From his key double in his first at-bat in blue and orange, to his crucial catch in Johan Santana‘s no-hitter, to last night’s tenth inning walk-off knock against the White Sox, Mike Baxter has already found his place in Mets history and into the hearts of the Flushing Faithful. For Baxter however, he is always looking to improve and perform to the best of his ability.

Baxter started off the year having difficulties at the plate, but has apparently found some consistency coming off the bench sporting a .444 OBP when called on to pinch-hit. I spoke with Baxter outside the Irish Circle Tavern luncheon to benefit the Hurricane Sandy rebuilding efforts yesterday, and he says he still has plenty of room for improvement.

“I need to be more consistent with recognizing the pitch that I’m looking for, the pitch I’m waiting for and square it up.” said Baxter.

“In this season compared to last year, I’ve been missing that pitch. With the approach we try to employ with the Mets, that’s a problem. You need to recognize and hit that pitch, that’s what good hitters do. I have been a little frustrated with the way I’ve played and I have got to do better.”

The Mets’ hitting approach under the Alderson regime is commonly understood as trying to wait out the pitcher in order to both draw walks and knock the starter out of the game early. However, Baxter says there is much more to the approach than simply taking a high number of pitches.

“The key to the approach, is not necessarily trying to see a lot of pitches per-se.” said Baxter “It’s wait until you get that one. If it happens to be the first pitch you see and that’s the one you want, then that’s the one you’ve got to swing at.”

“You tend to see more pitches to hit because you’re laying off that 0-1 sinker away that’s a borderline pitch or that 0-0 pitch that’s a borderline strike. It might end up a strike but you’re still in the at-bat rather than putting it in play weakly somewhere and the at-bats over. It helps the chance to get to the good pitch.”

While the Mets continue to apply their selective approach at the plate, one of the more free-swinging bats in the lineup has had trouble with consistent good at-bats, however when it matters most, he always seems to come through this year. Jordany Valdespin has been a spark and a source of excitement on this 13-16 Mets ballclub. Baxter says his teammate is an exciting player to watch.

“He’s a dynamic player, he’s someone that brings a lot to the table as a player and he has a flare for the dramatic in those big spots, proven by his track record.” said Baxter, almost yelling over an airplane howling a few thousand feet above. “His skills as a player are dynamic; he can hit a ball deep to the shortstop and beat it out. He can lay a bunt down and beat it out and he can hit a home run.”…”He’s a good ballpayer and he’s a big part of what we do and why we win.”

Baxter says he hopes to improve all aspects of his game and get “consistent, good at-bats” as he did last night in the bottom of the tenth. He didn’t go deep into the count. He took that ’0-0 pitch that’s a borderline strike’, he fouled off the second and then finally on a 95-mph two-seam fastball, put a solid drive into it to bring home Ike Davis and take the opener against the White Sox. If he continues to do just that, he will fulfill his goal of “getting his pitch and hitting it.”

In the meantime  Baxter will enjoy watching his New York Rangers continue their run towards the Stanley Cup. Something that he says has become the “big thing in the clubhouse right now.”

Special thanks to Ron Darling and Mike Baxter for taking the time to speak with me on Tuesday. It was a pleasure to meet and speak to a couple of classy individuals like them.

Among the highs and lows to already come out of the first month of this season, the continued improvement of Daniel Murphy has certainly been one of the brighter spots to this point so far.

Playing out of his natural position, Murphy has slowly made the proper adjustments on both sides of the diamond. After being jostled all over both the infield and outfield, Murphy has finally found himself a home at second base with the Mets while also improving significantly with the bat. I caught up with Murphy at Citi Field yesterday and he spoke with me about his strides so far this season.

“I didn’t get a whole lot of work in Spring Training since I was injured” said Murphy regarding his defense. “But I think that having more time there has made me become more consistent, more comfortable, and has given me a better understanding of how to position myself and how much time I have.”

Another Met playing out of his original position is Lucas Duda. What has lacked with his .239 batting average he has made up for in his power and improved ability to get on base. After being sent to Buffalo following an extremely poor first half of 2012, Duda came back showing more plate discipline and emerging as an overall better hitter. Murphy says he has been impressed with how Duda has performed this year.

“He’s been awesome.” said Murphy. “I think Justin Turner said yesterday that ‘Duda really knows how to grind out an AB’ and I have not seen him give many at-bats away this year. That’s kind of a goal we have as an offense personally to not give at-bats away, and he’s been locked in and done a great job of getting on base.”

All the while, Duda has not only had to learn to adjust with the bat, but also with the glove as he learns on the job patrolling left field at Citi. As he has done, Murphy sees the similarities in both of their defensive improvements.

“The same thing as I have at second.” said Murphy. “He’s become more comfortable, he’s starting to understand how to position himself and to read swings. What he’s doing is not easy. It’s very difficult to go from the infield to the outfield and I think he’s done a great job.”

Murphy can relate to attempting to make the transition from the infield to the outfield, although he knows that their results have varied significantly.

“He’s doing better than I did.”

Although the situations are similar, Murphy understands why Duda wouldn’t ask him for advice about making such a transition after his failed outfield experiment.

“No, I don’t know if I’d have anything good to give him.” said Murphy, when asked if Duda has come to him about the transition from infield to outfield. “Try to be as relaxed as you can. Tom Goodwin has done an awesome job with him and a great job with positioning him. I think he does a good job of picking the brain of Marlon Byrd.”

Although the outfield did not work out for Murph, it seems to be suiting Duda in 2013. Murphy in turn has found his niche at second. Both came up with the Mets as talented bats that needed a position other than the corner infield and through several trials and tribulations have both found where they belong for the New York Mets.

I want to thank Daniel Murphy for taking some time during batting practice to speak with me. He’s a terrific guy who really adds a lot to the clubhouse and chemistry of the team. You can see how his teammates respect him as a leader as well as a productive player and integral part of the everyday lineup.

Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler headline a handful of budding young pitchers who hope to one day bring the New York Mets organization back to relevance again. Harvey,  in his first full season, is doing his best to do just that–as exemplified by his near-perfect, nine shutout frames in Tuesday night’s walk-off victory by the Whitestone kid, Mike Baxter–and Wheeler is knocking on the door to crack the big-league rotation soon enough. As both develop, the pair continuously leads a youth movement in the organization that look to achieve what this franchise has yet to celebrate in 27 years; a world championship.

Not only someone who was a key cog of a dominant Mets rotation and an integral part of that champion 1986 club, but also someone who interacts and analyzes the likes of Harvey and the team on a daily basis, Ron Darling offers intricate insight on these young arms and his thoughts on their first months of the 2013 season thus far.

Sitting on the back patio of the Irish Circle Tavern in Rockaway Park, Queens — who hosted a luncheon for Hurricane Sandy Relief in which he was a guest of honor with Mike Baxter – -Darling describes to me the way in which he goes about evaluating a pitcher.

“The three things that I benchmark, that I judge pitchers by.” said Darling as jets from the nearby JFK International Airport fly loudly overhead, giving the conversation a true Citi Field vibe. “Their ability to throw fastballs on the corner and both sides of the plate, they can throw a breaking ball over the plate behind in the count, and they have a bulldog and a competitive mentality.”

After explaining his methods of evaluation, Darling goes on to explain how Harvey and Wheeler fit into his equation.

“Harvey has all three.” said Darling. “Wheeler has all three now but not at the major league level. You can’t judge minor league pitchers until they pitch on this stage because it’s just such a big jump. You’re pitching now against people that used to be on your video games. Until that happens I think it is tough to judge guys.”

As shown by his bloody-nose inning and simply his pure demeanor on the mound, the competitive prowess of Harvey is rarely questioned. When it comes to Wheeler however, his “bulldog” isn’t always quite as outwardly apparent. The intangible “bulldog” factor of Darling’s evaluation, he says, comes in all types and varieties.

“A bulldog comes in many shapes and forms. said Darling. “In my day, Dave Stewart was considered a bulldog with the stare, but so was Orel Hershiser without the stare. It comes in a lot of different ways. A lot of guys try to fake it, you can see through it. Zack might have a different way of doing it; he might be quieter about it, as opposed to Matt who may be a bit more overt about it. Matt’s from the East Coast, and East coast kids tend to be a little more overt anyway, and Zack might be a little quieter. It doesn’t mean that they both can’t be pitching assassins in their own way.”

Wheeler’s toughness in-game had begun to come into question, to an extent due, to his rough first month of the season in which he allowed 18 runs in 23.1 innings. Since then, the 22-year old has put together back-to-back dominant efforts and appears to be getting his season on track. Darling, who says he has seen Wheeler pitch live on roughly six occasions or so, believes the slow start was due to his lack of innings in Port St. Lucie after being sidelined with an oblique strain.

“What happened to Zack is that he had a shortened Spring Training, he was playing catch up, and that’s why he had the first bad outings.” said Darling. “Terry Collins said if you want to come up here you’ve got to throw strikes and he has, so sometimes you just need some gentle prodding and I think that was the best thing that happened to him.”

While Collins and the Mets await the proper time to give Wheeler that call to come up, they have been able to revel in the incredible season so far from the Amazin’s other distinguished young arm in Harvey, who has continued to draw up a significant stir across baseball that hasn’t been seen for a rookie arm in Flushing in some time. His career is merely 16 starts long between 2012 and 2013, however Darling explains that the praise for Harvey is well-deserved.

“If he continues the way he’s going, we’re talking about a young man in his first full season having the chance to pitch or start in his home ballpark at the All-Star Game.” tells Darling. “That’s a pretty amazing feat.”

Of the attention in particular,  the now weekly Met holiday known as Harvey Day has become one of the most popular celebrations of the young workhorse.

“You say Harvey Day, I was thinking about Paul Harvey, the great radio icon who used to say ‘good day’ to end his broadcasts.” said Darling, in reference to his chuckle when I mentioned the term Harvey Day in my question. “That’s what Matt Harvey does with his innings when he ends with strikeouts: ‘Good day.’”

Both Harvey and Wheeler will look to have more ‘good days’ than bad as they continue their respective journeys towards making their presence known and leaving those such as Darling “so impressed” in what hopes to be two long, successful major-league Met careers.

I just wanted to thank the Mets, Citigroup and the Irish Circle Tavern for putting together a wonderful luncheon to benefit the continued effort to rebuild following Hurricane Sandy. I would also like to thank Ron Darling who amid a room of fans, reporters and officials not only took time out to  speak privately with me, but gave exceptional insight on two of the Mets greatest young talents.

The Mets used their first-round pick last year on shortstop Gavin Cecchini.

Last month, I had the chance to conduct an email interview with John Sickels of the well-known minor league blog, Minor League Ball. Sickels worked for ESPN many years ago, where he had his own column about minor league baseball. Here is some of what we talked about:

Q: Were the Mets too conservative with the Gavin Cecchini selection?

A: I thought Cecchini was a slight overdraft but I didn’t really think that about Nimmo. By slight, I think he was more of a late first round guy rather than 12 th overall, but that’s my opinion and obviously the Mets disagreed. Their thinking is that a premium defensive shortstop with excellent makeup and a chance to be at least a decent hitter is not easy to find. As with Nimmo, Cecchini is very young of course, just a college freshman age-wise, so it is way too soon to know who is right.

Q: What do you think of the prospects the Mets got for R.A. Dickey?

A: I thought they did well. D’Arnaud has the offensive and defensive ability to be an All-Star catcher, and at least a solid long-term regular. He just needs to stay healthy. I love Syndergaard, who has made a lot of progress with his secondary pitches. He could be a top of the rotation pitcher. They are both elite prospects.

Q: Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia — bullpen or rotation?

A: Bullpen in both cases. I used to think that Familia might make it as a starter, but at this point I think his command and mechanical problems make him a better fit in the pen.

Q: Vicente Lupo wowed in the Dominican Summer League with a .343/.500/.608 slash line and ten home runs over just 65 games. He is a bit of a mystery to many Mets fans. What do you know about him?

A: Well Lupo was a big-bonus guy out of Venezuela who was supposed to hit for power and average. He was terrible in 2011, but supposedly he was sick most of the summer and not at full strength. As you know, he was outstanding last year, more in keeping with the original reports. However, Dominican Summer League performance is not very predictive, so at this point I think we just have to wait and see.

Q: Will changing Triple-A affiliates from Buffalo to Las Vegas have any impact on player development?

A: Las Vegas is an extreme hitters park in a pro-offense league. In one sense, it can be a useful trial-by-fire thing for for pitchers: if you can survive in Vegas, you are better-prepared mentally and emotionally for the major leagues. On the other hand, it does introduce complications in player development for players on both sides of the ball. Breaking pitches don’t act the same. Hitters can get into bad habits that don’t harm them statistically in Vegas, but can come back to haunt them in the majors.

Read more of Sickels’ work at Minor League Ball.

Sandy Alderson and Jay Horwitz chat before start of today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balasis, MMO)

Updated by Joe D. on April 15 at 12:00 PM

The reaction to Matt’s interview with Mets GM Sandy Alderson has been stunning. Over 25,000 different visitors have read the post and as I was telling Shannon of Mets Media Relations, it’s been talked about on WFAN and posted or linked to on over two dozen mainstream sites including MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo, USA Today, MetsBlog and the Daily News to name a few.

In all fairness, regarding the Giancarlo Stanton rumor which originated with Andy Martino of the Daily News, and was covered on MMO in a post that eclipsed 300 comments, Martino offered a reply to Alderson’s denial that there were any recent conversations and wanted to add his comments here:

Just updating our item from last Thursday on the Mets’ interest in Miami outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Two pieces of news trickled out over the weekend that both confirmed the Mets’ end of the story and moved forward the Marlins’ end beyond what we wrote.

In the original column, I reported that Sandy Alderson and Marlins GM Larry Beinfest spoke at a minor league game in Jupiter, Fla. This was probably early March. One good Mets source told me that two discussed Stanton, and that “there was heat there.” He was not talking about the temperature in Florida, but his team’s strong interest in the young slugger.

But another Mets person, also reliable, said he wasn’t sure if Stanton came up in the conversation that day. Alderson did not return a phone call seeking clarification, so I wrote what I knew to be accurate: One source said they talked Stanton, one said they talked about something or other. Regardless, we know the Mets are eyeing Stanton in their search for a marquee outfielder.

This weekend in Minnesota, Matt Balasis of Mets Merized Online spoke to Alderson. The GM, in a backhanded way, acknowledged that the teams had talked during spring training (he also said there was nothing happening now. To be clear, I never reported, suggested or implied that the teams were talking now).

To be clear, Alderson said they haven’t talked since “early spring training”. So we are talking about well over a month ago. Also, as Matt tells it, the exchange as it took place told more than just the words alone:

I wish I had video footage of the interview. When I mentioned Stanton for Wheeler and D’Arnaud he scoffed and just said “No,” then there was an awkward pause.

I followed up and said, “So there’s nothing to the rumors?”

And that’s when he said they hadn’t spoken since early spring. He was very, very clear that there was nothing to the recent rumors.

Anyway, both Andy and Matt added more context to the story regarding the Stanton rumor. Though while it was incredibly fun to consider, it was never nothing more than a longshot at best and one that ran out of steam over a month ago.

Original Post by Matt Balasis on April 13 at 8:00 PM

I had a chance to chat with Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson today during batting practice before the game at Target Field. I thought he gave me some very interesting answers on a number of different Mets topics. My thoughts follow the interview. Enjoy…

MMO: On the Stanton rumors, they’ve been all over the news, are there any truth to them?

Sandy: No, no we haven’t had any conversations with them since early spring.

MMO: Will adding players and payroll at the break be based on how well the team is doing or whether revenue is up?

Sandy: You mean adding players? If we feel the team is doing well we will add players.

MMO: Adding payroll, will you base that decision more on revenue or performance or both?

Sandy: Performance, but if we are winning, revenue will be up.

MMO: How do you feel about organizational depth as a whole? This is an organization that’s had poor organizational depth for a long time.

Sandy: It’s getting better. We are starting to see some effects of improved depth and we should be seeing more in the near future.

Sandy Alderson watching his team take batting practice before today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balsis, MMO)

MMO: If Buck keeps hitting the way he has been, how will you handle it when D’Arnaud comes up? Will you keep playing Buck or will he take on more of a mentor’s role?

Sandy: We’ll find a way to play both of them.

MMO: Any chance you will trade Buck?

Sandy: No. We are not trading Buck.

MMO: How do you feel about the bullpen, this team has struggled with bullpen depth for the greater part of the past decade?

Sandy: The Bullpen seems to be doing well, we still have Fransicso rehabbing and Familia down there so we feel we have some good depth there.

MMO: How do you feel about the team’s performance as a whole?

Sandy: Well it’s only been 10 games.

Thoughts from Matt

I got the sense that there is nothing to the Stanton rumors at all. A lot of the press around me seem to agree as well. Totally unfounded …

Overall I get the impression from watching Sandy interact around his players that while he does appear to be a consummate professional and an exemplary administrator, this is not the uncaring hatchet man he’s been accused of being.

The players joked around a lot (especially Justin Turner) with Horwitz and Collins, but with the exception of a short exchange between Wright and Sandy, there was little fraternization between Alderson and the players.

Nevertheless, he was intent and focused on the players and I would venture to say passionate even, which came out more during the interview when it was obvious the guy cares about this team.

As fans it’s probably difficult for us to distinguish between the job’s specifics and the person. A good General Manager can’t get too attached to his players, a good GM will deal a player when it improves the team.

As much as many of us have lamented the loss of some of our favorite players, this young season has been a case in point for why big long contracts and players whose game is dependent on their legs are risky propositions.

We want to thank Sandy for being gracious enough to answer a few questions for us. It was a pleasure to hear him respond to so many of the questions on many Mets fans minds. We appreciated the time he took to answer them.

I’ll be back at Target Field again on Sunday, and hope to have more video, pictures and maybe a surprise interview or two.

Howie is a tremendous resource of Mets information and nobody knows the history better than he does. Here is what he had to say on some hot Mets topics and again let me thank Vinny and Tim for participating and winning our Ask Howie contest last week.

Tim asks: Howie, you are a Mets immortal. It looks like Terry Collins won’t be back as a manager in 2014, but I’m sure they will keep him in the organization. Who would you like to see manage the Mets if it’s not Terry?

Thanks, Tim, but you’ve got the wrong guy. Chris Majkowski is the immortal one. I’m not so sure that if the Mets show some progress this year that Terry won’t be back. I hope he returns. He is a fabulous baseball man, so if he’s not back, I hope the Mets find a significant role for him in player development.

For the sake of your scenario, I’m not certain that Sandy Alderson sees Wally Backman as the Mets next manager, but that could change depending on how things go in Las Vegas.

I know this much, most of the guys who have played for Wally at any level really like him and consider him bonafide big league managing material. If it was up to me, I would right a wrong from 40 years ago and hire Whitey Herzog. Somehow, though, considering that he is 81 years old, I have a feeling that ship has sailed.

Vinny asks: If it were your decision, what other numbers should be on that blue wall at Citi Field next to 14, 37, 41 and 42? Thanks, Howie! You’re the best!

Thanks Vinny. I hear you’re pretty good, too. I have always felt that Keith Hernandez should have had his number 17 retired, and many of his former teammates feel the same way. There are  a variety of opinions, though, about whether he should be the first of the 1986 team to be so honored, and whether Dwight Gooden’s number 16 should go first, and then what about Darryl Strawberry’s number 18 and Gary Carter’s number 8? It is not as simple a project as it might seem, but then I have always thought that Jerry Koosman’s number 36 should receive strong consideration. Sooner or later, we might well see number 31 retired for Mike Piazza, but I have been on record since the 1990s supporting this honor for Keith.

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Can you tell us about 2-3 of your most memorable All-Time Mets calls or Mets Moments from your illustrious Mets broadcasting career?

Hi, bro. (I feel like Joe Benigno). Although I have had some memorable (at least to me) calls on television, whenever I think back  to personal broadcast highlights they invariably are from radio. On television you simply punctuate, embellish or narrate. Radio is where you describe and your creative and reportorial skills mesh. The night the Mets clinched the division in 2006 was fun because it was the Mets first division title in 18 years, and when Cliff Floyd caught the fly ball which ended the game, my mind immediately flashed back to Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy making their calls on TV and radio when the Mets clinched first place in 1969.

It’s really not perceptible to the listener, but my voice caught for a split second as the thought of Lindsey and Bob entered my mind and I realized that I had just enjoyed a similarly significant, and for me, emotional moment. Calling the final out of the NLDS against the Dodgers was similarly enjoyable and special, but for me, the final out of Johan Santana’s no hitter is among the small handful of all time personal broadcast highlights. Given the history, I never thought it was going to happen until strike three was securely nestled in Josh Thole’s glove. It will probably be topped by nothing less than a Mets pennant and World Series winning call when and if I am lucky enough to make them.

I always love your stories and was wondering about when you were working with with Bob Murphy. Do you have a memorable Bob Murphy moment that you can share with us?

I have several, a couple of which are outlined in the book. Here are two. In spring training, 1987, I was in a car going from St. Petersburg to Kissimmee during spring training and Bob was driving. I wasn’t paying much attention to the road, but suddenly a car came from the left lane, cut right in front of Murph who was driving in the center lane, and darted into the right lane. I was probably half asleep at the time, but all of a sudden Bob blurted out, “WHOOOAH, HO HO HO!” I half expected the next thing he said to be, “Oh, what a play by Buddy Harrelson.” That was  a surreal moment, considering I had heard him sound like that on the air for 25 years, but this was in his car!

Another was memorable for a different reason. I was never Bob’s regular partner, so I didn’t do all that many games with him. Murph had a tough veneer to crack. He was old school; a marine. You did your job, and you went home, and words of praise were rarely offered. One year, probably just a season or two before he retired, I was doing primarily TV with a sprinkling of radio games. Radio is a completely different art than television, and I was just not comfortable with my ability to do baseball well on the radio at that time. (It’s still very much a work in progress.) Between innings of a game on this day, however, I mumbled something about how unsatisfied I was with the job I was doing, and Murph, who was seated next to me, patted me on the leg and said with a reassuring smile, “You should feel good about your radio (work).”

Now that might not sound like much, but from someone who I had grown up watching and listening to, and who was not often given to complements, that meant the world to me. Those simple words gave me the confidence that I was on the right track.

Howie, you get to see this team day in and day out and never miss a game. You’ve seen the ups and downs over your amazing career. What are you most excited to see in 2013?

I am most excited to see the various components to this organization that will be the foundation of a team that grows into perennial contention. The fastest way to get there, is by developing pitching, and this is where the Mets have their greatest organizational strength.

We’re not just talking about Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, but Rafael Montero could be up before long, and Cory Mazzoni might not be far off, and there’s Domingo Tapia and Jeurys Familia, and behind them Noah Syndergaard and others. Then of course, there’s catcher Travis d’Arnaud, with Wilmer Flores on the way to help offensively. They won’t all be here this year, but as a group, that’s something to feel good about.

Put It In The Book is a treasure trove, packed with all the richness of a half century of Mets baseball as told by the one who chronicled so much of it. When putting this book together, was there a particular recollection that made you smile and warmed your heart as you wrote about it? 

I’m sure it comes across, but anything which recalls 1969  gives me goosebumps to this day. The season was so magical, so unexpected, and to a 15 year old such a tremendous gift, that, as I explain in the book, it’s shaped my career and my life simultaneously. The Mets owned not only New York back then, but the entire baseball world. They were as beloved a champion as any team in any sport at any time. I can’t wait for the time when we can say that again about the New York Mets. The sooner, the better.

Joe D. – Thank you so much for your precious time, and I can’t wait to tune in and listen to you on April 1st.

Howie - My pleasure. I hope you enjoy the book.

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I was able to meet with Matt Harvey on Monday and we had a nice little exchange while he sat in front of his locker thinking about his upcoming start on Wednesday night against the Padres. There is a likable quality to  this young man and it has nothing to do with his pitching.

He speaks with confidence that doesn’t border arrogance. He has a big time arm without the big time attitude. He’s attentive to your questions, and thoughtful and respectful with his answers.

Harvey has a big time future, but does not come across as a big timer. The tip-off is he carries his dirty T-shirt and shorts to the laundry bin instead of leaving them on the floor for the clubhouse attendant.

He’s acutely aware of the expectations, vocalized in the ovation he received Opening Day Monday at Citi Field, second only to David Wright in terms of length and volume.“It was great,’’ Harvey said. “It made me feel very good.’’

Now comes the hard part, living up to the expectations of those in the stands, his teammates behind him in the field, and most of all himself.

“He has a lot going for him,’’ Wright said. “He carries himself well and pitches with confidence. We believe in him.’’

Injuries thrust Harvey into the Mets’ rotation last July and he responded, pitching with guile, poise and command. Other times, not so much. In ten starts, Harvey went 3-5 with a 2.73 ERA, including an 11-strikeout debut at Arizona. He wasn’t impressive in his lone start against the Padres, giving up five runs, but lasting five innings.

Based on last year’s numbers, there is a multitude of scouting reports and statistical projections of him. Harvey wants to hear none of that and cites one number.

“Innings are most important,’’ said Harvey. “I want to pitch over 200 innings. If I can do that, the rest will come.’’

Harvey accomplished much last year, but didn’t win at Citi Field. He gets his chance tonight against the Padres.

“It’s a new season and everybody wants to get that first win out of the way,’’ Harvey said on Opening Day. “Pitching at Citi Field is awesome. … [Tonight] is going to be a lot of fun for me. I’m really excited about it and after watching [Jon] Niese out there [Monday], it was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to my turn.’’

The original scouting report on Harvey was sketchy, but he’s no longer a surprise. Every team has him on film and knows his tendencies. That’s why it is important to tone down your expectations because often a pitcher hits a wall in his second year and realizes what he counted on before might not work now.

Harvey said his sophomore year is about making adjustments. He realizes he can’t get by on just a fastball. He realizes he can’t overpower everybody. He realizes he must bring more to the table.

“You can’t get into a routine and rhythm of doing the same things over and over again,’’ said Harvey, who had a spectacular 2.96 ERA in seven starts this spring.

“I think that kind of carried over into spring training too, facing a couple of teams, the Nationals, things like that. Those guys have seen me before. It’s just going out and attacking the zone and try to mix in different pitches in different counts and hopefully not leading every guy off with a fastball, or something like that.’’

There are nights Harvey can dominate, as he did the Diamondbacks. However, strikeouts cause the pitch count to add up, and with it, the possibility of coming out of a game early.

“I want them to put the ball in play,’’ Harvey said. “I want to keep my pitch count down and that will give me length.’’

Yes, Harvey has a plus fastball, but said it’s important to throw his curveball and change-up for strikes, especially in a fastball count.

“I can’t have them waiting on the fastball,’’ said Harvey, repeating the mantra of every pitcher outside a knuckleballer.

If he does that, those expectations will be met, and with that, come even higher expectations.

Now that the season has begun, and all of our regular readers are returning from their offseason slumber, I’m going to re-post many of our interviews that you may have missed.

I can’t think of a better Mets prospect to lead things off with than lefty fireballer Jack Leathersich. Enjoy…

After being taken by the Mets in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB draft, Jack has now completed two solid and exciting years as a pro, and has quickly risen up the ranks of many a Mets top prospects list. The talented southpaw has posted some dazzling strikeout numbers at each level as he quickly moves through the Mets system.

Jack, 22, is a well grounded young man who loves the game and has a profound respect for the art of pitching. He sees each new challenge as another opportunity to learn more about his craft and improving his approach. In my conversation with him, I could tell how important winning was to him and he often mentioned how much he wants to help his teammates and the team succeed.

In our interview, we discussed how far he has come in the last two years in terms of his development and what his goals are for this season. I asked him who he likens himself to, some of the players he’s looked up to, the things he’s learned as a pro, and a host of other subjects. Enjoy the interview…

Joe D. – First of all congratulations on a successful second pro season last year and for helping St. Lucie get into the FSL 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. Here goes and reply back at your convenience.

Joe D. – When did your workout schedule begin and can you describe your regimen and how you stay in shape in the offseason?

Jack - I started working about September 10 which was about five days after the season ended. I work out and train at Cresse Performance where they have a new facility with everything we need. I know Eric Cresse personally and he’s the best of the best. It’s a large facility and a lot of the pros all go there — they have two cages and two mounds, a full staff and all the workout equipment you need.

Joe D. – What specifically do you work on when you’re Cresse’s, do you have a specific program or regimen that you go through?

Jack – They designed a personal workout program that is suited to my needs and goals. It focuses on heavy legs, shoulder care, and of course arm care. After a long season, stuff starts to break down and you need to get it back to full strength.

Joe D. – How was your stamina at the end of the season?

Jack – It was good. After my first year in 2011, going from my final college season and then onto Brooklyn, I got very tired at the end of the season and I just broke down. I learned how hard a season can be and how long it is. That offseason I learned that there are things I can do that will help me stay strong all year. I don’t really take a long break after the season ends and I prefer instead to workout and build my strength and stamina. I did a pretty good job last year and I stayed strong and felt better because of it. That’s why it was important for me to continue what I started as far as working out after the season. so that I could take care of my arm so that I could keep it as fresh as it can be. Having a tired arm my first year was one of the worst things.

Joe D. – What was the most important lesson you took from last season?

Jack – Being more consistent. Last season I was blessed because I got to work with two great pitching coaches, Frank Viola and Phil Regan. Those two are the best of the best and there aren’t two better pitching coaches anywhere. Sometimes I can get a little inconsistent with my mechanics and that’s always been my biggest downfall. But those two really helped me to become more consistent with my delivery. Also, I sometimes have a tendency to start flying open a little bit and I end up leaving too many balls up which can get me into trouble. But they taught me how to keep the ball down more consistently and especially with my breaking ball and changeup.

Joe D. - Describe your arsenal for me.

Jack - I only throw a four-seam fast ball, I don’t throw a two-seamer any more because it was slower and flatter, so now I just stick with the four-seamer. My other two pitchers are a slider and change-up, I guess you’d say that’s pretty standard for a lefty.

Joe D. - What kind of action and movement do you have on your fastball, it’s obviously missing a lot of bats.

Jack - It runs in late and has nice action. I try to keep it low in the zone and outside with it early, and then I like to come in on a hitter late in the count. My goal is to try and catch the hitter off guard.

Joe D. - Are you working on any new pitches or are you going to stick with those three for now?

Jack - Obviously I’ve thought about it and I’ve thought about a cutter or something like that. But I don’t really believe that the more pitches you can throw the better you are. I’ve really worked hard this offseason to make my three pitches the best that they can be. Trying to work on a new pitch can make you lose sight of making the pitches you already throw, better. I think it’s important for me right now to focus and just work on refining the pitches I already have. It would be great to come into a game and have all three of them pitches working like they’re supposed to all at once.

Jack Leathersich (Photo by Michael G. Baron, SNY)

Joe D. – Do you have a particular way that you like to go after hitters? What is your mindset when you take the mound? Do you have the same approach whether there are runners on base or not?

Jack – No, not really. I go up there and I’m just trying to get ahead in the count and get some outs. I’m not afraid to let them hit the ball, especially at this level where I know my teammates have my back and so far they have been unbelievable. They are out there making all the plays and I trust them. I try not to think about the situation and I pretty much prefer to just go after guys and attack that situation pitch by pitch. I try to stay calm and my goal is to keep my team in it and hopefully we end up with the “W” after the game.

Joe D. – So Basically you’re telling me you like to get up on the mound and just start pounding the zone, going after each hitter one at a time, and not being afraid to pitch to contact? You’re pretty much telling the hitter, “here’s my best pitch, take your best shot at it?”

Jack – Absolutely. Exactly. But don’t get me wrong… If I read the pitching report and I know that a hitter can’t hit a breaking ball then he’ll get the best breaking ball I can throw. I’m not trying to over-think things, I try to stay focused on how to get a hitter out. I believe that if I can make good pitches, I’m gonna get most guys out. I trust all of my pitches.

Joe D. – Are those pitching reports a big part of your preparation before each game?

Jack – Oh yeah. At the higher levels from what I’ve noticed you pay attention to details more and I learn a bunch about hitters from my teammates as well. I like to hang around the older guys who come to St. Lucie to do their rehabs – you can really learn so much from them and they are always willing to help. There’s a lot that goes into pitching. But the bottom line is that you really have to use your head out there and not over-think everything so much.

Joe D. – Normally, when you look at a lefthanded reliever and check out his splits you expect to see that he dominates lefthanded hitters more than righthanded hitters. Last season, LH hitters hit only .256 against you in St. Lucie, not bad. But you held RH hitters to a .205 average. Is that normal for you?

Jack – Actually, I didn’t even know those numbers. I don’t think about that too much. Obviously I have a different game plan for left-handed and right-handed hitters, but I basically try to stick with the same stuff – try to attack with my fastball and use my offspeed stuff when I need to. I mean lefty or righty, it doesn’t really make a difference to me – I don’t really mind facing either and you do have to get good at facing both of them.

Joe D. – We often see many left-handed relievers steered towards careers as a bullpen specialist in the majors or pigeon-holed into a LOOGY role. But sometimes you come across a southpaw like you that possesses great crossover stuff and is highly effective against both leftys and rightys. A lot of us are excited about the possibilities of your future moving forward with the Mets.

Jack – Thank you.

Joe D. – You started out last season with a bang, I mean you were untouchable. Then you had a couple of bumpy months in June and August, but you finished extremely strong and held the opposition to a .194 batting average in your last ten appearances with 24 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. Did you make some sort of an adjustment toward the end?

Jack – It’s a long season and I’ve learned a lot last year about myself and about pitching. I went through a little rut those months and at the time it was really frustrating and I was being really hard on myself. But as I look back, it made me a lot better in the long run. It’s a learning process — there’s a reason why every pitcher doesn’t have a zero ERA. You’re gonna get hit at some point and what’s important is how you bounce back and that you are better because of it. I was unhappy at times obviously, but it was good and I’m happy now because I went through it and learned a lot from that last year. It was good.

Joe D. – From many of the other players I’ve watched and spoken to over the years, one of the common things I hear about when they are going through a rut, is that eventually they came out of it once they stopped thinking so much about it. The ones who come out of it quickly are the ones who stay positive, go back to basics, keep within themselves and basically start having some fun again.

Jack –  Absolutely. Baseball is a game, but I also understand that it’s my job and I take that very seriously. What matters most to me is that the team is winning. No matter what I will always give my best effort when I’m out there so that me and my teammates win as many games as we can. I try to keep my emotions to myself and try to think positive all the time. Negative thoughts are not only going to make it tough on you, but it also makes it tough on your teammates and you don’t want to do that. Just like you said, it’s all about staying positive, keeping it fun and remembering it’s a game.

Joe D. – Don’t ever forget that, Jack.

Jack – Definitely, I won’t.

Joe D. - This will be your second spring with the Mets. What do they have you doing this spring? What do they have you focusing on?

Jack – I haven’t had a chance to discuss what the plan is with my coaches yet, but I can tell you that I’m in the best shape I can possibly be in and that my arm feels great and I’m ready to go. It doesn’t really matter to me what their plan for me is, I’m more focused on doing what ever they need me to do to help the team win. Wherever I end up this season, my mindset never changes, I want to help my team win.

Joe D. – Speaking of where you end up, I have every reason to believe that we’ll be seeing you at Double-A Binghamton – perhaps even to begin the season. Going from High-A to AA is probably the biggest and most challenging jump for any prospect. How do you prepare for something like? What do you need to focus on to excel at that next level?

Jack – I try not to think about that too much. I’m just going to always try and put myself in a situation where I’m playing at my best and then see what happens from there.

Joe D. – So what are you saying – you’re a “take-it-as-it-comes” type of guy?

Jack – Absolutely. But look, I’ve heard that Double-A is a big jump and the that hitters are so much better up there and harder to get out, but that’s why I’ve been working on improving my offspeed pitches this offseason. And that’s why I’m very focused on trying to refine everything right now especially my offspeed stuff.

Joe D. – Since the end of last season, I’ve been telling anyone that will listen that you are the best left-hander in the system AND that I wouldn’t be shocked to see you in the majors as soon as 2013. Fast forward three months later… During a Q&A with season ticket holders at Citi Field in February, Mets Exec J.P. Ricciardi was asked what prospect he was most excited to see this season. Dude, he picked you! And not only that, he said you’re one of the prospects who could get a taste of the big leagues at some point this year. What have you got to say about that?

Jack – (After a nice chuckle) You know thanks so much, and J.P. – well he’s a great guy, and we have a pretty good relationship. That’s great, but it doesn’t really mean anything until I can go out there and do it and prove that I belong. I need to go out there this season and do my thing. I need to show them that I deserve to climb the ladder. Actions speak a lot louder than words. I’m gonna show up, let them know that I’m happy to be here, and that I’m ready to go. Let’s see what happens.

Joe D. - You spent some time in Savannah to start last season before finishing up in St. Lucie. Tell our readers what teammate you were you most impressed with last season and why? Who really stood out to you last year and who should Met fans be really excited about?

T.J. Rivera batted .320/.372/.444 for Savannah and St. Lucie in 2012.

Jack - Oh yeah, definitely T.J. Rivera - he’s the one. He’s the real deal. I’ve never been around a kid who prepares as well as he does. He just really loves the game and it seems like every time I see him he’s out on the field working on something. Rivera plays hard and is completely balls to the wall – he’ll do anything to make sure we win. He’s a great teammate and obviously a great player and everybody should be real excited about him. If he continues the great things he did last season, and I’m pretty sure that he will, he’ll be a lot of fun to watch.

Joe D. – What baseball team did you root for growing up? Who is 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?

Jack – I was a Boston Red Sox fan growing up, but my favorite player has always been Tom Glavine actually.

Joe D. – No kidding? Glavine huh… Most Met fans are very familiar with that guy. What are some of the comparisons you’ve heard about yourself?

Jack – Obviously every pitcher is different, but I hear the name Billy Wagner a lot, although I must admit I don’t have the stuff he has.

Joe D. – Don’t sell yourself short. In preparing for this interview I discovered your numbers compared amazingly well to Billy Wagner at the same age and level, and you both have similar builds and height. Your strikeout  and walk rates, and your WHIP, BAA, K/BB are actually all significantly better, and I for one am very excited about that.

Jack – I mean that’s what I’ve heard too, but I’m just trying to be my own player. Billy Wagner, man I loved watching him on the mound, he was just fearless every time he pitched. He couldn’t care less who was up at the plate because he knew he was going to get that batter out. And as for Tom Glavine, his command was ridiculous – he could the ball anywhere he wanted. I remember the times my dad and I would sit on our couch to see him pitch – analyzing everything about the way he pitched. He was fun to watch.

Joe D. – Give me a message for the fans… What do you want to tell them as we wrap this baby up?

Jack – I just want to win this year, wherever the team decides to put me. I’m committed to winning. I owe that to myself and my teammates. I’m going to go out there and do my job and that is to get outs  - pitch by pitch. My desire is to win and I want to represent the Mets organization well.

Joe D. – Thanks so much, Jack. Go out there and have a kick-ass season….

Jack – You bet, it’s been a pleasure

For more analysis on Jack Leathersich, check out Mitch Petanick’s recent Prospect Pulse feature on him.

You can follow Jack Leathersich on Twitter at @LeatherRocket.

Special Note: Next week I’ll have a couple of nice surprises as we’ll be interviewing two more fascinating young players and introduce you to a couple of our newest Mets prospects. Stay tuned to Mets Merized Online for all of your comprehensive Mets minor league coverage.

In 2012, we saw Gavin Cecchini and Kevin Plawecki hog the spotlight as the first round picks and the most promising new members of the Mets minor league system. Behind them followed many new and talented players that came into the fold of the orange and blue. I was so excited as a fan last year, that I actually added as many players as I could to my personal twitter to see who would sign. One of the first players to sign after the draft ended was Robert Whalen, our 12th round pick out of Haines City High School in Haines City, Florida.

Whalen’s part in the draft didn’t stop there. Instead of just taking his money and reporting to camp, he decided to take it upon himself to encourage fellow 2012 Mets Draftees to sign with the team via Twitter. That really stuck out for me and earned him my “Favorite Player of the 2012 Draft Award” for his character, encouragement and one other thing… I was very intrigued by why a draftee would go on a quest to get other players he hardly knew to join the Mets, so I decided to ask him. It turns out that Robert Whalen is a die-hard Mets fan, and has been for as long as he can remember.

Well upon learning that the Mets had drafted a fellow Mets fan, I knew that I needed to reach out to him and get to know him a little better. So I conducted a short interview with him and I’m quite pleased to get to know Robert Whalen, and also to share his character and enthusiasm with MMO.

Ok, first question. So I heard you grew up as a Mets fan, how did that come to be as a Florida native?

Definitely been a big time Mets fan my entire life, my mom and dad were born and raised in Queens. Dad was from Flushing and my mom was from Woodside. My two older sisters were born in NY as well, but we lived in Stroudsburg, PA so I was born in Pennsylvania. I moved to Florida after 8th grade so I could play High School ball down in Florida to have a better opportunity to get drafted or go to a Division 1 College. Up North, there aren’t many scouts looking, so Florida was the place to be. My father took an early retirement from working at UPS in Manhattan, and my mom quit her job. My sisters were old enough to stay up North, so me and my parents just packed up and moved to Florida. Mainly just for baseball and of course the better weather!

Describe the day you got drafted. You must have been ecstatic to be drafted by your favorite team!

Draft day was bittersweet for me to be honest. I had such high expectations going into my senior season and my first 3-5 starts were phenomenal. Was really pitching well with a hard fastball that touched 95 once or twice: hardest I’ve ever thrown. Then I just had a long streak of a dead arm period. It was something I’ve never experienced before and I just never had the same velocity the rest of my season. Scouts backed off and my stock continued to drop. Almost all 30 teams were still in contact with me and had positive things to say, but on draft day when the 10th round came and my name still wasn’t called I was miserable. I really thought I wasn’t going to get drafted. All I wanted to do was play pro ball. Didn’t want to go to school, and I didn’t have a big asking number. Just wanted to play. So when the 12th round came and I had about eight teams call all offering the same and their picks were coming up. I really got to choose which team to play for and there was no way I was turning down the Mets!

Rob Whalen: I got to catch the first pitch from Super Bowl champ Dave Diehl.

Of course not. Now, for the fans, please can you give us an idea on what you throw?

Unfortunately this past summer I was shut down and wasn’t allowed to throw in games or anything like that so a lot of people, fans included, don’t really know me as player. The best way I can describe myself is how my old coaches and teammates have described me over the years. For one, I had always tried to mold my game after Roger Clemens, we have the same body type and mechanics and I just loved his intensity on the mound and how he never feared a hitter. I’m the same way, I go out there with that bulldog mentality that I’m going to challenge every hitter that steps in the box. I throw a fastball that ranges from 88 to 94 miles per hour. A hard 12-6 curveball that’s been an out-pitch for me, but one I can also throw for strikes. A slider that I’ve developed the past couple of years that I actually got my first professional strikeout with in Kingsport last summer. Also I’m working on developing a changeup that could be a key pitch for me if I can stay consistent with it down in the zone.

That was your only appearance last year. How did it feel stepping onto the mound in your first minor league game?

Yeah, my one inning for the year! It was awesome, got to make my debut with my buddy Brandon Welch who was also doing the same program as me up in Brooklyn. It was in Bluefield, West Virginia – the COMPLETE opposite of Brooklyn! I went from a stadium being sold out every night to having about a dozen fans in the stands, so that serious adrenaline wasn’t really there believe it or not. I was still very pumped though. It was my first time in a game in months and I remember talking to Tomas Nido, a good friend of mine, about how the batters looked like they were a mile away. But it was an awesome experience, something I will definitely never forget.

It must have been easier since Nido has caught you before right?

Tomas was a teammate of mine for the previous two years before the draft for our travel ball team, FTB Mizuno. So when I got drafted by the Mets it was awesome knowing that I was going to have a guy there who I knew and was actually one of my battery-mates for the past two years. He didn’t catch me in Kingsport but I’m sure him and me will be paired up again many times in the future.

My Brooklyn Cyclones jersey from Gary Carter Night at MCU Park.

How long were you in Brooklyn? Did you like the atmosphere? It’s pretty different than other baseball stadiums in terms of interaction.

I was in Brooklyn the entire summer up to August 25th. That was actually the day Welch and I were supposed to make our debuts at home versus the Staten Island Yankees. But they decided to send us to Kingsport for a less pressure atmosphere for our debut, which I can appreciate, and respect. I loved every minute in Brooklyn. I wish I could have been out there playing, but it wasn’t my time. The fans were incredible, always had our backs even when we struggled and sometimes traveled to our away games. But for me, being in Brooklyn felt like home. It’s an amazing place to play, almost feels like the big leagues the way the stadium would sell out and how the fans all got into the games. Without those die-hard Cyclones fans it would just be another minor league stadium. Those fans make it fun to play there.

Is there anything you feel you need to improve?

Of course, you can never stop improving and getting better, for me I’ve really been working hard this offseason on getting in much better shape physically and strengthening my arm. I’m doing whatever I can to make sure I don’t go through that dead arm phase I went through my senior year. Also, like I mentioned before I’m working hard on developing my changeup. Like all young pitchers, command is always the make-or-break thing for guys and I’ve always felt like I’ve had decent command for my age, but command is a given. Something I work on the most and not just my fastball but with all my pitches, is being able to throw whatever I want, whenever I want!

Awesome. You are reporting to extended spring training, where do you think you will end up playing this year?

I’ll have a better idea once I get to camp and have a chance to talk the coordinators and all the guys that make those decisions. I would love to go to Brooklyn, it was eating at me last summer that I couldn’t go out and pitch in front of that crowd, so my goal heading into camp is to just really show what I’m capable of and make it really hard for them not to send me to an advanced league like Brooklyn which features mainly college level players.

I hope so man, I want to see you play personally. Okay, last question. Who is your favorite Met?

It would be awesome man I appreciate that. Man, my favorite Met growing up was always Mike Piazza. I actually just started reading his book, but Piazza was the man and every time I would go to Shea and watch a game all I wanted to see was Mike Piazza hit a bomb. I tried to emulate everything he did, his batting stance and the way he caught since I was a catcher when I was younger. Now it’s David Wright, I have a ton of respect for the guy, just the way he handles himself on and off the field is what I admire most and a path I try to follow. He sets a great example for us younger players and now that he’s locked up with us I’m looking forward to possibly having him play third base behind me one day.

* * * * * * * *

I thank Robert Whalen for giving me the opportunity to interview him and I wish him so much luck going forward. I want to see him achieve his dream and stand on the mound in front of us at Citi Field. Robert reports to extended spring training on April 13th, and will play there until he earns his assignment to a short-season league. You can follow him on twitter at @RobWhalen38.

Yesterday, a trio of famous knuckleballers made their way to MLB’s FanCave to promote the movie “Knuckleball!” directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg.

Hall of Famer Phil Niekro, former Red Sox Tim Wakefield, and the Mets’ R.A. Dickey all fielded questions about the movie as well as being a knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues.

Metsmerized Online was invited to the event for a special roundtable discussion and I was also able to get a a few minutes with R.A. to talk a little Mets baseball.

MMO: What do you think is harder when it comes to the knuckleball, throwing it or having to be the guy on the other end catching it?

Tim Wakefield: Catching, I hate when guys throw me knuckleballs. I’ll throw it to you but don’t throw it to me.

Phil Niekro: All I know is I got paid to throw it, and they got paid to catch it.

R.A. Dickey:I actually reached out to Doug Mirabelli (Wakefield’s catcher in Boston) to see if he could give Josh Thole some insight. It was really helpful because the first four balls I ever threw to Josh went off his body, it missed his mitt completely. After that we hooked him up with Doug and he was a lot better.

MMO: You guys are all unique pitchers, throwing the same pitch but all having a different way of doing it. Can you tell us what makes you all different?

Dickey: I think its just a product of embracing who you are with it. When I first became a knuckleballer, I wanted to become Tim since he was the picture I had. He was still playing and I just saturated myself with video of him pitching and mechanically, try to be him. It worked off and on but something was missing. I met with Phil and he got me a little more athletic with my body and I realized that I had something that was unique for me and thats when my career took off.

Niekro: Your really got to be yourself, you can’t be someone else. We would like to be someone else but we can’t when it comes to the pitch. We hold the ball a little differently or throw it a little harder or have a different arm release. I threw it as hard as Dickey but it would’t make it to the plate. All the knuckleballers are a little different but we are the same inside. This is the pitch, this will get me there and keep me there. I am a knuckleballer.

MMO: Do you think your success in Boston (Wakefield) and New York (Dickey) combined with this movie will inspire younger ball players to become a knuckleball pitcher.

Dickey: That’s what we hope. I think Tim and I don’t want the pitch to go extinct nor do I think it will. I have a few good years left in me and there some guys coming up that are going to break in. Hopefully there will be a movement and you will see it com back like it was early on. I remember a White Sox staff where four out of four pitchers were knuckleball starters. I don’t know if you will ever see that because today everything is so geared towards strength and velocity and power pitching, you would have to see a real shift but I think its coming.

After the roundtable discussion Dickey was able to answer a few quick one-on-one questions pertaining to the Mets and his personal life.

MMO: What do you think your future is with the New York Mets?

Dickey: I would love to be back. I mean there is a part of me that believes that it is the right thing to do to stay loyal to the team that gave you your shot. At the same time, at the age that I am, I want to win. I don’t know how much longer I will be playing, hopefully that could be for five or six more years as a knuckleballer but you never know. I would like to know that the team is going in the right direction and I think we have some pieces that are really good so hopefully we will be able to work something out in the offseason, but I love New York and the fans and have had a great time being a Met.

MMO: What is your best/most memorable moment from this season?

Dickey: I would say being in that streak of scoreless innings, it seemed like I had such a good feel for it at that time and I knew I couldn’t sustain it but at the same time week after week. I surprised myself which is hard to do at this point. Also the back-to-back one hitters, when I missed a no-hitter in Tampa by an infield single, that was a pretty fun game during that stretch.

MMO: You mentioned some of the pieces going forward for the Mets. One of those pieces is Matt Harvey. Even though there is a different pitching style, is there any way you mentor or advise him, being the ace and veteran in the rotation?

Dickey: Harvey is really mature for his age and his time on the big leagues. He has really shown me a lot as a professional. I am available for whoever wants to talk and I always look for those guys who ask questions because those are usually the guys that want to learn and he does that. There is a lot I think can lend from the mental aspect having been through a lot, simply not because I am good but because I have experience and you always turn to those people who have walked a mile in your shoes.

MMO: Your walk up music is the Game of Thrones theme, any particular reason why?

Dickey: I don’t know I am just moved by it. I fall in love with pieces of music that move you in some way. I like the medieval feeling it has and it makes it seem like “OK, here I come.”

MMO: You climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year, plus the excitement from everything during the season, any big plans for this years off season?

Dickey: I think I just want to be a father and husband for an offseason. I really miss my children and my wife and to able to do that and engage them is important to me. Maybe a trip to India to follow up on the outreach that I supported when I climbed Kilimanjaro in January would be on the docket though.

MMO: Lastly, a New York Times Best seller, a Cy Young award, or a national title for Tennessee college football, which one would it be?

Dickey: Oh my, I guess I would have to say the middle one. Definitely the Cy Young.

The movie “KnuckleBall!” is playing in select theaters and is also available in Video On Demand. More information bout the movie can be found here: http://www.knuckleballmovie.com.

Message from Joe D.

I want to thank Michael for an outstanding job covering his first major event for us since joining our team at Metsmerized. Of course I also want to thank the producers and directors of Knuckleball! and the agents and our reps, Matt and Russ, for working with us and making us feel like VIPs right from the very start. And finally a big thank you to Phil Niekro, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey who were gracious to us back at the screening, again on Wednesday night at Citi Field, and then again on Thursday at the MLB Fan Cave in NYC.  Knuckleballers are very special pitchers who are part of a very tiny and exclusive fraternity. This movie is their story and their incredible journey. Go out and see Knuckleball! the movie, or order it on your cable or satellite provider’s Movies on Demand… You’ll love it!

In honor of Knuckleball! the movie coming out, Hall-of-Famer Phil Niekro and 200-game winner Tim Wakefield were out and about prior to today’s game alongside the Mets own R.A. Dickey and were kind enough to answer some of my questions as well as some other Mets bloggers while watching BP with us along the first base side.

The interview began with Phil Niekro telling us the fascinating tale of how he began to throw the knuckleball:

“My dad was a coal miner back in Ohio, and he would strike out 17, 18, 19 guys and then hurt his arm. On his coal mining team another guy showed him how to throw a knuckleball. So by the time I was old enough to start playing catch in the backyard, he just threw me one and didn’t know what it was –it probably hit me or something– and it just got to the point where we were playing knuckleball in the backyard all the time. Didn’t know what it was, didn’t know there was knuckleball pitchers in the big leagues. But when I started playing with friends, I found out that’s what I could get guys out with. I played little league, four years of American Legion ball in high school and went to a walk-on camp in West Virginia, and in 1958 the Milwaukee Braves decided they’d take a chance on the knuckleball” -Phil Niekro

On how important the possible Cy Young Award for Dickey is and his great season validating the knuckleball as more than just a trick pitch:

“I think its important for a couple different reason, I mean I’m standing right next to a Hall of Famer , it’s not like I have to give the pitch any more credibility, [Tim Wakefield] has won 200 games. I think what it does is continue to give the pitch validation. It validates how good this can be. It’s not a freak of nature, or if it is a freak of nature, one that can produce an outcome that incredibly favorable for a big league organization. I mean if told a guy that were going to otherwise release in the minor leagues that you could win half as many games as Phil Niekro, wouldn’t you sign up? So the more we can kind of ‘evangelize’ the knuckleball the better because it’ll stick.” -Dickey

“One thing we pride ourselves in, that makes us a valuable asset to an organization is that we can give you innings, we can start. I remember Phil once told me, ‘keep your spikes on’ and early in my career I did that and in between starts I could go down to the bullpen, come in and give them two innings. Because of the pitch we throw I like to this of us as a pitcher and a half, were starters, but we’re relievers too.” -Tim Wakefield

“He deserves to win the Cy Young” -Tim Wakefield

“He’s making us all proud. He makes me want to go and pitch again. I don’t think any knuckler got off to the start he did. If I don’t get to see him on TV or radio, first thing I do is check the box scores the next day to see how he did. No knuckleballer, neither Tim or I or any one has won a Cy Young, so you can’t imagine how much we’re pulling for this guy.” -Niekro

Regarding his Cy Young candidacy, Dickey –as always– had a very humble approach:

“I’m hopeful. We’ll see.”

R.A. also spoke a bit about his journey to get to where he is today as a successful knuckleballer:

“I didn’t get it right away. I think I tied Charlie’s record of most home runs given up in a game when I first took the mound in ’06, but from then on it’s just been about trying to grow and figure out what my own identity is. I spent so much time trying to be Tim, trying to be Charlie, that I lost what was mine and unique about me. So once I embraced that, I started to have a lot more success and that could be anybody in the minor leagues, anyone could become who I am if they’re given an opportunity. You’ve got to have the intangibles.”…”For a long time I had on foot in each bucket. Half the time I’d try to throw my conventional stuff then the other have my other stuff [knuckleball], so it wasn’t until I surrendered and became a full time knuckler that I started to have succes once I finally had the muscle memory, the mechanics and the feel for it where I could consistently throw a good knuckleball.” -Dickey

Dickey and Wakefield had a little bit to say regarding their thoughts of the release of the new documentary, Knuckleball!:

“Cinematography was amazing. For them to slow it down that slow and see it come out of the hand like that. It makes me want to still pitch.” -Wakefield

“I’m very excited. I got to see it at Tribeca film festival, which was amazing. They’ve done a beautiful job with it and I think it really kind of communicates the bond we all have with eachother as well as the pitch and I’m excited for it, I think it’s going to be great.”…”I am not a self-made man by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve had people pour into me like nobody’s business. I’m simply a product of people who have loved me well and given me the gift of what they know. Phil, Tim and Charlie, they represent that for me, so to celebrate the documentry with these guys is a real blessing.” -Dickey

I asked Dickey to give us all a bit of insight into the fraternity of the knuckleball pitchers:

“We all get giddy when were around each other, like a bunch of teenagers at a sleepover. I remember going down to Atlanta and doing the Golf junket and you just see all the documentaries with Tim and Charlie and Phil. It’s just so rare to get together with people who’ve walked a mile in your shoes, there’s an instant bond, because we know how hard it is. It’s not like you can just pick up a ball and get on the mound and get big league batters out, it takes a lot of dedication and emotion and a lot of hard work, and these men know what that’s all about and other people don’t and that creates an instantaneous bond and I’m happy to call them all my friends.”

I asked Niekro about the perception of the knuckleball as a trick pitch:

“I never thought it was a trick pitch. People say freaky pitch, funky pitch, trick pitch. All I know is that’s what I could throw to get them out in the big leagues and I guess that’s what Tim realized, R.A.’s realized, my brother. Knuckleball pitchers. We weren’t freaky, we just something a little different than most guys do and we’re going to throw it. I mean that’s the name of the game.”

“You throw a pitch, and you know that he knows whats coming. Pitch after pitch after pitch, here comes the same thing, and a lot of [people trying to throw the knuckler] can’t figure that out.”…”That’s the confidence that we have to have in ourselves, that we can get you out.”

I asked all three the all important question: Who throws the best knuckleball? Being the gentlemen they are, they all naturally voted for someone else:

Niekro: Dickey and Wakefield
Dickey: Niekro
Wakefield: Dickey

Finally, I asked Dickey who besides himself can throw the best knuckleball in the Mets clubhouse:

“There’s a handful of position players who think they can. They all try to call me over and grade them out. I’d say though that Jon Rauch has a pretty good knuckleball and for a position player, Lucas Duda has a good knuckleball. But when you get on the bump, it’s a little different.” -Dickey

Hopefully you all enjoyed this interview as much as I did. Seeing three greats of an infamous pitch get together and talk openly about everything involving the knuckleball was incredible. We started talking when batting practice was just getting going for the Amazin’s. By the time we ended, the Phillies were nearly through their last rounds of hitting.  Three gentlemen of the game that were an absolute pleasure to talk to. I can’t wait to go see Knuckleball! and I highly suggest you do the same.

I’ll leave you with a quick clip from the interview:

WP_20120919_213611Z

In case you missed it on Friday, enjoy this exclusive interview with Brandon Nimmo…

Our Minor League Editor Pete Shapiro, hooked up with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post and together they had a great interview with Mets 2011 first rounder Brandon Nimmo on Wednesday at the Hudson Valley before the Cyclones game.

If you really want to know the caliber of person and player Brandon is, you need to listen to this heart-to-heart discussion as the three of them review Nimmo’s journey since joining the Mets and his play with the Brooklyn Cyclones this season. They discuss and talk about all the highs and the lows, the struggles and the accomplishments, and the myriad of things that goes through his mind as he tries hard to live up to his top billing.

It was interesting to hear him tell when it all started to click for him after getting off to slow start to his Cyclones season and batting .180 at the halfway point.

Brandon Nimmo gets his strength from his family who he leans on for support and his faith which guides him along his journey.

He spends a lot of time raving about the organization as far as his teammates as well as Michael Fulmer, Matt Harvey, Tyler Pill and Zack Wheeler. It’s a great listen, so I hope you tune in.

On behalf of myself and Pete, who is on the road again, we want to thank Brandon and Kevin for their time and courtesy.

Please enjoy…

Last week, I had the pleasure of chatting with BBWAA member and FOX Sports lead field reporter Ken Rosenthal via E-mail about several topics surrounding the Mets and MLB.

A Long Island native and University of Pennsylvania grad, Ken started his career interning with Newsday covering sports, then moved onto several other small newspapers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey before landing a gig with the Baltimore Sun for the next fourteen years. After that, Rosenthal signed on with the Sporting News and in 2005 picked up the microphone as he became FOX Sports’ lead field reporter for MLB broadcasts and since 2009 also works at MLB Network as an insider.

Without further ado, here is the transcript of my interview with Ken Rosenthal:

What is the best/most exciting MLB game you have ever had the pleasure of being a part of the broadcast team for?

Broadcast – it would have to be Game 6 of last year’s World Series. The back and forth was incredible. I was positioned right next to the Rangers’ dugout, very close to where Ron Washington was standing. What I remember most is trying to prepare for the post-game interviews. I must have prepared for maybe six different heroes, because they kept changing. In the end, I got lucky – it came back around to Freese! Back when I was just in print (I wrote about Game 6, too) Sept. 6, 1995 stood out most. That was the night Ripken broke the consecutive-games record. I was a columnist for the Baltimore Sun. Wrote the front-page column. Still the overall highlight of my career.

 

You broke the story about the trade discussed between the Marlins and Mets that would have sent Jason Bay to Miami in return for John Buck and Heath Bell. Although you reported the trade was never close to getting completed, what do you believe the fallout of that deal would have been? Any thoughts you had on the potential deal?

It seemed like one of those change of scenery deals that might have benefited both sides. The Marlins are down on Buck and Bell, and Bay has just not produced for the Mets. I know fans get tired of hearing it, but Bay is one of the finer people in the sport. It is just a shame what has happened with him.

 

Why do you believe that the Mets failed to make a move while they were still in contention back in mid-July? Do you believe that adding something as minor as a reliever or an average right-handed bat would have made a significant difference?

The Mets failed to make a move because they were uncertain that they were an actual contender – and they were correct to doubt the team’s chances of staying in it. I had no problem with that logic, still don’t. As we’ve seen, they are more than one or two players away, and not just in their bullpen.

 

What was your take on the Melky Cabrera situation?

As I wrote on FOXSports.com, the effort that Melky’s associate made to clear the player’s name only underscores the need for baseball to remain vigilant on the PED front. That point might sound obvious, but the other side – the cheating side – will go to great lengths to beat the system and cover up what it has done.

 

What was the one most pivotal deal of the trade deadline to you? How will said move affect the pennant race?

“The Braves’ two moves for Sheets and Maholm have had the greatest impact. Yes, Sheets has slowed down, but the Braves got him for something like $1 million, and the acquisition cost for Maholm wasn’t terribly great – plus, he is under club control for another year.”…”To this point – and it’s a very small sample – none of the bigger moves has proven that meaningful. Still like the Dodgers’ addition of Hanley Ramirez, though.”

 

How do you see this winter playing out for the Mets? Would it be safe to say it will be similar to last offseason?

For starters, I think they extend Wright – they have no choice. I don’t expect them to spend big otherwise. I don’t know that they should spend big. Again, they’ve got a number of areas to address – the bullpen (where the best course isn’t always to spend money), a power-hitting outfielder, a catcher, etc. I’m not saying they should refrain from the market entirely. But they need to be selective – and smart.

 

Do you see Mike Piazza suffering the same fate on the Hall of Fame ballot as someone such as Jeff Bagwell?

Not sure. I do think Piazza will get in, though it might not be on the first ballot. My general rule for players of this era is to vote only a select few on the first ballot. It’s sort of a protest vote, my way of distinguishing the players from the Steroid Era of the greats of the past. Some people say, “That’s unfair.” And to a degree, they’re right. My position, though, is that the players were part of a union that had the power to enact change. And they did not.

 

Tell our readers a little bit about the story behind your bow tie. Everyone knows that you wear your now-signature neckwear on almost every broadcast, but do not know the fascinating tale leading up to it.

Well, it’s a long story, best explained by something I wrote. The one thing that people should know is that the bow ties represent different charities and organizations. That’s why I wear them. Not to look like Pee Wee Herman. Not to be a baseball Craig Sager. It’s nothing like that. The entire point is to raise awareness for different things, and I hope we’ve been successful doing that.

Once again I wanted to thank Ken for taking time out of his busy schedule to give me such complete and comprehensive answers. He is a great baseball mind and I truly enjoyed getting to talk some baseball with him. For rumors, news, exceptional insight and much, much more, you can check out Ken’s blog or follow him on twitter at @Ken_Rosenthal.

Matz On D.L. – Not Serious

When I saw the entry on yesterday’s transactions page for the Appalachian League, I got a a little concerned.

August 17: Kingsport Mets placed LHP Steven Matz on the 7-day disabled list.

Oh no, I hope it’s not the elbow again. TJS in 2010. Two lost seasons while rehabbing. A late start to 2012 training camp because of lingering elbow issues. After dealing with those, he started the second K-Mets game of the season and fired off five additional game starts. In six games he threw 29.0 innings and gave up 16 hits, one home run, walked 17, and struck out 34, to go 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA.

In 18 innings over his final three starts, he went 2-0, with a 0.00 ERA, with five hits, eight walks and 23 strikeouts. It was reported during those games that he was throwing his fastball as high as 98 mph, and utilizing a very effective change-up and curveball. A lefty that throws that hard, with good secondary offerings is something the Mets did not have in their system before the healthy reemergence of Matz.

As I stared at the entry on the transactions page, I began to think about Mets prospects of the past, who were side-tracked with injuries when they were young. Guys like Generation K, who each suffered devastating injuries that kept them from ever becoming anything with the Mets. And a string of high round draft-picks who never panned out. Guys like Phil Humber, Mike Pelfrey, Eddie Kunz, Nathan Vineyard, Brad Holt, Brant Rustich, Scott Moviel, Stephen Clyne, Eric Niesen, Kevin Mulvey, Matt Durkin, Shane Hawk, and Bob Keppel, just to name some of the more recent ones.

I shook it off. Things would be different with Matz. He’ll be a Met one day. He’ll get through this. I sat down and wrote him an email which said:

Hey Steve, how you doing? I saw you had to go on the D.L. That really sucks! It’s not your elbow is it? I heard you were having some shoulder issues, have you had it checked out yet? What did they say?

Then on Saturday, I heard back from Steve who didn’t sound overly concerned about this latest setback. Turns out, it is his shoulder that was giving him trouble, but after having it checked out, it was the best possible scenario.

Yeah I got an MRI, everything is clear just some rotator cuff tendenitis. Just down in Port St. Lucie now rehabbing it. Nothing too concerning.

So there you go, it’s not the elbow again. More than likely just some rust is all. Hopefully he’ll be back in time for Instructional League, and as for 2013? The sky is the limit for Mr. Matz.

LGM!

Mets Team Doctor

After Years In The System Pena Has Risen To The Upper Levels

Coming from a baseball family, the theory was always that Francisco Pena would shoot through the Mets system and be their starting catcher by 2012. Although his progress has been slower than what that timetable would have required, there is no question that Pena is moving closer to where he needs to be. Now in his sixth season with the organization, and 22-years-old, he is no longer a raw recruit but someone with enough training and experience to make his pitching staff and teammates better through his leadership.

Pena, as a catcher, has to be a student of the game. With his father Tony, who played 18 years in the majors as a starting catcher for Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Boston, and several other clubs and who is now a Yankee’s coach, Francisco has an excellent baseball background and pedigree. His brother Tony is also a pro-baseball player who has played shortstop in the bigs with K.C. and Atlanta.

Promoted to Binghamton from St. Lucie on June 21st, Pena got off to a hot start with the bat at Double-A but has since cooled off. Part of the reason is his position on the field. As a catcher he has the added responsibility of learning not only his pitchers, their stuff and what they like to throw in certain situations, but the league’s hitters as well, and their weaknesses. Pena told me as long as he stays healthy, he will continue to learn more about the game every day.

I got a chance to talk to Francisco at New Britain the week before last, and he was nice enough to answer some questions for us here on MMO. It was a real fun chat, and he’s very interesting to talk to. I found I didn’t have to ask him complete questions for the most part. I would just toss the gist of a query out there, and he would scoop up the question in mid-sentence and run with it. His answers were fantastic, full of good stuff. Tidbits and observations that are the product of living a baseball life from the time he was a tot. So without further fanfare, let’s get on with my interview with B-Mets catcher Francisco Pena.

Petey:  I’m talking to Binghamton Mets catcher Francisco Pena in the third-base dugout at New Britain Stadium. Francisco, you made the jump this season from High-A St. Lucie, to Double-A Binghamton. How do you feel about your time in the Eastern League so far?

Francisco:  Pretty good, pretty good, started the season here in Double-A swinging the bat pretty well. Struggling a little bit with my bat, but the defense is there. Doing a good job with the pitching staff. Getting to know the new group of guys on the pitching staff in Double-A. I know some of the guys from last year. But It’s been pretty good, it’s been pretty fine. It’s all the same baseball, you try to do nothing different, it’s just a little bit quicker but it’s been fun, it’s been real nice.

Petey:  Let’s talk about the pitching staff. Can you tell us your impressions of the starting rotation here?

Francisco:  I would say I’m trying to do the same thing, not trying to change nothing, it’s still the same baseball, like I said it’s probably a little bit quicker. I know most of the guys, I caught Peavey last year. I caught Gorski last year, I caught Armando Rodriguez, caught Wheeler. So I have a pretty good idea of some of the guys in the starting rotation, and some of the guys who are in the bullpen. It’s alright, it’s been pretty good and we’ve been having a pretty good communication.

Petey:  As far as your hitting goes, you mentioned you’ve been struggling a little bit. What sort of things are you working on to help you swing the bat better?

Francisco:  You know when your struggling, for me and for most of the guys, we have heard from the big league guys, and me being in a big league family, I’ve been talking with my dad, and talking with Luis Natera our hitting coach, and it’s getting a quality pitch to hit, you know? Getting a good pitch to hit, we as young players especially Latin players, we like to swing early. But you just gotta have a quality pitch and just be patient and just get a good pitch to swing, and you’ll be alright.

Petey:  So is it things like pitch recognition your working on now, or strike zone discipline?

Francisco:  No, it’s just let the ball travel a little bit more, and try to hit the ball the other way. Just let the ball travel you know? Let the ball travel. I’m just trying to rush a little bit, you know? When your feeling good at the plate, you feel strong and you try to do too much. Just let the ball travel and try not to do too much. That’s when you get in trouble, when you try to do too much.

Petey:  Sounds like my golf game. You’re a big, strong hitter, do you consider yourself a power hitter? And what sort of things do you work on to improve on your power-stroke?

Francisco:  Actually, I don’t consider myself a power hitter. I consider myself a gap-to-gap hitter. Hopefully, in the future I can be a power hitter but right now I just want to concentrate on hitting the ball gap-to-gap. You know just learn more for myself, you keep learning so much stuff from baseball. Every single day you keep learning. I just gotta keep learning myself and keep hitting the ball gap-to-gap, and although I don’t consider myself a power hitter, I’m hitting more power this year. I’m hitting more doubles, and extra-base-hits in ball-games. But I consider myself a gap-to-gap hitter.

Petey:  Did you set any goals for what you want to accomplish this season? Or where you’d like to be by the end of the year?

Francisco:  Actually, I’m very happy I’m here right now, you know? I was injured for almost the whole year when I broke my foot. And I’m just thankful, I thank God in just being healthy, you know? Cause being healthy is the big thing, and I just hope, hopefully I can finish strong here, keep working on my defense, my catching. Keep working on my defense, keep working on my hitting and see where it takes us next year. Hopefully start next year here or start next year at Triple-A, whatever, I just want to have a good year. Just see what happens. See what happens and stay healthy.

Petey:  Your a very good defensive catcher, what kinds of things are you trying to fine tune?

Francisco:  The most important thing is like when you know your pitching staff. So that’s what I’m working on just keep knowing your pitching staff. That’s the most important thing in baseball. What you see in the big leagues most of the time is catchers sometimes don’t hit. There so good defensively, defensive catchers, sometimes they learn how to hit more. Get to know themselves, get better approaches, but I’m concentrating on just knowing my pitchers, I have a good idea what I’m doing behind the plate. If I know the other hitters from the other team. I know their tendencies and their weakness. And I’ll be alright.

Petey:  Do you talk pitching with the staff between starts?

Francisco:  Absolutely, most of the times they say position players hang out with position players, and pitchers hang out with pitchers. Actually I talk to the position players as well about the hitters on the other teams. Sometimes pitchers, if they don’t know somebody else and some of the guys played with them in college, or some of the guys played with them in winter ball, they may have a better idea. But actually, you know I talk to most of the guys and most of our pitchers, and have a good plan to go to in the game, you know? So it’s just a matter of confidence of the guys. And having good confidence with the pitcher and be a leader behind the plate. Being like the quarterback, being the catcher, that’s the important thing.

Petey:  Thank you so much Francisco, we really appreciate your time. Good luck the rest of the way, stay healthy finish strong, and we’ll speak to you again.

Francisco:  Ok, thanks.

Pena Considers Himself A Gap-To-Gap Hitter

I hope you enjoyed this interview, check back next week for some more surprises right here on MMO.

LGM!

Plawecki Has Excellent Power-Hitting Potential As A Catcher

Note: This interview was conducted on July 3rd, so references to the game from the night before were actually the game on July 2nd.

Petey:  I am talking today with NY Mets 2012 1st-round sandwich pick, catcher Kevin Plawecki of the Brooklyn Cyclones. Kevin how does it feel to be in your first season in professional baseball with the Mets organization, and what do you think of the New York Penn League?

Kevin:  It’s great so far. It’s a little bit of a transition from college ball to here. Obviously the velocity of the pitching, the consistency of the pitching, just getting used to my pitchers and the guys on my team as well. But so far it’s been a great transition, and I’m looking forward to what the rest of the year has to offer.

Petey:  You had a big part in the win last night, an 11-inning victory. You hit a big home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, and then got on base to lead off the 11th and got on when you were hit by a pitch, and that eventually led to the winning run scoring. What were you trying to do with the at-bat when you came up in the ninth inning and hit the game-tying home run?

Kevin:  I was just looking for something to drive. Obviously we needed to get a rally going cause we were running out of time. At the plate, I was fortunate enough to run into one good enough to leave the park for me, but by no means was I trying to hit a home run. I’ve been struggling a little bit at the plate so I ran into one like that, and that’s always nice. It boosts your confidence a little bit. I’ve been frustrated at the plate a little bit but I’m just sticking with it and the hits will come.

Petey:  What kind of stuff are you working on now in the cage to break out of it?

Kevin:  Just working on drills that have gotten me to this point. So there’s no reason to change anything, no reason to over-think anything. Like I said, it’s a transition. Coming out here I took about a week off, I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I’ll figure it out and last night was hopefully a good block to build off of and moving forward here. We got a long season ahead.

Petey:  You guys have a very strong catching core with yourself, Jeff Glenn and Nelfi Perez.

Kevin:  Yeah, both guys are great baseball players, great guys to be around. They’re doing a great job and they’ve been doing it all year. We all work together as a unit, I don’t see any problems there at all.

Pete:  Let’s talk a little about the pitching staff, which you handle so well. First of all the starting pitching, They rank number one in just about every category in the league. That must make your job easier to have five or six guys like that.

Kevin: Yeah, it’s always nice when you’re working with guys who can hit their spots well, and who can throw all their pitches for strikes at any time in the count. And when you can do that with guys it makes it a lot easier on my end because I know they’re confident in the pitches they are throwing. It keeps the hitters off-balance and the other team off-balance when all those things are working, and it has up to this point this year. I don’t see anything changing and I look forward to their continued success as well.

Petey:  Are you calling your own games?

Kevin:  Yeah. Sure am.

Petey:  How is that coming along? It must be a challenge getting to know the hitters and figuring their weaknesses out.

Kevin:  Yeah, I mean it is a little bit of a new challenge, but it also has to do with me getting to know my pitchers. Like I said, just knowing what they can throw for strikes and what they feel comfortable throwing in certain situations. That’s the main thing really, having my pitchers throw the pitches they want to throw and not feeling uncomfortable throwing certain pitches. So far we’ve been on the same page most of the time. We’ll just continue to get to know one another and go from here.

Petey:  The other night you DH’d when Mateo pitched. But you have caught him before, what kind of stuff does he throw?

Kevin:  He’s good. He spots up with his fastball very well. He’s got a great slider. His change-up’s good as well, so when he’s got all three of his pitches working and he’s throwing mid-nineties, it’s kind of hard as an opposing hitter to really figure out what he’s going to throw you next. He keeps the hitters off-balance and keeps the other team guessing and I think that’s important to his success up to this point. He’s a great pitcher.

Petey:  What kind of movement does he get on his fastball?

Kevin:  He gets quite a bit. It moves different directions. I don’t know what he does I’m just out there catching it, I don’t know what to expect either back there. I don’t know if it’s his arm-angle that he comes in at, or the way he grips the ball. I have no idea, he definitely does find a way to get it done.

Petey:  How bout his change? How much of a speed differential does he get off his fastball?

Kevin:  I don’t know exact numbers, but it’s enough to keep hitters off-balance.

Petey:  Does it have good movement too, the change-up?

Kevin:  Yeah, it’s a great pitch, a good secondary pitch to go to. He’s been doing really well for us.

Petey:  How about the relief corp? Any of those guys really impressed so far?

Kevin:  Matthew Bowman and Paul Sewald have been good out of the pen. Last night John Mincone, I don’t want to forget any guys.

Petey:  And how about David Wynn, and Tyler Vanderheiden, Logan Taylor, Ernesto Yanez and Matt Koch? They’ve all been very effective this year.

Kevin:  Yeah they’ve done a great job, all of them are doing really well. I can’t really pinpoint one over the other.

Petey:  Yeah. and we are gonna leave someone out, but the pen’s been simply outstanding this year too. Well Kevin, I’m gonna let you go, but thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions for all of us at MMO. We really appreciate it and I’ll be looking forward to speaking with you again.

Kevin:  Sure. Sounds great.

Plawecki Is not your typical slugger with a K/BB ratio of 8/14 in 127 AB’s this year

LGM!

Flores: Not Swinging At Bad Pitches

I caught up with Mets top position prospect Wilmer Flores one afternoon two weeks ago in the visitors dugout at New Britain Stadium. Wilmer was nice enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions for the readers at MMO. I asked him for his thoughts on the Eastern League pitching he’s seen so far, and how he feels about being an infield gypsy, playing musical chairs everyday as he moves around the infield positions. His answers may surprise you, so without any unnecessary preamble, here’s what he had to say:

Petey:  Wilmer you’ve had a really exciting season so far this year, first you changed defensive positions when you were moved from shortstop to third-base, then started very strong with the bat in St. Lucie, and slugged your way to a promotion to the AA Eastern League, what do you think about this year your having so far?

Wilmer:  Well, it’s been going very well. I think the difference between last year and this year is that I have more concentration at the plate. I have an idea of what I’m doing.

Petey:  They say it’s a big jump between High-A and Double-A, would you agree with that?

Wilmer:  Yeah, it’s definitely the biggest step to make. The difference is the pitchers throw more strikes, they have better command of their pitches, and they know what they’re doing on the mound. It’s still the same game it’s just a little bit faster, but it’s still the same game.

Petey:  You were hitting very well at St. Lucie at the time of your promotion to Double-A. But once here, it seems you started to really heat up, and started out in Double-A very strong. How were you able to do that?

Wilmer:  Just having more concentration and just having a plan, and trying to get my pitch. Last year I would swing at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone. I’m just trying to get my pitch man, and drive it.

Petey:  You made a position change this year as they moved you from shortstop to third-base. You’ve also played a little second and a little first. How do you feel about working at these other positions?

Wilmer:  Yeah I played like three or four games at first, it’s a little different, it’s a little easier, but It doesn’t matter to me where I play. I just want to play the game, it doesn’t matter where.

Petey:  Now that you’ve had some time to settle in at third are you starting to feel some comfort level there?

Wilmer:  Yeah, I feel comfortable. There’s a big difference between High-A and Double-A. Hitters are stronger, they hit the ball harder. And that’s a big difference.

Petey:  Is there more in the way of in-game strategy now. Different defensive alignments getting called, wheel-plays, things like that, that weren’t in use in the lower minors?

Wilmer:  Yeah definitely.

Petey:  Who amongst your teammates have impressed you since you’ve been at Binghamton?

Wilmer:  I would say Lagares. He’s hot right now and hitting very well.

Petey:  Awesome, yeah his average has been getting up there after a bit of a slow start. Well listen, thank you very much Wilmer for sitting down to chat with me for the readers at MMO. I’ll look forward to talking with you again, good luck with the rest of the season, take care.

Wilmer: Alright, thank you.

That concludes my first chat with Wilmer Flores, hopefully we’ll get a chance to do many more Q&A’s with him as he progresses through the upper levels of the Mets system, on his way to Citifield in a couple of years. And today he turns 21, so we would like to take a moment to wish Wilmer a very Happy Birthday.

He’s obviously a very diligent student of the game, a hard worker and a very serious young man when it comes to the game he loves. With his skill-set and advanced approach to hitting, the question with Flores is no longer if he will make it to the majors, it’s just a matter of when.

Learning His Way Around the Infield

Matz Has Recently Been Clocked In The Upper 90′s

Steve:  Hello.

Petey:  Hey Steve?

Steve:  Hey.

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

Steve:  Hey how’s it going?

Petey:  Great how you doin today?

Steve:  Not too bad.

Petey:  Last time I talked to you was the end of April I guess, something like that, and you had undergone a setback in spring training where you had to shut it down and go back to Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews again. And you told me at the time that you were going to be giving it “one more try.” And then a few weeks later I was talking to one of your teammates, it was Joe Tuschak I think, and when I asked him which pitcher in camp was really opening eyes, he said immediately, “Steve Matz.” Since that last time I had talked to you when everything was very uncertain, I was wondering what happened?

Steve:  Honestly, I have no idea what happened but I actually went to get a second opinion from Dr. Andrews and he said it’s really tough to read an MRI after a surgery is done because there’s so much scar tissue and different stuff going on. He pretty much said there was a chance they might have to go back in there, If it was still bothering me they would have to go back in there and clean something out, or redo the whole Tommy John (meaning a second elbow reconstruction). He said the bottom line is you just give it one last try, go out and pretty much let it rip and see how it feels. You know in my head I was just like well, I know it’s gonna hurt cause it’s been hurting. Other than that I only rested it like two days from throwing, and I went out there and just let it rip and it didn’t hurt, I don’t know how, if it broke up scar tissue, and after a couple of days rest, I don’t know what happened but it’s been feeling good ever since.

Petey:  Really, no pain these days?

Steve:  No. Nothing.

Petey:  That’s fantastic. It sounds like maybe that’s what it was, scar tissue breaking up, whatever it was it was great news to hear that you were back on the hill throwing those tiny pills again. What kind of pitch counts do they have you working under these days?

Steve:  I think right now I’m right around 80.

Petey:  That’s about where everyone’s at in the short-season leagues. Rich Donnelly the Cyclones manager recently told me that his guys were at 80 too, and they would be gradually stretching them out.

Steve:  Yeah.

Petey:  Well you managed to make your pro debut, pitching for the K-Mets. You pitched their second game of the year, and have made six starts so far. What are your impressions, now that you’ve made your professional start and have pitched in some games, and what are some of your observations of the Appalachian League early on?

Steve:  I would say it’s a better league than I expected, you hear rookie ball and you think it’s like the bottom of the barrel, but they’re still pro hitters and everything. I don’t know if you saw I kind of struggled with my command a little bit, in my first and last outing but it’s just like getting my hitters out and hopefully I can get my command back. It’s mostly like when runners get on base and stuff, I was worrying too much about the runners and trying to be too quick to the plate. Something like that, worrying about them stealing too much, and kind of lose my focus on the hitter. I ended up just walking guys and that’s when you start getting into trouble.

Petey:  What do you think you need to do to be more consistent, is it just a matter of focus, or are there also mechanical things your working on?

Steve:  Not really mechanical things, Ron Romanick the pitching coordinator he kinda cleaned up a bunch of things in spring training. And I’m just trying to repeat my delivery over and over again. And that’s when you find yourself starting to be more consistent. But other than that it’s just getting used to going out there and playing. In extended spring training I threw a bunch of innings there, you can throw innings but now it’s like do-or-die.

Petey: Yeah now it’s for real.

Steve: Yeah.

Petey:  Your three recent starts have been fantastic with no runs given up over those 18 innings, what is different now?

Steve:  Everything has felt locked in. Everything’s been going way, my command is on. My change-up has been on, which is something that let’s me cruise through innings.

Petey:  That makes a big difference huh, when the change-up’s working?

Steve:  Yeah.

Petey:  As long as we’re talking about your change, can you tell me a little bit about your arsenal these days?

Steve:  I’m throwing a fastball, curveball, change-up, more like a slurve-type of pitch. But that’s really it. I’m going to start trying to throw a two-seamer. Try to mix that in. It’s something I’ve never thrown.

Petey:  Have you thrown any yet?

Steve:  No, not yet. I’m pretty sure next start I’ll start throwing it. It’s just kinda like another pitch. I’ve thrown them on the side but never in a game.

Petey:  You getting some good sink on it?

Steve:  Just a little bit, it’s like my fastball, I wouldn’t say it rises, but up in the zone I get a lot of guys swinging at it. I guess the two-seamer would be a pitch which I could just throw down in the zone and get a ground ball you know? It’s not like a sinker or anything.

Petey:  Yeah but a different eye level. How hard are you throwing the four-seamer these days?

Steve:  In my last outing I was like 94 to 97, but the outing before that I was like 92 to 94, and before that like 90 to 94. I usually sit around 93, 94.

Petey:  Do you find that when you take something off your fastball, that it’s got more movement to it?

Steve:  It’s the same with both.

Petey:  Have you set any goals for yourself for this season?

Steve:  Not really, my main goal is just to log innings this year. Get used to pitching in front of a crowd and try to win a game.

Petey:  You mentioned coach Romanick before, have any other coaches worhed with you and helped you out so far?

Steve:  Jonathan Hurst is down here right now, and he’s helped me a little bit. Like that second game in Danville, he just stressed the importance of me throwing inside. That’s what I did and it worked. It worked real well, so I mean, stuff like that but like mechanics-wise it was Romanick that helped me in spring training.

Petey:  What would you say is the one biggest thing you’ve accomplished in your development as a pitcher this season?

Steve:  The biggest thing I’ve accomplished is just being healthy, but as a pitcher? I would say my change-up has gotten a lot better. My change-up is like my second best pitch. I feel pretty comfortable throwing it normally.

Petey:  Cool. How bout the curveball? We didn’t talk about that pitch. What’s that like?

Steve:  It’s kinda like a work-in-progress. It’s not even really a strike-out pitch. But it’s getting there. It’s definitely getting better the more I throw it but I don’t feel a hundred percent comfortable throwing it for strikes right now.

Petey:  What other pitcher, or pitchers on the staff with you have been impressive so far?

Steve:  I would say Robert Gsellman and John Gant have been impressive. Gant, I guess he gave up a couple of runs at the end of his last outing but I think he went five innings, no hits. I mean even his first outing he pitched great, but the numbers didn’t quite look that way.

Petey:  He pitched four great innings and then struggled in the fifth.

Steve:  Yeah, and then Gsellman pitched that shutout, and that was pretty impressive as well.

Petey:  That was an awesome game, looking forward to seeing what else those guys bring. How’s Christian Montgomery look? That’s a guy he signed late last year out of high school, and no one has really seen him pitch yet.

Steve:  He looks real good too, he throws the ball. I mean he’s got a real live arm. He throws it real hard, he’s got a great slider. He’s a pretty good pitcher as well.

Petey:  And Corey Oswalt pitched really great the other day.

Steve:  Oh yeah that’s right, I didn’t even know it but I guess he was like a third-baseman, and he looked like he’s been pitching for a while in his last outing.

Petey:  Oh really, he has just recently been converted to pitcher?

Steve:  Yeah I guess he was a real good third-baseman, and he just transferred to pitcher.

Petey:  I did not realize that. Oh I wanted to ask you about this guy I know nothing about, but he’s pitched very well a few times now in relief, Flabio Ortega?

Steve:  Oh yeah, Ortega he’s done real well too. He’s got a good fastball and like a hard 12-6 curveball type pitch. Yeah, he’s come in and got the job done.

Petey:  Yeah he’s looked really good out of the gate so far. How about position players? Anybody we might not be too aware of who has really been impressing so far?

Steve:  Jeff Diehl he can crush the ball.

Petey:  He hits it a long way huh?

Steve:  I think he’s going to be pretty good.

Petey:  Being from Long Island, Steve, what do you think of living in Kingsport, Tennessee?

Steve:  I actually like it. I like the country, it’s different but it’s pretty cool.

Petey:  What do you do for fun when your not playing baseball?

Steve:  There’s like a little river over here, sometimes we go fish at. Otherwise just hang out.

Petey:  How bout the food down there?

Steve:  Oh yeah, it’s good. There’s this place called the Purple Cow. It’s like a drive-thru place and you can pretty much order anything there. All times of the day, it’s pretty good.

Petey:  Well listen thanks a lot I appreciate you giving me a little bit of your time, I know our readers are really going to enjoy reading about you now that you’re out there slinging baseballs for real. And we’ll be in touch with you down the road.

Steve:  Alrighty, sounds good.

Well there you have it, an exclusive chat with one of our Mets top pitching prospects. It wouldn’t be a stretch to make the argument that he is the top left-hander in the Mets system. And with a skill-set like that, a lefty that throws mid-90′s with a good change-up, and is only 21-years-old? I better turn down the AC cause something just gave me chills. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Matz is 2-0 over 18 innings in his last three starts, with no runs allowed, five hits, eight walks and 23 strikeouts. With the emergence of Corey Oswalt and the addition of Chris Flexen to the Kingsport rotation, along with the improved pitching of right-hander Persio Reyes, and Robert Gsellman and John Gant contributing solid efforts, Matz may soon be deemed expendable and earn that call-up that will bring him back home to Brooklyn. If that happens, I might just have to make the trek down to Coney Island to watch that guy pitch.

LGM!

Brandon Nimmo Getting Into The Swing

I asked Brandon Nimmo if he had a few minutes to spare at some point before the game against the Hudson Valley Renegades on Sunday. He said, “when?” I said, “you tell me, anytime your available.” He turned around and caught the eye of his hitting coach Bobby Malek who simply nodded, and Nimmo turned back to me and said, “I have time now.” Here’s the rest of what transpired:

Petey:  I’m talking to Brandon Nimmo. It’s July 1st, 2012, it’s hot as heck out here in Wappingers Falls, New York, at “The Dutch,” Dutchess Stadium. Brandon last night man, a really exciting game, a big win for you guys over Aberdeen. And you were the turning point, with your game-winning grand-slam in the seventh inning, can you tell us a little bit about the at-bat?

Brandon:  Well you know I just went up there and trying to be aggressive. My teammates put me in a great position. Nelfi and Sabol and the guys in front of me they really had great at-bats, drew two walks, and of course Phil starting the inning off right with a ball off the wall. Everything leading up to that was good at-bats so I got to see pitches. And then I went up there and tried to to think about just being aggressive, and maybe gettin’ after a pitch. I just reacted and great things happened. It was great for that to happen but I refer to my teammates and thank God for allowing me to be in that opportunity and allowing me to capitalize on it. It’s a great feeling, I mean your just floating around the bases when it happens. And like you said the really great thing about it was it turned the game in our favor and we never looked back. I think that was the big thing, it got us a series win, and anything I can do to help the team win, I’m all for it.

Petey:  Awesome. I didn’t get to watch the game, what pitch in the count was it that you hit?

Brandon:  First pitch.

Petey:  Was it a fastball?

Brandon:  Splitter, down and in.

Petey:  Guess it didn’t split too much.

Brandon:  I guess it hung there a little bit.

Petey:  How did you hit it? Because hitting them out to right field in Brooklyn is very difficult.

Brandon:  Yeah, it was on the lower inside part of the plate and I just dropped the barrel on it. It was pretty much a line drive, because there’s the stands out there and then the more it gets up over that, the more the wind can come into play on it. Luckily last night, was a very warm night the ball was flying well, and at that point in the game the wind had really stopped. So it happened to be at the right time, the right moment. You know a lot of things came together to make that possible. So it never really got much higher than the stands, but it was a line drive and got out of there quickly. And that’s the only way, I think, that I’ve seen a ball get out of there, a line drive.

Petey:  What’s your comfort level now, I mean I know you can’t be comfortable, but now that you’ve been with Brooklyn a few weeks, what do you think of the New York Penn League?

Brandon:  Everyday is getting better. But just because I had a good night last night doesn’t mean I’m out of the slump that I’m going through. We still have to stay on top of it and keep working and keep getting more comfortable because this is a tough league and the comfort level, I’m not all the way comfortable with it yet but we’re getting there. Everyday you play a little more, the game slows down a little bit more. Things you go through quicker in your mind and situations come up that you just know what to do, when to do it, what your looking for. And so I just need to keep playing, and keep getting more comfortable. Obviously I’m more comfortable than the first game. Came in there with a lot of nerves, and now I can play the game, think about what I’m going to do, it’s a little more natural now.

Petey:  More settled?

Brandon:  Yeah exactly. Still have a lot of things to work on so you can never get too comfortable.

Petey:  You mentioned before Stefan Sabol, this year’s 17th round pick.

Brandon:  Yes.

Petey:  He’s a big guy hits the ball really hard, can you tell me a little bit about him?

Brandon:  Yes, Stefan’s a great guy off the field, on the field, great character. Like you said, big strong guy swings the bat well with a lot of power, hits the ball hard when he hits it. He’s got a good approach going up to the plate. He knows what he’s good at and he goes and he tries to capitalize on that. He’s been hitting well with two strikes too. He’s just an all-around good hitter. I’m glad to have him in our line-up, he starts a lot of rally’s, he finishes a lot of rally’s. It’s great to have a hitter like that on your team, right in the middle.

Petey:  He slipped into the Mets system a little bit under the radar, with the influx of all the new players after the draft, but give him a little time and Mets fans are going to start to notice this guy and what he’s doing.

Brandon:  Oh yeah, he’s fun to watch he’s great in the outfield too. He’s already made two catches diving into the wall.

Petey:  I wonder how the wall felt after that.

Brandon:  (laughing) Something about the roar of the fans afterwards makes it better, but he’s a great player and I think they’ll love watching him play.

Petey:  And of course another guy who like you is in his first full season with the organization, Phil Evans, he must be a lot of fun to play with.

Brandon:  Yeah he’s a great kid, on the field off the field, you know. Just a funny guy to be around, lightens up the mood, but is a fierce competitor on the field. Knows how to turn the switch off and on. He’s great to be around, I love playing with him. He’s a fireball and he gets after it on the field. He’s hitting really well, he’s raking the ball, fielding well, making major league plays. He made a play up the middle I think it was two days ago, that I could not believe. He’s just so much fun to play with and a great guy. I’m just really excited, you can go up and down our line-up and you got great guys. And the thing is some of us aren’t playing our best either. What’s great about our team is if a guy’s off one day, another guys picking him up. That’s the great thing about our team right now and when you can do that in baseball, you can win. As your seeing. So hopefully we can just keep that going and maybe at some point we’ll all get hot, and we can win quite a few ball games.

Petey:  The last two years in a row now the Brooklyn Cyclones have gone deep into the play-offs, and almost brought home the championship only to come up a little short at the end. Hopefully this year that will change.

Brandon:  It would be nice to get over the hump. It’s obviously the goal in all of our minds to win the championship. And we’re all going to work as hard as we can to get there.

I want to thank Brandon for taking the time out to do this interview for all of us here at MMO. His answers were fascinating I thought, and his points were complete and very well made. I am looking forward to talking to him more in the future, and bringing to MMO, more of his insights and observations as he advances through the minor league system on his way to CitiField.

LGM!

Most brothers grow up doing almost everything together. They go to school together, hang out in the same circle of friends, and often play the same sports with one another. Be it baseball, football or whatever sport under the sun, said brothers will usually go from little league, to high school, to maybe even collegiate ball playing with or against one another. Most however, can only dream of getting the chance to play with one another at the professional level; a far-fetched fantasy for most.

For a select few however, siblings have been able to play in the MLB be it on the same team, or on opposing sides. We have seen this with the Molina brothers, Jeff and Jared Weaver, and Rickie and Jemile Weeks to name a few. In recent memory, only two sets of brothers come to mind of those who have played both on the same team, and against one another and different points in the show. One is Andy and Adam LaRoche, which of whom only the latter is an active major league ball player. The other band of brothers, are both present in the current Mets vs. Dodgers series.

Scott and Jerry Hairston fill out the other duo. Coming from a long line of baseball in their family, stretching three generations dating back to 1951, the majors were calling these two since they were in diapers. They both answered that call in their own, very different ways, yet still somehow managed to find one another on the same team for the first time in their baseball lives in 2010 for the San Diego Padres.

Prior to one of his BP sessions, Hairston was kind enough to speak with me a while back about this very topic awhile back, and here’s what he had to say on the opportunity to play with his brother out West:

“It’s really special to both of us, that something we talked about growing up.” Said Hairston. ”[Jerry] is four years older than me so we never really got a chance to play on the same team growing up, so we knew that the only way that that would happen was in pro-ball. So for that to happen and for that dream to come true, it was really great, and to do it in San Diego was even better.”

Here is how he felt regarding playing against his brother Jerry as the two will do today against the Dodgers:

“It never gets old playing against him, I love playing against him when we’re in L.A.”

One can only imagine what it is like to even get the opportunity to play in the major leagues, let alone have a family member there playing next to or against you. The sheer odds are atronomical, and as you can see from what Scott had to say about his brother Jerry, they don’t take this very rare opportunity for granted and that they cherish every moment of these short lived moments they receive of playing against one another for two-four games at a time.

However, of course there is that burning question, the thought that often on the lips of seeing two relatives play: Who’s better?

“Oh man. That’s tough. We’re two completely different types of players.” Hairston said regarding whether he or his brother is the better player. ”He’s been around longer than I have and so he is able to play a lot of positions and I’m not, so he’s probably more valuable all around. So I’ll give him that one.”

Perhaps he was being a bit generous as Scott himself has played all three outfield positions and second base in his nine-year major league career; but hey, what’s wrong with showing his older brother a little respect. What I would love to hear is, if Jerry would feel the same way about Scott.

Anyway, it is always facinating to watch family members go to bat against one another and even moreso when they are on the same side. This time around the two may be looking forward to seeing the closure of this series as they are a combined 0-for-8 in the first two games of the four game set.