A high-ranking team official told he New York Post on Thursday that barring a setback, Zack Wheeler is expected to make 2-3 more starts for Triple-A Las Vegas and then join the Mets. If Wheeler remains on normal rest, that would put his Mets debut somewhere in the June 6-11 range.

“If not for the minor setback with the shoulder, he might already be here,” the club official said. “We are at the point where you can say it’s probably two or three more starts for Las Vegas.”

Kristie Ackert of the Daily News also adds this:

“He’s ready,” a team source told the News Thursday, but the front office will want to see him throw consistently after the injury.

Wheeler allowed three runs on five hits, two home runs, two walks and two strikeouts, over five innings pitched against Triple-A Iowa. It was his first start since May 11 when he was put on the disabled list for a sore clavicle. He received a cortisone shot in the AC joint of his throwing shoulder.

With as bad as the team’s doing, declining revenues, falling attendance, and SNY viewership down 22%, the Mets need Wheeler more than he needs them.

However, he’ll need to burst out of the gates like Matt Harvey did if they expect him to save their season from total financial loss.

Original Post 5/22

Zack Wheeler took the hill this afternoon for the first time after a brief stint on the disabled list due to inflammation in the AC Joint of his throwing shoulder. He received a cortisone shot, and missed his scheduled start this past Saturday.

Wheeler looked a tad rusty from the get-go. He didn’t have great command over his pitches, and in fact, he missed the strike zone wildly a couple of times. He got hit hard throughout his five innings of work, and ended up giving up two home runs and a triple that narrowly missed being a third home run.

The two strike outs that Wheeler got in today’s game was his lowest total of the season (opening day he had three). It was promising to see that even though he didn’t have great command, he only walked two batters. Wheeler gave up three runs on five hits, two of which, as I stated earlier, were home runs. It should be noted that the ball was flying out of the park in Iowa today, and through the sixth inning (when I am writing this), there have been a total of six home runs hit between the two teams.

Coming on the heels of what Sandy Alderson said about Wheeler needing about two or three more solid outings before he will be promoted, today’s start was a disappointing one. The good news is, it looked as though he was pitching without pain, and was clocked at 96 mph with his fastball. This outing seemed to be nothing more than Wheeler experiencing a little lag from not pitching in over a week, and I look for him to get back on track with his next start.

Have you checked out MetsMinors.net yet? What are you waiting for an engraved invitation? Come see why almost 5,000 different readers checked us out on Tuesday. We are rewriting the book on Mets minor league coverage and it will never be the same again. Over a dozen dedicated quality posts per day – each packed with insights and quotes we get from the players themselves. Come see what all the commotion is about and I guarantee you’ll be hooked…

Updated Post 7:40 PM

Straight from the files of Believe It Or Not, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported via Twitter that Ike Davis is unlikely to be demoted before the end of the weekend.

“Was told Ike is on double, secret probation, but likely still be a Met on Friday. Mets will use weekend to get a “better understanding.”

If the Mets still need more time to get a better understanding of Davis, they’re not as smart as I thought they were. Obviously I’ve been giving them far too much credit…

Original Post 5:30 PM

Ike Davis has lost his way. Not just at the plate, but in the field too. Terry Collins said after the game today, that the first baseman’s slump at the plate has not affected his play on the field. I beg to differ.

Maybe Terry feels a desperate need to defend his players, but to say that his last few miscues on the field are unrelated to what Davis is going through at the plate doesn’t ring true.

We’ve all seen Ike Davis at his best and have all marveled as fans over his gold glove caliber defense. But that was then and this is now. His instincts at first base are deteriorating and I believe it’s because he has something else eating at his mind. Davis is so unfocused and frequently looks like he’s in a daze.

During the 2010 through 2012 seasons, Ike Davis makes that play today down the first base line rather than just staring at it. The same can be said about his faux pas two days earlier when he stood in front of the runner on the basepath like a zombie and got called for obstruction.

Why can’t Terry Collins see what is so apparent to the few thousand fans who still go to the game? There’s a good reason why Davis is absorbing all the boos at the plate and now in the field. This isn’t the same player we grew to love almost from the first moment he made his debut three years ago. Remember how excited we were? Who didn’t think Ike Davis was a core player right from the start?

We want that Ike Davis back again. The only way that happens is by doing the right thing and sending him to Triple-A where he can sort out his problems and rediscover his stroke, his glove, and more importantly his confidence that is evidently shattered.

I’m not mad at Davis, I’m really not. But I am angry at Terry Collins who constantly makes excuses for bad baseball. There seems to be no more accountability on this team, only a boatload of excuses after each game. I guess that’s what I’m most concerned about. I want a manager who gets pissed off when he sees a breakdown in baseball fundamentals and not cover for his players.

Maybe Ike Davis’ biggest problem is Terry Collins who seems to have become his enabler… I don’t know, I’m not a psychologist, but it sure looks that way…

Davis is a very likable guy and I still believe he has a world of talent. But it’s time for the Mets to save him… It’s time for the Mets to try and get Davis back on track and that’s not going to happen in the major leagues. Don’t let this situation reach the point of no return because if that happens, we all lose. Just do the right thing.

Major League Baseball has declined the Mets appeal to change an earned run charged to phenom Matt Harvey on Friday at Wrigley Field reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.

The move would have lowered the 24-year old’s ERA from 1.55 to 1.41.

However, it will remain the former as he takes the hill against the Reds for the series finale to avoid the sweep.

Original Post 5/18 1:00 PM

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets are appealing to Major League Baseball to slice Matt Harvey‘s ERA from 1.55 to 1.41, which would be within one point of the major league lead shared Clayton Kershaw and Shelby Miller.

Adam says that the thrust of the argument is that there should have been a straight error on Ruben Tejada‘s throw that bounced past Ike Davis and allowed Anthony Rizzo to score from second base in the first inning on Friday.

There has been a lot of bad scoring for the Mets this offseason, and I’m not so sure if it’s wise to defend one instance of it like they are doing here. There will be plenty more bad scoring as the season wages on.

This is baseball and it’s an imperfect game…

I’m thinking that if the Mets are going to this now, then they should do it for every other player who is denied a hit or an RBI or whatever moving forward.

With or without that earned run, Matt Harvey is still a great pitcher and everybody already knows it. Everything evens out in the end as the game is the great equalizer.

This is a bad idea in my opinion…

I bet Harvey, who is a team player, would say so too…

Updated Post 5/22

During Tuesday night’s Mets broadcast, general manager Sandy Alderson said he intends to stick with slumping first baseman Ike Davis for a little while longer, but added that there’s a chance that he might be better off going to Triple-A Las Vegas for some period of time.

Alderson said it’s hard to ignore what Davis did in the second half of last season, but the big difference is that the team is not playing well at this time and he needs production.

Davis went 0-for-3 during the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Reds on Tuesday night and is 1-for-his-last-36.

The fans let him have it as they loudly booed him during each plate appearance. ”What are you going to do?” Davis said afterward.

He is now batting .149 with 48 strikeouts and a .478 OPS in 42 games this season.

Original Post 5/21

Perhaps Sandy Alderson knew of Andrew Brown’s strained oblique when he said there was nothing imminent about sending Ike Davis to the minor leagues. Assuming he did not, it is puzzling as to why he’s in no hurry to ship out his struggling first baseman.

Eventually, Alderson said, “everything comes to a head at some point,’’ but evidently it is not hitting .156 two months into the season. Either are Davis’ other miserable numbers.

Alderson said he’s interested not in results, but good at-bats. Sounds good in theory, but that won’t happen if Davis’ thinking doesn’t change, and there’s no indication of it happening soon.

About the minor leagues, Davis said that would not help because he needs to learn to hit at this level. Davis insists he’s a home run hitter, that he likes to hit home runs and strikeouts are part of the equation.

I can’t scream “that’s crap,’’ loud enough. Davis is so married to his pull-everything approach that improvement is almost impossible to attain.

Davis’ extraordinary wide stance offers no alternatives but to lunge, and he doesn’t have the discipline to lay off breaking balls down and away and fastballs up in the zone. Davis’ mechanics and approach must be torn down and built back up. It could take a month for that to happen, and it shouldn’t be a month up here.

Incredibly, Davis said he’s having positive at-bats, that in Chicago he just missed driving a few balls. But, the fact is he missed those pitches so they can’t be considered good at-bats. It isn’t as if he’s hit a lot of balls on the screws or driven them to the warning track.

Davis was 1-for-24 on the trip to St. Louis and Chicago; is hitting .103 (4-for-39) with runners in scoring position; and is on pace for 177 strikeouts.

When he first came up, Davis showed a willingness to go to the opposite field. There’s none of that now.

Davis said he’s still playing good defense, but he’s delusional there, too. He should have been given an error when he short-armed Ruben Tejada’s wild throw in the dirt in Chicago. The ball did not take a short hop and was something he should have snared.

He was also flat out lazy Monday night on a obstruction call that opened the door to a big inning for Cincinnati in the first inning.

Davis’ head isn’t screwed on straight and he’s fallen into a myriad of bad habits that preclude good at-bats. Davis anticipates getting a month to work out of his funk, but how much lower will the Mets sink in that time?

For the past three years, the Mets had to settle for lousy at-bats and performance from Jason Bay because of his salary. Currently, Alderson plans to have the Mets settling from horrid performance from Davis despite a manageable contract.

OK, Brown is out, but what about Zach Lutz? What about making a move and adding Josh Satin to the 40-man roster?

It doesn’t matter what they do, except for standing pat, and Alderson hasn’t given a good reason for choosing that route. That decision is doing a disservice to the Mets and not helping Davis any, either.

Thoughts from Joe D.

What a waste of a month it’s been for Ike Davis. Had Davis been sent down to the minors at the end of April when I first called for such a move, he could of been back by now and contributing to the team again. But instead he continues to deteriorate statistically and it’s dragging the team down offensively AND defensively.

Check out this screenshot of his last ten games:

This is further evidence that Davis is still in a downslide and not making any progress at all. He has struck out in more than a third of his at-bats in his last ten games. His average has sunk from an already woeful .190 to .152 after batting just .080 in his last ten games.

What’s worse is how negatively this has affected him defensively. He’s stabbing at balls, lost much of his range, and mishandling throws to him.

He looked completely out of it yesterday when he was called for obstruction. His instincts are shot. His head is not in the game.

Send him down already before the situation becomes completely unsalvageable.

Updated Post 1:44 PM

MLB Trade Rumors just posted something that would add to the debate on Choo as a potential acquisition for the Mets in 2014. I also updated the original post to indicate that Choo’s best position is right-field.

Of course, as with most free agents, Choo’s next contract will cover post-prime years, perhaps age 31-35.  With Boras doing the negotiating, we can’t rule out a sixth year or a salary in the $18-20MM range, plus the loss of a draft pick.

Are you guys ready for another Winter of debating the loss of a pick, even if in the Mets case it’s a second round pick based on where this season is heading?

Original Post 12:44

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, had an article this morning suggesting the Mets should make a strong attempt at signing Reds center fielder Shin-Soo Choo if they are serious about contending in 2014. Choo is a free agent at the end of this season.

Choo, 30, was acquired by the Reds in the offseason for highly regarded shortstop prospect Didi Gregorious and outfielder Drew Stubbs. According to Kepner, Cincinnati Choo was charged targeted Choo to fix their problems in the leadoff spot, which produced a .254 on-base percentage last season. So far, Choo has delivered in a big way, ranking second in the National League with a .455 on-base percentage.

The Scott Boras client has always been able to hit for average and get on base as his career .386 OBP would attest. Going into this season, he has averaged 38 doubles and 90 runs per season in his career. He also can give the Mets power and speed while providing solid range and defense in center field, though right field is his best position. The left-handed batter has averaged 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a typical season for him and is on a pace to smash both of those marks in his walk year with the Reds.

“He’s the big reason why we are where we are right now,” said Brandon Phillips of the Reds, who hold the second-best record in the National League. “Playing against him when he was with the Indians, I always told everybody he’s one of the best all-around players in baseball — underrated. Right now he’s just being himself. It’s a blessing to have him over here.”

Kepner also adds that the South Korean native, might be a sensation in New York, whose metropolitan area has the second-largest Korean population in the United States, behind Los Angeles.

Obviously, I love Choo and had wanted the Mets to go after him last offseason, and even though he’ll be a year older I would still have no problem bringing him on board for the 2014 season and beyond. I’m assuming it would require at least a four-year commitment and the bidding from other teams will be aggressive. That’s the part that frightens me – or should I say frightens Sandy Alderson. You see, I’ll maintain what I’ve been saying all along about him and that is that he doesn’t have the stomach for these types of negotiations. To quote myself from last October, “Alderson doesn’t have the ability to go after a desirable and marketable free-agent, it sin’t in his DNA.”

There will be other outfield options out there next offseason, assuming they are not re-signed. Jacoby Ellsbury and  Carlos Beltran are among them.

The problem is will Alderson be willing to spend and come out strong?

Or will it be another Winter of waiting for the market to settle to his liking, which of course never happens leaving him to scamper and pick the bones of whatever carcass he can find on the scrap heap?

Updated by HoJo at 4:30 PM

Gary Apple of SNY announced that GM Sandy Alderson spoke personally with slumping first baseman Ike Davis before today’s game.

The message was that he has until the end of this month to turn his slump around or he’s going back to the Minor Leagues.

Original Post 11:30 AM

Discussions of demoting Ike Davis have intensified within the Mets organization says Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Although the Mets slumping first baseman snapped his 0-for-24 streak yesterday, he may only have until the end of this weekend series in Chicago before the Amazin’s ship Ike off to Vegas.

Rubin cites the use of Andrew Brown at first base Friday for the Las Vegas 51s–the first time this season–as a “telltale sign” a move might be coming soon. Brown was 3-for-15 in his short stint with the Mets before being sent down Monday with the acquisition of Rick Ankiel. Since Brown has to stay in the minors for 10 days before being recalled, he would not be able to be promoted until mid-next week.

Rubin also lists Zach Lutz and Josh Satin as other potential first base candidates, however Satin is not on the 40-man roster and he believes the Mets would favor Brown for the job over Lutz.

Davis is batting an ice cold .160/.245/.267 with 46 strikeouts and only four homers and nine RBIs in 131 at-bats.

The time has come for Ike to be sent down. As Gary Cohen pointed out in yesterday’s broadcast, when Davis struggled last year, he at least had a decent RBI total and was able to be productive in other ways. Now he is entirely lost and is showing no signs of figuring things out at the major league level.

I could see Justin Turner getting some time at first once Ike is sent down. Given that he has seen time all over the diamond this season and that he has one of the only consistent bats on the roster, they need to get him in the lineup somehow.

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:

Updated by Joe D. at 6:30 PM

After making inflammatory remarks against Met fans yesterday that rubbed many people including those in the organization the wrong way, Terry Collins acknowledged that he misspoke and took back some of the things he angrily said about Met fans while a guest on WFAN today.

“The New York fans are maybe the most knowledgeable fans that I’ve ever been around,” Collins told Mike Francesa. “When the question was asked, it pretty much was … Look, as much as I respect everybody’s opinions, it’s my opinion that counts and what’s best for this club. I can’t be influenced by outside people who aren’t here, and that’s pretty much all I meant. Certainly I misused the words. I shouldn’t have said ‘fans.’ I should have just said ‘people.”

“Nobody spends more time with the fans and nobody goes out and does more with the fans than I do,” Collins said. “I respect the fans immensely. I tell everybody that it’s about the fans. I don’t care who you’re a fan of. If you’re a baseball fan, you’re a fan, and certainly I meant no harm, no disrespect to them. We’re doing the best we can to make the right decisions here to get our team better. I hope that’s cleared up.”

In the meantime, while he cleared up that mess there’s still the matter of the Mets losing five straight and 18 of their last 25 games.

How about we quit with all the players in the doghouse, and start giving less playing time to the players in the outhouse?

How about we start managing this team to win and not use games and writing lineup cards as a means to teach certain players lessons?

If you want to get through to someone, why not do it the old fashioned way and just call him into your office and clear the air?

Go win some games for crying out loud.

And if you’re looking for any sympathy from me, you won’t get any.

You’ve been in this game for over 40 years and you are your own worst enemy. We expect more from you!

Original Post 9:00 AM

Terry Collins did what no manager should do, especially one with a career losing record likely to be made a scapegoat for what figures to be the Mets’ fifth consecutive losing season.

Collins, who has been erratic and puzzling on several issues this season, took on the exceedingly frustrated Mets’ fan base Tuesday night, basically calling them clueless and he didn’t care for their perception of his team, which is rapidly falling out of relevance before June.

Not surprisingly, the catalyst for Collins’ anger was the lingering Jordany Valdespin issue. Neither Collins nor general manager Sandy Alderson has been able to get through to Valdespin, and both handled his self-glorifying home run and subsequent beaning poorly.

If the Mets were winning, it would have gone away. Because they are not and in the midst of a stretch that could blow up their season, Valdespin is an issue.

After Valdespin’s homer last Friday in a blowout loss, Collins alluded to the possibility of the temperamental outfielder getting beaned as payback. Collins spoke of baseball’s unwritten code, and how Valdespin’s attitude is the norm and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Basically, he left it up to the Pirates teach his player a lesson, when what he should have done was rip Valdespin’s actions. Collins could have also told Pirates manager Clint Hurdle he would handle Valdespin.

By not doing so, Collins invited the Pirates to throw at his player. After the plunking, Collins pretty much said, “that’s baseball,’’ and Alderson took the same milquetoast approach.

No Met approached Valdespin after his dugout temper tantrum, and only David Wright offered any verbal support. The perception is the Mets don’t have Valdespin’s back, and several nameless quotes say he is universally scorned in the clubhouse.

Collins was asked whether Valdespin is on an island and told reporters in St. Louis: “I don’t answer to fans. They don’t play this game. They have no idea what goes on. They have no idea what goes on in there.

“They have absolutely no idea what it means to be a professional teammate at this level. … I’ll tell you one thing: Jordany knew they were going to throw at him. He knew it. And you’ve got to go take your medicine. That’s part of being a big guy in this league.’’

If Valdespin knew he would get hit – and his reaction suggests he might be oblivious to the baseball code – then why would he put his player in that position?

Telling Hurdle he would handle things might have prevented the rib-banging pitch.

There are varying perceptions of the incident brought on by how Collins and Alderson handled things. Shipping Valdespin’s butt out the next day would have sent a strong message to the Pirates as well as his clubhouse his hot-dogging would not be tolerated.

The perception of that would have been clear and decisive. If nothing else, it would have shown Collins and his front office were in sync.

Instead, Collins put himself in position to handle another question of which its answer could grease the skids on his exit.

“I don’t care what the perception is,’’ Collins said. “All I know is what goes on here. I’ve been doing this for 42 years. I don’t care what anybody on the outside thinks.

“I know how to get it done in the clubhouse. I’ve been doing it a lot longer than a lot of people. He’s fine. He handled it great, I thought, the way he went about it. He went to first base. He didn’t throw his bat any place. … He did it the right way. And now it’s over. Now we move on.’’

Easier said than done, because Valdespin did not handle it the right way. No, he didn’t throw his bat or charge the mound, but he did slam his helmet, which prevents moving on.

Collins then went on to make excuses for Valdespin, saying he had a tough background. He also said Valdespin has to be careful not to alienate his teammates, which might already be the case.

One day, Collins spoke of baseball’s code and another made excuses for his polarizing player. You can’t help but wonder how Valdespin’s teammates might be annoyed by that defense.

Valdespin was not in the lineup Tuesday, and for a team struggling for offense, the perception is clear he’s on the outs. So, why is he still here?

Yes, Collins has been in the game for over 40 years, and in that time one would have thought he would have learned a few things.

One, managers are hired to be fired, so don’t align yourself with a seemingly lost cause like Valdespin, because by the time he gets it, you’ll be gone.

Secondly, this fire keeps on burning because Collins refused to put it out. He knows he could have given a neutral answer with the Cardinals media in the room, then after the session gathered the New York writers into his office for an off-the-record briefing. That way, his ripping the fans never gets out.

Finally, don’t take on the fans, as they always have the last word. That word is “boo,’’ and Collins will hear it loudly if things don’t change fast.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I get emails all day long asking me why don’t we let the story die. My answer to them is that we are not the story. The Mets are the story and we do what we’ve been doing for nine years now, which is to report and debate things as they happen.

Three months ago there were plenty here who told me that it was a non-story when I wrote that there was something amiss between Jordany Valdespin and his teammates in the clubhouse.

I picked up on that during the start of Spring Training when two players came into the clubhouse to find their lockers and said, “Thank god I’m nowhere near Valdespin’s locker.”

“Joe D. you are reading too much into things.”

I commented on the jokes that were made when Valdespin was hit right in the groin and lied on the ground in pain.

Then there was the pie.

All I did is what any rational and reasonable person who reports would do and that was to connect the dots. Rule number one if you are going to follow and report about this team? Take anything and everything you hear from management and their SNY wing with a grain of salt. They are all on the same team – Team Wilpon.

Now it’s a full blown controversy and the only story that anyone is talking about.

How can you hope it goes away when the General Manager only two days ago added more fuel to the fire by saying he wasn’t hung out to dry, and then learning that Valdespin ask out of going to the plate a second time after being plunked the first time. A fact that Collins even admitted to shortly after he ripped into the fans.

The Mets create the stories and it’s on the Mets to stop feeding us the stories, not me. I don’t have the power to keep players, coaches and management from saying things that are better left unsaid. I can fault the players for saying silly and inappropriate things, but when management does it how can you find that to be acceptable and professional behavior.

I agree with Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post regarding Collins who said:

Collins probably knew, as soon as he said this, he shouldn’t have said this. He knows the fastest way to be packing your belongings in boxes — faster than losing games in bunches — is to take on fans. Fans are undefeated. Fans are a franchise’s lifeblood. Fans …

Well, fans allow you to stay relevant, long past your expiration date. I’ve believed, and written, that Collins deserves a full and fair accounting before his time is done here. But Collins has also found trouble in Houston and Anaheim when the losing became too much for him. In both cities, he lost the players, and that’s bad enough (and judging from the listless way the Mets mailed in another game with the Cards last night, 10-4, that may be happening again).

My big concern right now is that the Mets are blind to their own problem. That means nothing is being done to keep more incidents like this one from taking place. The best way to fix a problem is to admit you have one. So far management seems to think everything is hunky-dory when it’s clearly not.

How many dog houses does Terry Collins have and why was Ruben Tejada apparently in one of them last night when the manager decided to scratch him from the starting lineup before last night’s trouncing at the hands of the Cardinals?

That factoid came from Eddie Coleman who is not known for exaggerating the truth and conjuring up false storylines. Eddie is as straight as an arrow.

Is there anyone else residing in these dog houses aside from Jordany Valdespin and Ruben Tejada and when are their parole dates?

I don’t make the stories, I just talk about them and ask the tough questions and am usually the first to do so. Ahh the benefits of having an independent Mets site.

Look, I can give you the same regurgitated stuff you can find on any other Mets blog if that’s what you want. But I try to be different. I like to play devil’s advocate. I enjoy ultra analyzing the things I hear and try to wrap it around a unique post that doesn’t always stay inside the lines.

I could just post everything Adam Rubin reports and make our jobs here easy-peasy, but what do you the reader gain out of that? Where is the uniqueness? Where are the insights? This blog is meant to be the antithesis to MetsBlog and it always has been. That’s never gonna change. We serve hard liquor here.

They criticize me to lower my self esteem but I’m going straight to the top. I was not born to lose.

Original Post 1:00 PM

“Valdespin knew that was coming. I don’t think it’s fair to say that since we didn’t hit one of the Pittsburgh hitters that he doesn’t have a friend. The notion that he was hung out to dry I think is a mistake. I’m not telling you he’s the most popular guy in the clubhouse, but I don’t think he was hung out to dry.”

That was the quote we heard from Mets GM Sandy Alderson when asked about the continuing Jordany Valdespin issue on Mike Francesa’s radio show yesterday.

Today, another new development has come to light according to Andy Martino of The Daily News.

Martino reported that Valdespin tried to “wiggle his way” out of pinch-hitting on Saturday against the Pirates. Valdespin allegedly sent word to trainer Ray Ramirez that he was “unavailable” to pinch-hit in Saturday’s blowout loss, according to Martino’s source who witnessed the dugout incident.

Much to the chagrin of Valdespin’s teammates, Ramirez sent word to Collins. Collins overruled the decision and sent Valdespin up anyway with body armor and an elbow protector.

Half of Alderson’s quote above now makes sense. Valdespin knew the inevitable plunking would occur if he stepped into the box so he tried to escape his fate. To say he wasn’t left out to dry seems like a stretch now with these new elements to the story.

This coverage is beginning to feel like the Casey Anthony trial, but the issue continues to be that Valdespin’s teammates and coaches decided to discipline him vicariously through the Pirates and not internally.

Valdespin has quirks, to put it mildly. He doesn’t play the game to the standards of conventional baseball in America, but this is clearly something he didn’t deserve given the circumstances.

We will be updating you with more information as it pertains to this story as it unfolds.

Thoughts from Joe D.

What have I been saying about this since day one?

Hung out to dry?

You betcha…

Bob Klapisch of The Record, mirrors my post from Monday that the Terry Collins watch has begun:

The countdown on Terry Collins began on the first day of pitchers and catchers and nothing so far has made it any easier to believe he’ll be back with the Mets in 2014. Of course, Collins has handled his lame-duck status with grace and maturity — he’s an honest guy, good with people — but that hasn’t stopped Sandy Alderson from letting his manager continue to drift away from the mother ship.

Collins, no dummy, knows he would’ve already received a vote of confidence, even in private, if Alderson and Jeff Wilpon were entirely sold on his body of work. Both men know what job security — or its absence — does to a manager’s standing in the clubhouse. Without a commitment from ownership, Collins looks like a short-timer on a bad team, a latter-day George Bamberger. The current six-game losing streak, including embarrassing back-to-back losses to the Marlins, doesn’t help his cause, either.

Collins seems to be making one bad decision after another during this current losing streak. It’s hard to ignore his bad calls and the become more glaring especially with the team losing 10 of their last 13 games.

Last night, in a critical save situation – in a game the Mets needed so desperately to win – he called upon Brandon Lyon while his regular closer Bobby Parnell was armed and ready to go.

Lets just say that it didn’t work out too well for the Mets…

Reportedly, Parnell was pissed off after the game and was angry that he didn’t get the chance to preserve the win for Jeremy Hefner who pitched the game of his life and deserved a better fate.

Tick, tick, tick, tick….

Original Post 4/29

After getting off to a 7-4 start to the season, the Mets have now lost nine of their last 12 games and aside from when Matt Harvey and Jon Niese are on the hill, you don’t get the sense that the Mets will win that day.

Part of the problem was a middle to back end of the rotation that was ill-conceived from the beginning. The ever so reliable R.A. Dickey was replaced with Shaun Marcum who has already missed nearly a month of the season. Not surprising coming off an injury plagued season in 2012.

The bullpen, which has been among league’s worst for two years in a row, is in familiar territory once again and sporting the highest ERA in the league and the second worst mark in baseball. While Bobby Parnell has made advances in the closer role, the league is batting .324 against LaTroy Hawkins, Josh Edgin and Glen Burke have already been cut, and Scott Atchison, Brandon Lyon and Robert Carson each have ERAs over 4.00.

The outfield, which many thought would be better than last year’s version, is producing at the bottom of the MLB barrel again. Collin Cowgill is batting a gritty .169, and Marlon Byrd is providing a veteran presence to go with his .235 average. Those two were announced as everyday outfielders on Opening Day and experiment that lasted all of three games. Adding to the folly is the scrappy Mike Baxter and his .229 average. After a solid start, Lucas Duda has been mired in a slump and is batting .233 in his last ten games. Jordany Valdespin is probably the Mets’ best option, but is still relegated to bench and spot duty. He didn’t even merit a start a day after a game winning grand slam.

You have a mixed bag in the infield with David Wright holding up his end of the bargain with a .309 average and a .506 slugging, and Daniel Murphy continues to defy his skeptics offensively and defensively. Ike Davis has been a sore spot all season long and as I said two weeks ago it’s time to bring up Josh Satin who leads the organization with a 1.10 OPS and platoon him at first. Ruben Tejada hasn’t cut it defensively or offensively and yet somehow he frequently finds himself batting leadoff.

This team has gaping holes everywhere. Today on MetsBlog, Matt Cerrone provided a glimmer of hope:

“A Zack Wheeler and a Travis d’Arnaud there, an Ike Davis hot streak there, and things can turn around quick.”

I don’t see that changing the climate in Flushing. The Mets were at their worst last season when Davis got hot, Wheeler can’t seem to find the strike zone in Vegas, and D’Arnaud has missed nearly the first month of the season on the DL.

Yesterday on Twitter, I posted this message:

Mets won’t do anything to draw negative attention before All Star Game. I think Collins will be chopped after that if things don’t improve.

— Mets Merized Online (@MetsMerized) April 28, 2013

I put much of the blame on yesterday’s loss on Terry Collins. His decision to remove Niese when he did was a terrible one, and the worst part was what he said afterward:

“I knew they were going to put Howard in,” Collins said. “Scott Atchison‘s breaking ball is really difficult to hit. I don’t care who it is.”

He knew Mets killer Ryan Howard would come in and yet he proceeded as Scott Atchison is the second coming of Dennis Eckersley.

He also replaced Juan Lagares with Collin Cowgill and as one reader pointed out, that Howard two-run double probably would have been caught with the speedier and more agile rookie who Collins himself said was better than Matt den Dekker defensively.

Is it too early to call for Collins’ head?

Probably, but while we can fix the bullpen, the outfield, the infield or the backend of the rotation, you can’t fix stupid. As I said, the Mets won’t do anything now with the All Star game closing in at Citi Field, but there’s a reason why Sandy Alderson opted to let Terry Collins go into this season without an extension and as a lame duck manager.

Is it time for some Wally Ball at Citi Field?

As I expected, the Mets have demoted Josh Edgin to Double-A Binghamton to clear a roster spot for Shaun Marcum.

I even speculated that he should go to Binghamton which is where he ends up.

We’ll see him again, I’m sure…

Updated on 4/26

I got an interesting email from Kevin (K Maxx) this morning who asked, “if Terry Collins is so concerned about Josh Edging being overworked, why does he keep overworking him?”

I did a quick check and was shocked to see that Edgin made 75 appearances last season between the Mets and the minors. That would have placed him tenth in the NL.

The 75 appearances was the largest workload of his pro career and more than a 50% increase from his previous high of 49 appearances.

So far this season, Edgin has appeared in 10 of the first 20 games and is on pace for 81 appearances.

K Maxx may have a point.

Original Post 4/24

What happened to the Josh Edgin who came up and immediately became one of the more reliable and dominant relievers out of our bullpen last year?

As if his his 10.80 ERA and 1.97 WHIP in 10 appearances wasn’t bad enough, I took a quick glance at his splits and it really showed me how bad things really have gotten for Edgin since last season.

• Versus LH Batters – 368

• Versus RH Batters – .333

Those batting averages against are just plain awful to look at and clearly a sign that something is amiss. He no longer exudes the confidence he once did and his entire demeanor on the mound has done a complete 180. This is not the same intimidating and effective force we saw in 2012. It’s as if he was replicated by one of those giant seapods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Good God, what’s happened to Josh Edgin?

Edgin burst onto the scene sporting a fastball with that had great late life and came in at 93-95 mph. The velocity and the movement are just not there anymore. His slider, which was so effective last season, is now “big and sloppy and flat”, according to Bobby Ojeda.

Terry Collins had a lot to say about Edgin after the game, and to say he’s very concerned is an understatement.

“One of the things I’m a little concerned about is that last year Josh Edgin made a lot of appearances. He also warmed up in the bullpen a lot of times and then didn’t come into the game. That also puts a lot of stress on your arm. Edgin pitched a lot last season and I’m afraid his arm isn’t responding well. I’m a little concerned that’s what we’re facing right now with Edgin.”

“I’ve had pitchers in the past where after their first full season the arm doesn’t respond well. I think that’s what’s happening. We’re going to talk to him and work with him tomorrow and try to see how we can get him back to what he was.”

You’ve lost that lovin’ feeling.

Collins was visibly frustrated while talking about Edgin and it sounded to me like his patience may be running out on his young southpaw.

“Command is everything when you’re in the major leagues,” Collins said. “Right now Edgin needs to do what got him here if he wants to stay here.”

When the Mets announced that they were calling up Robert Carson, you may remember I thought Edgin was as good as gone. Instead the Mets decided to part with Greg Burke. That was surprising to me. Now I see no other solution than to send Edgin to Triple-A Vegas or even Double-A Binghamton to recharge his batteries and get some of that confidence he once had back.

Edgin has lost his edge

According to Terry Collins, it’s too early to worry about Ike Davis and his prolonged slump.

“There is no need to panic about Ike Davis, or talk about sending him to the minor leagues,” Collins told reporters.

Would the Mets consider sending Ike to minors?

“If that discussion is going to be had, it’s not going to be had for a long time. You have to have patience.”

Ike Davis is batting seventh in the order in tonight’s game against the Phillies.

Original Post 9:30 AM

Ike Davis should log on to his computer, Google the book, “Ted Williams: The Science of Hitting,’’ and order a copy.

Maybe it is time both he and the Mets realize Davis isn’t just struggling, but that perhaps he doesn’t know too much about hitting. Davis homered yesterday, but for my money I would rather he slapped a single to left in the sixth with runners on second and third and two outs.

Instead, he struck out. Again. For those scoring at home, it was the 24^thtime he has walked back to the dugout in disgust, compared to just 12 hits. Old stats, new stats, it doesn’t matter, Davis is not producing.Davis has four homers and seven RBI. He’s hitting .174 with a .260 on-base percentage, .348 slugging percentage and .608 OPS. However, the number that kills me is he’s on pace for 194 strikeouts.

I spoke with Davis about strikeouts and using the whole field and he told me he’s a home run hitter, he likes to hit home runs, and strikeouts are part of the equation. He’s missing the boat with that reasoning, much like he’s missing the breaking ball away.

Suppose Davis cut his strikeouts in half to 97, which is still a lot. That would be 97 times he would be putting the ball in play instead of throwing his bat. Think how many more homers he’d produce in those 97 at-bats, not to mention productive at-bats when he’ll drive in a run with a hit, sacrifice fly or ground out.

“It’s about contact,’’ manager Terry Collins said. “These big home run hitters, they’re going to strike out. That’s part of the program. Ike, when he’s going good, he gets hits. He just doesn’t get home runs.

“You go back two years ago in the first half where he drove in everybody who was standing at second base. They were base hits. They weren’t always home runs. I think if he again starts using the field more – especially the opposite field – it also takes that shift away from them, which a lot of teams play on him. And I think it’ll make a difference.’’

That’s what Williams preached in his book. Teams used the shift against Williams, and this is when he didn’t use his own advice. However, Williams was so good he produced over his own stubbornness. In his wildest dreams, Davis isn’t half as good as Williams.

Williams might have been the greatest hitter ever, even considering Babe Ruth. Williams’ average year was .344 with 37 homers and 130 RBI. When you factor in he lost five prime years of his career serving in World War II and the Korean War, his lifetime numbers would have been through the roof.

When you boil it down, Williams’ fundamental advice about hitting was get a good pitch to hit. Williams was so precise he broke down the strike zone into baseball-size segments to where he had each area had its own batting average.

“As we’ve studied his at-bats, they’re just killing him away,’’ Collins told reporters after Thursday’s loss.

Williams calculated the low-and-away pitch at best would produce a .230 average. Davis isn’t even giving the Mets that much. That average would increase, Williams said, if the hitter went that way instead of trying to pull. Instead, Davis is chasing everything, which means the pitch doesn’t have to be that good.

Collins sees that: “If he starts going that way to where he’s going to use more of the field to hit, he’s got some better opportunities to drive some runs in.’’

Unfortunately, Davis does not: “Sometimes they’re helpful. Sometimes they’re not. Me slapping the ball the other way early in the count is probably not helpful.’’

Rebuttal: How would Davis know if he hasn’t tried it routinely? He did when he first came up, but rarely since.

Either Davis doesn’t know the fundamentals of hitting, or refuses to listen to his coaches and manager. And, Collins and GM Sandy Alderson are wrong for accepting this kind of performance.

Listen, I don’t know how to build a watch, but I know how to tell time, and the time has come for Davis to change. Either him, or the Mets should.

Please follow me on Twitter @jdelcos

Rafael Montero by MMO Contributor and Photographer Gordon Donovan.

Updated by Joe D. on 4/24

It’s almost word for word from what Mitch wrote yesterday, but here is what VP of Player Development Paul DePodesta had to say about Rafael Montero:

“His fastball is very advanced right now, but the secondary pitches need to continue to get better,” DePodesta says.

“He just needs to face better hitters, and he needs to face some adversity. And I think he will… We’ve already sped the development of the player up quite a bit, and he has responded to it very well.”

Can a pitcher make the jump from Double-A to the majors?

“It all depends on the individual,” DePodesta says. “There are guys who can make that jump from Double A to the big leagues with little or no time at Triple-A, and there are guys who need some or even significant time at Triple-A.”

By the way, we are actually chasing down Paul DePodesta at Citi Field. Got off the phone with John and told him to seek him out and emailed him 4-5 questions to ask.

Stay tuned…

Original Post 4/23

In case you missed the feature on MMO about Rafael Montero on Saturday, I posed the question on whether or not it was possible that Montero actually makes it to Flushing before Zack Wheeler:

“Never thought I would be pondering this question, but if Montero keeps up this pace, is there a chance that we will see him in Citi Field before Wheeler?

The answer is yes, it is a definite possibility.”

That was written after another dominating performance by Montero, where he struck out six batters and walked none. That brought his season totals to 27 Ks and one walk. I couldn’t do that in a game of MLB The Show, and here is Montero, putting these numbers up in real life.

Once he got to Double-A, his numbers were supposed to dip a bit as he made an adjustment to a higher level of hitters – the complete opposite has taken place. He has made the jump up to Double-A look as if it was a step down. And how should the Mets reward Montero if he continues this utter dominance? How about a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas?

Heck No.

The last thing the Mets should do is promote Montero to Las Vegas. The only reason why he would have to stop in at Triple-A, would be if he needed to continue working on mastering the strike zone. The difference in facing Double-A hitters and Triple-A hitters isn’t great – and actually very similar to the difference between Low-A and High-A ball hitters.

Montero has already mastered the strike zone. Montero is already a great pitcher.

He needs a few more starts in Double-A, but if he continues this dominance then you bump Montero straight to Flushing with no layovers in Vegas.

Why send this dynamite talent to a notorious hitter’s league?

There are no written rules that say that a pitcher needs X number of starts at Double-A, followed by X number of starts at Triple-A before they are ready for big league action. A pitcher tells you when they are ready by showing sheer dominance, and that is exactly what Montero has shown.

I still find it funny that Metsblog had Montero labeled as “raw” during spring training. Raw pitchers do not have a 27:1 strikeout to walk ratios. I guess “raw” is a term to use when an analyst has never heard of a guy and has no clue what they are looking at. Montero is not raw, he may be the most polished pitcher in the entire Mets system right now. Going back to his last season, the fireballing righty has struck out 137 batters while walking only 20.

Had Wheeler shown this dominance at any level, then we would be having the same discussion about him. However, Wheeler is a “thrower” at this point, using his overpowering stuff to get hitters out, but he hasn’t mastered the art of pitching yet. When he does master it, watch out.

Montero’s stuff is electric – Wheeler’s stuff is better. That’s a scary thought.

Updated 12:15 PM

David Wright on Wednesday joined New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mets favorites in kicking off this year’s All-Star Game festivities at City Hall, with less than three months to go before the Midsummer Classic at Citi Field.

Wright was named Major League Baseball’s official spokesman for the T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, to be held at the Jacob K. Javits Center from July 12-16, while former Mets Edgardo Alfonzo, John Franco and Mookie Wilson were anointed All-Star ambassadors.

“All-Star FanFest is the world’s largest baseball fan event and is a great experience for the whole family,” Wright said in a statement. “Just like New York City, FanFest has something for everyone, and I am proud to be a part of the home team as we host this exciting event.”

As FanFest’s official spokesperson, Wright will help to generate public awareness for the event and make appearances in support of it. Alfonzo, Franco and Wilson, meanwhile, will take part in an array of All-Star events leading up to and throughout MLB All-Star Week.

Some attractions include:

• The Diamond - Located at the center of T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, this attraction features daily clinics and appearances by MLB players, managers and other experts. Past appearances have included George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Torii Hunter, Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken, Jr. and many other MLB greats
• Legends Autograph Program - Free autographs from Hall of Famers and MLB legends. Players such as Andre Dawson, Rollie Fingers, Ferguson Jenkins and Juan Marichal have previously signed for fans at T-Mobile All-Star FanFest
• National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum - Take a stroll through Baseball’s glorious past and experience the history of the national pastime with one of the largest collections of artifacts on loan from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown
• The Negro Leagues - A compelling visual journey back in time, the Negro Leagues attraction brings to life the heroic history of some of the game’s proudest and most talented players
• Hometown Heroes - Hometown Heroes showcases the New York Mets history, roots in the community and promise for the future
• World’s Largest Baseball - What better way to welcome families to the largest baseball fan event in the world than with the World’s Largest Baseball? The signature white leather, red-laced ball measures 12 feet in diameter and features the signatures of baseball greats such as Hank Aaron, Rod Carew, Derek Jeter, Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith and Ted Williams

The All-Star Game will return to Queens this summer for the first time since 1964, when the Mets hosted it during Shea Stadium’s inaugural season. New York City has played host to the Midsummer Classic eight times, most recently at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008.

Citi Field opened in 2009 after more than a decade of planning and construction; its completion coincided with the demolition of Shea Stadium, which the Mets called home for 45 seasons. Owner Fred Wilpon recently called the All-Star Game a chance to “show off the ballpark,” which was constructed to resemble old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

New York City has hosted the All-Star Game nine times, but this year’s game will be the first in Queens since 1964. New York last hosted the Midsummer Classic in 2008 at old Yankee Stadium.

Including the space in 54 luxury boxes, six clubs and restaurants, Citi Field can hold up to 41,922 fans at maximum capacity. Opened in 2009, the ballpark is within steps of the Citi Field-Willets Point stop on the New York City subway’s elevated No. 7 line.

In the top of the third inning, a comebacker struck Niese on his leg sending him to the ground writhing in pain. Niese sat down in the dirt along the first base line and grimaced as the Mets trainer helped him to his feet after a minute or so and exited the field. X-rays were negative and Niese left with a bruise. The Mets said he was day to day.

“We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. But I should be able to throw a bullpen and make my next start,” Niese said.

“I’m glad it’s not as bad as what it could have been,” he added. “Everything kind of locked up down there. I couldn’t move my toes. It was kind of scary at first.”

The Mets scored twice in the third after Clayton Kershaw retired the first two batters. Robert Carson, who took over for Niese, walked in his first big league plate appearance and set up RBI singles by Daniel Murphy and David Wright. But that would be all the scoring for the Mets who had just had four hits, all singles, on the night.

The Dodgers put the game away in the eighth inning after reliever Josh Edgin was tagged for two runs on two singles and two doubles.

One Mets bright spot was when Juan Lagares made his big league debut during a double switch in the fifth inning. The center fielder was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day and flied out to the warning track against Kershaw in his first at-bat.

Then Lagares singled his next time up for his first big league hit. ”When I got to the dugout all of my teammates said congratulations. That, for me, feels good,” he said.

Right-hander Matt Harvey will try to snap the Dodgers’ five game winning streak at Citi Field tonight at 7:10 PM. We’ll be live blogging the game from the press box at Citi and hope you’ll join us.

Juan Lagares Is Legit – (Photo by Gordon Donovan)

Updated 2:30 PM

Whatever I said below, it’s now official…

Updated at 11:30 PM

Outfield prospect Juan Lagares, who is tearing up the Pacific Coast League, likely will join the Mets as soon as Tuesday, baseball sources told ESPN New York.

Lagares, 24, is hitting .346 with three homers and nine RBIs through 78 at-bats with Triple-A Las Vegas. All 17 of his appearances with the 51s have been in center field. He also has experience.

See you again soon, Kirk… Nice getting to know you…

I’m getting really good at this….

Original Post 3:00 PM 

Prospect Spotlight: Juan Lagares Is Finally Getting His Due

When we did our MMO Top 25 Prospects back in January, we caught some flack for including outfielder Juan Lagares at No. 21.

Some of the blowback we received on Twitter and in our threads included some of these gems:

• Anyone can do a top ten, that’s easy. You need to really know the system to start doing top 25. Putting Lagaras anywhere on it speaks volumes. Having him at 21 is nuts. (Umm it’s Lagares, not Lagaras.)
• The fact you’re the only site that has him ranked in the top 25 doesn’t say much for your analysis, Lagares sucks.

After we finished releasing out MMO Top 25, several other sites rolled out their own Prospect Rankings weeks later and aside from Mack’s Mets and Toby Hyde, Juan Lagares was included in everyone else’s Top 25 including Amazin Avenue, Jonathan Mayo, and John Sickels (Top 20, but had Lagares among honorable mentions).

Here is our original MMO Profile:

21. Juan Lagares, OF

Height: 6’1″
Weight: 175 LBS
Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Juan Lagares had a monster season in 2011 and followed it up with a good season at Binghamton hitting .283 with some improvement in his plate discipline and his continuing ability at playing CF. Lagares’ value at this point is held to which position on the field he will play because despite the high batting average, Lagares doesn’t exhibit the type of power you would expect from a corner outfielder. Expectations would see Lagares going to Las Vegas for the 2013 season to either start in CF if possible, otherwise playing a corner and proving his bat is solid

Outlook: Lagares can hit but the only downside is the tweener label at this point and value that goes to each position. The Mets outfield at this point is so devoid of right-handed bats, if Lagares came up to the Mets for the 2013 season I would not be surprised in the least bit. That being said, I think Lagares gets 400+ AB in Las Vegas, playing all three OF spots and makes the big club by September 2013 for a tryout for 2014.

In one of my replies to one of those commenters, I wrote the following about Lagares sucking:

Not according to what Paul DePodesta had to say about him yesterday, when he said Lagares will most likely make his MLB debut in 2013. (That was based on comments DePo made at a Citi Field event back in January.)

Even before Travis d’Arnaud injured his ankle, the top slugger on the Triple-A Las Vegas squad was and continues to be Juan Lagares and my other MMO fave, Josh Satin.

Lagares is swinging a .346 bat to lead the 51s with a .378 On-Base, .551 Slugging and a .929 OPS. In 17 games played he has three doubles, two triples and three home runs to go with 13 runs scored and nine driven in.

As we projected, Lagares is Wally Backman‘s leadoff man and with the injury to Matt den Dekker he has started every game in center field where he ranks third in the PCL in range factor and fifth in fielding percentage. He leads the team in putouts and has already had his arm tested, accumulating four outfield assists in barely two weeks.

Is this a fluke? Not really, in 2011 – and in a not so hitter-friendly league – Lagares batted .370/.391/.512 for Double-A Binghamton in 170 plate appearances. Combined with St. Lucie that season he hit .349 in 550 Plate appearances.

Last season toolsy outfielder produced at a .287 clip and some people were already willing to toss him into the wood chipper. What also gets overlooked is Lagares’ speed and in the last three seasons he has stolen 21, 15 and 25 bases.

I feel strongly that unless Collin Cowgill gets that on-base percentage significantly over .200 real quick, Juan Lagares will be promoted from Las Vegas to fill the void and see plenty of time batting leadoff for the Mets. His right-handed bat would pair very well with Jordany Valdespin as a platoon in center field.

The Mets have announced that they have recalled LHP Robert Carson from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Carson, 24, is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in eight appearances with Triple-A Las Vegas and has allowed two hits, two walks, while striking out seven in 7.2 innings pitched.

To make room on the active roster for Carson, the Mets have designated LHP Aaron Laffey for assignment.

In four appearances and two starts for the Mets, Laffey had a 7.20 ERA, allowing eight earned runs on 16 hits with four walks and nine strikeouts in ten innings.

The 40-man roster now stands at 39.

Original Post 4/21 at 1:00 AM

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, left-hand reliever Robert Carson, who was beaten out by fellow lefty Scott Rice for a bullpen spot at the end of spring training, is due to join the Mets, a baseball source told him.

Carson, 24, is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in eight appearances with Triple-A Las Vegas and has allowed two hits, two walks, while striking out seven in 7.2 innings pitched.

Rubin did not mention who could be cut from the active roster, but earlier today Joe D. speculated that Carson was primed for a promotion and identified Josh Edgin as a primary candidate for demotion as well as Greg Burke. Both have struggled out of the bullpen this season.

Updated on 4/18 by Joe D.

And right on cue, in his column for the New York Post, Joel Sherman says that injuries to D’Arnaud’s back, knee and now foot could suggest that he is “injury-prone.”

Let us also remember the ticking clock does not stop. D’Arnaud is no baby,” Sherman writes. “He is 24 — six months older than Jason Heyward. The Mets’ best-laid plans had D’Arnaud and Zack Wheeler breaking in this year and being part of a serial contending cornerstone for next season.

The thing of it is that the knee and now this foot injury were both freakish in nature and just something that all catchers are subject to.

How many times a week do we see a collision at the plate or a foul ball off the bat hitting the catcher? This is what happened both times with D’Arnaud and it could have been any other catcher as well, just fill in the blank.

Original Post by Joe D. on 4/17

Sandy Alderson just announced that Travis d’Arnaud has a non-displaced fracture in the first metatarsal in his left foot.

Alderson said d’Arnaud is in a walking boot and will fly to New York to visit team doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery for further evaluation and to evaluate the severity of the injury. Currently, there is no timetable for his return.

As we first reported late last night, Sacramento’s Tyler Ladendorf was at the plate as 51s pitcher Adam Kolarek broke off a 1-2 curveball that Ladendorf fouled off d’Arnaud’s foot. After being attended to by the club’s athletic trainer, Joe Golia, d’Arnaud stayed in the game.

However, manager Wally Backman opted to replace him a half inning later as Landon Powell pinch hit for d’Arnaud, striking out in the bottom of the sixth inning.

D’Arnaud was hitting .250 with five doubles, one home run and eight RBI in 36 at-bats this season.

I’m so depressed over this. We were actually planning to attend Zack Wheeler‘s next start this weekend and were hoping to secure some time with the top Mets prospect. This is so disappointing.

I know that by now the haters are coming out in full force and will look to throw Sandy Alderson under the bus.

I got two words for them…

One of the most exciting things I was looking forward to this season was the day we’d first get to see Travis d’Arnaud catch Matt Harvey and then eventually Zack Wheeler. It was going to be the highlight of my season. I remain optimistic however, and it still could happen.

I spoke to an injury expert who practices sports medicine and he told me these types of injuries can take as little as four weeks and as long as eight weeks to heal properly. But he then added that because Travis is a catcher it would probably be closer to eight weeks as the Mets will make sure his foot is sturdy and strong enough to support his weight when he crouches behind the plate. It sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

We at MMO all hope for a speedy recovery and wish Travis d’Arnaud the best. He’s a great talent and still has a great future ahead of him.

Juan Centeno (Photo by Gordon Donovan)

Update by Joe D. at 2:20 PM

Well that didn’t take long… The Mets announced that Juan Centeno has been promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas to replace Travis d’Arnaud who was officially placed on the DL moments ago. Centeno will get the majority of the starts while Landon Powell will continue to remain the backup.

Now read about how Mitch just speculated that would likely happen about 30 minutes ago, as well as his other thoughts on the domino effect…

Original Post by Mitch at 1:45 PM

Unless you have been away from your computer, smart phone, or tablet for the past hour or so, you probably have already heard that Travis d’Arnaud will probably miss up to two months with a fracture in his foot.

This is crushing news, as Mets fans were started to get really excited about seeing the top catching prospect make his Flushing debut, especially with the talk of late where Terry Collins stated he would be willing to play both John Buck (1B) and d’Arnaud in the lineup at the same time.

Looks like we will have to wait a few more months before that becomes a reality. The reality is that our best position player prospect is now on the shelf, and someone will have to step up and replace him in Las Vegas for the time being.

The most likely candidate is Juan Centeno. Centeno does enough offensively, and more than enough defensively to make him the prime candidate to be promoted to Triple-A. Centeno also spent the entire 2012 season with Binghamton where he hit .285 on the season, showing that he can make the offensive jump to Triple-A. Blake Forsythe has had an excellent year for Binghamton so far offensively, but seeing as he has logged only five games at the Double-A level, he is probably going to remain in Binghamton. This will allow Forsythe to get more innings, as the B-Mets will only have two catchers on the roster now.

The question is, does this injury also open the door for other catchers to be promoted, like, let’s say, Kevin Plawecki? Could the Mets bump Plawecki up to Binghamton now? It’s not out of the realm of possibilities. He is a polished college hitter who is absolutely dominating Low-A ball. In fact, I thought it was a shocking that Plawecki started where he did and should have started with St. Lucie because of his hitting ability and his age. To make the jump to St. Lucie now wouldn’t be much of a challenge for Plawecki. The added bonus is that Binghamton could use a bat like his in that lineup to give some run support to pitchers like Rafael Montero, Tyler Pill, Logan Verrett and Jacob deGrom.

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By the way, interesting exchange between Joe D. and Will Carroll just now on Twitter:

By the way, when did Carroll leave Baseball Prospectus to join Bleacher Report? Sounds like an odd switch, but also explains his over the top “Second Lost Season.” Sensational titles are Bleacher Report staples as I was a former writer there before joining MMO. They would send us crazy titles and ask us to build stories around them and drilled it into our heads. I couldn’t work that way.

Updated by Joe D. at 10:00 PM

Lynn Worthy just broke the news on Twitter, that Jake DeGrom will remain with the Binghamton Mets even when Cory Mazzoni comes off the disabled list next week.

Worthy adds that the B-Mets will go with a six-man rotation which is something they did last season as well.

Great news, and DeGrom is exactly where he should have been to start the season.

Good stuff…

Original Post by Satish at 9:30 PM

Wow…  Talk about an impressive splash into AA! Jacob DeGrom was recently promoted to Binghamton to replace Luis Mateo‘s spot in the rotation, and there was some talk about the fact that he got the call before Noah Syndergaard. So what did Mr. DeGrom do about it?

He went out and dominated. His first start ever in AA may have been a loss, but you have to look past that to see how impressive he really was.

DeGrom lasted eight innings and allowed an earned run off a mere three hits and one walk. His opposition, the Portland Sea Dogs, looked lost all night as he dazzled Mets minor league fans with eight strikeouts.

DeGrom was ranked at #17 during our offseason MMO Top Prospects, and here is what I had to say about him back then…

Another solid right handed pitcher in the Mets system? You are correct, sir… I believe Jake deGrom was destined for something special. DeGrom was drafted in the 9th round of the 2010 Draft and immediately had TJ surgery in the Fall of 2010. That sounds pretty bad for a young pitcher, especially when you consider that he missed the entire 2011 season because of said surgery. But like I said, deGrom just might be destined for something special, because he came back topping the radar gun at 97 MPH in 2012.

Mets Scouting Director Paul DePodesta raved about him according to Joe D.. He started 2012 in Savannah and was promoted to St.Lucie later in the year, where he actually improved on his numbers. He finished the year with a 2.43 ERA in 111.1 innings and a WHIP of .997. He struck out a solid 96 while walking only 20, and allowed only four home runs all year.

DeGrom is quite a story and very easy to root for – especially considering he is one of our own. You might be hearing his name a lot more before long and seems to be on the fast track to success.