Bradenton 5, St. Lucie 4

Willy Garcia drilled a bases loaded walk-off single to right off of reliever T.J. Chism as the host Bradenton Marauders defeated the Mets 5-4 on Friday.

Jenrry Mejia allowed two runs and five hits over three innings with three walks and six strikeouts in his first start on a major league rehab assignment with St. Lucie. Mejia had originally been scheduled to make an earlier rehab start, and he did – where he pitched two innings, but it was rained out so the stats were a wash…no pun intended. Mejia threw 61 pitches, 41 for strikes.

Chism allowed a leadoff single to Benji Gonzalez in the ninth and then served up a double by Gregory Polanco. After an intentional walk to Jose Osuna, Chism struck out Dan Gamache. Garcia followed with a line-drive single to score Gonzalez with the winning run.

The Mets trailed 3-1 entering the eighth inning, but rallied for three runs with two outs. Matt Reynolds drew a four-pitch walk. Dustin Lawley ripped an RBI triple to center and scored the tying run on an errant throw into the dugout by shortstop Alen Hanson. Aderlin Rodriguez launched his seventh homer of the season, a go-ahead solo shot to right-center to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.

Garcia hit a game-tying home run to right off of Mets reliever Chasen Bradford in the eighth.

Jim Fuller allowed one run over three innings in relief and Bradford allowed one run over two innings.

Lawley had two hits and two RBIs, including a solo homer in the sixth.

Key Stats

Jenrry Mejia: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 6 K

Jim Fuller: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 2 K

Chasen Bradford: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 HR, 1 ER, 3 K

T.J. Chism : 0.1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

Dustin Lawley: 2-for-4, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

Aderlin Rodriguez: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R

(Team Report)

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.

Okay, well nobody actually said that, but I thought it made for a great title…

However, in case you were wondering about it, perish the thought…

Terry Collins just said that Zack Wheeler will not be considered as a replacement for Shaun Marcum in the rotation and will not pitch for the Mets at all in April.

“His ultimate promotion will have nothing to do with other injuries and they don’t think he’s quite ready.”

Two weeks ago, Collins said if Wheeler is going to be promoted to the team, he’s going to have to dominate in Las Vegas and earn it the old-fashioned way.

“Let him for to Triple-A and prove he’s ready. Go lead the Minor Leagues in pitching and then we’ll talk.”

Are you getting it out there in TV Land?

Meanwhile, it’s looking worse and worse for Shaun Marcum…

Original Post 10:30 AM

According to Jorge Castillo of The Star Ledger, Jenrry Mejia, who has not pitched since March 11 due to what the Mets first labeled forearm tendinitis, has been shutdown for at least six weeks due to inflammation in his elbow.

Jenrry Mejia” src=”http://metsmerizedonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Jenrry-Mejia-400×316.jpg” width=”280″ height=”221″ />

“I feel a little pain, not much,” Mejia said in Spanish. “But sometimes a little pain turns into a lot so you don’t want to force anything. It’s better to not force anything to get ready and finish the season healthy.”

Mejia said he will not throw for another two weeks, after which he will start a four-week throwing program with the end goal of making his season debut.

“I feel good knowing what I have because I was wondering,” Mejia said.

In two starts this spring, Mejia allowed five runs, four earned, in just two innings pitched. Mejia tore the mediate collateral ligament in his right elbow in May 2011 and underwent Tommy John surgery. he’s less than a year removed from his return to the mound so obviously this is a huge concern.

The news comes at amid reports that Shaun Marcum, the team’s projected No. 2 starter, will not be able to make his first start after a bullpen session was cut short yesterday due to a neck issue.

Marcum was plagued with arm woes last season and throughout his career. The Mets have already shut him down twice this spring because of arm weakness and had to give him a cortisone shot a week ago. He was to be the replacement for R.A. Dickey in the rotation.

I thought it was a risky move replacing a 200+ innings pitcher like Dickey with a pitcher who had a history like Marcum. I thought the odds of getting more than 100 innings out of Marcum were a longshot at best. And then of course you have the caliber and quality contrast on top of the durability issue.

The Mets have until Tuesday to make a decision on whether to add Pedro Feliciano, LaTroy Hawkins and Tim Byrdak to the 25 man roster.

According to the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, the Mets must inform each player by Tuesday if they intend to carry them on the major league roster. The alternatives are that either will be assigned to the minors and receive $100,000 or they will be released.

It will be interesting to see if the Mets decide to keep Feliciano, who has not seen his velocity improve one bit and he hasn’t been able to get his fastball past 80-82 mph. In eight appearances this spring, Feliciano has a 2.08 ERA spanning 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and one walk., but the big concern is his velocity which won’t cut it in the majors.

“I want to see the consistent velocity,” pitching coach Dan Warthen said. “I would like to see it a little faster (above 85 mph), but we’ll find out.

It could be the end of the road for Feliciano.

Hawkins, on the other hand, has clearly won a spot in the bullpen and has yet to allow a run this spring, while Byrdak, who is still rehabbing his left shoulder following surgery, will likely accept his minor league assignment.

If the Mets were to pass on Feliciano, it would most likely mean that one left-hander will emerge out of Robert Carson, Scott Rice and Aaron Laffey. Only Josh Edgin has already locked down a job among the southpaws in camp. The Mets have said they intend to go with two leftys in the bullpen.

I’m thinking they go with Aaron Laffey if only because in addition to being a second lefty, he can also serve as a long reliever or spot starter. Laffey has not allowed a run in 9.1 innings pitched this spring and has experience shifting from the rotation to the pen and back, for most of his career in the majors.

How they make room for all these additions to the 40 man roster will be another story, but here is my final updated bullpen projection of the spring:

1. Bobby Parnell - Closer 
2. Brandon Lyon - Setup
3. Scott Atchison - Middle
4. LaTroy Hawkins - Middle
5. Aaron Laffey - Long
6. Josh Edgin - Lefty Specialist
7. Greg Burke - Righty Specialist
   

Original Post 3/20

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets are going to have two left-handed relievers in the bullpen to begin the season.

I’ve been saying this would be the case before camp even started, and this confirms my speculation that Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia will be assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas within the next few days.

Josh Edgin, of course, is the lock, and the second spot will go to one of Pedro Feliciano, Robert Carson, or Scott Rice.

My money is on Feliciano and if he continues to improve there’s no chance he gets squeezed out by the other two.

Here’s what we’re looking at which really hasn’t changed much from what I’ve been projecting all along:

1. Bobby Parnell - Closer 
2. Brandon Lyon - Setup
3. Scott Atchison - Middle
4. LaTroy Hawkins - Middle
5. Josh Edgin - Middle
6. Greg Burke - Righty Specialist
7. Pedro Feliciano - Lefty Specialist

So, what do you think?

Do you see a better bullpen, a worse bullpen, or more of the same?

DOMINGO TAPIA: Looks like he’s on the Mets fast-track…

Mack emailed me last night and told me the “Group 2″ starters were announced and he posted them on his site tonight. Here they are:

1. Rafael Montero
2. Domingo Tapia
3. Jacob deGrom
4. Tyler Pill
5. Chase Huchingson
6. Alex Panteliodis
7. Logan Verrett

He correctly points out, that is normally the group of pitchers that usually begin the season at Double-A Binghamton.

As you know, I’ve posted my own projected minor league rotations and have updated them a few times already since January. But suffice it to say I’m a little shocked to see two particular names on this list – Tapia and Panteliodis.

I wrote Mack back and said:

Wow, didn’t expect to see a couple of those players listed there.

I didn’t think Tapia or Pants would be placed this high and so soon… They are both basically skipping right past High-A St. Lucie which is tough for any pitching prospect to do.

I could potentially see Pants skipping a level because he’ll be 23 and has shown lots of potential and savvy, but Tapia just turned 21 and I had him slated for a full season at Lucie in 2013…

I can only assume that the team is extremely high on both of them… EXTREMELY high…

DeGrom of course is no surprise, and  I’ve mentioned many times that he will move quickly through the system. He’ll be 25 in June and is far more advanced and we need to see what he can do against players his own age. I like him a lot..

Montero and Pill are no-brainers…

I’ll probably update my projected rosters on Monday. This changes a few things, plus it looks like Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia are both heading to Vegas to start the season.

By the way, Mack posted the B-Mets 2013 Schedule today.

Jeremy Hefner, the likely replacement for Johan Santana in the rotation, gave up two homers this afternoon but rebounded to strike out the last six hitters he faced in the Mets’ 5-2 victory over Atlanta.

Hefner had a solid line of two runs on five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Even so, Hefner wasn’t pleased, telling reporters he was concerned because he left the ball up in the strike zone. Hefner said he pitched with a chip on his shoulder the last two innings.“I was less than thrilled about my performance before then,’’ Hefner said. “The ball was up, as evidenced by all the fly balls and hard-hit balls. I’m the guy that has to pound the bottom of the strike zone and get ground balls to be successful.’’

Hefner said earlier this week he will be ready to replace Santana at the start of the season but that’s my focus.

“I am just concentrating on getting better every game,’’ said Hefner, who started 13 games and went 4-7 with a 5.09 ERA last year for the Mets. “I will be ready if they need me.’’

Hefner also pitched in 13 games in relief last year so if he started in the rotation he could stick around in the bullpen.

DUDA COMING AROUND: Lucas Duda had many on the team concerned and manager Terry Collins scratching his head after an 0-for-7 start with seven strikeouts. However, since then he’s been batting .320 and hitting the ball with more authority. His patience at the plate has led to more walks and as a result is seeing better pitches to hit because of it. Today he crushed his second home run of the spring and has now drawn a walk in his last three games. It’s a good sign and while he is no longer a lock to start in left field, he has time enough to regain that status if this continues.

COAST TO INTERCOSTAL: Daniel Murphy, who has been sidelined with a strained intercostal muscle since February 18, took batting practice and played five innings at second base in a minor league game today. Murphy did not hit in the game and reported he felt fine. His intercostal strain, which was also initially reported as moderate, has kept him sidelined for nearly a month. Murphy, who batted .291 last season, could make his Grapefruit League debut sometime next week.

METS MUSINGS: Jordany Valdespin continued to make his case for a roster spot with a RBI single. … Manager Terry Collins indicated Aaron Laffey will get a start next week and will be Plan B if something were to happen to Hefner. Laffey was 4-6 in 16 starts last year with Toronto. … Jenrry Mejia, coming back from Tommy John surgery, is bothered with forearm tendinitis. … Before today’s game, the Mets reassigned top prospect Wilmer Flores, right-hander Carlos Torres and infielder Josh Satin to minor league camp.

When I asked Terry Collins of his preparation plans for life without Santana to start the season, the name Jeremy Hefner was only one to pop out. And, without hesitation.

Collin McHugh, who was also demoted to the minor league camp, made spot starts last year and could be in position again if something were to develop with Hefner.Mejia’s development this spring was hindered when he reported late because of a visa issue and was further delayed with the thyroid ailment. He is scheduled to open the season at Triple-A Las Vegas.

Pitchers start at two innings or 30 pitches and like to work up to seven innings and 100 pitches. There’s no way Mejia can build himself up to that with the time remaining in camp.

Mejia was on the travel squad this morning to Lakeland, where the Mets will play the Tigers again.

The Mets set back Mejia’s career when they rushed him to the majors as a reliever – there was no set relief role – then optioned him back to the minors as a starter at which time he injured his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery.

As for Hefner, in a piece Joe D wrote a few weeks ago, it looked as though the young righthander was up for the challenge:

“First and foremost, I want Johan to be healthy,” Hefner said. “He’s a leader of this team. If something happens and he’s not able to go, then obviously that would maybe fall on my shoulders. I’m going to prepare to go out and give it my best whenever my name’s called.”

Joe called Hefner one of the more underrated players on the pitching staff last season, “he did a decent job filling various roles for the Mets out of the bullpen and as a spot starter,” he said. “Hefner showed enough to warrant a long look this spring for a similar role as the sixth man in the rotation.”

Hefner has a 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched this spring with eight strikeouts and only one walk allowed, and batters are hitting just .189 against him.

Updated by John Delcos at 10:00 AM

Players hit in the cages this morning as it rained here. The weather here has been awful; rainy and chilly. Nothing sun drenched about PSL these days.

Those hitting include Daniel Murphy, who took an injection for a strained intercostal muscle on his right side.

Also on the injury front, Jenrry Mejia was examined in New York yesterday for a thyroid issue and Zack Wheeler threw on flat ground and will do so again today. Kirk Nieuwenhuis is hobbling around with a bruised left knee.

Original Post

They wouldn’t be the Mets if there weren’t injury news. Jenrry Mejia returned to New York this morning to have an undisclosed medical condition checked out. As with Pedro Feliciano before him, his reporting physical was red flagged.

Mejia is coming off Tommy John surgery, but there is no word yet whether the injury is related to his elbow.

Mejia, who is expected to open the season at Triple-A Las Vegas, was scheduled to pitch in a “B’’ game this morning against Miami.

Sandy Alderson told us he has an “undisclosed medical issue”.

With Jenrry Mejia in New York for an exam, several other Mets pitchers took the mound today in a B game against Miami. We expect to get a full report on Mejia at some point tomorrow and I’ll post as soon as I hear something from John. For now, Sandy Alderson called it an “undisclosed medical issue.”

Shaun Marcum, who didn’t endeared himself to manager Terry Collins when he arrived to camp out of shape, and asked out of his last game, pitched okay today. The righthander didn’t give up a run in his two innings of work and more importantly said his arm and elbow felt good afterward.

The 40-year-old LaTroy Hawkins also worked two innings in his first appearance of the spring. After allowing a leadoff walk, the baserunner stole second and scored on an RBI double, before retiring the side in order in the fourth. Hawkins was satisfied with his performance and knows he has a few things to work on.

PEDRO BACK: Pedro Feliciano returned to action today and made his first Grapefruit League appearance since being diagnosed with a genetic heart condition. Feliciano will wear a heart monitor for two weeks and doctors do not believe he will be at any risk by pitching during this period. I bet he felt great to get up on a mound again. He was happy with his outing hopes to show signs of gradual improvement as he gets more work in. He was most concerned with his velocity which was in the 81-83 mph range.

PIAZZA TENSIONS: Mike Piazza is like royalty to Met fan and one of the most beloved Mets player of all time. That said, reports are circulating that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and Piazza’s relationship has deteriorated over the last few years. Apparently, Piazza did himself no favors by saying he was “encouraged to play while being injured” in his autobiography, “Long Shot”. Would that really surprise anyone?

Anthony DiComo wrote a little about that this morning on Mets.com and it reminded me of how quickly and easily some top prospects can just fizzle and lose their shine. Some of them to be heard of no more until someone years later does a “Whatever Happened To __________”, just fill in the blank.

Not only were these particular two generating all this buzz in Mets camp, but MLB scouts everywhere were equally excited about 19-year old Mejia’s “dynamic cut fastball that made scouts dream about his future at the top of a rotation.”

And as DiComo states, it was also around this time a year ago, that all the hype in camp was surrounding Matt Harvey and Familia (Mejia was coming back from TJS) and many baseball people were profiling them as front-end starting pitchers with high impact.

Well certainly Harvey stepped up the most between the three and made a spectacular ten-game debut last season, but what about the other two?

Well more and more the discussion about Familia and Mejia seems to have them both ending up in the bullpen rather than the front end starters everyone thought they would be. Even Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen himself has said as much about each of them and has been for quite a while.

So what happened? Or maybe the better question is why does this keep happening to hundreds of top pitching prospects over the years?

The answer may not be as simple as it seems, but history does a pretty good job of explaining what goes wrong.

Most minor league pitchers can dazzle in Rookie or Developmental Leagues and suddenly out themselves on the map of many a top prospect list. Many of them continue to carry that through from Low-A tall the way to High-A. But then comes the steepest hurdle that all pitching prospects must eventually face – the jump to Double-A.

I spoke about that jump with Michael Fulmer and Steven Matz just last year, and I talked extensively about that hurdle only two weeks ago in an Interview I conducted with Jack Leathersich. It’s the jump all young pitchers look forward to because it puts them in the biggest spotlight that they’ve ever experienced in their pro careers – more visibility – and only two levels away from their dream of reaching the major leagues.

However, Double-A is also the level where many of baseball’s greatest pitching prospects have gone to pasture. Less than third of them will ever make it to the majors as the frontline starters they were projected to be, or the elite closers or setup men everyone expected.

More-so for the starters than the relievers, it comes down to the development of their secondary pitches, or adding an effective changeup. But in most of the cases it always comes down to their command and control.

In the lower levels hitters have a tendency to swing wildly and are less disciplined, but that changes as they develop and advance to the higher levels. All of a sudden these same hitters are not so easy to strike out even when you missed the strikezone wide by a foot.

I bring this up mostly because I thought about how many of our top arms have yet to get past High-A. We have a lot of great arms that will make any Met fans mouth drool including this one. We write about them on MMO every week and we follow their progress ever so closely. But this particular 2013 season is going to be a huge year with a lot riding on it for about a dozen or so of these exciting young arms – you know all the names – you know who I’m talking about.

Honestly, I would have bet the mother lode that a couple of those arms were going to be swapped for an outfielder this offseason.

The Mets have a dozen of them and I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a 14-man rotation yet, so why not deal from this strength especially coming off some great seasons in 2012? Especially because the outfield is our weakest organizational position with nothing close to major league ready or even Double-A ready. Matt den Dekker’s glove sure is, but so far his bat isn’t.

Getting back to my original point, the sad reality of what will happen with most of these pitchers and their “electric stuff”, to coin an often-used phrase from our friends at MetsBlog, is that this is what always happens with top level pitching prospects in baseball – fewer than a precious third of them will ever meet those lofty expectations.

And in the cases of Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia – though sad in how it looks to be playing out – is not anything we’ve never seen before. This is the norm. This is baseball.

I’ve booked my hotel for Port St. Lucie and beginning on March 5th, I will be reporting live from Mets Spring Training exclusively for MMO. I’ve been busy this entire week coordinating many things with the New York Mets and Joe D. and we have some nice things in store for you.

We’ve already lined up some exclusive player interviews and plan on bringing you some new video analysis, a daily report, live blogging and tweets, and of course plenty of images, observations and insights about the team. I’ll be hooking up with a couple of other writers from the MMO Minor League Team as well, so you can also expect plenty of live prospect coverage coming your way beginning next week.

Several things to look for in today’s Mets intrasquad game in Port St. Lucie. You don’t get answers in a game like this, but you can get a first impression or something to build on.

Here’s the players I am interested in and why:

Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Leading off for Team 1. Nieuwenhuis is getting the first chance to win the leadoff job, which is definite hole.

Jordany Valdespin: Playing second base for Team 1 and batting second. Valdespin is ticketed to open the season in the minors, but that could change on how well he plays second base and how Daniel Murphy recovers from a ribcage injury.

Andrew Brown: Playing left field for Team 1. He has a chance to stick as a reserve in the Mets’ undermanned outfield.

Wilmer Flores: A top prospect playing second base for Team 2. Opportunities often come out of injuries and if Murphy’s injury is worse than expected Flores might become an option. Even so, he should see major league time this summer.

Travis d’Arnaud: The catching prospect and key to the R.A. Dickey trade in the eyes of the Mets will be the designated hitter and bat seventh for Team 2. The ceiling is high for him, but he’s coming off knee and back issues.

LaTroy Hawkins: A veteran who is trying to stick in the Mets’ bullpen. At one time Hawkins could deal. The Mets want to know how much he has left.

Greg Burke: A submariner trying to make the bullpen. There will be a huge turnover in the pen and Burke could be a survivor.

Pedro Feliciano: Once a Met stalwart in the pen, the team burned him out and he couldn’t pitch for the Yankees. He’s getting a last chance to salvage his career.

There are others, of course, but these tweak my interest the most.

METS NOTEBOOK:

Zack Wheeler gets the ball for tomorrow’s exhibition game against Washington. He’s gotten rave reviews so far, but it has only been batting practice, Barring an injury, Wheeler isn’t expected to make the team coming out of spring training. He has a huge upside, and the Mets won’t rush him as hey did Mike Pelfrey and Jenrry Mejia.

Speaking of Mejia, he’s in camp now and is expected to be a starter in the minor leagues. But some in the organization still see him as a reliever. If that’s his eventual role that’s what he should do now in my opinion, and stop screwing with this kid’s head.

Reliever Frank Francisco will resume throwing on Monday according to Terry Collins after suffering a bit of a setback recovering from surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow last December. The Mets seem poised to make Bobby Parnell regardless.

Lucas Duda isn’t working on a new stance, but he is trying to minimize some of the many unnecessary movements with his swing and make it less complicated.

More later…

Nieuwenhuis will be the leadoff hitter for Saturday’s exhibition game against Washington.

The Mets like Nieuwenhuis’ patience – he sees over four pitches an at-bat – and he had moderate success in the role last year hitting .264 with an on-base percentage of .303.

Both numbers need to be improved, but it must be remembered he did this in his first look at major league pitching.

Before their slide Nieuwenhuis played center and hit leadoff and Terry Collins remembered: “ … when we were playing really, really well, that guy was in center field. So he deserves the right to get the first shot.’’

Nieuwenhuis can steal the occasional base, but he’s not known as a steal threat. Steals can sometimes be overrated, but fundamental base running is always in vogue. Going first-to-third, realizing when a ball will go through, and running to avoid a double play are all critical components of good base running.

If Nieuwenhuis can hit over .275 with an on-base percentage of .350 in a fulltime leadoff role in his first full season, the Mets would take that in a heartbeat.

One thing that must change is his 25-98 strikeouts to walks ratio in only 282 at-bats and 91 games played. One of the most absurd statements I’ve heard is that strikeouts don’t matter, but they do. If Nieuwenhuis cut his strikeouts down to 50 in a similar amount of games played, that’s 48 at-bats in which he could have gotten a hit or walk, or advanced a runner with a productive out.

That is part of the fundamental culture Collins is trying to install, and essential if the Mets are to reach the next level.

METS NOTEBOOK: 

The MLB Players Association was in camp today. Union chief Michael Weiner said he believed the Mets would have prevailed in their protest of losing their 11th pick as compensation had they signed Michael Bourn. Water under the bridge now. Neither the Mets nor Bourn could have waited for a hearing. There needs to be a better system where a hearing can be heard immediately. Weiner also told ESPN the Mets need to increase their spending if they are to be competitive in New York. We’ve heard that before.

Brandon Hicks, who played for Oakland and Atlanta, is trying to hook on as a utility outfielder. The Mets like Hicks because of his versatility, having also played at second and the corner infield positions.

Jenrry Mejia’s visa problems have been resolved and he is expected in camp Friday or Saturday.

Daniel Murphy is back in camp after taking a cortisone injection in his right side. He’s expected to be out at least another week.

For better or worse, Michael Bourn fell off the New York Mets radar Monday when he agreed to a four-year, $48 million deal with the Cleveland Indians.

Mets/MLB beat writer Anthony DiComo suggests, if history is any indication, Sandy Alderson committed an error.  DiComo wrote:

The 11th overall Draft pick has a bizarre history of busts relative to the picks around it. Of the 48 players in history taken 11th overall, only five have amassed more than 10 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to Baseball Reference … 17 of the 48 players never made the Majors …

Couldn’t that be said about the eighth pick? How about the six pick? Or, the 12th pick? DiComo’s logic is founded on coincidence, not any legitimate connection that the 11th pick is cursed. If there is truth in this logic, there is legitimacy in black cats, walking under ladders and idea that a Billy goat holds the key that unlocks the Cubs future hopes of winning a World Series.

Nonsense.

Metsmerized Online writer Connor O’Brien takes a more common sense approach, claiming the Mets suffered from “lack of preparedness.” Alderson was “too passive,” he wrote. The Mets GM needs to be “more aggressive.”

To those three claims: Maybe. OK. I guess.

Doesn’t Alderson’s inaction reflect a consistency in his approach? Since 2010 the Mets GM has systematically dismantled and rebuilt the organizational infrastructure. In are: J.P. Ricciardi and Paul DePodesta. On the field, Ruben Tejada, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Matt Harvey, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jenrry Mejia, Josh Edgin, Jordany Valdespin, Zack Wheeler (eventually), Travis d’Arnaud (soon). Out are: Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez, Angel Pagan, R.A. Dickey, Scott Hairston, Mike Pelfrey. (these lists are not exhaustive)

Younger, talented, building success from within, or as the Mets GM said, “We’re going to strive for consistency, but above all, excellence.”

This was the promise, right?

“I’ve always had a preference for holding on to our own talent and seeing how far it can go,” Alderson told the media at Citi Field in November 2010. “If it succeeds and realizes its full potential, we benefit. If it doesn’t, I think we’ve still made the right decision in terms of our fan base.”

Instead of analyzing decisions we can’t control, how about we ask a really intriguing question: Who will the Mets select as the 11^th overall pick in the June 2013 MLB Draft? Imagine being that guy!?

The good news: That guy will be fresh out of high school (or college) and he will have the distinct honor of calling himself a first round pick in the MLB June Draft. There’s a story for your grandchildren one day.

The bad news: Will that guy have to live in the shadow of Alderson’s decision to keep the draft pick instead of signing a legitimate MLB center fielder? Will he feel pressure? New York alone has wilted the careers of both young and established veteran ballplayers, but this scenario will create a new level of expectation for No. 11.

The jury is out – and will be for a couple years – on whether or not Sandy Alderson made the right call on letting Bourn slip away for the price of a first-round draft pick.

Still, I wouldn’t want to be that guy. Would you?

Entering the Winter Meetings, which start this morning in Nashville, the Mets will have a variety of routes at their disposal to secure the players they need.  Having already settled the eight year contract extension of David Wright, worth just shy of $140 million, Sandy Alderson not only secured the team’s best player for the foreseeable future, he has also indicated that the Mets are on the verge of operating like the big market ballclub they are. Also working in the Mets’ favor is their excess of starting pitching.  Whether it ends up being the reigning Cy Young winner, RA Dickey, or youngster Jon Niese, who is signed to a very team-friendly contract, someone probably won’t call Queens home by week’s end.

Whether you think trading away a solid starting pitcher is a good idea or not, the Mets are preparing to move forward.  With as many as seven suitors for RA Dickey and in all likelihood just as many for Niese, the Mets may find themselves the beneficiary of a bidding war of sorts.  With teams on that list like the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays, who both possess some of the most sought after prospects in all of baseball, the Mets have to feel good about their chances this week.

Sandy Alderson and the Mets have trod water long enough.  With the 2014 season pegged as the team’s return to legitimacy, the 2012 Winter Meetings seem an apropos time for things to take shape.  That may mean the addition of a catcher, an outfielder or possibly both, but the time has arrived for the front office to start piecing things together. Trading away a key component such as Dickey or Niese won’t be enough.  Other lesser known quantities, such as Jenrry Mejia, may also find themselves on the trading block this week.  The Mets may dive into the free agent market to get what they need.  The options seem endless, but for the first time in a along time, the Mets should be building towards the future, instead of doing their best to ease the pain of the past.

If things go as planned this week, all the waiting, the cost cutting and maybe even all the losses will begin paying dividends.  Yes, the 2012 Winter Meetings are the place where this team can take the next step.  The deconstruction of the team we once knew is complete.  Let the rebuild officially begin.  Make the moves necessary to begin down that path, and fans will find their way back to the ballpark this summer.  The time has come.  That time is now.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

I know what you thinking.. How on earth could we spend the entire season talking about the bullpen…that woeful bullpen…and suddenly decide that the team’s offense should be the top priority this offseason?  Heres why:

• Mets rank 8th in MLB with 1,169 strike outs.
• Mets rank 22nd in MLB on the year, hitting just .242 with RISP
• Mets rank 24th in MLB with only 407 extra-base hits, resulting in a .383 slugging percentage.  Good for only 24th in MLB this season.
• Mets rank 25th in MLB with a .236 BA since the All-Star break.
• Mets rank 25th in MLB with 51 HR since the All-Star break and 26th overall with just 124 on the season.
• Mets rank 26th in MLB with a .301 OBP since the All-Star break.
• Mets rank 27th in MLB this season with only 71 stolen bases.
• Mets rank 29th in MLB with 204 runs scored since the All-Star break and only 25th on the year with 598.

And while I understand that each of these totals either directly relates to, or is significantly impacted by the teams’ terrible second half, the fact cannot be denied that the Mets lineup isn’t exactly executing at a high level.  All the pitching the world doesn’t matter if the team can’t score runs.  Just ask RA Dickey, who has only received an average of 3 runs of offense in support his Cy Young effort in his last ten starts.

While the blame for such totals should be distributed amongst the group, its the Mets outfielders who’ve been the most disappointing this season.  Everyone knows the obvious, in the fact that Jason Bay has managed only 7 HR with just 18 RBI while posting an abysmal .153 BA, but the outfield as a whole has been much better, hitting just .235 as a unit.  That’s a full thirty-three points lower than the infield, which has seen its catchers and first basemen hit .226 and .234 respectively.

I really don’t mean to throw stats at you all day, but the Mets can’t afford to field a strikeout prone, powerless outfield much longer.  With the writing on the wall that both Wright and Dickey will factor the team’s direction into their decision making process, Lucas Duda can’t be the teams best hitting outfielder.  It simply can’t be…

I’m not sure where they will find them, but the team must track down two, if not three, solid outfield options who can not only hit for average, but can respectfully patrol their position as well.  I realize that those types of players don’t grow on trees, and I understand that both Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher will quite possible be out of the teams price range, but my lord has the current crop of players been bad.

This is a bad place to be for a team that was looking to have all the pieces in place once their premier pitching prospects breached the big league roster.  Those pieces have started arriving, and with Matt Harvey and Jenrry Mejia (at minimum) set to break camp with the club next spring, the time is now to fix one of the all-around worst offenses in baseball.  Once again Sandy Alderson has a tall task in front of him, or perhaps he has dug his own grave, but things can’t continue like this.  Its simple, with pitching help on the way from within the system, the offense much take center stage this offseason.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

Jenrry Mejia had a rough outing last night against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, leading to a Bisons 6-0 loss.

Mejia, making his final Triple-A start of the season, was looking to bounce back off a rough start on August 27, when he gave up five runs in six innings against Rochester. Well, he didn’t bounce back so well. It all got started for Mejia in the first inning, when he really got roughed up. He allowed three RBI-singles and a total of four runs. In total, he allowed five hits in the inning.

Mejia would get hit again in the fifth when Cory Overbeck hit another RBI single, his second in the game, to drive in four runs and give the IronPigs a 6-0 lead. Mejia left the game after allowing six runs on 11 hits over six innings. One positive that can be taken from this outing is it wasn’t the control that was giving Mejia problems. He threw 66 of 99 pitches for strikes and didn’t walk a batter. This is not the way he wanted to head into his September callup, but this isn’t a huge deal.

On the other side, the offense was struggling badly. They were only able to scratch out three hits against Lehigh Valley pitching and weren’t able to put together any kind of rally. Before last night, they had scored 24 runs over their past four games, but didn’t even come close to scoring last night. In the end, the IronPigs closed the Bisons out easily with a final score of 6-0.

Herd Rumblings: Mejia had given up a total of five earned runs over his first five starts after returning to the rotation, a total of 24.1 innings. Over his last two starts, however, he has allowed 11 runs in 12 innings. This can probably be attributed to his injury last year and he’s just been fatigued.He will probably still be called up to the Mets in the coming days to help out in the bullpen. There wasn’t much action with the offense last night. Brad Emaus went 1-for-3 with a walk. Matt den Dekker was 1-for-3 with a strikeout. Val Pascucci went 0-for-4 and struck out three times. The Bisons finish off their 2012 season with a 1:35 game against Lehigh Valley this afternoon. Jeurys Familia will get the start.

Jenrry Mejia returns this September

As much as we all hoped the Mets would contend this season, we all had to know in the back of our minds that it was a long shot. They took us on a fun ride through the first half, but showed what they really were around the all-star break. Now it’s time to turn our attention to the September call-ups and the playoff chases down the stretch.

In September the pennant races begin to heat up, and all across baseball you get to see a glimspe into the future. It’s a time to get a look at some of the potential young players who might be competing for a roster spot come Spring.

The second wild card will has added a whole new element to the races this fall, it’s just too bad we aren’t even close enough to be mentioned in the discussion. As a baseball fan I am intrigued to see if the Baltimore Orioles can overtake the Yankees, and if the Oakland A’s and Pittsburgh Pirates can make it to the playoffs. I’m not even going to bore you with the potential scenarios that we might get back in this thing. It’s over, done, and gone. We are now looking to next season and are in full evaluation mode.

Sandy has a ton of work to do as the off-season approaches, but for now let’s enjoy the month we have left of Mets baseball. Let’s enjoy watching Mejia make a few starts, and Harvey’s final 1-2 outings. Let’s enjoy Dickey’s chase for 20 wins. Let’s look at Valdespin, Duda, and Shoppach to see if they can leave a mark for potential spots in 2013.  Let’s just enjoy the game over the next month, because the Mets season is almost over.

Mejia was coming off a strong start his last time out, in which he held Pawtucket two just two runs over five innings. This time out against Lehigh Valley, he was even better.

Mejia gave up the first run of the game in the top of the third on a run-scoring groundout. However, he was backed up by his offense in the next half inning. The Bisons responded by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third, taking a 3-1 lead. First, Lucas Duda hit a home run, a solo shot, to tie up the game. A few batters later it was the struggling Matt den Dekker who came through with an RBI-single to give Buffalo a lead.

Those three runs are all Mejia would need. He held the IronPigs scoreless the next three innings until he was removed from the game. Overall, Mejia allowed just one run on five hits in six innings. He didn’t walk a batter and threw 68% of his pitches for strikes. It was definitely a satisfying outing from Mejia, who has been nothing but impressive since being put back into the Buffalo rotation.

Now, all that was left to do was hold off Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs scored a run in the seventh off Elvin Ramirez, giving up a solo home run to cut the lead to 3-2. However, that’s all Ramriez and the bullpen would give up. Ramirez threw 1.2 innings, C.J. Nitkowski recorded an out, and Fernando Cabrera closed out the victory for the Bisons.

Herd Rumblings: Mejia has allowed just four runs as a starter in 17.1 innings since becoming a starter again. He has also walked just one batter over his last ten innings pitched. On offense, Matt den Dekker had a huge game. After driving in two in the third, he drove in another run in the seventh, giving the Bisons a bit of insurance. Den Dekker finished the game 2-for-4, bumping his average up to .214.Lucas Duda went 2-for-4, including that solo home run. Adam Loewen also had two hits and scored two runs. The Bisons take on the IronPigs again later today at 4:30. Collin McHugh will get the start.

Jenrry Mejia pitched five solid innings on Sunday.

Jenrry Mejia is starting to settle back into the Buffalo rotation, and continued to do so quite nicely with a 9-3 victory Sunday over the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Mejia took the mound in the top of the first for just his third start since being plugged back into the Buffalo rotation. As a reliever this season, Mejia had a 5.48 ERA in 21.1 innings for Buffalo, prompting the Mets front office to make him a starter again.On Sunday, he made the Mets front office with a very solid performance.

The action got started, however in the bottom of the second, when the Bisons led off the scoring with two runs. The first one came on a failed pickoff attempt by Red Sox starter Zach Stewart, who threw the ball away and allowed Adam Loewen to score. A few batters later, Fred Lewis hit an RBI-single that plated Josh Satin and gave the Bisons a 2-0 lead. The next inning, it continued when Zach Steward once again had trouble, this time throwing a wild pitch and allowing Lucas Duda to go from second to third. Then, Zach Lutzcapitalized with a sacrifice fly, making it 3-0.

The only real trouble for the Bisons came in the top of the fifth, when Pawtucket scored two unearned runs off Jenrry Mejia, cutting the lead to just one run. Matt Tuiasosopo both made throwing errors in the inning. That would be all for Mejia on the night. He was very solid though and made it all the way through five innings, despite only throwing 70 pitches. He was charged with two unearned runs on six hits over five innings. He only walked one and struck out two.

In the next few innings, the Bisons capitalized on some huge mistakes by Pawtucket and opened up a huge lead. Thanks to a balk and a missed catch, Buffalo scored two in the fifth and three in the sixth, opening up an 8-2 advantage. From then on, it was up to the relief core to close the door. The only run the Bisons allowed in the late-game was charged to Robert Carson, who also gave up two hits. In the end, the Bisons went away with a 9-3 win.

Herd Rumblings: Mejia now has a 0.95 ERA in six starts with the Bisons this season, compared to his 5.48 ERA as a relief pitcher. In 12.1 innings since returning to the rotation, he has allowed only one earned run. On offense, the production was very spread out. Six Bisons had RBI, and six had base-hits. Lucas Duda was 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Josh Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a home run. Jeurys Familia takes the mound at 7:05 tonight, looking to bounce back from  few bad starts against Pawtucket.

Pedro Beato had a rough game last night for Buffalo.

On a night when Wally Backman had only relief pitchers available, he had a tough task available. As expected from a team with a reliever starting a game, things didn’t go so well with the Bisons losing 10-4 to the SWB Yankees.

It was Pedro Beato who got the “start” for Buffalo. The majority of Beato’s appearances this season have lasted two innings or more, often taking upwards of 40 pitches, but not much more than that. He was really the closest thing the Bisonss have to a long man, especially with Garrett Olson and others on the big league club. However, despite dominating Triple-A this season, Beato struggled against the Yankees. Beato gave up a leadoff home run to Chris Dickerson, immediately giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Bisons would fight back in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead on a two-run home run by Josh Satin.

In the bottom of the second, Mike Nickeas knocked in a run with an RBI-single to extend Buffalo’s lead to 3-1 after Beato had pitched a scoreless second. However, when he stepped back onto the mound the next inning, it got ugly.

The Yankees staged a rally with no outs in the inning. Eduardo Nunez drove in two runs with an RBI-single, tying the game at three and knocking Pedro Beato out of the game. In came Elvin Ramirez, who would allow a run to score on a ground ball, handing a lead to the Yankees that they wouldn’t relinquish.

From that point on, the Yankees simply overmatched the Buffalo bullpen, scoring six more runs. On the other side, despite a few early runs, the Bisons only scored one more run against Ramon Ortiz. For the Busons, Elvin Ramirez, Robert arson, Scott Patterson, and Justin Hampson all gave up runs, leading to an eventual rout and a 10-4 final score.

Herd Rumblings: A few notes significant to the big league bullpen came out of this game. C.J. Nitkowski made his third appearance with the Bisons, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames. He has allowed one run in 8.1 innings between Binghamton and Buffalo. Scott Patterson, another recent signee,allowed two runs on four hits in 0.2 innings. On offense, Josh Satin had the home run and was 1-for-3 with a walk. Matt den Dekker was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Zach Lutz and Mike Nickeas each drove in a run. Jenrry Mejia will get the start today against the Yankees. First pitch is at 7:05.