and get some home-cooked meals from your mom, and your grandmom. Cause when your on the road you don’t really get that you know, so it’s pretty good to come home to it.

Petey:  After last season, you pitched in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas, as a relief pitcher. What was that experience like?

Rob:  Man, the experience was really good man, they sent me out there last year also and I started. It was my first year going out there last year and just being around all those guys, all those big prospects, everybody out there’s you know, pretty big prospects from other organizations that get sent out there. And it’s just great competition man, it’s great to spend time, and it’s great baseball. And going this year man, you know you kinda come in, cause this year there’s a lot of new guys, and me and a couple of the guys from last year coming in were kinda like the veterans of it you know, kinda cool. And you know it was just real fun, and different this time cause I went last year as a starter, and this year a reliever you know, they moved me to the bullpen. So it was pretty fun man, it was different, you know, but after my first two times out there, I kinda got into a routine as a reliever cause I was still used to starting. The first time I got called to pitch out of the bullpen, I wasn’t as ready as I wanted. But I still got the job done. Just because of a starter mentality, routine to a reliever. But as the fall league got going, I got into my own routine and it was great, it was fun.

Petey:  What are the differences for you relieving as opposed to starting?

Rob:  As a starter you pretty much, you have to start the game off, you have to set the tempo, you have to go in and have at least two pitches, at least, that you can get over for strikes. You wanna have three, but you need at least two, coming out and starting a game, and you just go with how you feel that day. You want your fastball to be working but some days you don’t have it where you want it to be, so you have to deal with that as a starter, and work with your strengths. And as a reliever, I’m not saying it’s easier than pitching as a starter, but as a reliever you can come in and not have as much pressure depending on the situation when you come in. As a reliever you can come in and can be hard. You know, go right after hitters you know? Just go right after them.

Petey:  You don’t have to save it.

Rob:  Exactly. With your best stuff for that one, or two innings, you can show your pitches and mix it up. But as a starter, you don’t want to show all your pitches that first time through. That’s why you wanna have those two pitches you can throw, a fastball and another pitch, that you can throw for a strike. And that way you can maybe show something else, but not use it where everybody will see it the first time through. So that’s the only difference to me. I made up a routine after that as a reliever, so after that it was real fine.

Petey:  What we were hearing back here in New York when you were out in the AFL, was “Carson’s throwing gas out there, he’s throwing gaaaas!”

Rob:  Hahahahahaha……

Petey:  How hard were you throwing out there in the fall?

Rob:  Actually I was surprised but the guy told me I had touched 100, like two or three times, you know.

Petey:  Seriously?

Rob:  Yeah man, I hit a hundred two or three times and I was sittin’ like 95 to like 98, out of the bullpen.

Petey:  Wow!

Rob:  So, it was kinda amazing to me too, the highest I ever did as a starter was like 97, that was the highest I ever topped out at, and I was consistently like 93 to 95. Then after I went to the bullpen it went up a little bit. So it was kinda fun, you know guys coming up to me, “Hey you just joined the hundred-mile power club.” And me being left-handed, that’s kinda cool man.

Petey:  It is very cool! I mean the only one I can think of throwing that hard from the left side is Aroldis Chapman of the Reds.

Rob:  Exactly. Yeah that’s pretty cool.

Petey:  Well what do you attribute the increase in velocity to? Is it just command? Or is it getting stronger, or something else?

Rob:  Oh man, it’s probably a little bit of both, command and getting stronger. A good long toss program, and stretching good, and then just coming from that starter mentality to a reliever, where you come in as a reliever and your just going. It’s like, “here, here’s my best stuff, see if you can hit this.” And it’s just that adrenaline rush, and going back to the command, just a little bit of both.

Petey:  Very cool. You really opened some eyes out there in the desert, which compelled the Mets to add you to the 40-man roster so you’d be protected in the Rule 5 Draft. Now less than a week away, is your first Big League spring training camp, you must be extremely psyched!

Rob:  Yeah, Pete man, it’s real exciting, you know. It’s very, very exciting for me and also my family, my Mom, and my Pop. My family is so proud of me, when we got the news, I had just gotten back from Arizona. When you’re out there with those guys, it’s not just me it’s a whole bunch of guys from other organizations, they hear, and everybody talks about it but you really can’t focus on it. At the end of the day, we all know this is a business, and you can’t control it. All we can control is between those white lines. And when we get out there, and we’re on the mound, it’s our job to try and perform. That’s the only thing we can control. I mean I told a couple of guys, “Hey I want to be a Met. I want to contribute to that major league team, and hopefully make it with the team that drafted me.” Give the opportunity a chance, and just keep doing what got me moving through the organization, and I just feel like hey, give me the opportunity and I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. And that’s what they did, and I was very happy when they called and told me “Hey, you deserve it and we protected you and put you on the 40-man.” I was real happy man.

Petey:  That is so awesome, and that’s the thing, to just keep doing what you’re doing. So, are you ready to leave for Florida?

Rob:  Man, I’m pumped, I’m psyched, I’m nervous. Not scared, just a little nervous cause you know it’s big league spring training, my first big league spring training, and just going to be around those guys. I’m going to be an open book. My goal and my focus is to really try to break with the team and earn one of those bullpen spots. It’s a dream I’ve always had, is to be a major league pitcher, and it’s right here now. I’m just focused on getting out there and getting the work in and trying to make the club man. And see what happens.

Petey:  Have the Mets told you if they are making you a reliever permanently at this point?

Rob:  As of right now, I think I’m considered a reliever, a bullpen guy. On some websites, and blogs, on a website there was actually a piece on me, along with some other guys, notable candidates for the bullpen of the New York Mets. I was up there with Josh Stinson, and Bobby Parnell, and D.J. Carrasco, and also Pedro Beato, and myself, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be pretty much in the bullpen for now. And who knows? Later on, you know, they know I’ve started for five years, who knows? Maybe they need someone for a Saturday start, they know they got somebody in the bullpen who can eat up some innings. I’m just happy man, Pete. I’m just excited about this year, and it’s a big year for me, and you know gettin my career really started. And whatever gets me there as a starter, a reliever, a long relief guy, whatever. I’m just pumped and ready to go and take this opportunity and run with it.

Petey:  Your bio lists you as 6’3″ and 220. Is that still accurate?

Rob:  Now I’m probably like 6’4″ and probably like 236, 238.

Petey:  Ok, thanks. You told us a little about your fastball, could you detail some of your other pitches for us?

Rob:  I’ve always considered myself as a power left-hander, I’ve had a strong arm since I was young and playing, and people said, “you’ve got a live arm kid.” So, I have a 4-seam fastball, which is like 93 to, well it’s up there now……

Petey:  Yeah….

Rob:  High 90′s, mid-90′s to high 90′s. And also I’ve been throwing a two-seamer the past two seasons, I’ve thrown a two-seamer there. The 2-seamer, I don’t use it much, but I do have it and I use it sometimes, and it’s probably like 86 to probably 90. And then I have a cutter. My 4-seam actually has a natural cut. But now I’ve gotten to where I throw a cutter, and my cutter’s pretty hard probably where my 2-seamer is. And I throw a change-up which I have been working on the past few seasons. Soften it up and it’s coming along, I’ve been working on that.

Petey:  How is that coming along? What sort of movement are you getting with the change?

Rob:  I got the right movement to it, it was just a little hard, you know? Too hard. What we’ve been working with this off-season trying to soften it up. I got out there and found a grip that helped me improve that. And my slider, this off-season I worked on trying to add some depth to it. Get more of that slider “bite” to it, instead of across the strike zone. So I want to get that down and in to a righty, and down away from a lefty. So we’ll work on that and just trying to put my repertoire together. I’ve always had pretty decent fastball command. I’ll just keep working at it and getting better, and get everything tight and ready to go.

Petey:  Let’s go back to when the Mets drafted you out of Hattiesburg High School, MS, in the 14th round of the 2007 MLB Player Draft, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you?

Rob:  Oh man, it was kinda crazy. I had a pretty good four years in high school, put up pretty good numbers and stuff. Going into my junior year, we won a state championship. And then people started coming up to me, “Hey Carse, I’ve heard scouts talking about you.” And I started going to showcases and it was like man, you’ll probably get drafted. And I was like, “Yeah that sounds cool.” But I didn’t focus on that, it was like, finish out my high school career, and worry about college. and try to go somewhere for school. Senior year came around and it was time for baseball, and I was talked about a lot then. And I ended up signing with a school. And then the scouts came around and said, “Hey man, there are some teams I think are going to take you in the draft.” I was like, “Yeah that’s kinda crazy, you know.” And when they contacted me heading into draft week, they were telling me, “watch the draft, you’re going to be drafted.” Me and my family were watching the draft at home, and when my name got called and the phone rang, and the Mets had told me that they drafted me in the 14th. I was like screaming and excited man, it was really exciting for my family. I was at a loss for words, and kinda speechless, and it was a great day. It was a really good day.

Petey:  What was the name of the Mets scout who you were dealing with?

Rob:  At that time I was being scouted by Benny Latino, who was working with the Mets at the time. But he’s with the Nationals now.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you have learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of one day becoming a major league baseball player?

Rob:  Yeah man, my two high school coaches, my head coach Larry Knight, and my assistant coach Chris Cooley (Hattiesburg High School). And also my Mom and my family, you know, but those two probably within the sport, were the most inspirational in getting me to chase my dream today. I was told they seen something in me, something special. Actually my coach, Larry Knight he used to play professional baseball with the Braves, back when. He was a left-handed pitcher too. He told me I had something special, and they persuaded me to chase my dream, those two guys right there.

Petey:  Since joining the Mets organization, has any pitching coach in the system been particularly helpful to you?

Rob:  Yeah, there’s a few man, I learned some from a lot of my pitching coaches, I’ve had some great pitching coaches in my career so far. Starting when I first came in Robert Ellis, he was my first pitching coach. Then I went to Marc Valdes, Marc has been probably on three teams, in my five years, Savannah, St. Lucie, and this year double-A. Those two guys would be the two that I’ve learned the most from, that stand out so far.

Petey:  You’ve been lucky enough to get to play for Wally Backman as your manager.

Rob:  Yeah man.

Petey:  More than likely he will be managing you at some point, if not all this year as well. Wally is one of the most popular Mets players of all time, and since winning a World Championship in 1986, Wally will always be loved by the fans and considered a Met Hero. What do you think of Wally as a manager?

Rob:  Man he’s awesome man. Wally Backman is the Man.

Petey:   Hahahahaha…..

Rob:  He’s cool, not just because, you know……Wally’s a great manager man. He knows the game. He’s very smart. He’s a manager that will talk to you. If you kinda get down, and you go out there, he’s gonna be like, “Hey kid hey. Don’t show emotion.” He’ll probably talk to you like, “here, this is what you need to do. Try to do this, do this a little better.” You know? He’s one of those guys that’s very talkative, you can go in his office whenever and talk about anything. He’s going to keep it straight with you, keep it real and let you know the truth. He’s not going to tell you a bunch of lies, he’s a guy that’s going to let you know how it is. Cause he’s been there. He’s been in the big leagues. He knows what it takes to get there. And it’s just an honor man, to play under him as a player and him as a manager, and the whole coaching staff this year man, it was great. Wally’s a great manager man. And like you said, if I start at AAA this year, he’d be my manager again, he’ll be the triple-A manager.

Petey:  Yeah, he’ll be at Buffalo this year.

Rob:  Yeah that is going to be pretty cool man.

Petey:  It must make you want to win that Championship in New York even more, when you think about what it means to the city, and baseball history.

Rob:  Yeah it does. The other side is the fans are so funny though. And the fans want to see that from him. Cause he’s kinda famous for that too. Ever since he’s been managing in pro ball, you know, blowing his top with umpires. Last year I remember a couple times him getting thrown out at third and the fans all had their camera phones out, and they actually clapped when he got thrown out, so it was pretty cool playing with Wally this year.

Petey:  Never a dull moment with Wally Backman as your manager.

Rob:  Nope. No there’s not.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up?

Rob:  I was an Atlanta Braves fan, you know growing up in Mississippi we didn’t actually have a major league team. And you know Atlanta is pretty close to us so I was always an Atlanta Braves fan. Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, all those guys, Brian Jordan, Javier Lopez, you know those guys, when they played I was always a Braves fan man.

Petey:  Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself pitching like someday in the majors?

Rob:  In the Mets organization a lot of the guys call me lil’ C.C., and I actually love C.C. Sabathia, man, he’s my favorite pitcher in the game right now, and that’s who I look up to. I don’t try to copy him, because he’s great at what he do, but I want to be there one day in his position, in his shoes, as a great left-handed pitcher. I look at a lot of pitchers, C.C. is my favorite, but like David Price, Cole Hammels, Johan Santana, I could name a bunch man. I look at a lot of guys games, C.C. Sabathia is the one I’d have to say I’m closest to, same style pitching-wise.

Petey:  Yeah, I can definitely see some similarities. How bout this? Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play last year at Binghamton, and tell us what it was that made you take notice.

Rob:  Josh Satin man. When he got called up, like that’s one of my best friends in the game, we always stay in touch when the baseball season’s over. He’s an amazing guy on and off the field. A great teammate, great person, great ballplayer, smart guy, he knows the game. And he can hit man, and that call-up he got last year, he deserved it. Ever since Josh came to the organization, he’ll just always wow you man. He’s a guy who’s gonna go out and give it his all man, do whatever he can to give the team a chance to win. So he has to be the guy that I choose from the team last year that really impressed me.

Petey:  We got to see a little bit of Josh at Citifield playing for the Mets at the end of the year, that was fun. Hopefully he’ll get called up again this year.

Rob:  Yeah.

Petey:  Maybe you two can be roommates on the road?

Rob:  Yeah, haha, that would be cool man, that’s my boy, that’s my friend.

Petey:  And to finish up Rob, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie?

Rob:  I can’t really pick my favorite movie. I’m more of a action movie, drama, comedy, I really like sci-fi stuff, those would probably be my top four categories.

Petey:  Favorite musician or band?

Rob:  I like all types of music, I like country, I like rock n’ roll, heavy metal, I like all types of stuff. I actually got this new group I’ve been listening to, they’re called Quaker City Nighthawks.

Petey:  No kidding?

Rob:  Yeah man, it’s a pretty cool band man. And then there’s this group with our pitching coach from AA last year Mark Brewer. That’s my dude too. His son’s band, called Taddy Porter man. Taddy Porter and Quaker City Nighthawks are pretty cool bands, man. You should check em out.

Petey:  I will, I definitely will. Last question, what’s your favorite food?

Rob:  Oh man, I like any type of spicy food, seafood.

Petey:  You like Cajun?

Rob:  Cajun yeah, any kind of Cajun style food, I’m with it, you know. But I’d probably have to say like boneless hot wings, that’s probably my favorite.

Petey:  Hey Rob, thank you so much for doing this interview with us!

Rob:  No problem man, thank you for wanting to interview me.

Petey:  It’s my pleasure! As far as this year goes, best of luck. I hope you’ll be pitching at Citi, Mets fans need to get a chance to see you pitch.

Rob:  Yeah that sounds good Pete man, I’ll be talking to you soon.

I was trying to figure out the last time the Mets developed their own lefty-throwing fireballer, to anchor the back of the bullpen. And then it struck me, it’s been about 30 years. Randall K. Myers was the last powerful lefty closer-type the team has developed. Let that sink in. Just kinda swirl it around, and consider that it’s been exactly 27 years since a player like Rob Carson has been on the cusp of breaking into the majors with the New York Mets. I don’t know about you, but I just got goosebumps.

For more of my player interviews, and some other cool stuff, click here.

LGM!

Photo Credit: Sue Mudrick - Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts (http://rrrt.mlblogs.com)

I had the pleasure of chatting with minor league hurler Eric Niesen. Niesen began his professional career by being selected in the 3rd round of the 2007 MLB amateur draft by the Mets out of Wake Forest Academy. The now 25-year old Michigan native was first assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones and was making his way through the ranks, making the FSL All-Star Team in 2009, until about mid-2010 when he “hit-the-wall” if you will. Niesen has since been assigned to Single-A about a month ago after struggling with the Binghamton Mets in 2011, where he has recently began to find his stride.

In my interview with Eric, we discussed his struggles, what it is like to deal with them, and also how to bust out of those struggles, and working on beating them. Here are the highlights of our conversation:

Eric, back in 2007, how did it feel to be drafted by a major league team after years of hard work and dedication?

Hey Clayton thanks for the interview. The feeling of being drafted was exciting to say the least. It had been years and years of always pushing through doubt, struggle,learning curves, and hard-work. it was truly very humbling not just for me, but for my family as well. To come from a small town, as a small kid with a dream and being giving and opportunity to achieve that dream was and still is a great cherished blessing.

Did you ever have a baseball player who you idolized or saw as a role model growing up? Did you have a favorite team?

I was always a fan of Randy Johnson growing up. I had a few favorite teams as a child mainly the tigers due to living right in their back yard, but was always a New York fan due to the audience they always got. It would truly be awesome to play in front of a city like that.

Have you noticed any differences between the way the minor leagues have been run by Sandy Alderson’s regime in comparison to Omar Minaya’s?

Truthfully, we do not see to much of the inner workings of the system. My job is to play baseball to the best of my ability and thats all i want to do to be honest. I will let the other people deal with things outside of my control. Baseball is always baseball no one will change that.

In the past few seasons you have struggled quite a bit, how do you deal with a prolonged slump such as this day-in and day-out?

Struggles come and go. They also form, and mold you into something better as well. No, one in life can go through a career with out a time or times of struggles. My faith In Christ as always made me realize how struggles create better character, sharpen skills, and make me a better player. I deal with them by having an attitude like this and knowing my struggles will lead to what I am truly meant to be.

You’ve had some level of success at the Single-A level but had trouble with the jump to Binghamton. What are the differences that you have noticed between the Single-A and Double-A leagues? Why do you think you have struggled in Double-A?

My first year in Binghamton was a good year, then in 2010 and part of this year my struggles were due to mechanical issues I ran into. Since coming back to St. Lucie i was able to work with Phil Regan who got me back to the mechanics I used this spring (when I had the best spring in my career) and got me to be the pitcher I really am capable of. So it was more of learning myself then struggling with the actual League.

It seems your Achilles Heel has caused control issues, has that always been a problem with your game during your career? How do you plan to improve upon this issue?

Over the last year I would agree with you on the control issues being a problem. I plan every year to get better and better at it, and I believe I have finally found what I needed to achieve that. Over the last month I have really been able to find my true mechanics, and I thank coaches and organization for that because some of us are just late bloomers.

You have been described to have the “stuff” to be successful in the big leagues, you have a 93 MPH fastball and a put away pitch in that of your slider, what do you think is separating you from the show?

Basically, learning myself and learning what my true mechanics were the issue. I say were because I believe that the issues are over now. Just like in the question before the only thing that held me back from the Big Leagues was my command. Due to finding my consistent mechanics, now that they are fixed, and I have the ability to know what works for me now nothing is separating me from the show other then time. God willing it will be a short amount of time before you see that “stuff” helping the big league club win.

How did you handle the transition from starter to full time reliever this season? Was it difficult? Were you upset? Do you still hope to start again in your career?

I have done both my whole career so it only took a little bit to get back in the groove of how your body feels, but not long. I am always happy to be pitching no matter what role. I feel truly blessed to be able to have such a gift.

As a 25-year old reliever in Single-A, do you believe that you can still make it to the show before your playing career in baseball is complete?

Absolutely, I believe God gave me this talent for a reason, and I intend to praise him with it at the highest level. There is no doubt in my mind that through the hard work I have put in and the talent I was blessed with that I will be able to be there helping out the big league club soon. But as proverbs 14:23 says “All hard-work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty”, so I intend to show it in action not just words.

Since your struggles have spanned over two different front offices, how have they helped you in your strides to get back on track? Which regime has been more helpful? In what ways?

I have not noticed a change at all. I know that the Organization has been for good to me the whole time since I have gotten here, and I thank them for all the help along so far in my career.

Is it upsetting or frustrating at all to see young players such as Dillon Gee and Lucas Duda, who came out of the same draft class as you, have success in the majors while you remain in between Double-A and Single-A?

No, its great to see how much success those guys are having in their careers. Everybody learns and achieves things at their own pace. I believe I will be there soon enough God willing sooner then later, but when i do get there I will be ready to have the success just like them due what I have learned in my experiences.

Ever since your demotion to Single-A in 2011, you have started to pull it together including 6-straight scoreless outings with seven punchouts, but most importantly no walks. Are we beginning to see the true Eric Niesen and is there more we can expect from you?

Yes, I believe so. I was fortunate enough to get back down here and learn from Phil Regan the pitching coach who really helped me understand what my successful mechanics were. With his adjustments I really felt and still feel I am back to showing my true self. It was not about learning the leagues or competition as much as it was learning myself.

Do you ever keep in mind that you are not only pitching for one team, but for 29 other clubs?

No, to be honest I just play the game to the best of my ability and do my best for the team. If the Lord has other plans for me then thats something I have no control over

Where do you see yourself at the end of this season? In two years? Five?

I see myself playing baseball to the best of my ability and helping this club win using the talents God blessed me with.

I just want to thank Eric once again for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer some of my questions. He thanked me a few times for the interview, but truly the pleasure was all mine. Of the athletes I have talked to in person or seen on TV, hands down Eric Niesen has the best attitude I have ever witnessed in all of professional sports. He maintains such a positive persona, similar to R.A. Dickey’s or Josh Hamilton’s. I wish the best to Eric in his future as a professional ballplayer and beyond.

Eric has the stuff to be a very successful big league pitcher, and I am fully confident that one day soon he will be there. You can tell just from his responses that he is an incredibly positive presence in the clubhouse and something that I cannot wait to see in Flushing.

With the news that LHP Josh Edgin has been moved to major league camp and has a chance to make the Opening Day roster, here’s an interview with Josh that we originally posted on February 2, 2012

I caught up to NY Mets minor league pitcher Josh Edgin the other day. Josh has been enjoying the off-season, and just threw his first bullpen, getting his arm ready for spring training. Everyone is aware of the fabulous year that Darin Gorski had at St. Lucie last year. Gorski credited his fastball command, and improved change-up for his success. Well the year Gorski had as a starter, is comparable to what Edgin was able to accomplish as a reliever.

Starting the 2011 season as the closer at Savannah, he threw 31 IP’s over 24 games, giving up only 3 earned runs. That’s right, 3. He went 1-0 with 16 saves and a 0.87 ERA, striking out 41, walking 10, and giving up just 14 hits, 0 HR’s. He was then brought up to St. Lucie where he picked up where he left off in the SAL. In the Florida State League, Advanced-A, Edgin tossed another 35 innings, with a 2-1 record, 11 saves, and a 2.06 ERA. He struck out 35 while walking 13, and giving up 30 hits.

With just 4 weeks remaining before he reports to the spring training complex at Port St. Lucie, it was really nice of Josh to take some time out to answer questions for the readers and staff at MMO. We discussed everything from pitching repertoire, to the mental side of pitching, and staying composed on the mound. From how he spent his off-season, to his goals for the upcoming year. Keep reading to see what Josh had to say:

Petey:  First of all congratulations Josh on a successful second pro season! You threw lights out this past year at Savannah and St. Lucie, helping St. Lucie win the Southern Division of the FSL and pitching in the playoffs. It must have been quite an exciting year for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com. Are you back home in South Carolina for the winter? How has your off-season been so far?

Josh:  My offseason has been great but I am currently in my hometown of Three Springs, PA. Im not sure how the Mets got my hometown as Florence, S.C., but I have been trying to change that for some time now haha.

Petey:  Well I don’t want to be giving out faulty information, so I’m glad we got that straightened out! When the Mets drafted you out of Francis Marion University (SC) in the 30th round of the 2010 MLB Player Draft, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you? What round(s) were you thinking you might be taken in the draft?

Josh:  Well I received a text from a friend saying congrats. I had just gotten home from work at the time and it kind of caught me off guard. I was taken in the 50th round by the Braves my junior year so I wasn’t really expecting to get drafted, let alone on the second day. I did not know the Mets were interested other than the questionaire I had filled out from them.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you have learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of one day becoming a major league baseball player?

Josh:  I cannot name just one person who I have learned the most from because there are multiple people that have helped me get to where I am but I have to thank my mom and dad for pushing me and never giving up no matter how tough it got. They have been behind me 100% this whole time, so I would give all the praise to them.

Petey:  According to Adam Rubin, your fastball is in the 92-95 mph range, is that about right? I assume that’s a four-seamer you throw? What sort of movement do you get on your fastball? And your slider is supposed to be 82-85 with break down and away from left-handed hitters. You are also working on a change-up and a curveball, how are they coming along? Are you getting comfortable throwing them? What are their speeds and movement like? Would you be able to throw your curve, or change in a big spot? How close are those pitches command-wise, to your two primary pitches? Have you considered learning a two-seamer, or a cutter?

Josh:  Yeah, my fastball is around there with a little bit of run away from a righty. It is a four-seam and I have thrown a two-seam, but I don’t have the control with the 2 like I do with the 4. The change-up is coming along. As for the curve, we’ll just say its “eh.” I am getting comfortable throwing the change-up but I just don’t think I have a curveball arm-slot. The change-up speed is probably around 80-83 mph, not certain but it was around there last year. I am getting comfortable with it and do believe I could throw it in a big spot. I would say I have a little more work to do to get my change-up in the command zone with my 4-seam and slider.

Petey:  What is the one most important thing you learned, or accomplished last year while pitching at Savannah and St. Lucie? Are there any particular coaches who have really helped you since you joined the organization?

Josh:  I learned that you can’t just get on the mound and throw the ball. I have to stay focused and composed, especially since I was being used as the closer. The three pitching coaches I have had in pro ball Phil Regan, Glenn Abbott, and Jonathan Hurst, have all helped me in some way or another. Being around people who have been around the game as much as those guys is just a cool experience in itself.

Petey:  You opened last season at Savannah and pitched really well there in the first half, which earned you a promotion to St. Lucie at mid-season. Your combined numbers for the year were: 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 27 Saves. In 66 IP’s you gave up only 44 hits, 2 HR’s, walked 23 and struck out 76. Do you have any goals for next season? I would think you will open next year at AA, what will be your general approach to attacking hitters this year? What do you think about the jump to AA? Will you have to do anything differently to be successful there?

Josh:  My goals for next season are to pitch to the best of my ability. I know what I have in me, and I expect that out of me every pitch. The general approach will be to go after the hitters. If you try to think or over-analyze, that is when you get hurt as a pitcher. It all starts with strike one. I am excited to make the jump to AA (if all goes well) but I’m not sure if I will have to do anything differently until I get there, whenever that may be. I don’t want to get my hopes up about going up there. Just take it one day at a time.

Petey:  Absolutely. Tom Seaver has always said that about strike one being the most important pitch a pitcher throws. When did your off-season workout schedule begin, and when did you start throwing? Can you describe your regimen? What is your reporting date for spring training?

Josh:  I would say I got back in the weight room around the middle of November, I started tossing around the middle of December, and just threw my first real bullpen last night. I was just long tossing and working on mechanics up until then. My report date to spring training is March 3rd.

Petey:  What do you like to do for fun over the off-season, when you are not working out?

Josh:  I am an avid hunter. I love hunting no matter what it is. I would say that from the end of September till the end of November, if I wasn’t at home, I was most likely in the woods. If I wasn’t hunting I was walking around or something. I just enjoy being in the outdoors.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player? Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself pitching like someday in the majors?

Josh:  My favorite team growing up was the Baltimore Orioles and favorite player was Cal Ripken Jr. He was the man. Just as hard nosed as you can get on the field, but he played the game right. I can’t really compare myself to anyone right now because I can’t really find anyone like me.

Petey:  Fair Enough. Can you pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play last year at Savannah or St. Lucie, and tell us what it was that made you take notice?

Josh:  Well I may have to go with the obvious here and say Gorski. He was just lights out for the half season that I was there and his demeanor did not change a bit from the beginning till the end.

Petey:  I was able to interview Darin earlier this winter, and I asked him how he stayed so consistent all year, he basically said to “take it one pitch at a time,” he had a truly remarkable season in 2011. To finish up Josh, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician or band? Favorite food?

Josh:  Movie would have to be Bull Durham. I only listen to country music, mostly, and my favorite food would have to be a good steak and mashed potatoes.

Petey:  Thanks again Josh for taking time out for this interview. The readers and staff at MMO really appreciate it! Enjoy the rest of your time off this winter, and we’ll see you on the “bump” at spring training!

Josh:  Thank you for asking me to do this and I hope there is enough to get a good story.

Petey:  There definitely is, thanks again Josh!

I’m really glad I was able to do this interview with Josh, his answers were great, and very informative. He is definitely a player who could move quickly through the upper levels of the system. It wouldn’t be out-of-the question, if he has another terrific year like he did last season, for him to get to the bigs by the end of this year. If not, he should definitely factor into the conversation, by this time next year. It would very much depend on the development of that new change-up, which he was good enough to describe for us in detail. He already has excellent command of two plus pitches, when the change catches up, he will be dominant from out of the pen. A hard throwing lefty, with command on both sides of the plate, in the Met bullpen at Citifield? Might be nice, might be very nice. Stay tuned.

For more of my player interviews, and some other cool stuff, click here.

I got in touch with NY Mets 2011 3rd round draft choice Logan Verrett the other day. Verrett a 6’3″ right-hander, is in his final off-season preparations before heading out to spring training at Port St. Lucie in less than two weeks. Logan was nice enough to fill us in on his feelings on being drafted by the Mets, his record-setting college career, his pitching arsenal, and his expectations for his first professional season, which is now right around the corner. Take a look inside to see what else Logan had to say:

Petey:  First of all Logan, congratulations on a big year in 2011. Being the 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft by the Mets, and then signing your first professional contract in the 11th hour before the deadline, must have been quite a thrill! Thank you so much for sharing a little of your time. The readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com will really enjoy reading about you, and getting to know a little bit about one of our newest Met pitching prospects! When the Mets drafted you out of Baylor University last June, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you have any idea that the Mets were interested in drafting you, or which round(s) of the draft you might be taken in?

Logan:  On the second day of the draft me, my parents, and my girlfriend were all gathered around the computer watching the draft online. It seemed like forever that we were sitting there when we finally heard my name called. It was an overwhelming feeling of relief and excitement at the same time. I knew the Mets were interested because I had met with the area scout a couple of times and they had called the night before they drafted me.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of becoming a major league baseball player?

Logan:  There are so many people that I owe for pushing me to reach my dream that I don’t even know where to begin. My parents are a major reason that I am a professional baseball player today, they are the ones that dragged me around every weekend from tournament to tournament. My brother, Jared, also taught me a lot about the game. He is 3 years older than me so he pretty much paved the path and he helped me learn from his experiences.

Petey:  While pitching at Baylor, you set Big 12 Conference records for a single season in K/BB ratio (4.14), and BB/9 (2.3). In addition, you set the career conference record for K/BB ratio (3.83). What were some of the most important things you learned from your experience at college and pitching college ball?

Logan:  One of the most important things that I learned in college which attributed to the records I set was simply that it’s not all about velocity. You have to be able to pitch not just throw. Anybody can square up 96 mph if you leave it down the middle of the plate, but if you can turn that into 92 mph on the corners and at the hitters knees then you are going to be very successful.

Petey:  What was your biggest moment on the field in college?

Logan:  I think that one of the biggest moments I had in college was my sophomore year when I pitched a complete game against Texas A&M, it was a big game not only because we beat one of our biggest rivals but because I set the record for most strikeouts at Baylor Ballpark that game.

Petey:  We have heard that you possess simple, repeatable mechanics and good command of three quality pitches. But for those of us that have never seen you pitch, could you tell us a little more about your arsenal? What pitches you throw, at what speeds, and how you set up hitters? Are you working on any new pitches moving forward?

Logan:  As a pitcher I like to keep things as simple as possible, I don’t want to “trick” a hitter. I think when you start thinking that you have to “trick” a hitter then that is when you can get in trouble. I set guys up with my fastball and keep them off balance with either my curveball, slider, or changeup. My fastball and slider are pitches that I have tremendous confidence in and I think they are very hard to hit. To complete my arsenal I have a pretty good curveball and an average changeup. I have been really working hard this offseason on developing my changeup to become a much better pitch for me.

Petey:  That will certainly serve you well when you pitch in the Florida State League, and the Eastern League. What kind of things did you do to stay in shape over the winter? Can you describe your workout regimen? Did the Mets give you anything specific to work on?

Logan:  This offseason I have been working hard to get stronger and improve as a pitcher. I have a strength coach in Houston that I meet with once a week to go through a workout and to get my workouts for the week. We have put a focus on leg strength as well as flexibility and hip mobility.

Petey:  You have been referred to as “durable” on the mound. Do you have a preference to starting or relieving, or is it something where you don’t care as long as the opportunity to pitch is there?

Logan:  I prefer starting, that is what my role has been ever since high school and it’s a role that I really have embraced, and love looking forward to going at least six or seven innings for my team.

Petey:  Tell us what is the biggest obstacle for you in getting to the major leagues? Is there one thing in particular, that you need to work on and improve to be able able to succeed at the highest level?

Logan:  I think in order for me to reach my ultimate goal of pitching in the major leagues I have to be consistent week in and week out. I’m confident that I have the tools and the right people surrounding me to get me there, it is just going to take consistent outings every time I take the mound.

Petey:  What are your goals for next season? Is there a particular club you hope to make out of spring training? Have the Mets made any indication of what they are planning for you next season, or are those things to be decided in spring training?

Logan:  My expectations for this upcoming season are to lead whatever club I am with to a championship. I am truly blessed to have this opportunity and I am going to bring a winning attitude to the park every day with me no matter what club I am with.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player? Is there a major leaguer, either past or present, who you would say is similar in pitching style to you?

Logan:  Growing up so close to Houston naturally I was a bit of an Astros fan, nothing over the top though. It is so hard to be an Astros fan anyways. I always enjoyed watching Roy Oswalt pitch, and also watching Craig Biggio when he was playing second base for Oswalt.

Petey:  Biggio was an awesome player. I think every Mets fan who saw him play wished that he was on our team. I mean he was as hard-nosed and competitive a player as there ever was. And a NL All-Star at catcher, centerfield, and second base? Who does that? That’s just crazy. The guy has to make the HOF. Anyway, to finish up Logan, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician or band? Favorite food?

Logan:  My favorite types of movies are comedies first, and then I enjoy movies that make you think like Inception and Shutter Island, stuff like that. I love listening to Texas Country, which I know most people probably aren’t familiar with unless they are from Texas. But most Texas Country has a little Southern Rock feel to it, and some of my favorite artists are Randy Rogers Band, Robert Earl Keen, and Ryan Bingham. My favorite food is a little weird, but BBQ crabs are definitely my favorite food, it’s a lot of work to eat them but it is well worth it.

Petey:  Thanks again Logan, it was a lot of fun doing this interview with you. Have a great spring training, and 2012 season! All of us at MMO and Mets fans everywhere are looking forward to seeing you on the “bump” real soon.

Although the big league starting pitching will remain relatively untouched, and will have to do it’s improving from within this year, the true influx of talent into the organization will be seen in the starting rotations at Savannah and St. Lucie. Some recently drafted pitchers that will make their organizational debuts as starters this season are, in addition to Verrett, Cory Mazzoni, Tyler Pill, Jack Leathersich, Alex Panteliodis and Michael Fulmer. It should be an exciting year to follow these young pitching prospects, as there is plenty of talent here. Another strong pitching draft for the team in 2012, combined with a little luck and development from these guys, and this organizations farm system may start to move up the rankings soon, based on the strength of it’s pitching.

For more of my player interviews, and some other cool stuff, click here.

LGM!

I was able to get in a quick Q&A with NY Mets shortstop prospect Phillip Evans the other day, just weeks before he has to get ready to head for Port St. Lucie for the start of Spring Training. The Mets got a steal when they plucked Evans in the 15th round of last years draft. Other teams had been scared off due to a commitment by Evans to attend San Diego State, but just hours before the deadline to sign players, the Mets were able to come to terms with him on a professional contract. And boy are they glad they did. Evans at age 19, plays much older. He is far advanced for his age, as a hitter and an infielder, and is a complete player in all facets of the game. I asked Phillip about his hitting, his fielding, his base-running, and just about everything else too. Look inside to see what he had to say:

Petey:  First of all congratulations Phillip on a terrific year! From being the 15th round pick in the draft by the Mets, to signing a pro contract and making your professional debut playing at three different levels of the Mets farm system. You got to play in front of the awesome fans in Brooklyn, and helped them get to the championship round of the New York Penn League Playoffs. It must have been a very exciting year for you, I would imagine. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions for our readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com. Are you having a nice off-season? How are you doing these days?

Phillip:  Thanks Pete! It was definitely a very exciting year for me, from playing my final high school season at La Costa Canyon in front of my friends and family to playing in Brooklyn and being supported by the best fans you can get in minor league baseball. All the levels that I played in from the GCL to Kingsport, then Brooklyn were all great experiences for me within the first few weeks of my career.

Petey:  Were you born to play baseball? When did you first start to think about playing it for a living?

Phillip:  Baseball is not just a job to me, its a kids game so in my mind I try to keep things simple and have as much fun as possible between those two white lines. I was most definitely born to play baseball! I’ve been playing since I was 4 years and my love for the game is through the roof and it will stay that way for the rest of my life. I have always dreamed about playing the game I love for a living.

Petey:  That’s awesome. Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of becoming a major league baseball player?

Phillip:  My dad has always been motivating me through my career so far. I have learned a lot from all of coaches from travel ball when I was younger, to my high school coach Justin Machado who taught me a lot about controlling my emotions and how to carry myself on and off the field.

Petey:  When the Mets drafted you in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB Player Draft, out of La Costa Canyon High School, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you? You were projected to be a very early round pick, but fell to the 15th due to your strong commitment to attend San Diego State. What round(s) were you thinking you might be taken in the draft?

Phillip:  I was very surprised and happy that the Mets drafted me, the draft works in some funky ways so I had no idea what to expect going into it but the Mets organization is a great fit for me.

Petey:  Your right about the draft, it’s impossible to figure it out, but we Mets fans are happy they drafted you too, and very happy you decided to sign. At the plate, you have a very solid swing. On your stride you exhibit good balance, and weight shift, with excellent hip rotation. Your swing is short and compact, and the bat cuts very quickly through the hitting zone because of your quick hands and wrists. What is your strategy for approaching each at bat?

Phillip:  I step up to the plate with confidence and look for a pitch that is most likely going to be thrown in a certain count or situation and drive it wherever it is pitched.

Petey:  You are usually a top of the order guy, do you see yourself as a stolen base threat?

Phillip:  Yes I have a quick first step and get going on the base paths pretty well, I have been keeping myself in great shape this winter and will be stealing bags this season.

Petey:  Wow that’s great to hear! You have played mostly shortstop so far but can also handle second base. Do you have a preference as to which position you like best? Have the Mets made any indications to you regarding where they plan to play you next year?

Phillip:  Being on a baseball field is my life and brings me tremendous joy I love to play shortstop but I would play any position just to be out on that field everyday.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player? Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself playing like someday in the majors?

Phillip:  I am from the Bay Area so I will always be a San Francisco Giants fan, my favorite players growing up and still to this day are Jimmy Rollins & Jose Reyes.

Petey:  What are your goals for next season? And how do you prepare over the winter, can you describe your workout regimen? What do you like to do for recreation?

Phillip:  My goals for next season is to do everything possible to help my team win ball games. I have been working very hard this off-season in the weight room and on the diamond, but in my free time I love being at the beach and in the ocean, just laying in the sand and playing beach volleyball makes me happy. Living five minutes from the beach definitely helps me out with those things I love to do away from the field, haha.

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play this year at any of the three stops you made after signing, and tell us what it was that made you take notice.

Phillip:  Danny Muno really impressed me this season from what I saw him do everyday he showed up to the yard, Going through the different levels with him around will be fun since he is a great team guy knows how to handle himself on and off the field.

Petey:  I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Danny in the fall, and he is quite a competitor. To finish up Phillip, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician or band? Favorite food?

Phillip:  My favorite Movie has to be The Sandlot, I love all kinds off music, pretty much every kind of genre, its nice to mix up the music selection sometimes, I love sushi, seafood, and steak!

Petey:  Haha! I love The Sandlot too! I just interviewed one of your teammates from the end of last season, Travis Taijeron, and he also picked The Sandlot. Thanks again Phillip for taking time out for this interview. The readers and staff at MMO really appreciate it! Have a very pleasant rest of the off-season and we’ll see you at spring training, which is only a month away!

Phillip:  It was my pleasure to answer these questions, anytime just throw some questions my way, and I’ll get on them right away, thanks for having me Pete! Have a good few weeks and I’ll see you at spring training!

Petey:  My pleasure Phillip. We will definitely be in touch, thank you!

What can you say? Evans is a baseball player. He is not afraid to get his uniform dirty. He knows how to bunt. He drives balls in the gap. He’ll take it the opposite way. He can actually field, he’s a middle infielder and will stay there, he won’t be spending the next four years searching for a position to play, like so many Mets “prospects” of the past. He’s a hard-nosed player, a good base-runner, and will even steal you a couple of bags. He’s smart, confident, eager to learn, and I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch for him to start out this year in the long-season South Atlantic League as a member of the Savannah Sand Gnats everyday infield. We’ll check back with Phillip during spring training and see how everything’s going.

Scene from The Sandlot >click here<

Another scene >click here<

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I got in touch with NY Mets outfield prospect Travis Taijeron this week and he was nice enough to agree to an interview with us here on MetsMerizedOnline.com. The righty-hitting Taijeron played CF, and LF last year for the Brooklyn Cyclones after being drafted by the Mets in the 2011 Amateur Draft. It was an excellent pro debut for Taijeron, who not only played solid defense, while leading the team in 3B’s, HR’s, RBI’s, and SLG%, he also came through many times as a clutch-hitter, and had the respect of all his teammates. Let’s check out what Travis had to say as he sheds some light on where he feels his game is now, and where he sees it going.

Petey:  First of all congratulations Travis on a terrific year! From being the 18th round pick by the NY Mets in this past year’s draft, to making your professional debut playing in front of the awesome fans in Brooklyn, to helping the Cyclones get into the New York Penn League Playoffs, and very nearly winning the whole thing! It must have been a very exciting year for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers at MetsMerizedOnline.com. How are things going in sunny California? When the Mets drafted you in the 18th round of the 2011 MLB Player Draft, out of Cal Poly Pomona, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you? What round(s) were you thinking you might be taken in the draft?

Travis:  When I was drafted it was really exciting. It just so happened that I was working out with some of my teammates from Cal Poly when I got the call. I had somewhat of a feel that the Mets were interested in me since they had invited me to a few pre-draft workouts. During the draft I really had no idea what round I was going to be drafted in just because it was my senior season.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of becoming a major league baseball player?

Travis:  My whole family and friends have always been there for me but most of all my dad has been there driving me and inspiring me to get better. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to play professional baseball. I loved the sport and I had a talk with my dad when I was going into my freshman year of high school. I told him that I wanted to do whatever it takes to make it, and that I wanted his help no matter what to push me through the hard times. He has always been there to push me to the next level.

Petey:  It must have been an unbelievable experience to break into professional baseball in front of those fabulous Cyclones fans! What was that experience like to play baseball at Coney Island, for the Brooklyn Cyclones, getting to play in front of the home-town folks? Seeing as you’re from California, did it take time for you to get acclimated to living and playing ball in NY?

Travis:  Playing in Brooklyn was such a great time! I have never experienced anything like that. I have never played baseball in front of so many fans before. It really made it so much fun to play. The city life was really different, but baseball is still the same sport no matter where you go in the United States.

Petey:  You made the NYPL All-Star team last season, and you were named the NYPL Player of the Week at the beginning of August, two very nice accomplishments as a reward for a job well done. What’s the biggest thing you learned from the experience of playing for the Cyclones last year?

Travis:  I learned most last year how to control myself in a professional environment. In college everything is controlled. I had to adjust to baseball as a career that I want to excel at and set my own goals for what I want to accomplish.

Petey:  You put together a very productive and consistent 2011 season at the plate. In 194 AB’s, hitting from the right side, you put up a slash-line of .299/.387/.557, with 13 2B’s, 5 3B’s, 9 HR’s, and 44 RBI’s. Nice work Travis! At first glance the only issue I see so far, is a fairly high strikeout rate, as your K/BB ratio was 64/22. If you could, give us a scouting report on yourself as a hitter. What are your strengths? In addition to cutting down on the K’s, what else do you need to work on as a hitter, to take your game to the next level?

Travis:  I understand that I need to cut down on my strikeouts and I have been working on that most this of season. I personally I think that I am a power hitter and I like it when there are people on base. I try my hardest when someone is on base to score them no matter what it takes. I enjoy the pressure especially with runners in scoring position. This off season I have been working most on my strike zone judgment, I believe I was swinging at a lot of bad pitches that I should not have been swinging at and getting myself out. This next year I want to make the pitcher really earn it to get me out.

Petey:  If last year was a sprint, this year will be a marathon, as you will find yourself in a full-season league for the first time. Since you will be playing regularly this year either at Savannah or St. Lucie, in a league where you will have approximately 140 games on the schedule, are you preparing any differently for the long season ahead? Can you describe your workout regimen?

Travis:  I understand that I have to be more prepared this next season so I have been working really hard with my trainer, Carl Thiessen in Imperial Beach and on my own, to make sure that I come into this next season in top shape. The weather has been great out here so we do a lot at the beach in the sand.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player? Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself playing like someday in the majors?

Travis:  Well, being from San Diego I have been a Padres fan. My favorite team was the 1998 Padre team. One player I have always liked is Josh Hamilton, he has a great swing and a lot of power. But I like so many different players for different reasons, so it is hard for me to narrow anything down.

Petey:  What do you like to do for recreation, when your not working out or playing baseball?

Travis:  Most of my days are working out and all that, but when I have time I like to go to the desert and off-road my Ranger. I also own a few radio-controlled trucks that I race, so I do that as well.

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play this year at Brooklyn, and tell us what it was that made you take notice.

Travis:  We had so many good players last year, but Danny Muno was one guy that has a really nice swing and can just smack the ball around the field. Also a pitcher that really impressed me was Jack Leathersich. That kid just did really well every time he stepped on the mound. But really the whole team was great, we had so many good players.

Petey:  Danny Muno was kind enough to do an interview with me earlier in the off-season, he’s a terrific player and a very nice guy. And yes, “The Rocket,” Jack Leathersich is an intriguing player as well. To finish up Travis, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician or band? Favorite food?

Travis:  My favorite movie growing up was The Sandlot. I don’t really have too much of a favorite band, but I like country and rock music. I really like any Italian food.

Petey:  Haha! I love The Sandlot! Especially the scene where the kids all have chaws of chewing tobacco, and they go on that spin-ride at the carnival, hilarious! Hey thanks again Travis for taking time out for this interview. The readers and staff at MMO really appreciate it! Have a great rest of the winter, enjoy your time off, and we’ll see you in ST!

Well I’ll say two things for Travis, he’s a very promising and toolsy outfielder, AND he’s got excellent taste in movies! I expect him to be the starting left-fielder in Savannah next year, and it will be great to see how he does in a long-season league. He should be an important part of a very talented Sand Gnat team that will once again, contend for an SAL Championship.

Classic >scene< from The Sandlot, and of course, who can forget this other classic >scene<

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Here are some Mets thoughts from the afternoon media session from Tuesday’s 23rd annual MLB B.A.T. Dinner.

Gary Sheffield

Sheffield said it was not difficult for him to retire after his long career, which included a World Series championship in 1997 with the Marlins and hitting his 500th career home run as a Met.

“I pretty much did everything I wanted to do on a baseball field,” he said.

He has enjoyed spending time playing football and baseball with his five boys. He thinks his 5-year-old has the best shot to make it big.

Sheffield has been involved with B.A.T. in the past and likes where the organization is headed.

“I think it’s very important for every player to be here,” he said. “A lot of guys fall on hard times, but many of those guys wind up being successful.”

Ed Kranepool

Ed Kranepool

Kranepool was an original member of 1962 Mets, so he was thrilled to be back for the team’s 50th anniversary.

“It’s a lot of fun to be part of it,” he said. “The organization has great tradition, and I hope it continues.”

Kranepool spent his entire 18-year career with the Mets and saw the team’s transformation from “Lovable Losers” to World Series Champions in 1969. He said the team was able to turn it around through the combination of hard work and the development of young players.

He also said Gil Hodges was the main reason for the turnaround.

“Under Gil Hodges’ tutelage, we became a good ball club and we could have won more pennants if he didn’t pass away,” said Kranepool.

Kranepool was the only member of the original Mets to still be with the team in ’69. Naturally, his favorite career memory was winning the World Series.

“Forty years later, they’re still talking about the ’69 series,” he said.

Jay Payton

Jay Payton was back in town for the B.A.T. Dinner, and he was one of the highlights of the afternoon media session.

Currently, Payton is spending time with his 7-year-old son in Oklahoma and is officially retired from baseball. He did say he would be interested in getting involved as a coach at the professional level when the time was right.

The highlight of Payton’s career was the 2000 World Series. He enjoyed playing for Bobby Valentine and said he wouldn’t be surprised at all if Valentine led the Red Sox to the playoff in this his first season with the team.

“We had the right blend of young guys who were hungry and veterans,” Payton said of the 2000 team.

Individually, he’ll always remember hitting a home run off Mariano Rivera. In fact, Payton’s home run in the World Series was one of only two home runs Rivera has given up in the postseason in his career.

When asked about what his advice would be to young players coming to New York, he responded with the following: “Get an apartment about 300 miles outside of the city.”

He stressed the importance of a young player keeping his head on straight, especially in the New York market.

“Having success here is unlike having success anywhere else,” he said.

Payton looks like he’s still in playing shape and joked that he could go out and play right now.

“I only need about five days,” he said with a smile.

Tom Seaver

Hall of Famer Tom Seaver was on hand for the festivities. While many of the reporters were curious to hear about Seaver’s favorite Mets memories from his playing career, all Seaver wanted to talk about was wine.

During his playing career, he was asked what he would do once his career was over.

“I said, ‘I’m going to go back to California to raise grapes,’” said Seaver.

Seaver enjoys his 90-second commute to work where he runs a Cabernet wine bottling company.

“I can’t wait to get out of bed an go to work,” he said.

Seaver said that both his dreams—playing professional baseball and having his own win company—have come true.

Ron Swoboda

Ron Swoboda

“Rocky” was also excited to be celebrating the team’s 50th anniversary. He is currently the color man on the broadcast for the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, and he has great fun doing that.

Swoboda will never forget playing for Casey Stengel as a 19-year-old. Stengel never called him the right name—Stengel never called anyone the right the name for that matter—but he knew who Swoboda was.

Stengel placed his confidence in Swoboda as a rookie, which led to Rocky hitting 19 home runs.

“Stengel said, ‘You can’t learn to hit by sitting on the bench,’” said Swoboda.

He called the Mets climb from a 100 loss team to a 100 win team “meteoric,” especially in the days when free agency didn’t exist.

Of course, Swoboda’s legacy is his great catch in the ’69 World Series. But his favorite memories are the months leading up to that catch.

“You don’t make a catch in the World Series unless you get there,” he said. “You have to win a few ballgames to even get there.”

Finally, Swoboda actually thinks the current Mets will be better this year than last year. Let’s hope he’s right.

Wally Backman

Fiery second baseman Wally Backman will take over managerial duties of the Buffalo Bisons this season as he continues ascending up the ladder in the Mets organization. He previously managed the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Binghamton Mets.

However, he doesn’t see too much of a difference jumping from level to level.

“You’re teaching fundamentals,” Backman said. “The same things you’re teaching in the lowest levels, you’re teaching in the highest levels.”

He’s most looking forward to working with outfield prospect Kirk Nieuwenheis and the young pitchers Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Zach Wheeler (who will like start the year in Double-A). Backman compared these three pitchers to the Mets young studs in the mid 1980s: Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez and Doc Gooden.

“Being in Buffalo, my job is to get this guys to the big leagues to help Terry (Collins),” he said.

Recently, Backman spent time with Gary Carter at Carter’s golf tournament. He wished Carter the best and said “The Kid” is still fighting.

“Gary wasn’t just a teammate,” said Backman. “He was like a brother to a lot of us.”

Davey Johnson

Who would have thought that Davey Johnson would take over the Washington Nationals last season?

Well, his team played some great baseball down the stretch, and Johnson is excited for a full season at the helm. He did say it feels strange to be back in New York as the enemy.

“I have to whip up on those Metsies that I love,” he said.

Though his team lost out on signing Prince Fielder, he is happy with the current team and is excited to see young phenoms Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper take the field.

“Harper hasn’t made my club yet,” Johnson said. “But he’ll have a chance. We’ll find out this spring if he’s good enough.”

Johnson said he thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Mets. He even hinted that he had been helping the Mets well before he took over as manager in 1984.

That’s because Johnson made the final out of the ‘69 World Series on a long fly ball to Cleon Jones.

We should be seeing plenty more of Johnson this season.

I was able to do a Q&A with NY Mets minor league prospect Joe Bonfe the other day. Entering his 4th season with the Mets, the 24-year-old Bonfe looks to shed the label of super-utility guy, and take on the role of starting player for an entire season. Joe did a great job in the interview and his questions are very interesting. Keep reading to find out how Joe continues to improve his game, and what he sees himself accomplishing this year:

Petey:  Today we are chatting with Joe Bonfe, Mets minor league jack-of-all-trades, who played at Savannah last year. Joe plays first-base, third-base, and the corner outfield spots for the Mets, and if everything goes according to plan, he should open up 2012 in the Florida State League as a member of the St. Lucie Mets. Hi Joe, thanks for taking a little time out to answer some questions for all of us at MetsMerizedOnline.com. You are from Minnesota, is that where you’ve spent this off-season? Did you guys even have any snow this winter?

Joe:  I am spending my off-season in Minnesota and it’s been a warm winter thus far, we didn’t even have snow on Christmas.

Petey:  When the Mets drafted you in the 21st round of the 2009 MLB Player Draft, out of Sierra College, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you? What round(s) were you thinking you might be taken in the draft?

Joe:  I first heard I was drafted when I was listening to the Draft Tracker the second day of the draft, I was super excited because it has always been a dream of mine to play in the Major Leagues and hearing my name brought me one step closer to that dream. The Mets followed me through fall and spring ball the year I was at Sierra College so I knew I had the possibility of getting drafted by them. I didn’t have any rounds in mind I just wanted to let scouts know I wanted to play at the next level and be given the opportunity.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of becoming a major league baseball player?

Joe:  My parents have been my biggest support through my baseball career and they have always been there for me and helped fine tune me into the player I am today. They taught me to be a hard worker, play hard from start to finish, and play the game the right way.

Petey:  You were log-jammed at the infield corners when the 2011 season began, but spent some time working in the outfield corner spots and held up pretty well. Was it your idea to seek more playing time by working in the outfield, or one of your coaches? Although a natural third baseman, after playing both LF and RF for the Gnats, did you become as comfortable in the outfield as you are in the infield? There has been speculation about the Mets perhaps moving both Aderlin Rodriguez, and Jefry Marte from 3B. That could leave a big hole at the position at St. Lucie going into this season. Have the Mets indicated whether they see you filling that role for them heading into next year, or is it a matter of seeing where the cards fall in ST?

Joe:  I have always wanted to be a versatile player my whole career because I know in this game the more positions you play the more opportunities will come your way, I really wanted to be able to help the team and be an everyday player so the coaches and I decided it would benefit me more to play more positions and it worked out great. My first game I played outfield I was a little nervous/excited but I knew that with the hard work and practice I put in, everything would take care of itself. When I caught the first fly ball I felt instant comfort and knew I could help the team in the outfield. I am heading into spring training trying to prove myself that I can be an everyday player at any of the corner positions and would be willing to play other positions as well.

Petey:  Between you and me Joe, I’d hold off on telling them you’d be willing to catch, if you know what I mean. How about a scouting report on Joe Bonfe as a hitter? What are your strengths and what do you need to work on? You are a big guy, 6’4″, 220 lbs., and swing right-handed, do you see yourself developing into a HR hitter some day? I noticed you hit about .50 points higher with runners in scoring position last year, then with the bases empty, and then you hit very well in the post-season. Do you think of yourself as a ‘big game’ guy, and a clutch performer?

Joe:  I am always tuning up my game, but I would have to say I am working on my bat speed, defense, loading earlier and driving the ball with backspin to all parts of the field, with that said I believe I can become a HR hitter. As always I just try and help my team in any way possible to win the game and I like getting the opportunity to be in those situations. I know in those situations the pitcher is the one who is in trouble so I don’t put any pressure on myself, I just treat it like every other at bat and let the pitcher make the mistake.

Petey:  Tell us a little about your speed and base-running. You are fast enough to hold down a corner outfield spot, which opens many opportunities for playing time moving forward. Plus you have interesting stolen base totals from the last two seasons. In 2010 while at Brooklyn, you stole 8 bases while getting caught twice, then last year in Savannah, you stole 8 more bases and didn’t get caught at all. Very good Joseph! It seems like you have pretty good instincts on the base-paths, something Mets fans appreciate, do you work hard on your base-running?

Joe:  A lot of it is instincts and preparation before the pitch, because every base counts and the closer to home plate the better situation for the team, I am always looking for that extra base and I try to take advantage of a lazy player. I want to keep the other team on their toes and put the pressure on them. All of my coaches from little league on up have always stressed to run hard and always look for the extra base and I always stress being an aggressive, smart runner.

Petey:  Coming from Minnesota, you must be used to playing in cold weather. What was it like growing up there as a baseball player? Did you play other sports? When did you decide it was baseball that you would pursue?

Joe:  Like you said cold weather for me is freezing for most people. I like the cool games and almost prefer them over a hot day. Our season for baseball didn’t start till April, so you can imagine our season was half as long in the spring. I played hockey and football in high school and was a State Champion in hockey; I played on the same line as Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers. I chose baseball because of the love for the game and I have always had fun no matter if it was practice or a game. I enjoy being around the sport.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player? Is there a major league player, past or present, that you think you are similar to in style? Or someone that you can see yourself playing like someday in the majors?

Joe:  My favorite team growing up was the Minnesota Twins. Kirby Pucket and Joe Mauer have been my favorite players and I think I have similar hitting style as Joe Mauer. He was four years ahead of me at my high school and I have watched his career develop and since he had so much success I tried to imitate his style of play.

Petey:  A good guy to emulate for sure. What are your goals for next season? And how do you prepare over the winter, can you describe your workout regimen? What do you like to do for recreation?

Joe:  My goals this year is to be in Binghamton by the end of the year. Over the winter I work out to improve my strength, speed quickness, and then work on my hitting and fielding as well. I really want to put my name on the board this year by showing them I can play at any level.

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play this year at Savannah, and tell us what it was that made you take notice.

Joe:  Taylor Whitenton, he was one of our many solid pitchers we had on the team, his work ethic and preparation for each game he pitched showed why he was one of the best in the league. When he was pitching we knew he was going to give our team a great chance to win.

Petey:  To finish up Joe, just a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician or band? Favorite food?

Joe:  One of my favorite movies would have to be The Count of Monte Cristo. Don’t have a favorite musician/band but I like all varieties. My favorite food by far is a Chipotle Burrito

Petey:  Hmmmm……I think I’m in the mood for Mexican food tonite….anyway thanks Joe! It was really fun doing this interview with you. Good luck with the 2012 season! Remember, Binghamton is lovely in August! We’ll see you at ST.

Joe has that competitive drive you love to see in your players. He may not do anything fantastic, but he does a lot of things well. A good start at St. Lucie and he could very well get his wish, a mid-season call-up to AA Bingo. That would put Bonfe on-track for a possible big-league debut sometime in 2013. Bonfe is doing a good job of rounding out his game, playing smart, and making himself valuable to his team. All traits that will serve him well as he follows the Dream.

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I caught up to NY Mets left-handed pitching prospect, Zach Dotson the other day. I asked him how his health is, and is he ready to pitch when spring training begins next month. We discussed the health of his shoulder, his suspension last year, his pitching repertoire, and his expectations for 2012. After barely pitching over the last two seasons since being drafted, Dotson remains somewhat of a mystery to Mets fans. Perhaps in this interview Zach will clear that up, and I am quite sure many of his answers will surprise you. Read on to see what he had to say:

Petey:  We are chatting with Zach Dotson, minor league left-handed pitcher for the New York Mets. Hi Zach, thanks for taking the time out to join us for an interview. When do you head down to St. Lucie?

Zach:  Hey Peter, I just got down to Florida and settled in.

Petey:  That’s awesome, spring is in the air! You must be psyched for baseball to start? When the Mets drafted you out of Effingham County High School (Savannah, GA), in the 13th round of the 2009 MLB Player Draft, how did you first hear about it, and what was that feeling like? Did you know the Mets were interested in drafting you? What round(s) were you thinking you might be taken in the draft?

Zach:  I had a good idea they were going to take me. The 3rd round was the round I was expecting, but we couldn’t come to terms financially.

Petey:  Is there one person, a coach, a friend or family member, or even another player, who you have learned the most from, or who inspired you to chase your dream of one day becoming a major league baseball player?

Zach:  Yes, Stacy Bennett a former coach of mine and current friend inspired me to chase my dream. Stacy also played for the Mets minor leagues a few years back. I continue to work with him in the off seasons.

Petey:  In your first two seasons since being drafted, you have had to endure some issues that prevented you from taking the field. Because of this you have only logged 17 innings so far in pro ball. I’m sure you must be chomping at the bit to get back on the field. If memory serves me right, I believe you initially ran into some arm problems in 2010, and then in August of that year, you were suspended for 50 games, by MLB for testing positive for methylhexeamine. That isn’t exactly a performance enhancing drug, it’s more like a sinus medication, with mild stimulant properties and is present in many over the counter supplements. How did you happen to test positive for it?

Zach:  When I was in rehab in 2010 for my shoulder, I started taking a pre-workout supplement and was not aware of the banned substance in it.

Petey:  By the time you got back on the field last year, the season was nearly over. Is your arm and general health ok? Are you ready to pitch this season from the get-go, with no limitations?

Zach:  Yes, I am fully healthy now, and ready to go.

Petey:  The existing scouting reports on your pitches are rather dated. If you could, update us a little about your arsenal. What pitches you throw, at what speeds, and are you working on any new pitches moving forward? What is normally your approach to attacking hitters?

Zach:  My pitches are fastball, change-up, curveball, and slider. 88-92 topping at 93 on my fastball. My approach to hitters is to get ahead. Attack the zone.

Petey:  What is the most important thing you have learned about pitching in your professional career so far?

Zach:  The most important thing I have learned about pitching is “location”.

Petey:  They say the same thing about location in real estate, haha. What part of your game are you planning on working the hardest on this coming season?

Zach:  I’m really working hard to stay healthy and throw strikes.

Petey:  Amen. Words for a successful pitcher to live by. What do you like to do for fun over the off-season? When does your serious workout schedule begin?

Zach:  I like to go hunting and fishing in the offseason. I usually take a few weeks off and then start training again.

Petey:  What was your favorite baseball team growing up? Your favorite player?

Zach:  My favorite team growing up was the Atlanta Braves. My favorite player was Chipper Jones.

Petey:  Pick one teammate, position player or pitcher, that really impressed you with his play this year for the GCL Mets.

Zach:  I was in rehab all of 2011 so I was not able to see the GCL season.

Petey:  Swing-and-a-miss! Oh well, how bout we finish up then with a little personal info, not pertaining to baseball. What is your favorite movie? Favorite musician or band? Favorite food?

Zach:  Favorite movie: Miracle. Favorite musician: Brantley Gilbert. Favorite Food: Steak.

Petey:  Thanks again Zach for taking time out for this interview. The readers and staff at MMO really appreciate it! Good luck in spring training, and we’ll see you on the “bump” real soon!

Now that is some really good news! Not many people realized that Zach would be a contributor in 2012. But it’s looking more and more like that will be the case. And it’s not bad at all to be able to add a 21-year-old south-paw who has four pitches and can throw in the low 90′s, to your system’s pitching mix heading into spring training. And the Mets actually have two of them. Zach Dotson and Steve Matz, who I did an interview with on MMO last week.

The question we can start to ask now, is where will they both most likely start the season? I believe they will both start out in the Kingsport rotation, in the rookie leagues. For one thing, it’s the lowest rung of the Mets stateside minor league ladder, and if they quickly show they are beyond the Appalachian League competition, they can be promoted to Brooklyn. I’d actually be all for that since then I’d be able to see them pitch in person. I don’t think Savannah is a viable landing spot for either pitcher in 2012 due to a pitching log-jam in the starting rotation there, unless they were promoted there towards the end of the year.

For more of my player interviews, and some other cool stuff, click here.

• Beltran will be wearing uniform No. 3 which came as a result of a majority vote from his followers on Twitter.
• Beltran called Citi Field and AT&T Park huge parks and said there were balls he hit hard last year that he thought were home uns only to see them caught for an out.
• Beltran is in New York to train and get ready for the season.
• Mike Matheney asked him if he’d be open to playing center field and he said he looks forward to it and that it’s still his best position.
• He is very proud of his years in New York and he enjoyed his time here and has no regrets.
• His decision to go to St. Louis was because of their pitching and the return of Adam Wainwright. He wanted a chance to go to the post season and “no matter how good your lineup is”, he said, “it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have great pitching.”