Travis d’Arnaud recently discussed his up-and-down 2014 season with Bill Madden of the Daily News. The 26-year old catcher talked about his demotion to the minors and the adjustments he made after being called back up to the majors.

“It was a wake-up call,” d’Arnaud said. “It definitely humbled me. It taught me that nothing is given to you and you have to work for what you want.”

“I wasn’t myself,” he said of those first three months last season. “I was timid at the plate and I let that affect my defense. But when I got down to Triple-A, George Greer, the hitting coach, noticed right away I was standing too far off the plate and as a result I couldn’t reach any of the pitches on the outside half. He moved me closer, and everything seemed to come together again. I was myself again.”

He also said in the interview that simplifying his approach and being more aggressive at the plate helped fuel his turnaround. Travis batted .265 with 7 home runs and a .787 OPS during the second half.

Despite his inconsistent season, d’Arnaud seems confident that he can carry over his second half success into this season.

“I feel so much more relaxed and physically stronger, and confident in that I can swing harder. That’s what (Barwis’ workouts) do for you.”

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Alex asks…

Do you think the Mets will trade Daniel Murphy before the trade deadline? It’s pretty clear they are not extending him. Let’s say the Mets go into July with a slim one game lead on the second wild card (I wish!) and Daniel Murphy is having another All Star season and in the top five in hits, doubles, and runs scored, would they still trade him? Or do they keep him and he walks at the end of the season leaving us with nothing to show for him? How should they play this?

Daniel replies…

I say Murphy will be traded at the deadline in an attempt to improve the roster or add farm depth, especially if he is an All-Star.  His value has never been higher than it was at the All-Star break last year, a repeat performance would be a great second opportunity for the Mets to capitalize on a high return.

Even if Murphy is doing well, perhaps even a tick better than last year on both sides of the ball, with the Mets in the thick of it – I think the organization still treats it as a decision based on the long term instead of the short and opts to add depth on the farm or includes him as part of a trade to upgrade the current roster.

That being said, it all depends on the team’s position in the NL East and how the rest of the roster is playing at the time of the deadline.  If the pitching staff manages to keep this team in the thick of it, but Murphy is yet again one of the few reliable hitters on an anemic offense, he would likely be retained and allowed to walk after the season.

Back to my original sentiments though, I think this offense will be more potent than critics are giving it credit for and Murphy will end up being one of the casualties of emerging farm growth.

Dilson Herrera has been projected as a future All-Star and already showed a ton of promise during his surprise call-up last year.  He seems like a quick learner and under the tutelage of Wally Backman and George Greer, it’s highly likely he could be ready to compete at the major league level for a job by the All-Star break.   Even if Herrera becomes part of a trade package, SS incumbent Wilmer Flores showed serious promise at second base in a brief stint last year that only deepens the talent at the position and increases the need to move Murphy’s salary (not that I care how many dollars the Mets save).

It’s a tough decision, but it’ll be a business decision at the end of the day, that’s for sure.  Murphy, along with Bobby Parnell,  Jon Niese (also facing the trade block) and David Wright, are the last Amazins to play in Shea Stadium.  I suppose there’s always a sense of nostalgia when you consider that thought.  He’s a hard worker, loves the fans, the city and has always made it known that his loyalties  are with the NY Mets.  For that, I hope Murphy has a great 2015 with this team and gets to enjoy a championship with the club, but if not, I still hope he enjoys continued success wherever the road leads him next.

Lets! Go! Mets!

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Frank Viola will return as pitching coach for the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, a source told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

The Triple-A staff is now set as Viola joins manager Wally Backman and hitting coach Jack Voigt who succeeds George Greer.

Sweet Music interviewed for the pitching coach vacancy with the Twins, but Minnesota decided to go with former Met Neil Allen. This will be Viola’s second season with Backman in Triple-A.

If you could only hear how our pitching prospects rave about Viola who is so highly regarded by all of them. I’m glad we get to keep him.

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Former major leaguer John Mabry is currently the Cardinals hitting coach and was recently praised by manager Mike Matheny.

“John Mabry seemed to take a lot of heat as we were pushing through the season” he told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com earlier this month.

“Some of those results weren’t there, which is really ridiculous. Fortunately, he stayed with what he knew was right, and the guys continued to work to improve and nobody was doing the major overhauls, like we were talking about, for no reason, just to appease people in the outside.”

Greer has spent eight seasons with the Mets and just finished his second year as the AAA hitting instructor. He previously served in other positions within the system at lower levels.

The post Las Vegas 51’s George Greer Hired By Cardinals appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Travis d’Arnaud has had his struggles since being promoted to the big leagues in 2013, mostly from trying to live up to the pressures of playing in the big city and producing.

Coming into the 2014 season, the hype grew even larger and it might have just been too much for the young rookie to bear. So on June 7, the Mets made the right choice to demote d’Arnaud to Las Vegas who was only hitting .180 at the time. Many wondered, including myself, what would come of it, but it was obvious that d’Arnaud needed a fresh start and a new outlook on his future.

What looked like a bad situation, has actually helped turn d’Arnaud’s season around.

When the rookie catcher first arrived in Vegas, Marc Carig of Newsday writes that a roundtable session was set up, and it included 51s manager Wally Backman, hitting coach George Greer and pitching coach Frank Viola. All three helped d’Arnaud talk through the anxieties that weighed him down and helped to clear his head.

The support that he initially received helped to get him back on the right track, “I’ve had a lot of support,” d’Arnaud tells Newsday. “And I had a lot of help immediately, which was huge for me.”

In 15 games with the 51s, d’Arnaud hit .436 (24 for 55), six home runs and 16 RBI’s.

“He just needed to slow things down and understand that he was good enough to be who they wanted him to be,” Viola said. “But he had to be good enough for him first. He was putting so much undue pressure on himself that he just had to take a little time to step back.”

Viola continued, “He realized, ‘You know what? I am my own worst enemy right now.’ He got down here, he took care of his own little demons whatever they might have been, he saw the ball, hit the ball, and called the game. He did everything that was asked of him.”

That is all any coach or manager could ask for and what came of the initial decision to send him down, could become a saving grace on his career.

Since returning to the Mets on June 24th, d’Arnaud is hitting .295 (18 for 61) with five doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI’s.

“If I have a good at-bat, I’m happy now,” d’Arnaud said. “Before, if I had a productive out, if I lined out, I would get on myself so much because I was so worried about getting a hit. It helps me to stay even-keeled.”

Now as the Mets begin their second half on Friday and only five games under .500, d’Arnaud’s resurgence is key to a team still trying to find their identity and a young catcher still finding his way. 

You can read Carig’s the full article here. 

(Photo Credit:Jim McIsaac)

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A number of Mets headed west to Las Vegas on Friday for a two game series with the Chicago Cubs. The following is the complete roster of who made the trip to Sin City as announced by the team.

Pitchers: RHP Joel Carreno, Bartolo Colon, RHP Cory Mazzoni, Mejia, RHP Rafael Montero, RHP Bobby Parnell, RHP Ryan Reid, RHP Miguel Socolovich and RHP Carlos Torres

Catchers: Juan Centeno, Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki.

Infielders: Wilmer Flores, Zach Lutz, Omar Quintanilla, Anthony Seratelli and David Wright.

Outfielders: Andrew Brown, Eric Campbell, Curtis Granderson, Juan Lagares, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Eric Young

Field staff: manager Terry Collins, first-base coach Tom Goodwin, pitching coach Dan Warthen, bullpen catchers Dave Racaniello and Eric Langill, Triple-A Las Vegas manager Wally Backman and Vegas hitting coach George Greer.

Terry Collins would have preferred not split up his team and fly 2,000 miles for two games and told the NY Post that some of his stars would be in for a rude awakening once they see the stadium’s facilities.

“They will not be OK,” Collins said, comparing it to the major league weight rooms his players are used to. “It will get their attention. It’s fine. It’s Vegas. It’s in the desert, so the ball is going to be flying, especially if the wind is blowing.”

Bartolo Colon will start the game on Saturday at 4:10 PM EST, while Jenrry Mejia gets the nod on Sunday, same time. Today’s game in Vegas will be broadcast only on WGN. 

The post Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

This morning on WFAN, Craig Carton was ripping Ike Davis over a report from a source who told him that Davis went ballistic in the clubhouse after the Mets opted to promote Zach Lutz instead of him.

“How can they promote him over ****ing me,” he reportedly screamed at manager Wally Backman..

He became such a distraction, that Backman called Sandy Alderson to intervene and calm the slighted and infuriated first baseman down.

Davis homered again in last night’s game to give him five homers in his last four games played.

Yesterday, Terry Collins told reporters that the Mets did not promote Davis because they were facing three left-handers.

Terry Collins said before Sunday’s game, “We don’t want to put him in a funk right away.”

Several reports are suggesting that Davis could join the team for Thursday’s makeup game in Colorado.

Entering yesterday’s game, Davis was batting .310/.463/.690 with four home runs, 15 runs scored, and 8 RBIs. In 42 at-bats he has drawn 12 walks and struck out 11 times.

Not sure how much credence to put into this Craig Carton story, but we’ll see if some corroborating reports emerge today and maybe we’ll get more clarity on this.

That said, if this is true, it’s very troubling.

Original Post 6/22

First baseman Ike Davis walloped two more home runs for the Las Vegas 51s on Friday night, despite a 5-3 loss to the Tucson Sidewinders at Kino Stadium in Arizona.

For the 26-year old Davis, it was his second straight two-homer game and with those blasts his confidence is now at an all time high as he continues his comeback to the major leagues.

While there is no timetable set for Ike’s return, manager Terry Collins told reporters last night that “when Ike starts swinging good again, he’ll be back.”

Davis was demoted to Triple-A on June 10 and since that time is now batting a robust .333/.480/.744 with four homers, four doubles, eight RBI and 14 runs scored in 50 plate appearances.

What stands out even more than the power is that he has also has drawn 11 walks while striking out nine times in his 11 games with Las Vegas.

The goal for Davis was to alter a hitch in his swing and improving his pitch recognition.

“They say he’s made real good strides,” Mets manager Terry Collins told MLB.com on Thursday. “The report was he’s listening, trying everything that they’re asking him.”

The previous night, Davis went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and three runs scored for Las Vegas. It came on the heels of a 2-for-2 performance with three walks the night before that. Davis is now batting .306/.457/.583 in 46 plate appearances since his demotion to Triple-A.

Tucson manager Pat Murphy — who was the head coach at Arizona State during Davis’ college career — spent time with Davis and described him as someone lacking confidence after talking with him before Thursday night’s game.

“I see a young man that’s lost his confidence. And I see a young man that’s kind of searching right now. I’m confident he’ll find himself. He always has.”

“This is probably his first struggle ever…So you can’t underestimate what you go through, the pain that he feels right now and the fears that he has. I’d like to do anything I could to help him find his best self — find how he can take this pain on and feel it and then move on from there. I think he will.”

Yesterday, manager Terry Collins said Davis’ focus has shifted toward removing the significant hitch in his swing.

“It’s going to be hard,” Collins said before the Mets faced the Braves at Turner Field. “That’s a major part of his swing that’s got to change.”

Las Vegas manager Wally Backman told him they were very happy with the way Davis is coming along.

“They are trying to calm the hitch down, not have it so big. They thought he’s made big strides because he’s really seeing the ball better. He’s really cut down his strike zone, he’s trying to shrink it a little bit to get better pitches to hit.”

The Mets desperately need Davis’ power back in the lineup, and continued success like this will escalate his return to the team.

The post Ike Davis Outraged After Being Bypassed, Alderson Had To Calm Him Down appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Poor Ike Davis…  He gets demoted to Triple-A, deservedly so, and leaves for Las Vegas without commenting on his feelings or the matter. The obviously crushed first baseman kept his head down after the game on Sunday as he emptied his locker, packed his bags and headed for the airport.

SNY sent their Baseball Insider Andy Martino to Vegas and asked Davis what was going through his mind after a couple of days to let the reality of the situation sink in.

“It’s not a good feeling. I was a little down, for sure,” he said. “You’re getting fired or demoted. In a normal job, that’s what happens, but you’ve got to brush yourself off and go back to where you should be. You don’t ever want to come back to the minor leagues after playing in the big leagues for three straight years.”

Ike Davis is now where he belongs. I wish they had done this in April when I first pointed out his slump would continue because his swing was out of whack. This wasn’t a problem of not making contact as much as it was a swing that that was in need of an overhaul. Anyway, better late than never…

The good news is that manager Wally Backman is determined to get Davis back on track and the Met first baseman has put his hurt feelings and bruised ego aside and is prepared to let Wally help him. The goal is to bring back the Ike Davis who thrilled fans from 2010 until Ankle-Gate in 2011.

When asked if the Mets gave him any type of timetable for a return, Davis responded:

“I’ve proven that I can get hot in a couple of months and totally turn things around,” Davis said. “Hopefully, if I rake, I’ll be back soon, but they didn’t have a date or anything.”

It’s hard not to like Ike… He’s the ultimate competitor and we all know what a positive presence he was in the clubhouse from day one. He fit right in from the start.

I’m confident that Davis will be back and that Backman will have him performing better than ever. You couldn’t have a better qualified person than Wally to get Davis through this. He’ll keep his new first baseman motivated and focused as he begins the task of getting him to play and enjoy the game the way he used to.

Davis will have plenty of time to make adjustments without having to worry about the boo-birds haunting him if he strikes out. The atmosphere will be relaxed now that he’s away from the pressure cooker at Citi Field. He’s gonna be just fine…

Get back soon, Ike…

Original Post 6/11

Anthony Rieber of Newsday, spoke to Las Vegas manager Wally Backman who has been charged, along with hitting coach George Greer, with fixing Ike Davis beginning today.

“It may be two weeks. It could be a month. I don’t know,” Backman said regarding the length of Davis’ demotion. “He’s coming here for us to fix him, and we’re going try to fix him. I think there’s a lot more mental than there is physical. When I sit him down and talk to him, we’re going to try to attack that. Try to clear his head from everything. He was getting, from what I heard, lots of different people giving him a lot of different information. So basically, mentally, he’s totally messed up.”

Backman said that he’s already “watched hours and hours of tape” on Davis and that his swing now is so completely different from when he first arrived to the big leagues.

“He’s made so many changes. I think personally it’s been too many changes. Try to get him back to what he did to get to the big leagues. We’re going to work with him on a daily basis. It’s going to be one-on-one work with me, him and George. Nobody else is out there. We’re going to let him really try to figure it out.”

Greer, who coached Davis in the minors, told Rieber that they will be going back to square one with the former Mets first baseman.

“We’re just going to go from ground zero. He’ll tell me how he feels, and I’ll tell him what I see, and because we have worked together in the past, we’ll come hopefully to a happy medium where he can start feeling good about himself.”

One thing to consider is that Davis, who is now earning $3.125 million, could become a non-tender candidate for the Mets after this season. Especially if he doesn’t get himself sorted out. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.

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