I have seen a lot of Mets baseball in my 41 years on this planet. I have seen the Mets win one World Series while losing in their other two appearances to the A’s and Yankees. I’ve also seen them appear in a handful of playoff appearances where they just fell a little short… Yeah I’m, looking at you ’88 and ’99 and ’06!!!

I have seen players come and go. Some were stars, others were nondescript journeymen, and many were solid everyday players that may not have that good, but us fans we clutched on to them because they were the best we had.

But there is also another category of players that have had donned the orange and blue. These are the players that we loved to hate. The players that had various scrapes with either the front office, the manager, the game itself, or even off the field scuffles with the law, child services etc. So without further ado here is a short list of some of the most infamous Mets.

1. Jordany Valdespin : Valdespin may have only spent about a year and a half with the Mets but his antics are legendary. While in the minors he was not very well liked by his teammates – but I guess when you steal their equipment you won’t be making many friends. He is currently serving a 50 game suspension for being named in the Biogenesis scandal. He also cursed out his manager Terry Collins in front of GM Sandy Alderson when told he was being demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas earlier this season. Soon after, he ignited a bench clearing brawl after his demotion because he showboated after a homer (again) – something he actually excels at since he doesn’t field well, run well or hit for average.

2. Ambiorix Burgos: Amby was obtained by then GM, Omar Minaya, to be the Mets future closer. He could top 100 mph on the radar gun. In a fit of rage, Borgos used his SUV as a weapon when he struck and killed his ex-girlfriend and as well as another woman in his native Dominican Republic. He was also picked up by NYPD officers for beating his then girlfriend .

3. Vince Coleman: “Vincent Van D’OH” will not only be remembered for his speed on the field with the Cardinals and to a lesser extent the Mets, but also for throwing lit fire crackers into a crowd after a game in Los Angeles, severely injuring a 2-year old girl. He also accidentally injured Dwight Gooden when he was swinging a golf club in the clubhouse.

4. Francisco Rodriguez: Who could forget back in the summer of 2010 when after blowing a save Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez was involved in a shouting match with his “father in law”  which spiraled into K-Rod using the man as his very own punching bag. To be honest if somebody made disparaging remarks about my mother I would probably do the same. Rodriguez was arrested and put on the restricted list for 2 days. He then was placed on the disqualified list for the remainder of the season after it was revealed that he tore a ligament in his thumb during his punching fit which required surgery.

5. Lance Broadway: Broadway, a hard throwing prospect that the Mets obtained  from the White Sox for catcher, Ramon Castro. Lance didn’t light it up in his brief time with the Mets – even though he had the right last name for the team. After the Mets released him he signed with Toronto , where he brutally beat up a man at a night club.

6. Carl Everett: Carl’s temper was well known. He once head-butted umpire Ron Kulpa when he ruled that Carl was using an illegal stance in the batter’s box. He is best known for having his children taken away by Child Protective Services after a Mets employee saw welts and bruises on one of his children. He has been arrested since then for weapons possession, as well as assault.  He is outspoken against gay marriage, feels that the Apollo 11 moon landing was a hoax, and is infamous for saying  that

“God created the sun, the stars, the heavens and the Earth, and then he made Adam and Eve. The Bible never says anything about dinosaurs. You can’t say there were dinosaurs when you never saw them. Somebody actually saw Adam and Eve. No one ever saw a Tyrannosaurus Rex.!”

He also believes that dinosaur bones are man made fakes.

So here is my list for some of the most infamous players ever to wear a Mets uniform. who would you add to this list ? Let me know in the comment section below.

And with that said….. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!!

Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:

One of the most popular Mets of all time, second baseman from ’80-’88,  Wally Backman is 54 (1959). Backman has been managing in the Mets minor league system for the past several years. He is well liked by his players, and is still a lightening rod for controversy which is why I do not believe we will see him as the Mets manager in the near future.

One of the worst free agent signings the Mets ever made, outfielder Vince Coleman is 52 (1961).

Current Mets bench coach ( and possible Collins replacement) , Bob Geren  is 52 (1961).

Middle reliever from the ’02 season, Mark Guthrie is 48 (1965).

Reserve outfielder from the ’95 season, Jeff Barry is 44 (1969).

Current starting pitcher for the Mets AAA Las Vegas affiliate,  Chris Schwinden is 27 (1986).

Mo Vaughn is infamous for eating the entire team post game spread before his teammates could finish changing after the game !!!

The post This Day In Mets Infamy With Rusty: The All Time Infamy Team appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets have just announced that righthander Jenrry Mejia will start Saturday Friday against the Washington Nationals.

Here’s some excellent insight from longtime reader Sach who writes:

Jenrry Mejia was on a major league not minor league rehab assignment which was due to end on July 29th. And after that date, the Mets either had to call Mejia up or spend and burn their last remaining option on him optioning him to AA or AAA.

Why spend and burn your last remaining option on this guy for basically 2 months the rest of this season instead of preserving that option for all of next season?

I think if Mejia shows credibly enough on Fri., he’s going to stick with the Mets the rest of the way in some capacity.

Nice job, Sach, and as always thank you for your insights and updates on our threads…

Original Post 8:00 AM

The Mets are reportedly considering promoting RHP Chris Schwinden from Triple-A Las Vegas to start against the Nationals on July 26. Yeah right…

Needing a sixth starter this weekend due to a doubleheader, the Mets apparently do not want to promote RHP Rafael Montero and add him to the 40-man roster yet. We’ve written about that ad nauseum on this site and yes, I get that, but what I don’t get is Chris Schwinden?

Schwinden is coming of a six-run pasting in his start on Sunday and was pulled after four innings. The 26-year old is 4-8 with an even 6.00 ERA in 105.0 innings at Triple-A Las Vegas this season and the league is batting .315 against him. His small taste of the majors has him at 0-3 with a 6.78 ERA in seven games and six starts in his big league career.

We are talking about a player who has been cut from three different 40-man rosters from three different organizations in the last year, so why in the world would we waste a roster spot on him again and so soon when he’s regressed as much as he has this season?

Now while I would love to get Jenrry Mejia a start, there’s a 40-man roster crunch coming for the Mets in three months. Steven Matz and Jacob deGrom must be put on the 40 in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. While there’s no rush on Matz who is still in Single-A Savannah and isn’t an option to help the Mets, deGrom is holding his own in Triple-A Las Vegas and we HAVE TO put him on the 40 man roster anyway.

DeGrom currently sports a 3.00 ERA for the 51s with a 1.21 WHIP in six starts, and has already been promoted twice since beginning the season for Advanced-A St. Lucie. I’m not sold on his MLB readiness at this stage of the game, but he would make far more sense than Schwinden.

I still believe that Mejia would be best prepared, having already pitched at this level, and it would make for a nice story to see him make it back from Tommy John Surgery and other assorted maladies and setbacks that he has dealt with along his comeback trail.

Mejia, still only 23, has made six starts in rehab and boasts a 2.55 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 24.2 innings while walking 10. Now in Double-A Binghamton, the former top Mets prospect has tossed back-to-back gems, most recently a superb 8-strikeout performance. He has a 0.82 ERA for the B-Mets with a 0.90 WHIP.

I understand the need to put deGrom on the 40, hell we were the ones who first bought it up back in April, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready for a start in the majors. To jump three levels from Single-A to the majors in four months with his stuff? Umm, sorry, I don’t think so…

Mejia may not be the optimal choice either, but I think he gives the team a better chance for a win and he wouldn’t be fazed by the jitters of a major league debut… He’s long past that after making his debut in 2010 at 20.

So there’s my take on this… In a day or two we’ll find out what Sandy’s take on it is…

(Photo credit: Gordon Donovan)

The post Some Additional Insight On Why Mets Decided On Mejia appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets play a doubleheader on Friday in Washington, and will need an extra pitcher on Saturday.

Also being considered, but I view as extreme long-shots, are Chris Schwinden, Jacob deGrom, and Rafael Montero – neither of whom are on the 40-man roster.

MMO Prediction: Mejia will make his 2013 debut and have a solid performance after a long road back from rehab and TJS.

Read more about his start last night from my earlier post below.

Original Post 12:30 AM

The Binghamton Mets matched a season-high with 15 hits and Jenrry Mejia struck out eight over six innings in a 10-2 victory over the New Britain Rock Cats on Saturday night at New Britain Stadium. Cesar Puello doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead a B-Mets offensive attack that saw every player collect at least one hit.

Mejia had a two-run cushion before he even threw his first pitch. Danny Muno got the attack against Rock Cats starter Trevor May started immediately by leading off the game with a one-hop double off the right-field wall. Puello brought him home by skipping an RBI single past Eddie Rosario at second base. After swiping second, his 22nd stolen base of the year, Puello scored when Rhyne Hughes blistered a two-out RBI single up the middle.

Mejia set the tone in his second rehab appearance with the B-Mets by retiring the first eight batters he faced. The right-hander side-stepped a bunt single and a walk in a scoreless third and worked around a one-out single in a shutout fourth.

Nate Hanson put the only blemish on Mejia’s night by ripping a home run over the left-field wall to lead off the fifth inning. Mejia bounced back and retired six of seven to cap his night. Chase Huchingson took over in the seventh and allowed one on three hits over two innings of relief. Chasen Bradford closed the contest with a perfect ninth.

Mejia (2-0) surrendered just one run on three hits over six innings in the victory. His eight strikeouts were the most in one game since he fanned nine as a Buffalo Bison on 8/30/10 against the Syracuse Chiefs..

The post Jenrry Mejia Likely To Make 2013 Debut Against Nationals appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Updating this post from Thursday, Terry Collins threw his weight around on the matter of trading Marlon Byrd. In short, Collins is hoping that it doesn’t happen and is fearful of how a team struggling to score runs would survive the loss of their second most productive hitter,

“If there’s moves made before the end of the season, whenever that might be, I certainly think if you’re taking one of your better bats out of the lineup, someone really has to step up, and again, you point your fingers only in a couple of directions.”

He’s looking at you Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda…

“We’re not going to ask Juan Lagares all of a sudden to be the run-producer that Marlon Byrd is, or even Kirk Nieuwenhuis.”

He’s right, that’s not going to happen…

“We’re going to look at those that have had major-league experience before, those guys that when we started March 1, there were expectations for them to be run-producers.”

“Hopefully, Marlon is still here, but if he’s not, then someone else has got to pick it up,” Collins said.

This came after Byrd hit a three-run home run last night, giving him a team leading 16 home runs and 54 RBI with an .826 OPS this season.

Original Post 7/18

According to Mike Puma of the NY Post, the Mets have had no discussions with teams about Marlon Byrd or Bobby Parnell – two names that seem to come up regularly as potential Mets on the move at the trade deadline.

Both players are having solid seasons for the Mets and Sandy Alderson sounded very reluctant to trade either player during an interview he did before the start of the All Star Game.

In other news by Puma, he reports that the Mets are considering starting righthander Chris Schwinden against the Washington Nationals on Friday July 26 when the Mets have a day-night doubleheader. He adds that Sandy Alderson does not want to put Rafael Montero on the 40-man roster so he is not an option.

The Mets claimed Schwinden last offseason after he was placed on waivers by the Yankees. Prior to that he had been claimed by the Blue Jays after the Mets waived him in June of 2012, but Toronto released him four days later. Schwinden has a 5.70 ERA in 19 starts with a 1.59 WHIP in 101 innings.

The post Collins Doesn’t Want Byrd Traded, Wants More Players To Step Up Already appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Albuquerque 8, Las Vegas 5

It was a tough night for Chris Schwinden, who was knocked around for four runs in the first inning, and this left the 51s in a defecit that they would never look back from. Schwinden would be on the hook for five earned runs in his five innings of action. Greg Peavey had no more luck than he did in his two innings of work, as he allowed two earned runs as well.

Vegas dropped a two-spot in the first inning – thanks to Eric Campbell, who drove in a run with an RBI Triple and then scored on a fielding error. Collin Cowgill drove home Brian Bixler in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-3 at that point.

The 51s made a last ditch effort in the bottom of the ninth, with Wilmer Flores ripping an RBI double and scoring on a Zach Lutz RBI single, but Eric Campbell struck out to end the threat.

D.J. Mitchell is scheduled to start tomorrow for Las Vegas.

Key Stats

Wilmer Flores: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 R

Zach Lutz: 3-for-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R

Eric Campbell: 2-for-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 R

Brian Bixler: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 R

Chris Schwinden: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 ER, 4 K

Greg Peavey: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 HR, 2 ER, 1 K

Armando Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER

Sean Henn: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER

The post 51s Can’t Overcome Schwinden’s Five Earned Runs Allowed In 8-5 Loss appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Las Vegas 6, Round Rock 5

Zach Lutz and Wilmer Flores hit solo home runs Thursday for the Las Vegas 51s, helping them take down visiting Round Rock, 6-5.

Lutz, who also homered Wednesday, started the scoring in the second inning with a home run to right-center field. The 51s scored two more runs in the frame, on an RBI single from Juan Centeno and another when Eric Campbell scored on a wild pitch. Flores homered in the third inning to give the 51s a 4-0 advantage. After being relatively silent at the plate through the initial six innings, Round Rock batted around in the seventh to score five runs and take the lead, 5-4. But Las Vegas scored two runs in the eighth to win the game, taking the lead on a run-scoring double from Collin Cowgill and an RBI single from Josh Satin.

Chris Schwinden started this game and pitched relatively well, allowing just three earned runs while pitching into the seventh. Greg Peavey vultured the win out of the ‘pen. Greg Burke picked up his second save of the season in the ninth, getting Round Rock’s Engel Beltre to ground into a double play to end the game.

Key Stats

Collin Cowgill: 2-for-3, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 R

Josh Satin: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB

Wilmer Flores: 1-for-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R

Zach Lutz: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Juan Centeno: 2-for-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Chris Schwinden: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 3 ER

Gonzalez Germen: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 ER

Greg Peavey: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Greg Burke: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB

(Team Report)

The post Lutz, Flores Go Deep En Route To 6-5 Vegas Victory appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Sacramento 3, Las Vegas 0

Sometimes…you just have those games where nothing goes right for you on offense – even in the PCL. This was one of those games for Las Vegas, who mustered only three hits as a team, and they were all singles. Jamie Hoffmann, Juan Centeno, and Zach Lutz were the men who provided the singles, yet Sacramento induced double plays after two of those singles to erase most of the 51s’ chances. Las Vegas had only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position all night.

In terms of pitching, somebody give a gold star to Juan Centeno, who somehow pulled a decent start out of Chris Schwinden. Schwinden has been in the middle of a really tough year in AAA, giving a handful of runs in almost all of his starts, but he went the first five innings today and allowed just two earned runs. He was lifted in the sixth after giving up a solo home run to Michael Choice and a single right after. Justin Hampson handled the next four outs with ease, but Sacramento would tack on another run at the expense of Gonzalez Germen. Germen allowed three hits, and was removed with two runners on base in favor of Sean Henn, who allowed one to cross the plate.

Although I sing the praises of Juan Centeno’s defense a lot, he did get saddled with his first error of the year last night – along with his second passed ball. On the other side of the spectrum, Captain Kirk made a ridiculous catch that I will try to get up in the MiLB report as a video.

Key Stats

Jamie Hoffmann: 1-for-3

Zach Lutz: 1-for-3

Juan Centeno: 1-for-3

Chris Schwinden: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

Justin Hampson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB

Gonzalez Germen: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER

Sean Henn: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1-for-1 inherited runners scored

The post Vegas Gets Blanked, Musters Only Three Hits In 3-0 Loss appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Tacoma 5, Las Vegas 3

As has been the case all season for the major league level of the Mets franchise, the Las Vegas 51s bullpen was unable to maintain a slim lead as they went on to fall to the Tacoma Rainiers 5-3.

The well traveled Chris Schwinden got the nod for the 51s who were attempting to avoid a four-game sweep from the Rainiers. Schwinden had gotten off to a horrible beginning to the year, however managed to settle down in his previous outing last Saturday against Colorado. Building off of last week’s success, Schwinden lasted five innings allowing two runs on three hits while walking five and punching out four. In just the second at-bat of the game, Nick Franklin put a drive into one to right field that cleared the fence, handing Tacoma an early one-run lead. Then in the third, Eric Thames came up to bat and plated Franklin in on a two-out RBI double, making it 2-0 Rainiers. Schwinden would be lifted after the fifth for Gonzalez Germen, and would end the day with a no-decision, however managed to lower his ERA to 6.08 on the year.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Las Vegas lineup started to come to life as the backstop Kai Gronauer slapped a one-out double to Thames, followed up quickly by a grounder that found it’s way to Tacoma’s right fielder once again. With runners on second and third, Josh Satin kept the theme of making Eric Thames run going as he drove a hot shot to the 26-year old, scoring two to tie up the game at two a piece.

Come the bottom of the sixth, Andrew Brown got on base to start off the inning after getting plunked by pitcher Tyler Burgoon. Burgoon then surrendered a knock to Wilmer Flores to set the table for Jamie Hoffmann. Hoffmann rolled over one to and grounded to short, forcing Flores out at second but more importantly scoring Brown to hand Vegas a 3-2 advantage.

The lead however, was short lived. After hurling a scoreless sixth, Gonzalez came out for his second inning of work, with disastrous results. It began with a miscue from Kirk Nieuwenhuis on a Alex Liddi fly ball, putting him in scoring position with no outs. Gonzalez then threw one to the backstop, allowing Liddi to move just 90 feet away from tying the game on the wild pitch. Stefen Romero would serve up a blooper to center to score Liddi and even things up at three. Later in the inning, Carlos Triunfel doubled down the left field line to score Romero, handing the Rainiers the lead for good.

Tacoma would plate an insurance run on a sac fly in the top of the ninth and go on to complete the four game sweep, besting the 51s by a score of 5-3. Las Vegas has now fallen to 10-12 on the year and last place in the PCL Pacific Southern Division.

Key Stats

Josh Satin: 1-for-4, 2 RBI

Andrew Brown: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB

Jamie Hoffmann: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 SB

Kai Gronauer: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB

Chris Schwinden: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

Gonzalez Germen: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 K

Greg Burke: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

The post Las Vegas Bullpen Can’t Handle The Heat, Falls to Tacoma 5-3 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Las Vegas 10, Colorado Springs 6

Chris Schwinden held Colorado Springs over the first three innings and the Las Vegas dropped a 10-spot overall on the scoreboard to claim first blood in a four-game series against Colorado Springs.

Zach Lutz got the scoring started early with an RBI single that drove home Reese Havens, and Jamie Hoffman followed that with a ringing double to drive home Lutz and Andrew Brown. The 51s would strike again in the sixth, with Juan Centeno and Juan Lagares providing the fuel with a pair of two RBI hits. Lutz came through once more in the top of the ninth and put the nail in the coffin with a two-run single.

The aforementioned Chris Schwinden was able to pitch into the sixth, which was a stark improvement from his last start, and he was only on the hook for three runs – two of them earned. One of them scored as an inherited runner via Gonzalez Germen, who picked up three outs before being lifted for Sean Henn, the ex-Yankee. Oddly enough, the bright spot for the pitching staff was the newly demoted Greg Burke, who pitched two scoreless innings to close out the game and pick up a save.

Key Stats

Juan Lagares: 1-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Zach Lutz: 2-for-5, 3 RBI, 1 R

Jamie Hoffmann: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R

Juan Centeno: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 R

Chris Schwinden: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 K

Gonzalez Germen: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 2 K

Sean Henn: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

Greg Burke: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 1 K

The post Jamie Hoffmann, Zach Lutz Pace 11-Hit Attack In 10-6 Vegas Win appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

I can get used to playing in Savannah, and those BBQ Pork Kabobs aren’t half bad.

Breaking News:

As I predicted only two days ago, Jacob deGrom was indeed promoted to Binghamton before Noah Syndergaard.

DeGrom replaces Luis Mateo, who was placed on the DL with a right elbow strain.

Good call by the Mets, and a hearty get well soon to Luis Mateo.

Joe D.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Savannah (6-5) topped the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 8-5
• St. Lucie (8-3) defeated the Charlotte Stone Crabs, 6-3
• Binghamton (6-5) dropped a game to the Portland Sea Dogs, 7-4
• Las Vegas (6-6) got toppled by Colorado Springs, 19-5

Prospect Pipeline

• Brandon Nimmo‘s new nickname is the Human Torch — he is on absolute fire. He had another three hits, one of which was his first home run of the season, and added five RBI in last night’s game. He is now the organization leader in batting, with a .429 average. He is also the only hitter in the organization with a batting average over .400. Nimmo on his home run: “I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and I got a fastball inside and drove it well,” he said. “It felt really good. Even in my fourth at-bat, I hit the ball pretty well. I was staying on the ball, seeing it well tonight. You just enjoy these nights.”
• Travis d’Arnaud hit his first home run of the year on Monday night. So far on the season, d’Arnaud is hitting an even .300, and has six extra base hits and eight RBI. Even more impressive is the fact that he has walked twelve times against seven strikeouts. His on base percentage is an outstanding .488. This kid is ready for big league pitchers.
• I’ve been saying since last Summer that Rafael Montero could be a viable option for the Mets 2014 rotation. Some scoffed, but I stood my ground. Now I say he’s a lock and we’ll see him by September of this season at the latest. I’m higher on Montero than I am about Noah Syndergaard and I don’t really care what others think about that. Three starts into his Double-A season and Montero already looks like he needs more of a challenge at Triple-A, and no, it’s not too early to say that as I said he was polished enough to start at Vegas even before the season started. Also, what is the big deal about who signed Montero? It’s as if some will root less for him based on who signed him. I swear, I’m seeing more and more fans with this crackpot mentality everyday. Give it a break. (Joe D.)
• As I wrote in an article yesterday, right-hander Zack Wheeler pitched 5.1 innings, issued no walks and struck out 8 on Sunday afternoon. Improvement? Without a doubt. But for crying out loud stop with all the cries of calling him up. He hasn’t thrown one quality start yet and is completely gassed by the fifth inning. All these scouts that follow him around like puppy dogs never say anything about that. I get it, he has four plus pitches, no need to repeat it every five days. His pitch counts are way too high and while he walked none in this last start, I lost count of how many times he went to three ball counts on batters. One-hundred pitches through five innings is not going to cut it in the major leagues. Stop trying to get the front office to rush him. He has the talent and bulldog mentality that Matt Harvey does, but not nearly the refinement and efficiency. (Joe D.)
• Collin McHugh gets the ball tonight for Las Vegas. Many people have been calling for McHugh to be called up to Flushing, and rightly so. So far this season, McHugh is 2-0, has an ERA under 1.00, and twelve strikeouts to only one walk. (Hey Mitch, I second that motion. – JD)
• J.J. Cooper, of Baseball America, answered some fans’ questions about prospects, and why some players got the snub on his Prospect Hot Sheet last week. Here is what he had to say about Nimmo and Travis d’Arnaud: “Nimmo was in consideration more than d’Arnaud…  The catcher’s week was nice, but not really Hot Sheet worthy in a week where 150+ players posted 1.000 OPS or better. And many of them were playing in less hitter-happy environments.” And in regards to Kevin Plawecki: “Thought about it for a little while. Working against him was the fact that he’s a tick old for the Sally League, but the Mets like to take it slow with their draft picks. He still looks to be most likely a backup catcher at the big league level, but he is an intriguing guy to watch.” Here is what he said about the Mets pitcher who impressed him most so far this season, not named Rafael Montero: “Mateo. He was in serious consideration to at least make the team photo. Very nice first outing after a healthy jump up in level of competition.” What about Montero’s chances of pitching at Citi Field in 2013? “Let’s slow down a minute. I know the Marlins just rocketed Jose Fernandez to the big leagues, but that’s a rare case. Montero has two starts in Double-A and only 10 pro starts above low Class A right now. A full season in Double-A is probably best for his development.”
• Lately, I seem to find myself watching twice as much Mets minor league baseball than regular Mets baseball. I don’t miss any of the Mets games, but in addition to them I’m catching at least two other minor league games a day as well. Sometimes simultaneously. I just find the minor league games to be so much more compelling and it reminds me of the old baseball broadcasts where you could actually hear the sounds of the game instead of three guys in a booth that yap non-stop and then those insane interviews that cut in while players are scoring runs in the background. SNY broadcasts have become way too noisy and distracting to me. Call to the Booth, Tweet the Booth, Text Polls, Cholula Hot Sauce Meters, etc. It’s a wonder they could fit the game in. (Joe D.)

Stat Line of the Night

Brandon Nimmo: 3-for-5, R, HR, 5 RBI

Tweet of the Day

Zack Wheeler took Darin Gorski on his first trip to In-N-Out Burger:

First trip to in and out was a success…def one of the best burgers I’ve ever had and the fries animal style #legit

— Darin Gorski (@darin_gorski20) April 15, 2013

Picture Courtesy Of Zack Wheeler’s Twitter Feed

Transactions

Retroactive to April 11, Cory Mazzoni was placed on the disabled list due to “Tennis Elbow.” Luis Mateo was called up from St. Lucie to fill in for Mazzoni while he is out. He started last night’s game, and was removed in the fourth inning with an apparent injury. Before leaving the game, Mateo gave up four runs on six hits. He also walked three batters.

In other transactions, Pedro Feliciano joined the St. Lucie roster, Adam Kolarek was moved up from Binghamton to Las Vegas, and Shawn Teufel was added to Binghamton’s roster from extended spring training. Teufel arrived in Binghamton, and then found himself pitching a couple of hours later, coming in to relieve Mateo when he was removed from the game. He pitched two innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

So Sandy is yelling at Terry five times a day?

The post Mets Minors 4/16 Report: DeGrom Promoted To Bingo, Nimmo Crushing It In Savannah, D’Arnaud Goes Yard appeared first on Metsmerized Online.