Rafael Montero Is Heading To AAA (Photo by MMO Contributor Gordon Donovan)

The Mets have promoted RHP Rafael Montero to Triple-A Las Vegas, according Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

Lynn Worthy of Press and Sun Bulletin, later reported that this was likely just a spot-start situation, as the B-Mets expect to have Montero back in their rotation for the end of next week. He did note, in a later tweet however, that nothing is set in stone – and referenced Collin McHugh’s performance in AA in the past when he was only supposed to be up for one start.

Well, we’ve been calling for some movement in the field of Rafael Montero for a little while now as he has dominated in Binghamton for the most part. The Mets organization has responded to Montero’s excellent performance so far this year with a promotion to AAA, where he will join the Las Vegas rotation as he perhaps progresses to an MLB call-up later this year.

Montero was one of my favorite prospects to cover last year because he had such amazing command and what I described as a bulldog mentality on the mound. He is intimidating when he pitches with great stuff, mixing in a slider, change-up, and occasional curve in with his fastball that has exceptional late movement.

I am part of the camp that believes Montero should have had some work in AA and then skipped Las Vegas, but regardless, he will get some time to fine tune himself before making a major league appearance. He’s knocking on the door…

So far in 2013, Montero is 4-3 with a 3.47 ERA through 46.2 innings, where he has allowed 40 hits – and only two home runs. He has walked just six batters, in contrast to his 54 punchouts. Those Las Vegas fans are lucky – Zack Wheeler and Rafael Montero in the same rotation!

Photo by Michael G. Baron of SNY.

Updated by Mitch Petanick on May 17, 2013

Adam Rubin has reported that Zack Wheeler is scheduled to start throwing again today, and is back with the team in Las Vegas. He was placed on the seven day DL, retroactive to his last start. He will rejoin the rotation next Wednesday when the team is in Iowa.

Wheeler received a cortisone shot last Wednesday after being diagnosed with inflammation of the AC joint in his throwing shoulder. He is still expected to only miss one start, which would have been on Saturday of this week.

Updated by Joe D. on May 15, 2013

Zack Wheeler has been diagnosed with slight inflammation in the AC joint in his shoulder, and will miss one start, according to Assistant GM John Ricco.

Wheeler received a cortisone shot at the Hospital for Special Surgery in his right shoulder and is flying to rejoin his team at Triple-A Las Vegas.

We spoke to his agent a few minutes ago who said there is no structural damage and that he is in good spirits.

That said, until I see Wheeler back on the mound pitching again, I will remain concerned.

It’s just the Mets fan in me.  :-)

Get back on that mound soon, Zack…

Original Post May 14, 2013

Zack Wheeler has a sore right clavicle, and will fly to New York to be examined by team doctors tomorrow at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

“I think we’re being a little conservative,” assistant GM John Ricco told reporters about the Mets top prospect. Wheeler had already met with the team doctor in Las Vegas.

That said, Ricco added that Wheeler will not make his scheduled start on Saturday in Omaha.

Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Wheeler will undergo an MRI exam on his collarbone while in New York.

Terry Collins commented on this and said:

“From what I’ve heard today, it doesn’t sound serious. But any time you miss a start, it’s for the best interest of the player. We’ll wait to hear the doctor’s report and go from there. If it’s only one start, that’s certainly something we can handle easily.”

After a rough start to the season. Wheeler made a mechanical adjustment and has had incredible success over his last three starts for Triple-A Las Vegas and walked only three while posting a 1.35 ERA.

Overall, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA for the season with 18 walks and 47 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched.

While the team calls this precautionary and conservative, any kind of soreness in the surrounding shoulder area should be a cause for some concern.

Thoughts From Mitch Petanick:

I’m hoping for the best here, but preparing for the worst. What I am worried most about is the fact that Zack Wheeler pitches using a delivery called the “Inverted W,” which could put added stress on the anterior labrum ligament in the shoulder — it slowly loosens the ligament and can actually lead to tears. Some pitchers use this delivery and go through their careers injury free, but many of them suffer injuries that require surgery…like John Smoltz and Stephen Strasburg.

Wheeler also recently tweaked his mechanics, which is what his improved control is accredited to, but could that mechanical fix in addition with the Inverted W delivery been enough to cause this shoulder discomfort? I guess we will find out after his MRI, but even precautionary MRIs are a cause for concern.

The Inverted W is like playing with fire…you can get burned.

Thoughts from Matt Musico:

One of the more frustrating things so far about the 2013 season for the Mets, has to be the ongoing struggles of first baseman Ike Davis. Many of us including myself, were simply salivating of the thought of a breakout season for Davis this year, especially after the way he ended the 2013 season leading the National League in home runs and RBIs.

With the exodus of Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols to the American League, some even envisioned a possible All Star berth along side Joey Votto at Citi Field for the Mid-Summer Classic.

All those glossy expectations are now out the window and instead of celebrating a great season for our first baseman of the future, we are left wondering if Ike Davis will be a part of the solution or the future at all. Trade rumors and speculation are already abounding.

Manager Terry Collins can’t make up his mind what to do with his struggling power hitter and after vowing to leave him in the cleanup spot for as long as it takes, he was dropped to the seven spot of the order two days later.

Andrew Kahn, who has written for the Wall Street Journal, Newsday and ESPN, sheds some light on the matter in a comprehensive article today which you can read here.

Using Baseball-Reference’s “Similarity Scores,” he gathers a list of players who compared with David through their age 25 seasons. Among them you will find Carlos Delgado, Mo Vaughn, Eric Karros and David Ortiz to name a few.

However, the key difference between Davis and the other players in the chart, he writes, is that they had a breakout season. “A year in which they performed close to how they’d perform over the rest of their career at age 25 or 26.”

He tackles the question I posed in the title, and does a good job of concluding that if Ike Davis is ever going to be the player we all thought he would be and thus save his career, then this is the year to prove it. Read Andrew’s full article here.

Updated by Joe D. at 2:30 PM

Just caught this on MetsBlog who seems to have just caught on to what has been a two day debate here:

It almost sounds like Collins put Valdespin in a situation he knew would end up with a hit-by-pitch, maybe in an effort to teach Valdespin a lesson, right? If that’s the case, is that why Valdespin threw a ‘tantrum,’ as fans and media have described it?

Unfortunately, we’ll never know if Collins sent Valdespin up to hit knowing he’d be beaned, in a game down nine runs. And, there is no way to know if his teammates were really indifferent, even though that’s what it looked like. I hope this isn’t the case. I really hope Collins didn’t risk getting a player injured, just so the youngster could learn a lesson. I also hope Terry’s players don’t go on to question his leadership because of it, even if the guys understand his reasoning. In other words, I really hope this just goes away…

Matt, first welcome to the party. Also, you may want to read my post entitled, “This Team Is Fractured”. It has even more insights in it that will help you realize what’s going on.

One thing though, your closing comment, “I really hope this goes away.”

Sitting on one’s hands and saying ten Hail Mary’s is not going to make this go away. It’s Terry Collins who should go away and I believe you know the reason why.

Aren’t you the one who always says, “hope is not a strategy”?

It would be great if we could wish this into the cornfield, but a fractured clubhouse is not just going to go away all by itself. This is not the first time we’ve seen Collins divide a major league clubhouse…

Do you really believe that Valdespin was showing up the Pirates and not Terry Collins when he hit that homer? Watch it again… What do you see…

Do you think Collins didn’t know that bat flip was intended for him and not the Pirates?

Weren’t you right there at the post game?

“I know he’s trying to make a statement because he hasn’t been in the lineup. I know he’s trying to make a statement to everybody what he can do. If he keeps hitting homers, he can stand at home plate all he wants, I guess. As long as they start coming up at the right time.”

Collins sent Valdespin up there to get his just desserts as one of our readers pointed out.

It’s not as unbelievable as it sounds, it’s human nature to want to get even.

Luckily he wasn’t seriously injured.

That said, Valdespin needs some reprimanding, some friendship, some understanding, and some baseball etiquette. That much is also clear.

Original Post May 13, 12:00 PM

They say that the cream always rises to the top. Except of course when you don’t use it and just let it sit around and spoil.

That’s what continues to happen with Jordany Valdespin.

In the latest chapter of the New York soap opera titled “El Dramático,” Valdespin was intentionally hit by a pitch by Pirates reliever Bryan Morris. This stemmed from Valdespin’s prolonged admiration of his 426-foot moonshot into the Pepsi Porch in the latter innings of Friday’s lopsided loss.

It isn’t troubling that Valdespin basked in his bomb on Friday or that he even got hit by a pitch Saturday. What’s troubling is the lack of support from his teammates and the coaching staff.

In the often glorified unwritten rules of baseball, it states that a team is informally granted permission to peg a player if he showboats after a home run. I get that. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it’s something I’ve learned to accept as a baseball fan.

What bothers me is that no one is there to have his back when it happens. David Wright went on the record after Saturday’s loss and offered a somewhat head-scratching statement about the incident.

“You’ve got guys that support Valdespin, and guys obviously are trying to help him,” Wright said. ”I think toning down some of his flair might be appropriate.”

So what he said is that guys support him, but he should tone it down? I don’t see how publicly concurring with the over-the-top perception of Valdespin is showing support. Wright was dubbed as the team’s captain to begin the season, but I’ve seen little in the way of upholding that title. Sure, he’s produced on the field this season, but as long as Valdespin wears that orange and blue uniform, he deserves the support of every player on that roster. It’s a captain’s job to ensure that.

That leads me to Terry Collins’ management. If there was any speculation as to Collins’ disdain for the Mets’ productive bench player, it seemed to be dispelled Saturday night. With the Mets down 10-1 in the 7th inning, Collins forced Valdespin into the game to receive what he thought Valdespin had coming to him. Sure enough, Valdespin was drilled in the right forearm.

“They threw at him,” Collins said. “I knew they might. It’s part of the game.”

Collins’ rationale was that he didn’t want to burn two bench players by using Mike Baxter. So at the expense of wasting an additional bench player in a bigger blowout than the night before, he threw Valdespin into the fray. The brief moment was a microcosm of the prodigious disconnects between Valdespin and the Mets.

Valdespin went on to “throw a fit” in the dugout after the inning ended according to SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt, who was very boisterous about the incident over Twitter and showed his lack of support for the Mets utility man.

All the tweets to me saying the Mets need to protect Valdespin are lost. All he has to do is take the HBP, move to 1B, and move on (cont)..

— Kevin Burkhardt (@KBurkhardtSNY) May 11, 2013

Throwing a fit in the dugout just shows his lack of understanding of the game….

— Kevin Burkhardt (@KBurkhardtSNY) May 11, 2013

For the most part, I enjoy Burkhardt, but I think he’s the one who’s a little lost. I find it sort of unprofessional to go on the Internet and talk about a Major League baseball player’s lack of understanding. I mean, he did make it to the Major Leagues after all. I’d venture to say he has a pretty firm grasp on the game Kev-o, but thanks for your insight. It’ll be interesting to see Burkhardt’s postgame interview after Valdespin’s next walkoff.

Valdespin refused to address the media about the incident after the game.

If you don’t like the guy, trade him. If you can’t stand a guy for outwardly expressing his emotions on the field, tell him behind closed doors. Don’t make a mockery of him by having him walk the plank on national television and then telling the media he should tone it down. With teammates like that, who needs opponents?

I seem to recall a championship team in 1986 that had copious amounts of player tension. The Mets were also loathed for their frequent curtain calls and arrogant attitudes. That was their identity. Now their identity is the evident lack thereof.

The media circus that has surrounded this team is getting out of hand. I dislike having to spend the first half of the season contributing to this debacle. There are more disconcerting issues on this team.

Jonathon Niese’s consistent struggles are putting more pressure on Matt Harvey to perform. If Harvey doesn’t continue his unimaginable season, the fan base will alienate themselves further from the team. If Harvey does continue and the Mets don’t figure things out offensively, he could grow old of this team and be gone for good. I don’t know how many times you can expect a guy to throw nine innings of one-hit baseball without giving up a run and settle for a no decision. It’s those kinds of games that will make a guy lose interest.

Daniel Murphy is mired in a horrific 9-for-61 slump. He’s been a solid hitter for the Mets and they’re going to need his bat if they want things to get better.

Ike Davis has been so bad that he’s been seeing bench time. When he is playing, he still can’t get it together. Fellow MMO writer John Delcos expressed his feelings on the first baseman’s future:

“Davis’ slow start should definitely cause the Mets to resist the temptation of signing him to a multi-year extension. Davis is hitting a paltry .170 with a .270 on-base percentage. He already has 35 strikeouts with just 17 hits and 13 walks. He has four homers and eight RBI.”

I’ve gone on a little longer than I normally do. I haven’t been a Mets fan as long as many of you who go back to the sixties and seventies, but I can safely say this is the worst state I’ve ever seen this franchise in. What happened in that game ranks up there with Tom Glavine‘s meltdown in 2007 in the way it felt. A real punch in the gut.

It’s hard to tell where the Mets go from here. In all probability, this will be swept under the front office’s Persian rugs instead of being used as a way to band together. The only silver lining is a morbid one. Things can’t get any worse.

Frank Francisco

Francisco hasn’t pitched since he last appeared in an inning of relief for Single-A St. Lucie. He hasn’t allowed a run five innings over five relief appearances with them.

yesterday, Adam Rubin reported that Francisco would head to Double-A Binghamton to continue his rehab, but obviously that probably won’t happen now.

Francisco had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow in December and was shutdown early in Spring Training after experiencing discomfort in his elbow. He started the season on the disabled list.

After a woeful season in 2012, the Mets were hoping for a rebound from their closer who was signed to a $12 million dollar, two year deal by Sandy Alderson before the 2012 season. He is still owed $6.5 million for 2013.

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.

Rafael Montero Looks Intimidating (Photo by MMO Contributor Gordon Donovan)

Some people believe that we were put on this planet to serve a purpose. They believe that we were all put here for a reason. Well if that is the case, Rafael Montero was put on this planet for one reason: to pitch.

Montero was going through the Trenton Thunder lineup with surgical precision tonight, prompting this tweet from Trenton’s beat writer and former MMO Alumni Matt Kardos:

In my three seasons of covering minor league baseball, tonight’s effort by Rafael Montero is the most impressive that ive seen

— Matt Kardos ⚾ (@mattkardos) May 8, 2013

Montero was incredible over six innings of work, striking out five consecutive hitters at one point. Montero was painting the corners and was working quickly. He was in a rhythm, and the Trenton hitters were doing very little to break that rhythm. They let Montero work at his own pace, and it was a major advantage tonight. The difference in the major leagues, when Montero gets there, will be that hitters will step out of the box to break his rhythm.

Through his first six innings of work, Montero had thrown 74 pitches, 55 for strikes. He gave up one hit, one walk, while striking out eight. It wasn’t until the seventh inning where Trenton started to get to Montero. Montero started the inning off by giving up a lead off walk, and it seemed to spiral after that. He ended the game giving up three hits and three earned runs.

The most impressive thing about this start by Montero is that it came off the heels of his worst start of the year. As I stated in this morning’s morning report, this game was an important test for Montero. The entire Mets organization was watching to see how he would respond after last week’s start where he gave up ten runs. Paul DePodesta commented recently that Montero needed to face some adversity. This was Montero’s first taste of adversity, and he passed this test with flying colors. How these young pitchers bounce back after bad starts is a big step in their development. Montero showed everyone that he was for real tonight.

Montero is special. Watching him work through those first six innings was a sight to see. I know most people were watching Matt Harvey dominate the Chicago White Sox, but this kid Montero, he’s pretty good too. I try to avoid comparing prospects to established superstars and all-time greats. I know Montero has drawn some comparisons to Pedro Martinez. I have tried like heck not to accept that comparison, but the truth is, I’m starting to see it.

He knows how to pitch, and he knows how to get batters out. The way he works the ball on the corners is completely masterful. The way he gets hitters to chase pitches out of the zone is equally impressive. Montero is scary good right now, and he’s only going to get better.

Here are some quotes from Matt Kardos’ post game interviews after yesterday’s game:

Montero on bouncing back strong after a bad start last week: “I feel happy because I am progressing as a pitcher and that is big for me.”

Montero on if he ran out of gas in 7th: “I haven’t gotten tired so far this year. I just have a pitch count and that’s why they took me out.”

Montero on the go-ahead hit by Slade Heathcott: “I don’t think it was a bad pitch, he just put it in play and you have to give props to the hitter.”

Thunder Manager, Tony Franklin, on Montero: “Montero is very good, the kid has some very good mechanics that allows him to throw the ball well.”

Slade Heathcott on Montero: “He filled the zone up. That’s the toughest thing. I think at one point he had something like 60 strikes and 20 balls. I think he was anywhere from 90-95. Nothing overpowering, his slider was decent but he filled the zone up & worked both sides of the plate.”

I really can’t stress enough how impressive Montero was yesterday. It was easily the best start I saw from a pitcher this year. Most people were busy watching Matt Harvey, and didn’t get to watch Montero, and the box score doesn’t give Montero any justice.

Watching Montero attack the hitters and be able to put the ball where he wanted made it look like he was a man among boys — he just looks like he doesn’t belong (in a good way). He has fluid and smooth mechanics that almost seem to lull the hitters to sleep at the plate. Before they know it, Montero’s 94 mph fastball just went by and nipped the black ever so slightly…Strike Three! This guy is the goods.

The truth is that love him. I was crazy about him as a player, and I’ve felt as though we became buddies, through the magic of TV, when he joined Gary and Ron in the booth.

But lately he’s been kind of cranky and he seems to pick on some of our players a little too much at times.

The other day, MMO staff writer Drew Staley wrote about his exchange with Ron and Gary about Lucas Duda. He’s completely frustrated with him. He doesn’t like this “approach” we keep hearing about and he went a little overboard when Duda didn’t swing at a first pitch strike during the Braves series with Wright at second.

I remember something he said last season the day after Duda came back from his banishment to the minors. “No improvement. It’s the same old Duda. It’s the same old hacker.”

At the time he said that he was actually right. Duda looked just as bad as he did before he went down.

But fast-forward to 2013 and we see a completely new Duda. Someone who is being more selective which is something he didn’t do much of last season. So far it’s given him a great OBP and OPS, but the raw numbers could probably be a lot better and he needs to get those up. Baseball is still a game that is based on the law of averages and I do think the RBI’s and run production will come as long as he sticks to his new approach.

The point is that Hernandez complained about Duda being a hacker last season, and now he’s complaining that he’s not a hacker this season. Pick a side and stick to it.

Okay, enough on that. There were a few interesting comments on Hernandez on out threads yesterday and while there’s no way for me to affirm their veracity, it thought it merited a debate and closer examination.

Phil Phil – May 7, 2013 at 2:04 pm

According to Mets reporter Bob Klapisch, Keith told reporter around the country not to vote for Darryl Strawberry for MVP in 1988 when Darryl had a huge year.

Keith was a real good player, but a lot of times he has an agenda. Beware of listening too closely to what he says. He knows baseball, but he also holds grudges and uses the media to go after guys.

I don’t think he likes the hitting coach, Sandy A., or some of the players. He didn’t like Jose Reyes. He almost got into a fight on the team plane.

Lisa – May 7, 2013 at 4:15 pm

My friend works for SNY and told me the reason Keith doesn’t like the taking pitches and high OBP strategy is it makes the games longer and he wants quick games so he can go home and have a nice glass of vino.

Keith also hates extra innings. My friend said to listen for sighs when the game is tied thru 9 innings.

Metsie – May 7, 2013 at 4:20 pm

LOL Lisa yes there is a LOT of truth in what your saying about Keith and the notion of getting out of there as quickly as possible….

But when he was a hitter he also practiced what he preached… He always said that in a Hitter’s count or with a man on base he wanted to look for that GOOD PITCH he was more likely to get and get what he calls a Rib Eye Steak!

And no one was a better hitter than him when he had the Pitcher on the ropes. So it’s not like he just came to this opinion he has exhibited it his entire playing career.

Lisa – May 7, 2013 at 4:40 pm

Ha, ha! Keith’s dream is a nice, crisp 1-0 game that finishes in 1 hour and 45 minutes so he can make it to the steakhouse to have a nice rib-eye steak and a bottle of high end wine. Ideally, Rusty Staub and Tom Seaver would be in town to join him!

Metsie – May 7, 2013 at 4:53 pm

LOL you can probably name about 10,000 Things Keith would rather be doing than being in that booth if you just listen to him during a game!

I actually understand it since when I work Baseball games about the worst thing that can happen is when it rains, Extra Innings or gets postponed and rescheduled as a Double-Header on getaway day.

Most techs who work on the game get paid per day and don’t get any overtime until after 12-16 Hours. And we have to be there about 4-5 Hours before game time even starts.

But he shouldn’t really let that get out when he’s on the air especially as obvious as he makes it sound.

It’s almost become common dialog for Gary and Ron to joke about Keith’s frequent tardiness, his propensity for leaving early, and the many days off he takes throughout the baseball season.

He certainly has shown that he can hold a grudge and led the parade when Jose Reyes came out of the game on the last day of the 2011 season to preserve and win his NL Batting Title.

Again, let me reiterate that I love Keith Hernandez the player and for the longest time Keith Hernandez the color commentator for SNY. But lately I get the perception that he would rather be anywhere else but in the SNY booth. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just reading too much into things. But when I saw those comments on last night’s game thread I realized I was not alone in this thinking.

Another thing…

For the longest time I have enjoyed the combination of GKR, they are no doubt the best broadcast team in the game. But I gotta tell you that I was incredibly impressed and entertained during the game that Kevin Burkhardt called on FOX two Saturday’s ago.

Burkhardt was so refreshing on my ears and he was a joy to listen to. I couldn’t believe it… Here I was listening to a Fox Mets broadcast and throughout the entire time I never once felt as though I was missing GKR.

Tom Verducci and Burkhardt teamed up and formed a great tandem, and their insights and analysis was beyond reproach.

I’m thinking it may be time to stick to with GKR, but maybe we should consider swapping out Keith for Kevin.

Sorry if you disagree, but that’s how I feel.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas edged out Round Rock, 3-2. 
• Binghamton dropped to Trenton, 5-1. 
• St. Lucie blasted Daytona, 13-3. 
• Savannah topped Hickory, 9-6. 

Prospect Pipeline

• It was supposed to be an epic matchup of top pitching prospects in Trenton, between the B-Mets and the Trenton Thunder yesterday — the Double-A version of the Subway Series. Rafael Montero was on the hill for Binghamton, while Jose Ramirez took the hill for Trenton. If you look at the box score, it looks as if Ramirez did the share of dominating, but it was Montero who bounced back, and looked masterful for six innings. Montero now has 48 strike outs to just eight walks this season. You can read my recap on Montero’s performance last night, here.
• Montero wasn’t the only pitcher that bounced back last night. Collin McHugh was even more dominant, pitching seven complete innings, while giving up no runs and compiling five strike outs and no walks. Round Rock only managed five hits against McHugh. I actually had to double-check to make sure Las Vegas didn’t build a dome after seeing those numbers.
• Eudy Pina makes his Mets Minors Report debut today, and with good reason. Pina smacked two home runs in Savannah’s win yesterday morning. He also added a double and compiled four RBIs on the day.
• Phillip Evans has been flirting with the Mendoza Line, but he erupted for three hits in yesterday’s game, one of which was his first home run of the season.
• Cesar Puello provided all of the B-Mets offense with one swing of the bat yesterday. He crushed an 0-2 hanger from Jose Ramirez over the left field fence, which also extended his hit streak to 14 games.
• Travis Taijeron has been named Florida State League player of the week. Taijeron, an 18th-round pick in 2011 from Cal Poly Pomona, hit .474 with one homer and six doubles in six games through Sunday.
• Third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez also has heated up with the FSL club. Rodriguez is 7-for-17 with two homers and nine RBIs in his past four games, which has upped his season average to .218. (Rubin)
• Right-hander Jeff Walters, whose eight saves with Binghamton lead the Eastern League, has an interesting distinction. Walters was drafted five times — out of high school, twice out of junior college, then after his junior and senior years at the University of Georgia. He signed after being selected in the seventh round by the Mets in 2010. Told getting drafted five times must be some type of record, Walters said he actually knows another person who experienced it — his former high school pitching coach, Randy O’Neal, who ended up being the 15th overall pick in the 1981 draft by the Detroit Tigers the final time. (Rubin)
• Jack Leathersich now has 27 strikeouts in 15.0 innings pitched for Double-A Binghamton. For his young pro career in the Mets system, he now has an insane 166 K’s in 99.2 innings.
• Matthew Bowman pitched six innings and struck out seven to earn his first win in his Florida State League debut as the Mets defeated the Daytona Cubs 13-3 on Tuesday. Bowman was promoted from Savannah, where he went 4-0 with a 2.64 ERA in five starts.
• We want to welcome Matt Musico and Wally Murphy to MMO Minor League Team! Matt was formerly the Executive Editor of Rising Apple where he led the site to great heights. Wally has been covering the Savannah Sand Gnats for eight years and has never missed attending a home game in all that time. Two powerhouse additions to an already great minor league team. Welcome Aboard, guys!

Stat Lines of the Day

Eudy Pina: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

Phillip Evans: 3-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB

Collin McHugh: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K 

Transactions/Injuries

The Mets are taking it slow with Michael Fulmer as he returns from surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Fulmer has not pitched again in a game since throwing two innings in an extended spring training game last Monday.

Right-hander Luis Mateo is making progress with a throwing program after leaving his Double-A debut April 15 with elbow inflammation. He was due to throw a bullpen session either yesterday or today.

Brandon Nimmo still has not returned to the lineup since April 29 because of a hand contusion. The Mets now consider it more serious than initially thought and will have him seen by team doctors with a possible MRI as well. DL stint looming.

Carlos Vazquez assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from St. Lucie Mets.

C Xorge Carrillo assigned to St. Lucie Mets from Brooklyn Cyclones (This one confused me, why not promote Kevin Plawecki?).

St. Lucie Mets placed C Albert Cordero on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to May 6, 2013.

Quote of the Day

The quote of the day comes via Twitter and was in response to Rafael Montero‘s performance last night:

In my three seasons of covering minor league baseball, tonight’s effort by Rafael Montero is the most impressive that ive seen

— Matt Kardos ⚾ (@mattkardos) May 8, 2013

I really can’t stress enough how impressive Montero was yesterday. It was easily the best start I saw from a pitcher this year. Most people were busy watching Matt Harvey, and didn’t get to watch Montero, and the box score doesn’t give Montero any justice. Watching Montero attack the hitters and be able to put the ball where he wanted made it look like he was a man among boys — he just looks like he doesn’t belong (in a good way). He has fluid and smooth mechanics that almost seem to put the hitters to sleep at the plate. Before they know it, Montero’s 94 mph fastball just went by and nipped the black ever so slightly…Strike Three! This guy is the goods.

Photo of the Day

Wow, these Mets Minors Reports are hot.

Come on, admit it… At one time or another you made a joke about Daniel Murphy at second base since the day he took over the position once Jose Reyes was not re-signed and Ruben Tejada slid over to shortstop.

Was the criticism harsh and often times deserved? Maybe… Maybe not… Ok, yes it was…

But seeing is believing and when I mentioned how much better Murphy has been defensively a couple of weeks ago on Twitter, you all know you’ve seen the dramatic improvement as well. He has been passing the eye test.

So enter ESPN’s resident Mets historian and statistical guru Mark Simon, who wrote an interesting post yesterday about the porous Mets defense overall this season.

Hidden within that gem of an article, I found this:

Daniel Murphy has been the Mets’ most improved defensive player. He was charged with -11 Defensive Runs Saved last season, but is holding steady at a major-league average of zero Defensive Runs Saved through 240 innings in 2013.

The biggest difference for Murphy has been in how he converts the double play. Last season, he converted only 13 of his first 30 attempts (43 percent) as either relay man or pivot man. This season, he’s 24-of-35 (68 percent).

If other Mets could show the improvement that Murphy has, it would go a long way in making them a better team.

Wow, how amazing is that?

I’M FINALLY WITH 28!

Updated on May 7

Zack Wheeler turned in his second straight strong outing with Triple-A Las Vegas, limiting Sacramento to three hits and a walk in six scoreless innings Sunday. Sandy Alderson has suggested Wheeler needs to turn in a string of positive starts before promotion consideration is made.

That said, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York speculates that Wheeler could make his MLB debut when the team will need an extra starter during a June 17-20 series at Turner Field. Because of Saturday’s postponement, the addition of the make-up date on June 18 will now that a five-game series.

“That likely would come after the Super 2 deadline, meaning Wheeler would miss an extra year of arbitration eligibility,” writes Rubin. “It probably would be a sweet moment for him, too, since he grew up in Dallas, Ga., outside Atlanta. Of course, this is all speculation.”

Original Post May 6, 2013

Top Mets pitching prospect Zack Wheeler followed up a solid start last week with an even better one today as the Las Vegas 51s beat the Sacramento River Cats 6-2.

Wheeler tossed six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out four. What stood out was that he tossed 91 pitches (55 strikes, 36 balls) and left the game looking he had plenty left in the tank.

He picks up his second win of the season and while he had command issues through the first two innings (15 strikes, 11 balls, walk), he got into a groove and dominated the rest of the way.

That’s two good starts in a row for Wheeler who made an adjustment to his delivery before his last start and so far things have turned around since a rocky start to the season.

Thoughts From Satish R. 

Wow! This is exactly what I wanted to see from Zack. The minor leagues are a place where you work on the kinks in your game – including things like mechanics. If the adjustment Wheeler made to his rotation before last week’s start was the big difference between a great performance and a bad one, then superb catch by the staff. He probably had another inning in him if they wanted to push it, but I’m alright with Backman pulling him so the young Wheeler stays in high confidence mode.

I was a little worried with how he started this game and thought we were headed towards a shaky performance, but Wheeler turned it around quickly and stood his ground. He was the aggressor on the mound and looked like a pitcher who finally trusted his pitches – at least his dominant fastball. The Wheeler watch is definitely on now… As everyone has been saying all season long, if Zack Wheeler strings together a couple of good starts in a row, it will be really interesting to see what the Mets brass does with him.

I still want to see more from the young man, but I have been very impressed with these last two starts.

Thoughts From Mitch Petanick

I will probably be in the minority when saying I wasn’t blown away by Wheeler’s start. On paper, the start was fantastic — no runs allowed while giving up three hits and one walk. It’s exactly what you want to hear about your prized prospect. However, I saw some things in the game that caused me to raise an eyebrow.

Let me preface what I am about to say with letting you know I only watched the first four innings of the game today. With that being said, I felt that Wheeler was not really throwing his off speed pitches for strikes, especially his breaking balls. The batters seemed to figure out that he was not throwing them for strikes, so they didn’t chase them out of the zone very often, and were sitting on the fastball (this is probably why Wheeler only had four strikeouts instead his usual seven or eight). That usually spells trouble for a pitcher, unless you are throwing 97 mph. Wheeler’s fastball was good enough to get the hitters out today, but that won’t always be the case.

The 97 mph fastball will not be enough to get hitters out at the major league level alone. He will have to throw the off speed pitches for strikes consistently. I didn’t see that enough today, although it was definitely another step in the right direction for Wheeler.

Updating Adam Rubin’s report this past weekend, which you can read about below, Mets GM Sandy Alderson spoke to the Daily News and said the following:

“It’s no secret Jordany has had a slightly different approach to some things, there is a certain level of tolerance that we have. I hope he doesn’t exceed that level.”

As I’ve been alluding to for months now, my conspiracy theories and pursuit of this so-called “non-story” wages on.

Alderson is hoping that Valdespin continues to mature, but clearly he is as close to “persona non grata” as you can get despite his enormous potential and upside.

“I am hoping he will continue to mature,” Alderson said. “He has, I think, made progress. Hope he continues to do so on that front.”

I just call them the way I see them.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, just someone who is very good at reading between the lines.

So let’s talk about this non-story some more, shall we?

Well actually, now it is a story… Which negates about three-quarters of the comments telling me I was barking up the wrong tree …

Insights > Willful Blindness

Wipon = Front Office = SNY = Wilpon

It’s the Circle of Life, baby…

Original Post May 4, 2013

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that Jordany Valdespin was asked to attend early batting practice at Turner Field yesterday, but opted to not participate.

Rubin said that Valdespin was told by a coach he did not have to participate in the batting practice session, so he simply didn’t show up which in turn annoyed the team and coaching staff.

“Valdespin is exciting,” Terry Collins said after last night’s game. “He plays with a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm, especially when it’s crunch time. You know you’re going to get things that you don’t expect sometimes.”

Last night, Valdespin came in as a pinch-hitter and ignited the rally that would win the game and he scored the winning run.

Of course, we don’t know how many other players didn’t show up for the “voluntary” early batting practice, but this is Valdespin and for some reason any chance they get to make him look bad always finds its way out somehow.

Maybe they should try hitting him in the face with a sledgehammer next time instead of a pie. Maybe that will fix him.

The folks at MetsBlog assess the situation as follows:

I understand the team’s frustration with Valdespin’s quirks and behavior as well – in the end, this is a workplace for the players, not a summer camp, and he has created a perception of immaturity for himself which he has to work hard to shed. If Valdespin’s superiors request he attend a batting practice session to get some extra work in, he should take the hint and just go. In the end, this isn’t a huge deal so much as it’s another reminder of who Valdespin is. Perhaps if he conformed to the culture and practices of the team consistently, he would reap the rewards of his performances and talents and be respected a little more as well.

I have a problem with that. Valdespin shouldn’t have to conform to any cultural guidelines to gain his respect. His play alone is worthy of respect. In that regard he should be getting more respect than anyone else on the team with four of the team’s wins directly attributed to him.

If the Mets coaches wanted him at early batting practice, then they should have simply told him that. Running to the press and calling him out? Typical Mets under this current regime and ownership.

How about the Mets conform to the US Constitution and afford Valdespin his rights to live his life the way he sees fit as long as he’s not breaking any laws? Voluntary means just that, voluntary.

Voluntary visits to Walter Reed Hospital, voluntarily not reporting early enough to Spring Training, not participating in a voluntary batting practice… Honestly, who created those dramas, the players or the Mets?

The sad part here is that many fans draw their conclusions from the messages and vibes that the Wilpon owned SNY cable and blog network communicate.

It led to a comment like this from one prominent blogger who wrote last week:

Happy that the Mets had won, although it a homer was by my 25th favorite Met, I rolled over, hit off and drifted off to dreams of updating this post in the morning.

What kind of message is that?

Or how about this one from Mack (I’m not a Met fan) from Mack’s Mets:

I stopped following him (Jordany Valdespin) both on Twitter and Facebook a while back because I just got sick and tired of all the pictures of himself that he kept posting. This is one sick conceited dude…The dude is just a thug and a jerk. Dump him.

Needs to conform to culture? My 25th favorite Met? A thug? A jerk? A sick, conceited dude?

Who do you think is creating these misconceptions? The player, the team or their paid messengers?

Maybe it’s a combination of all three, but is this the kind of PR a team who needs an emergency image transplant needs right now?

They call me negative because I bitch whenever the team that I love loses, and yet you see comments like this flying under, over, and through the damn radar screen and nobody says a word.

I’m pretty certain that I’ll get called out for speaking my piece on this for sure… There goes Joe D. again – getting all negative and spouting truths… The nerve of that guy…

However, fairness is irrelevant in sports. A manager’s job security always becomes an issue when he has lame duck contractual status and his team has lost six straight games.Losing streaks get everybody edgy, with questions directed to management, in this case, GM Sandy Alderson, who was asked the inevitable by The New York Post.

“That’s not something that has entered my mind or any mind within the organization,’’ Alderson said. “Has it entered the minds of others in the media or what have you? Yes.’’

Well, of course it has. It’s been on the back burner since pitchers-and-catchers in February. And, I don’t think for a second it hasn’t crossed Alderson’s mind, either.

Walter Alston used to work on one-year contracts, but he was Walter Alston and his Dodgers teams were perennial winners. They were an organization that believed in consistency. They were the exception to the rule.

By contrast, Collins manages the Mets, a franchise that last went to the World Series in 2000. Thirteen years later, and they are on their fifth manager. That’s not even three years each, and that’s no stability. While this trend doesn’t suggest good things for Collins, it might work in his favor for at least this summer. If the Mets aren’t going anywhere, there’s no reason to make a change and have owner Fred Wilpon pay two managers.

Bobby Valentine managed that World Series team, but frequently clashed with then GM Steve Phillips – one of four since 2000 – and with his personality wore out his welcome. Art Howe was the polar opposite of Valentine, and that didn’t work, either. I thought Willie Randolph had a chance, but he was hamstrung from the beginning when he wasn’t given full reign to hire his coaches and had to deal with clubhouse spyTony Bernazard, who usurped his authority. Jerry Manuel was overmatched, but that’s what you get when you sack a manager after midnight.

Now there’s Collins, who was brought in by Alderson to clean up the mess. However, Alderson doesn’t have free economic authority to spend, and consequently Collins doesn’t have the pieces. He’s basically a custodian; here to keep things clean.

The pieces he’s been given don’t fit, but here’s the rub, Collins is judged on what he does with those pieces, much like on those cooking shows where the contestants have to make something out of a basket of random ingredients.

“He came into the season without a contract for next year and may not have one for next year through this season,’’ said Alderson, meaning don’t expect an in-season extension. “But as I’ve told him and said before: This isn’t just about wins and losses. It’s about how we approach the game and fully taking into account what he has to work with.

“We talk from time to time and the [job status] subject comes up. I’m not trying to avoid the topic. It’s status quo. You go through a tough week and people like to immediately jump to conclusions and start discussing a doomsday scenario. A good first week isn’t necessarily any more of an indication than a bad fourth week.’’

So, there you have it: Collins is the care taker for 2013.

Alderson wants to know more if his roster can work and play nice with each other rather than if it has any talent. He’s telling us – again – that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, but how you play the game.

Unfortunately, they keep score and results do matter. Major League Baseball isn’t new wave, liberal physical education where everybody gets a prize for showing up.

Winning does matter on this level. Teams pay big money to get players capable of winning and fans pay big money to watch those players.

If the losing continues, attendance will eventually drop as it has every year since Citi Field opened. But, the players will get their money. And, Collins could be out of a job. Not fair, but that’s how they play the game. It is also something Alderson needs to think about concerning his own job status.

Thoughts from Joe D.

While I don’t think any manager can get more out of this team than Terry Collins is — and that is mostly because he’s been dealt a rotten hand by GM Sandy Alderson — I see too many flaws in Collins for me to defend him.

As an in-game strategist I disagree with more than half of the decisions he makes. No manager is perfect, but Collins makes too many bad decisions, many of which have negatively impacted the results of a game.

I thought it was a bad idea to let Collins play this season out as a lame-duck manager. Any of my regular readers know that. I wasn’t worried as much about his status becoming a distraction as much as I was concerned over the impact it would have on Collins as the manager and his decision-making process.

He’s making far too many bad decisions now than at any other time since taking over for Jerry Manuel. I think it’s a result of managing with a monkey on your back or your boss constantly hovering over your shoulder.

I don’t believe Sandy Alderson wants Terry back and that’s fine by me. But it should have been delineated that way before the season began. They could have handled it differently and just announce that this would be Terry’s last season as manager before assuming a new role in the front office. That would have made more sense, avoided all the constant questions, and let Tery and the players breathe a little easier throughout the season.

I got the sense from something David Wright said last week, that he and the team need to perform well because they like Terry and don’t want to let him down. ERRRRRRGGGHHHH. Wrong answer.

Collins has had to manage a team that is unworthy of being called a big market team and attendance has never been worse than this recent three-year run. As bad as the results have been, I doubt Gil Hodges or Davey Johnson could have done better with the same bad outfield, bullpen and backend of the rotation. This isn’t Terry’s mess, it’s Sandy’s mess – and he should be the one responsible for any of the bad results as well as cleaning it up.

When you live on the West Coast, sometimes you have to listen to the other team’s broadcast. It can be excruciating. When your team starts winning, especially in clutch fashion, there’s nothing better.

That’s what happened to me while listening to the Braves announcers last night. When the Braves made a move, the Mets had an answer. Clutch offense was the theme of the game.

Evan Gattis hit a home run off Brandon Lyon and Mets fans released a digital sigh throughout the Twittersphere. They had read this ending before.

Then David Wright summoned his inner Walt Whitman and had fans singing, “O Captain! My Captain!” Wright hit a clutch 464-foot home run off Craig Kimbrel that tied the game at five in the 9th. Bobby Parnell bailed out Lyon after Lyon gave up a leadoff double in the bottom half of the frame and the Mets went into extras unscathed. The Mets have played seven innings of extra-inning baseball in the last four games.

Lucas Duda and Marlon Byrd went down consecutively and the top of the 10th looked all but over. Then El Dramático stepped to the plate…

Jordany Valdespin worked a walk to get on with two outs in the 10th. Then he stole second and furiously clapped his hands before calling for time. The spark was created. He had attempted to steal third, which had some viewers scratching their heads. Michael Baron wasn’t too impressed with Valdespin’s enthusiasm over Twitter.

It’s a good thing JV1 wasn’t thrown out at third for the last out in the 10th inning before Tejada got a chance to swing the bat, btw #Mets

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

I had assured him that El Dramático had the base stolen, but Mr. Baron still wasn’t having it.

@pacific_theme Look, its a bad play. And, if he gets a bad jump and gets nailed, you’re singing a different tune.

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

You’re right, but he did get a good jump and that’s why he went for it. Leave my tune singing out of it!

While fielding more questions, Baron at least tried to be positive. So, whatever, I guess.

@sonufrock he backs it up with his play. So, whatever, I guess.

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

The flair was in full effect.

Mike Baxter and Ruben Tejada followed up with a walk and a base hit to drive home Valdespin for a 6-5 lead. Valdespin, who leads the league in style points in the early part of the season, slid into home plate head first. I don’t know why. It was brought to my attention that on-deck hitter Daniel Murphy instructed him to, but it was fantastic nonetheless. Murphy followed things up with a much-needed insurance run and Jeurys Familia shut the door for his first career save.

It was a good game for the Mets and it sent a message that they haven’t given up yet even if the media and fans have. John Buck hit another home run and his stock is skyrocketing. He now has 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. Duda and Byrd also went yard and the Mets tallied four long balls in the 7-5 victory. I even have to give it up to Terry Collins for a couple savvy managerial decisions in this one. Even if it only happens twice a day, you still have to point out when I dead clock is right. As for the ubiquitous why-isn’t-Valdespin-starting-every-day question? I don’t know. We could be watching El Dramático start rallies like that in the 1st inning three or four times a week, but for whatever reason, we’re not. I’ve given up on coming up with a legitimate explanation because there really isn’t one anymore.

All I know is Jonathon Niese and Matt Harvey are back on the mound, which gives the Mets a good shot at taking the series on the road.

What are your thoughts on last night’s game?

Mets Starting Lineup

1. SS: Ruben Tejada
2. 2B: Daniel Murphy
3. 3B: David Wright
4. C: John Buck
5. 1B: Justin Turner
6. LF: Lucas Duda
7. CF: Marlon Byrd
8. RF: Andrew Brown
9. SP: Shaun Marcum

Game Notes

Collin Cowgill was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas to clear the roster spot for the promotion of fellow outfielder Andrew Brown. Cowgill, 26, hit .157 (8-for-51) with two homers and eight RBIs with the Mets and was hitless in his final 13 at-bats.

Andrew Brown, 28, is now with the team after a solid month in Las vegas where he hit .367 (36-for-98) with two homers and 27 RBIs in 25 games with the 51s. Brown had an 11-game hitting streak and was leading the Pacific Coast League with 13 doubles.

Pedro Feliciano is nearing a return to the Mets bullpen. Last night in Ft. Myers, he allowed a walk and a hit in a scoreless inning of relief in St. Lucie’s 3-2 loss to the Miracle. Feliciano has allowed three hits and two walks, with four strikeouts, in four innings of work over four games with Advanced-A St. Lucie.

Game Preview

It’s May and the Mets will finally meet the Braves for the first time in 2013. The Mets are fresh off of a win in Miami where they snapped a 6 game losing streak thanks to some offense and a bullpen that didn’t completely implode. The Mets will also be joined up with Andrew Brown who is hitting well in Vegas and could fill in at the OF and occasionally at first base. Anyway, tonight’s game features Shaun Marcum pitted against Mike Minor.

Marcum had a rocky start in his 2013 debut allowing 3 ER in 4.0 innings of work (right before the bullpen just fell apart). Then, the baseball gods decided to turn on Shaun as 1.2 innings against the Marlins and would give up the winning run in the 15th inning. And just like that, 5.2 innings into the season, he is 0-2. He pitched one game against Atlanta last year and he allowed only 3 hits and 2 runs over 7 innings of work. He will be facing a much different Atlanta lineup that now boasts BJ Upton (although currently struggling) and Justin Upton (who is hitting the ball way out of the park). The Braves have the following numbers on Marcum:

BJ Upton 6-21, 2 2B
Johnson 1-12
Schafer 3-9, 2B
Uggla 1-8
Justin Upton 2-8
Freeman 1-5

The Mets bats hope to replicate their last game and not their previous 6 before that tonight against Mike Minor who is 2-2 on the season over 31.2 innings and 5 starts with a 3.13 ERA. He has went from spectacular, allowing 2 runs over his first 19 innings to not so good allowing 9 ER over 12.2 innings (with his last start being the real dagger at 6.2 IP, 6 ER). In two starts against the Mets last year he allowed 9 hits and 6 ER over 11.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Wright 2-11, 2 2B
Tejada 4-13, 2B
Buck 0-8, 3 BB
Turner 3-7
Byrd 4-8, 2B
Duda 3-8, 2B
Davis 0-4, 3 K
Murphy 2-5, 2 2B
Gee 2-2 (I know he’s a starter and he’s not starting tonight but whatever sorry not sorry)

Let’s Go Mets!

Updated on May 3 at 2:40 PM

The Mets have selected the contract of OF Andrew Brown from Triple-A Las Vegas and added him to the 40 man roster, the team announced.

The 28-year old was batting a sizzling .367/.440/.622 to go along with 13 doubles, three triples, and two home runs. He was leading the team in several different offensive categories including 27 RBI and 61 total bases.

To make room for him, the team optioned Collin Cowgill to Triple-A which is exactly what I figured would happen.

Cowgill batted just .157 with a .467 OPS in 51 at-bats after being named the Mets everyday center fielder on Opening Day. Maybe he’ll have better luck at the Black Jack tables.

Original Post May 2, 2013

According to what a source told Adam Rubin, the Mets will be promoting right-handed hitting outfielder Andrew Brown from Triple-A Las Vegas, where Brown was tearing it up at the plate.

Rubin says that Brown will be on hand for tonight’s game against the Braves in Atlanta.

Ironically, in our Mets Minors Report yesterday morning we wrote:

Andrew Brown went 3-for-5 last night with a home run, double and 3 RBI as he continued his “Seriously, call me up to the MLB team” tour.

The 28-year old was batting a sizzling .367/.440/.622 to go along with 13 doubles, three triples, and two home runs. He was leading the team in several different offensive categories including 27 RBI and 61 total bases.

They will have to make room for him on the 40 man roster and I’m betting Collin Cowgill will get the boot as I’ve been suggesting the past week and a half.

Brown probably won’t set the world on fire, but he’ll certainly be an upgrade over Cowgill and Mike Baxter. As one of our readers wrote yesterday, he has a chance to do what Scott Hairston did for us last season.

One thing to note is that Josh Satin took over for Andrew Brown in the outfield during last night’s game for the Las Vegas 51s. He’s another player the Mets could use right now and his ability to play first base, third base and outfield could pave the way for another roster move in the very near future.

Even the 195-strikeout pace Davis is on wouldn’t be as excruciating if the 26-year-old would demonstrate a hint of humility after getting punched out time after time.

But that’s the issue. He hasn’t. Through his four MLB campaigns, Davis seems to believe he’s entitled to borderline calls at the plate, which—for better or worse—are not given to players in their early 20s all that often. Although there is a way to eradicate that unwritten rule: to get on the umpiring crew’s good side. MLB Etiquette 101.

Either Ike isn’t aware of that, or believes he can complain his way to the benefit of the doubt. Four seasons, 364 games, and nearly 1,500 plate appearances into his Major League career, and Davis still can’t grasp the very simple concept of taking his lumps and sitting down quietly. This, unfortunately, is what deserves an entire post.

Davis has been prone to strikeouts over his career—that cat was let out the bag years ago. But it’s never been more apparent than in 2013. His strikeout percentage is up around 30 percent (chart via Fangraphs), which is more than five percent higher than in any prior season.

Through April 28, eight of Of Davis’ 26 Ks in 2013 have been punchouts. That equates to 31 percent of his strikeouts coming with the bat on his shoulder, which is a five percent increase from 2012 and seven percent higher than the league average.

I broke down the tape of those eight backwards-Ks, and found that Ike did his very best to show up the home plate ump on six of the eight strike-three calls. That comes out to a 75 percent Ike-Davis-Being-Immature rating—yeah, you can call me a sabermagician.

Note: One GIF from 4/10 vs. PHI was lost in the heat of battle . Davis has also struck out looking twice since 4/28 that I haven’t been able to retrieve video from. With or without the missing clips, the point still stands. Ike won’t be getting the close ones any time soon.

Included are strikezone plots for corresponding at-bats from Brooks Baseball.

Example 1: April 4, Inning 1

Example 2: April 4, Inning 8

Example 3: April 7, Inning 8

Example 4: April 16, Inning 1

Example 5: April 20, Inning 2

I hate to exert this much energy ranting against Ike, because I’ve been on his side of the Keep-Davis-or-Keep-Duda argument all along. His second-half numbers from 2012 are downright scary, and I didn’t think it was outrageous to expect the ball to continue rolling in that direction in 2013. Perhaps I was wrong.

The point here is that sometimes Davis has a legit gripe with the home plate ump. But acting out like a spoiled child leaving the toy store empty handed isn’t exactly the way to present an argument to an umpire (a grown man).

It’s an issue that Davis was approached about as early as 2010 as a rookie. Nearly three years later, it’s still an issue.

Ike’s struggles during his ABs are one issue—and don’t be mistaken, they’re plentiful—but its the lack of judgement after them that are especially concerning as he transitions from a precocious neophyte to a whiny veteran.

Follow me on Twitter at @JSDorn6.

Stats and graphics obtained from Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs, and Brooks Baseball.

@nymets945 Pill will likely not make next start because of discomfort. Need to find out more about that. He is not on the DL.

— Lynn Worthy (@PSBLynn) April 29, 2013

Vaughn said he felt a sensation in his arm after throwing out runner at plate. Called coming out “precautionary.” #BMets #Mets

— Lynn Worthy (@PSBLynn) April 30, 2013

Hat tip for Lynn Worthy here for updating us on two minor league players, Cory Vaughn and Tyler Pill.

Cory Vaughn left tonight’s game with an undisclosed injury, and Worthy later found out and reported that he may have hurt himself while throwing out a runner from left field. Considering that it is reported as precautionary, we should have nothing to worry about. Vaughn was in the midst of a hot streak, batting .306 over his last three games with three home runs and eight RBIs.

Tyler Pill, on the other hand, was scheduled to pitch tomorrow evening. Worthy went on to note that Pill missing his start did not sound like a big issue up in Binghamton – but rather that they wanted to give him some time off. Pill has been struggling this season, with opposing hitters batting .349 against him and he currently holds an ERA of 7.58 (16 earned runs) in 19.0 innings pitched.

It was just three measly years ago that a budding young power-hitting first basemen looked nervously into the camera as Chris Carlin interviewed him live before millions of viewers late one Spring Training evening in a local pub. As they concluded, Carlin refers to him as “The future of the New York Mets, Ike Davis.”, which gets a rousing cheer from the Mets fans in the restaurant. He smiles–uncomfortably–at the applause as they cut back to studio.

It was just three years ago that the Jacobs-Tatis platoon at first was failing, and that same budding young power-hitting first baseman was making some noise down  in Buffalo, ultimately leading to a phone call and a subsequent plane ride into LaGuardia Airport.

It was barely three years ago that fans laid witness to the next great Met blossoming before their eyes. It was three years ago he dove into dugouts, cranked walk-off homers into the Pepsi Porch and excited a downtrodden fanbase in a way not seen since the pennant race of 2006.

Now three years later, Davis has brought a whole new meaning to “Pure Chaos”, and not in a good way.  He is completely lost at the plate, has made solid contact on only a fraction of his mere 13 hits this season (the majority of which went over the fence), and at this point is playing himself out of a job.

Ike has stated that he has a tendency to start off the year slow and it takes time for him to warm up, however if his batting doesn’t come to a boil soon, the Mets have a ready-made first baseman waiting in the wings–or at least in left field–.

Duda taking over first is not out of the realm of possibilities. Prior to d’Arnaud’s injury Terry Collins already proposed the idea of sliding John Buck over to first when the Mets top-hitting prospect eventually got the call. If someone who has yet to play first in their professional career had been on the table to at least split time at first with Davis, why wouldn’t Duda, someone who played more first base than left field in the minors, be in the fold as well?

Collins said last week that there are no plans to us Duda at first, however if Davis continued to swing-and-miss, things could change in a hurry.

Lucas Duda is not an outfielder, no matter how hard the Mets try to force it on him. He is a first base/ designated hitter type of player. Sure he doesn’t have the defensive prowess of Davis, however Davis hasn’t exactly been the same out on the diamond since his rookie campaign.

This is not to say Duda or anyone else is going to take Ike’s job in 2013, however when this offseason comes and goes, I am not confident that Ike Davis will be a New York Met come Opening Day 2014. He is set to make $7-8 million in arbitration next year, and that could be too rich for the shallow pockets of the Alderson regime.

He has been through major slumps in the minors, his first season and in 2012 and was able to turn himself around. When it comes down to it however, the Amazin’s can’t afford to have their first baseman bat under the Mendoza line through one half of the season, then go on a tear post-All Star Break in the next.

That will not be seen as worth the money for Sandy Alderson and the Mets. This has become a make-or-break year for Isaac Benjamin Davis, and if he doesn’t turn it around soon, things might get a whole lot more “chaotic” for the former-budding young star.