I am in a bit of a good mood because I’m feeling positive looking ahead to the season. For some reason, even though I am a cynic, I always seem to find positivity in the Mets. Of course, if I take a second to be negative, my mind will blow up because I’ll stop wanting to be a Met fan. So i’ll keep drinking that kool-aid. Here’s a random little piece, Jersey Shore reference inspired (No, I don’t watch that show and I never will.) about what second base could have looked like; It’s vague and random though.
Second Base Six-Pack
1. Luis Castillo: Castillo was recently cut from the Mets roster but unless you’ve been in a box with Oliver Perez, i’m sure you’ve heard that. Castillo’s tenure with the Mets was a troubled one. In any case, it seemed like Collins wanted him to win the job at 2B but Castillo just didn’t stand out. The argument can be made that Castillo was doing the best out of everyone in Spring, but hey, his past reputation preceded him. Good luck to him anywhere but the Phillies…Braves, Marlins…
2. Luis Hernandez: Well, he’s still here. He’s being shopped to the Padres, I believe. There’s little to no chance of him cracking the Opening Day roster.
3. Justin Turner: Optioned down to AAA. He was not happy about it. I guess we aren’t the only ones that noticed a little favoritism to Brad Emaus. It’s a shame because I actually like this guy. Enough to start a big fight over it? Probably not. I hope he does well down there – he never really had a chance since he came into the Spring with options.
4. Daniel Murphy: Hey, it’s the Dan man! I love Daniel Murphy but he cannot field at second base if his life depended on it. I still think he has a place on this team on the bench because he “fields” multiple positions and I am actually a big fan of his ability at the plate. He’s not going to light the world on fire but he can definitely provide production. I think he needs consistent AB’s though. I think he’ll make the team as a utility player.
5. Chin-Lung Hu: I think he’s somewhat of a lock to make the roster and I’m not exactly sure why. His bat doesn’t impress me at all and I’m not really in love with his defense either. I guess he’s just going to be a prototypical bench player…nothing special. Remember when we had Damion Easley? Good roleplayers with decent power off the bench go a long way for winning NL teams.
6. Brad Emaus: We have found our winner. Sort of. He hasn’t distinguished himself. I think I’m not really this bothered about this because Emaus has shown he has the ability to send a few out of the ballpark if he finds himself at the plate. I look forward to seeing how he will adapt to MLB pitching and how he will deal with slumps. I do trust him and I do think he’ll stop pressing…eventually.
I think something to note here is that the person who takes over at 2B to begin the season might not be the 2B of the future. The organization is very high on Reese Havens. Remember that name? He has taken a back seat to all this questioning involving who is going to start on Opening Day. I could care less about who’s starting there on Opening Day but I do care a lot about who the 2B of the future is. If it really is Reese Havens, I want to see some production in the minors. I’ve heard the scouts and seen a small sample size but I am impatient. What do you guys think about the 2B situation?
Oh, off-topic. I saw Rubin’s post about Boyer possibly getting the last bullpen spot because his contract has an out on March 31. I disagree with that. I think Izzy is likely to get that spot even though I think Misch should get it. We need a second lefty in there.
Have a nice day, readers.
